Claiming His Wife Page 24

  When it hit, she jerked her head off of his cock, afraid that she might bite down as she spasmed with ecstasy. He sucked hard on her clit and she wrapped her fingers around his dick, releasing his sack, squeezing his rod so hard she could feel it pulse between her fingers as she came.

  Suddenly, she was on her back and Alex was between her legs, shoving his cock into her. Her pussy was still convulsing with orgasmic rapture, and she screamed his name as the rough invasion sent her soaring even higher into ecstasy.

  Feeling her climax around him, Alex didn't waste a second worrying about Grace's pleasure - she had already reached it and didn't show any sign of coming down from it. Sliding his hands under her shoulders, he held her in place as he began a steady, almost brutal thrusting, using her climax-wracked body for his own pleasure. Her cries became higher, her fingers clawing uselessly at his clothing as she writhed. The grip of her pussy was almost painful as he fucked her hard, pounding between her thighs with every bit of his forceful need.

  He could feel the pressure rising, tightening, and he roared her name as he thrust home, holding her so tightly he swore he could actually feel his cock exploding against her womb. Grace mewled and shuddered beneath him, tears rolling down her face from the intensity of her ecstasy, her breath sobbing out as her fingernails raked over his jacket.

  They'd never bothered to undress.

  It was the most frantic coupling of his life, and yet he couldn't regret it for a moment. Even though she'd distracted him from their conversation. He'd learned a few things about his wife, not the least of which was that she was just as passionate for him as he was for her. Perhaps she'd only meant to divert him, but she'd quickly become caught up in their lovemaking as well.

  And he'd been the first man to know her sweet mouth. Alex did his best not to think about her with other men. After all, he wasn't blameless. But he did feel a surge of masculine satisfaction at knowing he'd had things from her that no one else had.

  Leaning down, he kissed her swollen lips, just as her eyelashes fluttered. She was all limp, satisfied female beneath him. Loved into a dazed state. Still panting for breath. The corset she was wearing probably didn't help.

  Alex drank her in like she was a tonic for all his ills. She whimpered a bit, but she kissed him back, her hands moving more slowly across his shoulders. Sliding under his jacket, caressing him through his shirt.

  "Mmmmm..." Grace sighed as he pulled away, feeling absolutely boneless. She didn't even care about the indecent sprawl of her body or that her skirt was up around her hips.

  "Come on, sweetheart, I'll take you to bed."

  She didn't protest as he lifted her in his arms. Sleepily, she nestled against his shoulder. As a distraction, her tactics had worked admirably. However, she was fairly certain that they'd also had a hand in the further crumbling of her walls. All she wanted to do was burrow into Alex's arms and never come out. What was she going to do if he dashed all her hopes again?

  Chapter 14

  Fortunately, Alex showed no sign of wanting to talk the next morning. They were too busy closing up the house, settling the affairs with man he'd rented it from, and packing up the carriage. Grace felt rather jumpy, worrying over what the ride would be like, but she supposed she could always seduce him again. This morning she'd been in his arms, his cock pressing against her stomach, and he'd started to roll atop her when his valet had knocked and reminded him that he'd asked to be woken early.

  She'd been surprised at how disappointed she'd felt. Especially considering their activities last night. How was it that she craved him more than ever, when last night should have satisfied her for at least a week?

  It was because it was Alex... no other man had ever come close to touching her heart, and so the physical act had never been anything more than a means to release. With Alex, it was so much more. Last night, as he'd been touching her, loving her, she'd felt sure that there was more to their encounter than just her emotions. She would have been willing to swear that he felt something for her too. Of course, once the rush of pleasure was over, she was no longer so sure, but there was no denying that when they were intimately joined, she felt that something was there.

  Perhaps that was what she was truly craving. Not the physical intimacy, but the emotions that she felt when they were engaged in it. The emotions she felt from him.

  Soon they were going to be trapped in a carriage together. Then she would be trapped on his estates. But she refused to be trapped in a marriage she didn't want for the rest of her life.

  The only thing now was to decide whether or not she still wanted it.

  "You still look tired, sweetheart, sit down," Alex said, suddenly appearing beside her, concern clear on his face. Grace had to admit, she liked that he was becoming more expressive. "We'll be ready to go soon. You can direct from over here."

  He took her hand and led her to a bench in the front hall, not far from where she'd been standing. Even though she did feel a bit fatigued still, she had been perfectly fine standing... but she liked his solicitous attention. It still felt a bit strange to have someone watching over her again, sharing the burden of her day-to-day life. While she'd gotten used to it in some areas, this was the first time they'd ever packed up a house together and moved on from it.

  "Oh, be careful with that!" Grace said, jumping up as one of the footmen hurried past her with a vase in his arms. One of the ones she'd gotten in Paris, when she and Alex were on their honeymoon. It was the only thing he'd bought her that she took with her, everywhere she went. Seeing the look on his face, as he recognized it, she scowled. "I just like the vase. Don't... don't read anything into it that's not there."

  "Of course not," he murmured, bringing the hand he was still holding up to his mouth to kiss, his dark eyes never leaving hers. But she could tell by the look in his eyes that he knew she was lying.

  The vase had represented many things to her. The bitterness of being let down. A reminder not to trust too easily again. But also a memory of what had been good, the happiness that they'd had for a short time before reality had intruded. Even though she'd been let down, she hadn't completely given up hope on love.

  "Sit down, sweetheart," he said, his mild voice at odds with the intense look he gave her. It was both dominant and sensual, a voice to be obeyed. Grace found herself sitting back down without even thinking about it. "Now stay here, I'll take care of everything else."

  Somewhat bemused, Grace decided to obey. Although she'd been the aggressor when it came to their love-making last night, she had no doubts about who was in charge of the relationship in general. Part of her still felt a bit of resentment that the staff she'd once trusted was completely his. Another part of her warmed to the idea that he'd cared enough to watch over her - after all, it's not as if any of the staff had interfered in her life in a negative way until the day he'd come to retrieve her. She told herself that he'd been spying on her, but even that made her feel strangely happy in an odd sort of way. Because he'd cared enough to both keep tabs on her and, at the same time, allow her to live her life the way she wanted.

  Perhaps she was just fooling herself again, but it did seem the most logical explanation. Or maybe Eleanor's optimism was rubbing off on her.

  From her perch in the hallway, Grace sorted out several issues, deciding which items would go in the coach with her and Alex and which would be part of the baggage train, which would travel much more slowly due to its weight. It felt rather nice to only have one thing to oversee, instead of rushing around the house and trying to make sure every single aspect of closing up the house was being handled.

  By the time Alex was handing her up into the carriage, before climbing in after her, Grace was having a great deal of trouble beating back the hope that was pounding inside of her chest.

  ******

  As much as Alex wanted to have a real discussion with his wife, he decided that a carriage ride was not an appropriate venue. Even if she hadn't looked so tired. Yesterday had been exhausting, o
n several levels, and they'd been woken up earlier than Grace was used to rising, and she hadn't had a moment of rest yet.

  Sitting himself next to her, he felt her tense slightly as he wrapped his arm around her. Pulling her into his chest, he tried to soothe some of that tension away, running his hand down her arm.

  "Try and get some more sleep, sweetheart," he murmured, stroking her hair. Almost immediately she relaxed, and he realized she must have been worried that he was going to try and do something else. Seduce her perhaps? Or talk to her? Which would concern her more, he wondered.

  Going by how vocal they'd both been the past two nights, he didn't think seducing her would be any more appropriate than the discussion he had in mind. Loud talking would easily be heard by the coachman, much less shouting of any kind. Besides which, they had a very long ride ahead of them, he didn't particularly want any kind of encounter with his wife that would make it awkward or uncomfortable.

  Leaning his head against the back of the coach, he looked out the window and watched as the streets of Bath rolled by to give way to meadows. Grace fit under his arm perfectly, her soft snores making him smile. On the ride into Bath, she'd barely been able to look at him, much less sit beside him. Now she was snuggled up right where she was supposed to be.

  For now he could wallow in contentment, but he knew that they would have to talk eventually. Hopefully it wouldn't ruin the way things had been going between them.

  ******

  That night, at the inn, Alex didn't try to press Grace into deep discussion. He thought about it, but when she gave him a saucy look and asked if he could help her disrobe, he allowed himself to be distracted again. Hopefully the foundation of physical intimacy that they were building would help to promote emotional intimacy.

  He certainly felt as though they were becoming more joined together, as he moved inside of her, their eyes locked together, bodies moving in tandem. Every touch, every kiss, every moan, broke apart the barriers between them just a little bit more. It was tempting to think that they wouldn't need to talk at all, but even with Grace cuddling beside him, her hand on his chest and her head nuzzled into his shoulder, he knew that it wasn't possible.

  This was an idyllic moment out of time, where they were neither here nor there, but traveling both physically and metaphorically. They were both acting as if there was nothing wrong between them and never had been, but until they addressed the past, they couldn't really move into the future. Even though she gave herself to him every night, even though their conversations had become much more natural, there were still times when she would hold herself back. Times when he would feel his own anger and mistrust rising - especially when a letter from Conyngham caught up with her.

  She'd given him her return letter to mark and post. It hadn't been sealed. He'd gritted his teeth, sealed it and sent it on without reading it, hard as that had been. Even though he knew she'd left it unsealed so that he could read it, he was determined to show that he trusted her.

  Besides, she'd read aloud the letter that Conyngham had sent her, which had mostly been full of gossip from the capital, including his current rivalry with his best friend over another woman. Grace had seemed quite amused and Alex had told himself that he had no cause to be jealous. She certainly didn't seem upset that Conyngham had already moved on from her, so why should he be upset that the man was contacting her?

  Still, that night he made her climax over and over again until she was nearly limp and begging him to stop, before he took his own pleasure. Proving to both of them that he had full mastery over her body, doing his best to wipe away the memory of any other man.

  After almost a week of traveling, they finally reached his estates, and Brookeside, the main house. Everything looked exactly the same as he'd left it, the rolling hills around the house, the white walls of Brookeside's impressive front, flowering bushes decorating its edges, but it felt completely different. Because, for the first time in years, he was here with Grace. In fact, they'd only been here as a married couple for a few nights. The rest of their time they'd been on their honeymoon or in London.

  Now he was returning home, with Grace on his arm, fiercely triumphant in getting her back where she was supposed to be. The look on her face, as she stepped out of the carriage, was both wistful and wary.

  Peters opened the door for them, and Alex felt Grace jerk beside him. He supposed he should have warned her that her former butler was at Brookeside, but he truly hadn't thought of it. There'd been too many other things to consider. However, her stiffness told him that might have been a mistake. Just seeing Peters was bound to remind her of her staff's betrayal when Alex had come to collect her - as well as the fact that he'd had to collect her at all, that they'd been apart, and all the reasons for it.

  "Welcome home, my lord, my lady," Peters said smoothly, stepping back and bowing his head slightly.

  "Don't pander, Peters, it doesn't become you." The waspish tone of Grace's voice grated over Alex's nerves. She'd lost that edge during their time in Bath and he wasn't happy to hear it back, even if he understood why.

  Putting his hand on the small of Grace's back, he pushed her gently forward, away from the butler. Recriminations weren't going to help any of them right now. A quick glance at Peters showed that the man wasn't offended by Grace's reaction, he was watching her with a mixture of regret and worry. Alex shouldn't be too surprised, after all, Peters had gotten to know Grace's whims and moods quite well over the years.

  He was surprised to feel the slightest twinge of jealousy about that.

  "Peters was just doing his job, sweetheart," he murmured, as he guided Grace towards to staircase to the upper level. "Don't blame him for that."

  The look that Grace gave him was not promising. "So you're saying I should blame you?" she asked, smiling at him in a poisonously sweet way that made his hackles rise.

  "We'll discuss this later," he said, firmly. Because he could tell that this discussion was going to go straight to their past and their estrangement, and he didn't want to start that in the hallway, when they'd just finished traveling. Both of them were tired, dirty and in no kind of mindset for such an important conversation. Besides, if he let her have her way now, they'd end up fighting and he didn't want that either. "For now, I'll have a bath sent to our room so that you can bathe and change."

  Dark eyebrows rose as she looked up at him, her venom tempered by confusion. "What will you be doing?" She blinked. "Our room?"

  "I need a quick word with my steward about the estates, now that I'm back. And yes, our room. I sent word ahead to prepare the rooms accordingly. By now you should be used to sharing a room with me."

  Pushing open the door to said bedroom, which was actually his room, he ushered Grace in before she could protest. Her mouth worked, but snapped shut when she saw that Rose was already in there, waiting for her. Alex grinned at her suspicious look, which was also tempered with relief. Perhaps a bath and then some food would soothe the savage beast.

  Once they were calmer, and in a better frame of mind, they were finally going to talk about why she'd left him and how they were going to go forward from here. This time, he didn't care if she stripped naked and danced for him, he wasn't going to be distracted again.

  ******

  Grace almost hated to admit how much she needed the bath. It had been prepared while Rose helped her undress, and the hot water had soothed muscles that ached from riding in the carriage. The roads hadn't been too horrible, but there was always a bit of bouncing, and her neck ached from sleeping on Alex's shoulder the day before. The hot bath also soothed other aches, between her legs.

  They'd made love every single night, and sometimes the next morning as well. Alex had been absolutely voracious, even more so than he'd been on their honeymoon. Not that she'd been protesting, although she certainly wasn't used to this much activity down there. Before her lovers had always been at her beck and call, coming over only when she desired company or comfort or pleasure. Now, she had no choice
. Although, Alex always made her want it, despite the aches of her inner muscles. He always made sure she found her pleasure too, before he found his. Sometimes multiple times.

  Sighing, Grace relaxed against the tub, feeling rather drowsy from the heat surrounding her. Rose puttered about the room, unpacking Grace's things. At this point, Grace had nearly forgiven the maid for actually being in Alex's employ. She supposed she should forgive Peters too, although somehow she felt that betrayal even more keenly than Rose's.

  Perhaps because she'd confided in Peters about her innermost thoughts and feelings nearly as much as she had in her lady’s maid, Rose, but she'd always seen him as a protector. He'd stood between her and Society, stalwart and unbending, keeping the worst of the gossip-mongers from her and removing anyone who upset her. More than one person had found themselves in the bewildering position of being dismissed from her house by a mere butler, with all the civility and manners one could expect, and yet the dismissal was just as firm and just as final as if it was from a Duke.

  Yet he'd let Alex through the door.

  Maybe if she and Alex truly managed to reconcile she'd feel better about forgiving Peters. Even if it was unrealistic to expect him to protect her from his true employer, she'd still trusted him. Up until the day he'd let Alex in, she would have sworn that Peters was on her side. That had been half the reason she'd hired him.

  She was drying off when Alex came in and immediately began stripping off his clothing.

  "Alex," she said, rather sharply, as Rose squeaked in dismay, halting the shedding of his clothes. She looked at her maid. "You may go, Rose."

  "Thank you, my lady," Rose said, hurrying from the room, avoiding looking at Alex even though he was still quite respectable in his shirt and pants.