She shrieked as pleasure nearly made her knees buckle. She could feel the essence of her desire sliding down her thighs and curled her body forward so that he’d know where she needed to be touched next.
His hand seemed to understand her silent complaint and trailed from her nipple, over her stomach, and through the small patch of curls between her thighs until they found gold. He circled her, and she screamed.
He bit her nipple, and she came hard, sure that she’d woken his driver and praying the man didn’t try to come to her rescue.
Sometime later, she became aware that her hands were at her sides and she was being carried somewhere. Her back hit the bed and then William was kneeling over her.
She lifted her hands and ran them over his strong shoulders, lazily feeling and enjoying the evidence of his strength.
He was gazing down at her then he bent over to kiss her. Once. Twice. He lifted again and met her eyes. “I want to remove the wig.”
“No.” She gripped his hips and moved so that he was positioned between her legs. She didn’t want this night to end, but it would if he insisted.
He looked at the light on the nightstand and then returned his eyes to her. “I’ll dim the lights.”
“No.”
“I’ll turn them out.”
“Then what’s the point?” she asked.
“I want to touch you everywhere.” His hand moved her thigh then grabbed her knee and pushed it to the side, exposing her. “Even if I can’t see you. I want to touch all of you.” His fingers went to her pleasure-soaked patch and brushed her most sensitive skin.
She hissed and twisted her fingers in the sheets. Her thoughts vanished, and she moaned.
“Let me touch you, Leah.” He bathed his fingers in her essence and then pushed one inside. Her muscles contracted, and she gasped. He made slow love to her with that finger and then it was joined by a second. He picked up his pace but never allowed his eyes to leave hers.
“I want to taste you,” he said, his muscles bunching with his movement, his fingers stroking her in the most intimate way.
She couldn’t speak. She only moaned through it.
“Do you want that?” His hands didn’t slow their speed and his words caused a thrilling ache. “Shall I taste you, Leah?”
“Yes!” She was bound to break at any moment, to beg and plead.
“The wig first.” He kissed her and then his mouth trailed down her chin, throat, her breast. “I’ll turn off the lights if you swear to take it off.” His fingers had slowed just enough to annoy her, keeping her gratification just out of reach.
She tried to think, but it was so hard. “Lights out first.”
He moved with the speed of lighting. His hands left her and then the lights were gone.
Only the fire still remained, and its distance put them both in shadows. She could barely make him out, which irritated her. She liked seeing him. He was far too beautiful to wear clothes.
“Remove the wig.”
Her heart raced, but she reached up and did as she’d agreed. The wig came off easily and not a second after she placed it on the nightstand, his hands were in her hair, his fingers scraping her scalp before threading through the heavy mass.
“It feels beautiful,” he whispered. “I don’t see how you could hide it.”
She closed her eyes at the joy of having him touch her this way. She felt adored just by having his hands in her hair. She’d never known such a thing could be. She almost regretted that she had to wear the wig. She found his face in the dark and kissed him.
He gave her his mouth but then moved it away. She thought to fight him, but when she began to feel his mouth elsewhere, she recalled her agreement just as quickly as her body awoke.
His mouth led a hot trail to where she wanted him, and he wasted no time in spreading her folds and licking her nub.
She snapped her back into an arch at the undeniably wonderful delight of having him kiss her this way. His mouth devoured her, and his rough tongue lapped at her like a lazy cat as she came.
Then he was over her again, positioning himself at her sensitive folds before he grabbed the back of her head and fisted her hair.
She managed to grab his shoulders before he drove into her and seated himself deeply. They both took a breath and then they were mating like the wildest of beings. Soreness was replaced by a craving so crude that Leah heard herself moaning like a caged animal as she tried to get close.
He tightened his hold on her hair and with his other hand on her hip, stroked even deeper and harder with a precision that had Leah seeing stars in the shadows. The slapping of wet flesh and their ragged breathing grew and moved in harmony with the brutal force of their lovemaking.
Leah reached completion first. Never before had she come so many times. William followed, his muscles straining under her arms before he groaned. And then, all at once, he relaxed and fell upon her, keeping most of his weight on his arms.
She stroked his hair as his breath bathed her throat. Then she felt his hand slide from her hair only to massage her head. She moaned in satisfaction.
He flipped them over, and she rested her head on his chest. His continued attention to her hair made her smile. He was like a child who’d found a new toy.
But it was not a toy he could play with all night. Perhaps she could spare another hour, but then she would have to leave.
His hand eventually slid to her hip. “Could you sleep without the wig?”
Sleep? “You told Sudworth that you’d return me to the House.”
He turned to face her even though they couldn’t see one another. “Yes, but I only said I would get you there safely. I never said when.” His arms cradled her and pulled her closer into the hard wall of his body. “Stay with me.”
How could she resist? She was, after all, his first guest, and she liked the idea of leaving her mark. “Only if I put on the wig.”
He tightened his hold for a moment, but then relaxed.
She went for the wig as he broke the silence once again.
“Do you really need to hide your hair from me? What difference would it make?”
All the difference in the world. What would he do if he found out he’d just made love to Natalia Hext? They’d been friends, but she’d not always been kind to him. Would he be upset? Could he keep her secret from Julius? There were too many variables to think about it tonight, and she was far too exhausted.
With her hair situated once more, she snuggled close to him. “Don’t ask me questions I can’t answer.”
She knew he’d let it go at his next comment. “I believe I owe you another dress.”
She smiled in the blackened room, but it rang clear in her voice. “Oh, I believe you paid in full for it.” The valley between her thighs tingled at the memory of his mouth.
He chuckled, and his hands slid to her bottom, pulling her closer. She gasped as her stomach met his hard cock.
“But you…” Her words trailed off, too amazed that he was aroused again and so quickly… even as her own body began to melt from the inside out. The thought of having him again had her squeezing her legs together.
“I want you too much.” He hooked her thigh over his and, within seconds, was inside her again. “Leah, I don’t think I’ll never get enough of you.” His hold on her was tight, but his strokes were gentle.
“Then don’t,” she whispered, so low she wasn’t sure he’d heard her, but that didn’t matter, because he was loving with far too much finesse for her to think anymore.
They made love twice more that night, with her on her back and then with her on her knees. He’d removed her wig somewhere through it all and Leah didn’t care. She became a feral creature with him inside of her, pistoning into her body as though he planned to come out the other side. Her voice gave out within an hour and her body just before dawn, but not before she felt William’s final caress, heard his last whispers, and allowed herself to be Natalia Hext, a woman in love with the man of her dreams for
a few more minutes… before securing her wig back in place.
* * *
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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
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Letter sent from Eton
January 1800
Tally,
It has been six months. I wish to know you received my gift. I made it myself. Aaron said it was very good and thought I should make it in metal, but I wanted to do it alone. Do you like it?
Liam
* * *
Reply from Quigley House
January 1800
William,
I received your wood cat. I threw it out my window. Lorenzo didn’t think I should tell you that, but it’s my letter and I will do as I please. I don’t forgive you. I will never forgive you.
Natalia Hext
* * *
“It’s a beautiful place. The town sits right along the river. The air is warm but dry, and we make the best wines.” Leah reached for her tea and took another sip before going on. “I used to walk around the old castles there. It never gets as cold there as it does in London.”
Lady Lorena smiled at her from across the table. She was what gentlemen thought of when they imagined a Society lady. Her golden hair had a light of its own and her blue eyes mirrored clear skies. One would never call her thin. She was blessed with curves with a little more weight than some of the other women. “It seems you enjoyed your years in Bergerac.”
She had, yet even with all of France’s beauty, she was glad to once again be on England's soil… and in William’s arms.
He’d not returned her until late the next day after they’d first made love, and then only long enough for her to pack her things and ready for the trip.
She met the eyes of the ladies who surrounded her. The scheduled tea with the members of the Spinster’s Society had started less than a quarter of an hour ago.
They’d all arrived last night and had gone straight to bed without introductions. Not yet ready to meet the women, Leah had chosen to breakfast in her bedchamber— which was another lovely room done in dark green only a few doors away from William — as she gathered her thoughts.
William’s mansion was breathtaking. With its separate double towers and abundant windows, one could always catch fresh air and abundant light from any direction. There was a calm that one could simply never achieve in the city. Yet that peace barely registered with Leah, for the time had come to tell her fictitious story of peril.
Yet had William not entered her life when he had, Leah would have never come to the country, because she’d have left England to return to France after silencing Sarah Douglas. There would be no need to attend interviews, because she’d have had no reason to remain close to anyone.
Yet now she stayed for another reason. Or rather, a man.
But if she wanted to keep that man, she would have to lie.
A part of her knew she should give him up and move on. Even remembering the passion with which he’d asked her to stay didn’t break that thought. She simply no longer belonged in this place or with these Society people.
Once, when she’d been a little girl and the daughter of a marquess, she’d fit in with the Beau Monde, but that was no more. She could never be Natalia Hext again, and Leah Wells was not real either.
So, she’d thought to leave.
But when the maid arrived to ready her for tea hours ago, Leah had found herself dressing and walking toward her doom.
She hated lying, but knowing what she’d achieved in the past week did soothe her greatly. Julius was free. Lorenzo was free too, though she doubted he’d leave Lorena’s side. And Leah would have been free if she’d only kept her distance from William.
The part of her that said “run” was great, but not as great as her love for a boy who’d grown into a wonderful man.
Lorena’s question brought her back to attention. “Would you return to France if you could?”
They sat in a lovely pale rose sitting room on the second floor of William’s home, and the morning sun broke into the room to make it glow.
“No.” Leah put down her cup. “England is my home now. At least, I plan to make it my home once I leave the Spinster’s House.” That was a decision she stood firmly on. There was no more need for her to be close to the men who lived next door, no one to protect Julius from, no blackmail notes to grab before anyone else did. And she wasn’t a woman on the run from her husband like the other women in the Spinster House. It was time.
Lady Sophia’s dark green eyes widened. Her black hair was stark against her pale features. Her violet dress was every woman’s envy. “You’re leaving the Spinster House?”
Leah nodded and sighed. “My husband will no longer be an issue, it seems.”
“Is he dead?” Lady Taygete asked. There was almost a mystical nature to the woman’s beauty. Her hair was a pale white and her eyes a pale gray, giving her an otherworldly appearance. She was the Spinster Leah had rarely seen when she’d glanced from her room into Francis’ back garden during events.
“Yes,” Leah said to answer her question. “He’s dead.” That was part of the story she’d created, not only so the entire ruse could end but because it left the way open for there to be more between her and William. Only he and Lorenzo would ever know the truth.
The women were silent for a moment as if respecting the dead.
Then Maura said, “But you do plan to continue teaching at the Spinster’s House, won’t you?” She was simply a thinner version of her cousin, but that didn’t detract from her delicate beauty.
Leah hadn’t expected the offer, for she knew Maura to be partly behind the interview-tea party. The woman had questions she’d wanted answered for the past year. Leah had suspected her distrust and never faulted her for it. “I… don’t know—”
“Oh, you must!” Mrs. Alice Lockwood, who was sitting on her right, placed a hand on Leah’s. Her dark lashes made her blue eyes blindingly vibrant. “I’ve spoken to some of the girls in the House and they simply enjoy you so.”
“Yes,” Maura agreed with a small smile. “We were very fortunate to have found you. Do stay.”
Leah returned her smile. “Very well.” What was the harm? She enjoyed teaching the women, after all.
“Excellent,” Genie danced her fingers on her teacup. She was a true redhead in every sense of the word. Her hair was much darker than Leah’s. “Keeping you close will mean William will always be able to find you.”
Leah’s stomach rolled, and she straightened. “I don’t understand. What does Sir William have to do with this?”
Florence laughed. She was another strange beauty. Her hair and skin were pale, and her eyes a pale brown. Any color the woman wore suited her perfectly. Currently, she was wearing a very pale beige dress that had the effect of making her appear nude even though she was fully clothed.
Christin, who was the only Spinster besides Maura that she’d met, laughed as well before asking Florence, “Was I in this much denial as well?” Her features reminded Leah of women of the Orient. Jet black hair and dark slanted eyes, but the rest of her features were English along with her height.
“I believe we both were.” Florence’s eyes twinkled.
“We all were,” Lorena said. Then she turned to Genie. “Except for you.”
Genie lifted her chin. “I always knew I’d marry Francis.”
Alice sighed softly. “I took Calvin on a merry chase, but in the end, I couldn’t refuse.”
“None of us could,” Sophia whispered as she stared down into her tea. Her thoughts were clearly not with the group but of a certain duke. Then those eyes turned to Leah. “He warned us to be nice to you before this meeting.”
Leah was sure she’d heard the woman incorrectly. William wanted answers more than anyone else. “That can’t be right.”
“Oh, but it is,” Lorena said with a wide gri
n. “He practically threatened to bring down the Spinster’s Society if we chased you off.” The words didn’t match Lorena’s expression.
“Why would that make you happy?” Leah asked her.
“Because it’s clear that he has feelings for you,” Lorena replied. “And wants you.”
Leah tightened her hands on the chair. “Well, he should have thought about my feelings before making such a comment. How dare he threaten the House?” She thought about all the many lives they’d saved. And no, she was not being dramatic. Some of those women in the House were on the run for their lives. If William even removed one brick from that house…
“Oh, I like her,” Alice said. “She’ll make a fine member.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Sophia said. Then she turned to Leah. “You can make your displeasure known after this meeting.” Placing her arms on the table, she leaned forward. “Now, tell us what you know about the men’s secret.”
Leah went on guard at once. “What secret?”
Maura said, “Julius’ secret that the men hold. I heard them speaking about it once. It haunts them.”
Leah gripped the chair arms again. “Why do you think I know anything about it?”
When Maura spoke again, it was not only a direct quote of something Leah had said, but it was also in Spanish. “I'll not have another stain on their souls. Julius has already been through so much.” Then she openly stared at Leah and said, “My father’s mother is Spanish.”
Leah blinked and felt her blood grow cold. She’d said that to Lorenzo that morning after returning from Oxford. What else had Maura heard?
“I heard little else,” Maura replied as if she could read her mind. “Nothing that made sense anyway.”
Lorena turned to Maura. “What did you just say?”
Natalia’s Secret Spinster’s Society (The Spinster’s Society) (A Regency Romance Book) Page 17