Page 25 of Two Secrets to Surrender (Blackwood Legacy #2)

Chapter Twenty-Four

“ I want to talk to you,” Conrad said. “Before I leave for London.”

At least, that had been his initial intention. His motives had taken a different turn the moment he found her napping and having what appeared to be an exceedingly naughty dream. Her shift had ridden up her hips, and the steam had rendered the material nearly transparent. Her nipples enticed like candied cherries, and his mouth watered at the glimpse of the dark triangle between her thighs.

The dreaminess vanished from her eyes. Shooting to her feet, she tugged down her shift—pity, that—and glowered at him.

“How did you get past Miss Letty and my mama?”

“The vent, remember?”

She looked nonplussed. “Should you be running around when your life is in danger?”

“Worried, sweetheart?” He flashed a grin, and when he received a narrow-eyed stare in return, he sighed. “I can take care of myself. And I brought reinforcements.”

He showed her his pistol.

Looking unimpressed, she crossed her arms. “Why are you following me?”

“I was patiently awaiting the opportunity to speak with you.”

“Really? You were hardly in the sharing mood the last time we were together. For all I knew, you had already left for London.”

“Still miffed about that, are you?”

“I am not miffed . I am furious. There is a difference.”

He wished she wasn’t so adorable when she was angry. It didn’t bode well for her in their future arguments. Instead of getting her point across, she was making him harder than rock.

“Look, duchess, it wasn’t that I didn’t trust you ,” he began. “But I wasn’t about to expose my secrets to a room full of strangers.”

“They aren’t strangers. They are my family .”

“They are strangers to me.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I will admit that I did not handle the situation well. After the near collision with a thousand-pound statue, I was not at my best. Overhearing your papa’s opinion of me made matters worse, but I had no excuse for going in with fists swinging.”

“No, you did not.” Gigi paused. “But thank you for the apology.”

“Do you forgive me?” He moved toward her.

“Not so fast.”

She planted her hand in his chest, and even that small touch set him afire. The close brush with death had made him re-evaluate his life, particularly the part involving Gigi. After a day to think, he’d concluded that he wasn’t falling for her…the deed was done. He was in love with Gigi. There was no other explanation for the way she made him feel. For the way he craved her loyalty and tenderness. The way he wanted to claim her smiles, tears, and everything in between. She was the one he wanted to go through life with, to grow old with, to build a family with.

Yes, he loved his little nymph. This was convenient because he wanted to screw her senseless as well, and even he wouldn’t stoop to debauching a virginal lady. He would marry her, the sooner the better.

All he had to do was get her to say yes.

“There is more to talk about,” she said firmly.

“I love you, Gigi.”

Her jaw slackened. “I beg your pardon?”

“You heard me. I’ve been struck by Cupid’s arrow. I’ve succumbed to the gentlest affliction.”

“Are you comparing me to a sickness?” She drew her brows together.

“Well, you are like an ailment, aren’t you?” He gave her a slow, wicked smile. “You make me so hot I feel as if I’ve come down with a fever.”

“Smoothly done, Godwin.” A smile tugged at her lips.

“I was going to wait until I returned from London to do this, but I think I must ask you now. Will you marry me, Gigi?”

Seeing the bright longing in her eyes, he felt a burst of triumph. She hadn’t said it yet, but he knew he had her heart. Her kinfolk hadn’t been able to wrestle that from him, no matter how hard they tried.

She drew a breath. “It depends.”

“Name your terms,” he said confidently. “I’ll meet them.”

“I want answers to my questions.”

Since he was prepared for this, he said, “Fire away, sweetheart.”

“Do you know who is trying to kill you?”

“No,” he said candidly.

“Do you have suspects in mind?”

“Yes.”

“Who are they?”

He gave her a piece of the truth. “I have two business rivals, Smedley and Trowbridge. On several occasions, I gained success at their expense, and they’ve held grudges.”

“You think these competitors would try to murder you?” Gigi said, aghast.

“Industrialists are like sharks,” he said candidly. “They’re vicious, and if they smell blood, they’ll go after it. After I outbid Trowbridge on some factories, he came to my office and issued threats.”

Gigi’s eyes were huge. “What sort of threats?”

“The usual kind.” Conrad shrugged. “I would pay for what I’d done, he would destroy me, etcetera.”

“Did you report him to the police?”

“Idle threats are common in my line of work. There was nothing to report. As for Smedley, I fed false information to the spies he’d planted in my office, and he lost a small fortune because of it. A few weeks later, my office was set on fire. Although I have no proof, I know Smedley was responsible.”

“Heavens.” Gigi wetted her lips. “Are there other suspects?”

Tread carefully.

“There was a woman I was involved with.” He cleared his throat. “She didn’t take it well when I ended things.”

“When was this?”

“Before I came here.”

She bit her lip. “You ended an affair a few weeks ago?”

“Duchess, it meant nothing.” He nabbed her hand, pulling her close. “We both had an itch to scratch and scratched it with one another.”

Gigi tugged at his hold, but he didn’t let her go.

“There were no promises or feelings involved,” he insisted.

“Then why would she bother trying to end your life?”

“I don’t think she is the guilty party,” he said. “But it would be remiss not to mention her as a possible suspect. Her motive would likely be injured pride…hell hath no fury, after all.”

“Perhaps if you had ended things on a more positive note,” Gigi said tartly, “she wouldn’t feel scorned.”

Conrad was starting to get annoyed. “First of all, our understanding did not involve commitment, which means there was no bad way to end it. Either of us could have gone our own way at any time—and we frequently did, even when we were seeing one another.”

“Oh.” Twin lines appeared between Gigi’s brows.

“Second, the reason things did not end well was because of her actions, not mine. I caught her snooping in my study.”

“Snooping? For what?”

“Most likely for confidential business information, that sort of thing. It’s possible that she was working for Smedley or Trowbridge. Or maybe she thought to unearth something scandalous she could use to get revenge.”

Gigi frowned. “Do you have scandalous secrets?”

Sweetheart, where to begin.

While he was in love with Gigi, he saw no need to compromise his vengeance by giving away unnecessary details at this juncture. After they were wed and she was bound to him, he would tell her all…especially since his two biggest secrets would affect her. He’d heard from Marvell that Grantley’s health had taken a turn for the worse. The title and revenge would soon be Conrad’s.

“She didn’t find anything she could use against me,” he said neutrally.

“How could she betray you, her own lover?”

Gigi looked adorably indignant on his behalf.

“The fact that you ask that question is what makes you different from her. From any of the females I’ve associated with,” he said intently.

“How many women have you, ahem, associated with?”

Bespelled by her pure violet gaze, he felt trapped. While he’d never been ashamed of his hot-blooded nature, he wished he hadn’t been quite so prolific in this area of his life. He realized that the need that had driven him hadn’t just been lust. He’d hungered for connection…the kind he’d found with Gigi. He’d wanted someone who would stick with him through thick and thin, who would care if he lived or died, who he could trust with his secrets and the deepest yearnings of his heart.

Since he’d failed to find that, fucking had served as a distracting alternative. He’d told himself that he didn’t want commitment, that he had no time for it…but maybe he’d been making excuses. Maybe what he truly felt was that he wasn’t deserving of devotion. Certainly, no one had bothered to offer it to him before Gigi. Although she hadn’t given him any promises, she’d made him feel worthy of care and attention in a way no one else had. The emptiness of his life before her struck him like a visceral blow.

“Is it taking you this long to count your lovers?” Gigi asked incredulously.

“No.”

You are making a hash of this, Godwin.

“That is, I wasn’t doing that.”

He wasn’t easily unnerved. Yet now the decades of success and domination seemed to melt away. Suddenly, he was once again that scrawny, desperate, unloved boy.

Bloody hell, man, you’ve bought and sold half of England. You’ve never backed down to anyone. Are you honestly afraid of being rejected by this little minx?

He was no namby-pamby. To prove it, he put his hands on Gigi’s waist, steering her backward. She emitted a squeak of protest as her spine hit the wall.

“What are you doing?” She struggled futilely. “Unhand me.”

“Not until you listen to what I have to say.”

She glared at him. “I can listen without your hands on me.”

“I talk better when I’m touching you,” he muttered. “You asked about my lovers, and I don’t want to lie. I haven’t kept a tally, but I also haven’t deprived myself of company when the need arose. Call me a rake, if you must?—”

“If the shoe fits.”

“But I have been responsible and taken precautions. My future wife will have no worries about Venus’s curse or the existence of any by-blows.”

Gigi’s long lashes fanned. He saw the moment she comprehended what he was telling her. Even in the dimness, he saw the rosy tint of her cheeks.

“Isn’t that lucky for her?” she retorted.

“It is lucky for you . Because you are the woman I intend to marry.”

“What if I don’t want to marry you?”

He took the hit because he deserved it. And because her pout told him she hadn’t decided not to marry him…she just wanted convincing. He was happy—nay, eager—to provide the sweetest persuasion. His eyes holding hers, he went down on one knee.

“What are you doing?” she asked suspiciously. “It will take more than a few flowery words on bended knee to sway me.”

“Then it is a good thing I had other uses planned for my mouth.”

He bunched her shift in his fists, yanking it up past her thighs. At the sight of her glossy little nest, hunger raked his gut.

“What are you doing?” she squeaked. “My mama is just outside?—”

Her protestations melted into cock-hardening moans as he swiped his tongue up her juicy slit. Her flavor saturated his senses and made his head spin. To give himself better access, he pulled one of her slender limbs over his shoulder, fitting her pussy snugly against his mouth. He feasted on her, grunting with enjoyment. If the way she clenched his hair was any indication, she didn’t mind that he was a messy eater.

“When we’re married,” he said thickly, “I’m going to start every day by having you for breakfast.”

“Conrad, that is wicked?—”

“Duchess, if you think that is wicked, I wonder what you will think of this.”

Running his middle finger down her crease, he found her entrance. He eased his finger in, sweat beading on his brow. Devil and damn, she was tight. One day soon, he was going to claim this snug passage, and anticipation made his cock leap in his smalls. Until then, there were plenty of other delights to explore. He pressed deeper, feeling the resistance of her unused muscles.

“Let me in, sweetheart,” he rasped. “Let me pleasure you.”

He leaned forward, tickling her pearl with his tongue. She gasped, and his self-control suffered a blow when he felt wetness gush around his digit. Bleeding hell, she was so ripe for fucking. He thrust his finger as he licked her, greedily lapping up her nectar.

“Conrad, don’t stop,” she pleaded.

Her twitching thighs told him she was close, and he knew how to catapult her over the edge.

“Help me, sweetheart,” he urged. “Play with those pretty breasts while I eat your pussy.”

She hesitated, looking bashful…well, as bashful as a lady being gamahuched against a wall could look.

“You know you want to.” Feeling her sheath softening, he added another finger, driving deeper. “Your nipples are straining against your shift. Rosy as Turkish delight and just as sweet. Let me see you touch them, duchess.”

Slowly, she released her hold on his head and brought her hands to her heaving tits. To encourage her, he redoubled his oral efforts. He was rewarded when she moaned and cupped her breasts, her graceful fingers plucking at the engorged tips. It was the stuff of fantasies, his captive nymph pleasuring herself while he made a feast of her cunny.

“Pinch them,” he said roughly. “Do it hard.”

She obeyed, trapping those naughty buds between finger and thumb. At the same time, he shoved two fingers as deep as he could and sealed his lips around her pearl. He sucked, and she yelped his name, flooding his mouth with cream.

A gentleman would have probably left it at that, but he wanted more from her. Wanted everything…and he wasn’t stopping until he got it.

Still trembling from her climax, Gigi’s breath caught as Conrad suddenly spun her around. He covered her back with his chest, pressing her against the wall. The rough stone abraded her nipples, setting off sparks of pleasure. One would think she would be satiated, but when he reached between her legs, desire surged anew.

His mouth hovered by her ear.

“Don’t make me wait until I get back from London,” he coaxed. “Give me your answer now. Say you’ll marry me.”

She tried to be rational. While he had apologized for his behavior and disclosed more of his past, she was realizing how many secrets he held. Her heart told her to trust him, but her head was yelling at her to be more sensible.

“We don’t know each other well enough,” she began.

“You know everything important about me,” he asserted. “I will be a good husband.”

She bit her lip, thinking of what he’d revealed about his last relationship.

Either of us could have gone our own way at any time—and we frequently did.

“What is it, love? You don’t believe me?”

“I believe in fidelity,” she blurted.

“Gigi.” Moving his head, he stared into her eyes. “I would never betray you in that fashion. I will be faithful and expect you to be as well. How could you think otherwise?”

“You said…with your last lover…”

“She meant nothing,” he said bluntly. “You, on the other hand, are everything. Not only will I be true, but I will also protect you with my dying breath. These are vows I’ve never given to any woman. Never wanted to, until I met you.”

Oh, he was persuasive. And that was to say nothing of what he was doing with his hand.

“You keep secrets from me,” she persisted. “I don’t even know what you’ll be up to in London, how long you’ll be gone?—”

“I’ll be hunting down the bastard who tried to kill me. I’ve hired Foxworth & Co., a highly reputable agency, to assist with the investigation, and we will have the culprit in no time. Then I’ll come to you a free man—the man you know you’re destined to marry.”

She flashed to Thomas and Rosalinda making love in the caldarium. Lovers brought together by destiny. Could the same be true of her and Conrad?

“I don’t know that.” Her protest sounded weak to her own ears. “How can I think when you…oh my stars .”

He continued to circle her hidden peak with his middle finger. She could feel how slick she was. He pressed and rubbed, rubbed and pressed, making her pant against the wall.

“Once you’re mine, I am going to do such wicked things to you.” His husky promise made her shiver. “And you will love it all.”

He rubbed harder and faster. Her eyelids drooped as passion consumed her. With his other hand, he caressed the length of her spine, his thumb pressing blissfully down her vertebrae and against the small of her back. When she felt him delve lower, between the swells of her bottom, her eyes popped open.

“Not there, surely,” she said in shock.

“You didn’t read to the end of the book. When the satyr finally claims his little mate,” he said, his voice guttural, “he does so everywhere. He takes her so completely that she will never again think of leaving him.”

What he did next was so depraved that she had no words for it. He pushed against a forbidden opening, and her body resisted, but he pressed steadily until she felt the tip of his finger enter her there . A place where she was certain nothing was supposed to be.

The sensation was unbearably naughty…and titillating.

“You’re mine, Gigi,” he rasped. “Admit it.”

He owned her pleasure, diddling her pearl while teasing her sensitive pucker. Before passion robbed her of her wits entirely, she twisted her head, needing to see his face. And that decided it for her. For despite his commanding tone and carnal games, his brows were drawn…and his marauder’s gaze revealed something he’d never shown her before.

Naked, desperate longing.

His need punched through the barriers of her heart, flooding all the chambers. In that instant, she knew she loved Conrad Godwin—knew she wanted a future with him.

“I’m yours,” she whispered.

Triumph glittered in his eyes. “Promise you’ll marry me.”

“I can’t. Not yet. I need to get my parents’ approval first?—”

“You have until my return from London,” he growled. “If you cannot convince your parents by then, I will go to them myself.”

He slammed his mouth on hers, the forceful thrust of his finger taking her over the edge.

As she keened her pleasure, he said fiercely, “That’s right, duchess. Remember how good this feels. How I’ll make you feel all the time once you’re mine.”