by Sahara Kelly
“Well, ladies, I hope you’ve been well entertained with each other? We should be there in just a couple of hours now.”
The scent of fresh air and horses rose from his jacket, and Charlie had a difficult time resisting the urge to bury her nose in his chest and inhale. Mixed with Jordan’s own male scent, the fragrance was doing dreadful things to her body. Dreadfully wonderful things.
She gazed at his hands, resting on his knee, and tried to focus away from her newly-awakened awareness of him.
Her attempts failed dismally—she could only think of what those hands had done to her in the darkness of their bed. She had to work very hard to wrench her attention back to the conversation.
“…So I was able to catch up with you after all. Arthur, of course, is way behind with the other carriage, he’s never been one for neck-or-nothing riding.”
Charlie turned her head and permitted herself the pleasure of looking at him.
“Are you convinced this is the right course of action, my Lord?”
Jordan grinned. “Since you’ve been calling me Jordan for quite some time now, and in front of Elizabeth too, it’s a bit silly going all formal on me, don’t you think?”
Charlie colored and turned away.
“Charlie, love, Elizabeth is a dear friend. I trust her, and I like her. I hope you do too.”
“Indeed I do. I just…”
Elizabeth leaned forward and patted Charlie’s hand. “I understand, Charlie. You’re a private person. Anyone can see that. Just because I tend towards being a bit blatant at times…”
Jordan hooted with laughter. “Calling you merely blatant is like saying the Tower of London is a big stone house.”
Elizabeth frowned at him and promptly ignored him, returning her attention to Charlie. “He can be an annoying nuisance at times, Charlie, but you can trust Jordan and I hope you can trust me too. I’d like to think we could be friends, you and I…”
Charlie looked up and met blue eyes, smiling and honest. They stared into hers, asking for her faith that they shared something, some indefinable values or beliefs that united them as women and as friends.
She felt her lips curl, and her hand moved to clasp Elizabeth’s. “You are the very devil, aren’t you?” she grinned.
Elizabeth took that as a huge compliment. “Yes. And only a very smart woman such as yourself would recognize it.”
Jordan sighed loudly. “Oh God, we’re in for it now.”
Elizabeth turned on him, but before she could unleash a tirade, Jordan seized Charlie’s hand and held it tight, refusing to let her withdraw it.
“Charlie, I want you to know you’ll be safe at Calverton Chase.” He tightened his clasp and his voice took on a serious note.
“I am sworn to protect both you and Elizabeth, and I have set various kinds of security measures in motion that will be awaiting us when we arrive. A messenger was dispatched before first light with instructions.”
Jordan’s voice was calm now, but very intense. “I am going to ask that you both remain within the house as much as possible. There will be guards set around the property at various points, but it will be difficult, if not impossible to protect you both if you wander off willy-nilly.”
Charlie inclined her head, agreeing. She saw the rationale of Jordan’s words even if Elizabeth pouted a little at them.
“The house is quite new, you both know I’ve rebuilt a good portion of it recently. This means that the workmanship is excellent, the locks fresh and tight, and the windows well secured. This is no longer a pile of rubble with a couple of rats for tenants, but a solidly built house. It will be much easier to guard than something older which might not have withstood the ravages of time.”
Charlie stirred, longing to ask a question, but afraid that her words might reveal too much.
As if he sensed her needs, Jordan turned to her and raised an eyebrow. “Questions?”
“Your staff, Jordan. Have they been with you long?”
“Years, Charlie. I had a small house of my own long before I found out I’d inherited the Chase. My servants had kept it running smoothly while I was away on the Continent, but they were only too happy to leave and move out here, where they felt the surroundings did more justice to their elevated notions of themselves.”
He snickered. “Then they saw the place.”
“Bad?” Charlie hid her emotions, remembering her last glimpse of Calverton Chase—a glowing pile of embers shooting sparks into a dark sky.
“Almost total ruin. It took about six months to clear the debris and get an idea of what was left in the way of foundations. The fire, of course, had claimed much of it, but all the servants had fled following the disaster, and it had been pretty much ravaged by weather, creatures, and the occasional looter. Not that there was much left to loot.”
Charlie remembered the fine silver plate and several valuable pieces of jade. Someone had benefited from the fire. She wondered who.
“So all my staff are mine, I trust them, they’ve been with me since I was in short coats, practically. A fact which they remind me of on a daily basis when I’m here. There are a couple of local lads helping with the livestock, but I know just about everyone by name.”
Elizabeth giggled. “You have to admit, there’s nothing more lowering than to have your maid look at you and remind you about something very embarrassing you did when you were four.”
Jordan laughed and agreed.
Charlie let the conversation drift over her as she gazed out of the window and wondered how much of the Chase she’d remember.
Her time there was blurred now, deliberately, she supposed.
As a young bride, she’d had no visitors. Partially from the well-meaning desire to allow newlyweds some privacy, but also partially because her husband was not well-liked in the area.
So it was very unlikely that she’d meet anyone she knew or who might remember her from the six short months she’d been in residence.
The fact that the servants were all Lyndhurst people was an enormous comfort. Charlie had hated the Calverton staff.
They’d been snobbish, sarcastic, cruel, and had delighted in tormenting a young girl who had proved herself unable to breed an heir for their master. She tried to feel sorry for those who had perished in the flames, but all she could remember was the foul breath of Johnny Dobbs as he’d pushed himself into her, grinning and muttering all kinds of disgusting things.
She shivered.
Jordan’s hand tightened on hers. “All right, sweetheart?” he asked softly, under cover of the noise within the carriage.
Charlie glanced over at Elizabeth to notice her resting against the corner cushions with her eyes closed. The lace at her breast fell regularly and she appeared to be asleep.
Daringly, she allowed herself to squeeze Jordan’s hand back.
He pulled her across the seat and settled her against his body, draping an arm around her shoulders and turning her so that she could lean against him.
“Try to rest, love. It’ll be a while yet. Then we’ll be there and you’ll be safe, and you and I…”
His tongue flicked out and just brushed her ear. She shivered again, this time from the flame that he’d fanned deep in her belly.
“…You and I will find some more ways to have fun. And I don’t think chess will be involved…”
* * * * *
It was with a strange mixture of pride and trepidation that Jordan Lyndhurst, the Seventh Earl, returned to Calverton Chase with two women, one of whom was becoming more important to him as each and every minute passed.
He knew the house looked well, his workers and his architects had performed admirably. He desperately wanted Charlie to like it, and yet he himself had no great attachment to it. He hadn’t grown up here, knew few if any of the locals, and didn’t care too much for the property. It was a project to Jordan. One upon which he’d lavished his usual time and attention, but a project nevertheless.
It had never become “home”.
That is, until the moment he ushered Charlie across the threshold.
Seeing her standing there, chatting comfortably with Mrs. Hughes, the world suddenly shifted slightly on its axis. She looked right. She looked like she was completely at her ease in such surroundings. In fact, she looked like she was born to be in such surroundings.
She looked at home.
She looked like his home. His anchor. His missing piece. The indefinable something that he’d been searching for without even knowing it.
He swallowed, hard. This was a bit too much to handle all at once.
“So, Master Jordan, you finally brought home a nice young lady.” Mrs. Hughes beamed at Charlie.
Jordan wondered how she knew. Why Charlie and not Elizabeth? Equally lovely, equally adept at handling introductions. How did Mrs. Hughes know? He made a note to ask her at the earliest possible opportunity.
“Two nice young ladies, Hughie,” teased Jordan. “I take it you got my message?”
Mrs. Hughes sighed. “Such terrible goings on. Yes, we did get word, and I’ve prepared rooms for you all.” She shot a direct and rather intimidating look at Jordan who met it blandly. “Miss Elizabeth will have the guest suite at the top of the stairs, Miss Charlotte will have the Rose Rooms further down the passage, and you, of course, will have the Earl’s suite.”
Jordan smiled. Bless her for not mentioning that the Rose Rooms were destined for the future Countess and adjoined the Earl’s suite. His heart quickened and his cock stirred.
“Miss Charlotte” turned inquiring eyes on Jordan. She’d accepted his suggestion of a suitable name without demur, knowing that “Charlie” was rather unusual and might be spoken about unwisely in the vicinity of unwelcome ears.
She didn’t know that he’d deliberately chosen that name, of course. He wanted her comfortable, and also knew that hearing her own name would elicit a natural reaction, again something that he wanted.
The world was going to be kept in complete ignorance of Charlie and Elizabeth’s whereabouts, if Jordan Lyndhurst had anything to say about it.
“Let me show you ladies to your rooms…” He offered elbows to the girls and led them upstairs, while Mrs. Hughes bustled off to prepare tea and refreshments for the weary travelers.
“Here you are Elizabeth, what do you think?” Jordan swung a large door wide onto a sunny room with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a long stretch of lawn.
“Oh Jordan, perfect. This is quite lovely.” Elizabeth danced in, smoothing the soft gold velvet of the couch, and opening the desk to see its secrets. “May I write letters?”
“I think you should. Your parents must be informed of what has transpired, although I’d encourage you not to let them know where you are, of course. Just tell them you’re safe and protected.”
Elizabeth nodded. “They’ll understand. And I know they’re busy, so it will probably be a relief to them not to have to bother with my goings on for a while.”
Something in her tone caught Jordan’s ear, and Charlie obviously heard it as well. She beat him to the punch, following Elizabeth into the room and giving her a big hug. “We love your ‘goings-on’, Elizabeth. They make you who you are.”
She grinned, and allowed her dimple out for an airing. “In fact, I think I might ask you to teach me some of them.”
Jordan snorted and rolled his eyes. “Oh lord. I don’t think so, Charlie…”
Elizabeth smiled wickedly at both of them. “Well, I think when it comes to ‘goings-on’ you two could probably teach me…”
Charlie blushed and Jordan decided it was time to get out of the room. Quickly.
“Rest, Elizabeth. Write your letters, unpack—your baggage should be here soon. We’ll meet downstairs in an hour or so for lunch and have a strategy session… there are some areas we must touch upon for the safety of both of you.”
Jordan led Charlie from the room and closed the door behind them, leaving Elizabeth to her unpacking. Without a word, he turned and led her down the corridor, all the way to the end.
“These are the Earl’s rooms, Charlie. Mine by default, I suppose.”
He showed Charlie into a brand new suite, elegant and smelling slightly of paint.
“And my rooms?”
“This way…” He walked across his study, into his bedroom and past the huge four-poster bed. A soft carpet in tones of deep maroon cushioned his steps.
Detailed carving outlined a doorway at the far end and Jordan turned the handle.
“These, my love, are your rooms. Right next to mine.”
He smiled and gestured for her to precede him.
* * * * *
She was next door to his bedroom. Charlie’s heart was in her throat somewhere as she took in the significance of their sleeping arrangements. Overwhelming her was a sense of joy. He wanted her still. He wanted her near to him in the night. They could come and go as they pleased, and the household would be none the wiser.
Another little voice said “so what?” but Charlie ignored it. She was too happy at this moment to allow any kind of doubts to cast shadows across her pleasure.
She stepped into a room full of sunlight and flowers. Or so it seemed at first. Her bedroom also featured a four-poster bed, but a light and dainty one. The hangings were embroidered with large damask roses, and the coverlet matched. The carpet had the same muted tones of rose and green and Jordan opened the far door showing her a sitting room decorated in the same tones.
There were no unpleasant memories filling these rooms. They’d been swept out along with the damaged plaster and replaced with light and color. Gone were the murky and shadowed corners that had lurked in her mind for so long. These rooms, and this one in particular, was brand new.
It was elegant, delightful, and her eyes filled with tears.
Jordan was before her in an instant. “What, love? You don’t like it?”
“J…J…Jordan.” Her voice caught, in a moment that was so completely out of character for her, she wondered if she was losing her mind. All she wanted to do was to throw herself into his arms and stay there forever.
“It’s beautiful. So very beautiful…” she whispered the words as she raised her eyes to his face. She saw it soften from its worried lines and watched as his eyes warmed into something other than concern.
That “something” was echoed between her thighs.
“Jordan,” she breathed, reaching out a hand towards him in a vague gesture, not sure what she was asking, but knowing that he had the answer.
He did.
His lips were on hers before she had finished her thought, sweeping her mind clear and rousing her body to fever pitch within seconds.
Hands scrambled to unhook, untie and untangle, and she heard him sigh as her breasts sprang free of her bodice into his hands.
“Jordan…the door…”
With a muttered curse, Jordan left her breasts, rushed across the room, slammed the door shut and locked it, and shed his own shirt and jacket on the way back. His heat was pressed against her before she realized he had returned.
His hands slipped down and relieved her of her gown and undergarments, just as hers were freeing his cock from his breeches.
“Jordan…I want…”
“What do you want, love? Ask. Anything…” mumbled Jordan from her breasts, obviously forgetting the old dictum about not speaking with his mouth full.
“I want to know you.”
A quick laugh greeted this statement. “Well, sweetheart, I don’t know how we’re going to manage that. We’ve already been introduced, we’ve been naked together, and I’ve been inside you. I’d hazard a guess that you know me pretty well…”
“That’s not what I mean.” Charlie pulled away from him and ran her eyes over his body. She delicately teased a flat nipple, loving the way it beaded beneath her fingers.
“I want to go exploring. To take the Grand Tour. Of Jordan Lyndhurst.”
Jordan’s expression was beyond price. She bit her li
p against the laugh that wanted to erupt as he stared at her like she was Father Christmas, the Duke of Wellington and his Fairy Godmother all rolled into one.
She took advantage of his stunned state by turning and pushing him down onto the bed.
“Let’s get you out of these first,” she said, turning to place his booted foot between her knees.
Jordan cleared his throat. Roughly.
Knowing what he was seeing as she bent over and clasped his boot, Charlie was abashed at her own daring. But it was as if she’d left her scruples and her inhibitions behind in London. Here she was free to obey her inner urges. And my goodness, she was finding she had plenty of those.
His boot pressed hard against her buttocks as she freed one foot and repeated the action with the other, feeling his bare foot against her cheeks as he pushed her away from him.
“So beautiful, Charlie. Your bottom is a work of art.”
She chuckled as she tugged his other boot off and dropped it with a thump. “Jordan, bottoms aren’t beautiful.”
“Yours is. Trust me on that.”
She moved between his legs and helped him slide out of his breeches, loving the way his cock thrust towards her like a lodestone to North.
Finally, she had him naked. She pushed him onto his back, encouraged him to scoot back onto the bed, and eased herself up to kneel beside him.
She licked her lips.
Now she could play.
* * * * *
Jordan’s world disappeared as his attention became focused on the woman touching him.
Her expression was full of interest and fascination as she ran her hands through his hair and onto his shoulders. He loved the little curl to her lips as she bent and dropped a featherlight kiss on his mouth and followed it with little licking touches to his chin and neck.
Every now and again her breasts would brush his body, and he had to fight the urge to reach up and pull her hard against him. It was difficult, because he could sense her excitement and matched it with his own.
He could also smell her scent and knew she was getting hot and wet someplace he wanted to explore himself. Very badly.