STEAMPUNK ROMANCE: An Innovative Clockwork Steampunk World Adventure: The Complete Collection Boxed Set (Mystery Suspense Romance Short Stories)

by Haven, Rose

  Adam didn’t know what had come upon him. He knew that the lady was just as affected by his touch as he was. There was an undeniable chemistry between the both of them that was difficult to comprehend.

  He knew he should stop. And stop, he did.

  Adam cleared his throat once again.

  “Ummm… Since your chaperone is still nowhere in sight, I think I should take upon myself the task of escorting you inside.”

  “No, thank you. I wouldn’t bother you thus. I can find the way back myself. You please continue to enjoy this peaceful night.” Eleanor wanted to run as far away from this dangerous man as she could. She didn’t trust herself around him. Good Lord! What must he think of her? Letting herself get touched by a stranger in such an intimate manner! What was she thinking?

  “It was a pleasure meeting you, my Lord” said Eleanor and rushed past him without waiting for his reply.

  She had barely taken a few steps when she heard his rich voice again.

  “Excuse me, my lady. I think you’ve forgotten something here.”

  She turned around and saw him looking at her sandals that she had taken off to soothe her sore feet. In the hurry to escape, she had forgotten to wear them again.

  “Oh! How foolish of me!” She hurried back to retrieve her sandals and in her haste, she failed to notice a small step in front of her. With arms flying in the air, she fell right into Adam’s muscular arms.

  Although Eleanor was a small woman, the impact of her fall was strong enough to land Adam on his back. So now Adam was lying with his back down on the terrace with Eleanor sprawled upon him.

  ”Oh my God! Oh my God! I am so sorry, my Lord. I’ll just get up.” And she poked her elbow right into his ribs in an effort to get up.

  “Good Lord, lady. What are you doing?” Adam shouted in pain. She fell right back on top of him.

  And at that precise moment, Lady Elizabeth Sonhurst, accompanied by Lord Rothert and Lord Collin, came out to the terrace.

  “What is going on here?” roared Lord Rothert. A few more members of the ton gathered upon hearing all the commotion.

  Adam and Eleanor got up hurriedly. Eleanor’s mother and Eliza rushed to her side and smoothed her skirts that were now in a state of dishevel.

  “How dare you take advantage of my daughter!” shouted Lord Rothert again.

  Adam saw that his mother was wearing a stricken expression. Just then it struck him. The Earl of Dunkirk’s daughter! This chit was none other than the woman he had sworn to avoid at all costs. Lady Eleanor Rothert!

  “No, Father. It is not what it seems. Lord Sonhurst has been a thorough gentleman. It was I who tripped and fell on him.”

  “Oh dear! Adam, you should be ashamed of yourself! And Eleanor, darling, there is no need to lie for my son. We all have seen what happened. If he has done something wrong, it is his duty to set it right. Adam, you will have to marry Eleanor to protect her honor!” The Marchioness looked at Adam with a victorious expression in her eyes.

  “You are mistaken, my lady. It is not……” began Eleanor.

  “I shall marry her”, Adam said slowly. All eyes were on him now.

  “Lord Rothert, I ask for your daughter’s hand in marriage.”

  The Earl looked shocked but nevertheless, gave a slight nod.

  “Begin the marriage preparations”, said Adam and left the party after one last look at Eleanor. Eleanor could see a mixture of disgust and disbelief in his eyes. So much for marrying for love! Now her would be groom not only held her responsible for all that happened but probably hated her for it too! Eleanor felt tears welling up in her eyes. This night had turned into a nightmare for her!

  Chapter Six

  What a fool he had been all along! Adam cursed himself for the millionth time. Why could he not see through his mother’s plan? She had so simply outwitted him. And that chit- Lady Eleanor Rothert! How innocent she had seemed to Adam! Incapable of doing any wrong… But now he could plainly see that she had been a willing accomplice of his mother. Adam had thought that finally he had found a woman good enough to be his Marchioness but he had no clue that the woman could be so conniving and clever. Deceit nicely wrapped in the package of innocence!

  Never mind, he thought bitterly, she may have succeeded in her intention of landing a Marquess as her husband; but he promised himself that he would leave no stone unturned to make her life a living hell! He would make her regret the day she dreamt of getting married to him. She liked playing games, huh? He would show her who the master at this game is!

  Adam closed his eyes and envisioned her lovely face. Yes, she was a pretty little thing. Getting intimate with her wouldn’t be a problem. After all, that night she seemed too eager for his touch! He wondered if she had acted in a similar fashion with her other suitors as well. Bile rose in his throat at the thought.

  He had already decided what his next course of action would be. He needed a Marchioness to produce an heir, didn’t he? Well, he would certainly do that! And then, he would show her her place. She would be a Marchioness, alright; but as a wife, she would not have any rights. He would force her to lead a lonely life in his huge manor at Norfolk, cut off from her husband, her family and the London parties that she absolutely loved.

  The marriage was scheduled to take place the day after. Meanwhile, he would send a message to Norfolk about his nuptials and ask the staff there to make the necessary arrangements. He would be a husband in a matter of two days. Adam braced himself for the challenge!

  Eleanor knew in heart that Adam held her responsible for trapping him into marriage. She had shared her thoughts with her mother. But her mother had assured her that Adam was quite agreeable to the match. His mother, Lady Elizabeth had confirmed this in as many words. But somehow, Eleanor had this nagging feeling that something was not correct. She could not forget the look in his eyes when he left the party. It was accusatory…as if someone he trusted had backstabbed him.

  And if her doubts turned out to be true, how would she survive in a loveless marriage? She had dreamt of a marriage like her parents’ ever since she was a child. The love that her parents had for each other shone bright in their eyes. They knew each other so well that at times, they completed each other’s sentences. She longed for that kind of intimacy and understanding in her marriage.

  Now she could only pray to God that her doubts proved to be baseless.

  Chapter Seven

  After a small wedding ceremony, the Marquess of Norfolk and his new Marchioness made their way back to Norfolk. As his mother had already told him, Eleanor did bring a lot of dowry with her. But this was totally immaterial to him. Her betrayal was still afresh in his mind.

  It was almost an eight hour journey from London to Norfolk. And for the first five hours, the newlyweds didn’t utter a single word. The way Adam was behaving, Eleanor was sure that her doubts hadn’t been unfounded. They sat at an arm’s length from each other in the carriage and after five hours of looking outside the window, Eleanor finally fell asleep.

  As much as he wanted to loathe her, Adam couldn’t bring himself to do that. When he looked at her child-like innocent face as she slept peacefully in the carriage, an emotion unknown twisted his heart. She looked resplendent in her cream wedding gown. He wanted to hold her as she slept, wanted to kiss those luscious lips that seemed so inviting. He wanted to touch her to feel the softness of her porcelain clear skin. But his ego and hurt stopped him from doing anything foolish. As the carriage lurched to a stop, Adam looked outside. They were finally at his manor in Norfolk. He gently touched Eleanor’s shoulder to wake her up.

  “Wake up, Eleanor. We’ve reached Norfolk.”

  “Hmmm… We’re already there? Goodness, for how long have I been sleeping?”

  “Three hours.” After this curt reply, Adam got out of the carriage and then held his hand out to her. She took his hand and gently alighted the carriage.

  The Sonhurst Mansion was huge and imposing, but in a beautiful sort of way. She could
see the staff lined up at the entrance- all eager faced to meet their new marchioness.

  “Let me introduce Lady Eleanor Sonhurst, the new Marchioness of Norfolk”, said Adam to his staff.

  Lady Eleanor SONHURST….it sounded like music to Eleanor’s ears.

  Adam introduced her to the entire staff - Mr. Robert, the butler, Donna and Ruby, the chamber maids, Mrs. Hopkins, the house keeper, Mr. Timothy, the head chef, Tabetha and Charlotte, the kitchen maids and so on.

  At least the staff is pleased to welcome her to her new home, thought Eleanor.

  It had been a long day and Eleanor was terribly tired. Adam had abandoned her as soon as she entered the house and Donna had led her to her chamber. Two servants had been entrusted the task of bringing her belongings to her room and they too had almost finished their job. She asked Donna to prepare a hot bath for her. She desperately needed to relax her aching muscles.

  After the bath, Eleanor now wondered if she should just go to sleep or wait for Adam. It was their wedding night, after all. More than anything, she wanted to clear the misunderstanding between them. She wanted to tell him that she had not intentionally trapped him into marriage.

  But she had no idea where his room was. It was such a huge castle that she was sure to get lost if she started looking for him. Donna had also retired for the day or she would have asked her.

  Eleanor wore the nightgown Eliza had specially selected for her wedding night. She blushed scarlet when she looked at herself in the mirror wearing the sheer piece of fabric. It revealed more than it concealed. But Eleanor was almost sure that Adam would not come to her in the night and so she decided to go to bed wearing it.

  As soon as she laid her head on the pillow, she heard a soft click. A door to the far left of the room opened slowly. She had been too tired to study the entire chamber properly and had no idea there was a door to the left. She got a bit alarmed and was about to scream when she noticed that it was none other than Adam who was entering the room. So, this must be the connecting door between their chambers, she realized. She could see in the dim light that Adam wasn’t wearing a shirt. Her heart started galloping in anticipation of what was to come.

  No matter how much Adam wanted to convince his mind otherwise, it was true that he was looking forward to this night. He repeatedly told himself that he was consummating this marriage for the sole purpose of producing an heir, but deep inside he knew that he wanted Eleanor, badly. Her blue eyes had haunted him for many nights and he had tossed and turned in bed longing for her.

  Adam stopped near her queen size bed and called out to her.

  “Are you awake, Eleanor?” he asked softly.

  “Yes, my lord”, she murmured.

  “You can call me by my given name Eleanor. There’s no need for such formalities now.”

  “Alright, my Lord...I mean Adam.”

  “That’s better.”

  Eleanor was almost out of bed when she realized that she was wearing nothing but that damned nightdress. She immediately sat back and clutched the covers to her chest, but not before Adam had got a sneak peek of what she was wearing. She could see an immediate change in his eyes- from a guarded expression to plain lust!

  “Oh! So I see that you’ve prepared yourself well for the night. Were you so sure that I’d visit you or do you usually wear such ummm… exotic clothes at night?”

  Eleanor was mortified. She didn’t know what to say.

  “No…I mean yes. I mean I don’t wear such ridiculous dresses at all. Eliza chose this one for me and the rest of my nightdresses are still packed and this was the only one that was out and so I wore it. Besides, I had no idea you’d be coming to me after you near about abandoned me this evening”, she blurted out.

  “I must say your friend has very good taste”, said Adam, completely ignoring that she had just accused him of abandoning her.

  “Why don’t you come out of your bed and show me how exquisite her choice is!”

  Chapter Eight

  Eleanor reluctantly let go of the covers and stood up. She didn’t know what to do or what to say. She had no idea what happened in the marital bed. Her mother had never talked to her on the issue and the little bit information she had gathered from Eliza, she wasn’t sure if it was true at all! After all, what did Eliza know about such matters? It wasn’t as if she was married herself!

  As Adam got a full view of what Eleanor was wearing, he could not resist himself. With that scrap of clothing on her and her hair let loose and flowing, she looked like some Greek goddess. He moved closer and gently pulled her into his arms. When she looked up at him, he could see her blue eyes go big and round. He could look into those eyes forever.

  Forever? No, he didn’t want forever! His brain asked him to get done with her and then run away as far as possible. But his heart refused to obey. It wanted to savor each of these precious moments.

  “I am sorry Adam but I don’t know much about all this. I am a little scared”, she laughed nervously.

  Jesus! Was she really this innocent or was this just a pretense? He chose not to think about it and lowered his head to taste her full lips.

  ”Eleanor, my dear, you taste so sweet!” murmured Adam. He kissed her a little hard this time and as she sighed, he found the opportunity to thrust his tongue in her mouth. And he got his taste of Heaven.

  Eleanor didn’t know a simple kiss could arouse so many emotions in her. As Adam pulled her even closer and deepened the kiss, she started feeling dizzy with pleasure. She moved her hands along his hard chest and finally reached up to his neck. Her husband was every inch a male, hard and masculine. She could feel his muscles flex under her touch. He was enjoying this intimacy as much as she was.

  Adam finally scooped her in his arms and moved towards the door from where he came in.

  “Where are we going, Adam?”

  “Darling, your bed is too small to do the things that I’ve planned for the night”, he replied teasingly.

  Eleanor felt herself blush at his words.

  “And I assure you there is nothing to be scared of. I will be gentle, I promise” Adam said softly.

  He lowered her on to his huge bed and lay down beside her. After removing her flimsy nightdress, he kissed every inch of her body. Her body seemed to come alive beneath his touch. Adam hadn’t expected her to be so responsive and her sighs of pleasure aroused him even more.

  At last when he could take it no more, he thrust himself into her already wet womanhood. He felt her stiffen at once and heard a low cry of pain. He stopped immediately and said soothing words in her ears to calm her.

  “Try to relax, my dear. I promise to stop if it hurts you.”

  God, she was so tight. It took all his willpower to stop.

  Eleanor never knew that lovemaking could be so enjoyable. Adam was worshipping her body and that filled her heart with pleasure. The sensations of his kissing aroused a sweet ache between her legs. She wanted something more, but what, she couldn’t understand.

  At last when he pushed himself between her legs, she felt a stab of pain. But soon that pain was replaced with a pleasure so great that she seemed to be floating in the air. She never wanted this to stop. As he continued thrusting inside her, Eleanor felt a strange pressure build up. And when it reached its peak, she cried out his name and experienced the height of pleasure.

  When Adam saw Eleanor climax, he swore he hadn’t ever seen a more beautiful sight. With her face flushed and lips swollen from his kisses, she looked good enough to eat! After a few more moments, Adam reached his own climax.

  “Your job is now complete” shouted his brain. And this time around, he could not ignore the voice. He had consummated his marriage and most probably, given his seed to Eleanor. There was nothing else left to do. He looked at Eleanor sleeping peacefully and quietly slipped out of the bed. After getting dressed, he looked at her once more and then quietly moved out of the room to spend the rest of the night in his study.

  Chapter Nine

&nbs
p; Next morning, Eleanor woke up to a vacant bed. She tried recalling if Adam had slept with her but couldn’t remember anything. She covered herself in one of the blankets and moved back to her room. Maybe Adam had a pressing matter to attend. Yes, that could be a possibility. She tried to cheer herself up with the thought and started getting ready for the day.

  After an hour or so, Donna arrived with a tray of breakfast for her.

  “Where is Lord Sonhurst? Will he not join me for breakfast?”

  “My lady, Lord Sonhurst left early this morning. He said that he’d be gone for a week or two.”

  “But where did he go?”

  “My lady, I have no idea. He didn’t tell any of us and we are in no position to ask. We thought you might be knowing.”

  Eleanor felt her heart sink. Why would Adam suddenly leave like this without telling her anything? Especially after what they shared last night.

  Eleanor decided that he may have left due to some urgent matter and refused to give his absence much thought. This was her new home and she would devote most of her time in getting to know the manor and its inhabitants. That would keep her occupied in the coming days.

  Two weeks had passed and there was still no news of Lord Sonhurst. Meanwhile, Eleanor had got herself acquainted with almost everyone at the manor and had become quite popular among the staff too. Mrs. Hopkins adored her and often spent her evenings telling her stories of Adam’s childhood. Eleanor could make even the most poker faced man like Mr. Robert, laugh!

  One morning, while Eleanor was helping Tabetha bake a special cinnamon cake, Mr. Robert announced the arrival of Lady Elizabeth and Lord Collin. She immediately went to greet her guests.