by Josie Dennis
He flicked his eyes toward the driver, raising his brows. The girl seemed to catch his meaning and covered her mouth with her fingers. “Forgive me. I’m just so glad to be out of that house.”
That surprised him. “I thought you liked living at the hall.”
“It’s a lovely house, Derek. But I am sick and tired of all those Holbrooks.”
“You’re a Holbrook,” he pointed out.
She leaned closer and he caught that orange blossom scent. “You are, too.”
He laughed without humor. “I’m more Hawk than Holbrook.”
“That’s impossible.”
“What? Why?”
“Your father might have been a Hawk, but your mother was a Holbrook. You’re half a Hawk, at best.”
He opened his mouth to argue then just shook his head. “After what Eddie and Harry said.” He lowered his voice. “After last night.” He shrugged. “You can deny I’m a Hawk?”
“Oh, poo.” She fluffed out her overcoat and wriggled some more. “I know what you are.”
He stared at her for a long moment. “God, do I even want to know?”
She leaned over to him and placed her lips on his ear. “You’re mine.”
His heart thudded and nearly stopped. The girl thought he loved her? After one tryst, or half a tryst, between them? He had to disabuse her of that notion and quickly. This was going to be an interminable visit if she believed she had a claim on him. He wouldn’t fuck her. He’d promised himself and he would keep his damn word.
“The manor is rumored to be an incredible estate,” he said, trying to change the subject.
She apparently guessed what he was about, for her eyes sparkled. “All right, I’ll play along. How large an estate is it?”
Derek blew out a breath. “Hell if I know. I’ve never been there and have never met the earl.”
“Or any other Hawks,” she said. When he nodded, she went on. “You must invite them to the hall to meet my mother!”
He laughed now. Since he couldn’t ignore her in such close quarters, and since she couldn’t talk about what they’d shared last night as long as the driver was within earshot, he decided to enjoy their ride on to the moors.
“The earl isn’t aware of your accompanying me.”
She shrugged. “He’s recently married, isn’t he?”
Derek nodded.
“Then I shall spend time with the countess, if she’s agreeable.” She winked. “During the day, that is.”
His cock reacted to her scent, her closeness, and her words. “Diana,” he said in warning.
“Yes?” she asked, her eyes round.
He shifted, attempting to ease the pressure on his aching balls. “Maybe we should just quietly enjoy the scenery for the rest of our ride?”
“If you prefer.” She wriggled that pert ass of hers again and turned to look out her window. “Never let it be said that I don’t like pleasing you.”
He growled a warning, but she ignored him. He thought about their encounter in his room, of her spread out on his chair like a sensual bounty. She’d fondled her breasts while he ate her! Astounding. She was a sensual thing. He hadn’t really expected that.
He suddenly imagined Evan sucking and licking her breasts as he lapped at her pussy. That would surely send her over the edge. If all three of them would be at Hawksfell Manor…He stopped the thought before it could fully form. He wasn’t going to be with Evan again. And he certainly wouldn’t dare to be alone again with Diana. Not with her delectable body and surprising sensuality. Maybe he’d just take advantage of the earl’s accommodating staff to get his shaft polished. He could make a sport of it. See how many he could fuck before his visit came to an end. The prospect should have had him eager for a ride, but he couldn’t stop thinking about loving Evan at the inn. About tasting Diana in his room. The two of them combined in his head to drive him mad.
It was going to be a long visit. That was certain.
When they arrived at Hawksfell Manor, Derek could see that even Diana was taken with the place. They rode up the long, curving drive toward the estate. The sprawling house had an impressive edifice, soaring walls of sandstone leading to peaked roofs of slate that glinted in the waning sunlight. The grounds were well kept and the drive well maintained. Holbrook Hall and his own property were quite nice but nothing compared to this grandeur.
“Hawksfell Manor, my lord,” the driver said.
Derek waited for him to open Diana’s door, then followed her out onto the drive. Staff was assembled, the usual assortment of maids and footmen though in higher numbers than at the hall. For a heart-tripping moment he thought he spied Evan, but the blond man he saw turned out to be a very attractive footman. There was a maid standing beside him, an auburn-haired girl with unusual green eyes. She stared at Diana then settled her gaze on him. Well, if he hadn’t gotten his libido under control in the car her stare would have made him pop the seams of his trousers.
“Welcome to Hawksfell Manor, Baron Holbrook,” a portly butler said. “I am Carstairs.”
“Thank you, Carstairs.” He waved toward Diana. “This is my third cousin, Miss Diana Holbrook. I hope the earl will be able to accommodate her for the length of my visit?”
The butler nodded. “Certainly, my lord. The earl values family.”
Hearing the venerable Carstairs make such a statement shocked Derek. Evan had told him that the earl’s half brother had only just surfaced.
Footmen saw to the suitcases and the driver pulled away from the manor. Derek waved Diana ahead of him into the house. There was more opulence evident here, with marble floors, soaring coffered ceilings and artwork covering every wall. The earl was blessed with money as all the Hawks were, then. But if that were so, how the hell had he broken his curse?
“Mrs. Holmes at your service, my lord.”
Derek smiled at the motherly housekeeper. “A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Holmes. This is my third cousin, Miss Diana Holbrook.”
The housekeeper nodded. “Welcome, Miss Holbrook.”
“Thank you.” Diana removed her overcoat and handed it to a waiting maid. “The manor is really something.”
“The earl likes it,” Mrs. Holmes said with a twinkle in her eye.
Derek liked Mrs. Holmes on sight. He smiled and removed his coat. “Is the earl in?”
“Yes, my lord. He awaits you in his study.”
She looked pointedly at Diana, who clasped her hands.
“Could someone show me to my room, Mrs. Holmes? I daresay I’m quite done in after our drive.”
“Certainly, Miss Holbrook.”
The housekeeper waved to the closest maid, who bobbed a curtsey to Diana and led her toward a wide carved staircase. He watched her ascend for just a moment then smiled at Mrs. Holmes again.
“The earl’s study, Mrs. Holmes?”
“Cabot,” she called to the handsome blond footman. “Please show Baron Holbrook to the earl’s study.”
“Yes, Mrs. Holmes. Right this way, my lord.”
Derek followed Cabot down a hallway to an open door. He stepped in behind the footman.
“Baron Holbrook, Lord Hawksfell,” Cabot said.
“Very good, Cabot. Please close the door.”
The footman turned and shut the door, leaving Derek staring at the earl where he stood behind his desk. His dark eyes were so like his own he could scarcely fathom it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lord Hawksfell.”
The earl smiled, a startling expression. “Please. Call me Gabriel.” He held out a hand. “We are family, aren’t we?”
“Yes, Gabriel. I suppose we are.” Derek shook his hand. “Please call me Derek.”
Gabriel waved him into a seat facing his desk and sat back down. “I’m pleased to have you here, Derek.”
“Thank you for the invitation.” Derek shifted in his chair. “It was wholly unexpected, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t welcome.”
“Yes. Grantley said you were a bit resistant at first.”
Gabriel smiled. “Yes, our estates always seem to do quite well almost without our trying.”
“My mother’s estate, but yes.”
Gabriel’s brow knit. “Isn’t her estate yours? I’d heard your mother passed away a dozen years ago.”
“She did.” Grief and anger nearly closed his throat. “I don’t think of the estate as mine, though.”
Gabriel’s Hawk eyes narrowed and Derek worried the man could see straight to his soul. “Your mother wasn’t happy, was she?”
“That is an understatement. Truth is, are any women used by Hawks ever happy? Was your mother?”
“I never knew my mother. As for my father, he went down on the Titanic.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“I’m not. He wasn’t a true parent. Mrs. Holmes all but raised me, I’m happy to say.”
“Your housekeeper?” Derek smiled. “I like her.”
“She’s a good woman.” Gabriel studied Derek for a long moment. “Your cousin is visiting with you.”
“My third cousin, yes.”
“That’s an important distinction, I take it?”
“What? No, Diana is simply…” He shook his head. “There’s nothing simple about Diana, really.”
“She has ideas, then.”
An image of Diana on her knees in front of him, his cock deep in her mouth, flashed in his mind. She had ideas, all right.
“I suppose,” was all he would say.
Gabriel laughed softly. “Michael would say that family is very important, Derek.”
“Michael?”
“My wife’s third cousin. You’ll meet him at dinner, along with my countess.”
The affection clear on the earl’s face was astounding. “I look forward to it.”
Gabriel leaned forward. “You’re welcome here as long as you wish. I know it’s strange for you, making these connections.”
“Strange, indeed,” Derek agreed. “It doesn’t have to follow that I’m dreading the prospect.”
That made Gabriel laugh out loud. “My brother will like you. He’s coming to dinner, too.”
Derek wanted to ask him just what he thought, learning about a half brother so recently. Evan had said he was married too and lived on the estate. But dinner with two other Hawks? It would certainly beat the hell out of dinner with a bunch of Holbrooks.
“I believe Mrs. Holmes settled you in the bachelor wing,” Gabriel went on. His eyes sparkled. “It’s far enough away from the family bedrooms for your privacy.”
“Privacy?”
“You’ve been to the Inn at Helmsley a few times now, Derek. Grantley told me as much.”
“Yes.”
Gabriel’s gaze was serious. “Then you’ve heard the stories?”
Derek slid his eyes away. “Stories?”
“About my staff here at the manor.”
Derek met his gaze now. “I have, yes.”
Gabriel shrugged. “Feel free to avail yourself upon them, if you so desire and if they’re of like mind.”
Derek’s mouth dropped open. He hadn’t been serious about taking the earl’s staff during his visit. “You want me to…? You can’t be serious.”
“I, as well as any Hawk, knows what it feels like to live in abstinence.”
“It’s not possible.”
“No, it’s not. And going down to the inn to get your shaft polished can only lead to…complications.” Gabriel tilted his head. “Although, if your third cousin is here with you, perhaps I have matters a bit muddled?”
“You don’t.” Derek raked his fingers through his hair. “Diana and I…Well, it doesn’t matter what she thinks she wants. You know as well as I that Hawks don’t do forever.”
“I used to believe that, yes.”
Questions swirled in his mind. How was it that not one but three Hawks were now wed? How did they fight their beasts and manage to find a modicum of happiness? In the end, he put the questions aside and stood.
“Thank you again for your hospitality, Gabriel.”
Gabriel stood as well. “I’ll see you at dinner, then.”
Derek nodded and left the study. He was staying in the bachelor’s wing. No doubt Diana would be ensconced in guests’ rooms not as far from the family. She’d be safe, in a fashion. With him on the other side of the great house.
Another image flashed in his mind, of her spread before him on that chair in his room at Holbrook Hall. Her pussy had been glistening and swollen, her hands eager on her full breasts as she pinched her nipples. He swallowed hard as his beast stirred.
Yes, she’d be safe tucked away from him. But would he be?
Chapter 7
Diana stared at her reflection in the mirror above the vanity. The maid who assisted her, Lady Hawksfell’s lady’s maid on loan, continued to pepper her with questions she had no real notion of answering.
“What is Holbrook Hall like?” Lily, as she was named, asked. “How long have you known Baron Holbrook?”
She reasoned she’d answer that one. “For years.”
The girl twitched a thick lock of her hair into place. “I didn’t see him, but Cabot, that’s one of the footman, said he looks a lot like the earl.”
“I wouldn’t know.”
The girl seemed enthralled with all things Hawk, but then she would be, working here for the earl.
“I came to the manor after Lord and Lady Hawksfell’s marriage and knew nothing about the doings before that.”
“Doings?” Did she even want to know? “What doings?”
“Oh, you know.” Lily’s green eyes sparkled. “The earl and the rest of the staff.”
She couldn’t be intimating what Diana thought. The earl took advantage of his servants for his sexual needs? “I don’t know.”
“Well, the earl keeps to the countess now.”
“Lily, perhaps you shouldn’t—”
“Now, when the earl’s half brother came last month, I thought he’d taken up with that business.”
“Lily…wait. What business?”
Lily waved a hand. “The viscount took up with Posy, of all people! A parlormaid!”
“A parlormaid?”
Lily nodded. “Oh, I should call her Lady Lindhurst now.”
“Th–they married?”
“I thought she favored William, he’s first footman and I suppose she still does, but the new Hawk swept her off her feet.”
The maid’s words were confounding. “The first footman?”
“I fancied him, but he doesn’t seem interested. Now, Mosley.” Lily sighed. “He’s the chauffeur and so lovely. He’s got these deep blue eyes and shining blond hair.”
“Lily, you shouldn’t be talking about any of this with me.”
“But you’re just visiting, Miss Holbrook.” She tilted her head. “Although, the countess was just visiting and she ended up married to the earl!”
Diana came to her feet. “That will be all, Lily. Thank you. I believe I’m expected downstairs for dinner.”
The lady’s maid blinked rapidly then curtseyed. “Very good, Miss. I’ll just call a footman to take you.” She opened the door and peered out into the hallway. “Cabot?”
“Yes?” A handsome blond man stepped into the doorway.
“Please show Miss Holbrook to the parlor to await the dinner bell.”
The young man nodded, but his gaze followed Lily as she passed him and went down the hall. Diana cleared her throat and the footman whirled to face her.
“Right this way, miss.”
Perhaps the poor footman had feelings for Lily. Well, surely she could tell him she favored this Mosley fellow. The girl was quite outspoken. Something Lily said stuck in her mind as she followed behind Cabot, though. The earl’s brother married a parlormaid?
The family was gathered in the parlor, and she easily picked out the Earl of Hawksfell. He was commanding the room from a spot near the
fireplace, with a beautiful blonde woman who could only be his countess standing at his elbow. A gentleman who looked much like the earl’s wife stood at her side. He was frightfully handsome, but there was obviously no one who drew his attention but Lady Hawksfell. Her heart sympathized with his plight. To want someone he could never have…
“There you are, Miss Holbrook,” the countess said. She glided over and took Diana’s hand in hers. “What a wonderful surprise to find we would have a female guest along with another Hawk.”
“Another Hawk,” the earl put in. His dark eyes, so like Derek’s, sparkled. “Miss Holbrook, may I introduce Lady Hawksfell’s cousin, Michael Crowley.
“Hello, Mr. Crowley,” Diana said.
The gentleman dipped his head.
“Michael, did you imagine such a thing?” the earl asked. “Another Hawk at Hawksfell?”
Michael smiled widely. “It seems they’re coming out of the woodwork to roost at the manor, eh Millicent?”
The countess laughed and grabbed onto Michael’s arm. There was a spark of something between them, yet the earl didn’t appear put out by the situation.
“Cease your teasing,” the countess said. “Miss Holbrook…May I call you Diana?”
Diana smiled. “Of course, please do.”
Lady Hawksfell’s eyes lit. “And you must call me Millicent. We are nearly family, after all.”
Diana’s heart pounded. “Oh?”
“Yes.” The countess took her arm and led her toward a couch set near the windows. “You are a Hawk’s cousin, Diana.”
“Third cousin, I believe,” Michael said with a smile teasing his mouth.
Millicent caught his gaze, and the temperature in the room seemed to climb. “Third cousin, then. I stand corrected.”
“Don’t tease, sister,” a dark-haired man said, rising from the couch.
Diana’s breath caught as she glimpsed a man who could only be the earl’s half brother. They were nearly identical.
“Matthew, I am not teasing,” the countess said. “Posy, do tell your husband I’m not teasing.”
Diana glanced at the pretty little thing seated on the couch. So this was the parlormaid who married a viscount. Her big, blue eyes were warm and her smile infectious.
