Page 90 of The Rogue’s Countess

Gideon’s hedonistic description made her shudder as her legs wobbled beneath her. His lips slowly blazed a trail of fire across her cheek and down to her throat. Unable to help herself, desire and need rushed through her veins. A shudder rippled through her as his hand slid up along her side to her breast. The warmth of his palm sent heat sweeping through her, and a second later, his fingers trailed a white-hot caress across the tops of her breast. It was a touch that illustrated he was in complete control of her pleasure and response to him.

“Gideon, please.”

Her words were a mere breath of sound, and she didn’t know whether her plea was for him to stop or to continue. Fingers digging into his shoulders, she clung to him while her body reacted to the fiery touch of his mouth against her skin. Desire became a stream of molten lava in her veins as she instinctively arched backward to let his mouth nibble its way across her skin.

The moment his tongue slipped between the valley of her breasts, she uttered a soft cry of pleasure. The hot, wet heat of his tongue made another part of her ache for a different caress that was even more intimate. Trembling against him, her senses pulled her down into a wicked pool of fiery sensation that held her captive as his mouth worked its way up her throat.

Unrestrained need tugged at her as a voice of reason in her head fought to regain control of her body. The voice died as Gideon’s mouth captured hers in a hard kiss. With a soft murmur, she parted her lips beneath his, and their tongues tangled with each other much in the same way she wanted her body entwined around his.

Desire pulsated through her as his mouth hardened against hers. A raw, primal sound rumbled in his chest, and she slid her hands around the back of his neck to spike her fingers through his silky hair. Eager for more of his touch, her body pressed even harder into his, and her hips swiveled against him and where his erection pressed into her thigh.

With each stroke of his tongue against hers, the rising tide of passion threatened to pull her completely under until she would be willing to do whatever he asked of her. His kiss teased, tempted, and tantalized her as she experienced a familiar pulse working its way down to the apex of her thighs.

A brief second later, frustration assailed her as he denied her the pinnacle he’d been drawing her toward. Phoebe released a soft cry of protest at being deprived of even a small piece of satisfaction. Her breathing frantic, Phoebe’s mouth sought his, but he lifted his head and pulled away from her just enough to keep her from finding his mouth again. Her heart pounding wildly in her breast, a whimper of disappointment escaped her as her eyes fluttered open to stare up into a pair of gray eyes that were studying her carefully.

“Tell me you don’t want me right now, Phoebe. Tell me you don’t want me teasing those delicious nipples of yours,” he whispered as satisfaction curved his lips upward. “They’re hard right now, aren’t they? They’re aching for me to nibble and suck on them. Are you wet with desire? Are you craving my tongue on you, or are you aching for me to drive my cock into you until you shatter in my arms?”

“Oh God, Gideon, please…I…”

She knew the breathy sound of her voice revealed how aroused she was. The moment her body trembled against his, he smiled with triumph and bent his head to brush his mouth across her ear.

“Please what, Phoebe?” he whispered. “Are you asking me to take you upstairs where I can show you just how easily I can make you respond to me?”

She was on the verge of begging him to do just that when she saw the satisfaction on his face. Oh dear God, had Gideon felt nothing at all when he was caressing her only seconds ago? His breathing was steady, and there was almost a bored expression on his face. The only thing that made her think he was not as unaffected as he seemed was the way his heart was pounding wildly against her fingertips.

Then there was the tic in his cheek that suggested his jaw was tightly clenched. Trembling like a leaf dancing in the wind against him, Phoebe’s heart crashed into her chest at the cold, calculated triumph in the small smile that touched his lips.

“Now, do you understand, Phoebe? Do you see how easy it’s going to be for me to have you in my bed anytime I want?”

Gideon released her and stepped back to narrow his gaze at her, and Phoebe’s throat threatened to close shut. In the back of her head, she knew he was right. He would always be able to bend her to his will. It had taken only seconds for her to be on the verge of surrendering to him completely just now. Slightly dazed, she looked up at him and struggled to speak. Unable to bear the triumph in his gray eyes, Phoebe averted her gaze.

The fact that he appeared completely unmoved by her made her sway on her feet. Gideon didn’t bother to help steady her. He simply folded his arms over his chest as his eyebrows arched arrogantly. There was a cold insolence in his reaction, and tears threatened to spill down her cheeks. Swallowing the hard knot in her throat, Phoebe turned and began to make her way toward the door. It was a short distance, but it seemed far, far away.

She’d known he would be enraged if he were ever to discover she was P. Currer, but somehow she hadn’t expected him to be this angry. No, she’d known he would be furious, but she’d never dreamed he would be so angry that he would want to keep her here as a form of punishment. It made no sense. Gideon was not a vindictive man. What could be driving him to refuse to honor their contract?

The one thing she did understand was that it was unlikely he would ever forgive her. Never trust her again. The knowledge was like shards of glass slicing into her. The moment Phoebe’s hand touched the doorknob, Gideon cleared his throat. Phoebe paused, but she didn’t look at him.

“That was just a taste of what’s to come tonight, Phoebe. I intend to make you sob with pleasure, and by the time I’m done, you’re going to be begging me to do it again.”

As his quiet words drifted through the air and faded away, she bit down on her bottom lip until she tasted blood. Phoebe understood his determination—his need to make her pay a price for her offenses. She’d judged him harshly and unfairly. But Gideon needed to know she’d realized her folly long before today. She needed him to understand how deeply she regretted her actions. She needed to try and convince him of that fact. Slowly, she turned to face him.

“If refusing to honor our contract is your way of making me pay for having wronged you in the Chronicles, Gideon, then I’ll gladly pay the price,” she said softly. “The lies I wrote in that offensive chapter entitle you to that much.”

Phoebe hesitated for a moment and saw Gideon frown as something similar to pain flashed across his face. The emotion disappeared so quickly she had to believe she’d imagined it. Gideon’s arrogant, dismissive posture didn’t change, and her heart twisted painfully in her chest.

If he could find it in his heart to believe her, then maybe in time, he might forgive her as well. Scornful laughter echoed loudly in her head. The expression on Gideon’s face told her how hopeless that wish was. Phoebe bit down on her lip and bobbed her head toward the pages on the floor, then met his gaze again.

“I wrote that chapter in the heat of anger. I wanted to make you feel as small as you made me feel with your condemnation of me. It was only when I realized how much I…”

Phoebe drew in a sharp breath. God help her, she’d nearly confessed her love for him. She immediately dropped her gaze to stare at the pages on the floor. Why hadn’t she simply burned the horrible thing, then he would never have seen them. Phoebe thought she heard a soft sound emanate from Gideon, and she jerked her gaze upward to look at him. The harsh, stony inflexibility of his expression belied the possibility he might have been yielding. Phoebe looked away from him again as she continued.

“I did turn the chapter in for it to be printed, and I almost failed in my efforts to stop the Times from printing it. They were already setting the type when I reached my editor’s office. He said it was too late and there was nothing he could do. That’s when I began to beg, Gideon. I begged him to stop that chapter from being printed. I have never begged anyone so desperately before in my life. I couldn’t bear the thought of… “

Phoebe’s gaze met Gideon’s, but she saw no softening in his harsh expression. Tears pressed at the back of her throat. It was becoming clear she wasn’t reaching him, and she struggled not to go down on her knees to beg his forgiveness. Phoebe wanted to look away but didn’t. She needed him to see her face—to show him how sincere she was.

“You are nothing like Lord Chelmbee. I know I have taunted you with that name, and I am sorry for it. I wish with all my heart that you hadn’t seen that abomination. I should have burned those pages the moment I returned home. But I kept it as a form of penance. A reminder of how easily my anger could injure someone who didn’t deserve to be judged harshly. Perhaps worst of all is that I’ve destroyed any hope of you ever…”

Phoebe paused as she studied Gideon’s face hoping she might see a softening on his stony features. A look that might say he believed her. After a long moment, she swallowed hard and closed her eyes for a moment before she looked at him again.