He pulled back. “We need to stop, love.”
Nina smiled at him, her eyes a bit glassy from desire, and her breaths, like his, uneven.
She nodded and started to slide off his lap.
“No, stay. Let me hold you for one more minute.”
“I’d like that.” She rested her head against his shoulder and combed her fingers through the hair at his nape.
The pounding of the heavy raindrops hitting the carriage’s roof slowed.
“The rain is stopping.” Nina raised her head and glanced at him. “Caroline said rain on a wedding day is good luck. She said it drizzled the day she married my brother.”
Elliot wasn’t a superstitious man, but he hoped Lady Huntington was right.
The carriage stopped, and Nina slipped off his lap.
Inside Nina’s family residence, they greeted the guests.
After the wedding breakfast, which took several hours, they were shown into a large drawing room.
Elliot watched Meg make her way into the room. He frowned. Damp weather sometimes affected his sister’s leg, and today was no different, if her limp was any indication. The oppressive guilt Elliot always experienced when he witnessed Meg’s pain ratcheted up. He fought the urge to go to her and ask how she felt. She wouldn’t appreciate it. She’d told him last night not to treat her differently.
Nina, standing next to him, touched his arm. “All the chairs are taken. I’ll go ask a footman to bring in more, so your sister need not stand.”
As she turned to leave, he caught her hand. “I thank you for your thoughtfulness, Nina, but it’s fine.”
She blinked. “I don’t understand.”
“Meg doesn’t wish for any special treatment.”
“Elliot, I would not wish any guest to not have the option of sitting, if they desired to.”
He motioned with his chin as Talbot walked up to Meg and pointed to a now vacant chair.
Meg scowled at Talbot and limped away.
“See, Talbot was only trying to be helpful, but she’s taken offense.”
“Aw, I see. She desires others not to offer her special treatment. I can understand that.”
“What is wrong with others wishing to help her?” Elliot asked.
“Might I ask what happened? Was it an accident?”
The air in the room suddenly felt scarce of oxygen as if the chimney was blocked, sending smoke into the room. He would eventually tell Nina what had transpired. But he didn’t wish her to look at him differently, and if he told her, he feared she might. “Yes, an accident. A terrible accident.”
He was relieved when Talbot walked up to them, ending the discussion. Talbot took Nina’s hand in his and kissed her gloved fingers. “Might I say, Lady Ralston, you are the loveliest bride I’ve ever seen.”
“Thank you, my lord. You are too kind.” She smiled. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go chat with my new sister-in-law.”
As Nina walked away, Talbot frowned. “I hope she has better luck than I did. I showed your sister there was an empty chair and she almost bit my head off.”
Elliot opened his mouth to respond, but his friend waved off his reply.
“So, you’ve gone and done it. Gotten yourself leg-shackled.”
“I don’t look at marriage to Nina that way.”
“Yes, yes, I know you think yourself in love. I will admit one thing: Your wife is truly a delightful woman.”
“She is extraordinary in every way.”
Talbot made a sour face. “Oh, bugger. Am I going to have to hear you wax on poetically about love and marriage?”
“You might.” Elliot clapped Talbot on the shoulder. “Wait one day, my naysaying friend, it will be your wedding I’ll be attending.”
“Won’t be for many years. I intend to stay a bachelor until I’m well into my forties. Tell me, what is the status of our acquisition of Langford Teas? Is the inventory matching the books?”
“Yes. Everything is going well. The sale shouldn’t be delayed.”
“Good.”
“I’ll be leaving London in about ten days. Nina has asked to see Ralston House.”
“Really?” Talbot scrunched up his face.
Elliot nodded. The thought of Nina seeing the rundown residence made him rather apprehensive, but she’d asked to visit, and he would not lie to her or make up an excuse not to go there.
He glanced at Meg, who was smiling as Nina chatted with her. Nina would be a good influence on his sister. Perhaps she’d be able to convince her to return to school.
“Oh, bloody hell, Elliot, you’re truly besotted,” Talbot said, breaking into his thoughts.
“What?” He blinked at his friend.
“You’re staring at your wife as if infatuated. That is why I don’t wish to marry. It turns a man’s mind to mush.”
“You better hope not, if I’m to run Langford Teas and increase the profits.” Elliot grinned.
Huntington walked up to them. “Might I have a word in private with you, Ralston?”
“Of course. If you’ll excuse me, Talbot.”
Elliot followed Huntington into his office. The room was richly furnished with an enormous desk and mahogany paneling covered the walls. They’d already discussed the marriage settlement. He presumed Huntington wanted to threaten him one last time, as he had on several occasions over the last week.
“Have a seat, Ralston.” The marquess motioned to one of the two chairs facing the desk.
“If this is going to be another lecture on my need to take care of your sister, I prefer to stand.” Elliot was being generous with his wording. Both men knew Huntington had threatened him more than lectured him.
“I don’t intend to lecture you. This rushed wedding didn’t give me much time to have you investigated, but I have come across some rather interesting information.” Huntington sat and removed a folder with several sheets of paper from the top drawer of the desk.
He wasn’t surprised Huntington had had him investigated. The man clearly loved his sister. Elliot would probably have done the same if the tables had been turned.
“After seeing the inside of your London town house, most of what I found out wasn’t that much of a surprise, except for this.” Huntington slipped a paper across the polished surface of his desk.
Without picking it up, Elliot could see it was information about Langford Teas. He and Talbot had been careful to not let anyone know of their intention to buy the company. “How did you . . . ?”
The marquess waved a hand in the air as if that wasn’t important. “Is this why you married my sister?” Huntington’s jaw tensed.
“No. Talbot has the collateral, and I will run the business.”
Huntington strummed his fingers on the top of his desk. “I’d be willing to invest in the company.”
“Why?”
“Because my sister’s happiness is paramount to me.”
Elliot slid the paper back across the desk. “I don’t need your money, Huntington. You can shove it up your arse.”
Instead of looking offended, Huntington grinned.
“Well, if I had known saying that to you would have made you smile, I would have said it a while ago.”
“I think you might just prove me wrong, Ralston. And whether you believe it or not, I hope you do, for my sister’s sake. And yours.”
* * *
By the time Elliot, Nina, and his sister made their way to Elliot’s Charles Street residence, darkness had settled over the city’s sky. Elliot glanced at Nina, who rested her head on his shoulder. Though the two residences were relatively close, Nina had fallen asleep the moment she’d settled inside the vehicle.
Elliot pressed a light kiss to the top of Nina’s head.
“You do love her, don’t you?” Meg tipped her head sideways and studied him in the dark compartment.
“I do.”
Pleasure lit up her face. “I can tell. Don’t worry about her family. They will come to realize it as well.”
Meg shifted her position, and he noticed how she cringed. Like a puff of smoke, his good mood evaporated, weighed down by his guilt. He needed to make Langford Teas a great success, not only for his wife but for his sister’s sake. He’d already decided Nina could use her dowry to purchase whatever she wished, but he’d not touch it, and the remainder would be left for their children. Elliot was sure that if they were prudent and judicious, they could muddle through their tight finances once Elliot and Talbot owned Langford Teas.
“Your month at Ralston House has nearly come to an end. I’m pleased you are going to return to school shortly and finish out the term.”
“I don’t intend to return to Mrs. Gibbs’s School.” His sister squared her body like a ram about to butt heads with another equally stubborn ram.
“Why the bloody hell not?” he asked in a low voice that still conveyed his agitation.
“Don’t you growl at me.”
“Why do you not wish to return?” he asked, attempting to keep his voice calm.
“I can be of more help at Ralston House. Wait until you see what I have done.”
“I don’t want you to scrub floors and walls. You are a baron’s sister.”
Meg didn’t answer—just avoided his regard by staring out the window.
“Don’t you want to attend the London season?”
“No,” she replied, her gaze still centered outside.
Elliot tried not to grind his back teeth together. “Why not?”
“I’ll end up being a wallflower. Don’t you understand?”
“Is that what you think? Meg, you are a lovely young woman.”
Silence stretched between them.
Perhaps, it was best not to argue with her. Hopefully, Nina would know what to do. God, he hoped she would, since he was at a complete loss. He’d also have to admit what had happened to Meg.
The carriage’s wheels slowed as the vehicle pulled in front of their town house.
Meg motioned to Nina. “She’s the soundest sleeper I’ve ever seen besides Camille Edgerton, who slept like a rock at school.”
His sister’s mood appeared to have shifted back to less defensive.
The coachman opened the door and assisted Meg as she stepped out of the carriage.
“Nina, darling. We are here.” He drew his finger over his wife’s cheek.
A slight smile curved up one side of her mouth, but, otherwise, she didn’t move. He lifted her into his arms and tried not to curse when he conked his head on the roof of the carriage as he carried her out.
“How romantic, Elliot. You’re going to carry your bride over the threshold,” Meg whispered.
He grinned. “I don’t have much of a choice.”
“Oh, I think you would have done it anyway,” his sister said.
True. Though he’d hoped his wife would have been awake when he’d carried her over the threshold . . . and when he carried her to their bed. Their bed. Good God, he was married, and he would be waking up with Nina beside him every morning. He liked the idea, though he didn’t think Zeb would be as pleased.
Meg opened the door and it squeaked, sending a bone-chilling noise into the night.
Elliot glanced at Nina and couldn’t help his smile. She’d not even blinked.
Since he’d told the servants not to wait up, no one rushed forward to greet them.
Meg followed Elliot up the stairs.
“Good night, Meg.” He kissed her cheek, then carried his sleeping wife into their bedchamber.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
With Nina sleeping and cradled in his arms, Elliot stepped into the bedchamber and pushed the door closed with his foot. Thankfully, the grate was lit, taking the chill out of the room. And, by some miracle, Zeb was fast asleep on his own pallet.
After laying Nina down, he removed her satin shoes and draped a woolen blanket over her. He strode over to Zeb and ruffled the fur behind his floppy ears before patting his head. “Be a good fellow and stay here throughout the night. That’s a special lady lying over there.”
Elliot stepped into the adjoining bathing room. One of the first improvements he’d made upon taking residence in this town house was to modernize the bathing room. He turned on the hydronic pump, sending warm water up from the kitchen to the copper tub, then stripped off his clothes and lowered himself into the crystalline water.
The hinges on the door squeaked.
A sleepy-eyed Nina stood at the threshold. “Why didn’t you wake me?”
“Oh, I tried.” He laughed. “My sister says you sleep more soundly than one of her old school chums.”
An adorable shade of red crept over her cheeks. “Please don’t tell me I snore.”
“Then I won’t tell you.”
“Goodness, do I?”
“No.” He grinned.
Nina released a heavy breath. “You are a tease.”
He wanted to tease her even more, but in a different way. He crooked his finger and held out his hand. “Why don’t you join me?”
She stepped closer. As she did so, her hands were already unfastening the pearl buttons on the front of her dress. The fabric parted and she slipped it off her shoulders and arms. It fell and billowed around her feet.
His cock grew hard and thick.
While holding his gaze, she removed her other garments and stood completely naked except for her silk stockings and lace garters, which were adorned with beads and stitched blue flowers.
“I heard in Lancashire they believe a bride should wear something blue on her wedding day.” She traced the tip of her nail over the blue flowers.
Elliot’s gaze settled on her finger, which was moving gently over the garter on her thigh. He wanted to remove the silky scrap of embroidered material with his teeth.
Nina pulled the small stool in front of her and set one foot on it, giving him a perfect view of her sex, nestled below the triangle of curls. While glancing coquettishly at him from her lowered lashes, she slowly unrolled the first stocking.
He nearly climaxed. Holding his body in check, he swallowed hard and grabbed on to the side of the tub, forcing himself not to pull her into the water, stockings and all.
She lifted her other leg and rolled down the second stocking with the same deliberate slowness. What an adept pupil his wife was.
“If you don’t get in here soon, I might drag you in.” Once again, he held out his hand.
Taking it, she stepped into the tub.
“Sit on my lap, love, and let me bathe you,” he said huskily.
Nina glanced down at the water and his engorged cock. A small lump moved in her throat. His sweet wife knew what he wanted. She slipped into the water, placing her knees on each side of his body, and sucked in a breath as she lowered herself onto his hard length. “I don’t think I can take you all the way in at this angle.”
“You can,” he said. “Just relax.” He licked her nipple before taking it into his mouth.
Nina’s eyes drifted closed, and she lowered herself, sheathing him completely with her tight, wet warmth.
Unable to stop himself, he bucked his hips.
Her eyes opened and she smiled. “Do that again.”
With his hands on her bum, he moved as she rode him. Her rhythm matching his. Shortly, they would both find their pleasure. He cupped the back of her head and brought her mouth down to his and tangled his tongue with hers.
Her sex clenched against his manhood.
“Come on, love. That’s it.” He placed his hands on her perfect derrière again and squeezed.
Nina’s breaths were short and shallow. Her body stilled and she tipped her head back as she reached her climax.
The sight of his wife with beads of water glistening on her naked skin as she orgasmed was the most erotic thing he’d ever seen, and Elliot toppled over the edge with her.
* * *
In their dark bedchamber, Nina snuggled closer into her husband’s embrace. His heart beat steadily
under her ear. She shifted and realized the sheets below the counterpane were tangled about their legs. After she and Elliot had made love in the bathtub, they’d washed each other. Her soapy hands had glided over the hard planes of his body as his had traveled over the softer curves of hers.
She smiled as she remembered his wicked words about there being so much more a couple could do once married.
Elliot’s arms tightened about her. “What are you smiling about?”
She lifted her head off his chest.
He watched her with the same intense gaze as last night.
“I think I’m going to like being married.”
Smiling, he arched a brow. “You just think?”
“Well, I’ve only been married less than a day,” she teased.
“Perhaps there’s something I can do to make you say you are enraptured with being married.”
“You’re doing it right now.”
“Am I?”
“Yes, this room is dashed cold. So, I’m enjoying you holding me.”
“I know a better way to make you warm besides just holding you.”
“Ah, you’re willing to get up and revive the fire?” She laughed.
“What a killjoy my new wife is.” Elliot grinned and kissed the tip of her nose. “Your wish is my command.”
Naked as the day he was born, her husband slipped from the bed and padded across the dark room to the cooling grate. Missing the warmth of his skin against hers, she pulled the blankets tighter around herself as she watched him. He seemed so at ease with his body. It made her think of when she’d undressed for him. She’d acted confident, but inside she had felt anxious, her stomach a bit queasy, but the look of appreciation as she’d removed her clothing had bolstered her confidence.
As he squatted before the grate, her gaze drifted down the breadth of his shoulders and to his bum. Elliot possessed a beautiful body.
He stood and turned around.
She tried to keep her gaze on his face and not on his manhood and the crop of dark hair around it as he strode back to the bed. “Aren’t you cold?” she asked.
Never Conspire with a Sinful Baron Page 21
