Pleasuring the Lady (The Pleasure Wars) (27 page)

Neither one made her quiver the way Miles did, but she couldn’t pretend they weren’t attractive. And they were watching her with open, blatant interest that was reinforced by thrusting erections beneath both men’s trousers.

Somewhere deep within her, a scandalous flame ignited. What Miles proposed was wicked beyond words. But what would it feel like to be the center of attention of not one but two strangers? Strangers with what appeared to be very strong hands.

She shivered and looked at Miles again.

“Why?” she whispered.
 

He lifted his eyebrows as if he were shocked at her question. As if every man offered his wife to other men and not a word was said about it.

“For your pleasure,” he explained. “For mine.”

“For yours,” she said.
 

He wanted this. If she said no, the newly developed distance between them might only grow wider.

She sucked in a breath and stepped farther into the room. The two men, her temporary lovers, straightened up with welcoming smiles.
 

“Did I lie about her beauty?” Miles said from behind her.

She jolted as she awaited the answer.
 

“You did not,” the taller man said with a smile. “In fact, she may be more delectable than you described.”

Portia looked for the lie in his eyes, but she could see none. He did truly desire her.
 

She peeked over her shoulder at Miles. He nodded.
 

“Go ahead. I will put a stop to it when it is time.”

With a shiver, she walked toward the smiling men. With everything in her, she tried to block Miles out, to surrender as he wished, but she could feel his eyes on her even as the dark-haired man took her hand and drew her to stand between them. She could feel the warm, sweet breath of the muscular blond behind her ear, and her body reacted with desire of its own accord. It was both thrilling and yet it felt like a betrayal.

“Do you have names?” she whispered as the dark man before her cupped her cheek.

“Call me D and he is R,” D said. “It is easier than names, more anonymous.”

She swallowed. “And what will you call me?”

The blond man behind her, R, wrapped a hand around her waist and drew her against his hard chest.
 

“Beautiful,” he breathed.

She let her eyes flutter shut, indulging in sensation in the hopes she could end the war raging in her confused, heated mind.
 

R cupped her breasts from behind and her body fully tensed as he began to massage the sensitive flesh. Miles had insisted she go without undergarments again, and her thin silk gown was hardly protection against the touch. Her nipples hardened as pleasure began to ignite between her legs to spiral through her body.

In front of her, D cupped her neck and lowered his mouth to hers. His lips covered hers and she wanted to run. She had never been kissed before Miles and now another man’s mouth on hers was strange. But he was skilled and her body once again betrayed her when her lips parted and she groaned as he touched his tongue to hers.

She felt hands on the buttons along the front of her gown and her eyes flew open. As he continued to kiss her, D parted her dress and pushed it from her shoulders, baring her from the waist up. He drew back and looked down at her, eyes focused on her flesh. A heated blush rushed through her and she had to force herself not to cover her nakedness.

This was what Miles wanted. She reminded herself of that over and over again.

“You truly are beautiful,” D murmured as he leaned down, pressing kisses along the column of her throat.
 

Behind her, R began to rotate his hips against her backside, allowing her to feel the hard length of his erection. She shuddered at the feel of that combined with D’s kisses, the way he lowered, lowered until his tongue swirled around her puckered nipple. He sucked and her knees buckled as she cried out and looked toward Miles.

He was slouched on a chair across the room, watching it all with an unreadable expression. She could see his body was aroused, but what did he
think
as he watched her? What did he
feel
when he saw her in this position with other men…strangers?

Strangers who were now working together to push her gown over her hips and away from her body, leaving her naked between them.
 

She blushed, dipping her chin so she wouldn’t see their stares rake over her even though she felt every heated moment. Her emotions were so tangled she could scarcely understand them all. She was both aroused and embarrassed, she wanted more, but she also wanted to run and hide.

And yet if the two men sensed any of that, they did not slow their seduction. Slowly, D turned her so that she faced R and now it was his turn to cup her face and kiss her. He was more forceful than the other man, demanding with his tongue. She jerked her hands to his lower arms to steady herself and melted into the passion and promise of his kiss.

Behind her, D rained light kisses along her shoulders, stoking his fingers over her flesh before he tasted it. Along her spine, his touch was unexpectedly powerful and she broke the kiss to cry out with pleasure as he dropped to his knees and pressed hot kisses into the hollow just above her naked backside.

“So responsive,” R murmured as he cupped her breasts together and stroked his thumbs over the distended nipples until Portia could hardly breathe.

“Very,” D responded with a smile in his tone. “Are you certain we cannot have her, my lord?”

Portia turned her face toward Miles, eyes wide but too overcome by desire to be able to speak. He sat up straight and shook his head.

“Yes,” he said without hesitation or question. “Our arrangement stands, gentlemen.”

“A pity,” R whispered as he slowly dropped to his own knees before her, his mouth dragging over her body. “But I’m certain we will both enjoy this greatly.”

Before Portia could respond to or question what R meant, he urged her to stand with her legs farther apart and gently parted her sex. He rubbed his cheek against her thigh and then darted out a thick, hot tongue to tease her already wet and aching clitoris. Meanwhile, behind her, D did the same, but he instead parted the smooth globes of her backside and gently placed a wet finger at the tight, forbidden entrance to her bottom.

The two touches, so focused, so wild and illicit, made her knees weak and she had to lean on R to keep from collapsing on the floor. She felt utterly desired, beautiful, erotic as the two men gently tasted and teased her.

And yet these wicked moments were nothing compared to how she felt when Miles smiled down at her as he slowly pressed his cock deep within her. Or the feel of his arms around her after they made love all afternoon and then lazed in the drowsy warmth of his bed.

There was no denying that these two men were talented lovers. And if she offered herself to them, she would be given powerful orgasms, she would be gifted physical pleasures that would curl her toes.

But there was more at stake than that now. If she did this, she would never be able to take it back. It would color every exchange with Miles for the rest of their years together. It would allow him to believe she was happy being a sexual plaything only, someone he could pass to some other man when he was finished with her and feeling guilty.
 

Even as pleasure mobbed her, she remembered her mother’s admonishment not to tend to Miles’ happiness at the sacrifice of her own.

There was only one thing to do. No matter how hard it would be.

With difficulty, she pushed R away and stepped to the side to extract herself from the powerful embrace of her would-be lovers. She dropped to pick up her dress and lifted it to cover her nudity as she shook her head at the two men.

“I’m sorry, I can’t do this,” she whispered. “You are both so very talented and your touches make me quiver, but I…can’t. I simply can’t.”

The men exchanged a look of disbelief as they both stood, then stared at Miles in question. He rose to his feet and ignored them to focus on her.

“Portia?”

She shook her head, meeting his stare evenly although it was difficult. “No, Miles. I
won’t
.”

His lips parted and then he said, “Gentlemen, you are excused.”

It took a moment for the two men to gather their shirts and step out, but Miles never stopped staring at her the entire time. She couldn’t tell if he was angry or disappointed or grateful or pleased. Only that he stared and she refused to allow that to intimidate her or change her mind.

Once the men had gone, the door closed behind them, Portia stepped into her gown and swiftly buttoned the front to cover herself.

“Would you care to explain what just happened?” Miles asked her softly.
 

Portia pursed her lips. There was a part of her that wanted to be totally honest with him. But if she said everything in her heart and mind, she would surely destroy what they had between them. She wasn’t certain she was willing to do so.

“As I said, I simply did not want this,” she whispered.

He cocked his head. “Did they not please you? I can find others who—”

She turned toward him, holding up her hand to stop him. “They were skilled, Miles. I’m sure I would have had enough orgasms to please you. Release had nothing to do with it.”

He flinched. “I arranged this for your pleasure as much as mine.”

She shook her head before she slowly crossed the room to take his hands. She looked up into his eyes, lost as always, filled with a love she desperately wished she didn’t feel.

“Your experiment did make me feel desired, Miles. It made me feel beautiful and I appreciate the effort. But I do not want to go to bed with any other man.”

He didn’t react. Not even a blink. He only withdrew his hands from hers slowly.
 

“What about Windbury?
Liam
. You told me you loved him, you must wish to express that physically. Perhaps I could—”

She flinched. He certainly wished to be rid of her.

“Miles, I don’t love Liam.”

He shook his head. “You told me you did, Portia.”

She sighed. “I won’t deny that as a girl, I did harbor hopes, or fantasies, really, that Liam would notice me,
see
me, fall in love with me even. But Miles, I don’t think of him.”

Miles turned away from her unexpectedly. “You must.”

She touched his arm and forced him to look at her again. “Not even a little, except to wonder if he will ever try to repair his relationship with Ava. He is the brother of my best friend and was kind to me as a child, so I will always care for the man and hope for the best for him. But I realized very swiftly after our scandal that I do not love the Earl of Windbury. I likely never did.”

He was silent for far too long. “No?”

“No,” she repeated, tears welling in her eyes. “But there
is
someone I love.”

He shook his head. “Don’t, Portia. Please do not say it.”

“But I must,” she said, touching his cheek. “So that you understand me. So that you don’t mistake me ever again.”

“If you say it, it will change everything,” he warned her.

She hesitated at the wildness in his stare, at the caution of his words. And then she shrugged.

“Perhaps change is not the worst thing one can endure.” She drew a deep breath. “There is only one man I want in my bed, my heart or my life, and it is you. I love you, Miles.”

He flinched and her heart ached, but she continued regardless.

“And that statement does not come with expectations or demands because you have never promised me anything, you wouldn’t be that cruel. But it is a promise that if you need me, I will always be there for you. And an explanation of why I will never,
ever
want any other man, no matter what reason you give me for why I should. You are the only one, you will only ever be the only one, for the rest of my life.”

Now that the words had been spoken, Portia waited for the regret that would follow. But even as Miles stood there, silent and sick, she felt none. She
wanted
him to know her heart. And now he did.

“The proper reaction to this is a response of some kind,” she said when he had been silent for far too long.

He nodded. “Yes, indeed that is likely so.” His voice was thick. “I-I will send you home in the carriage.”

She swallowed at the paleness of his countenance and the thinness of his lips. There was not an ounce of pleasure in him at her confession.
 

“And where will you go?” she managed to whisper with great effort.

He didn’t answer, but motioned for the door. “Come. The carriage is waiting close by. It will take but a moment for it to be brought for you.”

She bit back tears as she followed him from the room and downstairs where he murmured something to the butler who nodded and left them alone. Alone and silent as they stood side by side, but never touching while they waited for the carriage.

Finally the vehicle pulled to a stop in the circular drive and Miles led her down and helped her in. But as he moved to close the door, she inserted a foot to stop him.