Heired Lines

by Magan Vernon

  While his expert mouth trailed down my neck, he moved his hands to the swell of my breasts, his thumbs circling the delicate peaks of my nipples.

  I moaned, pushing my body against his. The front of his trousers pressed against my backside, his hard length near the skin of my lower back.

  This wasn’t just me who was feeling something. I was doing this to him. Me. The girl who was told she wouldn’t be good enough for him.

  Circling my hips, he moaned, pressing those warm lips to my ear. “Do you enjoy torturing me, Natalie?”

  My name was like a prayer on his tongue, and I wanted more. I wanted him to call my name as he came undone.

  But first, we had to get there. And I was willing to take all night to do it.

  “Yes,” I breathed as one of his hands trailed down my breast, skimming the waistband of my panties.

  “Tell me you want this. Because once we start, there’s no going back. I want my cock buried deep inside of you. To watch those beautiful lips as they scream my name while I make you come.”

  I whimpered as his thumb slowly slid just under my waistband, brushing against the sensitive skin.

  He’d never talked to me like this before, and the very words sliding off his tongue had me trembling in the most delicious way.

  “Yes. Please.”

  His palm pressed against my skin as he lightly brushed his thumb against my clit. I widened my stance, putting my hand on his and guiding his fingers exactly where I wanted them.

  “I like a woman who knows what she wants,” he murmured in my ear before he stroked my skin then curled a finger inside of me.

  I moaned, my breath quickening as my legs already started to shake around his expert hand.

  “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to touch you like this? How much I’ve wanted to feel you come undone for me?” His voice was commanding, each word its own syllable. His fingers moving with the same intensity.

  Bucking my hips forward, my moans picked up speed as I threaded my fingers through his hair. The tousled blond locks felt like silk as they glided through my hands.

  I cried out, my legs shuddering around me as a wave of pleasure burst through me. I closed my eyes, delighting in the wave I rode on.

  “You feel so damn good, Natalie,” he moaned, his thumb circling my still tingling bundle of nerves.

  “Please let me fuck you,” he begged, his fingers picking up the pace, and I was about to combust again right there.

  “Yes. Please,” I cried, raking my fingers through his hair and tugging lightly.

  With one hand still working magic, his other had my panties pushed down my legs until they fell to the floor with my dress.

  I gripped tighter onto his hair as another wave of pleasure pulsed through me. I moaned, stars blurring my vision as I rode his hand to climax.

  Once I’d come back from my euphoria, his hands were on my hips, turning me around so I faced his hungry stare.

  His lips crushed mine, and all the fireworks I thought coursed through me before were nothing compared to the way his tongue danced against my own.

  He continued massaging my tongue with his while walking me backward until my naked body hit the bedpost.

  He broke the kiss only to lift me onto the bed. As soon as I hit the soft comforter, my hands moved to the buttons of his shirt, trying to get him out of the thing separating me from his glorious body as soon as possible.

  In between kisses, he ditched his jacket and shirt then his pants and boxers, leaving him stark naked and kneeling on the bed in front of me.

  He was a damn fine specimen in his tailored suits with those broad shoulders and the biceps peeking out of his T-shirts. But now, seeing him in all his golden flesh was mouthwatering.

  My eyes trailed from that white smile, down the fine lines of his jaw, and to his sculpted chest and down the V of his hip bones, where his hardened length was primed and ready for me.

  I don’t know where the condom came from, but as soon as it was in his hands, it was unsheathed and over his member.

  This was it. This was where I should tell him to stop. Could tell him everything about what his mom had threatened and that I’d be leaving in the morning.

  But I didn’t.

  I grabbed onto his strong back and pulled him down to me, moaning as he filled me completely.

  His lips were back on mine as we moved together as if we’d done this so many times before. Just like when we danced, we were in sync, our bodies just knowing where to move together.

  His mouth captured my breathy gasps as I tried to stay in the moment with him. To focus on nothing else but how perfect this was. How every part of his warm body against my skin sent a beautiful heat bursting through me.

  Our hands intertwined as he pulled my palms above his head, his mouth sliding from my lips down to the swell of my breast while he rocked his hips to mine.

  “You’re so beautiful, Natalie. So fucking gorgeous. Everything about you is amazing,” he murmured against my chest before flicking his tongue against my hardened nipples.

  My breath quickened to the same beat as my heart while my legs shook as another climax built low in my stomach.

  I tilted my hips, his body hitting me in just the right spot to come undone as fireworks burst through my vision and I was soaring above us. The surreal sense of euphoria overtaking my humming body as I cried out his name.

  He shuddered soon after, his head pressing against my cheek, as we sat there, our breathing matching the same rhythm as our hearts.

  I could have stayed in that moment forever. Just lying with him.

  Then his lips were on mine again, and our tongues married in a breathy tango.

  My arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him flush against my body, feeling his warmth radiate through me and felt him come alive again between my legs.

  He broke the kiss slowly to sit up, pulling me to his lap. He nudged me onto his thighs before he tossed the used condom aside. With our bodies still tangled, he grabbed his pants, pulling another condom out of his wallet.

  “Again?” I breathed.

  He smiled, that damn bloody smile. “For you, I could go all night.”

  There was something else in his eyes, though.

  It wasn’t lust or the usual looks I got from him. This one coursed deep down in my soul.

  Was he feeling something more between us?

  My heart was pounding like a bass drum and it wasn’t just from our romp.

  This was something more.

  Something I couldn’t think about.

  Not right now.

  Now I just wanted to live in this moment.

  Shoving those thoughts way down in my chest, I returned the grin, bouncing on my knees before I slid the condom slowly over his massive erection.

  If this was going to end tomorrow, I was going to enjoy every minute of it.

  Until it all went away, and this would all be just an amazing, orgasmic dream.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Lord Gavin

  My phone hadn’t stopped buzzing, but if I even knew where it had gone to in the tangle of discarded clothes, I wouldn’t have moved to get it. I never wanted to leave this moment.

  My back ached from lying in the same position for so long but with Natalie’s head on my chest, her red hair splayed on the pillow next to me like a warm sunset, there was no way in hell I was going to move her.

  Gazing up at the artistic ceiling that was a maze of mirrors and stained glass, not much different than the one in my own bedroom, my shoulders finally relaxed. For the first time in months I could just be still.

  I’d tried to hold back my feelings for the woman for so long. Tried to resist the urge to touch her. To feel every part of her. Now that I’d had her, I wasn’t ready to let go.

  What the hell was I saying?

>   I’d been with many women before her, tourists, royalty, and even a few American celebrities. But none of them had my heart beating so fast that it was going to burst out of my chest. The excitement of just seeing her was like the anticipation of a little kid on the way to his favorite sweets store.

  But now I had no idea what to do with this woman. Well, after she woke up, that is.

  Where the bloody hell did we go from here?

  Could I just walk by her every day while she worked and pretend like nothing had happened?

  Hell, not just every day, but especially today, with my family at the manor.

  I couldn’t do that without thinking about our night together. How her body shuddered against me as she called my name like a prayer.

  It was going to be one hell of a hard day to get through, let alone the rest of the time she was at the manor.

  The doorknob jiggled, echoing through the room.

  The sound brought me back to the reality of our situation. This was more than just one night. There was something here. And someone else was trying to interrupt this moment.

  Luckily, I thought to shut and lock the door before I got her out of her clothes last night, and I could have her to myself for at least a few more beats.

  Natalie stirred, letting out a small groan before she opened her eyes.

  I expected a smile or at least a good morning. But I got a wide-eyed stare as she scooted toward the other end of the bed, pulling the sheet up to her nose.

  Narrowing my eyes as the hairs stood up on the back of my neck, I wondered what the hell just happened in those few moments. Did she think I would have just left her without saying goodbye? Hell, I wasn’t sure I could even move off the bed if I had wanted to last night after a few rounds and she collapsed on my chest.

  But now she looked as if she’d seen a ghost, her face pale, her eyes wide with dilated pupils. Not of lust, but like she was scared as hell.

  I tried to ignore the tightening in my chest at her reaction and keep my face still.

  Was I just a mistake to her?

  Was she not feeling the same way?

  Blast, I was sounding like a little girl.

  She needed to give me an answer.

  But before I could open my mouth to speak, Natalie shook her head.

  “I’ll be right there, Meredith, I’m not dressed yet, but you can leave my breakfast by the door,” she croaked, her voice hoarse.

  Then she stared at me, blinking slowly as if she was trying to figure out if I was really there.

  No response from the other side of the door, but the handle jiggled again.

  “You need to hide,” Natalie hissed.

  I raised an eyebrow, the hesitation that I had before now turning into a full-blown angered rush of adrenaline. “Are you mad? This is my home. I’m not going into hiding.”

  “Do you want one of the maids or someone to walk in on us both in my bed naked?”

  I wanted to tell her it wouldn’t the first time someone had walked in on me, but watching her wide eyes and the trembling of her arms, I couldn’t fight her at this moment.

  If it were any other girl, I would have left before the sun rose.

  But that tightening in my chest was not just from anger; there was definitely something more there. Something I couldn’t think about.

  Sighing, I stood up slowly, my muscles popping as I bent over and looked for my boxers in the pile of clothing.

  “Damn.” I swore I heard her whisper, but when I’d put on my boxers and looked over to the other side of the bed, she’d already hopped out, sliding an oversize faded T-shirt over her head.

  She was still just as beautiful with her swollen lips from our night of kissing and her cheeks flushed like she’d been good and thoroughly shagged. Which we both had.

  Last night, I had no desire to go to the frivolous little dancing party Mother had planned in the ballroom in the first place. Once Natalie left, I just thought we’d talk and I’d convince her to come back. So I wouldn’t be bored out of my mind. But spending all night with her in bed was better than I could have ever imagined.

  The doorknob jiggled again followed by muffled voices. Then a sound pierced my ears that rolled through my body, every hair on the back of my neck standing on end.

  Natalie froze, sucking in a deep breath. Before either of us could move, the door flung open. Mother pushed passed a sheepish Meredith, who had an extra key in her hand.

  My heartbeat came to a grinding halt, the world swirling around me in slow motion.

  I expected a maid to walk in, not the narrowed glare and snarl of my mother.

  She would see Natalie as just a random conquest and would probably want to fire her on the spot.

  I had to step up for both of us even as a sinking feeling snaked through me. What the hell was she doing here anyway?

  “Mother, haven’t you heard of knocking or privacy?” I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest as I stood straighter. Letting her know that this wasn’t her place.

  “Sorry, sir, she insisted,” Meredith mumbled.

  But Mother didn’t even have the decency to look embarrassed. Dressed in a long peach day dress, her hair and makeup already done, she stretched her face in a scowl with her nostrils flared. One that probably defied all the Botox in her face, but she appeared too horrified to care as she held her demonic stare.

  “You? We had a deal,” she spat, pointing a manicured finger at Natalie.

  I glanced at the girl on the other side of the bed, who put her head down. Her mess of red hair fell over her face so I couldn’t see her expression.

  What the hell was she talking about?

  An empty feeling gnawed in the pit of my stomach.

  “Mother, you can’t just burst into people’s rooms like this,” I commanded, stepping toward the woman who was still staring daggers at Natalie. Each breath I let out was more venomous than the last.

  Mother curled her upper lip then blinked slowly as she turned to face me. “I expected you wanted to get some of your wild fantasies out before you finally settled down with a girl, but I didn’t expect it to be a gold-digging little American trollop.”

  My neck dipped as if I were on a roller coaster as anger coursed through me, causing me to clench my jaw and fists. “That’s enough, Mother. You will not speak to her like that.”

  She smirked, ready for a challenge. “Oh? You know so much about this girl you just took to bed? Then tell me, did she inform you about my offer? The one she accepted to leave if I paid her off?”

  Heat flushed my face as I tried to form words, but my throat closed up, rendering me speechless.

  It couldn’t be true.

  Natalie wasn’t the type of girl to just take money. She even made me donate her gown I bought for the polo match and had been sending everything she earned to her mother in America.

  My own mother may be a harsh, cold woman, but she’d never lied to me.

  So where did this leave us?

  Mother nodded. “Go on, look at her bank account. You’ll see a large deposit was just made during the dance last night. I told her I’d make sure she was paid her full salary if she left tomorrow. I guess she just wanted to get one last tryst to tell her American friends she bedded the Lord of Webley.”

  “That’s enough, Mother,” I snarled, rage still coursing through me as I slowly turned toward Natalie.

  Her head was still down, but her shoulders shook as if she was trying to hold back her emotions.

  I took a step closer, trying to keep my tone neutral as the room seemed to spin around us. “Is any of that true, Natalie?”

  “Yes,” she said in a voice barely above a whisper.

  “What?” I asked, sure I couldn’t have heard her right as my pulse beat loudly in my ears.

  She sniffed, slowly looking up so I could s
ee her watery eyes, but the tears wouldn’t break from them. “Yes. I couldn’t refuse the money. I told your mom I’d take it and leave. I wasn’t expecting you to come here last night, and I should have told you then. I’m sorry.”

  A wave of anguish rumbled through me as I clenched my fists at my side. What the hell could I say to that?

  She was leaving yet still slept with me. She was going to just leave with the money and without a second thought.

  “I’m going to check on the dogs,” I muttered, turning away as I kept my head down, taking in deep breaths as I tried to control everything crashing through me.

  “Gavin,” Mother chided, putting her hand up as I passed.

  I turned toward her, scowling. “Don’t ‘Gavin’ me right now. I know you planned all of this, thinking you were somehow helping me. Well it’s not. So you and Father can vacate the Thistle room as soon as possible.”

  She opened and closed her mouth like a puffer fish. “Wha…what? You can’t speak to your mother that way.”

  “I can and I will. I’m the head of this manor, and you are no longer welcome here. Now leave. Before I call security.”

  Mother narrowed her eyes then turned to Natalie, pointing in anger. “You did this. How could you brainwash my son against me? I should take every penny I gave you, you little harlot.”

  “ENOUGH,” I bellowed, causing both women to stare wide-eyed in my direction.

  “That’s enough, Mother. Natalie made her decision, you made yours, and now I’ve made mine. I’m going to go check on the animals in the barn and, by the time I come back to the house, you’d better be on your way home.”

  Mother didn’t respond, and Natalie put her head back down.

  I may have been speaking to mother, but Natalie took it too. If she would, I didn’t know. But I needed to get out of there. I needed to wrap my head around everything. And the best way to do that was to get out of that room.

  …

  The first dog to approach me near the field was Ponce, one of the brindle-colored rescues, his big bobblehead bouncing as he ran toward me.

  I crouched and welcomed him into my arms as I pet behind his ears, then he rolled to his back, lifting up a leg in the universal symbol to rub his belly.