Billionaire: Billionaire Romance: Billionaire Tiger (A Billionaire New Adult Shifter Contemporary Romance) (9 page)

“I am going to show you what a man will do to give you pleasure,” Emma whispered, “be very quiet, though!”

Emma drew Beth’s gown upwards, and began to plant light kisses down her belly. When she reached the soft downy hair between Beth’s legs, she glanced up to check that Beth wasn’t going to ask her to stop, but instead what she saw was Beth’s face, upward turned, a slight smile playing on her lips. Emma slowly began to pleasure Beth with her fingers, surprised that she was already moist. After a few moments, Emma began to use her tongue, flicking it quickly as she inserted her now wet fingers slowly in and out of Beth’s writhing body. As Beth’s breathing began to quicken further, and a small moan escaped her lips, Emma positioned herself on top of her friend, grinding her breasts into Beth’s, and pushing her thigh between Beth’s legs. Both girls were now breathing heavily and moving rhythmically against each other. At exactly the same moment, a spring seemed to uncoil in both of the girls, and with an ecstatic moan Emma collapsed on the now satisfied Beth.

After a moment’s silence as they caught their breath, both girls started to giggle softly, Beth covering her mouth with her hand, and Emma pressing her face into the pillow to try and stifle the sound. They rearranged their nightgowns and lay back, satisfied and exhausted, both still trembling with the after-effects of their ecstasy.

“So that, my friend, is how a man will show his love for you.” Emma declared.

Chapter 3

The next morning, when Beth awoke, she couldn’t quite believe the events of the night before. After such an exciting and exhausting day, and the overwhelming grandeur of the celebratory feast, the moment with Emma felt like it must have been a dream. However, when Emma sat up in bed and flashed Beth a cheeky grin, she knew she hadn’t imagined it. That exhilarating experience had certainly been a surprise, but she could not pretend to herself that it hadn’t been absolutely delicious too. After they had washed and dressed, the two girls made their way down to the kitchen where they ate a simple breakfast and began their day’s work. Beth was surprised that now she had tasted the excitement and pleasure of arousal, she was thinking about her own body in an entirely new way. She could recognize that her full breasts, pushed upwards by her bodice, represented a symbol of her sexuality, and she couldn’t help but wish the messenger boy would return and look at her once more with the lust she had seen in his eyes the previous day. Beth smiled to herself as she realized that until last night she had thought of herself as a child, but now that she had experienced pleasure between the sheets a whole new world of excitement seemed to open up before her. Shaking herself out of her reverie, and feeling a twinge of guilt that she was suddenly so preoccupied by pleasures of the flesh, Beth strode briskly back towards the kitchen to continue her work.

Upon re-entering the kitchen, Beth felt that people were looking at her oddly, but put it down to the fact that she was still relatively new at court. A few hours later Emma and Beth were finally alone together, and Emma took Beth’s hand to reveal the reason that people had been behaving strangely that morning.

“When you were out fetching water, a message arrived from upstairs. It asked that Elizabeth Scott report to the Privy Chamber after supper this evening,” Emma explained.

“The Privy Chamber? What on earth for?” Beth’s mind was racing as she tried to make sense of this unexpected request.

“I must admit I cannot begin to imagine what for. But nobody disobeys the Cardinal so I’m afraid you must go,” Emma replied.

Beth’s heart seemed to stop beating. “The Cardinal? Wolsey? What have I done? Oh my God. Do you think that they somehow found out about last night?” Beth’s words were pouring from her mouth in her panic. Last night was certainly enjoyable, and Beth was glad to have had her eyes opened to such pleasure, but she could now clearly see it as it would have looked from the outside: two kitchen maids, writhing between the sheets like harlots.

Emma laughed, “Our antics would certainly be no concern of Wolsey’s. He is a man of the cloth, the idea of two kitchen maids practicing how to give pleasure would not even occur to him,” she said as she laid a reassuring hand on Beth’s shoulder. “I can think of no reason why you should be in trouble, you have only just arrived at court for goodness sake. Perhaps he simply wants to welcome you to the Tudor Household,” Emma continued, but secretly she knew that a mere kitchen maid would not be offered an official welcome, especially not by one of the most powerful men in England.

For the rest of the day, Beth struggled to focus on her work. She splashed some boiling water on her hand, which had caused a red and blistering burn. Beth’s first week at court had been going so well, she was settling into her new life, had made a friend, and felt excited by the news that Queen was with child. Now she could feel everything falling apart around her. She had briefly glimpsed Wolsey at the feast the previous night, his fat hands heavy with rings as he clapped the King on the back in congratulations. Of course, as a kitchen maid, she hadn’t exchanged a single word with Wolsey, so she couldn’t understand how she could possibly have displeased him. She found herself praying that despite their caution the previous night nobody had seen or heard Emma and Beth’s perhaps careless act. She had enjoyed it, and she was glad to know of the pleasures that awaited her once she found a husband, but she certainly would hate for it to be the cause of her dismissal from court. She wouldn’t be able to return to her previous job with the nuns after such a scandal, and would be out on the street with no income, no home, and no future.

Emma could see the anxiety written across Beth’s face, and wished she could do something to help. It didn’t help that she herself could see no good coming of this assignation with Wolsey. She could see how Beth’s beauty, innocence and poise would attract a man, but she couldn’t image that Wolsey would want to embark on a love affair with a girl from court, that would be too reckless even for him. It was common knowledge that Wolsey had a long-term mistress, but she was kept far away from court. Emma suggested that Beth take a breath of fresh air outside, and offered to take over her work for a while. Beth attempted a grateful smile, but the anxiety on her face made the expression look more pained than anything else.

The fresh air outside did make Beth feel a little better. The stuffiness of the kitchen was not helping matters when she was already feeling clammy and nervous. She perched on an upturned bucket around the corner from the entrance to the kitchen so as to have a brief reprieve from the curious stares of those in the kitchen. Taking a deep breath and trying to push her untameable hair away from her face, Beth tried to focus on a little bird pecking at the ground in an attempt to distract herself from her racing mind.

“It is a jay.” The voice startled Beth as she had thought she was alone, and she turned around to see who was there, already wishing she could just be left in peace. However, when she saw the dark hair and handsome features of the messenger boy from the day before, she felt an unexpected jolt of excitement.

“I didn’t mean to startle you, I am sorry. I was hoping to see you today, to apologize for my extremely uncivilized behavior yesterday. It is not normally my habit to whistle at any passing servant, but when you chose to flash your ankle right before my very eyes I reacted without thinking. It really is a most… what I saw was…my name is John.” Beth was amused to see that John had become very uncomfortable and was obviously trying to prevent himself from embarrassing himself further. She was gradually feeling much more relaxed, as John’s presence served to distract her from the anxieties of the day.

“My name is Beth. I am new to court, I only arrived last week.” As soon as the words had escaped her lips, she wished she had said something more interesting.

John smiled, “I assumed as much. I certainly would have noticed you if you had been here before! Oh, what is wrong with me, I am never normally such a flirt, I am so sorry…” He took a step backwards, and looked as if he was going to run away from Beth before she even had a chance to respond. Quickly, she came to his rescue by changing the subject.

“Did you manage to watch any of the dancing last night?” she asked him. “I thought the ladies’ gowns were magnificent, and the Queen looks so well, do you not think?”

“She looked lovely. I am glad to see some of her happiness return now that she is again with child. After last year she deserves happiness, I am sure you’d agree.” Both of them fell silent, in sad recollection of the tragic loss of the royal couple’s first child.

“Yes, and the King was in good spirits as well, it was the first time I had seen him you know!” Beth’s excitement at being at court, the center of the world as far as she could tell, was gradually returning after the fright of the news about Wolsey. Before John had a chance to answer however, Emma came hurrying around the corner looking flushed, and informed Beth that her absence had been noted in the kitchen. Jumping to her feet, and with a quick backward glance at John, Beth followed Emma back into the dark and sweltering kitchen.

Chapter 4

Mercifully, the afternoon had been extremely busy, so Beth had not had much time to dwell on the mystery of the summons from the Cardinal. Now she stood outside the large oak door, smoothed down her skirts, and licked her dry lips. She raised her hand to knock on the door, withdrew it, and then raised it again. She knew she was only delaying the inevitable, but she was a kitchen maid with no experience of court etiquette, and was terrified that she’d make a fool of herself. As she took a deep breath and prepared once more to knock on the door, Beth heard the swooshing of a cloak behind her and turned to be confronted with the grand and imposing figure of Thomas Wolsey.

“You came, Miss Scott” the Cardinal stated in his confident drawl, “Do come in.”

Beth followed Wolsey into the room, looking at her surroundings in interest in spite of her nerves. Beth knew that the Privy Chamber was not simply a collection of rooms in the palace, but a symbol of power. She had heard of how ambitious men fought for their place in the Privy Chamber in order to be close to the King. Whoever controlled the Privy Chamber controlled the King, and Wolsey certainly seemed at home here. He had removed his gloves and was pouring a translucent golden liquid into an ornate cup, which he then proceeded to drink without offering any to his guest. This did not surprise Beth, she was a mere kitchen maid after all, but she was getting inpatient to learn why she had been summoned. After what seemed like a very long time Wolsey began to speak, and his small beady eyes bore into Beth as he did so.

“Miss Scott. You are no doubt wondering why you have been summoned here but I shall get straight to the point in this delicate matter. As you will be aware having served at the feast yesterday, the Queen Catherine is with child. This is an exciting but also anxious time for the entire court, indeed the entire country. The sad loss of the King’s first child was a blow to us all, but no-one felt this loss more keenly than I myself did.” Beth felt herself redden in indignation, how could he possibly say such a thing when Queen Catherine herself had carried and delivered this child only to discover that her own flesh and blood was born without life? She couldn’t comprehend where Wolsey was going with this story, and was starting to feel an acute distaste for this self-important and calculating man.

Wolsey continued: “As I am sure you will be aware, the Queen will soon begin her confinement in order to ensure the wellbeing of herself and the child. Of course, we all ardently hope that she is carrying the future heir to the throne, and therefore the utmost care must be taken. Once the heir has been delivered, God willing, all can return to normal at court, but for now we must take some steps to ensure that in the Queen’s absence no family is given the opportunity to gain undue favor.” Beth was completely lost by this point and could not understand what the Queen’s confinement had to do with Wolsey, and nor for that matter what this had to do with her. She wanted to ask, but the Cardinal’s intimidating presence made it hard for her to find the words.

He turned to pour himself another cup of wine, and pressed on: “I can see, Miss Scott, that you do not follow my line of reasoning. Perhaps I have not made myself clear. There are many families here at court that will do anything within their power to promote their own in order to gain influence with the King. I, as the King’s most trusted servant, cannot allow this to happen. I have many spies in many places, and I have heard talk of fathers who plan to push their daughters towards the King during this period of the Queen’s confinement. I cannot, and will not, stand by while ambitious men attempt to influence the King by offering him an attractive maiden on a platter. This, Elizabeth, is why I have summoned you here today. I have chosen you as my counter-attack to these endeavors.” With this pronouncement, Wolsey threw back his head and guzzled his drink in one go, and having done so cast his eyes over Beth. He took in her light hair, shimmering in the candlelight, her slightly pouted lips, large blue eyes, and finally the curve of her breasts above the line of her bodice. Beth felt herself squirm under his gaze, and her mind raced. She was struggling to take in everything that he had said, one moment she had thought he was going to demand that she act as a spy for him among the noble families, but then the conversation took a surprising turn. Was he suggesting that she, an inexperienced servant from the kitchens, should attempt to catch the eye of the King of England? As Beth struggled to put her thoughts in order, Wolsey abruptly turned and swept out of the room, leaving a bewildered Beth standing alone in the empty room. However, no sooner had he left than Beth heard a floorboard creak behind her from the direction of the King’s bedchamber. She slowly turned, palms becoming sweaty, and found herself face to face with Henry VIII, Tudor monarch, King of England.