The Earl of Heartbreak

by Bethany M. Sefchick

  After Lady Pearl had departed that afternoon, Rayne had been extremely secretive about his plans for the rest of the day, suggesting that she lie down or even take a nap so that she would be "rested" for the evening - which was promised to occur long after their dinner together concluded. Sarah had her suspicions what he was about, of course. Despite the fact that he had not bedded her yet, each time he even so much as glanced in her direction it was obvious that he was thinking about doing just that. Still, no matter how much she badgered him, he would not give any hint as to what he was planning.

  So they had eaten a rather restless dinner in the rose parlor again, the same place where Rayne had made his pretty apology that first time. His choice of location was not lost on Sarah. Nor was it lost on her that their time was quickly running out. Soon, he would have been here at Hallowby for a full week. At best, they had one week remaining. That was, of course, assuming that Frost did not turn up in the middle of the night tonight or first thing tomorrow. Then again, that was the old Frost. He had Lavinia now and they were on their honeymoon so perhaps they might tarry a bit longer. She hoped so anyway.

  However Sarah wasn't worried only about her brother's impending arrival. She had also noticed a figure in the distance each time she had been out with Rayne over the last few days, whether they were riding over Hallowby's vast fields or even just checking on the tenants. She suspected that it was Baron Hodge, likely attempting to discover whether or not her betrothal to Rayne was real. Given that he was likely Madame C.'s gossip source, it would make sense. The baron had also not appeared at Hallowby's door again, which was unlike him. Normally the man pressed hard if he wanted something. Sarah had the impression that the man was still attempting to figure Rayne out and would not make a move upon her until he knew for certain that they were lying about their upcoming nuptials.

  While she doubted that Hodge would harm her, like before, Sarah wouldn't put it past him to try to place her in a compromising situation where someone might discover them. That was the last thing she wanted. Especially since she had yet to be compromised by Rayne, no matter how often he promised that he would do so.

  Picking her way carefully along the slightly over-grown path, Sarah had to wonder if this, finally, was the night she had been waiting for the better part of her adult life. She had hinted broadly enough earlier, she supposed. Then again, in her mind, seduction was only physical. It was never mental. Clearly Rayne disagreed and Sarah had to admit that she was coming to see his point.

  Over the last few days, he had been everything she could ever ask for in a gentleman. A man who might someday be her husband. Even if, in this case, that could never be. Still, the illusion was nice and now that he knew her deepest secret as well, she could relax and enjoy their time together. Especially now since she had received word late that day that Lady Raynecourt was planning to call upon Lady Pearl and her brother soon so that they might meet Rayne's sister Miri and discuss plans for Mrs. Witherson's. Meaning that Rayne had likely been planning that offer for some days, probably ever since they had first met Lady Pearl and Daniel, and once more, Sarah wondered what other plans he had in store.

  Careful to not trip over a rock in the darkness, Sarah lifted the hem of her skirts, hurrying on towards the summerhouse as fast as she could. It was not much further, just over a little rise through the trees and then down a small slope. She could hear the rushing water of the nearby stream that fed the lake and knew she was getting close. So close that her body all but tingled with anticipation.

  Then, she was at the rise and in a few more steps, the trees parted. What she saw took her breath away - quite literally.

  A myriad of lanterns hung from the nearby trees, illuminating the small meadow where the summerhouse sat, the dark lake just beyond. A pathway had been made from where she stood to the summerhouse itself, the way marked by torches planted into the ground. The summerhouse itself was open, all of the doors flung wide. Inside, she could see more lanterns scattered about, their collective light so bright that it shone like a beacon, chasing away the darkness and making her heart hammer in her chest.

  Years ago, most of the original furniture had been removed from the summerhouse at Frost's request. He didn't much care for the place and had often considered tearing it down. The only reason he hadn't was because Sarah had begged him not to - or so she had always assumed. For it was here, the summer that she turned eighteen, that Rayne had spent one long, hot summer night regaling her with tales of Persian palaces and cities full of riches beyond belief.

  Rayne spoke of gold and gems scattered about everywhere that were just ripe for the taking, the very air around them redolent with rich spices and sun-splashed, elaborate homes that held the promise of powerful secrets and even more powerful seductions hidden within their formidable walls. He had rhapsodized about exotically beautiful women with dark, kohl-rimmed eyes clad in gorgeous, jewel-toned silks adorned with bells and coins that tinkled delightfully when they walked and of powerful, hard-muscled men who possessed wealth beyond measure, carried razor-sharp scimitars at their waists for protection and wore glittering turbans adorned with so many rubies, sapphires, emeralds, pearls, and diamonds that they were far too heavy for one person to lift.

  Some of his tales had been utter rubbish, of course, but some of them had been true. And it was that very night that Sarah had looked across the room at Rayne and known that he was the only man for her. The only man she would likely ever love. The only man, save for her brother, who had ever cared in the slightest whether or not she was happy. Whether or not she was enjoying herself.

  Now, spread out before her once more, was the summerhouse - exactly as she remembered it from that night long ago. Right down to the torch-lit path and lanterns in the trees.

  Somehow, some way, Rayne had remembered. Right down to the last little detail. And in that moment, he seduced not just Sarah's mind and soul, but her heart as well.

  Stepping into the meadow, she followed the path towards the summerhouse where she could now see Rayne lounging against the doorframe just as he had done that long ago night as he teased her with tales of places she would never see and lands she would never visit.

  "Do you like it?" he asked as she approached. "I know it is not exactly the same as it was that night, but it is as close as I can possibly make it for the moment. Seems your brother disposed of most of the original furniture."

  "It is perfect!" Clad in buckskin breeches and a lawn shirt, Rayne was perfect too, but she did not dare say that. This was seduction. It was not love. She had best not confuse the two. "But how did you remember?"

  Stepping towards her, Rayne took her hand and led her deeper into the summerhouse. "I remember so much where you are concerned, Sarah." He gestured to a small plate of grapes on a nearby table. "Do you know it took me well over a year before I could watch someone eat a grape and not think of you? Of how you plucked them one by one from the bunch that night, slowly sucking them through your lush lips and chewing on them so very slowly and nearly driving me out of my mind wanting you as you did so?"

  "You did no such thing." Reaching down, Sarah plucked one grape from the bunch and popped it into her mouth, just as she always had so many times before. She did notice, however, that his eyes were fastened on her mouth the entire time she chewed. So perhaps there was a little something to that particular memory of his after all.

  Now, Rayne trailed his hand along her bare shoulder, and she was thankful that she had worn one of her more basic gowns that evening. Not only did it reveal a good deal of skin, it was also easier to get her out of when necessary.

  "I did." He ran a finger down the slope of her breast as he watched her chew. "Every time I saw someone eat a grape, in my mind, I could see that face you made each time you ate one that night. How your mouth puckered into a little bow and how your tongue traced the line of your lips when you had finished."

  "And that was a bad thing?" Sarah knew she was playing with fire but she didn't care. She wanted thi
s. She wanted Rayne. And she was tired of waiting.

  He was in front of her now, his hand cupping her cheek. "For me it was." His eyes were heavily lidded and he looked at her with so much desire she thought she might combust where she stood. "When I would see those grapes and think of you, all I could imagine was that perfect, succulent mouth of yours and how it would feel around my throbbing cock. About how it would feel to have your mouth on me, suckling me as you did that grape, giving me so much pleasure that I would likely die from the experience. And I wondered how long it would take me before I exploded into your mouth and claimed you as mine in a way no other man ever had."

  As he spoke, Rayne drew Sarah closer and closer to him until now she was but a whisper away, her body pressed to his so tightly that he could feel the rapidly hardening tips of her nipples against his chest.

  "That sounds...very wicked." Sarah licked her lips, her throat dry. No man had ever spoken to her this way before and she was startled to realize that she rather liked it.

  "It is wicked. So very, very wicked." Rayne nuzzled the side of Sarah's neck before sucking lightly on the tender skin there. He might mark her, but he did not care. In fact, it might be better if she was marked. Then everyone - including her brother - would know that she had been tumbled. That she belonged to him - and only to him. If they both wanted each other, then Frost could not stop them from being together. Or so Rayne hoped.

  Feeling bold, Sarah reached out and placed her hand over the flat of Rayne's stomach, surprised to find the muscles there taut and quivering. She hadn't imagined that he would be so affected by this seduction, but she was grateful to learn that he was. "Do you want me to...do that?" It took a moment for her to find her voice once more. "Do you want me to suck on you...down there."

  She felt him smile against the curve of her neck. "Oh, yes, Sarah," he breathed. "I want that very much. More than you know."

  "Then show me. Show me how to please you like that." For in truth, Sarah didn't really know what to do. She had a general idea, but nothing specific of course. That was a little much, even for her.

  "Soon," he chuckled softly, "but not yet. Soon, though, I promise. At present, I thought we might go a little slower. For now."

  Then Rayne was kissing her again, his mouth seemingly everywhere as his fingers undid the fasteners on the back of her gown. Sarah was barely aware of the slippery fabric gliding down her back before the pale pink silk landed in a puddle at her feet.

  "I...I do not think this is slow," she practically panted as he lifted her up and out of the pile of fabric to lay her down on what looked like a bed of some kind, but not like any bed that she was familiar with. Though she vaguely remembered seeing something similar in one of the woodcuts he had brought back from Persia years ago. She hadn't been meant to see it of course since it was of a sexual nature, but it had been lying in the open in her brother's study and she had been curious.

  The woodcut had depicted a couple fucking on a lounge very much like this one, only with the man's head between the woman's legs and the woman over the man with her lips upon his member. Sarah had been a bit too young at the time to understand what she had seen, but now she did and it flooded her with a very different kind of heat than it had back then.

  Was this part of Rayne's fantasy involving her? Was such a thing even possible? She supposed it must be, otherwise there would be no woodcut. Still... Did he want her to do that? For if he did, she was fairly certain she would enjoy it. As long as she was with him. She also wished he would speed things up a bit. The area between her legs was growing damper with each moment that passed, and it clenched uncomfortably. She was ready for this, even if he felt she was not.

  "Trust me, sweetheart, for me, this is very slow." Rayne positioned Sarah just so, stretching out her long limbs until he was satisfied. "And we will do all of those things you are so very curious about. Soon. I promise. But for now? We do this my way."

  She was about to ask what, precisely, his way entailed when he began stripping off his shirt and Sarah had to bite her lip from groaning with sheer delight from the sight of him. She had imagined this moment many times over, wondered how she would feel at her first real glimpse of his naked chest. The other night in the shadowy darkness of her room did not count since she had been unable to see him all that well. Oh, and she had been terrified. There was that little detail, too.

  Now, however, she was not afraid in the least and she was ready to look her fill in the gleaming candlelight. For a moment, Sarah wondered how Rayne might measure up against her most elaborate and detailed fantasies. Clearly her imagination was not nearly good enough, she quickly decided. Never in her darkest, most secret dreams had she conjured up anything that looked as delightful as Rayne did right now.

  His shoulders were wide. She knew that for as often as she had danced with him. However she had been unaware of just how muscular he truly was, with his well-defined chest that taped down to a narrow waist. He had a light dusting of hair down the center of his chest that disappeared below the waistband of his pants, making her wonder all the more about he was like...down there. It was his arms though, that truly caught her attention. They were somehow both lean and yet muscular at the same time, likely from all of the work he did while he was on the Continent. She could almost see the power in his corded muscles. She shivered; she could not help herself

  "See something you like?" he teased as he moved back towards the bed. The firelight from the torches danced across his bronzed skin and for a brief moment, Sarah feared she was not worthy of him. He was so perfect that he could not possibly be real, while she bore the scars of a sadistic and vengeful father on her back.

  "You know that I do." Sarah licked her lips again and she noticed the way Rayne's eyes widened when she did so, his gaze drawn to her lips. Perhaps seduction worked both ways. When she trailed her fingers down the slope of her breast to brush against her taut nipple, she knew that it did when he drew in a quick breath as if he was in pain.

  His eyes flashed amber fire when she did the same thing again. "Sarah." His voice was rough and gravely. "Don't tease me. I don't think I can control myself if you do." To prove his point, he slid his hand over the front of his trousers where his cock bulged out, hard and eager for her attentions.

  "This seduction is as much about you as it is about me, correct?" She reached down to the edge of her shift and began to tug it up over her head. She had dressed herself after Colleen had undressed her for the night so she had foregone a corset and drawers. Though perhaps next time, she would leave the drawers on. They had slits in them so that could be fun as well.

  Now Sarah watched Rayne closely as she slid the filmy fabric up and over her thighs, over her flat stomach and over her breasts until she was finally free of the garment and tossed it quickly aside. He had seen her nude once before, but not like this. That night in her room, there had been shame - on her part at least. She felt no such shame tonight. She could tell from the passion in his gaze that he desired her, and that was all she needed to know.

  "See something you like?" She tossed his words right back at him, daring to go so far as to slide her palm down over the flat of her stomach to brush the nest of curls between her legs.

  That was clearly too much for Rayne, because with a growl he undid the button on his trousers and stripped off his pants. He must have foregone smalls, for the moment the fabric was gone, he was magnificently naked, his cock so impossibly thick and long that Sarah knew a moment of fear.

  Then she remembered something Rayne had told her years before, just after she had turned eighteen. It had been highly inappropriate but she had been goading him, teasing him about his new pair of spectacles and the latest scholarly paper he hoped to have published until a false name. It was on the mating rituals of the ancient Romans and the entire paper had sounded rather boring and silly. At least to her. And she tended to like everything he did. But not that.

  That night, Rayne had pinned her against the wall of her family's Londo
n town home and, as he dug his fingers hard into her hip, he had whispered into her ear the very words that came to mind at this very moment.

  I can assure you that mating rituals are no joke, Sarah. Nor are they boring in the least. If anything, they are highly...erotic. Rayne's voice had been tight and she knew she had pushed him too far. Still, he did not snap at her. Instead, he had become seductive, but not as he was now. That time, his words had been very different. Almost more of a warning. Copulation is the very bedrock of our existence, my dear. Without the act, and a pleasurable one it is, we as a species would be no more. Then he had delivered that final sentence that had made her burn from the inside out. Now she knew he had done it because he lusted after her. At the time, however, she had thought he was simply doing it to be cruel. And I can assure you, Sarah that when you finally see your first naked man, his cock so impossibly swollen that he aches, you will assume that you will not fit together. But you will. Trust me. Also trust me when I tell you that it will be beyond anything you can imagine.

  Sarah thought of those same words now as Rayne loomed over her, watching her stroke her own flesh. She could tell he was remembering them as well, especially as his gaze strayed lower to the most secret part of her.

  "I want you," she whispered. "I want you. You. Brook. Not Rayne." Her eyes were clear and direct as they met his, making certain he knew what she was asking. And clearly uncertain if he was willing to give her what she desired.

  "Then you shall have me, Sarah. Me. Brook. Not the earl. In this moment, so long as you keep touching yourself in that fashion, I will give you whatever you wish. However you wish it." Slowly he lowered himself to the bed. "Do you know I have dreamed of you like this?" He gestured to the room. "That is why I had my Persian treasures kept here and not at Fieldown. I had hoped that someday..."