Daring pushed Bianca on, and she plunged forward, drawing him as far into her mouth as she could without choking. Jack burst out with an expletive that both made her blush and challenge herself to take him in even deeper, working on him until she could feel the tell-tale signs of him nearing release. Only then did she release him, panting as she climbed onto the bed to straddle him.
Jack was quicker than she was. Before she could shift into place, he twisted, throwing her to her back and surging between her legs. He buried himself inside of her so deep and so fast that she cried out in surprise and pleasure. She was so primed and ready from playing with him that only a few strokes later, she burst into a fast and hard orgasm. It took her by surprise, enveloping her completely. All she could to was hold on and make sounds that were as ridiculous as they were impassioned as Jack pummeled into her.
He came as fast as she did, spilling his seed deep within her and letting out a cry of victory as he did. As swiftly as climax had come over both of them, the intensity of pleasure ebbed, leaving them panting and sweaty and tangled up in each other on the bunched and wrinkled coverlet.
“Why have we waited so long for this?” Bianca panted, wrapping her arms and legs around him, never wanting to pry herself away from his solid body.
“Hell if I know,” he answered, equally breathless. “But if you give me a few minutes, we can do it all again even better.”
“Better?” she squeaked, then fell into laughter. “That was pretty good.”
He lifted himself enough to grin down at her. “That was nothing,” he said. “I’ll have you sighing so loud that the neighbors will complain.” He followed his bold words by collapsing to her side. “Just give me a minute.”
Bianca laughed. Her soul felt as light as a feather even as her body was already stirred into another wave of desire. She wriggled free of Jack long enough to peel back the bedcovers, then nudge him into crawling under them the right way around. She wanted to make love to him in every way possible, all day, intensely, but her heart was just as happy to drift off to sleep in his arms, naked and content. She was where she belonged, where she had always belonged.
“We’ll go to Sir Edmund regardless,” Jack said in a distracted voice, just as she was on the edge of falling asleep. “We’ll let him know there’s a plan afoot. It’s up to him what to do about it.”
“Good,” Bianca sighed, snuggling against him. “But if he does nothing, we’ll act.”
Chapter 18
Christmas was just a week away, the results of the election were announced, and Bianca was once again feeling as though her life was on track.
“The Liberal Party won,” she announced to Jack over a simple breakfast that she’d managed to cook herself the day after the election.
She and Jack sat at the small table in the flat’s main room, poring over The Times together. They each wore nothing but a robe and Bianca’s hair was tied back loosely, flowing down her back. The coziness of the way she and Jack started their mornings was a far cry from the formality of family meals, even breakfast, at her mother’s house, and she loved it.
“They won?” Jack said, one eyebrow raised skeptically. “You call that a victory?”
“Well, they won the most seats,” Bianca said with a shrug.
“But they didn’t win a majority,” Jack pointed out. “They’ll have to form a coalition of some sort to rule. And considering—” He craned his neck to look at the results listed on the front page of The Times. “—that, aside from the Conservatives, the Irish Parliamentary party won the most seats, do you really think the Liberal Unionists are going to want to play nice and get anything done?”
Bianca sighed. “No.” A moment later, her expression brightened to a mischievous grin. “I never knew you were so educated about parliamentary politics and the workings of our government.”
Jack met her expression with a devilish grin. “One has to be educated on a great many subjects to rise to the rank of Chief Inspector before the age of thirty.”
“And to rise further to Assistant Commissioner before the age of thirty-five,” she added.
“Not really,” Jack said with a casual shrug, sitting back in his seat and picking up his tea. “You just have to be good in bed for that.” He saluted her with a wink and took a long sip of tea.
Bianca burst into a giggle so fast she snorted. Her heart felt light. The last week had been magical, in spite of the frustration of Sir Edmund refusing to listen to Jack or accept his proof of the impending attack, or Cece and Henrietta’s refusal to grant her an invitation to the post-election party. It made no sense at all that she should be so blissfully happy when she and Jack were being blocked at every turn. But there were no more blocks between the two of them. They’d worked out their frustrations with each other by staying staunchly on the same side against Denbigh and his lot, and they’d banished their frustrations with the awkward new social limbo they’d been thrust into with thrusts of an entirely different sort. If Bianca weren’t already pregnant, she would have expected to end up that way in no time at all.
“They’ll have to take you seriously after today,” she said, leaving the newspaper behind to stand and clear their plates from the table. “Once you’ve caught Denbigh, they’ll be falling all over themselves to give you the most sensitive investigations.”
Jack lost his smile. He got up from the table to follow Bianca into the kitchen. “You know how I feel about everything that could very well happen today,” he said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall as he watched her clean up.
Bianca glanced over her shoulder to him. He was a tempting sight in nothing but his robe. It did little to hide his physique, which only seemed to get better in her mind the more intimately she got to know it. It was almost laughable for him to frown so seriously with his bare legs and feet sticking out from under the hem of his robe, particularly when the heat from the stove wasn’t quite enough to block out the December chill in the air.
“And you know how I feel about being left out of the whole thing,” she replied. She added a look that brooked no argument about whether she would be denied a part in the day’s activities.
“You’re not going to hear me if I say the entire party is too dangerous and that, especially in your condition, you should stay home instead of rushing into danger,” he said.
“What?” She blinked innocently. “What was that? Did you say something?”
“Minx,” he said, pushing away from the wall with a wry grin. He pulled her away from the basin where she’d deposited the dishes and into his arms. “I should put more effort into stopping you from going with me to this party.”
“But you need me with you to gain admittance,” she reminded him, molding her body against his.
His hands caressed her curves under the thick fabric of her robe, warming her more than any stove could. “I should tie you to the bed and wear you out so that you can’t even think of walking, let alone mingling at some nob party that might explode.”
Bianca hummed, sliding her arms over his shoulders and lifting to her toes, bringing her mouth closer to his. “When you say things like ‘nob’ and ‘explode’, it makes me want to be tied to the bed and worn out.”
She felt his reaction to her cheeky comment through every part of her. His cock stiffened against her belly and tension ran through him. He slanted his mouth over hers, kissing her so possessively it took her breath away. Every thought of danger and daring flew from her mind, leaving her thoughts scattered and her senses filled with him. Her breasts ached for his mouth to caress them, and her sex throbbed with the need to have him deep and hard inside of her.
Jack must have felt how desperately she wanted him. He lifted her, twisting in the small room to pin her back against the wall. With one, swift tug, he loosened the front of her robe and slipped a hand across her stomach and up to caress her breast. She was already sensitive and aroused, and so impressed by the strength it took for him to hold her against the wall while pleasuri
ng her that her body buzzed with desire.
She was hardly aware of him tugging his sash and opening his robe before thrusting into her. She let out a cry of surprise and pleasure as he braced her firmly against the wall and took her with hard, fast strokes. It was a testament to how desperately she wanted him at all times that she felt herself near orgasm in no time. She clamped her legs around his hips and leaned her head back, wild sounds of sex ripping from her throat as he mastered her. She had no idea how he managed to drive into her so powerfully without either of them falling over or losing their balance, but it hardly seemed to matter.
She gasped and let out a cry as her body slammed into a powerful climax. As blissful, sensual sensation throbbed through her, squeezing him within her, he too let out a cry. The surge of his body against hers and the feeling of warmth that filled her was magical. It was worth every one of the bruises she was sure would line her back once the pleasure subsided. But for the moment, even after Jack’s thrusts stopped and he merely pinned her to the wall, panting, still inside of her, all she cared about was how much she loved him.
At least until a knock sounded at the door and Nanette entered a second later.
“Morning,” Nanette’s cheerful voice rang from the main room, giving Jack and Bianca barely more than a millisecond to straighten themselves out before she reached a spot where she could see them. “Everyone’s talking about the election results of course, and I don’t—” She stopped and burst into a snorting laugh as she caught them desperately trying to sort themselves out and retie their robes. “Celebrations already started, have they?”
“Good morning, Nan,” Jack mumbled. He took Bianca’s hand and tugged her toward the bedroom. “Excuse us for a moment.”
As they rushed into the bedroom to recover and hide their embarrassment, Nanette called, “Don’t mind me if you want another go. And if you want a few tricks to try, I know them all.”
Nearly dying of embarrassment moments after coming so hard her vision blacked out was not how Bianca thought she would start the day. She and Jack managed to wash and dress for Lady Claudia’s party through giggles and fits of extreme sheepishness all the same, though.
Whether it was in spite of their morning’s love making or because of it, by the time they arrived in Kensington and approached the door of Denbigh’s new house, Bianca was brimming with excitement and confidence.
“All we need to do is warn everyone that they’re in danger and get them to leave,” she murmured to Jack as they mounted the steps.
He shook his head slightly. “All we need to do is locate where Denbigh has the explosives and send Smiley to the nearest police station for help.”
“Mr. Smiley?” Bianca blinked in surprise.
“Afternoon, sir, miss.”
Bianca’s jaw dropped. The liveried footman who held the door open for them was none other than Mr. Smiley. “Good Lord. What are you doing here?”
“New job, miss,” Mr. Smiley told Bianca with a proud grin. “Special, for the party.”
“Not everyone at Scotland Yard has abandoned me,” Jack whispered as they crossed into the foyer.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Bianca whispered back as Mr. Smiley took her coat.
“Must have slipped my mind while we were otherwise engaged,” Jack chuckled, removing his coat.
Bianca started to laugh, but she was cut short as Lady Claudia stormed into the front hall from a side room.
“What is the meaning of this?” she demanded, glaring from Bianca and Jack to Mr. Smiley.
Mr. Smiley had the presence of mind to look utterly baffled. “Is there a problem, my lady?” he asked, perfectly innocent.
“Yes, there’s a problem,” Lady Claudia snapped, storming forward as though she would remove Bianca bodily. She could only eye Jack warily, though. “This party has a strict guest list,” she hissed, partially to Mr. Smiley, partially to Bianca. “Trash like this is most certainly not on the list, no matter what my brother says.”
“I was of the understanding that this was a May Flowers party,” Bianca said, holding her head high even though she was fairly certain Lady Claudia knew she was no longer a member of the May Flowers.
“Precisely,” Lady Claudia said with a sniff. “Meaning you are not invited.”
Bianca’s sense of elation and power began to fall flat. Mr. Smiley glanced anxiously to Jack, as though he couldn’t fathom how to get past the gateway of Lady Claudia. The only hint of promise they had was when Rupert and Cece stepped into the foyer a moment later.
“Bianca?” Rupert greeted her with a surprised look that slowly melted into a smile. “Jack. How good to see you here.”
“No,” Lady Claudia said. “It is not good. I do not care how much my brother insisted, they are not invited. I cannot have riff-raff at my party.”
“It is imperative that we attend,” Jack told Rupert, fixing him with a hard stare.
Whether Rupert could read Jack’s mind or not, he said, “Surely, Lady Claudia, if the entire point of this event is to bury the hatchet of old resentment to move forward along with the new government, then Lord and Lady Clerkenwell should be allowed to attend.”
Lady Claudia barked a derisive laugh. “They are no more a lord and lady than the scullery maid. Their kind are not welcome here.”
“We need to get into the party.” Bianca appealed to first Rupert, then Cece. “Either that or everyone here needs to leave immediately.”
“How dare you attempt to sabotage my moment of triumph?” Lady Claudia squealed in offense. “You are the only people who will leave, and you will leave immediately.”
Cece had been about to speak, but she pressed her mouth shut in distress. She chewed her lip before telling Bianca, “Perhaps it would be best for all if you did not attend.” She lowered her voice and stepped closer to Bianca to whisper, “I cannot advocate for your reinstatement to the May Flowers if you behave without decorum like this.”
Frustration and betrayal welled up in Bianca, in spite of the pinched look of regret in Cece’s eyes. But there was more at stake than her feelings. She glanced to Jack, desperate to know what to do.
Jack stood almost frozen, a scowl hiding the deep thoughts Bianca could see running through his mind. He was reassessing and forming a new plan, she just knew. She took the moment to glance around in the hope that she might see something that would help them. But everything seemed perfectly normal for a house hosting an important party. Footmen scurried about with coats and refreshments, moving with clockwork precision.
Footmen. No maids at all. There didn’t seem to be a single female staff member present anywhere. And though she hated the thought that it made her as much of a snob as she had recently been accusing her family of being, none of the footmen were particularly attractive. They weren’t the tall, fit young men that almost every other grand house in London employed. They were tough-looking, rough around the edges, and stocky.
“We should leave,” Bianca said at last, turning to Mr. Smiley with what she hoped looked like a defeated smile to take her coat. “We aren’t wanted here.”
It was Jack’s turn to study her with a questioning look. He had removed his coat during the earlier exchange but quickly threw it around his shoulders again. Before he could button it and before Bianca had her coat all the way on, he took her hand and silently led her out of the house.
Lady Claudia sniffed behind them and said, “Good riddance. I don’t want you letting any more trash like that into my party, do you hear me?” she told Mr. Smiley as Bianca and Jack hurried down the steps.
“Yes, my lady.”
The door shut firmly behind them—although with Reese and Freddy lifting Fergus out of a carriage parked in front of the house and into his chair, it would open again in a matter of minutes—and instead of continuing down the path, Jack tugged Bianca to the side.
“This way,” he said, hurrying her through the small front yard along a path that ran beside the house.
“Don’t you wa
nt to talk to Lord O’Shea?” Bianca whispered. “That was him with Lord Howsden and Lord Herrington.”
“Later,” Jack said. He rushed down the path with her, the cold air forming clouds as they breathed, until he found a sheltered spot where a shrub grew against the house. He pulled her aside, standing close. “What did you see?”
All else was forgotten. “The footmen,” Bianca whispered. “They’re not footmen.”
“They’re Brickman’s men,” Jack agreed.
“How do you know?” Bianca blinked in surprise.
“Smiley has been in position for a week. He’s been keeping an eye on them.”
“So you already know what’s going on, then?” she asked, debating whether to be indignant over everything he hadn’t told her.
Jack shook his head. “Smiley was hired for the party. He hasn’t been given full access to the house. Far from it. He hasn’t been able to confirm whether the explosives are even here. But he recognizes Brickman’s men.”
“I see.” Bianca bit her lip. “So what do we do?”
Jack let out a breath, rubbing his face. “We can’t just walk away. If the house is swarming with Brickman’s men, then something is definitely about to happen.”
“But we can’t get into the house,” Bianca said. She blinked as a stroke of inspiration hit her. “At least, not through the front door.”
Jack’s stern expression softened to a lopsided grin. “Now you’re thinking like an investigator.”
“We could try going in through the kitchen, like a servant,” Bianca suggested.
“Neither of us are dressed like servants,” Jack pointed out.
“There must be other doors, then,” Bianca went on. “When I was here several weeks ago, before Lady Davenport sold the house, I noticed French doors in the ballroom.”
“If we go in that way, we’ll be spotted in an instant and thrown out,” Jack pointed out.
“But it might be enough time to warn everyone of danger,” Bianca said.
It’s Only a Scandal if You’re Caught Page 20