She couldn’t finish, so Ashton went on. “You’ve worked hard and you’ve accomplished a great deal in your life. Your family should be proud of you. Just because your achievements aren’t conventional doesn’t make them any less important.”
Oh goodness.She was getting far too emotional over the praise heoffered; any more might be dangerous. They were at her parents’ supper party, for pity’s sake. What was she to do if she started tearing up?
She took a long swallow of her wine.
Why should Ashton be so good to her when they were destined to part ways? His court hearing was only a few days away. This might be the last time they saw each other, if he stuck to his foolish resolution to put distance between them once his name was in the papers.
I don’t want to say goodbye.She was about to take another drink, but thought better of it and set the glass down. She was going to make herself weepy.
She would far rather make the evening memorable.
“I have a painting I’d like to show you in the study,” she said abruptly. “If you can spare a little time when the men go out to smoke. It won’t take a minute.”
“You—” Ashton bit his tongue as he understood.
“It’s just down the hall to your right, second door you see.”
“Here,” he murmured the word so softly Della could scarcely hear him. “You can’t mean it.”
“I’m only showing you a painting.”
But Della did not show him a painting.
Instead, when the men retired to smoke and they’d slipped away to find one another in the study, she pressed herself into Ashton and kissed him with all the urgency of someone who only has a few minutes of freedom. She tugged her hand free of its glove to run her fingers over the stubble on his cheek, savoring the rough scrape of it against her skin.
“I can’t believe this.” He broke off their embrace to hiss at her furiously. “What if we’re caught?”
“You shouldn’t have come if you’re so worried,” Della retorted. “Now be quiet and let me do something nice for you.”
She showed him exactly what she meant by reaching for the falls of his trousers. His swift intake of breath marked the fate of the first button.
“Della…” Ashton’s voice had grown thick. He did nothing to stop her as she pulled his member free and began to caress him. A soft moan escaped his lips. She kissed him once more, then lowered herself to her knees. “Wait,” he said. “I can’t touch you like this.”
“I told you, I want to do something nice for you,” she repeated. “Why don’t you let yourself enjoy it?” It wasn’t as though he hadn’t been generous with her the other night. Now she would return the favor.
Ashton gripped her shoulder as she took him into her mouth, his fingers pressing into her as if to steady himself. His cock was harder than it had been only a moment before, as his breath came in a faster rhythm. He relaxed his grip and slid his hands over her gently. At least, the parts of her he could reach. He caressed her hair, then the back of her neck.
Della raised her head to scold him. “You’re holding back.”
“I am not.”
“We don’t have much time,” she reasoned. “I want you to let go completely.” While their circumstances provided a handy excuse, Della was honest enough to admit (at least to herself) that this was exactly what she’d wanted from the start. A reason for Ashton to surrender.
He held her gaze for a second. There was a hint of uncertainty there, but finally he nodded. She bent her head once more, pleasuring him at a more urgent pace. She spared nothing, and Ashton was soon gasping for breath. His reserve didn’t break away in an instant with his promise. Rather, it crumpled in little starts and shudders, until he’d given himself over entirely to Della’s seduction. She slipped a hand up to pull him closer, urging him on.
The fact that they were risking discovery at any moment only added to the thrill of having Ashton exactly where she wanted him. Della wouldn’t have traded this moment for anything, not even the pleasure she’d found in his bed. She could tell when she’d brought him close, and savored the play of tension in his body. She would have liked to hold him there on the edge for a little longer, but that game would have to wait for another day. Besides, Ashton wasn’t holding back any longer. He jerked his hips and groaned as he found release, his grip biting into her shoulders. When he’d finished, he swayed on his feet.
Della arose victorious. She couldn’t keep a smug little grin from her face, which called an answering warmth to Ashton’s eyes when he saw it.
Yet the satisfaction was fleeting. It wasn’t enough to know that she’d brought Ashton to the edge. She wanted tokeepdoing it. She wanted him to look at her that way again and again, instead of only once.
She hadn’t quite figured out how she could achieve that part.
***
Lyman scarcely knew how he found his way back to the smoking room. He couldn’t think straight after what Della had done. But even though his pulse was still crashing in his ears, no one spared him a second glance as he slipped in the door. The men were all occupied with their own conversations, exchanging ideas in between whisps of smoke that filled the room with notes of spice and oak.
A footman offered him a brandy, which Lyman declined with a word of thanks.
