Desire by Design

by Heather Boyd

  Or she mustn’t want what he could offer, and of course, without coming up, had no way to tell him.

  She wasn’t coming.

  He glanced around the room and sighed. The warm fire burned brightly for her, the wine and pair of glasses were ready to drink from, and there was also a pretty bunch of flowers by the bed to brighten the room. He’d turned back the bed linens himself, anticipating seeing Sylvia Hillcrest lying there, naked upon the sheets as he made love to her.

  He tugged down his waistcoat. “Enough,” he muttered to himself. He’d made a mistake. There were in fact other pleasures he might indulge in tonight.

  Disappointed more than he expected to be, he snatched up his mask on his way to the door and wrenched it open, ready to rejoin the party.

  But Sylvia Hillcrest was standing just outside his doorway. She let out a startled gasp at seeing him, a sound that seemed far too loud despite the din from the guests below.

  Alexander’s spirits lightened immeasurably at the sight of her. He caught up her hand and pulled her into the room, then closed the door and locked it for good measure.

  He turned and leaned back against his door. Pretty Sylvia in her unusually revealing evening gown was in his bedchamber, possibly all his for the night.

  He smiled and, since he still held her hand, pulled her closer. She didn’t resist. He brought her gloved fingers to his lips and pressed a kiss there. “I can’t begin to thank you. How did you manage it so effortlessly?”

  A frown formed on her face. “What?”

  “How did you make Norrington win that last hand?”

  “He won fairly,” she protested with a sudden soft laugh. “I was so focused on besting that horrible old man opposite me that I missed the signs Norrington held a good hand himself. No one was more surprised than I, or perhaps Norrington himself.”

  “Well, I’ll be damned.” He kissed her hand a second time. “That horrible old man is miserly Lord Pulling, a man Norrington owes a large debt to. But he won instead. Lord Pulling has been trying to force Norrington to sell a valuable piece of his property in exchange for the debt, which he now won’t have to agree to. What makes you dislike Lord Pulling?”

  “It was the way he mentioned Norrington’s wife. From that moment on, I knew he was no friend to either of us.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He and the other fellow teased Norrington that his wife might be with you. Inferring a rendezvous was taking place while he gambled. I sensed Norrington wasn’t concentrating on the game properly after the mention of that.”

  Alexander shook his head in denial. “I was in the card room, watching you in combat with two of the ton’s most accomplished players. The other fellow is Lord Holcombe, and he’s no one’s friend. Pulling and Holcombe make a formidable team when they want someone to stay in their debt.”

  “I’m glad I could stop them.”

  “As am I.” He twined his fingers with hers a little tighter. “I was afraid you were not coming.”

  “I was afraid you wouldn’t still be here.” She looked at him shyly. “You were on the point of leaving, weren’t you?”

  He inclined his head. “I would have walked very slowly back down to the party, hoping to run into you along the way.” He smiled too. “Did you find your handsome stranger to dance with?”

  “Oh, you were in the card room, and close, too, to have heard my lie,” she said with a laugh. “There never was anyone. I just said that so I could leave the card room since my work was done. I ran into the Carmichaels again, and it took some time to extricate myself, unfortunately.” She looked up, held his gaze. “I was hoping you might still be waiting here.”

  “I’m glad you came. Now about that other matter.” He brought her hand to his lips again, turned it over, and pressed a kiss to her wrist, right where the button held the glove together. “You interest me. Very much.”

  “You interest me, too,” she admitted, and a soft sigh left her lips.

  His senses soared high with the news. “What should we do about that?”

  He’d already made arrangements for the servants to be in charge of the event now. They would not disturb them in this room unless the mansion was burning down around their ears, or someone died. He wondered if Sylvia would stay with him alone for a while tonight, and what she might permit him.

  Alexander would never push a woman to be intimate. It was always her choice, and in this case, he was almost certain the lady nearly in his arms had some experience of men and pleasure. However, she had a reputation to protect. She was no light-skirt or paid mistress. If they were found alone together, her reputation would be irreparably harmed. He would not marry anyone to fix their reputation for them.

  “Perhaps you should kiss me and find out,” she whispered as she removed her mask and let it fall to the floor beside them.

  “You read my mind.” He found the button on her glove, undid it, and parted the fabric with his thumbs to reveal more of her skin. He pressed his lips there softly, and while he did, inched down her glove from her upper arm. He kissed his way up her arm slowly, reveling in her soft gasps and moans. The delicate skin above her elbow was so soft and inviting that he took his time moving farther up.

  Eventually he reached her softly rounded shoulder, and her delicate collarbone.

  Miss Hillcrest shivered and wriggled closer. He was kissing the base of her throat when her arms rose, hands sliding up his body to embrace him. “That was lovely.”

  “There’s more to come,” he promised, wanting nothing more than to kiss her all night long and hear her sigh. “May I continue?”

  “Yes,” she agreed breathlessly.

  He bent again, paused to inhale the intoxicating scent of roses on her skin, and then set his lips to her throat in a harder kiss. A shudder racked her body, and then another as he continued to pepper her skin with a thousand kisses. Gently, he nipped at the column of her throat, too, and she jerked and gasped in pleasure.

  Alexander loved to kiss, and responsive women were a joy to bed.

  He lifted his lips a little and blew across her neck. Sylvia shivered again, and then her fingers teased into his hair, and across to his own ear. Her touch was light as she traced the edge. Alexander shivered. He pressed his lips to her brow, and offered little pecks that made her sigh again and again. He put an arm around her waist, tugged her harder against him, and finally moved them away from the door.

  There was a large bed behind them, and he moved near it, almost dancing Sylvia across the room in his haste and excitement. It had been a while for him. He’d not found the time or inclination to replace his last mistress with another over the winter months. Now he felt quite impatient to have a woman, this woman particularly, gasping beneath him.

  Her arms wound around his body then slid down his back. She lowered her hands and gripped his buttocks hard enough to make him grin.

  He’d been correct. This was no virginal spinster being led astray for the first time, but a woman good at keeping secrets. One intent on enjoying a midnight tryst with him.

  Alexander tipped Sylvia backward and rained soft kisses down the front of her throat and onto her very pale chest.

  When he brought her back up, Alexander claimed her lips at last.

  Their first proper kiss was soft and sweet and made him harder than he ever expected to be so soon in the evening.

  Aware that he was more eager for a woman than usual, he found the fastenings of her gown and started to undo the tiny buttons. “I’ve no desire to crush your gown any further. It would be noticed later. I’ll redress you, I swear.”

  “You’ve done this before,” she teased even as she tried to help him undress her.

  “Once or twice.” Alexander concentrated on the last buttons lower down.

  “Is that why you hold this party every year? To seduce someone new?”

  “To seduce you, if you want to be,” he admitted.

  “I do.” Sylvia stepped out of her gown, wearing nothing but
stays, stockings and her thin chemise. The satin slippers she discarded herself, and then she lifted her chin. Proud. Almost defiant. Anticipating his reaction. There was a fiery look in her eyes that he recognized all too easily, and felt, too.

  He admired her curves, hungered for them, and told her so very directly. “I want to pleasure your body all night long.”

  Admitting his need and admiration for her body seemed to please her immensely. “Show me?”

  Alexander swooped to pick her up and sat her on the edge of the bed. Framing her face with his hands, he stole a deep kiss that could have gone on forever.

  However, Alexander wanted to be closer, so he broke the kiss, placed his hands on both her knees, and pushed them wide apart. Sylvia’s moan filled the room, and he quickly silenced her mouth with more kisses, sweeping his tongue inside to dance with hers.

  Sylvia wasn’t an idle bed partner. He was aware of her warm little hands as they boldly explored his body while they shared yet more drugging kisses. Alexander felt the fastenings of his breeches give way and she brushed over his bare belly, under his shirt. He sucked in a breath, momentarily startled, but quickly got ahold of his breeches and eased them lower over his hips.

  He was pleased Sylvia was eager for him, and when she touched his cock, he almost roared with the pleasure it. There was nothing like a bold woman in his bed to stoke the fire in him.

  He let her touch him for a little while, since she seemed to know what she was about, but then he urged her to lie back on the mattress to make her release him. Miss Hillcrest’s breasts interested him. The gown she’d arrived in had offered only a tantalizing glimpse of her hidden charms. He wanted to weigh them in his hands, thumb her nipples, and then feast. They looked just right for his hands. Heavy and full, and so very soft.

  Alexander drew back to finish removing his lower garments and shoes, then tossed his coat away, too. He kept the waistcoat on so he could tuck his shirt up and out of the way. Then he turned all his attention back to the lady panting with lust on his bed.

  Slowly, he crawled over her. Sylvia lost to passion was a thrilling sight, and she was quick to take him in hand again, languidly stroking him back to fullness without his urging. She was rather good, he found. She’d grasp the base firmly then pull, slide her hand up to the tip, then start over again until he was panting hard.

  Alexander teased her chemise and stay straps from her shoulders to reveal her breasts, and he openly admired them. Miss Hillcrest sported a lovely pair. He put his hands on them, and then leaned down to lavish them with attention.

  Sylvia wound her legs tightly around his hips and clung to him, encouraged him. The sensitive head of his cock scraped against her chemise, and Alexander hastened to lift it up so nothing came between them.

  He touched her curls, earning another moan, stifled this time by the back of her hand. Yes, Sylvia knew a thing or two about pleasure. She enjoyed giving and receiving, but Alexander enjoyed giving more.

  He wet the tips of his fingers and slipped them between her legs, between her folds to toy with her expertly. The delightful woman gasped loudly, lapping up all his attention. He pleasured her breasts, too, with his mouth, and soon she had slipped her fingers into his hair, scratching her nails across his scalp.

  She pulled at him, drawing him closer. Creating a lovely friction and urgency between them he couldn’t possibly resist for long.

  Alexander found her entrance and teased a finger into her depths. Sylvia’s legs fell completely open, and she lifted her hips, encouraging him to explore her fully. He was more than happy to oblige her desires.

  He moved down, watched his finger disappear inside her with ease, and then he added another, testing her limits. The woman writhed, in the grip of utter ecstasy. He added a third finger but that made her hiss, and then she ground down onto his hand in complete abandon—apparently loving his invasion.

  He kissed her sex, finding her wet against his tongue. He loved her with his mouth and tongue and fingers until her hips started to buck in an urgent rhythm.

  He eased away from her and removed his fingers from her wet sheath.

  Sylvia was gasping softly as he hovered over her. “Are you all right, my dear?” he asked with a teasing smile. Who would have thought such a woman could make such lovely wanton sounds?

  “Yes, but why did you stop?”

  He kissed the tip of her nose. “Paused, so I may enjoy that expression of bliss on your face.”

  “I want to enjoy you,” she whispered. She glanced down his body, and then both her hands were on his cock again, stroking him, bringing him great pleasure so quickly, his head fairly spun. He rocked his hips into her hot little hands, driving his cock harder, faster, until she mimicked him.

  Alexander closed his eyes, savoring his new lover’s touch. When her fingers wandered lower, brushed over his balls, he let out a groan and looked down on her. “That feels very good, too.”

  She grinned and kept it up, circling his balls and tugging on his sack until he feared he would be unable to hold back his seed another moment longer. He had to sink his cock into this wonderful woman now.

  He shifted to bring her under him, aligned their body’s for the closest of contact, and then slowly started to enter her. Sylvia’s eyes were huge on him at first then fluttered closed as he possessed her. He went slowly, taking his time, savoring their joining until he was lodged deep inside her. Despite her experience, Sylvia felt damn tight, but oh so wonderful around him.

  He started to move, leisurely at first, and when Sylvia started to pull at him, urging him down to lie heavily upon her, he gave himself over to their lovemaking entirely.

  He found her tiny hand and held it high over her head. He kissed her lips when she sought his, and she gripped him tightly against her. He didn’t know how long he loved her, but Sylvia peaked first, muffling her joy against his lips.

  He held her face gently when she finally subsided, still twitching around him, and gave her a long, deep kiss. When he pulled back, he held her gaze and lost himself again to the pleasures of her willing body. As he felt the familiar thrill racing over him, he managed to draw back in time to pump his seed into his hand. He balanced on his knees, gasping and shaking above her, hand full of his own release and his head spinning like a top.

  “My waistcoat pocket, if you wouldn’t mind,” he gasped.

  Sylvia fumbled at his chest and produced his handkerchief. When the handkerchief proved insufficient for the task, Alexander had no choice but to climb off the bed before he was ready and use the wash basin. Once done there, he stumbled back to the bed and collapsed beside his lover, who still lay flat more or less as he’d left her.

  But Alexander felt very good, and he put his hand over Miss Hillcrest’s quim affectionately. “What a wonder you’ve turned out to be.”

  She flexed her hips up into his hand, and Alexander laughed softly and turned to look down on her again.

  For some women, once was enough, and a man must wait an eternity until they could be aroused again. There was a glint in Sylvia’s eyes that suggested she was far from sated still.

  He teased her sex lightly with the tips of his fingers, watching for confirmation of his suspicions. Sylvia didn’t move her hips away or suggest he stop as he grew bolder, dipping between those soft, warm, and very wet lower lips. She took her bottom lip between her teeth and watched him.

  “Shall I kiss you again?”

  Her hips rose immediately, pushing his fingers nearly into her quim.

  “Well, that was certainly the answer I was hoping for.” Alexander grinned, pleased to have discovered a woman of extraordinary hungers lurked under the prim disguise of a proper spinster.

  He went to his knees beside the bed, using his shoulders to burrow between her legs, and jerked her hips toward the edge of the mattress. He kissed her warm, damp quim eagerly…and stayed there until she cried out one more time.

  Chapter 10

  Sylvia had a secret. A delicious secret tha
t kept her warm and excited as she walked along Bond Street on a sunny Tuesday afternoon. She’d taken a lover. And not just any lover, but a man whose only priority seemed to be delivering immense satisfaction.

  When the Marquess of Wharton had made love to her, it had been the most glorious encounter of her entire life. One she was sure could never be surpassed.

  She brushed her gloved fingers over her hip, yearning to feel his touch there again. That delicious man had loved kissing her, too. Anywhere and everywhere. She shivered, remembering his insatiable appetite for her body.

  After making love the first time, he’d pleasured her with his mouth and fingers, and then they’d begun all over again. Their second lovemaking had been slow and entirely wordless. She’d been gently turned onto her knees with the marquess kneeling close behind. His hands and lips had been wondrously arousing, but it had been his cock she’d really wanted to feel inside her a second time. She’d wiggled her hips into him, and that was all the invitation he’d needed to give her the tupping of her life.

  She had felt a little tender down there, right afterward, but any discomfort had been brief and welcome. It had been a good soreness she already missed.

  Yes, the Marquess of Wharton had made her feel utterly desirable, and he’d been flatteringly reluctant for the night to end, too. But end it had to. After redressing her carefully as the sky had begun to lighten outside, the marquess had whispered promises of discretion and revealed an eagerness to meet in private again one day. He had not pressed her for an actual time or place and had left the decision in her hands. He’d sent her away in his unmarked carriage with one last tender kiss, stolen in the shadows of his home.