by Sandra Heath
Soon he felt his semen rising, and closed his eyes, imagining her again, imagining her coming to him, ready for his seed. He gasped as he came, the semen arcing from him with a shuddering force that was the most gratification possible without actually coming inside her. His eyes were closed as his imagination prolonged his peak, and as it gradually came to an end, he continued to massage his head, shuddering at its tenderness and sensitivity. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes again. Dear God, he hadn’t been taken like that since he was thirteen, watching a naked housemaid washing outside in the moonlight, thinking herself unseen.
The craving was slaked for now, and had been replaced by a lazy warmth. After wiping his cock with a convenient leaf, he eased his equipment back inside his breeches and closed them again. Then he bent to wash his hands in a tiny rill that meandered toward the river. Yes, he felt relaxed and easy again, but at the same time his blood still seemed to race. He wanted the nymph who’d brought him to this sudden hunger. How he wanted her.
As Jake brought himself to a peak, so did Sabrina. She lay in another secret little place, her fingers at work between her legs. She had him fixed in her mind, everything about him, especially the enticing mound at his loins. That other memory flashed into her reverie, the moment she’d seen his cock. Suddenly there was so much moisture running from her that her hand was wet as she dwelt upon that moment, seeing it ever more clearly. Now she imagined she had seen him from much closer, and that he’d been cupping his cock in his palm and teasing back his foreskin. Her breath caught as her flesh contracted violently with her first peak. She clung to the vision her mind had engendered, fixing upon that one portion of his anatomy, the portion that could satisfy her as nothing else. He was inside her now, pumping his desire into her. Another wave of gratification contracted through her, and another, and yet another, but gradually they became less urgent, and as they ceased altogether, she curled up tightly beneath the ferns to hug him to her as if in the flesh. But she could not hold him for long, and soon the reality of the summer night returned.
Jake went back to the clearing, sure there must be something there that would identify her. Emerging from the trees, he surveyed the scene in astonishment. What the hell had been going on here? Certainly not salmon poaching! He moved bemusedly among the scattered seaweed cushions, fallen coral lanterns, and platters of some of the most recherché dishes he’d seen in a long time. Prinny himself could not have served better fare, he thought, dipping a finger in a crab mousse that melted deliciously in his mouth. Someone very audacious had presumed to hold a fine old junket on his land, and from the look of it he began to wish they’d had the courtesy to invite him! How much better to eat, drink and be merry here in the moonlight than attend a grand over-formal function in London. But then anything was better than London at the moment.
The reason for his flight to the country swept over him again. Nothing could have been more hurtful and bitter than the moment he’d discovered Lady Evangeline Beaufort in the arms of his best friend, the feckless Harry Fenton. They’d both been stark naked on her bed, so there wasn’t much scope for misinterpretation. The pain of such a double betrayal had almost been too much, but for several weeks he’d managed to pretend he didn’t care. But he did, and so here he was, in the leafy depths of Gloucestershire.
He noticed Sabrina’s golden lute on the grass and picked it up to pluck a note. The pitch was perfect, and seemed to vibrate gently through him like a lover’s call. A ridiculously fanciful notion, he thought, replacing it on the ground before approaching the throne. He recognized the water lilies that adorned it, for they were a rather rare species that could only have come from his own pond. So, the revelers at tonight’s little alfresco junketing had ventured that close to the house, had they? Damn it, maybe they’d even been inside!
Then he saw the quizzing glass, and quickly picked it up, turning it so that the diamonds flashed with cold fire in the moonlight. What on earth was such a costly item doing here? The most likely explanation seemed that it was part of the proceeds of a robbery. Had his unexpected return caused a gang of thieves to abandon their celebratory feast? Yes, that had to be it, because Winterleigh Court was the perfect lair. And a convenient source of ill-gotten gains! Had the house been looted in his absence? All had seemed well when he’d arrived, but he’d only briefly entered the great hall and great parlor before going out on the terrace. A sense of premature outrage stung him but was followed very closely by a pang of disappointment, because if his guesses were right, his wood nymph was certainly no innocent.
He continued to inspect the quizzing glass, and his brows drew together as he realized he’d seen it before somewhere. But where? Then he remembered. It belonged to the Prince Regent, who’d created a right royal fuss when he’d apparently lost it overboard from one of the royal yachts. Well, it seemed it hadn’t been lost overboard after all, but stolen. Jake pocketed it and, after a final glance around, set off quickly back up through the trees toward the house. The relevant authorities would have to be alerted immediately, for heaven alone knew what other stolen items might be scattered around. Then he’d be having a word with his gamekeepers, who had quite clearly ignored his parting instructions about nightly patrols.
As he made his way back through the woods to return to the house, a dismayed Sabrina crept from the bushes. She’d watched him in the clearing and knew he’d taken the quizzing glass. Now she couldn’t return it to Neptune. Why, oh why hadn’t she snatched the horrid thing while she had the chance? Now she’d have to try to get it back again. With a sinking heart she turned to run back to her hiding place, and the hidden clothes.
As Jake reached the lowermost of the stepped gardens, he was greeted by his coachman hurrying down to meet him. “There you are at last, sir! You have a visitor!”
Jake was thunderstruck. “A visitor? At this time of night?” Who even knew he was here?
The coachman, ruddy-faced and wiry, clearly felt awkward. “She, er, wouldn’t give her name, but she’s very London, very London indeed.”
Could it possibly be… “Is she blonde, and dressed in blue?” Jake asked.
“Yes sir.”
Evangeline! “Is she alone?”
“Yes sir.”
Evangeline, but not Harry? Was the great affair over already? “Where is she now?”
“Waiting in the grand parlor, sir. I’ve lit candles and done what I can, but I’m no fancy footman, and she sent me away because I reek too much of horses.”
That sounded like Evangeline, Jake thought, glancing up and seeing the lights for the first time. Why, after all that had happened, should she follow him from London? “I’ll go to her directly, but first… Have you found any evidence of someone having broken into the house?”
The coachman’s eyes widened. “No, sir, none at all.”
“Good. Now, I want you to ride one of the carriage horses to the army camp at Blakenham to inform the commanding officer that he and some of his men should ride here immediately as I have reason to believe a large gang of thieves is using my land.”
The coachman’s eyes widened still more, and he glanced at the woods as if a rabble of brigands might burst forth at any moment. “A large gang, sir?”
“I believe so. After that, I want you to go to my head gamekeeper at his cottage by the turnpike. Tell him that unless he and his men are here without delay, they will be dismissed!”
“Yes sir.”
“Well, go on, man!”
Startled into action, the coachman ran back up through the stepped gardens, but Jake remained where he was. Looking at the west wing of the house, he saw the candlelight now illuminating the armorial glass window of the grand parlor. First thieves and an illicit outdoor banquet of some sort, then his nymph, and now Evangeline. What else might this eventful night have in store for him? He’d come here for peace and quiet! What could possibly be of such importance as to bring Evangeline all the way here? The last time had been when she’d first decided to win him, b
ut he’d left for London. Later she’d complained bitterly that Gloucestershire was the dullest of counties. Now she was here again, and under very unlikely circumstances indeed. Whatever her reason, it was bound to be to her advantage, that much at least he’d learned!
He continued reluctantly up the gardens, passing weed-choked cascades, bowers, topiary, and on the top level, the large rectangular lily pond, deep and shining, where he now noticed the water lilies had been virtually ransacked to decorate the robber chief’s throne. At last he mounted the wide stone steps to the terrace, where his clothes and top hat were as he’d left them. Shoving the cigar case in his coat pocket again and looping the neckcloth around his neck, he picked up his coat and waistcoat and put them over his arm. Unhooking his hat from the urn, he was about to approach the door that gave directly into the grand parlor, but something changed his mind. He needed another minute or so to collect himself for a confrontation with Evangeline. Turning, he went around to the front of the house, where her dusty traveling carriage was drawn up at the porch.
He entered the great hall, which was dimly lit by several candelabra placed on the dust-sheeted refectory table ranging down the center of the flagged floor. The handsomely carved stone fireplace was painted with the coat-of-arms and griffin badge of the Winterleighs, still bright after nearly three centuries. There were two fine wooden carvings of griffins guarding the bottom of the staircase, and suits of armor stood at regular intervals all around the oak-paneled walls, as if living knights were guarding the house. Portraits gazed from all sides as well, and one in particular suddenly arrested his attention when it never had before. It hung where the staircase divided, and was that of a handsome young man whose distinctive tawny hair marked him as a Winterleigh. Jake smiled, for this was the second time tonight he’d noticed tawny hair!
Events at the riverside made him glance around again. Had anything been taken from here? No, he was sure all was as it always had been, but he’d still have to send for his agent and the house inventory, which would have to be gone through very carefully. Turning, he looked at the grand parlor. The iron-studded door was ajar, and the room beyond candlelit, but instead of feeling the excitement and hope of a reunion with Evangeline, he sincerely wished her back in London. He had never imagined the day would come when he could honestly say he was out of love with her.
But if she really wanted to weave her spell around him again, would he be able to resist?
Chapter Five
The grand parlor of Winterleigh Court was long, low and oak paneled, with an elaborate plasterwork ceiling that was yellow with age and candle smoke. Richly carved Tudor furniture was dark and shadowy in the candlelight, the dust sheets having been tossed hastily aside by the coachman, but there was more modern furniture too, like the crimson brocade sofa from which Evangeline rose in a whisper of bluebell silk. Golden ringlets tumbled almost girlishly over her left shoulder, even though she was thirty now. She was as flawless as a porcelain doll in her matching gown and pelisse, but there was nothing sweet or dollish about her. She was the personification of carnal enticement, a woman to whom lovemaking wasn’t simply enjoyable, but a vital necessity of life. Her flesh hungered for constant gratification, and this fact glowed around her like an aura. Tonight, however, she seemed oddly pale and nervous, Jake thought, trying to gauge his own feelings as well.
“This is most unexpected, Evangeline,” he said, advancing a little into the room and draping his clothes over a chair. He felt indifferent, detached, as if she were a complete stranger, and it was a gladsome realization. He wanted her gone.
“I-I had to see you, James,” she replied, gazing earnestly at him with imploring gray eyes.
It occurred to him that her refusal to address him as Jake had always been irritating. “How’s Harry?” he inquired dryly.
She flushed. “Well enough, I believe.”
“You only believe? Don’t you know?” Jake sensed there had been a rancorous parting.
“He’s gone to his estate near Dublin. Some boundary problems, I gather.” She avoided his eyes.
Boundary problems? Fiddlesticks! Dear, unreliable Harry had bolted, just as Evangeline had been warned he would. She’d come here to save face. A reconciliation would enable her to claim that Harry had run off due to a broken heart on losing her. Jake couldn’t help a feeling of deep sense of satisfaction as he made a point of being the polite host. “I’d, er, offer you some refreshment, but I fear there’s neither food nor drink as yet.”
She glanced around. “Why on earth didn’t you send word ahead to your servants?”
“Because I only decided to come here on the spur of the moment.”
“And now I find you in your undress?” She looked at his unbuttoned shirt, and he saw how her tongue passed over her lower lip. Clearly the sight of his naked chest was appealing to her.
“Let’s get to the point, Evangeline. Why are you here?”
Tears suddenly filled her eyes, those lovely shimmering tears that she could always summon at will, and she turned agitatedly away. “Oh James, I made a terrible mistake when I allowed Harry to seduce me.” She paused, awaiting his glad response, but he remained silent, so she quickly faced him again. “You’re the one I love,” she whispered.
“I doubt that very much, Evangeline. We parted because you made patently clear your preference for Harry.”
“I didn’t realize what a fool I’d been until you’d gone.”
Until Harry had gone, you mean, he thought.
She came closer, and her lily-of-the-valley fragrance drifted seductively over him. “Forgive me, James, take me back, and let us begin again,” she whispered, making sure he could see her sumptuous bosom. Then she reached toward him, her arms trembling like butterfly wings, her lips moist and parted, her eyes melting like a fawn’s.
If she’d expected him to be rapturous, she was disappointed, for his only response was to move away. “No, thank you, Evangeline. I’m no longer interested.”
“How can you be so cruel? After all we’ve been to each other, we—”
“You were the cruel one,” he broke in. “You meant every hurtful word in London, and now expect me to set that aside and welcome you back? You’re deluded if you do.”
She turned away slightly, the better to display her lovely profile and her adorable way of tilting her head. “I love you, James,” she repeated yearningly.
“Evangeline, forgive me if I take this apparent change of heart with a very large pinch of salt.”
“You-you don’t believe me?” she breathed, closing her eyes in pain, and then before he knew it she’d flung her arms around his neck. “I do love you, James!” she sobbed, “I adore you with all my heart, and if I could turn the clock back I would. You once offered marriage, and—”
“So you tell me, but I have no recollection of such a proposal.”
“Well, perhaps you were a little in drink at the time, but it did happen.”
In drink? More bloody likely he was deep in her bloody champagne concoction!
“I turned you down, James, but if you were to ask me again now, I’d accept. There’s nothing on this earth I wish more than to spend the rest of my life with you! And if living here in the country is what you want, I’ll gladly share your seclusion.”
The Queen of London was prepared to bury herself in the sticks? It was an amusing thought. “And would our marriage bed also provide comfort for your three fellow witches?”
She flushed. “That was uncalled for.”
“Was it? If by some chance I once asked you to marry me, I’m wiser now and will not be repeating the mistake. So please, stop this, Evangeline.
But far from stopping, she slipped a hand down to his loins and worked her knowing fingers against his slumbering cock. “Let’s make love again, James. Here, on the floor.”
His traitorous penis was awake, damn it!
She felt the response too, and smiled like the temptress she was. “Oh, what’s this? You have something for m
e, my darling?” In a trice her fingers had slipped inside the flap of his breeches to probe his cock. She found the foreskin and slid a single finger to caress the head.
He gasped as wild sensations darted over him. But the image that flashed momentarily through his mind was that of his desirable little nymph. She was the one he desired, so much so that thoughts of her were like a sweet heartache. He pulled swiftly away
Her interest sparked. “Mmm, how deliciously moist you are already.”
Because I haven’t long since come by my own hand, he thought. If only she knew why.
“Let me lick you, my love, let me remind you what a clever little tongue I have.” She began to sink to her knees in front of him, but he caught her by the elbows and raised her again. “No, Evangeline. Can’t you understand that I no longer want you?”
“Please take me back, James! Please!” Her fear of failure was raw.
He wasn’t moved. “No! I no longer love you.”
“Is there someone else?”
“If there were, it would be no more than you deserve,” he replied guardedly, because yet again he thought of the exquisite creature he’d seen by the river.
“So there is?” Evangeline’s gray eyes sharpened suspiciously.
“No, Evangeline, there isn’t.” But he knew he lied. He’d fallen for a beautiful chimera.
“So you don’t have the honor to give me a second chance?”
“Your transgression was too great, Evangeline. And so was Harry’s. You and my best friend were lovers behind my back, and for that I can’t forgive either of you. If Harry were here now I wouldn’t bother to call him out. Neither of you is worth the trouble. So there isn’t going to be a reunion. If the truth be known, at this moment I’m finding it difficult to even be civil toward you.”
“I don’t believe you!” she cried, and stood on tiptoe to put her lips yearningly to his.