by HELEN HARDT
“If you would be so kind, Mr. Newland…”
Zach stood, mouth agape. She had said something after his name, but he had heard no words. Only that voice, that voice from an angel, swirled around his head. He could not get enough of it. Still those rosy lips trembled, calling to him.
He couldn’t help himself. He gripped her shoulders, lowered his head, and pressed his lips to hers.
CHAPTER THREE
What is happening?
Mr. Newland was…kissing her.
Sophie gasped, the air suctioning Mr. Newland’s lips even more onto hers. She hardly knew this man, and indeed, it was her first kiss. But…
Heaven.
He nibbled at her lips, his tongue pressing along the seam. He wanted her to open her mouth. She knew a bit about kissing, mostly from Ally telling her things she hadn’t really wanted to hear. And now… She was in the middle of a kiss with a most handsome man, and suddenly, she wanted this kiss more than she wanted to breathe. No worries there, because she couldn’t breathe. Her skin tingled all over, and her heart thumped.
She parted her lips.
And all thought fled. Only feeling remained—pure raw feeling. He swept his tongue inside of her mouth, seeking hers, and she responded, letting her own tongue drift outward and touch his.
Oh, the sparks! Such sparks tickled her skin. Her skin heated, her belly fluttered, and a strange pulsing began between her legs.
Dear Lord… The tickle, the fresh desire. Her nipples tightened against her corset, two hard little berries aching to be let free of their confinement. Between her legs… She wanted something between her legs… Something hard…
Something hard? What was she doing?
With all of her strength, she pushed against Mr. Newland’s chest, breaking the kiss with a loud smack.
“Mr. Newland, please!” She placed both her hands on her cheeks. How red must they be! “In the middle of the street. And I…I hardly know you!”
“We can certainly remedy the latter, my lady.” Mr. Newland arched his eyebrow and smiled. An adorable dimple appeared on his left cheek.
Sophie attempted to back away from Mr. Newland but stumbled, her knees like jelly.
Mr. Newland caught her, gripping her upper arm. “Easy, my lady. Let’s get you inside for moment.” He led her back into the theatre lobby.
Sophie yanked her arm away. “I can look after myself.” But she stumbled again.
Mr. Newland chuckled and took her arm again. “Please, come with me.”
He led her back into his office and helped her sit down on a lush leather chair. “Sit here for moment. I will get you a drink of water.” He returned seconds later and handed her a cup.
She drank thirstily, the water soothing her parched mouth. What had gotten into him? More importantly, what gotten into her? Why had she allowed the kiss in the first place? In broad daylight? In public?
Zach sat down in the chair next to her. “Are you feeling better?”
Sophie was certain she was turning twelve shades of red. “Yes, thank you.”
“Good. Because I meant it when I said I wanted you to take the lead role in my new musicale. You have such an exquisite operatic voice, unlike anything I’ve ever heard. I can make you a sensation.”
A sensation? Sophie had no desire to be a sensation. She wished only to stay at home, doting on tiny cousins and a soon-to-be-born niece or nephew, reading, singing, walking about the grounds. It might not be a glamorous life, but it was hers, and she was used to it.
She knew firsthand how wretched life could be when she had a man’s attention. Ally had shielded her for most of it by taking their father’s punishment for her. Sophie had tried to repay Ally in the past, but had finally come to the conclusion that she just couldn’t. The best she could do for Ally was stay out of harm’s way, be a recluse, a spinster.
“I do appreciate your confidence in me, sir, but I must decline.”
“You have no idea how much it pains me to hear you say that, my lady.”
Sophie winced a bit. She hated causing anyone pain, especially this man who had just given her the amazing gift of his kiss—something she never thought she would experience—no matter how inappropriate it was. “I am not meant for the stage, sir. I am meant for a simple life, a life at home helping to care for my loved ones. That is my destiny, and it is one I am happy to fulfill.”
Mr. Newland took her hand. Shivers ran through her at his touch. She tried to draw her hand away, but he held fast.
“A voice such as yours should be shared, my lady. I don’t believe for one moment that your destiny is to remain on the sidelines, watching your life trickle by day by day, moment by moment. I believe your destiny is to share your gifts with the world, to become who you were meant to be.”
“I know very well who I am meant to be, sir.” And she had made her peace with it.
He leaned toward her, their faces becoming closer, his full pink lips glistening. Her heart nearly stopped. He was going to kiss her again, and dearest Lord, she wanted him to.
But Mr. Newland was a rake, well-known in his circles as a seducer of women. She had heard the tales from Cameron and Rose. Though they both thought very highly of Mr. Newland as a businessman and as a performer, they both admitted that he enjoyed bedding many women. Sophie had no intention of being one of them.
Before his lips descended on hers, the door to his office opened.
Sophie turned, gasping, and beheld a pretty blond woman, her hair cascading down over her shoulders. She wore a simple peasant dress. Blue eyes pierced Sophie’s own. Nanette Lloyd—or the prima donna, as Lily would say.
“Zach? Are you returning for the auditions, or are you not?” Miss Lloyd whipped her hands to her hips and tapped her foot impatiently. “There are over twenty people waiting for their chances to audition.”
Zach cleared his throat and stood, his face pink. “Yes, yes, of course. But before we resume additions, I would like you to meet the Regal Theatre’s new star soprano, Lady Sophie MacIntyre.”
Sophie stood, gasping. “Mr. Newland—”
Miss Lloyd dropped her mouth into an O.
Mr. Newland grabbed Sophie by the hand. “Lady Sophie, meet Nanette Lloyd, another gifted soprano in our company.”
“And the lead soprano,” Nanette said.
“Dear Nanette, you are a true talent, but Lady Sophie, I’m afraid, is just a little bit better than you are.”
Sophie warmed down to her toes at the compliment. But goodness, she did not want to be the star soprano of his company. She just wanted to go home. She had fulfilled her bet with Ally, and now she was finished with this. “Miss Lloyd, I assure you I am not the new star soprano here.”
“Then what is the meaning of this, Zachary?” Nanette asked, her hand still glued to her hips.
Zach opened his mouth, but Sophie spoke over him.
“Mr. Newland, I told you that I am not taking this post. I do thank you for the opportunity to audition, but I have no interest in the stage.”
“Well, that’s a very good thing indeed,” Nanette said, shaking her hair so that it tumbled in waves over her bosom, “because I can assure you I would make both of your lives miserable.” She turned and flounced away.
Sophie curtsied politely to Mr. Newland. “And now, sir, if you will please excuse me.” She left the office and ventured back into the lobby of the theatre. There she asked the doorman to hail her a hansom cab. A cabbie couldn’t get here fast enough. She was so ready to leave the city and go home, to her own chamber, where she was safe and nothing could harm her.
* * *
Zach returned to the theatre and apologized to the performers waiting to audition. They were all very gracious except for Nanette, who glared at him. Well, so be it. Nanette was a fine soprano, but Sophie was an angel. Somehow he would talk her into taking the role.
Several hours later, after all the auditions were finished, Zach headed back into his office, his mind racing with ideas of how to get Soph
ie to perform. He walked in, and then dropped his jaw nearly to the floor.
Nanette lay, stark naked, on the Oriental rug covering the floor of his office.
“What took you so long, handsome?”
Zach closed his mouth and cleared his throat. “What are you doing here, Nanette? I told you it’s over between us.”
“You didn’t really expect me to believe that, did you? We’ve had so much fun between the sheets, and the thought of never having you again… Well, I just can’t bear it.”
“I’m afraid you’re going to have to bear it. I was not kidding. We are over.”
“But won’t you miss me?”
Miss her? She was lovely to look at. But Zach grew tired of women easily. It was his way, and he certainly wasn’t going to settle down anytime soon…especially not with the likes of Nanette Lloyd. She was a talent, it was true, but she had gotten her start as a saloon girl. That’s where Zach had found her. Her voice was good, and under his tutelage, it had gotten even better, but she was still a saloon girl. Not that there was anything wrong with being a saloon girl. Zach had had plenty of fun with saloon girls over the years. But although Nanette was a competent actress and singer, she was not destined for greatness.
Lady Sophie, however, was.
Nanette stood, her blond tresses tumbling over her breasts. She was a little thing, smaller even than Lady Sophie. Her body was curvy and soft.
A sudden jolt of déjà vu hit Zach in the gut. This was the exact scenario that had occurred when he first met Nanette. He had asked her, after hearing her sing at a local saloon, to audition for him. After the audition, he had found her naked in his office, and that is how their liaison had begun. How fortuitous that it would end the same way.
Nanette strode forward, her hips swaying, her lower lip protruding. “Surely you don’t want to give all this up.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, her own neck craned to look up into his eyes. She bit her lower lip.
Normally when a naked woman was this close to him, Zach’s cock reacted. This time? Nothing.
Nanette fumbled with the buttons on his shirt. Soon his chest was exposed, and she rubbed her breasts into him.
“This feels so good. My nipples get so hard against your chest. I want you so much. I want you to eat my pussy. Would you eat my pussy for me, handsome?”
Few things existed in the universe that Zach enjoyed more than eating a sweet pussy. And Nanette’s was quite nice, but today Zach was not interested—at least not in this particular pussy.
What might Lady Sophie look like between her legs? Plump and red and luscious? How might her nectar taste against his tongue? Would she have a beautiful dark-blond bush he could bury his face in? And what would her breasts feel like against his chest? From what he could tell, they were slightly larger than Nanette’s. Probably with delicate carnelian nipples begging to be sucked.
Zach loved breasts and nipples almost as much as pussy.
But Sophie’s mouth… He didn’t have to imagine that perfectly formed piece of art. Her sweet pink lips were just plump enough, just moist enough, and shaped almost like a heart. That kiss had stirred him like no other. Had he been the first to kiss those glossy lips of hers? He was pretty sure he had been, and the thought filled him with a primal joy. His cock stirred.
“There we go. Can little Zachary come out and play?” Nanette fondled him through his trousers.
Why not? He could fuck Nanette and pretend she was Sophie. He frequently fantasized about other women during sex.
Nanette dropped to her knees and began unbuckling his britches. If she meant to suck him, he would have to stop her. He wanted her up against the wall, from behind. If he didn’t see her face, he could imagine that her hair was a darker blond and that she was slightly taller. Sophie…
He gently pushed Nanette away and lowered his trousers.
“Place your hands on the wall, Nanette,” he ordered.
“But I want to suck your cock, handsome. And then I want you to eat my sweet pussy.”
Hell, no. This was a fuck. A fuck with a purpose. A fuck to ease his discomfort and think of that fetching woman whose lips he couldn’t get out of his mind.
“No. This way. I want to fuck you up against the wall. Pound my hard cock into you.”
Nanette smiled. “I suppose, if you put that way…” She stood and moved to the wall, bracing her hands against the guilt-edged wallpaper, her legs parted slightly.
Zach moved behind her, his cock at attention. He bent his knees and rubbed it against the wetness of her slit. Yes, she was ready. Nanette was always ready.
As he prepared to plunge into her, he conjured a vision of Lady Sophie in his mind. Lord, would she ever offer her pussy to him like this? Would he get the chance to make her his?
Make her his? Where had that thought come from? He had never deluded himself that the women he bedded were his. He had no desire to make any of them his.
He backed away from Nanette, his cock already beginning to lose its erection. “I’m sorry, Nanette. I clearly lost my head for a moment, but I meant what I said earlier. It is over between us.”
“I don’t believe that for a moment.” Nanette slapped him across the face.
The smack stung, but it was nothing he hadn’t endured before. Nanette was far from the first woman he had offended.
“I am indeed sorry,” he said again.
“I suppose this means you no longer want me in your productions.”
“To the contrary. I appreciate your talent and would be happy to have you on my stage.”
“So I have talent. But I suppose I’m nothing compared to your new protégé, Lady Sophie.”
Zach let out a sigh. How could he explain this? “Lady Sophie has a gift.”
“And you don’t feel I have that gift?”
“You have a lovely voice. You’re good actress and a good singer. But Lady Sophie… It’s as if the angels themselves come down from heaven and sing through her.”
Nanette shook her head. “Did I really just hear you correctly? What utter nonsense! You want to know what I think? I think this ‘gift’ you speak about is your way to get into her drawers.”
“For God’s sake, Nanette. Get dressed and get out of here.”
Nanette gathered her garments and walked out of the office, still naked.
“Good riddance,” Zach said under his breath. He readjusted his britches quickly, pondering. Did Nanette have a point? Was he enamored with Sophie’s voice just because he wanted to get beneath her corset? Because he couldn’t deny it. He wanted Sophie. Something about her called to him.
Was it her voice? Her voice was angelic, and he did want to help her develop it. He truly did believe he could make her a sensation. But something more tugged at him. She was lovely—lovely in a way more understated than usual. She was a beautiful woman who didn’t know she was beautiful. Zach wanted to help her find her beauty and appreciate it.
He had to get her to agree to perform in the musical. It would not only help him and his production and be a gift to all audience members who heard her, but he had the distinct feeling that she needed it.
* * *
Sophie had no sooner returned to the estate than Ally pounced on her.
“Tell me all about it! How was the audition? How did you find Mr. Newland? Isn’t he just magnificent to look at? Were you nervous? What did he say about your singing?”
Sophie drew in a breath. “My goodness, how many questions did you just ask?”
“I counted five. Answer whichever you want first. It’s no matter to me.” Ally took Sophie’s hand and drew her into the parlor. “Now sit here right beside me.” Ally pointed to the divan.
Sophie sat—or rather, Sophie collapsed. Her energy was drained. First singing in front of Mr. Newland and others, and then the kiss, and then dealing with that other actress—all of it had sucked the energy right out of her.
“So come on, tell me. How did it go?” Ally patted Sophie’s hand.
Sophie opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the Brighton butler, Graves, and his apprentice, Bertram.
“I do beg your pardon, my ladies,” Graves said, “but a message has been delivered for Lady Sophie.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Sophie arched her eyebrows. A message for her? She never got messages. She hadn’t had one since Lord Van Arden had broken off their friendship, and even before that, messages from him had been few.
“Yes.” Bertram strode forward, his cheeks rosy, and handed her the parchment.
“Thank you, Bertram.”
Graves’s apprentice had been a footman up until a few weeks prior, when Graves had announced his intention to retire. The Earl of Brighton had conferred with Graves and the other lead servants, and they had decided to groom Bertram to be the new butler. Bertram was shy and awkward, but he was learning quickly.
Graves and Bertram bowed politely and left the parlor, closing the door behind them.
“Whatever could this be?” Sophie broke the seal on the parchment.
“Perhaps you have an admirer.” Ally smiled deviously.
Sophie’s cheeks warmed as she remembered her kiss with Mr. Newland. Of course, it meant nothing. Mr. Newland only wanted her to sing in the production. “That is highly unlikely.” She unfolded the paper and read the message.
You were wonderful today.
“I’m on pins and needles here,” Ally said. “Who is it from? What does it say?”
Sophie handed the paper to Ally. “It’s not signed.”
“That is odd,” Ally said. “But someone must have enjoyed your audition. Tell me, how did it go?”
“It went…well, I guess. Cameron said I was brilliant, and Mr. Newland wants me to be the new lead soprano in his company.”
Ally shot up from the divan and then clutched at her stomach. “Goodness, I should know better than that.”
Sophie stood and guided Ally back down. “Yes, please, remember the child.” Sophie sat back down beside her sister.
“But aren’t you excited, Sophie? This is your big chance to get off of the estate. To make something of yourself. There is so much more to you than you even know, my dear sister. I hate to think of you wasting away your life just sitting in this house.”
