Kane, Samantha - Brothers In Arms 06 (10 page)

With that thought Nat rolled until Palu’s back hit the bookcase and he deepened the kiss again. He made it about lust, about sexual gratification and not about emotions. It couldn’t be about emotions.

Palu surrendered, letting Nat control the kiss and control him. Nat shoved a knee between Palu’s legs and the other man groaned when his thigh made contact with his groin. Palu’s hands gripped Nat’s hips, pulling him in and grinding against him. Yes, this is what they had. Nat had never had better with a man. Palu fit all his curves, provided pressure in all the right places.

Nat broke away with a gasp, staring at Palu with defiant satisfaction. Palu’s eyes were glazed, his lips swollen and wet, his cheeks flushed. Nat was in control here. He was back in control. He nudged Palu’s cock with his thigh, and looked down to see the outline of his rigid length straining against his tight breeches. The knowledge of what Palu hid under his clothes, his sensual and mesmerizing
tatau
, a thick cock covered in black ink, his bulging biceps decorated with primitive swirls and bands, drove Nat mad with lust. That was all his right now.

Nat watched as he ground his cock into Palu’s through their clothes. He slowly swiveled his hips, rubbing against Palu, and Palu swore under his breath at the same time he gripped Nat’s hips tighter, and held him closer.

“Is this what you want?” Nat whispered, looking away from their grinding hips. He stared into Palu’s eyes, daring him to deny it. “Is this what you want to talk about?”

50

Love in Exile

“No,” Palu said through clenched teeth. “I don’t want to talk about fucking. I just want you to fuck me.”

The shiver that coursed down Nat’s spine had nothing to do with the tumult of emotions inside him and everything to do with possession and desire and an overwhelming need to see this big man laid out below him, taking him in that gorgeous, marked bottom of his.

But not now. Not here. They had things to do.

“If you’re a very good boy,” Nat told Palu with a wicked smile, “I just might do that later.”

Palu growled wordlessly, thrusting against Nat and Nat laughed. “Eager are we?”

“I don’t know,” Palu responded as he made Nat suck in a breath as he rubbed against him, “are we?”

Palu tried to kiss him again but Nat jerked away. He could see the surprise in Palu’s face. He knew how much Nat enjoyed kissing him. But right now it felt too intimate.

Nat had gotten their encounter where he wanted it, away from confessions and back to fucking. Kissing would destroy what little progress he’d made.

Just then Alecia walked into the drawing room. She took in the situation in one glance and quickly turned to close the door behind her before the servants saw what was going on. When she turned back to them she was smiling apprehensively.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Nat put his hands on the bookcase and shoved away from Palu, who let him go immediately. “You didn’t,” Nat said nonchalantly. “We were just passing the time.” He didn’t look at Palu. He felt rather than saw Palu’s withdrawal, his retreat into that polite expression that hid his thoughts. It was better this way, for all of them.

“Are you ready to go, my dear?” he asked Alecia.

She paled slightly and bit her lip before answering. “Are you sure you still wish to go, Natty?”

“Of course,” he said with a frown at her. She mustn’t lose her courage now. This time it would work. He was sure of it. He pushed his own disquiet down deep and focused on what had to be done. “We always go to tea with your parents on the second Tuesday of the month.”

“What?” Palu exclaimed, his confusion evident.

“Surely you don’t mind accompanying us?” Nat asked as he stopped in front of a small mirror to adjust his cravat and lapels. He was finding it unbearable not to look at Palu. Christ, what a bloody fucking awful day this was going to be.

“Alecia?” Palu asked from behind. Nat spun around to pin her with a hard stare.

She kept her gaze on Nat, blinking rapidly.

“Yes?” Her voice was thin. Would Palu notice?

“Do you wish me to go?”

51

Samantha Kane

She turned to Palu, her expression troubled. “I don’t want you to leave us.” Her answer was ambiguous, Nat had to give her credit for that. He knew she wasn’t in favor of his plan, but she would do as he asked because she trusted him. Please God, Nat prayed, let it work this time. For once let him make the right decision for them. He’d almost turned away when he caught the longing in her gaze as she stared at Palu.

Perhaps her answer hadn’t been so ambiguous then. She truly did not want Palu to leave them. But the journey had to end somewhere. Nat was afraid he knew their destination today might very well be their final one.

* * * * *

“More tea, Mr. Anderson?”

Alecia’s mother, Mrs. Colby, was as petite as her daughter. She was shy as well, but in a different way from Alecia. She was a timid mouse, overwhelmed by her domineering husband. Perhaps she might have outgrown it if she hadn’t been tied to a man who wanted to keep her that way.

Palu wasn’t exactly sure why he was here. He and Nat and Alecia had spent almost two days making love and laughing, and the next thing he knew they’d bundled him up and brought him here to tea with the father who hated them. His head was spinning, especially after that confusing conversation with Nat this morning. There was no sign of the laughing Englishman who had entranced him at Wilchester’s the other night.

“No, thank you, ma’am,” Palu replied politely. He tried not to sigh at her flinch as he spoke. He could tell he made her nervous. He’d seen it a hundred times before, in as many drawing rooms. It didn’t matter that he’d been raised in England, had the finest education, and was a prominent scholar. All they saw was his brown skin and broad nose and coarse hair and they feared his primitive nature. To be sure, outside of the bedroom Palu didn’t think he had much of a primitive nature. He was a rather easygoing fellow if people bothered to get to know him. He’d actually been surprised to discover his primitive sexual nature with Nat and Alecia. He smiled into his cup as he took a sip of tea. They didn’t seem to fear the savage.

Nat was prowling the perimeter of the room. It was clear he did not enjoy being here, which made their visit all the more puzzling, since he’d insisted on it. Alecia sat to Palu’s left, biting her lip and fiddling with her teacup. Her father sat in solitary splendor in an ornate chair beneath a large portrait of himself above the empty fireplace. It was quite Gothic, and Palu would have laughed except that he feared no one else would understand the joke.

“What do you want?” Mr. Colby bit out. Palu was startled and turned to him, but he was speaking to Nat.

Nat turned to Colby with a sneer. “You know what we want. What we always want. It is you who make us appear here every month to grovel for what is rightfully ours. If you do not wish to see us, then give us the whole sum.”

52

Love in Exile

Palu was shocked beyond speech. Even though Alecia had told him, he hadn’t actually expected Nat and Mr. Colby to be so hostile to one another. It appeared as if Nat wished to shoot Mr. Colby as much as the older man wanted to shoot Nat. And what sum was he talking about?

“Is she with child?” Mr. Colby sneered back. “Or have you not managed that yet?”

He pointed a shaking finger at Palu. “Is this your attempt at blackmail? Are you going to have him get a babe on her? To shame us?”

“What?” Palu exclaimed. Good Lord, one simply did not discuss these things in the drawing room over tea. He glanced at Alecia and saw her cheeks were stained with mortification. She wouldn’t look at him.

“You know the doctors said she will not conceive again,” Nat ground out. “Do you not think it pains us both? Must you grind our noses in it?”

Again? Palu was shocked and dismayed. Nat and Alecia had lost a baby? When?

Mr. Colby’s lips thinned with anger until they disappeared. “She lost the babe because of her whoring for you.”

Mrs. Colby gasped and Palu saw her lips tremble. He had to grit his teeth against the angry words stuck in his throat.

“Enough,” Alecia said in a shaking voice. “We have come for our monthly

allowance, Father,” she said, clenching her hands in her lap. “Nat is right. If you would just give us the funds in my dowry, we would not all have to endure this monthly torture.”

“You call visiting your mother torture?” Mr. Colby asked in anger.

“No, Father. I would gladly visit with Mother.” She didn’t need to add that she did not wish to see her father. The unspoken sentiment was understood by all.

Mr. Colby’s face turned a darker shade of red. “I am not required to turn the money over until you are thirty years old,” he said coldly. “I feel it is my duty to keep control of it until then. You and your husband have no sense of responsibility or decorum. To give you the money now to waste on your hedonistic pleasures would be folly, and a disservice to you.”

Nat scoffed. “You wish to control us with your parsimonious guardianship. Surely you know that is not going to happen.”

Again Mr. Colby pointed a shaking finger at Palu. “You didn’t answer my question.

Why is he here?”

Palu was wondering the same thing. There was a cold suspicion creeping through his veins. All his ludicrous and emotional speculations the last two days seemed to ridicule him from every angle. He tried to catch their eyes, but neither Nat nor Alecia would look at him. He put his cup down, afraid it would rattle in his shaking hands.

“Mr. Anderson is a recent acquaintance,” Nat said calmly. “We have been spending a great deal of time together. I’m sure that it will soon be common knowledge.”

53

Samantha Kane

Mr. Colby stood and Palu saw Alecia biting her lip so hard he was afraid she would make herself bleed. But why was he worried about her? Was he such a fool?

“Unless I pay you, is that right?” Mr. Colby accused. “You resort to blackmail now?

If I don’t wish it to be common knowledge that my daughter is consorting with this savage, I must bow to your demands.”

Palu stood and all eyes turned to him. Alecia’s eyes were red and swimming with unshed tears. He could see the plea in their pretty brown depths. When he looked at Nat all he saw was anger. But when Nat glanced at Alecia Palu saw the regret and determination in his eyes. Palu turned to Mr. Colby.

“Yes,” he said. With that one word he threw his own pride aside. He knew he’d been used by them. But they had certainly given of themselves as well. He saw no shame in returning the favor. This was a situation beyond their control. Alecia had alluded several times to their lack of funds, for traveling and other pursuits. Palu hadn’t understood, obviously. He hadn’t understood what Nat was telling him this morning, either. Now he did.

Mr. Colby glared at him. “Blackmail is a punishable offense,” he spit out.

Palu merely smiled politely. “One that requires the victim to admit what he is being blackmailed about,” he answered. “And I do not think that is what you wish.”

Mr. Colby regarded him for a moment and then sat with a cold smile. “Fine. Tell them.” He waved vaguely in the direction of the street. “Tell them all. It is not I who will be hurt by the gossip. I will deposit the usual monthly allowance in their account.

But no more.” He looked down and brushed at something on his lapel. “But if it does become known that my daughter has…befriended you, then I will have to forbid them from coming to this house again.” Mrs. Colby gave a little hiccup of distress, and Mr.

Colby silenced her with a glare. “I will not have my house tainted by association.”

Palu started to speak, but Alecia cut him off. “No. No more.” She stood and in her distress nearly lost her balance. Palu stepped quickly to her side and she placed her hand on his arm. The contact produced a shiver of awareness. He smiled grimly. His body clearly hadn’t caught up with the current situation.

“Goodbye, Mother,” Alecia said. Mrs. Colby glanced at her husband, but then she stood and grabbed Alecia’s hand. Palu could see how tightly she held it. She kissed Alecia’s cheek.

“Goodbye, my dear,” she whispered. She sat quickly, not looking at Palu or Nat.

Nat stalked over to the door and opened it. He glared at Mr. Colby. “This is not over,” he promised.

Mr. Colby sneered at him. “Yes, I do believe it is. I have called your bluff. You will do nothing to harm Alecia, Digby. You have made the fatal error of falling in love with her. I pity you.”

They were shown out of the house, Nat simmering with barely controlled rage. Palu was numb. Could he have been so wrong about them? When they reached the street Alecia stood there with her eyes downcast and her hands clasped tightly in front of her.

54

Love in Exile

Palu stopped next to her, his hand on her elbow polite, but nothing more. They waited for the carriage to be brought around. Nat paced a few feet away at the street’s edge.

“Palu—” Alecia began in a voice filled with tears.

“Not here,” he interrupted. He pulled his handkerchief out and handed it to her.

Neither of them looked at the other. When the carriage arrived Palu hesitated to enter.

“Get in,” Nat barked. He threw himself against the seat back and stared out the window next to him, his face turned away from Palu. Palu climbed in, more as a courtesy than anything else. He supposed they all deserved a better end than this.

Alecia seemed the better choice of traveling companion, and Palu sat down next to her. The carriage lurched into traffic and Palu waited.

Alecia broke first. “I’m so sorry,” she cried, sniffling into his handkerchief. “It wasn’t supposed to be like that. It wasn’t supposed to be so…so ugly.”

Nat leaned his forearms on his thighs, turning his hat in his hands between his knees. He sighed deeply. “No, no it wasn’t.”

“Exactly what did you expect it to be?” Palu asked dispassionately. He was feeling very little at that moment. He had a terrible premonition the feelings would come later, when he was alone.