by Heather Boyd
As the spinning began to unbalance his mind, he backed her into a bedpost and when he was sure she wouldn’t fall, he struggled to free himself from his coat. The broadcloth slipped from his shoulders with Calista’s help; his waistcoat sailed across the room. Calista herself tugged his shirt free of his breeches and pulled it over his head.
He captured her again and eased her back into his arms, but her hands were everywhere, sliding over his chest and shoulders, driving him mad. The cool touch did nothing to dim his ardor. He wasn’t sure what would. He spun slowly around the bed and gently laid her down. Dark eyes brightened to brilliant watchfulness, lips red and full from his kisses parted. Her tongue darted out, coating her lower lip with moisture.
His cock ached, his balls drew up tight.
Constantine deliberately turned his back on the provocative sight to regain some semblance of control as he removed his boots. When he turned back, Calista had drawn her feet up onto the bed, knees bent, chemise teasing her upper thigh. As he stared, she caught the edge of the garment and slowly worked the fabric higher, tempting him with what lay beneath.
Constantine jerked her legs straight, straddled her tempting thighs, and went to work on the front-laced corset. The quicker he had her free and unclothed, the better. Temptation needed to be equal in this bed. The cords proved a little difficult, but he considered that his hands would have performed better were he not so bloody aroused.
When the laces came loose enough, he barked, “Get undressed.”
Constantine rolled off her and stripped himself of his clothes. He had one last rational thought before he climbed back onto the bed. He dug into his inner coat pocket and removed the velvet pouch containing a condom and tossed it beside her head.
In the interim, Calista had done as he’d requested. Her bare skin glowed with health, pert, small breasts jutting up proudly, nipples erect, either from desire or from a chill. He reached out a shaking hand and covered one, pleased at the hiss of pleasure that escaped her lips. Just enough to fill his hand.
She tugged him closer and he happily complied, covering her small body and settling his hips between her spread thighs. The temptation to plunder, to take what he needed, was there in the back of his mind, but when he met Calista’s gaze, he knew there were no shortcuts to take. Not with her. He needed her to want him without reservation again.
At her urging, a firm grip pressing his head down, he peppered light kisses around her uncovered breast. He brushed the distended nipple lightly at first before drawing the peak into his mouth. A soft moan filled the room. A sound he didn’t believe was contrived. Although Calista held his head in place at her breast and the increasing pressure was a certain sign he wasn’t to stop anytime soon, he escaped her clutching limbs and rolled the bulk of his weight onto the counterpane. He didn’t want to crush such a delectably tiny woman. And he certainly didn’t want to rush to join with her. For now he was content to arouse her.
Calista arched her back, pushing her breast harder against his mouth. He eagerly teased and tugged on her firm flesh, enjoying her moans of abandonment as his due. Making love was something he took pride in. Making a woman beg for her release, his ultimate goal.
When he drew back to caution her to patience, she flung him onto his back and straddled his body. Taking control of him and his desire again was clearly her plan. Her hands, fingers spread, swept over his chest possessively. He loved the way she touched him as if storing up the memories for another time.
“Cheeky wench,” he murmured, rather pleased that she would not let him have his own way all the time. Later, he would use his greater strength to keep her where he wanted her.
She grinned at him. “Would you rather I lay still on the bed?”
When she bit her lip and leaned close as if to kiss him, he bucked his hips beneath her, settling her sex over the softness of his belly. “Hell, no.”
Already he could feel her moisture coating his skin. Was she always this aroused by her clients or was he the lucky recipient of her exceptional passion?
“What we have is perfect,” he told her honestly. “Stay right where you are, my lovely.”
Yet Calista could not be still no matter how tightly he gripped her hips or breast. She rubbed against him like a cat against the object of her affection, butting the head of his cock with her pert bottom and rubbing her breasts against the hair on his chest. The sensations were both amusing and arousing and he couldn’t imagine the night progressing in any other manner. Calista would fight his plans for slow pleasure with every hot pant of breath. Did he really want to wrestle to keep her off his cock if she wanted it so badly?
There were more hours in the night to make love to her again, and again. There was no chance he wouldn’t want her more than once tonight.
He squeezed one full orb tightly in his hand and searched for the velvet pouch he’d tossed onto the bed. Calista’s smile dimmed and then vanished as he fished out the length of gut that most men claimed prevented the spread of disease. That wasn’t the reason he’d brought one, but he didn’t want to spend the time explaining his beliefs of why such a measure was necessary.
The first time he’d fitted the condom had been rather awkward. He’d tested the purchase at home to be sure he applied it correctly without fumbling. He had no qualms over wearing one tonight. It was in Calista’s best interests and would ease his mind. Without this, he would worry. He might fail to find release.
Calista dismounted his body, coming to sit at his side on her hands and knees to watch. She said nothing as he lowered his hands to fit the thing to himself. The pliant tube wasn’t particularly attractive, and the pale pink ribbon required to tie it firmly in place seemed absurd. But the shopkeeper in London had suggested they were essential for a sensible widowed gentleman in search of fleeting pleasure. He didn’t want to take any chances.
Under her scrutiny, he fumbled with the job of tying the ribbon. Her hand touched his thigh and then she took the ribbons from his hands, tying it securely. When her gaze rose to his, the expression in her eyes caught him off guard. Laughter or any form of passion had left her eyes. The flat expression staring at him made him feel like an utter bastard. “It’s a sensible precaution,” he told her.
There wasn’t anything she could say to change his mind. He’d chosen this brothel and planned for every eventuality. He caught her face in his hand and brought her against him to kiss, determined to bring her back into the safe haven of mutual desire.
She stretched out over him, rubbing her body seductively against his skin. Unhappy that her touches had lost their strength, he rolled them so he lay above her and started to woo his lover all over again. It was then he noticed the condom was loose. His cock has grown limp within the ribbon-tied protection and it was in danger of falling off.
Constantine buried his face in the crook of her neck. Damn universe was conspiring against him, keeping him from getting what he wanted. Frustrated, he reached down to remove it, tucking it beneath a pillow on the bed for later use. Perhaps his first plan had been the better one. He would come only once and wait as long as he possibly could. He didn’t even need to be inside Calista’s body to do that.
He eased down her body, pressing kisses over her soft belly and into the dark curls nestled below. He inhaled, loving the scent of her arousal. Eager, he forced her legs apart and held their sleek strength in his hands. He touched her sex gently with his fingertips, parted her folds and admired the effect he’d had on her body. She was so wet and ready. If not for his traitorous libido, he’d already be plowing her body thoroughly by now.
Calista moaned, a sound he did not believe manufactured for his benefit. He slid a hand from her thigh and caught one lower lip in his fingers and pinched. He parted her slowly, noticing the thigh he still held firmly trembled. He blew a soft breath over her sex and she gasped.
Pleased to have her with him once more, he teased her nubbin with firm stokes, making sure to spread her moisture as he worked. She shook when
he eased a single finger inside her body and slowly withdrew it again.
“Is that the best you can do?”
He glanced up her beautiful body and set his chin on her curls. “Is that not enough?”
She raised her head, one perfectly curved eyebrow raised. “If that is the sum of your prowess, I should have let Solange keep you.”
Constantine pressed his closed mouth to her curls and hummed, knowing the sound would vibrate through her skin and bring her pleasure. Her hips lifted toward his mouth and he shifted, flicked out his tongue, and brushed over her nubbin. “More of that but harder,” she begged.
Since her desires matched his, he settled more comfortably and learned all the ways to make Calista moan. She had quite a range of sounds but the one he found the most arousing was when she scolded him by name for failing to do exactly what she wanted. He focused all his intent on her pleasure, reveling in the mewling cries that filled the room. To add to her desire, he carefully added another finger to her drenched pussy.
“Gray, don’t.”
He did the opposite. He eased his fingers deep and then withdrew, massaging her as he wished to do with his bare cock but couldn’t. It didn’t take long before Calista clenched tight around his fingers, arched her back up from the bed, and screamed incoherently.
When her thighs released him, he slipped from the bed, washed, then returned and climbed onto the bed again. Sated, sleepy eyes blinked up at him. He tweaked her nose and drew the bedding between them down as far as he could. “Are you cold yet?”
She nodded and he eased her boneless limbs under the covers. Calista hesitantly cuddled against him and Constantine nestled her closer, guessing she became chilled quickly. His cock remained at the ready, but his urgency to fuck Calista had ebbed. Touching her, bringing her pleasure, had been enough for now.
The silence soothed but after a while it wasn’t enough. He caught a strand of her dark hair and twined it around his finger. “Have you been to London?”
Calista’s cheek shifted onto his chest, her leg draped across his. “No. I’ve never been to the capital.”
“I should think you’d enjoy it immensely. There is always something to see and plenty of pretty baubles to be bought.”
A chuckle left her. “If one has the time and money to afford them, perhaps. But I’m much too busy entertaining wicked lords in my bed right now.”
Constantine cursed under his breath. For a moment he’d forgotten the exact nature of his lover. She couldn’t just decide to go to London for the pleasure of it. But he could imagine her there, eyes sparkling as brightly as any bauble worn round her throat. She would undoubtedly enjoy the pretense of the opera and Theatre Royal. A shame she could not go unless…
His thoughts fled when her hand drifted lower and curled around his length. The tight, possessive grip took his breath away. When her head disappeared beneath the sheets, he struggled to escape. No woman had done this in a very long time. His wife had not particularly liked to pleasure him in this manner.
Calista’s throaty laugh filled his panicked ears. Her tongue licked the head. His pulse exploded as she kissed him, caressed him and took him into her mouth. Constantine flung the covers back to expose her. She knelt at his side, long hair fallen haphazardly to caress his belly and thigh. But her mouth, that gloriously mesmerizing mouth, had him firmly under its spell.
Her cheeks hollowed as she sucked and his world narrowed to that one spot. Calista pumped her hand slowly, licked and kissed and sucked until he couldn’t hold back. He swept her hair over her shoulder so he could see every move she made. She lifted her head. “I take it this pleases you, my lord.”
For an answer, he pushed her head back down. “You damn well know it does so don’t stop.” When she took him back inside her mouth and tongued the sensitive head, he near exploded. What had he done to be so damn fortunate?
The speed of her hand increased, the suction of her mouth grew stronger. Constantine levered up to touch her cheek, prepared to lift her from him at the moment of release. She twisted her head slightly, away from his touch. He frowned. She couldn’t mean to… No woman did.
When she shifted between his legs, pushing his limbs wider to cup his balls, he groaned. Calista was too damn dangerous for her own good. His balls tightened, drawing up tight. His cock ached and when he exploded he didn’t call his wife’s name. He said Calista instead, because he couldn’t think of anything beyond the woman in his bed.
CHAPTER 5
MEREDITH STUDIED THE young woman opposite her. “Now curtsy, glance at me shyly from beneath your lashes, and rise. There. Captivating. The gentlemen you meet will not take their eyes from you.”
The young woman she was tutoring in the intimate arts had come a long way from her rather shy beginnings and should, if she was diligent, exceed her teachers in every way.
“Are you sure I’m doing it correctly?” Oralia, the name the girl had assumed from the day of her arrival, worried at her lower lip, giving it a pretty pink glow. “Solange says…”
“Solange has all the subtlety of bull in a china shop. Men do, in fact, know when a woman is being insincere. What you just did so innocently with your lip will enthrall the gentlemen you meet.” Meredith patted the cushion beside her and the coltish young girl forgot her training and practically leapt across the room to sit at her side.
Oralia fussed with her gown. “That was pretty?”
“Very appealing.” Meredith smiled at the girl’s uncertainty. It had taken Meredith far longer to learn how to make the most of the cards that had been dealt to her. She intended to make sure Oralia would not make the same mistakes. She could rise as far as she dreamed if she went about the matter sensibly. “The gentlemen who come to us may believe they come for one reason alone. Sex. But they don’t always want it immediately when they arrive. Sometimes gentlemen like to talk, to be teased, and to be tempted before the inevitable happens. Improving your skills in conversation is vital to doing well and being sought after. Men are very fragile creatures. They want to be thought of as desirable and intelligent. They want to believe the fantasy that you only have eyes for them.”
“Of course we do,” Grayling said from the doorway. “No man wants to be chosen solely for his pocketbook.”
Meredith glanced up in surprise and quickly stood. She dropped into a curtsy, rather alarmed that Grayling had overheard her assessment of men. “My lord, I wasn’t informed of your arrival.”
When she rose, his smile was smug. “I asked to surprise you and I’m glad that I managed it. What a fascinating conversation to stumble upon.”
He strolled into the room and lifted the hand she held out to his lips. The kiss he pressed to the back was so warm she caught herself swaying toward him.
“You were successful. I am very surprised.”
Grayling glanced at the young woman she had taken under her wing. “Would you care to introduce me?”
Meredith quickly gathered her scattered wits. Where was her mind? This was the perfect opportunity for Oralia to interact with a superior gentleman. If something came of it, a spark of desire, then Oralia could begin work at the House.
Meredith pushed aside the sudden pang of resentment while she performed the introductions. Oralia performed an adequate curtsy, glanced up at Grayling from beneath her lashes, and did everything perfectly. Meredith eased back from the pair to give them privacy to speak, trying not to listen too closely for any hint of teasing in the conversation which might signal Grayling’s interest in the young woman. Oralia was very pretty. And young.
Grayling leaned in her direction, caught her arm, and dragged her back against his side. “Not done with you yet.”
Despite her surprise, she could feel her face warming. “Oh?”
His eyes lit up with mirth. “Your protégé has asked a question I cannot answer.”
She frowned at Oralia, noticing the girl’s awestruck expression as she stared at Grayling. Such puppyish devotion had no business for a woman in
this trade. “Well?”
The hard edge to her question brought Oralia’s mind back to the room. “I asked His Lordship if he had a mistress. He said you would know.”
“I…” Meredith faced Grayling. He appeared decidedly pleased by her speechlessness. She shrugged haughtily. “Not that I’ve heard. But then my acquaintance with Lord Grayling has been brief. He could have a harem and I’d have no idea.”
“A harem?” He shook his head and clucked his tongue in disapproval. “No, no. I should only need one woman.”
Meredith tensed at the delicate subject they were discussing. After only one night in Gray’s arms, he should not be considering that he needed a mistress. He couldn’t possibly be dissatisfied with their arrangement or he would not have come back. She met Millicent’s gaze. “Perhaps you would like to see to His Lordship’s comfort.”
At the reminder of the first rule of the house—satisfy a guest’s every need—Oralia’s training came to the fore. She encouraged Grayling to sit, brought him brandy, and generally hung on his every word. When her hand landed on his leg with seeming innocence, Grayling sighed heavily and removed it. He shifted his gaze to Meredith. “I’m not here as part of her training.”
“Of course not.” Meredith pressed her lips together over a laugh. “But Oralia needs the practice. No harm.”
“Only to my good mood.” He faced Oralia and pushed away the hand that had crept back onto his thigh. “A pleasure to meet you. I can see you’ve lapped up Calista’s training very thoroughly, but remember to be yourself. There is only one Calista, and I should like to be alone with her now if you don’t mind.”
Oralia’s grin grew sly as she glanced between them. “Very well, my lord. Perhaps I shall see you on another visit.”
“I doubt that,” Gray muttered softly.
But Meredith heard and found his assertion rather pleasing. “Let Linnie know I said you are ready to have your gowns chosen, my dear.”