Harker's Penchant (A Count Series Novel Book 1)

by Peyton Meri

  He would not beg her to stay. He never begged and he was not about to start now. Even for more nights of exquisite blissful pleasure in her arms.

  Tonight he would go out. As soon as she left, he would take his phaeton out and pay Lady Calvin a long overdue visit. She was ranked up there with the widow Tambers, wild and open-minded, a passionate lover who enjoyed sex immensely without the bloody confounded feelings attached. The way he used to like it. The way he used to do things. That’s what he needed to get back to. Not this nightmare of emotions up and down day in and day out.

  But as he walked out into the hall, his stomach hit the floor. Ledi was right behind him in that abominable, unsightly frayed mess she’d come to him in on the first night. The blasted frayed bonnet in place. Tendrils of her blonde hair curled invitingly around her lovely flushed face.

  Damn her to hell! Harker clasped his hands behind his back to stop himself from reaching out to snatch the bloody bonnet off her head and shaking some sense into her.

  She avoided his gaze. His words had been harsh, hurtful and said out of anger. She was far from stupid. Adding to that insult, he should not have labeled her a bitch. His sweet Ledi—he’d been furious over her brother’s selfishness at how he treated her. And here…he himself had been no better.

  He could see the hurt etched across her face. Pain he’d put there. Her swollen eyes tore at him. His cheek stung yet. The woman packed a wallop. Still, if she wanted to leave him then she could bloody hell just go. This was how it was supposed to be anyway from the start.

  Damnation, he cursed aloud and she flinched slightly at his shout. Harker grumbled under his breath and stalked on ahead of her in search of Chayton.

  Ledi stood on the grand porch as the footman took her bag and placed her items inside the coach, her heart in her throat and her breath wheezing painfully out from between her lips in short quick breaths as she tried to calm herself. She would not cry. When she had walked through the foyer, Mrs. Beatrice’s sad face had almost made her crumble right there on the tiled floor.

  She had been lying to herself into believing that she did not care if he didn’t make another attempt to stop her from leaving. It was an aching truth. She had to wipe a tear from her eye when the footman approached though she did her best to pretend she was flicking away a bothersome gnat. The sight of Harker exiting the stable, mounted on a great gray bay nearly crushed her.

  Hadn’t taken him much time to change into a fine black riding habit and don an impressive top hat. Even from where he sat, his eyes obscured by the lip of the hat, she could tell by the angry set of his fine jaw he was just as furious as she was. His horse reared and he quickly calmed the beautiful animal. The sight of him stroking the strong animal’s neck caused her to turn away as the feelings it evoked in her were overwhelming. When she next looked up, he was gone.

  Ledi blinked rapidly, rushed down the stairs to the carriage, and there, she fumbled with the carriage handle, in her haste to get inside to release the storm about to erupt inside her. She looked up when a hand rested on her shoulder. She turned and a sob caught in her throat.

  “Allow me, my lady,” Chayton opened the door. Simm, the footman quickly set the steps down. Ledi shook, tears glistened on the tip of her lashes. She wanted to say something, but the words stuck in her throat.

  “It was a great pleasure to all of us having you here,” Chayton murmured and squeezed her hand.

  Ledi nodded her thank you and let him help her up into the carriage. Shuddering on a pent up breath, her heart ached at the sight of Mrs. Beatrice and the servants on the steps, and Chayton still in the road as the carriage started off.

  Around the first bend of the road that had brought her here weeks ago, Ledi gave in to her gut-wrenching heartache. Great sobs tore through her as she threw herself across the lush velvet seats of the Benning carriage.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  It was the most suitable out of the only few gowns she had left and had not given away to the consignment shop. Every single stitch of clothing, save the fine undergarments Harker had purchased for her, she had taken down to the shop a week after she’d returned home. She had enough reminders as it was of her time spent with him suffocating her.

  Still, her stomach knotted at how hurt she’d been to give up those precious garments. Such beautiful gowns. Ledi sniffed and drew in a deep breath. No time to wallow in what was done and past. Her focus now was her mother and her well-being.

  As for her siblings, there still had been no word or post from Rena. Angry at first, Ledi felt if her sister didn’t care to keep them apprised of her welfare, her life, then what was she to do about it. Rena was now a countess, obviously living the life she’d always coveted. Her sister had always considered their family a stain on her moving up in society circles and probably blamed them too for her downfall and the decisions that she’d made before meeting Lord Thornstead. Rena had not been shy about her disdain over the years.

  Nonetheless, Rena was still her sister and Ledi loved her, despite all she’d done. She could not help but wonder, worry, and hope all was well in her sister’s life with her new husband.

  As for Evann, well, she hated him as much as she loved him. Yes, she loved him dearly. Still didn’t mean she liked him much of late.

  She was saddened that the Bow Street Runners Harker had hired, had thus far to date been unable to locate her brother anywhere. She would not give up hope. She had to cling to that and pray word would come bearing good news of him as well.

  Harker had promised that he would forward any news to her. For that, she was grateful; if she was not for much else since she had walked over his threshold. Though Evann was older than her and Rena, Ledi knew she acted more of the adult than both her siblings.

  Yanking the blue gown out of the musty smelling armoire, Ledi shook it and sneezed as a cloud of something went up. She would not have time to wash it. Looking at the low bodice, she frowned. The fit would be snug, but a bit of mending would help there too.

  “You availed yourself quite well, Ledi in the face of such insult. Not only am I ashamed, but I am grateful for your strong front. I am a blackguard, a cad, in every sense of the word as you once called me. No, let me finish. I left you in the den with those vultures, knowing full well what they would do.

  “I abandoned you when you needed me most because of my wounded ego. I let jealousy cloud my mind. All because I was unwilling to let myself believe that, I was in love. That is why I could not leave and god save me, why I tried to stop it. Albeit too late. Seeing them tear at you made me realize what an ass I was. I’m an ass.

  “I love you, Ledi. I don’t expect you to speak the same back to me. Nor by any means do I deserve your forgiveness or your heart. You tried to give it to me many times and I spurned you at every turn. You trusted me with your heart. I did not cherish the wonderful gift I’d been given.

  “For that I’ll forever regret and never forget. Hurting you—god, Ledi! Saying I’m sorry seems like such a paltry pittance. But I’d say anything if I thought it would win your trust again. But even I can see—it is not enough.”

  “No, Harker, it would not be enough.”

  After a bit more eye looking, pleading, or touches, she relents because after all she does love him. She hugs him and asks, “Did you mean it?”

  “Yes. I would not have said it if I did not mean it.”

  “So you do love me, then?”

  “Oh, Ledi,” he said, smiling big. A huge grin split his handsome face. “Ledi Barrton, I love you for all time. With every beat of my humbled heart, I love you.”

  “Oh, Harker!” (She told him earlier the night of end of the 2 days)

  “How did you kno-know? Wh-when did you…” her words trailed off. She trembled and couldn’t go on.”

  Harker smiled. “I knew within seconds of meeting you. You two may resemble one another and can fool some. The truth is, you’re not identical. Now after having met you both, it’s even more obvious. God, Ledi! I’d neve
r confuse the two of you. I didn’t then and I didn’t tonight. I’d know your scent. Your natural scent. It’s unforgettable. Sweet. Intoxicating, fresh, clean and alluring. You are one of a kind.

  Everything about you is beautiful. Simply lovely. This…” Harker breathed heavy as he drew his fingers downward, taking pleasure in her sharp intake of breath and shiver. His fingers traced the outline of her waist. He smiled. “Darling, I would recognize these curves under a sack. And this…” he cupped her derriere in both hands, drawing her snugly up against him, then lifted her onto the proof of his arousal.

  “Ohh…” escaped from between her sweet lips.

  “You are correct, madam. Ohh! This lushness, all of you. This—Ledi, is you. What I want. What burns me up inside. What keeps me up at night. In more ways than one, I might add.”

  She ducked her head and pressed her forehead against his chest. Harker heard her smothered giggle. He moved his hands up her back and rubbed up and down. The feel of her, the friction made her tremble against him with need, as he knew it would.

  He smiled over his own wickedness and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “It’s why I love you, Ledi. It’s why I want to spend the rest of my nights and days with you. What led you to me will never happen again. The night you stormed in here demanding—”

  Her head shot up. “Demanding?”

  “Heavens yes. Demanding and…” Harker drew back to look her over in a teasing manner then lifted his fist and shook it in the air to punctuate his point. “Forthright! Such a feisty and demanding female. I gave in to you. For you surely were not leaving here until you were completely satisfied.”

  She laughed that beautiful laugh of hers and it was music to his ears. His heartbeat pounded inside his chest. She nudged him and he drew her into the circle of his arms and toppled backwards into the big chair.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  His cock stood at the ready. Swollen, long thick heavy. The head smooth, darker than the rest of him. Ledi swallowed and met his gaze. She wondered what it would feel like to take him into her mouth, and suck and lick him as he’d done to her.

  How would he taste? She wet her lips, unable to tear her gaze away as it moved, bobbed and swayed then seemed to grow even bigger as he approached.

  Harker was going to spill his seed just from Ledi’s expression of awe. The sight of her pink tongue wetting her lush lips, her half-closed lids lowered on his aching cock. She had him on the cusp. She looked more enticing than she had last night when he’d had her splayed on all fours while he’d kissed and feasted on every inch of her.

  He reached her, ready to tear her clothes from her voluptuous body. He’d no time for anything that would slow him down.

  He needed to get his cock inside her before he came right on the Brussels carpet. His intent was halted when her warm hand encircled the sensitive head of him, surprising him. Harker jerked and shuddered before her, the groan exploding from his mouth. “Uh…Ledi,” he said on a warning hiss.

  “Oh, Harker. This feels—this is—you feel so good…Did I hurt you?” she turned her face up to him, her big eyes alight with thick desire and concern.

  Harker did not trust himself to speak. He nodded and reached a hand out to wrap his fingers around her wrist. She squeezed him, a gentle pressure that nearly buckled his knees.

  “Can I suck you as you did me?”

  Harker released a tight breath. “Yes, love. First, I must get inside you then I will instruct you on how to polish my pole while I blow some kisses upon your quim. Then we can do all you want for the rest of the night. A most unique position. But now, I need to be inside you.”

  Befuddlement crossed her face but she obeyed and released his turgid flesh. Before his next breath, he was upon her, shoving up her skirts with a grunt and a hard kiss against her lips. “Forgive me,” he said in a deep brusque tone against her mouth just as he ripped her slit open for his access. He spilled his seed before he was fully inside her.

  He was striking, devilishly so and unlike any other male, she’d ever met. Tall. A powerful build, she liked that. His coloring good. Few blemishes marred his smooth skin. He was blessed with strong hands, tanned and veiny. Hands that had mesmerized her when they’d slid up her glove-covered arms.

  -“You are blameless in all of this.” Harker released her hand and walked over to her brother.

  “No, Father. I will marry whoever I choose. Give the title to Adrean. I frankly do not give a damn.”

  “You’ve made your own money. Built quite the impressive empire for a recluse. Yes. I know about all of it. I’ve kept watch over both my sons these past years. You and Adrean, all of this, all that I am and have, means nothing if you throw it all away. You don’t need my money, I am well aware of that fact, son. But it’s your birthright. Are you sure you’re willing to relinquish all this, your inheritance, your title for her?”

  “Her has a name, father. Ledi Benning. My wife.”

  “What I’m hearing is that you value your title so little and have no care if it’s taken from you? Correct?”

  Exasperated, Harker scoffed. “Correct. I don’t need the family’s approval nor yours. Obviously, I’ve made a mistake in coming here to right things that cannot be, apparently. I’ve not seen you in five years. Adrean and I never know where you are. No one knows where you’ll turn up. However, you could have reached out to Adrean or me at any time. You’ve just made it painfully clear that you’ve always known where we were and how to find us. ”

  His father sighed heavily and balancing most of his weight on the fine carved cane, ambled his tall frame closer. Shaking his head, the marquis looked at his eldest son. “Just like your mother. Stubborn to the core as hell. The will, will remain in effect as it is now. There will be no changes. You are my firstborn and that’s that. If you’d care to share a glass or two of fine cognac with your old sire, maybe you’ll hear the tale about a woman who loved her two sons like nothing else in this world. And about her wish to travel the world with the man she loved once her sons had grown into adults.”

  Ledi returned the marquis’s smile when he turned and reached for her arm. She helped him walk from the room, her heart aching for both men. For her father-in-law over the tears she’d glimpsed in his eyes when he’d turned from his son. And for her stunned husband.

  At the door, she looked over her shoulder to see that Harker had not moved from his spot. He stood there, his mouth agape in utter disbelief, his slate-blue stare filled with every visible emotion.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Ledi was uncomfortable with such things. However, it was what he wished and she had to play the part. It was just for the night. One night. She could manage that. Besides, she had little choice. How many people would be in attendance that might know her sister, let alone notice that she was not Rena. Ledi told herself not many.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Beatrice.” Ledi smiled and took the velvet box from the woman and looked over at the many others spread out on the bed. “What do you think will go best?”

  She felt better seeing the excited gleam in Mrs. Beatrice’s eyes. She had pleased another in the Benning household.

  “You’re entitled to feel however you damn well please.” He shrugged one broad shoulder, his gaze still following the bodies swirling around the ballroom floor. “Your feelings are your own, Ledi. You need no one’s permission to give you leave on how or what not to feel or,” he turned to her then, “when to feel.”

  Ledi didn’t know what to say. She looked away from him then, struck by the coldness in his tone. She was a fool.

  In two days, she would be gone from here. Two days this thing between them would end. It was as he’d said it would be but only for her. No feelings at the end. Yes, not for him, he’d been correct.

  Her heart splitting in two she grasped the stem of her glass hard so it did not fall from her shaking hands. How did he expect her to come to his bed willingly tonight after all that had transpired? After all that had been said?

  Le
di lifted her glass to her lips and emptied the glass with a prayer she did not choke on the sparkling champagne as the tears clogged her throat. When she was done, she set it down on a passing tray. The clink drew a few stares in their direction. She could feel Harker’s eyes burning the side of her face. She covered her mouth with a gloved hand to muffle her sudden burp, then she turned to look up at him. A dark brow was arched and his expression was unreadable. She did not care.

  Head swimming from the third glass of champagne, she was determined to have her piece said. “If we are done here, I am ready to leave. The sooner we get on with the terms of the contract tonight, the sooner I can get some sleep. I may not be in the mood but I’m not one to renege on the remainder of our deal.”

  He stared hard at her. She thought he would laugh at her or worse. Worse was what it was. He wrapped his warm hand around her elbow in a firm tight grip. “You want to play games? I’m a master at them. You will lose, my fair lady.”

  Ledi gasped and tried to pull back, he held her fast. Even pulling her more snug and improperly too close to his side. His lips thinned. “We will leave. Since you insisted on keeping up your end of the deal bargain, we shall close out our remaining days sequestered in my chambers. I want you to know, I too, like to keep up my end on a deal. Come,” he quipped.

  Ledi started, “Wa-wait—”

  He ignored her.

  In the next few seconds, he had dragged her behind him through the throng of people. Startling gazes and hushed murmurs followed them as they passed and made their way to the porch, where he hailed for his carriage. Ledi jerked her arm free. He glared at her.

  “Wait! Do you realize what you’ve done? Everyone was staring and whispering!” Ledi shrieked at him as harshly and quietly as she could, her mouth turned into his chest.