Page 55 of Marrying Bluebeard

Adelaide’s fingers graze my face, a tender smile gracing her lips. “Now this,” she murmurs, “is a face worth showing.” She leans down and her lips brush mine once, twice. I hold back as far as the third, letting her take the lead, fearing the moment will end before it’s even begun.

But then her hips roll, and I’m undone.

I mold my lips to hers, savoring the feel of her tongue as I plunder her mouth. Grasping the hem of her shirt, I draw it upward, and she releases her hold on the back of my neck as she lifts her arms, allowing me to remove it completely. The action leaves two perfectly rounded breasts mouthwateringly close to my face, their rigid peaks begging for attention.

I oblige.

Her gasp of pleasure as I draw each of those sensitive pink tips into my mouth goes straight to my groin, and I press the aching length upward, eliciting even more delightful noises from the angel in my lap. She tears at my shirt, and I release her breast with a soft pop as I help her shed the borrowed garment. There’s a fierceness in her eyes as she looks down at me, intense and commanding. It pins me to the cushions as she reaches between us and snaps the buttons of my pants, and it blazes to an almost incinerating heat when she grips me.

“Tell me you’re mine,” she breathes, fingers twisting along my member.

A groan rumbles through my chest.

She squeezes harder. “Say it.”

“I’m yours,” I gasp, bucking upward.

“That’s right.” She presses her palm to my stomach, holding me in place as she slides off my lap and places herself between my knees. “From now on, the only thrall you’re allowed to fall under is mine.”

Her lips wrap around my cock, and my head tips back as she draws me all the way in. There’s no teasing, no coy little licks, just relentless pleasure that sends me hurtling toward the edge far too soon. My fingers tangle in her hair as I gasp her name, pleading. “Adelaide.”

Her mouth slips free as she looks up, only for her hands to take over where her tongue left off. I bow forward as the pleasure builds to a precipice, knowing I’m moments away from exploding. “Adelaide, please.”

“You want control?” she challenges, eyes flashing as her lips curve into a smirk. “Then take it.”

My chest tightens as I remain locked in place. Adelaide’s face blurs, replaced by another that sneers up at me in disdain, her hand twisting my beard. You think I don’t know what you’ve been doing? Playing the dutiful pet to all the villagers in that nasty little town. It won’t matter, husband. You’re rotten inside, just like me, and there’s nothing you can do to change that.

The memory shatters, broken by the smack of flesh against my cheek. Adelaide’s face reappears in all of its furious glory, her bladed hand falling to her side as she stands and shoves me back into the settee with her foot.

“Don’t you dare let her in,” she snaps. “Not for one bloody second. You’re mine.” Her lip quivers, her voice softening. “As I am yours.”

Mine.

This amazingly fierce woman is mine. Not because of pretty lies or some twisted compulsion but by choice. She knows what I am, yet she’s still standing here, giving herself to me freely. Why am I not already worshiping her?

I wrap my fingers around her ankle, and she emits a soft yelp as I stand and slide her over my shoulder in one fluid movement. A few long strides and I’m tossing her onto the bed, a satisfied grin slanting my mouth as she bounces. Her cheeks are flushed and there’s a gleam of anticipation in her eyes as she gazes up at me, waiting.

She doesn’t need to wait long before I’m tugging the white, ruffled drawers down her thighs and tossing them to the side as I settle between her legs. I grasp the underside of her knee, lifting her leg as I trail languid kisses across her silky skin. Her hips arch upward as if attempting to close the distance between her dripping center and my eager mouth.

Again, I oblige.

I lap at her glistening bud like a man dying of thirst, and in reality, I am just that. I’m desperate to claim these few, precious moments—the last moments of true pleasure I’ll ever experience. An eternity of madness hangs over my head, and so I burn the sound of Adelaide’s rising moans into my memory, finger crooking inside her delicious heat until it presses just the right spot to bring her to a crescendo.

When her voice cracks and she calls out my name, I prowl into place above her and watch the stars burst in her eyes as I thrust inside. I hold her gaze as I drive deeper, soaking in every ounce of pleasure reflected there until my own release overwhelms us both. As the tide ebbs, and I’m left breathless and panting, I whisper the words that have been haunting me since the day we wed.

“I’m sorry, Adelaide. I’m so terribly sorry.”

A glassy sheen coats her eyes as she gazes up at me, and she lifts a hand to cup my newly-smooth cheek. “I know.” Her thumb whisks away a tear I hadn’t realized I’d shed, and my wasted heart beats anew as she adds, “I forgive you.”

I linger as long as I dare, listening to her sigh as sleep draws her into its gentle embrace. I’d watch her all night if I could, but the hour grows late and I can’t risk her discovering the details of my plan. That she’s willing to stand by me is boon enough. The actual act must be done alone.

A pair of silvery eyes cut through the darkness as I peel the rug back and open the floorboards to retrieve the necessary tools. Whisper slinks across the room and sits beside me with an accusatory glare as I thumb through the battered journal, its pages yellowed with age. When I find the passage I need, I carefully tear the parchment free and fold it into my pocket. “I’m doing this for her,” I whisper. “It’s the only way she’ll truly be safe. The only way to keep everyone safe.”

Whisper lets out a plaintive mew, and bumps her head against my knee. The gesture is surprisingly loving, and I feel my throat grow thick with emotion. “I have to do this.” I spare a moment to scratch behind the feline’s ghostly ears. “No one else deserves to suffer for my cowardice.” Grabbing the pot of ink and engraved paintbrush I acquired along with the journal, I hurry to replace the floorboard and reposition the rug before slipping soundlessly out of the room. Thankfully, Whisper remains inside.

I tap on Jacob’s door, and it swings open almost immediately. The other man’s expression is grim as he meets my gaze.

“You sure you want to go through with this?”