B-ronken-R-ing 159...

As she chuckled and passionately kissed her husband back, Raúl grimaced and shook his head discreetly before leaving the room.

As soon as they were left alone, Cárcel advanced until Inés found herself pressed against the wall.

"You fill me with such contentment, Inés, that my appetite's sated before I've even eaten anything," he whispered, a sigh of pleasure escaping his lips. His hands traveled up her sides, his body hovering close to hers as if he were holding himself back. His fingertips nearly brushed just beneath the curve of her breasts before resting on her stomach, caressing it for a moment and then reluctantly releasing her.

"That is only your imagination. You must eat first," Inés admonished softly.

"Perhaps, but I need to wash myself before anything else. It's been a while since I last set foot on a ship, and the salty sea air is still clinging to me."

"Is that so?"

"Oh, you'd better not get too close. I reek of sea air. No need to confirm it. I shall go and wash, then-"

Inés put a hand on the nape of his neck and got on her tiptoes, burying her face into the crook of his neck. "I cannot tell. You smell like yourself to me."

Cárcel suppressed a groan that sounded like an expletive. His large hand grasped the back of her head. Inés leaned into his touch, her eyes lifting to meet his as he muttered, "Didn't you insist I should eat first?"

"I did," she replied with a leisurely nod, even as her hand slid down his chest, teasingly brushing over the evident arousal beneath his white uniform breeches. She didn't seem to care at all that they were still standing near the entrance of their residence, where anyone might stumble upon them at any moment.

He grimaced. "And yet here you are, fanning my desire."

"You were already aroused before I touched you," Inés pointed out in a teasing tone as she withdrew her hand.

But his grip on the back of her head remained firm, and she had no intention of pulling away. The next instant, his lips claimed hers with an urgency that stole her breath.

His other hand snatched up her wrist, guiding it back to where it had been. Inés let out a hot breath, heavy with desire, as Cárcel pressed her palm against the rigid swell beneath his white uniform breeches. She allowed him to move her hand however he pleased, her pulse quickening at the overwhelming firmness beneath her hand. The force of his hips grinding against her palm, as if he could no longer restrain himself, sent a thrill through her, and she felt as though her legs were already spread apart with him pounding inside her right by the front door.

Cárcel cursed aloud this time before sweeping her off her feet. "Blast it, Inés. You really are irresistibly seductive. Do you know that?" he growled, his voice rough with desire as he nibbled on her earlobe.

Inés chuckled and replied in a sultry whisper, "And does that displease you?"

"I find it so intoxicating that it could very well be my undoing," Cárcel admitted, kicking open the door to the drawing room behind her.

"What kind of husband accuses his wife of leading him to his ruin?"

"You push me beyond reason so effortlessly. Always. You drive me to the brink of madness, unable to resist, no matter where we stand..."

Instead of carrying her upstairs, he settled for the closest bit of privacy he could find, as though putting a door between them and the rest of the household was all he could manage. He closed the door behind them and immediately placed her on the narrow console table nearby. Though they had explored their desires in almost every room and on every surface upstairs, they had only ever exchanged brief touches on the first floor-until now, which proved how she had ignited a fire within him that he could not extinguish.

The more she candidly expressed her affection for him, the more he displayed unbridled desire for her, and she delighted in watching him like this. Cárcel Escalante, unrestrained, a man consumed by thoughts of her and only her.

Her man. Her heart.

"I find it utterly endearing when you lose your restraint," Inés whispered.

"Did you just call me endearing?"

"Does that embarrass you? I also enjoy watching you act as though you lack experience." Inés spread her legs, drawing him between them as she removed the baldric that crossed his chest. The leather strap bearing his weapons fell to the floor with a dull thud.

"That baldric was made from the fox hide you gifted me. Isn't it nice?" he asked.

"I couldn't care less about that at this moment," she said dismissively, not even sparing a glance at the hunting trophy she had obtained a few months ago and pulling at his belt instead.

Cárcel let out a low chuckle at her hurried tone and began to unravel the ribbon at the front of her dress. The fact that he left the back ribbon of her dress tied was a clear sign that he had not entirely forgotten they were still on the first floor.

He buried his face into her cleavage with her bosom only halfway exposed as he hiked the skirt of her dress up to her thighs. One hand slipped between her legs, tracing the slick wetness that had already soaked her undergarment. "Since when did you start getting wet, Inés? Hmm?" he murmured with a teasing edge.

A small gasp escaped her lips. "Since the moment you first kissed me..."

"Sometimes, I feel like I might drown in your allure."

"I understand, but you must remember to breathe."

"You'll be the death of me, Inés... Is that why you seduced me? I cannot believe a mere kiss could have you so wet... Tell me, Inés, does this happen every time we kiss, even when we are beyond these walls of our residence?"

"I only became this wet afterward," Inés clarified without a trace of shame.

Cárcel pretended not to hear her as he slipped a finger into her, not bothering to push aside the fabric. He clearly intended to tease her-circling her entrance, eliciting lewd, wet sounds that echoed in the room.

She furrowed her eyebrows, moaning as the fabric of her undergarment twisted into her opening, now thoroughly soaked. Each thrust of his finger pulled the fabric taut, rubbing against her sensitive core and causing her to squirm.

He stared down at her pale bosom with a feral look in his eyes as her breasts wobbled along with her movement, and he gripped one with his free hand, tugging at her nipple as he whispered against her lips, "I want to know how long you've been this wet, Inés."

"As soon as I imagined doing this with you... When you guided my hand to-" Her words dissolved into an involuntary moan.

His finger suddenly stopped its ministrations down below and his girth pressed against her. He had pushed her underwear aside, not bothering to take it off. His width pressed into her narrow opening, quickly inserting itself halfway. It was enough to make her feel too full already as she twitched and tightened around him.

"You need to relax, Inés," Cárcel mumbled leisurely against her lips, kissing them lightly.

"I can't..." she gasped.

"Otherwise, I won't be able to reach deep inside, where it feels good for you. Right?"

"It feels so good that I can't relax, so just... push!"

"At times you really make your life harder, Inés," he growled, even as he slowly pushed in further until there was no more room for his length.

As slow as he was going, his girth was already difficult to accommodate. He filled her up completely. She felt fuller than she ever had.

Strangely enough, even this fullness occasionally felt like it wasn't enough. Though she knew he couldn't possibly go any further, she wanted to take him in deeper. She wanted to surround him further, even if it hurt. She wanted it to feel even more real than it already did.

Inés's hand, which had wandered aimlessly over his back at the sensation of his overwhelming girth then rested on his backside and pulled him closer. Just then, he pulled back to leave her empty and thrust back inside. Their breathy moans intermingled as her mind went blank at how deep he was thrusting up into her. His large member pressed into her tight hole as if forcing it open before pulling back out until only the tip was barely still inside her and immediately thrusting back into her depths, reaching her favorite spot before her opening had the chance to tighten again.

Inés couldn't resist the tears that traveled down her cheeks at how full he made her feel as she desperately wrapped her arms around him. Cárcel licked up her tears and grabbed her by the chin with his free hand, tilting her head back. They exchanged a passionate, sloppy kiss as they sucked in each other's breath. It was more like a starved gluttony and an urgent need rather than romance. Cárcel's tongue thrust into her mouth just as he thrust into her from below. Inés bit down on and sucked on his lips painfully. When they ran out of breath, they nestled their noses together and buried their faces against each other.

Just as her vision began to blur, his lips sought out hers in another all-consuming kiss. He swallowed up her moans before they could take form as she climaxed. Cárcel slowed down his movement as if to give her shuddering walls a break before grabbing her and thrusting back into her hard just as she nearly slumped back at the overwhelming ecstasy.

Inés's head bumped against the wall as she failed to straighten up in time. Cárcel hurriedly placed a hand against the back of her head. His gentle and careful gesture juxtaposed his wild thrusts as he refused to slow down. She leaned back against his hand, her eyebrows furrowed helplessly as she looked up at him. Her eyes were unfocused, clouded only with desire and no sign of pain. Cárcel removed his lips from hers as if to watch her more intently.

His other hand caressed her cheek as if he felt sorry for her, but his fingers were still damp from when he pumped them into her before. Her cheek and lips shone as he spread her juices across them. Cárcel's eyes suddenly darkened as his hand lowered down to her clitoris, starting to rub at the wet, sensitive knot. Having already climaxed, Inés writhed at the overwhelming stimulation.

"No, aah... Please, Cárcel... If you keep doing that-"

"You can come, Inés."

Every time he entered her, her juices squelched and splattered out. Cárcel's hand at the back of her head bumped against the wall with each powerful thrust as he littered her skin with butterfly kisses.

"I feel like I might lose it, Cárcel. I might actually go insane..." she muttered in a daze, her words punctuated with moans and gasps as she pushed him away as if to escape from him. As if the huge wave of her second climax looming over her frightened her.

But he wrapped his arms around her tighter. "It doesn't hurt, right? It's not frightening, is it, Inés?" he whispered gently but persistently, not letting her go.

Inés face was covered in tears. She liked him so much that it hurt.

Another climax washed over her. Her vision went dark for a moment as her walls squeezed and trembled around his length. Cárcel gritted his teeth, thrusting up into her a few more times before coming inside of her.

She felt the lukewarm juices filling her up. The strange sensation of being satiated quieted her thoughts. She nearly couldn't feel him pulling out and his seed seeping out at her entrance.

Suddenly, a voice inside her head knocked against her consciousness with the force of a rock hitting her head. "The last thing I ever wanted was to have your children, Escalante."

The unfamiliar feeling kept Inés in a daze as she watched him step away from her. It was her own voice, but it sounded younger and on edge. It stabbed into her consciousness like a knife.

"I never wanted anything like that to begin with."

Her tone was deliberately spiteful, as if she meant to hurt him. She stared up at Cárcel in case he had overheard this voice that rang out like that of a vengeful spirit in this very room. But her perception was so skewed that she could hardly even tell how far away he was.

He felt too distant. Cárcel was too far away. It looked to her like he was standing far away, barely within sight, even though he had simply stepped away for a moment to reach into his uniform and take out a handkerchief to clean her up.

Inés tried to call out to him, but no sound came from her mouth.

The voice inside her memories continued to torment her. "Why did you start to like me? Why on earth did you have to do that?"

"I'm sorry."

"I never wanted your child, or even you."

"I know, Inés."

"Never once did I wish to be your wife... Escalante, I never once liked you."

"I know."

"It is awful that you are so fond of me. I am sick of you making me into such a horrible person. I am disgusted by the way you hold back and do nothing but smile no matter what I say. Why do you like someone like me? I despise you. I despise all of this..."

"I am sorry for liking you so much, Inés. It's all my fault... If you do not want me to, I will never smile at you again. I am so afraid that you might collapse again... I beg of you. I do not need a child. So please, do not cry."

"In that case, Escalante... if I tell you I never want to see you again, will you disappear from my sight?"

"Inés?" Cárcel had come close before she noticed and was caressing her cheeks. "What's wrong? Did I torment you too much?"

The distance that had seemed too wide had disappeared, and she could feel the worry in his fingertips against her cheeks. His warmth was overwhelming.

Inés was afraid of hearing that horrifying voice-that she might hear 'his' answer. The things she was afraid of never remembering were now frightening to think about. That face that had pleaded with her, promising never to smile again. She was afraid of remembering his face as she had spitefully asked him whether he would be willing to disappear and never show himself again.

"Inés... please look at me," Cárcel urged her gently.

Inés raised her shaking arms and wrapped them around his neck, holding him close as though the world consisted of only the two of them.