Lady Wicked (3 page)

“Yes, I am.”

“And what if you were right?”

“What if I am?” Amelia countered. As she
turned to look up at him, her gold mask lit in the moonlight, James
stepped closer, his hands sliding over her bare upper arms, closing
the space between them. She tipped her chin up towards him,
searching his unguarded eyes with hers. He bent his head slowly,
giving her time to flee, but she didn’t, instead raising herself on
tiptoes as his mouth brushed hers. Then her lips were parting,
allowing his tongue to dart inside and find hers, and he was
crushing her to his body, her hands winding around his brocade-clad
back.

Kissing her made him feel dizzy, like he was
losing part of himself, and the longer he kissed her, the more he
felt he had been lost and was only now coming home. Breaking apart,
breath laboured, James stared down at her, wondering at this new
connection he felt, wondering if she felt it too.

It wasn’t until his shoulder was being
grasped in a large hand, pulling him backwards and off balance that
he realised they had been seen. Not that most guests would care.
They would probably just wonder why he hadn’t lifted her onto the
balustrade, pulled up her skirts and had his way with her. A few
years ago, with any willing mortal he would have, but not Amelia.
He wanted her, and not just for a quick screw. The problem was his
assailant knew that too.

“What the hell are you doing?” shouted
Jeremy, his fists balled, his face hidden behind his mask.

James readied his fighting stance, knowing a
flying fist would be next, but the soft rip of a sob made him turn
back to Amelia… except she was gone, her soft slippers flying
across the terrace, down the stone steps, her skirts fluttering as
she fled into the dark garden. “Amelia!” James shouted, as she
slipped away into the shadows. “Look what you’ve done.” He shoved
Jeremy with both hands, not even gratified when his brother
stumbled back. “You’ve frightened her!”

Chapter Four

Fleeing into the garden, her heart pounding,
Amelia found herself lost among the flower beds. Fragrance drifted
the air from night flowering flora, creating a heady scent that
added to her confusion. Finally she found herself at the wall that
surrounded the perimeter and she stumbled along it, one hand
grazing the cool brick until she came upon a stone seat set into an
arch in the wall. Climbing roses trailed around it, forming a
living canopy. Tucking her feet under herself, she hugged her
knees, she concealed herself there.

The kiss had surprised her, but not as much
as the sudden rush she had felt as their tongues entwined. It was
like she had recognised a kindred spirit…except there was no such
person as kindred to her. She was alone, had always been alone, and
would always be alone. That was her curse.

Sweeping a gloved finger over her lips she
wondered at the strange connection she now felt to this man. She
had been positive he was one of the brothers, most likely James but
she couldn’t be certain? And why did she feel the urge to run back
to him, to search him out and allow him to steal another kiss?

It was like something mystical and amazing
had happened in that moment. Her blood had been pounding, her
breasts heaving against her silk bodice, as the connection whipped
through them. She had the uncomfortable feeling that she should
recognise whatever it was that just happened but instead she found
herself wavering like a child, uncertain of what to do next.

“I’ve found you.” The man approaching her
heaved a sigh of relief as he stepped into the shadows cast down by
the wall. “Why did you run away?”

Swinging her legs down, Amelia smoothed her
skirts so that they flowed over her ankles as was proper for this
era while the man continued, “I didn’t mean to frighten you. Please
forgive me.”

“There is nothing to forgive. I was not
frightened.” Her voice bore trace of confusion though.

“Then why did you run?” The man knelt in
front of her, his eyes boring into hers through their masks. She
reached forward, her hand cupping his bare chin and brought her
mouth to his, relishing the feel of his warm lips. As the kiss
deepened, she found herself pulled down next to him, his kiss
growing more ardent as she pressed her body to his. There was that
connection again, circling them, rushing through her veins and they
broke away gasping.

“You feel it too?” she whispered.

Before he could answer, the sound of
footsteps made the man jump to his feet. Rising to her own feet,
she peeked from behind him as another masked man approached.

“You found her?” the man questioned. When she
stepped out from behind, he halted, looking questioningly from her
to the man. “Jeremy?” he asked, his angel mask glowing under the
moonlight.

She slid away to stand on her own, somewhere
in the middle of the two, but apart as she realised her mistake.
With similar builds and masks they had been easy to confuse so she
had kissed not one man, but two tonight and the connection she had
felt… she had felt with both. Two in one night, and never before in
her long life, she thought in wonder.

“What are you?” she whispered into the night
as both men ceased their angry standoff, turning to her.

“Not here,” said the men as one.

James, she thought it was, added, “The
summerhouse. We can talk there.”

Both held a hand to her. She looked from one
to the other, closed her eyes and took them both, her gloved hands
sliding into their larger, warm ones, fingers lacing together.
Either side of her, they shadowed her as they directed her to a
concealed door in the wall not far from where they stood. Jeremy
produced a large key and unlocked it, then they were through and
running across the grounds to the summerhouse hidden in the oak
trees.

It was exhilarating, running under the stars,
two men holding her and sweeping her on until she felt like they
were flying across the grass, the ribbons of her mask fluttering
behind them.

Stumbled into the summerhouse together,
Amelia found herself pressed between two firm, male bodies.
Strangely she did not want to move. She wanted them to continue
pressing either side of her, to feel the heat of both their bodies
as they folded her into their embrace. She kissed the man in front
of her first, Jeremy she thought, her tongue melding with his as he
returned her kiss without reserve. When she felt the man at her
back step away, she broke the kiss, turned and reached, curving her
hand around James’ neck. He hesitated until she stood on tiptoes
and kissed him. Behind her, Jeremy’s body was a powerful reminder
of the connection she felt with both.

When she and James broke away, she was
blushing, suddenly aware of how she was behaving. She had never
been so forward, never felt so wanton in her life, yet there was
something about these two men that called to her, that drove her to
them. Either one of them would have been perfect; choosing would be
impossible.

What if she didn’t have to?

The thought hit her like a bolt of lightning,
frightening, exciting and utterly dazzling. For one night only she
was someone else, her true self, and she could do whatever she
pleased. If she felt a connection through just a kiss, if she felt
this connected through their mere proximity to her, how would it
feel if they were closer still? She knew then that there was
another option.

“Take off your masks,” she whispered into the
moonlit room.

Chapter Five

The instant Amelia kissed him Jeremy knew she
was absolutely, irrevocably the woman he had hoped for. Unlike the
kisses they had shared before, he felt the kiss in the garden bind
them, lacing them together, felt the recognition of another of his
kind without hesitation though he had never known an immortal woman
before. Suddenly the long stretch of his never-ending life ahead
didn’t seem so cruel, so awful, if only he could have her in
it.

When James found them, he returned to earth
with a rough thump. Had she felt the same connection with his
brother when they had kissed on the terrace? Regardless of his fear
that such a thing might have happened, not for a moment did Jeremy
think about stepping out of his brother’s way. He even tempered the
brief jealously he felt when she took both their hands, and ran
between them as they aimed for the summerhouse he kept as a quiet
retreat away from the house.

When she kissed James’ again, he felt a surge
of worry, the momentary fear that he had lost her when he had only
just found her. Then she was turning to him, and the kiss was one
of passion, not of goodbye. Like never before, he wanted to claim
her, take her, and never lose her. With a startling ferocity, he
knew that this woman between them meant everything to him.

On her instruction he unfastened his mask and
laid it on the table. She stroked his cheek, silk against skin,
whispering, “I knew it was you.”

James unmasked himself next, garnering
another smile from her pretty face. Then she was unlacing her own
mask, tossing it on the table next to theirs.

“I’ve waited for you for years,” Jeremy
breathed. “Lifetimes.”

“And did you approach me, or talk to me
willingly?” Amelia chastised and he felt his heart tighten in
annoyance at himself as she added, “Unlike your brother.”

“Couldn’t keep away,” smiled James, cockily
assured.

“Tell me, why did kissing you both feel like
I had come home?” She moved away from them, walking the small
circumference of the room, trailing her fingers over the furniture,
before turning to them expectantly. James’ smile had fallen
slightly, no longer quite so confident of his bid to win her.

“Because we are the same, you and I,”
answered Jeremy. “You recognised it, too.”

“I found something in both of you that I have
never found in another. Tell me, why should I be so cursed?”

“Cursed?” Jeremy moved past the sofas to
stand in front of her, staring down at her small height from his
tall vantage point. “Our immortality doesn’t have to be a
curse.”

Amelia shook her head. “One should only feel
a connection to one man. It is cruel that I feel drawn to you
both.”

Behind him, James muttered a curse. This,
neither of them had anticipated. Jeremy had simply assumed that
James would curtail his interest and chase the nearest skirt that
looked willing, leaving the path open for him to claim his
mate.

James clearly had other ideas.

That she was interested in both of them was
something Jeremy had never considered, yet somehow it didn’t seem
crazy. If she had lived a life of loneliness, as he suspected, it
was only natural she felt drawn to two of her own kind. Besides,
there was only one of her and they had never, might never, meet
another immortal woman again. While her immortality, and ability to
be his companion, friend, lover, for centuries, it was her that
drew him now, not just her immortality as it had on the day he had
first seen her. How could either one of them deny her their love,
even if it meant she would love them both in return?

Jeremy dropped onto a sofa, pulled her to
him, tempering his racing thoughts as she stood in front of him.
“Perhaps it is not cruel we meet now, but fate.”

Amelia turned wide eyes on him. “I don’t
understand.”

“Love is rare,” replied James, circling the
sofa to wrap an arm around her. “If you care for my brother and I
equally, how is that a problem?” He dropped a kiss on her neck and
Jeremy watched in fascination as she curved her head, allowing him
room to sweep back her curls and kiss the expanse of creamy skin
she exposed.

“I would take your shared loved, rather than
none at all.” Jeremy stood pressing his body to hers, his hands
sliding over the curves of her waist, feeling the rise and fall of
her ribs as she breathed deeply. He bent to drop a kiss on her
cheek, making his way to her collarbone in a trail of feather-light
kisses as she sighed, her hand rising to hold his head to her.
“I’ll never let you go.”

“Make love to me,” she whispered.

They worked together to free her from the
silk dress, to divest her of her chemise and petticoat until she
stood naked between them. The heat from their bodies warmed her on
this summer’s eve as they stripped of coats, waistcoats and
trousers. She clung to them, turning this way and that between
their kisses, accepting and encouraging them both as their hands
traversed her body.

When she ran a bare hand down his chest, over
his stomach and thighs, Jeremy thought he might explode. The years
he had waited since first sighting her, and waiting for her, seemed
like nothing compared to how he felt now. Dipping his head, he
kissed her breasts; high, firm globes with pink buds that called to
be sucked. He teased them with his tongue, licking, taking one
gently into his mouth, as she reached for his cock, stroking his
hardness.

He knew that she held his brother in her
other hand, but again, he felt no jealousy, only concern that they
were pleasing her.

Spinning her in his arms, Jeremy pressed
against the curve of her back as James’ hands ran the length of her
front, pausing at her breasts, then pressing his mouth to hers,
sweeping her in the passion of his kiss.

Jeremy content himself with exploring the
topography of her back, the rippling muscles working there as she
raised her arms to wrap around James’ neck, the soft swell of her
breasts peeking below her arms. His hands curved over her bottom,
sliding between her legs, searching for her most secret parts.
Running his palm over her mound, he felt her quiver then heard the
enraptured gasp as he slid his fingers through her folds, finding
them deliciously wet before plunging a finger instead.

Working in tandem with Jeremy, James lifted
Amelia’s leg and hooked it around his, leaving Jeremy unfettered
access to her hidden depths. He continued to stroke her womanly
channel, adding another finger to thrust and twist inside, finding
the rough ridge of her internal pleasure spot and massaging it.