by Josie Dennis
She gasped. “Grayson?”
Trevor gave a slow nod. “Ah, that is the way of things. Does he know?”
Her gaze dropped to her feet. “Know what?”
“That you want him?”
She shook her head. “What I want doesn’t matter.”
She looked sad and a bit ashamed. That made him angry. “Who the hell told you that?”
She lifted one slight shoulder. “It’s the way of things, my lord.”
“God, more my lording.”
She looked up at him again. “What?”
“Never mind. I need you to come into my room, Ivy.”
She glanced down toward the family wing, then faced him. “I mustn’t.”
Her expression and demeanor seemed to contradict her words. Did she want to come into his room? He prayed she did. Now that she was so close to him, he suspected he couldn’t bear it if she ran off again.
“It’s quite important, I assure you.”
She bit that lip again and he groaned. When her eyes flared with heat he knew he could have her. Grayson popped into his mind.
Ah, he was up to his neck in it now.
Chapter 5
Ivy stared at Lord Heatherton. The expression on his face. Why, he looked like he wanted to kiss her! She’d seen that expression. On Grayson’s face just last night. His kisses had been delicious. What would the viscount’s taste like?
“I mustn’t,” she said again.
“You must,” he said, his voice low. “Just for a moment.”
She looked up and down the hallway again, then gave a tiny nod. Perhaps he had a bit of mending. Grayson would see to it but she wouldn’t be averse to helping him. When the viscount smiled wickedly and took her hand, she knew she was fooling herself this time.
She was soon in the room with him, the door shut tight behind her. Oh, he looked delectable in his dressing gown. The deep brown made the sunny streaks in his hair glisten even more. She could see a touch of more golden hairs on the sliver of chest the robe revealed. He was barefoot, and his feet were just as lovely as the rest of him. Her body reacted as it had in Grayson’s room last night.
“What do you need, my lord?”
He smiled again. “I need to taste you, Ivy.”
Her lips parted in shock but she couldn’t deny the thirst his words caused. She needed to taste him, too.
“My position,” she protested weakly.
“Is secure, believe me.” He cupped her face in his hands, stroking his thumbs over her cheeks. “I promise you will not be harmed.”
She gazed into his dark Hawk eyes and, somehow, believed him. He wasn’t like the other Hawks, the ones she’d encountered in any event. No, he was bright and hot and, suddenly, she wanted to escape the cold she’d felt inside since running from Grayson’s room.
“I believe you,” she murmured.
He smiled, bringing his forehead to hers. “Good.”
Then he kissed her. He was as spicy as his scent. As delicious as Grayson but different. She opened her mouth as she had last night and welcomed his tongue. He groaned again and she let herself sink into him. He turned and pinned her against the nearest wall.
“I won’t take you,” he said, his lips trailing over her throat. “I promise I won’t take you.”
She didn’t understand him, could barely concentrate as he worked his magic on her. She simply nodded, letting her eyes drift closed as he deftly unbuttoned her blouse. Her corset fastened in the front of course, and he made quick work of that, too. His hands were hot on her breasts and she let out a moan.
“Oh, my lord!”
He grumbled something and kissed her. “Call me Trevor, Ivy.”
His thumbs brushed over her nipples and she shivered. “Oh, Trevor.”
His soft chuckle thrilled her as he brought his mouth to her breast. “You smell so damn sweet, love.” His tongue flicked over one swollen tip. “God, you taste sweet, too.”
He closed his mouth over her nipple and suckled. His teeth grazed her and she clutched his head to her breast. He was all but holding her up against the wall, his big body pressing against her center as he drove her mad with his mouth. One hand slipped under her skirt and pressed her through her wet drawers.
She’d never known this passion, even during her short indiscretion. Her kisses with Grayson promised something more but this… Bucking against his hand, she spread her legs.
“Ah, Ivy.” He kissed her again and dropped to his knees. Lifting her skirt, he stilled. He flicked his eyes to hers.
“I didn’t expect such lace,” he said.
She blushed as he glimpsed her lacy underthings, which seemed foolish since he was currently perched between her legs.
“I like lace,” she whispered.
He dragged his thumb over her flesh, rubbing the lace against her clit. “As do I. Now.”
He buried his face between her legs. “So damn sweet!”
Ivy didn’t recognize the hunger tearing through her body. He removed her very lacy drawers and she whimpered.
“You’re in a bad way, aren’t you, love?” he asked, stroking her flesh. “Your pussy is swollen and wet, Ivy. You’re in a bad way.”
“Yes, Trevor.”
Before she could guess what he was about, he lifted one knee and held her thigh up against the wall. She was open. Exposed. Risking a glance, she opened one eye and saw him stare down at her. The hunger on his face made her pussy throb. When he licked his lips she nearly came. Would he taste her…there?
Her question was answered in the next moment. He brought his mouth to her pussy and gave her a long, slow lick. Moaning his obvious delight, he began to eat her. She’d never known such a thing! He licked and sucked, driving first one than two fingers up inside her. His teeth scraped over her clit like he’d teased her nipple and she began to arch against him.
“Oh, my!” she breathed, beginning a climb toward something she’d glimpsed but never achieved. “Oh, your mouth!”
He just kept up the pressure, nibbling on her clit as he continued to stroke her. She seemed to rise up in his embrace, soaring and flying until she let out a strangled cry. In the next moment she shuddered against him, heat spreading from her core to every finger and toe.
He came up and kissed her again. “Are you all right, love?”
She swallowed and gave a small nod. “I have never…”
“I could tell.” He adjusted her clothes. “I hadn’t noticed any— You aren’t a virgin.”
Shame cut through her pleasured haze. “No.”
He grasped her chin, lifting her head. “Look at me.”
She opened her eyes, expecting to see derision on his face. To her surprise he was smiling at her, a small expression that still rendered his face even more handsome.
“You had a fool for a lover, then,” he said.
Suddenly, she felt like laughing. “He was a fool,” she admitted on a whisper.
He straightened and let out a groan. She was recovered enough at last to take note of his aroused state. Hadn’t she seen and felt Grayson’s before?
“You need release, my lord.”
“Trevor.” He groaned and adjusted the fabric of his robe. “I’m going to need a damn sight more than that if I keep going on as I have today.”
His words made no sense but his pain was evident. She’d heard the other servants talking. About how the Hawks needed release or suffer physically. He’d been so gentle with her, even as he’d driven her out of her mind. She couldn’t let him suffer. She just couldn’t.
“You said you wouldn’t take me.”
“I won’t,” he rasped. “Not yet.”
“Why not?”
He faced her, a crooked grin breaking through the discomfort on his face. “Never mind.” He spread his robe and freed himself. “Would you help me, Ivy?”
She stared at him. She’d felt such a thing before. Against her and within her. But she’d never seen a man’s cock before. And oh, his was magnificent.
<
br /> “How can I help you?” she asked, staring at him.
“Touch me,” he bit out. “I can’t do it by myself.”
She nodded vaguely. She’d heard that as well. That Hawks couldn’t find release alone. It was very strange but it was obvious he couldn’t please himself. Otherwise he would have stroked his own cock and been done with it.
Well, he’d just pleased her. In a way she’d never before imagined. And now he needed her. How could she refuse? It wasn’t that he was a nobleman. It wasn’t that he was a guest of the earl’s. No. It was because he was a man in need of release and she was a woman eager to give it to him. Reaching toward him, she wrapped her hand around his thick shaft.
“That’s it,” he moaned, covering her hand with his. “Stroke me like this.”
He showed her how to move her hand up and down, even rubbing her fingers over the broad head to spread the cream that appeared there. His flesh was hard yet soft to the touch. And hot. So very hot. He wrapped an arm around her and held her close with his free hand, burying his face in her neck as he apparently neared climax.
“God, Ivy.” He groaned and seemed to grow even larger in her hand. “Oh my God.”
He stilled, then pumped against her as he came. Hot liquid spurted into her hand and she used the lubrication to continue to love him until he seemed complete.
His breathing was harsh, and coming as fast as her own had just a few moments earlier. He still held her upright but seemed to lean against her for support as well.
“Are you all right?” she had to know.
He chuckled again and lifted his head to stare into her eyes. “Better than all right, love. Your touch is amazing.”
She released him and stared at her very unremarkable hand. “Truly?”
“Trust me on this, Ivy.”
She brought her fingers to her mouth and gave them a lick. Her fingers tasted a bit spicy, like him. “Your cream tastes like your kisses.”
He growled at her, his dark eyes glittering. “You’re going to make me hard again and I won’t be able to keep a promise I made to myself.”
Oh. His promise. “That you won’t take me,” she stated.
“Yes, damn it.” He tied his robe tight around his narrow waist. “Self-denial is a novel thing for me. Now, go. Before you’re missed.”
His words puzzled her. No one would be waiting for her in the attic rooms. She accepted his kiss and left him. She couldn’t feel shame for what they’d done. He’d pleased her to her toes and she’d eased him in return. Her confusing feelings for Grayson aside, she’d wanted this man’s kisses. His touch.
He’d promised her position was secure. She didn’t know why, but she believed him. He might be feeding her what he believed she wanted to hear. And it had worked, after all. He’d gotten under her skirt with very little effort.
True, he hadn’t taken her. He said he was waiting for something. Or made a promise to someone. She couldn’t make sense of his words as he’d driven her wild and she couldn’t make sense of them now that the storm had abated.
As she climbed the stairs to change for the evening, she told herself she knew she couldn’t deny what she’d just become. Another man’s plaything.
Tears choked her once more and she gave silent thanks for having a room to herself.
* * * *
Grayson readied for the coming evening. He would see to the earl first, of course, and then to the viscount’s dress. The viscount. Trevor. He could scarcely believe what they’d shared.
He’d never been loved by a man. Hell, he hadn’t been loved very often by a woman, either. He’d been so twisted up, though. First by his desire for Ivy and then for his attraction to Trevor. He didn’t know what to make of it, and it still felt wrong that he’d left the viscount with an obviously painful erection. Had he found ease somewhere else?
A soft sound reached him. It sounded like someone was crying. He left off his jacket and pulled open his door. The hallway was quiet for a long moment, then the sound came again. It was coming from across the hall. From Ivy’s room. He left his room and knocked on her door as quietly as he could manage. The crying sounds stopped but she didn’t say anything.
“Ivy?” he asked softly. “Are you all right?”
It struck him that she’d asked him the same thing just last night. Just before he’d kissed her.
“I’m fine, Grayson.” Her voice sounded reedy thin. And not fine in the least.
“May I come in?”
There was a long pause, then she answered. “Why not?”
He pulled back. Why not? “Are you all right, Ivy?” he asked as he opened the door. “I could hear you crying.”
She shook her head, giving a sniffle. “Close the door, Grayson.” She rubbed the heel of her hand over her nose. “I’m not precisely all right, no.”
He shut the door and came closer. Her room was small and Spartan, like his own. There were touches of her in the space, however. Hair combs and bits of lace he assumed were her underthings. His mouth went dry as he caught a bit of her sweet scent.
“Tell me what is wrong,” he said.
She let out a sigh, and moved to allow him room on her narrow bed to sit beside her. “You’re very tall, Grayson. Please sit.”
He did so, even as he sensed the danger in such close proximity. “What happened?”
She brushed her tangled hair back from her face and he could see streaks on her cheeks from her tears. Her pert nose was red and her lips a bit swollen. Still, she was breathtaking.
“I’ve done it again,” she whispered.
Her hands twisted in her wrinkled apron and he placed his hand over hers. “What?”
She stared at him, then let out another sob. “I’ve fallen prey to my baser urges.”
He blinked, then realization struck him. She’d been with someone? Jealousy twisted in his gut. She’d been with someone other than him?
“Who took you, Ivy? Tell me.”
Her eyes rounded. “Never say you care who took me, Grayson.”
“Of course I do. How can you say that?”
Her lips curved in a small smile. “Because you scarcely give me a moment’s notice.” She shrugged. “Aside from that kiss.”
He could still taste that kiss. And, although he’d just been pleased by Trevor, he felt his passions stir. “I always notice you. How can I not?”
She stared at him, her deep brown eyes glistening. He could stare at her forever. Then her brow furrowed. “Oh, Grayson!”
Burying her face in her hands, she cried once more. Unsure of what to do, he simply reached out and held her close.
After a breathless moment, she cuddled against him. “I’m nothing but a plaything, Grayson. No man wants me for more than a tumble.” She let out a harsh little laugh. “Not that he tumbled me, precisely.”
“Who?” Even as he asked the question he knew the answer. Trevor had been in a bad way. Had Ivy pleasured him?
“Lord Heatherton,” she whispered. “He kissed me, oh he kissed me, and I let him take liberties.”
Grayson waited for the jealousy to return but it was curiously absent. He needed to know what Trevor had done with Ivy, though. And right away.
“What did Trev—What did the viscount do to you?”
She leaned back, still keeping her eyes down as she fiddled with his shirt buttons. “He…licked me. My breasts. My…” He could see her cheeks turning pink. “He licked me everywhere.”
Where Grayson’s mouth had gone dry moments ago, now it watered for a taste of what Trevor had. He felt himself grow hard against her. She must have, too, for she gasped.
“Grayson.” She looked up at him through her lashes. “You’re aroused.”
“I am always half-hard around you,” he admitted. “I want you.”
She opened her eyes wider. “Now that the viscount has had me, I take it. I’m to be passed around now?”
“No!” He rubbed her arms, wanting very much to hold her close again. “What you did with
the viscount has no bearing on my desire for you.”
Her mouth gaped. “And yet, you’ve never given any indication of any affection! Oh, you are simply feeding me what you think I want to hear.”
“That is not true, Ivy.” He took a breath and made the admission he’d denied to himself for months. “I’ve wanted you from the start.”
She cupped his face with her hands and studied him. He couldn’t guess what she saw but it seemed to please her. She smiled. “You’re telling the truth.”
“I always do.”
A soft chuckle came from her. “Yes, you do. Kiss me, Grayson.”
He took her mouth again, and she tasted even sweeter than before. As she sucked on his tongue, need screamed through him.
“I want you, Ivy.” He dragged his lips over her throat to her breasts. “I want to taste you, too.”
He found her corset loosened and knew Trevor had done that. But when he saw her breasts for the first time he nearly lost his mind. Her skin was so white and her nipples a pink one shade darker than her lips. He licked first one then the other as they tumbled back on the bed.
“Love me, Grayson,” she whispered.
He didn’t know what she meant by her words so he interpreted them as best he could. He spread her legs with one knee and eased a hand beneath her skirt. Her pussy was wet and hot. Ah, and tight. He shoved two fingers within her and began to stroke upward.
“Oh!” she cried, arching her delectable body. “How can I be aroused again?”
“He pleased you,” Grayson said, pausing to give one nipple a long lick. “He tasted your pussy.”
“He did,” she panted. “He said he wouldn’t take me. That he’d promised, or something.”
Grayson knew Trevor had denied himself complete possession on his account. No, he couldn’t be jealous that Trevor licked her first. He was going to be first of the two of them to fuck her. That was certain.
He freed himself from his trousers and settled between her legs. “May I take you, Ivy?”
She swallowed and gazed up at him. “Take me, Grayson. I want to feel you inside me.”
He leaned back and rubbed his cock against her heated flesh. “You feel so good.”