Chapter 23

More pleasure than she'd ever dreamed washed through her body. She dug her nails into Caddoc's back, just holding on for her life. Nothing mattered but this. No reality existed outside this hut, this bed. Her siblings were safe, and their futures assured. For the first time in her life, Georgie had the freedom to think of nothing but her own satisfaction.
He switched to suckle her other breast, drawing deep and strongly while he pumped his thick cock deep into her channel. Her spine bowed and her legs wrapped around his, drawing him deeper yet. Every fibre of her being tightened into a coil of sensation, as if she would simply burst from the pleasure.
"Georgie," he moaned, his lips tracing a line back up to her throat. His weight pressed her into the mattress, covering her like a blanket even as he filled her, body and soul. He thrust deeper, harder, and his teeth clamped down on the tendon at the base of her neck, just hard enough for her to feel two soft pricks.
She screamed his name as the world exploded in a firestorm of heat and light. Her body convulsed, as wave after wave of pleasure coursed through her veins, rippled along her skin. She clutched Caddoc with her arms, legs, and cunt, holding him to her as he stiffened and shouted her name. The warm wet splash of his seed filled her, causing another round of spasms to shudder through her core. Tears trickled down her cheeks at the sheer beauty of the experience.
Long moments later, Caddoc lifted himself up on his elbows and tenderly brushed a strand of hair away from her forehead. When he saw the tears, he used the pads of his thumbs to wipe them away. "Does it hurt so badly? I'm sorry, my sweet."
"No." She smiled up at him. "It did for just a bit, that's all. It was...beautiful. Thank you, Caddoc."
"No. Thank you, my love." This time his kiss was slow, sweet, and tender. Georgie fisted her hands in his silky dark hair and returned it. As they kissed, she felt his shaft stir inside her, hardening again.
"Is it always like that? So...intense?"
"No, sweet Georgie. 'Tis almost never like that. Never before, in my experience at least. Perhaps destiny is trying to tell us something."
Her smile, she knew, was rueful, disbelieving. He was a lord of the realm and she was nothing but the orphaned daughter of a village parson. She had no illusions of a future with Caddoc, despite his honourable statement of intent. But the memories of this night - those she would have to treasure for the rest of her life.
He flexed his buttocks, pushing deep into her channel again. She hummed at the initial pleasure, but then winced as he found a tender spot.
"Forgive me, love." As soon as she flinched, he withdrew and eased himself off of her. With a few steps he went over buy the fire and then returned with a damp cloth, sitting again beside her. "Let me help."
Georgie turned her face to the wall as he cleaned her, his touch gentle and deft. Though the lukewarm water soothed her abraded skin, this was somehow more intimate than his being inside her. To complete her embarrassment, when he finished, he leaned down and pressed a tender kiss on her nest of red curls.
"Better?"
"Thank you." What else did one say to the man who had just made her a woman? She merely watched as he used the rag to clean the blood - her blood - off his now-flaccid penis. Even in repose it seemed impressive, though she had nothing to compare it to. It was a far cry from the tiny thing she'd seen when she'd changed Richard's nappies.
He returned to lie beside her on the bed, propped up on one elbow, and pulled the blanket up over them both. She gazed up into his strikingly handsome face, trying to imprint every line of it into her memory.
"So tell me about the sword, my little warrior," he said with a boyish grin. "I've never before seen a weapon that could pierce a dragon's skin."
"It is said to be enchanted," she told him. "My mother's name was St. George, and that weapon has been handed down for centuries in her family. I didn't - couldn't believe that the St. George was really my ancestor, but now I'm not so certain."
"Aye." He tipped his head thoughtfully. "Aye, that would explain it then. So Miss Georgiana is named for her famous ancestor. How fitting."
"No." She chuckled ruefully. "My father had a fascination with the kings of England. Each child was supposed to be a boy, and bear the name of a great king. My sisters are Charlotte and Wilhelmina. My brother is Richard. Mama lost little Charles in between."
"I see. Whereas my father was determined to stick with solid Welsh names. Very provincial for a marquis. My sister Morwenna faced no little teasing during her London season."
Georgie's answer was interrupted by a yawn. Horrified that he should think he was boring her, she clapped her hand over her mouth.
"It's all right." His hum of laughter was as soft as a caress. He rolled to his back and drew her close against him, pillowing her head on his chest. "You've had an eventful day. Go to sleep, little one. Your adventure will only continue in the morning."
Caddoc couldn't believe he'd bitten Georgie. He'd read about the phenomenon in an ancestor's journal, but he'd never dreamed that he would indulge in such a primitive way of marking his mate. As she slept in his arms, he rubbed his thumb across the two tiny puncture marks, already healing at the base of her neck. He'd been warned that the dragon's mating frenzy was powerful, but he hadn't truly believed it would ever happen to him. He'd actually extended his fangs and bitten her without knowing what he was about. Now he knew why the family jewel collection included a large number of wide necklets. They would hide the scar of his mark on her skin.
A special license would be arranged as soon as he reached London. No question about that, not now. According to that same ancestor, the mating frenzy almost always produced an heir immediately.
He drifted off to sleep, thinking of her and envisioning their future together. She'd make an exceptional countess, with her concern for others and lively intelligence. Her eager sexuality pleased him even more. Marriage to her would never be boring.