A Lady's Escape

by A. S. Fenichel

  Before she could respond, he pressed his lips to hers, and she answered the smooth caress with a gasp. Lifting her hand, she threaded her fingers through his hair. Soft waves of mahogany slid over her skin, delighting and satisfying her curiosity.

  His kisses stirred her to cries of delight. She longed for more while he pressed his lips to her cheek and along her jaw. Trailing his lips to her ear where his breath filled her with sensation. Moisture flowed to her most intimate place. As he eased her back onto the pillow, she readied herself for what was to come. This part she remembered and would endure to be close to Preston for a short time. She told herself it would be worth it.

  Eyes tight, she waited. When nothing happened and even the lovely kisses stopped, she cracked one eye to find Preston looking down at her with the most amused look on his face.

  “Millicent, do you think you might relax?”

  Her legs quivered with strain. “I don’t think so.”

  He tucked her hair behind her ear and kissed her nose. “If I promised you that I will not hurt you, would you try to relax?”

  So sweet and kind, she wanted to say yes, but it would be a lie. “I really don’t think it’s possible. I’m rather nervous.”

  He ran his hand from just under her breast to her thigh. Despite the shiver of need, she remained stiff as a table. He caressed his way back up. “I understand. I think we should decide not to make love until you are more comfortable.”

  Disappointment stabbed her in the heart. “I’m sorry. I want you, Preston, but I’m afraid. I know this will hurt, and despite what you say, I cannot seem to relax.”

  Hand fisted against his leg, he took two deep breaths before he spoke. “I’m going to ask you to trust me for just a few minutes. We cannot go further like this.” He gestured to her clenched muscles.

  “I trust you.” It was weak and not at all believable.

  “No, you don’t, but I understand. Just let me touch you and kiss you for now. Will that be okay?” He pressed his lips to her shoulder.

  Forcing a nod, she watched as he slid the nightgown off her shoulder and kissed his way along her collarbone. Pulling the bow at the center opened the large gown to the point where it could slip down her entire body, but Preston only exposed her to the tip of her breasts.

  As he kissed the swell of her breast, she arched her back. She couldn’t help wanting more of his mouth on all of her flesh. Her nipple popped free, and he ran one finger over the taut peak. As if there were a string from her breast to the apex of her thighs, his touch sent a shockwave to her core.

  Sharp pants filled the room, and she soon realized the noise was coming from her. She bit her lip to stay silent.

  “Let it out, Millicent. I want to hear what you like, and anything that displeases, you should tell me.” He tugged the cotton lower, leaving both breasts exposed, then lowered his head and took her nipple in his mouth.

  She cried and arched for more, clutching his head to her. “Preston.”

  Sliding his hand up her leg, she jerked when he reached her knee.

  He froze, lifted his head then sat up to examine her leg.

  “It’s just a bruise,” she protested. She’d not wanted anyone to make a fuss.

  “You are injured.” He held her knee from behind, and the way his fingers caressed the sensitive skin at the back of her knee was almost worth the fall that gave her the bruise.

  Bending her knee to prove the point, she said, “It’s nothing.”

  His eyes were soft and tender as he leaned over and kissed her knee and then just above the joint and up to her thigh.

  “Preston?” No amount of imagination could have conjured so much pleasure from the way he kissed her body. She’d never guessed a man would kiss her in that fashion. Closing her eyes, she gave in to trust and relaxed against the pillow.

  He hummed his approval and pressed another kiss on the inside of her thigh. The higher he got, the more he pushed the nightgown up. When his mouth touched her between her thighs, she made a sharp squeal and pulled back to the top of the bed. “Preston, I don’t think you should be doing that.”

  Looking up from between her legs, he smiled. “Did I hurt you?”

  It had been pure pleasure, but maybe too much to stand. “No.”

  “It felt good then?” He traced a path with his fingers from her knee to just below where he’d kissed.

  Her body betrayed her, longing to ease closer to his touch, wanting his mouth and fingers and more. “It was different.”

  Those fingers that stimulated the flesh of her thigh lightly grazed her soft vee of curls, and she cried his name, arching up to meet the touch. She might be a wanton, but she wanted more, all, and then to have it all again. Letting her legs fall open a few inches gained her a soft moan from Preston.

  “So pretty, my Millicent.” He licked the tight bud between her legs.

  The world shifted as his mouth delighted her. Licking and sucking until she didn’t know who she was. Preston and the pleasure he gave filled her world. His finger eased inside her and she stiffened. When no pain followed, she relaxed again. Tightness built inside her until she clutched handfuls of sheets. Preston moved her thighs to lay over his shoulders, his mouth never stopping its pleasure-bent journey.

  Just when she thought she must demand he stop, she exploded, came to pieces, her body rocked and clutched, and she bit down hard on her lip to keep her screams at bay.

  She never sensed his movement, but she was in his arms.

  He held her through the rapture.

  As the spasms eased, she toyed with the curls at the back of his hair. Perspiration gave him the sheen of a god, and she longed to rub her body along the length of him. “Is it always like that?”

  He kissed her forehead. “It will get even better.”

  “I don’t see how it could.” It was the truth. Nothing could ever be better than what she just experienced.

  Rolling, he swung her on top of him, so she straddled his hips. His shaft pressed between their bodies. “Shall I show you how it can be?”

  “Can I give you pleasure the way you did for me?” Suddenly a new door had opened. Sex and pleasure were not mutually exclusive. It was something she had never considered.

  “You can do anything you want to me. I am at your mercy, though I cannot promise I will be able to take much more. Watching your orgasm was almost enough to push me to the edge.”

  A nervous shudder ran up her spine. She quashed it. “Will you take your clothes off?”

  He slid out from under her, rose from the bed and let his breeches fall to the floor. She’d thought all men would be the same, but while she’d never actually seen Gordon naked, she knew he had not been so big. Lord, she was in trouble. Yet, her fear stayed away, and she tugged her nightgown from around her waist and tossed it aside.

  Preston lay back down on the bed, and he put a hand on her hip. It was possessive and kept a connection between them, which she’d never had with anyone. It was intimate, but familiar, and gave her comfort that he truly would never hurt her.

  His chest and abdomen rolled with muscle, and she caressed him from the tight pebble of his nipple to just above his manhood. His skin quaked, and he watched her every move. Not wanting fear to guide her, she took his hard shaft in her hand.

  He sucked in a long breath between his teeth.

  “Am I hurting you?”

  “No, sweetheart.”

  Testing what would feel good to him, she traced the bulging vein from the base to the tip then fisted him and moved up and down. Each moment of pleasure she detected in his expression and felt in his reaction renewed her own desire. The same desire she’d believed spent a few minutes earlier cried out for attention again. What was wrong with her?

  Leaning forward, she kissed the tip of him.

  “Millicent.” It came out on a breath.

/>   She ran her tongue around the ruby head and pulled him into her mouth before releasing him and sucking him inside again.

  The moans of pleasure pouring from his mouth drove her need to a frenzy. She struggled to catch her breath and pulled back until releasing him from her mouth. Heaving in gulps of air, she looked at him, not sure what to ask for.

  He reached his hand toward her, and she took it, letting him pull her down next to him. Rolling to his side, he spanned the width of her abdomen. “You are so amazing, and you don’t even know it, do you, Millicent?”

  “I don’t know what you mean. Are you going to make love to me now, Preston?” Everything they had done had given her pleasure. Even pleasuring him had added to her own, but still the notion of the act scared her.

  “We will make love together.” He pressed his knee between hers, opening her, and traced her curls before sliding his finger between her folds. “So wet and beautiful.”

  Gasping, she wanted more but didn’t know how to ask. She wrapped her hand around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. Opening for him, she was rewarded with his sweet tongue sliding against hers. His lips moved on hers in the same rhythm as his fingers. Her hips mimicked the same cadence, and the pleasure built inside her once more.

  His shaft replaced his fingers as he rolled on top of her. Stiffening to take his weight, she noted he held himself on his elbows and did not smother her. The thickness of him pressed for entry but didn’t force. “Relax, my love. Just relax a little.”

  She wanted to comply, but fear replaced her pleasure.

  Sliding his hand down, he rolled to the side to keep his weight off her. He held her thigh and eased it to a bent knee. Just moving an inch forward stretched her in the most sinful way. “Am I hurting you?”

  Millie clutched his back, her nails tight against his skin. “No.” Her hips lifted of their own accord. Her body wanted more, despite her fears.

  Rocking back so that he was once again perched above her resting on his forearms, he pulled back and forward again.

  A tiny spark erupted between her legs. “Oh, God.”

  He did it again and again. Inch by wondrous inch, he filled her and moaned his own pleasure.

  Body gripping at him, she lifted her hips to meet his every thrust, and when she tipped up just a bit, it pulled him deeper and he cried out. His pleasure boosted her own, and she wrapped her legs around his hips. The new angle gave yet another rub against the sensitive button, and she shuddered her release.

  Preston held still as her body clung to his. She said words she didn’t understand. Nonsense flowed from her mouth until he covered it with his and dragged the last of the rapture from her.

  Still rigid inside her, he wrapped his arms around her and rolled until she lay atop him, her hands pressed to his chest. It was powerful to straddle him. “I don’t know what to do.”

  Hands on her hips, he pressed them down, taking a bit more of him.

  She gasped at the additional delight the new friction afforded. Pulling her knees in, she rose up and slid down again.

  Preston closed his eyes and moaned.

  The power was heady, and she relished it as she found a rhythm that pleased them both. His breath came quick, and he gave a low grunt before lifting her off him and pressing her tight. His shaft jerked between them, spilling his seed on their stomachs.

  Gentling her to her back, he stood up.

  Millie loved the way her body tingled, and her muscles ached so splendidly. It had been beautiful, and she would remember the night. She just needed a moment to recover and she would return to her own bed. Preston was likely anxious for her to go. He’d practically sprinted out of the bed, just as Gordon had nine years earlier. No. She would not compare the two. Preston was ten times the man.

  A wet cloth across her stomach forced her eyes open. Preston looked down at her as he cleaned her skin. “Are you all right?”

  “I feel fine.”

  Smiling, he put the washcloth back in the basin and knelt at the edge of the bed. “Fine is not good enough.”

  Before she could ask what he meant, he pressed his mouth between her legs and found that tense pebble of nerves, licking and sucking until she could not contain her cries. She grabbed the pillow to muffle the sound as another rapturous orgasm crashed down around her. Her body shook, and Preston pulled the pillow away so he could cradle her in his arms until she relaxed against him. “So stunning, my Millicent.”

  “That was wonderful.” She toyed with the smattering of deep brown hair across his chest.

  “Will you stay here with me a while?” His voice rocked with insecurity and fear.

  No, she must have been crazy. “I should return to my own room. If we are discovered, it would be a disaster.”

  “Not such a disaster.” He’d mumbled, but she would have sworn that was what he said. “Stay just an hour. The sun won’t be up for at least two. No one will look for us until after dawn.” He petted her hair and brushed it away from her face.

  She relaxed against him. Treacherous feelings sneaking in and coloring her good sense. “One hour then.”

  Relaxing against the headboard, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled the blanket over them. It was the safest she had ever felt, her head resting on his chest with his heart’s steady beat against her ear. Wishing for things she could never have was not part of who Millie was. She was practical. It was the only thing she had ever been grateful to Gordon for. He had shown her the truth of the way the world worked, and she had been sensible ever since. In Preston’s arms, it was more difficult to maintain that practicality, but this was only an indulgence. Tomorrow, life would go back to normal.

  “Millicent, when you travel to Portugal, will Mrs. Whimple go with you?” The way he spoke as if her travels were a foregone conclusion filled her with joy from her head to her toes.

  “I don’t suppose she will want to go. She prefers comfort. I’m hopeful she can stay with the Everton Domestic Society. If not, I will have to work out another post for her.” She liked the talk and the way he held her. Never having dreamed a lover could be so kind to take an interest in her life or her dreams. Thinking that Preston might be different from other men only made her conviction to never sleep with him again more difficult.

  He kissed the top of her head. “I’m happy to hear you will see to her needs. Should you have trouble finding a home for her, I may be able to help.”

  Pressing against his chest, she leaned away to look at his face. “What do you mean?”

  “Don’t look so shocked that I would help you and Mrs. Whimple. My fondness for you extends to her, as you clearly care for her a great deal. I have many friends and would happily write a letter of recommendation for her to find a position. Short of that, I can grant her a cottage on my land in Derbyshire.”

  “That is very generous of you, Preston.” Mind reeling with how far his affection might extend, she didn’t know what else to say.

  His eyes dipped to her exposed breasts. “I’m happy to help.”

  She pulled the blanket over herself. “I did not sleep with you to gain favors.”

  Dragging her back against his chest, Preston buried his face in her hair and breathed in. “I know, and I would have made the offer regardless. Don’t look for evil in a beautiful night, Millicent. I would hold you like this for a lifetime if you would let me.”

  “You must be realistic. Our lives are headed in different directions. I will travel and help people, and you will marry a suitable lady of the ton and produce an heir.”

  “Before your parents died, did you travel?”

  Surprised by the change of subject, she stumbled over an answer. “I remember going to Scotland once. It was a long journey to visit my mother’s grandmother in Inverness. It was a wild rocky place, and I was allowed to run wild with the local children. I loved it there.”

  “W
ill you only travel for the care of others, or will you travel for pleasure as well?”

  “I hope both. I don’t mean to sound as if all I want is to toil my life away.” She wrapped her arm around his waist and let his spicy warm scent become part of the memory she wanted to hold onto for a lifetime.

  Preston cupped her cheek and tipped her face up for a kiss. It was sweet and sensual as he nibbled on her bottom lip and drew it between his several times. “You will leave your mark on the world, Millicent, just as you have left your mark on me. I have no doubt of that.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I would promise you anything if only you would say yes.” His eyes glowed in the dwindling firelight.

  She could think of nothing to say to him that he wanted to hear. Perhaps for some women, a nice place to live and a man to visit her and keep her in jewels for a time was enough, but not for her. Beauty faded, and he would soon tire of a mistress, as all men did. She could not bear to think of that day, so she would make sure it would never come. Pressing a kiss to his throat, she closed her eyes and let him hold her.

  “We will reach Derbyshire tomorrow.”

  She sighed, despite her resolve to show no emotion. “You will be happy to be home.”

  “Yes. I hope you will like Brookhaven.” His voice vibrated against her skin.

  “When do you think the others will arrive?” Her head stirred with his shrug.

  He ran a hand along her arm from her wrist to her shoulder. It was an idle move, but she loved the familiarity of it. “I think we shall have one day before they arrive. Long enough to have your clothes laundered and replace anything that is beyond redemption.”

  “You need not buy me things, Preston. I have more clothes being delivered by the end of the week. I am a woman of means, as it turns out.”