Nicholas strode past her, but instead of leaving, he swung the door shut. When he turned to her, she felt as if she might melt from the blistering heat of his eyes. "Listen to me – " Crossing to her, he grasped her by the shoulders.
She recoiled from him, struggling. "Don't touch me…" She tried to pull away, but he wouldn't release her. Enraged, she drew back her hand and struck his face with her open palm.
His head jerked back, while his face went so dark that she instinctively stepped back.
Aurora stared, horrified by what she had done. She had never struck anyone in her life. Dear God, she was no better than her father… And Nicholas… He looked as if he might strike her in return.
"I… I'm sorry…" she stammered, her heart pounding as she waited for his expected explosion.
It never came.
"You're sorry?" he asked softly. His expression had suddenly changed.
Moving slowly, inexorably, toward her, he backed her to the wall, pinning her with his body. His eyes were ablaze, astonishingly not with anger, but with a fierce tenderness.
"Don't be sorry, Aurora," he goaded, his grasp a velvet manacle on her wrist. "I would rather have you lashing out at me than keeping your rage bottled up. Strike me again, if you want."
Her heart slammed against her ribs as she stared at him. His thighs burned into hers; his breath seared her lips. His expression was hard and sensual, his eyes dark with arousal. He was going to kiss her, she knew.
"Don't…" she protested in a shaking undertone. "I don't want you to touch me."
"No? Then why are you quivering? Why is your pulse so wild?"
Reaching down, he lifted her skirts and slid his hand under them and up her thigh, his hard, warm palm shocking on her bare skin. She went rigid, then gasped when his fingers found her feminine cleft.
He laughed, a low, taunting sound, deliberately inciting her. "Your body tells a different story, Aurora. You're so responsive, I have only to touch you and you grow wet." He stroked her slowly, making her throb.
Her hands rose to his shoulders, half clinging, half pushing, as she struggled to break free. "Stop…!" she gasped as his fingers slid deeper into her slick warmth.
"You want me, sweeting. You want me moving between your legs, filling you."
"I don't…" she denied, but her protests were lies. Her entire body ached for him, her blood was on fire.
Nicholas felt the same fire. Just touching her had made him harden in the space of a breath. He was aching enough to burst. He clenched his teeth, wanting to seize and possess and consume.
He could feel her resistance, but no fear. Had he sensed that, he would have stopped at once, but she wasn't afraid of him. And he wouldn't back down this time. He wanted a fight from Aurora, wanted her fury. Fury was a short step from passion, and he wanted her passion more than he'd ever wanted anything in his life. He wanted to destroy her rigid control, to release her rage, to show her that fierce emotion wasn't such a terrible thing.
He stared into her blue, blue eyes. Each time he touched her, she responded like a woman desperate to live, desperate to love, but she wouldn't let go unless he drove her to it.
Purposefully he bent his head.
The hard kiss robbed her of breath. Expert, ruthless, he crushed her mouth with his, until a quickening, blinding throb of raw sensation caught her in its grasp. Feeling her shuddering response, Nicholas drew back, his own eyes hard and filled with a low, dangerous flame.
Aurora froze, shaking, as she read his intent. Before she could stop him, he had unfastened his breeches. Open lust burned in his narrowed eyes as his thighs spread hers, pressing her back against the wall. The thrill of it made her tremble.
She drew a shattered breath. "God, Nicholas… not here."
"Yes, here."
His hands clasping her waist, he lifted her up and lowered her onto his engorged erection, entering her with one smooth, powerful thrust. Her eyes widened in shock as she felt his hot penetration; her breath fled at the feeling of being stretched, filled by his swollen flesh.
His breathing turned harsh as he held himself still, sheathed tightly in her. A heartbeat later, he withdrew, only to drive into her deeply again. Huge and hot and urgent, he forced her legs wide open as he plunged his shaft hard into her.
She moaned helplessly, and suddenly her body could not remain still. She arched her hips against him, clinging as he took her with a savage rhythm. She had never known desire could be so primitive, so raw and angry. So fierce. It was madness.
She felt the fire in her veins, in every nerve. Her body burned. She had never felt more alive in her life. Alive with passion, with hunger, with need.
He moved relentlessly inside her, scalding her, making her wild. She gave a sob with each rocking jolt, each tumultuous sensation, until without warning, ecstasy burst upon her and she came in a savage explosion.
He captured her cry with his mouth as her body spasmed in a wrenching shudder. Moments later he gave a low, rough groan and erupted in his own harsh climax, his powerful body clenching in convulsions of fierce release.
In the shattering aftermath Aurora sagged against him, almost too drained to feel the exquisite waves of pleasure ripple through her. For long minutes there was silence, the only sound the mingling of their jagged breaths. She couldn't speak. Her throat was parched, her flesh still sweetly pulsing, aching erotically between her thighs.
Finally, though, Nicholas cursed, a low dangerous sound.
Dazed, Aurora opened her eyes to find him watching her, his dark gaze intense, searching. When she saw his look, realization suddenly returned full force. Dear God, what had she done?
"Let me go," she whispered.
"Aurora…" Nicholas began, but she cut him off.
"Let me go!" she demanded, her voice stronger.
Obligingly he eased himself from her and lowered her to the floor, but she could barely stand, her limbs were so weak. His expression was enigmatic, remote, as he stepped back to fasten his breeches.
Aurora closed her eyes in despair, stunned by her wantonness. They had mated like animals. She had let Nicholas take her in her drawing room, where any of her servants could see. Where Harry could have returned to find them…
"How dare you?" she murmured raggedly. "How dare you treat me like a common trollop?"
Nicholas went still. "You are wrong, sweetheart. I treated you like a woman. A passionate woman who isn't afraid to feel fire in her blood."
He had struck a nerve, he could see it in her bruised expression, hear it in her furious undertone when she replied.
"Get out. I never want to see you again."
His jaw hardened. "I am still your husband, Aurora," he said softly. "I can take you any time, any place I choose."
She gave him a scathing look. "I told you to go."
Clenching his jaw, Nicholas stared at her, at her defiant, icy eyes, her quivering mouth still damp and reddened from his kiss. Even after his powerful release, he still wanted her. He could count each pulse of his heartbeat in the rigid flesh of his new erection. Yet he didn't dare touch her again. If he did, he wasn't certain he could control his lust, or his own anger.
"You are lying to yourself," he replied, his voice tightly controlled. "You want me. There's a hunger in you that you can't fill."
He saw the raw pain in her blue eyes, but when he took a step toward her, she flinched.
"Don't touch me."
His jaw set rigidly, he turned away, but when he reached the door, Nicholas hesitated. His laugh was short, harsh, almost inaudible. "Can you credit it? When I first met you, I thought you were one of the bravest women I had ever known. I was wrong. You're a coward. It takes courage to face yourself, to admit your fears and deal with them." He paused. "When you think you're woman enough to do that, Aurora, let me know."