by Lorna James
She glanced over at William. He was stroking his chin and staring at her as if he wanted to devour her. His temper was fierce and blistering, as black and rough as the shadow appearing on his cheeks. He wasn’t as big as Charles, but William was fast and lean, his muscles no less powerful for not bulging out of his shirt. William preferred his horses and being outdoors to Charles’s indoor pleasures of lethargy and art. He never took anything seriously, and Lily couldn’t decide if that endeared him to her or annoyed her to no end. Both, she decided.
Both…
She wished one of them would consider marrying her. She sighed wistfully. It was always so easy, so fun with them. But she was damaged goods, or at the very least, used goods. Didn’t men—especially dukes—prefer young virgins who would be grateful for the elevation in station?
Lily snorted.
Charles would want a wife with impeccable pedigree and grace, if only to shove it up his brother’s nose. A perfect English rose, instead of a wild and wayward Lily.
William would want a wife who would look the other way while he sowed his wild oats and probably his seed all over England. A docile, obedient lady, instead of someone who let men touch her intimately in parlors.
She wasn’t either of their ideal brides.
Yet they hadn’t married and they seemed to hold her in great affection. Plus, she sighed, the dalliances they’d shared in their youth had been the stuff dreams were made of. At least, in her experience. Yes, she had been married, but no, George had never made her feel so hungry or needy as her dukes did.
If only she could choose both men. She smiled at her folly. She could have neither, but she still wanted them.
As if he’d read her thoughts, William rounded the back of the couch and began to knead her shoulders and neck.
She went boneless and had to bite her lip to keep from moaning in bliss.
“Yes, my darling Lily, friends take care of each other after a hard day.” William dug his fingers into a sore spot, and she gasped in reaction to the pleasure and pain that oozed through her like a long sip of brandy.
Although she wanted to protest, their hands on her body felt so right. It was nice to set aside all of her worries and concerns and just be in the moment. It was like she was in a bubble of time, where her husband’s sins couldn’t touch her. For a moment, she was that carefree young girl with her two friends again.
Lily had closed her eyes and when she opened them, Clara was standing by the French doors, her husband’s associate waiting patiently for her.
“I have to make sure that the servants put everything in its proper place,” she said as she ducked out of the room, running her hand over her hair.
Charles chuckled. “I told you, William.”
“So you did.”
“Told him what?” Lily asked.
“That Clara would have business of her own to take care of this evening,” Charles said.
“Now, Lily, we are finally alone.” William’s fingers tangled in her hair until they touched her scalp. She shivered in delight, hardly noticing when Charles’s hands roamed from her foot to rub her calves. Instinctively, her knees fell open.
Her eyelids fluttered closed, but when she felt a kiss on the inside of her knee she opened her eyes with a gasp.
Charles looked at her with wide, innocent eyes.
Too innocent.
She wondered if he could sense her arousal. She stiffened, suddenly shy. What if they thought she was a loose woman? Tensing, she tried to pull away, but Charles’s strong hands held her in place.
“I’m not one of your light-skirts.” Her voice trembled.
“Of course not. You’re our Lily.”
William rubbed his thumb over her lips. “We’ve missed you so.”
“I’ve missed you, too,” she whispered, afraid if she spoke too loudly, she would break the spell. This moment had a dreamlike quality. She was breathless, excited, and needing something just beyond her reach. She had only felt like this once, long ago in Charles’s father’s study with these two men. It had been so long since, she thought she had made up the thrilling need.
Lily responded by pressing a kiss to his thumb. She considered biting it, just to show them how frustrated she was getting. William stroked her cheek and her neck, his fingers soft and teasing. His hands roamed lower, gently stroking her breasts as they peeked out above her corset. Slipping his fingers gently under her corset, William rubbed her now-erect nipples.
His kisses fluttered on her neck as his warm hands continued to explore her upper torso.
Charles proceeded to massage farther up to her inner thigh.
She was in a trance of love and attention.
“Let me touch you,” Charles said.
“You are touching me,” she whispered.
He spread her legs wider.
“Charles,” she moaned. It wasn’t a no. She couldn’t say no to him. Not even in his father’s study five years ago when his fingers rubbed her into a breathless orgasm while William plundered her mouth.
Shame flared briefly, only to be smothered by passion. Her parents were long dead. Their families were far away. No one need to know if she indulged herself one more time. No one would punish her.
His hands over her front, William moved, caressing her bodice. She should stop him, but the feelings were too intense.
“We don’t have much time,” Charles said, moving closer. He found the slit in her undergarments and chuckled. “I see you’re as affected by this as we are.”
She was embarrassed at her wetness, but when his finger tickled at the edge of her opening, she sighed.
William rubbed his palms over her chest and she leaned back into the couch. “I wish you weren’t wearing this damned corset.”
She laughed and relaxed, trying to remember what it was like to be alone with them during their teenage adventures when they would sneak into Charles’s father’s study and sip brandy and tell each other their wildest dreams. Yet they had never done anything quite as wicked as this.
But then she straightened up, remembering where she was. What was she thinking? This could only end in scandal—again.
Charles touched the hard nub between her thighs, and she jerked at the unexpected pleasure. Lily’s breathing was all out of control. She was afraid to move in case this was all a fantasy, and she would spoil it by waking up. Charles’s thumbs continued to circle her thighs, and she wished her linens and petticoats would vanish.
She had expected him to push inside her, not fiddle around like she did to herself. “Oh,” Lily groaned when he quickened his pace.
“I’ve dreamed of this,” Charles whispered.
“Faster,” William ordered in a dark tone that shivered down her spine.
Her legs clamped together and she writhed as the pleasure became too much for her. This was insanity, but she didn’t want to be sane. Would they think less of her? With her emotions rioting and her body clamoring for more, Lily couldn’t dwell on those thoughts.
“Please,” she sobbed. Unsure if she was begging him to stop, continue, or push up her skirts and take her as William watched.
It was William’s groan of pleasure that put her over the edge. Lily came, trembling as the sweet rush of ecstasy flooded through her. Charles, with the devil in his eyes, licked his drenched fingers before setting her skirts down.
While she was recovering from the shock and pleasure, William came around and kissed her roughly. He reached under her skirts and plunged two fingers inside her, stretching her and invading in a scandalous caress.
“William,” Charles growled.
“Shut it,” he snapped back at him. “’Tis my turn now.”
Lily half screamed, half moaned in his mouth as his palm hit her sensitive bud. Holding onto his shoulders as his fingers mimicked making love to her, she rode them like a strumpet, no longer caring about her reputation. It wasn’t long before her nerves jangled into another shaking orgasm that left her limp and whimpering.
&n
bsp; “Did we shock you, Lily?” William asked in that dark velvet voice.
“What?” she asked.
“You mustn’t feel ashamed or embarrassed. This is all just between us. We’re your dearest and oldest friends. All we want for you is pleasure and happiness.”
So much lost time. To her, pleasure and happiness were Charles and William. Tears pricked at her eyes. She hadn’t felt so wonderful in such a long time. “But why didn’t you come to visit me? I was so alone out there.”
William’s jaw clenched as he tried to control his breathing. Charles scowled. “We just couldn’t bear that you had left us for that American.”
“My mother arranged the marriage after…” She tried to forget how Charles’s aunt had barged in on them in his father’s study and found her alone with the two of them, her skirts in disarray after an afternoon of brandy sipping and obvious romantic exploration. All hell had broken loose at her home after that.
It hadn’t been anything like the scene that had just happened, she thought with a pleased sigh, but it could have spiraled out to that if they hadn’t been caught. She wouldn’t have wanted to trap either one into marriage, though, and when George Drew had come calling with his awkward marriage proposal shortly afterward, her parents had insisted she accept before she become tainted with scandal. Neither duke had approached her father, and she had no choice.
“I had hoped one of you would have come forward…” Lily didn’t want to remember that awful time.
Charles and William looked at each other, and something dark and fierce passed between them. It was almost regret, almost rage, but it was gone before she could ask them about their thoughts.
“My father sent me back to school early,” William said, his fists clenching.
“And I was sent to our country estate,” Charles added, rubbing his hands through his hair.
“I’m sorry.” William leaned forward to kiss her head. “I didn’t realize…”
“Now it all makes sense.” Charles nodded.
“I would never have left you had I the choice.” William took her in his arms and kissed her again.
After sitting beside her, Charles expertly undid her ties. “Nor would I.”
She made a sound of protest and tore her mouth away. “What if someone comes in?” she panted.
William lifted her breasts out off her corset, and she sucked in a shocked gasp.
“Clara is off trysting.” Charles cupped one of her breasts in his hand.
“It gives us time to play.” William tweaked her nipple on the other breast.
His head dipped to her neck, Charles nuzzled her throat while rolling her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. “If you want this.”
Pleasure shot through her and her hips came off the couch. “I shouldn’t, but I do.”
“Good,” William said with a dark chuckle, latching his mouth on her other breast.
Eyes rolling back in her head with the forbidden pleasure, Lily didn’t recognize the needy sounds she was making. Charles’s beard scraped her collarbone while he kissed her heatedly. William sucked the sensitive tip and she felt the tugging pleasure down between her legs.
“Please.” She sighed, not knowing what she was begging for.
They lifted her skirts. Both men separated her legs with their knees. Their weight pressing down on her was sinful, decadent, and she nearly came again from being exposed to the room. This was nothing like the innocent gropings of their youth.
“I’m going to fuck you, Lily,” Charles growled.
She trembled.
“Or do you want me to fuck you?” William countered, coming up for air.
Both. Dear Lord. She wanted both of them. What would they think of her when she said that? She let out a shaky breath. Her body was screaming for completion.
“I can’t,” she wailed, trembling as she put her face in her hands.
“I’m so sorry.” William smoothed her skirts down.
“Lily, we didn’t mean to upset you. Here, let’s get you put back together.”
The three of them awkwardly set her clothes back in place.
“I couldn’t resist.” Charles took her hands in his and kissed her forehead. “Please forgive me.”
Blinking back tears, she took her time in replying. “It’s been so long and I’ve missed you both so. I’m afraid I’m not used to such passions and I got carried away. It is I who should be apologizing.”
“There isn’t any shame between us,” William said. “We are above that.”
Lily thought that was a typical duke thing to say, but she looked deep into their eyes and they weren’t looking at her as if she was a harlot.
“Thank you,” she said, when they remained close but didn’t make any more demands.
“Do you forgive us?” William asked.
“Of course. As you said. No shame.”
“What about for letting you marry that American? Do you believe us? That we would have offered for you back then if we had known?”
She reached up and clasped his hands. “It’s in the past.” Lily straightened up. She waited for a moment, but no offer of marriage came forth. She hid the hurt behind a light smile. After all, they knew they could have her for fun. Why would they marry her? She cleared her throat. “I wondered if I would see you when I returned to England. You stayed away so long, I thought perhaps you had married and moved on.” Again, that pang of pain, but she stuffed it deep down.
“If you didn’t come back for us, why on earth did you come back here? You could have started a new life in the colonies,” William said.
“I wanted to come home.” Lily hesitated. “I didn’t like my life in Boston. George wasn’t good to me and I have bad memories of the place. I was afraid, so I came back to England.”
Charles’s hands tightened on her thigh. She could see the violence ripple through him. But instead of frightening her, it made her warm, and a haze of desire tremored through her again. She swallowed hard as William’s hands landed on her shoulders.
“You have nothing more to fear,” he said in her ear and she shivered. Lily was ready to claw her way out of the garments she wore, the need for them was building inside her at their protectiveness.
“They’ll have to get through us to get to you,” Charles confirmed.
William left her side and unstopped the brandy sifter. “Why are you afraid?” He refilled Charles’s glass and then his own.
Despite the late spring weather, Lily shivered.
“You can tell us,” Charles said.
“I think my husband was being blackmailed.” She pulled down her skirts and lightly slapped Charles’s hands away. She couldn’t have these feelings while talking about George and had to keep her wits about her. It was imperative that Charles and William understood she played no part in her husband’s double life.
“I was his bookkeeper, so I knew his shipping business was doing very poorly. Yet, we always had luxuries. When I asked him about it, he would tell me they were gifts from friends. The morning before his death, he was thrilled that some serious money would finally be coming in. When I asked him why, thinking it was silks or spices from the Orient, he wouldn’t tell me.”
She rubbed her eyes, afraid she might start to cry when she thought about all the difficulties that lay ahead. “I followed him to the warehouse that day. I wanted to see the shipments that came in. I was afraid it was something more nefarious than cinnamon.”
William cursed.
Lily barely acknowledged it. She felt the same.
“Do you think he was smuggling?”
“I’m sure of it, but I don’t have any proof. He met with a well-dressed man who handed him a satchel, and George gave him a ledger book. It wasn’t mine. He was keeping two separate books. I almost confronted him then, but I had a terrible feeling in my stomach about the situation. Before I could sneak away, George’s foreman greeted me and gave away my hiding spot. George was furious and the well-dressed man…” She shuddered. “
He had empty, dark eyes that reminded me of a snake. I never found out his name, and George never came home that night. They found him in the alley behind the warehouse with his throat cut. I booked passage back to England as soon as my mourning period allowed me.”
William offered her a sip of his brandy, and she took it. It reminded her of those lost afternoons, which only made her sadder. She would much rather have been ruined by one of them—or both of them—than to have been married to George.
“During my confinement, I pieced together what had been happening. George had been stealing money from his partners by either not reporting the full shipments, or keeping the profits. Worse, he would offer passage on his ships to people who were looking to come to America, yet he wouldn’t charge them just one fee.” She shook her head. “He had them pay off their passage by working for him or taking a percentage from their wages until they had paid ten times the cost of the voyage. If they couldn’t pay, he accepted other forms of trade.” She shivered in remembrance of the letters she had found. “Terrible things. And through all of that, he still had creditors. He would pay only enough to keep the solicitors at bay. When I tried to pay them off in full, digging for every scrap of money I could get my hands on, I found out the full extent of George’s perfidy.”
“The scandal would ruin you if this got out,” Charles said quietly.
William glared at him.
“I’ll take my chances. Better ruined and alive than murdered in a barn.” She shuddered.
Charles and William sat on either side of her on the couch. It was a great comfort to feel their strength and their warmth. They made her feel safe for the first time in a long while.
“After his death,” Lily continued, “accidents would happen. One of his warehouses caught fire. There were thefts. Our home was vandalized, but luckily the cowards were chased off by the constable.”