Forbidden (Scandalous Sirens)

by Templeton, Julia

  “Please make her stay,” he breathed to the same world that had delivered her to him, then ran his fingers down the side of her face and kissed her lightly.

  Her eyes fluttered open andthe radiant smile that emerged made his blood heat within his veins.

  “Vaughn,” she said on a sigh, throwing her arms around his neck and holding him tight against her. “I was so afraid something had happened to you.” She put him from her. “Let me have my fill of you. I’m starved…five days you’ve been gone and not a word.”

  He was startled to see tears in her eyes despite her smile and realized then that she had been dealing with her own fears. He had selfishly focused upon his own affairs. “Elisa, my love, my dearest love, I’m sorry,” he said and heard his own words with a small spurt of surprise. The surprise fled when he realized that he had spoken truly.

  Her eyes widened. He saw doubt, then a deep glow seemed to fill them. Happiness, he realized and felt a giddy joy that he had put that happiness there. Would loving her keep her by him?

  “Truly?” Elisa whispered.

  He took her hands within his own and brought them to his lips. “With all of my heart.”

  She pulled her to him, kissing his neck, his ear, his jaw. Soon she was reaching for the buttons on his shirt, but he held her hands fast. “First I want to tell you about London.”

  He saw the wariness in her eyes as she sat back. He pulled the other chair closer, took a seat and once again picked up her hand. “Weeks ago I organized a group of men to look into Raymond’s whereabouts.”

  Her throat convulsed as she swallowed hard.

  He smiled, hoping to calm her fears. “They found him, Elisa, and I went to him.”

  Tears welled in her eyes. “Why did you not tell me?”

  “I wanted to see for myself what had happened in the years you’ve been separated. I wanted to talk to him, to hear what had transpired.”

  “But why…?”

  “Elisa, I lived Raymond’s life. I was separated from my mother at a very young age, given no explanation for her departure and no hope of her return. She loved me and would have kept me by her, but there were times when I resented her for the pain her absence caused in me—so much at times that I felt I hated her. If she had suddenly appeared before me during those times, I would have struck out at her with all the despair and pain that I had in me.”

  “Oh Vaughn…” she breathed.

  He shook her hand a little, to take her focus away from him. “I did not want you to be greeted by that reception, if by some enormous stroke of luck you had got past the front door of his home.”

  “But you did get past?”

  “I am not without…influence.”

  “How did you find him?” she asked, and dread was thick in her voice.

  “He was lodged with distant members of Roger’s family. They are not as well off as you. He has a roof over his head, but it is not the life he would have had with you.”

  She closed her eyes for a moment. “Did he ask about me?”

  “Elisa, look at me.”

  She opened her eyes. The guilt, the torment of a mother who feels she has failed her child—Vaughn could read it all in her eyes. “He showed me a well-worn leather book, with silk stitching and hand-drawn lettering, St. George and the Dragon. He said you used to read it to him every night before he went to bed. He keeps it upon his bedside table.”

  “My father gave me that book. It is very old, from a monastery near where he grew up. Oh, Vaughn, he still has the book? Then…he does not bear me ill-will?”

  Hope was emerging now. He rejoiced at its appearance. “That is what Raymond told me about the book, too. Elisa…he believed you were dead.”

  Her mouth opened and her eyes widened. “Dead? How could he—”

  “Rufus,” Vaughn said simply.

  She stared at him, her eyes widening even more.

  “Rufus arranged it through intermediaries. That’s how I eventually found Raymond—money always leaves a trail. This decrepit wing of Roger’s family did not want the boy, but with the annual stipend Rufus gave them, they accepted both the discomfort and his instructions that the boy must not learn where you were and try to reach you. The easiest way to ensure that was to tell him you were dead.”

  She sunk into her chair, shaking her head a little. “Vaughn, I knew Rufus was a little mad, a little cruel in his methods of acquiring what he wanted, but I cannot believe the depths of his depravity. This is…this is a wretched thing he has done.”

  “He wanted you to himself, Elisa. He lied to ensure you were tied to him.”

  “My poor little boy…”

  Vaughn couldn’t quite suppress his smile. “No longer, madam. I made sure he knew the truth.”

  “You spoke to him?”

  “I did better than that. He waits outside.”

  Her eyes widened as she looked to the door, then back at him. “You jest?”

  “In this matter? Never. I am giving your son the one thing I yearned for as a child…The chance to see my mother again.”

  She began to tremble and he stood and took her in his arms, comforting her. “Elisa, be calm. He is as nervous as you.”

  “I should change.”

  “No. Let him see you as you really are. The way I see you.” He put her from him. “Are you ready?”

  She nodded, biting her bottom lip doubtfully.

  “Stay right there.”

  Elisa could hear her heart thudding in her temples and her ears, the organ jumping against her chest. She gripped the back of the chair tightly as Vaughn crossed the room to the door.

  For years she had worked only to have her son returned to her and suddenly, without warning, the moment was here—her crowning ambition completed. Steadying herself, she folded her trembling hands together and waited.

  The door opened once again. A tall child stepped through, Vaughn just behind him.

  Raymond.

  Elisa’s breath left her in a rush. He was a young child no longer, but a boy on the brink of adolescence. He reached to Vaughn’s shoulder already, his dark hair a little unruly, but curly just as Roger’s had been. His eyes, so like hers in shape and color, stared back at her with disbelief.

  “Mama?”

  The word was wrenched from him as he flew across the room and straight into her arms.

  Sobs racked her as she held him tight. She couldn’t let him go. She would never let him go again.

  She saw over Raymond’s shoulder that Vaughn stood by the door. He wore a small, satisfied smile. When he saw her glance, he placed his hand over his heart, gave her a short bow, and closed the door behind him, leaving Elisa and her son alone.

  * * * * *

  The following morning Elisa was first to wake and lay staring up at the bed canopy, enjoying the peace in her heart and mind. It had been many long, turbulent years since she had woken to a day with nothing in it to dread.

  She glanced over at Vaughn, who slept soundly beside her and then her heart gave a little leap as she glanced across the room to the settee where her son lay, his even breathing telling her that he, too, still slept.

  Elisa eased out of the bed, drew a wrapper about her nakedness and crept to the settee. Going down on her knees so she could study him more closely, she took her fill. Her heart lurched with love and pride for her son. Awkwardly she lifted a hand to ward off the curl that fell over his brow. He was so handsome. In ten years time he would have every woman in England after him.

  She had lost more than six precious years with him, but she would make up for them.

  He stirred slightly, sighing, his lips curving into a soft smile. She smiled as well, smoothing the blanket over his side. “I love you, Raymond,” she said softly.

  “I love you too, Mama,” he murmured, not opening eyes, but snuggling into the blankets.

  This was a happiness she had thought unattainable, a pleasure so deep she feared it would end quickly, for no one deserved such unadulterated joy—especially
wicked Elisa. But Vaughn had paid off Raymond’s aunt and uncle, so she had no fear of someone taking him away from her. Raymond, too, now he was older and understood the fears and motives of adults better, would also fight to remain in her life.

  Elisa turned toward the bed and the man who had made it all possible.

  He was awake, propped up on his elbow watching them, a soft smile on his handsome face. She went to him and lay down beside him, her back to him, cuddling into the warmth he gave. He held her close, his fingers weaving through hers as they watched her son together.

  “He has your eyes.”

  She smiled, and glanced over her shoulder. “I know.”

  “A handsome young man as well.”

  “You need not remind me,” she said, pleasure filling her at his words.

  He laughed lightly, wincing as she glanced over at Raymond, his soft breathing filling the air. “Shhh.”

  “I forgot, our son is sleeping.”

  Our son.

  She studied him closely. “Do you mean what you say?”

  “Why would I not?”

  “He is not your flesh and blood.”

  “I would marry you and spurn your son?” He shook his head.

  Elisa turned onto her other side so that she was facing him. “You can’t marry me.”

  He frowned. “Do you refuse my proposal?”

  “Yes.”

  “Because you do not love me?”

  “Love is for romantics. You’re a lord of the realm, Vaughn. You cannot simply marry whoever you please. You certainly can’t marry me.”

  “I certainly can. The only reason I will accept for your refusal, Elisa, is if you can look me in the eye and tell me you do not love me.”

  She looked away, knowing he would read the truth in her eyes. “I will destroy your life.”

  “You’ve already done that, sweet one.”

  She looked back at him quickly, shocked.

  “You have completely changed the way I look at my life, Elisa. And part of that change is a refusal to be influenced by what people think I should or should not do. So I will marry whomever I damned well please.”

  “If you do this, you will never be accepted by society again.”

  “We don’t need them.”

  “But…Raymond will need them when he grows to adulthood,” she said. “We cannot spurn them and allow them to cast us out. It will cut Raymond off from the opportunities he should be entitled to—an education, a home, an income that will let him support a wife and children.”

  “And if you do not marry me, Elisa, will you be able to provide him with every item on that list?” Vaughn asked.

  Tears pricked her eyes and escaped to roll down her cheeks. She knew Raymond’s life would be bleak if she were to take care of him by herself. Her only comfort would be that she could surround him with love, unlike the last six years of his life.

  “Shhh…Elisa,” Vaughn crooned. He lifted her chin, wiped off her tears and smiled at her. “I know how to solve your dilemma.”

  “H-h-ow?” she asked.

  “Trust me,” he said. “I have a plan.”

  * * * * *

  Elisa looked from Vaughn to the expensive ball gown laying across the bed.

  “Natasha’s ball? We’re to go?” Elisa repeated. “Vaughn, you’re supposed to be courting the girl. You appear at her ball with a widow and her nearly-grown son on your arm and announce…what you intend to announce…Vaughn, good lord, they’ll kill us!”

  Vaughn laughed a little. “What of it? We agreed, did we not? No more hiding away. No more hypocrisy. We stand up and claim our lives for what they are and hang the consequences.”

  She bit her lip in indecision. They had agreed, but faced with the real prospect of confronting people who wielded the power to destroy her life and the lives of those she loved… “The doing is much harder than the stating of it,” she confessed to Vaughn. “The people that will be at Natasha’s ball—they are the same people who turned their backs on me when Roger died and at the ball a few weeks ago. I know these people, Vaughn. They have no conscience, no qualms…”

  “Shhh…” He took her shoulders and kissed her temple. “Remember what we said. We know what is going to happen. We must face it this once and then it will be all over and we can live the life we want.”

  She realized she was shaking. “Yes, that is what we said,” she agreed and her voice shook too.

  Vaughn pushed at the fabric on the bed. “Besides, I insist I have the pleasure of seeing you in this dress and dancing, Elisa. My imagination must pale in comparison, I’m sure.” He held up the dress, displaying it for her. “Do you not itch to wear it, hmmm?” he asked, with a wicked smile.

  Elisa looked at it and sighed a little. Vaughn had returned to their room just a short while ago, bringing the hint of cold weather breezing in around his boots, the big box under his arm. He had moved straight over to the bed, without even a greeting, thrown the lid of the box aside and let the delicate layers of silk and lace spill out upon the counterpane. The gown was an extravagant creation made of Tussore silk, and even in the dull afternoon light it glowed almost with a light of its own. It was a beautiful gown, made to draw the eye toward it.

  “I bought it in London. A French countess ordered it, then decided against it later.”

  “It’s too expensive,” Elisa said, her fingers grazing the soft material. It would feel wonderful against the skin.

  “I want you on my arm and dressed to suit your true station in life, Elisa. I want you dressed like a queen,” he said, coming to her and pulling her into his arms. He pressed his hips against hers, his hands holding her against him. “Raymond is out riding with Henry again?”

  Raymond had found a friend in the innkeeper’s son, a boy in his early teens who loved to ride as much as Raymond.

  “And what if he is?” she asked, lifting her brow.

  “Then I will take advantage of the moment,” Vaughn told her. With a slow smile, he turned her around so her back was to him. She felt him lift the skirt of her dress and against her bare cheeks she felt him rub his erection against her. He was still encased in broadcloth, but immediately a warmth built in her, shifting low into her belly and lower still. She became moist and warm.

  His hands slid up her torso, to cup her breasts through the fabric of her gown. His thumbs caressed her nipples as they crinkled hard. Her hips thrust forward involuntarily as the ripple of excitement tingled through her, arrowing straight down to her cleft, to the nub there which began to throb. Her bottom was against Vaughn’s hips and she could feel his cock, thick, hard and beating against her. He groaned, a deep sound that tightened the building pressure inside her a degree more and one of his hands slipped down to push at her hip, to drive her more firmly against him. The tips of his fingers were only a little way from her mons and her pearl of pleasure and she ached for his touch there. She found the hem of her skirt and lifted the front of it in her other hand, while she guided Vaughn’s hand to the place where she wanted it. The long fingers slid into her hot, moist sex and stroked knowingly. She gave a small cry as the delicious surge of pleasure ripped through her and her head fell back against his shoulder. Her body quivered against his hand.

  She could feel Vaughn’s heart beating frantically against her shoulder, could hear his ragged breath. There was an added satisfaction knowing he took enjoyment from pleasuring her, too.

  “Yes,” she breathed out a sigh.

  He bent her over the chair, her hands on the arms and her skirt over her waist. His hands stroked the tender flesh of her bottom, then she heard the quiet whisper of cloth against cloth as he unfastened his pants. The little silence was agonizing as she waited for him to enter her, eager for that first thrust that always gave her such enormous pleasure. She felt the blunt tip of his cock against her and then he thrust hard, filling her completely. He held her hips tight, grinding against her at a rapid pace, then slowing, withdrawing almost completely, driving her crazy with need.
>
  He leaned over her, kissing her neck, his fingers seeking her pearl as he thrust within her, then slowly withdrew again.

  Time and again he did this, slowly withdrawing, then filling her to her womb. The pressure built within her, to a point she could no longer take it.

  Vaughn, perhaps sensing her need by her quickening movements, the tremors wracking her, and her building gaps and shortened breath, thrust three more times in quick succession, sending her over the edge, and as she cried aloud her pleasure, she heard Vaughn’s hoarse voice join her own, and his hot seed spill inside her.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Elisa smiled as she looked out the carriage window and saw the blazing lights of Munroe Manor in the distance.

  “I would have thought a frown or fear would appear on your face when you looked upon that manor,” Vaughn drawled from the corner of the carriage. “Hardly a smile. What are you thinking, my wicked Elisa?”

  “Not what you would like me to be thinking, I am sure,” she said, with a quick smile in his direction before returning to study the limestone manor with the dozens of carriages and people milling about the steps.

  “The way your mind works never ceases to astonish me, so perhaps I wouldn’t be disappointed at all. Tell me,” he coaxed.

  “I am thinking how much I love you and how, as long as you are with me, nothing of what the night holds for us can touch me. Vaughn, I cannot believe how I feared these people only two days ago. And perhaps I might fear them again in a few minutes, but at this moment, here with you, I have no fear at all. I am invulnerable. I don’t know what I did to deserve this happiness, this peace. I hope it never ends.”

  He leaned forward and took her chin in his hand. The swaying carriage made his fingers move restlessly under her chin. “I promise you, Elisa, I will do everything in my power to make this last for the rest of your life.”