Two Shades of Seduction (22 page)

“If that were true, it wouldn’t be for your lack of trying,” she said mischievously. For a moment he stared at her with his jaw sagging. His astonishment vanished quickly as a teasing smile curled his lips.

“Then perhaps we should try more often,” he chuckled, and his gaze drifted along the pathway to the small gazebo she’d discovered the first day she’d visited the garden. Her eyes widen with surprise as he smiled at her with wicked amusement. Surely, he wasn’t suggesting they…with a vehement shake of her head, she sniffed.

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s broad daylight out. If it were in the dark, it
might
be—”

“If we enjoy ourselves now, we can return when the moon is full.”

“It’s not done, Quentin,” she snapped as his hand pulled her down the path toward the gazebo. “What if someone comes along?”

“Then they’ll know how much I enjoy spending time in my wife’s arms. Something few men can say.”

His response caught her off guard, and she stumbled as he pulled her into the secluded gazebo. Surrounded by tall hedges and a small copse of trees, the lattice-enclosed building was barely visible from the path, and it conveyed a mental image of seductive secrets and illicit rendezvouses.

“You can’t possibly mean to do this,” she exclaimed as he grasped her waist and pressed her back into one of the structure’s columns.

She tried to push away from the column, but he caught her hands and pressed them into the cool wood above her head. When she tried to break free again, he pressed his body into hers, effectively pinning her to the column.

“What is it you think I’m going to do, my darling wife?”

The whispered words in her ear made her heart slam to a stop. It was the first time he’d ever used such an intimate endearment with such emphasis. Did he even realize he’d done so? Every thought flew out of her head the moment his warm breath tickled her neck and his mouth worked its way downward to brush the underside of her jaw. A small moan escaped her lips as he lowered his head further and slid his tongue in between her breasts in a decadent stroke that reminded her of other moments when he’d worked a similar magic between her thighs.

“Shall I tell you what I’m going to do with you, Sophie?” One hand cupped the back of her head while his lips brushed the tops of her breasts. “I’m going to expand your knowledge today.”

“I don’t understand,” she rasped.

“You’ll see,” he murmured as he kissed the side of her mouth, and she could feel the way his lips curled upward in that wicked smile of his.

The moment his tongue slipped into her mouth, she was lost. Whenever he kissed her like this, she found it impossible to think straight. Deep inside, she knew it would only make things more difficult when they parted ways, but she was never able to distance herself from his caresses. It wasn’t until he guided her hand downward to grasp his hard length that she realized he’d freed his erection from his trousers.

Shocked by his brazen behavior, her eyes flew open to look into his emerald gaze. His eyes had darkened to that familiar shade of green whenever he was on the verge of pleasuring her. Desire welled up inside her, and she tightened her hold on him until he released a slow, dark groan.

“
Christ Jesus
, that feels good, my sweet. But I want more from you.” Green eyes blazing with a fiery need, he gently forced her down to her knees. “Take me in your mouth, sweetheart. I want to feel your lips wrapped around my cock until I’m ready to come.”

She froze. The idea was so decadently sinful she wasn’t certain she’d heard him correctly. It wasn’t the first time she’d touched him with her hand, but he’d never asked her to take him into her mouth. Not even the language he’d used in the bedroom had ever been as naughty as this.

Quentin shifted his hips back and forth so his erection moved in her hands. A dark look of desire intensified the white line of his scarred cheek as his fiery gaze met hers. Unable to look away from him, she slowly leaned forward and tentatively slid her tongue over the tip of his hard length. His jaw was a hard line of tension, and their gazes locked as she widened her exploration of him.

He was hard, yet velvety smooth, against her tongue. A slight musky scent tickled her nose, as she dragged her tongue along the bottom of his erection all the way up to the rounded tip of him. A deep groan rolled out of him, and the expression on his face was one of tortured impatience. He jumped against her mouth, and she saw a small white bead form on the tip of him. It was salty on her tongue. She drew away from him, and he jerked his gaze downward.

“God Almighty, sweetheart,” he rasped. “Don’t stop now.”

“Are you sure,” she murmured as a sudden sense of power flowed through her. The Devil of Devlyn was at her mercy.

“Are you asking me to beg,” he growled. The look of rebellion on his face warred with his desire.

“No, I simply like knowing I have your full attention.”

Without warning, she parted her lips and took him into her mouth. He jerked violently against her, and he leaned forward to brace himself on the column behind her. Pleasure had tightened his facial expression, and it encouraged her to tighten her lips around him. The growl rumbling out of him was powerful and dark.

Slowly, she began to slide her mouth back and forth, and she heard the sharp hiss of him sucking in a sharp breath of air. She pulled back to the tip of him, and a groan of protest echoed above her head as she released him then blew a breath of air over his damp flesh. Her gaze swung upward to see his eyes closed, his head thrown backward, and a look of intense pleasure on his face. He seemed to harden even more in her mouth as she swirled her tongue over his erection. Suddenly, he jerked away from her and tugged her to her feet. Startled, she gasped her protest as he pulled up the front of her skirts and slid his hands under her buttocks. A second later, he lifted her with her back pressed into the column, and he parted her undergarments then buried himself inside her. He seemed like a man out of control as he thrust into her. He was hot, thick, and powerful inside her. As her insides clenched around him in reaction to his possession, her fingers dug into his shoulders as her climax took hold and she shattered over him. Less than a second later, he uttered a low cry as he slammed into her one last time and remained shuddering inside her. Sophie’s face fell into his neck and she sighed softly.

“I might have been wrong about the gazebo not being a suitable place for seeking pleasure.”

“I thought you might,” he said with a soft chuckle as he kissed her earlobe. “And for all we know, a babe might have been conceived here.”

“Oh Dear Lord.” Her exclamation of dismay made him laugh.

“I shall soon rid you of all your inhibitions, my darling wife. Your passionate nature demands that I corrupt you completely.”

It was the second time he’d used the intimate endearment, and she drew in a quick breath of surprise. Her gaze met his, and she saw a flash of emotion darken his emerald gaze before he captured her lips in a hard kiss. She was on the verge of surrendering once more when an odd sound pulled her attention away from Quentin’s kiss. When she realized the sound was a voice, she stiffened. With a quick shove, she pushed her way out of his arms and titled her head to hear better. Again, she heard the voice only it was closer now.

“Oh my God, it’s Spencer.”

“It’s not as if we’re unmarried, my sweet.” Quentin chuckled as he nuzzled the top of her breasts with his mouth.

“Married or not, I’ll not have him thinking I lift my skirts for you in a public place.”

“I think that would be a rather tame display compared to your beautiful lips wrapped around my cock.”

The teasing laughter in his voice appalled and amused her at the same time. Her brother’s voice called out for them again from a short distance away. With a hard shove, she pushed Quentin away from her. Desperate not to have Spencer think the worst, she quickly shook out her skirts, ignoring the sticky dampness between her legs. A quick glance at Quentin showed him watching her with amusement and with his trousers splayed open. Spencer’s voice echoed just a few short feet away, and Sophie glared at her husband.

“
Blast it
, Quentin, you must dress.”

“Must I?” He arrogantly arched his eyebrows at her. “Perhaps I should just shout out to tell your brother to go away as I am being pleasured by my wife.”

“Yes, you must,” she snapped as she lunged forward to clasp his face in her hands and kissed him hard. She stepped back a short moment later and glared at him. “And if you do not make yourself presentable, I swear I’ll refuse to taste your cock in the future.”

She ignored his stunned expression and fled from the gazebo out onto the pathway. Spencer was less than a hundred yards away from the structure, and she hurried forward to greet her brother. The last thing she wanted was for Spencer to think badly of Quentin. Outside of her husband, Spencer was the only other family she had. She didn’t want to be forced into making a choice between her brother and the man she loved.

Horrified, Sophie came to a stumbling halt, her feet almost giving way from under her. The air drained from her lungs as she fought the nausea churning in her stomach. Dear God, how could she have committed such folly? She was mad. She had to be.

Only a madwoman would fall in love with the Devil of Devlyn Keep. Mad or not, she couldn’t deny the inevitable. She’d done the one thing she’d sworn not to do. She’d fallen in love with her husband, and the price she’d pay would be a painful one when he walked away.

In front of her, Spencer greeted her with a look of concern, and she summoned all her courage to hide her secret from him. She forced a smile to her lips, and warmly greeted her brother.

“Spencer, what a pleasant surprise.”

“From the look on your face, I’m not so sure. Are you all right, Phee? You look extremely pale.”

“I’m fine,” she lied. She was far from fine. “How did you know where to find us—me?”

“Mr. Fischer indicated you and Devlyn were in the garden, and I decided I would just come find you.”

“And so you’ve found us,” she declared gaily. Spencer’s eyebrows arched in exaggerated surprise. Immediately, she realized her behavior was too frenetic, and she struggled to regain her composure.

“Yes.” Spencer said with a wry smile. “Here I am.”

Sophie stared at her brother for a long moment, terrified her face would reveal a secret even darker than the one she’d kept from Quentin. Spencer leaned toward her.

“So, where is my new brother-in-law?”

“I…he’s…” She forgot to breathe and struggled to find her voice. “
Quentin
, do come out of hiding.”

She winced at the shrill sound of her voice and closed her eyes for a brief instant. She couldn’t let him know she’d fallen in love with him. She couldn’t let him see that the old maid who’d offered him revenge had suffered the indignity of surrendering her heart to him.

§  §  §

Stepping out of the gazebo, Quentin followed the path around the large hedge encircling the small building. Spencer and Sophie were standing in the middle of the gravel-lined walkway, and as his wife turned to face him, the look of panic on her face tugged a smile to his lips. His beautiful countess was terrified her brother would think the worst of them.

“I’d hardly call walking through the gardens as hiding, my darling wife.”

He liked the sound of the endearment. She was more than he could ever want in a wife. Sweet, sensual, passionate, and not afraid to indulge in sins most men’s wives would never do. Best of all she was his. She was the Countess of Devlyn, and no other man could have her.

“Hello, Devlyn,” his brother-in-law said as the two of them shook hands.

“Hamilton,” he said with a nod before his gaze swept back to Sophie.

Quentin frowned. His wife had a stricken look about her that worried him. Had her brother said something to trouble her? As her gaze met his, she smiled brightly, but there was a tension behind her cheerful expression. Embarrassed most likely by the thought of her brother almost catching them in a delightful moment of pleasure. Regret nipped at him. His teasing had caused her discomfort, and he was a bastard for having done so.

“Since this is your first visit to Devlyn Keep, you must stay to lunch, Hamilton.”

“Oh yes, say you will, Spencer.”

“Lunch would be nice, particularly because I’ve come to say goodbye to Sophie.”

“Goodbye?” Sophie frowned, her eyes flashing with anger. “Did Father throw you out? You know you can always stay here.”

Quentin saw her look in his direction, her eyes silently begging with him to concur. Eager to see her happy, he turned to Hamilton.

“Sophie’s right. You’re more than welcome to say with us.” He met his brother-in-law’s gaze steadily, and Hamilton nodded his acceptance of the silent offer of peace between the two of them.

“Thank you, but it’s not a drastic situation. The hall was only tolerable when you were there Phee, now it’s simply a suffocating environment.” Hamilton said with a dark frown. “I informed Father that I wanted to inspect the London properties he awarded me last year. He accepted that excuse.”

“Well, you know you’re always welcome here.” Sophie squeezed her brother’s hand.

“It seems marriage agrees with you, Phee.” Hamilton smiled at his sister. “I’ve never seen you look so radiant.”

“More likely the bloom on her cheeks is from anger.” Quentin chuckled as a blush flared in Sophie’s cheeks. “I seem to provoke that reaction in her, among others.”

“She
can
be hotheaded from time to time.” Spencer laughed.

“Indeed. I’m learning how wicked her tongue can be.” Beside him, Sophie inhaled a sharp breath at the veiled reference. He grinned at her. “A fact which has prevented me from telling her my news for almost an hour.”

“News?”

Their voices chimed in unison. Hamilton straightened with interest, while Sophie looked like she was ready to kill him. He only hoped it would be a sweet death, such as the one she’d just given him in the gazebo.

“Yes, my ships reached port two days ago, and my investment has nearly tripled my funds.”