by Heather Boyd
“I imagined I’d marry her.” His confession startled him. He’d never revealed that to anyone. Not even his mother knew that he was contemplating the battle he might face to make Adele his wife.
Theodora smiled tightly. “And now?”
Now he never would. Adele had revealed her deceit. Her true colors. “I don’t want to imagine the woman anymore because when I do, I see my father, naked in her bed where I lay with her not three nights before.”
She slipped the shirt over his head, and her hands fell to his waist. “You need a new memory to cling to, if only temporarily.”
“Temporarily?”
“As I have already promised you, I have no ambitions to become a permanent part of your life. But satisfying this ache,” she slipped her hand into his trousers, and discovered he’d unwittingly become aroused by her proximity and their frank talk of pleasure, “can take your mind off a troubling image.”
She stroked him with the assurance he needed tonight. With skill and enthusiasm for the task of bringing him fully erect. He’d never been one to be led into dalliance, but she had a point. He couldn’t think clearly with Theodora Dalton’s tiny hand sliding over his skin. He wanted oblivion very much tonight.
As his trousers slid past his hips, he caught the first button on Theodora’s gown and undid it. He undid each button slowly, pausing to touch every new piece of skin revealed. Although he had briefly imagined Theodora in this manner when she’d propositioned him, he’d never honestly expected to take her to his bed. But if he had, he couldn’t imagine a better beginning than this. He’d made her no promises, not for money or jewels, not even for tomorrow morning.
She expected nothing from him but kindness and passion.
He dropped his lips to her shoulder and tasted her skin for the first time as he pulled the ribbons of her corset undone. Her skin was sweet and soft and warm, and very, very available. A soft little moan fell from her lips, and brought a smile to his. He cupped her breasts after her shift was tossed away and let himself feel nothing but desire.
Theodora made that very easy. She leaned into his touch, even while caressing him. She traced his chest, sliding her fingers over his muscles, teasing her fingers into his chest hair. She had taken her lip between her teeth, and her fascination with his body caused him to thicken even more.
He kissed her. He had too.
He had been captivated by her clever mouth since the moment they’d met.
Theodora wound her arms around his neck as he pulled her close against his body, and they fit together as naturally as water sliding over the hull of his ship. He loved the way she moved without a trace of awareness or awkwardness—as if they were the only two people in the world and nothing else mattered but pleasing him and herself.
He lifted her off the floor and hugged her tightly. A small squeal left her lips as his fingers lightly grazed the side of her breast.
He chuckled softly. “You are so…”
“So?”
“Provocative.” He palmed her breast again, but more firmly this time. “I think that is the most unexpected thing about you.”
He kissed her again, hungrily and deeply, stroking his tongue into her mouth without restraint. Memories of Adele were pushed aside in the rush of pleasure of having Theodora Dalton in his arms.
He lowered her feet to the ground so he could frame her face with his hands. Holding her head still did not mean Theodora was in any way passive. She teased his balls, stroked his erection firmly a few times, only to stop suddenly before beginning again.
She drove him wild until he ached to be inside her, until he shook with something far better than his anger.
Quinn shoved the plate aside and eased Theodora onto the foot of the bed. As her legs parted, he ducked his head between and took a long, slow lick of her sex. Her soft whimper of pleasure was music to his ears, so he did it again. This he knew and trusted to be real. Theodora was intoxicating and very wet. There was no chance she could fake the excitement he found and tasted.
He buried his head and feasted while Theodora shuddered and gasped, pressing up toward his lips every time he retreated for air and his sanity. He was on fire for her bold passion, torn between the need to delay to ensure her pleasure was found, and the desire to possess her for his own to forget the day and night that had passed.
He covered her with his body, beguiled by her soft curves and warm, grasping hands. He braced himself above her and slowly lowered his face to steal another kiss from her sweet lips.
A shiver raced through him at the contact of their mouths. Theodora hummed, as she did while she worked, and the tune stuck in his mind firmly and couldn’t be expunged. The tune goaded him on, caused him to decide that next time he could go slower. Tonight, he wanted like he never had before.
He cradled Theodora against him and carried her up the length of the bed. When she was settled with her head upon his pillows, he held her head between his hands gently as their passion rose, tongues danced and bodies aligned. With Theodora’s fingers tracing down his spine and grasping his bottom, he knew too soon where their adventure would lead them.
Theodora was too impatient to demand less than everything he could give.
He drew back, climbed off the bed and shoved his trousers off his legs, and then returned to Theodora’s waiting arms.
She said nothing, but sought more kisses immediately and held him close as he moved into position again between her widened legs. He delayed a moment, pausing to kiss her thoroughly until she writhed beneath him.
As her legs wound around his back to pull him in, he thrust forward carefully, entering her gently but determined to lose himself, for them both to become lost in a sexual daze of passion and completion, before the night turned into a new day.
Her breath shuddered past her lips as they moved against one another, grinding together silently in his bed. He pinned her arms to the mattress and thrust harder, causing her to moan aloud finally. Her back arched and her eyes fluttered shut. Quinn watched her every move, spellbound by her excitement.
Her lashes fluttered, and her eyes opened slowly. “Quinn,” she whispered, at last using his given name. A slow smile formed on her lips. “You are a good-looking man. Simply gorgeous to behold…but this is a gift. My God,” she gasped, straining upward as he slowed his thrusts. “Don’t stop.”
“I’ve no intention of doing that, my dear.” Her praise of his looks thrilled him, as did the hunger in her eyes and words. She was about to come, and he dared not change a single thing about his technique. Her mouth opened, eyes widened as she convulsed wildly but in utter silence beneath him.
After five years of Adele’s theatrical thrashing, he was taken aback by Theodora’s quiet confirmation that his passion was exactly what a woman wanted. “Theodora?”
She licked her lips, chest heaving as she came down to earth again. After a while, her eyes opened and she stared at him sleepily. “Yes.”
He released her arms, fearing he’d been too rough. “Are you well?”
“Oh, indeed.” She slid her fingers up his arms to his face, and she brushed his lips with them.
Still hard and eager to tease this woman, he took one digit into his mouth and sucked deeply. Theodora groaned, quivered around his cock until he released her finger. She moved, tightened her legs about his hips, forcing him to slide within her body, creating glorious friction.
“Do that to me again,” she whispered.
“Which part?”
“All of it.”
He thrust again, pleased with her request. He wasn’t ready to come yet, and he certainly wasn’t ready to end their night so soon. “If you would allow me the honor, I’d have you stay in my bed until dawn,” he whispered.
“Yes!” Her smile was slow as she slid her palms down his sides. One delicately arched brow lifted. “Give me everything you are and more, please.”
Chapter 13
“Ah, Mr. Bellington. So good to meet you. I am Lord Templeton’s new sec
retary, Miss Theodora Dalton.” Theodora held out her hand to Lord Maitland’s rent collector, noting with approval the hard gleam in his eyes. They shook hands, hers almost crushed in his.
“Miss Dalton.” The man’s voice was like gravel, and she shivered imperceptibly. Rent collection was not for the weak of heart or the timid. She doubted Lord Maitland had ever missed a collection from one single tenant, thanks to the first impression this man made.
Bellington’s stare intensified, and then his attention darted about the room. She understood his apprehension perfectly. He was utterly out of place among Lord Maitland’s elegant furnishings. But then again, Bellington was not here to take tea.
Theodora adjusted the satchel on her shoulder containing the addresses and details of rents due to be collected that day. “Whenever you are ready, we may leave.”
“A moment,” Lord Maitland called as he rushed down the staircase toward her and Bellington.
Theodora’s breath caught. She’d been hoping to avoid her employer this morning. She wished to escape the inevitable after-sex conversation. She experienced a moment of acute discomfort as Lord Maitland smiled so warmly at her that her sex throbbed eagerly in response.
Theodora returned his smile politely, hoping to maintain her usual professionalism around him. The events of last night were not easy to set aside, unfortunately. She’d been satisfied in his bed. Far more thoroughly than she’d anticipated. “Good morning, my lord.”
Bellington tipped his head and mumbled out a rough, grumbled greeting to the viscount.
“Miss Dalton, I need to claim a moment of your time.” The viscount regarded her gravely, and then gestured her toward the drawing room.
Theodora acceded to Lord Maitland’s request reluctantly and stepped into the room. “Have I forgotten an appointment?”
“I will accompany you today.”
Theodora blinked, dreading the close proximity of a carriage with a man who’d set her senses on fire. She shook her head. “I assure you, I am more than ready for the task of collecting a little money.”
“Oh, I believe you.” His attention flickered to Bellington, where he waited in the entrance hall. He frowned at the man. “It has been some time since I toured my properties. We shall do so together, along with your chaperone.”
Theodora held back a wince. “I do not need a chaperone. I am in your carriage and will be protected by your staff. Do you not trust them to look after me?”
He clenched his jaw a moment before speaking. “Of course I do.”
No, he didn’t. This is exactly what Theodora had feared. Lord Maitland had an “I’m responsible for you” gleam in his eye today. She’d experienced his protectiveness on the night of the fire. To her mind, intimacy should change nothing between them. “I am on official business for you.”
“This is not a negotiation you can win, Theodora,” he warned. “I am coming with you.”
Theodora closed her eyes as a rush of heat swept her face when another memory from last night rose in her mind. They’d done that, too—found release at exactly the same moment because he’d demanded she wait until he allowed her to let go.
However much his bossiness in the bedchamber excited her, she could not afford to be distracted by him during the day.
She smiled and curtsied, lacing her expression with extreme deference. “As you wish, my lord.”
His eyes narrowed, and he held out his arm for her to take.
Theodora made a show of collecting the list of addresses from her satchel as she swept out ahead of him. “Mr. Bellington, shall we go?” An older housemaid appeared before Theodora could escape out the door. “Ah, Clare, there you are.”
The woman smiled warmly, probably pleased by her unexpected outing. Escape from the drudgery of cleaning was always welcomed by any servant. Theodora could not begrudge the woman her easy day, but she could remain annoyed by Maitland’s highhandedness for as long as she wanted to.
She drew the woman toward the door.
The butler held the front door open and bid them a pleasant day as they brushed past him, only to find Lord Maitland’s best carriage paused before the stairs.
“Foolishness,” she cried out, turning on Maitland. “Any tenants with wits and in want of funds will see the crest on the door and hide, rather than answer our knock now.”
Maitland shrugged. “It’s this carriage, or you remain at Maitland House.”
She gritted her teeth, annoyed by yet another example of his protectiveness. There was no time to press for a change. Bellington was already looking uncomfortable, so Lord Maitland would only have himself to blame if the day’s collection did not meet his expectations.
All business, she spoke to the coachman about their destinations, passing over her list of addresses and the order to visit them. When she turned for the carriage door, Lord Maitland was waiting for her.
She smiled sweetly. “My lord.”
He scowled. “Time is passing, Miss Dalton.”
She clambered inside, noting the housemaid and Mr. Bellington had already claimed the rear-facing seats. That meant she’d have to sit side by side with Lord Maitland on the butter-soft, sea-green, forward-facing seats. So close to and yet so far from her handsome lover.
As Lord Maitland joined them, Theodora shifted toward the far windows and did her best to ignore the way her pulse raced, the brush of his arm against her side, the memories of mutual pleasure to be found in his embrace.
She did everything to ignore his proximity.
He glanced her way, and a small smile curved his lips. “Are you well today, Miss Dalton?”
“Of course.” But her cheeks blazed with heat. He must be aware she could not calm her pulse or the tingling sense of excitement she experienced around him. Why, he looked positively smug as he braced himself for a turn.
“I’m glad,” he murmured, schooling his features to the bored mien of a born aristocrat. He nodded. “I should not like anything to overset your delicate sensibilities so early in our adventure. We could have many more together.”
Was he talking about collecting rents, her employment, or sharing his bed again?
She thought perhaps the latter, given the way he tried not to smile. She felt almost certain that he was attempting to tease her about last night’s tryst. At least their adventure in passion appeared to have put him in a jolly frame of mind.
She smiled quickly, took a steadying breath, determined to make it through the day without throwing herself at him for another bout in his arms. Aware that they were not alone, she kept her tone light. “Our adventure has only just begun, I suspect.”
“That is excellent news.” He brushed lint from his thigh. “I look forward to discovering what might happen by the end of the day.”
“As do I, my lord.” If she could have him again tonight, she’d be a delighted woman. “As do I.”
Three hours later, they returned to Maitland house more or less successful. The gleaming black carriage had undoubtedly announced their arrival to the tenants, but in most cases, not their intent. Three-quarters of the rents were collected, and all of the properties had been viewed as the viscount had wished. Bellington would round up the remaining rents due.
Exhausted, she smiled for the butler’s sake. “Where might I find my mother?”
“I believe Mrs. Dalton has retired to her room to rest.”
“Thank you.”
“We’ll take tea in the drawing room,” Quinn demanded.
“A tray for me in the study,” she requested.
“A tray for both of us in the study it is.”
Theodora risked a peek at Lord Maitland’s face, a little startled that he would decide to join her so obviously. After their first teasing conversation, Lord Maitland had withdrawn from her. He’d been every bit the bored aristocrat society expected as he’d inspected his properties, which had made the time spent together in a confined space awkward at times. She had no idea what he thought of the way she’d handled the business o
f collecting the rents, or of last night’s tryst now. However, she couldn’t very well insist he go elsewhere in his own house to have his refreshments.
Theodora slipped up the stairs, relieved to return to the quiet of her work desk. She set down her satchel, extracted the collected funds and set them aside on Lord Maitland’s desk to be recounted and secured in his safe. When she turned about, Lord Maitland was a foot behind her.
“The Gerrard Street property has a window broken on the upper floor. Have it fixed, Dalton.”
She dodged around him to reach her desk, made a note of his wishes and straightened, expecting more orders.
Lord Maitland’s hands swept up her arms from behind, instead.
She shivered. “My lord?”
“Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to watch you at work?”
Theodora licked her lips and glanced over her shoulder, very distracted by what his hands were doing. “I’m only doing my job.”
“Too well. I’ve never felt so unnecessary before.”
She turned fully at his ridiculous remark. “Come now.”
“Come?” The corner of his lip lifted into a half smile. “That’s what I want you to do. Immediately, if possible.” He eased her backward until her thighs pressed against her table. “Sit.”
“My lord, I don’t think—”
He covered her lips with his fingers. “That is what I want. Don’t think about anything. I want you to feel.”
Theodora was rendered mute by the heat in his gaze. He perched her on the table edge and drew her skirts up to her knees.
She should stop him. Anyone could come in and find them. However, a quick glance toward the door revealed it was already closed, giving them privacy.
She licked her lips.
Lord Maitland traced patterns on her thighs until she wanted to part her legs and agree.
“Tea will be here soon, but I’m famished right now. Let me feast?”
“No.”
His jaw clenched. “Why?”
“Mixing business with pleasure is a bad idea.”
