The Reluctant Bride (Regency Undone) (7 page)

His shaft was rigid against her stomach and he groaned as she took it tentatively in her hand.  It felt wondrous to the touch and huge, and she could not stop herself from exploring the smooth length of him. 

Her lips were level with his chest and she gave into that temptation too, pressing her mouth delicately to his skin as she explored the taste of him; losing herself in the pleasure of discovery.

 Her hand seemed to have taken on a life of its own, sliding up and down almost reverently to begin with, then increasing in speed as she gleaned the pleasure it was giving him.  His breathing had become shallow; his words unintelligible as he thrust against her palm, yet his sure fingers were still stoking her dampness, causing her to undulate against them as she pressed herself mindlessly into him.   She was aware of the sound of someone moaning and realised with a shock that it was her but she could not stop herself; could not do anything that would put an end to this wonderful rush of sensations she was experiencing. 

It was like a douse of cold water when his fingers suddenly stilled – his hand clamping onto hers to cease her motions.

‘Ye Gods, Sophia.   If you carry on like that I will not be able to stop myself from spilling.’
 

She almost groaned her frustration as for a long moment they lay there not moving.  She sensed he was trying to contain himself and while she did not understand it, she did not stir against him - even though she was wracked with needs she could barely control.

 Just as she was beginning to wonder if he had perhaps fallen asleep, she felt him stir, his warm hands taking hold of her night gown and gently raising it above her head.  His eyes were lit with a strange fire as he stared at her in the dim light, and she crossed her arms over her chest in embarrassment.

 ‘Do not do that,’ he growled softly, drawing her hands apart.  ‘Do you not know you are beautiful?’

He lowered his lips to her breast, teasing the soft peak with his tongue until she felt dizzy with the pleasure of it.  Then he was moving on; burning her skin with his trail of kisses as he moved lower. 
She had never felt such feelings as these.
 

‘Ralph…’
she whispered shakily.

‘Hush ...’ His voice was thick.  ‘I promise I will only take you if you want me to, but I want to pleasure you.  Show you that it need not be the terrible ordeal you are expecting.’ 

His lips continued their way over her hips before she could say any more, trailing soft little kisses that scorched her skin as he worked his way lower.  The pleasure was intense, every nerve-ending in her body tingling at his feather-light touch.  A gasp escaped her as his mouth settled above her knee and his teeth gently nipped there.  She found herself biting her lip, gripping his head with her hands as her legs drifted achingly open to him of their own accord.  She could not have stopped them had she tried.  And then his tongue, warm and delicious was creeping along the inside of her thigh, stroking delicately upwards.  A soft moan escaped her as she felt his lips nuzzling gently over the hairs on her mound.

‘
Perfect …you are perfect,’
he whispered in a ragged voice.  

The shocking feel of his mouth on her sex made her buck beneath him, but her protests died on her lips as he slowly grazed the full length of her with his tongue. 

‘Oh,’
she gasped.

 ‘
I have dreamt of tasting you
... of hearing you cry out thus ...’

Another spasm shuddered through her as he began to pleasure her; his wicked tongue turning her breaths to soft hungry pants as he flicked expertly at the sensitive pink nub she had barely known existed.  He devoured every inch of her with a steady, relentless rhythm that intensified the tingling sensation until it infused her entire body.

She gasped again
,
clutching his head tighter, feeling the pleasure build.

‘
Oh … that is so nice.’

Higher and higher her feelings soared. 
She didn’t think she could bear it if he stopped now. 
She was no longer in control as she writhed against him seeking release. 

‘Ralph!’
she screamed. 

And then she was flowing over the edge; her head twisting wildly, her body arching upwards, as wave after wave of sensation such as she had never experienced before, exploded within her.  She did not want it to end and clung tightly to him for as long as she could.

When it was over, she lay there breathless and stunned.  She felt Ralph plant a tender kiss
there
before moving slowly back up her body.   When their faces were level again, his eyes glittered into hers with an intensity that made her catch her breath.  She could feel him, hot and hard nudging at her entrance.  ‘Well wife,’ he murmured huskily, rocking gently from side to side on top of her, ‘what feel you now about this terrible act you say no
lady
would enjoy?’

His eyes were filled with tender amusement but there was another look also that she could not identify, that held her captive.

She did not know
what
to think, but already, where he was swirling gently at her entrance, she could feel a return of that tingling sensation that had so consumed her.  She gave a soft little moan, feeling herself opening to him, knowing that she wanted above all to feel him inside her. 

‘I …’ she whispered

But whatever she had been about to say was lost; interrupted by a timid knock on the door. 

Swiftly, Ralph pulled the bedcovers over them both before issuing the command to enter. 

It was Sophia’s maid.  She looked embarrassed, bobbing a curtsey as she apologised for intruding.

‘Only it is Mr. Browning, My Lord – the Estate Manager.  He says he has an early appointment to see you.’

‘Oh.’  The frustration in Ralph’s voice was evident.  ‘Indeed – I had forgotten.  I will be down soon.  Or better, ask him to return in one hour please.’

‘Yes, sir.’  The maid bobbed another curtsey and withdrew.  Sophia felt mortified, sure that it would soon be around the servant quarters that the master had finally bedded his wife.

‘Now, where were we?’ Ralph murmured softly, turning back to take her once again in his arms.

But the interruption had acted as a timely intervention - and even though a part of Sophia wanted to experience more of the pleasures he had just shown her, another part of her needed time to assimilate what had occurred – to try to understand this enormous shift that seemed to be taking place in their relationship. 

‘I do not like that man, Browning,’ she said quickly, as a distraction. 

Ralph’s eyebrow raised in surprise.  ‘I was not aware you knew him.’

She averted her gaze guiltily.  ‘I do not ... that is ... not personally.  But I have heard talk among the servants.  He is not a kind man I fear.’

Ralph shrugged as he played with a wayward tendril of her hair, wrapping it gently around his finger and tugging her gently towards him.

‘It is not his job to be kind Sophia. His responsibility is to see to the smooth running of the Estate – a job he has done reasonably enough over the last few years.  Now, enough of him …’

‘But you have no idea of the job he has done,’ Sophia retorted.  ‘You have not been here to oversee it these last few years.  A Manager is as good or as bad as his employer allows him to be and my impression is that he …’

 ‘Enough, I think.’  Ralph was scowling at her.  ‘You know nothing of how I run this estate and it is not for you to criticise me on matters that are of no concern to you.’

‘I beg to differ, Sir.  I am your wife and naturally it is of concern to me when I hear the tittle-tattle of our neighbours about the
absent
Earl of Avalon.’

Why was she doing this? 
Driving a wedge between them?

She could tell that Ralph was wondering the same thing as his face darkened even more, and he drew back from her.  But there was another expression in his eye that, unlikely though it seemed, looked like
hurt.
 

‘I think you overstep the mark, Sophia,’ he said stiffly.  ‘I am not sure quite why we are having this conversation now but as you so clearly disapprove of me it is perhaps best that I take myself off and get ready for my appointment.’

‘As you wish.’  Sophia tucked her legs beneath her and turned on her side away from him.  She could feel his gaze on her back for a long moment, before he threw back the bedclothes, pulled on his robe and strode from the room. 

She lay there for a long time, confused by everything that had happened between them.  She didn’t understand her feelings at all.  Did she not
dislike
her husband? 
Disapprove
of him?  Yet what they had just shared had left her experiencing warm
feelings towards him that she could never previously have imagined.  She shook her head.  Why she had let him be so intimate with her?  That had certainly never been her intention.  And why did it seem to matter to her now that she had obviously upset him?

Because she no longer
disliked
him, she realised with a sense of shock.  In fact, if she wasn’t careful, she suspected she was very much in danger of perhaps becoming too
fond
of him.

It was an earth shattering realisation – and one she wasn’t ready to face at the moment.   

Throwing back the bedclothes she allowed herself no time for further contemplation, as she scrambled out of the bed and called for her maid. 

Less than an hour later she was downstairs having breakfast, and upon being told that her husband had departed the house she requested that Bella be prepared and brought round from the stables.
 

‘If my husband should ask where I am, please tell him I have gone for a ride and will not be long,’ she informed the butler half an hour later as she departed the house.

‘Very well, my Lady.’

Mounting her horse after nearly a year of separation, brought a rush of exhilarating warmth to her as she leaned forward and laid her head gently against the soft, silky mane.  ‘Hello, Bella,’ she whispered, stroking her neck.  ‘I am so happy to have you back.  We shall have such fun together again.’ 

And she had Ralph to thank for that.

Pushing the thought firmly away, she set off once again in the direction of the village.

CHAPTER SEVEN

‘Oh my Lady ... it is so good of you to call on us.’

Sophia took the hand that was offered and clasped it tightly.  ‘How is your husband, Mrs. Barnes?’

‘He improves every day, madam... indeed he has returned to work this very morning, though I am not sure he should have.  However, it cannot be helped.’ 

‘This morning!
  But yesterday when I saw him he was in no fit state to go back to his work so soon.  You should not have allowed it.’

‘But I knew not what to do.’  To Sophia’s distress Mrs. Barnes suddenly burst into tears.  ‘Oh my Lady, my Lady ... I am so sorry ... when you have been so good to us ... but we had no choice ...’

‘My dear Mrs. Barnes ... hush ... please, what is the matter?  What do you mean you had no choice?   I am sure my husband would not wish any of his workers to be toiling the land when they are recovering from the pneumonia as is your poor husband.’

  ‘It was Mr. Browning, My Lady.  He called to see my husband last night and when he saw that he was still abed he told us that we will need to move out ... that our house is not intended as a hospital ... and that if my poor Tom could not return to work by this morning then there would no longer be a job or a home for him here on the estate.  What could he do but return to his work?  We have five mouths to feed.’

Sophia’s eyes flashed in fury and her lips pursed together in a straight line. 

‘That man!’ she exclaimed hotly.  ‘This time he goes too far.  I shall speak to my husband.’

‘Oh no your Ladyship, please ... I would not wish to cause more trouble than we find ourselves already in.  If Mr. Browning was to find out ...’

They were both interrupted by the sound of an imperious knock on the door. 
‘It is Mr. Browning,’
Mrs Barnes said fearfully.  ‘What shall we say?’

‘I am not frightened of him,’ Sophia said firmly.  ‘Open the door, Mrs Barnes and let him in.’

But to Sophia’s shock, it was not Browning standing on the threshold but Ralph.  For a long moment they stared at each other, neither saying a word then slowly his eyes moved round the room, taking in the dingy surroundings, the single table sitting in the middle of the room piled high with washing, the sight of his wife comforting the distraught woman.

‘What is going on here?’ he demanded.

She felt Mrs. Barnes flinch at her side and pressed her hand reassuringly. 

‘Leave this with me Mrs. Barnes.  I shall speak with my husband in the
privacy of our home,’
this last said with a warning look in Ralph’s direction,  ‘and he will tell us what is to be done.  This situation cannot be allowed to continue.  My Lord - if you would care to escort me?’

She thought for one moment he was going to insist on discovering the truth of the situation there and then but with a curt nod in Mrs. Barnes’ direction he followed his wife out of the little house.

‘You
followed
me?’ she accused in a low, angry voice as he aided her in mounting her horse.  ‘Do you not trust your wife, Sir?’

‘Not when she is so obviously deceiving me and refusing to confide in me!  Is that where you have been going all these weeks ... to visit that woman?’

‘Her and others like her,’ Sophia retorted angrily, aware that her secret could be kept from him no longer.

 ‘I cannot envisage such a thing!  It is not appropriate that my wife should mix so freely with the locals  – without even an escort.  You place yourself at immeasurable risk in doing so.’

‘Oh stuff and nonsense!’ Sophia declared.  ‘These people are your tenants ... they look to you
and me
for protection when they hit hard times ... and what do they get instead?  Your man Browning threatening to evict them from their homes when they are too ill to go into work – stopping their wages so that they cannot afford to even put food on their tables ...’