by Gill, Tamara
Albert could not believe what she was saying. This could not be true. The one woman he longed for, wanted in his bed, to be his wife had not just asked him to make her climax.
He wished he knew exactly how to gain that ultimate end for her, but he did not. Nor could he ask his closest friend, her brother, how to manage it.
Damn it all to hell. He was literally living a nightmare caused by his own ineptitude.
"What are your thoughts on starting at the beginning? I fear if we do too much too soon, you may flee."
She shook her head, her chin rising defiantly. "I will never run away from something that I want."
Albert swallowed, thinking back to the books he'd read. Kissing was a good start, and they had already done that, and the act had been enjoyable. He would start there and move on from that position.
He brushed his lips against hers and she sighed into the embrace, soft and willing. Her tongue teased his lips, and he deepened the kiss, tangling his with hers, searing the feel of her into his mind forever. Her hands clutched at his lapels, no fear for what they were about to do, only passion.
They certainly came together with exquisite ease. How was he to rein in his desires when he wanted all of her? Marriage and a future. Hell, he'd welcome being caught if only it meant they would become man and wife.
All rational thought dissipated when he felt her hand atop his, pulling it from around her waist and placing it on her most private of places.
Albert stilled, breaking the kiss. "Victoria, this is too much. Too soon."
She shook her head. Her lips reddened and swollen from their kiss. "Touch me, Albert. Touch me here where I ache," she whispered.
It was all it took. Her plea and he was lost.
Chapter 16
Victoria wasn't sure what had come over her, but what she did know was that she wanted Albert. She needed his touch, craved this sought-after release that the images teased them with. If she could find release by learning how to bring it onto herself, life would be so much sweeter.
It was scandalous of her. Her mother would never forgive her if she brought disgrace down upon all their heads, but she could not pull together the necessary caution to stop.
Albert’s demanding kiss stole her wits. He was so very different to how she had always viewed him.
It was in one word… Delicious.
He kissed like a man starved. His little murmurings of pleasure, of need, spurred her to mimic him, kiss him back with all that he made her feel.
And it was quite a lot.
Her body was aflame. Her cunny was wet and weepy. She moved his hand from around her waist and placed it over her breast. The sensation made her knees tremble, and before she knew what was happening, Albert had scooped her up into his arms and sat on a nearby settee, placing her firmly across his legs.
Their tongues continued a dance of desire, seeking, teasing. His fingers ran along the top of her gown, teasing her flesh. Little goosebumps rose on her skin before he dipped one finger beneath her bodice.
She gasped, clutching at him as the pad of his finger grazed her nipple, taut and longing for touch. The sensation was wonderful and she wanted more of it.
The term greedy would suit her very well right now.
"That feels so wonderful." She pushed boldly into his hand like a cat after a pat.
"I ache to touch you." He kissed her cheek, jaw before moving down her neck, suckling at her earlobe. It tickled, and she giggled, undulating on his lap.
"More, Albert," she admitted, meeting his eyes quickly before he dipped his head to her neck, his lips sending a shiver of delight up her spine.
"I know that you do." He kissed his way across her bodice, his hands at her back, working the buttons on her dress. Within a moment or two, the gown gaped at the front, and Albert used the opportunity to push the bodice down, exposing her breasts.
Heat kissed her cheeks, even though she wanted him to see her. Wanted him to kiss where his finger had just teased. But she'd never been with a man that she had not been married to. As liberating and scary as that truth was, she did not stop him. Instead, she forced herself to relax and enjoy what was to come next.
Albert bent over one breast, his tongue flicking out to tease her pink, beaded nipple. Victoria clasped his face, holding him captive so he may never stop.
"Oh yes, Albert. More…"
His tongue flicked at her puckered nubbin before he covered her with his mouth and suckled. The sensation spiked need between her legs, and she barely bit back a moan. She squirmed on his lap as his mouth lathed and teased her until she could stand it no longer.
"The other one, please," she implored him.
He pushed her down onto the settee, covering her. Albert took little time in pulling the gown down to her waist, exposing her fully.
"I have admired your breasts for some time. I could kiss them forever," he admitted.
Victoria enjoyed the admiration, reaching back and holding the settee armrest, flaunting herself to him with little embarrassment.
There was no time for awkwardness. Not anymore. Not when she knew he could make her feel alive. Something she had not felt for years.
"I am yours to do with as you please," she declared, her voice huskier than she'd ever heard it before.
Albert groaned, coming over her. Their lips met, held, and he took her mouth in a demanding, punishing kiss. Their tongues meshed, teeth mashed as the kiss turned wanton.
And then he was gone, his mouth over her second breast, his free hand teasing and kneading her other.
Victoria moaned, her body not itself. He teased her toward something that she'd never experienced before. It remained aloof, close, but not quite there.
"Melvin? Are you in there? I'm looking for Victoria, but I cannot find her. Have you seen her about the house?" The handle of the door rattled as Josh tried the latch several times. "Melvin? Did you hear me?"
They both stilled at the sound of her brother's voice. Albert moved first, wrenching off her and dragging her from the settee before she could fathom what was happening.
"Turn about. Your gown needs to be put to rights," he whispered, physically turning her and pulling up her dress, his fingers working madly on the buttons of her gown.
"I won't be a moment," he yelled out to Josh. He turned her back around, cringing at the sight of her hair. Victoria reached up and realized several pins had fallen out.
"You need to hide." He looked about the room. Victoria did too but could see nowhere that she could remain hidden.
"In the window, there is a little ledge. Sit on that, and I'll cover you with the curtain."
She looked at the window. The ledge, if one could call it, was extremely narrow. "I do not think I will fit in there."
He ushered her over there, securing the last of her buttons as he did so. "You will." He pulled the curtain aside, helping her to sit on the seal, before he wrenched the curtain past her face, blocking her view from the room.
Victoria huffed out an annoyed breath, both because she was being hidden away but also because when she had entered this room, she had needed Albert. Now with her brother interrupting them, she was even more in need since they had not finished what they started.
She glanced down at her gown, correcting it more when she heard the lock of the door give way before it was opened.
Victoria recognized her brother's footsteps, holding her breath as he walked in and about the room, his steps coming too close to the window. She held her breath, expecting at any moment for the curtain to be wrenched aside, her brother's disappointed visage staring back at her.
"I do believe I saw Lady Victoria head out into the gardens after breakfast. Should we head outdoors and see if she is still taking the air or is on the terrace?"
For a man who prided himself on honesty, and there were no falsehoods when it came to Albert, he certainly knew how to fib very well. Had she not known the truth, even she would have believed such tales. Her brother did not reply straightaway
but continued to walk about the room with a casualness that made her armpits damp. Did he suspect she was in the room? Is that why he had not left yet?
"The garden, you say?" Josh said, his footsteps determined once more, and headed toward the door. "Let us go and fetch her then. Mama wishes to leave soon for the picnic."
"Of course," Albert said, closing the door and leaving her alone.
Victoria bit her lip, having forgotten that they were to go for a carriage ride before lunch and picnic somewhere on Albert's estate afterward.
Retreating footsteps sounded down the hall, and Victoria took the opportunity to escape, leaving through the back of the house and using the servant's stairs to make her room, just as her mama came to fetch her.
"Ah, you're back from your walk. Very good, shall we go? I believe the carriage will be brought around soon."
Victoria picked up her bonnet and cardigan, forgoing the shawl, and followed her mama. She breathed a sigh of relief as they came downstairs, into the foyer just as her brother and Albert came in through the front door.
"Ah, there you are, sister. I have been looking for you."
"Not very well," her mama said, throwing her only son a warm smile. "She was in her room."
Her brother opened his mouth as if to say something but then thought better of it, holding out his arm to escort them to the carriage. "I must not have looked very well at all. Shall we?" he asked throwing Victoria a pointed stare.
Victoria dared not meet her brother’s eye or look in the direction of Lord Melvin for fear of giving herself away.
She did, however, feel the heat of Albert’s gaze burning down her spine as they made their way outside to the awaiting vehicle.
It seared her just as his touch had.
Chapter 17
They traveled a mile from the estate and stopped on the opposite side of the lake to Rosedale estate. Here they had a picturesque locality that ensured a better view of the Roman ruins that sat on the island on the lake.
Two footmen stood beside numerous blankets set out on the grass under the shade of an oak tree. The day was warm, with only the smallest bit of wind. As they made their way to the blankets, Victoria was thankful for the shade the old oak cloaked them in.
Albert and her brother talked incessantly about London, their estates, and improvements both of them wished to do over the coming months away from town. Not that Albert should have issues arranging repairs about his estate or on the tenant farms, for he rarely left Hampshire as it was. A gentleman was always accessible to his staff and farmers.
Victoria sat across from Albert, watching him, and knew that her mama watched her, but she no longer cared. The man intrigued her, and after his kissing and petting earlier today, she realized he quickened her blood like no other before him.
She turned her attention to the servant who opened the carriage door, helping her alight. They strolled to the blankets and sat, Victoria taking her time to set out her dress. Another odd thing for her to do. She'd never before wanted to impress any gentleman, but again, Lord Melvin made her preen.
It was utterly ridiculous since she had promised herself a future that included no husbands. No ties or children clinging about her skirts.
Paul had cured her of that absurdness, no matter how lovely Lord Melvin was turning out to be. Or how wicked his kisses.
She bit back a grin as Albert came and sat beside her, his warmth and presence making her stomach flutter. She cast him a look and found him watching her, his heated gaze warming her skin.
Her brother cleared his throat, passing her a glass of champagne before taking his seat with them all. The servants passed plates of food of cold meats and cheese, bread and tarts.
"There is a strawberry field just beyond, and also an olive grove that my mother planted during her first years of marriage. She had traveled to Italy as a child and enjoyed the little fruit. You're welcome to explore if you would like."
Her mother held out her hand to her brother. "Help me to stand, my dear. I should like to see the olive groves. I have heard of your mama speak of them at balls and parties and have long wanted to see what they were about."
Albert chuckled, the sound deep and gravelly. Had he always sounded so very handsome before? Could a voice be termed in such a way? After today, Victoria had to admit that it was possible.
"Would you care to join us?" Josh asked them.
Victoria shook her head, popping another lemon tart in her mouth. "No, I would prefer to stay here in the shade. You go on. We will watch you from here."
Josh glanced at Albert, his eyes narrowing a little before turning and escorting their mama toward the olive trees. Was that a warning that passed between her brother and Albert? Maybe Josh had suspected her in the smoking room earlier today after all. She started when she felt Albert's hand cover hers, linking their fingers.
"I'm sorry that we did not get to finish what we started." His dark-blue eyes held hers, and she was powerless to look away. However was she to deny herself him when he was so very desirable? This was a complication in her life she had not planned on. Widow she wished to remain, but never a wife and she knew Albert would not abide having her as his mistress. "I long to be alone with you," he whispered.
Victoria took a calming breath. The memory of his hands, of what he had been doing to her before being interrupted, taunted her needy self. There was something serious misplaced within her. She could not turn into a wanton. Only lightskirts acted so, but here she was, a duke's daughter who could think of nothing but having Lord Melvin's clever mouth on her breasts, kissing and petting her aching flesh.
"Tonight, where should we meet?" She moved his hand to hide under her skirts, glancing behind her to see where the footmen were, happy to see they were over near the carriage taking their luncheon repast.
His eyes darkened, the muscle in his jaw clenched as she slipped his hand over her leg to her aching core, pushing him against her. Her dress hid most of what they were doing, but it could not hide her face, nor Albert’s. Their ragged breathing, the need that shone in his eyes that she knew hers replicated.
He pushed against her, and she gasped, closing her eyes. Her body ached, thrummed, and she would do anything to be alone with him. Excited to see what else they would do when they were. She longed to be away from prying eyes so he could give her what she wanted.
"Oh," she gasped. He teased her in a circular motion. She longed to lie back upon the blankets, to open up to him, to let him have his way with her. So this was what she should have been doing with her hand in the bath…
How wonderfully wicked it would be when they could finish their interlude.
* * *
Albert could not stop, nor could he tear his hand from her cunny. Damn it. He was surely going to hell touching a lady in this way—his friend's sister. The duke would call him out, and rightfully so should he catch them. They were walking a fine line of both scandal and desire. He watched Victoria with something akin to awe. She was so beautiful, so innocent, and utterly reckless. He'd always known she had a little rebellion in her blood, but this… Taking his hand and placing it against her sex floored him.
She utterly spellbound him, and he wanted her.
A virgin he may be, but after being around her, he was starting to think that having sex, taking pleasure from each other would not be so hard after all. It was more natural than unnatural, especially when it was with a woman one desired more than anyone else in the world.
The sound of the duke laughing in the olive grove pulled him to his senses, and he moved away, fisting his hands in his lap. Not only to keep them off her person but to stop anyone from noticing his erect cock straining against his breeches.
"Meet me in my smoking room tonight as you did today," was all he said as Victoria's mother, the duchess, and brother rejoined them.
Thankfully they did not move back toward the carriage for some time, content to finish lunch and the two bottles of champagne his cook had chilled and packed for them.
Victoria stood and, taking her mama's arm, strolled about the area, looking at the olive grove herself.
Josh studied the champagne in his hand, a quizzical frown on his brow. Albert schooled his features, hoping that he did not suspect that he was overstepping his bounds with his sister. Which he certainly was doing. And tonight, would even more so.
"How is your courting of Victoria progressing? It seems she likes your company better than most. Why, before I left London when Armstrong’s courtship had just begun, she never showed much emotion with the chap." The duke lay down on the blanket, watching his sister and mother promenade. "With you she’s all smiles and laughter. A shame that Armstrong was not able to keep his cock in his own breeches. What a gem he lost the day he overstepped his bounds."
To be a duke's daughter and be cast off for a maid, was not something that was done to someone so high on the peerage ladder. Victoria did not deserve such treatment. No one did.
"She sees me as a project, I believe, more than a possible husband. I will continue to try and dissuade her of that ideal in the coming weeks."
"So long as your persuasion is chaste, I wish you well with your endeavors. But I will not have you use her for your own misdeeds, Melvin. Victoria is my sister, and I will protect her at any cost to others."
Albert swallowed. Friend or not, the duke would not take kindly should he find out what they had done already during their “tutoring”. It was anything but a game for him, but for Victoria, he was not as certain. To her, he believed she still saw him as a little fun, a gentleman to help her gain her wants and desires and nothing more.
Even knowing this, he wanted her to have feelings for him, both physical and emotional. She was such an independent, strong woman and would be a well-fought-after and victorious lady to catch should he secure her heart.
"My intentions are honorable, I promise, Your Grace," he said, meaning every word. As for Victoria's intentions being so, he was uncertain at this moment. But time would tell, and he would either end up with the woman he adored, or he would be sporting a very broken heart that he feared would never recover.