The Earl's Stolen Bride (Marriage by Deceit Book 4) (11 page)

But this was something they needed to do until it was safe to let the Ton know they were married.  There was no way she could abstain from this activity now that she knew how much pleasure it brought them both.  And they could still receive pleasure even with the sheath.

It certainly wasn’t stopping him from enjoying things.  Just feeling him as hard as he was made her core clench in anticipation.  She would climax tonight.  She had no doubt about it.  She moved her hips, noting how slick she was as she settled on his tip.  All she had to do was take him into her.

Just as she was about to that, he put his hands on her hips and stopped her.  “I need to get on top,” he said.

“Why?”

He rolled with her until she was under him, her legs wrapped around his hips, her body still demanding she take him into her.  He kissed her on the lips then her cheek and then her neck.  She almost forgot her question, but then he answered, “I don’t want it to hurt for you.”

He didn’t want it to hurt?  She couldn’t imagine it would hurt if she was on top, but as he entered her, she gave it no more thought.  Her core clenched around him, pulling him deeper into her.  She moaned.  In the short time they’d been apart, she’d forgotten it felt
this
good.

She worked with him, her hips rising to meet each thrust.  Using her legs, she encouraged him to go faster.  If she hadn’t been so anxious for him all day, she might have had the patience to go at a more leisurely pace, but she had spent the entire day with the persistent ache between her legs.  Only one thing could satisfy it, and all she could do was focus on the way he stroked her core, rubbing that sensitive area deep inside until she didn’t think she could take it anymore.  Then, finally, she was at the peak.

Crying out, she clung to him.  Wave after wave of pleasure consumed her, and all she could do was lie still and take it all in as he proceeded to make love to her, an action which only heightened each surge of pleasure.  Oh, how she’d missed this.

And what was more, she’d missed the joy of knowing he was receiving just as much pleasure when he released his seed.  This time the familiar warmth didn’t go into her.  The sheath caught it, which was the point of it, she knew, though it still surprised her for a moment.  She’d gotten used to being slick with his seed when they were finished making love, and as strange as it struck her, she was going to miss the reminder they’d been intimate earlier in the night.

When he was spent, he pulled out of her, clasping the sheath at the base of his shaft as he did so.  Despite feeling lightheaded from her intense orgasm, she watched in interest as he untied the sheath from the base and took it off.  He put it beside him then settled back on the pillow.

“I’ll get to it in a moment,” he whispered, his voice raspy as he brought her into his arms.

“What do you need to do with it?”

“I’ll have to clean it up, and I want to do it soon because I want to use it again before the night is over.” With a grin, he traced her breast with his hand.  “Actually, I want to use it at least a couple more times.”

Laughing, she snuggled up to him and kissed him.  “We will.  I promise.”

After a moment of comfortable silence, he asked, “I don’t suppose I can hide in this room for couple days?  I don’t want to go back to my townhouse.”

“I hadn’t thought about you leaving.” It was bound to happen at some point, but she’d like nothing more than to have him stay in her bedchamber so she could spend the days with him.  It’d be easy enough to do.  When her lady’s maid came in the room, he could go to the small adjoining room and close the door.  Her lady’s maid would be none the wiser.  But…  “Won’t anyone notice you’re gone?”

“Toby will guess where I am, but he won’t come looking for me.”

“What about your servants?”

“I don’t have to report my comings and goings to them. What I do is my concern.”

“Since it won’t get you in any trouble, I would love for you to stay.” Relieved she wouldn’t have to say good-bye to him in the morning, she gave him a lingering kiss.  With a contented sigh, she added, “I’m glad you’ll be here.  I hate being away from you.”

“I hate being away from you, too.”

“It’ll be nice when we can get back to your estate.”

“Our estate.”

She smiled.  “You’re right. 
Our
estate.”

He rubbed her back and kissed her neck, the action so light it made her giggle.  “Let me clean that thing up,” he gestured to the sheath, “then I’ll be back.”

She scooted away from him so he could get up.  She propped up one of the pillows while he took the sheath to the water basin.  “My arms feel empty without you,” she said.

Grinning at her, he replied, “I’ll be in bed with you soon.  I promise.”

She got the blankets neatly arranged then settled against the pillow, eager for him to be right beside her once more.

Chapter Thirteen

Orlando woke up late the next morning, his body relaxed.  It’d been hard to sleep without Chloe.  He’d had his restless nights before they married, but afterwards, the desire to be with her had only increased.  And that made for some frustrating, long nights alone in his bed.  Last night was the best sleep he’d had since she’d left Edmonstone.

He opened his eyes, surprised she wasn’t next to him.  Sitting up, he scanned the room and saw her at her vanity, wearing her robe and brushing her long dark hair.

She caught his gaze in the mirror and smiled.  “I woke early and couldn’t get back to sleep.  I’m too excited.” She turned to him, her robe falling partly open so he could see a hint of her breasts.  “I’m glad you’ll be staying here for a few days.”

“I don’t want to be anywhere else.”

Her smile widened, and she put her brush down then came over to him.  He brought her into his arms and kissed her.  Perhaps he shouldn’t be pressing her to make love to him again.  They barely slept the night before since he couldn’t seem to keep his hands off her.  But try as he might, the pull to be intimate again was much too strong.

He peeled back her robe until her breasts were exposed.  He lowered his head to one of them and brushed his tongue along the nipple.  She moaned and ran her hand along his shoulder, assuring him she didn’t mind another tryst.  Good.

Sometimes he worried he might make her sore if they did it too often.  The last thing he wanted to do was cause her any discomfort like he had the first time they made love.  But since she seemed to be enjoying what he was doing, he continued his ministrations.  At least, he did until a knock at the door interrupted them.

She let out a light gasp and quickly pulled her robe shut.  She cleared her throat then called out, “What is it?”

“I’m sorry to disturb you, my lady, but your mother’s here, and she says it’s important.”

Chloe’s face turned pink, and Orlando couldn’t tell if she was embarrassed or annoyed.  In time, he’d learn these subtle things about her, but that time was still a ways off.

“It’s my lady’s maid,” Chloe whispered.  In a louder voice, she called out, “I’m indisposed at the moment.  Tell my mother I will be down as soon as I can.”

“I’ll do as you wish, my lady,” her lady’s maid said.

Waiting for the sound of retreating footsteps in the hallway, Orlando scooted to the edge of the bed.  “The reprieve couldn’t last forever.  The real world awaits.”

“Whatever my mother wants, I’m sure it isn’t important.”

“What things does she consider important?”

“Usually, important to her involves a prominent member of society.”

He snorted.  “Why am I not surprised?”

She giggled as he got up and gathered his clothes off the floor.  “Would you like a hot bath?”

“That depends.  Will you be joining me?”

“You’re silly.  Both of us can’t fit in the tub.”

“Not comfortably,” he allowed.  “But I wasn’t thinking of that.  I was thinking it might be nice to wash you up.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.  “I wouldn’t mind an excuse to touch you all over.”

Giggling again, she kissed him.  “I wouldn’t mind it either.”

“I’ll hide in that room while the lady’s maid gets you ready to see your mother.” He gestured to the small room off to the side of the bedchamber.

“All right.”

He collected the sheath and pouch.  It definitely wouldn’t do to let the lady’s maid find those!  He scanned the area to make sure he got everything then headed for the room.

She followed him. “In addition to the bath, I’ll have some food brought up here when Mother leaves.  What would you like to eat?”

He set his things on the desk and went over to kiss her.  It was tempting to ask her to send her mother away, but instead, he said, “Anything you want is fine.”

“Fish and vegetables?”

“Sounds delicious.”

She smiled again, and he couldn’t help but think she looked especially radiant today. “You’re beautiful.”

“You make me beautiful,” she replied.

A knock came at the door, and she sighed.  “I’ll do everything I can to make my mother’s visit quick.”

He nodded and watched as she closed the door to the room, thereby concealing him from view.  One would think he’d been caught in a torrid love affair with another gentleman’s wife by all this secrecy.  He didn’t particularly care for sneaking around as if he was doing something wrong, and he really didn’t care for the sheath.

He wore it for her sake, but he wouldn’t have volunteered for the thing and not just because the thought of wearing something made from a sheep’s intestine was disgusting in and of itself.  All it did was emphasize the fact that he couldn’t publicly acknowledge his marriage.  Maybe it was wrong, but he hoped she was expecting a child.  Then they could put aside the pretense altogether.

He could hear Chloe and her lady’s maid on the other side of the door, so he was careful to be quiet.  Despite the promise of a bath, he got dressed.  After that, he didn’t know what to do except see if there was anything of interest in the drawers of her desk.

All he found was some parchment and an inkwell.  Well, he did find two other things.  They were the missives he’d written her.  One was telling her how much he missed her and the other was telling her he’d come here last evening at ten.  He smiled.  She hadn’t kept any of Lord Hawkins’ letters, but she’d kept his.

Turning his attention back to the blank parchment, he debated what to write.  A couple minutes passed before he settled on the idea of writing her a poem.  She seemed to like the story he told her about the gentleman who copied down poems for his love interest.  Perhaps she’d like it if he wrote something specifically for her.  He wasn’t a poet by nature, but he figured he’d give it a try.  He opened the inkwell and dipped the quill into it.  He waited for another minute until he came up with the first line, and then he put the quill on the parchment and began writing.

***

Chloe turned to her lady’s maid when she was finished getting dressed.  “When my mother leaves, would you have a bath brought up?  Oh, I also would like fish and vegetables.”

“You don’t want to eat downstairs?” her lady’s maid asked.

“No.  I find myself overcome with grief over Lord Hawkins’ passing.  I’d rather be alone.”

“As you wish, my lady.”

Well, that went better than Chloe hoped.  She didn’t think her lady’s maid would believe her, but whether she believed Chloe or not was of little consequence.  The important thing was that she’d do as Chloe wanted without question.  It made things much easier that way.

Chloe lifted the black skirt, lest she trip on it, and left the room.  When she reached the drawing room, she saw her mother pacing back and forth.  Noting the butler had already brought her tea and scones, she breathed a sigh of relief.  Good.  Maybe her mother’s visit would be even shorter since the refreshments were already taken care of.

“I didn’t expect you to come by before noon,” Chloe told her mother.

Her mother stopped pacing.  “I tried to wait, really I did, but I had to come as soon as I heard the good news.”

“The good news?”

Her mother hurried over to her, looking more like a child coming to get a toy than a refined lady.  “Dr. Harvey has asked to visit you next week. He has something he wants to give you.  I think it’s something that belonged to Lord Hawkins.  Isn’t that wonderful?”

“Can’t he just send it to me?”

Her mother laughed as if she’d never heard a more ridiculous question.  “Of course, he can’t just send it to you.  This is something personal.  He needs to deliver it in person.  You were married to his good friend, Lord Hawkins.” She paused.  “What was Lord Hawkins’ Christian name anyway?”

Chloe had to think for a moment before she recalled it.  “Francis.”

“It’s strange I never thought to ask before.”

It was probably because her mother loved saying
Lord
Hawkins all time, but Chloe kept her opinion to herself.

“I suppose it doesn’t matter,” her mother said.  “What matters is that we’ll go to Dr. Harvey’s for dinner.  I suspect he heard about Lady Cadwalader’s visit.  I told you her coming here would bring us great things!  Who knew all this would happen simply because Lord Hawkins died?”

As much as Chloe was relieved at his passing, it still seemed wrong to get excited about it, especially by tallying up the notable people who’d been taking note of them ever since it happened.

“Is that all you came by to say?” Chloe finally asked, praying her mother would now leave so she could get back upstairs to Orlando.

“Not entirely.  I thought this would be a good time to get you a new hat for the dinner.  You only have one that goes with your black dresses.  You need another one.”

“I’m afraid I’ll have to say no.” When she saw her mother frown in disappointment, she quickly added, “Not today.  I’m busy.  Maybe we can look for one next week.  That way no one will have seen it yet.”

“You make an excellent point.  We’ll do it later.”

Relieved, Chloe showed her mother out the door.  Today, at least, her mother was content, and since she expected no one else to visit, she should have the entire day to be with Orlando, free of interruptions.  After letting her lady’s maid know she was ready for her bath, she hurried up the stairs.

***

Chloe did get to spend the rest of the day with Orlando as she’d hoped, but she wasn’t so fortunate the next day.  Her mother stopped by, and this time she brought ten-year-old Alexander with her.

“I asked to see Dr. Harvey’s wife today,” her mother explained.  “She agreed, but she asked if you and Alexander would come.”

“Why does she want to see me?” Chloe asked, glancing out the drawing room doors.  How was she supposed to leave Orlando here?  In another two days, he’d return to his townhouse, and who knew how often she’d get to see him then?

“Because you’re quickly becoming an important person in London.  This is a wonderful opportunity.  I don’t want you to miss it.”

“But I’m in mourning.  I shouldn’t be going outside.”

“Nonsense.  You can visit her.  You just can’t go to the ball or theatre.  Just because Lord Hawkins died, it doesn’t mean you did.”

No, it didn’t, but it sure seemed that way since she was caged up in her townhouse most of the time and unable to be honest about her marriage to Orlando.

Her mother walked over to her and patted her arm.  “Chloe, if you visit with Mrs. Harvey, you just might secure the attention of the Duchess of Aubrey.” With an excited squeal, she added, “She’s just as influential as Lady Cadwalader, if not more.”

“Can’t you go without me?  Tell her I’m not feeling well.  I’m too sad over the loss of Lord Hawkins to go anywhere.”

“But, Chloe,” her mother’s voice lowered, “this is advantageous for you.  I arranged this visit in order to advance your reputation.  If you don’t want to do this for your sake, then what about your brother’s?”

Chloe looked at Alexander, knowing even as she did so, she wasn’t going to be able to say no.  Her mother must have brought her brother along just so she’d feel guilty if she said no.

“How long is this visit, Mother?” Chloe halfheartedly asked.

“Only an hour,” her mother said.  “Then you can return here and mourn the passing of your husband for the rest of the day.”

Chloe bit down on her tongue so she wouldn’t blurt out Orlando was her husband, not Lord Hawkins.  But then, she figured her mother only said this because Alexander was in the room and the butler just entered the room to take the tea and crumpets away.  Her mother would be careful not to let Chloe’s new marriage slip.  If Chloe could say one thing about her mother, it was that the lady did a marvelous job keeping a secret.

“All right, Mother,” Chloe finally replied.  “One hour.  Then you’ll bring me back here.”

Her mother nodded.

Chloe glanced at Alexander and smiled.  “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“You look presentable enough to go now,” her mother said as Chloe turned toward the doorway.

Spinning on her heel, she faced her mother and gave her a pointed look.  “There’s something I need to do first.”

Her mother’s eyebrows furrowed for a moment before her eyes lit with understanding.  “Oh.  I didn’t realize it was here already.”

“It is.” As much as Chloe hated to refer to Orlando as an ‘it’, she saw no other way around the term.

“What’s here?” Alexander asked.

Her mother chuckled and patted his shoulder.  “A hat, my dear.  She needs to get her new hat.”

Chloe decided not to add to her mother’s lie.  It was enough she was sneaking Orlando into her bedchamber and keeping him there all day.  She didn’t need to pile on more lies.  It was surprisingly difficult to be so secretive about everything.

But she and Orlando could leave in a couple weeks.  Then they wouldn’t have to keep sneaking around as if they were doing something wrong.  Taking comfort in the reminder, she left the room, went up the stairs, and slipped into her bedchamber.