Secret Pleasures

by Cheryl Howe

  “Perhaps we should stop by Evelyn and Hank’s before it’s too late to call.” Ivy disengaged herself from Darien’s most ardent attention and handed him the reins. “Melody might be fussy.”

  “Dear, sweet, screaming Melody.” Darien sighed and shifted on the seat. “Hank and Evelyn have been asleep for hours. They’ll both be up well before dawn if you’d like to fetch her then. You certainly love that little ankle-biter.”

  “She does not bite.”

  “Yes, but with lungs like that, I’m sure she will grow up to be a man eater just like her mama. Speaking of eating men…” Darien leaned against her shoulder.

  “You really are insatiable.”

  “For you, yes. I have to get all I can before you disappear from my life.”

  She lowered her gaze and said nothing more. Darien wanted to prove to her that he could be the man she needed, had hoped he’d done so tonight. Unfortunately she seemed more distant than ever.

  Weighty silence settled between them. The night sounds filled in the empty space. A chorus of lonely frogs called from a nearby pond. Ivy found his hand resting on his thigh and gripped it with both her hands. Darien wrapped his fingers around hers, amazed at how solid she felt. He could not let her disappear from his life again.

  She brought their joined hands to her mouth, brushing her lips against his knuckles. The tip of her tongue slid between his fingers with erotic promise.

  Darien moaned for effect, but it sounded more like a desperate growl. No wonder the Maddox girl found him frightening.

  “The wedding is to be tomorrow.” Ivy turned Darien’s hand and kissed his palm. “We did not stop it.”

  “That remains to be seen,” he said, not liking the tone of her voice. Though she had snuggled closer against him, she had stopped lavishing her attention on his free hand and held it tightly in both of her own.

  “Robert will not betray his family. How can he? Everyone is not like you, Darien. No matter if you chose to live on the outskirts of your father’s estate like a peasant, everyone knew you were the heir to an earldom.”

  “Are you truly speaking of Robert or yourself?” Darien kept his gaze focused on the dark deserted road, though the horses knew the way without him.

  “Our original agreement was formed to stop the wedding. I know I consented to stay a month, but perhaps that was a mistake.”

  “There is still the matter of Philip.”

  “Perhaps his death merely was a hunting accident, Darien.” She leaned her head on his shoulder.

  “There is more to it,” Darien said flatly. This was not how he intended spending the evening with Ivy, but if it got her off the subject of leaving him, he’d discuss his dead brother all night long. “Have you forgotten that I was sent an anonymous note? It could be the murderer bragging. How could I not try and find out what I can?”

  “Perhaps someone is playing a cruel joke. You have always had a reputation as being a hothead.”

  “No, it was no joke.”

  “Perhaps the truth will only hurt you.”

  “What do you know?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Please don’t lie to me.”

  She sighed deeply. “Stop the carriage.”

  He guided the horses to the side of the road, tied off the reins then turned to face her. “You have something to say.”

  “You know of the rumors.” She stared directly into his eyes.

  “You of all people should not listen to such things. Look what everyone said about you.” Though she probably heard the same gossip as Maddox, he still felt some insane need to protect his brother’s reputation.

  “In the end, those people were right, weren’t they?” The sadness that had shadowed Ivy all night crept back into her voice. “Perhaps not about my involvement with your father, but about my chosen path.”

  “What happened? What’s changed? Did someone say something to offend you tonight?”

  Ivy rubbed her bare arms and shivered. Now that the thrill of the ride faded, the night’s chill crept beneath their clothes. He shrugged off his jacket, intending to wrap her in it.

  “Let’s stop pretending,” she said without looking at him. “We never used to do that with each other.”

  Darien jumped from the coach, needing to do something. He hadn’t been pretending anything this last week and he’d wager neither had she.

  “Come,” he held his hand up to her. “The carriage is warmer, and the dark interior better for confessions.”

  He helped her down and they climbed into the carriage.

  “You know the rumors about Philip’s death,” he said, once he settled on the opposite side of the carriage.

  “That your father shot him because he caught him with a male lover and tried to make it look like a hunting accident.” She lifted her gaze to him. “I heard some of your conversation with Henry Maddox.”

  He touched her chin. “I know about my brother’s preferences, if that’s what you are worried about. It didn’t change my feelings for him. He was a brilliant brother and an even better man.”

  “Then what do you hope to gain by attending that hunt tomorrow? I think your father suffers too. Perhaps it really was an accident.”

  “Don’t tell me you are making excuses for him. You should hate him.”

  “I only hated myself,” she said in a small voice that broke Darien’s heart. How could he have distrusted her all these years? Let her suffer for his father’s heavy handedness?

  He touched her face and she grabbed his hand.

  “I want peace for you, Darien. You could have so much if you could just forgive. Don’t go on the hunt tomorrow.”

  “I have to. I have to know the truth. For Philip. I never told him that I knew about him, you know?” He shook his head. “I don’t intend to call anyone out, if that’s what you are worried about. I’ve sworn off dueling since the incident in Cornwall.” He hoped to gain a smile from her. To know that she had forgiven him for causing such a stir.

  “I wish I could fix you, Darien, but you are a grown man. My priority is Melody and I want to remove her from England before anyone finds out about her.”

  “Who is her father? Has he contacted you? Does he know about the child?”

  Ivy blinked rapidly as if the answer to his question was a painful one.

  “She is the illegitimate offspring of a whore. That’s all anyone will want to know if the truth of her birth is revealed. Sometimes, Darien, the truth can be more devastating than not knowing.”

  Tears formed in her eyes and she looked away.

  “Has it been that bad being with me?” He gathered her hands in his, kissed her knuckles.

  “Our time together has been wonderful.” The tears streaming down her face said otherwise. “I’m not sure how I will manage living without you again.”

  “Then don’t. Stay.”

  “And be your mistress? I don’t think so. That is not the life I want for Melody.”

  “And what do you want, Ivy?”

  “Someone to love me, and for me to love. Someone who needs me.”

  “You are looking at him.”

  She kept her face lowered. He pulled her over to him, settling her on his lap. “Marry me,” he whispered in the tangled curls near her ear.

  “What about Melody?”

  “She needs a father. I will claim her as my own.”

  “Darien,” she paused and that’s all the hope he needed.

  “Don’t say no at this moment. Think about it. I shall go to the hunt and behave myself because you will be waiting for me. After the wedding, I will take you to Italy and we will come back married and with a child in a few years. No one will know the difference.”

  “You aren’t serious?” Ivy said, but Darien heard the hope in the excited timbre of her voice. “Do you sincerely believe you could love her as your own?”

  “I have not tossed her out the window during one of her prolonged screaming episodes, have I?” He laughed, but Ivy had to know he
was serious. Loving little Melody would be the least difficult obstacle they had faced by far.

  Ivy stared into Darien’s eyes and the absolute yearning there staggered him. He would not let her down again.

  But before he could breach further past her emotional borders, Ivy’s grin turned wicked and the green in her eyes sparked. She hiked her skirts and shifted, straddling him. He gripped her hips, pressing into nothing but moist woman. Of course, she would not wear cumbersome pantaloons beneath her clinging, seductive gown.

  For once, Darien was far from caring how she had learned to expertly undo his breeches with one hand. Her mouth captured his as she freed his fierce arousal. She positioned his cock at her slick opening, then came down hard. Darien moaned into her mouth, sure he would come in short order.

  After what seemed like an eternity of her riding him in shallow, controlled undulations that rubbed his cock against her inner walls but left him panting, needing more of her, Darien gripped her corseted waist. He angled her so he could go deep, shoving his balls against her swollen lips.

  Ivy tightened around him, squeezing his cock with each deep thrust. Her hand slipped beneath him and she gripped him tight, sending him over the edge. His howl of release echoed in the carriage, ripped from his throat while his body shuddered with blinding pleasure. While still buried deep inside her, Ivy bit his shoulder, spasming around him, bringing Darien to another trembling orgasm. Sweat rolled down Darien’s back and he was sure they had raised the temperature in the enclosed carriage several degrees.

  Ivy tried to slip off his lap, but he hugged her to him. He rocked against her gently, trying to stay hard before he slipped from her body. Even in the bliss of physically possessing Ivy, Darien was sure she would somehow melt from his grasp.

  But there is one thing that I absolutely cannot give up, and that is my beloved.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  “Arianna refuses to go through with the wedding.”

  Darien studied his nephew’s haggard appearance. Dark circles formed under his eyes and his clothes were a mix-matched ensemble of last night’s dress shirt, twill hunting pants and a wool checkered jacket that was at least a size too small. Robert licked his recently chapped lips, still breathing hard from his late arrival.

  “I am impressed, little Robbie. You must take after your father. Women tend to want to leave me.” Darien wished his joke held less truth. Ivy had made love to him until dawn, rocking the carriage harder than a full gallop, but she had never answered his proposal of marriage.

  “This is serious.” Robert paced frantic short steps in front of Darien. “You shouldn’t have encouraged Arianna.”

  Darien lowered the musket he had propped on his shoulder to glance at his father and Rand, Robert’s father. The once sworn enemies bent their heads in a thorough examination of a prized hunting dog. They seemed unconcerned with Robert’s hour-late arrival. In the old days, Westhaven would have been furious if the party was not mounted and ready to ride before dawn’s first light.

  Darien fingered the wrinkled collar of Robert’s shirt. “Please don’t tell me you sent the lass on her way without so much as a tussle.” Darien leaned forward and overtly smelled his nephew. The scent of sweet perfume, musky woman and sex answered his question. “Stay away from her father, he might recognize the fragrance. I think it’s expensive and French.”

  “I don’t think he knows about me.” Robert searched the scattered hunters herding horses and dogs.

  “Henry Maddox is not here yet. You aren’t the only one late,” said Darien. “So why are you here instead of with your kidnapped bride-to-be?”

  Robert ran his fingers through his thick hair. “Because of you, you jackass. Ivy begged me to be with you at the hunt to make sure you don’t do something stupid. I told her you probably would whether I was here or not, but she insisted. And since my mother shall disown me after this, I need someone to count on.”

  “You shall always be able to count on me, no matter your choice, Robert.” Darien gripped his nephew’s shoulder.

  Robert shrugged off his touch. “Yes, well, some of us have responsibilities beyond their own needs. Please tell me you understand that, Uncle. One of those living, breathing responsibilities was screaming heartily when I hid Arianna at your cottage. My God, why did you not tell me you had a child?”

  “Melody is Ivy’s child.” Darien studied the sun that had settled too high in the sky for hunting. If Melody was his child, he would never allow Ivy to run from him. Knowing that another man—the father of her child—held such a prominent part in her life, bothered Darien more than he cared to acknowledge.

  “I don’t wish to be lied to, nor do I have the time. Help me hide Arianna until she calms down. In the mean time, I need to find a way to avoid being shot by her father and ruining her reputation completely.”

  “You two can go to Scotland. I’ll loan you the carriage.”

  “And where should we live on our return? Do you think your father will let us live at the rectory? I think not. The Anglican Church does not challenge the aristocracy. I’d make a miserable soldier, nor can I support a wife like Arianna on either of those salaries. And I won’t even detail the hurt it would mean to my mother and sisters.”

  Robert paused as if to catch his breath, his hand covering his eyes. Darien glanced at Major Rand Fitzgerald, who stood awkwardly next to his father-in-law, probably for the first time in either of their lives. The two former adversaries had finished examining the dog and were currently inspecting the tail of Westhaven’s horse.

  “Don’t underestimate your father. He’s done his best by you and his family. It’s not always easy for a man to swallow his pride.” Darien nodded, hoping he could do as well by Ivy and Melody.

  “My father might be a fine soldier, but he earns a soldier’s pay, which requires him to risk his life. The gentleman Irish landowner was only a ruse created by your father to save my mother from the pain of widowhood and family humiliation. Have you forgotten they are dependent on your father’s good will, as am I?”

  “Perhaps Westhaven’s bark is worse than his bite.” Darien glanced at his father. If the man had any reservations about hunting on the same grounds where he had accidentally shot his son, he made no show of it. His father took a nip from a flask and his gaze darted to Darien. When their eyes met it took Darien a moment to remember to scowl and look away. What if his father had been telling some version of the truth all along?

  “Right-oh.” Robert glanced in the earl’s direction. Major Fitzgerald appeared to finally spot his son and waved him over. Robert abruptly faced Darien. “Have you forgotten the last ten years?”

  “Nothing is more important than taking a chance on the woman you love. My father can’t disown everyone in the family. There are not that many of us left.”

  “Not that it matters. I can’t force Arianna to return to Westhaven. She’s entirely too distraught.” Robert shoved his hands in his pockets. “Conflict makes me ill, Darien. I don’t care for any of this. I prefer things settled in a rational, thoughtful manner. Not a midnight rendezvous and bride-napping. You don’t suppose I might face criminal penalties?”

  Before Darien could assure Robert he likely would not be incarcerated, Henry Maddox came running down the manor’s marble front steps. He was not dressed in hunting clothes but in a fine suit. Rand groaned and tossed down his tartan cap. Westhaven visibly sagged and leaned against his mounted horse for support.

  Maddox stopped in the circular drive and glanced between Darien and Robert to one side, Westhaven, Rand and a group of their cronies on the other. Maddox’s red face and balled fists warned that he was not pleased.

  “Arianna is gone!” Maddox yelled to everyone in earshot. He glared at Darien, but his gaze skipped over Robert as if he didn’t exist. “She’s not in her room. We can’t find her anywhere.”

  “Perhaps she went for a morning stroll. We might pass her on the hunt. I take it you are not going to join us?” The earl walked his horse
toward Henry and away from the other guests.

  “Arianna did not go for a stroll, my lord. None of her things are missing, so I don’t believe she has gone far. Perhaps you could lead a search of the grounds.” Maddox glared another warning at Darien. “After all, Arianna is to be your bride.”

  “A bride who obviously has no enthusiasm for the groom. I’m too old for this silliness, Maddox. Find the girl and I’ll honor our commitment. If not, the deal is done.” Westhaven straightened and would have reminded Darien of the bull dog authoritarian of years past if he did not still grip his faithful horse’s bridle with white knuckles.

  “May I remind you, my lord,” Maddox said, then cleared his throat and lowered his voice, “the alliance of our families is paramount to both our interests. At the very least, I insist that you call for a thorough search of the grounds. She must be nearby. She knows no one in the area.” Maddox abruptly turned and pointed at Darien.

  “If I discover you had anything to do with Arianna’s disappearance, I will ruin you.”

  “I believe I already am ruined. Or have you not heard?” said Darien calmly. His plans to foil the wedding had materialized in a way he had not expected. And despite his nephew’s distress, he found the whole affair working to his satisfaction. Could his life actually be taking a turn for the better? Punishing his father would not bring Philip back. If his father could accept Ivy as his bride, maybe something in Darien’s world could be finally righted.

  “Oh I have not begun to discredit you, you black scoundrel.” Maddox, his fists balled, stormed toward Darien.

  Darien just smiled, thanking the heavens above for his continued good fortune. If Maddox had a mind to raise his fists, no one could blame Darien for swinging back. He handed Robert the reins of his horse. “Perhaps you should make yourself scarce,” he said to Robert. Darien found it hard to believe that Maddox had no idea of Robert’s relationship with Arianna. Especially since Maddox’s gaze continually bounced over Robert as if he absolutely refused to see him at all.