Midnight Masquerade (3 page)

“I’ll never get you to the ballroom if you keep this up minx, Jesus you taste delicious.” He whispered against her lips as he pinned her against the arbor, she could feel his erection
against her hip as she ran her hands deeper into his hair.

Feeling completely wanton, she unleashed her years of skill upon him; “You’ll never get under my skirts if you keep talking so much
Liam
.” Biting his lip playfully she gasped in shock as she felt his hand on her bare thigh, lifting it around his hip. The erotic sensation of having his skilled hands on her flesh made her moan as he claimed her mouth and rocked his hips against her tender center.

Growling, he sat her down gently and let go of her, “Come little minx, I have a need that cannot be sated here, I want to see if you dance as well as you flirt.”

Taking his hand, she entwined fingers with him. It felt incredibly intimate to hold hands with him like this. Passing by countless couples locked in passionate embraces, she looked up at him and squeezed his hand as they approached the candlelit house
as the
music floated out the open doors revealing hundreds dancing and drinking, taking delight in the festivities of the night.

“Did you come alone?” He asked quietly as they walked side by side.

“Did you?” She teased back, nudging into him with a smile.

“One does not bring sand to the beach little angel.”

Snorting at his answer, she shook her head and smiled, “Indeed Liam, I couldn’t have said that better myself.”

Looking at the house before her, she couldn’t have planned this better herself. The man she wanted to see was now escorting her into the
erotic soiree
where half naked women waited on the guests who were drinking
copious
amounts of wine, champagne and scotch.

Entering into the house, he let go of her hand and slipped his arm around
her
waist and rested his hand on her ass cheek as he navigated the crowd as they approached the dance floor. 

“Tell me something about yourse
lf Claudette, something real.”

She felt so familiar to him, there was something about the woman that made him instantly hard the moment he had spied her wandering around the gardens alone. Dressed in
an
all-white
gown, her strapless corset showed off her extremely trim waist and
ample
breasts that called his name. The skirt of the gown was tight across her curvy ass, covered in delicate ethereal white feathers
.

The white gown created
an alluring contract against
her golden skin, she stood out above all others. Her dark hair swept up into a crown
upon her head
, her face concealed behind a silver mask covered with brilliant crystals.
She could have been so many people but something nagged at the back of his mind. He knew he
r
from somewhere.

Van Allendale’s was
a
chance to break from his role of Duke of Blackstone, from Commander of England’s War Office
and all the political and society staunchness that surrounded him daily
.
Being here, under disguise allowed him
to shake the endless streams of hopeful mothers tossing their daughters at his feet in hopes of catching his eyes.

Sick of his mistress, she was weighing on his nerves with her constant demands and diva behavior. That’s what he got for having an opera singer as his highly paid, highly skilled mistress. Arriving at Van Allendale’s nearly an hour ago, all he wanted to do was find a pretty little thing to take his mind off the thousands of responsibilities that would
be calling his name tomorrow.
He wanted one night to be carefree, to enjoy the company of a woman without ties.

Spinning the petite stacked brunette onto the dance floor, he pulled her close as he asked, “Tell me something about yourse
lf Claudette, something real.” Looking down at her,
he wrapped her in his arms and
effortlessly spun her around the crowded dance floor, he couldn’t help but look down her dress upon her glorious tits. Endowed, and curvy, the brunette’s body called to him.

“I enjoy morning rides alone with my mare, I find the peacefulness something I crave desperately in my life.”

“A lady should never be unescorted my dear, surely you have loved ones who advise you against it?” He countered; a bit concerned this delightful package gambled with her own life and rode
alone. It was simply not done, yet here she was tonight, alone.

Giggling, s
he held onto him tightly
as they danced closely, “I never said I was a
lady
Liam, and my family doesn’t know I ride alone. I sneak
out far before anyone is awake, it’s the only way to escape my suffocating family and duties.
”

“I would imagine your family also doesn’t know you are here, correct?”

“Correct, however I am a widow, so I can come and go as I please.”

Looking down at her,
he couldn’t help but chuckle.
“I would imagine most women here say they are
widows
too Claudette, you are exceedingly young to
be a widow angel, very young.” H
e couldn’t help but notice the spray of fr
eckles upon her bare shoulder
as she replied.

“
I’m not concerned with other’s stories, I am what I am. N
ow tell me something about yourself Liam,
something real
.”

Running a hand over her shoulder, “Andromeda.”

Looking up at him, she questioned, “What?”

“
The freckles on your shoulder
form the constellation Andromeda
, the beautiful one so breathtaking she made the gods jealous enough to order her death.
Fitting I believe,
The Chained Lady Andromeda, can I call you that instead?
” Leaning down, he kissed the formation on the top of her collarbone.

“You can call me whatever you would like.”

The catch in her voice made him want her that much more. He had come for a distraction, and he had gotten exactly what he hoped for. Between his mistress and battling the jealousy he had been feeling for a similar shaped brunette
,
he figured he was pulled towards the stunning lady in his arms because she reminded him so much of Amelia.

“M
mmm, Andromeda the beautiful it is.”

Feeling her small hand run up his back under his jacket
, he felt her dig her nails into his shoulder as she leaned in and asked, “and do I get to call you what I want as well?”

“
Call me anything you want love, anything you want.”

June 19
th
1816

Hyde Park, London

Biting her lip she rode her mare alone in the early dusk fog.
Unfortunately for her, t
he only way to secure peace was to
come
to
Hyde Park
when most rational people slept.
It had become a habit of hers lately, sneaking out of her family’s house and riding as the sun slowly crept over the tall homes of London.

Weeks had passed since the masque
at Van Allendale’s
,
yet all she had to do was close
her eyes
and
she remembered every vivid detail. Drinking far too much with Alastair, she had stolen away with him in a locked room and properly lost her virginity to th
e man she had always cared for while disguised as a young widow.
To this date, he still didn’t know it was her.

The cold morning air hit her face as she rode her horse hard through the empty space, not a soul was in sight as she let the bracing ride shake loose her annoyance of losing sleep once again over the man.
Sighing and rolling her neck, she thought abou
t those very last moments of that
fateful
night
, everything had happened so quickly she had little time to plan her escape, or form intelligent answers to his questions
.

She knew
he could tell she was a virgin
the moment he broke her maidenhead
,
he had stopped immediately, but never withdrew from her. Begging him to not stop
h
e had questioned her for a real name
after they had made love for over an hour. W
hen she refused
,
he asked what kind of widow still has her virginity.
Alastair had continued to push
the issue with her
as he sought her real name.
Her confidence
falter
ed as she desperately tried
keeping her identit
y a secret from him
. Thankfully the room they had occupied that night was black as night, she refused to let him light any candles or open the drapes to let in the moonlight
.
When he pressed her further for her name, she panicked and
hit him on the head with a candlestick as he bent down to retrieve her shoe
from under the bed
, and
then
she
promptly
fled the sex mansion
with her identity still intact
.

For the past four
weeks
she
had kept her secret contained, from absolutely everyone.

Setting her reins in her lap, she rubbed her face with both of her hands and moaned. Living with her eldest brother Gideon, the Duke of Montrose was a godsend
, and also highly frustrating.
Their mother and father had perished
almost two years ago
in a
carriage accident that had also claimed the life of Helena’s father.
Her childhood friend
Helena had married Gideon after years of waiting
for him to return from war.

Living with Gideon
and Helena had provided her
a home rich with love and laughter. They had all grown up with Helena and her siblings. Helena’s youngest sibling was
in fact
Amelia’s best friend, Hero. Only a year apart, Hero and Amelia had grown up with each other since babies, they all had.

Best of all, Amelia
had a
new
little nephew
to spoil. Little Teddy
made her heart sing with happiness seeing
his sweet little face each day, Gideon and Helena were lovely parents and included Amelia in everything they did.

On the downside
, living with an overprotective brother who was a war hero, and having a second brother who was once the top spy for England made it horribly difficult to spread her wings.
If Gideon wasn’t watching her, Luke always was.

For weeks she had been avoiding Alastair as much as possible.
It was well known in their family Alastair
was on a hunt for the mysterious w
hite-feathered Andromeda widow. He had told her brothers all about the mysterious woman at the ball.

She would have never guessed Alastair
would have woken up
from being hit over the head
with a fire to find her. He had been searching far and wi
de for any leads on the woman
, he had bordered on becoming obsessed with finding her
.
Eavesdropping on
Alastair’s
conversation with
her brothers
in the library the day after Van Allendale’s, she heard
him
describing the woman who had captured his attention. Hell bent on finding her, he was scouring London for any sign of her, not knowing she was u
nder his nose the entire time.

Just her luck, one of the greatest detective and military minds of their time was on a hunt, for her.
Thus the reason she decided to limit her time around him.

It had been
overly
difficult to avoid Alastair as they were often at the same events nightly, not to mention he was usually at Gideon or Luke’s house on a daily basis. She had learned to avoid him at balls by always having her dance card filled, and always being on the dance floor when he was not. He was a permanent fixture next to her family, keeping her distance was the best she could do.
Over the weeks she h
ad became an avoidance aficionado
.

In the past four weeks she had onl
y danced with Alastair twice, which had been in stark contrast to their usual nightly dance
.
The change was s
omething that several people
, friends and her family
had made mention to her. Brushing it off as nothing more than bad timing, she
knew Hero and Helena could tell what she was doing
,
yet did not call her out on it.
To them they assumed her feelings were hurt because he was searching for this lo
ng lost woman. T
hey had known she always carried a torch for the man
, letting them assume she had her feelings hurt was easier than telling them
she
was the woman he was looking for
. The reality of the situation was much more embarrassing and intimately private, she
had given Alastair more than her heart that night and he had no clue it was her.
Amelia was the only one who knew the full truth
.

To this day she still didn’t
understand how she lost control
that night, she never imagined she’d actually have sex with him
at the masque
. Their words had become more direct as the night went on, especially as the drinks flowed between them. Next thing she knew she was alone with the man, naked and on her back screaming in pleasure.

Turning her horse back to her London townhouse, she sighed. She had wanted to tell Alastair so many times, but always decided against it a
t
the last moment. She was afraid, and jealous…of herself. Alastair had let the memory of that night consume him as he searched for her. It was hard to accept that he felt so strongly about a woman he had spent only hours with, and here she was the entire time. Why
didn’t the bloody man see
what
had been in front of him for years
?

Riding to the back
of her family’s London mansion
,
she passed rows of tonnish townhomes on her way back to Gideon’s. It had always been her home, since the moment she was born, her parents and brothers had occupied their London home for decades. Daydreaming of a time long ago when her parents still roamed the halls, she smiled thinking about them. Life had changed so dramatically after they died, what she wouldn’t give for a hug and reassurance from her mother right now.

Trotting into the stable behind their home
she slipped off her saddle and tossed the reins to their stable hand, “Good morning Elroy, fine day it will be.” She offered, as he nodded to her.

“Morning Lady Amelia, I’ll take care of Ray here if ye’d like to go inside, you know I don’t mind.”

Nodding to the older man, “Thank you Elroy, I appreciate it
,
and you! I’ll see you later today, I’m sure!” Waving goodbye, she lifted up the front of her
dark purple
riding habit and took the stairs two at a time as she let herself into the
back of the stately mansion.
Looking forward to a hot cup of tea and the morning paper, she made her way quietly through the house towards Gideon’s library.
Helena and little Teddy were li
ght sleepers; not wanting to wa
k
e
either she tiptoed across the rugs with the stealth of an assassin.

Smoothing out her
skirt
thinking of the ridiculousness of her being an assassin
she heard voi
ces in the library, male voices and came to a direct halt.
Furrowing her brow, it was awfully early for Gideon to have company already,
the
second deep voice
told her it wasn’t
his wife
Helena in the library
with him
.

Standing outside the library, the door was slightly
ajar
allowing her to hear the conversation perfectly as she walked past, changing her direction to her bedroom.

“I know who the elusive
widow is Gideon, took me long enough but by god, I know who she is now.”

The sound of his voice made her
heart slam into her chest, as did his words.

Alastair. H
ow had he figured it out?

“Well Jesus Alastair, tell me her name? You’ve been obsessed with this vixen for weeks, don’t keep me in suspense any longer my friend!” Gideon’s voice was clear as he ordered the name Alastair had been seeking for weeks.

Standing in the hallway outside the library, she felt her face go white.

“Por
sche VanEtter, she is the one
.” Alastair declared, something in his voice seemed a bit off to her.

Hearing her brother scoff at the idea, “Truly? She’s young Alastair; surely she can’t be the one. No offense, but I can’t see
her
as the one of thousands of women who has captured your complete attention after all these years.”

“She’s nineteen,
aye she is younger than I imagined but
she fits
the description perfectly and what is even more fitti
ng, she admitted it was her that
night.”

In shock, Amelia
stood outside the door completely dumbfounded. Her heart was breaking and worse of all; she couldn’t tell Alastair that Porsche was lying without outing herself.
How
that young blonde idiot of a woman find out Alastair
was searching for a widow? Didn’t he remember her hair was dark?
Didn’t he look for the constellations on her s
houlder? What the hell happened to his common sense?

Feeling her emotions getting the best of her, she turned and walked past the
library with her head l
owered, her heart was breaking. She had dreamt about telling Alastair that she was his elusive Andromeda
many times these passing weeks
, but this was more than she could take.
She felt her dreams
of happiness shatter around her,
then
she heard Gideon’s loving voice.

“Lili, is that you sister?”

Looking up, she heard Gideon call her from inside the library. He must
have seen her pass by the open door
. Standing up straight, she squared her shoulders and walked back to the doorway, leaning in she smiled at Gideon, “Good morning Brother.”

“Are you crying?” Gideon asked immediately, all happiness wiped from his face
as he locked eyes with her
across the room.

Completely unaware she had been shedding tears, she brushed her cheeks off with her hands while both
Gideon
and Alastair watched.

“Good morning Amelia,
you’re up awfully early, join us for some tea?” Alastair asked, motioning to the chair beside him
with a bright smile that melted her
breaking heart.
At least he had the decency to not ask about the tears.

Waving her in
, Gideon corrected Ala
stair.
“She’s up early
every
damn morning
Alastair
, she usually gets to the paper before I do and drinks all my tea, half the time I have to shoo her
out of my chair in the mornings and grapple the paper from her.
Yet
,
the tears
,
those
are new.
” Looking back at her, Gideon motioned to the seat beside Alastair, “Join us Lili, Owen just brought in a fresh pot of tea.”