Dare to be Mine (4 page)

Elyssa felt his hardness against her
body, instinctively pressing herself even closer. It was the most aching
sweetness she had ever known, but still she felt unfulfilled. She wanted more,
needed more from this man. Already she felt a stunning breathlessness
shimmering deep within, amazed that all it had taken was the expertness of this
man’s tongue in her mouth to push her over the edge. Elyssa pushed the
disturbing thought away that what she was doing was completely abominable.
You
are married!
her
conscience cried foggily in the
back of her mind.

But to a man who despises me,
her
heart argued. To someone who would never love her, who would leave her never
knowing the intimate touch of a
man.
The brief
confusion she was experiencing fled as Elyssa heard a low moan escape the man's
throat. His breathing was erratic as his lips left hers only to trace an erotic
descent down her neck. Her fingers entwined in his hair as his seductive
assault continued. The feel of his lips kissing the flesh no man had ever
touched left her breathless. She wanted to feel his mouth torture her entire body
just so.

What luck to have come across such a
passionate young
thing.
He felt the quiver of her
body, sensed she was barely suppressing a powerful climax to their brief
encounter. He was barely able to restrain his own. He inhaled the scent of her
expensive perfume, no doubt donned for her stable hand. The thought that she
was on her way to meet another man for the sole purpose of fucking filled him
with a heady desire to taste of her more fully.

He could imagine taking her away to a
secluded place and doing sinfully delicious things to her sweet body for a week
straight. His lips departed briefly from her neck as he pulled back to delve
into her eyes.
Into her very soul.
And what he saw was
a ravishing, willing young woman, her lips yet expectant, her chest heaving in
unsated desire, her eyes beseeching him to put an end to this infernal aching.

He knew not what possessed him to stand
there on the earl's estate in the middle of a thunderstorm taking extreme
liberties with an employee on her way to meet a lover. He'd not even heard her
voice, though he suspected it was sweet as honey and enticing as a siren.

Elyssa slowly reached her arms up about
his neck, pulling him downward toward her waiting lips. He moaned low in his
throat as her slender fingers tangled in his hair. Their lips now touching, he
rasped, “Are you certain you want this?” Her breathless whisper of
yes
sounded of desperation and need, and he was more than willing to gratify her
sexual demands.

Elyssa's mind was awhirl with beguiling
sensations as she felt his bold touch upon her breasts. His insistent caresses
brought forth not the revulsion that Percy's had that long ago night. Rather,
she felt she would die from the exquisite stroke of his fingers. Her head fell
back, her eyes closing at the sweet torture his touches evoked. His tongue
followed suit after his fingers and Elyssa grasped his hair even tighter at the
erotic feel of his mouth upon her breasts through the thin, wet material. If
she never experienced it again, she would at least have this one moment in
time, this brief solitary remembrance of what it felt like to be truly desired.
What it felt like to be a woman.

His fingers were actually shaking, he
thought in a flashing instant. He couldn't recall the last time a woman had
ever affected him quite so thoroughly. True, he was a libertine at heart, was
he not? The gossip mongers thrived on that exaggerated facet of his life. In
truth he adored women, both their minds and their bodies, though for the most
part they remained nameless, faceless, and quickly forgotten.

There was something about this one
though, something that jolted him like a fiery bolt of lightning. Perhaps it
was merely the mystery of the storm surrounding them, the darkness protecting
them from otherwise watching eyes. Or maybe it was the enticing eyes of emerald
that were his downfall. Whatever the case, he was helpless to stop this
madness. Indeed, he caught sight of those emerald orbs gazing down as he
continued his ministrations. She clung to him as if her very life depended on
him, and the dark haired stranger felt her need as if it were a tangible thing.

His fingers tightening about her, he
carelessly tossed his head to the side to force the loose strands of hair from
his face. His breathing labored, Elyssa noticed the tightening of his jaw and
she watched as his visage seemed to actually change before her very eyes.

What had been merely a carnal attraction
only seconds before suddenly changed to a need so extreme, so profound, that it
almost frightened her. His gray eyes turned a turbulent black, his nostrils
flaring slightly as his chest heaved in determination. Percy's cruel words came
briefly to mind about her being the devil's own and she could almost believe it
was true, for the handsome stranger gave the sinister impression he was none
other than Lucifer himself, coming to claim one of his own.

He quickly lowered her to the wet
ground, Elyssa crying out a enchantmentg">CHAPTER s his mouth briefly covered hers with lustful
impatience. She knew what was about to happen, indeed craved it to the point of
obsession, but knew she must put an end to his wicked enchantment. No matter
that she wanted this more than anything in her life, she couldn’t be so
careless and horrible a wife as to commit adultery, much less out in the open
on her husband’s property where anyone could happen upon them at any moment.

He straddled her waist, gazing down at
her and cursing himself inwardly for his lack of self control. She stared up at
him, eyes wide,
her
hair carelessly strewn as she lay
on the wet ground. He was the worst sort of animal to use her so
callously,
though to his credit she hadn’t uttered any
denials. Lowly servant she might be, but she enticed him as much as any
practiced courtesan ever had, her sensuality demanding his attention. Her breasts
were nearly spilling from her gown, her skin glistening from the rain.

His hands splayed over her cheeks in
worshipful adoration of the beautiful face beneath, his fingers trembling with
the fierce want and need of her. Her mouth opened as if to speak and for the
first time the stranger took note of the tears now mingling with the rainy
wetness on her face. He'd reached down to unbutton his pants but ceased at the
realization she might be weeping, for her actions had seemed anything but that
of an unwilling woman.

Elyssa was horrified at her wantonness,
lying half naked on the cold wet ground while straddled by the perfect male
specimen, on the verge of being granted what she so desperately wanted.
The feel of his hard body sinfully astride her made Elyssa ache
with the need to have him inside her.
The taste of his mouth upon hers
brought forth the urge to beg him to sate her needs. Exactly what all that
entailed she wasn’t certain, but her body veritably cried out for release. She
wanted to weep in despair for having ever run into him, for Elyssa would not
become a traitorous wife, no matter that the stranger had stolen her heart in
mere moments.

She took note of his hesitancy as his
hands reached down toward his pants. Taking that fleeting opportunity, Elyssa
breathlessly cried out, "I cannot," and she quickly shoved the
stranger, escaping from her precarious position.

"Wait!" he cried hoarsely, his
hand reaching out toward her, his fingers barely grazing her thigh as she fled.
Reluctantly allowing her to leave, the man's hand came up to his bearded face,
rubbing the short whiskers along his jaw as he thoughtfully watched the lady's
abrupt departure. She fled not to the stables, but instead returned to the
mansion. No doubt running to her quarters as quickly as possible, knowing that
he would be in just after.

It was moments before his breathing
returned to normal, indeed before he arose from hi for the time being.this kneeling position on the
cold wet ground. Had he imbibed any liquor in the last few hours, the man would
have sworn he’d dreamt the entire fantasy, but as it was he was travel weary
and nothing more.

He would discover the identity of the
young beauty before his visit was completed, and have her he would. Next time
there would be no chance for escape, nor would she wish for one.

Elyssa struggled to awaken as the
intruding sunlight filtered through the window. Something was wrong, such a
thing?"

Her unsuccessful approach with Percy.
The raging storm.
The dark stranger.

Elyssa sat up swiftly, gasping aloud at
the remembrance of
him.
She grasped the silken sheet up to her neck as
her skin verily tingled from the recollection of his fingers grazing her wet
flesh, the feel of his insistent mouth covering her own. She could hardly
believe it was true, could scarce accept the fact that she had allowed a
complete stranger to touch her so intimately. Her eyes closed in mortification.

Whatever had possessed her to allow that
first kiss? Elyssa moaned aloud in self misery. What would she do if the
stranger told Percy about their chance meeting? She shuddered to imagine her
fate should her staid husband ever find out she’d not only been kissed by
another man, but had in fact welcomed it.

Unable to fight the memory, Elyssa's
skin ached for his touch as she recalled the way it felt to be held so securely
by the gorgeous man. The myriad of sensations he'd caused with his hands and
mouth. A ribbon of desire stubbornly began weaving its path through Elyssa's
entire body at the thought of his sinfully handsome face gazing at her with
such intensity. The black hair and eyes of stormy gray He was undoubtedly every
maiden's fantasy brought to life.
And every woman's nightmare.

For he was surely
unattainable when it came to capturing his heart.
That kind of man always was.
Faithless and not to be trusted.
Isn't that what her mother had told her every time she'd ever fancied a
handsome young man desiring to court her? She was destined for greater things,
they tried convincing her, was meant for a higher destiny than that of a lowly
merchant's bride.

And hadn't they been quite the success,
Elyssa reflected bitterly. They saw her wedded to a heartless aging man that
had no use for her. Not now and not ever, by his own words. She would never
fully know the sensual pleasures that she’d allowed the stranger to cruelly
introduce her to.

Confound the man! Not only had he been
the cause of her nearly breaking her cursed wedding vows, he had unwittingly
forced her to face the reality of her bleak future with the earl.
A loveless, tiresome marriage with a man incapable of passion or
forgiveness.

You cannot fault Percy for your disloyal
actions,
CHAPTER ;line-height:150%;" aid="I6"> her conscience cried.
You allowed yourself to
fall prey to that scoundrel's touches. You wanted him to take you.

Elyssa cried out at her warring
thoughts, tears of guilt springing to her eyes. She vowed to never think on the
sinful stranger again. Surely he would leave later in the day after he'd
completed his business with Percy. The following day at the latest, and surely
Elyssa could avoid the visitor during the short length of his stay.

She had no appetite, indeed would have
refused breakfast with Percy even if she were famished. It would be impossible
to recover from last night's horrible ordeal with her husband. Elyssa still
cringed inside at the cruel words he'd spoken to her. Glancing across the
distance toward her mirror, Elyssa gazed at the saddened figure staring back.

Surely her hair was not so ugly, was it?
Nor her lips so completely sinful?
Her ego was crushed
to think that a husband could hold his wife in so little regard as to point out
each and every flaw he found with her appearance.

Flashes of the dark stranger intruded
upon her melancholy thoughts. He hadn't seemed to find her so very repulsive,
had he? In fact, he had seemed quite taken with her, and he was the most
handsome man she’d ever laid eyes on.

"Rubbish," Elyssa muttered,
tearing her gaze from the mirror, “he’s obviously a profligate and a rogue.”
Determined to stay out of Percy's sight and that of his associate, she wondered
what might make the time pass a bit quicker. Frowning at the silver tea set her
mother had given her before the wedding, Elyssa decided to polish the tarnished
set that had been passed down from mother to daughter for several generations.

Not wishing to soil her wedding ring
during the messy chore, Elyssa carefully removed the heavy band of silver and
placed it on the table next to her bed. She fingered the spot that felt
suddenly naked without the ring, for it was the first time since the wedding
that Elyssa had removed it. Indeed, its absent weightlessness was comforting. A
traitorous thought sprung to head and Elyssa imagined how lovely it would be to
never have to wear that ring again. To not be wed to the stuffy earl any
longer.
To be free to make her own choices, and eventually
marry a man of her own choosing.
Elyssa glanced one last time at the
ring with disdain before changing into a simple gown of faded black before
taking a vigorous hand to the silver.