A Woman Made for Pleasure (32 page)

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Authors: Michele Sinclair

Tags: #Fiction, #General

BOOK: A Woman Made for Pleasure
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Chase softly clucked his tongue. “I cannot have you, Millie? Did you not just hear me moments ago vow that you are forever mine?”
Millie gulped. “I just a . . . assumed it was your pride talking. That . . . that you were upset.”
Chase gave a single swift shake of his head. “I was not upset, my dear. I was furious. Another man had his lips on your cheek. That is a particular experience only one man shall ever know—me.”
The weight of his words suddenly hit her, and a sense of self-worth flooded back into Millie. “And do you honestly expect me to be your
chère amie
while you go off and marry Mrs. Brinson?”
Shock momentarily stopped Chase’s advance. His eyes held hers. There was no mistaking their dark look. Every nerve ending immediately responded to their unspoken message. Millie had to force herself to maintain a respectable distance.
“Millie, what the bloody hell are you talking about?”
Indignation rose in Millie and she waved a finger at him. “I told you. We
saw
you. We saw you with Mrs. Brinson. You become highly agitated with a mere peck on my cheek. Well, what do you think I felt, seeing you embrace her on the street!”
Chase’s eyes flashed with anger. “You should have realized there was more to what you were seeing! Do you actually think I am so ungentlemanly as to do that to you?”
“But you told Sir Edward you were getting married!”
“Blast it, Millie! What type of man do you take me for? Can you be so naïve as to think that we wouldn’t be married after what we shared in Sefton’s gardens?”
Tears began to flow freely from Millie’s eyes. “But you never said anything. No words of love, no promises, nothing!”
“Bloody hell, Millie. You know I am dealing with some very dangerous people at the moment. Considering a life with you, right now, would be most unconscionable of me. These men would use you to get to me, and it would work. You should have known how much you meant to me!”
Millie thought she could actually hear her heart beating in her chest. Chase was saying words she had secretly longed to hear. Perhaps not the way she had imagined, but nonetheless, the reasons—ones that explained away all the hurt and pain, were suddenly real. Chase wanted to marry her. She was going to get married!
As soon as the idea took hold, Millie knew she would have to let it go. Eight years ago, she had begged her friends to join in a marriage pact. Never had she broken a vow made to them, and she was not going to do so now. She would not leave Jennelle and Aimee alone. That was the whole reason behind the promise in the first place.
Chase watched as tears filled Millie’s beautiful lavender eyes. “Millie, whatever is going through that crazy mind of yours?” His voice was deep, husky, caressing.
Millie felt miserable.
Guilt and hurt and anger and uncertainty and just plain misery
, she answered silently. “I cannot marry you, Chase. I made a promise a long time ago. I cannot break it now.”
Suddenly Chase understood the full import behind Jennelle’s missive. “I understand.”
“No, I do not think you do,” Millie murmured softly, staring at the carpet. A tear fell and splashed near her feet.
Chase lifted her chin and compelled her to look at him. “At least let me try. You, my sister, and Jennelle made a promise never to get married. However, being wise youthful girls, you each included a single exception to your promise.”
“How did you know . . . ?”
Chase placed a gentle finger on her lips. “Your exception was actually a set of prerequisites. Was it not?”
“Yes, but . . .”
“The first set is a little odd, but we must remember your age and unusual inclinations at the time of the pledge. You must be allowed to ride astride, climb trees, and hunt. If I remember correctly, I have never objected to your riding astride; in fact I encouraged it because you have a penchant for riding somewhat aggressively. As for climbing trees and hunting, do so at your pleasure whenever we are at our country estate. I only ask you to refrain while in Town.”
Millie narrowed her eyes as she realized one of her friends had obviously disclosed the details of her exception to the pact. “What about your propensity for following rules?”
“You forgot dull and my lack of passion for adventures.”
“I do not consider you dull.”
Chase gathered her into his arms and looked down into her eyes. He was drowning, completely lost in Millie’s warmth and softness. “Mildred Aldon, I want you more than I have wanted anything or anyone else my entire life.”
A tremor went through Millie, and she snuggled against his chest. Chase smelled wonderful, and it felt so good to be this close to him. More than anything, she wanted to be his just as he claimed. “I love you, Charlie.”
Chase was not ready for the impact of her whispered words. She was the most beautiful, most desirable woman he had ever seen in his life. And she loved him.
Chase’s groin throbbed with a sudden fierce need to possess her. A strange fear gripped him, that if he did not claim her now, he might lose her. He caught Millie’s face between his hands, and he kissed her slowly, fighting the desperate urge to yank off her dress and sink himself into her softness. “Marry me, Millie. Marry me and make me the luckiest man ever to live.”
As he pulled back, Millie saw the raw need shimmering in his eyes. She swallowed at the enormity of need in those golden pools. Chase genuinely desired her. “Charlie, I . . .”
“Millie . . .” Her name was a soft growl as swiftly mounting desire consumed him. Chase buried his face in the dark waves of sweet-smelling hair, nibbling her neck, trailing his lips to the base of her throat and below.
Millie had never felt more alive, more desired. Tonight it was different from before. Tonight, every mental and emotional barrier between them was gone. Millie heard someone moaning and realized the primal sounds were coming from her. Chase brought his mouth back down on hers in a lingering kiss that scorched her from head to toe.
“Lord, Millie, what you do to me. I must have you, love. I must. I have never needed anything as I need you. I cannot wait. Please forgive me.” His forehead came into contact with hers. His breath was ragged and his hands trembled both with need and fear she might say no.
Millie untied his cravat and stood on tiptoe to kiss the small indentation in his neck as she had dreamed of doing every night before she slept. Her tongue swirled against his warm skin, tasting him, loving him. It was far better than she had imagined.
Drowning in her sweet caresses, Chase knew if he didn’t have Millie, and soon, Bedlam was soon going to receive a new patient. He reached out and pulled her back to retake her mouth. Just before his lips came down on hers, he vowed, “I love you, Mildred Aldon. Say you will marry me.”
Millie stroked his dark hair, realizing that nothing in her life had ever felt so right. “Yes, Charles Wentworth. I will marry you. For you, too, are mine.”
Chase looked into Millie’s dark violet pools of love and squeezed her tightly before reclaiming her mouth with a deep, tender possessiveness. No longer would he be concerned with her names for him. For no matter what name she used, what emotion was coursing through her veins, her heart beat for him. She loved him.
Chase wanted tonight to last forever and slowed their pace. Before the evening was over, Millie would be undeniably his. He softened the kiss and urged her mouth to open, seeking a response to match his own. Slowly Millie parted her lips and invited him to taste her. A sweet, soft moan erupted from her, and Chase swallowed the beautiful sound. It had been too long since he last enjoyed her sweet lips.
Millie felt the sleeves of the gem-covered material fall from her shoulders. Only the shimmering silver material underneath remained. Strong hands cupped her breasts through the thin cloth, but never once did Chase break from his foray of her heavenly mouth. Millie suddenly wanted to feel him, to actually touch his broad chest and entwine her fingers in his crisp, curling dark hair. She unfastened his waistcoat and tugged on his linen shirt. Emboldened, she pulled her mouth away from his and trailed a line of kisses across his chest. He was so different from her. Hard, powerful, and extremely masculine. She could live a thousand years and never get tired of touching him.
Without warning, Millie stopped and looked at Chase, wide-eyed. Parts of his body were getting very hard. “Charlie, I think something is wrong with you.”
When Millie had begun her assault on his senses, it had taken everything in him not to throw her on the floor and attack her. Chase took her fingertips in his hands and kissed them softly. Letting them go, he walked over to a chair, grabbed the large, thick plaid blanket that was strewn haphazardly across it, and laid it on the floor in front of the hearth. Turning, he asked, “Do you trust me, love?”
“With all that I am,” she whispered.
Chase stared at the vision walking toward him. She was slim and delicate, incredibly female. He did not think it possible, but he grew even harder as the white satin chemise played over her sweetly curved buttocks. His fingers flexed in anticipation of what was to come. He vowed not to rush anything with her. He wanted her first time to be as powerful and incredible for her as it was going to be for him.
Millie stopped just out of arm’s reach and tipped her head back, letting her dark tresses tumble over her shoulders. The look in Chase’s golden eyes made her feel sultry, feminine, and unexpectedly powerful. Tonight she would become a woman—Chase’s woman.
Chase was so hard, he feared he might burst, but he would endure anything to discover what she was going to do next. He did not have to wait long.
Millie slid one silk slipper off her foot and then the other. Bending over, she inched the white silk up her leg to expose the edge of her stocking. Slowly, she rolled the filmy material down, giving Chase time to view the curve of her lower leg. Then she moved to do the other. Never had Chase imagined the removal of slippers and stockings to be so arousing.
Dropping her second stocking to the floor, Millie stepped forward and finished unbuttoning his shirt. Done, she reached inside and touched him the way she had so often dreamed. It was better than any fantasy. She pressed her lips to the warm indentation in the middle of his chest. Chase trembled and it sent shock waves through her. She smiled and then kissed his nipple, swirling her tongue around its taut tip. Chase moaned. Millie repeated the gesture again and again and again . . . shyly savoring him with her tongue, each time in a different place.
“You taste good,” she whispered.
Chase had no idea how a chaste woman who was shocked by his burgeoning manhood could be so unrestrained and free, and he didn’t care. He would just be forever grateful she was his.
Unable to stand any more torture, Chase pulled Millie abruptly into his arms and kissed her hard. She did not resist, instead leaning into him and kissing him back with the fervor of a tigress desiring her mate. His tongue thrust into her mouth, then withdrew, then thrust again. His mouth was fierce and demanding. Millie joined the rhythm and felt her knees begin to weaken. A quiver of excitement shook Millie’s frame. She clung to him as an anchor in a storm of passion and desire.
Chase found the tapes of her undergarment and undid them in several short, swift motions. Moments later, the silk dream cascaded into a white shimmering pool at her feet. Millie felt no awkwardness for her lack of clothing. She had nothing to hide from this man.
Chase stared at her. Millie stood unashamed and beautiful. When she held out her arms for him, he walked into them knowing that without her in his life, he would never be whole. Chase gently scooped her into his arms and held her. She was the air he breathed. He needed her.
Surprised to be lifted off the floor, Millie instinctively clutched Chase’s shoulders. He was so strong, she thought, yet he shuddered every time she even grazed him with her fingertips. She enjoyed knowing how much she affected him and caressed his arm, then chest.
Her soft touches were killing him. She had no idea the exquisite pain he was enduring. He had not had a woman in over a year. After he saw Millie the night of his return from Spain, no other woman had interested him. Only she could satisfy the burning need in him, and finally she was in his arms.
Chase carried Millie to the hearth as though she were weightless and laid her carefully down on the soft, thick blanket. Millie watched through half-lowered lashes as he shrugged impatiently out of his shirt, yanked off his Hessians and removed his leggings. Millie smiled and trailed a finger along his arm. “You will have to tell me why only you seem to be allowed to wear trousers to Almack’s. What’s your secret?”
“Someday I will tell you of my first meeting with Countess de Lieven. But right now, I have other things on my mind.”
“Other things, my lord?”
Chase chuckled. “Yes, other things, such as this . . .” He lowered his mouth to her breasts and covered a pink bud. “. . . and this . . .” Millie thought she was going to lose consciousness from sensory overload as he moved to the valley between her breasts. “. . . and this.” He tasted the second rosy nipple as his hand caressed her other bosom.

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