Scandals of Lustful Ladies: A Historical Regency Romance Collection

by Meghan Sloan

  Alice was silent for a moment, digesting this. “And do you believe that she is lying? That she does remember what happened to her, but is making up the fact that she does not?”

  He took a deep, ragged breath. “I cannot go that far, Alice. I cannot believe that all of this was planned, and that she put me, and all those she loved, through such torment deliberately,” he replied. “I know that she is lying now, to you, and that she is being calculating in doing so. But that is for a purpose, after all. A desperate woman, trying to reclaim the life she believes to be hers, before it is too late.”

  Alice nodded. “I can understand her desperation,” she said in a quiet voice. “Her life has been turned upside down.” She hesitated. “She obviously truly loves you, for her to go to such lengths to win you back. I cannot blame her, if that is the case. She is floundering.”

  He reached out, taking her hand. “You know, that is one of the reasons I love you, Alice Sinclair,” he said quietly. “Even though she has blatantly lied to you, for her own selfish purposes, you are not angry or bitter towards her. Instead, you seek understanding, and forgive her for it. You are a rare woman, my love.”

  She felt like she was melting beneath his words. Her hand felt heavy in his. Slowly, carefully, he raised it, gazing at it intently. And then he brought it to his lips.

  She shuddered as he slowly kissed it, burying his lips deep in her palm. A shot of pure desire flooded through her veins. She closed her eyes, savouring the moment.

  He was kissing each finger in turn now, slowly and meticulously. Her eyes flew open, when she felt him take one into his mouth. Slowly, he sucked on it, pulling it deeper into his mouth, watching her face the whole time.

  Waves of exquisite sensation sparked within her. She groaned softly. The sound seemed to rouse him further, and he gently pushed her back onto the bed, towering over her, his eyes full of hunger.

  Without a word, he caressed her breasts, his hand travelling from one to the other. It was so beautiful she gasped. He moaned, slowly slipping one hand beneath her bodice and extracting the breast. She gazed down, in a haze of desire, watching as he slowly latched his lips onto the nipple, suckling it with abandon.

  She groaned again, bucking beneath him. It was pure exquisite agony, the pulling of his mouth seeming to reach deep inside her. Now he was flicking the nipple with his tongue, while his other hand reached low, pulling up the skirt of her gown.

  She knew she should stop him, but she was powerless beneath the onslaught. His hand rested on top of her mound for a moment before continuing its journey, reaching beneath her drawers, until it encountered bare flesh. She gave a strangled gasp, as his fingers gently prised apart her lips, stroking and caressing her most intimate flesh.

  She thought that when he had touched her there, the other day behind the garden hut, that it had been the most powerful thing she had ever experienced. But that had been pressure through her gown. The feel of his fingers expertly caressing her bare flesh was something else again. She felt a liquid hotness seep out of her.

  He moaned, deep in his throat, as he felt the wetness. It seemed to spur him to greater heights. His fingers had been soft and gentle. But now the caresses grew harder, almost feverish. She gasped in shock as she felt him push a finger deep inside her.

  It was so deliriously lovely that she gasped again, feeling the same wild sensations as the other day start to build deep within her. She tossed her head from side-to-side in a fever of desire, clawing the quilt on the bed with her hands.

  “Oh, yes,” he whispered, as his mouth left her nipple, watching her face. “Oh, yes, my love. Come to me…”

  She bucked wildly, feeling like her hips had a mind of their own. He intensified his stroking, his hand claiming every inch of her tender flesh. She was climbing now towards that dizzying peak, adrift on the ocean of desire. She gasped again, raising her hips, as it hit her, like a sledgehammer, so powerful that she almost saw stars.

  She couldn’t help it. She cried out as the moment of pure passion peaked, undulating in waves through her. His stroke softened but did not lessen as he guided her over it. She felt a sweat break out over her flesh as the sensations started to subside, and a warm lethargy overtook her.

  Her hips sank down. She was panting hard. He shimmied up, kissing her gently on the mouth, watching her with shining eyes.

  “I have never seen you more beautiful than in this moment,” he declared, in a husky voice. “You are all woman, my Alice.”

  She blushed, almost unable to look at him.

  “Am I a shameless hussy?” she whispered.

  He laughed softly, kissing the tip of her nose. “This is the most natural thing in the world, Alice. A woman feels as much desire as a man. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

  “What about you?” she asked shyly, gazing at him. “What of your pleasure?”

  “I am willing to wait,” he whispered. “Until we are man and wife. I want to take you, at long last, when we are both comfortable and relaxed. I want to take my time with it, to pleasure you properly, when that moment finally arrives.”

  She felt his male hardness pressing against her thigh through his britches. Curious, she reached out a hand, touching it. It was straining against the fabric, feeling like a poker. He groaned, almost in agony. Tentatively, she started stroking it through the fabric.

  The effect was instantaneous. He stiffened, his face contorting. He obviously liked what she was doing to him. Growing bolder, she slipped her hand into his britches, suddenly wanting to feel him properly.

  The skin was hot and taut. She felt the wiriness of his private hair for a moment before she clamped her hand firmly over him, instinctively pulling. He swore underneath his breath, in an agony of desire. An answering pang tore through her, as she kept moving her hand, up and down. He was moving against her hand, quicker, sliding his manhood in and out of her palm.

  He was moving quicker now, so quick that she simply held him. He gripped her tightly to him, straining against her. And then he cried out in pure ecstasy, before slumping into her arms.

  He was panting now, against her face. “I am sorry,” he whispered, his eyes shining. “I lost control…”

  She kissed his face. It was damp with sweat. “Why do you apologise? You should have your pleasure as much as I do.” She smiled shyly. “I liked doing that for you. I felt feverish again doing it. I cannot wait for us to finally be together as a man and a woman.”

  He kissed her lips, groaning against them. “I cannot wait either, Alice. I am dreaming of the moment when I finally take you.” He gazed at her intently. “Did you really feel feverish again, when you touched me?”

  She nodded, not knowing what to say. A part of her felt bashful, as if she shouldn’t be talking about such things with him. But another part was glorying in it. For the first time in her life, she felt like a desirable woman. That she was finally beginning to understand what this mystery was, about what occurred between a man and a woman.

  As she kept staring at him, she was overcome with such a deep and profound love, she gasped. Instinctively, she knew that she would not feel this way with just any man. It was her love and desire for him that had sparked these tumultuous feelings inside her. Only him. He was the only one who could unlock this within her, send her tumbling in such a feverishly delirious state.

  “We should go…” she whispered, trying to sit up.

  But to her surprise he pushed her gently down on the bed again. “Not yet,” he whispered.

  She watched in alarm as he snaked his way down her body, pulling up her gown again, and burying his head beneath it. His eyes widened. What on earth was he doing?

  His head was at her most intimate area, the same place his hand had been. And then, to her shock, he drew down her drawers, his mouth parting her private lips. The next moment, he was suckling the hot flesh down there, almost in the same way he had suckled her nipple.

  She stiffened in alarm. Was this decent? She had never heard of such
a thing before.

  But then she started to relax. Those wild sensations were beginning once again. Only this time, under the assault of his tongue, they were even stronger.

  She gasped in wonder as his tongue began to flick her, slow at first, then quickening. It was pure, delirious agony. She was amazed that this was possible, that her body was responding so quickly after the last time. It was as if it had a mind entirely of its own.

  Her hips began to buck again beneath the onslaught. She was climbing higher and higher. The sensations were so strong she could barely stand it. Feverishly, she tossed her head from side-to-side, almost in denial that such pleasure was even possible. As if she wanted to escape from it, even as she pushed towards it.

  It was coming now. The inexorable peak, dragging her almost in chains towards the summit.

  She cried out, twisting from side-to-side, bucking and writhing in pure abandon. He stayed with her, gently lapping at her, as the wild sensations washed over her, and as they started to subside. Suddenly, she slumped against the bed, completely spent. She felt like she could not move to save her life.

  He moved away from her, adjusting her gown, staring down at her with shining eyes. He trailed a finger so softly along her face with such tenderness that she could barely stand it. She closed her eyes briefly, simply overcome.

  “I love you,” he whispered slowly. “I love you so much, it hurts. I simply cannot wait to marry you and make you mine at long last, Alice.”

  She sighed, struggling to sit up. She felt as weak as a kitten, but awash in a delicious afterglow from their pleasure. It was almost as wonderful as the pleasure itself.

  “I love you too,” she whispered back. “I never dreamt that such love and desire was possible.” She paused, struggling to find the words. “I have read of it, and longed for it, but I simply never imagined how wonderful it could be. You have shown me, Silas. You have led me through it, and I cannot thank you enough.”

  He smiled faintly. “There is much more to come, my love. So much more. This is only the beginning of our life together.” He kissed her hand. “Do you believe me now how much I love you? Have I shown you that you are the only woman that I want?”

  She nodded, swallowing a lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. “I believe you. I am sorry that I ever doubted you.”

  He sat up, pulling her with him, tenderly tucking some stray hairs behind her ears. “It is not your fault. Marina could convince anyone that night is actually day.” He paused, shaking his head. “She must think me a dupe, indeed, if she thought that this latest strategy of hers was going to work. Did she truly think that even if you broke off our engagement it would kill my love for you?”

  “She is a desperate woman,” said Alice. “I think that she probably did not even think that far ahead. All that she was focused on was doing as much damage to our love as possible, by making me doubt it.” She paused. “I suppose she thought that in creating that void, she could step into it, and fill it.”

  Silas frowned. “Perhaps,” he said. “I still do not understand fully her motivations.” He turned to her. “Let us not speak of her again. She has already put a pall over this evening enough.”

  Alice nodded, smiling with relief. “We should return, Silas. Charlotte, at least, will be wondering where I am.”

  He grinned wolfishly. “She will probably suspect, as will they all. But I do not care a whit. We are going to be man and wife soon, and no one can begrudge us a little stolen affection when we get the chance.” He paused, gazing at her intently. “How are you feeling now, my love?”

  “Wonderful,” she admitted, stretching, like a cat. “The pleasures of love are very restorative, to the body as well as the mind.”

  He laughed, standing up and pulling her up to him. They shared a final, lingering kiss before heading to the door and walking out to join the party again.

  Alice felt slightly disoriented as they walked through the guests towards the parlour. Almost as if she and Silas were still in their own private bubble, their very own world that they had created, with their love. The laughter and chatter seemed to grate on her, ever so slightly, and she shivered in the aftermath of their pleasure, wishing for a moment that she could simply curl up in bed and dream about it.

  Silas steered her, his hand on her arm, in an almost proprietorial way. She glanced up at him quickly. He looked as dazed as she felt. What she wouldn’t give for them to be able to slip away from the crowd again. Just the two of them, for the entire evening.

  She simply could not wait to become his wife.

  No one seemed to notice that they had been missing. Alice sighed with relief. The last thing she felt like dealing with was anyone questioning them or raising their eyebrows knowingly. It would just be embarrassing, for everyone.

  But then she felt eyes upon her. For some reason the hairs on the back of her neck stood up, as if in warning.

  She turned around. Marina St. George was staring straight at them. Her eyes were cold, and she wasn’t smiling.

  Chapter 24

  Instinctively, Alice leant closer to Silas, as if he could protect her from the woman’s malevolent gaze. She shuddered, as if an ill wind had suddenly passed through her.

  Lucy was standing beside her friend. They had obviously just been talking together. Marina leant towards Lucy, whispering into her ear. Lucy blanched, turning around to stare at Alice and Silas.

  Suddenly, Nicholas was upon them, beaming.

  “There you are, Wilmington!” he cried, thumping Silas on the back. “Just in the nick of time. Can you give me a hand wheeling in the cake? I thought it would make for a more spectacular entrance if I did it myself, rather than the servants.”

  “What cake?” asked Silas distractedly.

  Nicholas sighed. “It is Lady Langley’s birthday today,” he whispered. “I arranged it with Lord Langley. The lady has no idea. We thought it would be a nice touch to the evening.”

  Silas shifted on his feet, gazing at Alice before turning to his friend. “Why can’t Lord Langley assist you with it? Why does it have to be me?”

  Nicholas sighed again. “Because he has to distract her, man!” He frowned, obviously irritated. “What is wrong with you this evening, Wilmington? Alice will not disappear into a puff of smoke if you happen to leave her side for a moment. You do not mind, do you, Alice?” He gazed at her expectantly.

  “No, of course not,” she said in a faint voice. But the truth was she did mind. She had no desire to be in this room without Silas with Marina St. George merely three feet away from her, breathing down her neck. Even for the small amount of time it would take for the gentlemen to fetch the cake from the kitchen and bring it in.

  But it would be churlish to say anything. Nicholas would think her a needy fool.

  Silas looked uncertain. “Are you sure?” he whispered, his eyes flickering towards Marina for a moment. He gazed around the rest of the room, stopping when he spotted Charlotte. “There is Charlotte, at the pianoforte. You should go to her.”

  Alice nodded. “Off you go,” she said, trying to smile. “The cake is waiting.”

  Silas smiled apologetically as Nicholas dragged him out of the room by the arm.

  Alice took a deep breath, heading determinedly towards Charlotte, who was tinkering with the keys and hadn’t noticed her at all.

  But as she was halfway there, Marina and Lucy stepped in front of her, blocking her path. Alice reared back in shock. It was a bold move. She could hardly step around them. Marina had cornered her, as surely as if she had laid a mousetrap.

  Alice felt her heart beat uncomfortably in her chest. She didn’t want to have to deal with the lady anymore. Why was she still doing this? For a moment, her instinct was to push her aside, quite rudely. Why was she bothering to be polite to the lady when she had just blatantly lied to her?