The Desires of a Countess Read online

  God, she did sound like a petulant child, but that was better than letting him know how afraid she was. She’d spent years building up the wall around her heart. She didn’t know if she could survive if her family tore it down. And if Simon got inside of her soul…

  She turned toward the door. “Well, I’m not a child. And you can watch while I walk away.”

  “Virginia!”

  The use of her full name and the sharpness of his tone made her turn. When she did, she faced a Simon she hadn’t seen before. He looked stern and determined.

  “I will be at your house tonight at eight sharp. And you will be ready for the ball.”

  Their eyes met and she could see very clearly that he was not playing a game with her. If he hadn’t claimed full control over her life before, he was certainly planning to do so now.

  With a shiver, she turned and stormed out of the room. Control was the one thing she couldn’t afford to lose, even to Simon. And when he came to her that night, he would learn that lesson well.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Simon clenched his hand into a fist and did his best to remain calm. Ginny’s goal was to make him angry, and he wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of his explosion.

  “It’s called breathing. You take air in, then expel it out,” Adam said with a laugh.

  “I don’t find this situation amusing in the least,” he ground out. “She’s defying me just for its own sake and she isn’t even thinking about the consequences.”

  Adam shrugged, but his attention was shifted to the door when Harriet came in.

  She gave Adam a shy smile before she said, “I’ve tried everything. I talked to her, I reasoned, I begged. I even tried threatening, but Ginny says she isn’t coming.”

  “Is that all?” Simon asked, just barely controlling his anger.

  Harriet twisted her mouth to cover an amused grin. “She told me, ‘You can tell that barbarian lout he can have a good time without me. I’m not about to be dragged anywhere’. I remember because she had me repeat it several times so I’d get the wording right.”

  Simon blinked hard, then turned to Adam. “Mrs. Percy is to be a special guest of the Jordan family at the Duchess’s ball tonight, so I think you’d better take her now so she doesn’t miss out on the fun. Her ladyship and I will be along shortly.”

  “Do you want me to send your carriage back for you?” Adam asked as he shot a sly smile in Harriet’s direction.

  “No, Lady Westdale’s carriage will do fine.” He watched with interest as the pair linked arms. Was that a twinkle in his stout friend’s eyes when Harriet Percy touched him? It couldn’t have been. Adam didn’t twinkle.

  Besides, he had more important things to consider right now. After the pair departed, Simon went to the staircase and looked up. This was going to be a battle. If he wanted Ginny to listen he was going to have to be more forceful than he’d been in the past. Obviously giving Virginia Blanchard space and freedom accomplished nothing.

  Taking a deep breath, he climbed the stairs two-by-two. He hesitated at her chamber door. With a muttered curse, he opened it and strode inside.

  She was sitting on her window seat curled up with a book. The instant the door flew open, she scrambled to her feet. His eyes narrowed. She was wearing a gray flannel gown that was obviously two seasons old or more. Her auburn hair was done in a simple bun, but flyaway strands flew around her face. She didn’t look like she’d belong in a ballroom in any stretch of the imagination. But she still looked lovely.

  “Simon-”

  He kicked the door closed behind him and folded his arms. “Put on your ball gown.”

  Her eyes widened, and he had to smile. Had she really believed he’d simply walk away if she denied his request to attend the ball?

  Her face hardened and she mimicked his folded armed posture. “No. I told you I’m not going. You wasted your time coming here tonight.”

  With a control he didn’t know he still possessed, he straightened his arms at his sides and said, “I swear woman, you put on that gown or I will strip you naked and redress you myself.”

  That was a lovely thought. Stripping her naked, at least. Though he wondered if he’d be able to stay focused long enough to dress her again.

  Her lip quivered as she contemplated what he’d said. But she obviously believed he was bluffing.

  “Please leave.”

  Blast, now he was just going to have to prove to her that he wasn’t jesting. He crossed the room in a few long steps, then reached down and began to open the buttons on her gown. She let out a squeal of protest and squirmed as she tried to escape, but he held her in a gentle grip as he opened more and more of her tiny buttons.

  Already he could see what a mistake this plan had been. He’d hoped she would undress herself once she saw he would follow through on his threat. Instead, she continued to try to wiggle away as more and more of her soft skin was revealed by his deft fingers. The smell of her hair wafted up lilac and he suddenly felt dizzy. She was so warm and he already knew what it would feel like to enter that warmth and claim it.

  His fingertips brushed against her collarbone as he slipped his hands beneath the gray fabric. Her skin was as silky as it had been in all his dreams. He swelled with a desire he could no longer ignore.

  But somewhere in the last few moments, she’d stopped struggling. He wasn’t sure when, but she no longer tried to escape. He dared to look down into her face and found her staring back up at him with wide blue eyes, dilated with a desire as potent as his own.

  “Simon,” she whispered as her hand curled up around the back of his neck and her fingers brushed through his hair. Slowly she drew his head down until their lips met.

  He released the fistful of dress he held and brought his arms around her waist. The kiss they shared was gentle this time, but filled with tempered need that would rage out of control if he allowed it.

  As if she sensed that too, she pulled away a fraction. Her body swayed toward him, but she righted herself.

  “Simon?”

  “Hmmm?”

  What were words? All he wanted was sensation, but if she were going to run, this was the time. Any longer and he didn’t think he could bear the loss of her touch.

  She blushed to a deep rose color that brought out the brightness of her eyes even more. “What did you say to me the night we made love in Westdale?”

  He shook his head, unable to complete such a complex act as recall. At the moment, he was more focused on what words he could say now that would make her come back into his embrace.

  “Don’t remember,” he muttered as dragged his gaze up and down her luscious body. Just a hint of cleavage peeked out from the opening he’d created in her dress and he wanted nothing more than to slide his hands down into that little valley and make her gasp with delight.

  Her sigh was full of frustration that sounded nearly as potent as his own. It was in every taut line of her face. But somehow, she spoke.

  “Yes you do. And I need you to tell me what it was.”

  He scowled as he flashed back to the night in question. Most of his memories were of that hot joining, not of any words that had been said. “Remind me.”

  Her breath hitched. “I asked you if there was something you wanted and you said words in another language. What was it?”

  “Oh.” Now it came clear. He’d said it on a whim, knowing she wouldn’t understand his words. But they’d made love nonetheless so his intention had obviously been clear. “You asked me what I wanted and I said, ‘All of you’.”

  She stared at him with wide eyes for a long moment before she took a step closer to look up into his face. “Do you still want all of me?”

  “God help me, yes,” he whispered as he tried in vain to control his wildly beating heart.

  Her trembling fingers caught his hand and she slowly brought it to her breast. “Then take me. And let me be clear, I am offering myself to you.”

  With a groan, he gathered her into h
is arms and kissed her again. Hot blood clouded his mind as thought departed and feeling took over. But before he lost all his sense, he drew back from her.

  Panting, he said, “First tell me that you really want me, that you aren’t using this just to avoid going to the ball.”

  She shook her head as she continued to smooth her hands along his shirt. “Make love to me and I’ll go anywhere you want me to afterward. This is because I need you, Simon.” She met his eyes. “I want you.”

  He nodded as he let go of all his doubts and returned to worshipping her body. This time there would be a bed and time to examine every inch of her. He wanted to find the places where touching her would bring her a shock of pleasure. He wanted to taste her skin until he was so familiar with it that he could conjure the memory in an instant.

  In one sweeping motion, he lifted her into his arms. She let out a startled, “Oh!” that quickly turned to a purr of pleasure when he returned his lips to hers. Somehow he found the bed and laid her across it. He shed his formal jacket and his shirt before he took his place beside her.

  Ginny arched up when Simon’s hands brushed across her buttons. They were still half undone, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted to feel his body pressed against hers with no hindrance to skin on skin. But he seemed determined to go slowly, pushing her hands away when she tried to help him unfasten her dress.

  He pressed his palms against her belly, and she could have sworn her nerves actually crackled with desire at his touch. With torturous slowness, he eased the gown down over one shoulder, then brought his lips to her exposed skin to place a hot kiss there that turned her legs to jelly and made her slick with desire.

  “I’m going to kiss every inch of skin I reveal,” he promised in a husky voice that struck a primal cord in her. “Every. Inch.”

  His blue-green eyes came up to hers and she saw he was serious. He would keep that promise just as he seemed to keep all his promises. She shivered with anticipation of what being kissed all over would feel like.

  He inched her dress down and left a trail of fire down each arm with his lips. She trembled as he dragged just the tip of his tongue across the inside crease of her elbow. Then he brought his face back up until it was even with hers.

  After he’d kissed her long and deep, he whispered, “Breathe.”

  “I can’t when you’re doing that,” she answered, massaging his shoulders as his hot mouth went to work on her throat, then dipped lower.

  “This?” he teased as he pulled her chemise down to expose the gentle swell of her breast. “Or this?” He pulled it down further and bent his head to take her nipple into his mouth.

  She bit her lip to keep from screaming her delight. As he suckled the sensitive tip, then dragged his tongue around it in a circle, she arched up.

  Simon grinned as he lapped at the underside of her breast and pushed her dress and chemise even lower. Need or not, he wasn’t through yet. Not even close. He’d only begun.

  He rubbed the short stubble on his cheek against her smooth belly and she let out a little mewl of satisfaction that struck him to his very core. With little fanfare he pulled off the rest of the dress and went to work on her stockings.

  Soon she lay on the bed naked, blinking up at him with eyes that pleaded for him to take her. But he held back. He’d promised to kiss her all over. He kept his promises.

  Pressing a kiss against her ankle, he eased her legs apart to kneel between them. He sucked his way up her leg, draping it over his shoulder as he inched nearer and nearer to her core.

  She was panting by the time he reached her thighs, begging him to hurry or to slow down, but never to stop. And he had no intention of stopping. Not until they lay satiated in each other’s arms.

  He breathed in her woman’s scent before he parted her nether lips and stroked his tongue across her.

  Ginny arched up with a scream of pleasure. She’d never imagined such a gentle kiss could feel so good, but each time he ran his tongue across her, her body roared to life. The pressure built inside her at a stunning speed, and she found herself begging him for release. He chuckled against her, sending vibrations through her that plunged her over the edge. She cried his name as she thrashed out her climax.

  Simon didn’t give her even a moment to breathe before he kicked off his trousers and eased into her in one fluid motion. She shut her eyes with a shudder. Being with him was like coming home. They belonged together like this, intimately joined.

  All her thoughts fled when he pulled her in for a deep kiss and began to move. In a few, long thrusts he brought her off one wave and up the next one. They rolled over the bed until she straddled him and immediately she began to ride. The sensation was very different from when he was on top. She was in control, and could decide how fast or slow she brought them both to the edge.

  Almost giddy with this newfound power, she smiled down as Simon shut his eyes and let out a low groan. Bringing him pleasure was a new kind of feeling. One that pushed her over the precipice. She let out a cry of delight as he pumped hot into her.

  Panting, she flopped down on the bed beside him and threw an arm over her face. She felt lazy and sated and grateful to the man beside her for the pleasurable moments they’d shared not once, but twice.

  The bed shifted under his weight as Simon rolled over on his side, then there was a gentle tap on her arm. Slowly she lowered it and smiled at him.

  “There you are,” he teased her as he propped himself up on his elbow to look down at her. “I was afraid I’d lost you for a moment.”

  “No, I’m very happy where I am right now,” she promised and was surprised by the truth of her statement.

  His teasing grin faded to a soft smile. “I hope you are happy.”

  With a light touch, he dragged his fingertips down her shoulder and sent a sudden flash of heat back through her.

  “I love your skin,” he murmured as his hands brushed across her belly. “It’s so soft, just like silk. And it tastes like berries. I could lie here all night and just feel your skin.” He began to move back up her opposite arm when his hands came to a sudden stop. “Is that a scar?” he asked.

  Ginny sank her teeth into her lip as a chill whipped through her. She’d almost forgotten the harsh line of a scar that ran down the back of her left arm. She couldn’t see it when she dressed and had done her best to block its existence from her mind.

  “Yes, it’s a scar,” she said, but she refused to move her arm away from his hand. His touch felt too good.

  “Where did you get it?” He turned her arm slightly and looked at the mark through hooded lids. “It’s bad, it must have hurt a great deal.”

  She frowned as she tried to keep ugly memories at bay. “Yes, it did.”

  “And there’s another one here on your side.” Now his voice grew alarmed and she knew she wouldn’t be able to divert his attention. She let out her bated breath in a long sigh.

  “Simon, this moment between us is so lovely. Can’t we just let the past be for a few hours?”

  He glanced up to look into her eyes. What she saw in their aqua depths was enough to make her want to weep. His concern was plain there. Honest and pure, like everything else they’d shared.

  His voice was very quiet. “I want to know how you got these marks.”

  She shut her eyes as she nodded her head slowly. If he wanted the truth, she’d give it to him. Most of it.

  “I thought you would have guessed that already,” she said, her tone flat and emotionless. “Henry gave them to me.”

  “Henry?” he repeated slowly.

  His volatile tone touched her. Her eyelids fluttered open and she looked at his face. His mouth had dropped open in shock and horror as her words sank in.

  “I thought you knew. That the servants had told you.”

  He shook his head. He looked sick. “I knew he was cruel to you, but never violent.”

  She swallowed hard. “Your cousin was a bastard in more than one way,” she said softly as she took
his hand and moved it away from the mark on her side.

  She hadn’t thought she’d be recounting her terrible history with Henry, but the time had come. If she and Simon were going to keep giving in to the passion between them, he had a right to know a bit about her past and why she kept herself so locked away.

  “A year after we were married he began to call me names. Soon his abuse escalated to pushing me. Shortly after Jack was born, he raised his hand to me for the first time. I had to stay inside for two weeks until the bruises healed. After that, he tried to hit where no one else but my maid would see and he threatened her to keep her quiet.”

  She drew in a shuddering breath as images hit her from all sides. Henry above her calling her all matter of whore and ice queen. His hands swinging and connecting. His drunken voice echoing through the halls as he announced his intentions to take his husbandly rights. The looks of pity from the servants who were helpless to come to her rescue.

  At her shiver, Simon’s fingers laced through hers. She forced herself to look at him, expecting to see horror. Instead, she saw sympathy. And anger.

  “Why didn’t you tell your family?” he asked softly. “I can’t imagine your brother allowing that to go on.”

  “No.” She let out a quiet, humorless laugh. “Noah would have killed Henry with his bare hands if he’d known. But I was so estranged from my family by then that I felt I had nowhere to turn.” She sighed. “I wish I had told him. If I had it wouldn’t have escalated to-”

  She bit the sentence off, but it was too late. Already her mind forced her to relive images from the night Henry had died. The pain as he hit her. The fear when he’d turned his rage on their son. The sharp smell of alcohol on his breath.

  Simon tilted her face toward his and pressed his lips down on hers. The kiss was gentle and her demons fled, replaced with warmth and joy. When he broke off the embrace, she smiled at him. He could do that for her. He could take away the pain, even if it were only for a moment.

  “If they had known what was happening to you, don’t you think they would have helped you?” he asked as he dragged one finger across her lip.