by Galen, Shana
“Come in.”
“I hope I do not bother you.” She stepped inside, her gaze going directly to the bed. “I was afraid you would be asleep already.”
“Still awake.” He’d removed his coat and his cravat hung loose, but he still wore his shirt and breeches. “And you could never be a bother to me. In fact, I’m glad you’re here. There’s something I want to discuss with you privately.” He gestured to the bed. “Sit with me a moment.”
She looked at the bed and then him. He wondered if she too was remembering the passion they’d shared there a few nights ago. Slowly, she nodded and sat on the bed. He sat beside her, careful their knees did not brush.
“I don’t mind people coming here to buy your lace, and if you are truly uncomfortable with attending Lady Philomena’s garden party, I will send our regrets.”
“But that is why I came to see you.” She put her hand on his knee as though to comfort him, and he almost jumped out of his skin. She didn’t seem to notice. “I do want to attend, and I want to thank you for having faith in me. I will do my best not to embarrass you. I know I was born a peasant in a small village in Portugal. I have no pedigree, no illustrious family tree.”
“I don’t care about that.” How could she think that mattered to him?
“There will be people at the garden party who will. But I will not embarrass you. I have lived in cities and dealt with the upper classes enough to know how to behave.”
“I never worried about that for a moment. And even if you did say the wrong thing, or ran through the lawn with your shoes off, it wouldn’t embarrass me. Nothing about you could ever embarrass me.”
“That is kind of you. Why are you so kind to me?” Her hand moved in lazy circles on his knee.
“I’m not being kind—”
“But you are! You have always been kind. From the first time I met you, you were kind. I certainly do not deserve it. I have caused you nothing but trouble.”
Because her hand was distracting him, he lifted it and kissed it. “Do you want the truth?”
She nodded.
“I suppose it’s because I was drawn to you from the first time I saw you. I probably should be ashamed of myself. I’m far too old to be lusting after a woman of your age.”
She brought her hand up and placed two fingers over his lips. “You are not old. And you are not the only one who lusted. One reason I picked you to be my husband was because I thought you quite the most handsome soldier of all of them. You sat so tall on your horse. You were so in command. I wanted you.”
“And now?” he asked, his voice hoarse and his lips tingling as they moved against her fingers.
“I still want you. I still lust for you.”
“When you didn’t come back the last few nights—”
“I did not want to seem greedy or wanton...and there were thoughts in my head I needed to sort.”
“Catarina,” Benedict said. “I don’t mind at all if you’re both greedy and wanton.” He believed that was part of it, but she was also testing him. She’d wanted to see what would happen if she did not come to him. He must have passed her test.
She smiled back. “Oh, really?” She stood, pulling her hands away. “Then I have something to show you.”
His mouth went dry as she reached for his cravat and drew it slowly from his neck. She draped it over her own neck so it slid down the front of her thin robe. Then she reached for the buttons at his throat and undid each.
“You don’t have to do this,” he said.
“I have been thinking of little else for the past few days. I had to start two pieces over because I was not paying attention.”
With the collar of his shirt open, she slid her hand down the V of bared skin, causing his flesh to heat as though fire licked at him.
“I wish you’d come to me sooner.”
She reached for the hem of his shirt and pulled it from his breeches then unfastened the cuffs. “I suppose I have also stayed away because I have been afraid that the more we are together in this way, the more I will want to remain married. I will lose my independence. You will want a wife who keeps your home, not works in a shop.”
“What the hell gave you that idea?”
She seemed to consider as she pushed his shirt up his chest and then over his head. “I do not know, but I began to realize how foolish that thought was when I saw what you were doing for me. You were selling my lace. You were working to expand my business by gathering invitations.” She dropped the shirt on the floor, and her hands rested on his shoulders.
“You’re talented,” he said, trying not to think about her hands on his bare flesh. “I want you to succeed. But it’s more than that.”
“Oh?” Her hands ran up and down his biceps casually.
“I don’t like seeing someone like Juan Carlos prey on those he considers weaker. I’ve never liked that. That’s one reason I went into the army and fought so hard against Napoleon. I cannot abide the abuse of power.” He closed his eyes. “And if you keep doing that to me, I won’t be able to form a coherent thought in a minute.”
“This?” She slid her hands down his arms again. “Or this?” She slid them over his chest so that his flesh tingled at her warm touch.
“Both.”
Her hands continued their exploration of his chest. “What is the other reason?”
“Reason for what?” he managed to grind out between his clenched teeth. It was the only way to keep from grabbing her and kissing her.
“You said that was one reason you joined the army. Are there others?”
“I’m a second son. I’m expected to go into the army. Third sons generally choose the clergy.”
Now she stepped closer, so close he could smell cinnamon and he might have brushed his lips across her breasts. Her hands roamed down his shoulders to explore his back. “Your father is a gentleman then?”
“He was. He owned land, which passed to my eldest brother. But there was precious little money to buy me a commission. I had to earn my rank for the most part.”
“That makes you all the more admirable.”
“I am not feeling admirable at the moment, Mrs. Draven.”
She smiled. “I think I can see in your eyes what you have in mind, but you shall have to wait.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to explore your body tonight.” With a little shove that wouldn’t have toppled a kitten, she pushed him back on the bed. He went willingly, and she knelt beside him, running her hands up and down his chest. “You do want me,” she said, her hands brushing over his waistband. She couldn’t fail to see the evidence of his arousal there.
“I always have.” His breath caught as her hand trailed up and then back down, pausing so close to his erection that he almost arched to meet her. And then her hand was back on his abdomen.
“I was so overwhelmed by your attentions the other night, I did not pay any attention to you.”
“I didn’t have any expectations.”
“No, of course you do not. You think yourself old and cannot fathom why a woman of five and twenty would want you. She does.” Her hand slid over his erection then and he inhaled sharply. “Tonight you told me I was beautiful.” Her hands began to unfasten the fall of his breeches. “I think you are beautiful.”
And the way she looked at him, he believed it.
She slid his breeches over his hips and then knelt to do away with the rest of his clothing. As she had been the other night, he was naked on the bed. “Now that you have me at your mercy, what do you plan to do?”
“That is a good question.” She looked a bit panicked for a minute. “I liked what you did to me. Should I do the same?”
Only if she wanted to kill him. But Benedict was content to die when she knelt on the floor and kissed his calf. “Your hair is red everywhere,” she said as she moved up his leg.
“There’s some gray now too,” he said. At least he thought that was what he said. He couldn’t be certain because he couldn�
�t think of anything but her mouth on his knee and then the inside of his thigh. Dear God, if she took him in his mouth, he would not be able to maintain control.
Her lips moved higher, and her hands followed.
Her hands slid over the tops of his thighs, sifting through the light hair there. Her mouth followed, and she paused when she reached mid-thigh. “What shall I do now?”
“I am completely at your mercy, Mrs. Draven.”
“Would you like it if I touched you?” Her hand came to rest beside his erection.
“Yes.” His voice was barely more than a whisper.
Her fingers grazed him tentatively, learning the feel of him. He closed his eyes and clenched the bed clothes. It had been so long since any woman had touched him. He had never dared to dream Catarina would want him. She was so beautiful and now so accomplished. He was nothing special—a man who was lucky enough to stay alive during the war with Napoleon. He wasn’t tall or particularly slim. His red hair and freckles were less than fashionable. He wasn’t wealthy or even all that well connected, though he had a few friends he could call upon if need be.
But when her hand closed on him, small and warm and eager, he felt as though none of that mattered. Catarina wanted him. She thought he was beautiful. She touched him as though he were beautiful.
“Like this?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said through clenched teeth. “And like this.” He closed his hand over hers and guided her hand to show her what he liked best. She watched his face and learned what pleasured him, managing, within a few minutes, to bring him very close to the edge.
“You should stop now.” He closed his hand over hers, stopping her.
“Why? I can see by your breathing and the way your cheeks have reddened that you enjoy this.”
“I’m close to climax.”
“Is that not the point?”
He shook his head. “I don’t want to—” How to say this delicately? “I don’t want to stain your dressing robe.”
“Oh, I see.”
To his great disappointment, she released him. It was for the best, though he wondered if he could convince her to sleep beside him. He didn’t want her to go yet. “Catarina, I’d still like—what are you doing?”
She’d reached for the tie on her dressing robe and unknotted it. Then she dropped the garment on the floor, standing before him in her short chemise. She kicked the dressing gown away. “Now that problem is no more. Just in case, shall I remove my shift too?”
He couldn’t even manage a response as she drew it over her head and tossed it away.
Then she lowered herself to the floor again, kneeling between his legs. Her bare breasts brushed the inside of his thighs, her dark nipples waiting for him to take them in his mouth and tease them to the ripe cherry color he’d so enjoyed the other night.
Her hand closed on him again, and he groaned. She moved her hand up and down the length of him, stroking him until he was all but panting.
“Faster?” she asked.
“Please. Yes. Please.”
The orgasm swept over him before he was prepared for it. It was violent and freeing, and he gave a shout as he came. He fell back on the bed when she finally released him and was vaguely aware that she’d taken a towel and dipped it in the wash basin to use to clean up.
He looked over as she brought the towel back to the basin, admiring her round bottom and the curve of her hips, the perfect place for a man’s hands to rest.
“I hope you’re not thinking of leaving,” he said. “I’d like for you to stay. We can simply sleep.”
She turned back to look at him, and he realized she was breathing hard. Her eyes were bright, her nipples hard. She’d been aroused by what she’d done to him. Very aroused.
He sat. “Come here.” He held out a hand, and she took a few steps then closed her hand on his. He pulled her between his legs again, hooked one hand around her neck and tugged her mouth down. The kiss was long and hot and left her gasping. She broke free to breathe, and he settled his hands on her hips and placed his mouth in the valley between her breasts. His mouth explored the slope of her flesh, the soft underside, and the taut peak. Her hands were in his hair as he licked and nibbled her. His hands slid over her buttocks, feeling the way she trembled at his every touch.
“I feel like I might fall,” she whispered. Benedict pulled her onto the bed and straddled her, taking his time, kissing every inch from her shoulders down to her wrists, from her collarbone to her navel and then lower still.
Her hips arched as he slid a hand between her legs. She was wet for him. When he inserted a finger inside her, she clenched around him immediately. He moved lower, pushing her legs open to reveal the glistening pink of her sex.
She didn’t try to close her legs or hide herself. She watched him. Her hands slid over her breasts, rubbing the hard nipples and her hips bucked. He spread her and bent to lick her gently. She gasped then moaned as his tongue found her small nub and he flicked it so very gently.
He liked the taste of her and continued kissing and licking as she moved her hips in a slow rhythm. Then her hands slid down to fist in his hair, and she brought him back to that tender nub.
She knew what she wanted, and he teased and tantalized until her fingers gripped his hair tightly. And then she was bowing, pressing herself hard against him and making small mewling noises. She released his hair, flinging her hands outward as she rode the pleasure he gave her.
Finally, she was still, and he lay beside her. She was gloriously naked, her body begging him to touch it again. He didn’t know if he would ever have enough of her. He could have touched her all night and never tired of the feel of her skin under his fingers.
She turned her head and looked at him. “I did not know about that.”
“I was happy to show you.”
“It was better than—than anything, I think.”
“Rest for a little while, and I’ll do it again.” He pulled her under the covers with him and held her for a long time. He thought she might be asleep, but then she looked up at him.
“What do you think will happen with Juan Carlos if I do not sign those papers? Will he come after me or Ines?”
“I won’t let him hurt you.”
“That is not what I asked. Do not try and shield me. Will he come for us?”
He looked up at the ceiling. “I don’t know the man as well as you, and I think it’s futile to try and predict a man’s actions. That said, I made something of a career out of doing just that. I watched and studied and predicted troop movements, battle strategy, and likely points of attack. I think our Juan Carlos is not done yet.”
“So he will make good on his threat if I do not sell him my business.”
“Unfortunately, we’ve not given him many options. We’ve taken away the leverage he had when he held your secret, though I suppose he may have a self-destructive bent. He may still decide he has less to lose by revealing it. But I worry more about the threat he made through Miguel.”
“Perhaps it was an empty threat. Miguel said only that I would regret it if I did not sell.”
“You won’t sell, which means he has no choice but to retreat. I hope he’s the sort that walks away when the odds are against him, but men like that are forged out of the knowledge of what it means to face defeat. I don’t think Juan Carlos or his son have ever been told no. He’ll make good on his threat.”
She took a shaky breath. “What do we do?”
“We take no chances, and when he attacks, we strike him down. For good.”
She tightened her hold on him. He pulled her closer, offering her comfort. And then he did the next best thing—offered her distraction.
Thirteen
“My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.”
Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
CATARINA HAD HER ARM linked with Benedict’s on one side wh
ile Ines was stationed on his other side. He joked he was the luckiest man at the garden party, but she couldn’t help but think it was she who was the fortunate one.
“Colonel!” Lady Philomena greeted them as soon as they stepped onto the lawn. “Mrs. Draven. Miss Neves. How wonderful of you to come to my little gathering.”
It was far from little. There must have been over a hundred guests on the expansive lawn. The day had proved sunny and mild for this time of year, but braziers had been set up to make certain the guests were kept warm. Large white umbrellas dotted the edges of the lawn, and guests reclined on rugs stacked with pillows as they sipped tea or champagne and nibbled the delicacies served.
“We’re honored to be invited,” Benedict said. “Especially when we came with so many addendums.”
Lady Philomena, who looked lovely in a Grecian-style white gown, shook her head. Her curls, intertwined with gold ribbon and jewels, bounced. “Don’t be silly. My brother lives for any sort of danger or excitement. He’s dreadfully bored when there’s not some threat at his door.” She turned to Catarina. “Enough of that sort of talk. You will steal all my admirers. Look at you!”
By this time Catarina had observed that all the women wore light-colored dresses, like Lady Philomena’s. Whites and pastels were obviously the appropriate dress. But she and Ines had chosen bold colors. She wore a bright pink with green accents and Ines wore a sapphire blue. “I fear Colonel Draven did not tell us to wear white.”
“Why would he? You stand out. I like people who stand out—for their dress or their ideas or”—she put a hand on Catarina’s arm—“their skills.” She pulled her handkerchief from her bosom. “I do adore my handkerchief. I give you fair warning, you shall soon be overwhelmed by ladies who want an introduction and their own Catarina lace.” She held out a hand to Ines. “Miss Neves, may I introduce you to a few of my friends?”