In the Baron’s Debt by Roselyn Francis
Chapter Eleven
Augusta did not object as Loftus deepened their kiss. It was full of instant heat. Augusta was filled with urgency, pulling at his arms, desperate to keep him kissing her.
She did not want to think of his words. Did not want to think of what Markus had said or Loftus’ suggestion that they court again. She was too consumed by the heat they shared and his suggestion that they could explore it together.
She felt the backs of her legs against the divan – she had barely noticed he was walking her backwards, she was too busy holding onto him. He toppled her over the chair, and she fell against it with him on top of her.
Their kiss parted briefly, both staring at one another. She was reminded of their moment in the summer house eight years ago, when their hands had gone wandering, only this time, she did not want to stop.
He returned his lips to her, begging entrance as he nipped at her bottom lip. She gladly relented. As his tongue touched hers, she gasped into his mouth, her body pressing up against him.
Her hands started pulling at his coat again, only this time she was going for the buttons, desperate to remove the garment from him. There had barely been a night over the last week where she had not gone to sleep thinking of what such a moment could be like. She was tired of imagining. She wanted to know what it was really like.
As she flicked the buttons free, she went to pull the coat from his shoulders. He parted from their kiss momentarily, leaning up in order to help her remove the coat then he tossed it to the floor. As he returned to their kiss, she wound her hands in his hair, marveling at the softness of the brown locks and using it to hold him to her, desperate just to keep kissing him.
He moved his kisses, releasing her lips and travelling down her neck. She gasped, trying to quieten the sounds she was making as he nipped a spot between her neck and collarbone. She arched against him, as though she could not get enough of his touch.
She was very aware of his hands clutching her waist, practically spanning it with his fingers. It was such an intimate position, yet she wanted to be closer to him, needed to be.
Her hands went to his waistcoat and she unbuttoned the first one. He growled in the back of his throat in reply and lifted his kisses.
He looked around the room briefly, his green eyes darting.
“James is not due home for a while, is he?” He asked, his voice husky, a tone she had never heard him use before.
“No,” she shook her head, wishing he would stop talking and just start kissing her again.
“What of the staff?”
“There are two maids below stairs, that is all,” she explained. She reached up to him and kissed him again. His hands around her waist tightened, holding her to him before he pulled away.
“Bedchamber,” he said simply, looking at her with wide eyes.
She bit her lip for a moment, understanding the full meaning of his words. She thought about refusing, but after all, she was the one trying to remove his clothes and she wanted to know what it would be like to be with him. At least then she would not be driven mad by her imagination.
Perhaps this is the way to get you out of my system – to free myself from thinking of you.
She nodded in reply, causing him to smile.
He leapt to his feet off the divan and took hold of her hand. She led him out of the room, not even looking back to see his expression as she did. In the corridor, she briefly looked up and down the hallway and to the stairs, but there was no sign of anyone around. She led him up the staircase, holding tightly to his hand. The hand was warm beneath her touch as their fingers laced together.
At the top of the stairs, she led him to her chamber, hurrying inside and constantly glancing around for fear of discovery. Once she closed the door, she released his hand, breathing a sigh of relief that they had not been seen.
She turned back into the room, ready to find him again, but he beat her to it. He was but a hair’s breadth from her. He kissed her and pushed her back against the flat of the door, molding their bodies together. She slotted perfectly against his own, her body tingling with each place where they were joined.
One of his hands was on the back of her neck, tilting her head sideways to give him better access to kiss her. His other hand was on her waist. As the hand began to rise up the side of her ribcage, her breathing became stuttered with anticipation, wanting to see where the hand would travel.
He took hold of her ribcage beside her breasts, barely caressing the side of her breast with his thumb. It still made her take a sharp breath, surprised at the tingle of excitement that coiled in her stomach from such a simple touch.
She pulled apart from the kiss and placed both hands to his waistcoat, desperate to remove it from him. He helped her. Within moments, the waistcoat had gone to the floor. Next was the shirt and the cravat. He made quick work of the cravat, tossing it too to the floor as she began to pull his shirt out of the waistband of his trousers, pulling it over his head. He helped her with it, flinging it to the side with his other clothes.
As his chest was released bare to her, she pulled back her hands for a second, bracing herself against the door behind her as she looked at him. He was not as she had pictured him. He was more toned, the broadness of his shoulders and the carving of muscle made her wet her lips before she drew her eyes back to his.
He smiled, clearly seeing the way she was looking at him and returned to her for another kiss. She pressed herself towards him, away from the door, thinking briefly how so little parted them now. Just her own clothes and his trousers. He seemed to make the same realization.
He pulled her away from the door, into the middle of the room and turned her around until her back was to his front, hurrying to untie the fastenings at the back of her dress. It came away easily.
Augusta closed her eyes, concentrating on the sensation of the chiffon material being dropped past her shoulders and over her arms, along with his hands, just barely brushing her skin. The path his hands had taken left heat behind them. Soon, she felt the whole covering of her skin were alive with that heat.
The dress fell to the floor at her feet with a soft thud, prompting her to open her eyes again. She stepped out of the dress and her shoes at the same time. Next came the short corset, his hands urgently pulled at the lace on her back, trying to free her from it. When it came away, she was amazed how much deeper she could breathe. Her breathing had grown even heavier, just thinking at what could pass between them.
Leaving her in her chemise, he threw the corset to the floor, and it slapped against the floorboards before he turned her back around. He took her waist in his hands, pulling her back to him as he set trailing kisses down her neck and collarbone, urging her to hold back her head, looking at the ceiling to give him better access.
She grew curious. With each lick of tongue across her chest that was drifting towards the valley between her breasts, she felt heat pooling in the most secret part of her. There was a wetness too between her legs, the kind that always greeted her after her dreams of Loftus.
She gave into her curiosity, reaching out and looping a finger over the waistband of his trousers. The move made him growl in the back of his throat, the sudden sound made her breath hitch again and goosebumps appear across her skin.
He looked up to her from his kisses, his face as flushed as hers was with excitement. As his green eyes found hers, she smiled. It was an overwhelming sensation – happiness from being with him. He smiled back, just as his urgent energy returned.
He backed her towards the bed with his hands on her waist, until she was sat on the edge of the bed. He stood before her, turning his attention to his hessian boots to remove them. He nodded down at her legs with another smirk.
“Stockings,” he murmured. It was the only word he needed.
She lifted the skirt of the chemise around her thighs, reaching for the stockings at the top of her legs and beginning to pull them down. Loftus appeared distracted by it. His hands were removing his boots, but his eyes were watching her movement, fixed to the glimpse of leg she was giving to him.
As she finished, sitting back on the bed, he left his boots fallen on their sides and turned his attention to his slim-fitting trousers, unbuttoning the waistband. She slipped her eyes from his down to his actions, too curious to look away. As he removed his trousers, he tossed the garment to the pile of discarded clothes, letting it join the others.
She gasped at the sight of him completely exposed to her and covered her mouth for a moment, trying to hide her smile from him. She could not help but admire his figure, he was tall and strong, yet more toned than she had imagined. Then there was the secret part of him he had revealed to her.
Her eyes flicked down to this part of him as he moved toward her, taking hold of her chemise.
“Do not be worried,” he murmured. She bit her lip, wondering how he could read the small part of fear inside her. She had heard a woman’s first time could hurt and looking at the size of him, it was something that concerned her. “I promise,” he kissed her briefly, holding the moment with such intimacy before pulling back. “You are safe with me.”
She nodded in reply as he returned his focus to her chemise, hurrying to pull it from her.
As the cool air of the room brushed her bare skin, she felt the goosebumps once more. Her breasts too were sensitive, and alert. As he threw the chemise to the side, he kissed her again.
Augusta lost herself in that moment. Realizing the depth of the situation – they were now both completely uncovered, bare for each other to see.
He lowered her back onto the bed and crawled over her, his legs straddling her as she lowered her hands from his hair to his shoulders, caressing the exposed muscle there with fascination.
His hands began to wander too. With one hand, he braced himself over her, in order to continue their deep kiss. His other hand travelled down her body, brushing her breasts and exploring her. He was gentle, just a soft touch and caress, yet her body responded to him, flinching and arching up against him, in need of his touch.
She began to ache in her most hidden part, just as his hand travelled down her waist. She knew the ache could only ever be satisfied with his touch.
He rearranged his legs, parting her knees for him to kneel between hers with his thighs. The intimacy of the movement made her claw at his shoulders even more.
He parted from the kiss and held her gaze as his hand dropped down her stomach. He held her stare, as his hand drifted across her hip and her thigh, reaching for her center. She bit her lip as he connected with her, trying to stop the sounds she so desperately wanted to make.
He smiled slightly, watching her as though with fascination as his hand began to move. She looked away from his stare, down at what he was doing to her, and it heightened the feeling. She gasped, lowering her head back again and closing her eyes as the feeling he was creating absorbed her. It was an incredible sensation of pleasure. He stayed outside of her, just exploring her there, but with each brush of his hand, her body wanted to move against his.
He built up a quicker rhythm, building the pace until she was panting, digging her fingernails into his shoulders, nearly creating scratches from the strength of the feeling that was washing over her.
Then he took his hand away from her. She could not help letting out a small moan of disappointment. It brought another smile to his cheeks as he lowered himself to her once again. He kissed her forehead softly as he nudged her entrance.
The gentleness, the care of the movement surprised her, but she realized it was a tactic a moment later, one of distraction, to make her think of something else other than the pain that was about to happen.
As he moved completely inside her, it was sudden. She gasped once more and pulled at his shoulders with the force of her reaction.
“I am so sorry, Augusta,” he whispered, lowering his lips to her ear and kissing a spot beneath her ear at the top of her neck that made her curl her body towards him in pleasure. “The pain cannot be escaped. Tell me when it has passed.”
He continued with his kiss at the top of her neck and she concentrated on that feeling, allowing her hands to travel up into his hair and weave her fingers into his locks.
She opened her eyes and looked down at their bodies – the moment overwhelming her at how they were connected.
Loftus…
What pain there had been vanished, and all she wanted was to explore this sensation even more. She had never felt so close to him, both physically and emotionally. At that moment, all she wanted to do was explore this passion between them, just as he had suggested.
“Loftus,” she whispered, prompting him to raise his head slightly, connecting their gazes. “The pain has gone,” she reassured with a smile.
“You are certain?” He hesitated, though his stance changed slightly, his hands moving to the bed beneath her as though for better balance. The sensation of him moving inside her with it had her squirming at a new feeling of bless.
“Yes!” She gasped, just as he moved out of her and back in.
He set up a rhythm. It was slow at first, building gently. Even though she yearned for more and continued to pull at his arms and shoulders, urging him on. It wasn’t long before he heeded to her request and picked up the pace.
Augusta was consumed by each touch between them, the heat of it all bringing more intensity to the moment. Sometimes she held onto his arms, other times she clutched to the bed sheet behind her. Loftus first lowered himself to her, burying his mouth in her neck to muffle his own moans and press their bodies together, but then it changed, and he leaned up, his head tilted back, with pleasure.
Augusta could feel the bliss mounting. As though she were climbing a great ladder, her body was anxious for it, clawing desperately to the top of that ladder. He appeared to see it as she clutched tight to the bed sheets.
He reared back and placed his hands to her knees, holding her open to him. Being so exposed to him, their bodies so close together, entwined with the excitement, she reached the top of that ladder. What followed was a crashing of pleasure.
“Loftus…” She moaned his name and closed her eyes as she hurtled over the edge, her body trembling with the excitement as he rode out her wave. It was not long before he joined her. She opened her eyes again as his moaning grew quicker, heavier.
He was braced above her – he changed their position again, releasing one of her knees and placing his hand next to her head to lean over her. His body jerked a few times towards her, prompting her to admire him in his throes of ecstasy.
She busied herself admiring the color in his cheeks and the way he said her name as he came down from his high, stilling above her, though he kept their connection. He lowered himself over her in the next moment, their bodies pressed together as he kissed her.
It was a sweet kiss. It did not hold the passion of the previous moments; it was more loving instead. Their lips moved together in a soft gentle dance before he parted from her lips and leaned back with a smile.
Staring into his green eyes, her happiness overwhelmed her as she realized what had passed between them had been more amazing than anything she had ever expected. Contrary to her expectation that being with him might abate her desire for him, she already felt her desire stirring again. As she looked at his jade eyes, she found herself picturing what other positions they could take, what other ways to explore together.
She felt lost in the next moment. She had only kindled her desire for him, making it greater, not resolved the issue and ended it forever.
Oh God... what happens now?