“Julius?” Bethany eyed his stern expression dubiously.
She had not behaved as a lady should, she knew that, but her curiosity had gotten the better of her. Was it any wonder that Julius now looked at her with disgust?
“Never mind,” she dismissed abruptly. “If you will excuse me, it is time for luncheon, and my uncle will be expecting me to join him.” She turned with a swish of her skirt to hurry toward the door so that she might quickly escape from the embarrassing aftermath of having forced her attentions upon Julius.
He was, despite his air of sophistication and authority, still a man when all was said and done. And like any man, from the little she knew of them, Julius would not have been able to refuse her blatant offer to pleasure him. No man would, gentleman or servant.
“Bethany!” The speaking of her name was accompanied by Julius taking a firm grasp of her arm. He tugged gently until she was once again facing him.
Her gaze remained downcast. “I apologize for causing you any embarrassment.”
“Look at me, Bethany.” His voice softened. “Please.”
She gave a low groan of mortification before slowly lifting her gaze to meet his. His expression did not look disgusted or judgmental. If anything, his gaze was warm with understanding.
“I am not embarrassed,” he instantly assured. “A little ashamed of myself,” he added in a hard voice. “But I am not embarrassed.”
“I encouraged what happened just now.”
He grimaced. “I doubt your uncle and… I doubt he would see it that way.”
“I have no intention of telling him. Do you?”
“Not merely as a means to salve my own conscience, no,” Julius answered carefully, very aware he had almost slipped up seconds ago and mentioned her brother. “I very much doubt you have any desire to be married to me at gunpoint either.”
Her eyes widened. “You think he would demand you marry me?”
Julius had always flattered himself in the past on being a good judge of character and actions. But he now knew that Adrian Metford, although Julius had dismissed him as being nothing more than a snob on the occasions the two men met in London, was also a murderer, and quite possibly other things too. One did not wake up one morning and suddenly decide to dispose of your own nephew. That had only been achieved after Metford journeyed to London with his newly orphaned nephew and niece, and it had been done with both precision and deliberation.
Since coming to Suffolk, Julius now had his suspicions in regard to the deaths of Bethany’s parents. Admittedly, those deaths had been attributed to influenza, but there were many ways in which to kill someone without detection, especially when the person you intended to slay was already known to be ill. David Metford’s death, quickly followed by the murder of his son, had left the way clear for Adrian Metford to assume the Ipswich title.
“He might.” His eyes narrowed. “Will you be meeting with the smugglers again tonight?” He frowned his disapproval if that should be the case.
She shook her head. “It will be several weeks now before they make another run. Unless they receive word of an urgent need to change those plans.” She gave him a pointed glance.
Reminding him that she had guessed, from John’s knowledge of him, exactly what he had done during the years of fighting against Napoleon.
Hopefully, it would only take days more for Julius and James to gather the information they needed to restore James as the rightful Earl of Ipswich. After which, it would be the younger man’s responsibility to curb his sister’s impetuous behavior of lending her assistance to the smugglers in the area.
And also to prevent her from accosting other gentlemen in their bedchamber and demanding to watch them pleasure themselves!
Julius still could not bear to even think of Bethany touching another man with the same intimacy as she had him.
He released Bethany’s arm before stepping away. “Would you please give your uncle my apologies? I will not be joining the two of you for luncheon.” It was one of the times when he could be sure Metford’s bedchamber would be empty for at least an hour or so. Hopefully, the man’s valet would also have found something else to keep him occupied.
Julius really did need to leave Ipswich Park as soon as possible, before he did something even more reckless than allowing Bethany to assist him in reaching a climax.
Bethany looked momentarily hurt by his abrupt dismissal before she forced a polite smile to her lips and gave a brief curtsey. “Of course.”
Julius made no effort to stop her from leaving this time. Instead, he watched silently as she unlocked the door before opening it and checking there was no one outside in the hallway before she made good her escape. All without so much as a second glance in Julius’s direction.
What else had he expected after he had dismissed her so coldly?
Something which, although he had acted in a manner he felt was best for both of them, now caused an uncomfortable tightness in Julius’s chest.
Meaning what?
He had hurt Bethany, which in turn now caused a deep regret inside him.
Again, meaning what?
Julius was almost afraid to answer that question.
Not almost. He was afraid to answer that question!
He needed to resolve this situation as soon as may be and then put as much distance between himself and Bethany as was possible now that he counted James amongst his close circle of friends.
A friendship which would be severely tested once Julius had confessed to the intimacy he had shared with Bethany.
Something which went completely out of Julius’s head when he entered Metford’s bedchamber a short time later and discovered James already there.
“What the hell are you doing in here?” Julius stared incredulously as he watched the younger man slide out from beneath his uncle’s four-poster bed.
“Someone needs to have words with the maids,” James muttered as, having stood, he now brushed the evidence of dust from his dark clothing. “I shudder to think how long it is since someone cleaned beneath that bed.”
Julius leaned back against the closed door. “Once you are earl, you can ensure it does not happen again.”
“Oh, do not worry, I will.” James raised his head, the frustration obvious in his expression. “There is nothing in the safe but several deeds for property in London which do not belong to the Ipswich title, but are owned personally by my uncle.”
Julius straightened. “Did you read them?”
The other man scowled. “How else would I know they are not part of the estate?”
“Do not take out your frustration on me,” Julius snapped. “Do you remember where in London these properties are situated?” His tone softened, as James looked suitable chastened.
“Piccadilly.”
“All of them?”
“Yes.”
“When did he purchase them?”
“The first was shortly after he assumed the title.”
“Hm.” Julius frowned in concentration. “Have you heard of the Burlington Arcade, the new covered shopping area? I believe it is being built so the rich and privileged ladies can shop even when it rains,” he added dryly.
“Well, of course. I— The new arcade is being built off Piccadilly,” James realized.
Julius nodded. “And it appears your uncle has been buying property in the surrounding area for several years.”
James frowned his puzzlement. “What does that mean?”
“Apart from the fact those properties are now worth thrice, possibly more, of the value he bought them for? Once the arcade is open to the public and other shop owners require their own establishment in the fashionable area?”
James sat heavily on the side of the bed. “Are you saying my uncle had me killed so that he had the wherewithal to purchase property?”
“I am sure there was more to it than that,” Julius evaded, determined to have answers to his questions regarding the death of James and Bethany’s parents. “But i
t is a fact that, as the younger brother of an earl, Metford would not previously have had the funds with which to buy much more than a midden.” He glanced toward the closed door. “We have probably been in here quite long enough for today, but I will take a look at those deeds myself as soon as I am able.”
Afterwards, he would try to decide how many of his suppositions were the truth, and if or when he should share them with James.
* * *
“You seem very distracted, my dear.”
Bethany pulled her attention away from her thoughts of Julius to now smile at her uncle. “I am feeling a little tired this afternoon, that is all. Perhaps I am getting a cold.”
Her uncle frowned his concern. “We should not have gone riding in the icy weather this morning if you were feeling unwell.”
“I felt perfectly well then.” Bethany’s problem was certainly one of temperature, but she was feeling far too hot rather than cold. A heat that had been intensifying since the moment she first touched Julius’s bared cock. Since leaving him, she had not been able to stop thinking of that and the eruption which had occurred from its tip when she stroked that swollen and throbbing flesh.
“Bethany?”
She physically started at the sharpness of her uncle’s tone. “Perhaps, because I was enjoying our ride together, I stayed out too long in that cold…” It was a feasible excuse for her lack of appetite. It was still only early February and not long since they had a snowfall that had remained on the ground for several days.
“Of course.” Her uncle smiled at her warmly. “I suggest you take yourself up to your bedchamber and climb into bed. I will have Lacey instruct one of the maids to bring a hot drink to your room. Perhaps a nap before dinner will set things to rights. If you feel any worse, I shall send for Dr. Harrington. Never fear, my dear, we shall have you feeling better very soon.” He gave Bethany’s hand several comforting pats.
Bethany doubted that very much, when she knew her only malady was the unsatisfied arousal created by Julius.
An arousal she believed only he could assuage.
Chapter Eleven
“Your uncle told me you were feeling unwell and so were unable to join us for dinner this evening?” Julius grimaced to show how much he had not enjoyed the experience of having to dine alone with the older man.
Having knocked on Bethany’s bedchamber door a minute or so ago and been invited to enter, Julius now approached the bed where she was sitting propped up against the pillows reading a book. She was wearing what looked to be a fine cotton night rail adorned with Brussels lace at the cuffs and neck. Her loosened hair was a golden cloud about her shoulders.
Bethany closed and then placed the book on the table beside the bed as she smiled up at him. “I am not in the least unwell.”
He frowned his puzzlement. “Your uncle said you were.”
“Because that is the reason I told him I would not be joining the two of you for dinner.”
“Your face is flushed,” Julius persisted.
A slight smile curved Bethany’s lips. “That, and my having missed dinner, are both completely your fault.”
His eyes widened. “Mine?”
She nodded. “The flush on my cheeks is caused by my arousal from the two of us being together this morning,” she told him with an honesty that made his cheeks feel warm. “I did not come down for dinner for the same reason. Because sadly, unlike you, I have absolutely no idea how to go about alleviating the uncomfortable throbbing between my own thighs.” The blush deepened in her cheeks, but her gaze made no effort to shy away from meeting his.
This was something else a mother might have explained to her daughter, Julius realized.
Except Bethany had been motherless since she was nine years old, and he had no idea if Henrietta Metford had been an emancipated mother, in any case. Even if her beloved brother had lived, Julius doubted this was a subject Bethany would have broached with him.
This young woman, Julius acknowledged with admiration, was a warrior.
Afraid of nothing and no one, least of all of voicing her sexual frustration.
“Have you tried touching yourself?” he prompted gruffly.
She nodded. “It only seemed to make the ache worse.”
“Then you could not have been doing it right. How did you— Never mind.” Julius dismissed the question when he realized by asking it, he was only fanning his own desire as he thought of those slender fingers between Bethany’s parted thighs as she sought to give herself relief. “You have been suffering this frustration since we parted earlier?”
“Yes.”
And Julius had thought his own physical stress earlier today to be never-ending. Bethany must now feel so much worse than that. “Will you allow me to show you how?” As he approached the bed, his cock hardened to half-mast merely at the thought of touching her so intimately.
“I will allow you to do it so that I might watch and learn while you do so,” she stated firmly.
“But—” Julius broke off with a strangled gasp as Bethany sat farther up the bed before leaning forward and pulling her night rail over her head and throwing it to the floor. Her chin tilted in challenge as, completely bare, she lay slowly back against the pillows.
Julius could barely breathe, let alone speak, as he stared at a completely naked Bethany.
She was a goddess as well as a warrior.
Aphrodite.
Goddess of beauty, pleasure, and passion.
Her hair was a glorious gold about creamy shoulders. Her breasts were small and uptilting, and tipped with those deep-rose nipples. Her belly was flat and smooth and her waist slender.
She threw back the bedclothes to reveal narrow hips, with golden curls covering the mound between slender and shapely legs.
Curls that were slightly damp as evidence of her arousal.
Julius gave a low groan, his cock having fully engorged. Bethany’s gaze remained on him as she slowly parted those silky thighs to reveal the slickness of the swollen lips of her pussy.
His even attempting to resist would, Julius knew, be utterly futile when his hands were literally shaking from the need to touch and caress all those slender curves.
In fact, his renewed desire for Bethany was such that if he did not soon bring himself under control, he might take this to a level of intimacy that far exceeded Bethany’s expectations.
“Do you trust me?” he prompted huskily.
Her eyes widened, no doubt with surprise that he should even voice such a thing when she was sitting in front of him completely and deliberately naked. “Implicitly.”
Her flushed face and feverish gaze, her arms and hands limp at her sides, told Julius this young woman would refuse him nothing. Not a single touch or caress, no matter how intimate. “Why do you?”
“We have already had this conversation,” she reminded. “I see you. The real you.” She held his gaze. “You are warm, passionate, kind, and exceedingly brave.”
All of them character traits most in Society would not attribute to Julius, and from a far longer acquaintance.
He grimaced. “Do not make me out to be a hero.”
“Why not, when you are one?”
“You do not know that.”
“Yes, I do,” she assured without hesitation. “As such, I shall continue to regard you exactly as I please.”
Julius breathed out his frustration with her determination to make him into something he did not wish to be.
“John does not bestow his friendship or his praise on many,” she continued firmly. “He had no hesitation in giving you both those things when I mentioned your name.”
John Harrow was indeed a hard man who knew the folly of trusting easily. As a smuggler, he needed to maintain that caution in order to continue the illegal practice, or be captured and suffer the consequences.
“Or you, apparently,” Julius drawled.
The fact the other man had bestowed that same friendship on Bethany, the niece of the man who might ensure he
suffered those consequences if John should be arrested, was testimony to her own character.
Bethany now eyed him teasingly. “If this is meant as another diversion to what I have asked of you, then I think you should know my increasing arousal is making it more and more difficult for me to continue this conversation.”
Julius could see that from the deepening flush in her cheeks and the tops of her breasts, and her nipples were as engorged as ripe raspberries. The slickness had increased between her thighs, and the sweet aroma of her arousal along with it. That citrus and musk called to him.
It invited an intimacy Julius knew he should resist, but ultimately had no will to do so.
Bethany, sensing a weakening in Julius, sat forward to place her hands about his cheeks to hold him as she lifted her chin and pressed her lips softly against his. Hesitantly at first, and then with a deepening passion when Julius’s lips parted and his arms moved fiercely about her as he pulled her tightly into the hard muscles of his chest.
She groaned and fell back against the pillows the moment she felt his acquiescence in the searching sweep of his tongue, taking Julius with her. That heated tongue first parted her lips and then thrust inside her mouth to lick and probe nerve endings Bethany hadn’t even known she possessed.
In a way much like she believed his cock would thrust and probe its way into her pussy.
Although she doubted Julius would allow that to happen.
No matter, she would take what he was willing to give her.
Her hands moved to thread through the golden locks of his hair when he ended the kiss and his lips and tongue left a trail of ignited pleasure down her throat, across her clavicles, and then lower still.
She gasped, her back arching, as he drew one of her engorged nipples into the heat of his mouth. Licking, sucking, and biting, before turning to its twin and leaving his fingers to continue pleasuring the swollen and moist nipple.
Bethany shifted restlessly and parted her legs wider as her arousal grew stronger. The juices flowed freely between her thighs, slick with a pervading musk that seduced almost as much as the touch of Julius’s lips and hands.
Julius's Passion (Regency Club Venus 4) Page 8
