His Temporary Mistress

by Bethany Sefchick

  For a moment, Dory was almost positive that somehow, someway, he would still resist her.

  Then he lunged at her, sweeping away the contents of his desk with one hand as he grasped her with the other before laying her down on the bare hard wooden surface to claim what was his.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Mine, a voice inside Jeremy’s head cried as he crushed Dory’s lips to his and pressed her nearly naked body down onto his massive mahogany desk, the same one where his father used to force him to bare his bottom before caning his arse until he bled. She is mine, and no one can take her from me! No one!

  He might have said those words to her – possibly – but when she twined her arms around his neck and arched her rather perfect breasts into his chest, all rational thought seemed to flee. Instead, there was only her and the feel of her beneath him.

  “You have far too many clothes on, my darling,” she whispered as she reached up to undo his cravat.

  “Minx,” he teased but he obliged her by shrugging out of his jacket and waistcoat. “How did I never know you were so bold?”

  Leaning up, she licked at the skin of his throat where his cravat had fallen away. “Because I wasn’t. Not until I met you.”

  That he had changed this proper wallflower into a tigress surprised him, for he had never imagined he could have that kind of power over a woman. Certainly not enough to change her behavior. That he had changed Dory? Was both a bit thrilling and more than a little worrisome at the same time.

  “You should not change for any man, sweet, though in this instance, I am glad you did. Still, you should not have. Especially not for me.” He captured her lips in another tongue-tangling kiss. “I am not worth it. Remember. Never give up who you are for another.”

  “I didn’t,” she panted as she tugged at the buttons on his shirt. “Meeting you simply allowed me to be who I always was inside.”

  “A trollop?” he teased.

  “A passionate woman,” she countered as she spread her legs wider and, with a palm to his arse, urged his hips into the hollow between them. “A woman who is not afraid to reveal to her lover who she really is.”

  Her lover. Jeremy was Dory’s lover.

  Something about that turn of phrase made him shiver and his mind begin to race, but he quickly shut down those thoughts. Now was not the time to let his imagination run wild. Now was the time to concentrate on the woman lying beneath him. The woman who was offering herself to him body and soul.

  Now was the time to concentrate on getting naked.

  Pushing away from the desk, Jeremy lifted himself off of Dory, causing her to whimper at the loss.

  “Shush, sweet. I shall be with you soon.” As quickly as he could, Jeremy shed his clothes until he was as naked as she, his cock pulsing with the need for release.

  He paused for a moment to make certain the door to his office was locked but when he turned back, he saw Dory reaching down to unfasten her stockings. “Ah, no, my love. Leave those on.” He grinned at her wickedly, taking in the very enticing picture she made as she sat on his desk, her legs spread open wide and her body nearly naked. “I think I prefer you just like that at the moment.”

  “Rogue,” she teased, the corners of her mouth quirking up with delight.

  “And you adore me all the more for it.” How had he managed to find the one woman in all of London who was a perfect lady in public and an utter trollop in private? Jeremy had no idea but he counted himself beyond fortunate that he had.

  “I do.” As he approached her, Dory’s face softened. “I would never do this with another, Jeremy. You need to know that. Despite this?” She gestured to her nearly naked body. “I am not really that sort of woman.”

  Jeremy gathered her close and took a moment to breathe in the scent of her. It was so rare that his Lady Peacock showed any hint of vulnerability. He wanted her to know that she was safe with him.

  “I know, sweet.” Slowly, he laid her back on the desk and positioned himself above her. “Nor would I want you to be. Only with me, my darling. Only with me. Never with another.”

  He kissed her then but this was a different kind of kiss than all of the others that had come before. This kiss was more of a promise that he understood what she was saying. There was desire, yes, but there was also understanding and perhaps – just perhaps, mind you – a little something more between them.

  Jeremy was not so foolish as to call this thing that flared between them love. What they shared was built on a fantasy and could not last. But there was real affection between them and that was something he had never known with another woman. Only with Dory. She was special and he wanted her to know that.

  Except he didn’t know how to say the words. Jeremy’s life had not been one that was filled with affection of any sort. His father had beaten and abused him. His mother was cold and aloof. So Jeremy had no idea how to tell Dory that she meant more to him than any other woman ever had. He didn’t even know what words to say.

  But he could show her. With his body, he could show her what he could never even begin to say. He could only hope that she understood his message.

  “Jeremy, I…”

  But whatever Dory would have said just then, he didn’t want to hear. Right now, he just wanted her.

  This time when he touched her, he lifted her up so that she was seated once more, her legs wrapped around his waist. In this position, he could feast upon her as he liked – and feast he did.

  He kissed her breasts before suckling at her nipples like a babe. He toyed with the stiffened tips, pinching and tugging as she whimpered and cried for more, her nails digging into his back. Using his free hand, he caressed her hips and her arse, imagining that one day, they might be close enough that he could indulge in a bit of spanking with her, reddening her arse until she was so wet for him that she all but ached.

  When Dory wrapped her legs around his waist, Jeremy drew her closer, so close that his swollen cock brushed her feminine mound which was already wet with arousal. She wanted this. She wanted him. Just as badly as he wanted her. The proof was there in the slickness between her legs. How had he gotten so bloody fortunate? He had no idea.

  His cock ached and his body burned for hers. He could feel her tremble around him each time he bit down on the tip of her breast before soothing the heated ache with his tongue. Each time Dory arched into him, she drew him in closer to her sweet, feminine core. Any closer and he would be inside of her, his cock filling her sweet heat. His seed spilling inside her, marking her as his.

  He wanted that. He craved that. To claim her as his before all of London.

  But most of all, he simply wanted to fuck her and lose himself in the small piece of heaven she provided. He wanted to take her innate goodness and make it a part of himself. Lord knows, he didn’t deserve it, but she was offering it, whether she knew it or not, each time she opened to him. Each time she kissed him and told him she wanted him. That she desired him.

  So when she whimpered again, Jeremy reached between them and sought out her tiny pearl of pleasure. He didn’t know how much longer he could wait to possess her. Likely not long. And when that time came, he wanted her silken body slick, wet, and ready.

  Dory could tell that Jeremy was lost in their passions, and while she was not quite as lost as he, all she had to do was surrender to the twisting, swirling pleasure that was mounting inside of her and she knew she would be.

  She didn’t want to be lost because she was afraid that she would lose her heart in the process, and she would never get it back. If she hadn’t lost it already, that was.

  She couldn’t have this man, much as she wanted him. At least not forever. She couldn’t marry him and bear his children as she wished that she could.

  In the end, all she would have were her memories of Jeremy and the forbidden nights they had shared. Nights of pleasure and passion, where she was alive. Where for the first time in her life, she mattered to someone. Where she was more than merely an accessory in another’
s life. When she was seen and desired for who and what she was.

  Where she was Dory Tillsbury and that was enough. That was all she needed to be.

  In the end, that was why Dory gave in to the passions that were threatening to pull her under. Because Jeremy saw her in a way that no one else ever had or likely ever would now that she was being sent away to Hallowby until she was old and gray and no man would want her any longer.

  Dory also gave in because she loved Jeremy. She could no longer deny it. At first, she had risked her reputation and yes, her very existence because it was thrilling and made her remember the hellion she had once been. But now? Well, ever since that first night she had spoken to her beloved Lord Raven, she had returned because of this man. Because of what lay between them – an attraction that, at least on her part, had grown into love.

  “Open for me, Dory,” Jeremy whispered. “I need to be inside of you. Now.”

  So she did. Lying back, Dory opened herself wide, laying herself bare before him, not just her body but this time her soul as well. “Take me as you like,” she whispered. “All of me. I am yours.”

  Jeremy did not hesitate. He lifted her into his strong arms until she felt as if she was floating in air. He settled himself on the desk where she had been and slowly, so slowly that it nearly drove her mad with want, he lowered her onto his cock until he was fully seated inside of him.

  “Are you well?” he whispered in her ear as he hooked his arms under hers so that he could loop them over her shoulders. “If I am hurting you…”

  “You feel divine,” she breathed, meaning it. “So deep, Jeremy. It is if I can feel you everywhere.”

  He nuzzled her ear. “And it is about to feel a great deal better,” he promised as slowly, he brought her up, before sliding her back down his shaft, all the way down to his base. “Ride me, Dory. Let me teach you how to please me like this.”

  Dory could no more have denied Jeremy than she could have ceased to breathe. She allowed him to lead her in the thrust and parry of his cock driving into her womanly sheath before withdrawing again. Slowly, they rocked together, picking up both speed and rhythm as they went.

  With each move she made down, he thrust up and she felt him so deep inside of her that she thought she might burst open. He was everywhere, all around her and inside of her. He was her whole world.

  Then, he leaned back so that he lay flat on the desk, pulling her with him.

  “Ride me, Dory,” Jeremy urged again as he thrust his hips up hard, so hard this time that she gasped.

  His hands were on her hips, guiding her once again but it didn’t take long before her body simply knew what to do. She rode him slowly at first and then faster, her breasts bouncing free until he reached up to cup them in his hands, his thumbs teasing her nipples before pinching them hard, sending shocks of pure pleasure directly to her center.

  She gripped his shoulder with one hand while using the other to reach behind her and caress his ballsac as she rode him. With each downward thrust, he stroked him until she felt his big body begin to shudder beneath hers.

  “Enough, love,” Jeremy growled as he bit her nipple again and she cried out, her legs beginning to shake. “I need you to come for me, Dory. I need to feel you and see you and I won’t be satisfied until I do.”

  This time when he thrust up, he picked her up in one fell swoop and dropped them down to the thick, Aubusson carpet in front of his desk, their bodies never leaving each other. This time, though, she was pinned beneath him and Dory felt a thrill rush through her at his raw power in claiming her.

  “Take me, Dory,” Jeremy demanded as he gathered her wrists in his large hands and pinned them above her head. “All of me.”

  “Then give me all of you,” she replied, leaning up to lick his flat, male nipple. “I want you, Jeremy. Just as you are. All of you.”

  After that, there was no talking, not that Dory could have uttered another word. Instead, there was just Jeremy, his hot, hard, muscular body rippling over her much softer one as he thrust in and out of her, his cock swelling even more as he thrust inside of her over and over again.

  Faster, then slower and then faster again. Jeremy buried himself inside of Dory deeper and deeper with each thrust until he was afraid that he would hurt her. Instead of crying out in pain, however, all she did was hiss and sigh, moan and whimper and beg for more until he was plunging in and out of her so fast that their bodies were slicked with sweat.

  Finally, Dory could take no more and Jeremy felt her slick sheath tighten around his cock as she found her release, crying out his name like a prayer when she came. He followed immediately after her, spilling his hot seed inside of her without a thought as to protecting her from a child.

  Because just then? He didn’t care. All he cared was that Dory knew she was his. That he marked her for all the world to see and let every person in the whole of the world know that she belonged to him and no other. Because he loved her. Because she was the only woman he would ever love, even when she was taken away from him.

  Dory had no idea how long she lay tangled in Jeremy’s arms on the floor of his office. She might have even dozed off once or twice. However, when she fully came awake, she found Jeremy, his head resting on his hand and his elbow on the floor, looking down at her with a soft expression on his face.

  “Awake, are you?”

  “Hmm.” She leaned up and kissed him quickly. “At present.”

  He reached out and stroked her cheek. “Do you wish to go to bed? I can make certain we reach my chambers without being seen.”

  She shook her head and looked up at him with soft eyes. “Not just yet. I am enjoying being here with you. Just like this.” She looked around his office. “Being here? I feel closer to you. Your suite is lovely and the view unparalleled, but this place? It feels more like you.”

  “That is because it is me.” He rose to his feet, drawing her with him before leading her to a sprawling divan that could comfortably accommodate three or more people. “My office here at Dionysus is an exact copy of the one back in my Mayfair home.” He paused as he settled them onto the divan – which upon closer inspection was really the size of a small sofa – before pulling a blanket over them to ward off the chill. “Except for the desk.”

  “Why change the desk?” she asked as she settled back into his arms. “Unless, of course, you don’t want to tell me. I’ve no wish to pry.”

  Pulling her more tightly against him, Jeremy kissed her temple and settled her more fully into his arms. “There is no one else I would rather tell, sweet. Just you.” Slowly, he began to stroke her arm. “That desk is from my father’s study back at Springwood Abbey, my family’s country seat. The one in my home is a replica. A very good replica, but a replica just the same.”

  “Well, that makes sense.” She placed her hand atop his and breathed in deeply as if savoring this moment of closeness. “After all, there was only one desk.”

  “And I would never allow that desk into the place I call my home.”

  The sudden anger and vehemence in his voice, which was so unlike him, shocked her. “Why?”

  For a long moment, Jeremy fell silent and Dory truly believed he wasn’t going to answer her. Not that she blamed him. She was prying and despite the fact that they had just shared their bodies in the most intimate way possible, she had no right to ask. This was a fantasy. There was no real relationship between them.

  And if she truly believed that, she was a fool.

  This was real. What they shared was true. It had stopped being a fantasy a long time ago. Provided it had ever been.

  “Because this desk is the one my father used to when he would beat me.” Jeremy’s words were thick and slow and Dory could tell it had taken a great deal of effort for him to speak them at all.

  “Oh, my love!” The endearment slipped out and in other circumstances, Dory would probably have been horrified at how much of herself she had revealed. Now, however, all she cared about was Jeremy and the pain he had
suffered as a child. “No!” Turning, she knelt on either side of his hips and cupped his face in her hands. “The monster! How could he do that to his own son?”

  Jeremy’s chuckle was devoid of humor. “Quite easily, as it turns out. And you are correct. My father was a monster. He was a duke. He was also the son of a duke. The grandson of a duke. His entire life had been one of wealth and privilege and he was accustomed to his every command being obeyed. His mind became bent from the power and the wealth, of never being denied. He enjoyed toying with people. Torturing them. That included his sons.”

  “Jeremy. I’m so sorry.” She stroked his cheek gently, whishing she could ease his pain. But when his expression relaxed a fraction, she wondered if she already was.

  “So am I.” He resettled her more easily over his legs. “You see, my father could only arouse his passions when he was abusing someone. He could not make love to a woman unless he were hurting her. Except that in time, even that was not enough for him. So, he would abuse his children and then? He would bed my mother. We all knew, even though we didn’t speak of it.”

  Dory could not even imagine such a thing. He father had been horrible but as far as she knew, even he had not been that wicked. “I cannot even comprehend such a thing.”

  “Unless you have lived it, I don’t think you can.” He smoothed back her hair. “My mother blamed me from my brother’s reckless streaks when she should have been blaming my father. However, she directed her anger at me because I was the only one strong enough to break away. The last time he beat me? I raised my hand to him and struck him right back. I was nineteen and all it did was make him laugh. That’s when I knew he wasn’t afraid. Of anything. Not of pain and not of dying. He wasn’t afraid of anything. So, I left before he killed me because I truly believed that if I stayed? One day? He would. Because it would have given him pleasure to do so.”

  “And your brothers?” Dory had to know the truth. All of it. No matter how ugly. For this truth had shaped Jeremy into the man he was and she wanted to know all of him. Not just the good parts.