The Duke's Dilemma: Regency Romance Menage Short Stories

by Lacoste, G. G.

  Exhausted, Bonnie lay in her bed and tried to catch her breath. It had been so long since she had experienced an orgasm that she had forgotten how incredibly wonderful it felt. After being with so many men who had failed to satisfy her, and having never had the chance to pleasure herself, she had almost forgotten that a woman's body did anything at all during sex. Sexual intercourse had become something that Bonnie considered to be only for the pleasure of men, which women agreed to either out of fear of the man or the desire to have a child. Of course, in the bedroom of the manor of Duke Edmund and his wife, safe from the horrors and terrors of the unguarded streets, Bonnie had rediscovered her sexuality and reclaimed her body. Still trying to regain her breath and still surprised by just how intense her orgasm had been, Bonnie rolled over in her bed and shut her eyes. She felt at peace with herself, as though a great burden had just been lifted from her shoulders. Through the simple act of masturbation, the once homeless woman had pushed from her mind virtually all of her frustrations, fears and worries. That night, for the first time in far too long, Bonnie fell into a deep sleep and remained undisturbed until her body decided it was time to wake up.

  Chapter Four

  Bonnie's body decided that it was time to wake up on the tenth hour of the following morning. She rose from her bed with a yawn and a stretch and swung her feet to the side of the bed. It took a moment for her to gather herself and remember where she was, for she was not waking up in her usual alleyway. Though she was fully composed by the time she got to her feet, it still came as a slight surprise to the woman to feel the carpet on her feet and not the cold stones of the London pavement. She ran her hand through her hair and smiled to herself when she found it contained no dew or mist before exiting the chamber and descending the staircase without changing from her beloved nightgown.

  Bonnie could hear the Duke and the Duchess in the living room, discussing some trivial topic as she made her way to the bottom floor. Being a common woman, Bonnie decided that however trivial their conversation, she should not disturb the Duke and Duchess and so she took a seat on a windowsill in the hallway and waited for the couple to finish. However, the door to the living room was ajar, just like it had been the night before, and the Duchess caught sight of Bonnie in the hallway.

  "Oh Bonnie dear" she called out from the living room, "come in from the hallway, won't you?" Bonnie obliged and entered the room while saying "I'm sorry madam, I did not wish to interrupt you and the Duke."

  "Oh don't be silly, Edmund and I were simply discussing what to do with all of the hay which has built up in the stable."

  "Two of our horses recently passed away and so we have been left with a surplus of hay which the remaining horses certainly shall not be able to finish," elaborated the Duke. "If we leave it out in the stable any longer, it will surely become home to many unwanted bugs and insects."

  The Duchess instructed Bonnie to take a seat on the living room couch, which she did somewhat awkwardly. Still in her nightgown, Bonnie felt more out of place than ever among the royal owners of the manor. Unlike the previous night, she would now have to make actual conversation which did not centre around her encounter with Big Wallace. She doubted she would be able to keep up with the Duke and Duchess on an intellectual level of conversation. She was not sure what they would talk about, but it would almost certainly be books or theatre, or maybe the state of the crown at the time. Thankfully, Bonnie was saved from the conversation and potential embarrassment by the young maid she had heard so many negative things about.

  "Are you finished with your cups and saucers?" asked the maid as she entered the room, looking uninterested and generally unhappy to be there.

  "Yes, Holly. We finished with them a half hour ago."

  The maid, Holly, moved slowly across the room, dragging her unwilling carcass to the coffee table to retrieve the aforementioned cups and saucers.

  "If it is not too much trouble, Holly, could you please strip the bed in the small chamber?" asked the Duke, determined not to be tasked with tending to the bed a second time. Holly groaned slightly and promised the Duke that she would see to the bed as soon as she was finished the washing up. Despite the fact all she had to wash were those two cups and two saucers, it would likely take an hour or two for the maid to finish the task and so the bed would remain un-stripped for quite some time.

  Holly exited the dining room muttering under her breath about the Duke, leaving the Duke to mutter under his breath about her.

  "I really dislike that girl," the Duke said as he turned to his wife, "Can we please get rid of her?"

  "I would like to get rid of her too, Edmund, but you know how hard it is to find help for the manor these days. Everybody wishes to further their education and do great things with their life. The only people we can find to work as a maid are those who were too lazy to go to college or university."

  "By this point, I am strongly considering penning a letter to the Prince Regent to request one of his maids."

  "Oh Edmund, we cannot bother the Prince Regent with such things. He is having a very stressful time right now. His father's health is continuing to decline, not to mention the fact that he must run the country. No, we shall simply have to put up with Holly's moods until a better maid becomes available."

  Not wishing to further such a discussion when they had company, the Duke and Duchess ceased their conversation about firing Holly and began to question Bonnie about her stay.

  "Now Bonnie," began the Duchess, "do you feel better after that sleep?"

  "Oh most certainly, I have not woken at such a late time in the day in many years. I feel so refreshed."

  "We thought about waking you" Edmund admitted, "but we decided it would be best to allow you to wake in your own time."

  "You have, after all, earned such a long rest." Having not been filled since before she went to bed, Bonnie's stomach began to rumble, demanding to be fed. As the majority of us would have been, Bonnie was quite embarrassed by the noise omitting from her gut and immediately apologised. Fortunately, Edmund and his wife found the incident to be quite amusing and spent several minutes giggling before the Duchess instructed the Duke to venture to the kitchen and prepare dinner for their guest.

  "Have you changed your mind about leaving us so soon?" the Duchess asked Bonnie, raising her voice to combat the clanging of pots and pans made the culinary challenged Duke.

  "I would dearly love to stay just one more night, if you will have me." Bonnie spoke like a child asking their parent to buy them a box of chocolates, flinching slightly as soon as she asked the question, fearing she had been too upfront.

  "Why, of course you can stay one more night", replied the Duchess, "as I said last night, you are welcome to stay as long as you want." Bonnie could not deny that the idea of taking up permanent residence in the manor was indeed extremely alluring. Then again, she did not want to live as a third party, an unwanted intruder upon a happy couple. She was sure that the Duke and Duchess would grow to dislike her company as soon as it began to affect their alone time. She was also fearful that she would be living off the riches of the Duke and Duchess without doing anything in return. By staying in their home for the rest of her life, Bonnie would be contributing nothing to the manor and serve only to eat their food and take up their space. The woman was certain that it would not work out. However, she did not want to turn the Duchess once again and so agreed to stay in the manor for an extra two days.

  Chapter Five

  Later that day, the Duchess grabbed her purse, combed her hair and took a carriage into the heart of London. Upon learning of the Duchess' journey, Bonnie offered to accompany her to aid in her errands. However, the Duchess advised Bonnie that it would be best to remain hidden in the manor for sometime, as it would be a foolish move to head back into the city just one day after escaping the clutches of Big Wallace.

  "He will likely be searching London up and down for you" the Duchess told her, "I would not be surprised if he has employed some of his friends
to help him look for you." Bonnie hated to admit it, but the Duchess was right. For her own safety, she would not be able to provide the lady of the manor with any assistance on her shopping trips. Despite this, Bonnie was still eager to do something inside the manor to thank the Duke and Duchess for their hospitality and so she busied herself in stripping the bed, the task which Edmund had assigned to the maid.

  "My, my, that girl is lazy" Bonnie tutted to herself as she stripped the bed. "This task requires very little effort and can be completed in close to no time at all." Though it had been some time since Bonnie had last stripped a bed, it all came back to her with incredible ease. As a woman in the nineteenth century, Bonnie had stripped and made so many beds that she could complete the task by memory alone.

  "Well, well, well. What is going on here?"

  Startled by the sound of the Duke's voice, Bonnie shot around to find the lord of the manor standing in the doorway.

  "Oh my, how long have you been standing there?" she asked, "I thought I was alone."

  "I was coming to the room to strip the bed myself, but it looks like you have beaten me to it."

  "I just wish to lend a helping hand for the time that I am here" Bonnie explained, "You have been so kind to me that I must do something."

  Being so terribly untalented at housework, the Duke was happy to let Bonnie strip the bed for him. In fact, watching her at work gave him a rather interesting idea.

  "Bonnie" he began, "how would you like to replace Holly here at the manor?"

  "Why, what do you mean?"

  "I mean, would you be interested in coming on as a live-in maid?"

  Bonnie was stunned. The idea of coming on as a live-in maid seemed absolutely perfect. She would be able to stay in the manor without fear of becoming a burden and would also be earning a pretty income. There was no way she could turn the Duke's offer down.

  "I would love to" she squealed in delight, unable to contain her excitement. The Duke laughed as Bonnie wrapped her arms around him. He had never seen anybody so overjoyed to come and work in his manor.

  Out of sheer delight, Bonnie began to lay rapid, friendly kisses on the cheeks of Edmund, still thanking him for his kindness as she did so. The Duke didn't see anything wrong with this. As far as he was concerned, Bonnie was obviously very excited and those light kisses were just here way of showing it. That being said, she had begun to plant more intense kisses on him. She was not entirely sure if he would ask her to get off him. Contrary to what Bonnie had been imagining, Edmund and the Duchess were not sexually active. They loved each other dearly, but the Duchess' inability to conceive a child had essentially ruined sexual activity for her and had worn her desire for sexual intercourse down to zero.

  Bonnie continued to playfully kiss the face of the Duke, but something happened that led to their lips touching. Maybe she was just too excited and lost track of herself long enough to accidentally place her lips on the Duke, maybe she had poor aim, or maybe she just wanted to kiss him on his lips. Whatever the reason was, it happened and in no time at all, Edmund was holding her tight and reciprocating the kiss. At first, Bonnie was not sure what was going on; it had been a while since she had last had a kiss this intense and she was not sure how to react to it. However, much like stripping the bed, it all came back to her. Bonnie and the Duke quickly became embroiled in a passionate kiss and moved their hands rapidly over each other's bodies. For both of them, it had been too long since they had last made love and so they could not wait to get to it. In a fit of adrenaline, Bonnie tore open the Duke's shirt, sending the buttons scattering to the ground, and began to lick his toned torso up and down. Much like Bonnie's fantasy from the night before, the Duke's body was wet and glistening, although it was glistening with her saliva rather than his sweat.

  Edmund eagerly unfastened Bonnie's simple dress and pulled it from her body in one impassioned tug. Standing behind her, he began to bite her neck and shoulders, reaching around to her front and massaging her breasts as he did so. Her breasts were firm and topped off by two hard nipples which the Duke placed in his mouth as soon as he turned her to face him.

  "Oh my God" moaned Bonnie, "I forgot how good this could feel." Edmund took this as a sign to keep chewing on her nipples and began to bite and suck them harder than before. She ran her hand through his hair and pressed his head deeper into her breasts. Then, just when Bonnie believed the pleasure could not get any more intense, she felt Edmund's fingers slide inside her. This was something she had never before experienced, even her husband would not give her the pleasure of entering her with her fingers. There was something about the movement of the Duke's hands that made the sensation even greater than when Bonnie did it to herself; he seemed to know exactly what she wanted even before she did.

  Trembling, Bonnie removed the Duke's fingers from her and fell gently to the bed. She knew if she allowed the Duke to continue a second longer, the expertise of his fingers would cause her to climax before he even mounted her. She lay on the bed with an inviting smile on her face and an even more inviting moisture between her legs, eagerly awaiting the Duke's next move. This next move came when the Duke removed the last of his clothing from the bottom half of her body and climbed on top of her. With his hands pressed against the mattress on either side of her head, he moved his throbbing penis inside Bonnie and shivered when he felt the sensation of his gland moving against her. Not one to seek out the love of prostitutes, Edmund had not felt the warmth of a vagina in quite a while. Now, ironically, he was finally getting his release with a woman who had spent much of the past year as a whore on the streets of London.

  Bonnie's moans filled the room as the Duke's member filled her; it was almost too large for her to accommodate, but that only served to make the pleasure all the more pleasure. In the seconds before her climax, Bonnie made eye contact with the man on top of her. His eyes were blue and piercing and made her feel as if he could see into her soul, which she did not mind. It was the closest she had been to another human being in a long time and she could tell the same was true for the Duke as he continued to thrust his hips into her. Finally, Bonnie shut her eyes, omitted a loud sigh and reached her climax at the same time as her lover. Void of sperm and breath, the Duke rolled off Bonnie's body and laid beside her as she gathered herself.

  "That was incredible" he told her in a hushed voice, only now worried somebody would hear them.

  "It was wonderful, Edmund. I think I'm going to be very happy working under you."

  THE END

  The Duel

  A Regency Romance Novella

  By: Rosamund Talbot

  The Duel

  Chapter One

  Jasper watched from his bed as Marina dressed herself and prepared to return to the world.

  "Must you go this moment?" he asked once the woman covered her bare bottom, leaving him with nothing to stare at.

  "I must, I must."

  "Can you not spare a half hour longer?" The young girl was adamant that she could not spend any longer in the home of the Duke. It was time for her to leave.

  "My love," she told him, "there is nothing I would like more than to lie in that bed with you for the remainder of the day. But my husband is waiting for me. I suppose he is beginning to wonder where his evening meal is."

  "Ah yes, this is the husband who is the eh... the eh..." Jasper blushed. He prided himself in being a good listener yet he could not recall just what it was Marina's husband did for a living.

  "The munitions manufacturer."

  "Ah yes, yes. The munitions manufacturer. Of course you must run home to him. For what reason would you want to spend the evening with a Duke when it could be spent with a mighty munitions manufacturer?" Marina laughed and swore to the Duke that she would one day leave her husband and he would leave his wife so they could be together forever, just as they had discussed.

  "Farewell, my love" she said as she blew him a kiss.

  "Farewell. Give my regards to your husband." She laughed and blew the man
one final kiss before leaving the room. Alone, the Duke pushed himself into a seated position, grasping the bed covers tightly for fear his bare skin may be exposed to the icy cold air. Though he was sleeping with another woman behind the back of his trusting wife (and had been for some time), the Duke felt perfectly calm and entirely at ease. He glanced out the window that was conveniently placed right next to his bed. The light was beginning to fade and soon the night would come.

  "Perhaps I shall remain in this bed for the remainder of the evening" Jasper said to himself, stretching out as if he were a particularly decadent cat. "There is nothing which needs my attention and I have not a single obligation to the world." This was not entirely true, for as the Duke made himself comfortable for an evening in bed, the Duchess was sitting three floors below in the manor's dining room, staring across the dining table at an empty chair. While the Duke and Duchess had not formally arranged to meet for dinner, they generally shared all of their meals just like any married couple. This was the third time in one week that the Duke had left the Duchess to eat alone and not once had he provided her with an explanation. He simply did not show up.