“So is the Marquess going to be joining us today?” Lord Rockgonie directed his question to Leonard.
Before Leonard could answer and as if on cue, Kenneth’s curricle pulled into the manor, causing everyone’s attention to be directed toward the gateway.
Rose was already on her feet and beaming from ear to ear even before Kenneth had stepped down from the carriage.
“How is everyone doing?” Kenneth asked as soon as he arrived at the gazebo.
He shook hands with Lord Rockgonie, while nodding at Leonard and Elsa. Instinctively and before she could stop herself, Rose started walking toward him.
She walked straight into his arms as he embraced her.
“What took you so long?” she whispered into his chest. “I missed you.”
“Apologies, my love. I got here as soon as I could,” he responded as he hugged her tighter.
There was no further explanation needed, as it had been made in the letter he’d sent ahead.
As they remained clasped in an embrace, they began to sashay from side to side. Already wrapped up in their own world with their eyes closed, the others began to fade away silently, starting with Lord Rockgonie. Leonard and Elsa exchanged one glance and left together.
By the time their eyes opened, they discovered that they were standing alone.
“I thought they’d never leave,” Rose teased, before turning to look up at Kenneth.
“Kiss me,” she whispered.
Before the words were completely out of her mouth, he had bent down and claimed her lips.
This wasn’t a soft kiss like the ones she’d received from him before. This one was deep and demanding from the onset.
As his tongue probed deeper, she found her body flooding with desire as she opened her depths to him.
“Wait!” She broke the kiss between them suddenly.
“What is the matter?” Kenneth asked, stunned.
She simply looked at the manor as she struggled to catch her breath.
“Come with me,” she said, grabbing his hand and heading for the manor.
Yesterday, Lady Anna and Lord Rockgonie had given her a room in the manor she could retire to if she got tired of sitting under the gazebo.
Lady Anna had winked when she was leaving the room, indicating the exact reason for the room—which was if she ever needed to be intimate with Kenneth.
With the kiss Kenneth had just given her, she was not going to be able to control her desire and lust any longer.
I might as well have him make love to me now that we are still together.
She pulled him across the grounds of the manor and dashed into the house, heading straight for the bedroom. As soon as they were in the bedroom and she’d shut the door behind them, she turned back to face Kenneth.
“Now, where were we?” she asked as he leaned over once more and began kissing her again.
He brought his hands to her shoulders and held her with such care that it made her feel safe even as he continued to kiss her.
A moan escaped her lips as his hands began to roam adventurously over her body. She was used to this sound now and was in no way bent on curtailing it. When his hands brushed over her erect nipples, which were straining through the fabric of her gown, she gasped.
Her gasp must have set him wild because as soon as he heard it, he began to kiss her even more passionately than before.
He paused briefly to look at her and all she could see was a desire that threatened to consume her whole. Instead of running away, which was what common sense dictated, she stayed and arched her breasts toward him.
Slowly, his hands began to peel her items of clothing away, one layer at a time.
As he slowly inched her toward nakedness, he continued to plant kisses on every exposed part of flesh he encountered. With just her undergarments left, he inched her slowly toward the bed, kissing and stroking as they went.
“Make love to me. Please!” she heard herself whisper as soon as Kenneth had laid her on the bed.
He stared into her eyes once more before proceeding to remove the last items of clothing that still clung to her body.
The scent of her wetness filled the room and she could see that it was driving him mad with desire. He was off the bed and ridding himself of his own clothing with a speed and deftness that conveyed a certain level of experience to her.
If she was still in doubt as to his experience, it was cleared up when he returned to the bed and began kissing her all over again.
He kissed and nibbled on almost every part of her naked body. By the time his lips moved on, the wind that soothed the part he’d just attended to, stoked her need for him even further.
With one hand, he cupped her left breast. Slowly he began using his thumb to stroke the erect nipple. She gasped and arched her back at the same time.
“Please, make love to me. Please!” she whispered again.
He quieted her with a kiss as his hand went in between her legs and began to stroke her gently. She bit down on his lips as she went wild with desire, drawing a little blood in the process.
All he did was grunt and continue to stroke her as he kissed her lips.
Slowly, his lips began to trace a path from hers, down her neck, and finally resting on the nipple he’d been stroking with his thumb just moments ago.
As he licked at it, her body tensed even as he continued to stroke her between her legs.
Without warning, he took the whole erect mass into his mouth and sucked on it.
A cry of pleasure escaped her lips as her body began to convulse in a manner that she had never known before.
Waves and waves of ecstasy crashed over as she writhed and wiggled under him, even as he continued to suck and stroke.
In one finishing move, she stretched in ecstasy at the final wave before her body crashed back down on the bed, completely spent.
He let her go then and simply stared at her as she climbed back from the cliff she’d just gone over.
“What was that?” she asked, when she finally regained consciousness.
“That was your first orgasm, I believe,” Kenneth responded as he leaned over to the side, using his hand to support his head.
“Was I supposed to squirm like that?” she asked, her voice laden with nervousness.
Her question caused him to laugh heartily before he paused to respond.
“It’s different for every woman. And dare I say that yours is the most arousing I’ve ever seen.”
She didn’t even feel jealousy at his comment, which confirmed that she wasn’t the first lady he was going to make love to. If anything, she felt pleased at his approval.
“So what’s next?” she asked, eager to begin another round of pleasure.
“What is next is that we go for the next round.” He winked, causing her to blush.
He straddled himself over her once more and began kissing her even as she responded instantly.
Still wet from her previous orgasm, the heat and desire within her began to build again. From the force that had just coursed through her body, she half expected that she would be spent. The opposite was the case, however, as her body began to react to every single touch and kiss from Kenneth.
Instinctively, she reached down and grabbed his erection. His resulting groan filled her with delight.
“Make love to me,” she said one more time.
“With pleasure.” He positioned his erection between her legs.
Just as he was about to drive in, a knock sounded on the door, causing both of them to freeze in place.
Chapter Twenty-One
Kenneth sat in his study brooding over the draft of his bill. He was trying to revise his bill so he could take it back into the House.
That was the deal he’d brokered with the instigators at their meeting and they’d said they were going to put their planned protest on hold in order to give him time to make changes through parliament.
Even though he was trying so hard to concentrate, his mind kept
drifting to Rose.
He had been back from Lord Rockgonie’s manor for about an hour and still hadn’t been able to get his mind to settle on the task at hand.
Back at the manor, they’d been well on their way to an epic finale. He’d been poised to finish what they had started when a knock had sounded on the door.
They tried to stay silent and pretend they weren’t in the room when Elsa had spoken up.
“My Lady, something of utmost importance has come up,” Elsa announced through the door, her voice laden with fear.
He answered Rose’s lady’s maid, as Rose was still silent.
“What is the matter, Elsa?” Kenneth asked, not bothering to hide the irritation in his voice.
“Richard Norton, The Marquess of Wisham, Lord Rockgonie’s father, has just arrived at the mansion with a flurry of servants trailing him,” Elsa announced through the door.
“I beg your pardon!” Kenneth and Rose exclaimed at the exact same time.
Elsa hadn’t needed to repeat herself before they were both jumping out of bed and dressing with lightning speed.
“Where is Lord Rockgonie?” he asked Elsa, while trying to get dressed.
“He has gone to receive his father and delay him for as long as possible to give you and me the chance to slip out unnoticed, My Lord.” This time, it was Leonard who had answered, thus cuing him to the fact that both their servants where at the door.
Lord Wisham was definitely aware that Rose had been visiting his son at the manor. Her coming out from the room and running into the old gentleman wouldn’t have taken anyone by surprise.
Kenneth, on the other hand, couldn’t be discovered there for any reason whatsoever. There was no explanation that would have sufficed, had his presence been made known to Lord Wisham. Obviously, Rose would have been in trouble when the news had gotten back to the Earl of Somerholm that they were both at the manor at the same time.
“Good Lord!” Rose swore under her breath as she struggled with her undergarments.
He looked at her and knew that she needed help. He couldn’t help as he and Leonard needed to slip out before the opportunity Lord Rockgonie was currently creating for them, closed.
He reached out and pulled her close to him, trying to get her attention.
“You need help and I need to get out of here. Elsa is going to come in now and help you while I make a run for it. All right?”
Rose nodded distractedly as she continued struggling with her clothes.
He pulled her even closer then and kissed her.
“I love you,” he whispered into her lips before turning and heading for the door.
She responded, but he continued walking without looking back. It was the only way he could continue making his exit and resist the temptation to stay.
“Go in and help her,” he said to Elsa once he opened the door. “Leonard? Let’s make a run for it,” he said to his valet as they began to make their exit.
He chuckled as he remembered this wasn’t the first time he had to run in order not to risk discovery where Rose was concerned.
They both crept through the house and onto the grounds, avoiding any and every one as they made their way to the wall and over it.
They were nearly discovered when they got to the wall. A servant was loitering within that area. As the servant was about to turn and face them, however, he was summoned by someone else, thus taking his attention away from them.
They used that opportunity to slip out and head away from danger.
“And what about the carriage?” Kenneth asked Leonard as soon as they were free.
“I asked the tiger to take it down the street as soon as Lord Wisham’s entourage arrived. He will be waiting for us there,” Leonard answered.
That had all been over an hour ago and now he was back in his study and struggling to focus.
What is Rose doing at this moment? Was she able to get dressed in time?
His mind began to drift back to the memory of her body and how she writhed and squirmed beneath him. His erection was back in an instant causing him to try and put the memory out of his mind.
He’d obviously had one great opportunity to consummate their love once and for all. He didn’t know when the next opportunity would be afforded them, seeing as Lord Wisham had come back into town.
The week they’d spent in paradise was suddenly over. Now, they were back to letter correspondence until a time when Lord Rockgonie’s manor was freed up again.
He had to find a solution to their dilemma quickly as he wasn’t sure how much time apart he could handle any longer.
The bill glared at him from the table.
I also need to sort this out as soon as possible.
“Hard at work?” Leonard said as he walked into the study. “I thought you’d like to know what happened to Rose after we left Lord Rockgonie’s manor.”
“Excuse me? There is news from the manor already?” he asked in surprise.
“Of course there is, Kenneth. I went back to make sure your tracks were covered properly. I also knew your mind won’t be at ease until you knew the Lady Rose was all right,” Leonard said.
He simply smiled as he looked at his valet.
“Lady Rose is fine. She was having tea with Lord Rockgonie and his father when I arrived under the pretext of delivering a message to Lord Rockgonie. Elsa also assured me that they hadn’t gotten into any mishap when they emerged from the room.”
“That means Lord Rockgonie did a splendid job of stalling his father long enough?” Kenneth interjected.
“Exactly!” Leonard exclaimed.
With his mind somewhat at ease, he could finally try again with the bill.
“Come, sit, Leonard. I need your contribution on certain things with regards to this bill.”
“I take it that your meeting with the instigators went well then,” Leonard commented as he sat down.
That’s true. I haven’t had time to tell Leonard about the success of the meeting.
“It went well. After a lot of arguments and counter arguments, they agreed to hold off on their plans and give me a few weeks to get my bill through parliament,” he announced cheerfully.
The look of disbelief plastered on the face of his valet said it all.
“And how many weeks are they giving you?” Leonard asked in disbelief.
“Four weeks. Can you imagine that?”
“That is wonderful news. I guess you did pull it off after all,” Leonard said, still reeling from shock.
He laughed even as Leonard tried to laugh nervously along with him.
“We should make a toast,” Kenneth announced triumphantly.
“Not yet. If the bill doesn’t make it through parliament, there will be no reason for the toast as we will be right where we started,” Leonard responded, puncturing a hole in his sails.
“Fine. We will save that toast for the final victory dance,” Kenneth announced cheerfully.
“As you wish,” Leonard said, deflated.
* * *
Leonard stood up from his bed and reached for his pocket watch.
The time was eleven o’clock at night, one hour before he was scheduled to meet members of his group. He and Kenneth had long since retired for the night and he suspected that the Marquess was already fast asleep.
When Kenneth had changed his mind about letting him tag along for the meeting, he had sent a message and instructions ahead. His hopes had been that they were going to follow his instructions and assemble at midnight for them to fill him in on how it had progressed.
Talking to Kenneth earlier this evening, he realized that his instructions hadn’t been followed.
It had taken all of his self-control to keep his rage contained, even though Kenneth had noticed some emotion which he’d interpreted as shock and disbelief that the plan had actually worked.
In reality, it had been rage that his men hadn’t followed his instructions of refusing Kenneth’s demand. They were also supposed to have made a
little ruckus for the benefit of the Bow Street Runner who was most certainly watching them.
The reason was simple. When the uprising finally started in two weeks, the detective would have interpreted the little play he’d witnessed as Kenneth giving morale to his troops.
A Ravishing Lady For The Rebellious Marquess (Steamy Historical Regency Romance) Page 17
