by Darcy Burke
Weak-kneed, she clutched his hand as he led her to the back of the building, seeming to trace the same path they’d taken the week before. He was cautious, looking from side to side and up at the thankfully empty terrace before taking her into a side door that led into a back stairway.
Fiona held onto him as they walked along a narrow corridor lit with sconces. “This is convenient.”
“We sometimes have parties in the garden. This provides direct access for the employees to come and go from the kitchens downstairs with food and drink.” He inclined his head to the stairs that led down, moving quickly to turn the corner where he took her upstairs.
She hesitated, pulling on his hand. “You know far too much about this club to be an ordinary member. You must be on the membership committee. Don’t bother denying it.”
He turned, the light from the sconce illuminating the resignation in his features. “I’m supposed to deny it. The committee is very secret.” A smile teased his lips. “How did you know?”
“You’ve said things that made me wonder, but I really should have known the day that I was here as a maid. You said there was a meeting to decide if a member’s family could attend assemblies. How would you know that if you weren’t part of the Star Chamber?” She dipped her voice as she uttered the last two words and shook her head. “I can’t believe I didn’t realize it then. Was everyone else who was here also on the committee?”
“That I won’t say.” He pressed his lips together, then led her up to the second landing. As they ascended, he continued, “And you must promise to keep the secret. If not, Lucien may toss me out.”
“My lips are sealed.”
When they reached the landing, he pulled her into his arms and gave her a wicked smile. “For this, I would ask you to unseal your lips.” He kissed her again, his tongue licking into her mouth with delicious strokes. She moaned softly, eager to get wherever they were going. They needed to be fast. They would be missed if they were gone too long.
Except their absence was likely already noted. Could they explain it away as a lengthy promenade in the garden? Naïve as she was about most of what went on in London, Fiona had no idea. Nor did she particularly care in this moment. It was hard to be concerned about rules that had never applied to you before.
Tobias swept her into his arms, and she let out a soft squeal. Laughing, she encircled her arms around his neck as he dashed up the rest of the stairs. At the top, he set her down gently and put his finger to his lips before opening the door carefully.
Glancing about, he took her hand once more and quickly guided her to another closed door. “Please let there be no one inside,” he murmured.
Before Fiona could protest, he ushered them both inside. Throwing the latch, he turned, only for her to shove him lightly in the chest. “You were concerned someone might be in here?”
He lifted a shoulder. “The chance of that happening at this early hour is incredibly unlikely. Especially with the assembly going on. Besides, a smart person locks the door.” He pivoted to set the lock, then faced her once more as he drew his gloves off and tossed them toward a table. “Now, where were we?”
Waggling his brows at her, he took her hand and removed the glove. Then he moved to her other hand and did the same. Tugging her against him, he kissed her again, this time taking his time exploring her mouth and stripping away the last of her defenses.
Well, if she’d had defenses, he would have stripped them away.
Ending the kiss abruptly, he took a step back. “I don’t want to muss your gown. Please tell me this isn’t a nightmare to remove.”
“It’s not exactly a nightmare, but I will require your assistance with the buttons on the back.” She turned her back to him, which forced her attention to the primary piece of furniture in the room—a large four-poster bed. Covered in a lush, dark purple coverlet, the bed looked fit for royalty.
There were only five buttons, and Fiona felt each one as Tobias plucked them open. Then he loosened the tie that cinched the dress around her middle until the fabric parted in the back. He lowered the gown, and she carefully stepped out of it.
Turning her head, she saw him gently lay the garment over a high-backed chair. “The best I can do, I’m afraid.” His gaze swept over her. “You are so beautiful.”
Fiona pulled the tie at the back of her petticoat and slid the narrow straps from her shoulders. She was not quite as cautious as she let the garment fall to the floor before stepping aside and plucking it up.
“Allow me.” Tobias took it to the same chair and laid it atop the gown. “I suppose we should leave your corset in place.” He sounded disappointed.
She pulled at the laces until the garment was loose and she could push it down over her hips. “Too late.” Keeping her gaze locked with his, she kicked her shoes from her feet. “I’m about to be nearly nude, while you are completely clothed.”
He scrambled to remove his coat, letting it fall to the floor unheeded before moving on to his dancing slippers and stockings, which required him to perch on a chair.
“I’ll just wait over here,” she called, climbing onto the bed where she sat back against the headboard.
A low growl crept across the room from his lips to her ears. His body followed as he prowled toward her, discarding his cravat and waistcoat along the way. When he reached the side of the bed, she met him there, first on her knees, then putting her legs over the side of mattress on either side of him.
She reached for his shirt, pulling it from his waistband, and he hastened to help, casting the garment away before she could blink. Then she couldn’t because her gaze was transfixed on his bare chest. She splayed her hands over his flesh, her fingertips pressing into him. “A new map,” she murmured.
He cupped her head and kissed her, claiming her mouth and her utter surrender. He had that and more—everything she could offer.
She fell back, pulling her chemise up until he took over and tore the garment over her head, flinging it away. Before he could kiss her again, she touched his cheek. “I love you too, Tobias.”
“Oh, thank God.” His mouth met hers once more as he caressed her body, trailing his hands across her shoulders, down and around her breasts, pulling at her nipples until she whimpered into his mouth. Then his hand was between her legs, stroking across her sex, gently at first before becoming more insistent, his thumb and fingers finding those sweet spots that made pleasure unfurl inside her.
Desire pulsed within her, centered in her sex where he worked her flesh, driving her toward that unfathomable ecstasy. “More,” she urged him, clutching at his shoulder and his waist. She ran her hands over his bare back, glorying in the muscular terrain and anticipating more time when she could explore every peak and valley.
He settled himself between her legs, forcing them wider. His cock, hard beneath his clothing, pressed against her sex. A jolt of pleasure shot through her, the promise of what was to come.
Fiona slipped her hand between them, trying to find his buttons. He rose up and unfastened his fall. “Take them off,” she ordered. “Completely.”
“You’re still wearing your stockings.”
“Then take those off too. I’ll wait. But not long. If you dally, I’ll pleasure myself.”
“Bloody hell, Fiona. You know how to do that?”
“I’m not as accomplished as you.” She put her hand on her sex. “But I think I’ve learned a thing or two.” She rotated her fingertips over her clitoris.
“God, stop, please. I’m going to embarrass myself.” He worked to remove his breeches and smallclothes as quickly as possible. When he settled back between her legs, he put his hand over hers and pressed her finger inside her, making her gasp. “To hell with your stockings.”
He thrust her finger into her twice, three times before lifting her hand and lowering his head simultaneously so he could suck her digit into his mouth. She felt the vibration of his groan along with another pulse of need.
“Please, Tobias.” She r
eached between them and found his cock, closing her hand around the warm flesh.
He closed his eyes briefly. “Move your hand. Just for a moment. Please.”
She slid her palm up and down, reveling in the hard yet silken feel of him. “Like this?”
“Yes. Just like that. Faster. No, don’t. I won’t last.” His hand covered hers as he opened his eyes. “Ready?” He put the tip of his shaft to her sex.
She looked up at him, losing herself in the piercing pewter of his eyes. “Now.”
He pushed inside her, his flesh stretching hers. It was so much more than his fingers, and it took her a moment to grow accustomed to him. He kissed her temple and her cheek before whispering, “Just breathe. We’ll go slow for a bit.”
He waited, quietly filling her and holding still until she began to relax.
“Ready,” she said.
“Wrap your legs around me, love.” He withdrew, but not completely, then slowly drove forward again. Again and again, he removed and returned until she began to move with him.
“Yes, that’s right,” he urged. “Now we’ll go a bit faster.” He picked up speed and the friction was delicious.
She gasped, arching as he filled her. “I like faster. I think I want harder or deeper. I don’t know. I want more.”
“Hold onto me.” He leaned down and kissed her, his mouth tantalizing hers as he built a new momentum. She gripped him with hands and legs and tried to move with him, her body becoming frenzied as she careened toward her release. Digging her fingers into his back, she cried out as she came apart, her muscles tightening as a torrent of pleasure washed over her.
Tobias moved even faster, his body snapping into hers with a blissful precision. She closed her eyes and cast her head back, surrendering herself to the soul-deep rapture.
Just as she began to float back to earth, he cried out, a low, guttural sound that she felt in her bones. He thrust deep, and a smaller second burst of pleasure sparked. She held him tightly between her legs as she stroked his back and kissed his neck, his shoulder, his chest.
When he was spent, he fell to the side, his chest heaving. Fiona rolled to face him. Skimming her hand along his abdomen, she felt the ripple of his muscles from his chest to his belly. “What an unusual terrain. What would this be, I wonder?” she murmured to herself somewhat nonsensically. “Perhaps this is the Overton Steppe.”
“Are you referring to the hair on my chest? There isn’t that much. Isn’t a steppe grassy?”
“Not necessarily.” She giggled. “If not a steppe, then a plain, I suppose, but it’s not flat.” Inspiration struck. “It moves like water, particularly if you laugh.” That made him laugh, proving her point. “The Sea of Overton.”
“You astonish me, Fiona.”
She rose up over him and a lock of her hair fell free, grazing his chest. “Oh dear, I worry my hair is a mess.”
“I think it’s best if we don’t return to the ball. I’ll say you became ill and I saw you home.”
“Won’t that still spark disapproval?”
“But I’m your guardian!” His eyes widened in mock horror.
“I was rather hoping you would be my husband instead.”
He bolted up, forcing her to sit too. “I was trying so hard not to be an ass anymore, and I completely forgot to propose to you again.” He wiped his hand over his face and gave her a sheepish look. “Miss Wingate, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
“I think I must at this juncture.” She giggled again, then forced herself to be serious. “Yes, I’ll marry you, and not because I must. Actually, it is because I must, for to not marry you is no longer conceivable.”
Grinning, he leaned forward and kissed her, drawing a deep sigh from her chest at how right everything felt, from that beautiful waltz to this enchanting moment.
She ripped her mouth from his and gasped. “The waltz! I’m supposed to be waltzing with Lord Gregory!”
“Shit!” Tobias leapt from the bed and dashed nude to the mantel where a lantern burned. There was also a small clock, which he surveyed. “I have no bloody idea when that waltz is, but we can’t have been gone that long.” He faced her, his hands on his hips. “Still, we should go home. Better yet, I should send you home. Because you’re ill.”
“I can’t leave without speaking to Lord Gregory.” Fiona climbed from the bed and found her chemise, quickly drawing it over her head. “I must explain to him that I cannot proceed with a courtship.”
Tobias, who’d started putting on his clothing, stopped. His breeches were on, but the fall hung open. His chest was still bare, the lantern light casting alluring shadows over the hard planes. Fiona averted her gaze lest she become irreversibly distracted.
“I feel bad about Lord Gregory. I know people noticed your…interest in each other.”
“It makes you think of your experience with Lady Bentley.” Fiona went to him and caressed his cheek. “This is different. I am not Lady Bentley.”
He smiled, then turned his head to kiss her palm. “Thank goodness for that. You’ll be kind and considerate.”
“And I love you. Lord Gregory will understand.”
Clasping her waist, he looked into her eyes. “How did I get so fortunate to find you?”
“I believe you have our fathers to thank. I wonder what they would say if they could see that their offspring would unite their families.”
“I think they would be very glad. And while it pains me to please my father in any way, I am glad too.” He bent his head to kiss her as the door crashed open.
“What in the devil is going on here?”
Chapter 20
Tobias recognized that feminine voice. He reached for his shirt and quickly drew it over his head. Then he realized Barbara was not alone.
“This room is occupied, obviously,” Tobias said. “How did you even get in here? And who are you with?” He stalked to the doorway where the gentleman stood in profile.
Constantine Westbrook, the Earl of Aldington, darted a glance toward Tobias, then promptly turned and stalked away.
Tobias ran past Barbara, who held the door as she stood inside the room. “Aldington, wait! Why are you here?” It wasn’t really the question he wanted answered, but he was flustered.
“This was a mistake,” Aldington said without stopping. “Please don’t follow me out.” He disappeared through the doorway Tobias and Fiona had used earlier as they’d come up the backstairs.
Looking about, Tobias was relieved to not see anyone else. Pivoting, he hurried back to the bedchamber, tucking in his shirt and buttoning his fall as he went. He arrived to find the door still open, Barbara standing inside, and Fiona lacing her corset.
Tobias closed the door firmly and faced Barbara. “How in the bloody hell did you get in here? You aren’t a member, and neither is Aldington.”
“His brother is the owner, however,” Barbara said rather unhelpfully.
“You’re saying Lucien let him in?”
Barbara shrugged, her pearl earrings bobbing. “Aldington knew a door by which to get in, and he had a key to this room. We did not realize it would be occupied.” Her eyes narrowed as she surveyed Fiona at length. “I should have expected you’d find someone younger to warm your bed. All that nonsense about improving your reputation and getting married. What a load of rubbish.”
“As it happens, he is getting married,” Fiona said as she finished with her corset. “To me.” Smiling pleasantly, she fetched her petticoat and drew it over her head.
Barbara turned her head toward Tobias, who was feeling rather proud of his betrothed. She didn’t seem the slightest bit ruffled by Barbara’s presence. But then she didn’t realize who Barbara was.
“Pity you’re getting dressed.” Barbara sauntered toward Fiona who’d donned the petticoat and was now reaching behind to her back to pull the drawstring to cinch it around her middle. “May I?”
“Thank you.” Fiona presented her back.
“I would’ve asked to jo
in you,” Barbara purred. “I am quite expert at what Toby likes.”
Tobias had drawn on his waistcoat and stalked to Barbara. “Please take your hands from my betrothed.”
Fiona took a step and swung around toward Barbara. “You were his mistress?”
“Until very recently, yes.” Barbara folded her arms over her chest and pouted. “Until that chit—his ward—came to live with him.”
“Barba—”
“Oh, you mean me?” Fiona laughed, and Tobias had no idea if it was genuine or an act to beat Barbara at whatever game she was trying to play. She sent Tobias a warm smile. “How lovely that he stopped seeing you when I arrived.” Their eyes locked, and he marveled at her confidence and composure.
Fiona picked up her gown from the chair. “Now, you must excuse me, for I need to return to the ball.”
Barbara frowned at her, and Tobias prepared himself to jump to Fiona’s defense. “You can’t go like that,” Barbara said. “Your hair’s a fright. Let me help you.”
“Oh, would you?” Fiona asked brightly. “That would be wonderful.”
“Here, let’s get you dressed first.” Barbara took the gown and helped her into the garment. Then she situated it over Fiona’s undergarments and fastened the back.
Tobias stared at them, completely flabbergasted. “What is even happening right now?”
“Your former mistress is helping your betrothed.” Barbara shook her head. “I should think that would be obvious.”
“I fear I will never understand women,” he muttered as he buttoned his waistcoat, then went to sit and don his stockings and dancing slippers.
“There, I think that will do,” Barbara announced as she stepped back and surveyed Fiona’s repaired hair.
Fiona moved to the small mirror that hung over a dresser between the pair of windows that looked down to Ryder Street below. “Brilliant. I can’t thank you enough.” She patted the back of her head and turned from the glass, looking to Tobias in the chair. “I’ll see you downstairs later?”
Tobias stood and took her hand. “Good luck.” He kissed her knuckles, his body stirring as he wished to do much more. “I love you,” he whispered.
