She closed her eyes, deciding that it was probably for the best that they both caught up on their sleep while they had the chance when Robert shifted behind her. When he shifted back, taking his manhood with him, she couldn’t help but sigh in disappointment. Although she wouldn’t mind a little more sleep, she had to admit that she had been enjoying the feel of it pressed against her body, that is, once it stopped stabbing her.
Her disappointment abruptly ended when she felt the tip of his manhood touch her bare thigh. The silken head slid up her leg, sliding beneath the bunched up bottom of her nightgown and continued up in one long sensuous move that ended with Robert’s hard, hot manhood cushioned once again between their bodies, but this time her cotton nightgown didn’t protect her from its touch.
It felt good.
Very good, she decided, biting back a moan as she closed her eyes and struggled against the urge to move against it. She couldn’t believe that such a thing could be stimulating, but it was. She enjoyed the feel of it against her skin, the way it made her body tingle in anticipation and the way that it-
“M’lady! You need to wake up!” Jane, her maid, rushed in her room to explain.
“What the hell is going on?” Robert demanded as his hold around her tightened and he pressed a sleepy kiss against the back of her shoulder.
“Your father is downstairs, Mr. Bradford,” Jane explained as she rushed around the room, picking out her clothes. “He needs to speak with you, sir.”
“He can wait,” Robert said as he pressed another kiss against her shoulder and snuggled closer to her.
She opened her mouth to suggest that Jane go downstairs and tell her new father-in-law that they needed a few more minutes when the man himself came storming into the room with her father close behind him.
“No, I can’t,” Robert’s father announced as he stopped in front of the bed. With an impatient gesture, he sent Jane scrambling from the room and making her wish that she could follow.
“We need to talk,” her father said, looking decidedly unhappy with finding Robert in her bed.
“And my wife needs her sleep,” Robert shot back sleepily as he sat up, making sure that she remained covered as he did. “Give me ten minutes and I’ll meet you in your study to discuss the matter.”
Her father stubbornly shook his head. “We can discuss the matter here.”
“Elizabeth is still recovering,” Robert argued, gesturing for the men to leave when his father said, “And that’s exactly what’s going to save you both.”
“Save us?” Elizabeth repeated, frowning in confusion as she sat up, careful to keep the covers pulled up to her neck.
“From what exactly?” Robert asked, leaning forward and lazily resting his arms across his upturned knees.
“From each other,” Harold explained as her father made sure that the door was sufficiently shut.
“I don’t understand,” Elizabeth found herself mumbling distractedly as she watched her father turn back around, open the door and peer out into the hallway before shutting the door, locking it and returning to the front of the bed where he shared a look with Robert’s father.
“Oh, I have a pretty good idea,” Robert said coldly as he glared at the men shifting nervously in front of them.
“It’s for the best,” her father said, giving her a reassuring smile that set her nerves racing.
“What’s for the best?” she asked, looking between the two men in front of her, but it was Robert who answered her question.
“They want to annul the marriage,” he said evenly, his tone void of any emotion as he turned his head to look at her.
For a moment she could only sit there as she struggled to wrap her mind around what he’d just said. Annulled? That wasn’t possible. He’d taken her innocence and they’d lost a child. She didn’t know much about annulments, because it was one of those subjects that was only mentioned in hushed whispers, but she knew enough to know that they didn’t qualify for an annulment. The marriage was consummated. It didn’t matter if it had been done before they took their vows; she was no longer a virgin. Thanks to the gossip spreading through every household in London, everyone knew the circumstances of their hasty marriage.
Her father, on the other hand, saw things a bit differently than she did. “You’ve been ill since your wedding night and haven’t been able to leave your bed. The servants have been in and out of this room at all hours of the night and know that you’ve slept alone. Gossip has spread of your illness and many others know that you’ve been deathly ill.”
At that she had to frown. “I haven’t been deathly ill.” Depressed? Weak? Tired? Yes, but she’d never been close to death.
Her father waved that off as though it was of little importance. “The only thing that matters is that you didn’t have a wedding night, my dear. We’ve both called in some favors and we can have this marriage annulled in just a few hours and your engagement to James announced by the end of the day.”
Robert didn’t say anything as he continued to watch her, but she knew him well enough to know that he was furious. All the muscles in his arms and chest were flexing as though he were struggling with the urge to throttle someone, his lips were pressed in a thin line and if that didn’t give away his mood, the way he glared her way certainly did. It was then that she realized that he was waiting for her response, but she didn’t have much of one other than confusion.
“Why exactly would you assume that I wanted to marry James or that he would want to marry me for that matter?” she asked, focusing her attention back on the men standing in front of them.
Her father released a heavy sigh as he focused on her, his smile looking more stressed by the minute. “I don’t want to see you hurt, Elizabeth. I don’t-”
“I would never hurt her,” Robert said firmly beside her.
“Not on purpose, my boy,” he said, shaking his head slightly as he continued. “I don’t want to see either one of you hurt. I understand what happened. I do, but you have to agree that a marriage between the two of you is not a wise decision. Given your history it wouldn’t take long before the two of you were at each other’s throats and making each other’s lives a living hell,” her father said, taking her by surprise as he swore in front of her for the first time in her life.
Before either she or Robert could argue, his father took over. “I’ve already spoken with James. He understands that things between the two of you simply got carried away. He’s willing to marry you as soon as possible and make things right.”
“Really? He’s willing to marry a woman without a quid to her name after she’s left the bed of his brother?” Robert drawled lazily, but she didn’t miss the threatening edge to his tone. “That doesn’t sound like James.”
“Yes, well,” his father said, clearing his throat and looking noticeably uncomfortable. “We had a meeting with the solicitors yesterday afternoon and they believe that by annulling this marriage and marrying James that Elizabeth will meet the conditions of the will and the inheritance will once again be hers.”
She would have her inheritance back, she thought as relief soared through her. All of her plans for the future would be saved. She could help so many people. She would-
Never be with Robert again, she abruptly realized a moment later.
She would never fall asleep in his arms again. Never freely enjoy one of his smiles again and that wasn’t something that she was willing to give up. She loved his smile, loved being the cause of it and she didn’t want to give that up for anything.
Besides, James would most likely refuse to allow her to open even one school with her inheritance, she told herself, desperate for an excuse to turn down this plan without hating herself for being completely selfish. One day she would make her dreams a reality, but she didn’t want to do that as James’ wife.
“It’s going to cause a scandal,” Robert said, drawing her attention back to the men looking almost eager at this point.
“James’ title and reput
ation will be able to guard against that,” his father explained with a pleased smile.
“And me?” Robert asked, shifting slightly so that his bare leg was touching hers beneath the safety of the covers and giving her the support that she desperately needed.
Robert’s father cleared his throat, suddenly looking uncomfortable as his smile became forced. “We thought that perhaps you would leave town and give the gossip a chance to die down.”
“I see,” Robert muttered, sounding thoughtful.
“We realize that this situation is not ideal and that it’s unfair to put you in such a situation, Robert,” her father rushed to explain. “That’s why your father and I believe that you deserve compensation for your trouble.”
“And how much is that?” Robert asked, voicing her curiosity.
“Forty thousand pounds.”
Chapter 28
“I’d like a few minutes to discuss the matter with Elizabeth,” Robert said a stunned moment later as he did his best not to grab Elizabeth in his arms and run from this house and this conversation, so that he wouldn’t have to face the fact that he was about to lose the woman that he loved to his brother.
“I don’t think that’s wise,” Lord Norwood said after a slight pause.
“Just a few minutes, Papa,” Elizabeth said, making every muscle in his body tense.
A few minutes…..
That’s all it was going to take to rip his heart out of his chest.
“Very well,” Lord Norwood said stiffly. “We’ll be waiting in my study.”
Robert nodded, but didn’t speak, too afraid that he’d say something that he’d regret later. He’d love nothing more than to yell at the man, but he wouldn’t, not in a million years. Elizabeth would never forgive him, and although he was doing his damndest to resign himself to the fact that he was about to lose her and probably never see her again, he didn’t want her last memory of him to be him insulting her father.
When the door closed with a soft click, he opened his mouth to speak, but realized that he didn’t know what to say. How was he supposed to compete with James? He was older, had a title and a respectable reputation. He would also be able to give her the life that she deserved, that was hers by right. Staying with him would only drag her down, and he loved her too much to do that to her.
If she wanted to save herself by marrying James, then he would allow it. He would sign the necessary documents to end their marriage and then he would leave. He’d gift the forty thousand pounds to her and be done with it. He didn’t want the money, didn’t need a constant reminder of what he’d lost. He would-
“Why are you taking off your nightgown?” he asked, unable to hide his confusion even as he did his best not to look down and failed….about five or six times.
“We only have a few minutes,” he thought she said, but wasn’t entirely sure since all of his attention was on her beautiful breasts that bounced slightly as she leaned over the side of the bed and pulled on the silk rope by her bed.
“Huh?” he mumbled, struggling to focus as her breasts went ahead and bounced again as she shoved the covers off his lap, revealing a rather painful erection.
“Perfect,” she sighed as she threw her leg over him and straddled his lap.
“What’s perfect?” he asked absently, hissing seconds later when the tip of his cock brushed against her wet slit.
Instead of answering him, she laid one hand on his shoulder and, with the other hand, she reached down between them and grabbed ahold of his erection. He opened his mouth once again to ask her what she was doing, but his words escaped him in a strangled moan when she rubbed the head of his cock between the lips of her sex.
Elizabeth released a frustrated groan as she shifted his cock against her once again. When she wiggled, brushing the tip against her core, he was forced to grab her hips and hold her still so that he could focus.
“Elizabeth,-”
“Are you going to help me or not?” she asked, doing her best to wiggle out of his hold.
“Help with what?” he asked, resisting the urge to close his eyes and lick his lips.
“Putting this thing inside of me,” she snapped, sounding frustrated and so damn cute that he couldn’t help but smile until her words registered in his mind.
“What?”
She let out an annoyed sigh as she continued to wiggle, testing his patience and making his eager cock jump. “Look, Robert,” she said, pausing to nibble her bottom lip as she shifted on his lap, “we only have a few minutes to do this if we’re going to save this marriage, so I’d really appreciate a little help here.”
“You want to save our marriage?” he asked, stunned enough to tighten his grip on her hips to stop her maddening movements and focus on what she was saying.
She let out a snort as she released the grip she had on his cock and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “You really didn’t think that you were going to get rid of me that easily, now did you?” she asked with a sweet smile as she leaned forward and lightly brushed her lips against his.
“I can’t give you the things that James can give you,” he felt obligated to point out.
“And he can’t give me the things that you can. So, if you don’t mind I’d really like to consummate this marriage and end the matter,” she said, pulling back just far enough so that he could see her smile as she teasingly wiggled on his lap again.
It took every ounce of strength he had in him to stay still. “You’re sure?” he asked, selfishly not arguing with her or pointing out how much better off she’d be with James since he was a selfish bastard.
“Yes,” she said, leaning in to kiss him again, but he had other plans.
He swallowed her gasp of surprise as he tightened his hold on her hips and shifted to roll her over onto her back. Before her back hit the soft mattress, he was inside her.
“You feel so good, minx,” he groaned, pulling back quickly only to slide in slowly, enjoying the way her sheath coated every inch of him along the way.
“Don’t stop,” she said, reaching up and fisting her hands in his hair and yanking him down for a kiss.
He went willing as he reached down and cupped the back of her knee and pulled her leg up, opening her wider and allowing him to sink further inside her. It was heaven.
It was hell.
“We have to stop,” he said, struggling to pull out, but it seemed that he no longer had control of his body.
“Don’t make me kill you!” Elizabeth growled against his lips, making him moan even as he groaned in frustration.
“If we don’t stop now, the servants will walk in on us,” he said, not really caring if he was caught having sex, but he didn’t want to embarrass his wife or risk anyone else seeing the beautiful body that was meant for his eyes only.
“Good,” she said, surprising him.
“Good?” he asked, leaning down to kiss her simply because he couldn’t help himself.
“Because I plan on keeping you,” Elizabeth said against his lips, taking him by surprise.
“Are you sure?” he asked, deciding once again not to argue with her since he wasn’t an idiot. There really was no need to remind her that James was probably the better choice. She’d figure it out eventually and by the time that she did, it would be too late.
“Yes,” she hissed, panting hard as she wrapped her legs around him and arched her back to take him deeper.
“I’m never letting you go, minx,” he swore against her lips as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly against him.
“Good.”
“Do you need help getting dressed, my-Oh, my God!” he heard a maid scream seconds before the door slammed shut.
“I guess you’re stuck with me, Mr. Bradford,” Elizabeth said, smiling against his lips and giving him no choice but to smile back.
“I guess I am, Mrs. Bradford,” he said, chuckling when he heard the commotion out in the hallway, guaranteeing that no one was ever going to be able to take her away
from him.
Chapter 29
“Your brother left again.”
“I wasn’t aware that he’d returned,” Robert murmured absently, barely sparing his mother a glance as he continued to pace the foyer.
“He returned yesterday afternoon after your father sent for him,” his mother explained with a huff as she gave up the hope that he’d stop pacing and sat down on the chair by the breakfast room.
“He came immediately?” he asked, shooting another glare towards the back hall.
No doubt his brother had been able to come so quickly because he’d been staying with his mistress, but he didn’t bother pointing that out to his mother since it would probably earn him a glare and a whole new lecture.
“Yes,” his mother said as she smoothed down her skirt, “you knew that he was eager to marry Elizabeth.”
“And get her fortune,” Robert pointed out, wondering why it was taking so long for the cook to make the peppermint tea she’d promised would settle his wife’s stomach.
“It’s how things are done,” she said with a resigned sigh.
“Things change,” he said, glancing at the clock by the door before returning his attention to the back hall. If they didn’t have her tea ready for her in five minutes, he was going back there and making the damn tea himself.
“It would have been a safe match,” his mother said quietly, drawing his attention momentarily from the hallway.
“I’d never hurt her,” he said tightly, sick of the bullshit assumptions that he’d ever hurt Elizabeth.
“Not on purpose,” she hedged carefully, “but with your history, I doubt that it will be very long before the two of you are at each other’s throats.”
“We’re getting along just fine,” he said evenly, shooting another glance at the clock.
They were getting along more than just fine. After they’d made love this morning to put an end to any more suggestions that they should annul the marriage, they’d fallen back asleep in each other’s arms. Not too long ago he’d woken up with Elizabeth straddling his lap as she once again tried to ride him. Apparently once his minx got an idea into her head, she couldn’t let it go.
Truce (Neighbor from Hell) Page 19