by Josie Dennis
Imagine Mr. Hatfield doing what Edward had? Coming deep inside of her as Henry had? No. No other gentleman would tempt her. She could not fathom what Edward and Henry’s plans were, but they were hers until London called them away again.
She grinned and hugged herself. Maggie was perhaps correct in worrying about her dinner tonight. She hoped to sample far more than their cook’s fine fare!
* * * *
“The Grange seems changed somehow,” Cathy mused aloud.
Edward signaled for more wine, waiting for the servants to leave them in peace. “It is different with my parents gone.”
“Yes,” Henry added. “Though I daresay it is less oppressive.”
She looked at them each in turn. “They cared for both of you, you know. Very much.”
Henry shared a smile with Edward.
“They worried overmuch,” Henry said.
“And now we are left both well-off and to our own devices,” Edward said.
She studied the tablecloth. Her brow creased. “Yes, that was made clear to me yesterday.”
Henry covered her hand with his. “Please tell me you do not regret yesterday, love.”
“We do not want to bring you anything but pleasure,” Edward said.
“Oh, you did.” She blushed, calling to mind the tremors that shook her body in her release. “Maggie tells me I should worry about my future.”
Edward’s heart gave a thud. “Your future?”
“She seems to think that I have not acted prudently, coming here to dine after passing an afternoon with only the two of you for company. That I give no thought to propriety.”
Henry grinned. “I daresay I agree.”
Her head shot up, and then she returned his smile. “I care not about my future, really. I never wish to marry.”
“Never?” Edward asked.
“Surely none of the gentlemen of my acquaintance,” she said with a nod.
Edward read the contemplation on Henry’s face and gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. She might have surrendered her maidenhead, but did she love them as they did her? Did she consider them to be potential husbands? Now is not the time.
Henry bowed his head in silent agreement.
Dinner courses were served and eaten as they spoke of nothing but the present. Their staff was circumspect, a relief to discover since Cathy was the first woman they’d ever had to the house. It was a good thing, as they planned to keep her there, soon and forever.
Though Edward worried that Cathy regretted their liaison, he saw no evidence of it as the meal neared its end. She seemed her usual vivacious self with each of them, charming him anew. By the light in Henry’s eyes, Edward knew he was affected as well. Again, the rightness of their decision struck him.
“Well,” Henry said, wiping his mouth on his napkin. “Cards, Cathy?”
She blinked then looked from one to the other. “Cards? I daresay I had hoped we would find more stimulating occupation this evening.”
Edward blew out a breath. “Stimulating?”
She simply nodded.
Henry barked out a laugh and took her hand in his, tugging her to her feet. “What say we show you around abovestairs?”
“Yes, Cathy.” Edward stood. “My chamber is need of redecorating since my parents vacated it. Perhaps you care to give me your opinion?”
Though her smooth cheeks turned pink, her eyes sparkled. “I believe I shall much enjoy that.”
Chapter 5
Cathy’s body trembled as she preceded Henry and Edward abovestairs. She’d run all over this house in her childhood, though her visits had become less frequent with each passing year. She had never set foot in the master’s chambers, however. Edward’s father had been stern, if caring in his own way, and she had never wished to raise his ire.
“I daresay Edward’s room will not be much to your liking,” Henry said, placing his hand on her back as they reached one landing.
“Save for one feature,” Edward said, resting his hand on her shoulder as they began to climb higher.
Every word, every touch, magnified her response to them. She was beginning to throb, her juices starting simply due to the friction from walking up the massive staircase. Her breasts felt heavy, her nipples tight within her stays. By the time she stopped before the wide door leading to Edward’s rooms, she could feel her pussy swell in her damp drawers.
“There,” Edward said, pushing open the door. “Dismal, is it not?”
She looked about the sitting room, seeing the drab colors and heavy draperies. “It does seem to need a lighter touch.”
“Perhaps yours?” he asked, taking her hand to his lips.
Henry closed the door and crossed through to what must have been the bedchamber. “But what say you of this?”
She followed him, stilling as her gaze fell on the largest bed she’d ever seen. “Oh, my.”
Edward leaned against the doorway. “I’d given some thought to getting rid of the behemoth, but now it seems just right.”
Surrendering to the wanton she felt at present, she imagined all sorts of lovely things she could do with them in that massive bed. “Just right for what?”
“For three,” Henry said.
He took her in his arms, all but tossing her skirts over her head as he tumbled onto the bed with her.
“Henry!”
“I cannot be slow tonight, love,” he answered.
His urgency was something she hadn’t expected. It thrilled her.
She found her legs held high, hearing Edward’s laughter as her slippers fell from her feet.
“Leave her stockings on, I think,” Edward said.
“Right,” Henry said, his voice low as he tore at her laces.
Soon she wore nothing but her stockings, her legs spread wide as Henry came over her. She craved this. She could hardly wait to see where this passion would take them next.
“Hold your breasts up, love.”
“That is surely naughty, Henry,” she gasped.
He shook his head, his gaze hot on her. She placed her hands beneath her breasts, pressing them high. Both of them stared at her now, causing her nipples to ache.
“Just beautiful,” Henry said.
He kissed her, his tongue tasting of the wine they’d shared and of Henry. Edward’s skillful fingers played at her breasts, which began to ache for more. “Please.”
“What, Cathy?” Edward pinched one nipple, just hard enough to cause her to shiver. “What do you want?”
“Your mouth,” she managed to say.
Edward closed his lips over one nipple as Henry began to devour her pussy. Here was the wildness she’d craved since yesterday afternoon. His tongue was magic, his lips astounding as they closed over her bud. Sucking, teasing. She began to writhe beneath him. She wanted more. More of Henry, more of Edward. Her body pulsed with need as they brought her closer to the pinnacle of pleasure.
Edward suddenly lifted his head, pulling at the front of his trousers. “I cannot bear to wait.”
Henry stilled, taking his skillful tongue from her flesh so abruptly she cried out in frustration. “Oh, please!”
Henry sat back as Edward flipped her over onto her belly. Grasping her hips, he pulled her to her knees. “I have to have you now.” He stroked his cock up against her pussy, drawing a low moan from the back of her throat. Henry’s mouth had so aroused her she nearly climaxed from the mere touch of Edward’s flesh. Spreading her wide, he entered her from behind. It was incredible, the intensity of his cock buried inside of her. It touched a spot deep within her pussy and, grasping the linens, she bowed back and took all of him.
“That’s it,” Edward growled. “God, you are so tight.”
Henry made a sound of encouragement, and she met his gaze. He leaned back on the bed now, watching her as Edward increased his pace. His eyes were hot on her face, the expression blatantly carnal. Somehow she knew he derived nearly as much enjoyment from this as she. He shed his jacket and opened his tr
ousers, slowly stroking his beautiful cock as she began to come. Waves of pleasure rocked her body, but Edward did not relent.
At last he joined her, bending forward to kiss her cheek as he held her close. “I could not wait to be inside you,” he panted.
She tried to catch her own breath, merely nodding in answer. She was soon a boneless heap in the center of the bed, Edward on one side and Henry on the other. Henry still stroked himself, closing his eyes as he moaned her name.
“Finish him, Cathy,” Edward said.
She read Henry’s frustration on his beloved face. “I want to but…I do not understand,” she said.
“Ride me,” Henry rasped.
She blinked, suddenly grasping his meaning. Was such a thing possible? Guided by Edward, she straddled Henry’s body. His cock was full, hard, and huge. Amazingly, her pussy wept for its possession.
“How can I want this again?” she asked. “So soon?”
Henry shrugged. “Ride me, love.”
Edward lifted her while Henry positioned his cock at her entrance. She came down on him, taking all of him inside in one motion. She felt stretched to the brink, every nerve singing for completion. “I do not know what to do,” she sobbed.
“Move,” Edward said. “Up and down, Cathy.”
She nodded, coming up on her knees. Oh, the sublime pressure! She began to ride Henry, holding on to his shoulders as he thrust up into her. Edward cupped her breasts from behind somehow, and the added pressure was delightful. She hurried her pace, calling out for each of them as her climax roared through her body. Henry soon throbbed deep within her, groaning as he found his own release.
She collapsed on top of him, relishing the feel of his strong arms wrapped around her as Edward’s hands stroked over her back.
“So much for propriety,” Henry said, kissing the tip of her nose.
“I daresay propriety is overrated,” she sighed.
Henry and Edward laughed out loud.
* * * *
Cathy made her way down the main thoroughfare of Highmoor with nothing more than an afternoon’s occupation on her mind. Her maid followed behind, ready to carry her purchases. However, aside from some ribbons at the milliner’s, nothing much suited Cathy today. Ever since her dinner at Thistle Grange two nights ago, little suited her.
What were Henry and Edward thinking? She had no doubt that they’d been pleased. As little as she knew of passion, that fact was clear. She had not heard from them since, however. She had no cause to fret, really. What they shared was astounding and most assuredly only through the winter. She huffed. All the more reason to share as many encounters as they could manage. What if she was a wanton? One could not undo a deflowering. She might as well enjoy her loss of virtue to the fullest while she had the opportunity.
“Cathy!” a male voice called.
She stilled, turning to find Henry and Edward striding toward her as if she had conjured them. Raising a hand, she waved a greeting.
“Hello.” Henry bowed his head. “What are you about this fine afternoon?”
“Simply doing a bit of shopping,” she answered. She looked from him to Edward. “And what of you two? Surely you are not in Highmoor to see the new bonnets at the milliner’s.”
“Hardly.” Edward laughed. He glanced over her shoulder, arching a brow before facing her again. “What say you take tea with us at Hardesty’s?”
“Tea?” She would love nothing more than to pass some time in the company of her two favorite gentlemen. “I have my maid with me.”
“Henry and I took our carriage. Send your maid home and we will bring you back to the manor.”
How could she resist? Edward’s eyes sparkled gaily, and Henry’s held a touch of naughty mischief.
“Lucy,” she said, turning to her maid. “You may go home. Tell Coachman I said it was all right for him to take you.”
Lucy’s face puckered for a moment as she wrung her hands. “Miss, what of?”
Cathy smiled at her. “Maggie will not chide you, Lucy. Mr. Linden and Mr. Heath will see me home.”
Lucy bobbed a curtsey and hurried toward the Earling coach parked two stores down. Cathy watched as Coachman led the team onto the thoroughfare before facing Edward and Henry once more.
“Tea?” she said.
They stood on either side of her, holding their arms out for her hands. Feeling lighter than she had all morning, she placed a hand on each of them and they led her toward the little tearoom.
The three of them caught the eye of the other patrons seated at the tables. This came as no surprise to Cathy as the place generally did not serve such as her two companions. Tall and handsome, worldly and seemingly out of place, they nevertheless smiled at the proprietor and dragged a third chair over to the table nearest the window.
“Sit,” Henry said, waving her toward the middle chair. “I shall order us some biscuits.”
“And honey,” Edward added.
“Ah, honey.” Henry winked. “It has been two days since I’ve tasted anything as sweet as honey on my tongue.”
Her skin flushed hot as she recalled precisely what Henry had done with that tongue of his. Chuckling, Henry stepped away to see to their refreshments.
“How have you been, Cathy?” Edward asked.
“The same, Edward.”
“We’ve missed you.”
“Oh?”
“I had business to the north and Henry accompanied me. If we hope to stay here in Yorkshire I have certain matters to settle.”
Tea was served and poured, and then they were left alone once more.
“You truly hope to stay?” she asked.
“Where else would we go?” Henry asked, setting a platter of crisp biscuits on the table.
“I…” She chose a biscuit, breaking off pieces on her plate. “I always thought that you and Edward would leave the Grange now that your parents were gone.”
“I have duties to the estate,” Edward said, sipping his tea.
Henry bit into a biscuit and chewed. “I would never leave Edward, Cathy. And the two of us would never leave you.”
His simply spoken statement gave her cause to hope, but for what? She could not fathom at present.
“Honey,” Edward said, drizzling it onto her biscuit. A drop settled on her finger, and he lifted her hand. Casting a look about the tearoom, he flicked his tongue over her hand. “Mmm.”
“Edward,” she softly admonished.
He laughed and sat back. “I could not resist.”
“Perhaps we should take some home to the Grange, Edward,” Henry said. “Just think of what we could put it on.”
His eyes were fastened on her bosom, and her breasts swelled. “Henry,” she whispered.
“And lick it off of,” Edward added in a low voice.
Suddenly the image of the two of them drizzling honey over her breasts, her pussy, filled her mind. Would they lick it off slowly, with measured strokes? Or would they go a bit wild and devour her? Both notions set her pulse racing, and she shifted in her seat.
Henry leaned close to her. “Naughty girl,” he rasped.
“We can see what you are thinking,” Edward put in.
She lowered her gaze, her cheeks hot. “I fear you two have corrupted me.”
Henry grabbed her hand, the motion quick and startling. “Do not think that way.”
“That is not what we think,” Edward said. “Tell us you do not regret what we’ve shared thus far.”
She met their gazes, seeing no censure or triumph, nor anything else to fuel her worries. “Thus far?”
Edward smiled that bright expression of his that lit the room. “Oh, we have only scratched the surface, love.”
“What else can there be?” she wondered aloud.
Henry barked out a laugh, once more drawing attention to their table. She suspected she wore her knowledge on her face and straightened her shoulders.
Henry sensed the change in her. “We are being watched,” he said in a low voice.
Edward mirrored his expression of concern.
She held up a hand. “Perhaps they are envious of me.” Edward’s brow furrowed, and she gave a nod. “Who else is so fortunate as to have two such swains as escort this morning?”
Henry picked up her hand and kissed it. “There is our girl.”
Pleased to her toes to dispel the tension that had tightened their faces, she began to eat her delectable honey-drenched biscuit.
Glancing out the window she saw a woman gesturing to her from across the street, the milliner’s clerk. “Oh! I forgot I had a package of ribbons awaiting me at the milliner’s.”
Edward stood. “Allow me to retrieve it. You and Henry enjoy your repast.” He leaned closer to her. “Do save me some honey.”
Waving him away, she drank her tea.
Chapter 6
Edward crossed to the milliner’s to see to Cathy’s package, his mind on what had transpired in the tearoom.
The prying eyes of the folks of Highmoor had been on them from the moment they’d entered the establishment, curious and mildly remonstrative. How dare they! What Henry and he shared with Cathy was no one’s concern but their own. He could not ignore the regret that had dimmed her eyes for a moment, however. Though she said propriety did not matter to her, he knew better.
He longed to make his formal offer to her but suspected she would never accept it at present. Surely she was only just coming to realize that the three of them were meant for each other.
“Hello,” he called to the clerk, who hurried over to him.
“Yes, Mr. Linden?”
“I believe you have a package for Miss Earling. I have come to retrieve it.”
“Certainly.”
The woman hurried off to see to it as Edward perused the fabrics draped over one table, particularly one of deep blue. Like Cathy’s eyes and quite plush, nearly as soft as her skin. A notion struck him, and he approached the milliner.
“Can I help you, Mr. Linden?”
