Both of them.
The three of them together formed a tableau, frozen in time. Since she’d opened her eyes they hadn’t moved. She realized they waited for her consent. Sarah swallowed.
This was a road she had not wanted to go down. The risks were enormous on more than one level. She could grow attached to the two men—she already felt connected to both of them. Would she be able to cope once this liaison came to an end? And if anyone discovered what she was doing, her ruined reputation would dissolve any teaching, and therefore earning, opportunities for her father.
White-hot anger roared through her.
She wouldn’t be in this situation without the carelessness of her father. She had sacrificed more than expected from any good daughter. Now, for once, she would live her own life with no thoughts or worries to the consequences.
Damn society and its expectations. Damn the stuck-up pricks who had told her all her life that she wasn’t pretty enough to catch a man’s interest.
Damn them all.
Sarah cupped Warren’s cheeks. His rakish beard stubble caressed her fingers. She smiled, giving him permission. Words had no place in this moment. She leaned more heavily against Archer and arched her back so her breasts pushed deeper into his hands.
Neither man needed further encouragement.
Archer rained kisses along her nape. She shivered.
He circled his fingers around her nipples, never quite touching the sensitive pearls and pushing her closer and closer to the peak that so long had eluded her. Then he tweaked one nipple between two fingers. The pressure pushed her to her toes and to lean harder against his chest.
Warren cupped her bottom, stabilizing her as Archer gave the other nipple the same treatment. Sensations raced through her. A blaze gathered inside her and she felt dampness between her thighs.
In the back of her mind she knew she should be embarrassed at her complete disregard for propriety. But she didn’t care. It was as if a part of her she had never known before had taken over.
And she enjoyed it.
Warren leaned forward and gently blew on her moist quim.
Her knee grew weak and she slumped against Archer. He tightened his arm around her waist. The same hand also raked its fingers through her curls, pulling just the slightest bit, while Warren kissed and tongued her entrance.
Sarah had no idea how to respond. Feelings and sensations tore through her, flaring out into every corner of her body. Archer supported her weight without hesitation.
Warren’s tongue stroked across the little button at the top of her sex, the one Beatrice’s father’s books had called the clitoris. The one that had given her tingles, but nothing like this inferno of sensations.
Breathing became an issue. She panted, desperate to pull in enough oxygen to stay aware and experience the next moment.
Now they worked in tandem. One lick followed by teasing rubs across her nipples. Another lick, more rubs. Warren’s tongue moved side to side and up and down, leaving nothing untouched. Archer’s fingers captured and played with her sensitive peaks.
Her hands dug into the soft silk of Warren’s hair. How could she have known that a man’s hair was so sensual to touch?
Whimpers, moans, soft cries. All escaping her.
Part of her wanted to keep them inside while at the same time another part wanted to scream.
When Warren tapped his tongue slightly against the top of that button the pressure built and built inside her. Sarah didn’t know how to escape the tidal force launching her higher and higher, didn’t know if she even wanted to escape.
Archer captured one hard nipple between thumb and finger, rubbing back and forth with more and more intensity. At the same time Warren circled her clitoris—round and round.
Then—as if by mental command—Archer nipped the side of her neck and Warren sucked on her clitoris, throwing her into an overwhelming maelstrom of sensations. The pressure inside her grew and grew with no way out.
Until Archer cupped her cheek, tilted her head up and pressed his lips against hers.
This kiss—her first—should have been awkward and tense. Instead it was the fulfillment of all her fantasies. His firm lips pressed against her slightly open ones. His tongue thrust inside her mouth.
One hand dug into Warren’s light-brown mane, one hand clasped Archer’s dark hair. Her tongue rubbed against Archer’s. Warren tapped her clitoris. The pressure inside her exploded into unbelievable madness. Unable to process the individual sensations, she gave herself over to the two men.
And they caught her, held her safe in the storm raging around and inside her, straightened her tilting world until all she could feel was the two of them.
Sarah had no idea what would happen next or if she was ready for it.
But in that singular moment she didn’t care because Archer and Warren were there. And when Warren gently set down her leg and rose from his kneeling position to take over the kiss it was as if a final missing puzzle piece had been added. She rested her head against Warren’s chest, his clean scent of paint and man flowing through her. At her back the blazing brand of Archer, his strength and power a reminder she wasn’t alone.
Instead she was complete.
But for how long?
Sarah clenched her teeth against the pain slicing through her.
Life offered no guarantees. Hadn’t she seen this often enough? She was only here in this moment because she was angry enough with her father to take unacceptable risks. She had no experience with men, but they had done this…this sharing before. The way they touched her was too slick otherwise, too practiced.
Whenever she and Bea had scoured Bea’s father’s books, the images of two men and one woman had intrigued her the most, had drawn her to read and reread the passages surrounding the images. Far more so than any of the more traditional pictures.
Unfortunately the books had been obscure translations, which made them rather hard to understand. She had only the vaguest idea about the mechanics of such an arrangement.
But she wanted to learn more.
Being with Archer and Warren fulfilled her deepest fantasies, but Sarah didn’t know why Archer and Warren had picked her, and this uncertainty terrified her.
Until she understood she would disguise the feelings rising inside her.
She would not leave herself vulnerable.
With a small sigh she stepped out of their embrace and straightened her shoulders. “That was rather pleasurable. I want more of the same, but under no circumstances can our dalliance become public.”
Archer clung to his jaw to keep it from dropping. Warren’s frown matched his. “Excuse me?”
Sarah pulled on the robe and tied the belt before looking back at them. “I thought I was being perfectly clear. I enjoyed our encounter and I would be agreeable to continuing our dalliance, but only if we can make certain my reputation, and therefore my father’s reputation, remains unharmed.”
It was like a knife stab to the heart. Where moments before had stood the soft siren, now an automaton had taken her place.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “So let me see if I got this straight. You are willing to be both,” he waved between Warren and himself, “our mistress, but only if we can protect your privacy.”
She nodded.
Archer rubbed his aching forehead. “Why would you agree to a liaison with two men?”
Her eyebrows shot up and she looked between them. “If I am going to do something that risks my father’s and my livelihood I might as well go all the way.”
For a moment his heart dropped. She wanted none of their promises, none of their honor and words of support.
Sarah appeared to only want sex.
He studied her and realized she was not as confident as she made out to be.
She bit her lower lip and didn’t meet their gazes. The flush of fulfillment had been replaced by cheeks pink with embarrassment and she’d wrapped her arms around herself in a defensive posture.
/> Archer didn’t understand why she pushed them away after what had just happened and he wanted to shake her.
Warren grabbed his shoulder and pressed down hard. Archer didn’t call her on her demand.
“We would be more than delighted, Sarah, and we will do everything in our considerable power to protect you any way we can.” Warren smiled.
Archer clasped his hands behind his head and turned away. They weren’t looking for a mistress. They wanted a wife. But he remained silent.
Warren must have seen the same thing and he had a plan. Archer couldn’t see what it was, but he trusted his lover.
He smiled and bowed to her. “We’d happily further this encounter and delve deeper into the pleasure and passion we can share.”
Her eyes widened and she swallowed, but a nod and a deepening of the pink on her cheeks were her only other response.
Sarah turned away. “Very well. I will see you tomorrow afternoon.” She disappeared behind the folding screen. “I don’t want to develop a pattern.” Her head peeked around the edge of the barricade. “Are your servants loyal and discreet?”
Warren assured her she could trust their household staff.
Disappointment ate at Archer’s insides like acid.
Sarah stepped out from behind the screen fully dressed. If one didn’t look too closely at her hair, which no longer had the perfect and strict look it had when she arrived, and the shimmer of fulfillment on her face no one would imagine anything had happened.
Warren took her hand and kissed it. “Thank you for a wonderful sitting. I very much look forward to continuing tomorrow. I believe I will only need a few more sketching sessions before I move to canvas.”
Her smile softened and delight warmed her expression. “I am glad I am able to give you what you need.”
Warren chuckled. “You most certainly do.”
Her cheeks heated again. Warren kissed her.
Archer rolled his shoulders. The sense of being the odd one out, the fifth wheel settled over him. Making intimate connections wasn’t easy for him and he resented how effortlessly Warren appeared to have linked with Sarah.
He narrowed his gaze. He would not allow this doubt to take root.
He strode over to the couple and took her hand off Warren’s shoulder. His lover’s eyes flashed, but Archer didn’t care. He whirled Sarah into his arms, ignoring her gasp, and kissed her with all the raging emotions inside him.
She froze. He was just about to withdraw and apologize when she grasped his head and pulled him closer. He thrust his tongue inside her mouth the way he wanted to push his rock-hard cock into her depths.
Instead of shrinking back, Sarah welcomed him, tangled her tongue around his and explored his mouth with passion and delight.
Archer sank into the kiss.
Breathing was optional. Her touch was like a lightning strike. Her voluptuous form so close to him drove him mad. Only when she slumped against his chest, breathing hard, did he pull himself back together again. Behind her Warren grinned like an idiot.
Archer rolled his eyes and tucked her closer to his chest.
She clung to him until her breathing evened out and lifted her head. “I—” She cleared her voice. The sensuality in it raised the tension inside him even higher. “I will see you tomorrow.”
“You most certainly will.” He gave her one last gentle kiss before releasing her. It didn’t hurt that he had to steady her the first couple of steps until she found her footing again.
Warren tucked her arm through his and guided her to the entrance hall. Archer followed them a couple of steps behind. He watched as she took her gloves and coat from Jennings and sent him and Warren a brief smile. “Until tomorrow.”
She turned around and accompanied Jennings to the side entrance, where their unmarked steam coach waited.
It rankled him that she couldn’t come and go as she liked, that they had to hide her presence to protect her.
Warren grasped his hand and dragged him up the stairs to his bedroom.
“What do you think happened?” Warren pushed him gently until he sat in one of the leather armchairs in the seating area at the foot of the massive bed.
Archer shrugged. “I am not sure. At first I believed her façade, but I don’t think she only wants sex from us.” He snorted. “At least I hope so. I already feel her here.” He tapped his heart.
Warren sank into the chair beside him. He closed his eyes and dropped his head back. “We are making progress. Maybe we came too close and she is pushing us back to protect herself.”
Archer studied his lover and smiled. “The Dorvee Emotional Reasoning Machine.”
Warren threw him a disgruntled look.
Archer chuckled and took his friend’s hand. “You may be right. This means we have to give her assurances that we want more, that we are in it for the long haul. Show her this isn’t just a phase.”
Warren nodded. He pulled Archer’s hand to his lips and sucked a finger into his mouth.
Archer groaned.
His lover released him and kissed Archer’s palm. “She is the most beautiful and responsive woman I have ever met.”
Archer agreed and exhaled. Giving Sarah assurance would mean opening himself to his emotions and the rejection that could come with those feelings.
It wouldn’t be easy, but their future was worth the risk.
Warren stretched out his hand and stroked Archer’s still-hard cock. His hips jerked. “What was that for?”
Warren shook his head and yanked him close for a deep, hard kiss. “What do you think? Stop worrying about the worst that can happen and work on that foundation. Today she allowed both of us to bring her to fulfillment.” He cupped Archer’s cheeks. “Both of us, you idiot. She wouldn’t let you close if she didn’t trust you or feel for you on some level.”
The slice that the loneliness he’d experienced moments ago had cut into him scabbed over. Archer nodded. “You are right.”
“Of course I am. And I am also right when I say you need to let go.” Warren cupped his lover’s cheek. “If there is pain to come, we will deal with it. But not trying guarantees pain.”
Archer caressed Warren’s temple. “When did you get so wise?”
Warren chuckled. “I was born this way.”
Archer shook his head and pulled him close. “I love you. I cannot imagine my life without you in it.” The string of worry eased for the time being. He hoped their plan would work.
Nothing else bore imagining.
* * * * *
The next day Sarah sat at the lunch table, the words of the paper swirling before her eyes. She still couldn’t believe what she had done the day before. How could she risk her father’s livelihood—her livelihood—for the fleeting pleasure of Archer’s and Warren’s touch?
She sipped her tea, far weaker than she liked as this was the third brewing, and studied her father at the other end of the table. Once again his shirt was wrinkled and some of the buttons closed crookedly. His hair stood on end on the back of his head.
He looked like a young boy eager to race off to his next adventure. The same blazing rage she’d experienced yesterday roared through her. She balled a fist below the table. Why did she always have to be the responsible one? Why was it her role to solve the problems he caused in his chase for the next great invention?
Because she had made it her role.
She dropped her gaze to her cheese and crackers.
He had barely touched his lunch, the soup growing cold and the water biscuits stale. Not to mention the cheese was drying out. Fine, if he couldn’t appreciate his food today, he’d just have to have it again tomorrow.
She wouldn’t let anything go to waste. They couldn’t afford it.
She rubbed her aching forehead.
Truth be told, he probably wouldn’t even notice. The rage dissipated again as quickly as it had come to the surface. Her shoulders slumped.
After her mother’s death all she thought of was to make thi
ngs easier for him. She’d taken on all the chores and worked hard to fix any problems that came up. It had made her feel close to her mum and in no time at all it had become the norm for her father. It still made her feel needed and it was the one thing she excelled at. And by never confronting him with the consequences of his actions, she’d basically enabled his behavior.
Now she could either continue as she had or tell her father she posed as a nude model for a friend of the man her father hoped to impress with his invention.
She pinched the bridge of her nose. That was not a conversation she wanted to have. Sarah lifted her teacup only to put it back down. After everything that had happened over the last three days she deserved a strong cup of tea with a dash of milk.
She rose. “I’ll make more tea.”
Her father barely looked up from his technological article. “Not for me, thank you. I’m heading out to the Hall in a few minutes.”
Her heart stopped beating. “The Hall?”
The Hall was the meeting ground for the members of the Royal Institutes of Sciences and Engineering. A rotating panel from every brand of science sat in judgment of the proposals brought before them.
Usually not particularly kind judgment.
He looked up and grinned. “Yes, I want to share some of my thoughts on the Rigdon’s Banknote Verification Device with the panel.”
She swallowed. “Do you think that’s a good idea? Shouldn’t you keep all the details to yourself until Mr. Latimer has time to review it?” Usually when he came back from the Hall his need to prove himself to the panel drove him to even more erratic behavior than usual. In their current situation they could not afford another misstep. “Aren’t you teaching the Franklin boy today? I’m sure he’d love for you to share your automated catapult.”
Her father frowned for a second, but then his expression cleared. “You are absolutely right. And with the help of the trebuchet I can explain tension, torsion and gravity.” He jumped up and waved at her. “I’ll just have to ensure the counterbalance is calibrated correctly. Thank you, my dear.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek and rushed off.
Sarah sank back into her chair, the teapot still in hand. Her racing heartbeat slowly calmed. Close call.
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