Ella's Desire (Borderland Ladies Book 3) Read online

  She framed the thickness with her fingers and slowly moved her palm up and down. “I want you, Bronson. I can’t stop thinking about how badly I want you.”

  He gave a strangled groan. “It isn’t right for you to be here.”

  His manhood was now rock hard beneath her touch and it made the place between her legs grow damp, the pulse of heat insistent.

  “Tell me you don’t want me, and I’ll leave.” She squeezed the length of him the way he’d showed her.

  His breath hissed through his teeth.

  “Touch me and see for yourself how badly I want you.” She finally released him and drew up the hem of her night rail to her upper thighs, shielding her intimate place from him while still offering herself for his caress.

  His hand stretched toward her, sampling her with a single stroke. Ella whimpered as pleasure rippled through her. He clenched his jaw and fixed his gaze on his hand as he slid over her once more, then again, his finger lightly probing inside of her.

  Her knees went soft and threatened to drop her from where she stood. “Tell me you don’t want this,” she whispered. “And I’ll leave.”

  “That’s the problem.” His stare dragged back up toward her face. “I do.”

  “Then have me.” She put a hand to his doublet and popped free the first button.

  “This isn’t play, Ella.” There was a note of warning in his tone, even as he continued to glide his touch over her center.

  She slipped another button free.

  “There can be consequences.” He took the hem of her night rail from her and lifted it higher.

  She relinquished the flimsy cloth to him and worked even faster on his buttons. He drew the gown up over her breasts, over her head, stopping her efforts briefly.

  The night rail covered her face, then lifted her hair from her shoulders as it slid from her skin and fell silently to the floor. He drew in a hard breath and regarded her.

  “Tell me to leave,” she challenged.

  His stare moved over her, roaming over her breasts, her legs, her thighs, her sex. He swallowed. “You’re not going anywhere,” he said with finality.

  “I was hoping you would say that.” Ella stepped toward him and gently plucked at the binding holding his arm to his body. “Can this come off?”

  With a growl, he drew the sling off. He sucked in a breath that made Ella wince and moved more carefully to ease off his doublet. She helped him with the linen beneath, exceedingly mindful of his injured arm, which obviously still was causing him pain.

  Even with his arm cradled to his torso, he was beautiful underneath, powerful with strength from hunting and fighting. He kept his gaze fixed on her, alternating from her face to her body, as he pulled free the ties of his trews and shoved them one-handed to the floor.

  His manhood thrust out from him, pointing directly at her. He wrapped his good arm around her and the swollen length of him bumped clumsily and hot against her belly. His mouth slanted over hers, his tongue stroking as his hand played over her body, cupping her breast, curving over her bottom.

  She ran her hands over his muscular back, marveling at all the raw power of him. His lips dragged down her neck to her collarbone.

  She dropped her head back to give him more access to whatever he wanted to kiss, whatever he wanted to lick. The heat of his mouth closed around her nipple and needles of pleasure prickled through her. She cried out in surprise, reveling in the sensation.

  He circled her with his tongue and then went to the other breast. “Do you want more?” he groaned. “Even more than this?”

  “Aye,” she panted. “I want everything.”

  He knelt on the ground and gently nudged her legs apart. She leaned her weight on a chair behind her and spread her thighs. She had been expecting his fingers, not his mouth. But that was exactly what closed over her, wet and eager as his tongue lapped decadent circles about the sensitive place of her sex.

  He worked his finger inside her as he loved her with his mouth, plunging with slow care. Ella’s world burst into flames, tingles in every part of her body until she could no longer handle the sensation of it all. Euphoria exploded around her and left dots of light sparkling behind her closed lids.

  When she opened her eyes again, he had gotten to his feet and stood before her. He took her hand and led her on shaking legs to the large bed at the back of his chamber. She sank onto the furs and looked up at him. His arousal jutted in front of her—silky, hard temptation.

  She touched him, remembering how much he had enjoyed that before. He groaned and let her explore the shaft, the spongy tip. She licked her lips and his eyes fixed on her mouth.

  A wicked thought sizzled through her mind. Surely, he was not the only one who could bring pleasure with his mouth.

  15

  Bronson’s body was tense with the need to release, still burning from Ella’s touches earlier that day. She stared at his cock in front of her and cast a flirtatious little half-smirk up at him.

  Her hands glided over his shaft like he’d shown her, the pressure intensifying as she neared the swollen head. His bollocks tightened at the sheer pleasure.

  She watched him as she explored his cock with her hands, then licked her lips with that flash of mischief in her eyes. She parted her mouth and gently kissed the tip of his cock. He gave a strangled choke and his arousal quirked at the sensation of her mouth on him.

  She glanced anxiously up at him, her eyes seeking permission. He nodded. After all, he was a man, and what right-minded man would ever say no to such an offer?

  She licked him from shaft to tip, pausing periodically to kiss and brush her lips over him. An innocent’s attempt to pleasure a man with her mouth. It was endearing, and sensual, and made him ready to pop.

  He caught her face with his hand. She paused mid-lick and gazed up at him.

  “I want you,” he said in a gravelly voice.

  She sucked in a breath and her tongue returned to her beautiful mouth. He lowered himself to her with his good arm, stretching his nakedness over the soft warmth of hers. Lust pounded painfully at his groin and echoed in his ears with a desperation to release.

  He didn’t ask if she knew what they were to do. Clearly, they’d had enough play that she could deduce as much, especially for a woman with desires as intense as Ella’s.

  He ran his hands over her legs. First her delicate ankles, then up to those shapely calves that had haunted his nights since he arrived at Werrick Castle. Her skin was smooth and warm under his touch, her breath shaky. He traced his fingers up her pretty knees and down the delicate path of her inner thighs.

  “Part your legs for me,” he whispered.

  She did as he asked, revealing the glistening, swollen folds of her sex, flushed pink with longing. His mouth found hers, his kisses languid and gentle. Lusty though she might be, it didn’t mean the act wouldn’t frighten her.

  He rose on top of her and nudged the head of himself against her, a feat not easily done with only one damn arm. Fortunately, he was so hard, and she so wet, her center slightly stretched from his efforts when he licked her to climax earlier. He sank in slightly and stopped.

  He kissed her once more and raised his head to see her reaction. Her forehead puckered, as if in concentration.

  “Are you all right, my dove?” he asked.

  She blinked, nodding. “Aye.”

  He thrust forward, inching deeper. She stiffened.

  “Relax into it,” he said softly. “It will only be uncomfortable this one time.” Or so he hoped, if all the rumors he had heard were true.

  The arm he had pressed to his side was more of an inconvenience than he’d anticipated. He wanted to touch her breasts, her sex, to bring her to release while they coupled.

  He kissed her and slowly eased out before nudging back in again. “Touch yourself, Ella.”

  She leaned back on the pillow to regard him.

  “Do you know how to do that?” He nuzzled her neck, speaking into her ear. “To touch
yourself and bring on your own crises?”

  She nodded against his cheek.

  He groaned. Of course, she did, a woman with such deep sexual need as she. “Do it.”

  Her fingers slid between their bodies, brushing his shaft just above where they were joined as she did so. He moved carefully to ensure he didn’t hurt her, pumping in and out, letting himself go deeper and deeper each time. She was slick with need and her breath came out in short, excited pants.

  He bent to capture her breast in his mouth. “Aye, like that,” he said against her sweet skin. One final plunge and he was fully buried within her.

  He swirled his tongue around her nipple, and he felt her finger over her sex increase its speed. She was moving with him now, rocking her hips to meet his thrust, her thighs squeezing at his waist. They moaned with each joining, the clamp of her sex around him getting tighter until he could scarcely bear it any longer.

  She removed her hand from touching herself and instead clung to him. Her hips worked under him, seeking the necessary friction she needed.

  Sensing her climax soon upon her, Bronson captured her mouth with his, just as she gave a scream of pleasure. Her sheath clenched rhythmically, pulling at him and pushing him over the edge. He grunted with the force of his crises and finally, after days of fantasizing about this very moment, poured his seed into Ella.

  He collapsed on his side, his good arm shaking from the incredible effort of having held himself up on it for so long. “Did I hurt you?” he asked once he finally had breath enough in his lungs to do so.

  Ella turned her face toward him. A dreamy expression played on her lips and her face was glowing with a light sheen. She shook her head. “You pleased me. As much as I had anticipated you would.”

  Her words brought on a swell of pride. He was glad to have brought her such bliss.

  “And did I…?” Ella gave a sheepish smile. “Did I please you?”

  Bronson lay his head back on the bed and groaned. His body was still warm from the euphoria she had wrought. “Aye, even more than I imagined you would.”

  “Had you thought about it?” She rolled over so she was laying partially atop him. “About me?”

  “Every waking moment and even many while I slept,” he said earnestly. “You’re incredibly beautiful. Ever since that day you teased me with your naked leg…”

  She lowered her head, her expression incredulous. “I teased you with a leg?”

  He nodded. “Oh, aye, when it’s as perfectly shaped as yours.” He ran his good hand over her calf in demonstration. “You dropped it right in front of my face and swung it back and forth.”

  Ella’s lips pressed together as though trying to quell a smile and slid her gaze from his.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  She shook her head, her mouth still pressed closed.

  “Tell me, or I shall have to find alternate means to get the information from you.” He lifted his brows suggestively.

  “Now I really don’t want to tell you.” Ella laughed, a low, intimate sound. “I think my father’s plan has worked out.”

  “Oh? Pray tell what you mean by that.”

  “This time we’ve had together.” Ella lifted her shoulder in a delicate shrug.

  Bronson wanted to kiss that shoulder. And then the whole rest of her. He knew she would have to return to her own chambers soon, but he wished she could stay with him, for them to pleasure each other again and again throughout the night.

  She had been a maiden, however, and her body would need to recover from what they had done. The stain of blood on the sheets was proof enough of that. Despite her enjoyment, blood did not come without pain.

  “We have had an enjoyable time together,” Bronson agreed.

  “Mmmhmm…” Ella lay her head on his chest while her fingers played idly through the sprinkle of dark hair. “I wasn’t sure until tonight, until this.”

  She drew herself up on her elbow and met his gaze. “I love you, Bronson.”

  She loved him?

  Victory soared through him.

  He crooked a smile up at her and trailed his finger over her narrow chin. “And I love you, sweet dove.”

  Their union promised to be mutually enjoyable, for the feelings blossoming between them, everything seemed to be absolutely perfect. With growing love and passion such as theirs, nothing could possibly go wrong.

  Ella was in love with Bronson. In every decent, pure and utterly wicked way it was possible to be in love with someone.

  Over the next several days, they could not keep their distance from one another. They met in alcoves and snuck out on rides without a soldier to guard over them. They slipped into empty rooms and went to one another at night. They did not, however, climb anymore trees.

  Each time they were together, they touched and loved one another’s bodies, bringing the other incredible pleasure.

  She could scarcely go through a minute of her day without the idea of him inside her, or tasting her, or touching her. They didn’t even speak when they came together, their bodies saying all that needed to be said.

  The wedding planning was coming along nicely for having been done in such a short period of time. Ella stared out the window of the solar several afternoons later and wished she was naked in such beautiful light with Bronson there to stroke her.

  “Oh, Ella, you’re so in love.” Cat laughed and snapped at the air.

  Ella jumped slightly and regarded her sister in surprise. “Did you ask me something?”

  “Aye, several times.” Cat smothered a giggle behind her hand and slid a glance to Leila, who did likewise. “What sort of food do you think ought to be served at supper? What is his favorite meat?”

  Ella thought for a moment. She didn’t know what his favorite meat was. He had commented on food often as well, and yet for the life of her, she couldn’t recall what he’d said at any of those moments. “Venison,” she lied. After all, he had eaten it. And what man didn’t appreciate a good cut of venison?

  Besides, if she chose everything, he would love it all because she had selected it for him.

  Cat’s eyes sparkled. “Oh, I love venison too. This feast will be wonderful. What sort of drink is his favorite?”

  “Wine.” Ella replied this time with confidence. He drank wine at every meal.

  “Aye, but what kind?” Cat pressed.

  Ella blinked. If he had even bothered to comment on the wine, she hadn’t paid it a single thought. “Bordeaux claret,” she replied. It was her favorite wine, and one was as good as the other, wasn’t it?

  She’d meant to ask him more questions about what he liked and did not. Truly, she had. Except that every time they saw one another, she fell prey to passion and forgot what she’d meant to say.

  Leila tilted her head as if listening to something no one else could hear. “Lady Calville and Lark will arrive today.”

  “Oh, how wonderful.” Cat peered through the glass window behind Leila as though she could see the guests traveling up herself. Which she wouldn’t be able to do, most likely.

  Leila had a gift for knowing what was coming, though misinterpretations had left her hesitant to share her visions. She only ever said anything when she was certain an event would come to pass.

  “Won’t it be delightful to meet Calville’s sister?” Cat spun about the room.

  Ella smiled. “I can hardly wait.” But in truth, she could wait.

  Things were perfect as they were with plenty of time for her and Bronson to sneak away for romantic trysts. If he had to entertain his family once they arrived, what would happen to the stolen moments of pleasure throughout the day?

  “Is there a certain kind of tale the troubadour ought to tell?” Leila patted the bench beside her, and Hardy leapt up onto the cushion. Despite folding his long, thin legs beneath him, he still took up most of the seat.

  “Father will not like that if he sees it,” Ella warned her.

  “Then he mustn’t find out.” Leila slid her a glanc
e. “As he doesn’t find out how often you slip away with Lord Calville.”

  “Leila, we said we wouldn’t mention it,” Cat hissed.

  Heat warmed Ella’s cheeks. Apparently, the moments of privacy she’d taken with Bronson had been noticed. She would need to refrain going forward. After the one they had planned that afternoon, of course, for it was far too late now to cancel.

  “Well, I suppose I’ve seen nothing.” Ella winked and her sisters laughed.

  “Then we are back to my original question about the troubadour.” Leila bent her head toward Hardy, giving him a scratch under his collar. The sunlight coming in played over her dark hair and made it gleam like polished onyx. “You said he reads your books, correct? What story does he seem to like best?”

  Ella hesitated. He had not mentioned reading her books in several days and she had not seen him in the solar. Had he stopped? Rather than confess this to her sisters, she lied again. “I believe he likes the story of the female knight and the prince the best.”

  “That’s Geordie’s favorite too.” Leila grinned at Cat.

  “How do you know?” Ella asked.

  Leila hopped off the bench and Hardy followed behind her. “It was in his letter. I need to take Hardy outside, but I have everything necessary for putting together the wedding.” Leila paused and pressed a kiss to Ella’s cheek.

  Ella sagged back after Leila’s affection. Geordie’s letter. Ella had forgotten. Cat had meant to read it to her the night Ella changed to the mistress of the castle’s chambers.

  “Oh, Cat.” Ella opened her arms to her sister. “I’m so sorry.”

  Cat waved off the embrace as well as the apology. “You have been busy falling in love.” She caught Ella’s hand and squeezed it. “I’m so impressed that you know him so well that you can answer these questions so thoroughly.”

  Heat rose in Ella’s cheeks. She nodded her thanks, as speaking it seemed nearly impossible at that exact moment.

  “I’ll leave you to your afternoon while I settle the arrangements with Nan.” Cat embraced her, pressed a sweet kiss to her cheek and was gone.