by Marie Force
Eliza dismissed their comments with a roll of her eyes. “He’s everything America and Americans are known for—boorish, uncivilized, vulgar.”
“You’re aware, Mother, that your husband and seven children are Americans, aren’t you?” Anderson asked.
“I’m painfully aware of that,” Eliza said.
“America has been very good to our family,” Alfie said. “We should be counting our blessings.”
“Hear, hear,” Aubrey said, earning a glare from his mother. Under the table he reached for Maeve’s hand and linked their fingers, giving a gentle squeeze that set off flutters inside her. How he did that so effortlessly was a source of continuing fascination for her as no other man had ever had such an effect on her.
She sent him a warm smile that he returned and the connection between them crackled like a radio seeking reception. When he looked away to reply to his sister, Maeve caught Eliza staring at her with abject hatred. Maeve’s entire body went cold in the second her gaze was trapped in her mother-in-law’s evil net.
She actually shivered.
“Are you all right, my dear?” Aubrey asked.
“I’m feeling a little off, actually. I think I’ll retire early if you don’t mind.”
“Of course I don’t mind.” He kissed the back of her hand. “I’ll be up to check on you shortly.”
“Good night, everyone.” Maeve made a hasty retreat and then hated herself for being so easily cowed by Eliza. She should’ve stayed and pretended to be unbothered by the other woman’s hatefulness. Had Aubrey or anyone else seen the way she’d looked at Maeve? Probably not, because Eliza was nothing but careful in how she went about keeping her displeasure toward Maeve hidden from the others.
But Maeve saw it on a daily basis, and it was becoming ever more difficult to pretend that it didn’t bother her. She kept telling herself she only had to survive the latter half of July and August. After that, she and Aubrey would go to New York where they would live alone in his town house without his extended family underfoot.
But with six more weeks in Newport to get through, she had cause to wonder how she would endure the other woman’s hatefulness. If only she too had been born into an aristocratic family rather than the middle class, maybe Eliza could swallow her revulsion and tolerate her new daughter-in-law.
That, however, was a pipe dream. The woman would never accept her and was probably biding her time until she found a way to convince Aubrey that he’d be better off without Maeve. She ached at the thought of him rejecting her, of him choosing his mother over her, which of course he would do. She was his mother. She wanted the best for him, and Maeve didn’t come close to meeting Eliza’s exacting expectations.
After changing into one of the silk nightgowns and matching robes Aubrey had bought for her, Maeve curled up in the window seat, which had become one of her favorite spots in the enormous house. The cozy corner reminded Maeve of her bedroom at home in Ireland, which had also included a window seat. Here she could look out over the vast ocean, lit by moonbeams, and wonder about her family back home in Dingle. Had Aoife and her husband Thomas succeeded in conceiving the child they wanted so badly? Had Bridget delivered her third baby, and had her husband’s mother recovered from her recent surgery? Niamh would have graduated from school last month and would be looking for a job. How, Maeve wondered, was her father’s gout and the arthritis in her mother’s knee that pained her so?
Tears ran down her face as she stared out into the darkness. The ones she loved were on the other side of that vast ocean, but they might’ve been a million miles away. She missed them all terribly, as well as her familiar routine of helping to care for the neighbor’s children, checking in on several elderly relatives and working as needed at the bank her father owned. It had been a small but satisfying life that had changed forever the day her father informed her that he’d given Mr. Farthington permission to court her.
She cringed at that memory, the first time her beloved father had ever asked her to consider the suit of a man. Prior to that, she had been courted by several of the boys she’d grown up with, but never by anyone she didn’t know personally. For a while, she had thought she would marry her dear friend Padraig. But then he had taken his own life after realizing he was attracted to men, not women. His death had shaken her to her core, especially when people had briefly suspected her of having something to do with it. Only when one of his sisters had publicly speculated on the possible reason for his death did the gossip surrounding Maeve come to an end.
From the first time she’d met Farthington, shortly after Padraig’s death, she’d been dazzled by the handsome, charismatic older man. Underneath his shiny veneer, however, she’d sensed a dark side that he kept well hidden. She’d tried to tell her father that, but he’d been so excited by the prospect of landing the Farthington family business for the bank that he’d been deaf to her concerns.
What he must think of her now. A sob escaped from her tightly clenched lips, and then Aubrey was there, kneeling beside her and drawing her into his warm embrace.
“My darling, whatever is the matter?”
“I’m feeling terribly homesick.”
“Oh, my poor sweet.” He rubbed her back soothingly. “I’m sure your homesickness is made more difficult being surrounded by Nelsons.”
“Maybe a little. I do enjoy your family though.”
“They enjoy you, too.”
“They do?”
“Of course they do. My sisters think you’re delightful.”
That was news to her. While the Nelson sisters were never rude or dismissive the way their mother was, they weren’t overly friendly either. They were, at best, polite and cordial. Without Catherine and Madeleine in her daily life, Maeve would feel truly lost in a sea of strangers with varying agendas. “They said as much?”
“Adele said she quite enjoys your company, and Alora noted how wonderful you are with the children.”
“I adore them.”
He wiped away her tears. “They adore you right back. James asked me earlier when you would play croquet with them again.”
“They are far too good for me. I don’t stand a chance.”
“I think they enjoyed finally finding an adult they could beat.”
Maeve laughed, which she wouldn’t have thought possible a few minutes ago. Leave it to Aubrey to make her feel better. She caressed his face, running her fingers over the rough late-day whiskers on his jaw while he gazed at her with the wild hunger she’d come to expect from him. “You’re very good at making me feel better.”
“I never want you to be sad. You should’ve come to find me.”
“It came on all of a sudden, and I knew you were enjoying time with your friends.”
“Nothing is more important to me than my beautiful wife.” He slid his arms under her, picked her up and carried her to bed. After helping her out of her robe and gown, he shed his own clothes and climbed in with her.
“You’re taking an early night this evening.” He often sat up with Derek, Simon and Justin until long after midnight.
“I came up to tell you some very big news. After dinner, we were playing billiards when Justin suddenly remembered where he had heard Farthington’s name before.”
Chapter Eighteen
Maeve gasped as shock rippled through her. Hearing the man’s name was enough to make her blood run cold. “Justin knew of him?”
“Yes, he, Derek and Simon all felt the name was familiar the first time they heard it, but they couldn’t place it. Justin was lining up his cue when he stood upright and said ‘I’ve got it. I remember where I’ve heard of Farthington before.’ It seems he was arrested in London several years ago for beating up a prostitute and leaving her nearly dead.”
Maeve gasped.
“He was brought up on charges but managed to escape from custody before he could be tried. Once Justin mentioned this, Simon recalled hearing that the man is wanted in England and his company’s ships were banned from British
ports of entry.”
“I can’t believe this!”
“It’s a pattern, Maeve. When he couldn’t perform, he took his frustrations out on the woman. It wasn’t just you.”
She broke down into sobs that came from her very soul, the relief so profound it left her drained in the aftermath of the emotional outburst.
“There, there,” he said softly. “Get it all out. You’ve been so strong and courageous. I’m so proud of how strong you’ve been.”
“I haven’t been strong. I’m terrified all the time that they are going to find me and take me home to hang.”
He pushed the hair back from her face and kissed away her tears. “That’s not going to happen.”
“How can you be so certain?”
“Because we have the truth on our side—and a very well-regarded duke who has made quiet inquiries on your behalf.”
“He has?”
“Yes, and he’s got contacts in the highest corners of the Irish government. They’ve promised to do anything they can to assist his friend, the former Mrs. Farthington.”
“I can’t believe it, Aubrey. That he would do such a thing for me.”
“My sisters aren’t the only ones who find you delightful. My friends do as well, and Derek has no patience for bullies or men who would beat up a woman to make up for their own failings. Catherine was attacked by the man she was supposed to marry, and she too ran away to avoid her fate. The two of you have much more in common than you might think.”
“I had no idea that she too had endured an attack.”
“She would tell you that the attack led her to flee, which led her to Derek. I would say that Farthington’s attack led you to flee, which led you to me. Happy endings in both cases.”
“Well, in one case anyway. We don’t know yet what will happen to me.”
“We do know. You were attacked and defended yourself.”
“It would be my word against his, and since he is not here to offer his input, I’ll be seen as a heartless killer.”
“I would be right there by your side to attest to the injuries you still had when I met you.” He kissed the palm of her hand where the new pink skin was still tender. “I don’t want you to worry about anything. Whatever transpires, we will face it together.”
“You make me believe that anything is possible. How do you do that?”
“The same way you make me believe in fairy tales and happily ever after.”
“I do that?”
“Mmm-hmm.” His lips brushed against hers, persuasive and seductive, and like every time he kissed her, she felt the impact of him from her scalp to the soles of her feet and everywhere in between. How did he do that with one soft kiss? “Close your eyes. Relax. Let me love you.”
His use of the word “love” made her heart skip a beat. But before she could spend too much time thinking about whether he might actually love her, he was cupping her sensitive breasts, running his thumbs back and forth over the tips.
“So very lovely and all mine,” he whispered as he drew her left nipple into his mouth while pinching the right one in a light squeeze.
The combination had her hips lifting off the mattress, seeking him. After weeks in his bed, she’d become accustomed to many of the things they did together, but she still flushed from head to toe when he kissed his way down her body, put her legs on his shoulders and opened her to his tongue. She would never get used to the nearly obscene way he used his lips, tongue and fingers to drive her mad.
He sucked on the tight nub of nerves that set her off every time he touched her there, making her cry out from the shocking pleasure that overtook her.
Maeve came down from the incredible high to find him watching her in that intense way of his.
When he smiled at her his entire face lit up. “Hello there.”
“You seem rather pleased with yourself, Mr. Nelson.”
He nuzzled her neck, taking a nibbling bite of her skin. “I’m incredibly pleased with myself—and yourself, Mrs. Nelson.”
When he shifted to enter her, she stopped him with a hand to his chest. “Could I do to you what you did to me?”
He froze, his expression unusually blank.
Did he think her brazen for suggesting such a thing? “Never mind,” she said, looking away. “I didn’t mean to shock you.”
“You didn’t shock me. You aroused me so completely that all the blood in my body seems to be located in one place, leaving nothing to power my brain.”
She glanced down to find his cock harder and larger than it had ever been, and how was that possible? How could it get bigger?
Aubrey released a tortured-sounding groan that alarmed her. “Please,” he said softly but urgently. “Please do to me whatever you wish.” He ran his fingers through her hair. “Nothing you do would ever be wrong.”
Emboldened by his words and the tender way he touched her, Maeve gave his chest a gentle push to encourage him to lie on his back. He eyed her warily as he settled into the position, his hands grasping handfuls of sheet, as if he needed to hold on to something.
She sat up to study his chest and abdomen, trying to decide where she wanted to kiss first. His hard cock stretched nearly to his navel, and she watched with fascination as fluid appeared at the tip, pooling onto his stomach.
“Maeve,” he said through gritted teeth, “are you going to just look, or do you plan to put me out of my misery?”
“Tell me what you like. I’ll do whatever you want.”
His sharp intake of breath had her glancing at his face, which was tight with tension. “I’m about to spend from merely thinking about your lips on my—”
She bent over him, wrapped her hand around the thick base the way he’d taught her to do, and took the tip into her mouth, sucking gently but insistently.
His fingers tangled into her hair, his hips came off the bed and he made sounds she’d never heard him make before. Emboldened, she took more of him into her mouth and lashed the tip with her tongue.
He moaned, and his fingers tightened in her hair nearly to the point of pain.
Maeve released him slowly, the tip leaving her mouth with a loud pop.
“Don’t stop,” he said, sounding desperate.
“I’ve no plans to stop.” She moved so she was between his spread legs and bent over him again, this time cupping the soft pouch under his scrotum as she took his shaft into her mouth once again.
“Dear God,” he muttered, his legs trembling violently as she sucked and licked with wild enthusiasm. “Maeve. Sweetheart, stop. That’s enough.” He tugged on her hair, trying to get her attention.
But she wouldn’t be deterred from giving him the same pleasure he’d given her.
“Fuck.”
She’d never heard that word from him before, and knowing she’d driven him to vulgarity fueled her desire to give him everything. She squeezed, sucked and licked the soft skin until he exploded down her throat in a hot, scalding blast that she swallowed frantically.
“Holy Christ,” he said as his body continued to seize and tremble until he finally sagged into the mattress, seeming completely spent.
Maeve released his cock slowly, continuing to stroke him through the aftershocks that followed his release. When she finally looked up at him, she found him watching her with a nearly feral look in his eyes. “Did I do it correctly?”
He grunted out a laugh. “If you did it any more correctly, you might’ve stopped my heart.” Reaching for her, he encouraged her to lie on top of him, and brushed the hair back from her face. “You’re magnificent, and I want nothing more than to kiss your cock-swollen lips.”
The things he said! Predictably, she felt the flush creep into her face as he kissed her senseless.
“How can you blush like that after sucking my cock until I exploded?”
“Do you have to be so vulgar?”
“It’s not vulgar to speak to one’s own wife about the things that transpire in the marriage bed. Now answer my question.
How can you still be embarrassed after all the things we have done?”
“I’m not embarrassed, so much as shocked at my own behavior.”
“Your behavior is quite shocking.”
She poked him in the belly, making him startle and then laugh.
“But I wouldn’t have you any other way. You’re absolutely perfect.”
“I’m glad you think so.”
He held her close to him, running his hands over her back and down to cup her bottom. Between them, his cock hardened and throbbed against her belly.
“You have recovered rather quickly.”
“That’s all your fault. You’re so soft and sweet, and I want you all the time.” He gave her bottom a squeeze. “Sit up.”
Aubrey helped her up, until she sat on top of him, her legs positioned on either side of his hips. She wasn’t so far gone that she didn’t immediately note the impropriety of the position. She would’ve moved to bring her legs together, but he stopped her. “Like this.”
“Aubrey . . . You can’t possibly think . . .”
“Shhhh. Trust me. Lift up a little.”
“No . . . What . . . Oh my goodness.”
With his hands on her hips, he brought her down on his hard cock, pushing so far into her she could feel him in her belly. “That’s it,” he said tightly. “Just like that.”
“This isn’t decent.”
“It’s so decent.” He raised his hips and surged deeper into her body, the base of his cock stroking the tender nub at the top of her sex, making her tremble.
“Aubrey . . .”
“Yes, love?”
“We can’t . . .”
“We can.” He held her hips and surged into her again. “We are. Ride me like a horse.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Move your hips the same way you would on a horse.”
“I can’t.” The thought of it mortified her.
“You can.” With his hands on her hips, he guided her and helped her find a rhythm that felt shockingly good.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
“Believe it, sweetheart.” He encouraged her to move faster still and then reached between them to coax her to an orgasm that ripped through her like wildfire.
