by Amy Quinton
He closed his eyes. “God, you are so wet and hot here…it’s taking all my energy to go slowly…”
“Then don’t.”
He looked at her then. “But I want to savor this moment, this perfect beautiful moment. Here beneath the sun with nothing else but us, the birds, and God’s green earth.”
She didn’t think she could possibly love him any more, but his words echoed in her soul, making the sensation of love flood her heart…her mind…her body. It rendered her speechless in the face of such overwhelming emotion.
She reached up and brought his lips to hers.
She widened her legs and cradled him there. She felt the length of his manhood twitch upon on her leg.
His fingers toyed with her feminine bud, ratcheting the sensations humming throughout her body. It was light out, but she closed her eyes and stars seemed to float and shine in the darkness of her mind’s eye. She was so close.
“Cliff, I’m close. I need you inside me when I come.”
His answer was to remove his hand and place it on the ground beside her. They both moaned as he flexed his hips and slid into her. Slow. Steady. Hard…Heaven.
Her orgasm exploded around her right away, before he’d made it fully inside. The stars swimming before her eyes blazed brighter before bursting in a riot of colors. The feeling of his hard shaft buried in her core as she contracted in waves of ecstasy worked to ratchet the sensation higher than before. More intense. Hotter. Wilder.
Or perhaps it felt like so much more because this time, she was in love with this man above her. With her. In her. Cliff. Oh, Cliff.
He was completely sheathed now. And as such, he paused and pressed his forehead to hers. They both needed to catch their breath. She squeezed her eyes. Tight. Hoping to hold on to this moment. This memory would have to last a lifetime.
It took a few minutes. Then he pulled back, ever so slowly. And thrust forward once more. An upward lift that rubbed the head of his cock in just the right spot.
Again.
And again.
Her core was extra sensitive from already having one orgasm. And each rub of his shaft in just that spot was extra responsive. Extra sharp. Oh, the agony of such delirious ecstasy. She was riding the wave of another orgasm already. He thrust again. And again. Slow, but strong. Deliberate. Though she could feel he was on the edge of losing control.
She felt the orgasm barreling down. There was no stopping it now. She began to stiffen. To clench. She squeezed his ass.
And he lost it. He thrust hard. Rapid. Frenzied.
And she soared to the heavens. With him. He screamed, “Bea!” as he poured his essence into her. It was glorious. Brilliant. Life-changing.
Chapter 42
“What is that you express in your eyes? It seems to me more than all the words I have read in my life.”
― Walt Whitman
“The face is the mirror of the mind, and eyes without speaking confess the secrets of the heart.”
― St. Jerome
Bloomfield Park…
The Library…
A Few Hours Later…
“Out with it. What is the plan?” Ambrose marched into the library with a determined step. No greeting. No discussion of the weather. Straight to the point. So like the man Cliff had known for a lifetime.
Ambrose was dressed to perfection and held about him a serious air. Of course he did. It made perfect sense; they faced a madman bent on killing them, after all.
Nevertheless, Cliff, on the other hand, had dressed after he returned to the house…but hadn’t bothered with a waistcoat or a cravat. He was one hundred percent comfortable. Relaxed.
And thoroughly well-loved. And debauched…and ruined…and…
Cliff turned from his view of the back garden with a smile on his face, one he suspected would remain planted there for some time. Optimism all but throbbed through his veins affecting his outlook on everything, despite the gravity of the matter at hand.
He joined his friend in the club chairs by the fire. He knew Ambrose despised his ‘let’s wing it and see what happens’ approach to spying. Ambrose was a planner. Cliff was one only when he deemed it necessary.
This wasn’t one of those times.
“Why don’t we wait for Lady Beatryce? She’ll be here momentarily,” Cliff suggested as they took their seats. Though it wasn’t really a suggestion so much as a command couched as one even though Ambrose was really the one in charge.
“Why don’t we not wait for her,” stated Ambrose. “Last time I checked, she wasn’t a member of my team.”
Cliff relaxed deeper into his chair. Still at ease, yet he refused to budge on this point. “She has a right to be involved.”
“By what right?” countered Ambrose; his fingers tapped the arm of his chair, a telling sign the man was slightly agitated.
“It is private.” And it was. He would never reveal Bea’s secrets. Even to his best friend.
“Have you forgotten to tell me something?” As one might have anticipated, the duke’s rather active brow rose to the occasion.
“Like what?” Cliff covered his mouth with one hand and tucked his chin; he nearly chuckled over his friend’s predictable facial expressions.
“If I knew that, I would not have asked.”
“No.” He laid his hand back down, though his lips threatened to twitch as he wrestled with inappropriate humor. Regardless, his answer was to the point, leaving no opening for debate.
Ambrose halted his haphazard assault on the armchair and stared at him, that brilliant mind working furiously. “I thought you were beginning to care for Lady Beatryce.”
Cliff remained silent, humor all but flying out the window. He hadn’t sorted his feelings in his own mind; he certainly wouldn’t voice them aloud prematurely.
When he didn’t respond, Ambrose spoke, “Cliff. This is one thing we will never agree on, isn’t it? I just cannot see how you can willingly and consciously put someone you care about in danger like this. I would never put Grace…”
Dansbury sliced the air with his hand. “He is a madman that must be stopped. At all costs. I cannot let my personal feelings get in the way of that.”
He rubbed a hand through his hair, the only outward sign of the distress hovering in the back of his mind, yet he refused to acknowledge it. He might have agreed with Ambrose if he didn’t know Bea so well. She was capable. And part of this. Edward was a madman who had to be stopped. His personal feelings mattered naught, so considering them further was pointless.
And threatened to ruin his rather enjoyable after-loving glow.
“But can you live without her, if the worse should happen?”
Damn the man for trying to darken his mood with a dose of reality.
“It won’t.” He refused to entertain the idea for a minute.
Ambrose stared at him with that infernal brow. “Sure about that, are you?”
“Good afternoon, gentleman.”
He and Ambrose stood as Lady Beatryce entered the room, saving him from answering a question he did not want to consider much less own up to.
She was like a breath of fresh air, radiant and…well-loved. His mind was desperate to return to the lake. Hell, he wanted to return to the lake.
The three of them met in the center of the room, for there were only two chairs by the fire.
“Cliff and I are having a moral debate. Aren’t we Cliff?”
Cliff just nodded his head in agreement, his eyes never leaving hers.
“It amounts to the idea of whether or not the end result justifies the means to get there. I suppose I don’t have to ask you which side you support?”
Beatryce didn’t hesitate to respond. “La, I’m sure you can accurately judge that for yourself. You know me well enough. We were nearly married, after all.”
She never broke eye contact with Cliff as she spoke, a telling sign. Yet for some inexplicable reason, Cliff’s heart dropped at the thought of her almost marrying Ambrose. Even though i
t hadn’t happened.
And wouldn’t.
“Indeed,” was all Ambrose said to that.
Ha! Ambrose didn’t know her at all, actually. Cliff was glad. No one in this world knew her like he did. No one.
He felt lighter of a sudden.
“Unlike me, Cliff here thinks it’s worth putting the people we care about in harm’s way in order to get our man. I find I disagree with him on that front.” Ambrose pushed.
Beatryce didn’t answer right away. She just continued to stare at him, her heart shining in her eyes.
Hell and damnation, she loved him. He could see it as clearly as he could see the sun shining in the sky, though that celestial orb wasn’t nearly as bright as her smile…nor as vivid as the light gleaming from her eyes.
Yes. Right then he knew. She loved him. Him.
His heart began to race. His world shifted. Again. His entire After Bea world.
He scarcely heard the remainder of their conversation, though he knew she was agreeing with him. How could she not with her history?
His mind was scattered. He couldn’t concentrate on any one thing, only glimpse the tail ends of ideas where they hovered just out of reach of his mind’s eye. He nodded his head when it seemed appropriate, trusting Ambrose to plan their course of action.
But in reality, he was useless at the moment. The only refrain playing out in his mind, over and over again, was…she loves me. She loves me. She loves me.
He knew her so well; she didn’t even need to say it for him to know it.
“So we’re in agreement then…”
“Sure.” He didn’t know what he’d just agreed to…he was just going along with it. For the first time ever, he was unable to control his thoughts. To stop the relentless chant in his mind.
She loves me.
She loves me.
She loves me.
“Cliff?”
She loves me.
Chapter 43
“Tell Wind and Fire where to stop," returned Madame; "but don't tell me.”
―Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
“Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.”
―Confucius
Dusk…
No one spoke as their horses tore across the fields behind Bloomfield Park. The wind whispered loudly in their ears. The sun dipped and colored everything a hazy orange. Trees and greenery were all but a blur as they raced toward danger.
For Dansbury, the cool air served to refresh his mind.
And made him doubt his choices for the first time in his life.
He looked to his right. Lady Beatryce rode next to him. Keeping pace. Of course. She was a sight to behold, so strong riding bent forward astride her borrowed stallion. Confident even. Completely unafraid.
The problem lay with him. For the first time ever, he questioned the wisdom in putting someone he…possibly…lo…well, someone inexperienced…someone he mildly cared about…in the line of fire. What if something happened to her?
He pulled up on his reins suddenly and rubbed his chest where an ache appeared out of nowhere.
Bea and Ambrose followed suit.
“Something amiss?” called out Ambrose.
“Er…No.”
Both Bea and Ambrose looked at him strangely. Yes, he was behaving oddly. He knew it and couldn’t help it.
He looked at Bea, and was lost there for a few minutes.
He looked back to Ambrose who rested his hands on the pommel of his saddle and threw him an “I told you so” smirk.
Damn him.
Damn them both.
“Bea…” He hesitated, knowing this wouldn’t go over well with her. “Er…Bea? Perhaps, it’d be best…” She started to scowl. Yea, not well at all. “…if you went back to the house. To…”
He never finished. She nudged her horse with her knees and took off.
Damn.
Ambrose laughed.
“Oh, stuff it.” He’d never been so at a loss for words. So concerned for another. Despite his past.
Ambrose just threw his head back and laughed some more.
“It’s not funny.”
“Oh, it’s very funny. You should see the bewildered look on your face. I wish I could sketch it. I’ve never seen the like. On you, at least. I’ve seen it on others though, usually when a man realizes he might be in l…”
“Don’t say it.”
“We’d better move. She’s fast; we might never catch up.”
That did it. Dansbury kneed his horse and they took off at top speed. He sensed his very future lay before him. He chased it down.
*
Her thirst for vengeance sprang forth out of nowhere. But when it arrived, it seized ahold of her and refused to let go. Bea embraced it wholeheartedly.
That man, Edward, had raped her. Raped her. She had only been a child…a veritable babe lost to a hard dose of reality far too soon. She didn’t even realize she still harbored such durable resentment.
So she was relieved when Cliff had slowed to a stop. It gave her the opportunity to get ahead of him. To get to the madman first.
She wanted revenge against the man who took her.
She wanted to protect Cliff from making a mistake that might haunt him forever. The man was his brother, for crying out loud.
Let him be angry at her. Not his kin.
So while D was lost in hesitation, she took off at break neck speed. She didn’t give either man a clue as to her purpose.
And they wouldn’t catch her. She rode Bloomfield Park’s fastest horse. She’d made sure of that ahead of time. In addition, she was lighter than either man.
They didn’t stand a chance. And they had no understanding of her intentions, so they didn’t try to run her down as they would if they knew her plans.
She arrived a few hundred yards from the cottage and dismounted right away. She did not look back, but she knew from the quiet that she was far ahead of Cliff and Stonebridge. She had enough time. Just. Provided she hurried.
She walked up the dirt path to the hut and walked inside without preamble. Without a single moment of hesitation.
“Welcome, Lady Beatryce. So nice to see you again.”
Edward sat in a chair behind the room’s lone table; his hands folded on the surface in front of him. Various items lay about him, all set out with exacting precision. Candles were set out everywhere, all lit. It brightened the room considerably for it was near dark outside. It was as if he’d known they were coming.
She suppressed a shiver that threatened to make her question her resolve. She placed her hands on her hips and looked him in the eye. “I cannot return the sentiment.”
Ugh. This man. The man who had haunted her dreams for years simply nodded his head in acknowledgement.
“Then what brings you to my humble accommodations?” He waved his hand about the room. “I cannot imagine you are here to renew our previous acquaintance, are you not?”
She tapped her finger to her chin as if thinking about that. “Huh. Well, you do have some sense, I’ll give you that.” She let the sarcasm ooze from her lips. The man disgusted her. She didn’t even try to hide her feelings on the matter.
Edward’s smile said ‘I’m humoring you.’ Oh, she couldn’t wait to see it fall from his face.
“I see. Well, please, my lady. Enlighten me so that I might understand; I’m only a simple man, you know.” He was toying with her. That was fine. She was toying with him, too. She had a few minutes to spare.
She turned and walked the perimeter of the room. Making him wait. She ran her hands along the lone windowsill. No dust. She noted the bed, perfectly made. She allowed her hand to catch the top edge of the quilt and pulled it slightly out of place. She thought she could hear Edward grinding his teeth, and had to force herself to suppress a giggle. She perused the small alcove making up a rustic kitchen. Clean as a freshly minted silver penny.
Finally, she turned to face him once more.
And pointed her
pocket pistol directly at his heart.
“It’s quite simple really. I’m here to kill you.”
His answer was a smile. Perhaps a hint of admiration, but she could still see the madness hovering around the edges of his visage. He thought he was confident.
She was more so.
He clapped. Slow and steady. Yet she didn’t allow him to threaten her resolve.
“You surprise me, Lady Beatryce. I hadn’t realized you were so…tenacious? Willing? Strong? You’ve grown up, little girl.”
“You’d be surprised by how much.”
“But can you live with yourself if you take my life?”
“Without question.”
Her quick response must have shaken his confidence. A hint of fear began to drift about him.
“I see.”
She smiled. “Any final words you’d like to impart? Words of wisdom? Tales of who’s behind all this?”
He laughed. “Ah, you think I’ll tell you about Himself? The man is nothing. He is next on my list to die.”
“Well, that is a shame. Since you aren’t leaving this place alive.”
A moment of shock crossed his features. He tried to hide it, tried to act like he wasn’t even the tiniest bit concerned. She could see his mind working…looking for a way to distract her or stall her.
“My brother won’t be happy with you, should you kill me. They’ll want to question me. Discover what I know.”
“You are right. And for that reason, I’ve considered just detaining you here until they arrive.”
He looked marginally relieved by this. “Of course, they’re on their way, aren’t they?”
“Imminently. In fact, I am running out of time to decide whether or not I should leave you to them or go ahead and take my revenge.”
He jerked his head just before he reached for his gun.
He was fast.
But not quite fast enough.
Bang.
Bang.
Two shots fired, almost simultaneously. Hers hit the mark. She saw the very life leave his eyes. Just as Dansbury bolted through the door.
