Released

by Adella J. Harris

  Jim swallowed.

  Robert gave him a small smile and nodded. “I’ll go down and find someone to tell Garrett to see to the horse. When I see Randall in the morning, I’ll tell him you didn’t want to interfere with his business deals and won’t be down. Good evening, Jim.” Just like he really was a naturalist friend with the boring job in town who was spending the night.

  “I’ll walk you down,” Lionel said, “and make certain there’s no one in the hall so Jim can get across.”

  Jim sighed. Clearly, Lionel couldn’t wait to be away. The bath did sound wonderful, though. He went to the door as Robert and Lionel left and saw the hall was empty, so he was able to dart across to Lionel’s room. Maybe he could take one of Lionel’s old suits he’d left behind the last time before he left. It would make it easier to run if he had clothes.

  Lionel followed Robert down the servants’ staircase again. Robert didn’t say anything, but he didn’t tell him to leave either. At the bottom of the stairs, Lionel stopped. “You saw him at Dixon’s?”

  Robert nodded. “It had to be him. The timing was right.”

  “But you didn’t recognize him on the lawn when you saw him. You would have said something to me, wouldn’t you?”

  “Yes, Lionel, I would have, and no, Lionel, I didn’t, not from Dixon’s. I did remember seeing him around at Rosamond’s, but you knew about that. When I saw him, he was dirty and naked and oiled, and his hair was falling in his face and his body was bruised, and he wasn’t how he is now. I don’t know, he was quieter, not so willing to talk. I assure you, if I didn’t recognize him, no one else who was there will. I paid far more attention to him than they did.”

  “So what do I do?” Lionel asked. He didn’t think Robert would have an answer.

  Robert shrugged. “What do you want to do?”

  “Tell him I love him and ask him to stay.”

  “All right,” Robert said, “then maybe that’s what you should do.” He leaned over and patted Lionel’s shoulder. “If it helps, he does care about you. I think the pair of you need to talk to each other.”

  “That’s what you said before.”

  “And I meant it. Go on, while he’s in your room. I’ll see the cart’s put away and take care of Randall for you in the morning.”

  Lionel clapped Robert on the shoulder. “You’re a good friend.”

  “Good luck.”

  Lionel’s rooms looked exactly as Jim remembered them. The bath had been set up in the sitting room near the fire, with towels and soap and everything. It looked as if the staff had assumed it was for Lionel. Jim sighed. If he had any sense at all, he’d try to find some old clothes to change into and get away now, while Lionel was talking to Sir Robert. That would be the easiest thing to do. It would save Lionel the trouble of having to explain that he should go, that he would be happier somewhere else. Lionel might even offer him money for his cottage, which was the last thing Jim wanted.

  But he wasn’t going to do that, was he? Jim pulled off the overcoat and dropped it on the floor then stared at the bath. It would be easier to confront Lionel when he was clean, he supposed.

  And then he had thought about it too long and Lionel had come back, standing in the room, staring, not sure what to say. “Did you have everything you needed?”

  Such a polite question. “Yes, I suppose.”

  “I’ll find you some clothes once you’re ready for them. I think the blue coat is still in the green suite. I can ask Robert for it.” He stepped forward and touched Jim’s bare shoulder.

  “Don’t,” Jim said. Lionel being kind was harder than anything to walk away from.

  Lionel stepped back as if he’d been burned. He must have forgotten what he’d seen. Jim turned to say something, but Lionel looked so concerned.

  “I’m sorry,” Lionel said softly. “If you’d tell me what I ought to do...”

  “What you ought to do about what? Why would you want to do anything with me? Do you know what Dixon meant when he said I’d greeted some of his guests last night? Do you?” Jim was yelling now, but he couldn’t stop. “He had me naked and oiled, kneeling by his feet, and when they came in, I sucked them off. All the ones who came that afternoon. I don’t know how many, but they were in my mouth, and I made them come. Is that what you want kissing you? I’m not for you. You can find someone better than me. Anyone would be.” He turned away. He was on the verge of crying, but he couldn’t let Lionel know that. Lionel was too kind. He’d insist Jim stay even when he had a house full of guests. It was so much easier to be angry. And if he could make Lionel angry, it would be that much easier to leave.

  Lionel stepped up behind him and ran his hand along Jim’s arm. “I’m sorry. I thought...I thought you didn’t want to be touched. I thought...perhaps....”

  He understood what Lionel was trying to say. It was rather sweet, really, attributing finer feelings to him. “I’m an old whore, Lionel. Having men up my arse doesn’t bother me.” Just having you know about it.

  He felt Lionel reach around and put a finger under his chin and try to guide it up. Jim resisted. Lionel sighed and came around in front of him, bending forward until he could see Jim’s face. He stroked his cheek. Jim closed his eyes. If only this were real.

  And then Lionel leaned in and pressed his lips to Jim’s. Jim wanted to pull away, but Lionel twined his fingers in Jim’s hair and held him there while he tenderly stroked Jim’s lower lip with his tongue then ran his tongue along the seam of Jim’s lips. Jim sighed and let his lips part just a fraction. Lionel’s tongue slipped into Jim’s mouth and began gently exploring. Jim whimpered. If only this could be true. But Lionel was holding him there, his fingers massaging his scalp, his lips tender and soft. When Lionel finally broke away, Jim leaned towards him instinctively. Lionel gathered him in his arms and held him to his chest, stroking his hair. Jim let himself rest there, smelling Lionel’s scent and feeling the soft linen of Lionel’s shirt.

  Lionel finally straightened, still holding Jim. “You’ll feel better after that bath I mentioned.”

  Jim sighed. “Why don’t you just throw me out?”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “Everyone else would.”

  Lionel pulled him closer. “Haven’t you figured it out yet? I love you.”

  Jim had managed to hold back his tears until that moment. After everything Lionel had seen, that was his answer. Lionel was stroking his back, whispering nonsense as Jim sobbed. It took him a moment to hear the words Lionel was murmuring. “It’s all right, my dear. You’re safe, dearest, I’m here.” Jim nestled against Lionel’s chest and managed to whisper, “I love you so much,” between soft sobs. Lionel held him close and wiped his tears away with his thumb. When the worst of Jim’s sobs stopped, Lionel brought him to the tub and helped him in then began to take care of him, gently soaping his skin and stroking his limbs until Jim felt warm and loose. When the water started to cool, Lionel helped him out of the tub and dried him with soft towels warmed by the fire then brought him through to the bedroom.

  “Your guests,” Jim murmured as Lionel pressed him back against the bed until he gave in and crawled under the covers.

  “Robert will take care of them in the morning. Well, he’ll see that Randall takes care of them, as they are Randall’s guests, but that’s the roughly the same thing. Either way, I don’t have to worry about them.” Lionel pressed a gentle kiss to Jim’s lips then stepped back to undress before crawling into bed beside him.

  Jim realized Lionel was perfectly content to sleep beside him with nothing more than a kiss, which was also sweet but not what Jim wanted. He rolled on his side and began to slide his hand along Lionel’s chest, tangling his fingers in the hair he found there and toying with the flat nipples. Lionel made a soft sound of appreciation then rolled over, putting himself on top of Jim. He caught Jim’s hands and brought them above his head. Jim let himself relax under Lionel, enjoying the feeling of Lionel’s hands everywhere and his lips and tongue following.
When he felt Lionel’s cheek brush against his cock, he pulled away and managed to say, “I want to taste you.”

  Lionel wrapped his lips around the head of Jim’s cock and teased at it with his tongue, then he crawled around on the bed until Jim could reach him as well and went back to lavish attention on Jim, this time toying with his sac. Jim licked along Lionel’s cock then took it into his mouth. He was rewarded with a groan from Lionel that vibrated along his sac. Jim closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation of his dear Lionel pleasuring him, and enjoyed the attention he was giving him. He remembered Lionel had said he loved him. If that were true... If Lionel was doing this because he loved him... He felt a particularly wonderful stroke from Lionel’s tongue and spent into his mouth. He intended to renew his efforts to please Lionel, only to feel his lover’s cock swell then the taste Lionel’s spend on his tongue.

  They lay as they were for a few moments, then Jim felt Lionel crawl around until his head was resting beside Jim’s. He leaned over kissed Jim tenderly, letting his tongue brush lightly over his lips. Then he pulled Jim close and whispered, “I love you,” as Jim drifted to sleep against him.

  When Jim woke up, he was under a blanket. He wanted to struggle, to see what new game had been devised, but he was in a soft bed, and it smelled like Lionel’s soap and like Lionel himself. Jim stilled. His cheek was resting against a broad chest dusted with coarse hair. Lionel’s chest. It felt like it, anyway. If this game was of Lionel’s choosing, he would do it gladly. Anything Lionel wanted, he would do gladly. And then the blanket dropped to his waist, and he could see he was in Lionel’s bed, with the man himself beside him.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. In fact, I was trying not to. The maid’s gone now, so we don’t need to worry.”

  Jim relaxed even more. Not a game, not preparation for a new sort of humiliation, just hiding him from the maid while she laid the fire.

  “I’m going to tell them not to come up until I ring for them in the future. I meant to before, but then you left, and I...”

  Jim leaned up and kissed Lionel gently. “If you think they’ll suspect something…”

  “No, we’ll be careful. If you stay, I mean. I’d like it if you stayed. I’ll find you the clothes I mentioned. Then we can tell the others you finished your project and agreed to stay for the rest of the party.” Lionel got out of bed and went to the bureau.

  Jim stretched out happily in Lionel’s bed. Lionel knew everything and wanted him to stay. He turned to get out of bed and noticed a bag of money on the nightstand, and his heart crashed down. “You don’t need to pay me.”

  Lionel turned from the bureau and saw where Jim was looking. “I wasn’t. That’s your money from Dixon.”

  “He paid for those two days?” That didn’t sound like Dixon at all.

  “No, and the way Robert got you out of there, well, I don’t think he will be. That’s yours from being his concubine—well, what you gave to Mr. Quincy.”

  Jim sat up. “You got it back for me?”

  “It’s yours. You earned it. Remember, I’m still acting magistrate here. Quincy came to warn me that there was a prostitute in the area who had tried to buy a house from him. I pointed out that keeping your money was stealing, no matter how justified he thought he was, and convinced him to let me take the money into custody so he wouldn’t be accused of the crime and ruin the rest of his business. Now I’m returning it to its rightful owner.”

  Jim picked up the pouch and opened it, quickly counting the money inside. It was all there. Lionel had gotten it all back for him.

  Lionel sat on the edge of the bed. “When you find your property, you could let my solicitor handle the transaction for you. Then you wouldn’t have to meet with the agent, and no one at Dixon’s will know you’re the one buying it. And no one would question you if they knew you had hired him on my recommendation.”

  Jim felt his heart twist inside of him. Lionel had said he wanted him to stay, and Jim had thought he meant forever, but he must have meant stay for the house party. He was ready to let Jim go, let him run off to some corner of England and buy a little house and not see him again. It was what he’d wanted; he couldn’t blame Lionel for trying to give it to him. Only he didn’t want it anymore. He wanted to throw himself at Lionel’s feet and offer to stay any way he’d have him. Offer to be a concubine in his house if he’d let him. Anything to stay close to him. He leaned over to pick up the shirt Lionel had left on the edge of the bed. “It’s very kind of you to offer.”

  “Of course, there’s always... I mean, I know you want your own cottage with a garden, and you worked so hard to get the money for it, but if you’d consider...” Lionel rubbed at the back of his neck. “I know it’s not what you want, but if you’d at least consider... I mean, this place is sorely in need of a gardener, and the Lotus Tea Company practically runs itself in London. I only need to go there a few days a month to sign papers, so if you were here, I’d be here most of the time too, and I know it wasn’t what you wanted, but I thought I’d say just in case...”

  Jim sat frozen in place. Lionel couldn’t be asking what he thought he was. And then he saw how nervous Lionel was, playing with the sheets and worrying the rug with his toes and completely terrified that Jim would—would what? Say no? Lionel wanted him here, and he thought Jim didn’t want to stay. Jim flung himself at Lionel, wrapping his arms around him and pressing his head to the strong chest. “Of course I’ll stay, if you still want me. Anything you want. Gardener, servant, concubine. Tell me, just let me stay.”

  Lionel’s arms slipped around him. “Lover?” Lionel whispered into Jim’s hair. “Or how about beloved?” He brushed a soft kiss against Jim’s forehead. “Could you love me?”

  “I already do,” Jim whispered.

  “Good, since I think I’ve loved you since the mail coach.”

  Jim smiled. “I suppose we should dress before anyone comes looking for us.”

  “I suppose. And once I’ve gotten rid of Randall’s guests, we can figure out what to do about the garden. I’ll leave the hiring of staff to you. Try to get some lads from the village, but if you need to bring people from London...”

  “Hiring people?” Jim had thought he’d be looking after the gardens himself, which seemed like a huge amount of work, but work he’d do gladly to be near Lionel. But it sounded like Lionel intended him to have people working for him.

  “Yes, whatever you think the place needs. You could ask Mrs. O’Brien on the kitchen garden. She might have special requirements. And there’s a room that faces out onto the lawn downstairs. Would you like that? We’ll have to figure out how you could sneak up here every night, but I think it’s better for you to have your own space so you can meet with your staff if you need to.”

  A room of his own, staff to help him get Lionel’s gardens in shape, and Lionel wanting him with him every night. Jim wrapped his arms around Lionel. Lionel pulled him close. “Maybe we could build a secret passage between the rooms,” Jim said against Lionel’s shoulder.

  Lionel grinned and rested his cheek against Jim’s hair. “Why not?”

  Lord Dixon’s Shadows book 2

  coming August 20, 2017

  Matthew Greensleigh finally gets his chance to help in the family business, only to learn his father expects him to spend a year as a concubine for the notorious Lord Dixon. Sir Robert Farnsdale prefers to keep his pleasure professional, but when Matthew asks to be shown what to expect from his time with Lord Dixon, Robert finds himself agreeing to an afternoon together. Matthew knew it was only one afternoon, so why can’t Robert stop thinking about it? More information at AdellaJHarris.wordpress.com

  About the Author

  Adella J. Harris lives in Ohio where she writes, watches far too much British television, and reads anything with words on it. You can find a complete list of her books at AdellaJHarris.wordpress.com

 
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