Your Darkest Dream (Blackwood & Friends #2)

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

By the time she heard the soft rap at her door much later, Blanche was tired of waiting.

Dressed in a loose nightgown, she walked quickly to the bedroom door, her skirts flowing about her ankles. She knew it would be him, there was no doubt left in her mind that they wanted each other with a shared urgency. So when she thrust open the door and saw him looming on the threshold dressed only in his dress shirt and dark trousers, hair unbound, she grabbed the front of his shirt and hauled him into her room like a woman possessed.

It was when she launched herself into his arms that Nate grunted in surprise, one arm banding around her hips to support her while he shoved the door closed with his foot. "Blanche," he groaned, clumsily trying to latch her door securely while holding her against him at the same time, "Christ, wait." There was a heavy thud, indicating that he had dropped something to the carpeted floor, and she pulled back from him to glance down at their feet while he used his free hand to secure the door.

"Is there a reason why you have brought your pistols to my chambers, Nate?" she asked curiously, tilting her head back to regard him with wide eyed curiosity.

He grunted again and shifted her against him, hitching her thighs around his hips so that the material of her gown gathered around hers. She held on to his shoulders but he was so strong, so sure with his arms around her, she was not concerned in the slightest about him being able to support her weight.

"We need to talk," he said hoarsely, yanking her higher yet up his body so that they were face level. Oh, she liked this position and angled her head to press her lips against his, but he retracted. "Blanche."

"Later?" she pouted.

"Now."

"But..." There was something hard pressing between her legs, spiking her heartbeat and need of him, something she definitely didn't want to ignore. So she didn't and squeezed her thighs into him experimentally.

"Woman," he gasped, squeezing his eyes shut and tilting his head back. A muscle was twitching in his jaw, his mouth a hard line as he fought for control over his body. His hand spanned over one of her thighs, naked to his touch, and a visible shudder ran through him. "What are you doing to me?"

"Nothing that you cannot handle, I'm sure."

His eyes snapped open at that, blazing as he bored his gaze into hers. Then he carried her over to the bed and deposited her onto it, following her and pressing his body against hers so that they sunk into the mattress together. She sighed in pleasure, revelling in the feel of his weight against her, the way her hips were cradling him intimately.

"I am having my doubts," he teased, dipping his head to nuzzle her ear. She shivered, feeling his breath tickle her neck and his lips close over her sensitive flesh. "I almost lost the ability to think when you came down to dinner in that dress."

"Good."

His lips were trailing down the side of her neck, stopping briefly to drag his teeth over her skin at her cheeky remark, and his hips rolled into hers. Her body came alive in reaction to his, sighing and raking her fingers over his shoulders and arms.

Suddenly, he lurched away from her, rolling to his feet and staggering backwards. Blanche raised on her elbows, following him, but he held up his hand to stop her. "Stay where you are, don't move, don't even get off the bed... just stay."

She shifted upright, tucking her knees under her, and regarded him curiously. "Have I done something wrong?"

He grinned at her, then stifled it. "No, of course not. It's just very hard to concentrate when you are trying to climb my body." He took a deep, fortifying breath and ran his hand through his hair. She was mildly pleased to note how unsteady it was. "When you look at me like that..." He shook his head then ambled over to the door, Blanche admiring his long legs, and gathered the wooden case he had brought with him. "I am giving these to you, Bee."