by Isadora Rose
Without asking Cooper began to unbutton her white blouse, and the instant her corset was exposed his hand slipped beneath it to remove the tiny clamps that had still been sending fiery jolts of pleasure through her breasts every time she drew breath. Amelia’s head rolled to the side as heated arousal flooded her body in an instant, but he simply cupped her left breast in his hand as he lowered his head closer to hers.
“Pay attention to me now, love,” he said quietly. “I will not be dissuaded on this, for even disregarding the fact that the banns have already been called, every moment we spend together only strengthens my conviction that marriage is the very best path for us to take. I have never known a woman whose company I enjoy as much as yours, and there can be no denying the fact we are remarkably compatible in bed. Yes, I am wholly convinced that a lifetime spent with you will be a glorious one, Amelia, and that is why I am so determined to marry you.
“Now, speaking of which, the summer term is nearly over.” The headmaster delivered a brief kiss to the bow of her parted lips as he began to gently toy with her taut nipple, teasing and coaxing her arousal ever higher as he spoke again. “I intend for us to be wed the first weekend after the students have left, and then I shall take you to my family in Scotland to honeymoon over the summer. An entire month away from the school in which to adjust to being man and wife before we return to Highdown Hall ready for September, love. How does that sound to you?”
Amelia could barely even breathe, let alone answer him in words. Her wide eyes filled with tears as she reached up to encircle his sinewed neck with her arms, hoping desperately that Cooper would understand her wordless plea – and as always, it seemed he knew precisely what she needed. He touched her flushed cheek with the back of his free hand, then slowly moved it lower until her jaw was resting on top of his hand. Her breath hitched, and her lips parted in willing supplication even before he gently tilted her jaw upwards and lowered his head to cover her mouth with his own.
Though the headmaster’s hand still lingered possessively against her breast, the kiss he led her through was by far the tenderest they had ever shared. There was none of the frantic hunger that ordinarily consumed them both the instant they touched, and instead something far more powerful and enduring had sparked between them. Clinging to it and all it promised, Amelia cried out into his mouth and allowed her mind to fill with acceptance. There was nobody else who could make her feel like this, for even the chastest of touches from Cooper made her come alive. He had turned everything she held true on its head, and her world had finally settled with him at its core.
When he broke the kiss, she stumbled backwards and would have fallen if not for the tree behind them. Cooper lifted one brow as he reached out one hand to steady her, reluctantly removing the other from inside her corset as he did so. “No more protests, I see,” he said smugly.
“Sometimes, James, I fervently detest you!”
“Only sometimes?” he said as one brow lifted in evident amusement. “Then I consider we are off to a good footing for our marriage already, Amelia.”
Cooper smiled down at her, and Amelia finally released the breath she had been holding and allowed herself to smile at him in response. A heavy weight lifted away from his furrowed brow, but still there seemed to be something unsaid between them, and she was determined to get to the bottom of it. As he slipped an arm around her waist to draw her into the heat of his lithe body again, she tilted her head and bit on her lower lip. “It strikes me that this is all so sudden, James. You have spoken nothing of this before.”
“Did I not make it plain from the very beginning that this was never to be a fleeting affair between us, Amelia?”
“Then you planned it to culminate in this from the beginning?”
His eyes flickered furtively from side to side. “I hoped it would go like this, yes. I think I have both known and feared for many months that I would feel this way when finally I became bold enough to do whatever was needed to win you into my arms. Your dalliance with the earl’s son was the opportunity I had sought for so long, and I realised I had to have the courage to take full advantage of it – for the reward for my courage had the potential to be the very best.”
“Still I do not understand -”
“Then hear this, my dear.” Cooper drew a deep breath, his face unusually pale as he took both her hands into his and gazed directly into her eyes. “I have loved you from a distance for a long while now, Amelia. It all but destroyed me to see you in Frederick’s arms, but seeing it made me realise I had to throw caution to the wind if I hoped to have any chance of making you mine. Still, though, I dared not confess the full height of my desire to you, not when you seemed so determined to battle me despite the lust you so clearly feel.”
A wave of dizziness crashed over her as his words echoed inside her head, the very last words she had ever expected to hear from the grim and impassive headmaster so feared at Highdown Hall. Yet somehow, Amelia did not doubt their sincerity for even a moment. Awed and no little afraid, she took a step closer to him and matched the intensity of his unblinking stare. “I am here in your arms now though, James. I think the time for fighting this is past, particularly when...”
She trailed off awkwardly and he tensed. “When what?”
“When hearing you confess this has thrilled me beyond anything before,” she said, closing her eyes briefly until his low, gratified groan emboldened her. “But James, how have you kept all this to yourself for so long?”
“I am not accustomed to feeling such emotion,” he said. “I confess I found myself at something of a loss when it came to dealing with this, and I see now that perhaps I could have done better – I could have made this easier and sweeter for you to handle, Amelia. I owe you an apology for that, granted, but still it strikes me that here we are on the precipice of all we want regardless.”
Amelia whetted her lips. “Yes.”
Cooper slowly exhaled. “And you cannot deny you have enjoyed my somewhat unorthodox method of courting you.”
“No.”
A tiny, teasing smile sparked at the corners of his lips with her breathless answer. “In fact, I suspect I could tie you up against this wonderfully sturdy tree and have my way with you now, love,” he said hoarsely. “It is only the risk of prying eyes that holds me back from doing so whether you would protest or not – though it strikes me, now I think of it, that this copse is really rather secluded. All the churchgoers will have returned home by now, so it is highly unlikely we would be disturbed. Aye, the more I think on it the more tempting it becomes!”
The deep flush of her skin spoke her reaction far better than any trembling words possibly could. With an incoherent cry, she stretched up onto the tips of her toes and abandoned herself into the headmaster’s possessive hold for him to do with as he wished, the lascivious words he had whispered more than enough to drive her into such a painfully heightened state of arousal that all she could think of was doing whatever was needed to bring them both the satisfaction they craved.
Emotion and lust blazed as one in Cooper’s eyes as he impatiently tugged his tie away from his shirt and gathered her hands behind the trunk to bind them, but as his uncharacteristically clumsy fingers fumbled over the knot, a crackle of dry bracken in the distance announced the unwelcome fact that they were no longer alone.
“Stop!” shouted a voice that was all too familiar to them both. “I must insist that you put an end to this madness now!”
Freddie drew ever nearer, his long legs rapidly closing the distance between them as Cooper slammed a balled fist into the tree trunk and Amelia froze in his arms.
IX.
Lesson Nine
Amelia’s heart fluttered wildly as she stared at her former lover over the shoulder of her new fiancé. Freddie was breathing heavily after clearly sprinting from the manor to come to her side, but whereas a fortnight before nothing could have held her back from throwing herself into his arms to submit to the lust he showed so clearly, now her legs
stayed rooted to the spot.
Cooper slowly moved back to allow her away from the tree trunk he had pushed her up against, but when she silently followed him, his arm instantly snaked around her waist to keep her possessively near. Though she seemed to have lost the power of speech, she rested her head on his shoulder and his narrowed eyes briefly softened before they locked onto the young lord and began to simmer with barely-controlled fury.
“What the hell are you doing here, whelp?” he said, his voice barely more than a low and menacing snarl. Amelia shivered as a fresh twist of desire shot through her, her breath still coming in shallow gasps from how near they had come to screwing where they stood. It was with the greatest of efforts she forced herself to focus on all he was saying to Freddie instead of how much she wanted him. “Have you no sense of delicacy, Frederick? Surely you must be able to tell how unwelcome your intrusion is!”
“You are a fine one to speak, Mr. Cooper!” Freddie said indignantly. “I hardly think you have a leg to stand on after the way you burst in on Amelia and me; and besides, I have not come here to speak to you. Amelia, darling?”
She tensed as the headmaster drew a sharp breath at her side. “What is it?”
Freddie’s eyes widened, the curt tone of her voice clearly not passing him by. Though his smile seemed strained, he drew closer and held out a hand in offering. “I want to talk to you, Amelia. Come, why don’t you and I take a little stroll together?”
“No, thank you. Anything you have to say to me can be said in front of James. He is my fiancé, after all; I have no secrets from him.” Amelia squared her shoulders, deeply relieved by the steadiness of her voice as she reached across in search of Cooper’s free hand to hold. Though Freddie seemed to be wordlessly imploring her to edge closer to him instead, she found herself with no desire to do anything but stay at the headmaster’s side.
Freddie’s smile disappeared as he began to pace back and forth it front of them. “Then it is true?”
“That we are to be wed?” she said. “Entirely so. You heard, then – I did not notice you in church.”
“I was not there, for I only came back from London late last night. I was taking a late breakfast in the gardens when I saw the two of you disappearing into the copse, and then Father came back from church to report that you were betrothed. What are you thinking of, Amelia?! This is madness, no doubt about it – I shall forgive you, for no doubt you were grieving after I so foolishly abandoned you, but I am back now!”
Cooper opened his mouth to angrily retort, but Amelia gently squeezed his hand and gave the tiniest jerk of her head. Though he reddened, he seemed to understand all she was trying to say without words, for he stayed silent and allowed her to speak instead.
“And why are you back, my lord?”
“For you.” Freddie fell to his knees in front of her as a tiny, artful tear snaked down his face. “Run away with me, darling. I shall take you to London with me and we can forget this whole terrible affair; we will be together once more, just as you want!”
Amelia’s tongue darted out across her dry lips. “Two weeks ago that was all I wanted, yes,” she said slowly. “But something troubles me, Freddie. It strikes me that you cared nothing until you realised the extent of the headmaster’s interest in me; it was not until you heard our banns had been called that you came running. In fact, if you truly cared, you would never had left as you did in the first place.”
“I know I was a fool to abandon you as I did, but I was afraid, darling,” he said passionately. “Mr. Cooper is a ruthlessly clever man, and he played on my fears to drive me away from you so that he might worm his way into my place. Clearly he has been successful in that ploy.”
“Never mind that for now, if you please.” She hesitated, but then Cooper’s thumb brushed reassuringly against the back of her hand and she found the presence of mind to continue. “What of you, Freddie? Where have you been since you abandoned me, as you put it?”
A dull flush crept across his handsome face as she stared down at him with an impassion she had learned from the very best. “I went to London to forget you, but it was impossible. It is why I came back last night, only to hear to my utmost horror today how quickly Cooper has sunk his claws into you. Amelia, why are you still on his arm when I have prostrated myself before you, begging you to come back to me? Darling, you know I can give you everything you need -”
“Materially, perhaps,” she coolly interrupted. “At least until you tire of me, anyway. But that is inconsequential, for I need far more than the fine clothes and jewels you would lavish upon me to keep me in your bed, Freddie.”
He leapt back to his feet and tore at his hair in agitation. “Then tell me what you need!”
“What use would it do? You cannot give it to me, I am afraid, for what I need is all that James gives to me so freely. I do not know yet if this is love, but what I do know is that I cannot imagine ever needing anyone as much as I need him, Freddie – and most importantly, neither do I even want to. James is my everything, the only one I would ever sacrifice my independence for, for in his arms I gain far, far more than I lose.”
Freddie’s hands fell limply back to his side as she glanced across at the headmaster, quietly thrilling in the force of the emotion she saw there in his grey eyes. “I...I see,” the lord said under his breath, finally backing away from them. “It seems I have had a wasted journey, then.”
Cooper moved to stand behind her and encircled her body with his arms in what could only have been a deliberate statement to the other man. “Yes, you damned well have,” he said with a black scowl. “Have you aught else to say to Amelia, or will you be on your way now? You might not have noticed, but she and I were in the middle of something when you intruded.”
The lord looked directly at her with one last, futile appeal in his wide eyes. “I want you still, Amelia. Does the pain you are causing me mean nothing to you?”
“Oh, I do not doubt you will forget me soon enough,” Amelia said wryly. “You only chased after me so avidly today because you realised I was no longer yours.”
Cooper snorted under his breath, his arms tightening around her as he spoke up again to deal the final, decisive blow. “You are dismissed, little lord – and should you ever dare to darken the doors of Highdown Hall again, your father will hear precisely what it is you got up to whilst you were a student. It was only my friendship with him that held me back from expelling you there and then, Frederick, but now my desire to keep Amelia safe far outstrips anything else. Come within a hundred paces of my wife and I assure you, the tales I have to tell the earl will ruin any lingering hope you have of receiving your inheritance from the old man,” he said, a menacing curl to his top lip that sent a desperate rush of desire speeding down Amelia’s spine even as Freddie recoiled. “Am I understood?”
She had eyes only for the headmaster, pulling her head back to gaze up at him in lustful awe as his fierce words echoed through her head. It was not until he exhaled in grim satisfaction that she realised Freddie had not bothered to answer with words. Instead, he had silently slipped away from the copse to leave the two of them alone once more.
Their eyes locked, and Cooper slowly nodded as he let loose his hold on her only to circle around her and come to stand in front of her again. His intent was etched clear into his taut face, but something of what he said could not be allowed to pass by unheeded. Amelia moistened her lips nervously as he reached out for her.
“You may have had a slip of the tongue in calling me your wife,” she said, “but still you have not asked me to marry you, sir.”
“Have I not?” Cooper lifted one brow as he deftly tugged her blouse away, her skirt following it soon after to rest discarded around their feet. “Forgive me, Amelia, but whenever I have you in my arms I fall slave to something far more compelling than words. Remove your corset.”
Amelia’s hands flew to follow his softly-spoken command even before she realised he had avoided answering her. As her corset fell
away, her lower lip jutted out to elicit a low groan from the back of the headmaster’s throat that was laden with lust, and before she could press him he tore his tie away from his shirt and finished the task he had attempted before Freddie’s interruption. She barely even had a chance to draw breath before he bound her hands behind the trunk of the tree and wrenched away the rest of her clothing to leave her entirely naked before him.
Not flinching even under the weight of Cooper’s hungry stare, she rolled her hips in invitation, but he made no move to undress himself and follow through upon the promise held in his eyes.
“Do not make me wait, please!” she said urgently, tossing her hair out of her feverish face as a whispered breeze sent the tendrils that had escaped her bun drifting across her skin. “Surely you must know I am more than ready for your cock, sir!”
His moustache twitched. “Of course I know that, love. Just one look from me seems to be enough to have your sweet cunt ready for me. But before I give you all you want, I want to hear from your lips how much you want to marry me.”
Amelia reared against the bonds in frustration when he balled his hands and gazed past her into the distance, his jaw clenched and his cock a rod of steel against his tented trousers in defiance of his cool words. “Still you have not asked me, James!”
“I do not need to,” he said calmly. “I am waiting, Amelia.”
“Please -”
Cooper tilted his head to the side. “Simply submit to me with the answer I know you want to give, and all you need will be yours. Is that so very hard to do, my dear? All I want is to hear from you that you want to marry me – nay, I would hear you beg me to marry you! I can wait far longer than you can, Amelia, for you cannot deny I have the upper hand here.”
Forceful arousal pounded through her body, making it impossible to hold onto her defiance through the intoxicating haze of her desire for the man before her. As her nipples tautened and throbbed with their yearning for his touch, she let loose a loud moan and met his eyes again. “You really will do anything to get what you want, won’t you?”