Yes, he felt her say. Yes. Yes. Please yes!
And she did not push him away as he’d momentarily feared. Instead she pulled him down onto her, apparently unable to wait for him to make the next move.
His mouth covered the erect bud of her left chest and he heard her gasp. He brushed his teeth slowly across that sensitive area once and then again once more. He felt her writhe beneath him, soft mews escaping, as she pressed her right breast against his lowered head begging for attention. His thumb found the raised area of her right breast, still covered with the fabric, and rubbed at it slowly. Then he slid his hand back under her neckline, never ceasing his caresses, and freed that breast from its confines as well.
His right hand continued its exploration of her right nipple while his left hand brushed through her soft womanly hair and then rubbed at the slickness of her cleft. With circling motions, his tongue ran along the edges of her nipple and then he covered her again and sucked until she was taut both above and down below. Tiny spasms began to ripple between her thighs as her desired strengthened. Feeling her response only intensified his own desires and he felt his own ache and wants growing.
But he could not give into that now. He would not. Not until he had brought her to ecstasy and watched her as she gave herself to it. So instead he rubbed her divide further and deeper as the spasms grew, and then he slipped one strong finger between the lips and pressed inside.
A quick gasping moan resounded though the air. He almost lost it right then, and so did she. But neither of them was quite at that place of release and so he continued on with his not so-noble-pursuit.
As he slid his finger further inside, her walls squeezed against him. He used that to his advantage, moving in and out with each spasm, as his thumb began to rub at the hard bud of her pleasure. He wanted to fill her. He needed to. And so as her next spasm momentarily eased he slipped a second finger inside to join the first. The reaction was almost instantaneous as her spasms tightened against him, coming closer and closer but still not quite there yet.
For a moment his mouth went back to her nipple, sucking it hungrily, responding to her needs and his own. His fingers still pushed into her, filling her, widening her against him. But then he decided to take a different path to reach the intended destination. His mouth popped off of her nipple with a sharp smack of skin. His fingers pulled out leaving a void inside of her. She made a noise of protest, knotting her hands in his hair as she tried to push him back down to suckle her more. His eyelids flashed upwards allowing their eyes to connect as he licked her nipple on last time
“You will not be disappointed,” he whispered, allowing himself to speak for the first time.
Her breaths were quick and shallow as she gazed at him, deciding what to do. At last she released her fingers from his hair and let him go.
Down. Down. She let him go down. Searching hands pushed the skirts of her dress up above her waist and then over her head until finally, she lay bare before him.
And for a moment he just took her in. The vision of her was breath taking. Rosy-cheeked and dazed with a shimmering mist covering her skin, he knew that she was the most beautiful woman he would ever have the privilege to gaze upon. She was radiant and voluptuous and she was about to be his.
He took her. Into his mouth he took her.
Her belly button was the beginning of his journey. Mouth and tongue took advantage of the deep void in her skin. With a flick and a tickle he breached the void, entering into her in yet another away. He only lingered there for a moment though. Just enough time to excite her—and him—as he used her navel to mimic his plans for the very near future.
Kisses brushed her stomach just below the void, moving down over her abdomen, slowly and surely, from one void to another. He felt her stiffen for a moment and then grab his head to halt his actions.
“There?” she asked with trepidation, speaking her first words since this all began.
The reaction of her body made it clear that she had not expected this. She was unsure what was happening, scared and questioning his motives. A secret, wicked smile crossed his lips at the realization of her naiveté. This was something he hadn’t expected and he relished in it. How absolutely delicious this would be… in more ways than one.
The pressure of his desire began to throb at the thought.
“Yes, most definitely there.”
He didn’t waste time explaining why. Instead he showed her without reservation. He cupped his arms under her thighs, drawing her nearer to him in body and mind. His lips brushed the soft skin of her thighs, sending jarring bolts of red hot pleasure through her. She struggled against him slightly but not in protest, he could tell. These movements were meant to bring her closer to him as she anticipated his next move and gave into her deep, base desires.
Her eager movements excited him further until he could no longer wait to take her in his mouth and taste her. His tongue traced a line along the inside of her leg as he worked his way up to the area of her secret sensuality. When at last he reached his destination at the joining of her thighs, he found it fervent and wanting. His mouth came down on her, covering the most responsive bud of her womanhood with his lips.
With soft flicks, he licked at her, tasting her sweet feminine desire, beckoning her into fever with each motion. His tongue toyed with her closed lips, encouraging these ones to open for him as well and allow him entry. She heaved beneath him, twisting, and throbbing, pressing him further into her with a powerful thrust. He jabbed his tongue inside of her feverishly, pushing and pulling with each of her movements, awaking untold pleasures and satisfying unrecognized desires. She grabbed his head, cradling it between her hands, fingers pulling at his hair, as she pushed him hard against her.
He welcomed her enthusiasm. He quivered from it.
After some time he lifted his mouth from her wetness, no longer able to stave off his own pressure and quivers. She protested with gasps and moans but he gathered her in his arms and silenced her with his mouth. The sweetness from both sets of lips merged together between them as they both tasted her most intimate desire now.
Her fingers reached to him and fumbled with his breeches until they fell from his body and pooled on the floor. The stiff length of his longing came forth and she took him into her hands and their tongues continued to twist and lick at each other. With a firm and powerful grasp she stroked him causing his breaths to come faster, closer, until he gasped audibly and pulled away.
She detached her hand from him with a look of worry on her face. He collected her hand is his and wrapped them both around him. Slowly, he ran them up and down the length, stimulating his senses in a new way.
“Slowly,” his voice rumbled out of him as he let her continue the pursuit on her own.
He rucked up her skirts again in preparation as he pulled her to the very edge of the desk and wrapped her in his arms. Her body formed to fit his, like a well-worn and comfortable piece of clothing. He kissed her mouth and her chest. He ran his tongue over her nipples. He roamed and explored her. He tasted her and excited her. His hands flew over her exposed skin, with a soft and spiritual trace. Fire ignited from his fingertips where he touched her. Her dreamy eyed gaze met his as he readied himself to enter her and for a moment—the first moment since this all began—he thought he had her.
She urged herself towards him, ready to take him inside of her, but he paused for a moment. Lingering on their gaze, stroking her hair, reading her. His want for her burned painfully inside of him. It was finally happening. He was about to know her most intimate secrets. All he had to do was clasp his arms around her and pull her onto him. It was all that simple for him to finally fulfill his dream.
Except that this was not at all how he’d dreamed it. This was not at all how he remembered it…
In both they were more than friends. In both Mary was not promised to another man. In both Mary loved him the way he loved her.
“Are you in love with me?” The words were out before he even re
alized he’d spoken them.
Her eyes grew wide, the haze that covered them all these past moments faded and with it, the spell. She blinked, repeatedly, suddenly seeing for the first time what was going on around her. All at once she went stiff. Even her energy ran cold enough for him to feel. The woman who welcomed him only moments before was no longer there.
She rigidly tried to push him away with two firm hands but he was grasping her too tightly. This sudden movement had given him a new view of her face and it was at that point he saw an emotion growing in her eyes. Something was manifesting there in her wide eyed and piercing gaze. But she was masking it, fighting to hide it, it from him.
Fear, he realized. But what fear?
He wasn’t sure if she was afraid of herself, or him, or the old feelings and memories that were coming to the surface. Or perhaps it was all three.
He tilted his head contemplatively as he tried to find an answer in the silence.
She snapped her eyes shut. She closed him off.
Mary forced his hands off of her and collected the fractured pieces of her resolve. She pushed him away and jumped off of the desk. Her face was streaked with tears.
“If you only knew…” she choked out through gasps as she backed away and repositioned her dress. “How dare you!”
And she ran away in every way that a person possibly could.
Chapter 11
Summer 1817
A few days ago…
The invitation to join her step-father for tea came rather unexpectedly and was delivered by an exceptionally disheveled messenger.
“Is everything alright?” Mary asked with furrowed brow. It was very much unlike her step-father to set anyone into such a miserable mood.
The messenger said nothing, only handed her a note and left as quickly as possible.
Lady Mary—
You will take tea with me in my study in one hour.
-Brandon
Simple, to the point, and brash. More like a summons than a request.
Mary felt her stomach churn.
She toyed with the paper message—folding it and unfolding it and crinkling it between her palms—all through the next hour and the entire walk to her step-father’s study, where at last she put the ruined paper in her pocket.
When she pushed open the door of Lord Brandon’s study, it felt unusually heavy against her hand.
Over the years she had forged a decent relationship with her step-father and she always looked forward to their meetings and the talks that they shared. He would never replace her father, of course, but it hadn’t taken long for Mary to understand why her mother had fallen in love with him. He was a kind man, decent and fair, whose view on the world was level-headed and even.
Normally Mary looked forward to visits with her step-father, but not today. Today something was different and Mary was not sure what it was or what to expect.
Lord Brandon was sitting at his desk, head down, absorbed in paperwork. He looked up when he heard her enter and Mary saw something flash in his eyes. Something sad and hurt and also disappointed and worried.
“Please, sit down, Lady Mary.” He quickly looked away from her when he saw that she was looking in his eyes.
“Of course, Lord Brandon.” Mary stiffly took a seat across from him. Her stomach was now doing summersaults. “Will the tea be here shortly?”
A warm drink and some bites of food would help, she thought.
“Oh, yes. I did say there would be tea, didn’t I…”
Mary frowned. It was not like him to forget such a detail.
“I’m sure it will be here soon. But until then,” he finally looked up at her now and squared his eyes on her with a strong and even gaze. “I trust you are feeling well today?”
“I’m feeling well enough, I suppose…” she lied. Her stomach turned over again.
“Then I’m afraid I must ask you, what in God’s name were you thinking?”
Mary tilted her head back and creased her forehead. “Excuse me?”
He cleared his throat. “I see no need to draw this out so instead I’ll get straight to the point.”
He fished around in his desk until he found a hand written note and set it down in front of her. Then he rose from his seat and stood next to his desk placing his finger in the center of the paper.
“This anonymous note was delivered to me this morning.”
Mary looked down at the writing. She almost lost everything in her stomach right then.
Lord Brandon—
It has come to my attention that Lady Mary has been acting as somewhat of an unofficial courtesan for the last several years…
“Courtesan is not the correct word at all…” The words left her mouth almost unconsciously.
“That’s all you have to say for yourself?”
“What would you like me to say?”
“So you don’t—” His voice fell off at the end, and when Mary looked at him the depths of his eyes were heavy. “You don’t deny it, then?”
“I only deny the way I’ve been presented in that note. The term ‘courtesan’ is—”
“Does that truly matter now?
Mary stood to face him. “Well, of course it does. To me it means everything. For who I am, for my reputation—”
“I assure you, your reputation was not sullied by a word, no matter how inaccurately you feel it depicts you. Reputations are destroyed by actions—”
“You don’t understand.” Mary rapidly shook her head from side to side. “Please let me explain. Let me tell you what is really—”
Lord Brandon crossed his arms. “It doesn’t matter what you have to say. It’s too late for any of that now.”
“Have you told anyone else?” She held the note between the tips of two fingers.
He shook his head. “No. Of course not. I came to you first.”
Mary went to the fireplace, lit the paper on fire with shaking hands, and then threw the note inside. The edges began to curl and crackle as the paper was quickly consumed by the flames.
“There. It’s all taken care now.”
From behind her she could hear her step-father take one long slow breath and then exhale loudly. “That note is the least of our worries.”
“How so?”
“Well, to begin with, someone had to write that note—”
“So we find him! And we—”
“And we do what, Mary?” He used her first name—just her first name. No ‘lady.’—and she thought she heard his voice crack. “Talk to him? Pay him off?” He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “What happens when word of that gets out? Will we have to pay off all of your—your—” This time his voice actually did crack. He tried to hide it by clearing his throat but it was too late for that. Mary could hear the ache in his voice. “—your—suitors?”
He stressed the last word and Mary realized what he was implying.
“Is that what you think of me? I am not a loose woman. I haven’t done—”
“What else am I supposed to think, Mary? You’re four and twenty, unmarried, and have given no indication of doing anything of the sort any time soon. And then I receive this note—”
“And you just assume before asking me to explain?”
“I gave you a chance to deny it. You did not.” His voice was quivering. Until this moment it had never occurred to Mary that anyone would ever be hurt by her decisions. Lord Brandon had always treated her with such kindness and it made her heart ache to see the pain she was causing him.
“You still have not let me explain. Please. If you would just—”
“The details do not matter. All that matters is that some part of what you’ve been accused of is true, because that’s the only thing that anyone will ever care about if this gets out. Don’t you understand that?” He was pleading with her. “All that matters now is that we find a way to remedy this.”
Lord Brandon clasped both of Mary’s shoulders. “I am not your father, I know that, and I w
ould never try to take his place, even if I could. I know that this isn’t even truly my place at all, but when I married your mother I promised her I would see you taken care of. And I intend to keep that promise. So, I thought that perhaps the two of us could come to an agreement together, as adults. I’m hoping that we can come to a mutual decision that will best benefit this entire family.”
Mary felt all of the blood drain from her face. She knew that he was right. If they could not find a way to smooth this over then the reputation of her entire family would be at stake. Thank God her sisters were so much older and already married so she didn’t have to fear for their future. But what if they hadn’t been? And what of her mother and the step-father who had been so good to her? What had she done? How selfish could she have been all of this time?
She slumped down in the chair by the desk.
“And how do you propose we do that?” Her voice was raspy.
Lord Brandon sat down on the edge of the desk and crossed his arms in front of him. “This morning, shortly after I received the note, Lord Hampton paid me a visit. He wanted to speak with your mother and me about a proposal of marriage…”
Mary’s eyes went wide. “Marriage? Lord Hampton?”
He held a hand out to stop her. “As I said, I’d just received the note and as you can image I was in quite a state of shock.” He paused.
Was he waiting for her to say something? Did he want her to say she was sorry? She didn’t even know where she would begin, but before she could think of anything, he continued on.
“After Lord Hampton finished talking and realized that I wasn’t listening at all, he noticed that I’d taken on a rather pale appearance and he asked what was wrong…”
Mary perked up straight. “But you said that no one else knew—”
“No, no. I said that I hadn’t told anyone about this.” Lord Brandon cleared his throat. “I told him that I’d only just received some very upsetting news and that now was not the time to discuss marriage proposals. Well, of course he wanted to know if the news was about you and I told him yes…”
Wicked Game 02 - Something Wicked Page 18