"You wouldn't dare. You would never risk exposing your identity."
His eyebrow lifted, as if to ask whether she wanted to test her theory.
Resolving to call his bluff, Aurora put her hands on her hips in defiance. "Now that I think of it, I could report you to any number of governmental authorities. I expect the navy would be eager to recapture an escaped pirate."
A gleam lit his dark eyes. "I don't think you will turn me in. You don't want to see my neck stretched on the gallows."
Her frustration reached the boiling point. What she wanted was to wipe that knowing look off Nicholas's handsome face. It was utterly underhanded to use her concern for him as leverage to force her to do as he wished.
She couldn't possibly expose him, though. Not only because she was desperate to avoid the scandal that would ensue if he was found in her bedchamber, but because she couldn't bear to see any harm come to Nicholas. She nearly stamped her foot in vexation.
"You know very well I cannot denounce you," she finally muttered. "I don't want your death on my conscience."
"I knew you were a compassionate woman."
"Well, I thought you were a gentleman," Aurora retorted, infuriated by his reckless, irresistible charm.
"I am a gentleman."
"You most certainly are not. A gentleman would honor his promise."
"Which promise was that?" Nicholas asked, a lazy fire in his eyes. "The one regarding our union, where I pledged to love and cherish my bride?"
"The one where we agreed to one night of marriage."
"One night wasn't enough," he said softly.
"It will have to be. I don't intend to play the wanton with you."
Nicholas held out his hand. "Come here and kiss me, Aurora, before I decide to raise my voice."
She glared at him. "This is blackmail!"
"So it is."
"You are despicable."
"And you are as beautiful as I remember… more so, since the sadness in your eyes is gone. Come here. I won't claim my marital rights. I only want a kiss."
The velvet edge in his voice didn't reassure her in the least. Yet he might very well reveal his presence to her servants unless she did as he wanted. "One kiss, and then you will go?"
"If you insist."
"You swear it?"
"Unequivocally."
Every muscle in her body stiff, Aurora unwillingly complied. When she moved to stand beside the bed, however, Nicholas made no attempt to kiss her. Instead he took her hand.
Gazing up at her, he drew her forefinger completely into his mouth and suckled. A treacherous heat radiated suddenly from the pit of Aurora's stomach, and she had to stifle a gasp.
"You said one kiss," she said through clenched teeth.
"You can't deny the pleasure you feel," he murmured. "Your heart is beating much too rapidly for you to claim disinterest."
"Will you please just get on with it?"
"So impatient," Nicholas replied lightly.
He drew her down and pressed her back upon the bed, then eased his body over hers. She could feel the strength of him against her – the powerful granite of his thighs, the flat, hard belly, the muscles rippling in his chest and shoulders.
He remained that way for a long moment, gazing down into her eyes, his fingers cradling her cheek.
"Well?" Aurora demanded breathlessly, trying to ignore the temptation of his beautiful mouth.
"Sheathe your claws, siren. I only want to remind you of what you would be missing… the pleasure to be found in my arms," he whispered before his lips lowered to cover hers.
Chapter Ten
The strength of his desire alarmed me. Yet I was more frightened of myself, of the fierce desire he stirred within me .
Hunger ran rampant through Nicholas as he drank of Aurora's trembling mouth. Her lips were incredibly soft, her warmth feeding his senses like flame.
When she stirred restlessly beneath him, his hand closed in the silk of her hair, holding her still for his kiss, his tongue thrusting slow and deep, penetrating in a blatant imitation of what he yearned to do between her thighs.
In only moments, she was pressing against his fully aroused body, her hips rocking against his, seeking his hardness. He felt a surge of triumph at her helpless response. When she moaned softly, Nicholas shuddered, so swollen with need he felt near to bursting.
Yet he was the one who broke off the kiss. In an agony of desire, he rolled over onto his back, breathing harshly. He had vastly overestimated his control, he knew that now.
Draping an arm over his forehead, Nick sucked in a deep breath. He was still aching, his hardened shaft cramping beneath his breeches. But he didn't dare continue kissing Aurora. It had been a mistake even to touch her.
Beside him, she unsteadily rose up on her elbow, her hair sliding over her shoulders in an untamed fall of pale gold. She looked shaky, uncertain, as she gazed at him with wonder and concern in her wide blue eyes. She'd felt the same powerful forces that he had, he knew. The pure carnal desire. The raw, primal need that still throbbed through him. The intense, heart-wrenching feeling of intimacy that he'd never experienced with any other woman.
Oh, yes, the bond between them was very real.
"You can't pretend," he murmured, his voice edged with hoarseness, "that there is nothing between us."
"That… was only lust."
"Four months is indeed a long time for a man to be without a woman," he said wryly. "But I've endured longer abstinences. And my lust doesn't explain your response, dearheart. Come now, admit it. You wanted more than a kiss from me."
Her hand rose to her lips, still lush and wet from his kiss, and another fierce ache surged through Nicholas. The temptation to take her was so great, he had to lock his jaw against the yearning inside him.
He had best leave, before his resistance shattered, before he gathered Aurora in his arms and ravished her till they were both too exhausted to care about such matters as scandal and mortal danger.
Untangling himself, Nick rose and began to dress, aware that she was watching him warily.
"You really are leaving?" Aurora asked finally as he shrugged into his tunic.
"I said I would."
Evidently she didn't trust him to keep his word about settling for merely a kiss. And she clearly was still troubled about their situation.
"But what about our marriage, Nicholas? You do agree that we should not try to carry on as husband and wife? That we should live separate lives?"
Now wasn't at all a good time to admit he intended to claim her for his wife. "That does seem the best option at the moment."
He could almost sense her relief. His response evidently emboldened her to remark further.
"I do wish you would reconsider remaining in England and return home."
"My business here isn't yet concluded," Nicholas replied – not really a lie; Aurora was his business. He started to tie his costume's sash around his waist, but changed his mind. "I will, however, leave my sash and saber in your keeping. A pirate wandering the streets might arouse suspicion."
"It might indeed," Aurora replied with a renewed tartness. "You are bound to be discovered if you insist on this mad impersonation."
He flashed her a bold grin and finished dressing. When he had flung his cloak around his shoulders, tying the cords loosely at his throat, she was still regarding him with disapproval.
Nicholas hesitated. This was the first time in his life he could remember leaving a woman's bed without first finding satisfaction – or fully giving it. And this woman was his wife. With her sleep-tousled hair and passion-bruised lips, Aurora was so beautiful it made him ache.