Her nipples hardened as they brushed against his coat once more and the wanton side of her wished he’d take her upstairs into a room and allow her to have her way with his body. She moaned when he brushed her again.
His hand tightened on hers and he applied more pressure on her back. He lowered his head. “Are you all right?”
She turned away. “Yes.”
His mouth lowered until it was inches from her ear. “Are you recalling what it feels like to be full of me?”
Her nails dug into his coat as her body responded. “This is not an appropriate conversation.”
“Being proper has lost its appeal for me.”
She looked up. “What—”
The scorching heat in his eyes stole her breath and dampened her mound.
The song ended and Morris bowed to the men, gave their thanks, and all but rushed Sophia from the building.
Sophia looked around once they were inside the carriage. “Where’s Kitty?”
Morris climbed in and closed the door. “She rode back with the footman when you sent it away.” In the afternoon light, she saw the weight of his stare and once the carriage was underway, he didn’t wait to pull her into his arms. Their mouths and hands sought one another hastily and Sophia felt as though she were burning from inside out, her body clenching at its emptiness and ready for him.
His mouth trailed down her throat before he turned her around and settled her knees on the carriage. Sophia leaned forward as best she could, the cold touched the back of her thighs as he lifted her skirts, even cooler where the evidence of her desire ran freely.
There were the sounds of the manipulation of clothes and then with a hard thrust he was inside her, her wetness making it easy for him. She bit back a groan and clung to the bench as he fucked her, driving his shaft into her with power and strength. She gave into the frenzy of need by throwing her hips back and having her inner muscles clench around him.
“Sophia,” he grunted right before he moved with a faster pace and forced Sophia to lose her grip on reality and pant loudly as she released her pleasure. Morris slammed into her once, twice more before ejecting his seed within her.
He wrapped his arms around her and fell back onto the bench, her sitting on his lap, his cock still deep inside her. She shivered at the new position, her body in as much of a protest as it was in longing, a state of having enough but wanting so much more.
The wanting won and Sophia slowly lifted her body before allowing herself to sink back down, then proceeded to move in a slow circle, the pleasure so immense that it was almost too much to bear.
Morris groaned and as his cock became hard again. His fingers moved to her breasts and played with her nipples as she took her pleasure, plunging her body down over his, using his cock to stroke her toward another climax.
One of his hands moved under her skirt and drew circles around her peak.
That was her undoing. She came again, spasming on his lap. His body jerked off the seat as he flooded her body once more.
She leaned back and he wrapped his arms around her as their bodies cooled, where they were connected still radiated with heat.
He kissed the side of her neck. “One of these days, I’m going to have you without all these clothes.”
She giggled like a young girl but didn’t disagree with his words. “I wish to see you as well.”
He turned her head and they kissed leisurely and without hurry, speaking of emotion more than what they’d just done. His mouth was tender, his hold on her head gentle. Their tongues explored each other’s mouth as though getting to know the other.
They did this until the carriage made the final turn to the estate. Morris helped Sophia straighten her clothes then took care of his own. He helped her out of the carriage and Sophia started up the steps, making a plan to head straight to her room to clean herself.
This plan died upon their entrance.
Her father was there to greet her and he didn’t seem pleased. He quickly took her into his arms as though to protect her from something. Her heart raced as she wondered what was wrong or if someone was hurt. She looked around to find the foyer empty except for another man.
Lord Ashford stood beside him, his face seeming set in anger. They anger moved directly to Morris as he came inside.
“You.” Lord Ashford pointed a finger at him. “You compromised my daughter.”
Sophia’s eyes widened and she quickly turned to look at Morris and found him staring at the lord with surprise.
Ashford went on. “At first, I suspected the rumors to be about Miss Sophia, which would have made sense considering how close you seem.” The look he gave Sophia was not friendly. He then turned to Morris. “But this morning, a name was finally attached to the rumor and now my daughter is ruined.”
Sophia’s heart stopped and she felt her knees give from under her. Her father’s hold helped her to continue standing. She saw everything play out before her and knew what would come next. Whether or not Morris had touched Lady Beth wouldn’t matter. He’d have to marry her to save her from ruin.
How she’d dreaded the rumor’s completion when she’d thought it would be about her. She had no doubt that Morris hadn’t touched the lady but it mattered not. Like she’d always known, he could never be hers and this was only one reason.
The other was she that, in the end, she’d not trust him not to later regret his decision just as her mother had. How could a man love her more than the woman who’d given birth to her? It seemed impossible.
Their story was more likely to start with happiness and end with tragedy. He’d grow mad when he realized he’d failed his legacy and her heart would pay the price. She’d be abandoned again if she allowed this to go on
This was for the best. He deserved a lady and a lady she was not.
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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
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"I did not touch your daughter!" The anger that flowed through Morris burned. His hands curled into fists and his gut twisted.
He couldn't believe what Lord Ashford was telling him. After the beautiful moments he'd just spent in Sophia's arms, the carriage ride began to feel like a dream. And he'd awakened to a nightmare. He turned and caught Sophia as she moved out of her father's hold to stand on her own, her face cut like stone. Was she angry? It was hard to tell.
Ashford took a step toward him. "If you didn't, then tell me why my daughter cries in the library at this very moment?"
Morris cut his gaze at the man. "I don't know but I plan to find out." He started in that direction and didn't know who followed, only that the sounds of footsteps could be heard.
He was glad to find the halls to be cleared of anyone but servants as he wasn't in the mood to be civil to anyone. He walked into the library and was greeted with the muffled sound of tears. He was surprised to find not only Lady Beth there but Lady Ashford and his own mother trying to comfort the girl.
His mother lifted her eyes and with one glance asked a hundred questions. He'd learned to read his mother's expressions a long time ago. "I didn't touch her," he told her.
She visibly relaxed.
Lady Ashford, who was no great beauty with dull brown hair and a slim face, narrowed her eyes and pulled her daughter close. "It matters not what occurred. All that matters is my daughter's name has been ruined and that you are the one accused of doing so."
Morris turned when the door closed and saw Sophia and her father take positions against the wall. Sophia's stance was very docile and her eyes seemed to assess the situation without emotion. Her father seemed the opposite and looked on with great emotion.
And then the tailor spoke. "Surely, you can't expect the duke to do something about a rumor that has no cause."
"A maid saw him in here with her." Lord Ashwood moved toward him. "I'm not entirely sure what this mat
ter has to do with you and your daughter."
Sophia responded then. "This party is being hosted by our family. If there is any way to resolve this without ruining the holiday then I intend to do so. I would not enjoy it if this in some way affected the day for anyone."
"The holiday?" Lady Ashwood asked bewilderedly. "What of my daughter's reputation? Surely, its ruin is of greater importance."
Sophia took a deep breath. "Of course."
Morris turned to Lady Ashwood. Until this point, Lady Beth had kept her face in her mother's side but now she was watching the room.
He caught the girl's eyes and noticed how reddened her face was. The rumors worked in her favor. There was no need for her to cry unless it was all for show and he thought he'd never get the right answers with so many people around. He needed to get to the root of it all. "I'd like to speak to Lady Beth alone."
Lady Beth's eyes rounded.
Lord Ashwood spoke for her. "I think this all started with you spending too much time with my daughter. You were seen at nearly every function together for the last week."
An occurrence that had been brought on not only by the lady's need to follow him but Sophia's manipulation of the schedule. All of it had been done in the hopes that he'd stop his pursuit of her and move on to Lady Beth but that would never happen. His heart belonged to her.
He turned to Sophia, hoping she would respond. He sighed when she began to speak.
"Actually, my lord, it was I who made their schedules. It seems that Lady Beth and Lord Morris were in the same place at the same time because of me."
Lady Ashwood spoke. "It doesn't matter how it came to be. The ton will look on it as through Lord Cort was in a heated pursuit for my daughter's hand."
"No one would believe that," Morris said swiftly.
His words seemed to cut through Lady's Beth's saddened façade. She straightened from her mother then and crossed her arms. "My name has been ruined, Your Grace."
"We will tell people that nothing happened," he told her. "And we will find the maid who started this rumor to begin with." He took a step toward her. "Come now, even you believe that the word of a servant cannot be believed over the word of a lady and a duke." He was using her own beliefs against her, that by the simple circumstances of her birth, she had more value than a maid.
Lady Beth seemed to struggle for words.
"The ton will always believe the negative." Lord Ashwood sighed heavily and waved Morris away. "What is the point of the conversation? We all stand to gain something from this arrangement anyway. You'll have your position as Prime Minister and my daughter will have a very noble title. We all win." He sat and smiled as though it were all decided.
Morris met his mother's eyes and saw the vicious look she gave him, stating her disapproval. She wanted him to put his honor to the side and refuse and leave Lady Beth to lay in the mess of her own creation.
He averted his eyes and could hear his heart racing in the silence. "I was not in this library with your daughter. The maid has mistaken the woman."
"If not her, then who?" Lady Ashford asked.
Morris looked up to see Lady Beth fidget then his eyes caught Sophia and studied her lowered head for what seemed like forever. She had to know he was looking at her. She had to remember the way they'd made love on the very carpet that everyone stood on.
The silence went on, Sophia's gaze still stuck to the ground.
Look at me. Morris' mind pleaded for her to look at him, to move her feet and come to stand beside him. Love me. He wished her for his duchess. She was the one he'd compromised and he'd do it all again if it meant having her.
He still didn't understand the distance that lay between them but had been sure their time in the carriage had been another step in closing it. If he wished to, he could expose her but he no longer wished to force her. If she didn't return his affections then he would not attach himself to her for the rest of their lives. She needed to choose him out of her own free will.
His belly burned with the fear that she wouldn't.
"Miss Sophia," Lord Ashford called.
Sophia lifted her head to the look at the lord but still avoided Morris' eyes. "Yes, my lord?"
Morris' heart raced.
"Was it you the maid saw with Lord Cort? Was she mistaken with the woman's identity?" Ashford asked.
Sophia stared at Lord Ashford, her eyes unblinking.
The room was silent again.
"Sophia," Mr. Taylor called gently. "The man asked you a question. Tell him the truth." His encouragement did not go unmissed by Morris. The tailor had to know that it had been him and Sophia in this room.
Sophia swallowed and closed her eyes. "No. It wasn't me."
Morris' heart fell, and he couldn't move or speak as he stared at her.
"No," his mother choked.
"Well then." Ashford smiled. "I believe there's nothing further to discuss than the wedding contract."
Morris' senses returned swiftly. "Don't make an announcement." He was surprised by the strength in his voice and further impressed when his heart didn’t give out.
Ashford's smile fell away. "What do you mean? This rumor is ruining—"
"You will wait until I meet with you again. Until I do, there will be no announcement." He turned to Mr. Taylor and ignored the grief on his face. "Tell the staff that if one more word against Lady Beth is breathed, they will be dismissed immediately."
Mr. Taylor nodded.
He turned back to Ashford, making sure to avoid Sophia. "You will not say a word as to what happened in this room. When we meet again, I will give you my final decision."
Ashford rose again, madness in his eyes. "You've no decision to make, Your Grace. You have to marry my daughter. Your honor is at stake."
"I don’t care." His eyes didn't waver, anger and pain struggled to keep him from hurting the man who encouraged his daughter to lie. He was dying and nothing else mattered. "I don't care about honor or Parliament or you or your daughter."
Lady Beth gasped.
Ashford seemed to stumble over his next words. "This... this isn't right."
"I'm a duke, I can do as I please, and I'm advising you to keep this meeting between us because you've more to lose than me. No man will touch your daughter if word gets around that she is soiled goods but there will always be a woman wishing to be my duchess." But that woman apparently was not Sophia.
Ashford looked at his family with astonishment. The Ashfords all shared a look and saw that their plan had not worked out the way they thought it would. They'd tried to catch a hunter in his own domain. Their move had almost been as foolish as his love for Sophia.
Honor would make him marry Lady Beth if he could find no other way around it but before he agreed to such a match, he would allow himself time to think of a way out.
Lord Ashford placed his hands on his hips. “You can’t do this to her.”
“I can and while you wait for my reply, you should think about what you truly know about the man you wish to marry your daughter to.” He gave Lady Beth a cold look.
She immediately jumped back into her mother’s arms. It was no secret that while a woman lived with her father, she lived under his protection but once she married, she became her husband’s property. If Morris wished it, he could make Lady Beth’s life hard, though he doubted he would ever mistreat her to the extent that he could but if they married, he didn’t believe he could grow warm to her.
Lord Ashford’s shoulders fell and he looked at the rug. "I'll do as you say."
Morris left right after the last word left his lips.
He heard heels rushing after him.
A small hand grabbed him and spun him around.
"Morris, you can't marry that girl." It was his mother.
He laughed at himself, wondering why he'd hoped it would be Sophia coming after him, telling him that she'd come to her senses and couldn't imagine life without him. The pain shook at his very core. "I can't speak with you at the moment, Moth
er." He kissed her cheek. "I'll see you later."
She didn’t follow him then and he was glad. He needed time alone, time to accept his bleak future.
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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
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Sophia placed her hand on Morris' doorknob and paused. Then she pressed her head to the door and cursed, wondering what was wrong with her. Why had she come to him? She knew why. She wanted to tell him that his threats to Lord Ashford had been foolish. The man still had the power to ruin Morris' political career. His quick response had been unwise and clearly not thought out. He'd been emotional but he would have to return to Lord Ashford and apologize soon if he ever wished to be Prime Minister.
The entire situation was awful and Sophia knew their lives would never be the same because of it. Sophia had loathed letting him go, the words having been forced from her lips. She loved him, though he would never know it. She loved him enough to make sure he reached his goals even if it meant never being able to share them with him.
After the meeting, she'd thrown herself back into the preparations for the Christmas party tomorrow, doing anything to avoid glimpses of the Men of Nashwood or the Spinster's Society. After that, she'd taken a long bath to ready herself for the evening. There in the water, she'd allowed herself to cry and was been grateful when Kitty had said nothing. Avoiding her father had been another battle. She knew exactly what conversation he so longed to have with her. She knew what he would say, and she didn't wish for anyone to convince her that she was wrong.
Miss Sophia's Spirited Spinster's Society Page 13