The Earl's Stolen Bride (Marriage by Deceit Book 4)

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  A few minutes passed, and she finally saw him. He wasn’t wearing a hood as she expected, but with his hat lowered over his eyes and his head down, it was hard to tell who he was. On top of that, he wore dark clothes, blending into the background. So really, he picked a good way of hiding without arousing anyone’s suspicions.

  In case anyone happened to see him, though, she already had a plan. She’d tell them the gentleman coming to her townhouse was a physician. If people believed she fled to the country because she was grief-stricken, they would probably believe she called for a physician to give her something for her broken heart.

  She opened the door as he came up the steps. Their eyes met, and a smile lit up her face. It was even better seeing him than she expected. She barely managed to restrain herself from hugging him as he passed her and entered the house. But the moment the door closed, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him.

  At once, she was swept up into his embrace, being showered with kisses. Kisses on her cheeks. Kisses on her forehead. Kisses on her neck. Kisses everywhere. It was absolutely wonderful.

  “I’m so glad you came tonight,” she whispered, hardly able to catch her breath.

  “It took all my willpower to stay away,” he replied, his voice equally low. He pressed his forehead to hers and took a deep breath. “I’m incomplete without you.”

  “I feel the same way.” After a long moment, she pulled away from him. “Would you like something to drink or eat? I can bring you something.”

  “No. All I want is you.”

  Then he was kissing her again, but this time there was a greater urgency in it. His erection pressed against her, leaving no doubt to what he most wanted, and she wanted it just as much. But first, she had to make sure they would be smart about it.

  “Orlando,” she whispered, “did you get the thing I mentioned in the missive?”

  “Yes.” His hands traced her lower back and behind in a way that shot a thrill straight through her. “I need you, Chloe.”

  Her gaze went down the hall to the doors of the drawing room, and her lips curled up into a smile. “Let’s do it in there.” She nodded toward the room.

  He glanced over at it and chuckled. “Don’t be silly. The best place is upstairs.”

  “Who says we have to use a bed?”

  “It’s more comfortable.” He took her hand and led her to the stairs. “Show me where your bedchamber is.”

  “All right.”

  Maybe he worried someone might catch them if they were in the drawing room. He was probably right. Though the servants had retired for the evening, who knew if one wouldn’t pop up somewhere?

  She hurried up the stairs with him and led him to her bedchamber. As soon as she shut the door, he was kissing her again. Oh, what a thrill! She hadn’t known it was possible to be the object of such desire. This kind of passion was something she’d only heard about in snippets of a conversation when ladies didn’t think anyone was nearby to hear them. But she hadn’t fully grasped the meaning of their words until now.

  With a moan, he pulled her closer to him and deepened the kiss. Even knowing what was coming next, she couldn’t help but anticipate everything as if it was new. They hadn’t been intimate for so long, and she wanted nothing more than to lose herself in the bliss of lovemaking.

  He picked her up and carried her to the bed. Then he made haste in shrugging off his clothes. She did likewise, and soon he was on top of her, kissing her once more. His tongue brushed hers as he settled between her legs. His erection snuggled up to her sensitive nub in the most delightful way. Already she could feel the insistent need for release welling up inside her, demanding to be satisfied. And as much as she wanted to give in to it and take him into her, she remembered what Helena said about the sheath.

  “Orlando,” she whispered, her voice weak while he lowered his head and kissed her neck.

  It was downright difficult to keep her focus when he was moving slowly on top of her, his penis sliding nicely over her sensitive nub.

  “Orlando,” she said again, this time shifting away from him. Truly, if she didn’t act fast, she wasn’t going to make it. “Orlando, the sheath.”

  He lifted his head and looked at her. “What?”

  “The sheath. Did you bring it?”

  He stared at her for a moment. “Oh, the sheath! Right.” He got off the bed and rummaged through his clothes. “I know it’s here somewhere.”

  A second later, he pulled out something from a pocket, but it was hard for her to really see it in the candlelight. She scooted closer to the edge of the bed and watched as he took something thin out of a leather sack.

  “Is that it?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  She supposed its shape did resemble a sheath a knight would use to put his sword in, so the name fit. She watched as Orlando put it on, finding it more fascinating than arousing.

  “Does it hurt?” she asked as he secured it at the base of his shaft.

  “No, it doesn’t hurt. It feels,” he shrugged, “different.”

  “Different? How is it different?”

  “It’s like wearing a stocking on your foot.” He wrapped his arms around her and smiled. “I believe we were about to do something both of us enjoy.”

  Giggling, she rolled him over until she was straddling him. She could tell she’d surprised him by doing so. Up to now, he’d always been on top, but she thought it might be fun to try something new. She pressed herself intimately against him and resumed their kissing.

  Kissing him was absolutely wonderful, and she made no secret about her enthusiasm. This time she urged him to open his mouth so her tongue could spar with his. With a groan, he cupped her breasts, his thumbs tracing her nipples which hardened in response. If she’d been eager for him before, she was even more so now.

  Now that he had the sheath on, she didn’t have to stop things from going further. She pressed herself up against his erection. Having the sheath between them did make things feel different, but she didn’t know if she’d liken it to a stocking as he had. She was wet enough to make rubbing along him easy. However, if she was honest with herself, the truth of the matter was, she preferred the flesh-to-flesh contact.

  But this was something they needed to do until it was safe to let the Ton know they were married. There was no way she could abstain from this activity now that she knew how much pleasure it brought them both. And they could still receive pleasure even with the sheath.

  It certainly wasn’t stopping him from enjoying things. Just feeling him as hard as he was made her core clench in anticipation. She would climax tonight. She had no doubt about it. She moved her hips, noting how slick she was as she settled on his tip. All she had to do was take him into her.

  Just as she was about to that, he put his hands on her hips and stopped her. “I need to get on top,” he said.

  “Why?”

  He rolled with her until she was under him, her legs wrapped around his hips, her body still demanding she take him into her. He kissed her on the lips then her cheek and then her neck. She almost forgot her question, but then he answered, “I don’t want it to hurt for you.”

  He didn’t want it to hurt? She couldn’t imagine it would hurt if she was on top, but as he entered her, she gave it no more thought. Her core clenched around him, pulling him deeper into her. She moaned. In the short time they’d been apart, she’d forgotten it felt this good.

  She worked with him, her hips rising to meet each thrust. Using her legs, she encouraged him to go faster. If she hadn’t been so anxious for him all day, she might have had the patience to go at a more leisurely pace, but she had spent the entire day with the persistent ache between her legs. Only one thing could satisfy it, and all she could do was focus on the way he stroked her core, rubbing that sensitive area deep inside until she didn’t think she could take it anymore. Then, finally, she was at the peak.

  Crying out, she clung to him. Wave after wave of pleasure consumed her,
and all she could do was lie still and take it all in as he proceeded to make love to her, an action which only heightened each surge of pleasure. Oh, how she’d missed this.

  And what was more, she’d missed the joy of knowing he was receiving just as much pleasure when he released his seed. This time the familiar warmth didn’t go into her. The sheath caught it, which was the point of it, she knew, though it still surprised her for a moment. She’d gotten used to being slick with his seed when they were finished making love, and as strange as it struck her, she was going to miss the reminder they’d been intimate earlier in the night.

  When he was spent, he pulled out of her, clasping the sheath at the base of his shaft as he did so. Despite feeling lightheaded from her intense orgasm, she watched in interest as he untied the sheath from the base and took it off. He put it beside him then settled back on the pillow.

  “I’ll get to it in a moment,” he whispered, his voice raspy as he brought her into his arms.

  “What do you need to do with it?”

  “I’ll have to clean it up, and I want to do it soon because I want to use it again before the night is over.” With a grin, he traced her breast with his hand. “Actually, I want to use it at least a couple more times.”

  Laughing, she snuggled up to him and kissed him. “We will. I promise.”

  After a moment of comfortable silence, he asked, “I don’t suppose I can hide in this room for couple days? I don’t want to go back to my townhouse.”

  “I hadn’t thought about you leaving.” It was bound to happen at some point, but she’d like nothing more than to have him stay in her bedchamber so she could spend the days with him. It’d be easy enough to do. When her lady’s maid came in the room, he could go to the small adjoining room and close the door. Her lady’s maid would be none the wiser. But… “Won’t anyone notice you’re gone?”

  “Toby will guess where I am, but he won’t come looking for me.”

  “What about your servants?”

  “I don’t have to report my comings and goings to them. What I do is my concern.”

  “Since it won’t get you in any trouble, I would love for you to stay.” Relieved she wouldn’t have to say good-bye to him in the morning, she gave him a lingering kiss. With a contented sigh, she added, “I’m glad you’ll be here. I hate being away from you.”

  “I hate being away from you, too.”

  “It’ll be nice when we can get back to your estate.”

  “Our estate.”

  She smiled. “You’re right. Our estate.”

  He rubbed her back and kissed her neck, the action so light it made her giggle. “Let me clean that thing up,” he gestured to the sheath, “then I’ll be back.”

  She scooted away from him so he could get up. She propped up one of the pillows while he took the sheath to the water basin. “My arms feel empty without you,” she said.

  Grinning at her, he replied, “I’ll be in bed with you soon. I promise.”

  She got the blankets neatly arranged then settled against the pillow, eager for him to be right beside her once more.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Orlando woke up late the next morning, his body relaxed. It’d been hard to sleep without Chloe. He’d had his restless nights before they married, but afterwards, the desire to be with her had only increased. And that made for some frustrating, long nights alone in his bed. Last night was the best sleep he’d had since she’d left Edmonstone.

  He opened his eyes, surprised she wasn’t next to him. Sitting up, he scanned the room and saw her at her vanity, wearing her robe and brushing her long dark hair.

  She caught his gaze in the mirror and smiled. “I woke early and couldn’t get back to sleep. I’m too excited.” She turned to him, her robe falling partly open so he could see a hint of her breasts. “I’m glad you’ll be staying here for a few days.”

  “I don’t want to be anywhere else.”

  Her smile widened, and she put her brush down then came over to him. He brought her into his arms and kissed her. Perhaps he shouldn’t be pressing her to make love to him again. They barely slept the night before since he couldn’t seem to keep his hands off her. But try as he might, the pull to be intimate again was much too strong.

  He peeled back her robe until her breasts were exposed. He lowered his head to one of them and brushed his tongue along the nipple. She moaned and ran her hand along his shoulder, assuring him she didn’t mind another tryst. Good.

  Sometimes he worried he might make her sore if they did it too often. The last thing he wanted to do was cause her any discomfort like he had the first time they made love. But since she seemed to be enjoying what he was doing, he continued his ministrations. At least, he did until a knock at the door interrupted them.

  She let out a light gasp and quickly pulled her robe shut. She cleared her throat then called out, “What is it?”

  “I’m sorry to disturb you, my lady, but your mother’s here, and she says it’s important.”

  Chloe’s face turned pink, and Orlando couldn’t tell if she was embarrassed or annoyed. In time, he’d learn these subtle things about her, but that time was still a ways off.

  “It’s my lady’s maid,” Chloe whispered. In a louder voice, she called out, “I’m indisposed at the moment. Tell my mother I will be down as soon as I can.”

  “I’ll do as you wish, my lady,” her lady’s maid said.

  Waiting for the sound of retreating footsteps in the hallway, Orlando scooted to the edge of the bed. “The reprieve couldn’t last forever. The real world awaits.”

  “Whatever my mother wants, I’m sure it isn’t important.”

  “What things does she consider important?”

  “Usually, important to her involves a prominent member of society.”

  He snorted. “Why am I not surprised?”

  She giggled as he got up and gathered his clothes off the floor. “Would you like a hot bath?”

  “That depends. Will you be joining me?”

  “You’re silly. Both of us can’t fit in the tub.”

  “Not comfortably,” he allowed. “But I wasn’t thinking of that. I was thinking it might be nice to wash you up.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “I wouldn’t mind an excuse to touch you all over.”

  Giggling again, she kissed him. “I wouldn’t mind it either.”

  “I’ll hide in that room while the lady’s maid gets you ready to see your mother.” He gestured to the small room off to the side of the bedchamber.

  “All right.”

  He collected the sheath and pouch. It definitely wouldn’t do to let the lady’s maid find those! He scanned the area to make sure he got everything then headed for the room.

  She followed him. “In addition to the bath, I’ll have some food brought up here when Mother leaves. What would you like to eat?”

  He set his things on the desk and went over to kiss her. It was tempting to ask her to send her mother away, but instead, he said, “Anything you want is fine.”

  “Fish and vegetables?”

  “Sounds delicious.”

  She smiled again, and he couldn’t help but think she looked especially radiant today. “You’re beautiful.”

  “You make me beautiful,” she replied.

  A knock came at the door, and she sighed. “I’ll do everything I can to make my mother’s visit quick.”

  He nodded and watched as she closed the door to the room, thereby concealing him from view. One would think he’d been caught in a torrid love affair with another gentleman’s wife by all this secrecy. He didn’t particularly care for sneaking around as if he was doing something wrong, and he really didn’t care for the sheath.

  He wore it for her sake, but he wouldn’t have volunteered for the thing and not just because the thought of wearing something made from a sheep’s intestine was disgusting in and of itself. All it did was emphasize the fact that he couldn’t publicly acknowledge his marriage. Maybe it was wrong, but he hoped she was
expecting a child. Then they could put aside the pretense altogether.

  He could hear Chloe and her lady’s maid on the other side of the door, so he was careful to be quiet. Despite the promise of a bath, he got dressed. After that, he didn’t know what to do except see if there was anything of interest in the drawers of her desk.

  All he found was some parchment and an inkwell. Well, he did find two other things. They were the missives he’d written her. One was telling her how much he missed her and the other was telling her he’d come here last evening at ten. He smiled. She hadn’t kept any of Lord Hawkins’ letters, but she’d kept his.

  Turning his attention back to the blank parchment, he debated what to write. A couple minutes passed before he settled on the idea of writing her a poem. She seemed to like the story he told her about the gentleman who copied down poems for his love interest. Perhaps she’d like it if he wrote something specifically for her. He wasn’t a poet by nature, but he figured he’d give it a try. He opened the inkwell and dipped the quill into it. He waited for another minute until he came up with the first line, and then he put the quill on the parchment and began writing.

  ***

  Chloe turned to her lady’s maid when she was finished getting dressed. “When my mother leaves, would you have a bath brought up? Oh, I also would like fish and vegetables.”

  “You don’t want to eat downstairs?” her lady’s maid asked.

  “No. I find myself overcome with grief over Lord Hawkins’ passing. I’d rather be alone.”

  “As you wish, my lady.”

  Well, that went better than Chloe hoped. She didn’t think her lady’s maid would believe her, but whether she believed Chloe or not was of little consequence. The important thing was that she’d do as Chloe wanted without question. It made things much easier that way.

  Chloe lifted the black skirt, lest she trip on it, and left the room. When she reached the drawing room, she saw her mother pacing back and forth. Noting the butler had already brought her tea and scones, she breathed a sigh of relief. Good. Maybe her mother’s visit would be even shorter since the refreshments were already taken care of.