by Merry Farmer
“And I intended to,” he flirted. “But who can resist a mystery when presented with one?”
“However will you unfold this mystery?” she asked, glancing up at him. My, but he was tall. And broad. There was something undeniably thrilling about having a man who was so much bigger than her. As bold and powerful as she considered herself to be, there was something intriguing in the thought of being mastered by a man.
No, not by any man, by Adrian.
“How hungry are you, Lord Whitemarsh?” she asked with a suggestive grin.
“Simply ravenous,” he answered, his voice low.
“Shall we begin our feast, then?” Her grin widened.
Adrian glanced past her to where the villa’s servants were still setting up the picnic. “It doesn’t appear as though the feast is ready yet.”
“Oh, your feast is more than ready,” she said, lowering her voice and swaying closer to him.
His expression lit up at her meaning. “Is it?”
Hattie laughed low in her throat, then turned to search the lawn. As she’d hoped, she spotted Miss Sewett at the far end of the picnic preparations. Mr. Rossi was with her and down on one knee, singing in Italian. Miss Sewett looked as though she would expire on the spot, but whether from embarrassment, anger, or affection, it was impossible to tell. Better still, Evangeline and Roselyn stood on either side of her, looking as though they would catch her and hold her to the spot if she dared to attempt to flee Mr. Rossi’s advances. Roselyn happened to glance in Hattie’s direction, nodding to let her know Miss Sewett was well and truly occupied.
“Everything is just the way I planned it,” Hattie giggled, grabbing Adrian’s hand and starting for the villa. “Quickly, while we can still slip away unnoticed.”
“You delightful little minx,” Adrian laughed, letting her lead him.
It was all too perfect. The sunshine, the fresh breeze, even Gianni’s song. She wanted Adrian so much it was driving her mad, and at last she would have him. Though once she did, she wasn’t sure if she would ever be able to let him go.
Chapter 6
Adrian was certain he had Hattie at last. Before he’d even had her. The way she smiled at him as they circled the throng of her cousins as they played in the Tuscan sun, the way she couldn’t seem to take her eyes off him, and the way she tugged him into a small alcove just inside the conservatory door for a kiss seemed to be proof.
Her mouth was soft and eager as he kissed her, nibbling lightly on her bottom lip before sliding his tongue against hers. She made the most beautiful sound of arousal as she slid her arms up over his shoulders to thread her fingers through his hair. Her body swayed against his as he circled one arm behind her back and slid his other hand up to cradle her breast. Everything about her was heat and impetuousness.
“I love a woman who isn’t afraid of her own sensuality,” he panted against her ear as he paused to catch his breath.
“What is there to be afraid of?” she asked, brushing her fingers across his cheek and prompting him to straighten and gaze into her eyes. The spark in her mischievous eyes was enough to tempt him to unfasten his trousers and take her right there. “I’m not afraid of anything.”
“I’m beginning to see that,” he said, then leaned in for another kiss.
He pivoted to press her against the wall, caressing her hip and lifting one of her legs high against his. She made a sound halfway between a giggle and a coo at his action and surged toward him, taking the lead in their kissing. Her aggression made his head spin in all the very best ways. He answered her hunger by grinding his growing erection against her stomach to let her know how ready he was.
“Oh, my,” she gasped. “We are excited, aren’t we?”
She followed her words by reaching for the front of his trousers and stroking him through the fabric.
He hissed a curse that didn’t quite form itself into words at the pleasure of her touch. It brought to mind all the other things she might do to tease and please his impatient cock. He had a feeling she wouldn’t balk at all if he asked her to suck him. The image of her sweet mouth stretched around him was almost too much for his already strained control to take.
“We need to find a place to be alone,” he growled, letting her leg go and taking her hand. “Fast.”
She giggled, dashing across the conservatory with him. “My, my, Lord Whitemarsh, you are keen.”
“You have no idea,” he answered in a low voice, sending her a look designed to melt her insides.
He wasn’t familiar with the villa, so as soon as they reached the hallway, Hattie took the lead. She glanced up and down the hall before seeming to decide where they should go. Her face glowed pink with arousal and mischief as she chose a direction and tugged him to the shady end of the hall. Adrian noticed several small parlors and sitting rooms on that side of the house, but nothing made an impression. The only thing he cared about was finding a room that had any sort of furnishings that would provide the sort of surface he needed for what he planned to do to Hattie.
Hattie pulled him into what looked like a reading room at the back of the house, across the hall from a parlor that appeared to have been transformed into an office. Before he could think to shut the door, she drew him into her arms once more and lifted to the tips of her toes to kiss him.
From there, everything else was forgotten. Adrian threw his whole heart into returning her kiss with as much enthusiasm as she showed him. Her mouth was hungry and her tongue darted along his as if she knew exactly what she wanted and would stop at nothing to get it. He’d never had a woman who was so in control of her own wants and desires. He wasn’t sure he would ever be able to have another woman after her. Hattie was the end of his line in so many ways.
“I want to see what you have to offer your wife,” she panted, leaning back and reaching for his trousers.
Adrian’s heart skipped a beat before running riot in his chest. “So you’re considering my proposal, then?” he asked, unbuttoning and shrugging out of his jacket so that she had fewer layers impeding her from what she was clearly after.
Her answering laughter sent a jolt of bitter and sweet through him. “That all depends on what I am about to discover.”
She deftly undid his trousers and slipped a hand under his drawers to hold him. It was all Adrian could do not to come hard at her first stroke. His groan was met by a gasp from her as she tested his length, reaching from his aching balls to his tip.
“Well,” she said breathlessly. “Isn’t this something.”
The way she fondled him was too much for his senses and his pride to take. He wanted her and he wanted to give her free reign to play with his cock and make him come as much as she liked, but not until he showed her who would have the upper hand in their union. All the same, grabbing her wrist and dragging her hand away from the very place he wanted it to be took all of his willpower.
“Not so fast,” he growled, grabbing her other wrist and holding her hands firmly behind her back so that she couldn’t get away. The result was that they became locked in an embrace that mirrored their battle of wills. “You will only get what you want when I get what I want.”
Her breath came in shallow pants as she glanced up at him. A blind man could see that she was aroused by his sudden show of power. “And what do you want?” she asked, her cheeks flushing deep pink.
Adrian leaned close and whispered in her ear, “Everything.”
He shifted to back her toward the chaise lounge, one of the few pieces of furniture the tiny room held. But instead of laying her across it in the traditional manner, he tipped her backward over the higher end. Hattie let out a surprised yelp as she found herself spilling awkwardly across the lounge, her legs in the air and her head and shoulders coming to rest where she would ordinarily be sitting. Adrian tugged until her hips were right at the top of the lounge’s upward slope, then pushed her skirts down around her waist, revealing her stockings and drawers.
“What in heaven’s name,” Hatti
e began with a confused laugh.
Adrian silenced her by sliding a hand between the split in her drawers to stroke her sex. She was already slick and ready, and in spite of her insanely awkward angle, she moaned with pleasure. He had only just begun, though. The high end of the chaise lounge was at the perfect height so that when he knelt between her awkwardly spread legs he was able to bring his mouth right to her sex.
As he suspected, she tasted delicious. Her folds were hot and sweet, and the more he teased her with his lips and tongue, the more the sounds she made turned from impish giggling to uncontrolled gasps of pleasure. He spread her folds wider with his fingers and focused his efforts on stroking her clitoris with his tongue. It was worth every bit of the awkward positions they found themselves in when her gasps grew quicker and tighter, until she let out a long cry of pleasure as her body throbbed in orgasm against his mouth.
He’d never known a woman to give herself over to orgasm as passionately as Hattie did. The response of her body and the passionate sounds she made had him so close to the edge that he could hardly draw breath. If he didn’t sink himself deep into her immediately, he was certain he’d go mad. He stood, wedging her legs farther apart and fumbling with the drawstring of his drawers.
Before he could completely free himself, there was a crash from the room across the hall.
“Bloody fucking hell,” Hattie cried, her voice high and thready. “If that’s Miss Sewett again, I’ll—” She stopped abruptly, jerking tense as she turned her head to see what was going on in the other room.
Adrian’s brain had yet to catch up to what was going on as Hattie suddenly scrambled to right herself on the chaise lounge. She managed to twist herself into a crouch, gripping the back for support as she stared into the parlor across the hall with wide eyes. Adrian winced in pain as he fastened his trousers over his throbbing cock, assuming someone had found them out and he was about to be told off, likely by one of Hattie’s male relatives. At least being caught would mean Hattie would be forced to accept his proposal of marriage.
But when he turned to the parlor, expecting the worst, the room seemed to be empty.
“What the devil?” he started.
“It’s her,” Hattie whispered, clumsily rising to her feet. She took a moment to steady herself, as though her legs were made of jelly. Adrian couldn’t help but grin over that, knowing he was the cause.
“Her who?” he asked.
“The dark lady,” Hattie whispered. “She came in through the window.”
Adrian still wasn’t entirely certain what she was talking about, but as Hattie skittered to the doorway and peered into the hall, then tip-toed across the hall, bracing her back against the wall before peering carefully into the opposite parlor, he followed her.
The second he saw what she saw, he jerked to press his back against the wall on the opposite side of the doorway from her, his heart shooting to his throat. There was a dark woman in the parlor-turned-office. Either she hadn’t heard or seen him and Hattie in the reading room or she was so intent on her own task that she didn’t care that a couple was cavorting nearby.
Within seconds, he knew that neither scenario was the case. The dark lady knew full well they were there. “Where is it?” she demanded. She had an accent, but it wasn’t one Adrian could place. “Where is the codex?”
“The codex?” Hattie asked with a confused frown. She must have realized the dark lady knew they were there too. She straightened and stepped into the doorway. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Who are you?”
The dark lady snapped up from where she was rifling through the papers and ledgers on one of the tables. She had the caramel skin and black hair of a woman from the Levant, or perhaps India. The look in her eyes as she glanced from Hattie to Adrian—who also made his presence known—was deadly. Before either of them could make a move, the dark lady backed toward the open window.
“You tell the fox that the jackal knows he’s coming. He knows what he’s after,” she said, resting one hand on the window frame.
“But what do you mean?” Hattie asked, stepping into the room. “Who is the fox? And who is the jackal?”
The dark lady didn’t answer. With a movement so deft Adrian wondered if she were a circus performer, she leapt through the window.
Hattie dashed into the room. Adrian followed, managing to get ahead of her and reach the window first. But when he looked out, there wasn’t a single trace of the dark lady, no matter how far he stuck his head out the window or how intently he searched.
“She did the same thing the other day,” Hattie said, searching with him for a moment. “She leapt out the window and disappeared.”
“She’s tried to steal something before?” Adrian asked, pulling himself back into the room and turning to the table. There was no way to tell what sort of contents the table held or what the woman had been after, aside from a book of some sort.
“The day of the wreck,” Hattie confirmed with a nod, pressing a hand to her stomach. “When I returned to the house after—” Her cheeks flushed pink again, and she sent him an alluring smile. “We simply must get out of the habit of being interrupted in the middle of our own activities,” she said.
Her abrupt change of subject reminded Adrian that he was still sporting an erection as big as an oak. “We must,” he agreed, taking two steps toward her and sweeping her into his arms.
She threw her arms around him as he brought his mouth crashing over hers. In an instant, the flame of their ardor was renewed and his body pulsed with insistence that they get on with things.
“Wait,” Hattie said, just as he was contemplating sweeping the papers off of the table so that he could take her there. She placed her hands on his chest, wincing with reluctance as she glanced up at him. “Shouldn’t we tell someone about the dark lady? Or find out who the fox is?”
He matched her wince with a grimace of his own. “We should,” he admitted. His cock had other ideas, though. He pulled her tightly into his arms. “Right after we finish what we started.”
She answered his insistence with a sound that was something between a laugh and a sigh, lifting onto her toes so that she could kiss him. He reached for her backside, drawing her against his needy erection as he kissed her.
“Wait, wait.” She cut off their kiss again. He had half a mind to clap a hand over her mouth and turn her around and lift her skirts so that he could satisfy himself before she disappointed him again, but she went on with, “Let’s retire to my bedroom so we won’t be interrupted.”
“Yes,” he growled, taking her hand and starting out of the room with her.
Once again, Hattie took the lead once they reached the hall, since she was the one who knew where her room was. They hurried down the hall to the central staircase, too impatient to be as careful as they needed to be. Fortunately, most of the McGovern family was still outside, enjoying their picnic on the lawn. The only people who saw them as they climbed the stairs and dashed down the hall to one of the bedrooms that looked out over the rolling, Tuscan hills were servants.
As soon as they were safe inside Hattie’s room with the doors closed and locked, Adrian unbuttoned his waistcoat and peeled it off along with his shirt. “I want you naked on that bed and spread like the horizon,” he told Hattie, his eyes fixed on her as he undressed.
“So bold,” she said, giddiness and excitement in her voice as she reached behind her to unfasten her gown. “So demanding.”
“You like it that way,” he told her, dropping his shirt to the floor and making quick work of the fastenings of his trousers. “Something tells me you’ll like it every way I give it to you.”
Her laughter turned into a breathless sigh as her gaze dropped to his cock. Her eyes went wide as he pushed his trousers and drawers down and stepped out of them. He knew full well that he was big. Some of his past lovers had found his size intimidating, but Hattie stared at him like she’d just been handed a gift that she couldn’t wait to open.
; “God, I want that inside of me,” she gasped, shrugging out of her bodice and pushing her gown down over her hips.
“Then take off your clothes and show me exactly where you want me to put it,” he growled. For good measure, he took himself in hand, careful not to tip himself over the edge while still tempting her into moving faster.
“Yes, indeed,” she panted, wriggling out of the rest of her clothes.
She moved fast and clumsily, discarding her gown, petticoats, and drawers. For half a second, Adrian considered demanding that she keep her corset on, since it pushed her breasts up in the most alluring way. But he wanted her naked under him, skin to skin, as he fucked her. She seemed to want the same thing, shedding her corset and chemise. But like the minx she was, she kept her stockings on as she backpedaled to her bed.
As soon as she sat on the edge, scooting back a bit, she opened her legs wide, revealing the wet pinkness of her sex. “Is this what you want?” she asked with a look so coy it could ignite the bedcovers.
“Is it what you want?” he asked, stalking closer to her.
“Oh, yes,” she said, breathless and impatient. She leaned back, bracing herself on her arms behind her.
He moved right to the edge of the bed, towering over her. Her quick, shallow breaths did amazing things to her breasts. They were firm and round, and her nipples stood out in hard knots, even though he hadn’t touched them yet. He could lose himself for hours simply playing with her breasts alone. But he was already barely holding onto control.
“What do you want?” he asked, making a show of touching himself as she watched, eyes hungry.
“You,” she gasped. “I want you.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Could you be more specific?”
She glanced up at him with a grin that would have undone a lesser man. “I want you to fuck me with that colossal cock of yours until I come so hard I forget my name.”
His breath caught in his chest. God, but he loved her boldness. Who was he to deny her what she wanted?
Without another word, he surged toward her, pushing her to her back and spreading her legs farther. She was so wet as he plunged into her—hard, like she’d demanded, even though it was their first time and he had yet to test her limits—that he sank balls-deep in an instant. She let out a cry of passion, tilting her head back and grabbing his hips as he jerked into her again and again.
