Page 20 of One Scandal Too Many (Havenwood Academy #1)

C harlotte had to have heard him incorrectly. Did he actually mean they should wager their clothing? If she lost, then she would have to give him something she was wearing. Did she dare play this game with him? Something warm pooled inside her belly that she didn’t quite understand. She... wanted this. Her lips quirked in anticipation. She leaned back and met his heated gaze. “You already removed my boots and stockings,” she began. “It hardly seems fair that yours still remain on your feet.”

“Well,” he said as he continued to stare into her eyes. “We have to be fair, don’t we?” He sat back and went to work removing his own boots. When his feet were as bare as hers, he grinned. “Are there any other objections?”

She couldn’t think of one. “Are we really going to do this?”

“Only if you want to,” he said huskily. “I would never encourage you to do something you’re uncomfortable with.”

Charlotte was a little uncomfortable. Not in the way he suggested. Her body seemed more alive somehow. As if every action sent tingles all over her and she grew heavy with anticipation. This was a risk, and normally she might not even consider any of this. But the entire day had taken an unusual turn, one that she’d never have considered. When she’d left on the hunt she’d expected a pleasant morning. Instead she’d been thrown from her horse and nearly bitten by a snake, then taken to a secluded cabin to escape a storm. This time alone with Declan was more a gift than anything else. Besides, this wasn’t really a risk. It felt as if this moment was always supposed to happen. She had been the one that had suggested they make the game more interesting. He’d just taken it a step further than she had considered going. “Are you trying to discourage me from playing?”

“Not at all,” he said. Declan smiled, and it sent those shivers all over her again. “There’s nothing I want more.”

“Nothing?” she asked coyly.

“All right,” he conceded. “Perhaps there are a few things I’d like, but I can wait.” He lifted his hand and caressed her cheek. “I’m a patient man.”

Damn him. How was she supposed to combat her feelings for him when he was acting like this? The answer was simple. She wasn’t supposed to resist him. It was time to give in and take that leap of faith she was so terrified to take. “Let’s get back to this game.” She tapped the deck. “It’s your move.”

“You’re correct,” he said. Declan glanced back down at his cards. “I’d like another card.”

Charlotte flipped the card over and grinned. An eight. “What would you like to do now?”

He sighed. “I could still win this hand.”

“You could,” she agreed. “But it all depends on what you decide to do next.”

He glanced at the cards and then back at her. “I think I am going to take my chances.” Declan smiled. “I don’t want another card.”

She smiled and then flipped the card over next to her ten. It was a three. “All right,” she said. “I’ll flip another card.” Charlotte laid another card next to hers. It was a nine. “Well,” she said. “I guess I lose.”

Now to decide what to remove. She didn’t have any smaller items of clothing to remove. There were the pins in her hair, and she could start with those. They were technically an item she was wearing. She wasn’t quite ready to remove her gown, and when she did it wouldn’t be something she could do herself. He would have to help with all the tiny clasps at the back.

“Yes,” he agreed. “Now it’s time to pay your debt.”

He was enjoying this far too much. “And I intend to.” She started pulling all the pins out of her hair until her golden hair fell over her shoulder in soft waves. Charlotte had thought he would complain about the choice she had made, but when she met his gaze, it was filled with even more desire than it had been before. He clenched his hands to fists as if he was barely restraining himself from touching her. Charlotte held out the pins. “I believe these are yours.”

He held out his open palm and she dropped them there. “Thank you,” he said. His voice was hoarse as he spoke. “I’ll keep them safe.”

“It’s your turn to deal,” she told him.

Declan took the cards and shuffled them and dealt. She had a four and a six. He flipped over one of his cards and showed an eight. “I’ll take a card,” she said. Ten wasn’t terrible, but not a winning hand.

He flipped over another card and gave her a nine. “I’ll stay,” she told him.

Declan flipped over his other card. It was a four. He flipped another card, and it was a ten. “I lose this time.”

“It looks like the dealer is having the bad luck tonight.” She grinned. “It’s your turn to give me an item.”

“It will be my pleasure,” he told her. He loosened his cravat and unwound it from his neck, then dropped it in her lap. “There you are, darling,” he said playfully. “Hold on to that. We might want to use it later.”

“Whatever for?” She frowned. Perhaps she shouldn’t ask too many questions. Though the idea of using his cravat for something it hadn’t been intended for seemed... oddly appealing. She shook her head. “It’s all right. I don’t wish to know.” At least not yet. “It’s my turn to deal.”

She shuffled the cards and then dealt them. This time she won again, and he removed his waistcoat. Charlotte cursed her desire to see him naked again. The last time he hadn’t been this close, and she wanted to get her fill of that blessed sight. If he lost one more time he’d have to remove that shirt. She was turning into a wanton woman, and she couldn’t find a reason to care. Charlotte wanted him, and she wasn’t going to chastise herself any longer for it.

They played another hand; Declan lost again. He was really not having a lot of luck. He grinned. “I owe you another item of clothing.” He pulled his white linen shirt out of his pants and slowly lifted it over his head. He tossed it over to her and leaned back against the settee. He was perfectly comfortable in his nakedness. And why wouldn’t he be? It wasn’t as if she hadn’t already seen him naked before. “Perhaps this time I won’t lose.” He raked his gaze over her. “You’re still far more dressed than I am.”

She swallowed hard. “You’re bound to win again. The odds cannot be totally in my favor.”

They played again, and she lost. It was bound to happen. That didn’t mean she wasn’t anxious at the idea of taking off her gown. She stood and looked at him over her shoulder. “Care to help a lady out of her gown?” She lowered her lashes and licked her lips. “I can’t reach the clasps on my own.”

Declan stood, and he towered over her. He lifted his hand and trailed a finger down her back. “I’ve imagined undressing you so many times,” he admitted. “This almost doesn’t seem real.”

“Well,” she said in a husky tone. “It’s only my dress. I’ll still have something on.”

“Still,” he began. “It’s more than I’ve seen before.” He leaned a little closer. “It’s more than I’ve hoped for.” He began to unfasten the clasps slowly as if he was savoring every second of removing her gown.

She held her breath as desire flooded her. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him to remove her stays too. Then all she would have was her shift—that would not be much of a barrier. Finally, he undid the final clasp and pulled her gown loose. She stepped out of the gown and turned to face him. His breath hitched, and he started to step closer to her. This was it. The final step that would make her truly ruined, and Charlotte wanted nothing more. Her heart belonged to him, and she wanted to be completely his—body and soul.

*

Declan’s hand shook as he lowered her gown away from her body. Her hair fell down her back in soft waves that tempted him. He wanted to touch her. Not just those glossy locks, but every inch of her soft skin. Her allure pulled him and kept him riveted. He should tell her that it was time to play the game again, but he forgot his reasons for insisting on doing anything other than stroking her to the brink of pleasure, then starting all over again until she begged him for release.

“Darling.” His tone was gravelly as he uttered that word. Declan was on the edge of losing all control. “I need to kiss you.”

“Yes,” she replied breathlessly. “I need that too.”

Somehow he had to regain control and slow this down. He didn’t want to rush her. Instead of claiming her mouth as he wanted to, he trailed kisses over her shoulder. Declan could kiss her like this all night. She curled against him, and nothing had ever felt more right. He lifted his hand and curved it around her waist, then pulled her even closer to him. There were still far too many clothes between them. He wanted them gone, and as fast as possible.

“We can play more vingt-et-un,” he said. His voice so hoarse the words weren’t more than a whisper. He didn’t want to play the game anymore, but he had to give her choices. She meant too much to him not to allow her to make decisions for herself. She was an innocent. Declan shouldn’t even be touching her. At least not like this. He hadn’t even made her any promises.

“Do you want to?” she asked breathlessly.

“I want whatever you do,” he told her. It was not the entire truth. He wanted a hell of a lot more than that. He skimmed his hand over her waist and continued to kiss her neck. Declan was going as slow as he could. He slid his hand upward and lightly trailed the curve of her breast. Her gasps filled the room and went straight to his already hard cock.

“I want you to touch me,” she said. “No more games. I only want you.”

He sent up a silent prayer of thanks to whatever deity was listening to them. Declan had wanted her for what seemed like forever. Now, finally, he could have her. She had given her permission, and now he would show her that faith wasn’t misplaced. “Darling,” he began. “I’m going to kiss you all over.” He spun her around in his arms and leaned down, then pressed his lips to hers.

The kiss was filled with every promise he had not been able to utter. He licked his tongue over her lips, and when she opened to him, he tangled it with hers in a dance of passion. Declan kissed her over and over again until their breaths were mingled.

Declan pried his lips from hers reluctantly and started to trail kisses over her shoulder again. Then he leaned down and trailed his tongue over the top of her breasts. He had to remove her stays. As lovely as her breasts were pushed up in invitation, he had to completely free them. Declan needed her naked. He turned her around again and started to unlace her stays as he pressed kisses to her neck. “You’re beautiful.”

She wound her arm up and around his neck. Charlotte bowed her back as she stretched up to meet his lips. He kissed her hard and then finally untied the final bit of her laces and pulled her free. She turned into his arms, and he lifted her against him. Their kisses became more and more frantic. He should probably wonder at his lack of finesse, but his need had taken a heated turn.

He laid her on the settee and pushed up her shift. Declan couldn’t take her innocence in haste. He had to make it good for her even if it killed him. Her thighs were so inviting, spread for him. He trailed kisses down the inside of each thigh until he met her center. Then he pressed his lips there at the little bud. She moaned, so he did it again. Then he slid his tongue flat down that bud, again and again until she started to writhe beneath him. Slowly, he pushed a finger into her and stroked as he sucked on that sweet nub.

It didn’t take long before she came apart under his tongue. It was more perfect than he could have ever imagined. “Declan,” she said. Her tone was ragged from the pleasure he’d wrenched from her body. He could almost be content just seeing that flushed skin in the firelight, but he wanted everything. He wanted her. He wanted forever. “That’s not enough.”

He grinned. “Being a bit greedy, aren’t you?”

“I’ll be that and more if I need to be,” she told him. “I may be an innocent,” she began. “But I know that there’s more than that for me to lose my virginity.”

“Of course there is,” he told her. “But darling...”

“Do not tell me you’re going to act the gentleman,” she said. “I want you. All of you. Do not hold back now.”

God, he adored her. “It’ll be my pleasure.”

He stood and removed his pants and then helped her out of her shift. Declan took a moment to drink in her beauty once more before he joined her on the settee. Then he settled between her thighs and started to kiss her. He pressed kisses to her jaw, neck, and lips. With each kiss he touched her and did his best to have her become accustomed to it. When he thought she was ready, he pressed himself into her.

Declan took his time. Declan wanted to make this feel as good as possible for her. He slid into her slowly, allowing her to become accustomed to him as he moved within her. Her gasp had him stilling. “Shh,” he said. “I’m here with you.”

“Give me a moment,” she demanded.

He waited. Declan kissed her and stroked her arm until she gave him permission to move farther into her. It was hard not to thrust fully into her. She felt so bloody good already and he had yet to fill her completely. He would not be selfish. He wouldn’t. Even if it killed him, he would remain as still as possible as she became accustomed to his length filling her.

“Declan,” she said huskily. “I am ready for more.”

Thank heavens. He began to push farther into her until he was fully seated. Once he filled her completely, he waited as she adjusted to his length stretching her core. “Is this all right?” he asked her.

“Oh, yes,” she said in a breathless tone. “Please, I need more. I want to move.”

“Yes, darling,” he said. “Please do.” She wriggled beneath him, and he groaned. The pleasure was so intense it momentarily blinded him. It didn’t take long before he wanted to move along with her.

He pulled out and slowly thrust back into her. Declan kept his strokes even until the need to find his own release became too great. He reached beneath them and rubbed her sensitive nub until she came apart again. Her channel tightened around him and sent him over the edge with her. He thrust one final time and gave over to his own needs.

Declan held her against him but turned to his side. He stroked her back as they fell asleep in each other’s arms. As he gave way to sleep, he couldn’t help thinking that this was how he wanted to spend the rest of his days. Falling asleep with her in his arms, and waking with her still there. Could there be anything better than that? He surely did not believe so.