The Ties That Bind (3 page)

She glared at him. "Kissing is not necessary between a husband and wife. The marriage bed is for procreation, not fun."

He grinned at her, his blue eyes hazed with lust. "Who told you that? Your father or your lover?"

"No one had to tell me. You showed me quite well on our wedding night."

"Arabella, I can't change what happened on that night. I was too drunk and too angry with your father to think about what my actions might mean to you." He pushed a lock of blond hair away from his face. "And in truth, I believed you were…" He exhaled. "Perhaps we should leave this topic, ma'am."

"Why? What did you believe that made you think you could treat me so callously?"

He let out his breath, his hand unconsciously curving around her breast. "Dammit, woman, I'm trying to seduce you. My cock hurts and all the blood in my head has drained into it. Can we discuss this when we are both feeling more rational?"

"I thought you said you would get this over with quickly. If you had kept your word, we would've had plenty of time to talk."

His grin returned. "But this is so much more satisfying. Making you wait, making you as desperate to fuck as I am."

"I am not desperate, sir. I can gain my satisfaction at any time."

He undid more buttons until her nightgown lay open to the knee. "I presume you are referring to your lover or have you also become proficient at pleasuring yourself?

Arabella gaped at him. "That is none of your business."

He bent his head and kissed her mound. She shuddered as his teeth fastened on the swollen tip of her clitoris and tugged on it. He looked up at her before he gently released the tiny piece of flesh. "I would love to watch you pleasure yourself." Her skin warmed as drops of his pre-come slid off his cock and settled on her stomach. "In truth, I'd like to watch you with your lover."

She frowned at him. What was it about men that they imagined such things?
 
He knelt up and his dressing gown parted to reveal his erection. She licked her lips as he smoothed his hand along his shaft, pulling the foreskin down to reveal the gleaming wet crown.

"Am I as big as him?"

Arabella pretended to sigh, although the sight of his shaft had made her sex flood with cream.

"I'm not sure. I'd have to see you together." She continued to watch him touch himself, noticed the frowning concentration of his gaze, the way his pre-come dripped through his fingers and settled against her skin. She jumped when he used his other hand to massage his seed into the slit of her mons.

"Do you take him in your mouth?"

Before she could answer him he moved closer and brushed the crown of his cock against her lips. She couldn't help but taste the salty, musky flavor of him as he moved his shaft back and forth. She closed her eyes against the temptation to open her mouth and draw him deeply inside. Tom loved it when she sucked him and she enjoyed it as well.

"I'm tempted to find out how well you suck a man's cock but this time I want to be inside you when I come." He groaned as he nudged at her lips again. "Perhaps I'll make it a rule that I'll expect you in my study at ten every morning. You can kneel at my feet and I'll watch your mouth close around my shaft, watch your cheeks hollow as you pull hard on me and I come right down your throat."
 

Arabella opened her eyes and locked gazes with her husband as he drew back.

"I'm busy at ten."

He worked his knee between her thighs. "With your lover? You will have to learn to prioritize better my dear. How do you think I manage three mistresses?" He slid further down the bed, his muscular shoulders preventing her from closing her legs which gaped wide over his elbows.

She fought a cry as his mouth settled over her sex and he licked her vigorously. The slick wet sounds of her cream and his growls of enjoyment vibrated against her already aroused flesh. When he pushed four fingers inside her she climaxed, catching them both by surprise. When she stopped shaking, she realized she was gripping his hair with all her strength.

He reared over her. One hand wrapped around the base of his cock. "You'll take me now." She grabbed onto his sweat-warmed shoulders as he penetrated her in one massive thrust and continued to pump. His hips moved relentlessly, drawing her into his demanding rhythm allowing her no choice but to endure and delight in his possession.

Arabella dug her nails into his flesh as her pleasure built again. Part of her wished she hadn't ever met Tom who had shown her just how amazing sex could be. She could no longer deny her body this pleasure, even with her husband. Was she addicted to sex? Had Tom created a monster that could never be satisfied?

She forgot to think as her climax crashed over her, drawing an answering groan from her partner who came with a final long drawn out thrust just after she did. He lowered his head until it rested on her shoulder and gave one last shudder.

Arabella stared at the ceiling and fought an absurd desire to cry. So much for her plan of refusing to respond to James. Her body had betrayed her and it was all her own fault.

*****

James knocked on the door of his land agent's office and waited for the muffled reply bidding him enter. He advanced into the neatly appointed room and smiled as Tom Lakeland rose to shake his hand. His friend wore an old brown coat and grey waistcoat which enhanced the wicked gleam in his green eyes. James had met Tom at
Eton
. As the son of one of the school masters, Tom had been given a free education along with society's cream. A lot of the upper class boys were cruel to the schoolmaster's son, but James had liked and trusted him from the start.
  

"It is a pleasure to see you again, sir."

James grinned. "It's a pleasure to see you again too. How have things been?"

His question was merely one of politeness. James knew exactly how Tom managed the estate from his weekly letters. Tom gestured to a chair in front of his desk and sat down again.

"The estate is turning a good profit. I had a few skirmishes with Mr. Meldon, your father-in-law, during the first year. But after his first illness, he left me to my own devices. As long as I remembered to show him the books regularly and he could see that we were doing well, he was content to leave matters in my hands."

"As long as I kept away too I suppose."

"He was adamant that you were to have nothing to do with the running of the estate. If he had known how much I depended on your advice during that first year…"

James shrugged. "Thanks to my father's interference, Meldon chose to regard me as a wastrel and a rake. Between the two of them, they were convinced I was incapable of managing a penny."
  

"I've never understood why." Tom frowned. "You were the only boy at school who could make a profit out of nothing."

"I believe that in an effort to protect my brother's reputation, my father told Meldon that
I
was the one who had impoverished my family. It probably seemed like a grand idea to him. Despite my marriage, I would remain under Meldon's thumb and all the financial decisions between the two families would be carried out without my interference."
 

Tom grimaced. "Christ, I'm sorry, James. I forgot about John."

"How could you forget a man who blew his brains out rather than face up to gambling debts, which almost beggared my family?" James tried to smile. "The irony is that Meldon already knew about John and he used that information to keep me away from my wife and his money"

Tom sighed.
 
"Whenever the opportunity arose, I tried to defend you to Mr. Meldon. But I was worried I might lose my job as well and no longer be able to look out for your long-term interests."

"And what of those interests, Tom?" James stretched his legs in front of him and contemplated the shine of his boots. "From what I've seen so far, your concern for me didn't include defending me to my wife."

"You told me to gain her confidence. Singing your praises would not have achieved that, believe me."

James stared at his friend, a gnawing sense of unease in the pit of his stomach. Arabella had been fighting tears when he'd left her bed last night. Had she fallen in love with Tom instead of simply using him to gain her sexual independence?

As if he could read James' mind, Tom gave a crooked grin.

"Arabella's not in love with me, James."

"And you?"

Tom's eyebrows rose. "And me what?"

"Are you in love with her?"

"If I was, what good would it do? All she cares about is you. She might hide it well but she is still besotted." Tom fiddled with the ledgers on his desk. "She still remembers how kind you were to her before the wedding. I wager in her heart, she will be willing to forgive you."

James laughed. "I haven't noticed. She responded to me well in bed though, thank you for that."

Tom's gaze slid away. "If I say it was my pleasure, will you call me out? Arabella is worried that you intend to end my existence when you discover who I am."

"I wouldn't do that. I am truly in your debt." James hesitated, his gaze fixed on his old friend. "It didn't occur to me that you might come to love her. I assumed your grief over the loss of your wife would prevent that. I offered you this opportunity to help us both out, not out of a desire to create a tragedy."

Tom smiled. "You've always been a selfish bastard. It's strange to hear you admit to a pang of remorse."

"I'm selfish and arrogant. But I hated having to keep my word to that devious old man to stay away from my wife. The last two years haven't been a bed of roses for me either, Tom."

They regarded each other for a long moment. James got to his feet. "I'll not stop you from seeing her if that is what she wants. I have no quarrel with you. My only request is that you let me join in."

Tom stood up, his expression amused. "I'd be happy to oblige you. I'm not quite sure how Arabella will react, although she seemed quite enamored of the idea when I mentioned it to her yesterday afternoon. Come to my cottage tonight at eleven and we will see what transpires."

James held out his hand. "I appreciate everything you've done for me."

Tom stepped close and hugged him hard. "It hasn't exactly been a hardship. Your wife is a beautiful, intelligent woman who has helped me get over the death of my wife in many unexpected ways. Let's hope that between us we can give Arabella an experience she will never forget."

Arabella allowed her maid to draw her hair into a high knot on the top of her head leaving thick black curls to cascade around her face. She added a dab of rouge to her cheeks and her lips to lessen her pallor. She hadn't slept at all after James had left her bed, her feeling too tangled to allow her any rest.

There was no reason for her to feel guilty. She had only done her duty. Her night with James had not been of her choosing, she had merely allowed him to take his husbandly rights. She bit down on her lip. Well, perhaps that had been the case for the first five minutes. After that, she had simply reveled in his lovemaking and, heavens, even encouraged him the fourth time he'd mounted her.

Should she not feel guilty about Tom? Arabella screwed a pair of diamond earrings into her ears and added the matching necklace. For a while, she had tried to convince herself she was in love with Tom. It had seemed important to believe that before she went to his bed. But Tom had never asked for any declarations of love. He'd simply taught her what she needed to know and kept his heart and his feelings to himself.

"Arabella?"

She turned to see Tom's head sticking out of the servant's door. He wore his best blue coat and black embroidered waistcoat.