SoundsofLove (3 page)

Her breath was coming in ragged spurts and her mind raced.
If she accepted this blatantly erotic volume, he might expect her to share her
body. That thought did nothing to ease the heated tension that threatened to
blast through her cool façade. She had never thought to have such an attractive
offer—an heir to a marquisate, and as fine a figure of a man as she ever hoped
to bed—even if he was guaranteed to break her heart. He was notorious, and he
was trying to seduce her.

And what of Percival? They had an agreement. She owed him
some loyalty, even if he had shown little to her.

Julian’s low voice caressed her. “I think you will find many
examples of places where Mrs. Burns’ new word would fit well.” He did not touch
her, but he was agonizingly close as he whispered, “
Murr. Murred. Murring.
”
Each breath sent new thrills through her. “I’m growing fond of the word.”

She kept her back turned to him and fought the impulse to
throw herself into his arms. When he receded, she felt an ache where his warmth
had been.

“I see I’ve left you speechless once again, Lady Sibley. I
must take my leave now, but I will call tomorrow at eleven and we can continue
our discussion.”

She faced him then, and they locked eyes for a long moment.
A war raged inside her—she should decline his scandalous gift and refuse to see
him again, but she wanted him to embrace her and crush her breasts against his
broad chest as he kissed her senseless. Dear God, she loved feeling so alive.

This incredible male wanted her. A surge of confidence
buoyed her and she walked towards him with her hand extended. “You have shocked
me, Lord Ahlquist, but I thank you for your gifts.”

He took her hand and drew her towards him, encircling her
waist as he kissed her a second time. Another chaste kiss, but it sent tingles
cascading down her entire body. “Tomorrow at eleven?”

“Yes.” He released her and she reached out to him, lightly
touching his arm. “You should know, my lord, that I have an agreement with Sir
Percival Hedges.”

The mirth left his handsome features. “From Oxford?” She
nodded and he continued, “He’s applied for membership to the Philological
Society.” His face hardened further. “He inherited your husband’s title?” She
nodded again and he hissed, “That’s a bit incestuous, isn’t it?”

Her hand tightened on his wool sleeve. “Sir Geoffrey only
thought to provide for me and his sister.”

Ahlquist tossed his hair and gave her a quick look from face
to toes and back. “You’re too fine for Hedges.”

Her corset became unbearably tight. There was a crackling
silence before he took a step towards her and drew her into his arms. Could he
feel her heart pounding frantically against her rib cage, making it difficult
to breathe?

This kiss was not chaste, and he pulled her fully against
his strong, lean body as he urged her lips open and teased her with his tongue.
She gasped at the invasion, and he withdrew suddenly.

“Tomorrow,” he growled.

“Yes,” she murmured, struggling to recapture her breath. He
stared at her hungrily for a long moment before he turned and strode out the
door, leaving her aching for more of him. His tongue had touched hers, the
first such kiss she’d ever received, and the thrill still thrummed through her.
Already she craved more of his subtle taste of cream and scones, barely masking
the flavor of primal need that matched her own.
This man could make me
deliriously happy.

Julian tried to hide his grin as he descended the staircase
slowly.
Sibley’s a tempting armful.

His arousal subsided by the time he reached the foyer, and
he smiled as Lewin helped him into his coat. “Does Sir Percival stay here
often?”

“No, milord. He resides in Oxford. We haven’t seen him since
the master’s funeral.” A hint of disapproval was evident in the butler’s
disclosure.

“Isn’t this his London residence?” He accepted his hat and
cane with a nod.

“No, milord. This house wasn’t entailed. It now belongs to
Lady Sibley and Mrs. Pickering.” Lewin opened the door. “Sir Percival is a
scholar, milord, and a very busy man. He doesn’t come to London often.”

The man’s a fool to leave such a tasty morsel unattended.

Julian fished in his pocket and withdrew a sovereign. “Lewin,
is it?” The butler nodded and pocketed the coin with a hint of a smile. “The
scones were excellent, thank your cook for me. I shall call again tomorrow.”

He stepped out into the frigid autumn air, where his
carriage waited.
Damnit, I should have canceled with Lilith. Sibley was ripe
for the taking, but Lilith can make an awful scene if I upset her. Perhaps it’s
time for a new mistress. One with a brain to match her beauty.

He pulled himself into the carriage and tried to turn his
thoughts to his next liaison.
I wonder if Lilith has a brunette wig she can
wear today.

Cathryn’s breaths remained shallow as she watched the earl’s
coach pull away. She rushed from the window to the settee and picked up the
notorious novel. Riffling through the pages, she came to a drawing of the
lovely heroine in dishabille, with her breasts exposed and her left hand
circling a young man’s erection. “Fanny emboldens William,” read the caption.
William certainly appeared to be a bold enough fellow, and of enormous
dimensions. Geoffrey had not approached such proportions, and Cathryn wondered
if Ahlquist had given her this treatise to warn her that he was such a
prodigious man.

Her knees weakened at the thought, and she sat on the edge
of the couch and continued her perusal of the infamous novel. Words leapt off
the pages and sought her undivided attention. “Every part of me was open and
exposed to the licentious courses of her hands, which, like a lambent fire, ran
over my whole body, and thawed all coldness as they went.” Fanny was being
seduced by a woman? Was that possible?

Cathryn was still taking in the shock of the scene when she
heard Lewin open the drawing room door. Hastily, she tucked the book behind her
and reclined to cover it. Her body was trembling with fervor as he added a log
to the fire.

“Lord Ahlquist said he planned to call again tomorrow, and
he complimented the rum scones. Shall I ask Mrs. Lewin to make them again?”

“Yes, please.” Her breathy voice betrayed her state of
arousal, but he seemed not to notice as he cleared the tea tray.

“His lordship asked after Sir Percival.”

The mention of her betrothed sobered her slightly. “Did he?”

“He asked if Sir Percival came to visit often.”

“And what did you tell him?”

“I answered honestly, milady. Should I have done otherwise?”

“No. I believe honesty is our best course with a man such as
Ahlquist.”

“Agreed, milady.” Lewin turned towards the door, and then
paused. “If I may say, the earl seems intent on you.”

He waited expectantly, and Cathryn smiled. “Then perhaps
it’s time I paid a visit to Oxford.”

He nodded agreement. “I think that would be wise, milady.”

“Thank you, Lewin.” Her butler was an excellent judge of
character, and she knew he held little respect for the absent baron she was
expected to marry.

“We’ll be off to do the shopping. Will you be all right on
your own for an hour, or should I ask Victor to stay?”

“And keep him from visiting the grocer’s daughter? I’m not
so cruel as that.” Lewin’s son was her footman, a gentle boy just approaching
manhood. “I’m afraid I must ask another month of frugal spending.” She hated
scrimping when she was the cause of the sacrifice. “Mrs. Pickering has finally
persuaded me to purchase an evening gown.”

“You deserve some entertainment, milady. It’s been a quiet
four years.”

“Yes, well, I’ll be fine alone for the hour. Thank you,
Lewin.”

As soon as the door closed, she realized that with Violet at
the fitting, she indeed had the house to herself. Retrieving
Fanny Hill
from behind her, she trembled as she opened to another arbitrary passage. “For
my part, I was transported, confused, and out of myself; feelings so new were
too much for me. My heated and alarmed senses were in a tumult that robbed me
of all liberty of thought; tears of pleasure gushed from my eyes, and somewhat
assuaged the fire that raged all over me.”

She looked up from the book and stared into the fire unseeingly.
Her breath was already labored and the space between her legs throbbed as it
rarely had before. Ahlquist meant to transport her with such heated pleasure.
When she closed her eyes, a vision of his handsome face played on the backs of
her eyelids. His fresh scent, his subtle taste, his velvet touch, all pleased
her immensely, and she yearned for the full force of his ardor, whatever that
might entail.

Geoffrey had been a considerate lover, and she had come to
enjoy his attentions, but he had never transported her anywhere with his dry
kisses and too-few thrusts. Percival promised no more consideration. Julian set
her afire with a single kiss.

She had an inkling of passion, but she found her carnal
urges supremely frustrating. There were nights when she woke coated in
perspiration, clenching her bedclothes impotently as she drowned in something
akin to liquid lust. Some days she wandered in a fog of subdued desire, barely
able to distract herself from thoughts of a virile man in her bed. Her pride
prevented her from exploring her person more intimately. That seemed the
province of a husband, although Geoffrey’s caresses were limited to the
requirements of coupling. She’d long suspected there was much more pleasure to
be found in the act of lovemaking.

Fanny Hill
promised to teach her. Perhaps that was
Ahlquist’s intent, to initiate her into the darker aspects of carnality. Was
this the extent of his involvement, or did he plan to journey with her as she
explored her erotic nature?

He’d made his intentions glaringly obvious. He would be back
tomorrow to continue his seduction.

Grasping the book to her bosom, she made for the side table
and poured herself a sherry. She sipped it as she stared out the window and
wondered again at the earl’s actions, and her overwhelming attraction to him.
Her good sense had abandoned her under his caresses,
a tumult that robbed me
of all liberty of thought
. She would have let him do whatever he wanted.
Her curiosity over what he might have done to her brought a wave of arousal that
took her breath away. She wanted him desperately.

With a glance at the clock, she finished her cordial and set
down the glass, wildly aware of the warmth that radiated from her throat to all
her extremities. She had fifty-five minutes alone with
Fanny Hill
.

Trembling, she walked to the door and turned the lock. She
was ready for her first lesson at Fanny’s hands, and she needed complete
assurance that she would not be interrupted. She returned to the settee and
opened the book eagerly, looking for the picture of the well-endowed William
she’d found before. It took only a moment to find, although the other
illustrations were tempting. She scanned the text on the adjoining page and
found what she sought.

“When we had sufficiently graduated our advances towards the
main point, by toying, kissing, clipping, feeling my breasts, now round and
plump, feeling that part of me I might call a furnace mouth, from the
prodigious intense heat his fiery touches had rekindled there.” Cathryn
recalled Ahlquist’s attention to her, and his regard for her large breasts. She
brought one hand up and brushed across her chest as he’d done. Her nipples
responded as if to his touch, by coming to point and growing exquisitely
sensitive. She wished she could disrobe, but this was not the time or place.
Later tonight, she vowed, she would lift her nightclothes and stroke her naked
breasts—after she read more of Mr. Cleland’s erotic novel.

She squeezed her right breast through her clothes, then her
left. She closed her eyes and thought of Julian kissing her and touching her
like this. Her breath started to come in low pants and the throbbing increased.
She was ravenous for a man, a deep hunger that tore at her to feed it soon.
Ahlquist could fill this need handsomely, and he was clearly ready whenever she
was. She opened her eyes and the picture of William’s manhood filled her view.

Dear God, she wanted that.

Reluctantly, she pulled her eyes from the picture and moved
her gaze back to the story of Fanny’s seduction. “…my young sportsman, emboldened
by the very freedom he could wish, wantonly takes my hand, and carries it to
that enormous machine of his, that stood with a stiffness! a hardness! an
upward bent of erection! and which, together with its bottom dependence, the
inestimable bulge of ladies jewels, formed a grand showout of goods indeed!
Then its dimensions, mocking either grasp or span, almost renewed my terrors.”

Cathryn felt her insides clenching, but not her belly, this
was lower and deeper. Ahlquist was sure to possess a mighty stiffness, or he
would not have given her this book to read. He was preparing her for the
glorious assault with his prodigious weapon. Her insides fairly quivered at the
thought. She found the answer to the question of whether she could accommodate
a larger man in the next paragraph of her teacher’s journal.

“I could not conceive how, or by what means I could take, or
put such a bulk out of sight. I stroked it gently, on which the mutinous rogue
seemed to swell, and gather a new degree of fierceness and insolence; so that
finding it grew not to be trifled with any longer, I prepared for rubbers in
good earnest.

Slipping then a pillow under me, that I might give him the
fairest play, I guided officiously with my hand this furious battering ram,
whose ruby head, presenting nearest the resemblance of a heart, I applied to
its proper mark, which lay as finely elevated as we could wish; my hips being
borne up, and my thighs at their utmost extension, the gleamy warmth that shot
from it, made him feel that he was at the mouth of the indraught, and driving
fore right, the powerfully divided lips of that pleasure-thirsty channel
received him.”