An Improper Proposal (The Distinguished Rogues Book 6) (25 page)

She placed her arms around his waist, unsure if she could deny this man anything. What had started as a desperate need for an independent future had shifted to a private wish to belong with him.

He kissed her cheek. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“My father had said much the same.” She caught the earl’s eye. He met her gaze with steadfast conviction. He believed every word he said. He sincerely wanted to protect her. But what about her father’s growing odd manner? Did Louth know her father well enough to sense the change in him?

She rose on her toes and sought his mouth for a kiss to avoid that discussion. The earl bent himself to seal their lips together and the next moment she was swept up in his arms.

They did not kiss for long, but Iris was trembling with anticipation by the time it ended.

Louth nibbled at the skin of her neck and her pulse raced. “You should return to your father. I need to go out for a little while but Mr. Lynton Manning will be arriving at two o’clock to perform the marriage ceremony.”

She hoped he wouldn’t regret his generous offer to make her his wife. She wasn’t exactly a good choice. “Thank you.”

He swooped to kiss her firmly then took her hand and pulled her toward the door. They could hear her father’s laughter in the drawing room but when they reached the doorway, she gaped in shock. Louth’s mouth fell open too at the scene.

Her father crouched on top of a lovely brocade chair, waving a riding crop about as if he were racing.

“Alexander Hedley,” Iris shouted.

He leaped from the chair. “Sorry, Mother.”

She hurried to him, concerned by that slip. “But I’m Iris. Your daughter.”

He squinted at her. “Of course you are. Have you no greeting for your old father?”

She stepped into his embrace, squeezing back tears. “Papa, what were you thinking? Grown men do not stand on other people’s furniture.”

The man gestured to Lord Louth. “Lord Louth said to make himself at home and I have done so.”

“But you still should not stand on his furniture.” Her future husband merely smiled at the situation. She kissed her father’s cheek, noting at last that his hair had been cut, nails manicured and he was wearing a new suit of clothes. “You’re looking very fine today.”

“Such a kind girl.” He embraced her tightly. “My daughter is getting married today so I’m told I have to look my best.”

Tears pricked her eyes. “Yes she is. And she’s very fortunate in her husband.”

When she glanced toward the door, she discovered Lord Louth had fled. She couldn’t blame him. Her father’s antics must have been embarrassing for him.

Twenty

No matter how much he tried, Martin could not wait to get his wife alone, preferably into bed. He understood her father needed her. Hell, everyone had needed her since they’d spoken their vows before a select company of friends invited for the hastily arranged wedding that afternoon.

She drew back the bedding in her father’s room and settled him under the comforter. “Are you warm enough, Father?”

The older man smiled as if he were tipsy. “Right as rain and twice as tired. It was such a long day. I didn’t see Fitzhugh anywhere about.”

“Of course not.” Iris cast an apologetic glance in his direction. “He wasn’t invited to the wedding.”

“Did someone marry?” Her father grinned but Martin didn’t believe the man was teasing his daughter. Over the course of the day, he’d become suspicious that Hedley didn’t remember very much of what was told to him and this was only further proof.

She smoothed back his hair and made no response to his question. Iris had brushed aside all his hints about the matter of Hedley’s forgetfulness so far, much to his disappointment. The discussion could wait until tomorrow but not for much longer than that. If his suspicions were correct, steps would have to be taken for the man’s care. Hedley had almost released his water off the back terrace before their guests. If not for Gibbs’s quick action, Hedley would have bared his backside to the entire room.

Iris bent to pick up a book her father had knocked off the side table earlier, revealing the outline of her lush bottom.
Definitely time for bed
.

He excused himself and retreated to wait in the hall. As much as he might wish otherwise, he couldn’t hold back his lustful thoughts forever. They were married. He was anxious about tonight and hoped Iris never regretted marrying him after making love to him.

Just as he was beginning to fear he’d have to drag her from her father’s room, she appeared at his side. “He’s asleep.”

“Gibbs has been instructed to remain as his valet for the foreseeable future, Iris.”

Her face lit up with a smile quite unlike any she’d bestowed on him before at the mention of her title. It was as if a thousand candles had illuminated her and swamped her in their soft glow. “I like hearing that, my lord.”

“Martin will do.” He scooped her up into his arms and headed for his bedchamber before any other distractions got in the way. Iris looped her arms about his neck with a sigh and clung to him as if she would never let him go. And he wouldn’t either. He would do anything to keep her happy.

The room was lit with warm light from the hearth and little else.

He lowered his wife to her dainty feet and knelt to remove her shoes.

When he stood again, he was reminded just how tiny Iris was. He swallowed his apprehension about the coming night and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. As always, his body hummed with lust the moment her tongue slipped past his lips to turn a tender moment into a passionate one. She tasted so very sweet. He could get drunk from the taste of her if he wasn’t careful.

When their lips parted, he drew back. “Wife.”

“Husband.” She grinned.

She kissed him again, tangling her fingers in his short hair and pressing close against him. There was nothing he wanted more than to be inside her, to complete her education in the sensual arts as she’d planned. Patience would serve her better though, so he ran his hands up and down her back, cupping her delightful bottom and torturing himself with the feel of her.

He pressed her firmly against his body, the ridge of his erection hard against her belly. Her fingers delved beneath the waistband of his trousers and she slipped the buttons free. As much as he appreciated the freedom, he feared it too. Too little thought and consideration and he’d hurt her.

Martin carried Iris to his bed and paused at the edge of it. He loosened his grip, intending to place her down. “There is no need to rush.”

She shook her head, and then cupped the side of his face. “Don’t deny me what I want.”

He closed his eyes briefly and gently laid her on the soft mattress. Iris smiled at him and his heart tripped painfully. She was not afraid. She reached for him, intending to pull him on top of her immediately. He shook his head and removed his upper clothes first.

Her eyes widened as his bare chest came into view. She sat up and ran her tiny hands over his skin. “You’re beautiful and so strong.”

Since his trousers were already unbuttoned they slipped low of their own accord, and he stepped out of them quickly before turning back to Iris.

Her lazy grin, glued low to his crotch, brought tingling warmth to the base of his spine. At her urging, he covered her body with his. “Is that what you want? To be under me with no chance of escape?”

“Yes, but more too.” She examined his shoulders even as her hips rose to brush across his erection. “Make love to me.”

He kissed her brow. He was a heavy man and, after a bare moment flush against her, he propped himself on his elbows and removed his weight until they barely touched. “I will. But it will be slowly done. I’m too big for you.”

“For now perhaps, but I will grow accustomed.” Iris traced his collarbone with the tip of one finger, and then dipped to circle his nipple. “We will have to practice often I expect.”

“A few times a month.”

“Several times a week would be better. I’m told it will be easier over time.”

He jerked back in surprise. “You spoke to Esme about me?”

“No, Esme spoke to me. She thought that given the absence of a mother, she must explain intimacy to me. I’m glad she did. I’ll not allow you to sway me with your own fears.”

Martin flipped Iris over so he could reach the buttons on the back of her gown. “I have reason to be afraid.”

He drew back, paused a moment, then lowered his lips to her neck.

Iris sighed deeply as he nibbled on her skin. “Yes, just like that.”

Martin’s head clouded with lust as Iris grew pliant in his arms. He rolled her to her back and glanced at her face to find her eyes hooded, her expression one of utter trust and expectation. He kissed her lips, astounded by how she moved him. He’d never intended this but he would make love to her. He didn’t dare disappoint her when she was so adamant about becoming his wife in every sense of the word. He would look after her.

He traced her skin, from her slender neck, over her collarbone and down to her chest with the tips of his fingers. She was so tiny lying at his side. He had to be careful. The modest gown she wore hid her breasts but a quick glance confirmed her nipples were hard points beneath. He covered her breast with the palm of one hand, and then thumbed her nipple gently through the gown. Iris arched her back, until she brushed against him.

The top of her gown gaped and he slid the garment down, uncovering her shoulders and the tops of her full breasts. The barrier of a corset and chemise remained between them. He tested how tightly she was bound in the corset. The garment moved and he dug his fingers beneath on each side of her body and shoved it down as far as he could. Iris gasped softly.

The chemise had followed the corset and he admired Iris in the most improper of states.

Pale and perfect. Her breasts were white and full. The pink tips of her nipples grew even more obvious as he stared at them. He touched one reverently. Iris hissed and he smothered her breast with his hand. Martin kneaded her flesh gently and then plucked at the nipple. He met Iris’s gaze and smiled. “Mine now.”

He lowered his head and suckled at her breast. Iris stiffened in his arms. As expected, she soon grew used to the sensations he evoked and even cupped his head to hold him there.

Martin hitched her skirts up to her thighs and gently pushed her legs wider apart so he could settle his weight between them.

When he reseated his hips at the apex of her thighs and pressed against her there, a low moan spilled from her lips. Martin could not suck her breast and tease her quim at the same time so he switched between suckling her breast and rubbing against her sex. Iris clawed at his head and shoulders. Incoherent words tumbling from her lips.

The sound of her encouragement made him ache with need to be inside her. However, Iris could not be ready for him. He had enough experience with women to know she needed to find her own release first before he could even think of joining with her.

He slipped one hand beneath her skirts, teased up her slender thigh to touch her curls. Iris bucked again and a full-throated moan filled his ears. He parted her lower lips and skimmed her sex with one finger, discovering scorching wet heat and excitement beyond his dreams.

This time
he
moaned. He touched her clitoris with steady pressure and then swirled around the hard nubbin until Iris jerked and came apart.

He slid his finger downward and pressed inside her body. Her sex pulsed around his digit and he fingered her, mimicking making love. When her spasms eased off, he added another finger and discovered Iris wasn’t quite as tight as he feared she would be.

He added a third finger to her sheath and kept them there as he eased away to see her face. A soft smiled played around her lips, her eyes drowsy with sated lust. He quickly stripped her gown and petticoat away, the corset proved more complicated but he mastered the lacing and laid her bare across his bed. He hovered over her and teased her with his fingers again. “You will need to lift your legs so you twine around me when I come into you.”

Iris threw one leg around him and the action opened her body. He slipped easily in and out of her sheath. She was ready. But still doubts filled him. She was so small. Martin withdrew and positioned himself at her entrance.

He met her gaze and his breath caught at the sight of Iris so utterly abandoned by desire. Her breasts bobbed with each breath, her cool legs lifted higher to his waist and tightened around him. Iris regarded him with obvious lust and beckoned him close.

The heat of her damp skin against his cock threatened his patience. “You are so beautiful.”

He kissed her cheek and she twisted to capture his lips in a deeper kiss. She ran her tongue over his bottom lip and then caught it gently between her teeth, her eyes flashing with mischief.

Never had he wanted a woman more.

Iris cupped his face with both hands. “What are you waiting for? I’m ready.”

The whispered hot words against his lips crushed his resistance. He pressed forward.

~ * ~

Iris wiggled. God lord, he was big. If it were any other man, she’d be terrified to be in this situation, helpless and impaled on the largest manhood she’d ever imagined. If not for his gentleness and hesitation, she’d never have enjoyed his slow possession so much. He’d entered her so carefully she’d feared he’d stop each time he withdrew, but now he was still inside her and his chest heaved at the effort of holding back.