Libertine's Wife (36 page)

Dru cried out in delight, her head
thrown back in ecstasy. “I’m going to tell my maid to give her
double that amount tomorrow.”

Garret s felt her body tighten around
his, moving even faster. “You’re a terrible daughter-in-law. The
very worst there ever was. Shame on you, my dear.”

Dru’s soft sobs assured him she found
her pleasure. He pulled out and let his seed spurt across her
curvaceous derriere. She sighed and rolled over and blew a piece of
wild red hair from her face, glowing with contentment.

“
I am the worst
daughter-in-law ever, aren’t I?” Dru asked with a pleased
look.

Garret chuckled, knowing she despised
Lady Adeline and blamed her for most of her woes. “Careful you
don’t ever give her too much or she won’t wake up at
all.”

Dru grinned and reached out and grabbed
his glistening cock. She pulled him down on the bed again, pushing
him back against the pillows. Her lovely face glowed these days,
attributed to the torrid affair that raged between them, that and
the pact they made to steal back their spouses.

“
The thought does cross my
mind to give her extra, but knowing that lady, she would surely
haunt me,” Dru said bitterly. “It’s her fault Julian stays away
from Vale House. She used trickery to get him to marry
me.”

“
I thought he married you
for your money, my dear.”

“
He did, thinking he needed
it at the time. It was only after we married, he learned she lied.
She had the means to save the estate all along. They fought
bitterly over it. I overheard their argument. His mother went to
your wife and told her lies before she left for London. Had he
known, he would have never married me.”

Garret looked surprised at this new
information. He knew his wife said her brother’s lenders threatened
him and that was what precipitated her agreeing to his scheme. This
was the first he’d heard of this. No wonder the man still adored
Arianne. He felt cruelly tricked into the marriage.

He reached up and smoothed her wild
riot of red curls, his green eyes amused. “I don’t know what you
see in Vale, my fiery lover. You are too good for the likes of
him.”

“
I could say the same for
that blonde tart you claim to adore, my lord,” Dru quipped with a
glint in her lovely eyes.

“
Arianne being with your
husband right now is my fault. It will come to an end
soon.”

Dru sprawled across his chest, stroking
his heavily corded arms with a lazy smile. “She is lucky I love my
husband or I would leave her to him, and steal you away for
myself.”

“
If I didn’t feel for her as
I do, I would let you,” Garret admitted with a chuckle and brought
her tightly to him.

“
Does it bother you that
she’s his mistress?” Dru’s eyes filled with sudden
emotion.

Garret held her to his side tightly.
“More than you can imagine.”

“
How can you take her back,
Garret?”

“
I could ask the same of
you, my dear.”

“
That’s different and you
know it.” Dru frowned and stroked his chest. “Julian and I were
hardly in love. He despised the sight of me. I expected him to find
someone else.”

“
Let us just say my actions
towards my wife were not the kindest this last year. I deserve
this, make no mistake in that.”

“
I don’t know if I could
forgive it if I were you, Garret.”

“
I love her. I have to try.
And so must you, when Julian comes home.”

Dru looked uncertain. He lifted her
chin, gazing into her lovely eyes with a tender smile. “When your
husband sets his eyes upon you, he won’t be able to resist you. You
must trust me; we appear to have the same taste in women. I find
you completely irresistible, my dear.”

“
I hope you’re right and our
plan works.”

Garret rolled her onto her back, his
green eyes filled with amusement as he discarded his shirt.
“Tomorrow, be sure to have the maid triple the dose just to be
sure.”

Julian moaned in ecstasy as his
mistress applied herself to wreaking havoc on his self-control.
Blindfolded, he could only feel her lips and hands slide over his
body. Dazed and enchanted, he gasped as she prolonged the pleasure,
making him reach for her.

Arianne laughed then, a low husky laugh
that made him burn for her as she pushed him back down on the bed.
She was nothing like the young woman he vowed to marry years
before. This woman in his bed was a tigress, bringing him to the
heights of unimaginable pleasure, feeling like her slave in those
moments.

He gasped and his lips parted in
surprise as she took his hardness in her mouth, stroking him to
madness, his hips arched off the bed. His hands slid into her hair,
holding her close.

“
You are a witch, my love.”
He gasped as she suckled him with such precision he gritted his
teeth, his body stiffening, all the blood rushing to the organ now
sliding in and out of her mouth.

He tried to pull her away at the last,
but she gripped his rising hips and stayed his hands, taking his
seed. He shuddered, his hands gripping her head until he got
himself under control. After several minutes, he lay gasping. She
pulled the blindfold off him, her blue eyes filled with
satisfaction.

“
And you thought we would be
bored staying in tonight,” Arianne purred and slid down against
him, wearing nothing but the new emerald and diamond necklace he
bought her. Seeing it adorning her ivory throat reminded him of his
other gift he had yet to give her.

Julian showered her in jewels and other
gifts, his love overflowing. The days with her were so incredible,
he could not have asked for more. The lingering sadness in her eyes
remained. She had yet to see her children since their
return.

The notes from her husband ceased. He
stayed away, reminding her he no longer cared what she did and with
whom. He knew it wounded her to no end and sought to make it up to
her. The new open carriage and pair of matched bays came to mind,
given to her only last week. He taught her to drive the pair in the
park, enchanted by her delight.

The gossip of their relationship was
feverish and growing. He ignored it but knew Arianne being born a
lady made her cringe from the scorn they received from some when
they went out. He wished to see the sadness disappear. He knew it
would take time. She gave him everything in bed, but he knew she
still loved Garret. He was determined to win her heart.

Reaching along the side of the bed, he
felt for the packet of papers. He handed them to her with an
innocent expression. “I took the liberty of reclaiming some lost
items for you, my love,” he said and saw her unease.

She accepted the papers and eyed him in
annoyance. “What have you done now? You do not need to keep buying
me things, Julian.”

“
Open it and quit trying to
keep me from spoiling you,” he chided.

Arianne stared at the papers in shock.
“You bought my family’s home? But how? I thought Eustace lost
it.”

“
I couldn’t let strangers
buy your family’s estate, Arianne.” He didn’t tell her how he’d
been obsessed with her then, enough to hope returning her home to
her would bring her back to him.

“
I don’t know what to say.”
Arianne held the papers, looking stunned. “This is more than
generous, Julian.”

He smiled and dropped a kiss on her
nose, his hand sliding into her hair. His dark eyes were filled
with emotion. “Do you see how much I love you, Arianne? I would do
whatever I could to make you happy. I know it will take time for
you to feel the same for me again. I only hope you see how much I
adore you, my love.”

Arianne felt tears fill her gaze to
know he meant all he said. She snuggled against his side,
overwhelmed with the gift. She fell silent, not knowing what to
say.

“
You will always have a home
of your own, my love,” Julian continued and held her tightly. “I
know you have worries about your future.”

“
I don’t wish to think of
it,” Arianne said and her hands busily slid over the hard, rigid
planes of his abdomen, determined to avoid this
discussion.

He reluctantly stilled her hands and
tilted her chin up, gazing deeply into her eyes. “I want you
provided for if anything should happen to me. I think that’s fair.
In my heart, you are my wife, Arianne. I know you don’t wish to
talk of it, but I can do no less for you.”

She pushed away from him and sat up,
her slender back tensing at his words. He could see she was
disturbed at their conversation. They both knew her husband
abandoned her and she had nothing. While he tried to make up for
it; she dwelled upon the circumstances. Her children remained with
Ravensford still. That was the only gift she wanted now. The one he
couldn’t give her.

“
I appreciate your kindness.
Having my home back does please me.”

The overtures his barrister made to
make a formal claim for Jaime were denied. Garret refused to admit
the child wasn’t his, confusing both him and Arianne. She could
only guess at her husband’s motives, thinking it was merely a means
of punishing her.

His keeping Jaime as his heir was
something that troubled Arianne. Then too, he had yet to do as he
threatened and file for a divorce through Helms. She waited for
papers to arrive and they never came. She wondered at it, unwilling
to believe it meant anything at all. She handed Julian back the
papers and he placed them on the bedside table.

Julian seethed to know the man played
such games with his wife’s emotions, knowing she’d nearly done the
unthinkable once. Then, there was the other matter. His mother was
back at her old residence in town, introducing his wife to society.
The glowing accounts of his wife’s accomplishments stunned him.
Everywhere he went, Drusilla’s name was on everyone’s lips. The
burning curiosity to see what all the fuss was about drove him to
distraction.

Julian hadn’t seen his wife in years,
but by all reports, she was taking London by storm. Lady Vale was
quickly becoming one of the most sought after guests in the city.
He knew from his mother’s correspondence, Drusilla had arrived, and
exceeded all her expectations. Curiosity of his wife troubled him,
recalling her with a shudder.

He’d been on his way to getting drunk
on his wedding night when Silas Penworthy threatened him. Unless he
consummated his marriage, he would get nothing. Silas extorted him
to go to his daughter’s bed, insulting him by saying he had to earn
what his family was given.

Julian was roaring drunk when he went
to his wife’s bed that night. He recalled little of divesting his
bride’s innocence. He recalled only his haste to be away when he
woke in the middle of the night with a raging hangover, laying next
to her chubby form, and recoiling in disgust.

He confronted his mother that morning
about the lies she told Arianne. He left, vowing never to step foot
there as long as she was alive. His mother wrote to him often these
last years trying to soften his anger. He refused her overtures,
knowing she cost him his happiness for Penworthy’s
fortune.

Silas Penworthy died the following
spring. His daughter mourned him deeply. He must have been ill the
whole time he sought a husband for his daughter. He had the final
laugh at Julian’s expense, leaving all his millions in trust until
they produced a child. Julian felt bitterly betrayed then, knowing
the man laughed at him now from the grave.

The thought of impregnating his wife to
get the money repulsed him. He made use of what monies he was given
to marry her and put it to good use with sound investments. Few
people knew the money he had now was from his own careful handling
of that considerable sum Penworthy gave him then.

He doubted his wife even knew the money
they now used came from his diligence in making it and not her
father’s. Penworthy made the change to his will as an incentive for
him to bed his wife and have children. Julian vowed the money could
rot in the banks he had all over Europe before he would prostitute
himself for one shilling of it.

“
I did this so you would
never feel lost again, Arianne. You have a home, someplace to call
your own.” Julian stared at her slender back, disquieted by her
silence. “I thought of James when I did this too. Our son cannot
inherit Vale House. I don’t know what game your husband plays, but
he can’t inherit his title either. One can only wait and see what
the future holds.”

He saw her shoulders shaking and
thought she was crying. When he reached out and turned her to him,
he saw she was laughing. He stared at her in confusion.

“
You bought your mistress
the house next door to your wife?” Arianne burst out laughing,
knowing it never occurred to him when he bought it how odd that
was. “We’ll make good use of the tree once more!” She collapsed on
the bed, laughing uproariously.

Julian chuckled and shook his head at
his own stupidity, knowing how that looked now that Arianne was his
mistress. His mother was appalled after he bought it, and for that
he smiled. Thinking of his wife’s reaction made his smile fade.
Deliberately hurting his wife was never his intention. She couldn’t
help it if he couldn’t bring himself to be her husband.