Once Upon A Midnight

by Stephanie Rowe

  “What was?” Alea asked, her confusion etched in her features.

  “The way you two danced—it was as if you’d practiced all your life. Yet, your technique was unlike anyone else,” Frances explained.

  Alea and I exchanged glances, and she shrugged her shoulders. “I’m not sure what you mean, Mother. It was just a simple dance.”

  The hotel staff saved us from Frances pressing the topic when they placed the first course of the meal in front of us. Polite conversation resumed, and our display was soon forgotten. When I finally found my voice, all the questions I couldn’t bring myself to ask while dancing created an easy dialogue with Alea. Several times throughout dinner, I noticed Clarence watching us with an openly amused look on his face. I would say I’m thankful it wasn’t a look of disdain, but it wouldn’t have stopped me either way. He never interjected his opinion, never interrupted our chatting, but he still watched, as any good father would do. By the end of the dessert course, Alea and I had learned almost everything there was to know about the other.

  Almost. There are a couple of important facts I still need to share with her when the time is right.

  The end of the evening came much too soon. I wasn’t anywhere near ready to leave her, and she wasn’t ready to leave me. We stood outside the hotel entrance and waited for her parents to finish saying their goodbyes.

  “Usually, these things feel like they take days to come to an end,” she said with a twinge of sadness. “This is the first one I can remember wishing would last longer. The time has passed by so quickly. It feels like we just arrived, and we’re already leaving.”

  “So true.” I nodded. “I began the evening looking for an excuse not to come at all. Now I’m desperate to find any excuse never to leave.”

  “Come by the house tomorrow, Slade. We’ll finalize the contract you sent via courier, and we’ll talk about next steps,” Clarence said as he escorted his wife out. “I trust your coachman is retrieving your carriage?”

  “Yes, sir. He’s actually waiting for me on the opposite side of the drive.” I nodded my head toward where my carriage awaited, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave Alea to climb into it.

  “Would you mind seeing Alea home first? My wife and I would sincerely appreciate your assistance.”

  “It would be my pleasure, sir. She’s safe with me.”

  He inhaled deeply and gave me a pointed look. “I wouldn’t trust you with my only daughter if I didn’t already know that, Slade.”

  Clarence and Frances climbed into their carriage, and I signaled for my coachman to pull my carriage around. The smile Alea sported lit her entire face and made me smile in return. Once we were alone in the carriage behind the closed door, she turned toward me to speak, but my mouth had other activities in mind. An impulsive craving for her consumed me, and I couldn’t control it.

  Our lips clashed in a frantic kiss. Need and desire drove us to reckless actions for a girl of her stature and family name. But if I’m honest, that was the last thing on my mind at the time. Her lips were so soft, and they were made solely for me. My hands cupped her face and tilted her head to the side to deepen the kiss. My tongue swiped across the part in her lips, causing her to gasp lightly, and giving me the access I needed to completely own her mouth.

  My tongue slid across hers, like silk on silk, gliding with grace and natural beauty in a heated, sensual dance. Her initial shock was quickly replaced with yearning, and she gripped my shirt tightly in her delicate fingers, pulling me closer and closer to her. I slid my mouth and tongue along her jawline, leaving a swath of hot kisses in my wake, and moved down to her neck. The scent of her blood mixed with the scent of her skin was a highly addictive aphrodisiac. When I slid down the sensitive skin of her neck, licking, sucking, nipping, she moved her hands to my head and gripped my hair, releasing a needful whimper.

  The carriage stilled, and I knew we’d reached the end of our journey for the evening.

  “Until tomorrow, then?” I asked, my lips touching hers.

  “You’ll be in my dreams tonight,” she promised.

  I walked her to the front door of her house and made sure she was safely inside before returning to my coach.

  Now that I’ve given her family enough time to fall asleep, I’m returning to her house.

  Indeed, you will dream of me tonight, my love. Within seconds, I’ll be in your bedroom with you. I’ll make sure you have the most fantastic dreams.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Alea, September 1790

  The last several weeks have been a whirlwind of activities, one event leading to the next, and all spiraling out of control in the most delicious and welcome ways. At the epicenter of the storm that has taken me by surprise and surpassed any expectation I could possibly dream up is the man who holds my heart in his very hands—Slade Barnett.

  When Slade first approached the table the night of the ball, I was completely tongue-tied and completely under his spell. He has the same thick brown hair as his brother, but a light smattering of a beard outlines his handsome face. His eyes are dark, mystifying, and penetrating. It was the way he carried himself that set him apart from every other handsome man in the room. He wore confidence and tenacity the way other men wore overcoats, and the others in the room seemed to sense it as he walked by them.

  Over the last five weeks, we’ve spent every day together. At first, our interactions were strictly on a friendly level, just getting to know each other and enjoying the time we spent together. Even so, I knew there was more to my feelings for him than I’d admit to anyone else. When he brought me home after the ball, he kissed me in a way I’d never been kissed before. The touch of his lips on mine set my skin on fire. I’d never felt such longing before. It traveled through my body straight to the area between my legs. The lightning bolt of desire that hit me came out of nowhere and was the most intense feeling I’d ever experienced.

  Until I fell asleep that night.

  I dreamt of him all night. My dreams were so clear and vivid I would’ve put my hand on the Bible and sworn they were real. In my dream, I was asleep in my bed, and everything in my bedroom was in its exact correct place. A slight noise woke me, and he was standing at the foot of my bed when I opened my eyes.

  “Slade?” I asked, my voice groggy from sleep.

  “Yes, it’s just me, Alea. No need to be alarmed, my love.”

  “If my dad hears you…if he finds you in here, he’ll kill you.” Immediately wide awake, I couldn’t hide the alarm in my voice or the fear in my eyes.

  “He won’t hear us. He won’t know I’m here. Tell me now if you want me to go, and I will.”

  His voice was smooth, reassuring, and even in my dream, I felt my mind falling under his trance. His beautiful eyes bored through me, seeing straight into my thoughts before he took control of them with gentle, persuasive nudges. If I’m honest with myself, he didn’t actually control me, he simply released any inhibitions I had.

  “I don’t want you to go, Slade. I want you to stay.”

  His smile covered his gorgeous face, but the predatory nature of it made my skin pebble in waves, matching the chills that ran up and down my spine. “I’m so glad to hear you say that, Alea. Let me show you how much.”

  He put his hands on my bed and crawled up my body until he barely hovered over me. When I spoke, our lips brushed together, and it was all I could do to stop myself from being the instigator. “How did you get in here?”

  “You invited me in. Remember?”

  His lips covered mine, and his tongue dipped into my mouth. His taste was exquisite and addictive. The more I had, the more I wanted, the greedier I became, and the more aggressive I grew. When I felt his smile against my lips, there was no doubt he knew how much he affected me.

  Before I knew it, my bedcovers were pulled back and I was only covered by my nightgown. His hands slid down the fabric that molded against my body. When his fingers reached the hem, he lifted it over my head without ever leaving my body. I was
fully exposed to him, and it didn’t bother me in the least. I wasn’t shy, I wasn’t ashamed, I wasn’t embarrassed.

  I was emboldened.

  My hands roamed over his body, reveling in the dips and ridges of his muscular physique. The silky strands of his hair flowed freely between my fingers. It was the first time I’d touched a man in that manner, even if it was a dream, and I liked it. No, I loved it. The strength he projected, yet his touch was tender. The masculine way he took control, yet freely gave me the reins to make the decisions.

  When his mouth covered my bare breast, my ability to think was stripped from my mind. The sensation of the warmth of his tongue wrapped around my nipple was amazing. He sucked it deep into his mouth; the mixture of pleasure and pain from him pulling it between his teeth elicited my moan of approval.

  “Has anyone ever touched you like this, Alea?”

  “No. Never,” I answered breathily.

  “Do you like it? Or do you want me to stop?”

  “I don’t want you to stop.” And I didn’t. The physical pleasure was too much to tell him to stop what he was doing.

  His mouth moved to my other breast and lavished attention on it while his hand squeezed and massaged its twin. Then his hand began moving, slow and torturous movements across my chest and down my stomach, until it rested between my thighs. Deviously close to where I wanted him to finish what he’d started. Wickedly near touching me where I’ve never even touched myself, but where I want to experience it for the first time with him.

  “I want to teach you everything you don’t know. I want you to experience everything for the first time with me. Only with me, Alea. I’ll make you feel things you’ve never even dreamed of before. All I ask is that you put your full trust in me. You won’t be sorry.”

  Then his fingers began to move through the curls that covered me.

  “You’re so focused on being a proper little lady. You don’t have to pretend with me, my love. You want my fingers in your pussy, but you don’t want to say it. Your body craves my touch so much I’d say you’re already wet just from thinking about it. Tell me what you want me to do, Alea.”

  Did I want him to do that? Did I want him to touch me there?

  “My willpower is infinite, sweetheart. I can hold my hand right here for hours without giving you what you want. But if you make me wait that long, you’ll wish you hadn’t.”

  His threat was both chilling and sexy, scaring me and arousing me at the same time. “I want you to touch me.”

  “That’s not what I want to hear.”

  I knew what he wanted me to say. Without ever verbalizing it, I knew what he expected to hear from me. Gentle nudges in my mind spurred me on, encouraged me, and reassured me. “I want you…to put your fingers in my pussy.”

  “I’ve got a better idea.” He slid down my body with slow, calculated moves while his eyes remained riveted to mine.

  “What are you doing, Slade?” I whispered.

  “Keep your eyes on me, and watch what I do to you. Watch everything. Don’t close your eyes.”

  I watched with rapt attention as he moved into position, his fingers parted the folds between my legs, and the heat from his tongue connected with what felt like every nerve ending in my body. Shudders tore through my body as he licked me and thrust his tongue inside me, rolling it around and groaning against my skin.

  “You taste so good I can barely control myself. I love fucking you with my tongue.” His words made my heart flutter, and my body released an unexpected surge of wetness. He moaned appreciatively and became more vigorous in his quest.

  My fingers gripped his hair, and I held on tightly while I watched everything he did to me. When a scream tore free from my throat, a fleeting thought of waking my parents quickly vanished and was replaced with the most delectable gratification. When the ability to think and speak returned, I was at a loss for words to describe how incredible he’d made me feel.

  “How? What? I don’t understand—” My stammering made no sense. My thoughts were jumbled, and I didn’t know where to even start to understand.

  “You’ve no doubt seen pictures in books. Naughty books your family or friends have hidden in their libraries.”

  He waited for my answer, but I could only nod in agreement. I had seen a couple of them in recent years. My father has one hidden in his office I stumbled across when looking for something else. The drawn depictions of various acts both embarrassed and intrigued me. Then when we were visiting his brother’s estate, one of my older cousins showed me a similar book, and we giggled over the different positions the characters were drawn in.

  “Did you like this?” he asked, but he knew the answer. The smirk he wore told me there was no sense in trying to argue the point.

  “Yes,” I whispered with eagerness.

  “We can do this again…and more. Every night, Alea. I can lift you up to the heavens and bring you safely back to earth again. Just give me the word.”

  “Every night?” My eyes grew wide with the thought and anticipation of such a divine promise.

  “Every night. This is only the beginning.”

  “I’ll wait for you here, then. Meet me here, every night.”

  He rose up on all fours and crawled back over my naked body. He dipped his head and drove his tongue deep into my mouth. Even in my dream, I could taste the mixture of Slade and myself on his tongue, and it only made me want more. “Until tomorrow night, then,” he promised when he broke our kiss.

  When I woke the next morning, my gown covered my body and my bedcovers were undisturbed. It was the most surreal feeling because the dream felt like it actually happened. When he came to visit later that day, my mother was concerned I had come down with something because my face was so flushed. It took quite a bit of reassuring her I felt fine and it was probably just something I’d eaten.

  At least a couple of times, I thought I’d caught Slade stifling a laugh behind his cup of tea. When I challenged him on it, his shocked and confused reaction appeared genuine, so I dropped it. I think that was the only time I actually met his gaze head on that day. Visions of what we’d done in my dream replayed in my mind every other time I’d tried.

  Regardless of my internal embarrassment, we’ve continued our daily courtship, and every day is better than the last. My father absolutely adores Slade and, in a completely shocking move, now allows Slade to take me out on official dates without a chaperone. I’m sheltered, protected, and loved when I’m with him, but in a completely different way than my family treats me. Slade doesn’t put me on a shelf, protecting me like a delicate china doll the way my father does. He shelters and protects me when needed, but he also teaches me to be independent and confident in my own abilities.

  We were walking through the park one day, and a couple of shady characters stepped into the path in front of us. They were lying in wait for us to approach, and my heart began to pound in my chest. My instincts were to turn away and walk as fast as possible back in the opposite direction. Slade stopped me and brushed his hand along my cheek.

  “Do you trust me, my love?”

  “Of course,” I replied.

  “Then walk with me. Don’t be afraid of them.”

  “But Slade—”

  He put his finger over my lips to stop my objection, looked deep into my eyes, and comforted me. “I’m with you. Nothing and no one can hurt you while I’m with you.”

  With my life in his hands, we continued our stroll. Slade continued speaking as if he hadn’t a care in the world. My eyes were glued to the two men on the path in front of us. They’d split up and were waiting on opposite sides, waiting to ambush us and to do God knows what else to us. The bigger of the two spoke first.

  “You don’t belong in this area of the park. This is our path. It’ll cost you to pass.” His eyes raked up and down my body, undressing me as they moved, and his lips curled into an ugly sneer.

  “It’ll cost you more if you don’t move on this instant,” Slade replied, his v
oice low and dangerous. “Believe me, gentlemen. You won’t like the price I charge.”

  He stepped in front of me to block me from their leering gazes. “And if you ever see this woman again—and look at her in that manner—I’ll rip your eyes out of your fucking head and make you eat them for lunch.”

  The horrified expressions on the men’s faces before they turned and ran away were all the reassurance I needed. Slade turned and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “Let’s finish our walk, shall we?”

  “How did you do that? How did you make them run away like that?”

  “I just showed them I’m not one they should try to antagonize. Maybe I’ll teach you all my tricks and skills one day.”

  “As much as I’d love that, I doubt my threats would be as effective as yours,” I laughed.

  “You’d be surprised what you can accomplish, if you handle it just right.”

  That’s just one example of what he’s done for me over the past several weeks. Every night, he returns to me in my dreams. In every dream, he keeps his original promise. My body has been racked with sensations I never even knew were possible. I’m so fully sated and thoroughly worn out after I fall asleep in my dreams, I don’t dream the rest of the night. It’s been absolutely heavenly.

  During our daytime excursions, it’s become exceedingly hard to keep my night visions at bay. What would he think of me if I told him all the inappropriate dreams I’ve had about him, about us? Is something wrong with me, or are these kinds of dreams normal for young women of my age? I wouldn’t know—and I have no one to ask, no one to talk to about it who won’t immediately judge me.

  It’s times like this when I miss Sean so very much.

  Even during his moody phase before he finally confided in me, he was still my friend. My only friend I could have an honest conversation with and not worry about how I’d be viewed later. Just thinking of Sean makes me miss him and wonder how he’s doing. It’s been so long since I’ve seen him. To think, we would be married by now had I stayed in London instead of coming to America.