“Let’s just go, Sinjin. Please. I want to get out of here.”
They started down the staircase, and Katelyn looked over the banister to see Meredith lying in the hallway, her face white as a sheet, her gown stained red, and at her side Ronald wept, holding on to her hand, bringing it to his lips.
Aunt Lillith stood at the foot of the stairs, near the front door, motioning for them to hurry.
“Do not leave me, Meredith,” Ronald pleaded, kissing each of her hands. “Please.” His voice was full of anguish. “I cannot live without you.”
Meredith opened her eyes. “I love you, Ronald. I always have. You and only you.”
Ronald looked up and, seeing the three of them, screamed, “Leave us! This is all your fault. If you hadn’t of—”
Meredith lifted her hand and caressed her brother’s cheek. “Shh, my dearest. Tell me how much you love me.”
It was obvious to all of them in that moment that the two shared a different relationship than that of siblings.
“Do not leave me,” Ronald said, his cheek against her chest. “Please, you are my life…my love…my everything.”
“Let’s go,” Sinjin said, rushing for the door.
“Did you send for the surgeon?” Ronald yelled at his valet, who nodded and looked on helplessly.
Katelyn glanced back at the man who had caused her such grief, and for the first time ever, she felt sorry for him. He had stood in judgment of others all his life. How ironic given his own family’s secret.
Sinjin helped Lillith and then Katelyn into the carriage. “I will follow behind.” He gave their driver a nod and the carriage lurched into motion.
Shaking, she watched as Sinjin walked toward his horse.
“Good lord,” Lillith said with a deep breath.
Blood splatters stained Lillith’s gown, and she turned to look at Rose Alley as they pulled away. She pressed her lips together and shook her head.
“Did you know about Ronald and Meredith?” Katelyn asked, still reeling from the truth.
“I confess that I suspected something was amiss when my husband made a strange comment about the relationship Ronald had with his sister. I never thought much of it until your mother told me the news of your engagement. My fears were always there, and I spoke to your mother about my concerns, but of course, she said it was hogwash. But the moment I saw Ronald and Meredith together, and saw the way they looked at each other, I realized it was the truth.”
Ironically, now that Katelyn knew the truth, she thought back on the odd behavior she had seen on occasion between the two siblings. And yet he had seemed so prim and proper. “The secrets one keeps behind closed doors.”
“Indeed,” Lillith said absently. “We must put this all behind us, my dear. God willing, Meredith will survive her wound. For you, the future is bright, and you have everything to look forward to. Just think, soon you shall be Lady Mawbry.”
22
Sinjin cleared his throat, and the guests at Claymoore Hall fell silent.
He motioned for Katelyn to come forward, and Lillith nudged her. “This is your moment, my dear.”
Whispers followed her as she made her way up the pathway to the head of the table where Sinjin sat, his mother to his right.
She stopped a foot away from him, and he took her hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed it lightly. Stunned gasps filled the room.
“I would like to present my fiancée, Lady Katelyn.”
The surprised guests slowly broke into loud applause, which grew louder by the second, thanks in kind to Rory and Victor, who clapped heartily.
They had arrived at Claymoore Hall to find just a few of the guests had left, and none seemed the wiser that Sinjin, Katelyn, and Lillith had even been gone. Marilyn had stayed in her room during their absence, save for attending tea, at which time she said both her sister and aunt were not feeling well. A head cold, she had muttered.
Sinjin’s absence would have been more duly noted than her own, yet his brothers had managed to divert all the attention.
Until now.
There were a lot of disappointed women in the room, most of all Lady Celeste, who stood in open-mouthed astonishment, her gaze shifting from Sinjin to Katelyn and back again. Her chaperone made her way to her side. Her effort to comfort her charge was met with resistance, and Celeste rushed from the room.
Marilyn and Lillith beamed.
Sinjin motioned to the servants, and they brought in trays of champagne. Once everyone had been served, Sinjin said, “I would like to make a toast to the two most important women in my life—Lady Katelyn and my mother, who without her assistance, I would not have met my beautiful fiancée.”
Lady Rochester’s face lit up and she embraced Katelyn. She had been delightful from the moment they had stepped out of the carriage. She seemed genuinely happy, and Katelyn was relieved she did not disapprove of Sinjin’s choice in any way.
“Welcome to the family,” Victor said, hugging her tight.
“Thank you, Victor. I can hardly wait to be your sister-in-law.”
Rory kissed her on the mouth, and Sinjin pulled him away. “Careful, brother,” Sinjin said teasingly, though his voice held an edge to it.
The rest of the evening was spent celebrating, and thankfully many of the guests extended their congratulations to Katelyn and Sinjin.
It was nearly midnight when they left the festivities, exhausted from all they had been through these past days.
Sinjin lifted her in his arms and took her to his chamber overlooking the gardens. She walked out onto the balcony and he stepped behind her.
“It is so beautiful.”
“You are beautiful.”
She turned in his arms. “Are you happy?”
“Happier than I have ever been.” He hugged her tight, kissing the top of her head.
“As am I.”
His hand moved up and down her back in a soothing gesture. “I cannot wait to marry you.” He lifted her skirts, his hands cupping her bottom.
“Scandalous man,” she said, even as desire rushed through her veins. He stepped away, back into the room, and pulled off his shirt, then began unbuttoning his pants. She watched him, taking in every glorious inch of his body. He was perfection, and she was thrilled knowing he would be her husband.
His hands were at the back of her gown, unlacing the binds. Soon her undergarments joined the dress and she stood before him with nothing on save her stockings.
Smiling wolfishly, he lifted her in his arms and walked to the bed, where he followed her down onto the surprisingly soft mattress.
She sat up, her hands bracing his hips, and kissed the head of his thick cock.
His breath came out in a hiss, his hips flexing against her. Growing more daring, she opened her mouth wider, sliding her tongue over the head, down the ridge, and back up again.
Long fingers rested on her shoulders and tightened there. She glanced up at him and felt a surge of pleasure ripple through her at the heat in those brilliant blue eyes.
After a few more licks, she took him into her mouth, as far as she could without choking. He grasped the base of his cock with one hand, and her fingers covered his, following his instruction. He smiled down at her, obviously pleased.
She concentrated fully on what she was doing, and soon he was pumping against her mouth, the next second bracing her, and the next pulling away. “I want to be inside you.”
He touched her between her legs, to the hot core that even now pulsed with the desire to be filled with his long cock.
He slid into her, his thick rod filling her in one quick stroke. Her inner muscles clenched him tight, and he moaned low in his throat as heat surrounded him. She watched him, his heavy-lidded gaze, as he watched her in turn. His gaze left hers to shift down her body slowly to her breasts. He leaned forward and took a nipple into his mouth, playing with it, tugging at it with his teeth, sucking, laving.
The sensation went from her breasts straight to her sex where he f
illed her so completely. Her fingers wove through his long dark hair, and a joy so intense rushed over her that tears clogged her throat.
She would enjoy this for the rest of her life. It was just the two of them, together forever.
Her nails dug into his scalp and she pulled him closer to her breast. His strokes slowed and she lifted her hips to meet each thrust.
Sinjin gloried in the fact he would have Katelyn forever. That no one would ever take her from him again. She watched him now, her beautiful green eyes dark and full of passion.
Her sheath tightened around him and she cried out his name. The headboard hit the wall with each thrust, and not wanting to alert all the guests to what was happening behind closed doors, Sinjin lifted Katelyn and took her down to the floor.
Katelyn’s back came into contact with the soft rug, and as Sinjin settled between her thighs, she sighed. She had been seconds from orgasm again, and with each long stroke, she drew that much closer.
Sinjin swelled within her, his balls drawing closer to his body. Katelyn bit her lip, her soft moans and the throbbing of her channel around his cock, sending him over the edge to his own climax.
His lips curved in a smile. “I hope we have a child soon, and I hope he or she favors you.”
Her heart leapt, knowing she could very well already be carrying their child. “I love you, Sinjin Rayborne.”
He kissed her softly, and whispered against her lips, “And I love you, my soon-to-be Lady Mawbry.”
Also by J.A. Templeton
Adult Titles by J.A. Templeton
A Second Chance
Bad Boy Rebound
Dangerous Desires
Dangerous Games
Kieran the Black
Little Miss Independent
Masquerade
Now & Forever
Return to Me
Surrender to Love
Trail Boss
Scandalous Sirens series:
Forbidden (writing with Tracy Cooper-Posey)
Dangerous Beauty (writing with Tracy Cooper-Posey)
Medieval Warrior series:
The Bargain
The Conquest
The Rakehells of Rochester
Sinjin
Victor
Rory
* * *
YA/New Adult titles by J.A. Templeton
The MacKinnon Curse series:
The Deepest Cut, #1
The Haunted, #2
The Departed, #3
The MacKinnon Curse novella, #4
The MacKinnon Legacy series:
The Uninvited, #1
The Forgotten, #2
Bad Boy Rockers series:
Thin White Line, #1
Ryder’s Redemption, #2
Otherworld series:
The Gatekeeper, #1
About the Author
With over thirty published stories to her credit, J.A. Templeton enjoys research and spending time with friends and family. Married to her high school sweetheart, J.A. is a hopeless romantic who calls the beautiful Pacific Northwest home.
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Sinjin Page 17
