Lady Belling's Secret (3 page)

“What did they put this up there with?” He was laughing as much as she was by this point.

“Let me climb up there and pull from higher.” Frankie kicked off her shoes and hiked up her skirt to her shins to better climb up onto the high mattress. Thomas shifted to the other side of the curtain, facing her, and they both grabbed huge handfuls of drapery. “Ready, on three. One. Two.” On three she leaned back with all her weight and pulled. Thomas yanked down with great force at the same time. At last, the damn thing came loose with a rending tear, sending Frankie flat to the counterpane with Thomas and ten yards of ugly material sprawled on top of her.

“Ooof,” she grunted in the midst of peals of hysterical laughter.

Velvet slid across her face until Thomas came into view above her. “Are you all right?”

She gasped between laughing breaths until eventually she could sputter out, “Fine.”

“You really went flying there.” He was laughing as loud as she was until his mouth came over hers again. His tongue found hers almost instantly, and the kiss rapidly escalated, their laughter transforming into passion. His hands held her face in place, and her arms wound their way around his neck.

This was bad, very, very bad. She had no business alone with this man, much less alone in his bedroom, on his bed, with their arms locked around each other. It didn’t matter how much her mother loved Thomas, she would be unbearably disappointed when she found out.

But, oh sweet heaven, Frankie never imagined it would be so overwhelming. She was too consumed by the weight of him, the taste of him, his smell. All of her senses were engulfed. She’d waited so long for this. She refused to listen to the shrill voice in her head screeching about the implications of giving in.

Of course, she’d had scads of daydreams about this very thing. Well, not this very thing. These circumstances were absurd, but she’d created a million scenarios since the time she’d hit puberty where Thomas would be overcome and kiss her soundly. Mostly they involved a soft breeze feathering the hair across her neck and a setting sun reflecting off the water of the Serpentine in order to best highlight her annoying red hair. She never worked out how it was that they were alone in the park at sunset together, but all the fantasies seemed to work out that way. What she never imagined would happen was that she’d be so distracted that she wouldn’t give a fig about how her hair looked or whether her dress showed her assets to their best.

As it turned out, all she wanted was the kiss to never end. She arched her back ever so slightly and pressed her breasts into his chest. He responded by nudging her with his hips and angling his head for better access to her mouth. She flicked out her tongue in exploration and was encouraged by a masculine groan.

“I should take you home,” he murmured as his lips kissed along the tender skin behind her ear. She felt the pressure of a hand on her breast even through the fabric of her dress and the velvet curtain.

“Probably,” she agreed and made an effort to slow her panting breaths.

Thomas’s lips found the tendon on her neck and nipped. “I will take you home.”

Frankie fisted her hands in his hair. “All right.”

Neither of them made any effort to extricate themselves from the embrace, however. Her conscience tried to break through the haze of passion and scream some sound advice, to remind her of her obligations once again, but then his lips found hers and his tongue caressed the soft flesh of her mouth.

He lifted his head long enough to sweep some hair back from her forehead and gaze down at her. By God, his eyes smoldered. She’d read that in a novel once and thought it absurd at the time, but now she knew the truth of it. His eyes smoldered, and she was the cause.

“This isn’t why I brought you here,” he whispered.

Frankie froze. “I know.” She swallowed hard. He was too handsome for his own good. It wasn’t fair, after all this time, not fair by half.

“Do you want me to take you home?” He sounded like he hoped she would decline. Or was she simply reading into his expression what she desperately wanted to hear? He leaned his weight on his elbow, and Frankie feared he was preparing to rise from the bed and leave her. She should let him. This was a mistake, a horrendous mistake, one with far-reaching implications. Still, she found herself grasping onto his biceps, holding him still.

Was it possible she could have this one thing, what she’d always wanted but given up hope for? Thomas had always been a discreet lover. Despite his father’s dire predictions, he’d never been involved in a scandal. Not that his reputation wasn’t as outrageously cultivated as her brother’s was.

“I don’t want you to take me home,” she said.

“As a gentleman, I had to ask.” He grinned at her again, and her belly flip-flopped.

He kissed her lips, her chin, the indent of her throat. He pulled away more of the curtain fabric pressed between them and kissed the top of her breasts, first one, then the other. “I can’t believe how beautiful you are,” he murmured against the lace edging of her chemise where her dress had been tugged down slightly with the curtain. “I come back and you’re a stunning woman.”

Frankie ran her hands down the strong arms that held him above her. “You look the same, as sinfully handsome as ever.”

“No,” he told her with a shake of his head. “I’ve changed. I’m no longer a rudderless man at odds with himself. I have plans for my life.” He pushed more green material away, revealing her dress all the way to her midriff. His gaze was intently arousing as he surveyed her body underneath him, sliding a hand down her side until it fit in the indent of her waist, then back up to cup a breast. “I am charmed by your confession. I regret that I was ever so stupid as to miss all the signs.”

Frankie arched her back again, this time pressing her breast into his hand. She felt like she couldn’t breathe. The excitement and anticipation was killing her.

Chapter Three

No longer a sweet, gentle kiss, this pairing of their mouths overflowed with passion. His tongue swept over hers, robbing her of any breath she still possessed. Even with their lips connected, he managed to wrestle the remaining curtain from between their bodies. Then he settled between her legs and concentrated on fully ravishing her mouth.

Way in the back of her head, Frankie could hear the tiniest voice of her conscience sounding a fainter and fainter alarm. None of that mattered. The real truth, the only truth, was that her love for Thomas had never diminished. From the instant she saw him in the solicitor’s office, every bit of emotion she had been sure had faded away burst back to life. She was foolish to think she was over him. She would never be over him.

When he finally dragged his mouth from hers, she gasped. His lips and tongue nibbled at her neck, laved the indent of her throat. With a gentle tug on her dress and the fabric loosened to fully reveal her chemise-covered breasts. He sucked on them through the thin cotton, causing her nipples to harden. All the while, Thomas was easing her dress up her legs until he reached where their bodies pressed together. He slipped one hand beneath her bottom and lifted her hips high enough to slip the silk underneath, repeating the process then finally, with one more deft yank, her dress slid over her head. That left her bare but for the useless barrier of her chemise.

Her fingers worked the buttons of his waistcoat until it hung open and the white of his shirt shown through. Reaching high, she pushed both the jacket and waistcoat from his shoulders, and he shrugged out of the garments so she could pull the sleeves the rest of the way from his arms. They landed on the bed near the rumpled remains of her dress.

“Take off your boots,” she commanded. It was several pleasurable moments of his undivided attention on her breasts before he slid to the side and kicked at his boots. And kicked and grunted. “Need some help?”

“No.” He made an exaggerated groan. “Yes,” he admitted when his boots still hadn’t budged.

Frankie laughed. “That’s what you men get for wearing such formfitting boots.” She jumped from the bed and turned around so Thomas could slip his leg between her knees. She grasped his heel and pulled until the boot, as tight as a stocking, slid from his foot. She intended to do the second boot the same expedient way except that he flipped up the back of her chemise when he put the boot between her knees. Her fingers fumbled with the boot heel when his palms caressed her bottom. “Stop,” she said through giggles, but instead both his hands came up to cup her breasts while she leaned down. Forefingers and thumbs rolled the nipples then pinched them both slightly, making them so sensitive that even her chemise was stimulating. Frankie uttered a breathless sigh.

Warm breath skated up her back, followed by his tongue tracing the line of her spine. “Hurry up and get my boot off, woman.” He kissed the small of her back.

She straightened and worked the boot from his foot, but Thomas didn’t allow her to turn around to face him. He lifted the chemise over her head then wrapped his arms around her naked body and pulled her back to rest against his lap. His hands were everywhere, softly caressing her heated skin. He kissed her neck and shoulders, around her ears.

“Beautiful,” he whispered and cupped her breasts, fondled her nipples and gently pinched until she heard a full-throated moan which must have come from her.

One palm smoothed down her stomach until he arrived at the apex of her thighs. He ran his fingers over the curls just as one of his naked feet moved hers farther apart. She moaned louder and leaned her head on his shoulder when his fingers slipped between her legs and stroked the outside of her most private area. Frankie grasped his thighs with trembling fingers. He played with her down there and whispered sweet, seductive words in her ear. She stiffened when he separated the folds and slid the tip of one finger inside, then arched her neck when he used that same finger to roll the sensitive nubbin of flesh. Lightning bolts of sensation crashed through her, and she screamed a little. He chuckled and shushed her. She wanted to turn around, to kiss him, to see him, but he wouldn’t allow it. Leaving her deliciously exposed, he released her breast and turned her face to him. His talented fingers massaged her between her shaking legs as his tongue ravished her mouth.

She pulled away from his kiss, panting and whimpering. Something was coming and she didn’t want to miss it. She soared, rising with more and more urgency, Thomas guided her up towards the inevitable end. He slid one long finger inside her, then a second. He pulled them out in tandem then slipped them in again, and she exploded. Arching her back and squinting her eyes shut tight, she burst. She was dimly aware of his embrace and the swift movement that brought her flat on her back on the bed beside him. She tried not to scream. She bit down hard on her bottom lip until the sensation ebbed.

Thomas’s grin was knowing and outrageously erotic when she opened her eyes. His shirt and trousers were gone, and he lay naked against the length of her. He bent and kissed her mouth before taking a swollen nipple between his lips.

“Oh my God.” She grasped his head, fisting his black curls in her fingers, and held him there to suckle and torment her until she didn’t think she could stand it anymore.

He grinned up at her from her belly and maintained eye contact when he dipped his tongue in her navel. “I want to taste you.”

That confused her. Hadn’t he kissed her enough to know everything she’d eaten today? After all, she still tasted the tea and sugar from their earlier repast in the sitting room. But then he moved lower and pushed one knee to the side. His grin was unrepentant when he ducked his head between her legs.
Oh, no! That’s not done, is it?
She made to sit up, mortified at how wet everything was down there, but he stilled her with a staying hand on her belly.

“Trust me?” he asked with devilish charm.

Of course she trusted him. With her decisions today, she trusted him with everything she held dear. She nodded almost imperceptibly. He ducked his head and spread her lower lips apart. She forgot to feel embarrassed the instant his tongue swept over her exposed flesh.

“Oh my God,” she repeated.

His fingers slipped back inside her while his mouth did sinful things. She wanted to hold still, but she writhed on the bed, unable to keep her hips from moving. He was making her do that thing again where she spiraled up and up. Oh God, she pushed for the edge, but his mouth pulled away before she fell.

Thomas’s breath was as gasping as hers when he rose over her. “I need to be inside you.” She’d never heard his voice so deep and ragged and…lustful?

“Yes,” she agreed. Until she followed the length of his body with her eyes as he knelt between her legs. His manhood jutted away from his groin like a yearning…thing. It was huge.

“It’ll be all right,” he promised. “You’re ready for me. I’ll go slow.”

Propped up on an elbow, she extended her hand and gently folded her fingers around his manhood. How could something she couldn’t get her fingers around ever fit in there? Thomas groaned, and she shifted her attention to his face. His head was thrown back and his chest heaved. He had never been more gorgeous. His lean sailor’s body tensed when she gave an exploratory squeeze. She let surprisingly soft skin glide through her hand until her fingers touched the bulbous head. A single bead of moisture pooled at the tip, and she used her thumb to spread it along the top.

His flesh jumped in her hand, and he grasped her wrist, hard. “Careful,” he warned, his laughter harsh and strained.

“I’m so sorry. Am I hurting you?”

“No, you’re killing me so good.” He showed her how to move her hand, but he only gave her time for two or three fluid strokes before he pulled her away for good and positioned himself at her entrance.

Slowly he slid inside and he moved his hips until he reached a barrier. There was a momentary twinge, then just the feeling of fullness. Frankie lifted her knees farther apart. He bent and kissed her deeply, thrusting his tongue in her mouth at the same time his hips flexed and he pushed all the way in.