by Tamara Gill
Outside, she sighed in relief, as this side of the terrace had not been opened for the ball and remained in darkness. The moon was a perfect circle in the night sky, and she studied it a moment, before sighing and walking over to a stone seat nestled within a cluster of ivy.
She caught a flash of movement to her side and Alice stifled a squeak.
“You’re free, I see.”
The statement, spoken with the deep baritone she’d longed to hear all night, made her stomach clench, along with annoyance at being ignored.
Lord Arndel stepped into the light from farther along the terrace and strolled toward her. Alice remained seated as he came to sit beside her.
“I’ve been free most of the night, if you’d bothered to look, although by the amount of dancing you’ve partaken in, I doubt you have.”
He grinned, and she ignored the awareness he always brought forth in her, not wanting a reminder as to why all the women in the ballroom were tittering over his lordship.
“I would not have taken you as the jealous type.”
Alice gasped. “I am not, sir, and you should apologize for saying such a thing. I’m merely concerned for your reputation. You seem to have forgotten that to step out more than twice with a young lady is frowned upon. Or that your hand, when dancing, needs to be above their hip, not on their ass.”
He scoffed, leaning back into the vine. “My reputation is quite sound, I assure you, but as for you, out here in the dark with a gentleman, unmarried…well, I cannot say the same for you. Now who is being scandalous?”
Alice gritted her teeth because his remark was true. Damn it. “I’m safe with you, for we, my lord, are not romantically involved, nor will we ever be.” He was scant inches away from her, and Alice was reminded of the last time they’d sat too near each other. Her breathing hitched and she shuffled away.
“My cousin, Sir Liam, is not a gentleman I would suggest as your future spouse.”
“That, my lord, is not up to you,” she countered, a small part of her delighting in the fact that he sounded as jealous as she was. “And please, pray tell me, who you have in mind for the position, if not him? Until the Season commences, there are not many to choose from here in Surrey.”
“He’s a pompous ass and I’ll not let him have you.”
There was vehemence to his statement that sent her heart galloping. “Will you not? And please, do tell me how you’re going to stop me if my head is turned in the baronet’s direction?”
He looked at her. “Is it?”
Alice shivered from his heated stare and she shook her head, words eluding her. “No, but one day a gentleman will turn it, and then what will you do?” She looked back toward the gardens, her cheeks burning from his continued study of her. “You cannot stop love and I’m determined to find it, whether you like the gentleman or not.”
Chapter Thirteen
Callum was captivated by Lady Alice’s lips that shone in the moonlight with a soft pink hue. “It is not up to me who you marry, my lady. I hope, whomever it is, he’s as good and kind to you as you deserve.” He grinned when, for the first time since seeing her exit the house, a whisper of a smile tilted her lips.
“Do not concern yourself over your cousin, my lord. I came to the conclusion he’s an ass, among other things, well before you stated it. In fact, I almost feel sorry for you to be a relative of his.”
“My cousin will inherit the title and Kester House should I die, and I suppose being the golden-haired lad whom the family adores, he seems to think he should’ve inherited this time, instead of me. But”—he shrugged—“the law is what it is, and solely for my daughter’s sake, I would not change our situation now, not for anything.” His daughter would have a good, secure future, more so than if they’d stayed in the north. Here, in Surrey, with his family’s name behind them, she would be elevated in Society where her life would be easy and carefree, as all children’s should be.
“And you’re going to abide by the law and not slip back into your nefarious past, my lord?”
“I have promised such, have I not? Why you continue to bring up the Surrey Bandit is beyond me, unless you miss him? Or his kiss, to be exact.”
He grinned as she threw him a glare, fidgeting with her hands in her lap. Oh yes, she was thinking exactly what he was, of their mouths fused, along with their bodies. Of feeling his blood pump through his veins and reminding him of what it was like to love a woman.
“I do no such thing.”
“Really?” He leaned toward her, smelling the soft scent of roses that wafted from her hair. “You don’t miss that kiss you shared with an outlaw?” He certainly did. In fact, since that day, he’d thought of little else. With each day they had worked together at the cottages, every time Alice had spoken to him, had been alone with him, he’d become more obsessed with tasting her again, possibly doing more than kiss her, if she’d allow.
Callum stood and paced to the balustrade, needing space.
“The kiss was hardly satisfactory. In fact, the memory has almost been erased from my mind, it was so forgettable.”
“That will never do,” he said, striding back over to her, having heard enough of her denial. He clasped her hand and hauled her up against him, eliciting a startled gasp from her delectable mouth. Her eyes widened in shock, before challenge lit her blue orbs and it was one battle he was only too happy to best her at. “Forgettable? I must be slipping,” he said, taking her lips in a searing kiss.
It was an error of judgment the moment their lips met, for all he wanted was more. So much more than she, the daughter of a duke, would be willing to give him.
Though she’d not allowed him to hang for his crimes, something told him she’d not forgiven, nor would she forget, what he’d done. And as much as he’d love to kiss the chit in his arms for the rest of his life, and to protect and cherish her sweet soul, Callum had an inkling she would never marry him, due to his own misbegotten actions when desperate times had called for desperate measures.
Through the kiss, he punished her for what he’d done, kissing her deep and long, pulling her into a world she knew nothing of, but one he desperately wanted to show her. If only he’d could’ve walked a different path, their future could be so much more, so different. But it was not to be.
Alice pulled back, staring up at him, her breathing as ragged as his. “I ought to slap you for kissing me so.” Her hand came up and clasped the nape of his neck, sending a shiver of need down his spine. Callum gritted his teeth against pushing her up against the vine at her back and showing her what outlaws did with virginal ladies.
“I’m guessing you’re not going to?” He grinned as she shook her head.
“No. Not tonight. Maybe tomorrow.”
Callum laughed and swiped his lips gently over hers, teasing her with his mouth, making him ache. He wondered if she, too, had a need that pulsated between her legs, making her stomach tumble like a ball down a hill.
“You’re teasing me,” she said, trying to deepen the kiss and failing when he kept her just out of reach.
“I want so much more than to tease you, Alice.” Callum sat and pulled her onto his lap, positioning her legs to straddle his. “Let me pleasure you, I beg you.”
Her breaths came in panting gasps, and he bit back a groan. Damn, he wanted to see her take flight into pleasure, to feel what it could be like between a man and woman—before all the useless fops bowed before her skirts this Season.
“I cannot.” She shook her head, but did not move. “I may be forward in some things, but not this. I cannot be ruined.”
Callum kissed down her throat, sliding his tongue across the tops of her breasts that with each breath came up to meet him. He slid his hand up her waist and cupped one soft globe of her breast, surprised at the weight of it in his hand. Shutting his eyes he pictured her naked, of him holding her breast and laving her nipple with wanton abandonment. “I’ll not ruin you, I promise. I’ll merely give you pleasure.”
She bit he
r lip, before nodding her acquiescence. He sighed, although there would be no relief for him. Already, his balls ached, his cock rigid and ready. Callum pushed away as much of her gown from between them and, clasping the cups of her ass, hoisted her hard against him. Her hot core nestled against his prick and he guided her up against him, sliding her excited nubbin against his hardened length.
She bit her lip, watching him with awe and he swallowed, having never seen anything more beautiful than the sight she now made.
“Trust me that what I’m about to do will leave you a maid, but I want more.” He ripped open his frontfalls and nestled her against his member. Oh, sweet mercy to have her mons against him, wet and ready, almost broke his resolve to behave.
“Callum, we cannot.”
Alice pulled away and he shushed her, shaking his head. “I’ll not take your virginity, but let me give you pleasure this way. I want to show you what it can be like between us, if only you’ll let me.”
She moved of her own accord against his sex and he groaned.
“I trust you,” she said, undulating again. “Oh my,” she gasped as he increased the glide and pressure of their movement. Alice caught on quickly and was soon moving of her own accord against him. And sweet heaven, the fight to not lose himself before she did was something he didn’t think he would conquer.
“This feels so good, too good to be wicked.”
Callum groaned, taking her lips as she rose and fell upon his lap. The thought that this wasn’t his smartest idea flittered through his mind. To have her in his lap, to show her the arts of pleasure in such a way opened a floodgate of wants and needs he shouldn’t have teased her with. They could be caught, her reputation ruined in an instant. The duke would run him through without a second thought and rightfully so.
But the thought of her marrying another pushed the worry aside. If, by having her this one time made her stop and think about accepting another man, this delicious torture, this pain would all be worth it.
She quivered in his arms and he knew she was close. Her strokes became hard as she took what she wanted, pushed herself against a release she’d never experienced before.
“Oh Callum,” she sighed against his lips. He guided her hips against him, wishing that he could make love to her, claim her virtue, and make her his forever. He wanted to hear her scream his name, fill her with himself, and watch as her eyes closed in bliss.
Unable to deny himself, he pulled down one side of her bodice and kissed his way toward her nipple. Her hands clasped his hair, her fingers spiking against his skull as he laved the sweet beaded flesh.
She moaned and it was the most exquisite, erotic sound he’d ever heard. “I want you so much, Alice.” He suckled hard, pulling her nipple farther into his mouth, and she clasped him tighter against her.
“Yes, like that. Keep doing everything that you’re doing.”
Nothing would stop him from his current actions. He kissed her breast with abandon, while kneading the other. The feel of her soft, sweet skin against his lips, of having her in this way even if it left him wanting more, was perfection.
She was close, and so, too, was he. Callum clasped her ass and pushed her hard against his cock with heady abandon.
“Callum…” His name a plea more than anything else gasped from her lips as she shattered in his arms. Small, perfect tremors ran through her, and he ached to come, but not here, not like this.
He gritted his teeth, pushing her to enjoy, to take all that she could in his embrace. For a moment they sat there, both of them breathing hard, and nothing separating their bodies. To control the roaring need that consumed him, Callum breathed deep and promised himself that he would have her one day, not as a tryst at a ball, but as his wife, warm in his bed, for every night of every year they would have together. But first he would finish his dealings with the moneylenders, lay to rest the Surrey Bandit and come to her a man of little wealth, but no hindrance to their happiness, no veiled threats that could injure her or Amelia at any time.
“Was that forgettable?” Callum asked. Unable to deny himself one last kiss, he dipped his head and swept her lips with his.
Alice shook her head, her hands idly running over his cheeks. “That, my lord, I shall never forget.”
Chapter Fourteen
Alice walked back into the ball feeling as if she were floating on clouds. Her body felt heavy, full, sleepy, and yet more awake than it ever had before.
A shiver stole over her as she strolled into the supper room. She took a glass of champagne, downed it quickly, before grabbing another. Her body purred with pleasure still, and the thought of Callum’s lips against her breast, the roughness of his unshaven jaw, left her wondering if he’d marked her.
Because he’d certainly marked her in a lot of other ways, ways that deep down in her soul, she wanted to be marked again and again.
Arndel entered the ballroom from the terrace doors, his hair back in place after her hands had messed it up. He pinned her with a hot, intoxicating glance, before moving through the throng and she lost sight of him.
“Lord Arndel seems upset. Did you have a falling out?”
Alice tried to calm her heartbeat that had nothing to do with her mama coming up beside her and startling her. “I don’t believe anything I’ve done has upset his lordship.” If anything, she’d left him in a state of uncomfortable need. For if the hard-as-stone bulge against her sex was anything to go by, he’d not found his own pleasure, only given her hers.
And what a marvelous thing she’d found tonight. After shattering in Callum’s arms, Alice could see why her sisters had been so keen to marry their husbands, especially if one could find such bliss every night. You would be a simpleton indeed, if you remained a spinster for all of your days, having never experienced such resounding, incandescent sensation.
Her mama pulled her toward a group of old cronies who sat watching the dancing, which had recommenced after supper, the lot of them reminding Alice of a pack of wolves watching the lambs at play.
“No, Mama, Lord Arndel and I are not at odds.” Alice looked about the room but could not see him, but she did spy Victoria again, back from checking on her dog and her impending litter of puppies. “I see Victoria is dancing. I did not think she would return to the ball.”
“I had a servant go fetch her. You two are my last unmarried daughters, and I’m determined to find you matches this year.”
Alice didn’t think her sister would find love with her current dance partner. In fact, the grimace on her face that was only thinly veiled by her good breeding, said a lot as to what she thought of her companion.
“Ah, see, Sir Liam is dancing with her now. Doesn’t she look happy, my dear? Maybe she will marry the gentleman. He does seem more enamored of her than he was with you.”
Alice choked a little on her drink. “Such praise, Mama, I’m sure I’m thankful, in any case. I do not wish to pursue Sir Liam. His character reminds me of Lord Riddledale, and look how mad that man turned out to be.”
“No one can be as evil as Riddledale.” Her mama studied her a moment and frowned. “You do look a little flushed, though, my dear. Are you well?”
“I’m perfectly well.” Even if her mind refused to cooperate and calm itself after what Callum had done to her not a half hour before. Alice caught sight of him as the throng shifted and swayed about the room. A horde of young women followed his coattails like a raft of ducklings following their mama. He sipped a glass of champagne, laughing and smiling at their jokes, but even she could not fail to notice his attention kept snapping back to her. They may have been standing right beside one another with the effect his gaze had on her senses. Nerves skittered across her skin, and she longed to return to their veiled garden seat to finish what they’d started.
“Your bodice is all askew,” her mama said, turning her so her back was to the room, and righting the garment. “And your skin is a little blotchy above your breasts. Have you been eating strawberries again? You know they do
n’t react well with your complexion.”
“I only had one. Cook made them look so delicious dusted with sugar, I couldn’t go past them. I’m sorry.” Thankfully, her mama accepted her fib. Her sister finished her dance and walked away from Sir Liam without a second glance. “I’m going to join Victoria. I will see you later, Mama.”
Her mother’s parting words to have fun met her ears as she made her way across the room. That she could feel Callum’s heated stare also left her steps light and her body singing with new wisdom, and now she had to decide what to do with that insight.
To use it for good or wicked…
…
Callum allowed the chatter of the young ladies, daughters of his neighbors, to wash over him. It was a welcome reprieve to hear the mindless chatter, as it seemed to dissipate his need for Alice Worthingham quite quickly. The little minx currently stood talking with her sister, her sporadic glances his way sending his ardor to rise with each heated glance.
“The Worthingham daughters are beautiful, are they not? You never told me your neighbor the duke had such delectable siblings. I should visit my estate in Surrey more often, if only to bask in their glory.”
Arndel leveled his cousin with a lethal stare. “Pity that the ladies looked less than enthused by your presence, Liam. I hope the observation does not deflate your overly inflated ego. We should hate to see you forlorn.” Sarcasm laced Callum’s words and he turned back to the dancing, hoping his cousin would disappear.
“Do not be fooled by a woman’s tricks, both of them loved the attention I bestowed upon their heads.” The lout brushed off a piece of nonexistent lint from his suit. “Are you opening the London house this Season? The family expects it.”
Arndel could care less what the family expected or what they wished. They had never tended for him or his family, after his mother had married beneath her station. As far as he was concerned, they could hire their own London house and be damned their hope. “I must admit, I’m surprised by such a question. I did not think they paid attention to what I did with either Kester House or the London abode. And, if I remember quite correctly, Grandmother stated I was a blight upon the family name—one she wished she could erase.” Should he even wish to open the house he could not. He paused mid-sip of his whisky. He could rent it out for the Season, though…
