“Ah…that is it,” he praised. “How wet you are getting for me, my Callisto.”
She blushed at the sensual praise and the wanton way her legs had parted even wider.
“I am going to do something…alarming,” he murmured, lifting his head to meet her stare. “I am not a small man, and I need to join with you here.”
Apprehension reared its head at the memory of the thick stalk which had jutted from him. She wetted her lips. It had been far thicker than his fingers.
“How alarming?” she asked huskily.
“I am going to kiss you…here,” he said, rubbing along her nubbin and folds. “You’ll get so wet for me, my sweet, so wet.” He closed his eyes briefly on a harsh groan, and she surmised that her wetness was a good thing.
“Yes,” she cried, needing the pleasure he promised.
He shifted lower and settled between her splayed thighs. The quick, heated lick across her folds ripped a wild cry from Callie as she processed the shock of terrible pleasure. He repeated his wicked, wicked caress. Her upper body came off the bed, only to have his hand flatten against her stomach, pressing her back as his lips covered her wet sex. He repeated his devilish kiss several times until her body tensed, drawn tight as the pleasure built inside her until it broke, heat cascading through her.
Yet he did not stop. Tremors of ecstasy coursed through her body, and she bit into her lip to stop the cries wanting to erupt from her. He licked her deep, and Callie cried out and gripped his hair with strength. Her heart pounded, and her knees trembled. Everything seemed as if it was spiraling out of control. His tongue flicked, and then his teeth scraped against her nub of pleasure.
He rose above her, spreading her thighs in one powerful motion. A very blunt but wonderful pressure notched at her slick entrance.
“You're so beautiful and responsive,” he murmured, his blue eyes glittering with emotions she could not decipher.
“I can't help it,” she whispered in a half groan, needing him to fill her.
With a powerful surge, he entered her, and Callie cried out, gripping his shoulders. The pain was shocking, and she went stiff beneath him. A sob escaped her, and he pressed a soothing kiss atop her forehead.
“It will soon pass,” he promised gently, pressing a quick heated kiss on her mouth, distracting her from the awful pressure which had invaded her channel. She wanted to get his promise to never move, but soon her frantic thoughts were buried under the delight of his kisses.
Their mouths separated, and holding her gaze, her lover glided back and drove forward repeatedly, at times shallow, and then wonderfully hard and deep. Pleasure mingled with erotic pain, and she clasped his shoulders and hugged him to her as he did what he promised. He rode her, and it was such a wicked ride filling her with such wildness and bliss. Acting on the wanton urging beating in her blood, she wrapped her legs high around his hips. His groan of approval filled her with pleasure, and despite this shift pushing him even deeper inside her body and making the pressure in her sex more overwhelming, she climaxed with soul-searing intensity. He kissed her and seconds later, he hugged her into a tight embrace, and with a groan, found his own release.
Chapter 8
The sun was lowering by the time Callie and Graham left the cottage. It felt like they had been there for days but according to his pocket watch, they had been missing for four hours.
Was that how long it took to fall hopelessly in love?
She stared at his patrician profile as he rowed them with powerful arm movements toward the shore. After her ravishment, she had lain in his arms, stunned at the enormity of what they had done. She had never understood how anyone could be carried away by passion and led themselves to ruin, and now she realized how silly she had been before in her judgment.
From a kiss, he had consumed her, and she had willingly given him everything without any reservation. Despite that, there was an anxious heaviness in her heart. He’d not said anything tender or anything that hinted he might want to court her. And it frightened her. Not because she had given him her virtue, but because he withdrew, and the possibility of happiness which she had seen as they laughed and talked over wine would vanish.
As if he sensed her stare, his regard shifted from the sky to her.
“The clouds are very swollen,” he said gently. “Is your nose twitching by any chance.”
“No.”
“Ah, then there is the hope we might make it back before more rain comes.”
She nodded. Something wild and irrepressible in her had almost wished the rain had continued falling, forcing them to spend the night and not just a few hours together. They had talked some in each other’s arms and shared more kisses, which had almost taken a passionate turn. When he had slipped a caressing finger between her legs, she had gasped and closed them tightly, shutting out his questing touch.
‘Ah, you are sore.’
She still blushed to recall that statement, but he had been correct. He’d kissed her forehead and murmured an apology for being an insensitive lustful beast. She had snuggled into his arms as they had laughed and gossiped about the guests under his father’s roof. As soon as the rain had eased, he had urged them from the bed, assisted her in dressing, and they tidied the cottage as best as they could. Then they had struck out. She worried her bottom lip as the boat drew closer to the bank and the main house. Callie detected no one on the lawns.
“Do you think our absence was noted?”
“Perhaps not. Everyone would have to be together for it to be evident. Some guests would have been playing billiards or cards. Others would be in the drawing-room playing parlor games, some outside in the gazebo. Only at dinner when all the guests gather could anyone say decisively that we are missing. And we have another hour before the dinner gong. There will be enough time to make ourselves presentable and fashion credible excuses should anyone query.”
“Do you…do you have trysts like these often?” a mortified flush ran along her entire body, but she would not take back her question.
His arms slowed, and the boat bobbed atop the waters of the lake. “We did not have a tryst,” he replied slowly, his gaze scanning every nuance of her face.
“Then what did we have?” she asked softly, gripping her fingers together. Callie couldn’t understand what it was she needed from him, but her stomach felt knotted with dread. Everything inside of her ached.
“I do not know, but I have never had a lover where my entire body and heart was attuned to her,” he said gruffly. “I fear it might ruin me for all others.”
“I shall celebrate it,” she replied, steadily meeting his intense regard.
Their stares held as he reached the dock, and in silence, he angled the boat in before hopping out to anchor it with the rope. Then he held his hand out. Callie grasped his arm and allowed him to assist her from the boat.
They had agreed earlier to enter through the kitchens and make use of the servants’ stairwell. Callie went first, and was clucked over by the cook, but made her way safely to her room without encountering any of the houseguests, a thing she was most profoundly thankful for. Letty was sitting by the dressing table, the maid assigned to them styling her hair. Her sister’s gaze searched her face, and whatever she saw prompted her to dismiss the maid.
“You were gone with the viscount for hours!”
“Oh, Letty! The rain kept us—”
“I gathered what we wanted happening to Mama occurred with you. Was he very angry?”
“No,” she said, her throat going tight. Callie normally shared everything with her sister, but this felt too raw and private.
Letty stared at her. “I lied to Mama when she questioned your whereabouts about an hour ago. I told her I saw you in the private parlor reading. She seemed satisfied with that.”
“Thank you, I daresay she would not care we were forced to take shelter together.”
“Are you well, Callie? You seem out of sorts,” said Letty, with a quizzical look at his sister.
> “Yes, most certainly!” She hurried over to the screen and started to remove her clothing.
Letty came over and took her hands between hers. “Your lips are swollen, and I can tell they have been kissed thoroughly.”
Callie went scarlet. “Oh!”
Her sister grinned. “Is he a good kisser?”
“The most wonderful, oh Letty, everything was so divine!” Then she shocked herself by sobbing. “My blasted nerves are overset when they should not be!”
“You do not have to tell me now,” Letty said with a warm smile, “because dinner will be announced soon. I’ll ring for a bath and select a dress for you!”
Grateful to her sister, she nodded, and proceeded to undress, not understanding the bewildering mix of hope and anxiety in her heart.
Dinner had been a sumptuous feast of roasted duck with cranberry sauce, standing ribs of beef with Yorkshire pudding, golden stuffed turkey, lamb served with an onion sauce. She had tried her best not to stare at Graham throughout the meal, and the few times she had done so had been to find the man staring at her. He had managed to master himself and behaved gentlemanly for the rest of the evening, only engaging her in polite dinner conversation. But he had given other ladies equal attention.
Almost three hours later, the earl had gathered his guests in the drawing-room. A large spruce tree had been cut and placed in the corner near the windows overlooking the lawns. The tree had been decorated with large bows of bright scarlet ribbon, precious glass baubles and silver candle holders with white candles.
The earl cleared his throat, and the young lady who had been playing a lively piece on the pianoforte stopped. The drawing-room door opened, and she glanced over her shoulder to see that Graham had entered with a glass with amber liquid in his hand. She stared at him for longer than what was polite, and when he noted her regard, he winked. Swallowing her gasp of pleasure, she turned back to the earl who seemed as if he was fit to burst at the seams.
Callie’s heart jolted when he held out his hand, and her mother walked forward with a bright, happy smile on her face to place her hand within his. Letty sent her a side-eye glance.
“It is with pleasure I announce to you all that Lady Danby has consented to be my wife, and we are to wed tomorrow in the chapel.”
There was a stunned silence before everyone burst into applause. Congratulations went around, and the earl shepherded Callie, Letty, Graham, and his daughter—Lady Alice— to the smaller private parlor. As they entered, Callie spun to face them. “The wedding is tomorrow?”
“Yes,” her mother said, smiling. How happy she looked. “Robert says he will not give me a chance to change my mind. But I shall not. The vicar has been summoned from the town village, and the servants will decorate the chapel with hothouse flowers, evergreens, holly, and lots of mistletoe! Girls, I am so happy! And Callie, I know how you’ve always longed for an older brother to indulge your eccentricities.”
“Brother?” she stupidly parroted.
“Yes,” a voice said flatly from behind, then Graham came into view. “Earlier, my father informed me of the happy news and of course, reminded me how thrilled I should be in getting two new sisters. Delighted, of course.”
There was a dark, sarcastic edge to his tone she found discomfiting. Brother and sister?
Callie felt a sick sense of unreality creeping through her. With trembling fingers, she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. In a daze, she glanced at Letty, who was staring at her with concern.
Is all well? Her sister mouthed.
Her throat burning, Callie attempted to smile. It wobbled precariously, and that smile felt like a baring of her teeth. She nodded, hating the slow, painful, and very unfamiliar emotions twisting through her.
“My boy!” the earl said with boisterous joviality. “Come closer.”
He stepped forward, and father and son hugged fiercely. “I am happy you for, Father.”
Then he released his father and turned to her mother and gave her the most charming yet respectful bow. “Welcome to our family, Lady Danby,” he said softly.
Her mother laughed, delight glowing in her eyes. “Oh please, do not be so formal!” she hugged him and upon releasing him, lifted her gaze to his and said, “I would not object should you wish to call Mo…Mother.”
He flinched, his expression shifting from open warmth to an unfathomable visage.
“Not now I mean!” her mother hurriedly said in a horrified tone. “Or not even in the future…only if you are comfortable, or you could just call me…”
The earl rested a hand on her shoulder. “My dear, my son knows what you mean,” he said with a tender smile.
The viscountess released a sigh, and some of the tension left her shoulders. “I fear I am a bit nervous. This was all so wonderful but unexpected.” She sent a careful glance at Callie. “I sensed some undercurrents between you earlier by the lake, and I gather you do not like the viscount. I am asking you to make a credible effort in getting to know him since he will be your older brother. Robert assures me his son’s forbidding and arrogant countenance hides a very warm heart, and I do so much want our family to be happy!”
It was Callie’s turn to flinch, and she wrapped her hands around her middle, the memory of his body penetrating hers…the pain and then that excruciating pleasure. The feeling that she could love him…that she wanted him to overwhelm her senses.
“My dear,” her mother said with a worried frown. “Are you well? You seem rather flushed.”
“I…we…we were caught in the rain.”
“Of course, how selfish of me! The rain started only a few minutes after your outing.”
“No, Mama,” Callie said, gripping her hands. “You are not selfish at all. I am so very happy for you!”
Her mother hugged her and whispered, “Thank you for all your naughty mischief. We needed that nudge.”
Over her mother’s shoulder, she spied Graham, watching them with an unfathomable expression in his gaze. Then without another word, he turned and left the room. Callie reflected that with his departure, he took all of the earlier hope she had felt and left behind the awful disquiet.
Chapter 9
The Holliwell Manor Chapel had been constructed by an earlier ancestor during King Charles II’s reign. Built on the edge of the estate, it had served the village until its new and larger church had been built in the last century. Now it was used rarely although an occasional service was taken there during the year by the local vicar. Most of those services were to commemorate former members of the Wynter family who had gone to their eternal rest.
It was a small stone building with narrow windows, and despite the staff’s best efforts to warm the interior, it was still decidedly chilly when the house party guests drove down to the chapel to observe the nuptials of Robert Wynter, Earl of Deerwood who would marry Amelia Middleton, Viscountess of Danby. The Manor’s staff had been busy decorating the chapel with greenery and hothouse flowers while trying to drive out the seeping cold within the old building. The chapel already was half full as the news of the earl’s sudden wedding had been discussed in the local village, so most of the earl’s tenants and neighbors with their families had appeared uninvited to share in their lord’s joy.
Yet he was not joyful. Graham felt torn by conflicting emotions.
The very memory of the fight he had with his father a couple hours ago had his heart icing over.
“It is unseemly that you would look at Callie in such a lustful manner!” his father had roared. “I observed you last night, and you will treat her as your sister at all times.”
Anger had snapped through his veins, for he had been certain in the long and lonely night in his room, that he wanted her with every breath in his body. He was falling for her…in love with her, as unlikely as it had seemed.
Her laugh made him happy, just seeing her filled his heart with joy. And the memory of the way she had taken him into her body had him biting back a groan. She was the most incredible lo
ver he’d ever had, but it was more than that. Graham wanted to fulfill every need and hunger he had spied in her eyes as they had talked in the cabin. He wanted to lay all her dreams at her feet and provide his shoulders to rest upon whenever she needed them.
He had never been a man given to flights of fancy or over-sentimentality, …and that was how he had known the feelings rushing through his heart and tormenting his mind were the deepest of tendre.
“By God, she is not my sister!” he had roared. “And I will never see her in such a manner, and it is ridiculous to expect it of me.”
“What are you saying,” his father had demanded, fisting his hands at his side.
“I want her…” Graham had whispered. “Father…I want her more than anything I’ve ever wanted in my life.”
His father’s eyes had darkened with pain and ire. “Well, you cannot have her! It is wrong that you would even think it. I am to marry her mother in a few hours. You will become siblings through marriage. Can you imagine the scandal such a thing would cause? Everyone would repudiate such connections. The father marrying the mother and the son marrying the daughter of the mother. It is incestuous!”
“Do not be a damn fool!” Graham had snapped, even though he detected a kernel of truth in his father’s assessment. “Since when did you give a damn about what society thinks?”
“There are many other women you can take as your mistress—”
“I do not mean to use her!” Graham had replied, raking his fingers through his hair. “Do you think so low of my character, that I would dishonor her in such a crude manner? I want to court her…eventually, marry her.”
His father had been silent for a long time, then he had said, “I will never consent to it.”
“I do not need your approval!”
Anger had flushed along his father’s cheekbones. “You’ve only been aware of her for three damnable days. You cannot be certain of your feelings, and I am certain whatever they are, they will fade. There will be no scandal, nor will I cause Amelia any discomfort! And I am also quite certain Miss Callie is indifferent to you! By God, I am happy…Amelia is happy, a state neither of us has been in years. I will not have you marring that joy for either of us with scandal or speculation anytime soon! I’ll have her mother ship that girl away if that is what it will take.”
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