The Accidental Mistress (24 page)

"He has always been lucky that way. And now he is enjoying the same good fortune when it comes to love."

Lily glanced up, but instead of finding his eyes on Julianna, they were fixed upon her. A subtle quiver ran just beneath her skin. Curling her fingers together at her side, she hid them against the folds of her green-and-white-striped muslin day dress.

"How are you feeling, Julianna?" he asked, shifting his gaze back to the other woman. "You are positively blossoming."

She chuckled and laid a hand across her burgeoning belly. "What a nice way to say I have put on a few pounds, but Rafe assures me it is all baby. The sweetmeats in which I have been indulging convince me otherwise."

"Nonsense. You look gorgeous. And you are entitled to a few sweetmeats and cravings. After all, you are eating for two."

Julianna smiled, obviously pleased and reassured by his words.

Ethan turned his head. "And what of yourself, Mrs. Smythe? The Season seems to be agreeing with you."

"Yes, I believe it is."

"By all accounts, you are certainly never at a loss for a dance partner these days." He softened his statement with a smile, a gesture that didn't reach farther than his lips.

"One might say the same of you, my lord," she replied, "though I never suspected you had the time to bother noticing my activities."

"That Titian hair of yours is hard to miss. I believe you and Miss Mockingham are the only two redheads out in Society this year."

"Perhaps it is Miss Mockingham, then, whom you have been observing."

Slowly, he shook his head. "No. She is a full head shorter and tends to disappear in a crowd." He drank a swallow of tea. "I heard you went driving in Hyde Park Wednesday last."

She lifted a brow. "You have excellent sources, my lord, since you are quite correct. Lord Pedlam was good enough to take me up in his high-perch phaeton. He even let me try the reins so I could decide if I liked the high-flyer better than a curricle. I was just recently telling Julianna that I am still trying to decide between the two, was I not, Julianna?"

Julianna shot her a look, then glanced at Ethan, her expression one of unconcealed interest. When her eyes moved again to Lily, a tiny frown had settled between her brows. "Hmm, indeed yes, you did mention something of the sort."

"The curricle will do well for your purposes," Ethan pronounced in an authoritative tone. "A high-perch phaeton is in large measure a frivolous vehicle meant only for sport."

Arching her spine, she stood her ground, tipping her head in an act of unconscious flirtation. "And what makes you suppose I am not up for a bit of sport, my lord?"

Dear heavens, did that come out sounding the way I think it sounded?
she wondered to herself.

He stared, an intense look darkening his eyes. "Well," he drawled, "I had recently been given cause to believe otherwise. Perhaps you have since changed your mind."

Her mouth grew dry, her heart turning over beneath her breast.
Why do I think we are not talking about carriages any longer?

"Perhaps. Perhaps not," she hedged, deciding she had better steer the conversation back onto neutral ground. "Regardless, I have yet to choose a suitable carriage and team."

"I told you before I would be happy to assist you with such matters."

"Yes, but you have not been available of late."

"You have only to say the word, and I can rearrange my schedule."

"I would not want to put you to any bother," she said, deliberately adding a smile. "I am sure Lord Pedlam will be happy to help me."

His jaw turned to stone, a deadly gleam in his eyes. "I am sure Lord Pedlam would, but I must warn you that it is unlikely he would perform up to your expectations. You would be far better off allowing someone with the proper experience to guide you in such matters."

Just barely she held down the rush of blood that threatened to flood into her cheeks, refusing to glance over at Julianna to see if she was aware of the innuendoes whizzing like electric sparks through the room.

Suddenly in desperate need of retreat, Lily glanced toward the room's far wall and the casement clock with its face painted like a moon. "Oh, just look at the hour. Is it really half after eleven? I had not realized. Forgive me, Julianna, my lord, but I should be returning home."

She rose to her feet.

Ethan stood with her. "It is time I was departing as well. As I said upon my arrival, I cannot remain long."

Smooth as butter, he turned to Julianna and made her a refined bow. "A delight as always. My thanks for the tea."

"Of course, Ethan."

He glanced toward Lily. "I shall escort you out."

"Oh, that is not necessary. I traveled by foot and as you know, the walk home is very brief."

"Nevertheless, a lady can always do with protection. I shall walk with you."

Why didn't I bring my maid?
But taking Susan along had seemed superfluous at the time, since Lily knew she would be with Julianna and her servants, including the redoubtable Hannibal.

Recognizing the stubborn set to the marquis's mouth, though, she knew there was no further point in arguing. "Very well."

He strode toward the door to wait.

Lily crossed to hug Julianna, who had managed to gain her feet by that time. As she bent down, Julianna pulled her near.

"He's a good man, but have a care," the baroness whispered. "I do not want to see you get hurt."

"Don't worry. I won't."
If I could only be as sure of that as I sound,
she mused. "We are only walking home."

"Of course you are. Now, remember that we cannot meet tomorrow as I am engaged for a breakfast party. Unless you would like to accompany me, after all. Procuring an invitation for you would be no trouble in the least."

"You are most kind, but I have matters to which I really must attend. Until next we meet."

With a last good-bye, she walked across the room, then laid her hand on the sleeve of Ethan's extended forearm.

Once they'd departed the townhouse, she dropped her arm to her side. "You needn't walk me home, my lord. I can manage very well on my own. If you are concerned, you have only to stand here and watch until I arrive at my doorstep."

Reaching for her hand, he set her palm back onto his coat sleeve and held it there. "But then I would be too far away to aid you were you to meet with misfortune. This way, I will know you are safe."

"No harm will befall me in this neighborhood, as well you know."

"There are dangers besides thieves and villains. You might fall, for instance, and injure yourself."

She laughed. "That is highly unlikely, and were it to happen, I am sure I would manage to pick myself up just fine."

"But then you would be wounded, and that I would not like."

They walked for half a minute in silence.

"How have you been, Lily?"

"Quite well, my lord."

"Ethan. I was Ethan that last time we were together."

"We were many things the last time we were together," she said, her words quiet, "but all that is now in the past."

His hand tightened atop hers. "Is it? Are you sure?"

"Yes, completely."

"That is not how it sounded back in Julianna's sitting room."

Her eyes lifted to meet his. "Did it not? You must not have heard correctly."

"Oh, I heard just fine," he murmured, his gaze lowering to her lips.

Suddenly her lungs were straining for air. She blamed the deficiency on the exercise, relieved a few moments later when they reached her front door.

"Here we are," she chimed. "Good day to you, Lord Vessey. I know you cannot stay, what with your prior commitments and need to hurry off."

She expected him to agree; instead, he set a foot on the first step to her townhouse. "Oh, I can spare a few minutes more. We can discuss a day and time when we may meet to find you that curricle and team."

"Phaeton," she shot back. "And I don't think my schedule will allow for such an outing, not in the near future."

"Why do we not go inside so you can consult your engagement calendar? My guess is you'll discover an available time."

Aware of her butler and footman standing at the open door, no doubt listening to every word, she gave a nod. Besides, she couldn't very well continue to argue with Ethan here on her front stoop. "All right, but only for a few minutes. I have an appointment this afternoon for which I must get ready."

He inclined his head. "A few minutes will do fine."

After handing his hat and gloves to the waiting servant, he followed her upstairs to her study. Once there she moved to her walnut desk, dawdling since she had no need to look in her engagement book. Her earlier statement had been nothing more than a ruse, one Ethan most likely already knew to be a falsehood.

The door shut at his back with a resounding click.

Startled, she glanced up. "What are you doing, my lord?"

He strode deeper into the room. "I thought we might need some privacy, so we might speak freely with no interruptions."

"You will not be here long enough to worry about interruptions." She stepped forward to confront him. "I have decided that I would prefer having someone else help me purchase a carriage."

He shook his head. "No, it has to be me. I am the only one who will know what you want, what will gratify you and bring you pleasure. No other man will do."

Suddenly, once more, they were no longer talking about conveyances.

Her heart swooped like a sparrow winging from a branch. "Go away, Ethan. I do not want you."

He closed the space between them. "Don't you?"

"No," she declared.

Her eyes locked with his, Ethan's amber gaze hot and lambent, brimming with unconcealed desire. Her breath grew shallow, rushing in and out of her lungs as if there were not enough oxygen in the room. Blood throbbed in her temples, beating hard and fast at the base of her throat.

She couldn't look away.

One second passed, then two.

On the third, she flung herself forward while he did the same, catching her in a hard, crushing embrace that lifted her feet clear of the floor.

Clinging, she returned his ravishing kisses with wild ones of her own, each wet, tempestuous mating leading to another series of kisses that rocked her to her core. Greedy in a way that would once have shocked her, she locked her arms around his neck and gave free rein to her passion, returning each dark, velvety sweep of his tongue with a rich, heated suction of her own.

Growling deep in his throat, he caught her lower lip between his teeth and played upon her flesh, taking playful nibbles and teasing bites for a long, scintillating moment before pressing her mouth wide to take more of his kiss.

Eagerly, she returned his touch, sliding her fingers into the thick silk of his hair. Gliding her palms downward, she stroked over his cheeks and held him steady for her kiss, increasing the pressure with an ardent desire of her own. He rose to her challenge, making her senses whirl out of control.

On a whimper, she stroked her hands over him again, struck by the contrast between his clean-shaven cheeks and the ultra-smooth interior she found as she let her tongue explore the other side.

Stroking his hands over her back, he deepened their kiss even more, eliciting a full-body shiver as her nipples tightened into hard little points. With passion driving her hard, she hung on for the ride, the scent and taste and feel of him like an erotic elixir that swept everything from her mind but raw, primal need. Desperate, she raised her legs and looped them around his waist, uncaring of the way her skirts fell in a messy tangle between them.

Shifting his hands to her buttocks, he hoisted her higher, and settled the part of her that ached the most against the part of him that struggled to be free of his trousers. Mouths locked in a fervid dance, he carried her forward and placed her onto the desk. Using an arm, he swept a space clear on the surface, ledgers and papers and pens flying to the carpet below.

She should have been alarmed by the destruction, but all she cared about right now was him, and the need to have him inside her. With their mouths still fused, he slid her legs apart and stepped between.

Her nipples throbbed again, begging for his touch. As if he sensed her need, he went to work at the back of her gown, loosening her bodice and stays enough for her naked breasts to tumble free. Sliding his hands downward, he cupped her in his palms, holding her flesh while his fingers stroked her to devastating effect.

Her eyelids fluttered closed, a moan coming from her lips when he arched her back and closed his mouth around one breast. He suckled, the sweet, wet warmth making her literally shake in his arms. When he'd thoroughly appeased the first, he moved on to her other breast, feasting there with ravenous intent, scraping his teeth over her nipple before soothing it with his tongue.

After a time she reached down to urge him upward, but he dropped to his knees instead, pushing her skirts over her bare legs, then spreading her wide.

She had no notion of what he meant to do, her hips bucking involuntarily at the first brush of his lips against her nether flesh. Instinctively she tried to close her thighs, but he held her open, sliding her closer to the edge of the desk so she teetered there, trembling on the brink of madness.

Arching, she flattened her palms against the desk to keep herself from falling, gasping aloud in uncontrollable pants as he kissed her where she hadn't known a woman could be kissed. The pleasure nearly broke her, a brutal shudder raking through her body when his tongue played upon her before sliding inside.

She crashed hard, bliss gripping her as if she were caught in a blinding storm. But he wasn't done, driving her up until a single tear of emotion slid down her cheek, waves of ecstasy crashing through her to leave her gasping, a long moan keening from her throat.

Then he was on his feet, tearing open his falls to free his rampant erection. Lying her gently backward across the desk, he thrust into her with no further preamble. Not that he needed any, her body accepting his as if it had been fashioned for that purpose alone.