Rose's Rapture: Lords of the Night, Book Two Read online

  “Do you by chance know where she went?” William couldn’t keep the hopeful note from this voice.

  The man wiped his hands on the rag tied at his abundant waist. His brows furrowed in thought.

  William fought the urge to throttle him. His lips thinned as he reached into his pocket for a coin. “Perhaps this will assist your faulty memory.” He slammed the coin down on the table. Bettlesworth snatched it up and shoved it into his pocket.

  “I believe I heard one of the lady’s coachmen say that they were going to Hyde Hall,” he said.

  William smiled. “Thank you. You’ve been of great help.” He turned his shoulder to the man and stared into his drink. He had finally located her. Soon Rose would be within his grasp.

  * * * * *

  Abigail slipped the night rail over her head. The material brushed her naked flesh, bringing her skin alive with a fresh wave of sensation. She’d been tingling ever since Lazarus kissed her. An hour later the aches had begun, but these weren’t from any illness. They were a bone deep yearning that she couldn’t ignore. It was as if her body had suddenly developed a mind of its own. She took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly, allowing the events of the evening to replay in her mind.

  A small secretive smile flittered over her lips as she recalled the moment she’d laid eyes upon Lord Lazarus Hyde. The man was beyond virile and excited Abigail more than she dare admit. He drew her like a lodestone. It wasn’t simply his fair looks, though they were something to behold. The attraction ran deeper than that. He had an intangible air about him that kept her orbiting near him.

  She’d felt fine until their walk on the terrace. After that it had been a constant battle to control her raging urges. Abigail squeezed her thighs together to assuage the need growing inside her, then bit her lip to keep from groaning.

  She walked to the side of her bed and pulled the covlet back, then threw the windows wide. Her bedroom was warm, despite the coolness of the Scottish air. Her body even more so. What had he done to her? Surely one kiss couldn’t do this. She caught the shift of a shadow in the darkness out of the peripheral of her eye. Hand to heart, she opened her mouth to scream.

  “Please do not. It’s me.” The words came out in a rush, but Abigail recognized the voice instantly. The flesh on her arms rose and her nipples crinkled tightly. Lazarus stepped from the glom like a phantom solidifying before her eyes.

  “What are you doing here?” she hissed, taking a step back. Feeling like she did, Abigail didn’t trust herself not to do something outrageous like launch herself into his arms.

  “I told you that we would continue our conversation later.” Lazarus shrugged nonchalantly. “This is later.” He smiled and began to stalk her, prowling forward, herding her back toward the bed.

  “Lord Hyde, you shouldn’t be here.” She glanced from side to side, searching for a means of escape. “This is highly improper.” The material of her gown brushed her flesh and Abigail gasped as need tore through her.

  Lazarus’s gaze lingered on the front of her gown and her nipples tightened to the point of pain. “Tell me to leave,” he said. The statement was followed by a look of astonishment, as if he couldn’t quite believe he’d made the offer.

  Abigail’s mouth opened and closed wordlessly. She ached from head to toe and desperately needed someone to fill the emptiness. Not someone…him. It had been five years since her husband passed. Five years without a man’s touch. She wasn’t at all sure she could deny herself any longer. “How did you get in?” she asked, instead of responding to his demand.

  He grinned. “I never left.”

  “This is highly scandalous. If anyone were to find out…”

  He shook his head, sending his dark hair into his face. “They won’t.”

  If anything, he looked even more untamed. Abigail’s hand moved to her throat protectively. “Tis wrong.”

  “Why?” The question left his sensual lips on a whisper. “I know that you want me. You’re aware by now that I desire you,” he said, the intent in his mesmerizing eyes clear.

  Abigail watched his gaze turn molten as it reflected the hearth’s firelight. “That’s not the issue. I am a lady. A lady does not behave in such a manner. And you, sir, are a gentleman.”

  Lazarus gave a pained laugh. “I’ve been called many things over the years, but rarely a gentleman.” He smiled. “A true gentleman wouldn’t have spent the entire evening trying to figure out how to lay you bare. I’ve thought of little else since I glimpsed you across the ballroom. Given more time, I’d woo you like you deserve, but I fear that time is a luxury I have little of.”

  She licked her lips and swallowed hard as she watched his long fingers move to untie his snowy white cravat. With each flick of his wrist her heart throbbed in anticipation. He dropped it onto a chair, then shrugged out of his coat and tugged his shirt off.

  Abigail couldn’t seem to catch her breath as her gaze feasted upon his bare chest. Lazarus sauntered toward her. “Stay back,” she warned, but he kept coming. She stepped back and her knees hit the bed. There was nowhere to go besides over it. Abigail picked up her gown and scrambled over the linens. He was on her before she made it to the center of the bed, pinning her down. His warmth spread through her limbs as if she were naked. Abigail struggled for purchase, finding none. She wiggled, trying to escape. Lazarus’s arms tightened and his knees locked, trapping her beneath him.

  “You will be mine,” he said a second before his mouth descended.

  This kiss wasn’t like the first. This one held a savage hunger that Abigail couldn’t begin to fathom. The same sweetness she’d tasted earlier flooded her mouth. He pulled her closer, his fingers clasping her jaw, opening her to his invasion. Her body went up in flames. The ache turned into a painful, unrelenting throb.

  She gasped, trying to draw breath. Relentless, he seized her mouth again and deepened the embrace. Her fingers dug into his flesh, but instead of pushing him away Abigail pulled him closer. She didn’t understand what was happening, but she was powerless to stop it.

  Lazarus stopped kissing her only long enough to remove his Hessians and stockings, then he slowly and seductively shucked his breeches. The second he tossed the clothing aside Abigail’s breath seized in her lungs. She had never seen so many ripples of muscle on a man or such masculine beauty. He truly was a work of art.

  Her husband had been stout, but soft. She’d felt comforted in his arms, not protected. Not like she knew she’d feel in Lazarus’s embrace. He was a powerful beast built for stamina. Her stomach fluttered as her gaze dropped lower to the throbbing mass jutting up from between his thick thighs. Oh my...

  He stopped a few feet in front of her. “Abigail, I want you to remove your night rail,” he said, his voice raw with passion.

  Her hands trembled. “I can’t.”

  Lazarus trailed a finger over her bare collarbone. “Remove it or I’ll rip it from your body. I need to see you now. All of you.” He licked his bottom lip in anticipation.

  Abigail couldn’t seem to get her fingers to work. The material slipped through her hands as she tried to unbutton it. Lazarus growled in frustration, then grabbed the gown with both hands and ripped it straight down the middle, before tossing the ruined fabric aside.

  Heat poured off his body in wicked waves, licking at her fevered skin. Abigail’s nipples puckered as his gaze swept the length of her, devouring every inch before pausing at the thick blonde curls covering her now moist sex.

  “I can taste you and I haven’t even touched you yet,” his voice rasped out the words like a verbal caress.

  Abigail’s clit twitched and her body quivered. “You scatter my wits. I’m blushing like a bride on her wedding night. If I had an ounce of self-preservation, I’d be screaming for help.”

  “But you won’t, because you want this. You want me.” His eyes glinted with lust, and something she refused to explore. “We’ve been destined to do this since time immortal. Can’t you feel it?”

  A
bigail did feel it, but she shook her head in denial.

  Lazarus swept his hands along her arms, leaving gooseflesh in his wake. “Spread your legs for me. I want to see you.”

  Heat bloomed in Abigail’s face. She’d never had anyone demand something so outrageous. Even her husband hadn’t asked to ‘see’ her. He’d been content to make love with the candles out. “I can’t. I never.”

  “You will do that and more before this night is through. I have a tremendous appetite and I intend to feed directly from your flesh, from your passion.” It was the truth. In this he did not lie.

  Lazarus feasted upon Abigail’s naked beauty. Their kiss had been a mere appetizer to the main course, for which he was about to partake. The pink, pouty flesh between her legs glistened in the firelight. He inhaled her musky scent, drawing her aroma into his lungs for safekeeping. He wanted to savor this moment, but it was difficult with hunger pounding at his temples.

  He reached out and ran one finger along her slickness, bringing it to his mouth for his first taste. He closed his eyes in ecstasy as her juices exploded on his tongue. Lazarus groaned and glanced back at the woman lying before him. She took his breath away.

  “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?” he asked, the words torn from his chest.

  She shook her head, a delicate flush covering her breasts.

  Lazarus gripped her knees and pushed her thighs wider. “I’ll show you,” he said, voice croaking with the effort to speak.

  Abigail’s feet still dangled over the edge of the bed, but the lush globes of her bottom were firmly cupped by the satin covers.

  “Don’t move. I want you just like that.” Lazarus dropped to his knees between her legs and brought her to him. He leaned forward and breathed her in once more, a growl rumbling from his chest. He pressed a chaste kiss upon her quivering flesh. Abigail whimpered and began to writhe.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, her blue eyes wide with surprise.

  Lazarus blinked, shocked that her husband had never pleasured her in such a manner. “Loving you,” he said, nibbling on her inner thigh, working his way up.

  She whimpered as he neared her center. Her entire body quivered.

  Lazarus let the anticipation build, then he plunged his tongue into her moist channel. Abigail’s body clenched, then slowly blossomed before his eyes. Lazarus continued to lave and suck until her back bowed off the bed, then he slipped a finger inside her. Abigail was so tight, so blissfully tight. If he hadn’t known that she was a widow, he’d think her a virgin. Gods forbid. The last thing he wanted to do was seduce a virgin.

  He worked his finger in deeper, then slowly slid it out, repeating the motion again and again until her hips rose to meet him. Lazarus knew he’d never fit unless he prepared her body for what was to come. He sunk deeper into her welcoming flesh, twisting his finger until he could add another. Thanks to the venom in his kiss, she was painfully aroused. He intended to make her even more so.

  “Your body is like a gift to be opened and savored. I intend to savor every last drop.” Lazarus flicked his thumb over her clit. Abigail’s hips bucked and she gasped.

  “Please,” she begged, her thighs tightening around his wide shoulders.

  He thrummed her, playing her lush body to a tune that only he could hear. As if on cue, her body wept in response. Lazarus pulled back, replacing his fingers with his tongue once more. He plunged into her, licking and tasting, feasting upon her flesh, while he fed voraciously off her essence. All while taking care to pleasure her in return.

  Abigail came apart with a cry, her body shuddering, and still Lazarus kept feeding. His starving body roared to life, while bringing her to peak after peak. She’d stopped thrashing, but continued to whimper as one orgasm blended into the next. It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough.

  Lazarus rose above her. “Now it’s time to burn, my love,” he said, then surged inside her, his cock splitting her fist-tight channel with one smooth stroke.

  Fire surged through him at the joining of their bodies. Lazarus moved with fluid thrusts, rekindling her need. His back arched under her fingertips as her nails scored his flesh, pulling him deeper. Lazarus kissed his way down the side of her neck until he reached one of her erect nipples. He slipped the pebble into his mouth and began to suckle with the same rhythm in which he moved.

  Her skin flushed and she made a delicate gurgling sound in her throat as the pleasure pulled her under again. Lazarus licked and sucked her tender flesh, teasing her with his teeth, while surging repeatedly into her, deeper and harder, until his cock kissed her womb. Her body tightened around him, opening and clenching until he thought madness would overwhelm him. This was it. This was the perfection he’d sought.

  “Come for me, Abigail. Join me in this maelstrom.” He grunted and rolled his hips.

  She cried out, her nails scoring his arms as her body convulsed beneath him. Color exploded behind Lazarus’s eyes and blood roared in his ears as he gorged himself on her release. He willed his body to hold on for a few seconds longer, but it was too late, Abigail had swept him away with her. His hips jerked once, twice, and then he flooded her body with his hot, thick seed.

  Drenched in sweat and lungs heaving with the effort of their joining, they lay nose-to-nose, lips to lips, breath mingling, while they slowly floated back to earth.

  His fingers brushed her hair. “You are everything I imagined you’d be. Everything I could ever need, ever want. And more. You are my desire incarnate. Please say you’ll be mine and accept me for who I am.”

  There was a pause. His heart dropped. Cold enveloped him as he braced for her reply.

  “Lazarus, I-I can’t. This is too much. I don’t even understand how this happened. It’s as if my body betrayed me. Until I have time to think, I will not seek an alliance with you or anyone else.”

  “I’m not offering something as trivial as an alliance. Did you not feel our connection? The earth moved as our bodies joined.” Anger simmered in his voice. “You could not get something like that from a meaningless dalliance.”

  Abigail closed her eyes. She didn’t know what she felt anymore. Her experience with sex was extremely limited, but she knew there had been more to their joining than simple gratification. The very earth had moved. Her body was still quaking. She did not want to upset or anger Lazarus, but Abigail wasn’t about to commit to something without careful consideration.

  He pulled back, a tic working his jaw as he stared into her face. She wasn’t sure what he sought to find, but something hardened in his expression when he didn’t.

  Lazarus stood suddenly.

  The loss of his thick cock and his pulsing warmth left Abigail shivering atop the covlet. She wanted him back inside of her body, blanketing her, making her feel loved and cherished once more. “Lazarus,” she said, reaching for him. He stepped back.

  “I’ll leave you to your thoughts.” His words were cold, but the heat in his eyes couldn’t be banked.

  He dressed quickly, his movements curt, yet efficient. When he was clothed, Lazarus strode across the floor, tossed the curtains aside, and slipped over the side of the windowsill. “Know this, Lady Abigail, we are not finished. I have tasted your honey,” he licked his lips for emphasis, “and discovered once will never be enough. Mark my words, dear lady. I will not rest until I have you. All of you.”

  She shuddered under the threat, but it wasn’t from fear. It was the promise of intent she witnessed in his fiery eyes. He was absolutely serious in his resolve. Abigail’s ears strained as she listened for his precarious descent. There were no boot scuffs or breaking of trellises.

  The only sound she could discern was the flapping of wings as he made his silent departure. The man left as quietly as he’d arrived. If it weren’t for the pleasant ache in her body, Abigail would swear he’d never been there.

  * * * * *

  CHAPTER SIX

  After spending an hour reassuring her friend that Hamish had done nothing untoward to h
er, Rose somehow got coerced by Abigail into attending the McCoy’s ball. The Scottish countryside was supposed to be quiet, non-social, yet here she stood next to her friend, fearing and secretly anticipating Hamish MacDougall’s arrival.

  Not that she knew for certain he’d be here or that she really wanted to see him, but Abigail insisted there was a very good chance. And like some addle-brained miss, her spirits sored. Rose quickly doused those feelings. As far as she was concerned, she and Hamish had said their peace.

  Rose glanced out at the crowd. Lord Lazarus Hyde had appeared only moments ago. She didn’t miss Abigail’s swift intake of breath or her sudden glow as her eyes met his across the room. For someone Abigail was trying to avoid, she sure looked pleased to see him. Rose couldn’t really blame her. Lazarus was looking particularly dashing tonight. His pale skin had been replaced with a nice healthy glow.

  In the carriage ride over, Abigail had sworn that she’d brought Rose with her for defense and support. Rose smiled. She would oblige her friend, though she held doubts about how much help she could be. It wasn’t like Lazarus would stop if he set his mind to having her. Rose glanced at Abigail’s face. Make that having her again. Rose recognized the look of a sexually satisfied woman, although she’d only experienced it firsthand with Lord Lyon. Of course that wasn’t the only thing she’d spotted when she looked at Abigail. Rose wondered if her friend knew that she was experiencing the first blush of love.

  “I’m going to get some punch. Would you like some?” Rose asked.

  Abigail didn’t respond. Her eyes widened as Lazarus made his way through the crowd toward them.

  “I’ll take that as a no.” Rose grinned and slipped off toward the refreshment area. With any luck Hamish MacDougall would avoid this soiree and she could spend a quiet evening watching the crowd like she’d intended all along.

  Laughter floated around her as she neared the table. Rose turned to see the merriment. A flash of dark hair and a strong profile caught her attention. Her brow furrowed as she moved to follow the retreating form. He looked familiar. She caught another flash of the man. Rose shook her head to clear her vision. It couldn’t be. Not now. Not when she’d finally settled in with the people here.