She had his attention now, she realized.
“Is it a complete bareness, Elisa?” he asked and his voice was low and rough.
“Yes,” she whispered.
He groaned. The sound seemed to be ripped from deep inside him.
Her heart raced with an intense excitement. She was mortally aware of how many people wandered the public rooms of the hall at this moment. Staff, guests—perhaps even Rufus. The danger of being seen was so great….
Her back was flush against the cold marble, her hands at her sides as he leaned into her, his long hair brushing her bare shoulder. “Kiss me before we go back.”
“Vaughn…”
“Just a single kiss.” His arms were on either side of her, trapping her against the pillar.
He would not walk away without some sort of prize, she realized. She lifted her face to his. “Just one and that—”
His mouth captured hers.
Elisa drew in a gasping breath, surprised. For a moment her heart and body seemed to freeze. Then she registered the heat of his lips and the closeness of his big, powerful body. This was Vaughn kissing her. Vaughn! Her body leapt with a victorious, primordial excitement.
The kiss was at first light, then swiftly grew more intense. He parted her lips with his tongue, which swept past her teeth and teased her mouth.
Elisa found herself leaning into him, her arms of their own accord wrapping around his broad shoulders, holding him tighter, pulling him closer.
Then his lips left hers and traveled along her jaw. They were hot and moist and left a trail of sizzling flesh in their wake. Her eyes were closing, as waves of pleasure drained her strength. His teeth caught at her earlobe, then his tongue traced her ear, before plunging hotly into it. Thrilling bolts of excitement thrummed through her. Desperate for more, she arched her back, making her breasts thrust against the satin. His mouth was traveling down her neck, while his hands held her steady. His lips and tongue were swirling across her flesh and his hair brushed it in a light, maddeningly erotic sweep.
Elisa bit down on the gasping groan that tried to emerge from her as his mouth moved further down, to the tops of her breasts, where his hot tongue traced a pattern on her skin, searing it.
Then, suddenly, she grew aware of the shocking looseness of the top of her gown. He had unhooked the first handful of fastenings and it sagged around her shoulders, sliding down her breasts and threatening to fully reveal them. She clutched at the bodice, trying to hold it up, her breath leaving her in a rush.
“Vaughn, no.”
His hands rested against her bare shoulders. He looked deep into her eyes. There was an implacable will shining in his eyes that silenced her weak protest. While watching her face, he swept his hands down her arms, pushing the offending sleeves down and bringing the bodice with it.
Her breasts were completely bared.
Elisa caught her breath. How did he dare…?
But the hazy, incoherent thought scattered as his hands cupped her breasts and the two thumbs brushed her upright, painfully tight nipples.
She gasped and saw him smile a little.
She tried to raise her hands, to push him away, but her arms were caught in the lowered sleeves, effectively trapped at her sides. Then even that weak defensive motion ceased as he lowered his head and placed a hot kiss on her upper breasts, where his fingers had last been.
One of his hands fell to her waist, while his mouth slid with agonizing slowness further down her breast. The other hand played with the nipple of the other, sending shooting sparks of delight up and down her body. When, at last, his mouth closed hotly around her nipple, a deep groan of pleasure was pulled from her.
His teeth played with her nipple, tugging it, and his tongue laved it with velvet moisture.
Elisa looked down at his head against her breasts, then up at the foyer and their very public position. While he suckled her, the door to the dining room opened, spilling light out into the foyer. Vaughn either did not hear, or did not care, for he continued his sensual assault on her breasts. She could not see the door from behind the pillar, but she heard someone emerge. The door shut behind the intruder and he or she walked across the foyer.
Elisa held her breath.
Whoever it was moved into the passage that ran the length of the west wing and suddenly they were alone again, still undiscovered.
Vaughn’s mouth moved to her other breast and his other hand captured the one he had abandoned.
Her pulse skittered as his mouth covered the taut nipple.
At the sight of him suckling her, warmth raced through her, settling low into her belly and lower, to her cleft and pulsating pearl.
Helpless to protest, her arms still trapped, she let her head fall back against the wall and closed her eyes, fully immersing herself in the sea of pleasure and need swelling in her.
It was as if he had sensed her capitulation, for his mouth left her breast and his hand fell away. She opened her eyes, deprived.
He slowly pulled her gown back up over her shoulders and refastened the hooks, while remaining silent. When she was decent again, he ran his fingernails lightly over the fabric that covered her breasts, sparking a white hot current through her nipples and taking her breath.
He smiled a little and stepped back away from her.
He gave a short bow. “And good evening to you, my lady,” he said, his voice low.
He turned and walked back to the dining room, leaving her to follow him on weak legs. Her whole body was trembling with unfulfilled need—a hot, sweet-sour ache that caught her mind. She could think of nothing but carnal thoughts of how she might appease that ache.
She waited a few minutes, trying to still her heart before entering. But it was useless. And she had been gone too long. She must return. Now.
She entered the room.
The entire table was laughing at something Vaughn had said. All but Rufus, that was. The look he gave her was sharp.
Was he wondering why she and Vaughn had both dismissed themselves from the dinner table? Elisa had never done that before, for fear others would see it as rude.
Vaughn did not even glance her way. He was leaning back in his seat, as if he had been there all night and had not, just moments before, been recklessly seducing her right out in the open foyer where anyone might have seen them.
He seemed to be completely without nerves. The boldness of his actions took her breath away.
Her heart still pounding, she took her seat and smiled at Rufus. He sat back in his chair, his smile tight as he looked from her to Vaughn. His eyes narrowed and anger reddened his face, except for two whitish rings around his nostrils and the lines running from his mouth to his nose. His fury was even more frightening for he kept the stiff polite smile in place, a rictus that held no genuine emotion in it at all.
Elisa’s heart began to hurt, her stomach clamped tight.
Rufus had become an enemy.
Chapter Seven
Elisa’s breath fogged the window as she stared out over the land she’d grown to dislike immensely. Though it wasn’t raining, thick, dark clouds in the distance threatened to ruin what had started out as a sunny day.
Last night sleep had been all but impossible. Every time she closed her eyes she saw Vaughn’s face, remembered the feel of his hands on her, the taste of his lips and the way he’d taken her nipples into his mouth, so expertly, bringing her to a feverish pitch that threatened to consume her.
He’d been able to walk away as cool as could be.
Throughout the remainder of the meal he hadn’t looked at her once.
Perhaps he’d overheard Rufus mention that Vaughn seemed to be paying Elisa far too much attention of late. If that were so, it would explain why Vaughn paid so much attention to Natasha.
So she had remained silent, her every movement being scrutinized by her future husband. Rufus had sat with the tense stillness of a cat ready to pounce on a mouse.
And now another day at Fairleigh Hall. She
sighed heavily.
No doubt Natasha and Caroline would be visiting again. Last night Caroline had mentioned something about bringing over a tea her husband had bought while in the Orient—a special blend that thrilled the senses.
The only thing that would thrill Elisa would be for Natasha and Caroline to stay home.
The door opened and closed behind her. “My lady, perhaps you should reconsider going for a ride. The weather looks like it is about to take a turn for the worse,” Marianne told her.
Elisa pointed to the blue velvet riding habit on the bed. “I’ll be amply covered. The gown goes from neck to ankle.”
“Your fiancé would not approve,” she replied, helping Elisa slip into the gown.
How Elisa was beginning to hate the word fiancé. “And who will see me in this godforsaken land?”
Marianne shrugged. “That means very little. We both know he’ll be furious you’ve been riding alone.”
Elisa ignored the awkward fact. She put on her boots, gloves and hat and without a backward glance headed for the stables.
It was early enough that there were only the servants about. The grandfather clock chimed seven. Elisa quickened her pace. She had no desire to face Rufus on the off chance that he was awake already.
In fact, she wasn’t in the mood to face Vaughn either.
At the stables, she once again requested the gray and walked in restless little circles until the horse was brought to her. She gripped the saddle, ready to hoist herself up and paused. Then she stepped back. No, today was not the day for delicate mincing about.
“Please take the saddle off,” she told the stable master, who was hovering anxiously, waiting to assist her mount.
His eyes widened, but that was all. With a quick word to a stable hand, the pair of them stripped the gray of its saddle and girth and stood back. Elisa could see the stable boy’s puzzled expression and stifled a smile. He was wondering how a lady could possibly mount and ride a horse, wearing what she was wearing.
She took the bridle from the stable master. “Thank you. That will be all.”
He touched his forelock and hurried away, pulling the boy with him.
Elisa led the horse out into the yard and around the back of the stable to where the sweet grasses began. A wooden fence ran from the stable wall off into the distance, and there was a conveniently placed stile just there. She walked the horse over to the stile and checked quickly around her for observers. She was completely alone.
Swiftly, she took off her bonnet, her gloves and—her heart thumping erratically—her boots and stockings. She tucked them beneath the stile. She scrunched her bare toes up in the grass, feeling it tickle. Swiftly, she pulled all the pins out of her hair and shook it out, then rubbed at her scalp as the weight dropped away.
With another quick check over her shoulder, she gathered her skirt and petticoats up in one arm. The gentle breeze swept past her bared calves and knees. Quickly, she grabbed the horse’s reins, clambered up onto the top step of the stile and slipped onto the back of the horse.
The skirts, of course, rode up high around her thighs. She re-arranged them as well as she could, but the long green field ahead of her, with its rolling slopes, beckoned her. She wanted to start as quickly as possible.
Her excitement caught her breath in a little hitch and she kicked the horse into a full gallop, her blood thrilling.
It wasn’t until she had ridden a good mile at breakneck speed that she finally began to relax. The last few days had been entirely too tense. And now with Rufus’ growing suspicion it could only get worse.
Why had she put herself into this position…and how could she get out of it?
Every day she yearned for escape from this hellish life. Whenever she thought of reconsidering, her son’s face would appear in her mind, reminding her that if she left Rufus all the old rumors would resurface. She knew society well enough to know that trying to get Raymond back would be futile if she left him.
Vaughn should leave. It was the only solution.
But the very thought of him walking out the door and never coming back to Fairleigh Hall was more than she could bear. Perhaps if he were to marry Natasha it would not be so agonizing. At least then he would consider moving in and living at least part of the year at Fairleigh Hall.
In her mind came an image of Vaughn and Natasha making love. He would be resting over the girl, his broad bare shoulders gleaming in moonlight streaming through a window above them. His hand would tenderly reach to caress her face…
Elisa groaned as her heart squeezed painfully at the emotion-filled scenario she had conjured up. She knew she would not be able to bear having him living in Fairleigh Hall, either, if she would be forced to witness his tenderness and endearments for Natasha.
She willed the images away and pushed her mount harder and faster. Faster. To the point where she knew she was barely in control of the horse. The touch of fear kept her mind focused and away from the dilemmas that awaited her back at the hall.
When the horse showed signs of flagging, she brought him to a halt beneath a stand of old oak trees. She dismounted and walked the horse, giving herself time to relax before returning to the manor. As she walked, she unbuttoned her bodice and sleeves and flapped them, letting the cool air circulate her heated body. She was strongly tempted to remove the few petticoats beneath her skirt. It was much too warm to be wearing so many layers, after all.
Finally, with a hurried look around her, she reached beneath her skirt and removed the stiff linen undergarments. She rolled them up and tucked them behind a tree. This far away from any manor or farm cot, they might stay there and rot for years before they were discovered.
She smoothed the velvet out over her hips and thighs, feeling both wicked and comfortable for the first time that day.
Thunder rumbled across the fields, pulling her attention to the sky. She looked up at the billowing, angry clouds overhead. Until this moment she had taken little notice of the impending weather. At any time the sky would open up and pour.
She looked around, trying to establish exactly where she was. She knew she’d traveled a great distance from the manor and had been gone for at least an hour.
She should return to the manor, or risk a soaking and quite possibly be caught out in the open when the lightning began.
She turned the horse back toward Fairleigh Hall and began to ride as hard as she had before. If the rain settled in for days, as it was wont to do this time of year, this would be her last moment of freedom for some time.
She had traveled a long arc on her outward leg of the ride and now she found herself approaching the hall from the front. It stopped raining just as she topped the last crest before the manor and cantered down the long, gently sloping field before her. Half way up the next hill, the hall was spread before her.
Elisa saw two people walking the wide, luxurious lawn spread before the building. They were hand in hand. And there was no mistaking Vaughn’s wide shoulders and height.
Natasha and Vaughn. Hand in hand.
Elisa’s stomach turned. She would not get jealous, she told herself. It didn’t matter that he’d kissed her senseless, or that he’d taken liberties with her she had never granted to any other man. She could not afford to have Vaughn in her life in any other capacity than that of a stepson.
Her gaze shifted from the couple to the high drystone wall at the end of the field. It had been at least four years since she’d last taken a jump on horseback. Back then she’d ridden every day and it hadn’t intimidated her. Yet it loomed before her now.
Taunting her.
Thunder rumbled ominously.
With a glance at the couple, she put her knees to the horse’s flanks and flew toward the wall. Her heart hammered with every gallop. Even as she felt the thrill of the challenge, she questioned her wisdom. She had never jumped this gray before. What if he was a poor jumper? He was a big horse and just like humans, the bigger animals were often clumsy…
Fear
touched her. But it was too late. She was committed to the jump.
Vaughn heard the galloping horse and turned to look towards the sound. Just beyond the drystone wall that marked off the field from the formal gardens of the hall was Elisa—astride a horse and racing towards them.
An invisible hand gripped his throat and chest and squeezed as he realized she intended to jump the wall.
Insanity.
“Good lord!” Natasha murmured, her gloved hand at her mouth. “What is she wearing? And her hair!”
Irritation flashed through him and he let her hand go. “For god’s sake, she’s going to jump!” he told her, starting towards the wall.
“Well, I don’t see why that excuses…”
But he didn’t hear any more of Natasha’s indignant words, for he was racing forward, his heart hammering in his chest, echoing in his throat and temple. Fear was a live snake in his belly.
“No, Elisa! Don’t!” he cried. But it was too late.
The horse tried valiantly to take the wall. He watched the big beast gather himself, the powerful hind legs bunching and pushing off, the woman in blue clinging to his back like a burr. He saw Elisa’s white face and big eyes as the horse lifted. Fear and exaltation were fighting for expression.
The gray almost made it. Almost.
His forelegs smashed through the capstones of the wall. If it had been a mortared wall, the animal would have been brought to a solid, crashing halt, but the loose stones pushed away and the horse was reaching for solid ground on the other side, whinnying.
He landed hard and Vaughn heard the wet crack of breaking bone. The horse and Elisa both screamed. As the horse went down Elisa was thrown over his head.
Vaughn watched with sick horror as she curled herself into a protective ball. She hit the ground with her shoulder and rolled for several yards before coming to a halt.
He didn’t remember covering the ground between him and her still figure. He was just suddenly there, gathering her into his arms, too scared to even breathe.
She was conscious and as he lifted her she opened her eyes and gasped. “I am unhurt,” she told him as he brushed at the dirt on her cheek.
Forbidden (Scandalous Sirens) Page 8