Page 29

Edward was drowning in a sea of glorious sweetness, and he wanted to dive deeper.

When she asked – told – him to kiss her, he felt like a champion of old, claiming a hard-won victory.

But he also knew he must use the utmost care.

Ivy Cavendale was a dagger made of glass.

Delicate, stunning, and infinitely dangerous.

If she shattered, her jagged pieces would cut them both to ribbons.

But when she pressed her mouth more firmly against his and gripped his neck in her strong fingers, pulling him even closer, he was lost.

Ivy was vibrating with tension. ‘More.’

He could give her more. He could give her everything.

Testing her desires and his own need, he flicked his tongue out, tracing the seam of her lips. Chocolate. She tasted of decadent, rich, bittersweet chocolate.

She inhaled sharply, and he pulled back. ‘Too much?’ He quirked his brow, forcing his desire to heel.

Her crystal-blue eyes were dazed with confused need. When he expected her to pull away, she shook her head instead. ‘No, I just didn’t think you would… that is, I had no idea tongues were involved.’

Edward swallowed the laughter bubbling from his chest. ‘You’ll find tongues can be quite magical things. There’s any number of ways one might use their tongue.’

Her eyes widened with unspoken questions. ‘Truly?’

Edward brushed his finger along her hairline, marvelling at the beauty of her skin. ‘Shall I tell you of all the things I wish to do with my tongue?’

She opened her wide mouth on a whispery inhalation. ‘Umm…’

‘I want to taste you. Right here.’ He ran his thumb over a sensitive spot just behind her ear.

‘You do?’ Her bewilderment was dismantling the wall he’d built around his heart.

A wall constructed to ensure he did not break his vow of living a single life.

But while he might not merit the joy of connection, Ivy certainly did.

And he so fervently wished to show her all the glories two people might share. If only for a little while.

‘Will you allow it?’

He noted the moment her fear gave way to curiosity. ‘I-I suppose. But…’

‘We can stop whenever you choose.’ No matter how far they travelled down this path, one word from her, one hitch in breath, one frozen muscle, and he would stop.

Be brave, Ivy. You are so much stronger than you think.

Her eyes held a world of racing thoughts he wished he could decipher. She blew out a breath. ‘Fine.’ She spoke as if agreeing to have her teeth removed or hair cut off.

‘Fine?’ He indulged temptation and inhaled her unique scent. ‘I hope to make this far better than fine.’

She shrugged. ‘I suppose we’ll see.’

Edward raised his brows. ‘A challenge? One thing you should know about me: I never back down from a challenge. It’s the most assured way to get me to do something.’

‘I can’t imagine anything more challenging than making a tongue feel pleasurable.’

‘Challenge accepted.’ Kissing a line from the corner of her mouth to where her jaw met her neck, he nuzzled there a moment until he felt tension fall away from her muscles.

When she once more gripped his neck, pulling him closer, he licked just behind her ear.

She quivered in his arms. Sucking her soft skin into his mouth, he bit softly.

She moaned, her lithe body rolling into him like a wave.

‘Did I meet the challenge?’ he asked, his lips brushing over the love bite.

‘Yes.’

Yes. There might not be a more glorious word.

He took her lobe into his mouth and nibbled just hard enough to flirt with a sharp burst of pleasure.

‘Oh, my,’ she breathed.

Edward couldn’t remember the last time he had been so overcome, so desperate to please.

The women he usually entertained knew what they were about.

It was a mutual meeting of needs between two experienced individuals.

He focused on what he wished to get from the exchange, knowing the women did the same.

It mattered to him that his partner found her own pleasure, but often, she knew exactly how to achieve her goal, and all that was required of Edward was to pay attention and follow her lead.

It was akin to being given a map with an easily read key.

This was an entirely new experience. Ivy had no idea how her body reacted to pleasure.

They were embarking on an unknown journey with no map at all, just instinct and a shared goal.

This was a conversation full of twists, turns, and surprises.

An adventure of discovery where his pleasure was intimately tied to Ivy’s.

This was connection on a level Edward had never before allowed himself to explore.

He might spend eternity in the fires of hell for claiming such pure sweetness when his life was full of ugly truths, but for a blessed moment, Edward didn’t care.

He pressed his mouth against Ivy’s with more demand than before, brushing his lips over hers again and again until she gripped his hair and tugged.

Her skin fairly hummed with need. He licked the seam of her mouth, and when she opened to him, he delved inside.

She tensed, but as he moved back, she followed him, not allowing the kiss to break. Edward slid his tongue over her teeth, sucking her top lip between his and biting softly.

Ivy growled. Actually growled. The sound skated along Edward’s nerves, straight to his cock which filled with desperate demand. He slid his hands down to her hips and pulled her pelvis against his. The friction was glorious. Until every muscle in Ivy’s body froze.

Edward immediately pulled back, shifting his hand to her neck and tilting her head so he could search her face. Her breath came in short gasps, her dilated eyes wide, her kiss-swollen lips parted. All potential signs of desire. All potential signs of fear. ‘Too much?’ he asked again.

This time, she bit her lip as her eyes filled with tears. She nodded. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘Don’t apologise.’ I pushed her too far. Too fast. Idiot! ‘Never be sorry for telling me what you need. What you want or what you don’t want. Especially what you don’t want.’

‘I just didn’t realise… I didn’t mean to do that to you. I shouldn’t have… Father said that I was always tempting him. Always making him want wicked things, do wicked things to himself.’

The surge of rage washing through Edward nearly eclipsed his control. But Ivy needed to feel safe. Giving in to his anger would not help her. So, he pushed his own feelings aside and focused on hers.

Gently squeezing her neck, he rubbed his thumb along her jawline. ‘My body is responding because I want you . Not because you made me want you. A man’s body is under his control. What a man does with it is determined by that man. Not the woman he desires.’

Ivy shook her head. ‘But he said it doesn’t work that way. A woman tempts the man and forces him to sin. Just as Eve ate the apple first, then tempted Adam.’

‘Your father lied to you. Each person is responsible for their own choices, no matter who they are. You didn’t make him do anything, Ivy.

A little girl has no power to tempt her father.

He was tempted because of his own evil sickness.

You are never responsible for a man’s desire, his actions, his sins. Those are his own.’

A fat tear escaped and rolled down Ivy’s cheek.

‘H-he told me my husband would take my body. It was his right. I would have no choice and whatever he wished to do – and Father delighted in describing all of the possible ways a man might break me, hurt me, control me – I would need to submit. Or be forced to submit. My body is a vessel for my husband’s needs.

His heirs. His pleasure.’ She was choking on the words, gasping as though she couldn’t draw air.

‘That is my role as a wife. That is how the world works.’

But it shouldn’t work this way. Not for Ivy. Not for any woman.

It was the same thinking that forced Philippa to give up her only love. That imprisoned every woman to a life where they had no control of their choices unless a man granted them the privilege of autonomy. And even then, society limited that autonomy.

It’s unacceptable.

Edward acted on impulse, pulling her into a tight hug. ‘So you have determined to never tie yourself to a husband. Because no one wants to sacrifice their freedom.’ Her fine hair tickled his cheek as he held her, rubbing his hand up and down her back in smooth strokes.

‘I can’t. I would rather die.’ Her body shook in heartbreaking sobs.

Edward desperately wished for the right words to soothe her. But there were none. So, he stayed silent and let her weep, trying to absorb her pain and make it his own.

When tears turned to sniffles and quaking became quivers, he pulled back. Her eyes were swollen, the tip of her nose turned red, and her cheeks splotched. He’d never seen a more beautiful, brave, brilliant woman.

‘What do you need?’

She shook her head. ‘I don’t know.’

‘Do you want to tell me what happened?’

‘I never talk about him. I just want to forget him. Forget everything he said. Everything he did. He never touched me, but his words are here.’ She smacked her head with the heel of her hand. ‘He died, and I never even cried for him.’

‘He doesn’t deserve a single goddamned tear. Regardless of whether he touched you or not, he hurt you. Most horrifically.’

Ivy bit her lip and sniffed. ‘What kind of a daughter doesn’t grieve her father’s death?’

‘The kind who never had a father worthy of her. No one would fault you for dancing on the bastard’s grave.’ Edward took a breath, trying to pull his anger back. The last thing he wanted was to frighten Ivy. But the corner of her wide mouth tilted in a tremulous smile.

‘I never thought about dancing on his grave.’ A half-giggle, half-sob burst from her. Never was he prouder of his accomplishments than being able to make her laugh in this moment. ‘Can you imagine?’