by Merry Farmer
She took everything he gave her, and, judging by the way she sighed and moaned with each thrust, she loved it. Something wild and instinctual took over in him as he let himself go and pounded into her. It felt so good, beyond anything he’d ever experienced, not to hold back. Her body was a perfect fit for his, as if she were the sheath he had been searching for his whole life. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he fucked her until the pleasure built to such a towering height within him that he came inside of her with a potency that left him crying out helplessly with the sheer pleasure of it all. He didn’t want it to end either, even after the ecstatic rush that emptied everything he was into her.
He couldn’t hold onto his strength forever, though, and soon he collapsed on top of her, still firmly lodged within her. She hummed in satisfaction, wrapping her arms and legs around him. It was the most wonderful sensation Adrian had ever felt, and one he would fight to the death to keep forever.
Chapter 7
Hattie sighed with delight, resting her arms loosely around Adrian’s back. He’d been everything she’d hoped he would be and more. His weight atop her as he fought to catch his breath was wonderful, and the way he was still lodged inside of her as he softened was even better. Although, after being pleasured by a cock like his, she didn’t know how she would ever be satisfied with another lover.
Hard on the heels of that thought came the shocking realization that she didn’t ever want another lover. She wanted Adrian, completely and forever. It was sheer madness, considering they were virtual strangers, but every fiber of her being, physical and emotional, seemed to vibrate at the same speed as him. It didn’t take weeks or months for her to know that they were meant to be together.
“I’m crushing you,” he said at length, his voice deep and rough with exhaustion. He started to pull away from her. “I should move.”
“Oh, no,” she said, clasping him with her arms and legs. “I like you just where you are.”
A rumbling laugh spilled up from deep within him. He leaned down to kiss her lingeringly. “I like just where I am as well.”
His kiss was slow and sensual. Hattie was in such a state of bliss after the orgasm that had accompanied his powerful thrusts and nearly caused her to lose her mind that she was content to lay where she was, a puddle of satisfaction beneath him, letting their tongues dance and tease.
She was already beginning to feel the renewed stir of arousal when he propped himself above her and announced, “You have to marry me now.”
For all of three seconds, her heart sang for joy. Then her pride took over.
“I beg your pardon?” She let her legs drop and pushed up to sit, forcing him to crouch awkwardly between her legs.
“You’ll marry me now.” Adrian shrugged, utterly sure of himself.
“I will not,” Hattie laughed, though a large part of her heart rebelled at her words and demanded to know what she was doing.
Adrian looked just as flummoxed. He rolled to the side, propping himself on one arm near the pillows, and frowning at her. “Come now. No more of this inconvenient reticence. We both know we’re a perfect match.”
She bit her lip. Damn him, but he was right. And the arrogance in his eyes said he knew it. Damn her for finding that arrogance strangely alluring. All the same, she twisted to sit on the bed facing him. “I’m not inclined to marry,” she said with a coy grin, tilting her chin up. The image she presented would have been that of strength and stubbornness, if not for the fact that she was naked and still flushed from lovemaking.
Adrian seemed fully aware of the irony and laughed. “You can’t fool me, Hattie McGovern. Your lips might lie, but your cunny doesn’t. Protest all you want, but you like what I have to offer a wife.”
She feigned offense, even though he was absolutely right. “And what do you think you have to offer, Lord Whitemarsh?” She twisted so that she could lie on her stomach, elbows propped on the bed, chin resting in her hands, and arched an eyebrow.
“You know very well what I have to offer.” He teased her with a look that was as cocky as it was affectionate.
“Do tell.” She coaxed him along, enjoying the game they’d started.
“I have an enormous, stupendous, simply massive—”
She arched one eyebrow.
“—property in Hampshire,” he finished with a twinkle in his eyes.
It was all Hattie could do not to reward him with a laugh. “Is that all?” she asked, pretending to be more interested in her nails.
“Well,” he went on with a shrug. “There’s also my sizeable, stunning, enviable—”
She cleared her throat.
“—townhouse in Mayfair.”
This time, she couldn’t help but break into a grin. “Oh, yes. Just what every woman wants. A sizeable house in Mayfair.”
“It is what all ladies want,” Adrian said, reaching toward her and brushing a lock of hair away from her face. “Not to mention the impressive, astounding—” He paused for her reaction, his lips twitching into a grin. “—title to go with it.”
“Of course. We mustn’t forget the title,” Hattie laughed. She was losing her heart to him more and more certainly with each teasing word he spoke, but she couldn’t bring herself to mind.
“And then there’s the fact that I’m hung like a horse and can make you feel like you’re being fucked by a battering ram,” he added with a casual shrug.
Hattie burst with laughter, her face heating with delight. Adrian was crude, wicked, and simply the most wonderful man she’d ever met.
“But I don’t want to be tied down either,” he went on, sitting up before she could completely recover from her laughter.
“Oh?” Her brow shot up, and she sat along with him. A twist of anxiety slipped through her gut. “Then why make an offer of marriage?”
“Because it’s what my father demands,” he admitted, slightly more serious than he had been. “I refuse to let something like marriage change who I am, though,” he went on. “I still have every intention of drinking too much, losing money at cards, making a fool of myself at the theater and—”
“Bedding every willing miss who looks your way and crooks her finger?” Hattie finished for him, a sudden, hard edge to her voice. If that was what he was offering, then she had no compunction whatsoever about turning him down.
But instead of confirming her words, he fixed her with a look that was as warm as it was dangerous. “I wouldn’t need to bed anyone other than my wife, if she were a match for my appetites.”
He raked her naked body with a look that said his appetites were as massive as his member. Hattie shivered in the most delicious way. “So you’re saying that any woman who would marry you would have to be up to the task of keeping you satisfied at all times?” She sent him a coy look, knowing she was the woman for the job.
“That is exactly what I’m saying, Lady Hattie.”
He leaned toward her, his mouth softening in preparation for a kiss. Hattie held his heated gaze until he drew close enough to kiss her. When his lips were less than an inch from hers, she pulled away, sliding off the bed and standing.
“We’d best be getting back to the others,” she said in a sultry voice, adding a mischievous wink for good measure.
Adrian huffed out a breath and collapsed to the bed for a moment in defeat. When he straightened, he wore a grin of absolute adoration and had a sparkle in his eyes. “You will be the end of me, Hattie,” he said, dragging himself off of the bed and bending to scoop up his clothes.
There was no real rush, other than the fact that the rest of the family had probably already noticed they were missing from the afternoon’s activities. The family was well aware of just how naughty Hattie could be, mostly because a fair amount of the rest of them were just as shocking and licentious. She and Adrian hurried through cleaning themselves up and dressing all the same, though. There was no sense in causing more of a fuss than they would already cause by their suspicious absence.
By the t
ime they made it downstairs, there was enough of a distraction in progress that few people even noticed Hattie and Adrian’s mysterious return. As far as Hattie could tell, most of the McGoverns had swarmed back into the house and were poring over every inch of the downstairs rooms as if they were a hive of ants that had been disturbed.
“Is it a treasure hunt?” she asked, catching Roselyn’s arm as her cousin hurried out of one of the front parlors.
“In a manner of speaking,” Roselyn said, her eyes dancing with excitement. “We’re searching for—”
“Where have the two of you been?”
Hattie and Adrian turned to find a grim-faced Asher striding toward them from the back of the house.
“Lord Addlebury,” Adrian began. “I can explain.”
“I need every available pair of eyes searching for my spyglass,” Asher said, either not realizing where Adrian and Hattie had been or not caring.
“Your spyglass?” Hattie blinked. “What spyglass.”
“It’s an antique,” Roselyn explained, still looking as though they were playing a game, in spite of the fact that Asher looked as though it were anything but a game.
“It is exceptionally valuable,” Asher said. “It must be found at once. I need everyone looking.”
Asher tried to walk on, but Adrian stopped him with, “Where was this spyglass the last time you saw it?”
“With the rest of my business things, in the small parlor,” Asher called over his shoulder as he walked on.
Hattie sucked in a breath and pressed a hand to her stomach. Adrian had a similarly startled reaction. The two of them exchanged a wide-eyed glance.
“Do you suppose the dark lady made off with the spyglass in spite of the fact that we caught her?” Hattie asked.
“She very well could have,” Adrian answered.
“Dark lady?” Roselyn blinked. “Whatever are you talking about?”
Hattie glanced to Adrian as everything before their tryst came flying back to her. “We were near Asher’s parlor earlier,” she started.
Before she could go on, an ear-splitting scream sounded from the conservatory, followed by, “Unhand me, you cur!”
Hattie’s brow flew up, and she turned, along with Roselyn to dash into the conservatory.
Several of the other cousins had the same idea. Half a dozen of them descended on the conservatory just in time to see Miss Sewett attempting to extract herself from Mr. Rossi’s embrace.
“But mia bambina,” Mr. Rossi appealed to Miss Sewett, refusing to let her go. “You are my sun and my moon. You are my whole life. I will not be able to live without your sweet kisses.”
“I only said you could kiss me once,” Miss Sewett said, continuing to struggle, though perhaps not as violently as she could have. “Once was quite enough.”
“Once will never be enough,” Mr. Rossi went on. “You have teased me only. I want more. I want everything.”
Miss Sewett made a sound of horror, but stopped her struggling. “You cannot think—”
Before she could say more, Mr. Rossi took advantage of her stillness to plant a huge kiss square on her lips. For a moment, Miss Sewett squealed, though the sound was drowned out by Mr. Rossi’s mouth over hers. Within seconds, though, her squeal turned into a sigh, and she relaxed in Mr. Rossi’s arms, kissing him back.
That only lasted for a moment as well. All too soon, as more and more of the McGoverns ran into the room to see what the fuss was about, Miss Sewett realized her amorous escapades had an audience.
“Good heavens,” she shouted, pushing out of Mr. Rossi’s arms in earnest, thus proving that she could have escaped from him from the start. “What is the meaning of all this?”
“I could have asked the same thing,” Roselyn said with a mischievous grin.
“By all means, carry on,” Evangeline—who had entered the room not far behind Hattie and Adrian—said with a laugh. “I’ve waited my whole life to see a sight like this.”
“You will not see anything,” Miss Sewett shrieked, skittering as far away from Mr. Rossi as she could. “There is nothing here to see. I have conducted myself with the utmost propriety. Mr. Rossi is a bounder and a cad.”
“Sì, I am,” Mr. Rossi laughed. “But as you have made abundantly clear, mia bella, you love a cad.”
“I do not,” Miss Sewett shouted, as though her deepest honor had been insulted. She eyed Mr. Rossi sideways, let out a sound of helpless frustration, then repeated, “I most certainly do not.”
“You are breaking my heart.” Mr. Rossi made a showy gesture to show just how heartbroken he was, then inched closer to Miss Sewett. He surprised her by grabbing her around the waist and pulling her in for another embrace. “I shall prove to you that my love is enduring and true.”
Miss Sewett yelped as he leaned in for another kiss. The increasing audience of cousins laughed, but before the comedy could go any further, Asher strode into the room, his face like a thundercloud.
“What is the meaning of all this? We need to be searching for the spyglass,” he told everyone.
Hattie gulped, impressed and intimidated by how dangerous Asher could look when he put his mind to it.
“It has to be here somewhere,” Evangeline said, darting out of the room, her cheeks pink. She sent a final glance to Asher over her shoulder, then met Roselyn’s eyes.
“We’ll find it, Ash,” Roselyn said, hurrying after Evangeline.
The rest of the cousins scattered just as fast.
Asher strode up to Mr. Rossi, who seemed to know the game was over and let go of Miss Sewett. Hattie was surprised that Asher spoke to Miss Sewett instead of Mr. Rossi as he said, “You know how important this is.”
In an instant, Miss Sewett was completely serious. “I do, my lord. Believe me, I do.”
She nodded to Asher, then strode out of the room without a backward glance for Mr. Rossi or anyone else.
“A thousand apologies, my lord,” Mr. Rossi said, also suddenly serious. “I will help your search.” He followed Miss Sewett before Asher could protest, but Hattie had the feeling his games were over.
“We have to tell him,” Adrian murmured at her side.
Hattie glanced up at Adrian. They were the only two left in the room besides Asher. Adrian was right. Even if it meant embarrassment for them, they had to tell Asher about the dark woman.
“Let me,” Hattie said, starting toward Asher, who paced anxiously by the room’s large, unlit fireplace. Adrian followed her and stood just behind her, as if he would protect her from whatever accusations of loose morals Asher might hurl at her. “Asher,” she began carefully. “I need to tell you something.”
“Can it wait?” Asher asked, bristling with impatience. “I’m not in a mood to discuss romantic muddles at the moment.”
Hattie shook her head. “No. It’s about the matter at hand.”
That caught Asher’s attention. His expression shifted from frustrated to curious. “What do you have to say?”
Hattie glanced over her shoulder at Adrian before confessing, “Lord Whitemarsh and I were—” she cleared her throat, “—entertaining each other in the reading room across from your parlor earlier. We saw a dark woman break in through the window.”
Asher reacted as though he’d told them a shell had exploded. “Who was she? What did she say? Why didn’t you stop her?”
“We don’t know who she was,” Adrian said, standing tall and speaking with authority. “I’m rather inclined to ask you the same questions.”
Asher’s expression clouded. “It’s none of your business.”
“The dark woman said to tell the fox that the jackal knows he’s coming and knows what he’s after,” Adrian went on.
Asher blanched so suddenly that Hattie’s stomach clenched, in spite of the fact that she still didn’t know what was going on. “She was looking for a codex,” she added. “What does that mean?”
Asher didn’t answer. He shoved a hand through his hair, looking as though something had gon
e very, very wrong. “I have to leave,” he said, turning abruptly and starting out of the room.
“Ash, what’s going on?” Hattie asked, jumping after him and grabbing hold of his arm.
Asher shook her off with a tight breath. He glanced from Hattie to Adrian, as if attempting to work out whether they could be trusted. Finally, he let out a breath and dropped his shoulders. “I can’t tell you,” he said.
It wasn’t the answer Hattie was looking for. “But is there anything we can do to help? Anything at all?”
Again, Asher paused to consider before saying, “No. No, it’s best that you know as little as possible.”
“But—”
“Please, Hattie.” Asher gripped her upper arms, staring hard at her. “You have to trust me now. I cannot let the rest of you get involved in this.”
“Involved in what?” Hattie frowned. “Does this have anything to do with what happened in Paris? Is the family in danger?”
Asher opened his mouth, but thought better about whatever he was going to say. “You have to trust me,” he repeated, putting more emphasis on the emotion behind his words. “I promise you, I will never do anything to put you or the family in danger, but things might be out of my hands now.”
“But—”
“Enough,” Asher silenced her. He glanced to Adrian. “I don’t know you as well as I should, Lord Whitemarsh, but I have information—” He stopped, pressing his lips together. He let out a breath before saying, “You are a good man. Take care of my cousin.”
“Asher,” Hattie began, more out of sorts over the whole thing by the second.
“I will,” Adrian answered, resting a hand on Hattie’s shoulder.
Asher nodded to him, then turned and strode out of the room.
Hattie could have stomped, she was so frustrated. “What in heaven’s name is going on here?” she asked.
