“Oh, Audrey. Why? You know how reclusive Kent is now. He might be very angry at having to deal with an unexpected guest.”
“But he didn’t used to be reclusive. Remember how much of a delightful scoundrel he was?”
“Scoundrel? I remember him being a gentleman.” Gillian chuckled. “I believe that since you grew up raised by your brother, who is most certainly a rogue, and with all of the League of Rogues as unofficial brothers, you view most men through a roguish lens. I believe you may be mistaken as to your perceptions of Lord Kent, especially where ladies are concerned. But yes, I remember how he was before the accident. Charming, warm, and quite hospitable.”
“Well,” Audrey said, leaning in to whisper, even though they were alone. It was always wise to whisper about great loves, if only for the drama. “Ella has loved Kent since she was fifteen. She nursed him back to health after the incident. I thought it would be good to bring them back together.”
Gillian tapped her chin. “And you think it was wise to leave her there? What if he no longer has any affection for her? You could force them both into an unhappy union because of this.”
“He does have an affection for her. I have it on good authority.”
“What authority is that?” Gillie was always the one to challenge her sources, and rightly so, or else Audrey would be prone to making things up simply to get her way or to triumph in an argument. They often had penned the Lady Society columns in the Quizzing Glass Gazette together, and the scandalizing social articles had made them infamous, but their identities as the authors were still a closely guarded secret among their families.
“Charles,” Audrey replied simply. She had spoken to him only a month ago about Kent and Ella. That was how she had learned he knew Kent had feelings for his sister and seemed to approve of a match if it ever came to be.
“Charles? Ella’s brother? How has he not shot Kent already? He and Graham are both quite protective of her.”
Audrey nodded. “Yes, quite protective of her toward men who cannot be trusted, but Charles knows Kent is a better gentleman than any of the rogues from the League. He also knows that Kent loves her. Apparently, Kent spoke about her while he was with fever during his recovery. Charles was there to hear him call her an angel. If anyone knows a damaged man in love, it’s Charles. I believe the only person who would hesitate on the match is Kent himself.”
“And Charles truly has no objection?” Gillian pressed.
“None at all. He knows Kent is a good man. I suspect he also feels responsible for Kent’s injuries, since Kent was targeted by Hugo Waverly as a means to hurt Charles indirectly.”
“Would it be wrong if I thanked God that that man is dead?” Gillian muttered darkly.
“I’m sure he would forgive you for it.” Audrey still had nightmares about that man. His body had been recovered, but Waverly’s actions had left fear in all of their hearts. Everyone she knew felt that somehow his legacy would live on and haunt them all in later days.
“So you left Ella on Kent’s doorstep. What on earth do you expect him to do?”
“If all goes well, they should be arriving here together, happy and ready to consider marriage.”
“And if they don’t? The storm shows no signs of letting up.” Gillian’s tone was full of skepticism.
“Then we will have James and the others ride out to rescue them. It’s unlikely they would take anything but the most direct route here.”
“Aren’t you worried about them being alone? Or that they could become trapped in the snow?” Gillian asked, looking torn between laughing and rolling her eyes.
“Worried? I’m positively counting on it.”
Gillian laughed and shook her head. “Why don’t you go on up to bed. I will have James send a search party if they don’t arrive by tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Gillie.” Audrey hugged her dearest friend. Leave it to Gillian to still be the calm and sensible one between them. It was what made them such good friends. One should always have a best friend who balances out one’s impulses, lest one goes too far in one’s schemes.
“I miss having you around to curtail me. Jonathan lets me get away with far too much.”
Gillian giggled. “Yes, well, running around after you was exhausting. It’s nice to be here with James. I feel like I’ve retired while still a maiden.”
Audrey laughed. “Husbands are lovely, aren’t they?”
Husbands were lovely, and she needed for Ella to claim the man who so desperately loved her in return. She silently vowed as Lady Society that she would not rest until she managed that particular Christmas miracle.
10
Phillip woke before dawn, feeling more rested than he had in a long time. A beautiful woman lay beside him, and memories of how sweet the previous night had been made him want to burst into song like a lovestruck fool. He’d given her pleasure and she’d returned it, and it had been going so damned well until he’d fallen asleep. Yet his body didn’t ache, and his leg didn’t hurt as he was used to first thing in the morning. He moved slightly, expecting pain, but the usual stiffness in his thigh and lower calf and shin weren’t there.
He stared down at Ella’s scantily clad body lying beside him. Had she truly rubbed his body last night, or had it been a sweet dream? He’d gotten so used to that, dreaming she was there to heal everything with her love and sweetness, that he didn’t quite trust the reality.
No, it hadn’t been a dream. She had pleasured him with her mouth and almost brought him to his knees. Then she’d shown tenderness in helping him with his leg. God, the woman was exquisite in everything she did, from dancing to kissing and showing incomparable tenderness. He moved his leg, bending it toward his chest before he extended it out straight again. The change was surprising. His heart light, he leaned over Ella and pressed a kiss to her temple. She sighed dreamily and murmured his name. In that moment, he felt whole in a way he hadn’t in a long time. It scared him, because he knew how easy it would be to shrink back into his old patterns and embrace his old fears.
“Stay in bed, darling. I’m going downstairs for a bit.”
“Must you?” Her eyes were closed, but she was pouting sweetly in disappointment. It made him remember how she’d used that mouth on him last night and how he’d decided in that moment she owned him. No other woman would ever make him feel like she had.
“Yes. And I promise to reward you when I return.” He gave her hair a little tug, and the feel of the tendrils in his fingers was like golden silk. He wanted to bury his face in it as he made love to her, to feel lost in her all over.
“What if I desire my reward now?” She opened her eyes and looked up at him, her dark lashes fanning over the loveliest eyes he’d ever seen. The quiet but fierce passion in her voice echoed his own. She was a woman who gave herself over completely to another person, and when he was with a woman, he was much the same.
“I am becoming less and less able to deny you anything, it would seem.” He rolled her onto her back beneath him, enjoying the softness of her body and the way he fit so easily in the cradle of her thighs.
She sighed dreamily as he kissed her soft and warm lips, which always felt like coming home. In the last year, he’d often daydreamed about the kiss they’d shared the night she’d debuted. How she’d felt in his lap, all warm and sweet as he’d shown her the proper way to kiss. He’d let his mind wander to all the ways he’d wished he could have taken more of her that night.
“Don’t forget my reward,” she reminded him in a playful whisper.
“No, we mustn’t forget that.” He nipped her bottom lip, and she half whimpered, half giggled as he playfully kissed and bit her neck.
Then he pulled the bedclothes back and shifted down the length of her body, parting her thighs more to accommodate his shoulders. Her eyes widened and her legs trembled as he pushed her chemise up to her waist. A thatch of dark-blonde curls covered her mound. He knelt between her parted legs and caressed her inner thighs with light brushes o
f his fingers.
“Last night I taught you that a man could use his hands. Now I’ll show you how a man can use his mouth.”
Phillip gave her no time to stop him. He bent his head and kissed the top of her mound, and she let out an adorable little yelp.
“Easy, darling, it won’t hurt.”
“I know. It’s just…so wicked.” She looked down at him, and he couldn’t help but admire the view of her breasts outlined in her chemise, nipples hard beneath the thin cloth. He would enjoy tasting them soon.
“Lie back and close your eyes,” he commanded when she tried to sit up.
“You order me about quite a bit,” she countered.
“If I recall, I’m supposed to be tutoring you. You did call me master last night.” He kissed the inside of one knee and then moved his lips back down to her mound.
Careful to hold her thighs apart, he licked her center and chuckled as she jerked but couldn’t escape him. He eased his tongue inside, making her writhe and pant. Her body responded with heat and wetness, and the bud of her arousal peeked out from under its hood. Phillip fastened his lips around it, sucking on it gently at first, then harder as he heard her whimper. Then he sheathed his tongue inside her and boldly swiped up the length of her slit until she was begging frantically for him.
“Phillip… Oh God,” she whimpered, her head thrashing. “Please, I want you. Don’t make me wait another minute.” Her sweet begging was too much for him. He moved up her body, caging her beneath him.
“If we do this, we cannot go back. You won’t be untouched anymore.”
She lifted her head, a puzzled look on her face. “You’ve already touched me, Phillip. No one else ever will.”
She couldn’t promise that, but he saw in her eyes that she believed what she said. He was too much of a scoundrel when it came to Ella to deny himself taking her in this moment when he’d wanted her for so long and she was begging him to.
“Are you sore from last night?” he asked.
“No—now stop delaying.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and curled her legs around his hips, pulling him closer, a determined look now on her face. He settled deeper between her thighs and slid his drawers down with one hand and gripped his cock. As he guided the head of it into her body, she tensed.
“Relax, Ella, please.” He didn’t want to hurt her, but he would if she was tense.
He kissed her, his tongue seeking entrance once more. He played with her, stealing kisses until she relaxed, and then he pushed in, penetrating her. She arched her hips, driving him deeper. He groaned at the tight feel of her sheath around him, drawing him in until he was seated fully inside. It felt like heaven.
He rocked in and out, listening to the sound of her gasps and sighs. He circled his hips, which created an almost panting hitch to her breathing. They didn’t speak as they made love together, and the silence except for the sound of their breaths somehow became sacred. They used their bodies to talk to one another rather than their words. His lips feathered along her jaw, and her hand slid up and down his back, her touch both sweet and light. Then he found that spot deep within her that made her cry out each time he thrust at just the right angle. She dug her nails into his shoulders, and he pressed harder, over and over like a man possessed. He was possessed.
She was so slick and hot, her body gripping him, and each time he withdrew and drove back in, she arched her back and whispered his name like a fervent prayer. He felt like himself again, like a full man, not a crippled fool. His desperate hunger to feel alive and whole again was unleashed upon her, yet she wasn’t frightened.
“Harder,” she encouraged him, her eyes lit with passion.
The last vestiges of reason fled as he pounded into her. Only rough pleasure would save them now. He had wanted to slow down, but he couldn’t stop. He captured her arms and pinned them onto the bed over her head as he took her. Her pupils were wide as she suddenly went limp beneath him, but Phillip wasn’t done with her. He pulled out of her, still hard, almost to the point of pain.
“Phillip, you didn’t”
He rolled her onto her stomach and pulled her chemise up to expose her backside. The globes of her bottom were pale and delectable. He kissed down her spine until he reached her arse and nipped her right cheek.
“Oh!” She jerked in the bed.
He retrieved a pillow and lifted her hips, placing it below them, then gave her a little smack before he braced his legs on either side of her thighs. He opened her cheeks and trailed his fingers down to her slick wet entrance. She moaned and tried to push back against his hand.
“This is a unique position.” He sank into her wet channel from behind and nearly groaned in sheer hedonistic pleasure at the feel of her beneath him, welcoming him inside her again.
“Oh…God,” Ella moaned, wriggling her backside. “That feels wonderful.”
“Good.” It was the last coherent thought he was able to get out before letting himself go. He gripped her waist and began to take her hard and fast, pistoning his hips forward and back. The sound of their bodies hitting each other was sinful and set fire to his blood all over again.
“I like this…don’t stop,” she gasped into her pillow, her hands clenching around the sheets.
He drove deeper into her, loving the way he could watch his cock move in and out of her and listen to her gasps and whimpers of pleasure. He thrust, stroked, thrust again, until her inner walls clamped down on him and she came with a squeal and sank into the bed beneath him.
This time he couldn’t stop. He rammed into her until he was blinded with one of the most glorious climaxes of his life. He was undone by her tormenting sweetness and by claiming her in a way no other man had before him.
He collapsed against her, kissing her neck, her face, anything his mouth could reach as she laughed in response. The sound of her joy was a gift he would never be able to return to her. Her trust and her affection had restored him to the man he once was, even if only for a few moments. Careful not to crush her with his weight, he slid off her, pulling out of her body.
She reached for him, her hand clinging to his hip. “Oh, don’t. I want you to stay.”
“I’m not leaving,” he promised and brushed her hair back from her face.
She blushed, lowering her lashes. “I meant inside me.”
“God, woman. You’re going to be the death of me,” he replied. His body wanted back inside her, but he needed time before he could take her again.
“Is that bad?” She bit her lip and looked up at him.
“Quite the opposite. Next time, I’ll stay inside you as long as you like.” He kissed the tip of her nose.
“I cannot believe we’re talking about this.” She buried her face in his neck.
“Lovers should feel open to speak of such matters.” He couldn’t believe how good it felt to have her in his arms, to feel so wonderfully whole for the first time in a very long time.
He waited until he was sure she was asleep before he slipped out of bed, kissed the tip of her nose, and dressed. When he was at the door, he stopped. He realized he had moved about the last few minutes without his cane. He retrieved it, more out of habit than need, and went next door to see Marcus. His valet was awake and preparing a tray for breakfast.
“Ah, my lord.” Marcus smiled. “I was just coming to see if you and the lady were hungry.”
“Leave it for a few minutes. Come down with me. I want to check the streets.”
Marcus joined him in the corridor, and they went downstairs. The inn’s common room was empty now, save for a barmaid cleaning the tables.
“How are the roads this morning, miss?” Phillip asked.
“Full of snow. The carriages are able to move. Some of the men from the town are digging the streets to make easier passage.” The girl glanced to Marcus and blushed. His valet bit back a grin when he saw Phillip watching. The moment the girl walked away, Marcus rubbed the back of his neck.
“I assume you had a lovely evening la
st night as well?” Phillip remarked with a chuckle.
“I might have.” Marcus watched the sway of the maid’s hips.
Phillip and Marcus stepped out of the inn’s front door and surveyed the streets, which were covered with two feet of snow.
Marcus shivered beside him. “Did you have a good evening, my lord?”
Phillip looked at his servant in surprise. “Pardon?”
“I mean, you seemed content last night. Happy even,” Marcus ventured carefully, but he kept his tone neutral. The man knew better than to bring a lady’s involvement into question.
“I am,” Phillip admitted. “I do not know how long such happiness will last, but I will enjoy it while I can. Let’s go back inside. It’s too bloody cold out here.” Phillip wanted desperately to get back to Ella.
* * *
Ella awoke to the smell of porridge, eggs, and ham. She moved languidly, stretching her limbs, feeling sore between her thighs and a slight dampness in the sheets. Her face flushed as she sat up in bed. Phillip was seated by the fire, reading a novel. A tray of food sat on the table beside him, untouched.
“You should eat.”
He looked over his shoulder at her, his mouth quirking into a grin. “I was waiting for you. Come.” He patted his lap, and the invitation was too much for her to resist. She slipped out of bed and joined him. He curled an arm around her waist as she eased down on his lap.
“How do you feel?” he asked, his eyes tender as he looked at her.
“A little sore,” she admitted. “But wonderful too. I fear you’ve given me a taste for sin.”
“Have I now?” His delighted chuckle pleased her so much that her heart hurt. She loved his laugh, his smile, everything. She wanted only happiness for him because he had suffered so much.
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