Just as I reacted, I heard a shout of rage coming from Nicholas and suddenly Lord Livingston was tossed aside. He stumbled back and fell.
My eyes widened as I looked to Nicholas, who towered over the man on the floor. He stared first at his own hands, then at the man again.
Anger flushed his face.
“What the bloody hell—”
Nicholas didn’t give Lord Livingston time to finish whatever he meant to say. He grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket, jerked him to his feet, then he shoved him bodily toward the door.
I covered my mouth, stifling the gasps.
“Get out and never return.” Nicholas growled the words, but it was unclear if Lord Livingston heard him since he stumbled to his feet, his mouth opening and closing, unable to form any proper words.
Nicholas, however, was not finished.
He took a step near the small table where Lord Livingston had left the glass of bourbon. He grasped the glass and threw it at the doorway where Lord Livingston hovered.
The glass missed the man’s head by inches and shattered against the wall, splashing liquid across Lord Livingston’s chest.
“Haunted!” Lord Livingston shouted, his eyes incredibly wide. “Morley Manor is haunted.”
“Indeed, it is,” Nicholas said, his own eyes wild with fury as he searched about for something else to throw.
“Robert, is that you?” Lord Livingston shouted into the air, speaking my father’s name. “You know she has no alternative.”
My hand tightened over my mouth as I realized he thought the ghost was that of my father, Robert Worthington. He must not be able to see Nicholas, only witness his actions.
Lord Livingston took a step forward, his arms open in plea as he addressed the unseen specter.
“Robert, you know what will happen to her. I have the means to protect your children. Keep them safe.” Then he lowered his arms to his sides and something else flickered over his face. Anger, perhaps? “You owe me, Robert. It’s only sensible that she marry me. You owe me a fortune and that debt can be repaid through your daughter. Once we’re married, your spirit can rest. You can be at peace knowing your debts are paid in full.”
“Her father’s not here, you imbecile.” Nicholas’s voice rose above the typical booming level I was accustomed to hearing from him. “His spirit is resting peacefully with her beloved mother. But I am here. And I will protect Robert Worthington’s daughter with my very soul.”
And then he picked up the table and threw it at him.
Chapter Eight
Lord Livingston ducked as the table flew past with enough force to crash into the wall, breaking pieces of plaster to fall in chunks to the floor.
That was more than enough for the man to handle. He spoke not another word but bolted from the room. I listened as his heavy footsteps retreated down the hall.
A moment later, I heard the whinny of a horse and then the pounding of hooves. From where I stood near the window, I saw the flicker of a horse’s tail as Lord Livingston fled from the house on horseback.
My breath came in gasps as I turned my attention to Nicholas, who stood in the center of the room staring at me.
“I did not know you could do that.” I waved a trembling hand toward the smashed table by the door. “I knew you could knock on doors, but to move items in the physical world? Throw things? I didn’t know.”
“Nor did I.”
He made a step toward me. I flinched at his sudden movement. For whatever reason, I had expected to have him vanish into the air, exhausted from his physical activity. My heart ached at the thought.
He frowned when he saw my reaction, but he did not stop until he stood directly in front of me.
“Do you now fear me?”
“Of course not.” I blinked, considering my answer, then refocused my attention on him. “Should I be frightened of you?”
He shook his head. “I would never harm you, Alice. Never. I promise you.”
I nodded, then licked my lips nervously. I was acutely aware of his nearness.
He focused his gaze on my mouth. When I saw his attention there, heat flooded my body. I tried to keep my thoughts in order, not wanting the sensations he aroused within me to distract from our conversation.
“How did you do it?” I tilted my head toward the broken table and the smashed glass.
Nicholas kept his gaze on my face. There was an intensity in his eyes I had not seen before, a determination that thrilled me. It was the look in a man’s eyes after he has made a monumental decision.
“I don’t know,” he said in answer to my question. “All I know is what I felt when I saw him put his hands on you. Alice…” He paused, taking a deep breath. “I could not bear it. I realized in that moment I will not stand for any man to touch you in the way I yearn to do.”
His deep voice rumbled through me, sending shivers of excitement coursing within my blood.
He reached for my face, cupping my cheek, and caressed the skin there with his thumb.
“Alice, I’ve grown accustomed to thinking you are mine. I’m foolish for thinking it. I’m a ghost. You have a full life ahead of you. Family, children, a husband. I thought I could continue to spend my existence by your side. I’ve watched you grow into a beautiful young woman. What does it matter to me if I watch you marry and have children, grow old? Suddenly, I find I cannot.”
He shook his head and frowned. “When he put his hands upon you…” He glanced away, tilting his head so I could not see the emotion that flickered across his face. “I can never be the man you deserve. Yet, I cannot stand to watch you touch another.”
It felt as if I had been holding my breath since he began to speak. My anticipation grew as he continued to tell me of the feelings within his heart.
When he looked at me again, love shone brightly in his eyes. It was undeniable. I could see it plainly upon his face, I could feel it with the press of his hand against my cheek.
My heart continued to beat solidly in my chest, and I released the air in my lungs in a long, drawn out breath. And then I stood on the tips of my toes, leaned forward and reached for his mouth with mine. He dipped his head to greet me and we shared another kiss, this one so profound and full of meaning that I could not deny we were meant to be together. For whatever purpose, whether it was woman and ghostly spirit, our souls were meant for one another.
There was a reason the spell Lady Gladys gave me had worked. Maybe it was more than just to find the jewels to save my home. Maybe it was to find Nicholas to save my heart.
Our kiss deepened as I opened for him, his tongue swirled with mine, dancing together in erotically.
He lifted me into his arms, pressing my back against the bookcase, so he could have easier access to my mouth. This kiss differed from the one we shared that first night. There was passion in both of us, love pouring from our hearts, but I think we both needed time to understand our connection with each other.
I knew now I wanted him and no other.
My fingers curled into fists as I grasped his hair, keeping his face locked with mine. Our breath mingled while we kissed. I lifted my legs to wrap around his hips, so he’d not tire while holding me aloft. In doing so, I exposed more of my heart and soul, the innermost secrets of my body.
Nicholas pressed closer to me, tighter against me. The hard contours of his masculine body molded with the softer curves of mine. Even through the fabric of our clothing, I felt his hardness against the throbbing of my womanhood. He thrust his hips forward, grinding the pressure of our bodies together. I whimpered with want, need, desire for more.
His mouth broke from mine and traveled to my ear where he traced the lobe with his tongue. I gasped at the sensations that tingled along my skin. Then his mouth traveled farther down my neck, his tongue tracing a hot, wet path until he reached my collarbone.
Two of his fingers tugged at the neckline of my gown, exposing my breasts to his view. My nipples tightened at the touch of cool air against them. The air was quickly replac
ed with the heat of his mouth.
I slammed the back of my head against the books behind me as I arched my back, thrusting my breasts forward, eager for more of his touch. While suckling one nipple, his thumb caressed the other until I was left gasping.
Never had I felt such erotic sensations. Never had I known a man to suckle a woman’s breasts. It was an act I most enjoyed. I whimpered with dismay when he abandoned my breasts, but the noise I made was silenced when he returned to my mouth, his tongue thrusting to quiet me.
His hands moved lower on my body, sliding the fabric of my gown and petticoat upward until the cool air touched the skin of my legs. I tingled as his hands slid across the skin there, warming me, inching closer to my inner thighs and my throbbing center.
He pressed his fingers against my womanhood, rubbing against my curls and then dipping his long, thick digits within me.
I gasped. His kiss smothered my exclamation as he thrust his fingers again inside me, creating a slow aching rhythm.
But I craved more. I wanted more of him. I needed to know what it felt like to be taken by a man.
Not just any man.
Nicholas.
I wanted him to possess me, body and soul.
“More…” I whispered against his mouth. “Give me more.”
His hot breath fanned against my cheeks as his breathing intensified with his excitement. He released me for a moment to fumble with his clothes.
I looked down to watch, wanting to see that part of him that would soon be a part of me.
My eyes widened. His cock was large, thick and swollen with desire.
“Will it fit?” I struggled to comprehend something that large entering my body.
Nicholas chuckled, his lips curving into a smile of appreciation. “It will feel as if we were made for each other, my love.”
And then he kissed me again, and my view of his manhood was gone. He eased my fears with his tongue, coaxing me back into the moment of passion where we had left off.
He lifted me, wrapping my legs around his hips and carried me to the sofa where he gently laid me onto the cushions.
“I should take you to your bedchamber,” he said, observing me splayed onto the sofa, my legs spread and my breasts exposed to his view. “Where we won’t be interrupted.”
“No one will find us here.” My breath was coming in pants as again I noticed his manhood. “The servants are busy, and Trevor has gone outside for the day. He won’t be back for several hours. We are quite alone here.”
I reached my arms out to him.
He needed no further encouragement. I welcomed him into my arms, his chest pressing against mine, and then I felt his cock probing my entrance. I lifted my hips to greet him and he thrust inside, sliding into my wet heat.
“Alice.” Nicholas groaned, drawing out the syllables of my name in one long breath. “Oh, Alice.”
And then he thrust within me again, creating a similar rhythm he had used with his fingers. I gasped, closing my eyes for a moment, marveling at the sensations he created within my body.
I did not keep my eyes closed for long. I wanted to see him upon me, hovering over me as he propped himself so he wouldn’t crush me. I clung to him, my fingers quickly pulling at his shirt, drawing it up and over his head to expose the bare skin of his chest.
His skin was hot to the touch, the muscles rippling beneath my fingers as I explored him, rubbing against the small nubs of his nipples. Remembering his mouth on my breasts, I repeated the gesture by closing my own mouth over his, suckling the small nubs into my mouth, swirling my tongue over his skin, licking him, tasting him.
He groaned again and thrust harder, faster. I gasped as tension coiled within me. A tension that I did not understand. My fingers gripped his upper arms, and I breathed into his neck.
“Nicholas…” It was a sound of part urgency, part query.
“Let go,” he whispered. “Don’t fight it. Let it come.”
He increased his thrusts, his cock hard and stiff inside me, growing the pressure and the tension I felt building.
“Alice,” he said. “Alice, Alice…”
He repeated my name as if he wanted to tell me something, something important, but the sensations our bodies created together was too much for him to think straight.
Words, indeed, were too much for me to comprehend.
“Oh, Nicholas,” I said, as the tension reached a peak and then my body shattered into a million shards of broken glass as pleasure spun out of control. My body spasmed around him, my womanhood throbbed, convulsed, tightened around his cock, grasping for him as if my body refused to release him.
His cock swelled within me and then I heard his shout of release and my body was milking his, refusing to release him, climaxing in wave upon wave of unending pleasure.
And then I closed my eyes, wrapped my arms around him and pressed my cheek onto his chest, tears leaking from the corners of my eyes.
I never wanted to let him go.
Chapter Nine
After holding each other close for some time, Nicholas and I had just finished adjusting our clothes when I heard the distinct sound of footsteps running through the hall.
My worried gaze flashed to his. Was Lord Livingston returning to exact revenge on the violent spirit of Morley Manor?
I released my pent-up breath when my brother appeared in the doorway. His eyes were wide, his face flushed with exertion, his breath coming in great lungsful of air.
“Trevor? What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I saw… Lord Livingston… leaving.” He gasped the words, hands on his hips as he bent over to catch his breath. When he could speak in full sentences again, he raised his head. “I feared he might have convinced you to make some sort of arrangement. You didn’t, did you?”
“No.”
He cast his gaze to the rest of the room, searching vainly for Nicholas as if to confirm my answer. Before Nicholas could respond, I added, “Sir Nicholas gently persuaded Lord Livingston to find a wife elsewhere.”
At that moment, Trevor found the shattered pieces of broken glass under his foot. His eyes widened again when he noticed the broken table and the rather large, gaping hole punctured into the wall.
“I see he was most convincing.” Trevor turned to where I pointed at Nicholas. “You did this?”
“Yes.” Nicholas nodded reluctantly as I repeated his words to Trevor.
“Astounding,” Trevor breathed. He turned to pick up the pieces of the table, then shrugged his shoulders. “I always hated this table. It was atrociously ugly. Mother would have been outraged.” He lifted his gaze to Nicholas as a thought struck him. “Mother isn’t here, is she?”
“No,” Nicholas folded his arms as he shook his head. “Both your father and mother have gone together into the beyond, wherever that may lie. Their spirits are at rest and do not wander Morley Manor.”
Again, I repeated his words to my brother.
“Well, thank goodness for that.” Trevor let the pieces fall back to the floor. “She would have been horrified at the mess.”
I grinned in complete agreement. But it made me wonder what Mother and Father would have thought of Nicholas. I think they would have looked on him as a son. They would have been proud and relieved of his ability to defend me, even from beyond the grave.
Nicholas’s gaze sought mine. There was a flicker of emotion in his eyes as he looked upon me. A warmth, a tenderness that I had come to recognize.
I smiled.
He reached out his hand for mine and I took it. Then he lifted my fingers to his mouth where he placed a gentle kiss upon my knuckles.
“Alice!”
I had nearly forgotten my brother remained in the room. My attention flashed to him and the words to explain my actions with our resident ghost were perched on my lips, but Trevor was paying no mind to me or Nicholas. He was peering into the hole gouged into the wall.
Without another word, he began tearing at the plaster, ripping chunks of it an
d tossing them to the floor.
“Trevor, what are you doing?”
I hurried to stop him. It was a fine thing to destroy the wall. As it was, it would make for a nasty fix. It was a rather large hole, after all.
“Look,” Trevor said when I reached his side. He paused in his destruction to point into the hole.
I leaned forward and gasped. I stared for a moment, unable to comprehend at first what I saw, and when I did, I didn’t want to believe my eyes. I reached inside, lifting the object out of the hole.
“Alice? What is it?” Nicholas said from behind me. I slowly turned to meet his eyes.
“Your skeleton.” In my hands, I held his skull.
Nicholas’s eyes widened, and his face paled considerably. A remarkable feat for a ghost.
“That’s not all,” Trevor announced. He had lifted a sack from the hole and rummaged the contents within, then pulled something out. He opened his hand to reveal several small gleaming gemstones.
“The jewels of Morley Manor,” I whispered.
Chapter Ten
I should have been overjoyed. Inside the wall were the rest of Sir Nicholas Weatherby’s remains. He had been buried in the wall, sealed for all eternity behind brick and plaster.
The jewels, as he had promised, were with him. They had been wrapped in a cloth sack and tucked away at his feet. There were only remnants of cloth that remained. Time had taken its toll on both the sack and the clothes that had at one time covered Sir Nicholas’s body.
If any doubt remained as to the identity of the mysterious skeleton buried in our library wall, it was put to rest with the medallion hanging from his neck. It bore the family crest and was mentioned several times in the history books as belonging to Sir Nicholas.
After I had pulled his skull from the hole, Trevor had taken over the duty of extracting the rest. I couldn’t bear to witness Nicholas’s body being pulled from its hidden slumber.
I sat on the sofa where we had made love only hours before, watching as Nicholas stood solemnly by Trevor’s side, staring as the boy unveiled his remains.
A Cursed All Hallows' Eve Page 108