In the dim lighting, she could already see the dark bruises on her wrist and hip, as well as myriad other splotches dotting her skin. She fought back revulsion and tightened her lips, scrubbing harder, until her skin pinked beneath her ministrations.
The door swung open just as she was climbing out of the tepid water. Eric froze, staring wide-eyed at her naked body for a moment, seemingly at a loss for words. Then, he gasped out an apology and hurriedly shut the door.
With himself inside the room.
Charlene felt as though she could barely breathe. She wanted nothing more than to go to him and wrap her naked body around his. She felt the sweet dampness of lust form between her legs and blushed.
But Eric had turned away from her, looking pointedly towards the wall as he held something out to her. It was a dressing gown, a little too large and a little scratchy, but Charlene hastily pulled it on.
“Thank you,” she mumbled, trying not to sound too disappointed.
When she had finished pulling the material around herself, though, Eric finally turned back. His eyes roamed over her for a moment, and then he strode forwards in two quick steps, pulling her into his arms and kissing her passionately.
This time, pressed against his chest, Charlene found that her legs would no longer hold her up.
Eric led her over to the bed and pulled her down against him, so that they were half-reclining against the pillows. He continued to kiss her, one large and warm hand coming down to rest atop her hip.
These kisses made Charlene’s body flare with heat, and it was all that she could do to keep from moaning wantonly.
She could only imagine what Aunt Helene and the rest of them would have to say about her if they knew what she was doing just now.
If they knew that she was sharing a room with Duke Cumberland of Havenport for the night, and if they knew about these kisses.
She shivered as Eric’s hand crept towards the slit in her dressing gown. Suddenly, he froze, pulling back away from her and smiling sheepishly. “Let us not…get carried away,” he said, sounding for all the world as though he wanted nothing more than to let his passion carry him away.
Charlene smiled back at him and sighed, lying her cheek against his chest and hearing his heartbeat beneath her. “I’m glad that you found me,” she whispered.
For a long time, Eric didn’t say anything in response, merely let his arms tighten around her body.
“My father…” Charlene began suddenly. If there was anyone who could tell her about her father’s fate, Eric would be the one, she was certain. Still, she did not know how to phrase the question. She had lost all hope in anyone’s ability to save her father from the gallows, yet she did not want to hear that the man had died.
And had she not forfeited her right to know, when she had run away and vowed to leave that all behind?
“The trial was postponed again,” Eric told her quietly, kissing her hair. He cleared his throat. “Or rather, it began as scheduled until your aunt intervened.”
Charlene pulled back sharply. “Aunt Helene? What did she do?” She couldn’t help but worry. Her aunt had so much as said that she believed the doctor, her brother, to be guilty. Charlene wouldn’t have wanted her near those proceedings.
“As I understand it, she told the judge all about the Marquess’ blackmail,” Eric explained. “The judge was furious and assigned a new chief investigator to the case.”
It was silent in the room for a moment. Charlene couldn’t believe that she had just heard him correctly.
“Lord Ambrose must be furious,” Charlene said worriedly.
“Part of why I was so determined to find you,” Eric said grimly.
“And my aunt Helene?” Charlene asked. With both Harvey Parsons and Lord Ambrose seeking revenge on her family, it was only a matter of time before they were all…
No. She refused to think about that. Aunt Helene would have known what the dangers were, and she would have protected herself against anything that could possibly happen.
“So what happens now?” Charlene asked.
“The new chief investigator is considering the evidence and making sure that it’s all legitimate,” Eric told her. He paused, and a slow smile spread across his face. “But you may be happy to hear that I have enough evidence to bring against Harvey in the trial.”
“What?” Charlene asked in surprise.
“I won’t get into all of it now,” Eric told her. “All the signs point to your father’s innocence, however.” He sounded pleased with himself, and all Charlene could do was to kiss him again.
“Thank you,” she whispered against the man’s lips.
The two of them kissed for a while longer, until eventually they fell asleep. Even though nothing further happened, it settled something deep inside of Charlene’s soul to have him hold her thus.
Chapter 33
Lord Eric Cumberland, Duke of Havenport
Eric felt as though his heart was breaking when he saw how wretched Charlene’s life had become. It wasn’t simply catching her alone in that alleyway with Harvey, begging for him to let her go. Her whole demeanor had been altered.
She was no longer sunny and smiley like he remembered. She no longer held herself with an air of dignity. Instead, it was all that she could do not to collapse against him, and everything about her seemed unkempt. The bath had done a wonder, but she was nowhere near the woman that he remembered.
He himself felt wretched in the face of that. If he had but found her sooner…
He was only grateful that he could bring good news to her. If he had had to tell her that her father was dead, well. He could only imagine the sort of reception that such news would receive now, of all times.
It had been enough to see how frightened she was in that alleyway. She had been in shock, he thought, her body trembling and her eyes unable to focus on him.
He hated seeing her like that.
Fortunately, the longer she stayed in the room, the better she seemed to be feeling. The bath had done wonders for her color, bringing back that soft pink flush that he was accustomed to with her. Her hair was still tangled and unkempt, but overall, she looked more like herself than like the frightened creature he had found in the alleyway.
He wished that he had beaten Harvey to a pulp for scaring her like that. He wished that he had the opportunity to drag him up in front of the authorities.
It had taken him some time to find Charlene, but he had spent that time in the “underworld” of London finding the links that he needed to compile a case against the man. It turned out that Harvey had bragged about his exploits to nearly anyone who would listen.
He had been hired by Lord Ambrose. It wasn’t a surprise when Eric truly thought about it. After all, it couldn’t be a coincidence for the man to suddenly propose to Charlene.
The Marquess must have known the rumors that were circulating in regards to his previous marriage. He must have realized that no one would willingly agree to be his bride. And he must have found some way around that.
Although to be perfectly honest, the evidence linking Lord Ambrose and Dr. Ellington was flimsy at best. From what Eric could tell, the involvement of the doctor might have all been Harvey’s doing.
What he could prove for certain was that Lord Ambrose had approached Harvey with a plan to have Lord Henrich murdered.
He hadn’t said anything to the chief investigator yet. His priority had been to find Charlene and bring her safely home in time for the trial.
What’s more, he didn’t want the chief investigator to cover up his evidence, for some reason, when it came time for the trial. He didn’t want Lord Ambrose to be able to use his power, money, and prestige to pay his way out of the consequences that were due to him.
Mrs.Helene Wynter had begun his downfall, when she accused the man of corruption and improper use of his power. Eric wanted the man’s destruction to be total, though.
The Marquess was, after all, the reason that Charlene had felt that she
had to run away from her aunt’s house. He was the reason that she had ended up here in the underworld of London, looking bedraggled and frightened as she was cornered in an alleyway.
Lord Ambrose would pay for what he had done to the young woman.
The spark was already beginning to come back to her eye, however. Eric was relieved to see that.
He knew that he shouldn’t be acting so familiar with her. That the last thing he should be doing was holding her near-naked body and kissing her. It was enough to share a room with her. But he ought to have rolled out a mat on the floor and made himself comfortable there while she took the bed.
He couldn’t seem to release her, however. Nor did Charlene seem as though she wished to be released.
She curled against him, resting her head against his chest while they weren’t kissing.
When they dozed off like that, it wasn’t a surprise. Waking up with her still nestled in his arms was, however.
He smiled down at her, watching for a moment as she slept. He tried gently to disentangle himself from her, but his movements woke her. She frowned and yawned, looking up at him. Slowly, her face broke into a smile that he wouldn’t have thought she was capable of anymore.
“Good morning,” she said quietly.
Eric simply had to kiss her. The kiss was sweet and gentle, nothing like the passionate kisses that they usually traded. But somehow, this was perfect. “Good morning,” he murmured as they broke apart.
Suddenly, he found himself imagining what things would be like if she could be his. If they could spend whole days in bed in his country estates, curled together beneath the sheets. They would have servants to bring them their breakfast, and they would have no reason to get dressed.
Or, how would it be to have her as a partner in running his estates? If their plans for the day could include going amongst his holdings and speaking to his tenants about the upcoming harvest and other of their worries?
In spite of the fact that Charlene had never been groomed to take over such a role, Eric couldn’t help but think that she would be perfect for it. She understood people, and she was so intelligent. She would win them all over with a smile.
Just as she had won him over.
For now, though, he had to resign himself to the way that she pulled away. At least he could read the reluctance in her every movement.
“I suppose I should get dressed,” she sighed, plucking at the dressing gown that he had provided for her the night before, courtesy of the youngest daughter of the innkeeper.
The green color suited her, Eric decided. If she could but become his wife, he would see that she had a dozen frocks made in the same shade of green.
He cleared his throat, trying to clear his head of the fantasies at the same time. “I will fetch something for us to eat,” he told her.
“You don’t need to,” Charlene protested, looking bashful. “I should be returning home. To my aunt’s house.” She bit her lower lip and ducked her head. “To be perfectly truthful, that house no longer feels like home. Too much has happened.” She sighed softly.
Eric couldn’t stop himself from pulling her close again, holding her against his chest. There was something so sorrowful in her expression and her words. As though she had lost all of her previous youthfulness.
“Things will be all right,” he said. “I know that it all seems dark now, but we will prove your father’s innocence once and for all, and your family’s reputation will be restored.”
Charlene sighed and lay a hand flat against Eric’s chest. He imagined that he could feel the heat of her palm and the soft touch of her skin through his shirt, even though that, of course, was ridiculous.
She turned her face up towards his, and it was only natural for their lips to meet again. She knew that she ought to pull away again. There were still so many reasons that they shouldn’t consummate their love.
Not least of which because this was neither the time nor the place for such things. She ought to be making certain that her father was all right. That his reputation was cleared.
All the stress from the past weeks, not to mention all of her lust for Eric, welled up inside of her now, though. She couldn’t stop herself from sliding her hands up underneath his shirt, feeling his firm body beneath her palms.
She gasped as he lifted her up and carried her to the bed, laying her down on the sheets and climbing on top of her.
Her dressing gown fell open as though it were made for this. She felt a little shy as Eric ran his eyes hungrily down her body, but she didn’t move to cover herself.
“I’ve never done this before,” she found herself admitting, however.
Eric smiled brilliantly. He leaned down and kissed her softly. “I’ll be gentle,” he promised her.
“I never imagined that you wouldn’t be,” Charlene said honestly.
He kissed her again, then moved his lips down her body. She cherished every brush of his lips against her skin. It woke a fire inside of her, and soon she was quivering and arching against him, desperate for more.
He trailed his fingers along the folds between her legs, then placed a gentle kiss there. Charlene quivered, feeling embarrassed by the attention. She couldn’t deny that it felt good, however.
She made a soft noise as Eric prodded his fingers inside of her, his mouth sucking at the nub of nerves at the apex of her folds.
He smiled encouragingly up at her even as he pulled back slightly. “It’s okay to make noise,” he said, his voice gone deep with the strength of his own desire. “I want to hear you.”
Charlene blushed. “The walls cannot be too thick,” she reminded him. What if they were overheard? She would die from the mortification.
“Trust me, we aren’t the first people to do this here,” Eric said, grinning crookedly. He returned to what he had been doing before, and all thoughts of holding back flew from Charlene’s mind.
She moaned wantonly as he sucked just so at her folds, make her insides squirm with heat. She had never imagined that this could feel so good. Of course, she had never truly imagined that she would ever experience this.
His fingers delved into her depths, drawing a warm wetness from within her. He licked and sucked and nibbled lightly at her skin, each new touch making her gasp with surprise.
After an eternity, he pulled back, smiling down at her. She couldn’t help but feel disappointed as he came back up the bed so that they were chest-against-chest again. Was that the end of it? All that he would give her?
Before she could truly complete that thought, however, Eric was tenderly brushing her hair back and rocking his body against hers. She could feel his firm length pushing against her folds, dragging through the dampness there.
“Oh!” she gasped as he pressed just his tip inside of her.
Eric froze, giving her time to adjust. At first, she wondered how he could possibly fit inside of her. Surely he was too long, and much too wide! But slowly, her muscles relaxed, allowing him to slide a little further inside.
There was a light pinch at one point, and the burn of the stretch made it hard for her to breathe. But as Eric whispered soft encouragements in her ear, she found that she could overlook that.
She could feel Eric twitching inside of her and knew the strain that he was under in holding back, in trying to be gentle with her. That, in itself, made her want him all the more.
When he was fully inside of her, he kissed her, and she forgot all about her discomfort. This was Eric, inside of her, surrounding her. She was safe with him. She could see the love shining out of his gaze.
He pulled back, slowly beginning to move, first in tiny increments that still managed to take her breath away. He picked up speed, and before long, he was drawing nearly all the way out of her hole before thrusting back in.
Charlene clung to him, moans of encouragement falling from her lips as she forgot all about the coarseness of their surroundings or who might overhear them.
Her entire world narrowed to her and Eric, to
the intimate feeling of his hot prick buried deep inside of her. She stared up at him, her fingers running along his body, still hardly believing that this was real.
He smiled, shattering her self-control, and suddenly it was as though she was flying, her whole body trembling as lust burst in hot waves through her.
She barely retained consciousness. She could but cling to Eric, mindless with the realization that he was here, giving her this amazing pleasure, after all these years of wanting.
When she came back to herself, Eric was cradling her against his chest, softly pressing kisses to her hair while his fingers trailed across her skin in aimless patterns.
Regency Diaries of Seduction Collection: A Regency Historical Romance Box Set Page 80
