by Sahara Kelly
“Whatever do you mean, Miss?”
She bit her lip, trying to find the best way to ask the question. “I’m sure it is no secret as to why I am here, or how this situation came to pass. I would have expected disapproval, some condemnation perhaps? And yet I have received nothing but kindness and polite deference. Everyone has been helpful and pleasant.” She frowned. “I don’t understand it.”
Deery nodded. “I am most gratified by your comments, Miss Ridlington. That you have had such attentions from our staff reflects well on our housekeeper.”
“And yourself, Deery. Don’t be modest.”
He bowed in silence.
“You haven’t answered my question, though,” she admonished.
“Well, Miss, can we just say that any guest of the Master’s is always welcome here at Mowbray House?”
“You can say that, by all means. But my circumstances hardly fall under the heading of guest…”
“Close acquaintance?”
She raised an eyebrow at the man.
He sighed. “Truth is, Miss Ridlington, in all the years we’ve been in residence at Mowbray, Mr. Max has never brought a woman here. Ever.”
She blinked. “Never?”
He shook his head. “Never. So when he comes through the door with you behind him, we all knew that was it.”
“It? What it?”
“My dear girl, your grammar is quite appalling. You should say what is it, if you are posing a question.” Max swept into the room before Deery could answer.
“Dinner early, I think, Deery. I’m quite starved. Haven’t eaten a thing in town.” He glanced at Kitty’s hand, still clutching the note. “News, Kitty? From Ridlington?”
Recalled from her interrogation of Deery—who was leaving the room in a manner much more rapid than he usually displayed—she nodded and passed him the note. “I am so relieved, as you may imagine,” she sighed. “To know Hecate is home, and eating…well, that is just the best news possible.
“I have more.” He grinned. “Your belongings have been assembled and packed by your Aunt’s maids, and tomorrow will bring trunks, and boxes and all the trappings a lady cannot live without.”
Her jaw dropped as she struggled for words.
He chuckled as he lifted his hand and closed her mouth with one finger. “Surprise. I didn’t expect that. But it’s most pleasant.”
“Th-thank you, Max.” She stuttered her gratitude.
“For what? You can’t go on raiding my sister’s closet.”
“Yes, but…” she waved her hands helplessly. “I thought…a small town house…or apartments perhaps…”
“Why on earth would you want that?”
“I don’t want that, but it’s what is customary under these circumstances.”
“For myself, I should hate to have to go out in the cold to visit you. Not to mention having to get dressed and leave. What a bore.” He managed a blasé expression.
“Max…” Kitty thumped him on the chest with both fists. “Talk sense. I am your mistress, for God’s sake.”
“Mmm.” He stared at her mouth. “As if I could forget.”
His kiss was everything she’d come to want—and more. His skin was cool from his ride back home, but his tongue was warm and slick, plunging into her mouth and demanding a response.
She gave him one, a moan in her throat, standing on tiptoe to wrap her arms around his neck.
He held her tight, pulling her into his body, thrusting one thigh between her legs and making that moan repeat itself as he did so.
“Max,” she sighed, freeing her mouth from his. “I’m so confused by all this.”
“Don’t be.” He loosened his embrace a little, but still held her in his arms. “Just let it happen, Kitty. Yes, you’re my mistress, but there are no rules dictating what a mistress does, or where she lives. If I want you here, and I do, then here is where you will stay.”
She looked uncertain. “I don’t know what lies ahead, Max. The future…”
“None of us know that. So perhaps you should follow my family’s motto.”
She gave him a questioning look.
“Never loan money to a friend, and do what you want today in case tomorrow is a disaster in waiting.”
Kitty shook her head and grinned. “I’m sure that it sounds most elegant in Latin.”
“I wouldn’t know. Can’t stand the language m’self.”
Chapter Sixteen
It was an early night for both of them.
Max knew he was treading on dangerous ground; Kitty’s unwavering belief in what a mistress should and shouldn’t be or do was proving to be a problem. How could he explain that the entire mistress wager situation had simply offered him the opportunity to get what he wanted? And that when he’d done so, he’d started to realize she was so much more than just an exciting and willing bed partner?
This problem tumbled over in his mind as he prepared for bed. She would join him, of course. And tonight they would find pleasure in each other. His way.
But the overriding issue was that his anticipation was far too great. His eagerness to have her naked and in his power was overwhelming. The mere thought of her leaving and finding someone else? No. Out of the question.
His life up to now had been one of wealth, pleasure, the occasional adventure, and some regular visits to a quiet house on the far side of London. The discreet activities there had offered the chance to explore more than just sex, and it was in those rooms Max had learned how to dominate a woman. He liked it. He liked it a lot.
With Kitty? It was all that, and more.
Her adaptability, her acceptance of his domination, above all her intelligence—these were characteristics he’d not expected to find in one woman. Now that he had, the possibility that she was the one both elated him and scared him. For now, they could spend time together, learning, experimenting, enjoying the freedom to explore their sensual compatibility. But it was evident that such a situation could not go on indefinitely.
A light tap on his door heralded her arrival, and he put those thoughts aside, climbing naked into bed, pushing the quilts aside and lying on his back. “Come in.”
She entered quietly, her eyes widening as she saw him in the light of the candle by the bed. He was already half aroused and as she gazed at him, his cock hardened. She was a tempting witch in her silk robe, but he could not let her know how much she affected him.
“Remove your clothing.”
She hesitated for a moment, then slowly slipped from the robe, untied the ribbon at the neck of her gown, and let them both fall to the floor. She raised her head and stared at him, a slight twitch of her arms revealing how much she wanted to cover herself with her hands.
But she did not, and he was most proud of her for obeying his command. “Run your hands through your hair. I want it loose over your white skin.”
Lifting her hands to the back of her neck, she obeyed once more, shaking the tresses around her, soft, twining locks of dark hair glowing against the creamy ivory of her body.
“Now come to the foot of the bed, climb up and kneel between my legs.” He moved to give her room. Tonight was for both of them, but it would be training for her as well.
“You will learn how to pleasure me with your mouth, this evening.” He watched her face as she dragged her gaze away from his now fully-erect cock. “Do you understand what that means?”
She nodded. “Yes…Master.”
He suppressed a smile. She had remembered. “Have you done this before?”
A sharp shake of her head sent her hair flying. “No. No I have not.”
He raised one eyebrow and stared at her.
“Er, no. Master.”
“Then how do you know what I’m asking?”
“I have read about it, Master.”
“I confess myself surprised, but perhaps it is all to the good.” He watched the emotions running over her face. Fascination, curiosity and a healthy dose of eagerness…all of which pleased hi
m. When she returned her gaze to his manhood and licked her lips…he had to remind himself that he was the teacher, she the student.
“Move closer to my cock, Kitty.” He spread his legs wide. “Now take the base with one hand and curl your fingers around it.”
She approached with caution, sucking in a tiny breath as she touched him. Her hands were warm, and she seemed to have a natural facility for holding a man thus; not too tight, but not too loose either.
Her hair fell forward as she moved herself into a more comfortable position, and Max allowed himself a brief moment to close his eyes and just relish her touch.
As she settled, he opened them again. “Now I want you to lick me. Run your tongue around and over my cock, wetting it so your hand will slide easily.”
“Yes, Master,” she whispered, her breath dusting his most sensitive places.
Always one who prided himself on his control, Max was hard pressed not to groan with ecstasy as her tongue began its voyage of exploration. He’d enjoyed the feel of a woman’s mouth many times. But tonight, the sensation was magnified tenfold as Kitty’s warmth spread over his skin. She seemed to grasp the concept as well as she was grasping his cock, since in moments her hand was moving and she had him slippery and ready.
Without any further instructions on his part, she opened her mouth wide and took him inside, flashing him a glance from beneath her eyelashes that would have made any experienced courtesan green with envy.
God, what a woman.
He winced as her teeth lightly grazed him. “Easy, Kitty. Do not touch me with your teeth.”
She released him with a little pop and stared up the length of his body. “Am I doing it incorrectly, Master?”
“No, you are doing very well. Very well indeed.” Any better and my toes will explode. “You may lick and suck as you please, for such actions will give me great pleasure.”
She nodded and returned with eagerness, loving him with her tongue, finding the sensitive places with some kind of instinctive precision that surprised him. For several minutes she entertained him thus, not hesitating nor pausing, but giving every appearance of enjoyment.
He reached down and pushed a lock of hair aside, so he could watch himself disappear between those ripe lips. “Very good, Kitty,” he said, fighting a groan of delight. “Very good indeed, beautiful woman”
She glanced up at him, drew all but the tip from her mouth—and then stunned him by sliding her free hand downward and cupping his balls. She rolled them gently in her palm.
“Jesus,” he muttered. “Oh God.”
*~~*~~*
To judge by the evangelical turn of his remarks, Max was very much enjoying what she was doing to him. Kitty allowed herself a private smile, and sent a tiny prayer of thanks winging its way to her sister Letitia for writing that detailed and instructive book.
She believed she probably could have managed to obey most of his commands, since a gentleman’s anatomy was not of a dreadfully complex nature. But having the confidence to grasp, suck and caress, learned from a reliable source…it all combined to present Kitty with the perfect opportunity to experiment with her recently-acquired knowledge.
And Max was delicious.
A blend of male saltiness and his own distinctive scent rendered his taste very much to Kitty’s liking. It was no hardship for her to love him like this, to give him pleasure, just as he had done to her. His balls were velvety soft, dappled with hair; holding them was a sensation like no other. Truly, this man was unique. For her, anyway.
In spite of Letitia’s shocking book, Kitty had not given much thought to sex, be it casual fucking or intense passion. No man of her acquaintance had aroused that kind of feminine interest. Until Max.
Now, as if a door had been opened inside her, she found herself craving sensations, eager to try whatever came next, hungry for the nudity, the desire, and the lust to sate oneself with a man’s cock in any way at all.
Pleasuring him like this, with her mouth, was arousing her as well, and she was surprised to feel the moisture gathering between her thighs as she daringly licked Max’s balls before returning to his cock. It would appear that such delights were indeed mutual…the more she aroused him, the more she became aroused herself.
Suddenly she felt his hands grip her hair hard. “Stop now.”
She froze.
“I want you to fuck me now, Kitty.”
She licked her lips as she straightened. “Very well, Master. Should I lie beside you?
He shook his head. “No. Think.”
She looked at him, muscular, all male, quite beautiful. And his cock, a rigid spear with the softest skin covering it. And it dawned on her. With a gentle smile at him, she clambered over his thighs, settling her own to either side of his hips.
“That’s it,” he whispered softly.
Looking down, she positioned herself above his cock, rubbing her wet folds over the hardness, thrilling at the bolts of pleasure shooting through her body. Then, slowly, she lowered herself, shifting a little as his thick head penetrated her.
“Oh.” She gasped a little as she took him deeper, and deeper still. She wasn’t sore at all, but her inner muscles were still tight, and Max was a large man. It was a snug fit, but when she finally had all of him she could take, the sensation defied description.
She raised her head to look at him, all shadows and planes, firm muscles, eyes fixed on her as she opened everything she was and invited him to come inside.
“Yes, Kitty. Yes. Ride me.”
So she did.
Trusting to her instinct, she began a leisurely rise and fall, astounding herself with the feeling of him sliding against her inner walls. There was something thrilling, something shocking in the level of her pleasure. How could anyone imagine this without having experienced it?
Max lowered his arms to her hips, joining her now in the dance, lifting into her and urging her into a rhythm that pleased them both. He gripped her, his gaze drifting from her hips to her mound, his chest rising and falling faster as his breathing increased.
She found herself panting, her breasts bouncing, and her desire rising faster with each deep penetration. She gasped and closed her eyes, relying on her balance and Max’s hands to hold her steady.
“Yes, Kitty. Yes. Come for me. Make me come…”
His commands were but faint words in her ears as the level of her arousal began to fill her with exquisite tingles of what felt like lightning skittering up and down her spine. “Oh,” she groaned, sinking into herself, drowning in the oncoming deluge. “Ohhh…”
She threw her arms up in the air and arched her spine as she and Max thrust at each other. He moved a hand and found her tiny pearl of ecstasy, caressing it gently as they rose and fell.
It was more than enough. “Max…”
“Yes. You may come.”
She would have done so, whether he’d allowed it or not. Her first experience with riding a man like this had sent her out of control, helpless before the demands of her body. So she succumbed, crying out as the release hit her with all the power of a thunderous gale force wind. She shook, her voice gone, silent screams coming from her wide open mouth.
Her thighs clamped around Max and her spine bowed as she seized his cock with an inner fist, shuddering, rippling, and forcing Max to join her in the abyss they had created just for themselves.
He shattered, a groan of savage desire wrenched from his throat. She felt his cock pumping hard within her, and it was enough to send her tumbling over the edge once more.
She fell into madness, into ecstasy; disappearing beneath the waves of erotic joy that they had created on their own private ocean. For long moments she couldn’t even breathe, all was darkness shot through with colors she couldn’t name.
At last Kitty found her lungs and heaved in a giant breath, then sagged, unable to keep her spine straight. Max was still inside her and she was loath to move, to lose that part of him from inside her.
But his hands moved,
urging her up and away from him. “Lie down, now, Kitty. Rest. You have done well.”
It was all the encouragement she needed, and she willingly dismounted, to collapse beside him. Remembering her instructions, she whispered “Thank you, Master.”
“I am very proud of you,” he answered, gathering her close. “And somewhat afraid of you, as well.”
That was a puzzle and she frowned as she turned it over in her mind. Nature prevailed, however, and she fell asleep before she could ask him what he meant.
She woke early with no remembrance of that puzzle, but a rather cool sensation beneath her buttocks. Blushing, she realized the damp linens were a result of their activities last night. Although wonderful beyond belief, the residue did make for a less than comfortable waking experience.
As she had done before, Kitty slipped from Max’s bed and left him snoring quietly. She had always been an early riser, although it was not something she mentioned too often, since elegant members of Society were supposed to sleep until noon. She’d done so a few times, at Aunt Venetia’s, but eventually had given up and gone back to her old ways.
She enjoyed the early morning; the quiet, the light as it crept in to brighten the rooms, the sounds of the birds busily engaging in their daily activities. The servants had kept her secret from their mistress, knowing Lady Allington would have been shocked to her slippers if she knew her niece was being so…déclassé as to rise before noon.
Even now, though, it was almost nine o’clock. Kitty stared at her clock as she returned to her room, realizing the day was dark and grey, a contributing factor to her somewhat-later-than-usual rising.
Summoning a maid, Kitty dressed and let the girl do her hair, which result pleased them both. So after giving Miss Ridlington her shawl and making sure her buttons were all aligned, the maid left her.
A gurgle from her stomach reminded her that they’d enjoyed an early dinner, and she had certainly worked up an appetite with her energetic activities last night. So she took herself off to find breakfast, trusting that Deery and the efficient Mowbray House kitchens would have something ready.