Free At Least Once More by Emma Lai Page B

the time, she’d been confused by the tug of desire for things she couldn’t name and irritation at those two gossips for interrupting her discovery of the potential answers to her questions. The thought of a forced marriage to satisfy an imagined compromise hadn’t set well with her.
    A smile tilted her lips, but she was well and truly compromised now. Even if she truly didn’t want to marry Gareth, she had no choice.
    Excitement twirled inside her. Was it possible she’d be married soon and be able to experience more of the pleasure Gareth had shown her this afternoon?
    The flesh between her legs throbbed as the water’s heat and her thoughts made blood pool in the swollen folds. She covered the area with her hand and gasped at the flickers of pain created by the light pressure. She slid a finger between the folds to trace the path Gareth had taken earlier.
    Letting her knees fall apart, she eased inside the swollen passage and explored the tender recesses. A gasp tore from her throat. She really was a wanton.
    With her thumb, she found that bundle of nerves that delivered fire to her veins. Teeth digging into her lower lip, she fought past each tiny shard of pain for the pleasure beneath. She stretched herself with a second finger. The water lapped the sides of the tub as she set a pace similar to the one she’d ridden Gareth’s fingers with earlier.
    Tiny spasms squeezed her fingers and tightened her thighs. Pressing against the magical spot again, she rode her fingers harder. Gareth’s fingers, both longer and wider, had been so much more enjoyable. Maybe because she could concentrate on just the pleasure.
    She explored the soft inner flesh, flinched at the tenderness, and gloried in the rush of warmth and wetness that eased the passage. Not that this wasn’t pleasurable as well, just not quite as much as having Gareth’s hands on her, in her.
    She thrust harder. The muscles relaxed and she slid a third finger in.
    Her breath hissed out. There…there was that impossible fullness she’d felt earlier. She moved her fingers faster. The edge was near. So near.
    She gasped when her inner muscles clasped her fingers tight and milked them like they’d milked Gareth’s cock earlier. Satisfaction and a sense of peace flooded her body even as the spasms intensified when she recalled him swelling even larger before flooding her with liquid warmth.
    When the last spasm retreated, she slid her fingers free. The flesh was even more swollen, if that was possible. She wouldn’t be able to walk without recalling everything she’d experienced so far today.
    She sighed. Maybe if she’d explored herself long ago instead of waiting to find a man, she wouldn’t have tried to run off with ineligible partis . But then again, she also wouldn’t have been tempted by Gareth on the terrace or found pleasure in his arms.
    Was he still downstairs?
    Not questioning her sudden desire to see him, she quickly washed, then rang for Marie to help her dress. However, when the maid arrived, she informed Annabelle that His Grace had left and William waited for her in his study.
    She smiled. That could only mean one thing.
    ****
    Annabelle cracked the study door and knocked even while poking her head through the opening. “William?”
    Her brother glanced up, a pensive frown on his face. With a heavy sigh, he said, “Come in, Annabelle.”
    Worry replaced the budding excitement that had accompanied her down the stairs. Why hadn’t he yelled? He always shouted when she got into a scrape. Always. She entered the room and shut the door. “Is everything all right with Minerva?”
    He scrubbed a hand across his face, sat back in his chair, and sighed. “She’s fine.” A small smile broke his stony facade. “Apparently, I’m to be a father.”
    “Really?” Annabelle crossed the room and minding the tenderness between her thighs, delicately perched on one of the two chairs facing the desk. “How exciting. Imagine, you and Markham