by Wendy Vella
“My sister is also a mermaid, my lord.”
Eden watched color flood the Frenchman’s cheeks beneath his black mask. Dressed as a naval officer, he certainly looked the part.
“Please excuse me, Miss Eden. I did not mean to offend you.”
“No offence taken, Lord Laurent. Indeed, I agree with you completely, my sister is the most beautiful mermaid I have ever seen.”
Essie blushed, her eyes fixed on the man at her side.
Eden liked him. He had easy manners but more importantly, he seemed enamored of her sister, which showed he had exquisite taste. Plus, Essie had told her that Lord Laurent was intending to live in England, and not return to France, which pleased her. If he and Essie did wed, then she would not lose her sister. Happy that Essie was in good hands, Eden accepted the invitation to dance with a Roman gladiator. At least if she was busy, she would not continually be looking for a certain duke.
James had arrived at the masquerade late after urging Cam out the door and assuring him he would attend. He had then spent a calming few hours with his little sister, who had assured him in his current outfit he would make every maiden swoon, which lifted his spirits considerably. He enjoyed her chatter and soothing company, desperate for any distraction to drive away the thought that somewhere in the world they had sisters and brothers who may need him—or at the least his money.
He had talked to a few people but he was not good company, and in fact contemplated leaving, but as that thought entered his head he saw Eden. His breath lodged in his chest as he took in the vision she presented.
She was some kind of sea creature, a mermaid he guessed. The bodice was blue and beneath it a sheath in the same color, over which was a gossamer overlay. Her hair was loose and sparkled as it caught the light. Matching ribbons were wound through her long curls and his hands itched to touch them, trail his fingers through the silk. Every time she dipped or curtseyed her breasts pushed against the bodice, and he wanted to plant his fist in the face of anyone who dared look—anyone, that is, but him.
He wanted to do more than just look. James ached to cup the flesh and taste her. His temper was boiling, his body hard, and he was feeling savage after days of torment. The leash he always had on his temper had slipped and the polite facade of the Duke of Raven cracked wide open.
Enough! he thought, pushing off the wall. He cut through the guests until he reached Eden as the music finished.
“Miss Sinclair, I beg of you, just one more dance.”
“Alas, my gladiator, I fear we have already danced overmuch,” Eden said gently.
“Eden, you will not dance with him.”
The voice came from over her shoulder and she knew instantly to whom it belonged. For the first time that night she felt alive; her skin prickled and her fingers tingled. Turning, she found the Duke of Raven looking at her over the heads of several people. He was still some distance away, but she had heard his words clearly. People parted as he walked and she saw he was dressed entirely in black, from mask to his gleaming boots. Breeches molded his thighs, a flowing shirt was laced at the neck, and she could see his skin through the V at his collar.
“I-I….” Her throat felt suddenly dry as James advanced on her. Eden had the urge to run, but where would she run to? People crowded her in on all sides.
“I beg you, Miss Eden, just one more dance.”
“She is dancing with me.”
James reached them and stood before her.
“Excuse me, sir, Miss Eden and I were conversing,” the gladiator said.
Eden was sure she did not want to dance with James. The look in his dark eyes was dangerous, and she knew it spelled trouble for her.
“She is dancing with me.”
Before she could retreat, his fingers had clasped around hers.
“I-I am promised to another,” Eden said, hating how breathless she sounded as he led her away.
“No, you are promised to me.”
“I could never be with a man who cannot love me,” she whispered furiously.
He didn’t speak again, instead pulling her indecently close until their thighs were touching and her breasts crushed against his chest. She felt the anger in him, every muscle taut, and her body reacted traitorously.
“Please, James, I am asking you to release me,” Eden said, uncaring that her voice shook.
“No.”
The dance was both pleasure and pain. Pleasure to be held in the arms of the man she loved, and pain because he could not love her back. His jaw remained clenched, his eyes on her face. Eden was not brave enough to return the look, so she concentrated on the laces of his shirt.
When the music finished, she turned to flee but James clamped his fingers around her arm and began walking. She had little option but to follow or make a scene. He moved slowly through the crowd, towing her behind him until they had reached a door that he opened and tugged her through.
“Release me!”
Ignoring her, he set off down a hall in long strides, his pace now faster. Eden was forced to trot to keep up with him. Using her other hand she tried to pry her wrist free but he refused to release her.
“James, let me go!”
He turned right and she lost her balance, so he hauled her to his side and half carried her up a set of stairs, then he began to test doors, opening and closing them until he found the one he wanted. Flinging it wide, he picked Eden up and carried her over the threshold. He lowered her to her feet and turned to shut and lock the door behind them.
The open curtains allowed the moonlight to flood the room and Eden stumbled backward until her bottom hit something solid—a desk. James followed, his eyes intent through the small holes in his mask.
“Wh-what do you want from me?”
He pulled off his gloves then wrenched off the mask, and threw them to the floor as he kept walking until his body touched hers.
“Take out your earplugs,” he rasped. “I want you to hear everything clearly.”
“I do... I will,” she said, but he held out a hand. She did as he asked, and watched as he tucked them into his pocket.
Lifting his hands, he removed her mask and then cupped her face, tilting it so he could see her clearly. “I need you, Eden.”
Four simple words that undid her completely. The emotion in them was raw and true and she felt her resistance flee. Their lips met and he took her mouth in a hard, searing kiss. As one stopped, another started, and Eden met him head-on. Their teeth clashed, tongues melded, and it was not enough, not nearly enough.
“I have watched you for days.” He spoke the words against her lips. “Watched and wanted you until you filled my every waking thought, and when I sought relief in sleep, you tortured me in a web of sensual dreams.”
Eden moaned as James trailed heated kisses down her neck. He grabbed handfuls of her skirt, raising it up her legs until he could wrap his hand around her thigh, the heat of his touch almost too hot to bear. Her hands fisted in his hair, tugging his curls, stroking his neck. Innocent she may be, but intuition and blind need were directing her. Throwing her head back, she sighed as his lips touched the curves of her breasts rising above the bodice of her dress. He was a master of torture, each stroke or lick sending a pool of heat between her legs. She felt his fingers pull the lacings of her dress free, and he then eased it from her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor in a soft pool of silken fabric at her feet.
“I know not what madness you have created inside me, my sweet siren, but only you can soothe it.”
James eased her chemise slowly up her body, his hands caressing the flesh they encountered on the way. Eden shivered as he slipped it over her head and threw it aside.
“Trust me, sweetheart, and know I would never hurt you.”
“I want to,” Eden whispered, knowing that only the truth could be spoken now. “But I’m scared, James.”
“Trust me,” he said again. “And forgive me for the idiot I have been.”
His eyes held hers and
she saw he meant every word. Only when she nodded did he look at her body.
“In my dreams you were beautiful, but this….” Eden heard the emotion thicken his voice. “You are so much more that words fail me.”
She could manage no words either as his hand cupped her breast.
“Yes, love, just feel.”
Heat slammed into Eden as James lowered his head and ran his tongue up her breast, teasing the aching flesh before taking the hard bead of her nipple into his mouth. She was awash with pleasure.
“It is so much,” she whispered, trying to find words.
He lifted her onto the desk and stepped between her thighs, and suddenly she was exposed to him.
“Christ, Eden, you’re beautiful.” She felt the heat from his eyes as they ran over her body.
He kissed her again. This time it was slow and heated, a torturous pleasure that sent liquid heat through her veins. She felt his fingers touch her breasts before trailing down her waist to run through the curls only she had ever touched.
“Trust me,” he whispered again as his hand moved lower to stroke the damp petals between her legs, soft caresses that drove a whimper to her lips.
“Just feel, Eden.”
James kissed her lush breasts again, laving her nipples as she arched into his mouth. He swept a finger over the tight bud between her thighs. She arched forward in shock as he circled it slowly. Her moans made his passions soar, yet he wanted this for her, needed her climax before he took her. She was innocent, he reminded himself, trying to pull back, determined not to terrify her with the fierce passions that urged him on. Slipping a finger inside her sheath, he began to stroke her.
He watched her eyes, watched for any sign she was not right there with him, but the gray depths were glazed with sensual heat.
“So beautiful,” James said, easing his fingers from her. He quite literally wanted to feast on the body before him. Soft, pale skin, long silken limbs. Blood thundered through him, his body hard with need. Pushing a cloud of dark curls over her shoulder, he took her mouth once more. Kissing Eden was unlike anything he had ever experienced. Before, it had been brief and a means to an end, but with her, it was as if his soul stirred.
He felt her fingers on his clothes, pulling the shirt from his breeches.
“I want to see you, James. I need to touch you as you have me.”
She slipped her hands beneath the hem and caressed him, her wicked fingers stroking his stomach.
“Sweet Christ, Eden,” James rasped, pulling free. “Your touch is like a brand on my skin.” Quickly he removed his clothes and returned to her. Gritting his teeth, he let her touch him once more. She started with his shoulders and then moved to his chest. When she placed a soft kiss on the V at the base of his neck, James could do nothing to stop the shudder that rolled through him.
She continued to kiss his neck and chest while her hands moved lower. He moaned, long and deep, as she touched his arousal, her wicked fingers circling the top and then moving lower. When she wrapped a hand about him he was sure he would find his release. Gritting his teeth, he let her continue for three heartbeats before removing her hand.
Easing her backward on the desk, James thought he would always remember how she looked right here and now. Spread before him, her body aroused, eyelids lowered, hair everywhere. Her breasts were full, nipples tight.
“There will be pain, sweetheart.”
“I know, but I want this with you, James. I am not afraid.”
He stroked her body, slowly arousing her further until she was again arching toward him. Aching to be fulfilled, James eased forward, slowly entering her tight wet sheath. His arousal pulsed with the need to drive in hard, but he would not hurt her. Teeth clenched, he tried to hold back. Her hands went to his cheeks, cupping his face. Her eyes held his as he slowly pushed through her innocence.
“I love you, James!” The words were a cry as he sheathed himself deep inside her.
“Eden, I—”
“Sssh, I want no promises from you. I give you my love freely, and ask for nothing in return.”
“You humble me.” James braced his hands on either side of her head, looking deep into her eyes. Her smile was the sweetest he had ever seen.
“Hold still, sweetheart, let your body adjust.” She was tight and hot and his body was tense as he fought the urge to pull out and thrust hard inside her again.
“The pain is easing.” Eden touched the ridge of his clenched jaw.
“Are you sure?” He could feel his release, yet would not succumb until Eden had found hers. Cupping her breasts, he caressed the tips.
“Oh, James.”
James watched as her breath grew rapid, fingers now digging in to the desk she lay on. She was so close. He thrust into her again and again, and then she cried out his name. One thrust more and he found his release. The sensation shuddered through his entire body as wave upon wave of ecstasy crashed over him. James slumped forward on top of her, completely spent.
“Oh my.”
He found the strength to suck in several lungfuls of air before bracing himself over her once more. Her eyes were closed and a blissful smile tilted her ravaged lips. She looked like a fallen angel, his fallen angel. Looking around the room, he found a daybed, and lifting her into his arms, he staggered backward and collapsed in a tangle of limbs on it. Laying her on top of him, James closed his eyes. What the hell had just happened?
“Eden, please be my wife.”
“Yes.”
“I know I am a stiff, uncompromising man, but—”
“I said yes, James.”
He was stunned. She had said yes and he had not even used the arguments he had spent days marshalling. Cupping the back of her head, he held her close as the realization that she would be his wife settled inside him. He felt something for her, there was no doubt about that. This jealousy was not normal, and neither was the fierce need that came over him whenever he saw her. He just wasn’t sure what name to give the emotions yet.
“I will try to be the husband you want, Eden, but in all honesty I will not be the easiest of men. I-I have never lived with people. Never had to think about their needs, and I am not a malleable person.” James needed her to understand what she would be stepping into if she did wed him. When, he added silently.
“James, I live with Cam and Dev. Do you honestly believe your surly temper can upset me?”
“I did not mention a surly temper, but yes, I take your meaning. Living with those two cannot have been easy.”
“I love you, James, a strong unwavering once-in-a-lifetime love, and I ask nothing in return from you that I know you are not ready to give.”
Her words caused warmth to spread through his body. Samantha had begun to reach all those cold places inside him, and something told James that Eden would be the one to finish the job.
“All these feelings are so new to me, Eden. My father once told me that there was no place in a man’s life for love or emotion, and as such he beat them out of me whenever I displayed any.”
Eden pushed herself upright to look down at him, her eyes filled with anger for his father. James did not like sympathy, but anger he could cope with.
“It is my fondest wish, James, that our fathers are settled in the bowels of hell for eternity.”
He found a smile at her words. She would always be there to make him smile, and the thought had it widening.
“‘Tis all right now, my sweet. The memories no longer hurt me. Samantha has begun to heal me, and you—well, the minute I met you every other thought was driven from my head.”
Cupping the back of her head, he pulled her down for a kiss. Soft and sweet, their lips clung.
“But there is more I must tell you. Today, the private investigator I had employed to find who attempted to kill me told me that I have half brothers and sisters—five of them, to be precise.”
“I can imagine that was quite a shock.”
“Somewhat, but to be honest I am unsure why I h
ad not come to this conclusion myself. I knew what my father was, the thought should have crossed my mind.”
“Perhaps, and then perhaps not, but what matters is that I am sure you wish to locate them.”
How could she understand him so well already?
“I do, but the investigator also believes that it is possible that one of them is intent on harming me.” James told Eden what he knew, and that her brothers were also party to the information.
“Well then.” She rubbed his chest. “We shall deal with what arises, but be assured you shall have us there at your side as you do.”
James felt that fierce jolt of emotion once more as he looked at her. “If I marry you then I get them also?”
“I’m afraid so.” She laughed.
James gave a weighty sigh. “If I must, I must. And now, my sweet, we must dress and return before your brothers hunt me down and find me ravishing you once more.”
“I wish I could stay in this room with you for the remainder of the evening. I hate these things, all that simpering and gushing.” Eden shuddered.
“I like it no more than you, and promise that when we are wed we shall accept only a select few engagements. I will not marry you until I have found who is trying to kill me, Eden, it would be unfair to place you at risk. For now we must keep our engagement in the family.”
James felt the tension that suddenly filled her body. “Please take care, James, I-I do not want to live without you.”
He looked at her solemn face. She really did love him.
“I have so much to live for now, my sweet, therefore, I promise to take care. Plus, I have the Sinclairs to protect me.”
“It shall be my life’s work,” she said as he lifted her off his body, and he liked the sound of her words.
They dressed and tidied each other. He tied her mask and she his. He laced her gown, his hands straying to her breasts, but she slapped them away and reached for her slippers.
“Come, Duke, we must return.”
“Promise me you will not torment me by dancing with every man present in that dress. It will drive me to distraction” he said handing back her earplugs.