Vauxhall Vixen (3 page)

“Be that as it may be, my lord. Your company is well and truly bang up to the mark as compared to what I was
afeared
I would find my sister
accompanyin
’!” George turned to his sister. “I will escort you back, Paula.”

Paula stepped forward in an eager manner but suddenly she stood still. She turned to David with a look of consternation. “I cannot return with you, George. I have been purchased for Lord Maxton’s pleasure this evening.”

David studied Paula and her brother as they faced him. They both seemed vastly uncomfortable in their surroundings. No doubt Vauxhall Gardens was a place neither of them frequented. “I release you from your obligation to me, Paula.” David smiled wryly as Paula sighed with relief. “George, please escort your sister back. I am certain she is becoming weary.”

Paula shyly offered her thanks to David. Then she and George hastily said their goodbyes to Vivian. In a matter of moments, David was left alone on the pathway with his mysterious companion.

“Thank you for caring so much about Paula’s welfare, Lord Maxton. She is assuredly out of her element in these surroundings. But at present, it appears that you have become my escort after all, my lord,” she stated in a low voice as the filmy veil lifted slightly in response to her body’s movement.

“I will gladly escort you wherever you wish to go after you have answered my questions,” answered David in a voice that brooked no argument.

The veil lifted higher still as David heard Vivian sigh in exasperation. “I suppose I should have expected that response from you, Lord Maxton.”

David raised his curved black brows in mock consternation as he heard her reply. “Dare I hope your statement is marginally complimentary to me, my dear?”

“I rarely give gentlemen compliments, my lord,” she answered sardonically. “Let me simply state that there is something quite unique in your mannerisms.”

David studied her concealed face for a moment before answering. “I am honored to receive such a reply from a woman who must certainly be described as unique herself.” He offered Vivian his arm. “
Come,
let us find a secluded spot where we will not be disturbed.

Chapter Two

David and his companion strolled farther along the South Walk. They had not taken many steps before they came to a fountain centered
under
one of the painted archways. David slowed his pace and stared intently at the fountain.

“It is just as I remember it.”

Vivian came to a stop beside him and lightly squeezed his forearm with her gloved hand. “What are you referring to, my lord?”

David turned to gaze down upon her shrouded face. “Something I intend to discuss with you as soon as we have reached our destination, my dear.”

Vivian offered him no reply but allowed herself to be led farther down the South Walk. Presently, they came upon a walkway known as the Grand Crosswalk. David paused and studied the various couples sauntering slowly back and forth on the main path.

“Tell me, in
which
direction may I find a secluded area?”

His companion’s free arm rose slightly from underneath the filmy veil. “The Dark Walk or Lover’s Walk is to your right, my lord. You will discover there are many private spots to choose from.”

David followed her instructions and soon found himself strolling on a dark, narrow pathway thickly lined with tall shrubs. Every few paces, a small break occurred in the shrubbery where the sounds of deep, male voices and answering feminine giggles could be heard.

Because of the narrowness of the path, David and Vivian were obliged to walk single file. David took the lead. As he paused to study an empty bench a short distance from the pathway, Vivian’s gloved palm came to rest on his right shoulder. Her thumb lightly caressed the hard line of his jaw, and the faint smell of violets assailed his nostrils before she lowered her hand down across his back and then farther down to clasp his hand within her own. “Walk about ten paces farther on, my lord and I believe you will find the privacy you are seeking.”

At the touch of her thumb on the side of his face, her warm palm on his back then upon his hand, David felt a sudden rush of heat in his nether region. The intensity of feeling surprised him and he glanced over his shoulder at his companion. The allure of her disguise upon his heightened senses was unmistakable if his stiff erection was any indication. He was certainly in no mood for further delays. David quickly guided Vivian forward to the suggested destination.

“Turn in here, my lord.” David followed her directions and found himself in a small, enclosed meadow. The ground was covered with a thick carpet of leaves. Vivian dropped his hand and walked toward one of the stately elm trees. She abruptly disappeared behind some shrubs to one side of the large tree. She returned moments later carrying what appeared to be a large pillow.

Vivian placed this item against the trunk of a fallen tree and then indicated with a sweep of her hand that he should sit down. “I trust this spot aptly meets your needs of seclusion as well as comfort, my lord.”

David remained standing and reached for his quizzing glass. He was painfully aroused and he trusted that a diversion would have the desired effect of dampening the evidence of his need. With this in mind, he spent a few moments studying, as best he could in the darkness, the surrounding trees.

“I believe at this time of night the only object of interest will be an incidental owl, my lord.” Vivian lowered herself onto the thick carpet of leaves. She leaned back across the pillow and arranged her veil in soft folds in front of her face. “I have a proposal for you, Lord Maxton. My services have been paid for this evening. But alas, as you yourself have observed, my original escort has been removed from the scene. Therefore, I have chosen you, my lord, as my protector for this evening.

“You have questioned me about the purpose of my costume and the origins of my name. You would best discover the answers to these queries by a firsthand display of my talents.”

David dropped his quizzing glass and turned to face his mysterious companion. Her suggestive words made his erection even harder. He made no effort to hide the fact from Vivian. “You are certainly not lacking in effrontery, my dear.”

“So perhaps it is the basis of the name Vixen, my lord.”

“A very apt observation to be sure.”
David stared down at the dark veil. “You mentioned a display of your talents…”

“Pray, sit here beside me. Nothing whatsoever can be accomplished while you remain standing.”

David removed his gloves, then shrugged off his coat and placed these items on top of the tree trunk behind Vivian. He slowly and deliberately released the buttons on his waistcoat. Setting the waistcoat on top of his other clothing, he lowered himself to the ground. He leaned against the pillow and turned toward Vivian. David raised his hand to the front of her veil. “May I see your face?”

The words were no sooner out of his mouth when Vivian reached up to stop his movement. She clasped his hand in her gloved one and placed it upon her lap. “My lord, you must understand that an important part of my mystique is from the fact that I never show my face while inside Vauxhall Gardens.”

“You never remove your veil when you are with your clients?” David questioned her in surprise.

“It might be of interest to you, my lord, to know that you are my first client. I have only recently arrived here in London intent on making a great success of my career as a courtesan, offering unique services while wearing a costume that hides my true identity.” She paused as she heard her companion chuckle softly and then began her explanation again. “You might believe I am nothing more than a chattering magpie when I tell you this, but I am a romantic woman. I feel that our senses become most sensitive to what is happening around us when we are challenged to use our imaginations.”

Vivian released his hand and slowly loosened the soft, dark material of her gloves away from each of her fingers. She gently pulled the gloves off and dropped them to the ground. Then she leaned forward across his lap. Her warm palm curled lightly around his hard cock. She squeezed it and then released it as if assessing his size. “May I have your handkerchief? I intend to demonstrate how effective my disguise can be, Lord Maxton.”

Vivian’s husky voice, coupled with her words of promise, seemed to cause his conscious mind to go numb. He managed to turn around and locate his discarded clothing, reach inside his coat pocket, draw out his monogrammed handkerchief and hand it to Vivian. Then David reclined against the soft pillow and prepared to enjoy the erotic sensations that were beginning to course through his body. He felt her release the buttons on the falls of his trousers. She continued to lightly rub his cock through his drawers and he felt it expand in response to the intoxicating motion. Then he felt the cool rush of night air as Vivian pulled the silk cord loose on his drawers and exposed his penis to what he hoped was her appreciative gaze.

Vivian seemed to relish what she had revealed because she continued to arouse him even further with suggestive comments whispered in his ear. “Use your imagination, my lord. My hand is caressing your cock. I can feel it swell with need. I can look upon you and appreciate all you have to offer. Yet you cannot see me. You know little of my face and the shape of body but still your penis grows hard as my warm palm wraps itself around you. Why is this happening? What is causing you to become so aroused?

“The answer, Lord Maxton, is in the power of imagination and the erotic lure of the unknown. I feel your cock pulsing with need.” She slipped her other hand under his shirt where it came to rest on his chest. “Your heart is pounding and your skin is on fire.”

David felt his penis stiffen with every murmured word. When Vivian moved her hand gently across the coarse hairs on his chest and
down
over his taut belly to join with her other hand on his cock, he was certain he had never felt so aroused.
“I can definitely attest to the worthiness of your methods, my dear,” he murmured, somewhat breathlessly as he tilted his head slightly upward to gaze at the shrouded figure kneeling in front of him.

“Admit to me, my lord, had I come to you dressed as the other ‘ladies’ who frequent these gardens, the experience would never have been so stimulating or exciting as the sensations that are surging through your body at this moment!” With that declaration, Vivian lowered her veiled head and placed her warm, moist mouth over the head of his cock.

“
Uhh
…
ahhh
!”
The suddenness of Vivian’s movement and the sensual feelings that were cascading throughout his body as she savored his hard cock caused David to cry out. However, even in this extreme state of arousal, he managed to register the surprising fact that Vivian was now performing exactly as the woman had in his dreams.

His exclamation did not give her reason to pause. Vivian forged ahead, alternately licking and sucking his shaft, obviously intent on providing him with maximum pleasure while at the same time proving her point about the powers of imagination. Vivian wrapped her hands around his vitals, gently pulled the skin on his cock taut and ran her wet tongue up and down his erection. He hazily registered the notion that the power of fantasy certainly could be described as an elixir for passion just before he felt himself cascading, up and then swiftly down to earth once more, in a very powerful release.

David lay back against the pillow, taking deep breaths as he willed his frantically beating heart to slow to a normal rhythm. Vivian gently wiped the head of his softening penis with the handkerchief and then handed it back to him. She straightened and backed away from him as if preparing to stand. David swiftly reached out to grasp her hands. “Forgive me, my dear, I am reluctant to surrender all contact with you after such a memorable experience,” he appealed to her somewhat breathlessly as he lightly held her hands in an unconscious repetition of his actions in his dream.

His companion made no comment. Rather, she held herself quite still and allowed David to run his hands back and forth over her exposed skin. She permitted him to caress her for several moments. Finally, she made a slight tugging movement and David hastily released her. She sat up straight for an instant before standing to shake out her skirts and adjust her veil. These simple tasks completed, she sat on the ground next to David once more. “I trust my unorthodox methods to provide my client’s pleasure meet with your approval, Lord Maxton?” Vivian inquired with a faint hint of sarcasm in her voice.

“Obviously, my dear, you have firsthand knowledge that your techniques are most effective,” drawled David, now that his breathing had slowed to a more normal pace. He reached down to retie his drawers and adjust the fall of his trousers. “I can certainly attest to the benefits of the use of your costume, and your teasing mannerisms can be described as vixen-like. But I must insist that you tell me who you are. My curiosity has definitely been aroused, so to say.”

She sat quietly for a few moments. The soft material from Vivian’s veil brushed against him as her bare hand moved forward to grasp his forearm tightly. “A very important element of my costume is the unknown ingredient. Divulging my true identity could possibly ruin the sensual effect of my disguise. Tell me why I should comply with your request, my lord?”

David was acutely aware of the heat radiating from her palm as she squeezed his arm. He studied the faint outline of her head underneath the veil. He still had only a vague idea of her outward appearance. He admitted to himself that what he thought she looked like was probably a figment of his imagination and actually nothing like the woman’s true form. As David came to this realization, he also acknowledged the feeling of a singular connection with the figure waiting silently at his side for his reply. Where exactly their relationship would lead, David could not say at this early stage. All he knew was that he wanted to know her better. He must make certain that she saw him as someone who truly wanted to know the person underneath the disguise, not just another customer, but someone who felt a special bond with her.