Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 95222 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95222 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
‘Oh.’ God, the pull of her is getting stronger. Harder to fight. ‘I must go, Taya.’
‘Then go.’
I wrestle with my mind and my body. Stare at her. Will my legs to walk away. I cannot. God help me, I cannot. ‘Oh, hell.’ I lunge forward and kiss her hungrily, blindly pushing the door closed behind me, and we stagger around her room, our kiss clumsy and chaotic, her whimpers loud. ‘Shhhh,’ I order, breaking our lips and placing a hand over her mouth. ‘Eliza is but a few metres away.’
Taya reaches for my hand and pulls it down, her green eyes so full of life and energy. It is surely a sight to behold. One I will remember forever, for it is the moment I admit to myself that I am in love with her. My God, how did this happen?
‘Taya, you must understand,’ As I must remind myself, too. ‘I made a promise to your brothers, you see. To Eliza, too, that I would abstain from––’
‘Me?’
‘I do believe your name was mentioned during the warning delivered, yes.’
‘I am but a conquest?’
‘N––’
‘Because, if so, Frank, I believe you have already conquered, which begs the question why you have me in your arms now.’
‘Do you honestly think your brothers would give me their blessing?’
‘You only need Johnny’s for he is the eldest.’
‘Well, I must say, that fills me with hope.’
She rolls her eyes in the most condescending of ways, and I cannot say I appreciate it. ‘It is a moot point, anyway, because I require no blessing, not from Johnny nor from Sampson.’
‘Moot? Me being murdered is a moot point?’
She laughs. ‘Oh Frank, they will not murder you. What are you, a coward?’
‘No, but I can’t very well look after you if I am dead.’
Her lips are quickly on mine again, shutting me up, and I feel wholly unstable, as if my legs could give way. I suppose I should get used to it, if I am to lose them imminently anyway.
So, with our debate apparently done with, of which the conclusion is obviously we are both at peace with my impending loss of limbs, I succumb to the desire overcoming me and return Taya’s kiss with equal hunger. Equal desperation. Equal passion. Lord above, she tastes like the finest of wines, one which I could gorge on for eternity. I am not prepared to settle for that one time. It’s made me insatiable. It’s teased me. It’s intensified the desire and anticipation, because now I know what to expect. Now I know that my mind will be blown in the best possible way. I cannot resist her.
I coax her mouth open with my hard kiss, grabbing the material of her dress and pushing it from her shoulders until she’s forced to release me so I can get it off. Get access to her body. I’ve lost my mind and I do not care for the repercussions in this moment, when she is kissing me as if I am life.
Lost.
‘Damn it,’ I curse, ripping myself away. ‘This could ruin our business. Our families.’
‘There must be a way,’ she pants.
A way. Yes, there must be. I am incapable of thinking of a way right now, but there must be a way. It would be a travesty if we could not be together. I take her mouth again, desperate, frustrated, and walk her back to the mattress, full of a new purpose, and it is an odd but quite lovely feeling. One that is unstoppable and pure. Flutters in my tummy. Awe. To think that any other man might have this with her is quite … unthinkable. I dip and kiss her nipple, and she whimpers. I moan my approval. The air is sizzling as I scoop her up into my arms, laying her down gently. She doesn’t take her eyes off me, and it is gratification incarnate, making all of my guilt and worries slip away, and I let it, unprepared to allow anything stop me. Not my conscience, not my sister, not my work, and not her brothers. I will fight for her, for this, because my life without her feels somehow inconsequential.
I stand at the end of the bed and strip down under her watchful eyes, and I am surprisingly slow considering how desperate I am to be inside of her again. But her watching me so intently, so full of wonder, eases the burden of waiting. I go lax, enraptured by the sight of her, my eyes making a slow journey across her skin, soaking up every tiny piece of her. My mind is taking mental pictures of her and locking them away tightly, and I cannot bring myself to fathom why I am doing that.
‘Are you ready for me again, my lady?’ I mumble, looking down between her thighs, I start to shake a little, swallowing hard. My hand rests on the inside of her thigh and pushes them wide, encouraging her to open up to me. She’s weeping. It’s bloody glorious. I take her foot and lift it to my mouth, licking the instep.