Minerva looked at the other Rakes and her sister. It was all starting to make sense. The early training in codes. The accident that killed her parents, the one that killed Marcus’s father, and, now, the one that killed Lady Anne. The picture was starting to become clearer to her. Damn and blast, she thought to herself. She should stop cursing to herself, but such a moment deserved a good amount of cursing.
“I would suggest you all depart for the Season. I heard from Lady Anne that you were thinking about taking a sojourn to Dunsbury Abbey? That would be a relatively safe place if you all were to go. It is better to stay in a group. Never let anyone of you go out without an escort—even you, gentlemen.”
“We were going to leave in a day’s time. With the murder of Lady Blackridge, we need to stay in town for several more days.”
“Leave in two days, marry by special license, and be on your way. I can’t guarantee your safety here in town. Whoever is out there killing our people does not want to stop until those papers are in the wrong hands. I suggest being on your way now. For your personal safety, you will never figure out who I am until I deem it necessary. Her Grace knows, and that will have to be enough. Now, be on your way.”
* * *
Marcus rushed to see the Archbishop of Canterbury, hoping to obtain a special license. The need to remove everyone to a safe environment was more important.
Having received the license, he hurried back,
“Now, we leave. I know that no one has packed anything but that can be remedied once we get to Dunsbury Abbey. We need to make haste.”
Aaron and Jacob rode on their horses beside the carriage as they made their way to the country seat of the Dukes of Dunsbury.
Marcus and Juliana’s wedding had been a small affair. Just the Rakes, Bethany, and some of the house staff attended. The rest of the day had been spent setting up perimeters and hiring Bow Street Runners to guard the entrances to the house.
By evening they were all quite exhausted, even the newlyweds. No one had had time to eat, let alone rest since they arrived at Dunsbury Abbey. As far as Juliana and Marcus knew, everyone else was doing as they did—that is, having dinner brought to their rooms.
Marcus had not been keen on having all the security, but he had no choice. Someone meant to harm his wife—his duchess, his friends, and his mother. He had intended to show her how much she meant to him. But, with a footman on guard, making love to his wife was not a certainty.
Juliana was taking a warm bath when Marcus walked into the room. His cock hardened as soon as he heard his beautiful wife splashing in her bath. He needed to have her in his arms, sooner rather than later. He blew out a breath as he continued to watch his wife bathe.
Marcus entered the room as Juliana lounged in the bath. The sight of her smile as he entered the room got his heart beating faster. They had not yet made love, but he knew that it was happening tonight. Now, if he had anything to say about it. His feelings for his wife were beyond anything he had ever felt before. He knew that she wanted him to acknowledge what he felt for her, that he loved her. Of course, he did. But, was now the best time for him to tell her? It had to be the perfect time, the perfect place. Marcus had planned to say those glorious three words after they had caught whoever was after them.
In a mirror in the bathing room, she watched as Marcus began to undress. He was a beautiful specimen of masculinity. His chest had a small sprinkling of hair. She was feeling the sparks even now, while she was soaking in the bath. She ducked under the water one more time before searching for the towel that had been placed on a chair next to the bath. She slowly rose from the bath and wrapped the towel around her body.
Marcus caught movement from his right side. He turned and watched his wife come up behind him. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his back. She could hear the constant beating of his heart against her cheek. His arms went around her in comfort, and he felt when she finally sank into his embrace.
“Marcus, let me ring for dinner,” she said as she reached for the ring pull.
“That will be acceptable, darling. But, after dinner, you are all mine.”
A footman showed up with their plate sa half an hour later. They ate in perfect silence, seemingly content with each other’s presence. Every so often, their gazes would meet, and they would stop eating and just stare at one other.
Marcus reached across the table to hold her hand. He couldn’t help but want to touch her. She was his to touch, his to love. Love? That word kept coming up when he thought of Juliana.
He had been ready to take her since the wedding, but then things became complicated. They were both being pulled in different directions. Juliana, no doubt, to have the “talk” about the wedding night. He was pulled into the preparations for their stay at Dunsbury.
“Darling, I can see neither of us is eating anymore. I want you. Please let me take you to bed,” Marcus said with a husky tone. He stood up, walked to her, and held his hand out.
He took her hand and let her guide him to the bed. He knew that she was nervous as he started to undress her, nibbled on her ear, sending shocks through her body that made her tremble all the way to her toes. He reached around her to unravel the loose knot she’d tied in the bathing robe she had put on. He then cupped her breasts, glorying in the feel of them. He heard her gasp as he rolled her nipples between his pointer finger and thumb.
Marcus, hearing the gasp, took that as the freedom to do with her body as he deemed fit. His lips hungered for her mouth. Her sweet scent drove him to want more, to want to conquer lands in her name, or make this the most tender moment of her life. He would bend over backward for this woman. He would give his life to keep her in his arms forever. He shouldn’t be thinking at all as he felt her lean back against him.
It took everything for him to keep his hunger at bay as she whispered his name, as he watched one hand make its way to her stomach where, after tonight, a child may be growing. The thought no longer made him feel nervous but joyful. He placed small kisses along her jawline and down her long, graceful neck. He planned to take this slow.
“Darling, if I do anything you don’t want me to do, please tell me. I want to see to your pleasure; make you feel things you have never felt before.”
“Then don’t stop…please!” Marcus took her lips in a brutal kiss that made her toes curl—and other parts of her ache for his touch. The place between her thighs was melting, fluid dripping from her. She had no clue how she knew this; she was working on instinct.
Marcus tossed her on the bed, his control fading fast. He stripped off his trousers and small clothes and crawled into bed beside Juliana. Lying on his side, he allowed his fingers to skate around her stomach. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever been with—and he had been with his fair share of women.
His fingers made their way down to her core, slipping between the slick folds of her sex. Rolling the nubbin with his thumb, his other hand played with her breast.
He knew exactly when her release was imminent. He knew in that moment that she was going to come undone just by him touching her perfect breasts. He knew she had no idea yet seeing her in the throes of becoming undone in his arms was well worth the wait.
Her inner muscles clenched around his finger as he inserted it, using a cadence of thrust and retreat. As her hips undulated, he knew she was near to her climax.
When his name came from her lips, intense feelings ignited his body and a dam of intense pleasure pushed them both over the edge, into oblivion.
“That was beautiful, Marcus! Is there more? I want more. I want you!”
He took that as his cue. He climbed up to rest between her glorious thighs, placing her legs around him. He took her lips yet again. The need to reassure her that she would only know pleasure was strong. He needed to wait until he knew that she could take him, but the strong desire to take her here and now was stronger.
He placed his cock at her entrance. “Darling, this is going to hurt the first time, but,
after this, there shall be no pain. Please let me know you understand.”
“I understand. Now, can you please continue?”
Marcus took her slowly. Thrusting in and out of her in small increments. When he could take no more, he thrust past her maidenhead. He stopped for a moment as he heard her gasp in pain.
“Are you well? Should I stop?”
“No, keep going…please. Marcus, I need more!”
He kept his thrusts shallow until he felt her soften and start to lift her hips in response. He drove deeper and deeper into her, taking every inch and claiming her as his. When he heard her breath becoming heavy and her muscles clenched around him, he thrust into her so deeply that it sent them both to their climaxes, blinding them both in its intensity.
* * *
Even with an arm around Juliana as she slept, Marcus found he couldn’t take that plunge into blissful exhaustion as he normally did. Making love to Juliana was something he had never felt before. He had learned at an early age how to pleasure women, and he learned from the best demirep in the business—or that is what he thought at the time. He looked down at his wife and knew that coaxing pleasure from a woman wasn’t the same as making her feel the bliss of the marriage bed.
How had one woman changed his outlook on his own beliefs and sexuality? Juliana made him feel things that he had never felt before. He pulled her closer and whispered, “I love you,” before closing his eyes, forgetting that his world was about to come crashing down.
The next morning proved to be something from a bad penny novel. It had started innocently enough. Marcus and Juliana took their time making it down to the breakfast parlor. The other guests had begun to pile their plates with food as Jenkins announced the Duke and Duchess of Dunsbury for the first time since the ritual had been delayed due to necessary security plans.
The clapping in the room made Juliana blush. The Rakes looked at her and winked, which caused Marcus to give them a “she’s mine, so back off!” glare. With an even deeper blush, Juliana took her seat at the foot of the table, with her sister on her right and her mother, by marriage, on her left. Marcus was filling her plate with items that she had told him that she liked.
“Dear sister, you look a little flushed. Are you all right?” said Minerva with a peculiar smile on her face and a gleam of knowledge in her eyes.
Was her sister ruined? If so, who took her innocence? She made a mental note to speak with Marcus later. On second thought, may she should just hear her sister’s story from her. She wanted to know but not at the expense of her relationship with her sister.
“Yes, I am just a bit warm, but it’s such a beautiful day. I would hate to spend it indoors. Would you not agree, my lords?”
“I wish that such a thing was possible, but your life, and ours, is on the line if we step foot out of this house. We all knew what we were getting into if we did this.”
“I realize this, my Lord Blackridge. This house will be getting warmer as the day goes on. After I break my fast, I intend to stroll through the gardens. If any of you would like to join me in my excursion, be my guest, but I would like to spend some time with my husband without the prying ears of a guard standing outside our bedchamber door.”
Marcus grinned at his friends in defiance. “My duchess has spoken. You know I will have my eyes and ears open to everything around me. We won’t be gone long.”
“That’s what you think,” Juliana said and winked at her husband provocatively.
Everyone’s jaw dropped and they stared at Marcus and his wife as they took their seats and started eating their respective breakfasts.
Marcus had not expected the remark Juliana gave his friends. He didn’t know his wife could be so feisty, let alone come up with a rebuff that would send his friends reeling. He laughed a bit inside as he looked down the table at Juliana. Her gaze held some of the mirth of his. He could tell she was trying with all her might not to laugh at the still shocked looks from his friends.
A chuckle escaped the mouth of Juliana’s twin, becoming a full laugh when the rest of the room caught on. Within minutes, laughter and tears colored the conversation. It took a while for them to get back to finishing what was left of their breakfasts.
Marcus held his arm out for Juliana to hold as he guided her down the steps to the formal gardens. He had always loved the gardens filled with roses and the maze. A person could get lost in the maze for hours. He pointed out the maze.
“Marcus, I love mazes. Do you think we can go through it?”
“That was the plan, my darling. Luckily for us, I know the way out, but I will feign amnesia,” he said with a chuckle.
They made their way through the maze and to the center, where a lovely bench had been placed for the lovers desiring to hide their secret romances. It had been one of Marcus’s fantasies to make love to Juliana out of doors. This was the perfect time and place. He looked toward the house to make certain no one was spying on them through the upper-story window.
Marcus sat on the bench and pulled Juliana forward to sit on his lap. She brushed against his rising manhood. Within seconds, he lost his focus and control. They seemed to vanish when Juliana was near enough to touch. He knew she wasn’t doing it on purpose; her innocent graze was not her fault. But, his need for her was growing at an alarming rate.
“I need you, my duchess…now!” he bellowed with a fiery expression in his eyes.
“Take me, Marcus!” she responded in kind.
She felt his hand reach under her skirts, up past the top of her stocking, and toward the center of her own need. She had learned much after the night before. She found him through the fabric of his trousers. She rubbed at the thickening organ as he penetrated her with his finger.
Juliana searched for the clasp that held his trousers on, undid it, and watched his cock spring from its hiding place. She continued her onslaught as her climax hit her full force.
“Turn toward me, love, and lift your skirts,” Marcus gently urged.
Juliana did what she was instructed to do. Marcus placed her facing him, straddling him. He taught her how to ride him, then let her take control. Each of her movements was torture. He needed to find his pleasure, but she was nowhere near completion. He let his fingers roam from her thigh up to her secret, most sensitive, spot, and he started rubbing it. He felt the spasms start and saw her back arch in concentrated tension. He thrust into her twice and spilled himself into her.
* * *
Unbeknownst to the lovers down in the garden, Minerva stood sentry in a window in an upper story room, overlooking the garden. She wished she could give that sort of passion to her one-day husband. But, instead, she was ruined. Destined to be a spinster for the rest of her life due to an unfortunate event several years ago. She thought back on that day when a lordling thought she was just a housemaid and stole her innocence from her. She now knew who that lordling was, and she would never let him into her heart, no matter how extremely well built and beautiful he was.
She heard the door open behind her and a voice she would never forget say, “What are our two love birds up to?”
“Take a look yourself, Lord Blackridge. You came in at the best part,” she said with animosity.
“What is wrong with you this morning? What have I done to elicit such a manner from you?”
“That’s for you to remember. Until then, I would suggest not coming near me,” Minerva said as she walked out of the room.
Once she got back to her room, she dropped into a puddle of tears at the foot of the bed. She thought that she had gotten over the heartache. It was obvious that she had not, and Lord Blackridge had no idea what she had meant. He didn’t remember the one evening they had together. It had been beautiful, she had given him her innocence, she had dealt with the consequences, and she had made herself into a better spy for the Crown because of the encounter. Which forced more tears to fall from her eyes.
“Minerva, please talk to me. I don’t understand what happened,” said Jacob from ou
tside her door. He didn’t know what was wrong or what caused the outburst from her, but it didn’t seem like something she would normally do.
“Just go away, Blackridge. I don’t want to see you or hear anything from you,” she said with a hint of sadness in her voice.
“You’ve been crying? Minerva, please, just let me in.”
She got up and opened the door. There stood the one man that she had never gotten over, and never would. He was also the man who had broken her heart, shredding every fiber of her being into shreds. Jacob Spencer could go to hell, in her mind, but she couldn’t get past how beautiful he was.
“Minerva, you have been crying. What was that about? What have I done to get such a reaction?”
“Never mind, my lord. It was a moment of weakness,” she responded.
“Excuse me, my lady, for not believing you. Please explain to me what I did.”
Minerva shook her head, unwilling to tell him about the one time they had been together. Shyness stole through her.
“You’ve had your way until now, my lady. I demand the truth.”
“You couldn’t handle the truth if I told you. You couldn’t handle looking at yourself, let alone me.”
“Just say it, Minerva. I’m man enough to handle anything you tell me.”
Minerva looked him in the eye and saw what she was feeling inside. Maybe he remembered. Wouldn’t it be her luck?
“Five years ago, I was in hiding in your house, as an upstairs maid. I was in the kitchen grabbing something to eat, late that night. You came down from your study, after having a late-night meeting with your friends. We had a flirtation, and things happened. You are the man I gave my innocence to.”
A Rake for Juliana Page 9