Diamonds and Dreams (39 page)

“Well I’m going to do more than just
think
about tickling you, poppet.” One hand began kneading
her inner thigh, the other waltzed up and down her rib cage, before
he discovered another good spot near her belly button.

“Great day Miss Agnes!” Goldie exclaimed,
struggling to breathe through her laughter. “Saber, show
mercy!”

“No.”

“But I showed
you
mercy!” She tried
removing his hands by force, but her laughter seemed to sap all her
energy, and she could do nothing but hang onto him and continue
laughing.

“So you’re merciful, and I’m not.” He
tickled her for a moment longer, then stilled his hands upon her
belly, his thumbs stroking her lightly. He thought about what they
were doing, tickling each other. He hadn’t been tickled since he
was a boy, and had forgotten how much fun it was.

Goldie panted with relief. “You don’t play
fair. I couldn’t tickle you well because you have all your clothes
on.”

Desire returned to him instantly. “Shall we
remedy that?” His eyes never leaving hers, he removed his shirt
altogether, kicked off his shoes, and pulled his stockings off. But
when he touched the fastening of his breeches and Goldie’s eyes
widened at his action, he left them on.

She watched in wonder as he rose to his
knees and began running his hands down the sides of her torso. The
feelings his touch evoked made her every nerve pulse with heat, and
need, and that sweet ache he always gave her.

Her eyes fluttered closed when he leaned
down and took her breast into his mouth. She heard her own soft
moan when his tongue began circling her slowly. “Saber, why do we
groan and make noises when we do stuff like this?”

He smiled, his kisses meandering up to her
mouth. “Because it feels good.”

She thought about that. “Does it feel good
to you too?”

He didn’t answer, but only spread more
kisses over her face.

“Well, of course it doesn’t feel good to
you,” she decided out loud. “How could it? I’ve never touched you
the way you’ve touched me.”

His kisses ceased. His body went rigid.
Would she touch him, he wondered? In the intimate way in which he
touched her? “Goldie—”

“Saber...” Her voice trailed away, her hand
found the fastening of his breeches.

Saber clenched his teeth. God, she hadn’t
even done anything to him yet, and he was already on the verge of
losing control! “Goldie—”

“It’s all right, Saber,” she said huskily,
succeeding at unfastening his pants. “I’m not afraid.”

“
You’re
not afraid?” he asked before
he could stop himself.

She dropped her hand from him, certain she
was going about this all wrong. “Are
you
afraid?”

“I—
Afraid
isn’t exactly the word.
Goldie, I’ve—I’ve wanted this for so long, that it’s hard for me
to—That is to say, it’s not easy to hold back—You haven’t even
touched me yet, and I’m already—You see, it’s like you laughing
before I tickled you.”

“Oh,” she said, frowning. “Saber,
what’s
like me laughin’ before you tickled me?”

He laid back down beside her, realizing a
bit of explanation was in order. Frightening her was the last thing
in the world he wanted to do. He searched intently for the right
words. “Goldie, remember how you said it was like a sneeze?”

“A sneeze?” She felt herself blush when his
meaning became clear.

He saw the color tint her cheeks and knew
she understood. “Men can have that ‘sneeze’ too. I—Goldie, you’re
so beautiful, so desirable, that it’s hard for me to keep from
sneezing—”

He broke off, feeling laughter rumble
through him again. His explanation was so absurd!
Sneezing
,
of all things! “Suffice it to say, poppet, that I’m so ready for
you, that it’s very difficult for me—”

“I’m ready for you too, Saber,” she
announced, wondering what it was she was so ready for.

Her declaration nearly rendered him
senseless with desire. “No. No, you’re not. Not yet. But I’m going
to ready you, Goldie. I’m going to do it slowly. Gently, so you
won’t be afraid.”

“W-when?” she stammered.

He smiled. “Now. Right now.”

“I’m not afraid, Saber.”

He took her at her word. As smoothly as he
could, he removed the rest of his clothes, his eyes watching hers.
“If you’re not afraid, Goldie, why won’t you look at me?”

She knew exactly what he meant, but kept her
gaze directly on his face. “I—It’s just that... Well, you said I
wasn’t ready. And you said you’d ready me. You said—”

“I know what I said, and part of making you
ready is having you look at me. Look at me, Goldie. Look so you’ll
understand.”

She took a quick glance, then turned her
eyes away again. “You have a birthmark on your upper left thigh.
It’s dark brown and shaped like a diamond.”

“How very observant you are. Did you happen
to see anything else?”

“No. That’s all.” She felt as though flames
were flickering through her veins.

“But there’s more, Goldie.”

She could no longer resist the husky
invitation in his rich voice. Inch by tiny inch, her gaze traveled
down the firm length of his body. When it reached his manhood, her
mouth dropped open. “Great day—”

“Miss Agnes has no place in our bed
tonight,” he teased, picking up her hand. “And don’t bring Mildred
Fickle into it either. Now touch me. You’ve seen me, now touch
me.”

“But—”

“It’s doesn’t bite.”

His ridiculous declaration put her at ease.
She didn’t resist when he urged her hand toward the thick black mat
of hair and the hard staff that lay upon it.

“Goldie.”

She heard the unspoken plea in his voice.
Biting her lower lip, she quickly pressed the tip of her finger to
him, then jerked her hand away. “It’s hot,” she blurted, glancing
at her finger as if he’d set it afire. “And you didn’t sneeze.” She
looked up at him. “Did you?”

Despite the tremendous desire that crashed
through him, her question made him chuckle. “No. I didn’t.”

She noticed his eyes were filled with a look
of great need. He wanted something from her. “I—Saber, am I
supposed to make you sneeze? Because if I am, I can’t. I don’t know
how. But even if I did, how would I know if you were sneezin’ or
not? Since I have no experience with this, I don’t see how I—”

“You’ll know, Goldie.”

His velvet voice made her quiver. The ache
returned. “Show me what to do to you.”

He couldn’t remember ever having received
such a sweet request. “Touch me. Touch me, and let’s see what
happens.”

She swallowed hard when he lay down beside
her. But her desire to please him in the way he’d pleased her
overcame anxiety. She placed her hand palm-up upon his flat, hard
belly, smoothing it downward. When the soft hair caressed the back
of her hand, her fingers curled slowly around him.

The ache inside her deepened at the feel of
him. It seemed to her she was holding the very essence of desire.
He was rigid, yet so soft. Hot, so hot, too. He was big, but she
could find no fear of him. Instead she knew tender emotions. He
looked and felt so vulnerable, yet he trusted her to take care with
him. The thought pleased her enormously.

Gently, she moved her hand, feeling more
pleasure as he slid between her fingers and palm. And then, with
her other hand, she held the velvety pouch that lay beneath his
staff. She moved her fingers lightly upon it, around it, and under
it, her other hand continuing to run up and down the hard length of
him. So involved was she with her own exploration, her own search
for understanding, that she never saw the rapture her actions gave
to the man she touched.

Saber resisted the rising bliss as long as
he could, but when her hand began to move faster, he knew his end
was just on the horizon. Raising to a sitting position, he took her
hands and held them. “Goldie, wait.”

“But you said for me to touch you, and
I—”

“I know, but that’s enough touching me for
now.”

“Y’mean I wasn’t doin’ it right?”

A pent-up breath rushed from him. “You were
doing it right. If you’d done it any more correctly, I’d
have—You—Goldie, it’s my turn now. Now...now I’ll touch you.”

She was more than willing for him to do just
that and lay back on the bed, waiting for him to begin. When he
didn’t, she frowned at him. “Saber—”

“There are other ways of readying you,
Goldie,” he told her, lowering his face toward her hips. “Others
ways of bringing you the pleasure you await.”

“What...are they?” she asked, every bit of
her yearning for him to show her.

He smiled, and gently parted her legs.
Beginning at her inner thigh, he began a trail of wispy kisses that
soon led him exactly where he wanted to be.

“Saber! Oh, great day Miss—You—Oh,
Saber!”

He paid her surprise no mind, but only
continued pleasing her in the most intimate way he’d ever done to
her before.

Goldie hadn’t even gotten over her
astonishment at what he was doing before the ecstasy started. It
grew, rolled through her, peaked, then began again. The repeated,
never-ending pleasure was almost too much to bear, but when it did
begin to fade, she wished it back. “Again!” she begged him as it
subsided. “Saber, again!”

He lifted his head, smiling. “Greedy little
thing, aren’t you?”

She had the grace to blush, but felt nothing
at all related to shame. On the contrary, she was anxious for
whatever else he planned to do. “Have you readied me enough, or do
you still have some more readyin’ to do?”

He knew she was dead serious, but her
question made him grin again. “God, Goldie, how much readying do
you need?”

She took a moment to think. “I don’t know.
Actually, I don’t even know what I’m gettin’ readied
for
.”

“The time has come for me to show you.” His
motions tightly controlled, he moved his body over her, lowering it
gently. Careful not to put too much of his weight on her, he held
himself up by his elbows. “Goldie,” he began, settling his hips
over hers and parting her legs with his own, “this is what you are
ready for.” Slowly, ever so slowly, he entered her slightly, then
became very still.

Fear zigzagged through her when she
comprehended exactly what he was going to do to her. “Saber, you
aren’t gonna—I—It’s too
big!
It’s gonna hurt—”

“Yes,” he admitted, dreading giving her the
pain she already suspected he would. “But it only hurts for a
moment, Goldie. Only for a—”

“Saber, you’re a
man
, not a woman!
How do
you
know it only hurts for a minute?”

“Because I—I just know.”

She deliberated, unsure whether to believe
him. “Will you stop if I tell you to?”

“I’ll try.”

“What do y’mean you’ll
try
?” she
demanded. “If you don’t swear to stop when I—”

“All right, yes. I’ll stop.” God, give me
the strength to stop, he prayed. Better yet, don’t let her tell me
to.

“Just for a minute, Goldie,” he told her
again. “It only hurts for a minute.” With that, he pushed more
deeply into her. When he met her maidenhead, he took a breath and
prepared to thrust through it.

“Wait!” Goldie yelled right in his ear.
“Tell me again how you know it’ll only hurt for a minute.”

He grit his teeth. “Because—I—Well, I
don’t
know. Not for sure. But—”

“So you were lyin’ to me just so you
could—”

“I was not. I was—I was only trying to
soothe your worries. Goldie, listen to me. I—You—” Frustration
gripped him. He gave a huge sigh and slid from atop her, deciding
to wait a moment before he tried again.

Goldie looked at the disappointed expression
on his face, then took her gaze down to the apex of his thighs. An
idea came to her. Gently, she cupped her hand around the soft pouch
beneath his manhood. “If I twist my wrist while holdin’ onto you
like this, how long do you think it’ll hurt you, Saber? I’m not a
man so I really don’t know for sure. But I don’t think it’d hurt
for more than a minute. ‘Course, there’s only one way to find out,
don’t you agree?”

He didn’t dare move a muscle. He suspected
if he tried, she’d turn him into a eunuch. For a long moment, he
simply laid there, staring at the twinkle in her eyes.

And then he began to see the humor of his
situation. The destiny, the entire future of the Tremayne family
lay in Goldie’s palm.
Literally.
He could not contain his
laughter.

“All right, Goldie, you’ve made your point,”
he sputtered merrily, carefully removing her hand. “And you made it
very cleverly, I might add.”

“You’re not...irritated with me, are
you?”

He smiled, pulling her into his arms again.
“You’re afraid, Goldie. I’d be an ogre if I couldn’t understand
that. But...perhaps we could try again?” he asked hopefully. “More
slowly this time?”

She looked at him as if she couldn’t decide
what to do.

“Perhaps not,” he amended.

She grinned at him, snuggling closer. “But
perhaps yes. Tomorrow.”

He glanced at the night-filled window,
wondering how many hours there were left until dawn. Disappointment
welled up in him, but the sight of Goldie’s bright smile subdued
it. There would be other nights, he reminded himself. Tomorrow
would come. And besides, he mused, tonight had been wonderful. He’d
had more fun tonight in bed than he could ever remember having
before. “Tomorrow, eh? All right, but I want you to know that I
don’t think it’s fair.”

“What’s not fair?”

“You got two sneezes, and I didn’t even get
one.”

* * *

A soft knock at the door awakened Saber the
next morning. He opened his eyes, saw Goldie sleeping beside him,
and smiled. “Who is it?” he called.