Her mouth fell open slightly and she dared to allow her tongue to dart out and lick her lips. It was almost enough to bring him to his knees. “I would not.”
To his everlasting gratitude, she moved toward him and lifted on her tiptoes, so that she might take the initiative and press her sweet mouth against his.
Elwood allowed her to take the lead before he returned the intimacy. He wrapped his arms around her and dragged her into his embrace, close enough that he could feel the fullness of her breasts as they pressed against his chest. He wanted nothing more than to toy with her taut nipples and cup those soft mounds of flesh in his palms, kneading them until she was whimpering for more. He already knew that she was a passionate woman. Her responses to him thus far had told him that much.
He also recalled that she was untried and all of these feelings she was experiencing were new and exciting. He would have to take his time and go slow. He wanted her to remember everything that they shared for the rest of her life, because something told him he would never forget her.
The sound of carriage wheels coming up the drive struck him and he reluctantly broke away. “The steward has arrived. I shall have to tell him what poor timing he has.”
He was graced with a slight coloring in her cheeks. “Don’t you dare!”
With a chuckle, he tweaked her nose, as if she were a child that he enjoyed teasing. He did enjoy that, to be sure, but he was not confused of her mature beauty in the slightest. “If you are concerned about being seen, perhaps you might take the back stairs? I will come to you when our business is concluded.”
She eyed him warily, but she nodded. “Very well.” She gathered her skirts, but before she rounded the corner of the manor, she glanced back over her shoulder at him.
He offered a silent salute to her, and then she disappeared.
Elwood blew out a steady exhale and braced himself before he walked in the opposite direction to meet the steward for their appointed meeting.
Meliah’s heartwas about ready to burst out of her chest when she returned to her chamber. She leaned against the door and attempted to recover her faculties. She wasn’t concerned about encountering the earl’s steward and coming up with a plausible reason as to why she was unchaperoned in the presence of a nobleman. Instead, she was anxious about her overwhelming reaction to Lord Belmont. She wanted to believe that she was standing strong against his advances, but he caused her to be unstable. With a single kiss, he’d upended her entire purpose for being there. She fantasized that they were embarking on some sort of illicit tryst rather than attempting to fulfill a purpose meant to secure her future.
She closed her eyes. Mayhap it would be best if she departed for London posthaste. At least then she wouldn’t be facing enticement at every turn. But if she did, then she was acceptingdefeat. Not only that, but all of this turmoil would be for naught. She knew that Samantha would cover for her as long as possible, but it wouldn’t be long before her parents would become skeptical of her continued absence. If it was noted by others…
Time was of the essence, and if she didn’t want to fall prey to this rake’s desires, then she had to think quickly. If she intended to write this article in response to ‘The Belle’s’ accusation, then she had to start putting ink to paper. She wouldn’t accomplish anything by sitting there and trying—and failing—to withstand the earl’s advances.
Opening her chamber door, she glanced about. It was blessedly empty, so she quickly made her way down the hall to where the earl’s chamber was. She knew that only because she’d passed the single closed door in this wing on the way to the attic earlier that day.
Although she was treading in dangerous territory by braving the lion’s den, she was in search of writing utensils and nothing more. Casting one more glance over her shoulder, she grabbed the knob and made her way inside, quietly shutting the door behind her.
As she did, the sound of thunder rumbled throughout the manor, the reverberation shaking the foundation to its very core. She shuddered, shaking off a sense of unease, as she moved further into the room.
She told herself that her single objective was stationery, but she had to stop and appreciate the masculine interior around her. From shades of browns and deep greens, it gave the impression of standing in a dense forest. There was a certain solidarity and mystique that surrounded her. With a glance at the large four-poster platform bed, she had a sudden vision of herself and Lord Belmont tangled beneath the bed coverings, their naked bodies writhing in the moonlight pouring through the window?—
Another crack of thunder caused her to snap out of her reverie, as she wondered where such torrid thoughts had come from. Perhaps the earl was teaching her more than even she was aware.
She hastened her steps to the writing desk situated in a corner of the room. Meliah was glad to discover everything she needed to start drafting her article. Clutching the items in her grasp, she headed for the door when she heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps in the hall.
Her movements halted, and her eyes widened. If the earl walked in and found her there, he would surely continue their earlier seduction, and in such close, intimate confines, she had no doubt that he would succeed. Especially after she’d been picturing their own sordid outcome.
The steps paused, and she heard him knocking at her door. When he called her name, she found her chance. She glanced at the wardrobe and decided it would have to do. She prayed that he wouldn’t need to change his clothes anytime soon.
As the sound of his approach became apparent, she nearly dove into the massive wardrobe. She shut the doors just seconds before he walked into his chamber. She hardly dared to breathe as he began to move about. She suddenly felt rather foolish for hiding like some sort of rat in a hole, but rather than face him directly when she was still too vulnerable, it was the only solution.
The doors to the wardrobe weren’t closed completely, and she dared to lean forward and peek out through the sliver of light that revealed the center of the room, while keeping her writing implements clutched against her chest. She watched as he flashed back and forth in front of her vision, until he finally sank down in a chair near the fireplace. She noted that he was holding a tumbler of some sort of liquid, presumably alcoholic, as he slouched in his seat.
As a trail of perspiration traveled down her lower spine, she considered jumping out of the wardrobe on the pretext of a surprise, but it was what he did next that caused her to cease all movement—nearly all thought completely.
Lord Belmont grabbed his shirt from behind and brought it up and over his head, leaving his entire chest bare. If that wasn’t shocking enough to see his strong, chiseled chest with its light array of hair around his pectorals, she was positively scandalized when he reached down between his legs and began to stroke himself through his trousers.
Meliah’s mouth fell open slightly and her eyes widened. Her breathing began to deepen, and the air inside the wardrobe suddenly became quite stifling. She told herself that she should look away, that this was a private moment that shouldn’t be shared, but she couldn’t force herself to do so. It was much too… engaging not to observe.
His head leaned back against the chair and she could see the corded lines of his neck muscles become more pronounced as his movements increased. He paused long enough to down the rest of the contents of his glass and set it aside before unfastening the flap of his trousers and freeing his engorged manhood.
Having never seen a man in full erection before, Meliah was fixated on the appendage, and when he wrapped his hand around the length and began to pump himself in earnest, she actually started to feel flushed, perhaps even faint.
As he stroked with purpose, he exhaled light groans, deep rumbles in the back of his throat that had her hand tingling, slowly inching toward her core. She stopped at her hip, gathering the material of her dress in her grasp while she throbbed with unrequited desire. The fingers of her other hand dug into the writing utensils held tightly against her.
His hips started to move in time to his actions and soon there was a slight glisten at the tip of his cock. She held her breath ashe gave one more thrust and ejaculated across the lower half of his abdomen.
