Raven covered her lips and waited for the pain to subside. She’d been years under their roof and tender care. A thousand memories washed over her of ghostly kisses and laughter. “I was nine when they died from a cholera outbreak.”
“Oh, my! How horrible!”
“I was an orphan in every sense of the word. No one stepped forward to take me and without legitimate family, I was sent to a public house for unwanted children. It was a cold miserable hole, Lady Morley. The proprietors believed that our only salvation lay in hunger, hard work and beatings. The woman who had our keeping said we were vile animals and products of sin and—“
“Say no more! I cannot bear it!”
Raven relented. “I was there for two years before the earl visited on some charitable call and found me. He was inspired to take me under his wing and I have thanked Providence every day for it.”
“It’s like a novel!”
“A very unbelievable novel,” Raven amended with a smile. “So you see, I may be young but I have walked more roads than most and I know what it is to be in a bad place and to desire nothing more than escape.”
“What could you possibly do to help?” she whispered.
“Tell me what you would want.”
Millicent shook her head. “There is no hope. It would be too much to—“
“Tell me what you pray for, Lady Morley.”
“I want to get away from him.” It was barely a whisper, but the power of uttering the words aloud brought tears to both their eyes.
Raven nodded. “We will see to it together.”
“My god.”
“Before the holiday ends, I swear it.” Raven let out a long slow breath to steady her nerves. “Perhaps I can ask Mr. Warrick to assist me in—“
“No! No one else can know of my intentions! Especially not a man who will feel honor bound to alert my husband!”
“Phillip is too kind to betray you, I am sure of it!”
Lady Morley shook her head, her eyes reflecting a bitter wisdom beyond her years. “Even if it broke his heart to do so, he would fall in line with the law and with his loyalties to his sex. Please, Miss Wells. You must tell no one of what we contemplate. Swear it.”
Raven nodded. “I swear that I shall not breathe a word to any other living soul of our aims. Though, I must confess my maid is already a co-consipirator.”
“The salve that Mrs. Lindstrom procured?”
“Just so. Kitty is a dear and has already held your secret close to her heart.”
Lady Morley sighed. “As is my maid, but it can go no further!”
“Our club will not grow in membership, not female and certainly not in male membership unless I have your consent. You have my solemn vow. And now let us come up with a plan.”
There was nothing to do but pour more tea, and with their heads bent together, quietly hatch a plot worthy of a gothic penny novel and cling to the hope that happiness was indeed every woman’s right.
Chapter Thirteen
It was an act of pure daring that brought her to his door when the house was asleep but Raven was determined. The men had missed dinner after their soggy exile in the hunting lodge and Kitty had told her that the earl had gotten so foxed that Mr. Sheffield and Mr. Warrick had carried him up the steps into the house. She suspected that Phillip’s day had been a damp, miserable excursion but she was too impatient to see him again to wait another night. Her afternoon with Lady Morley had shaken her spirits and she needed to hear his voice and feel safe.
“Phillip, it’s me. I’m sorry to push in but it was such a long day without you—“ She’d spoken as she came into his room but the sight of him without a nightshirt sitting in the midst of his bed was an end to speech. Gleaming shafts of moonlight cut across the room and a single lit taper was all that remained of his evening’s rituals before sleep.
“Raven! Timms said there are servants preparing for the ball working late in the halls. I’m not sure this is such a good idea.”
“It’s mostly completed on the ground floor and I’m not foolish enough to insist on carrying a taper about to draw attention to myself!” She crossed her arms impatiently. “This is not the joyous greeting I was hoping for, Phillip.”
He smiled. “Joyous? I’m so relieved to see you I feel like crying. How’s that for joy?”
“Better.” She put her hands on her hips. “Now say something sweet and flattering, Warrick, please.”
“I have never seen you with your hair down before, Raven.”
Her brow furrowed. “Was that praise?”
“I can’t think when I look at you. Damn it, woman. You are incomparable and you know it! I am not the kind of man to recite poetry about the silk of your hair but my heart aches staring at you and I should warn you that unless your ultimate aim for this intrusion is me bedding you until you are senseless, you need to turn around this instant, Miss Wells.”
“That was very sweetly said,” she smiled at him. “I confess, my plan was not very thorough. I just…was feeling restless and…it was a bit uncomfortable at first when we…but you led me to believe the experience improves, which seems unlikely if you ask me…so…I wanted…”
He smiled back at her as his grip tightened on his bedding in frustration. “It’s been a long night and a long day, Raven! But I am rethinking the safety of our agreement in the glade after spending a day trapped in a lodge listening to that man rant while cleaning his guns. If he finds you here, he’ll kill me.” Phillip ran both hands through his hair. “But not touching you…”
She latched the door quietly and stood with her back against it. “It is a tangle, isn’t it?” She sighed, then asked softly, “Do you really think he’ll kill you?” Alarm seized her and she pressed a hand against her racing heartbeat. “I didn’t consider that. I’m so sorry.”
“Raven, no apologies. Remember?” He held out his hand. “Come to bed, woman.”
“Well, not if it means your death, Phillip,” she countered, a hint of mischief in her eyes. “Though I give us great praise for our indifferent performance last night at dinner, don’t you?”
“I misspoke. A bomb could go off and I doubt that Lord Trent is in any shape to stir. Who knew I tended toward the dramatic?” He kept his hand outstretched, the invitation open. “Though it occurs to me that I might die if you don’t get in this bed.”
“Oh, well then it is an act of pure mercy! You must not expire on my account, sir.” She smiled and rushed toward the sanctuary of his arms.
“Come! You are overdressed to be ravished.”
Raven’s feet stuttered to a halt just as she reached the bed.
Phillip held his breath. “Raven Wells. No games.”
“No games,” she whispered. She slowly reached up and began to untie the ribbons of her bodice, drawing out each one and letting it fall from her fingers only when the cut tip slipped past her touch. Her movements were unrelenting, an unpracticed dance of seduction that held him captive. His body twitched at every flick of her wrist and when her gown parted to reveal the firm curves of her breasts, the shadow between them accenting the pert taut points and smooth flesh carved out for his pleasure.
She slipped the dressing gown back from her shoulders and he marveled at the way her waist nipped in flaring out to hips created for his hands. The triangular nest of ebony curls covering her sex beckoned his touch and Raven shamelessly dropped her nightclothes to the floor, stepping out of them as easily as a woman stepping over a mud puddle.
“Oh, my god…” he whispered, a man utterly conquered.
“I want very much to be ravished, Phillip. I want nothing between us.”
He didn’t need to be asked twice. In one swift move, he shifted forward to catch her arms and pull her up onto the bedding, pinning her beneath him with a possessive growl. Need dictated every move he made but he would savor her in a leisurely game to teach her just how marvelous the act could be.
Selfish, I am not, my lady love!
She had asked him to
ravish her but Phillip approached her body with the reverence of an initiate before a pagan altar. She was a study in contrasts.
Kissing her. Shifting them up onto their knees, facing each other. Raven eagerly reached for him, gripping and stroking him, encircling his flesh with her fingers to encourage pure fire to coil inside of him.
Phillip shook his head, wary of yielding control to her again and failing to hold back. He lifted her from him and shifted her to turn around, moving behind her to change the dynamic. He tipped her head to one side to allow him access to her neck and shoulders, drawing her up against him completely. The position limited her reach but gave him ample freedom. His cock was rock hard nested against the ripe curves of her bottom and his hands swept across her skin and up her rib cage to cup her breasts. He gently squeezed and lifted them, teasing her with the dance of his hands before pinching the aroused tips.
Raven’s hips shimmied back against him, a silent plea for him to take her, but Phillip was far from finished. One hand cupped a breast and kept up the sweet game, caressing her and pulling his thumb over the hardened peak, while the other hand slid down slowly, over the soft rise of her belly to move through the rough silken curls covering her venus mons.
Her curls were already wet and Phillip’s long fingers found their prize, as Raven instinctively spread her knees to give him what he wanted. His fingers dipped down into the honey-slick folds to find the hard little pearl of her clit and its sensitive root under the velvet of her skin and Phillip began to kiss and tease her neck to echo the dance of his hand over her clit.
Faster and faster, he worked her slick pearl, abandoning it for a few strokes to push her further before sliding back and forth over her most sensitive part until she was nearly mindless with it. Raven rocked against his hand, her head pressing into his shoulder and when he felt her hips start to shudder he knew she was nearly there.
He stopped instantly to keep her from it, and pushed her down onto the bed, rolling her over onto her back to spread out beneath him. She was nearly mindless with her need and Raven held nothing back, her trust was total. Everything he was doing was adding to the haze, transporting her beyond her senses.
He parted her thighs but instead of bringing his cock into the fray, Phillip smiled at the notion that his lady love was not the only one capable of a good surprise. He knelt between her calves and leaned over to kiss her glistening sex. She lifted up on her elbows, startled enough to start to protest but then she was bucking her hips up to give him more, begging him not to stop.
He held her in place with his palms splayed against her hipbones, pinning her in place as his tongue danced mercilessly against her. It was the most intimate of torments and it humbled him to realize that never before had he been this intoxicated on the sweet taste of a woman. He sensed that she was close and slowed down, lightening the contact until she was crying out for it. His hand stole up to softly muffle her sounds and she clung to his fingers only to push them back toward her breasts.
It was his turn to savor his power over her.
Phillip renewed the rhythm like a man possessed, increasing the pressure of his mouth and moaning against the sweet salt of her excitement until she came in a glorious writhing spasm that he could taste on his lips.
“Phillip!”
“Shh!” He chuckled and added his hand to the game, touching her in a concert of soft strokes and licks that drew out her pleasure. She pressed her own fingers against her lips and Phillip’s lust flared to demand its due.
He raised up on his hands and knees and climbed up to cover her with his body, moving until the unmistakable proof of his intentions was notched against the soft wet entrance. There was no need for more of a preamble. Her thighs were already spread wide to welcome him and her arms wrapped around him to celebrate his arrival. At the promise of his first thrust, Raven began to shudder again and Phillip seized the advantage.
He drove into her hard, sheathed to the hilt in the space of a heartbeat. She was so tight but so eager, there was nothing left to hold him in check; everything to spur him on. He pistoned inside of her, thrusting upward in a race to join her in a satisfied finish. She was an endless well of desire and when she began to climax again, Phillip accepted that he could not linger long behind her.
He covered her mouth with his kisses, willing her to taste herself on his lips and the wickedness of the impulse pushed him over the edge. Her tongue lapped at his and Phillip came in a climax that gripped his entire frame as he spent himself inside of her in what seemed like an endless implosion of ecstasy.
He cradled her against his chest, his eyes shut tight while he waited for his soul to reattach to his body. Holy…gods…
“Oh, my!” she exclaimed softly. “That was…marvelous!”
He smiled into the pillows, awash in the delicious thrill of being a man proven right. “Was it, my love?”
She playfully struck him on the shoulder. “You know it was! I had no idea that…that was even possible!”
He shifted to free her but made sure that she was tucked against his side, his arms still around her. “Only with me,” he lied smoothly, aware that she couldn’t currently see his face. “Only with your one true love.”
“Oh!” she said breathlessly. “How perfect!”
Phillip smiled up at the ceiling. “Yes.”
It is perfect.
Chapter Fourteen
The line of carriages pulling up to Oakwell Manor was a sight to behold as footmen with torches ran alongside them in the dark and each glittering party stepped out to add to the pageantry of the night. The county’s best families had gathered for the event to show off their status, reconnect with old friends and form new alliances. It was a romantic tradition that demanded attention and in all the pageantry it was impossible not to feel the importance of the moment.
Oakwell blazed with candlelight from every window and the spirit of the house was a tangible thing, as if the manor was pleased to be on display and wished to outshine the party-goers. Despite the fuss over bunting, no detail had been overlooked and the ball room was a shimmering gold and green confection that invited revelry.
Raven waited nervously in her room, allowing Kitty to repair one of the flounces after a thread had given way. “I am late.”
“Pssht! The party is steps away and you are not late. Besides, everyone knows it is better to arrive after the first awkward rush.”
“Why?” Raven asked. “Why is it better?”
Kitty sat back on her heels, looking up at Raven. “How can anyone as beautiful as you not know the answer to that question?”
Raven crossed her arms. “That makes no sense, Kitty. Tell me why.”
“Because you can’t stop an empty room, you can’t steal its breath or seize your triumph from shadows. Only a crowded room full of guests can fall at your feet, applaud your beauty and ensure that you are never forgotten.” Kitty stood. “Makes sense now?”
“Oh.” Raven swallowed a show of modest arguments to the contrary. She wasn’t sure about triumphs but she was vain enough to acknowledge that Kitty had made some very valid points. “Fashionably late is right on time.”
“Good girl.” Kitty stepped back to survey her handiwork. “Done and done.”
Raven pivoted to inspect her reflection in the mirror and smiled. The purple silk she’d acquired the day of Phillip’s arrival had been transformed into the dress of her dreams. The eggplant dark color was woven with an undertone of gold that defied description. Her curves were set off by the daring cut of the bodice though it was not nearly as scandalous as some of the fashions of the day. Her age required a nod to modesty. Although her age also generally required adhering to pastel hues, Raven clung to the jewel tones that flattered her coloring.
She touched her lower lip with her tongue moistening the sensitive flesh and evoking the memory of Phillip’s kisses. The encounter by the lake had been a shy preamble to the passion they’d shared last night. She leaned forward to study her face more closel
y, straining to see if the change were visible.
“What are you thinking over there?” Kitty asked.
“I’m thinking that I need a touch of stain for my lips and cheeks.”
“A whisper of a touch,” Kitty agreed. “No need to spoil the picture with garish spots on your cheeks.”
A whisper of color and a dusting of powder on her skin and Raven decided that there was nothing left to delay the moment. If triumph awaited, she was not sorry of it, but it was Phillip Warrick alone she wished to blind with her beauty.
Well, not blind altogether but I shouldn’t mind if after tonight, every woman in England looks like a blank sheep in comparison…
It was a wicked aim but it made her smile, a secretive and mischievous thing.
Raven was ready.
***
It was a larger affair than Phillip had expected and the house’s ground floor overflowed with guests bedecked in their finest. The cool spring night air made it tolerable as every door and window was opened to keep things from turning too warm, especially after the music began and exertions could send weaker souls to seek out fainting couches.
One of the reason Phillip dreaded dances was the crush and airless perfumed humidity of some of London’s narrow salons. Why anyone enjoyed the din of a hundred conversations over music was a mystery to him. He looked out across the milling room that shifted to give the dancers room as the musicians tuned to herald the first reel, searching for any sign of Raven. He’d waited at the bottom of the stairs for as long as he could without drawing attention and only prayed he hadn’t missed his chance to secure her first dance.
Lady Falls (Black Rose Trilogy) Page 12