Page 99 of Enticing the Devil
As the last words left her lips, a tear slid down her cheek. And though she wrapped her arms around her middle and frantically shook her head to keep him away, Beynon pulled her against him. With an arm strong around her back and one hand palming her head, he tucked her into his warmth and pressed his lips to her temple. Though her sobs were silent, her body shuddered with a sadness and loneliness he had caused.
Never again. From this moment forward, he’d demonstrate his love for her at every opportunity so she’d never doubt it or him again.
When her trembling ceased and her breath slowed, he carefully loosened his arms. Lifting his hands to frame her face, he tipped her head back so he could meet the brilliance and depth of her gaze. A truth he should have uttered ages ago tumbled roughly from his lips, “You are perfect in every way imaginable. I bloody love you. I adore you. I admire and revere you.” His lips tilted awkwardly. “I might even be a little afraid of you. But only because I value your regard so deeply and I’m terrified of how short I must fall. It’s I who is lacking. I’ve never been good enough for you and I knew it from the second I saw you. Everything about you was an enticement I couldn’t allow myself to crave. I constantly reminded myself of the great chasm between your existence and mine so I wouldn’t be tempted by false hope.” He paused to scowl. “I may have done too good a job of it. But the truth is...the message in the flowers I chose that day were more honest than I was. Already, I’d developed a secret affection for my partner. One that’s true and constant.”
She tensed, her gorgeous eyes blinking rapidly. “You discovered the meaning of the flowers?”
He nodded and her attention instantly shifted to where the Amaranthus lay on her paint box.
“Unfading love,” he muttered, “for you. Forever. If you’ll allow me another chance. I can be boorish and coarse. I’m no good at social niceties and I honestly don’t enjoy the company of most people. But I work hard for my family and I’ll work thrice as hard to make you happy at Gwaynynog.”
As she slipped her slim arms around his waist, he dared to release some of the tension in his spine. Yet her gaze was serious as it held his.
“I love you, Beynon, with all my heart. But I’ll not be shoved aside and ignored. Never again.”
His arms tightened around her. “You’ve no idea how sorry I am. I thought I was protecting you, but I was really just guarding myself. I was certain you’d come to hate me. I couldn’t imagine you’d ever truly want me. Not in the way I wanted you.”
She sighed and lifted her arms to loop them around his neck. “I want you, Beynon. I want to share a life with you. I want to talk about things—the important and the mundane. I want to go on walks together and share our dreams for the future.” Her cheeks pinkened and her lashes fluttered. But she held his gaze. “A few words of love every now and then might also be quite nice.”
He groaned roughly as he looped one arm around her waist and brought his other hand to warmly squeeze her nape. Lowering his head until his lips hovered just over hers, he murmured every phrase of love, devotion, and desire he knew.
In Welsh. In English. In a mixture of them both.
Until her gaze sparkled then darkened with passion. Until her warm sigh bathed his lips before she stopped his words with the firm press of her mouth to his.
The kiss was instantly heated. They’d been so long apart and the passion between had only grown in the separation. Within moments, they were tumbling back down to the blanket, frantic in their efforts to remove each other’s clothing. He succeeded first and immediately became mesmerized by the glow of the rising moon on her skin and the way the awakening stars reflected so brightly in her eyes.
He was awed and frightened.
He didn’t want to muck this up. He couldn’t. Losing her was simply not an option.
“Beynon.”
His name on her lips was a plea and sigh. A sound of contentment and need.
Suddenly frantic once again, he shoved away the rest of his clothing. But before he could lower himself between her thighs, she pressed her hand firmly to his chest. With anticipation glinting sharply in her eyes and a smile that could entice the surliest of devils, she urged him to lie back on the ground as she rose up to straddle his hips.
With a shock of pleasure so deep and moving it stopped his breath, he realized her intent. Though he grabbed her hips firmly in his large hands, she had all the power and control as she lowered herself along his aching length. Once in possession of him, she began to move. The sight of her atop him was enchanting and magnificent. Her pale hair slipped free of its pins to tumble in moon-kissed waves over her shoulders while she made love to him with slow undulations that rolled through her body like a dance.
Emotion surged through him, making his teeth ache and his chest feel full to bursting as he became fully entranced by her deep and turbulent gaze, willingly surrendering to all the magic of her.