The Rake to Reveal Her

by Julia Justiss

  ‘Absolutely,’ he said promptly, obviously catching on to the game.

  ‘Take them off as well.’

  He swept a bow. ‘As my lady commands.’

  He undid them and Theo shrugged them off.

  ‘What of this chemise? You’d prefer a new one, of finest linen, so fine you can see my body beneath it? These—?’ She cupped her breasts, thumbing the nipples until they peaked. ‘And this?’ She slid a hand down to stroke over the dark curls at her mound.

  ‘Yes,’ he breathed, his gaze locked on her.

  Theo untied the laces, pulled the garment over her head and let it drift to the floor beside her.

  Sitting abruptly on the edge of the bed, Dom watched her intently, his chest rising and falling, his lips moist and parted.

  Feeling triumphant, powerful, and oh-so-female, Theo kicked off her slippers and walked over to him, naked but for her stockings and garters.

  She stopped before him and put one foot up on his knee, opening her most intimate area to his view. She took his limp hand and stroked it over the embroidery of the garter on her unbent leg.

  ‘These, I think are pretty enough. Don’t you agree?’

  A garbled sound issued from his lips.

  Tightening her grip on his hand, she drew it straight up her inner thigh, across the tight curls of her mound, and dipped his index finger into the slickness between her legs. Shuddering as his guided touch further heightened her arousal, she moved his finger to stroke her there, again and again through the increasing wetness.

  ‘You see what you do to me?’ she whispered.

  Apparently beyond speech, he made no answer.

  Guiding his now moist finger, she traced a wet path down the inner thigh of the bent leg until it reached her other garter. ‘This, too, I think is...adequate.’

  With a growl, Dom grabbed her waist and levered her on to the bed. Sliding her feet up so both legs were fully bent, he parted her knees to open her to him completely, then laved with his tongue where his finger had just been.

  Theo gripped the bedclothes, her heartbeat stampeding as he licked and nuzzled. She twisted under him, trying to angle him deeper, inside her, and he murmured at her to be still.

  Nibbling and laving gently, he inched closer, until finally, when she thought she could stand it no longer, moving to her pulsing centre. By the time he thrust his tongue deeper, moving in long, hard strokes within, then without to caress the little nub, she was gasping. It took only a few more strokes to bring her to shattering climax.

  Afterward, as she lay panting, scarcely conscious, she dimly heard the rustle of him loosening his shirt, unbuttoning his trouser flap. Uttering a long moan of pleasure, she felt the smooth head of his manhood against her slickness. So limp, she was unable to tease him further, she closed her eyes, the waves of pleasure building again as he caressed with his hardness the damp flesh his tongue had just pleasured.

  Finally, as she breathed his name, he entered her. She thought he intended to be gradual and slow, but he must have been as transported as she, for after two short strokes, he thrust deep. She wrapped her legs around his back to urge him on, harder, faster, until he cried out and the hot press of his seed spilling deep inside her brought her over the edge again with him.

  * * *

  A long time later, after drifting on a languid cloud of satiation, she came to earth to find herself tucked against his good shoulder.

  ‘I’ll never think of shopping the same way again,’ she murmured.

  ‘If that is how you pay a forfeit, we should make wagers daily.’ After kissing her forehead, he said, ‘I thought we should make a short detour before we return to Suffolk.’

  She shifted to look up at him. ‘I don’t really need a wedding trip. Nor do I want to leave the school on its own much longer. I still have some apprenticeships for the boys to set up with the local craftsmen.’

  ‘It would be a brief stop. Before we go back to Bildenstone, we should take Charles to Hazlett Hall to meet the viscount and his lady.’

  When Theo gasped, he said, ‘Confront the ogres in their den. Or, less melodramatically, forge the agreement for how we mean to go on. You were prepared to bind yourself to a stranger with no hope of future happiness to safeguard your relationship with your son. I think it’s important that we hammer out a formal arrangement with the Hazletts now, so you can be easy about his future—and ours.’

  ‘You...you would deal with the viscount for me?’

  ‘Of course. I’m your husband, Theo. I have that right now. And didn’t I promise to defend you? I can’t think of anything you are more eager to protect than your relationship with your son. So let’s accomplish that now.’

  She’d known she would have to confront Charles’s grandparents again, probably soon. But that Dom would suggest it, and offer to take her there and stand as her champion in dealing with the only people who could threaten to take Charles from her—that, she had never envisioned.

  ‘I don’t mean to meddle in what you see as your business,’ he continued when she didn’t immediately reply, ‘but wouldn’t settling this now put your mind at ease?’

  Relief and gratitude filled her. ‘Oh, yes! It would mean a great deal to have it settled. And please, “meddle” all you like!’

  He smiled at her, the look so tender her chest grew tight and she had to hold back tears, the affection she struggled against threatening to engulf her.

  ‘Plan on it, then. I don’t want you to worry about losing Charles ever again. I promise, I’ll make sure that never happens. Trust me, Theo?’

  ‘I trust you,’ she whispered. And I’m very much afraid I love you, too.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  A week later, their carriage approached the pastoral vista before the old Tudor manor of Hazlett Hall. Dom watched Theo closely, a curious mixture of jealousy and concern warring in his chest.

  For one, he’d like to put to an end for good and all any lingering connection to the man she’d loved so deeply. On the other, he knew that as long as Charles remained of primary concern—and that would be for ever—he would have to deal with her memories of the man who’d sired him. And for her to truly be open to finding happiness again, she would have to be assured of keeping her son.

  He’d already displaced Marshall Hazlett in her arms. Though he really didn’t begrudge her fond memories of her child’s father, he hoped to soon rival the man in her affections. But securing the boy’s future he could and would settle today.

  Clasping and unclasping her hands, she gazed out the window at the manor house, Charles dozing by her side. Attuned now to signs of her nervousness, he captured one of her restless fingers.

  ‘Steady, Theo. Everything will work out as you wish. I promise you.’

  She nodded. ‘I’m so very grateful you offered to accompany me. It seems so...strange, coming here, seeing the place where Marshall grew up, where I once thought I’d return as his bride.’

  ‘Forgive me for preferring that you’re coming here as mine.’

  She smiled, a little forlornly. ‘Forgive me for letting myself be dragged into the past. I’m not sorry that he was so large a part of it—and I am very, very glad that you are my future.’

  ‘Glad’ wasn’t exactly what he was hoping for, but under the circumstances, he would have to settle for it. Giving her a kiss to signify his approval of that sentiment, he leaned her back. ‘What do you know of Viscount Hazlett’s feelings about Charles? I suspect his opinion will have more impact as to how we resolve this than his wife’s.’

  ‘I really don’t know anything. Lady Hazlett spoke of her own longing to reclaim a part of her blood, but she gave me no sense of how enthusiastic, or resistant, her husband was to that desire.’

  Dom could see apprehension in the furrow of her brow. ‘We shall soon see
. And don’t worry, sweeting, regardless of his position, we will agree to nothing that does not guarantee Charles remains with you.’

  A few minutes later, the carriage drew up before the entrance, and Dom gave Theo’s hand a reassuring squeeze. He’d sent a note ahead to Viscount Hazlett, so he wasn’t surprised when the butler, who escorted them through a timbered great hall into a wainscoted withdrawing room, informed him that Lord and Lady Hazlett would receive them shortly.

  While Charles delightedly examined the carvings of griffins and gargoyles on the roof beams, Theo paced before the fire. Dom watched her, wishing there was more he could do to ease her anxiety—about the interview to come, and for the heartache she must inevitably feel at knowing her son, but for his father’s early death the viscount’s rightful heir, had no legal right to the home whose sculptures so fascinated him.

  The door opened, admitting a tall, balding man whose grey hair might once have been fair, and a slender, still lovely lady—who had eyes for no one but the boy.

  Hearing them enter, Charles halted his inspection and looked over as Lady Hazlett walked towards him, a tremulous smile on her face. ‘Welcome to our home, my dear!’

  Dom had to admire the lad’s manners, for he gave her a proper bow before saying, ‘You came to visit us at Thornfield, didn’t you?’

  ‘I did,’ she affirmed.

  ‘I have my pony now. When you visit again, I’ll be able to ride ever so well.’

  ‘I’m sure you shall,’ Lady Hazlett said. Holding out her hand, she said, ‘May I introduce you to someone? My husband, Lord Hazlett.’

  Charles didn’t look impressed, but he took her hand and let her walk him over to the gentleman who’d stopped abruptly just inside the room, his gaze locked on his wife and the boy.

  The viscount was scrutinising the child as avidly as Charles was inspecting him. Dom watched his face as scepticism gave way to surprise, and as the boy drew closer, he paled and shuddered visibly.

  ‘Lord Hazlett, may I present Charles,’ his wife said.

  Charles made another bow. ‘Pleased to meet you, my lord,’ he piped.

  Dom turned his attention to Theo, who had been observing the proceedings with anxious eyes. Nothing the highest stickler could find to fault in the boy’s manners so far, Dom thought—he was the picture of a well-brought-up gentleman’s son.

  First hand to Theo.

  Lady Hazlett looked back over her shoulder at Dom and Theo. ‘Mr and Mrs Ransleigh, forgive my lack of manners. I wished Lord Hazlett to see Charles before we proceeded any further. You both are also very welcome in our home. Now, if you will permit, Mrs Ransleigh, I’d like to take Charles up to the nursery while you speak with Lord Hazlett.’

  Getting the child out of the way so he couldn’t overhear anything he shouldn’t, Dom thought approvingly. It seemed Lady Hazlett had the boy’s welfare at heart, then.

  Turning back to Charles, Lady Hazlett said, ‘We have some very fine toy soldiers in the nursery. And some balls and games and a toy horse that your f—that other children enjoyed very much.’

  ‘Soldiers?’ Charles echoed. ‘Oh, I would like to see them. May I go, Miss Theo?’

  ‘Of course, Charles. Mind your manners, now.’

  ‘I always do. You know that,’ he said calmly before trotting out with Lady Hazlett.

  Lord Hazlett stared out the open door until the pair was out of sight. Still pale, he started when he turned back to them, as if surprised there was still someone in the room.

  ‘I’m Hazlett, of course,’ he said belatedly, bowing to Theo and holding out a hand to Dom. ‘You’re Swynford’s nephew, aren’t you?’ Turning to Theo, he said, ‘So you’re the woman my son meant to wed?’ Glancing towards the door through which Charles had just exited, he said, ‘A pity you didn’t bother to get your marriage lines before you proceeded to that.’

  Theo’s chin jerked up and her eyes turned cold. ‘Yes, isn’t it? But since that guarantees the child has no claim on you, we will just collect him and take our leave.’

  Before Dom, in a fury, could utter something blighting and lead her away, the viscount held up a hand. ‘I’m sorry, that was unkind. I must ask you to forgive an old man’s shock...and pain.’ He sighed. ‘But for a Frenchman’s bullet, or a few weeks’ delay, I’d not be facing the prospect of turning the home of my ancestors over to a cousin, instead of the son of my son.’

  ‘There’s nothing anyone can do to change the laws that prevent Charles from inheriting,’ Dom said. ‘But if you’d like to salvage some relationship with the son of your son, we’re prepared to discuss it—as long as you treat my wife with respect.’

  ‘My apologies, Mrs Ransleigh,’ the viscount said. ‘There will be no living with my wife if we don’t reach some agreement. Won’t you take a seat? I’ll have Sanders bring wine.’

  Giving Theo a reassuring look, Dom led her to the sofa, their host seating himself in the wing chair opposite. ‘I have to admit, I didn’t really believe all that nonsense Tremaine spouted when he visited here. A nasty piece of work, that one, and his father before him. It angered me to have him lead Emily on—she’s never stopped mourning the loss of all her chicks, and to have him setting her up for more heartache! Which is what I thought you’d done, too, young lady, when she visited you. But she’s right; the boy is the image of Marshall at that age.’

  ‘Why would I lead her on? Since having anyone question the already accepted story of Charles’s parentage would put him at risk, I should probably, by rights, have denied the story and turned her away. But I could see how much it would ease the pain of Marshall’s loss for her to know his son—and I couldn’t.’

  ‘It’s hard for me to forgive you for spinning such a yarn about the boy’s father, keeping us in ignorance of his existence for so long. True, I can’t pretend to understand what you faced when you found yourself increasing, with Marshall dead and you not yet married. But how convenient for your reputation, to have a dead man’s dead son’s name to claim for my grandson.’

  As Theo flinched under the harsh words, Dom stood up, a hand on her arm. ‘Another speech like that,’ he said with cold fury, ‘and I’ll take my wife and the boy and you’ll never see or hear from him again.’

  The fire died out in the viscount’s eyes. ‘I beg your pardon—again, Mrs Ransleigh.’

  Theo gave a short nod, and Dom sat back down.

  ‘What I did, I did to protect Charles,’ Theo said, her eyes going distant, as if she were reliving the events. ‘If all I’d cared about was my own good name, I could have left him at the convent, as the sisters urged. I’d confessed my sins and received absolution, they said, but if I took the child back with me, my shame would become known, and society would never forgive it. But right from birth, Charles was so fair. Even if some Portuguese peasant wanting a sturdy son took him in, he’d always look like a foreigner. Always be an outsider. I thought, even as a bastard, he would fare better in his homeland. Stumbling upon an identity as Everely’s dead son was never what I’d planned. And he was my son, mine and Marshall’s! How could I abandon him in a foreign land?’

  ‘Well, that coil can’t be unspooled now. But even as a bastard, we would have accepted him, loved him, found a place for him.’

  ‘How could I have known that? I couldn’t risk exposing him, only to be rejected—and then have him grow up with a taint on his name.’

  ‘You have your chance now, Lord Hazlett,’ Dom interrupted. ‘Learning about him today, or four and a half years ago, wouldn’t have made any difference; under law, he could never inherit the title or the entailed portion of your estate. You can still leave him whatever you wish that isn’t entailed, and when he’s old enough, he’ll be told of his true lineage. If you do want him, why not just enjoy sharing that?’

  ‘Aye, that’s what my wife counselled. Loving him should be easy enough. He�
��s the image of my dear b-boy,’ he said, his voice breaking.

  ‘He was dear to me, too,’ Theo said, tears glittering in her eyes.

  Dom put his hand on her shoulder, wanting her to feel his silent support. ‘They are both under my protection now,’ he said evenly, but with a warning in his voice. ‘Unlike your son, I managed to get a ring on her finger. I’d appreciate your support of the plan my wife and yours agree upon, but if you attempt to harass her, we’ll raise the boy without you. You have no legal claim to either of them.’

  The viscount met his steady gaze. ‘Do you mean to dictate terms to me?’

  ‘Not at all. I’m merely reminding you of our respective positions. Treat my wife with the courtesy and respect owed to her as the woman your son loved and the mother of your grandson. As part of my duty to secure her happiness, I’m prepared to respect her wishes about letting you and your wife see the boy and draw him into your lives. As long as you never attempt to cut Theo out of this. Or disparage her in any way.’

  Lord Hazlett looked back at Theo. ‘You seem to have found a champion.’

  She gave Dom a look of affection and gratitude. ‘I have.’

  ‘About time she had one,’ Dom muttered.

  ‘Very well. Why don’t you stay a few days,’ the viscount said, addressing himself once again to Dom, ‘while my wife and yours work out the details of sharing Charles? If that is agreeable to you, Mrs Ransleigh.’

  Dom looked over at Theo.

  ‘Anxious as I am to get back to Suffolk, I suppose we could spare two days,’ she said. ‘For Charles.’

  She couldn’t be more anxious than he was, Dom thought. Anxious to get her away from things that mired her in the past, unable to move into the future. Their future. He couldn’t wait to get her back to Bildenstone Hall, where he could continue wooing—and seducing—his new wife. Every day he spent with her, it grew more important to him to persuade her to let go of fear and pain and embrace the future, loving only him.