by Merry Farmer
Lenore laughed deep in her throat in victory, moving her arms to slide over his shoulders in a move that invited him in. “Not yet,” she hummed. “But I have a feeling that in no time at all, I’ll be very satisfied indeed.”
“Give a man a little credit,” Phineas growled, pressing into her and spreading his hands across her back. “I’m much better than ‘no time at all’. You’ve read my stories, after all. You know just what I’m capable of.”
Lenore barely had time to catch her breath in excited anticipation before he slanted his mouth over hers, drawing a kiss from her that spun her head and curled her toes. He absolutely knew what he was doing, knew how to part her lips and stroke his tongue against hers in a way that ignited her passions and threw her into a fire of wanting. He knew how to use his lips and teeth to enhance the sensation and make it difficult for her to draw breath. And as she’d suspected, he knew how to use his hands to tease her breasts in a way that had her wishing her corset and the rest of her clothes would burst into flame and disappear so that he could touch her directly.
“We could do this right here,” he whispered, kissing and nibbling his way to her ear, and wedging her harder against the desk in a way that forced her to stand on her toes, “but I believe we would both enjoy it more if we decamped to my bed.”
“I thought you would never ask,” Lenore told him breathlessly, pushing him away enough so that she could lunge forward, grabbing his hand as she went, and fleeing to the hall and the stairs. Phineas followed her, laughing richly for a moment as he let her lead him. The moment they reached the stairs, he darted in front of her and drew her up to the first floor.
Thankfully for the limited amount of patience Lenore had, which was fading fast, his bedroom was right at the top of the stairs. He pulled her into the room, then shut the door behind them.
“Not that there’s anyone to disturb us,” he said as though he’d given a long explanation for his actions instead of simply doing them.
As soon as he turned back to her, Lenore slipped into him, tracing her hands over his shoulders so that she could remove his unbuttoned waistcoat. She was dexterous enough to kiss him as she did, taking the role of the aggressor and running her tongue along the seam of his lips. He responded with a sound of approval, closing a hand over one of her breasts and using the other to press their hips close together. It was heady and wonderful, and Lenore wanted so much more of him.
She tugged his shirt out from the waistband of his trousers, then sought out the fastenings of those trousers, fumbling to undo them. All the while, Phineas continued to steal deep kisses and make sounds of approval and encouragement. When she fully loosened his trousers and slipped her hand against the hard and excitingly large length of his cock, he gasped in pleasured surprise.
“A bold move for a blushing virgin,” he growled, jerking slightly against her.
“I think you have guessed that I am neither of those things,” she sighed in return, on the verge of going mad with desire as she stroked him from balls to tip. He was incredibly well-proportioned in both length and girth, and her knees grew progressively weaker as her imagination took over, hinting at how he would feel inside of her.
“Are all American heiresses this forward, or just the ones who were raised in the Wild West?” he asked, his hands reaching for the buttons that ran down the back of her bodice.
“Growing up on a ranch with regular exposure to the bulls enjoying themselves with the cows does give one a certain perspective on the world,” she managed to reply as her ability to form coherent thoughts began to melt.
“I have quite a bit to live up to then, don’t I,” he said, then captured her mouth in a kiss before she could reply.
She moved her hand to his hip so that she could grip him for balance as he tilted her slightly backwards, thrusting his tongue along hers with the perfect combination of aggression and passion. In spite of her confession, her experience with sex had been limited to two other times with the boy who’d been courting her years before, both of which had been fast as lightning and woefully unsatisfying. She knew before Phineas moved from kissing her to spinning her around so that he could undo the maddening row of buttons down her back that the experience she was about to have would be as different from those pitiful evenings as night was to day. Even the way he unbuttoned her had her desperate to bend over the side of his bed and have him lift up her skirts and take her from behind, right then and there.
His intentions were in no way that rushed, though. It came as no surprise, but was an immense delight, to Lenore that Phineas knew exactly how to remove a woman’s clothes in the shortest amount of time possible.
“Dare I ask where you learned these skills?” she asked breathlessly as he untied her skirt, bustle, and petticoats and pushed them down her legs in one, swift movement.
“I am the author of erotic stories that get half of the ladies of London society off each night,” he said with more than a little note of pride in his voice and temptation in his eyes as they met hers briefly. “One doesn’t reach that level of literary skill without drawing on their own experience.”
She smirked even as he made lightning-quick work of the fastenings of her corset and tossed that restricting garment aside. He wasn’t sentimental about her chemise either and had that up over her head and tossed aside, baring her breasts fully to him, seconds later. Her drawers came next, and before she could form the words to reply to him, she was standing naked in front of him.
“You sound as though you’re bragging,” she said, almost too breathless to speak. “But you didn’t answer my question.”
He had the rest of his clothes off moments later and inched her toward the bed. She tumbled onto her back, and as soon as she did, he hooked his hands under her legs and drew them up until her ankles were on his shoulders. The whole move happened so fast that she gasped and laughed, no idea how she’d landed in such an erotic position so quickly.
“Don’t you know it’s rude to ask a man how he gained his experience in lovemaking?” he asked with a devilish grin, leaning into her in a way that came close to folding Lenore in half. “Suffice it to say, I have had more than a few lovers.”
She opened her mouth to make some sort of clever reply, but before she could, he thrust boldly into her. Instead of words, a vocal gasp of surprise and pleasure tore out of her as he stretched and filled her. He felt every bit as big as he looked, and after only a few, cursory thrusts, she was gripping the bedcovers, dangerously close to climaxing.
But a few, cursory thrusts was all she got before Phineas took a step back, sliding out of her. In a move that was almost comical, he grabbed her ankles and spread her legs open, as if parting a curtain, so that he could look down at her. “Well, then. That confirms that,” he said with a mischievous flash in his eyes. He let go of her ankles and moved her farther onto the bed, settling over top of her and grinding his erection against her hip. “You weren’t lying about not being a virgin.”
Lenore’s brow flew up, even as she struggled to regain her senses. Her sex still felt the stretch of him inside of her, and more than anything, she wanted him right back where he’d been until they were both sighing in release. “And what would you have done if I was?” she asked, circling her arms around his back to learn the contours of his muscles.
“I would have apologized profusely,” he said, his mouth twitching into a devilish grin as he closed a hand around her breast. “And then I would have proceeded exactly as I am now.”
“Mr. Mercer,” Lenore said scoldingly. “I had no idea you were such a wicked man.”
“Yes, you did,” he said, one eyebrow arched.
It was then that Lenore realized he still wore his glasses, though they were fogged just a bit. She found that tiny detail unbelievably alluring. “Do you plan to wear those the whole time you’re fucking me?” she asked, nodding to his glasses.
His body tensed at her use of the dirty word. “God, you’re perfect,” he sighed, then lowered himself to kiss her.
“I do not plan on wearing these, no,” he answered at last, utterly breathless. Lenore only regretted that finally answering her question meant he moved away from her, climbing off the bed for a moment to remove his glasses and rest them on the table beside his bed. As he did, he opened a drawer and took out a small, square, envelope. “I do plan to wear one of these, however.”
Lenore’s eyes popped wide, and she muscled herself up to her elbows. “Is that—what do they call them over here—a French letter?”
“It is,” he replied, removing the condom from its envelope and quickly sliding it on. “One doesn’t gain the level of experience necessary to write scandalous fiction without disaster befalling unless one is careful.”
“How very noble of one,” Lenore replied with a laugh, flopping to her back once more as Phineas rejoined her on the bed. Truth be told, she was relieved that they would be able to enjoy each other without the risk of her ending up in a condition that would invite every sort of speculation and gossip a few months from now. That condition would land her in the impossible position of being unable to marry anyone to mitigate the scandal.
“And now,” Phineas said with a rakish light in his eyes. “Allow me to demonstrate where I derive inspiration for my literary pursuits.”
He kissed her again, drawing an encouraging sigh from her, but before she could settle into the perfection of his kisses, he broke away from her mouth to give the same amount of expert attention to her breasts. It was a part of lovemaking that she’d never gotten around to experiencing, and as Phineas kissed and suckled her into a ball of hot, aching need, she found herself furious with her former lover—if he could even be called that—for doing no more than fumbling with her breasts before getting what he wanted. Phineas, on the other hand, seemed to derive as much pride and pleasure from driving her mad with want as he did from satisfying himself.
“You never did tell me your secret,” he said as he kissed his way from her breasts, across her belly, to her sex. He glanced up at her from her parted legs, a look of masterful wickedness in his eyes. The sight was wildly erotic, leaving Lenore twitching in anticipation. “And I’m assuming that your lack of virginal purity is not the secret you had in mind.”
“Isn’t it?” She tried to be as coy as possible with her legs spread wide and his mouth little more than an inch from her pussy. The sight of him looking up at her from such a position only increased her desperation to get on with things.
He sent her a sardonic grin, then began to lightly stroke the wet folds of her sex with his fingers. Lenore gasped and shivered, tilting her head back and stretching luxuriously as he teased her. But he was teasing her. He seemed to know just how much pressure to apply, just how far to delve, and just when to stop to keep her teetering on the brink of orgasm without quite giving enough to push her over the edge. It was wildly delightful, and she hummed and cooed in response, anticipating the loss of his patience and the moment he brought her to ecstasy before thrusting into her again.
Except that she grossly underestimated his patience.
“I’m so ready,” she sighed when she didn’t think she could stand it anymore.
“Yes, I can see that,” he said with a low chuckle.
She wriggled against him, but he held her in such a way that her range of motion was limited. Held her that way and continued to give her just enough to leave her reeling. “You can proceed,” she panted, trying to bear down on his talented hand, but getting nowhere.
“As soon as you tell me your secret, love,” he said, laughter still in his voice.
Her eyes widened. He wasn’t going to let her come until she confessed something. And knowing him, he was skilled enough to keep her in that suspended state for hours. He was using exactly the tactic she’d planned to use with him against her, damn him.
“You are a cruel man, Phineas Mercer,” she gasped, arching one eyebrow at him as best she could while on her back and writhing in a way she hoped he would fine irresistible.
“Yes,” he replied, increasing the pressure on her clitoris just enough to heighten her sense of desperation. “I want to fuck you so badly that I’m about to spend as I am, but I’m not giving up until you squawk.”
Damn him, but he was good. And he knew exactly what she was thinking. It was enough to have her laughing in spite of her desperation.
“All right, all right,” she laughed and panted together. “My secret is that I came to London with no intention at all of marrying, and that becoming engaged to Freddy was a ploy to allow me to stay when my father went home.” It was close enough to the truth that he might just believe it.
“Look me in the eye and say that,” Phineas said, lifting his head and arching one eyebrow.
Lenore met his eyes and smiled. “It’s true. I swear it’s true.”
He believed her. He showed her that much by changing the intensity of his touch just enough to send her rocketing over the edge into orgasm. In spite of the buildup and mad sensations of pleasure she’d been feeling as he teased her, the strength of her orgasm came as a surprise. It throbbed through her, ripping a cry from her lungs and setting her on fire from the inside out.
Even better was the way he repositioned himself between her legs and thrust into her with abandon before she was finished coming, vocalizing every bit of relief he felt at being inside of her once more. His size was only half of the mind-shattering pleasure of him joining with her. He knew exactly how to move and how to hold her so that she felt as though the two of them were suddenly the only two creatures in the world and as if their entire purpose were to fuck. The result was that her orgasm throbbed on and on in concert with his movements, and when he finally tensed and came inside of her with a sensual cry, she was utterly wrecked.
Almost better than the power of her orgasm was the warm, floating feeling of satisfaction that followed as the two of them collapsed together, fighting to catch their breaths. They lay there in a tangle on top of his bedcovers for a moment before Phineas pulled back to dispose of his French letter, then shuffled Lenore between the sheets so that they could nestle together in post-orgasmic contentment. That surprised her as much as anything else. She’d always been given to understand that men lost all interest in women as soon as their needs were satisfied. But Phineas seemed to be eager for a whole different kind of intimacy as he cradled her against him, stroked her hair, and stole feather-light kisses from her swollen lips.
“Thank you,” he said on a sigh, resting back against the pillow and closing his eyes. “That was far and away the most delightful time I’ve had in years.”
“I’m glad I could live up to your standards,” she said, laughing contentedly and nuzzling his neck. “You exceeded expectations in all ways.”
She waited for him to make some other clever reply, but instead she was met with the steady rise and fall of his chest and the warmth radiating from him. She waited a bit more, then lifted herself enough to peek down at him, only to find that he’d fallen asleep.
A slow grin spread across Lenore’s lips. Phineas Mercer was the most wonderful, adorable man she’d ever met. He’d shattered her world and filled her with pleasure like she’d never known, then casually fallen asleep with her in his arms, like an exhausted youth. Her heart couldn’t take that kind of perfection. She brushed away a stray lock of hair from his forehead, contemplating how beautiful he looked without his glasses, then
snuggled against his side once more, closing her own eyes. He was the perfect man for her in every way. Being with him felt as though she’d come home.
But that thought brought more sadness than joy with it, and within moments, her contentment was done. With a heavy heart, she crawled out of bed, careful not to wake Phineas, and gathered up her clothes, dressing as quickly possible. She was so much more of a fool for falling into bed with him than she’d thought she would be. She’d known he’d give her a physical experience she wouldn’t soon forget. The problem was that she’d tricked herself into thinking her heart would be safe. It wasn’t. She was in serious danger of doing exactly what she couldn’t do and falling in love with him.
She tip-toed out of the room, carefully shutting Phineas’s door behind her, and fled downstairs, wondering how she was going to get herself out of yet another impossible situation of her own causing.
Chapter 6
Phin couldn’t remember the last time he’d awoken with a feeling of such contentment—a feeling that all was right in the world and that he knew his place in it. He’d been vaguely aware that Lenore had left at some point during the night when he’d awoken briefly to roll over, but he hadn’t let the fact bother him or penetrate deeply into his mostly-asleep brain. Lenore was her own woman and had every right to leave his bed to return to her own when she wanted to. There was no telling who knew she’d gone out for the evening or who would notice if she didn’t return until dawn. He may have made love to her, he may have been determined to marry her, but he wasn’t her master.
A slow grin spread across his face as the echo of his thoughts warmed him. How fortunate was he to have found a woman of financial means and sensual perfection? She was certainly everything that he loved. She was witty and bold, beautiful with or without clothes. The memory of her shapely and delightfully flexible body displayed artlessly for him the night before had him grasping his already half-erect cock so that he could enjoy his mind’s wandering more fully. She hadn’t shied away from the intensity of his desire in the least. Indeed, she’d given as good as she got, surprising him with her forcefulness and her desire.