EscapeWithMe (6 page)

“No, look at me.” His hand stayed where it was. “Look at me
while I touch you.” She made a soft noise and turned her head back, shyly
meeting his eyes. The way he stared at her…

He cupped his palm against her and pressed his longest
finger between the lips of her vagina. Arousal flashed across his face. His
sharp groan surprised her.

“Already wet,” he growled. Another of his fingers sank
between her lips, though neither had penetrated yet. He massaged the aching
flesh. She clamped her teeth together, softly hissing. It was like every nerve
ending in her body ended right under his palm.

Then he found her clit and she nearly bucked him off. “Oh
God!” He laid more of his weight upon her, pinning her hip while the pad of his
finger pulled up on that bundle of nerves.

“Ah, you want more like this.” He pressed and rolled her
clit. She couldn’t help the little noises eking out. Her legs were shaking. She
couldn’t endure his gaze anymore and squeezed her eyes shut.

He kissed her as his finger teasingly brushed past the
entrance to her body. She convulsively gripped his upper arm, felt his muscles
flex as his hand pleasured her. His firm lips slanted across hers, opening her
up for his tongue to slide inside. She had French kissed before but Ryder
didn’t kiss as if he was simply excited. He kissed to arouse, to put her under
a spell, and he excelled at it.

She squeezed her thighs around the delicious force that
swirled her clit. She lifted her hips into the press of his finger. He raised
his mouth from hers to press kisses to her neck and the relief of fresh air did
nothing for her sanity. Even with her eyes closed, the room was spinning.

With a shudder, he curved closer to her. “The moment I saw
you in that dress, I needed to have you,” he growled.

“Ryder,” she moaned. “I—”

She shouldn’t want him and what he did to her, but she did.
She wanted his desire, his blunt ardor. Her world was in shambles and she
needed this release, needed him.

That hot, shimmering sensation washed over her, flushing her
face and tilting the room on her. She clutched him close and moaned against his
cheek. Her vagina pulsed, releasing waves of warm, wet pleasure. He slowed his
hand but the flutter of muscles continued.

Sam could barely keep her eyes open, too satiated to move.
She lost her grip on his shoulders and her hands flopped onto the bed. Another
heady pulsation of pleasure drew out a sigh of satisfaction. His hand still
massaged her and she wondered if he could feel every little twinge. Through
heavy eyelids she saw him smile knowingly. Oh yeah, he could feel them.

“That was my first time to third base,” she said after a
moment’s rest. “With someone else, at least.”

“To what?” he asked with a light chuckle. “Is that an
American expression?”

“Uh, yeah, third base means what we just did.”

“Do you mean to say that you’ve done this alone by
yourself?” Her answer was a smile. He purred with approval and kissed her neck.
“It would be most agreeable to witness that.”

Hell’s bells! He was getting her hot and bothered all over
again.

“Is there a fourth base?” he asked.

“Home base.” Hot shivers ran through her at the thought.

“And what happens then?”

As Ryder strung kisses along the column of her throat, half
a dozen words rose up that could describe the act, but they all sounded too
modern or blunt. She had the feeling none of them would do justice to going all
the way with Ryder.

“Shall I show you?” he offered.

Oh God yes. She nodded since she didn’t trust herself to
speak. He leaned up and tossed aside his vest. As he untied the cravat at his
neck, she saw that his eyes weren’t on her face. They were trained on the crux
of her thighs. His erection was pushing against the front of his breeches.

“You see how much I want you?”

“Yes,” she breathed. He pulled his shirt free of his
breeches with a jerk and then went after the fore-flap of his pants. When his
hand slipped inside his breeches, she couldn’t help a little moan. His cock
emerged and he lowered his hips to rub the head up and down the lips of her
vagina. She lifted her legs and laid her calves against his rear, urging him to
hurry.

Some sort of commotion erupted in another part of the house.
A door slammed and she heard yelling. Sam looked at the door, but Ryder gently
turned her face back to him. He pressed one hand to the bed next to her
shoulder, shoring himself over her and notching the tip of his cock between the
lips of her vagina.

“We’ll go slowly.” He gently pressed forward. She clenched
at the uncomfortable tightness.

“Just do it.” She pulled him closer with her legs and the
discomfort worsened, but Ryder forced his hips back and removed the pressure.

“Slowly, Samantha.” He almost sounded drunk, breathless and
slurring just a little. He slid one arm under her shoulders and his lips were
there on her mouth. She opened up without needing to be coaxed. Her arms
wrapped around him and her thighs tightened against his sides.

Another muffled slam. A girl shrieked. Then more yelling, a
man and a woman.

His hips pushed and the pressure returned. It hurt. She
must’ve made a noise because he pulled back again. “That’s right,” he said between
kisses. “Slowly.”

He leaned on one elbow and swept his hand down her body to
squeeze between them. His palm soothingly rubbed the lips of her vagina. “Does
that feel better?” She nodded. He spread her open and nudged her with his cock.
“But you want this, don’t you?” He pressed. She gasped and he left her again,
massaging her with his hand.

Sam couldn’t believe how crazy he made her. Only a moment
before, she had found release and now she was throbbing for him again. She
needed
him to claim her. His fingers parted the lips of her vagina and the head of his
swollen cock tested the barrier of her virginity once more.

She heard footsteps coming up the stairs. The yelling was
getting much closer.

More pressure. She tried to relax, to ignore whatever was going
on outside the door, to enjoy the weight of his body and the taste of his
mouth. He pushed harder and she hissed. He pulled back.

“Almost there.” He was watching her and if her cheeks
weren’t already bright red, they would’ve been. He pressed. Her body stiffened
as the pain spiked. He didn’t pull back this time, only paused for a few
seconds and then pushed again.

“Harder.” She fisted her hands in his shirt and pulled his
weight down on her. He bucked into her. A hard pinch and then his cock was
sinking into her, the entire length filling her up until the seat of his hips
was wedged tightly between her thighs.

She whimpered as he groaned. The walls of her vagina pulsed,
stretched sweetly to accommodate the hard length buried inside. The streaking
pain faded a little, and she realized she had gone stiff. A deep breath and her
shoulders settled into the mattress. The wave of regret she had dreaded never
came.

“Samantha.” He sounded startled. “Forgive me. I tried to be
gentle.” He brought his hand to her face and his thumb brushed aside the tear
on her cheek. Why was she crying? She was relieved it was over, that it was an
attentive lover who did it.

The bedroom door slammed open.

Sam gasped. Her eyes flew to the door where a strange man
stood, his eyes wide with shock. A very angry Mrs. Hayes stood behind him.
Realizing just how she and Ryder looked lying there on the bed with his hips
between her legs, she experienced an entirely new plane of mortification. She
hid herself against Ryder’s chest and was grateful when he attempted to shield
her with his body.

“Get out!”
he roared.

“You see?” Mrs. Hayes said with exasperation. “It’s like I
told you. Mr. West is otherwise engaged. I’m terribly sorry, sir,” she said to
Ryder.

“Leave us,” he barked.

“Of course—”

“I’ll not leave without performing my duty,” the man
interrupted. She heard him take a step into the room.

Oh God, she was going to faint from humiliation if he didn’t
leave in the next five seconds. Ryder was still inside her!

“You
will
allow this woman a moment’s privacy,” Ryder
said. “Both of you.” In this it seemed that Ryder was obeyed. She opened her
eyes and looked back at the door to see that both Mrs. Hayes and the stranger
had turned around. Ryder gently pulled out of her and she stifled any hiss of
pain. He grabbed the blanket and covered her before quickly stuffing himself
back into his breeches. She gathered the blanket around herself and sat up.

Ryder stood up from the bed. “Who are you and why in God’s
name are you here?” The dark-haired man turned around and lifted his hard jaw.

“My name is Webb, and I’ve come to see you hang for murder.”

Chapter Four

Ryder couldn’t breathe, couldn’t coax his tongue into
defending him.

“Do you deny it, sir? Or shall I escort you to the
magistrate’s office?” Webb asked.

He felt Samantha’s gaze on the back of his head, heard her
soft gasp of surprise. He was instantly disgusted with himself for his
hesitation. He clenched his hands, pulled in a deep breath and forced his lips
to speak.

“I most certainly deny it. What proof do you have of any of
this?”

The man’s eyes flashed. “I’ve severalwitnesses who
say you bribed a tidesman by the name of Simon Carter in full view of those
working the docks in Lydd.”

It took only a second for Ryder to realize Webb’s mistake, and
to know that he had indeed found the right brothel. He needed to know the
evidence against Phillip.

“I don’t know any man by the name of Carter, nor have I ever
been within fifty miles of Lydd.”

“You lie,” Webb hissed. “Just ten days past your ship was docked
there.”

Damn it all. With witnesses and a dock record, it would be
nearly impossible to avoid Phillip’s arrest. “I do not captain my father’s
ship.”

“Then can you explain why you are listed as captain and why
the witnesses knew your name?”

Phillip, you stupid fool.
Ryder knew that collusion
was common between so-called free traders and local officials, but to be so
blatant…

“Your witnesses say that I bribed him, but they do not say I
killed him.”

“The bribe was a half-anker of brandy. He was found dead
next to the open cask the next morning. The physician says he was poisoned.”

Dread compressed Ryder’s heart. Prison would be a lenient
punishment. For the first time since he arrived in London, he feared for
Phillip’s life.

“I wager you’ll find it difficult to prosecute me, Mr. Webb,
since I am Ryder West, Phillip’s younger brother.”

Webb spluttered. He looked at Mrs. Hayes, who raised her
eyebrows in ignorance of his silent question. He then shook his head.
“Impossible. Ryder West is still in the colonies,” he insisted.

“I arrived in London two days ago. My captain will attest to
that fact.”

Webb gnashed his teeth. He ran his hand through his graying
hair, mussing it as he turned this way and that in an attempt to pace across
the small room. “Ryder West. Not Phillip, but Ryder.” He fisted his hand in his
hair. “Damn it. Damn, damn.”

He abruptly turned to Ryder. “Tell me where your brother is.
Carter was corrupt but he did not deserve to die.”

“I’ve not seen my brother since my return. Neither has my
father, who is in no condition to tolerate your form of interrogation.”

“William West is ill? Good riddance,” Webb spat. Ryder
nearly put the man on the ground. His shaking fist ached to break a bone in
Webb’s face.

“Mr. Webb, I must ask that you leave,” Mrs. Hayes said. Ryder
pulled his eyes away from Webb and saw that the same hulking man who had manned
the front door now stood behind the bawd. “Mr. Hull will see you out, sir.”

Webb spoke through a stiff jaw. “Of course, madam.” He
turned to Ryder. “I know of your brother’s debts and habits. I’ll find him
eventually.” Webb then addressed Samantha, having thus far ignored her. “You
have my apologies, miss. Please forgive me.”

Ryder looked over his shoulder at her. Her eye contact with
Webb was brief and she said nothing to him. She dropped her gaze only to look
up at Ryder. Her deep-red hair had mostly fallen from its arrangement atop her
head, the thick locks hanging about her smooth neck and shoulders. Her unique
locket dangled just an inch above the neckline of her chemise. Her cheeks were
still flushed and she was doing her best to hide behind the bedclothes.

The intimidating Mr. Hull was silent as he tailed Webb from
the room.

Rather than leave, Mrs. Hayes pushed the door nearly shut.
“Far be it for me to linger, lieutenant, but I have information you’ll want to
hear.”

“About?”

“Your brother, the one Mr. Webb is looking for.”

“He has been here.” He had heard that Mrs. Hayes had
dealings with his brother, and it was lucky coincidence that he overheard her
name at the theater. Once he knew that Samantha was one of hers, he couldn’t
pass up the opportunity.

“Several times. In fact, he was here yesterday.”

“Are you aware of his current whereabouts?”

She nodded. “He’s to spend this evening playing faro at Mrs.
Archer’s on New Bond Street.”

“Do you know the house number?” Mrs. Hayes shook her head.
“Very well. If you would oblige me by waiting outside, madam, I’ll be taking my
leave shortly.”

“
Oui, monsieur
.
I’ll be at the stairs,” she
said with a quick curtsy. She shut the door behind her. Ryder turned back to
the bed just as Samantha let out a sigh of relief.

“Well,” she said, “that explains a lot.”

“Don’t let it concern you. In fact, I’d appreciate your
silence.”

“What would you give me for my silence?”

He paused in the middle of tying his cravat, not
anticipating Samantha’s question. “What would you want?”

“I need you to come back tomorrow.”

Grinning, he made a presentable knot in his cravat. He then
leaned over her to grab his vest and stopped to speak in her ear. “Madam, rest
assured that on the morrow, I shall return to spend the night between those
beautiful thighs.”

“You think I’ll let you do this again, huh?”

He shrugged into his vest. “No matter the reason why you’ve
asked me to return, I shall have you, and I shall finish the both of us with
your legs around my waist.” Her face betrayed her shock, but she covered it up
quickly.

“We’ll see about that.” Her chin went up, her lips pressing
together.

A rough sound rose from the back of his throat. He tore the
bedclothes from her hands and hauled her to her feet. Her gasp of surprise made
his heart pound even faster. He kissed her, clamping her against him with one
hand at her waist and the other cupping her delicious backside.

He smugly noted that she did not try to turn her face away,
nor did she attempt to keep his tongue out. Instead, she tilted her head to
allow for a deeper kiss and sweetly parted her lips beneath his kiss. He took
full advantage and pressed his still-swollen cock against her abdomen. He savored
her taste, breathed in her clean scent and stroked her soft curves. He moaned
at the thought of thrusting himself inside her.

When she looped her arms around his shoulders, he remembered
that he couldn’t stay. He growled in frustration and lifted his head. Her
expression was surely the same as his—affected.

“Would that the circumstances were different, madam,” he
said gruffly. She flinched and dropped her gaze. She then sat on the bed.

“Very different.”

He buttoned his vest. “You are thinking of what Mrs. Hayes
intends for you.”

She couldn’t quite conceal the fright in her eyes. He
clenched his jaw and smoothed his vest. What could he do? He didn’t have much
more to offer her than Mrs. Hayes—either of them could land her in Bridewell as
his own plans did not guarantee much safety. And what obligation did he have to
offer her anything?

However much he wanted to.

She softly scoffed at his silence. “Just go. You’ll feel
better when you do.” Her words were meant to sting and they did. His hands
fisted and he punched them into the bed on either side of her, forcing her to
lean back on her elbows.

“What do you expect me to do?”

“To come back tomorrow. Neither of us can expect much more
than that.”

“Exactly.” He wanted his words to sting as much as hers did.
The flicker in her hard expression told him he hit the mark. She knew of his
brother but what did that earn her? His family deserved more from him than a
whore he’d met only hours ago.

You made her a whore.
He growled at the thought and
stood straight. He snatched his coat from the chair by the bed and without
preamble left the room.

“Ready then, sir?” Mrs. Hayes called. He nodded and met her
at the top of the stairs. He noted with bemusement that she had coaxed her
bodice down an inch to better display her bosom.

“I’ll see myself out, madam, but…” Unable to bear the
tightness in his chest, he reached into his pocket and pulled out another five
pounds. Her eyes widened at the sight of it. “No one else is to touch her. I
shall return tomorrow at eight.” He handed over the money and watched it
disappear into the bawd’s bodice.

“One last thing.” His hand shot out and grabbed her throat.

Mrs. Hayes would have gasped if he had let her. Instead she
made a croaking noise and frantically clutched his wrist. He leaned in, ignoring
her weak punches against his arm and chest. Her throat flexed in his grip as
she tried to breathe.

“If you do not obey me in this—if I return to find that she
has been molested in any way—you will pay me a pound in flesh for every pound
I’ve just given you, and I shall make that bodyguard of yours watch. Do you
understand?”

She nodded. He let her go and went downstairs.

* * * * *

Sam laid her cheek against the mussed blanket, breathing out
and closing her eyes. More of the poem made sense to her now. Ryder was likely
the owl, and his brother the mouse, though Webb’s tenacious hunt for Phillip
West could peg him as the owl as well. Knowing that, she had to ensure that
Ryder would return, even if it was for an implied offer of sex. She’d follow
the breadcrumbs and hope for some answers along the way.

She heard the murmur of a short conversation between Mrs.
Hayes and the lieutenant and then the sound of Ryder’s footsteps descending the
stairs. She could still smell him on her, that heady mixture of vanilla and
wine. The mild ache between her thighs evoked a full-body shiver as she
recalled the weight of his body and the press of his hips. She clenched the
bedding with the memory of his hands, his lips, his voice.

For the hundredth time that day, Sam thought of Brian and
what he had done to her, how he had manipulated her. The lieutenant and her
inhibitions had clashed for—hell, ten minutes at most, yet Brian had never
tried anything more than a kiss. She remembered anxiously inviting Brian into
her apartment one evening after he had been particularly charming, but he
simply gave her a chaste kiss and said he didn’t want to ruin her beauty sleep.
The very thought of lying with Ryder again made her skin flush, but every time
she had tried to imagine what it would be like with Brian, she only worked up
anxieties about the way she looked.

Mrs. Hayes approached the bedroom. Sam looked up as the door
opened.

“A fat cull indeed.” Mrs. Hayes rubbed her neck. “He was
about to give you a nice tumble,
n’est-ce pas
?”

Sam frowned and sat up. “How could you lie to me?”

“Very easily,” Mrs. Hayes said with narrowed eyes. “I could
smell the desperation on you the moment that puff guts dropped his cabbages,
and desperate girls believe anything.”

“You tricked me.” She pounded her fist on the bed.

“Miss Reed, you make it sound as though you did not at all
suspect my trade. The downstairs salon alone should have given it away. You
have no one to blame but yourself.”

“What else could I have done? This was my only option—”

“Well there you have it,
mademoiselle
.” Mrs. Hayes
stepped close, looming over Sam. “For women in our situation, this is the only
alternative. This is all I’ve known ever since Jane Douglas fed me the same lie
thirty years ago. You wouldn’t have lasted more than a night or two if you
hadn’t met me. Here you’ve good food and a bed. You’ll have a decent income if
you do as you’re told. Your handsome jack tar has already paid for your board
for the month.”

Sam swallowed, swiftly coming to understand just how deep
her ocean of problems was. The woman’s logic was sickeningly sound. “How do you
do it? You lie with whoever pays most and without any respect or affection.”

“What is it that you just did with the lieutenant?”

Sam’s face burned with shame. She looked down at the bedding
and swallowed the urge to cry. Mrs. Hayes was right. Sam had nothing and no one
to protect her. She had pounced on her only opportunity for food and shelter,
and she had been perfectly willing to give sexual favors to a paying customer.
What moral high ground did she have to stand on?

“Attraction is enough. You’ll learn that soon enough. Even
then, money is usually the only attraction.” Mrs. Hayes walked around to the
foot of the bed. “Now stand up.”

“Why?”

“You’ll stand up now or I’ll have Mr. Hull come in here.”

Again, the urge to cry nearly overtook her. She pushed
herself to the edge of the bed and stood while wishing she had the guts to slap
Mrs. Hayes. Though she towered over the shorter woman, she was docile as Mrs.
Hayes pulled her chemise up and over her head.

Mrs. Hayes inspected the chemise for a few seconds and then
smiled. She chuckled as she held up a portion of it for Sam to see. “Made your
debut, did you? I knew I should have charged him more.” Sam was mortified to
see streaks of blood on the chemise. Mrs. Hayes balled up the undergarment.
“I’ll be holding on to this until he returns. You’ll find another one in the
closet there.”

Sam wasted no time retrieving a new chemise. She didn’t want
to be naked in front of Mrs. Hayes any longer than she had to be.

“For the time being, you’re restricted to the house, Miss
Reed,” Mrs. Hayes said as Sam pulled on the new chemise. “Between breakfast and
supper, you may leave your room, but business begins at sunset and I’ll not
have you wandering the halls when our guests come and go. Do you understand?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Good.” Mrs. Hayes walked to the door. “Your jack tar
returns at eight o’clock tomorrow, and I expect you to service him again. If
you don’t, you shall service Mr. Hull.” The bottom of Sam’s stomach completely
dropped out. “If the lieutenant is well pleased, you’ll have earned a reward.
Don’t disappoint me, Miss Reed.”