His erection so hard it was almost painful, he desperately needed to feel her encasing him. He had to relieve the throbbing desire for her that was possessing him, that had taken him over and driven away the ability to think.
She opened her eyes and gazed at him as if in a trance. Her green eyes appeared black. A rose-coloured blush had consumed her cheeks, her neck and naked breasts. She reached out to him. Her swollen lips parted, as if she was struggling to form words, but had lost the ability to speak.
‘Oh, Nellie. I want you so badly,’ he murmured as he kissed the side of her neck. ‘I have to have you. I want to make love to you.’
Her body suddenly went rigid. Her hands gripped his shoulders, her fingers digging in deeply, and she pushed him away. He looked at her stricken face and shame washed through him. His actions had been so wrong, so selfish.
Her previously hooded eyes were now large and startled. Her once-panting lips were now closed in a tight line as she scrambled to clasp her blouse together and pull down the fabric of her skirt.
He should not have given into his primal need to make love to her. It was unforgivable. He had wanted her so desperately he had forgotten what was right. He had only been thinking of himself, of his desperate need for her. He had thought it was what she wanted.
‘I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,’ she said, staring over his shoulder.
‘No, Nellie. You have done nothing wrong. I’m the one who should be sorry. Please forgive me, I should have used more self-control. Please, can you ever forgive me?’
‘No, no,’ she gasped and pointed at the doorway.
Dominic turned to look where she was pointing. Lady Cecily was standing at the door. Staring at them. Her face showing no emotion, giving no indication of what she must be thinking about the shocking scene she had just witnessed.
Chapter Sixteen
‘Go to her.’ Nellie pulled down her skirt and wished her emotional state could be restored as easily as her clothing. Her heart was still pounding so hard within her chest she was sure Dominic must be able to hear it. Her skin tingled as if every inch of it was still being stroked and caressed. Her lips still burned with the imprint of his impassioned kiss. Her body still ached for him, longing for him to once again give her that ecstatic satisfaction, longing to finally have him deep within her.
She did not want him to leave, but he had to. To stay would be cruel, selfish, even more unforgivable than what they had already done. If such a thing was possible.
They had been caught up in the moment. But they should not have allowed that to happen. Nellie should have stopped it, stopped herself, stopped him. To her shame she had done nothing to prevent this happening. Instead she had encouraged him in his exploration of her body. Had enjoyed every sensual moment of it. And to her shame she wanted him to continue, wanted to feel his hands caressing her, wanted to feel his lips on hers, wanted to wrap her legs tightly around his firm thighs. Wanted him to make love to her.
Her heart hammering in her chest, her body still throbbing with the memory of his caresses, she tried to control her body’s reaction, tried to suppress her need for him.
She swallowed and drew in a series of ragged breaths. It had all been wrong. So wrong. It should never have happened. When she had seen Lady Cecily standing at the door it had been a tidal wave of guilt that had crashed over her, instead of another tidal wave of ecstasy.
Yet, despite the shock at seeing Lady Cecily standing at the doorway, a shameful part of her had, for one brief moment, been tempted to close her eyes again, to pretend she had not seen her. She had been tempted to ignore the other woman’s presence. She had been so caught up in the rapture of the moment, she had wanted to ignore what her eyes were seeing, to only focus on the euphoric pleasure her body was feeling. It seemed her selfishness knew no bounds.
And Lady Cecily wasn’t just another woman. She was Dominic’s fiancée. Nellie knew he must go to her. But even though her words were telling him to leave, her body was screaming out for him to stay. Part of her wanted to ignore the guilt that was consuming her. She was tempted to beg him to take her in his arms, to kiss her again, to caress her again, to continue what he had started and make love to her. To bring her once again to that pinnacle of pleasure. And that only showed just what an appalling woman she was.
Despite what her body was crying out for, she had to fight against that desire, that overwhelming temptation. Despite her burning need for him, she had to extinguish the inferno that had engulfed them and try to put this right, as impossible as that goal was.
‘Go to her, Mr...’ Nellie repeated and paused. ‘Go to her, Dominic.’ He looked down at her, his dark eyes still glazed by a fog of desire, but like herself, she could see that the full, shameful realisation of what they had done was starting to cut through the fog.
She lowered herself from the table. Holding her gaping blouse together, she took a step away from him. ‘Go to Lady Cecily. Go to your fiancée,’ she stated more forcefully.
‘I can’t leave you, Nellie,’ he murmured, taking a step towards her and reaching out his hands.
Nellie looked down and took in a deep, slow breath, determined to be strong. ‘Yes, you can.’ She looked up at him with more resolve than she felt. ‘Yes, you will. She needs you. She must be in shock after what she has just witnessed.’
