“He is someone’s assassin,” Sin asserted grimly.
Her expression brightened. “You really do believe me now?”
“It would seem after today, it would be best to err on the side of caution,” he conceded. “I really wish you would leave here, Fliss.”
“And I have said I will not.”
The palm of Sin’s hand itched with the need to spank this woman’s backside. Except he knew it would not end there. And making love to Fliss again would not be a wise move on his part. Instead, he needed to put as much distance between them as possible if he were to protect her, if not physically by having her leave Eckles Manor, then in all other ways.
He straightened. “I will wish you a good night, then, Mrs. Randall.”
Fliss was taken aback at the abruptness and formality of his dismissal. The two of them had been intimate—very intimate—such a short time ago. Sin had held her in his arms afterward. Shown concern for her safety since. How could he now dismiss her, address her so formerly, as if none of that had taken place?
Because he’s a gentleman and an earl. And gentlemen and earls do not need to explain themselves to dowdy widows like me.
Fliss drew herself up proudly. “Good night, my lord.”
Chapter 9
“You seem somewhat distracted, Mrs. Randall,” Lord Waverley prompted irritably.
Fliss turned her head sharply away from where Sinclair Montgomery was currently engaged in a game of—well, she was not sure what the game was. Only that it involved a lot of laughter and necessitated that he and the lady he was with become entangled in positions Fliss had not realized were possible whilst still wearing one’s clothes. Most of one’s clothes, she corrected, because the earl was once again in his shirtsleeves, and Lady Barker in only her stockings and camisole, resulting in her plentiful breasts spilling out the top of it on a regular basis.
It had been a most horrible day, as far as Fliss was concerned, and the evening was not much better.
She had seen nothing of Sin during the day. But when she had gone to the stables this afternoon in search of him, having assumed he must again be there, she was informed by one of Lady Eckles’s grooms that “His lordship hasn’t been near since this morning.” So much for his concern regarding his groom and horse.
Fliss later learned that Sin had been with several of the other guests this afternoon, having joined them to go nude bathing in Lady Eckles’s lake.
Unlike yesterday, her own morning had been spent hiding in the library. Knowing she could not continue to hide indefinitely, she had joined some of the other guests for luncheon and afterward retired to her bedchamber to rest. She had returned downstairs in time for afternoon tea and discovered that none of the bathers had yet returned.
It was an afternoon tea unlike any Fliss had ever attended before, and resulted in cake being thrown about by several of the male guests. The reason for that had soon become apparent when those same gentlemen had then offered to lick the cake from whatever lady’s body part the sticky concoction might have landed on.
Fliss had somehow managed to avoid the barrage of food throwing before quickly excusing herself and hurrying back to the refuge of her bedchamber.
She had, however, had the chance to observe the other ladies’ attire during that riotous tea, and once back in her room had instructed Mary to make changes to the gown she would wear this evening. She would draw less attention to herself if she was at least dressed in the same manner as all the other ladies.
She ordered a strip of lace be removed from the bodice, and the petticoats beneath the skirt. Once she’d dressed, Fliss’s reflection in the cheval mirror showed her breasts were exposed to just above the nipples. The lack of a second petticoat rendered the skirt almost transparent. She was now dressed as scandalously as the other ladies present.
For all the notice Sin took of her when he arrived late to the dining room with a giggling Lady Barker on his arm, Fliss might as well have been wearing a sack from head to toe. Sin’s and Lady Barker’s behavior during dinner had been nothing short of sickening to watch as they fed each other sweetmeats in between Sin placing languorous kisses on every available piece of flesh the other woman bared. Which was considerable.
Fliss had felt hurt and betrayed by Sin’s attentions to the other woman.
Despite what he had said, the earl had obviously decided to dismiss Fliss’s warnings of danger as nothing more than a widow’s hysteria. He had possibly only been humoring her so he could take all he wanted from her physically. Having done so, he had now transferred his attention to his next conquest.
When Lord Waverly invited Fliss to play a game of cards with him after dinner, she had happily agreed. She had not, of course, realized he meant for them to remove an item of clothing every time a hand was lost. But as Lord Waverly was so far the only one to lose, it had not proven to be a problem.
For Fliss, that is.
Lord Waverly was a fair-haired gentleman in his forties who obviously enjoyed his food overmuch, and he did not make a particularly appealing sight stripped down to his undershirt and pantaloons.
“Not at all, my lord,” Fliss now answered him lightly. “I was simply wondering if there was any refreshment to be had this evening. This is thirsty work, is it not?” She placed another winning hand on the tabletop, while inwardly thanking her nanny for all those wet afternoons when it was impossible to leave the house and the two of them had instead played cards together. Without that, Fliss feared she would have been the one stripped to her undergarments. Which had no doubt been Lord Waverly’s intention all along. “In lieu of removing another piece of your clothing, would it be possible for you to get me something to drink instead?”
He threw his cards down in disgust as he stood. “I believe there is punch in the other room.”
“I would prefer water.” Fliss had already sampled the punch and found it to be unpleasant and laced with a strong-tasting alcohol. No doubt it was intended to dispose of any lingering inhibitions the guests might feel. Which, in Fliss’s opinion, applied to very few here. She had never seen so many half-naked bodies as she had been forced to endure this evening.
“Of course.” Lord Waverly smiled tightly before excusing himself to go in search of the water she had requested.
Fliss breathed a slow sigh of relief and allowed the tension to ease from her shoulders once Waverly had gone. Perhaps the earl was right and she should leave Eckles Manor. Sin’s behavior showed he was completely unconcerned as to his own safety, and Fliss was not sure she could suffer through many more days and evenings like this one.
“Excuse yourself and go to your bedchamber before the evening grows any wilder.”
Fliss recognized that hissing voice and dictatorial tone, and she did not take kindly to hearing either when Sin had ignored her existence all day. How dare he behave as he had with Lady Barker this evening and still expect Fliss to take his instruction seriously?
She turned to find him standing beside her chair, eyeing him critically as she took in his unfastened shirt and the expanse of flesh it revealed. “Has your game finished already, my lord? Surely not?” she taunted as she coolly swept her gaze over him from his booted feet to his tousled hair. “You appear to still have some of your clothes on.”
Sin had been congratulating himself on avoiding Fliss’s company all day, sure that if he continued to do so, she would eventually take herself off from Eckles Manor. He had been convinced that if she were the respectable widow Fliss assured him she was, she would not be able to endure the licentious behavior here for long.
To his annoyance, she had flirted with the men seated on either side of her during dinner, and was now playing a card game with Waverly, which appeared to necessitate the two of them removing items of clothing between hands. None of Fliss’s own as yet, but Sin was sure it was only a matter of time before Waverly began to cheat to achieve Fliss’s disrobement.
“Lady Eckles will shortly be announcing a game of blindman’s blu
ff,” he bit out between clenched teeth. “You do not want to be here for that.”
Fliss raised her brows. “Why not?”
Sin breathed noisily through his nose. “Because if you are chosen to be the blind man and you fail to identify whomever you touch, by whichever body part they nominate for that identification, you will in turn then have a part of your own body groped and fondled.”
Her nose wrinkled with distaste. “You have obviously played the game before.”
He had, yes, but not in these surroundings or in this company. “Make your excuses and go to your room, Fliss.” He kept his voice soft so that no one else should overhear their conversation.
“No.”
Sin lowered his head until his lips were almost touching the bareness of skin between her shoulder and throat. Close enough that he could breathe in the heady musk of her body. He was instantly annoyed with himself when he felt his cock reacting to being this close to Fliss. He’d just spent the past hour with a half-clothed woman without feeling so much as a twitch of arousal. “I will not be able to save you from molestation once the game has begun,” he snapped.
“I do not recall asking for your assistance,” she dismissed.
The mere thought of having to watch as other men in the room manhandled Fliss was enough to make Sin grind his teeth. “You are playing with fire,” he warned.
“Indeed?” she taunted. “Perhaps I have decided it is time I was less respectable and burned a little?”
He straightened abruptly, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. “Lady Eckles is sure to choose the most innocent here to be the blind man.”
“And you believe that to be me?”
“I know it is you.” For all they had shared several intimacies—Sin could still remember the feel of that silken mouth about his cock as she brought him to release—he did not believe Fliss to be an experienced or promiscuous woman. The fact she had not taken a lover in the year since her husband’s death would seem to confirm that.
“I am a grown woman and capable of making my own decisions.” Her chin rose. “I choose to remain here.”
Sin’s frustration deepened. “Then on your own head be it.”
“I do not think it is my head that is in danger of being fondled.”
“No, it will be your tits, ass, and quim,” he predicted with deliberate crudeness.
In truth, Fliss would much rather have retired to her bedchamber than take part in any games. But she would not be told what to do by Sin, nor would she allow him to see how disgusted she felt at the idea of having to touch any of the other guests here. Or having their hands on her if she failed to identify them. Which she surely would. She now knew the names of most of the other guests here, but not all, so how could she be expected to name them simply from touching them?
She rose to her feet. “Much as you have done since my arrival?”
He drew himself up straighter. “I take offense at being accused of groping you—”
“Ah, Lord Waverly.” She turned to smile at the other man as he returned with her glass of water. “Thank you.” She took the glass and drank half the liquid down, the disagreeable conversation with Sin having made her mouth dry. “The earl believes we are about to play blindman’s bluff.”
Waverly’s expression brightened. “Oh, jolly good.” He placed an overly familiar arm about her waist as he looked at the other man. “Should be fun, eh, Winterbourne?”
“Oh, great fun.” The earl’s answer was abrupt.
Fliss bristled as she saw the look of disgust in Sin’s face at seeing her pressed so tightly against Waverly’s side. In truth, she could barely stop herself from recoiling at being in such close proximity to Samuel Waverly’s flaccid and half-naked body. It seemed especially unpleasant when the last man to hold her this close, namely Sin himself, had a taut, muscular body that made her ache to touch and caress it.
The earl’s surmise that Fliss would be the one chosen by Maria Eckles to have the blindfold placed over her eyes, pitching her into disorientating darkness, proved a correct one. She was then turned around three times, making her feel more than a little dizzy but also totally losing her bearings and any idea of who had stood where in the room, before being set free, hands raised in front of her as she stumbled about the drawing room.
The first person she touched made it all too easy for her to do so, the reason for that becoming clear when he placed one of her hands against the bulge in his pantaloons. Only ever having been acquainted with two cocks, her husband’s and Sin’s, Fliss had no chance of identifying the man in front of her. There came chants of “Who, who?” as the man proceeded to rub her hand up and down that throbbing member through the material of his pantaloons, his breathing becoming hot and uneven as his arousal deepened.
The cock was possibly only five or six inches long, and not thick around like Sin’s. “Lord Waverly?” Her guess was tentative at best.
“Wrong,” Lord Adam Sterling drawled as his hand dipped down the front of her gown and gave one of her nipples a painful twist. She felt herself being spun round again and set free.
This second spin added to her increasing feelings of dizziness and caused her to stumble again until she regained her balance.
The next person to step into her path was a woman. Fliss was able to guess that much at least, from the floral perfume. A guess that was confirmed when her hand was placed against the woman’s bared breast. Fliss’s efforts to pull away were to no avail, as the other woman’s grip tightened and she rubbed Fliss’s gloved palm against a hard nipple.
Fliss felt sickened at that familiarity. She had never touched any woman’s breasts but her own, and then only to wash herself. This breast was large and pendulous. “Lady Barker…?”
“Wrong,” her hostess whispered in her ear as her hand went down Fliss’s bodice to tweak and pinch her other nipple. “But we can finish this later if you would care to come to my bedchamber for another feel?”
Fliss answer was to spin herself away, adding to that lightheadedness as she crashed into a hard object. She lifted her hands to steady herself, breathing a sigh of relief at the familiarity of the chest beneath her palms. Not only those hard and muscular contours, but also the smell of sandalwood and male musk. “Lord Montgomery,” she announced without hesitation, uncaring if by doing so she revealed her intimate knowledge regarding the earl’s body.
“Correct,” Sin bit out beside her ear as the others in the room clapped their approval. “Now leave here before I decide to lift your skirts, pull down your drawers, and paddle your bare ass in front of everyone.”
Sin had tried to intercede before now to save Fliss the embarrassment of having Sterling and then Lady Eckles fondling her breasts. But he had not taken into account Sterling’s or Maria Eckles’s determination. It had been sickening to watch them rubbing Fliss’s hands over their bodies, even more so to see their hands on Fliss. But at least her incorrect guess in regard to Sterling showed that she really had only enjoyed a picnic luncheon with the other man yesterday.
She ripped off the blindfold now to stare at him with unfocused gray eyes, her face pale.
“Go now,” he urged with force. “And lock your bedchamber door behind you.”
Fliss fled, leaving the room as if the hounds of hell were at her heels.
The dizziness seemed to become worse rather than better, and she was breathing hard by the time she reached her bedchamber, black spots dancing in front of her eyes as she sat heavily on the side of her bed, holding on to one of the four corner posts to stop herself from swaying.
She was no longer merely dizzy but also disorientated. As if she were not inside her own body, and everything was happening to her in a dream. Including her limbs refusing to obey her as she tried to stand to undress before going to bed.
Unable to rise, Fliss instead slid slowly down onto the carpet beside her bed before the darkness overcame her.
Chapter 10
Sin played his part in blindman’s bluff
, fondling several pairs of breasts and one rather puny man’s chest before identifying Lady Barker by her shapely ass. He heaved a sigh of relief as he was able to pass the blindfold on to her and then move to the back of the room, to observe, rather than take part.
Which was the reason he noticed when Lord Waverly slipped quietly from the room, still half-undressed from his card game with Fliss, a disquieting smile of anticipation curving the foppish man’s fleshy lips.
Sin decided to follow him. He stayed in the shadow as the other man crossed the spacious entrance hall and went up the wide staircase. Along the hallway to Fliss’s bedchamber.
He hesitated in the hallway as the man let himself into the unlocked and darkened bedchamber. Was it possible Fliss was expecting him? That she had invited the other man to join her and so deliberately left the door unlocked for him to enter?
She had spent a great deal of time in Waverly’s company since her arrival here, so perhaps—
No.
Sin had not seen the slightest spark of genuine interest in Fliss’s manner toward the other man. Whatever Waverly was doing letting himself into her bedchamber, Sin did not believe it was by invitation. He would deal later with Fliss’s disobedience regarding having left the door unlocked. For now, he needed to follow the other man and see what he was up to.
“What the devil—”
Sin gave Waverly no opportunity to finish the exclamation. He hauled the other man off Fliss’s inert body, then flung Waverly across the bedchamber. The other man hit the wall and slid down it, eyes opened wide as he blinked his surprise. The moonlight shining in through the windows showed the front of his unfastened pantaloons, completely exposing his rigid cock.
Sin went down on his haunches beside Fliss and took in her disheveled appearance at a glance. Her gown had been pushed up about her waist, her drawers pulled off completely, legs pushed wide apart, fully exposing the dark curls.
Sin pulled her gown down over her nakedness before looking up at her face. Her lids were closed, her breathing soft and even, her limbs completely relaxed.
Taken by the Earl (Regency Unlaced 3) Page 7