Scoundrel With A Noble Heart (sequel of Disgraceful)

Chapter 72

Matthew and Arabella spent the rest of the journey exploring each other's body in every conceivable way, discovering new things as they continued making love whenever they could. The last couple of days had been pure, erotic bliss. Matthew couldn't understand how it kept getting better and better. Every climax was more explosive than before. The more they made love, the more they craved each other's body. Their cravings for each other seemed to know no bounds. One day, they decided to delay their trip and spend the entire day making love on every surface of the rented room. They left the bed only to go to the restroom, they barely ate, too consumed by their other needs. Throughout their endless intercourses, Matthew found out that Arabella was a bold, adventurous lover that was willing to try anything at all. Much as it excited him, the fact that she seemed to be too experienced for a virgin intrigued and annoyed him. So, in the languid aftermath of their vigorous exertion, he mustered the courage to bring up the subject,
"Bella, may I ask you something?"

Head resting on the pillow next to him with eyes closed and lips curled up in a contented smile, Arabella answered,
"Mmmhmm?"

He swallowed past an uneasy knot in his throat.
"How far have you gone with Jeremy?"

She rolled over onto her stomach, clearly taken aback by the question. Seeing the shocked expression on her face, he quickly explained,

"Don't get me wrong. It makes no difference to me. I just... I just want to learn more about you, because you matter a lot to me. But if you don't feel comfortable with that, you don't need to answer my question."

Arabella hesitated for a moment.
"Do you really want to know?"

He braced himself and nodded. She dropped her gaze and made small circles on the sheets with her finger.
"To tell you the truth, there's nothing we haven't tried, except for the completion of the act."

Against better judgment, he ventured deeper,
"Tell me the most wicked thing you did with him."

"Hmmm... I really can't decide. I'd let him do any manner of vice to me."
She paused, then looked up at him.
"Does the fact that I am unchaste make me less in your eyes?"

"Not at all. I don't care if you have slept with a hundred men. You will always be perfect for me."

"Enough about me. Now let's talk about you."
Lying on her side with head propped on her elbow, she asked,
"I still find it hard to believe that I'm the only woman you've ever been with. Tell me the truth, have you ever slept with another woman?"

The question brought back the horrible memories of Aunt Ginny, and he turned as still as death.

"I've got a feeling that you're hiding something from me. You need to know, I won't be upset or jealous." She continued, unaware of his change of mood.
"I'm just curious, who's your first woman?"

With efforts, he managed to reply,
"It's you. You are my first and my last."

Arabella's playful smile faded at the words. Instead of flattered, she felt burdened.
"Matthew, you don't need to-"

But before she could finish her sentence, he rolled over her and put a stop to the conversation with a fervent kiss. She wriggled in protest, but when his hand slipped between her legs, her words turned into gasps. And in hardly any time at all, gasps turned to moans. He managed to keep her mind occupied for the next thirty minutes, and make her forget about everything as he brought her to yet another peak of ecstasy. To his great relief, she fell asleep from exhaustion shortly afterwards. Plagued by the ghost of his past, it took longer for Matthew to find slumber, but eventually he drifted off after midnight. Even then he could hardly find a moment's respite. His sleep was haunted by nightmares, and sometime around the small hours, he roused from sleep at the pressure of an unknown weight atop him.