Secret Pleasures (29 page)

“You have to know how to slither into it
.
Lean forward.
”
Ivy tugged the bodice loose
.
Arianna’s breasts slipped into the garment’s stiff contours
.
“Now sit up. Perfect.”

Arianna gazed down at the globes of her breasts, rounded over the lifting support of the darker burgundy satin corset
.
Her nipples pressed against the flimsy gauze in protest, becoming more
aroused
with each tiny breath that pushed them up further
.

“Oh, my, I feel lightheaded.”

“That’s an added benefit
.
Men love to see a woman pant
.
Now lean back.
”
Ivy hopped to the other seat
.
“Put your feet up on either side
.
We must hurry
.
We’re getting close
.
If Robert hears the carriage and finds us all in his driveway
,
he will send us packing with you in tow
.
The element of surprise is crucial.”

Ivy patted the leather seat, suggesting that Arianna place her feet on either side of her extreme hip paddings that were sewn into her elaborate undergarments
.
Though it was the latest fashion, Arianna blushed
.
Ivy knew Arianna did not have on a stitch beneath the nothing of a skirt
.

“I can manage.
”
Arianna rolled down the thick white cotton stocking with shaking fingers
.
The rocking carriage made the process almost impossible as she tried to keep her balance and her dignity intact.

Ivy reached for the other stocking, ignoring Arianna’s protest. She held up the sturdy cotton for her examination, then tossed the garment out the open carriage window.

“Only silk should be worn against a woman’s delicate skin.”

“Yes, well.
”
Arianna tried not to blush or grab her crotch
.
The thin skirt felt as if she wore nothing against the cool leather seat
.
To say nothing of the rocking of the carriage
.
“Usually my undergarments are only for my own viewing.”

Ivy grabbed her ankle and set it on her lap
.
“Point your toe.
”

Arianna stared at the ceiling while Ivy worked the silk stocking over her foot and up her leg
.
Her sex pulsed at the shockingly exposed position and the carriage’s motion, stimulating nerves in her gluteus that directly connected to her woman’s privates
.
Of course she knew the scientific reason for the phenomena, but in practice, she found it all rather disconcerting.

“Here are the matching garters
.
I think you can manage those.” Ivy handed her two burgundy-colored strips of gathered silk
.
Dear Lord
. 
These garters weren’t intended to keep anything in place
. 

Arianna fumbled with the ties of the satin garters, forcing Ivy to brush her fingers away to finish the job.

“How am I going to seduce Robert if I can’t even tie my own garters?
”
Arianna clutched her fingers together to steady herself
.
“I do know how the physical process works
. 
Blood flows to the genitalia,” she began, to assure herself she did know the anatomical logistics
. 

“Stop thinking about what you’ve read in books and focus on what you feel in your body when you imagine Robert touching you.
”

Ivy’s words were soft, coaxing
,
but all Arianna could conjure was Robert’s harsh pronouncement at their last private meeting
.

“I can only imagine his anger
.
Robert has already rejected my advances once
.
What if he does so again?”

Arianna slipped high-heeled slippers on her feet and gathered her cloak around her
.
The carriage slowed and made a turn, then pulled to a stop
.
Perhaps this was a mistake after all
.

“I saw the way Robert stared at you tonight
.
He said he would not attend the dinner at all
,
but he arrived, did he not
?
He’s under your spell. Believe me
.
I think we are here,” Ivy said excitedly.

Arianna grabbed Ivy’s hand
.
“But you have not instructed me on what to do
.
I’ve no idea how to seduce a man.”

Darien climbed from the carriage and his boots crunched in the dirt
. 
He yanked open the carriage door.

“One moment, Darien.
”
Ivy shut it in his gaping face
.
She gripped Arianna’s hand as if she were about to reveal her most reverent secret
.
“Do you masturbate?”

Arianna pursed her lips
.
Her first instinct was to lie.

“Don’t feel like you must answer
.
It’s only that I have discovered the best way to please a man is to know what pleases you
.
It makes them feel powerful to discover our secret rhythms
.
Guide him gently and moan loudly when he hits the mark.”

“I believe I can do that.
”
Arianna swallowed and nodded
.
That was the most useful advice anyone had ever given her
.
“But what if he sends me away before we get that far?”

Ivy pushed the door open
.
“Drop the cloak and let nature do the rest
.
Trust me.”

Lord Blackmore stood at the carriage door
.
He helped Ivy down
.
Arianna tugged the cloak more tightly around her and lowered her head, suddenly very much aware she wore next to nothing underneath
.
Arianna had no choice but to grip Lord Blackmore’s hand while he guided her to the ground, though she tried not to look at him.

“I don’t bite, Miss Maddox.
”
He laughed.

“Pardon me, my lord
.
This is all slightly unseemly.
”
Arianna dared a glance at his face
.
Against his dark features, his teeth shone white in the dark night.

“Nothing makes me happier than the unseemly
.
My nephew, on the other hand, does not share my tastes
.
We should be off before he can do the honorable thing.”

Ivy slipped between them and hugged Arianna.

“We can’t accompany you further
.
Now, if he tries to take the moral high road, which he might, talk him into one last kiss
.
If he resists that
…
”

“If he resists that, I will have to question both his sanity and health,” Lord Blackmore finished
.
“There is a small blue door on the left-hand side of the church
.
Can you manage without a lantern?”

Arianna studied the shadowed stone church
.
A mist had settled, veiling the bright stars in the moonless night
.

“You’ll walk into the front room,” he continued quickly, as if Arianna hadn’t already begun to change her mind
.
“Robert’s bedroom is in a small room leading off of the larger one.”

Arianna marched down the dark path that led to the addition with the gabled slate roof
.
She wouldn’t even allow herself to glance behind her as the carriage jangled away
.
A wild overgrown garden surrounded by a fence on her left forced her to hug the side of the church
.
Fog rose from the wet grass and everything
shone
with ghostly dew
.
A faint trail of smoke curled from the chimney
.
The
r
obin’s egg blue door glowed against grey stone
.

Suddenly, her anticipation turned to determination
.
At least she would have one last chance to plead her case with Robert
.
She intended to make the most of it.

She eased open the door, cringing at the loud squeak Lord Blackmore failed to mention
.
A low fire glowed in the fireplace
.
In one corner, a desk was scattered with books and papers
.
A single
padded-
chair had been pulled in front of the fire
.
An open book perched precariously on its fat arm
.
She took a step into the room, but Robert jumped from the chair, a rifle raised to his shoulder, pointed at her.

“Who goes there?” he said in a rough voice.

“It’s me, Arianna.
”
She had meant to surprise him, but not quite like this
.
Her heart thudded against her rib cage
.
She gripped the edges of her cloak, not sure she would have the courage to peel it off as Ivy instructed.

He slowly lowered the gun.

“Don’t tell me you rode here alone
.
I though
t
I told you
—
”

“Ivy and Lord Blackmore drove me in their carriage.
”
She stepped toward him.

Robert lowered the musket and set it beside the fireplace
.
“Good
.
I would like a word with my bloody uncle
.
Thanks to him, my mother expects me to go traipsing around in the damp woods at dawn to keep him from shooting your father.”

“He wouldn’t.
”
Arianna held her ground.

“Don’t worry.
”
He strode to the door, skirting Arianna in the process
. 
“He’s just as likely to shoot his own father
.
Come on
.
They can take you back to Westhaven before anyone is the wiser.”

“They are already gone.
”
Arianna made her way to the fireplace lest he took a notion to drag her from his home
.
She fiddled with the button at the neck of her cloak
.

Robert rubbed his forehead
.
He slowly walked to the center of the room, shook his head
.
“You should not be here
.
I thought I made myself clear.”

Before he could say another word and destroy her already fragile confidence, Arianna took a deep breath
.
She let the cloak fall to the floor
.
She turned to face him, knowing the glow from the fire no doubt made the gown Ivy had loaned her completely transparent
.
Except for the satin corset that cinched in her waist and spilled her breasts
.
Curiously, that’s exactly what his gaze locked upon
.

“But I did not have the opportunity to do the same
.
I want you, Robert
.
I thought you should know how much.”

Robert did not take his gaze from her at his approach
.
His face was unreadable
.
He paused at the chair, keeping it between them like a barrier.

“Where did you come across that costume?”

“Do you like it?” she said
.
The heat in his stare warned her he did.

He came to stand in front of her
.
His neat hair had been mussed
.
He smelled of wine and wood smoke.

“Yes, I bloody like it
.
This packaging isn’t for your wedding night, is it?
”
He stood close enough for her to feel his hot breath on her neck
.

She stepped into him, not letting him retreat
.
“This is the only night that matters
.
I’ll be happy to take it off if it displeases you.”

He growled low in his throat and crushed her against him
.
His mouth was hot and hard
.
He cupped her bare bottom beneath her skirt
.
She gasped at the feel of his warm hand against her tender flanks
.
He kissed her deeper, raising her off her toes to press against the hardness in his groin
.
Just as abruptly, he released her
.
But he did not let her go or she was sure her knees would buckle.