Free Lady of Seduction by Laurel McKee Page B

arched back against the bed as he slid home, their bodies joined as one.
    Caroline tensed, and he went still against her. It had been a long time since she had coupled with a man, and her body had
     to adjust to the sensation of fullness and pressure again, the friction of his flesh against hers. Slowly, the discomfort
     faded away, and the warm pleasure built up again, hot and heavy, deep inside her.
    “Did I hurt you?” Grant said hoarsely.
    “No,” she whispered. She wrapped her legs around him and arched her hips to draw him deeper.
    He drew back one slow, alluring inch at a time, almostsliding out of her before plunging back inside, deeper and deeper.
    Caroline cried out at the rush of pleasure, like a shower of sparkling, burning stars scattered over her skin. His movements
     grew fast and desperate, deeper with every thrust. Her world grew darker at the edges, and she heard a humming in her ears,
     louder, a chorus of pleasure. She definitely never felt like
this
before.
    Then her climax broke over her, fragmenting like a great explosion that sent her soaring upward into the very sky.
    Above her, she felt Grant’s body arch taut as a drawn bowstring, and he shouted out incoherent words. His muscles tensed under
     her touch, and his head was thrown back in primitive exultation.
    Then he fell to the bed beside her, their legs entangled. His breath on her bare shoulder was hot and uneven, and she found
     that she couldn’t remember anything but him. She felt like she was sinking back to earth from those glittering stars. She
     was weighed down with delicious, aching exhaustion.
    She opened her eyes to stare up at the darkness above her, the folds of the velvet bed curtains. Grant’s breath grew slower,
     as if he slid into sleep. Sleep tugged at her as well, but she couldn’t give in to it yet. Her head was whirling with mingled
     pleasure and confusion.
    She rolled onto her side to look at him. The candle was sputtering low, and its light flickered over his face. He looked young
     and relaxed in the warm afterglow of pleasure, not the hardened recluse she had found here on Muirin Inish. His hair spilled
     over one shoulder, the linen shirt ripped away to reveal his glistening skin. Had she done that? Torn away his clothes in
     her passion? How very unlike her.
    She reached out to smooth the jagged linen edges together. He suddenly grabbed her hand in his and kissed her palm without
     opening his eyes.
    “I should go back to my own room,” she whispered.
    “Don’t go yet,” he answered. “I know I have no right to ask it of you, but stay with me just a little while longer.”
    Caroline nodded. She laid her head on his shoulder and watched as he twined his fingers with hers and pressed her hand to
     his chest.
    Even as they lay there wrapped in each other’s arms, she couldn’t quite believe what she had done. Ever since the terror and
     peril of the Rebellion, she had spent her life making herself and her family safe, living her life in a practical, quiet way.
     Now she had thrown all that away and made love with the most dangerous man she had ever met. A man who still carried so many
     secrets inside him.
    She had rushed out and thrown herself into the whirlpool. She had brought the danger into her very bed, knowing the dangers
     of it. What would become of her now?
    She traced her free hand over Grant’s chest and remembered his touch, his kiss, the way he moved against her, as if he had
     been making love to her for years and knew just what would please her. At least when she
did
meet her downfall, she would remember how truly glorious it was.



Chapter Ten
    C aroline climbed up the steep hill behind Grant. The thick mud sucked at her boots, but she would not be held back. Who knew
     how long the rain would stay away—or how long Grant would stay with her?
    She had been surprised to get his note on her breakfast tray that morning, inviting her to see the ruins. She wasn’t sure
     what he would think