He gasped as her sheath tightened around him, pulsating in release. He bit his lower lip, fighting not to come just yet, waiting until just the right moment. Holding on as long as he could, he gritted his teeth and continued stroking inside of her, his legs trembling as the inevitable climax nipped at his heels. It nearly crippled him, causing his bollocks to contract and forcing the air from his lungs. He felt certain his tight grip left fingerprints on Petra’s thighs as he dug into them and lunged one last time.
Pulling away slowly, he collapsed on the bed beside Cecily, who had rolled from on top of Petra to lay between them. Pulling her against him, he kissed her temple, then her cheek. Smiling, she turned her head and kissed him back.
Relief swept through him. While he’d known having Petra with them was something his wife had desired, he’d also worried that she would find watching him have sex with another woman to be distasteful, after all.
However, his wife had been sated and seemed pleased as she lay sandwiched between her two lovers. Draping one arm over Petra, who lay nestled against her, she closed her eyes.
Reaching down, he found the counterpane and pulled it over the three of them. As his racing breath began to calm, he held his wife and began drifting off toward sleep.
Cecily opened her eyes and smiled. The morning sun filtered through the windows, slightly stinging her eyes. Stretching, she came toward full wakefulness, reliving every moment of the night before with a grin. A slow throb began between her thighs as the memories awakened her with insistent longing. Turning onto her side, she frowned to find the bed empty where Petra had once laid.
Lifting herself up onto her elbow, she scanned the room, finding it cleared of Petra’s belongings. She’d brought a valise that had gone missing, and the discarded nightgown was gone, as well. Sitting up fully, she glanced over at Sheridan, who still lay sleeping on his stomach beside her. Rising from the bed, she located her robe and slipped it on. Walking toward her dressing room, she listened for any sound that might indicate the woman might be on the other side of the door.
Instead of Petra, she found a crisp, white envelope resting on her washstand. Their names had been scrawled on it in a neat hand.
Cecily and Sheridan.
Curiosity gnawing on her insides, she opened the envelope and found a thick sheet of stationary inside. She recognized it from the writing desk in her room. Trudging back into the bedroom, she read the note.
Dear Cecily and Sheridan,
I thought to leave before your servants intruded. Imagine the shock if they were to find me in your bed!
Last night was quite an experience, and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. Thank you for inviting me into your lives, your marriage, and your bed. I am thrilled to see the progress that you have made as a couple. Nothing brings me more joy than helping people explore each other in new ways.
Do call on me if you ever find yourselves wanting to invite another woman into your bed. I, or one of my girls, would be more than happy to oblige you.
Yours sincerely,
Petra
On the bed, Sheridan rolled over and stretched with a groan.
She perched on the mattress beside him and waited for him to come fully awake. He brushed the hair out of his eyes and peered up at her. A slow smile creased his face covered by a night’s worth of stubble.
“Good morning, love. Where’s Petra?”
Holding up the note where he could see it, she shrugged. “Gone. She wanted to leave before the servants could discover her.”
He chuckled, the sound much deeper with the clinging talons of sleep in his voice. Cecily quite liked it.
“Could you imagine their horror if they had? As if we haven’t caused enough scandal.”
She slid back into bed beside him, allowing him to nestle the coverlet around her.
“I do believe I am the one who started the last one. I will thank you not to take all the credit.”
Sheridan’s hand slipped beneath her dressing gown and he fondled her buttocks.
“Hmmm, my naughty little wife. Whatever shall I do with you?”
She lay back and let him untie the belt of her robe, sighing when his hands found her bare flesh.
“Whatever you wish, my love,” she replied. “I am yours to do with as you please.”
He nuzzled her neck, the stubble along his jaw tickling her. “That leaves us open to so many delicious possibilities,” he mumbled, nibbling at her shoulder. “It sounds like the makings of quite a marriage.”
“A passionate marriage,” she replied, arching her back as his tongue caressed one of her nipples. Then, thinking of Petra, she giggled. “No, a scandalous one.”
He glanced up and their gazes met, and she knew he thought of Petra, too. Perhaps someday, they would invite her into their bed again, or someone else. Cecily found she’d enjoyed sharing her husband with another woman. However, for now, she felt content to be with him, reveling in their love and the little life she would bring into the world the following summer.
“A marriage most scandalous,” he repeated, nodding. “Yes, I quite like the sound of that.”
Dear Reader,
After writing Masquerade, book 2 in the Scandalous Ballroom Encounters series, I felt so bad for poor Sherry. While dashing dukes get our heart pounding, and we cheer when they steal the girl from the ‘good guy’ … well, I always like to think there’s more to the ‘good guy’ than meets the eye. Sheridan Cranfield certainly threw me for a loop and I enjoyed writing his story.
If you enjoyed A Marriage Most Scandalous, I’d love to read your thoughts in a review. Actually, I’d be glad to read your thoughts no matter what you thought of it. Reviews are important, and I do read them so that I can know how the book sits with readers, and so I can learn and grow as a writer. You can click here to leave your review on Amazon. It doesn’t need to be long, eloquent, or even a perfect, raving critique. I’m grateful for any feedback. Thank you in advance!
Read on for more about book 3 in the series, Tempting Two. This one will follow Cecily’s cynical friend Penelope … who will have two lovers of her own to reckon with.
In the meantime, I hope life brings you good books, great sex, and most of all, lots of love.
Victoria
About the Author
Sexy heroes … sassy heroines … electrifying erotic romance.
Victoria Vale has written over two dozen Romance and Young Adult novels under various pseudonyms. As a lover of erotic romance, she enjoys nothing more than a sexy hero paired with a sassy heroine, flavored with a dash of spice and lots of heat. A wife and mother of three, she enjoys reading (of course), cooking, sewing … and other activities that aren’t appropriate for inclusion in a biography.
Visit Victoria online at: www.eroticromancebyvicki.com
Email her at: [email protected]
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Tempting Two
Coming August 2015
Penelope Hunt is well on her way to becoming a spinster. When Colin Worthing courted her secretly for an entire season before making off with her virginity, he ensured that she could never make a good match … or put the pieces of her broken heart back together again. His duplicity has her convinced that men are not to be trusted, and that she would be foolish to bind herself in marriage to one for the rest of her life. Deciding that life as a spinster has its benefits, she vows to avoid matrimony and enjoy her life in any way that she can—the inheritance to be had on her twenty-fifth birthday will see her endowed to do just that.
When the commissioned officer returns home years later, much older and wiser than the young rake who ruined h
er, he wants nothing more than to put his past behind him and make amends for his treatment of Penelope by marrying her. Setting out to woo her and convince her he’s changed, he never expects competition in the form of his best friend, Edmond Ingham. What begins as a friendly competition to court the lovely, yet prickly Penelope quickly becomes something else, and each man realizes he’ll do anything to have her.
With both men out to steal her heart, a jaded Penelope begins a game of intrigues and passion—one that the members of the ton would be shocked to know she indulged in. But what does it matter when men have been breaking hearts since the dawn of time? Perhaps, the two men deserve to have their hearts played with.
And, perhaps, in two very different men, she will find that the love she thought couldn’t exist for two might just be possible with three.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
A Marriage Most Scandalous (Scandalous Ballroom Encounters Book 2) Page 13