To Tempt a Dashing Lord

by Lucy Langton

  “I have no idea what you are speaking of,” Lord Hall said as he rubbed his hands together. Marcus could tell that he was terrified.

  “Catherine remembers everything, Lord Hall. There is no point lying now.” Marcus strode towards him, trying to contain his anger and not wanting the man to make a run for it.

  “You have to understand, Lord Kingston. I had no other choice. He paid me so much money and promised that he wouldn’t hurt Catherine or take her virtue,” Lord Hall began to ramble. “I took good care of Catherine. Surely she said so.”

  “She does not like the man you have become, to be frank. Nor do I,” Marcus said, his voice a barely-restrained growl. “Now, you will confess everything that happened that night to the Royal Magistrate.”

  “No, please. Don’t make me do such a thing. Please, I’m imploring you,” Lord Hall said, his lower lip trembling in fear.

  “You can either confess now, or I swear I’ll hunt you down and drag you to Town myself to have you confess,” Marcus snapped, closing the distance between them as he grabbed his arm forcefully. The man cowered in fear in return, trying to make himself small on the floor.

  “You’re a pathetic excuse for a man,” Marcus said over him. “I shall have my carriage prepared at once. You shall travel to Town and tell the Royal Magistrate all that you’ve done.”

  “But I don’t want to go to prison,” he whimpered.

  “It’s too late to think of that now. I shall also send a letter with you to be delivered to the magistrate. Perhaps it will do you some good to tell the truth for once.”

  Eventually, Lord Hall pushed himself back onto his feet. Marcus glared at him, the feeling to pummel the man to death almost unavoidable. But eventually he walked away from the earl to his study, where he quickly wrote a letter on behalf of Lord Hall. He then delivered it to Mr. Burg with instructions to make sure the man took the letter to the Royal Magistrate in town with enough coins to see him there comfortably.

  Marcus didn’t even bother with seeing the man out of his house. He listened to Mr. Burg’s voice in the entryway before the sound of the front door closing could be heard. He sighed, hoping that Lord Hall wouldn’t be so foolish as to try and run now that he had been made aware that both he and Catherine knew what he had done that night. As long as Lord Whetstone received the punishment that he deserved, Marcus’ thirst for revenge would eventually dissipate.

  Marcus wasn’t sure how much time had passed as he sat with his elbows rested on the mahogany desk in his study. Eventually he could hear the cooing of Beth’s voice and looked up as Catherine came walking into the study with the small child in her arms. He leaned back in his chair and smiled at them, thinking how lucky he was to have his family back together.

  “There you are. I have been looking all over for you,” Catherine said as she came around the desk and sat on the edge while she held Beth on her hip. The child was playing with a fist full of yellow ribbon, much like the colour Catherine was currently wearing.

  “Your brother came looking for you this morning,” Marcus said as he stood from his chair. He saw how Catherine’s eyes grew wide with her surprise, her arms becoming more secure around Beth.

  “What did he want?” she asked, her voice a bit shaky with nerves.

  “He was looking for you. It was when I explained how I took you home and now understood what he had done that he began to cower in fear,” Marcus said.

  “And where is he now?” Catherine asked, looking over her shoulder as though to see him coming in through the open door.

  “I sent him to Town. I told him that he needed to confess to the Royal Magistrate or that I would drag him there myself to make matters right,” Marcus explained.

  “What do you think will become of him?”

  “I don’t know, but it’s the least he could do after what he’s done. He fears being thrown into prison though.”

  “As he should. But after all he’s done, the lies he’s told to so many people, I think some time in prison might actually do him some good and help him sober up.” Catherine focused on Beth then, undoing the ribbon from around the child’s hands before allowing her to play with it once more.

  “It seems that all we have to do now is wait for some word from Town,” Marcus said as he gestured towards the open door. “For now, let’s have breakfast.” Catherine nodded, a small smile on her lips. Marcus could only guess that she would be as worried as he until they heard of the results of Lord Hall making his way to Town to finally confess to what he had done. Perhaps then they would be able to show themselves in Town once more.

  ~*~

  Catherine tried her best not to fret over her brother. She found it hard to believe that one moment she was living with the man, then the next he had been sent away to Town to confess what he had done. She was certain that she wouldn’t be able to relax until she came to know what had happened to him. Part of her wanted her brother to severely pay for what he’d allowed Lord Whetstone to do to her, and the other part of her heart still cared about her brother. After all, he was the last member of her family left alive.

  The days and weeks that followed were filled with some of Catherine’s happiest times in her life. Neither one of them talked of making any plans to host another ball or a dinner party. For now, they were happy to simply spend each day together.

  When the weather was nice, Catherine returned to her routine of taking Beth out to the gardens. It was during one such outing that Beth rolled onto her belly and began to prop herself up on her knees. With a shorting gown, she was able to start crawling around the grass, much to Catherine’s glee. She found raising Beth to be the brightest part of her days. Seeing Beth grow each day became like a small miracle to her that she didn’t want to ever let go of.

  Despite what Lady Evergreen had originally planned, she remained at Ralston Manor. She enjoyed being with family often would take time out of her day to spend it with Catherine and Beth. Since the older woman had never had children of her own, she appeared to be liking the opportunity to be with Beth and nurture her like any mother would. Catherine thought it was lovely to spend her days with the people she cared about the most, and was glad that Lady Evergreen would continue to remain with them.

  The only strain on Catherine’s daily life was the time she spent with Marcus. Sometimes she would be able to relax around him, especially the times when he would hold her hand and show her small signs of affection. But there would be other times when she felt herself turning away from Marcus as she tried to patiently wait for some news from her brother. It was like a daily reminder of what she had experienced and sometimes she couldn’t bear to look at Marcus without remembering how he had appeared when he had walked in on her and Lord Whetstone.

  “You need to learn to let go,” Lady Evergreen had said one night before retiring to bed.

  “What do you mean?” Catherine had asked her.

  “You need to let go of the grief in your heart, Catherine. That is the only way you’ll be able to become happy in your marriage once more.” Catherine decided not to reply as she looked across the room at Marcus. He had rocked Beth to sleep and was now singing to her softly as he passed her to Mrs. Denton to be put to bed. Lady Evergreen dismissed the housekeeper from the room, giving them some special time to be alone together.

  Marcus came to her then and sat down beside her on the settee. Catherine set aside the novel that she had been reading by the candlelight, thinking that she should retire for the evening as well. But when Marcus rested his hand on hers, she thought she should remain for a moment with her husband.

  “I know you must be worried about your brother,” Marcus said as he rubbed his thumb over her knuckles.

  “I’m worried about this whole situation, to be honest. I don’t know what will really happen once my brother makes his confession. Will I be summoned to Town to bare my own testimony? Will I be made a laughing stock once more when people don’t believe me?” Catherine said.

  “I won’t allow any h
arm to come to you, Catherine. I promise,” Marcus said, squeezing her hand lightly.

  “I understand that,” Catherine said, looking up at Marcus and giving him a small smile. “I just want to be able to move on from this nightmare and no longer be reminded of it each day.”

  “What can I do to help you?” Marcus asked, his voice sincere.

  “I’m not sure,” Catherine replied. “I guess I will feel better once I know more of what has happened to my brother.”

  “Do you wish to go to Town then?”

  “I don’t think I would enjoy that very much. After all, I would be confronted by so many at every opportunity. I think it is better for us to remain here.”

  “Then that is what we shall do,” Marcus said. “But I think there is something we should try to better help the situation.”

  “Oh? And what is that?” Catherine asked as she looked into his brown eyes, seeing they had turned a shade darker in the candlelight.

  “I think we should be intimate again, Catherine. It would no doubt allow us to feel as we used to about each other,” Marcus said. Catherine stiffened, wondering if she felt up to being intimate with Marcus again. Though Lord Whetstone hadn’t taken advantage of her in that way, she still wasn’t sure about the idea of allowing herself to be vulnerable once more to a man.

  Though, if she was truly being honest with herself, she knew that the only way her and Marcus were going to have a truly happy marriage was if they were intimate with each other on a regular basis. After all, she would never have a child if she didn’t feel comfortable making love with Marcus once more. She knew she had to put aside her worries and see if she and Marcus could regain their previous intimacy.

  “I think I’m willing to give it a try,” Catherine said after a while. “But I hope you will be very gentle with me. I’m afraid to be naked in front of a man once more.”

  “I promise I will be gentle,” Marcus said with a nod. “Why don’t we retire for the evening, then?”

  Catherine stood with Marcus then, allowing him to lead her by the hand. Her heart thumped in her chest as they made their way upstairs and towards the west wing. A part of her dreaded what was about to happen, while another part was excited about the idea of feeling passion once more.

  Chapter 23

  Marcus had known that Catherine needed time to heal from everything that she had experienced, but being close to her once more only stirred his desire for her.

  As Marcus led Catherine into his room, he shut the door behind them and locked it so they would not be disturbed while taking a deep breath. He knew he needed to go slowly with Catherine, and make her feel comfortable with all that he desired to do to her.

  He wanted their love to be rekindled so they could return to some sort of normalcy. And with the after-effects of being intimate being so relaxing, he was certain that their intimate time together would be a much-needed distraction from everything they had experienced.

  “I’m going to light some more candles. Why don’t you make yourself comfortable?” Marcus suggested as he went towards the dresser and picked up a lit candle and began to light the tops of the other five-hour candles in the room.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Marcus watched as Catherine made her way towards the bed and began to undress. He enjoyed doing this for her, but knew that for tonight he would allow her to set the pace and go slowly. He knew that a lot would hinge on this night, and could dictate how their relationship would move forward. After all, if they were going to grow their family, then they would need to be comfortable being intimate with one another.

  Once Marcus was finished with the candles, he went to Catherine then as she stood by the edge of the bed where the shadows were more prominent. She had her hands folded in front of her as though she was trying to shield her nakedness from him.

  He reached down and took her hands in his, teasing a small smile from her lips as he raised her fingers to his mouth. He kissed every one of her knuckles, drawing her in closer to him. As he spent time simply kissing her hands, she seemed to relax into him.

  Letting her hands drop to her sides, Marcus cupped her face with his hands and lowered his lips to hers. To begin with he kissed her gently, allowing their bodies to be reconnected and become familiar with each other once more. Slowly, he allowed his hands to travel down her slender neck, crossing over her shoulders, and moving down her back so that he could draw her up against his body.

  Marcus became lost in their passionate kiss, which continued to build a fire of desire inside of him. He felt Catherine’s hands moving up his chest, pulling at the buttons of his vest to free him from the form-fitting clothes.

  As their tongues danced together, Catherine worked to loosen his clothes so he could easily toss them away. It seemed like mere minutes passed before he was feeling the head of his member pressing up against the soft skin of her belly. He had a deep urge to pick her up by the waist and lay her upon the bed to have his way with her. But for now, he would refrain from being hasty when this night could be so magical.

  “I want you to be mine, Marcus,” Catherine said against his lips, the sound of her soft voice sending a wave of pleasure over his body.

  “Come. Lay upon the bed so that I might feast upon you,” Marcus replied in a husky voice. Catherine smiled as she crawled onto the bed. The view from behind caused him to growl, the sound low in his chest as she flipped over and lay upon her back, baring herself completely to him.

  Like an animal ready to pounce, Marcus climbed on top of the bed and towards her. He parted her knees with his hands, opening her wide until he could see her wet core glistening with anticipation. Lowering his mouth to her sensitive nub, he began to tease her with his tongue.

  “What are you doing, Marcus?” Catherine asked as she let out a soft moan.

  “Showing you a different type of pleasure,” Marcus replied as he lifted his head for a moment to look into her blue eyes. “Do you like how it feels?”

  “Yes, Marcus. I like it very much. I just never thought this was possible for a man to do,” Catherine admitted. She bit her bottom lip, seeming unsure. But the rosy glow in her cheeks urged Marcus on as he lowered his mouth to her once more.

  Catherine raised her hips slightly, making Marcus chuckle as he circled his tongue around her sensitive nub. He would draw it into his mouth, Catherine’s moans increasing in volume as gooseflesh appeared on her skin. Marcus was enjoying the way he was teasing her towards a climax, wanting her to feel every ounce of his love for her through the passion he was causing within her body.

  Drawing a hand towards her wet opening, Marcus pushed two fingers into her wet core, feeling her walls clamp down on him. Lapping at her sensitive nub, Marcus moved his fingers gently inside of her, drawing them out slowly before pushing them back in again.

  He did so until she began to relax and allow him to penetrate her deeper. She felt so warm and wet that he felt feverish, to the point that he desperately wanted to slide his member into her.

  “Oh, Marcus! I feel I’m about to lose myself,” Catherine moaned, her hand coming to the back of his head as she threaded her fingers into his hair. Her touch was gentle yet demanding, as he quickened his pace with his fingers and pressed his tongue hard against her sensitive nub to cause her to fall over her peak.

  As she did so, she clamped her knees against his head as her hips bucked. Her moans filled the air with her melodious voice, while Marcus continued to pleasure her faster.

  Once her body relaxed upon the bed once more, her knees falling to either side of him, Marcus withdrew his fingers and leaned up on his elbows to look at her with a smile upon his face. She was panting hard, but he could tell that she had enjoyed the performance by the bright smile that radiated from her.

  “I never knew that something like that was even possible,” Catherine said as Marcus moved to lay beside her. He figured that a small rest in-between their sessions of love making would do them both good.