by EM BROWN
Pushing aside his linen, her mouth found a nipple. She sucked upon it greedily. As she sank to her knees, she slid her mouth down his front and traced the bulge of his cock with her tongue. She undid his breeches. His cock sprang forth and grazed her cheek. She wrapped her hands about the shaft and covered the head with her mouth. Moaning, her eyes closed as if she had just tasted the most exquisite of desserts, she licked and lapped at him, rolling her tongue all about his erection, sucking him until his seed threatened to burst forth.
He pulled her to her feet and over to a chair. Sitting first, he positioned her above his lap and eased her down onto his cock. The warm wetness encasing his shaft was beyond marvelous. Reaching his arm around her hip, he fondled her clitoris. She leaned against his chest as he began to thrust his pelvis deeper into her. He turned her face back towards him so that they could join lips. She moaned against his mouth and writhed into his hand. With his other hand, he grasped a breast, brushed his thumb across the extended nipple, and kneaded the heavy flesh.
Her moaning turned into delicious grunts and gasps as she approached her climax. She trembled against him. Her cunnie clutched at his cock. And then the pressure building within her shattered, sending ripples of delight throughout her. She cried out. He held her tight so that she would not fall off of him. He wanted to absorb every tremor of her ecstasy. Gradually, she became heavy against him. He eased his caresses.
When her breath had settled, she turned to him. “Come, I wish for us to make love until the dawn.”
Rising, she pulled him towards his bed. He kicked off the remainder of his clothing. She pushed him down into the pillows and straddled him. Her cunnie was soaking with desire, and she slid easily onto him. A soft glisten of perspiration glowed upon her skin. A lovelier vision could not be had than that of his love, naked, riding his cock. She ground her groin against his. He assisted by thrusting his hips up at her, making her breasts bounce. He paced himself for he wanted them to spend together. Holding her hips, he eased her up and down his shaft until she was once more panting and groaning. He quickened his thrusts until he was slapping at her with a speed that made her teeth chatter. Her cunnie clenched, and her body went into a paroxysm. His desire exploded inside of her with a force that made him buck unintentionally hard against her. The sensation shot down his legs, jerking his limbs uncontrollably. He pumped himself against her, squeezing every last drop of seed into her heat. She held herself upright until the last of his tremors had been drawn, then she collapsed on top of him.
“I WOULD GO WITH YOU anywhere, Phineas,” she murmured as she lay curled in his arms. “I know now that I could not be apart from you again. If you should go into exile, I would follow.”
“That is no life for a woman with child,” he said as he kissed her forehead.
“I want no life that you are not in. ’So dear I love him that with him, all deaths I could endure. Without him, live no life.’”
Her last words were barely audible as she slipped into sleep. He watched as she slept, her even breathing casting a calm upon him save for the churning of his mind. He spent more of the night watching her sleep and contemplating what they were to do now that Gertie had exposed their affair. She could not return to Alexander. Some husbands could endure being made a cuckold, but Phineas did not trust Alexander. He would not have Gertie placing herself or her unborn child in harm. But what life could they and the child have? She might profess her willingness to be with him now, but would she come to resent the bleak future their child would face?
When the first rays of morning filtered through the window, Phineas disengaged himself from Gertie and returned the circulation into his arm. He dressed in the anteroom and went to leave a note beside her in bed, wanting to kiss her but not wishing to wake her.
Dearest Gertie,
I have requested that breakfast be served to you in bed and sent word to Lady Dunnesford to bring you such items as you may need for your toilette. My servants are yours to command. I regret that I could not be present upon your waking to greet you with a kiss, but know that I am forever, with adoration and devotion, yours.
Phineas
He startled his servants with the hour and set off for Barclay House to find his brother. He was told by the butler there that his lordship was still in bed.
“But Robert always rises with the sun,” Phineas contemplated.
His impatience triumphed and he made his way upstairs into the Baron’s chambers. Robert lay in his bed, a compress upon his forehead.
“You have aged me ten years in a night, Phineas,” Robert mumbled as he lay motionless with eyes closed.
Phineas sat down on chair near the bed. “I can hardly believe myself that foolish major wished to call me out when I had done nothing with his silly wife.”
Robert propped himself up with one elbow to stare at Phineas. “Then why in bloody hell did you agree to a duel with that man?”
“Why not? I could see the man was determined. If not he, then it would have been some other affronted husband.”
Groaning, Robert fell back down. “You will have your chance yet, no doubt, with the Earl of Lowry.”
“Not if he can be persuaded to give up Gertie.”
“You wish him to cede you his honor and his wife? My dear fellow, you have gone mad. I wash my hands of you, Phineas. Bettina was right. You will be the death of me.”
“What if I resume the barony?”
Robert raised himself again. “Eh?”
“What sort of advance do you think we could secure on the copper?”
“Ten thousand, easily. Why?”
“I wish to buy Gertie from Alexander.”
Robert only frowned. “That sort of thing happens only with the lower classes. Even were Alexander willing to part with Gertie, he would simply sue you for damages.”
“Alexander would be willing to part with his mother for the right price. He bears no affection for Gertie now that her funds are gone. As for crim con, I will not have Gertie endure such a thing. I will simply offer Alexander more than he is likely to be awarded in a crim con suit.”
“But all the work for the copper...”
“She is worth more to me than all the copper in the world,” Phineas said quietly.
“And you would take back the barony?”
“Yes. I will ask the Marquess of Dunnesford to submit before Parliament a petition for divorce. Once Gertie is free, she and I will be married. But all this must happen before the child is born.”
“That is no small order.”
“Love has never come easily to me.”
Removing his compress, Robert sat up and faced his brother. “Is the child yours?”
“Gertie is certain, but it matters not. I will raise the child as mine own.”
“What if Alexander wishes to claim the child?”
“When he discovers the child to be mine, he will want nothing to do with it. He would sooner die than see Lowry go to a child of Barclay blood.”
Robert was silent in thought. “What of your trip to Scotland with Prudence?”
“I will discuss the matter with her. Regardless, I have every intention of overseeing her education and maturation henceforth.”
“My God, what have you done with my brother?”
Phineas grinned. He rose to his feet. “I can depend upon your support then? I have a very important appointment with my tailor to keep.”
Robert half-smiled. “Yes, yes. Be off with you then—your lordship.”
Chapter Twenty
GERTIE PACED THE COMMONS near Dunnesford House. Harrietta was nursing her son, and Gertie had no wish to intrude her anxiety upon such a peaceful pair. The cool autumn wind blew all around her, but the fresh air helped to calm her nerves. She could not be sure if the strange fluttering sensations in her belly had to do with her disquiet or the life form growing inside of her. She could not refrain her mind from imagining all possible outcomes of the meeting between Alexander and Vale.
“You c
an have the wanton harlot for all I care,” she envisioned Alexander saying.
And then she would see Alexander rejecting the deal simply to spite his wife and Phineas. Gertie clasped and unclasped her hands several times. The amount Phineas was offering was a grand sum for Lowry, but perhaps Alexander would be satisfied with the income Sarah’s matrimony could produce? However Alexander decided, at the least, she knew her heart, and there was comfort in that. She would be with Phineas regardless.
A man on horseback approached. Phineas!
She picked up her skirts and ran towards him. He quickly dismounted and caught her in his arms.
“Darling, you ought not run in such fashion,” he said after he had nestled a kiss in her neck.
“I may be with child, but I am not incapacitated,” she informed him. She searched his face for indications.
His handsome face broke into a broad smile. “You are to be mine, Gertie.”
She threw her arms about his neck and held him tight. “Truly?”
“Dunnesford told me that Alexander agreed to all the terms.”
“And the child?”
“Alexander has no interest in our child.”
She shuddered in relief. “I have made myself sick with worry.”
“As did I. I rode my poor horse around Berkeley Square what seemed a hundred times, waiting for Dunnesford to emerge. I wanted so often to enter Lowry House to confront Alexander myself, but your suggestion to have Dunnesford represent us was a wise one.”
He picked her up and spun her about. She laughed, awkwardly for she could hardly believe that she was to be free, free to be with Phineas.
“Dunnesford told me that he would submit the petition for divorce tomorrow,” Phineas continued, “and then you will be completely mine, my love.”
“How fortunate we were that such a grand lode of copper had been discovered!”
“Even had we not that resource, dearest Gertie, I would have found a means. I would have sold my soul to possess you.”
She looked into his eyes and felt her love for him swelling to such an extent that she wondered her bosom would not burst.
“You will come live with me at Barclay,” he declared. “I do not think I can wait for us to be married.”
“Vale and Harrietta said that I can stay at Dunnesford House for as long as I wish. It is perhaps more proper.”
“Hang propriety,” he growled. “It is known that we are lovers.”
“Nonetheless, I do not wish for us to appear blatant or impudent before Parliament has approved our petition. Absence will make our hearts fonder.”
He frowned. “You would torment me, Gertie?”
“For our future, I am willing to bear some torture today.”
He thought for a moment. “I agree to this plan of yours on one condition.”
She raised a brow.
“That you agree to an assignation with me at Madame Botreaux’s Cavern of Pleasures.”
She started. “No. That is unnecessary. I could simply visit you at your apartment as your servants have proved to be most discreet.”
“I prefer Madame Botreaux’s.”
She stepped away from him and his searching eyes. “How do you know of Madame Botreaux’s?”
“How do you?”
“I—I heard of it from...”
She could not reveal her friends.
“The Marquess and Marchioness,” he provided.
“You knew?” she gasped.
“I was told that Dunnesford was quite the deity there.”
Too many thoughts were swirling in her head. How would Phineas react if he knew she had already been a patron of Madame Botreaux’s? If she agreed to go with him to the Cavern, she might be recognized as Lady Athena. Would Penelope then reveal her?
“You have been to Madame Botreaux’s before?” she ventured, hoping to keep the attention upon him.
“Quite frequently.”
She had her back to him and tugged at her fingers. “In the past?”
“Earlier this year.”
Her voice nearly cracked. “Indeed?”
“I was quite taken by someone there.”
A rage of jealousy swept through her, and she had to remind herself that his past would likely produce many opportunities for jealousy. Such ugly feelings were not productive.
“An impervious woman,” he added, “but I was intent upon pursuing her. I intended to show her the error of her ways.”
She wondered which of the many beautiful women at the Cavern he was referring to. He stood close enough to her that his chest grazed her back. The wind blew his cloak around her. He cupped her chin and tilted her ear to his mouth.
“Lady Athena.”
Her heart leaped from her. But Lady Athena was her! Should she reveal the truth to him? He was the man she loved, a man who would become her husband. She could keep no secret from him.
But how had he come across Lady Athena?
She whirled around to face him, the blood draining from her. “Hephaestus!”
“My Mistress,” he greeted with a grin.
“How could I not have...?” she gasped, appalled at her own blindness as the visions of the Cavern flashed before her and the memory of how she had responded to him surged in her body. “How long have you known?”
“Since the Four Horse Posting Inn.”
“But you said nothing!”
“I believed if you wished me to know, you would have told me.”
She glanced away from him, feeling somewhat angry that he had known all this time when she had not.
He wrapped a hand about her waist and pulled her to him. The sparkle of amusement danced in his eyes. “Do not be offended, my love. I will let you exact your vengeance upon me at Madame Botreaux’s.”
She pursed her lips. “It will be a vengeance like you have never experienced, Hephaestus.”
He grinned. “I welcome everything you would do to me, and then I will have my triumph. I am quite confident that Lady Athena will be surrendering to the greatest of bodily pleasures.”
Gertie felt her knees weaken at the prospect. “You may find Lady Athena more formidable than the Countess of Lowry, sir.”
He drew her even closer until she felt the hardness of his desire against her. “Make no mistake. I will achieve my conquest.”
She would not have disputed him even had his mouth not claimed hers before she could utter another word. Lady Athena had long succumbed for Phineas Barclay had conquered Lady Athena the moment he had conquered the heart of the Countess.
Binding
The
Baroness
PUBLISHED BY WIND COLOR Press
Copyright © 2017 by Em Brown
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is purely coincidental.
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Chapter One
“TEN THOUSAND POUNDS if you will seduce the Baroness Debarlow.”
Montague Edwards eyed the Earl of Frotham without evincing emotion though he could have choked on the snuff he had just inhaled. Ten thousand pounds. The sum reverberated gloriously in his ears. The invitation from Frotham had come as surprise enough for Montague barely knew the Earl and his family. The aforementioned proposition was beyond expectation. The old man, frowning from behind his large mahogany writing table, appeared not to be jesting,
if such a jest fell within the inclinations of the Earl – which Montague doubted.
Without word, Montague took another pinch of snuff and replaced his snuffbox into his waistcoat pocket. He should have leaped without question at such an opportunity, but he wanted time to quiet his excitement. How often did one come across ten thousand pounds? He had come to London, despite his aversion to The Season, to seek that which he had never craved or thought he needed: a wife. To be precise, he needed funds. A wife, with the proper endowment, was simply a means to that end.
“Five and ten then,” the Earl, mistaking Montague’s silence, amended.
The man was desperate, Montague surmised as he noted his surroundings. The silk-lined walls of the library, the stately furnishings, and paintings mounted in gilded frames all suggested Frotham had the means to make such an offer, but appearances could deceive. Clearly something important was at stake for Frotham to state such an outlandish proposal. Montague wondered what it could be. His dispassion appeared to rankle the Earl, who tried unsuccessfully to suppress the irritation from his voice.
“Are you not in need of five and ten thousand pounds, sir?” Frotham asked. “Many a young man of standing would want years to generate such income. One could do much with such an amount.”
Only a fool would not recognize that fact, Montague thought wryly, but he had no wish to offend the Earl into withdrawing the proposition at hand. Instead, Montague responded, “You mistake my years. I am hardly deemed callow with four and thirty years to my name.”
“Shall we agree it be no paltry sum for any man?”
“Indeed. Are you so desirous then to part with it?”
Frotham had a pronounced jaw, and it jutted out with displeasure. He might have presented a handsome man in his youth, but a rich diet had made his jowls more prominent, and his constant battle with the gout had rendered his countenance surly.