Rosalie is
harassed by a man in dark London streets. Lord Randall Berkeley rescues her -
but only with the intention to use her himself. He takes the witless girl to
his apartment and, when she comes around the following morning, demands her
sexual favors as a thank you for helping her.
Where Passion Leads (1987) by Lisa Kleypas,
chapter 2. Exerpt from an eBook.
"Don't,"
she finally said in a cry that sounded smothered under his mouth, aware that
the masculine body so close to hers was powerful enough to break her in two.
Inexorably he dragged her to the bed and tossed his robe to the floor. She gave
a little squeak as she realized that he was naked. "I am personal maid to
Lady Winthrop, companion to her daughter! I—"
"I
don't care if you're femme de chambre to the Princess of Wales," he
muttered, flinging her across the mattress and spreading her arms wide. Her
wrists strained against the confinement of his warm hands until her fingers
were numb. Rosalie could feel every detail of him through the thin material of
her underclothes. The solid heaviness of his chest and shoulders was a
burdensome weight on her breasts, and she writhed in discomfort. Quaking, she
shrank from the taut pull of muscle across his waist and stomach, the resilient
strength of the legs that eased hers apart. Most unfamiliar of all was the bold
heat that branded her as his hips pressed into the cradle of hers. Fear spread
through every pore like a delicate liquid, causing her pulse to rocket, her
thoughts to crash against each other.
"Don't
do this to me. You could have anyone," Rosalie panted, trying to escape
the heat of him between her legs. Rand responded by settling more deeply
against her, hard and impatient for the softness of her body. The light
feminine scent of her, the young warmth of her flesh caused a hunger inside him
that he had not felt in a long time. It was unexpected, the strength of this
desire for a reluctant maid. "Please . . . I've never been with a
man," she whispered, pulling out her last card, and he stilled. Hazel eyes
met brilliant blue in a split second of challenge. Momentarily Rand allowed
himself to wonder if what she claimed was true. But it couldn't be. Someone in
her position and with her looks would have lost her innocence years ago. Comely
housemaids were readily accessible and very desirable targets for men of almost
any means and station.
"I
don't believe you," Rand replied flatly.
"It's
true, damn you!"
Prompted by
painful arousal and the inexplicable necessity to have her, Rand closed his
mind to the possibility that she was not lying. It must be, he reasoned, that
she was afraid he would not recompense her well for her favors, or perhaps she
was merely playing the tease to heighten his desire for her. He was well used
to that game.
"Then,"
he drawled insouciantly, "it seems I'm called upon to find proof of your
claim." He transferred both of her wrists into one hand. Her fingernails
curved into fragile, translucent claws. Desperately Rosalie fought, but even
in her fury there was little she could do to stop him. He stripped her garments
off easily, with an offhand attitude that was as much an indignity as a
physical violation. Her naked body quivered in reaction to the cool air and
the unfamiliar experience of being revealed completely in the daylight. Sickly
Rosalie closed her eyes as Rand inhaled slowly. He placed a warm, gentle hand
on her finely structured rib cage, his reverent touch drifting upward along the
velvet skin to the fullness of her breast. As he took its weight in his palm,
the expert caress of his thumb brought the tender softness of her nipple to
complete arousal. At the same time he bent over her other breast and took it
into his mouth, the heated flick of his tongue sweeping over her again and
again. Her soft skin, her quivering flesh . . . was so sweet . . .
As Rosalie
struggled against him she realized he was ten times stronger. His body was hard
and invulnerable, built for aggression, so very different from her own. The
hair on his chest brushed against her skin like rough silk, the abrasion
feeling unutterably strange. I don't believe it is happening, Rosalie thought,
frozen with shame as she pictured the scene from above. Herself, pale-skinned
in the morning light, stretched out on the rumpled luxury of the bed, the man
devoting his attention to the most private parts of her body as if he owned
them. His dark amber hair gleaming immaculately, his large hands cupped around
her, one of his legs insinuated between her tense and parted knees. She could
barely hear through the labored rushing of her breathing and the drumming of
her heart.
"This
is disgusting," she choked, and he dragged his mouth up to the fragile
line of her jaw, careful not to disarrange the silk kerchief around her neck.
"A
wounding observation. Usually my services are more highly recommended,"
Rand said, his mouth curving in a momentary touch of humor. She turned her face
away from him, clenching every muscle in rejection of what was occurring. She
merely succeeded in imprisoning his leg more securely between hers. Then her
breath caught in her throat as his hand stroked over the lowest part of her
abdomen. "If you would relax, I believe this would all be more . . .
tolerable to you," he suggested gently, and Rosalie thought she would die
of shock as his fingertips drifted in an idle pattern through her soft, light
curls. The world was spinning crazily, its humming whirl resonating in her
head. The scents of bare masculine skin and sandalwood soap drifted seductively
to her nostrils.
"Don't!"
she choked, yet still the strange undreamedof caress continued while she lay
under him like a block of ice. It deepened, intensified until he was stroking
the snug, shrinking tenderness of her virgin flesh, watching her stiff
expression curiously. He continued until two wavering tears of humiliation
wound their way down the sides of her face, yet still he did not appear
satisfied with her response. "When are you going to stop?" The words
fitfully issued from her lips, and Rand's mouth thinned. He discarded all
efforts to make the act more pleasurable for her.
"You
would prefer a fast-paced finale? I'll endeavor to oblige you," he said,
and before she could take another breath he thrust into her, hard and demanding,
rending her feminine softness without restraint. Rosalie cried out in surprise
and pain, her body arching sharply into his in immediate reaction. The disembodied
feeling returned as she realized that he had penetrated inside of her, that he
remained there and was suddenly still as he stared into her dazed face. Rand
whispered something, a trace of some undefinable emotion in his tone. He
remained unmoving as Rosalie endured the uncomfortable sensation of being
filled, too much and too deep. He held her face between his hands, but she
would not meet his eyes or accept the touch of his mouth. She had not wanted to
be possessed by him, neither did she want his consolation. Patiently he let her
adjust to the feel of his body, allowing the first shock to wear off before he
began to ease in and out of her with exquisite care.
As remorse
mingled with his desire, Rand's manner changed entirely. He was extraordinarily
gentle, trying to soften the stiffness of her body with his touch, brushing the
lightest of kisses across her face. Although she lay underneath him like a
stone, he continued to make love to her in a way that ordinarily would have
given a woman unimaginable pleasure. But she was a virgin, and not only her
body but also her spirit was wounded. She felt no gratification from his touch,
only degradation.
Rosalie's
arms, freed now, drifted down to her sides as she felt the control and the
power of his movements echo through her body. Each thrust aggravated the
burning discomfort between her legs, and she felt as if she had been scorched
by some inner fire. Now I know what it's like, she thought dully, her quivering
thighs locked on either side of his. It was just what Amille had predicted it
to be, full of pain, embarrassment, the baseness of physical desire. She had
been told that women were created to serve man's needs, to give pleasure with
their bodies. But how, Rosalie wondered miserably, did a man find pleasure in
this? She doubted now that she would ever submit to someone voluntarily, not
to this kind of invasion, this insult to her innocence, her dignity.
Finally,
mercifully, he stopped, tensing as he pressed into the feminine sheath of her,
then breathing out with a taut sigh. Exhausted, Rosalie lay beside him in
misery, turning away as soon as he moved off her. She could feel rather than
see the unnerving gaze that swept up and down her body. Rand glanced at the
sheet, shaking his head slightly at the fresh stain of bright red. Even with
such obvious proof, it was difficult to believe that she had been an innocent.
He had never taken a woman's virginity until now. Baffled and disquieted, he
rose on one elbow and contemplated her forlorn figure silently. At age
twenty-eight Rand had known a considerable number of women, yet not one of them
had provided such acute pleasure as he had just experienced. Somewhere in the
midst of possessing her, his lusty enjoyment of her body had changed into
awareness of her fragility. How vulnerable she was, how delicate the feel of
her body clasping him, how crude his pleasure had been in comparison to her
tender inexperience. She should not have been used so, and he felt a shame in
the realization, a shame he covered up with his customary brusqueness.
"You
were telling the truth," he admitted quietly, and as Rosalie quivered with
hatred, she refused to look at him.
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