In Temptation and Damnation with the Earl: A Steamy Historical Regency Romance Novel

by Violet Hamers

  “You know I did.” Her acceptance brought the smallest of smiles from him. With it, he moved his hands across her shoulders, beginning a slow massage. “What are you doing?”

  “You are tense, Cleopatra. You need to relax.” He continued to brush her shoulders, eliciting such feelings she had to bite her lip against making a sound.

  “You like my name, do you not?” She smiled with the realization. “You take every opportunity to say it.”

  “I certainly do.” He smiled back at her as he moved his hands upwards to the edge of her dressing gown, letting his thumbs caress the exposed skin at the bottom of her neck. It tempted her to jump in her seat at the sudden contact. “I have noticed that you do not say my name at all.”

  “I cannot call you an ‘Earl’ now that we are married.”

  “I do not wish you to. I wish you to call me Alexander.”

  “Your Christian name?” She was trying to dampen the thrill his touch had caused, but it did little use. “It is so…intimate.”

  “We are husband and wife after all.” He smiled as he brushed her exposed skin again with her thumb. “Please?”

  “Alexander it is then,” she acknowledged. With her words, he let his fingers just slip under the neckline of her dress across her shoulders. They did not wander; they just explored the skin there with fingertips.

  Cleopatra’s breathing had become shuddery at his touch.

  “You are taking liberties,” she teased, trying to hide her smile.

  “It is hard not to,” he laughed, still touching her. “If you want me to stop, say the word and I will.”

  She stayed silent.

  At the lack of any objection, his hands wandered further, exploring her shoulders fully beneath the dressing gown. She took a sharp intake of breath and looked back up at him.

  “I have never been as drawn to anyone as I am to you, Cleopatra.” His whispered words were soft, sending a shiver down her spine. “It seems I cannot stay away.” He let his hands wander lower down her back. “Am I alone in this feeling?”

  She closed her eyes, concentrating on his words and the touch of his hands.

  “Cleopatra?” His lips were on the side of her neck, whispering against the curve.

  “You are not alone.” She gripped the soft covering of the stool beneath her as he massaged her shoulders.

  I am enthralled by you.

  It was true. He utterly beguiled her, despite her mind’s attempt to persuade her otherwise.

  “Thank the heavens.” He let out the smallest of laughs, but his hands withdrew from her. She let out a small protesting noise.

  “Alexander?” Her eyes shot open to see him frozen as she used his name, his hands now outside of her dressing gown. “Do not stop.”

  “You wish me to massage your shoulders forever?” he smiled, resting a hand back on her covered shoulder.

  “No. I wish to know what else you can do.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Alexander was watching Cleopatra with such a heated stare that she was tempted to move away from the mirror, but she stayed put on the seat, waiting with bated breath for his response.

  “There are many things we could do together, Cleopatra.” His voice had grown deeper, a tone she had only heard once before from him.

  “Show me?” she asked, allowing a smile to take hold.

  “You will drive me mad yet,” he chuckled, tilting her head back and claiming her lips with his. The movement was sudden but desperately wanted. He claimed her mouth with his easily, exploring deeper beyond her lips to the point that made her moan against him, clinging even more desperately to the stool beneath her.

  He pulled away and spun her around on the stool, urging her to face him as he resumed their kiss. He dropped to his knees, enveloping her waist with his arms as she cradled his neck with her hands.

  All she wanted was to be closer to him. It was a need, primal and urgent within her. To be as close to him as possible.

  Her legs were parted on either side of his hips, urging them to push themselves together. She felt something against her and pulled back from their kiss with a laugh as she looked down at his trousers.

  “Intrigued?” he chuckled in response.

  “Yes, I am.”

  He kissed her again, running his tongue along her lips, pleading for an entrance that she gave willingly. Their kiss was a fire to her; it raged, needing to be sated by just being closer to him.

  His arms moved from her waist, reaching for the tie that rested against her ribs to release her.

  “No embarrassment this time,” he raised a single eyebrow as he loosened the tie. “Married couples are permitted to see each other so bare.”

  “I do not think I can promise that.” She held her breath as he let the folds of her dressing gown fold open. “I am still nervous.”

  In reply, he placed a sensual kiss on her lips. This one was slower than the others; it lingered, like a caress.

  “I know you cannot trust me elsewhere, but trust me in this room, Cleopatra,” he whispered against her lips. “Everything you and I do together is between us. You are always safe in my arms.”

  His words made her wriggle in his hold, desperate to be closer to him. She nodded in reply, amazed as he lowered the dressing gown from her shoulders, allowing the satin to brush her back and arms with a tease.

  He resumed their kiss, distracting her from where his hands wandered. One landed on her breast, startling a moan of surprise from her. He brushed her skin, exploring her until she was panting, her legs on either side of his hips trembling in anticipation.

  He leaned back from their kiss suddenly.

  “What is wrong?”

  “Nothing at all.” He took her hands and urged her to stand. “I merely wish to find a place more comfortable for you to sit.” His flirtation had her laughing as he planted kisses beneath her ear to the top of her neck.

  She closed her eyes, losing herself in the sensation as her body was backed across the room. When her legs collided with the edge of the four-poster bed, he lowered her gently down, resting over her as he worked his way down her neck.

  Her hands moved to his cravat, urging her to release him, but his mouth traveled down the valley between her breasts, moving him out of reach. She gasped at the new sensation.

  He stayed there for some minutes, his tongue exploring around her before taking one breast in his mouth. Her fingers buried themselves into the bedsheets – she bit her lip to stop herself from moaning.

  Alexander moved back up the bed to resume their kiss. She used it as the opportunity to remove his jacket, pushing frantically at the cloth across his shoulders. He allowed it to go, tossing it onto the floor with haste. When she moved back to his cravat, he stilled her hand.

  “Not yet,” he smiled against her lips. “There is something else I wish to do first.”

  “What is that?” she asked breathlessly, but he did not answer her.

  His mouth traveled back down the valley between her breasts, only this time it continued across her stomach. He peppered the curve of her waist and hips with small kisses, sometimes delivering the smallest of nips that made her claw at the bedsheets.

  His hands rested on her thighs and the knot of excitement in her stomach curled much lower, reaching another part of her only touched once before by him. She closed her eyes, expecting to feel the same sensation she had known the night on the piano, but something else found her instead.

  Rather than Alexander’s hand, he laid a kiss to that secret part of her.

  “Alexander…” she moaned his name in surprise as he explored her with his tongue.

  She grasped so tightly to the bedsheets beneath her, she was sure she would tear them from the mattress. The pleasure washed over her body as Alexander continued.

  She had known of such a thing. She had heard it whispered by maids who were older than her in her father’s household, but actually trying the act for herself was not something she had ever considered.

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nbsp; “Alexander–” her breathy moan had him parting from her and lifting his body up again until his face was above hers, bearing a wide smile. “I…” she struggled to catch her breath, “that was–”

  “I shall not tell you how many times I have thought of doing that.”

  “No?” she giggled in response. “Is this the kind of thing you had in mind when you mentioned an appetite for the bedroom?”

  “It was certainly one of the ideas.”

  “My turn now?” she asked as she reached for his cravat.

  “As you wish.” He smiled at her, with his arms on either side of her head.

  She made quick work of the cravat, releasing it from his throat and tossing it to the end of the bed, then went to work on the waistcoat, unbuttoning the gold material that had matched her wedding dress so perfectly.

  “Did you buy this to complement the wedding dress?” she realized as he leaned up to assist her in releasing his arms from the confines of the material.

  “I may have done.” He looked almost embarrassed at the thought as she threw it to the floor. It showed a new side of him. That soft heart she had glimpsed before. It had her aching to be closer to him still.

  For a minute, she merely admired his figure. His arms and shoulders were broad, his chest toned with muscle. She let her hands wander across him, feeling for the curve of each muscle and the strength. Then her hands dipped to his trousers and reached for the fastener.

  He reached for her – they knelt together on the bed, their torsos pressed as he cradled her neck and kissed her. His other hand weaved into her hair as she gripped tightly to his back.

  He lowered her onto the bed, distracting her at all times with his captivating kiss as he parted her legs. He only stopped when she could feel him at the secret part of her.

  “Cleopatra?” he murmured her name as he hovered over her. “Are you certain of this?”

  “I am,” she nodded, offering him her smile of anticipation. It was the only way she could feel close enough to him. She wanted it.

  He lowered his lips to hers to start a soft kiss. No exploration with tongues, just the intimate press of lips. Then he brushed her legs with his hands as he entered her.

  The sudden pain startled her, and she stilled beneath him, digging her nails into his arms.

  “I am sorry, I am told there is no way around the pain,” he whispered as he placed soft kisses all over her neck, staying perfectly still.

  She breathed through the pain and allowed her legs to relax around his hips, keeping her mind to focus on his kisses. She was amazed by how quickly the pain passed, leaving her in bliss and in need of movement.

  “Alexander, it has passed.” She reached up to kiss him again and pulled at his arms.

  “I do not want to hurt you.” He pulled away from the kiss and shook his head.

  “It no longer hurts. If it does again, I will tell you. I promise.”

  He nodded as he kissed her and began to move. The new sensation startled them both, making them part from their kiss and moan together.

  Soon, she could feel that same overwhelming sensation she had known on the piano begin to build.

  “Alexander, I…” Her effort to tell him fell from her lips; she was too washed with bliss. Then he pulled away from her. “Alexander!” She said with alarm.

  “I wish to try something.” He smiled at her with mischief. “Trust me.”

  He inched away from her until he was standing on the floor and beckoned her toward him. She was intrigued and complied with his wish. He then lowered her body until she was sat on the very edge of the bed, her back down on the mattress with her legs off the end. He raised her legs higher – higher than they had been before.

  She gasped at the position; it somehow felt even more personal than the last. He entered her again, creating a new feeling. Now he could begin a rhythm from his stance on the floor.

  The feeling that had been building minutes ago for Cleopatra grew again. It made her tighten in anticipation – when the wave crashed, she clasped at the bedsheets, feeling her legs shudder in Alexander’s hold.

  She tried not to call his name, but she had a feeling she did as her body came down from the waves of pleasure and her eyes opened again. He was watching her, his eyes hooded with desire. His angular jaw tightened, and he tipped his head back, eliciting similar sounds to her own – she felt him where they were joined. He had reached his peak too.

  She watched him with curiosity, amazed at the wonder she felt to see him so. There was something special at that moment.

  He dropped down, leaning over her on the bed with his hands on either side of her head. They were both breathless, staring at each other with unbridled joy. He lowered his lips to hers again, giving her one last slow sensual kiss.

  “I think there are some aspects of this marriage I might like,” she giggled as he pulled back from the kiss.

  “That makes two of us.” He winked at her, sending a new thrill through her body. They were still joined together – she looked down at the press of their bodies, unable to stop her smile.

  I can barely believe what just happened.

  She did not regret it. She buried her hands in his short dark hair, marveling at the softness as she tried to make sense of the emotions whirling inside her.

  This is not just an attraction anymore. It is something so much more.

  Their intimacy had changed everything. For Alexander, there was no chance their relationship could go back to what it had been before. After they had both come down from their lovemaking, Alexander had ordered a new bath, persuading Cleopatra that she would be sore afterwards and it would help.

  They had shared soft kisses and flirtation before they had both grown tired and retreated to the bed. Cleopatra fell asleep in his arms, but he could not allow himself that serenity.

  He watched her instead, in the moonlight that gleamed through the bedroom curtains. Her dark hair was splayed in a crown of curls across the pillow, her small chin was tucked against his bare shoulder and her sweet features were rested in peace.

  She had fallen into his life because of somebody else’s crime. Someone had murdered her brother. The true horror of the passing months for her weighed on his shoulders again.

  Alexander wanted justice for Cleopatra. It was not only about wanting to prove to Cleopatra that he was not the killer, but also finding the one who was truly to blame.

  Could she love me then?

  He brushed the side of her cheek with the back of his knuckles, admiring the curve of her face in the moonlight.

  Love. Do I love her?

  He had never thought himself capable of such emotion. Not since his mother’s betrayal – the idea he could ever trust a woman so fully with his heart had seemed too difficult. What if a woman betrayed him the same way his mother had betrayed his father?

  Yet, Cleopatra had challenged all of that. She was frustrating, yes, but he had never enjoyed an argument so much as when he was bickering with her.

  He slowly escaped her embrace, moving delicately enough not to wake her. Once free of her arms, he pulled the blanket over her body, trying to keep out the cold air.

  He had things to do, he had to leave her side, but he could not go without leaving something behind. The blank pale paper stared back at him in the white moonlight, taunting him with what to say.

  There was so much he could say, but few of those things could be fitted onto so small a piece of paper. He sat for many minutes until the words found him. He was not exactly happy with the result, but it was something.

  He left the note on the table beside her bed and quickly left the room. He hesitated in the doorway, turning back to see her sleeping soundly. She still appeared a Queen. Her black hair flared behind her and on her finger was the ring he had purchased for her.

  He closed the door behind him, tiptoeing down the corridor as thoughts of his note plagued him.

  How could he find justice for Cleopatra?

  Chapter Seventeen
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  Cleopatra woke in the small hours of the morning. She shivered in the coldness of the air against her face and reached out for Alexander, hoping to borrow some of his warmth. Yet her hands only found empty bedsheets.

  Her eyes shot open to confirm her suspicion. She was the only one in the bed.

  She sat up quickly, her dark eyes surveyed the moonlit space, but Alexander was nowhere in the room. She swung her legs from the bed and threw back the covers, hurrying to find a nightgown to cover her bare body.