Hawksfell Manor 05: Graham's Game

by Josie Dennis

  Lords of Hawksfell Manor 5

  Graham's Game

  Graham Hawk plays at emotions and never gets close to anyone but his best friend, Colin Spencer. Together they treat love like a sport.

  Colin loves Graham. He plays along with whatever game Graham devises. One night they make love only to each other. Graham feels something afterward, but brushes it off. When he’s invited to Hawksfell Manor, Colin joins him. It will be a game to see how many servants they can take. Neither of them talk about their night together.

  Lily D’ursey is lady’s maid to the Countess of Hawksfell. Her previous employer sexually assaulted her, but in return for her silence he wrote her a glowing recommendation. Graham wants to play with Lily. She succumbs to him and Colin, first with her body and then with her heart.

  Can Graham learn to play the game for real? Or will he lose the two people he’s come to love?

  Genre: Historical, Ménage a Trois/Quatre

  Length: 25,666 words

  GRAHAM’S GAME

  Lords of Hawksfell Manor 5

  Josie Dennis

  MENAGE AMOUR

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Ménage Amour

  GRAHAM’S GAME

  Copyright © 2013 by Josie Dennis

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-62242-779-6

  First E-book Publication: April 2013

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All cover art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

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  GRAHAM’S GAME

  Lords of Hawksfell Manor 5

  JOSIE DENNIS

  Copyright © 2013

  Chapter 1

  Yorkshire, England 1912

  Graham Hawk, Viscount Weston, collapsed on the bed, his breath still coming fast. “That was quite a ride!” He’d fucked forever, wringing every drop of pleasure out of tonight’s woman.

  His best friend Colin Spencer let out a grunt of satisfaction and nodded his dark head. “Too right.”

  The woman sprawled between them murmured some soft sounds and cuddled against Graham’s flat belly, her long blond hair draped over his chest. He absently stroked her back, feeling that familiar sense of detachment that always followed his orgasm. His beast was sated and his cursed Hawk lust under control. It was always this way, and it was how he preferred it.

  He and Colin had each ridden her hard, taking turns in her pussy before letting her suck them both off. They were in exact accord tonight, as they usually were. Their lusts were matched, astounding as that should be. From when they first met at Cambridge, he’d found that Colin was nearly as insatiable as he was. That fact made these pussy raids more enjoyable for Graham over the years. He might be cursed with his Hawk lusts, but it was nice to have a friend with him when the urge rose. If nothing else, it saved him any regret or guilt he might feel for succumbing otherwise.

  Guilt. Why the hell should he feel guilty? He gave as much pleasure as he took. He was a Hawk, after all. He could fuck forever. Pussy, mouth, ass, it didn’t matter.

  “Money’s on the table, my girl,” Colin said, giving her ass a smack.

  She giggled and climbed over them to stand beside the bed. Graham watched as her eyes roamed over his and Colin’s bodies. They were both tall men, though Colin’s body was more beautiful than his own, smoothly muscled and very fit. Graham was burlier but quite proud of his size, and not just the length and breadth of his fine Hawk cock. By the light in the girl’s eyes he knew they’d both pleased her, though she obviously wouldn’t be averse to another ride and soon.

  He watched as she donned her slip and gathered up her quickly discarded dress. She picked up the money then hesitated, turning toward them again.

  “Good night, love.” Graham sat up and brushed his sun-streaked hair off his forehead. “Perhaps Mr. Spencer and I will call upon you again.”

  Her eyes flared, and she nodded. She left them then, closing the door tight behind her. Colin chuckled and Graham arched a brow at him.

  “You shouldn’t give the girl false hope, Graham.”

  Graham shrugged. “I might not ever take the same lover twice, but you might want to fuck her again.”

  “Not without you.” Colin stilled then grinned. “I’m sure she’d miss your attentions.”

  Something had passed over his friend’s face in that brief moment, a hesitation of some sort. But if Colin could set it aside, so could Graham.

  “You’re nearly as randy as my fine self, Colin. I’m sure you could handle her alone.”

  Colin dipped his head in agreement. “Are you off to Weston Park, then?”

  Graham stood and pulled on his trousers. “Where else?”

  Colin didn’t say a word but starting dressing himself. Graham knew what he was thinking, though. Colin was quite wealthy and had access to several properties despite his lack of title. One of his houses was just up the road from the pleasing little Inn at Helmsley. In fact, Graham had spent the past week in his company there. As for Graham, for his Hawk legitimacy and his Weston title, he had only his mother’s aunt and uncle’s house to call home. His father had left an estate in his name here in Yorkshire and it paid handsomely every quarter, but he�
��d never even set eyes on it.

  “Come stay with me for a while longer,” Colin said, shrugging into his jacket. “Never say you have any pressing engagements at Weston Park.”

  Graham straightened his own clothes then shook his head. “A short ride on a brisk November evening would be very pleasant, but I don’t want to impose on your hospitality any longer.”

  Colin smiled, that familiar expression that made him look very much like the young easygoing man he truly was. Though they were both barely twenty-seven, Graham found he always had to work to appear as carefree as Colin.

  “Impose?” Colin asked. “After what we both shared?”

  “Are you offering your staff to me?” Graham asked with a smile. “Haven’t I fucked them already?”

  Colin winked. “Mostly.”

  Graham shook his head. “Thank you, but no.”

  “Why not?”

  He couldn’t voice his reasons, but he had to be alone. Well, relatively alone. His great aunt and uncle never had much to do with him, and now that they were firmly in their dotage they had even less.

  Colin nodded, but his blue eyes were a little clouded. Graham felt that familiar pull toward him and a chill of fear washed over him. He plastered on his usual playful grin.

  “I’ll see you within a fortnight,” Graham said.

  He left the room and went down to call for his motor. It was tempting to stay with Colin at Spencer House. He’d never felt closer to another person in his entire life, and he doubted he ever would. He really couldn’t afford that attachment, though. It was dangerous to depend on another person for your happiness.

  To him, life was a game he played by his own rules. He presented a jovial face to the world and kept his wants and needs to himself, save for the sexual ones. Those he indulged with abandon and had since gaining manhood.

  His great uncle had told him a bit about the curse that dogged all of the Hawks, and Graham had scoffed until the first time he’d attempted to ease himself with his hand. It proved impossible. Orgasm was followed swiftly by stabbing pains in his belly and a burgeoning erection that lasted for hours. From then on, he fucked the Weston Park staff, fellow students at Cambridge, or serving maids at accommodating country inns. Aside from pussy raids with Colin, he withdrew in solitude afterward. If he felt lonely or empty after release, he didn’t need any of his lovers to know that. That was the reason he never took the same lover twice. Familiarity would disclose him for the fraud he was.

  He and Colin had pleasured each other when they shared women, but he didn’t count that as a tryst. Colin was his friend. His only friend, if he were being honest with himself. But after spending a week with him, he had to withdraw again.

  It wouldn’t do to foster an attachment that wouldn’t last. And if he’d learned anything from his parents’ desertion, it was that Hawks didn’t do forever.

  * * * *

  Lily D’ursey arranged the pretty bottles and silver hair combs and brushes on the delicately-carved vanity. Her job as lady’s maid to the Countess of Hawksfell was fulfilling and a better position than she dared to hope for when she found herself unemployed in London three months ago. After an unfortunate and abrupt dismissal from her previous position, she’d been thrilled to overhear the countess’s cousin say that they needed to find temporary help while in town. That led to this permanent position, once she convinced the old baron to write her the glowing recommendation she deserved. It was the least the old letch could do after that last horrid night she’d spent under his roof.

  The countess was beautiful and kind, and quite undemanding. In fact, she truly didn’t like to be fussed over. As a result Lily was often at sixes and sevens, with nothing more to occupy her than her mistress’s mending. She was content though, and at twenty-two years old, she hoped this position would last for a good many years.

  The servants downstairs were friendly enough, but as a lady’s maid she was a bit above their level. She had no friends among the staff, most of whom had worked for the earl for years. She’d thought at first that she could get close to one of the parlormaids, Posy, but amazingly that girl had recently married the earl’s half-brother of all people. Imagine, a maid marrying above her station and gaining a husband who clearly loved her!

  “Are you still playing about with the countess’s fripperies, Lily?” Cabot asked from the doorway.

  She took a breath and turned to face the footman. “I am doing my work, Cabot. Never say you’re checking on me.”

  Cabot flashed his most charming smile. “I might say I am.”

  Lily eyed him. The blond young man was tall and handsome, as a good footman should be. He’d been after her for weeks now, but she was less than interested.

  “I’ll not have any of that funny business, Cabot.”

  He shook his head, his blue eyes bright. “Just because you couldn’t catch Mosley, don’t be prickly, love.”

  “What cheek!” She stiffened, her heart racing at what he insinuated. “I wasn’t trying to catch Mosley. And don’t call me love!”

  Sailing past him, she left her lady’s room and hurried down the hall toward the back stairs. Cabot was pretty to look at, but he was too glib by half. She had been interested in Mosley, the earl’s chauffeur who now worked for one of the earl’s Hawk relatives. And was romantically involved with him too, if her suspicions were correct.

  She knew men could love men. That didn’t surprise her. In fact, one of the old baron’s footmen was deeply in love with an under-gardener. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time a Hawk had taken up with one or more of the earl’s staff, either. Why, even the earl’s half-brother was involved with William, the first footman, as well his wife, the former parlormaid Posy! It was passing strange that they could love two people, but she believed it had something to do with the Hawk curse.

  She’d heard whispers about it in her time here at the manor, but she’d been unable to get at the particulars. It wasn’t her business really, but all of the Hawks were just so compelling. They all had the earl’s dark eyes, handsome face, and muscular build. It was little wonder the women in their lives had succumbed. Of course, those women wanted sensual involvement. Lily most certainly did not, her passing infatuation with Mosley the chauffeur notwithstanding. That part of her life was over before it began, thanks to the old baron.

  “Not for me, thank you very much,” she told herself as she stepped down into the servants’ hall.

  “What’s that, Lily?” Mrs. Holmes asked.

  Lily straightened her spine. She clasped her hands and nodded to the housekeeper. “Nothing at all, Mrs. Holmes.”

  It was said the housekeeper all but raised the earl from a babe and felt a strong connection to all the Hawks. There was little the she missed. The older woman tilted her graying head, her eyes sharp. Then she gave Lily a small smile and went past her toward the stairs.

  Lily watched her go. For a second she’d longed to ask her about the Hawk curse. It was shrouded with talk of dark, delicious desires and earthy sensuality. She was sure of it. All of the Hawks radiated strong sexual magnetism. There was something about a beast that rose and demanded satisfaction, as well. In spite of herself, her body began to tingle.

  “Almost time for dinner service,” one of the other footmen said as he rushed past her toward the kitchen.

  She wasn’t needed to serve, so she poured herself a cup of tea and settled in the common room. She sat at the long table with a book, blocking out the sounds of the kitchen staff just across the way. The family would eat upstairs, and afterwards the staff would eat down here. It was how things were done, and Lily liked the routine. It was comfortable dining with the others and Mrs. Holmes. It almost felt like family.

  She wouldn’t think about what always came after, when she was alone in her attic room with nothing to occupy her mind but loneliness. She was nothing like the countess, sweet and beautiful. Or even like Posy, bubbly and pretty. She couldn’t entertain any thoughts of love or true connection, not with a
Hawk or a servant.

  She would live her very comfortable life alone and be happy for it. It was no hardship, really. Indeed, it was a small price to pay for her safety.

  Chapter 2

  Colin sat at his dining table, alone as usual. His heart thudded in his chest as he thought of that last night with Graham over a week ago. He’d left him. Again. They’d shared a girl as they’d done many times before, but it had seemed like more than that that night. Graham had stayed with him here at his country house and Colin had begun to hope they could deepen their friendship at last.

  He was growing tired of keeping his feelings inside and only playing by Graham’s rules. He hadn’t said anything that night, though. He wouldn’t say anything the next time he saw him, either. The last thing he wanted was to make his best friend uncomfortable.

  They’d been close from the first. And from the first, Colin had sensed something inside Graham. He needed connection even though he often professed the opposite. The atmosphere at Weston Park fed that illusion. His great aunt and uncle were pleased to continue their quiet life, now that the boy they’d welcomed into their home as a baby was an independent adult. Graham came and went as he chose, and Colin was grateful he was the companion he preferred.

  As for Colin, his family was loud and numbered many, but at his country house in Yorkshire he found the solitude he sometimes needed. Graham was the only person he ever invited to stay, even for the shortest time. There had been lovers during his long association with Graham, women who held his attention for some time or other before he grew bored. Where Graham never took the same lover twice, it was Colin’s secret wish to find the person who could hold his attention—and his heart—for longer than a fortnight. Aside from Graham, there really hadn’t been anyone whose company he craved for any length of time.