Page 60 of The Rogue’s Offer

“Oh please, Mathias…I need…”

The passion in her soft whisper intensified his own desire, and his cock jumped at the sound of her plea. Desire and love crashed through him and held him hostage to her. He sought her mouth again as a stark hunger blistered its way into his body. Oblivious to everything but her, his body shouted its craving for the satisfaction he knew only she could ever give him.

A quiet moan echoed out of her, as she shifted her hips against his in a sign of her own need and frustration. With her body pinned between him and the door, he quickly freed his cock and tugged her skirts upward until his hands were gripping soft, lush thighs. Lost in the sweet essence of her scent and taste, his hands cupped her buttocks firmly. The small sound she made at his touch vibrated against his lips. Her small cry of pleasure made him lift his head. His breathing ragged, he saw her eyes flutter open in surprise.

“Tell me how much you need me.” His command made her jerk slightly, and his cock protested the delay.

“Oh dear God, Mathias. Please don’t make me beg,” she whispered as frustrated desire darkened her features.

“Say it,” he ground out as his body ached with unfilled desire.

Every inch of him roared a protest as he waited for her response. He ignored the sensation. His body might need physical fulfillment, but his heart demanded some small concession on her part. Even if her reply was only a temporary surrender to him, he needed to hear her admit this moment of passion was something she wanted as badly as he did. She hesitated for a brief second before her hands cupped his face.

“I need you. Can’t you see how much I need you?” Her voice echoed with the same hunger gripping his body.

Triumph stormed through him as her mouth met his in a fervent display of passion. As her tongue mated eagerly with his, he lifted her up off her feet to thrust his cock into her.

God, but she felt good. The white-hot heat of her made him jerk from the pleasure of being a part of her once more. Although he tried to savor the sweetness of the moment, he was unable to restrain his need for her. With a hard thrust, he rocked his body into hers. A strangled cry escaped her as her body responded to his with each stroke, and her body contracted and tightened around him like a vise.

Her hands cupped his face as she sought his lips in a kiss that made him drive into her harder. In the back of his head a bell sounded. He might be in heaven now, but his world was about to become a living hell the moment he walked away from her tonight. She could never know how much he loved her—how much his body loved worshiping hers. He could never let her see what this moment in time meant to him. He couldn’t let her see how her marrying Chelmsford would destroy him.

§ § §

Mathias’s body filled hers completely, and her heart sang with joy. Cupping his face, Ophelia sought his mouth in an effort to drink every part of him into body. The tip of her tongue laced his lips until they parted, and her tongue danced with his in the same way his body mated with hers.

This wasn’t like the other night. This was hot, passionate, forbidden, and completely unrestrained. Her body tightened around his trying to keep him from retreating. She failed only to have fire skim through her as his hips thrust forward again. He was hot male against her tongue, and his body burned hers with every stroke. Every inch of her was sensitive to the heat of him as he aroused and stimulated her senses until she had to bite back his name for fear someone would hear her wild cry.

Instead, she released a soft sob of pleasure as her hips worked against his in a moment of blissful intensity. Oblivious to everything except this moment, her body welcomed his with each fiery stroke. His mouth broke away from hers to sear her skin as he lowered his head to kiss the tops of her breasts.

As his tongue slid into the valley between her breasts, her body shuddered against his. The blazing heat of him engulfed her like a bonfire flaring up into the sky. Sensation after sensation pulsed through her, and she want to weep from the pleasure of each hot stroke and kiss. The pace of his thrusts increased, and her forehead grazed his as she reveled in his possession.

Their harsh breaths echoed loudly in the quiet room. The sound emphasized the heat, passion, and intense need pulsating through her. A now familiar force filled her body. It pressed its way downward to the most sensitive part of her. The strength of the sensation sped through her at a hard, fast pace until it erupted in one swift blur of pleasure.

Instantly, her body jerked against his then arched upward in his arms to shudder hard. Fingers digging in his shoulders, she clung to him as tremor after tremor rocked her body. In response to her climax, he thrust into her with a blistering speed that heightened and intensified her pleasure even more than she’d ever dreamed possible. Seconds later he buried his cry of release against her breasts as he throbbed inside her.

Slowly his hands eased off her buttocks to glide over her thighs as he allowed her to slide downward until her feet were on the floor. His face was pressed against her neck, and she rested her head against the door. Eyes closed she felt fully satiated. As the pleasure slowly eased out of her, the memory of their sharp words filtered their way into her mind.

Was it possible his anger and the references to his brother and Gideon meant he was jealous? Louisa and Constance had said he cared for her. But was it love or was it simply him coveting what he thought another man possessed. She wasn’t sure which would be worse, his coveting her simply because she seemed out of reach or his pity.

Mathias released her completely and turning his back on her, he put several feet between them as he adjusted his clothing. Ophelia followed suit. As she shook her skirts out, the heat of him continued to burn her skin in a manner that made her ache for him all over again. Her eyes focused on Mathias standing motionless in front of her.

With his back to her it was impossible to see his face, but he held himself so rigidly it sent an icy thread of fear wrapping its way around her. She took a hesitant step forward. The instant her hand touch his shoulder he jerked violently. Her heart in her mouth, she trembled as she drew her hand away from him.

“Mathias?” At the question in her soft voice, he slowly turned to face her. The moment she saw his stoic expression her stomach lurched with sickening dread.

“I thank you for that delightful interlude, my lady,” he said with a nonchalance that sent a rush of fear through her. “You’ve been an extraordinary student. I shall miss sampling your wares in the future.”

Interlude? Wares? Ophelia stared at him in bewilderment and confusion. The air between them was still thick with the heat of their passion, but something else had begun to fill the space between them. Dark and painful, it tore at her senses as the weight of his cruelty pushed its way into her conscious stream of thought.

The words hadn’t simply been an insult. They’d been deliberately designed to humiliate her. Louisa and Constance had been wrong. Mathias found her to be little more than a common street whore. The realization had the same effect as if he’d struck her with a whip. She swayed slightly, but he didn’t move to steady her. If anything his expression hardened further.

“I…I don’t understand.”

“Then allow me to clarify, my lady. I enjoyed our little fuck, and regret your marriage will not allow us to repeat the pleasure in the future.”

Stunned by the crude savagery of his words, Ophelia felt the air leave her lungs as she stared up at him in shock. It was as if she was standing in front of George again hearing words meant to debase and debilitate her. Mathias’s handsome features were unreadable as she took a stumbling step backward.

Pain pierced every part of her as Ophelia’s brain sluggishly tried to comprehend what was happening. How could she have been so wrong about him? No, she hadn’t been wrong. He’d shown his true colors when he’d betrayed her trust. He’d made a fool of her then, just as he had a moment ago.