The Earl of London

by Louise Bay

  I didn’t know what was more invigorating, her twitching pussy around my tongue or my dick. I stood, wiped my mouth on the back of my hand, and watched as her stomach rose and fell, her breasts heaving and she opened her heavy eyelids.

  “Hey,” I said as she looked at me, her face flushed, her limbs heavy.

  “Hey.” She bit back a smile as if she’d been caught out doing something that she shouldn’t. “I’m sorry, was I too loud?”

  “You were perfect.” I stroked her thigh, then pressed a kiss inside her knee. “I like hearing your pleasure.”

  She crinkled her nose as if she couldn’t bear to remember how she’d begged me to make her come.

  “Now undress me, please.”

  She slipped off the bed and reached for the top button of my shirt. “Why wouldn’t you let me before?” she asked as she worked her way down my torso.

  Going down on a woman was always better when they were completely naked and you were fully dressed. The balance of power was more pronounced in my favor. “Because I said so.”

  “You know, I wouldn’t put up with that kind of answer if we weren’t…”

  “But we are and you will.” I wouldn’t expect her to let me get away with telling her what to do without question under any other circumstances. I wouldn’t want to, either. I enjoyed her spirit, her challenge. The way she went head to head with me so openly. In the boardroom, it was much more subtle. Darcy’s power outside the bedroom wasn’t subtle. And it was the contrast between her in the bedroom and out of the bedroom that had me harder than flint. Her fingers grazed my skin as she pulled my shirt from my trousers.

  I couldn’t stop myself from cupping her face and kissing her.

  Everything about her drew me to her, had me switching everything up. When was the last time I’d taken the same woman to bed twice? Let alone a woman who I knew. Someone who knew my grandmother.

  She slid her fingers around my waistband and fumbled with my fly. Despite every molecule of my body urging me to strip off and bury myself into her hard and fast, I was determined to continue smoothing my thumbs over her cheeks and working my tongue against hers.

  She gasped as her palms brushed over my erection.

  “You ready?” I asked as I pulled back.

  She nodded, and I grabbed a handful of her perfect arse. “Turn around. On all fours.” Despite being desperate to see her on her knees in front of me, my dick in her mouth, I’d explode instantly—I wasn’t ready for that.

  She climbed onto the bed and looked back at me over her shoulder, as if expecting to be marked out of ten. I avoided her gaze but took in every inch of her body. Her creamy white skin, her glossy brown hair, her breasts swaying gently as if goading me into action.

  “Logan?”

  “Yes, Darcy?” I didn’t stop my inspection of her body, the curve of her back, the roundness of her arse, the goosebumps along her skin, the way her fingers clutched at the sheets despite the fact that I wasn’t touching her. If I could have invented a woman, my imagination couldn’t have come up with anything better.

  “Logan, please.” She leaned back on her knees, stretched her arms and I gave her a quick, sharp slap on her backside.

  She snapped back into position, giving me a beautiful view of her swollen pussy. I slid a condom over my straining erection and I kneeled on the bed behind her. Lining myself up, and with one hand on her hip, I pushed inside her. My heart rate doubled and I had to close my eyes against the blinding lights. Jesus, had she felt like this the first time?

  “Logan, Logan, Logan,” she chanted breathless and desperate.

  I took a deep breath. Fuck, I had to get myself together or I was going to embarrass myself.

  I tried to block out how good she felt, how soft her skin was, how tight her pussy was. I tried not to think about how this feisty, funny, loyal woman buckled under my touch and pleaded for my cock. Instead, I thrust, my eyes screwed shut, my hands tight against her hips instead of exploring her rounded bottom or her smooth back. I knew it would be too much, so I focused on my heartbeat rather than the perfect sounds of her moans.

  She tightened around me and her piercing scream and her fierce climax shattered the fog I’d tried to bury myself in.

  I wasn’t the only one having a hard time fighting falling over the edge.

  I slowed my pace to a standstill as her entire body shook. “Twice already? You’re greedy tonight.”

  “I…I can’t help myself. When I’m with you, it’s as if my body has been taken over.”

  While I knew our fucking was the best I’d ever had, it was gratifying to hear this wasn’t a one-way street. That I was nothing like her past experiences. “Your body is mine when you’re with me.”

  “Yes,” she whispered, bowing her head.

  Her agreement took the edge off my desperate need to come. She’d confessed she was already mine—I could take my time in claiming her. I rocked in and out of her, wanting the heat in her to build again. It didn’t take long before renewed wetness burst from her and I pushed further each time, one hand curling around her shoulder so I could get as deep as possible. Pleasure shot through me, piercing my body from every angle.

  I was so close. But I didn’t want to come like this. Something was missing.

  My swollen cock throbbed angrily against my stomach as if cursing me for making it wait so long for release, but I wanted more than to just come. I wanted to feel bound and connected to the woman I was fucking.

  “Logan?” Darcy asked, her hair flicking across her back as she turned her head to figure out what was going on. Her cheeks were flushed, her barely noticeable eyeliner a little smudged, her hair a little mussed. I’d never seen her look so sexy.

  “Turn over,” I whispered.

  She frowned, as if confused by my request, but complied anyway, shifting onto her back and propping herself up on her elbows, her eyes never leaving mine. I crawled over her, relishing the heat of her body, how soft she was, how perfect she felt against me. I caged her head and dipped to kiss her.

  What was with this woman and her kisses? I couldn’t get enough.

  She swept her hands up my torso and I let out a groan. How was it possible to squeeze so much pleasure from such a simple touch? Each delicate sweep of her hand was like an invitation to somewhere I’d never been before, into a world that promised a different life.

  She brought her knees up, and my dick rested over her slick pussy and pressed against her folds. I pushed inside and had to hold still. How could this feel so good every single time?

  I drew back and she stroked her fingers over my eyebrows as I began to slide in and out of her. We stared at each other as my thrusts grew stronger and faster, until we were connected, mind, body and soul.

  This is what I’d wanted.

  Her beneath me, looking at me, looking at her. For the first time in my life, being with a woman wasn’t about getting off—it was more than that. It was about affinity.

  Union. Intimacy.

  My orgasm descended and I knew I didn’t have the power to hold it back any longer. Darcy tightened her grip on my shoulders, telling me she was close to the edge. She gasped and began to shudder just as my climax burst over me.

  I groaned into her neck. As much as I set out to claim Darcy, it was as if she owned me in that moment.

  What. Was. Happening?

  Her small, sweet pants in my ear, Darcy’s own brand of smelling salts, brought me back to life. I rolled off her before I crushed her, pulling her with me. I wanted to stay connected every second.

  For the first time in my life, coming wasn’t the main goal—being with Darcy was. Talking with her, laughing with her, fighting with her, fucking her. It was all I wanted.

  She propped her chin on my chest as she twisted her legs between mine. “I’m sure you get this a lot,” she said, her lips pressing together when she paused. “But for me, I’ve never…I mean…it’s a …”

  Wrapping my arm around her tighter, I chuckled. I knew wh
at she was trying to say.

  “Hey.” She slapped me lightly on my chest. “Don’t laugh at me.”

  “I’m not laughing at you. Well, I suppose I am, but not about what you’re trying to say.” I twisted a strand of her soft hair around my finger, wanting to know her better than I did, wanting to walk through every open door in her brain and charge through every locked one. “I feel it, too.”

  “Feel what?” she asked, tracing circles on my skin.

  “The sex. That’s not even the right word. It’s more. Something elemental passes between us when we fuck. Something transcen-fucking-dental.”

  “I’ve never had that before,” she said in a small voice, almost as if she was embarrassed.

  “Neither have I. The sex between us—I’ve never had anything like it. It’s different. More intense, more consuming.”

  “Really?”

  I gave her a small smile. “Really.” I was in unfamiliar territory and probably should have held back, but there was something about Darcy that made me want to let her in. I wanted to tell her stuff. Talk about nothing and everything with her.

  “I wonder what it is?” She shook her head as if we’d been discussing why there’d been an influx of hailstorms this spring.

  I didn’t have an answer for her. I was in unfamiliar territory and I didn’t trust myself not to ask her to spend the rest of the week in my bed. Whatever we had together, I would think about it tomorrow. I’d take it out of my brain like a pebble from my pocket and examine it, analyze it, scrutinize it in the cold light of day. Right now, I was happy to stay here, warm and happy with Darcy Westbury wrapped around me.

  Twenty-Five

  Darcy

  Logan Steele-induced orgasms weren’t going to throw me off track. I was on a mission. Lane knew this county better than anyone, which meant he was the perfect man to find an alternative site for Logan’s new business venture. “You agree that these two sites are the best?” I asked as we surveyed the plans and photographs spread across our huge mahogany table. I’d turned the dining room into a war room, much to Mrs. MacBee’s disdain.

  “Yes. I agree. I would have said this one,” he said, pointing to my third choice. “But after seeing it, there’s far too much unspoiled land surrounding it. I don’t want to just move the problem somewhere else.”

  “I agree. It’s definitely between these two, which are already sited near main roads. This one was already a half-constructed commercial site and you can hear the motorway— it’s so close that we’re not spoiling things. I’m going to talk to the planning office to see if I can get any information about how difficult it would be to get his plans through.”

  “If Mr. Steele is good for his word, you might have won this fight. Both these sites are better than building on Badsley.”

  “The only problem is he has to pony up to buy the land.”

  “True. But he’ll save on this plot,” he said, pointing at my first choice. “The roads and utilities are already in place.”

  “That’s what I’m thinking. I just wish I had time to figure out the different costings, but I don’t know any contractors who I could ask a favor of and I don’t want to miss our window of opportunity before the appeal is heard.” I wanted everything to be perfect when I presented him with the idea.

  “He’ll have plenty of people who know that kind of thing, and he’ll already have costings for the development of Badsley,” Lane said. “There’s no point in you guessing those. He says he’ll do whatever is best for business, so hopefully when he sees your proposal he’ll want to run the numbers himself.”

  That’s exactly what I hoped. Despite running the estate, I’d never run a business, as Logan had. I didn’t understand spreadsheets and financial models, but instinct told me that financially, our first choice of alternative site would make more sense for him than Badsley. I hoped I was right.

  “Are you going to show him all this?”

  “Yes. Today, I hope. He’s not been into London all week because of Mrs. Steele’s fall, so I thought I’d take advantage of him being in the area and take him to see the site myself.”

  Although I’d heard from Logan every day this week, I’d not seen him since the night his grandmother had been taken into hospital. Every afternoon, I’d gone to Badsley to check on Mrs. Steele, but I’d deliberately picked the middle of the day when I knew Logan would be wrapped up with work so he wouldn’t think I was there to pester him, when I really wasn’t. Not that I didn’t want to see him, but I didn’t want it to look as if I were running after him. He had a life. I had a life. We weren’t teenagers.

  My phone buzzed and I swiped up to see a message from Logan.

  I definitely haven’t been thinking about you all week. I want to see you.

  I would never have described Logan Steele as cute—but he had a side to him that hinted at it now and then.

  I replied.

  Good timing. Today at 3 pm. I’ll pick you up. Be ready.

  My heart fluttered in my chest as I pulled up in front of Badsley House. This time, I was here to see Logan, although I’d come to see Mrs. Steele first.

  “They’re beautiful, Darcy,” she said as I arranged the bouquet of different-colored roses I’d brought fresh from Woolton in a vase.

  “When you’re feeling better, you must come up to the house for lunch. I think you’d love the rose garden.”

  “That would be delightful. I’m sorry I had to cancel on your first invitation.” Mrs. Steele cocked her ear toward the open French windows. “Is that my grandson I hear thundering down the stairs?”

  The corners of my mouth began to twitch. Had he heard me pull up? It was ten minutes before I said I’d collect him.

  I placed the flowers on the wooden table and took a seat, picking up my cup of tea and focusing on the lawn, rather than who was about to arrive.

  “Darcy,” Logan said, glancing at his grandmother. “I didn’t realize you were here.”

  “She’s come every afternoon, though I keep telling her I’m perfectly fine.”

  “You’re looking a lot better,” I said, smiling at her.

  “It was very nice of her to check in on you.” Logan bent and kissed me on my cheek and it took everything I had not to close my eyes and breathe in his fresh, clean scent. “You’re early,” he said.

  “No, I’m not. I came to see your grandmother first.” I turned to Mrs. Steele. “I’m taking him to see a site at three. Hopefully he’ll like it enough to abandon his plans to develop Badsley.”

  “How resourceful of you,” Mrs. Steele said. “You two are all business. Perhaps you should stop off and have an early supper somewhere.” She glanced between us before taking a sip of her tea. “You know I think you work too hard, Logan. It would be good for you to have a little more time off.”

  Logan chuckled. “I definitely think you’re fully recovered.” Did she try to set him up often?

  “Well, you two should get going. I’ll be fine here with the nurse. Don’t hurry back.”

  “Are you ready?” he asked me, his tone softening to an almost intimate hum.

  I nodded and picked up my bag. “And we’ll arrange that lunch when you’re feeling up to it?” I asked Mrs. Steele.

  “I look forward to it.”

  Logan and I walked silently to the car, the crunch of the gravel and distant birdsong the only sounds between us.

  “So we’re going to visit a site I’ve found,” I said as I slid into the driver’s seat.

  “It’s good to see you,” he said as I pulled my door closed. “I didn’t realize this was a professional call, and a field trip at that.”

  “You said you’d keep an open mind. It’s only a few minutes’ drive away.”

  “My mind is perfectly open,” he said as I pulled out of the gates. “You look very pretty today.”

  “I’m all business today.” I kept my eyes firmly on the road ahead. I might be focused on getting Logan to commit to a new site, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t put some
thought into what I looked like. Standing in my dressing room this morning, it had hit me how much I liked Logan, so I’d done that thing where you made a ton of effort to not look like you were making any effort. Barely-there makeup that took me an hour. Forty minutes trying on six pairs of jeans to see my bottom from every angle. Not to mention my hair.

  And he’d noticed, which I appreciated. But it scared me how much I liked him and that I wanted him to think I was pretty. I was always the practical, sensible girl. I’d never been swept off my feet or lost my head over a man. Logan awoke a part of me I didn’t recognize, or hadn’t seen in an awfully long time.

  “All business,” he muttered under his breath. “But maybe dinner afterward.” Logan didn’t look so bad himself. He was tieless and wearing a white shirt that contrasted with his tanned skin, and his jacket and trousers gave him that casual look that only some men could pull off without looking like they were seventy and lived on a golf course. It had probably taken him ten minutes to get ready this morning and I’d bet money on the fact that he hadn’t given me a second thought.

  “I guess that depends what kind of mood I’m in when we’re done.”

  He chuckled. “I hope you’re not trying to blackmail me.”

  “Whatever.” I grinned. Seeing his reaction to the site would tell me a lot—I’d know if he was just humoring me, telling me he’d keep an open mind. The site I was taking him to was a perfect solution, and one he should consider properly. If he didn’t, he wasn’t the man he told me he was.

  As we pulled into the private road, I saw the real estate agent’s car up ahead. I wanted Logan to hear the great things about this site from someone impartial.

  I pulled in next to Ivy’s blue SUV and snapped on the parking brake. “We’re here,” I announced, releasing my seat belt.

  “I guessed,” he replied, grinning back.

  Ivy walked toward us, her black curly hair bouncing with each step she took, a huge smile on her face. “Mr. Steele,” she said. “I didn’t realize you were the person Darcy was bringing for the site visit today.”