Again the Magic (Wallflowers 0.5)(67)

Good Lord in heaven, Livia thought dazedly. Gentlemen suffering the aftereffects of an excess of strong spirits usually looked terrible. “Death’s head on a mop stick” was how Marcus liked to describe them. However, Livia had never seen anything as magnificent as an unshaven and unkempt Gideon Shaw in his bath.

Scowling, Shaw levered himself upward, causing water to slosh gently against the rim of the tub. Glittering rivulets slid over the muscular surface of his chest. “What are you doing here?” he asked curtly.

Livia was so mesmerized that she could barely manage a reply. Tearing her gaze away from him, she moistened her dry lips with the tip of her tongue. “I came to see if you were all right.”

“Now you’ve seen me,” he said coldly. “I’m fine. Get out.”

“You’re not fine,” she countered. “You’re intoxicated, and you probably haven’t eaten anything all day.”

“I’ll eat when I’m hungry.”

“You need something more nourishing than the contents of that glass, Mr. Shaw.”

His hard gaze met hers. “I know what I need, you presumptuous wench. Now leave, or you’re going to get a big eyeful of Gideon Shaw.”

Livia had never been called a wench before. She supposed she should be offended, but instead she felt a little smile push up from her chest. “I’ve always thought it so pompous for someone to refer to himself in the third person.”

“I’m a Shaw,” he replied, as if that was a perfectly acceptable exemption for pomposity.

“Do you know what is going to happen to you if you keep drinking this way? You’re going to turn into an ugly wreck of a man, with a big red nose and an overhanging belly.”

“Is that so,” he said stonily, tossing back the rest of his liquor in a deliberate swallow.

“Yes, and your brain will rot away.”

“I can hardly wait.” He leaned over the edge of the tub, setting the glass of ice on the carpet.

“And you’ll be impotent,” Livia finished triumphantly. “Sooner or later, alcohol robs a man of his virility. When was the last time you made love to a woman, Mr. Shaw?”

Evidently the challenge was too much for him to withstand. Shaw clambered out of the tub with a sneer. “Are you asking for proof of my potency? By all means—come and get it.”

As Livia’s gaze swept over his rampantly aroused body, she felt herself turn crimson. “I-I should probably go now. I’ll leave you to consider what I’ve said—” She whirled to escape, but before she could take a step, he reached her, and caught her from behind. Livia stopped, her eyes closing at the feel of the wet masculine body pressing against her back. His dripping forearm locked just beneath her br**sts.

“Oh, I’m considering it, my lady,” he said near her ear. “And I’ve just come to the conclusion that there’s only one truly effective rebuttal for your argument.”

“No need,” she gasped, while his arm shifted and his hand cupped over her left breast. Heat and water soaked through the fabric, causing her nipple to tighten against his palm. “Oh—”

“You shouldn’t cast aspersions on my virility. It’s a subject we men are rather touchy on.”

Livia began to tremble, her head falling back against his shoulder. His warm hand left her breast, swept over the exposed skin of her neck, then slipped beneath the edge of her bodice. She jolted as she felt him touch the hard tip of her nipple. “I’ll have to remember that,” she whispered.

“See that you do.” Turning her in his arms, he covered her mouth with his. The softness of his lips, surrounded by the wiry scratch of unshaven bristle, was wildly exciting. Livia arched up to him fervently, her hands sliding over his gleaming body. Realizing dimly that she was about to take her first lover after Amberley, Livia tried to gather her wits…but it was impossible to think, with Gideon kissing her over and over, until they both sank to their knees on the water-splotched carpet.

Pushing Livia to her back, Gideon settled into the billowing heap of her skirts. He unfastened the first few buttons of her bodice and pulled the top of her chemise downward, revealing the shallow curves of her br**sts. She wanted him to kiss them. She wanted his mouth on her, his tongue…the thought of it drew a moan from her throat.

Breathing fast, Gideon levered his body farther over hers, reaching for something just beyond her head. She heard the rattle of melting ice, and for a moment of confusion, Livia wondered if he was going to take a drink, now of all times. But he fished a shard of ice from the glass and popped it into his mouth, and then, to her bewilderment, he bent his head over her. He engulfed the tip of her breast in an icy kiss, his tongue sweeping across the nipple with chilling, supple strokes. Livia wriggled beneath him with an astonished cry, but Gideon held her down and persisted, until the ice dissolved and his mouth warmed. The heavy length of his arousal pressed against the inside of her thigh, while each caress of his tongue tightened a coil of pleasure in Livia’s belly. Sliding her hands into his thick, damp golden hair, she held his head against her, while her h*ps strained upward.

But Gideon pulled away suddenly, rolling off her with a groan. “No,” he said raggedly. “The first time can’t be like this. I’m too damned drunk to do it properly, and I won’t insult you that way.”