“Sarah.”
S.
“Your surname,” he asked.
Her face reddened with anguish and her words deepened with fear. “M-m-m… Martin.”
He added just the slightest hint of pressure on her pulse.
She screamed and grabbed his arm. “Please, no!”
“Name,” he demanded once more.
“William.” Leah moved to stand in front of him, blocking his view of Sarah. Her hands went to his face, but he pulled away. “Take her outside.”
“No!” Leah looked at Zed. “Don’t touch me.” She turned to William. “Don’t do this.” Her eyes watered. “Don’t do this. It’ll ruin your soul.”
William fought not to laugh when he said, “My soul was ruined a very long time ago.”
Her tears hit him just as sharply as any blade. They rolled down her face—not for Sarah, but for him. “But you don’t have to do this. She has a son.” She touched his shoulders. “She won’t say a word. She swears it.”
Sarah nodded against his hand, and he tilted his head to look at her. “Name.”
Her reply was to weep loudly again.
William turned to Zed and shouted, “Get Leah out of here!”
Zed moved at once, but Leah didn’t go easily. She fought Zed and shouted her pleas as the man carried her from the room. Her cries tore at his very soul, scarring him deeply.
But if he didn’t finish this thoroughly, it would mean prison, and no one wished for that.
Once he heard the front door close—which was a feat in itself with Sarah’s crying—he tightened his hold firmly on Sarah and jerked her close. The action cut out her crying, but he could see the terror in her eyes.
“I’m going to let you go, but you must stop your sniveling. It’s irritating me. Do we have an understanding?”
She nodded, and he released her before taking a step back. “What is your surname?”
“It was Douglas.” She rubbed her throat as she clung to the wall, holding his eyes.
“How do you know about that night?” She knew what night he spoke of, but if she forced him to elaborate, she’d regret it.
She decided on a smart reply. “I was a maid in the house. I never received the message that we were not to return that evening.”
William stared at her but couldn’t remember her face. Still, she’d had to have been nothing more than a girl during those years.
William removed his gloves, slowly. “Do you have family, Sarah Douglas?”
Her face crumbled as though she would weep again, but a second later, she straightened and nodded. “I do. A… son.”
“Do you love him?” William asked, not bothered that he’d just threatened a child’s life. He’d never actually kill the boy, but Sarah didn’t need to know that. He needed her to think him the cold monster that he sometimes could be.
Sarah closed her eyes and nodded. “Please, Sir William. Don’t—”
He moved toward her, crowding her in. “You’ll not say a word about that night ever again. In fact, you’ll forget it or the next time I hear of it, I’m coming for you.”
Sarah’s eyes snapped open. “But I’m not the only one who knows.”
“Then you better pray that they also keep their mouths closed.” He touched her cheek then with a single finger, slowly sliding it down her jaw. “I’d lose no sleep in seeing to your end.”
She swallowed and whispered, “I know… I swear, I won’t say a word. I’d already agreed to that very thing before you came in.”
He dropped his hand. “What did Leah and Zed do to make that happen?”
She frowned as if confused and then her expression cleared. “They… know something about me. Something that will ensure I never say a word.” She stared at him as if waiting for him to ask the most obvious question. What did they know?
He didn’t ask that, however, though he decided to tell her why. “I don’t need to know what they know, because what I do know is that you have a son you love and you would hate to lose him.” Nothing worked better than the promise of death.
“Yes.” Her eyes widened. “I love him. Please—”
He left then, needing to say or hear nothing further. He had a name and would share it with the other men. They could make their own threats if they wished, but he didn’t believe Miss Douglas would be a problem anymore.
When he stepped out of the house, he was putting back on his gloves.
Leah rushed to him but didn’t touch him. “Did you…” She couldn’t even finish the words.
“No.”
She grabbed his shoulder and sighed but then frowned. “You’re not simply going to wait for me to leave and do it later, are you?” She didn’t retract her hands, however.
He smiled at the idea. “No, I’ll let her live.” For now.
She relaxed and pressed her body into his. His arms went around her, and he held her close. “Take me from here, Liam.”
The words echoed from his past and though she wasn’t Tally, he made the same vow he’d made then. The only difference was he would keep this one if his very life depended on it.
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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
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Leah leaned away from William and managed to make out his eyes in the dark. “I don’t want to return to the Spinster House. Not yet.”
She was aware of her brother standing not too far away, and he’d undoubtedly heard her words.
William looked over her shoulder and spoke to Zed. “I’ll make sure she returns safely.”
As the night’s stillness filled the air, it was a moment before her brother spoke. “See that you do.” Then there was the sound of the hack’s door closing before horses pulled away.
“Come.” William kept a hold on her as he helped her into his carriage. He only let her go long enough to speak with his driver and then he sat on her side once more with his arm around her. He reached for a blanket underneath the seat and the heavy material settled over them both and locked William’s warmth and scent around her.
Leaning against him, she turned to gaze out the window and noticed when her eyes quickly caught a series of lantern lights. There was also the sound of laughter and horses. They’d entered a busier part of the city.
“I don’t feel like seeing anyone,” she said aloud. And she was far too comfortable to move. William’s heavy arm and ruthlessly male scent were like a barrier from reality, making it hard for her to think about the events of the night.
“We won’t get out. I simply thought you’d enjoy the drive.”
She smiled and realized she did. From her seat, she could make out the glittering women dressed in fine gowns as they waited in line to be received at various doors. Others left the houses, probably after being there for hours. She watched footmen move back and forth from carriages, drivers dressed in their own finery, men whispering in their ladies’ ears in the shadows. London never slept, and there was a peace in knowing that she was not the only one awake at such an hour.
“Do you do this often?” she asked. “Go for drives?”
“Not as often as I used to.” He tightened his arm around her. “You and the other women in the Spinster House have kept me quite busy.” Though he didn’t sound displeased by the fact.
A cool wind flew into the window and brushed her cheeks, but William’s body shielded her from most of it. “What do you often think about?” Part of her was asking just so he’d fill the silence, but another part of her wanted to know him through and through. There was so much she’d missed. He’d lived an entire life without her.
“I think about the past,” he told her quietly. “My family, war, and then having to adjust to living as a lowly titled gentleman during the Season.”
Leah thought about all he’d experienced. He’d hinted that his life had not been easy as a child. She couldn
’t even imagine what it was like to go to war, but a few ideas came to mind when she thought of the ‘lowly titled gentleman’ during the Season. He may have used humble words to describe himself, but she had no doubts that his looks and wealth had attracted just as many women as an unattached marquess or duke. “How did you manage to make it this long without marrying?”
He shifted so his hand was wrapped around her arm. His thumb grazed her skin repeatedly as he spoke. “That’s easy. I never put much effort into it. In fact, I’d intended never to marry, to be alone.”
Had intended. Did that mean he was no longer intent on the idea? Leah didn’t let herself hope he’d changed his mind because of her.
She turned in his arms and rested her cheek against the side of his chest. “I hate the thought of you being alone,” she admitted. “It’s very sad, William.” And it broke both her and young Natalia Hext’s heart.
He whispered his next words in her hair. “I didn’t realize how sad it was until very recently.”
She leaned away just enough to look into his eyes. “How recent?”
He smiled and instead of answering asked, “Have you ever been in love?”
Irritated that he’d not replied, she said, “Yes. A long time ago.”
He went hard underneath her. “What happened?”
“I was forced to leave him behind,” she whispered. “We were only children, but it was love in its own way.” How strange that when she fell again, it was for the same boy, only now he was a man.
He held her eyes and then relaxed with a nod. “I’m sure he returned your feelings.”
“How so?” she asked quietly, even though her heart began to race. Had she said too much? Did he know?
He touched her jaw. “Because, if you were anything near the woman that you are today, how could he not have?”
Every trace of cold left her and in its place bloomed new heat.
She moved at the same time he did. Their mouths met, and the kiss was hard, even as her body turned to pure liquid. She wrapped her arms around his neck to anchor herself to him, and his hands slipped under the blanket to grab her hips and pull her close. She was on his lap a second later as the kiss transformed into something close to mating. Their tongues danced, and his mimicked all the things she knew the very special hard part of him could do. She moved over that growing member and smiled when his breath hitched.
“I’m taking you home.” His voice was harsh.
And deflated her happiness. “I’m not ready to return to the Spinster House.”
He smiled. “I’m not ready to let you return either. You’re coming home with me.”
That happiness returned and with it, a heavy helping of need.
He licked her lower lip before biting it gently. “I want you.”
She shivered. “I want you, too.”
“So, you’ll come with me?” he asked.
“Anywhere.”
He felt the air shift in the carriage, desire lacing their every breath and surrounding them. William thumped the roof and, minutes later, the carriage was turned around, but neither paid much attention as they continued to use their mouths, tongues, and teeth to convey to the other their every wish.
When the carriage stopped, it took them another second to break apart, and then William was helping her down and into a terraced residence somewhere in the city. She hadn’t had the chance to look around and didn’t waste time in doing so. The moment William closed the door behind him, she grabbed him and kissed him hard.
“Where are your servants?” she asked. He’d unlocked the door and opened it himself.
“Besides the driver, I have none.” His mouth moved down her jaw and to her throat. “I recently bought it after Francis married, but I’m rarely here. There was never a point. You’re my first guest.” That pleased her, but not as much as when he bit her and then licked his way back to her mouth.
“Will he come in here?” she asked as she scraped her teeth down his jaw.
He tightened his hold on her hips and shook his head. “He’d have no reason to. He lives downstairs.”
Leah thought that perfect, because she’d never wanted anything or any man so desperately in her life. It pounded in her skin and made her ache everywhere.
She kissed him and then fell to her knees. Her hand pressed to the hot ridge of him that rested between his legs.
“Leah.” His harsh voice scratched at her senses and scraped across her pulsing core. “You don’t have to—”
She leaned forward and bit him gently through his breeches.
His hand shot out and grabbed her head. Her wig.
She grabbed his wrist and released his manhood. “Don’t touch me.”
He slowly released her. His voice was clearer but still heavy with desire. “I don’t think I can stand this, Leah. I’ve wanted you too much.”
“You can, and you will.” Because she wanted this far too much not to have it. She undid his breeches, and he helped her slide them and his smallclothes down his hips, taking care with his sensitive member.
The full beauty of his cock was put on display, but Leah only took a second to admire his generous size before she seized it with her mouth. She didn’t tease. She needed it too badly. She engulfed his head before sliding her lips farther down and allowed it to stretch her mouth to capacity.
She placed her hands on his thighs and felt William shiver as he pulsed between her lips. The sound that followed was savage and wild and very like a man on the brink.
“Leah, oh, God.” He rocked slightly forward, groaning and cursing. The foulness only made her hotter, made her crave him this way more.
She allowed herself to enjoy the flavor of him as she ran her tongue around him and sucked him deeper, wanting him to fill every part of her, needing it like air or food. His vicious grunts of pleasure fueled her as she began to concentrate at his tip, running her tongue over its slit while using her hands to stroke him back and forth.
More swearing. More groans.
She gently scraped her teeth against the underside and then she was on her feet, but only for a moment. In the next second, William threw her over his shoulder and started up a flight of stairs.
She laughed and placed her hands on his back to keep herself level. “I wasn’t done.” She’d been so close herself, and she’d not yet been touched.
“You wicked woman.” His hand came down on her bottom. Hard.
The shock and pleasure traveled from that spot and spread everywhere. She gasped and dug her nails into him.
She was about to ask him to do it again, but he swung around a corner and then she was on her feet once more. She rocked and reached out to use the bed to steady herself as William closed the door.
The room was plunged into darkness. Then a lamp was turned on by the bed, illuminating the room just enough for them to make one another out.
When he turned to her, she was disappointed to see that he’d covered himself.
He grinned. “Keeping myself exposed would have made running rather difficult and dangerous, and I have far too many plans for you to let anything happen to it.”
She smiled and then looked around the room.
The wallpaper was old, and the room was hardly furnished, with only the large bed and a chair with a writing desk.
Removing his jacket, he placed it over the back of the chair. Then William walked over to the fireplace and created flames in seconds but hardly added any light to the room itself. But Leah was drawn more to the muscles she saw bunched in his shoulders and back than anything else.
He rose and found her watching him. “You’re still dressed. Good. I wanted to undress you myself.” His stroll was slow and painful to watch, even as it excited her. He came to a stop before her and reached up to undo the first button of her dress.
She reached out to help, but he took her hand and placed it on the other bedpost. Now with her hands on either side, she was stretched out before him and at his mercy.
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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
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Leah watched as he looked at her with a lazy grin. His green eyes found hers before he spoke. “Don’t move,” he commanded.
She tightened her fingers on the bedpost. It was only fair since she’d taken control downstairs. “Very well.” But she had no clue how he thought to get her out of her dress with her arms stretched this way.
Still, she watched as he unbuttoned her, the overused and aged fabric coming apart easily. Then his hands went underneath her collar and slid over her shoulders. He bent his head and kissed her throat. His rough cheek grazed her skin and sent spikes of sensation down her body. She tightened her fingers on the bedpost once more and his hands slid down her hips and then around her back. She was jerked to attention when she heard ripping and then more. The sound of breaking material in the silence. He held her eyes and then the dress fell from her body like discarded rags. He untied her corset and she gently stepped out of it. Then her chemise along with it, shredded to nothing, and sweeping over her skin like a whisper.
“Will you be replacing that gown as well?” she asked.
He didn’t even smile. His focus was too intent on her body. His nostrils flared at her nudity. His gaze and voice darkened. “Oh, I intend to replace the dress with something.” He stepped forward again and this time his mouth landed just above her breast, teasing the skin there before trailing down and taking her nipple between his lips. He sucked.
She shook and fought the urge to grab him. His hands were everywhere, down her hips, over her rear, up her back, touching her gently and with a patience that said they had all night. All the while, he pulled her nipple taut before moving to the other. The wet and abandoned nipple began to cool in the room’s air, but then his hand was there. He palmed her before claiming her nipple.
Natalia’s Secret Spinster’s Society (The Spinster’s Society) (A Regency Romance Book) Page 16