Cinders and Ashes (10 page)

“
Has he asked you to go with him?” Sebastian was so tuned to
her that he knew the answer before she spoke.

“
No. He has asked me to clean the house once he has gone, and
close it down.” Amelia hiccupped as another wave of devastation
swept through her.

What was
she going to do? How was she going to survive? If Sir Hubert left,
the job would go. The money would go, and she would be left without
a home. The pennies she earned mending the Bestwick House laundry
weren’t enough to live off, even if she could find another
cottage.

“
He has said I can remain here for as long as I want to, but
he isn’t certain he is going to return to Glendowie.” It was all
she could say at that moment. She could only hope Sebastian would
understand, and not ask further questions for now.

Sebastian mentally thanked Sir Hubert for his excellent
timing. Although it distressed him greatly to see her so upset, it
couldn’t have worked out better for the plans he had made with
Bestwick earlier that afternoon. With the option of remaining with
Sir Hubert eradicated, she would be more malleable to going with
Sebastian, wouldn’t she? Sebastian liked to think so.

In
reality, if he was totally honest, he wasn’t so sure.

He held
her tightly against his chest, waiting patiently until her
hiccupping sobs subsided. Gently tipping her head backwards, he
looked down into her tear-stained face, and felt his heart flip at
the misery staring back at him.

“
It will be alright, Amelia,” he reassured her softly. “Trust
me.” He didn’t wait for her answer. With his gaze firmly locked on
the tempting curve of her delicate lips, Sebastian gave in to
temptation and lowered his head.

The
delicious sensation of having his lips caressing hers was just too
tempting for Amelia to resist. Willingly returning the insistent
pressure of his lips, she made no move to protest when she was
drawn tighter against the solid wall of his chest.

His
broad hands tenderly cupped her face to hold her still, as he
deepened the kiss in the way his wayward body cried out
for.

She
learnt quickly, and within moments was copying the movements of his
marauding lips and tongue. Her willing acceptance astounded him.
When her thin arms stole around his neck, pulling him tighter to
her, he groaned and gave himself over to the passion burning
within.

The
silence within the room was broken only by the hissing and
crackling of the logs on the fire, as Sebastian and Amelia gave
themselves over to the passion engulfing them.

He was
driven by his fear for her safety. She needed the comfort of his
strong arms. The mutual attraction neither felt able to
acknowledge, drove them to deepen their embrace.

Sebastian shifted, pulling her tighter against his masculine
length. He moaned low in his throat at the delightfully arousing
sensations of her soft breasts pushing against his muscled chest.
His manhood surged beneath the cloth of his breeches, and he
groaned against the roughness of the material against his sensitive
tip. He knew she could feel him, but did little to hide the
evidence from her. He wanted her to know just what she did to
him.

Despite
the numerous layers of material between them, Amelia felt a thrill
of feminine delight that she had aroused someone as wonderfully
debonair, and startlingly handsome as Sebastian, Lord Torrington.
Amelia knew she should be shocked, and should pull away. But her
body yearned for the closeness he offered her, and she wanted to
feel as though someone cared - if only for a while.

Gasping
in delight at the wicked curls of sensation unfolding deep within,
she tilted her head backwards to allow the tender ministrations of
Sebastian’s mouth, as he slowly nipped and suckled down the long
curving arch of her neck.

“
We need to stop.” It took every ounce of her self control to
utter the words she really didn’t want to say, but felt that she
had to make a token protest at least. If she was to have any
liveable future at all, she couldn’t allow herself to succumb to
his ardour.

“
Amelia,” Sebastian groaned in protest. Everything within him
screamed at him to ignore her request, but despite his rakehell
background, he was too much of a gentleman to force his attentions
upon her.

For the
sake of their future together, he had to make sure that she was
completely comfortable with allowing him into her bed and her body.
Because there was one thing he was certain of. He was definitely
going to be the man; the only man; to enter either.

Reluctantly, he placed one last, tender kiss on her lips
before easing his aching body away from the tempting comfort of
hers.

“
I’m sorry, Amelia; I didn’t mean to offend you,” Sebastian
mumbled, gritting his teeth against the aching in his
groin.

“
You haven’t.”

Tenderly, Sebastian cupped her almond-shaped face with his
palms, reluctant to break all contact with her completely. “You are
so beautiful.” Satisfaction surged at the blush that stole over her
cheeks, and he smiled teasingly at her. She was clearly not used to
displays, or declarations of affection, and he loved to see her
blush.

If he
had anything to say about their future, displays of verbal and
physical affection were something she needed to get used to. He had
every intention of spending his days telling her, and showing her,
just how beautiful she really was.

She
couldn’t break free of his hold. Although she knew it was unwise to
allow their association to develop further, her heart screamed at
her to take what he was so blatantly offering. If her life
continued as it was, this one night may very well be the only
opportunity she had to experience true fulfilment. It would be the
only chance she had of knowing what it was to love, and lie, with
another.

Decision
made, Amelia closed out all further thought and placed a gentle
hand on the back of Sebastian’s head, drawing his head down to hers
until their lips met. She caught the brief look of shock on his
face before she captured his lips with hers, and was rewarded when
his moistened lips immediately returned her kiss.

Despite
his compliance, Amelia could sense his hesitation. Clearly, he was
reluctant to do anything that would cause her distress. Desperate
to convey with her lips what words could not express, she pressed
her lips persistently against his, copying his earlier actions. She
was rewarded when, after several moments of hesitation; he groaned
low in his throat and deepened the kiss.

Carefully, Sebastian eased on to his good side, pulling her
around until she was facing him. Tipping her chin upwards, he leant
over her and probed the moist recesses of her mouth with the hot
spear of his tongue.

Not that
Amelia minded. If Sebastian had withdrawn and apologized for his
forwardness, she might just have cried right there and then.
Instead she was tugged flush against him until he was lying half
over her as he deepened the kiss. She made no attempt to protest
when his knee pressed gently between hers.

The next
few moments passed in a blur of wondrously new sensations as desire
built. Sebastian somehow managed to divest them both of their
clothing, before moving them under the covers and snuggling her
closer.

He
shivered at the delicious sensations of her naked flesh against his
and he felt his manhood throb painfully beneath the
sheets.

Despite
her reservations, Amelia knew that back in the world Sebastian
habitually frequented, he would have ran his eyes over someone like
her, before moving on to one of the beautifully powdered, elegantly
gowned ladies who paraded themselves for the delectation of men
like Sebastian. Women like Amelia disappeared into the background.
She had no doubt that had they been anywhere other than her little
cottage, he wouldn’t have looked twice at her, much less made to
kiss her, or lie with her.

But
would that make it right if she made love with him? Would she be no
more than a common whore? Or would she be simply a woman who had
spent much of her life alone? Who had been given an opportunity to
learn what it was like to be loved and cared for?

Could
she take the risk that he would not take her heart with him when he
left? Already Amelia knew the answer to that one. He already had
her heart. There was little she could do about it.

Decision
made, Amelia firmly blocked out the nagging doubts and gave herself
over to the delightful sensations Sebastian was
creating.

Sebastian knew he was lost. Despite her willingness to accept
his kisses, he sensed she spent the last few minutes wrestling with
indecision. He knew when she had vanquished her demons when she
suddenly relaxed in his arms, and began to actively engage his
advances.

Stunned
by the sheer barrage of emotional sensation that swept through him,
Sebastian knew he was lost. In all of his four and thirty years,
with all of the mistresses he had bedded over the years, he had
never made love to any woman who had had such an immediately
profound effect upon him. Amelia, with all of her innocence, had to
be the most sensual woman he had ever encountered.

His eyes
wandered over her as she lay within the comfort of his embrace and
he felt the blood pound in his veins.

Head
tossed back, her hair had long since lost its pins and fallen in a
riotous wave of curls on the pillow, beckoning him to delight in
the silken bonds. Her naked body lay flushed and tempting in the
soft candlelight.

His
heart thumped heavily in his chest. He leant down to kiss the milky
white column of her neck, peppering it with tiny kisses, and was
rewarded as her small hands tugged at his head. His questing lips
trailed carefully downwards under the thin barrier of her shift to
capture the pink rosebud of her turgid nipple. Her soft moan of
sensual delight encouraged him to seek the second breast, and
lavish the same attention on it.

White
hot tendrils of molten desire laced through Amelia’s belly as
Sebastian laved and suckled the pink tips of her breasts. The hot
coil of sensation he created pooled low within her feminine core,
until she thought she might go quietly mad. Helpless to do anything
but succumb to his soft kisses, she arched her back, desperate to
ease the wanton ache deep within.

“
Sebastian.” She didn’t know what she was asking for, but he
clearly did.

He heard
her soft plea and removed his mouth, carefully placing tender
kisses around her face as he quickly tugged her shift
off.

Tugging
her leg upwards until it was trapped beneath his waist, Sebastian
eased his hips forward as he drew her other leg over his
hip.

Lying
wantonly open to him, Amelia was curious to discover how he
intended to join with her in such a position. She squirmed with
surprise as his fingers gently stroked through the thick patch of
curls at the apex of her thighs, seeking the fluid warmth of her
femininity. Cheeks flushed, Amelia briefly lay passive as his
searching fingers probed deep. Instinctively her back arched at the
sensations his wicked fingers created. Her breasts were thrust
upwards in mute appeal for equal attention.

His
manhood hardened painfully, and Sebastian struggled to retain
control and not frighten her. Her responses to his attentions were
more than he could ever have expected. For someone who was untried,
he was deeply moved by the honesty of her response. He watched her
face as his fingers probed deep with her, searching for any signs
of apprehension.

Did she
know what he was going to do to her? Was she aware that she was
about to lose her virginity? Should he mention it or just get on
with it?

In all
of the years he had been sleeping with women, he had never bedded a
virgin. If all of his plans came to fruition, Amelia would be the
one and only virgin he would ever make love to. After all, a man
could only take his wife’s virginity once. Although she may not
expect it, if she did accept him into her body here, tonight, she
was irrefutably tying herself to him forever. She may not know it
yet. She may not even like the idea. But he would accept nothing
less.

“
Sebastian.” She groaned, unsure how to deal with the warm
tingling deep within. Instinctively her hips rocked against his
probing fingers as the warmth coiled and tightened. Arching her
hips upwards, with a scream, she gave herself over to the burst of
rapturous sensation that scattered around her in a cascade of
shattering stars.

His
chest swelled with masculine pride as he slowly drew the blankets
down and off them. In the flickering candlelight, with her body
bathed the soft glow of sensual completion, she looked like a
goddess. Her pink tipped nipples protruded heavenwards, tempting
him. The dark thatch of hair at the apex of her thighs glistened
with her feminine moisture. He couldn’t stand it any
longer.

Amelia
barely had time to catch her breath before the rigid shaft of his
manhood began to probe her, seeking entrance.

“
Amelia,” Sebastian murmured softly as he twined his hand into
her hair, and tugged her head upwards until her eyes met his.
“Everything will be alright, I promise.” He tried to convey in his
gaze everything that words couldn’t express, as he slowly withdrew
from her. He held her gaze steady as he slid into her once more.
Again and again, he repeated the movement until she began to relax
beneath him.