An Improper Proposal (The Distinguished Rogues Book 6) (30 page)

She met his gaze as she rotated her hips slowly. A moan ripped from his chest at the realization that his wife delighted in provoking him. She raised her arms over her head, twisted her hair into a coil and did it again. Her flushed face and easy smile hinted she was pleased with herself and knew her brazen display of her body aroused the hell out of him.

He flipped her onto her back and pinned her hands above her head. He surged into her and out again. Her legs tightened around his back as he lost himself in her body. Over and over, he thrust to her moans of unchecked pleasure, eventually releasing her hands so she could hold tight to him. She caressed his face as she peaked, crying out her pleasure loudly. She clutched him close, nails sinking into his back as she trembled. She held him so hard he could not move an inch. What little control he had was lost in the wonder of her prolonged climax. He shook as the wave of intense satisfaction swept through him and he spilled his seed deep inside her body, despite his intentions not to do so again. Not every coupling created a child, but he shouldn’t risk it again.

When she eventually quieted, he rolled to his side, gasping for air. His bare cock poked from the opening of his trousers, large and hard and glistening with the moisture of their passions, but he was too content to move at first.

When he eventually noticed the direction of her gaze had moved to his groin, he stripped off his trousers entirely and flopped onto his back. “That wasn’t slow.”

She met his gaze with a teasing smile. “No? Should we start over and try again?”

He chuckled at her attitude and swept her long dark hair back from her face. “You’d like that wouldn’t you?”

“Actually, yes.” She grinned. “I do love how you watch me, and I’m very pleased to discover your concerns that you were too large are unfounded.”

His size was only a small part of his concern. A small woman giving birth to a large man’s child put herself at risk. He shifted to bring Iris into his arms as the idea of losing her pained him. She made no attempt to cover herself and he liked that very much. He traced around her nipple. “You are so beautiful. I love seeing you like this, so very exposed, so very ready for me.”

“I’ve been waiting for you to touch me all day.” She glanced up into his face, frowning. “Didn’t you tell me men think of sex at all hours of the day and night?”

“I did think of you many times today.” He flicked her nipple gently until it grew hard. “I thought of you at breakfast when you passed me the newssheet. I had a fine view down your bodice and my mouth watered to suckle your breast.”

He cupped her breasts with both hands and kneaded them. Her feet moved restlessly on the bed and he smiled at her reaction.

She touched his cock and lightly teased him. “Is that the only time?”

“No.” He pinched both her nipples firmly and rolled them between his fingers, earning a gasp. “We could spend all night discussing my lustful thoughts about you. I’m utterly depraved.”

She rolled onto his chest, settling her body over his own nakedness with a groan. “I would have enjoyed being your mistress you know, but I think as your wife I’ll have far more opportunities to touch you than a scandalous woman like that ever would.”

She wriggled upward and his cock slipped between her thighs. She rose and set her knees on either side of his hips.

The tip of his cock brushed across her bare bottom and he sighed. “Is that so?”

She nodded and with another adjustment, he was at her entrance again. She pressed his cock into her body with a groan. Despite the earlier rush to fuck, she kept the movement gentle and sweet. She rode him at a much slower pace, while he teased her lips with kisses, caressing her body with a possessive touch. He withdrew a little to suck on the tips of her breasts before returning fully to her and groaning against her hair.

Pleasure built much more slowly this time. Iris curled her arms about his neck and held his head to hers. Her breath a soft gasp against his ear. “Thank you for being my tutor,” she whispered. “I could never have felt so free or beautiful with anyone else.”

And no matter then what position he moved her to, she moaned and writhed with pleasure. He was astonished and grateful to feel so wanted. He was behind her when her fingers twined in the comforter and she cried out his name as she climaxed again, shuddering violently.

She collapsed, panting for breath, bottom raised provocatively in the air. He stoked her cheek, marveling at her, and as soon as she calmed he moved again. She twisted to meet his gaze over her shoulder as he climaxed again with a wild shout, opening a dam inside himself that he’d always hidden his desire behind. He couldn’t stop himself from continuing to pump into her long after he’d come. He needed her too damn much to ever be the same controlled man again.

He fucked her despite his softening cock and then withdrew, kissed down her back. He teased the base of her spine with his tongue and then rolled her over. Iris whispered his name as she tried to hold him but he slipped lower to her quim, determined to bring her pleasure. As many times as he could, that night and forever.

Twenty-Five

Iris gripped her fan tightly as yet another member of the
ton
expressed surprise that an earl would marry so suddenly. Only the problem wasn’t that Martin had married at all, but that he’d married a nobody. Iris did her best to fume silently. So far his closest friends had most easily accepted the match, and she was very grateful for their presence and support tonight.

Her husband’s arm under hers, around her back so often, went a long way toward giving her strength to ignore the subtle insults. He gave her his undivided attention and refused to be drawn away for any private conversation. She didn’t want to face any questions alone tonight.

She scanned the faces in the crowd, looking for one in particular. “I don’t see him.”

“I do. To my left.” Martin smiled down at her. “Standing near the potted palms with Miss Alice Quartermane. Where the devil has Whitney gotten to?”

Iris turned slowly in that direction, and her gaze locked on Talbot. “She’s dancing with Lord Acton at the moment.”

“Dear God, why?”

“I dared her to,” Iris confessed but her attention remained on Talbot. “And told her you’d buy her a dozen new canvases if she’d end her hostilities tonight.”

“Clever.” He beamed at her. “I’ll have to kiss your feet in thanks for that.”

Talbot bowed over Miss Quartermane’s hand, admiring the enormous gem gracing her wriggling fingers. Acton had been very generous with the gift to her on their engagement. The size of the ring was all anyone could talk about. “Run, Alice,” she whispered.

“Be calm.” Martin’s hand slid over hers and squeezed. “Lady Heathcote is coming this way.”

Iris turned as Esme stopped at her side on a stranger’s arm. The older woman kissed her cheek. “You look radiant, my dear. Marriage agrees with you.”

“Thank you, as do you.” Iris took in Esme’s bold gown—dark-blue silk edged in black lace and smoky quartz gems—and sighed with envy. “Madam du Clair has outdone herself once again.”

 
“I know. She’s anxious to see you soon.” Esme gestured to the gentleman at her side. “Might I introduce you to a very old friend of mine. Mr. Miles Hammond. He’s recently come up to Town.”

Iris held out her hand to the man. “A pleasure to meet you. Esme has told me absolutely nothing about you.”

“There’s not much to tell.” The gentleman kissed the air over her glove and turned his attention to her husband.

Iris met Esme’s gaze. “I think new gowns should wait.”

Martin touched her elbow. “I’d never come between a lady and her modiste. I’m looking forward to the bill, actually, and the view.”

He squeezed her fingers and then resumed his conversation with Hammond.

Esme smiled widely and then leaned close to her ear to whisper, “Wicked, generous and kind. But has he mentioned
her
yet?”

Iris shook her head. Not once, and she’d tried so hard to find a way to bring up the topic herself but to no avail. She glanced beyond Esme and discovered Lord Windermere staring in her direction. She nodded to him and although he offered a smile, it was clear his attention was on Esme alone. “Have you spoken to Windermere lately?”

“No. But I have heard he and Lady Bartlett had a falling out a few days ago. Why do you ask?”

“Because he can’t take his eyes off you. Do you think he might want to apologize for his outburst?”

“I’m sure I don’t need to hear it.” Esme curled her arm through Mr. Hammond’s and smiled. “I’m parched, sir.”

A decidedly warm smile crossed Hammond’s face. “That’s the girl I know and love. Shall we search for a quiet corner too, my dear?”

 
“Darling, you’re always getting ahead of the game.” Esme laughed wickedly and then kissed Iris’s cheek. “I will see you later. Be careful.”

The pair strolled away, headed for the card room where they were certain to find a beverage to their taste.

“We should congratulate Miss Quartermane on her engagement,” Martin remarked as he took her arm. He steered her in that direction, moving at a slow pace and pausing often to speak to guests. Talbot had moved on long before they reached Miss Quartermane and now she could not find him anywhere. Iris thought she caught a glimpse of his pale head as he passed out the door and into the card room but she couldn’t be sure.

Miss Quartermane smiled warmly. “Here you are. I was just telling Mr. Talbot how much I admired the speed of your marriage. Congratulations. A surprise wedding is exactly the way to get married these days. I would never have said that you pair would make a match. Not a hint of scandal about you both. We’re all desperate to know when and how you caught him?”

The girl wagged her fingers and the diamonds gracing them caught her attention. Talbot must have almost been drooling over the priceless stones.

“I, um,” Iris stammered, and then dragged her attention back to the girl’s smiling face. “I’ve always liked him.”

Martin set his arm around her back. “My proposal caught her by surprise but I simply could not wait another day.”

Miss Quartermane held her gaze. “And your father has returned in time to celebrate with you, too. How wonderful. Is he here?”

“No,” she said calmly enough but since no one else had mentioned her father that night, and he’d not left Holly House since his release from debtor’s prison, she was uncertain how to take the remark. So far, society at large seemed unaware of his return to London. “His travels have exhausted him.”

Miss Quartermane smiled and squeezed her hand. “I do understand the need for misdirection in such cases but it is unnecessary with me.”

Iris fought the urge to flee. “I don’t know what you mean.”

The girl shrugged. “I had an uncle who
traveled
several times in his life. Most uncomfortable for the family to keep quiet, and I would never hold such circumstances against his devoted daughter.”

Martin stiffened at her side. “Who told you?”

Miss Quartermane’s brows drew together and she leaned close. “Mr. Talbot suggested some recent difficulties had kept your father from society, and given his history…”

“I see.” Iris bit her lip a moment. A calculated guess perhaps but how many other people would Talbot drop hints to about her father tonight. “What else did he say?”

“Nothing untoward. We talked of Acton. He complimented me on my good fortune to snare an earl. He laughed heartily when I mentioned Everett, I mean Lord Acton, let me choose my own gift after he proposed marriage. That is how I knew he was the man for me. He left his safe open the whole time I dithered.”

Iris exchanged a concerned glance with her husband. Idle gossip was the single best way to spy on society. “Did you mention where Acton proposed to you?”

“Yes, I’m sure I must have.” Miss Quartermane’s eyes widened slightly. “I told him it is inside the fourth stair in the hall staircase. The strangest place to keep a safe. I should never have said that,” she whispered in a shocked voice.

Heart sinking, she squeezed Miss Quartermane’s hand. “No. You probably should not have done so, but I’m sure it will be all right.”

But how could the night get any worse? It was not the location she’d given Talbot earlier in the week. Acton must have more than one safe. She glanced toward the entrance hall. Talbot might not be caught tonight because everyone would be looking in the wrong direction. He’d slip away without detection and the situation would go on and on forever. She searched for Meriwether or Esme to share the warning.

“Never fear.” Martin signaled Acton to follow and then slipped his hand around hers. “Would you excuse us? Lady Taverham has just arrived and I must speak to her urgently about my cousin’s upcoming visit.”

“Yes, please excuse us,” Iris said quickly too. Hand in hand, they wove through the crowded room, pausing only when they reached the winding marble staircase.

Iris glanced left and right. “Are we in time?”

“Yes, I think so.” Martin hurried beneath the staircase and Iris followed. He reached the paneling and flipped back a false cover—hiding an open safe. “No. We are not. Damn. He’s taken everything.”

Acton skidded to a halt beside the safe. “Damn it all!”