The Master's Lessons (3 page)

Still fighting
for breath, Amelia shuddered uncontrollably as Cooper’s fist opened
to reveal two tiny brass clamps. “Wear them, sir?”

“Indeed – just
here.” He touched each painfully stiff nipple in turn, and before
she could even attempt to gather her wits and twist away from him,
he had snapped a clamp onto each to pinch her nipples between the
cold metal.

“Oh!” Startled
into obedience by the sharp twist of powerful arousal that sped
outwards from the clamps to inflame her lust for him afresh, she
pushed down against him as a smug smile broke out on his face.

“As I thought,
then. Maybe you will take as much pleasure from these as you did my
crop. But relax now, Miss Montague. I want you to listen to me and
pay close attention to this lesson.”

Awed by and no
little afraid of the sensations that streaked through her
underneath his command, she was helpless to deny him even the
smallest boon. “Yes, sir,” she whispered, and he nodded in grim
satisfaction before he spoke again.

“You are my employee and my responsibility...in short, you
are
mine
. Anything
you have need of, you are to come to me for. No-one else, do you
understand?”

“Do you mean
-”

“Oh, yes.” Cooper’s black scowl stole a beat of her heart, and
his hands settled around her waist as he sought out her wide eyes
with his own. “Anything, and
everything
. You are to see Lord
Frederick no longer, Miss Montague; this infatuation must stop. I
will not stand for it! I am not a man accustomed to being disobeyed
– and nor do I share what is mine.”

“I am not
yours!”

He shifted the
chair forward to pin her between his heated body and the wood as
his hands shot up to forcefully grope at her breasts, then tweaked
each tiny clamp to wrench another lustful cry from her against her
will.

“You think?” he
said, his eyes now flashing with a barely-controlled fury as his
fingers dug into her breasts hard enough to leave bruises on the
tender flesh; a fact that only heightened her arousal yet further.
“On the contrary, Miss Montague, I rather think that you are – and
your body knows that, even if your mind will not yet accept it. A
woman like you needs the hand of an experienced man to coax from
her the full heights of pleasure that her body can give to her. I
am that man. With your permission or without it, I will have
you.”

“Now?”

The breathless
word fell from Amelia’s lips with no conscious control, and he
laughed quietly with no mirth or delight. “Not now, no. It would
hardly be a punishment if I followed it up by giving you all that
you want, would it?”

She grimaced as
she battled with the compulsion to push her breasts further into
his hands. “Then when do you intend to force yourself on me?”

“Oh, I do not think there will be any force required – or at
least, none you will not enjoy. In time, my dear. I and I alone
will decide when. You may remove the clamps and redress yourself
now, Miss Montague. I shall escort you back to the school. Once
there I suggest you think over your lesson before the time comes
when I will send for you, for when I do so you
will
come.”

III.

Lesson
Three

Amelia paced
back and forth in agitation as the sun slowly sank beneath the
horizon, her eyes flickering every few moments towards the pink and
amber sky in search of that which had not yet appeared. Four hours
had passed now since Cooper had delivered her back to the school
with one last whispered, lascivious threat of all they would share,
and despite Freddie’s imminent arrival, it had been the headmaster
who consumed her mind.

Even if she had
been able to forget him and all he had done to her, his touch had
left a physical brand on her that was impossible to ignore –
something he had intended, no doubt. The intimate nature of the
aches and pains he had left her with ensured that since they had
parted, she had been plagued by a permanent, simmering undercurrent
of arousal that would not abate. It was not him she would turn to
in order to have it satisfied, though, for the lord Cooper knew she
was seeing was due to arrive at any moment.

Amelia had no
intention of giving her lover up for the sake of the headmaster’s
unwanted and salacious demands. She would simply have to be more
careful when Freddie came to visit. In truth, the added danger only
thrilled her all the more – and to her frustration, the prospect of
another encounter like the one she and Cooper had earlier shared
should he catch them again quickened her breath and stirred a
forceful throb of arousal deep down in her core.

She wished
fervently that her body had not responded to his stolen, rough
caresses the way that it had, but the truth of the matter was that
even imagining allowing the headmaster to touch her so again was
enough to tear a low cry from her parted lips as her hand moved up
of its own accord to brush against the curve of her breasts. She
had not yet replaced the corset that Cooper had torn away from
them, and her nipples stood out sharply through the lightweight
summer blouse that was all now covering them.

Her head rolled
to the side as a shiver of desire sped through her still heated
veins, but before she could act upon it a rustle of movement from
the small balcony caught her attention. Her heart leapt wildly as,
with a small smile that spoke of all he intended to do to her, Lord
Frederick pushed the drapes aside and slipped gracefully into her
room.

“Freddie!”

With a low sob,
Amelia flew into his waiting arms and allowed him to wrap them
around her. His mouth instantly descended upon her throat, and she
stretched her arms out above her head in willing supplication to
the man whom she idolised. As well as his title, Freddie has been
blessed with classical good looks and an easy charm that had made
him impossible to resist when their paths had crossed in the local
town some two months ago. Lean and muscular – a fact which no doubt
aided his weekly ascents up a rope to her rooms – he was whispered
of as the most eligible bachelor in the entire county, but it was
her he had chosen to become his lover. Of late, he had even hinted
that it would soon be far more.

However hard he
tried, she was determined not to allow Cooper to ruin this for her,
yet somehow even now the deviant headmaster filled her mind. Even
as she tensed in frustration, though, Freddie seemed oblivious to
her turmoil. He deepened the kiss further, transferring his mouth
to claim hers as his tongue thrust into her mouth and he swallowed
her loud moan. His hands snaked upward to cup her breasts through
her blouse, and in an instant her aching nipples stiffened afresh
through the silk as he finally broke the kiss.

“Mmm,” he said
with an appreciative groan, stripping the blouse away without
seeking permission to expose her breasts to the hunger in his eyes.
“No corset tonight? Lovely, darling – it seems you are as keen to
get down to business as I am.”

Amelia knew she
had to tell him what had happened before he noticed for himself the
marks that Cooper had left behind. “But Freddie -”

“Sssh,
sweetheart,” he said as he wound his hands through her hair and
guided her to her knees. “Talking later, please! We have all the
time in the world, after all –”

“Ah, but there
you are mistaken.”

“Mr. Cooper,
sir!”

Freddie leapt
away from her as if he was once more a schoolboy caught dipping his
quill in another boy’s inkpot. The colour drained from her face
when she looked up into the grim face of the headmaster as he
strode towards the two of them, pocketing the master key he clearly
possessed as the bedroom door swung closed in his wake.

When he finally
came to a halt in front of them, Cooper’s mirthless smile struck
terror into Amelia’s heart as he held out a hand to help her back
to her feet. To protest would be useless, she knew that, and so she
simply shuddered as she placed her slender hand in his and gave
herself over to the inevitable.

The headmaster
pulled her possessively near then glanced down to make a full
account of her state of undress. His eyes briefly settled upon the
small bruises on her breasts and darkened in shared memory, but
when he lifted his head again there was nothing in his intent stare
but a menacing rage. “It seems we have here a veritable Romeo in
the making, Miss Montague. Have you not yet told him that he is
forbidden from coming here now, or did the two of you distract each
other?”

Before she
could even try to form a reply past the lump now constricting her
throat, Freddie came forward again to try in vain to tear her out
of Cooper’s arms. “What in God’s name do you think you are doing,
sir?” he said hotly as the headmaster’s restraint of her
tightened.

“Putting an end
to this debauchery, Lord Frederick,” Cooper spat. “I know you have
been coming to my young French mistress for some time now – one of
the prefects when questioned yesterday told me he had seen you in
the grounds some three weeks ago. Miss Montague caught your eye
upon your return from London, I suppose? You always were a fool for
a pretty face.”

The acerbic
tang of the headmaster’s sharp words made Freddie wince, much to
Amelia’s irritation. The years between the two men suddenly seemed
far more defined, and her rapid assessment of that brought the
senior of the two out on top. As she shivered in fear of the
conclusion of that fact, Cooper glanced down at her again.

“Have you
something to say, Miss Montague?”

“Yes!”

A ghost of a
smile played upon his lips as Freddie stammered wordlessly behind
them. “Then speak, my dear. You have my permission to do so.”

Her breath hitched, for the headmaster’s eyes had now locked
onto hers. She could do nothing to look away from him, for behind
his rage now she could see the full depth of his lust for her – and
it was mesmerising. Yet this was
wrong
. It was Freddie she wanted, not
Cooper. “I love him!” she burst out as a pair of tiny, hot tears
broke away from her eyes to snake down her bloodless face. “Sir,
please...whatever mistaken impression you might have received, I
beg of you to forget it, for it is Freddie I want and Freddie I
love!”

The headmaster
breathed in sharply, and his tenuous grip on his temper was all too
plain. She feared for a moment that he would strike her, but
instead he chose to resort to a far more devious method of making
his point. He lowered his head towards hers and took a step nearer
so that her breasts were pressed up against his jacket, and when
she tensed in his arms, his low ripple of laughter sped through her
as if her body was no more or less now than an extension of
his.

Amelia clenched
her lips together to stifle the lustful cry that would betray her,
but he seemed to know all that was hovering between them unsaid.
His fingers slowly traced the length of her bare spine, and to her
consternation she felt herself fall slave to a desire far stronger
than anything she had ever felt for Freddie. Cooper finally
unleashed a soft snort of triumph as his hand reached its
destination and settled far too intimately upon the flare of her
waist, but he made no mention of the way she had reacted to his
touch.

“Aye, I thought
you supposed yourself in love with him,” he calmly said instead. “I
have seen the way you looked at him in church of late. But enough
from you, Miss Montague; I will hear the rest of your piece once
your lover has departed.”

Freddie balled
his fists. “Departed?! Mr. Cooper, I will not leave her here with
you like this!”

“Oh, but you
will! You are to forget all about her, Frederick; to you she no
longer exists. I will not permit you to use her as a throwaway
mistress any longer.”

The
headmaster’s fierce declaration robbed Amelia of the last of her
composure. With an incoherent cry she began to fight against him
like a cornered animal, but he retained his hold on her with what
seemed to be the minimum of effort as he continued speaking to
Freddie.

“You spent
three years under my tutelage, remember. I do not think you need
any reminder that I am not a man to be crossed.”

“But I
want
her!”

“If you are so
very eager to have this woman to call your own, then perhaps I
shall urge your father to see to a betrothal for you. He and I are
close, as you know, and he has often told me how keen he is to see
you settled. The earl would be delighted to see you wed, no doubt,
even to a mere schoolmistress; but perhaps you would rather leave
here now with your freedom intact, little lord. If so, then depart
from my school now and speak nothing further of what passed here
tonight. Take yourself back to London, and forget all about Amelia
– or stay here now, fight for her and wed her if you win. It seems
a very simple choice.”

It
was
a
simple choice. Ten minutes ago Amelia would have confidently
predicted the path that Freddie would take, but to her horror she
was beginning to realise the gravity of her mistake. The fear in
his eyes mirrored her own – but unlike her, he could walk away from
the trap that had been set.

That was
precisely what he chose to do.

She doubled
over in Cooper’s arms and he stood firm as she railed against him
and fought in vain to make her lover look at her one last time.

“Freddie!”

Oblivious to
Amelia’s heartfelt cry, Freddie strode away without a backwards
glance to leave her alone and entirely at the mercy of the now
incandescent headmaster.