A Matter of Sin (22 page)

“There will be challenges,” she whispered.

His eyes lit up like he had already won, but she supposed even this small admission was a victory to him.

“Yes, but there are challenges in all marriages, my dear, even the best ones.”

She shook her head. “You don’t understand, though. You haven’t lived through this pain. You may come to resent me when we can’t have a child, even if you think you won’t.”

He shook his head and he seemed so certain. “Never.”

She grabbed his hands. “But Hartley did, Seth. He did, no matter how kind he was about it. After a few years, the way he looked at me changed. His expression became one of disappointment and sadness. And I would die if I saw those same things in your eyes, because I do love you so much.”

Again, his face lit up and he drew her close for another of those searing, yet brief kisses that lit her on fire.

“If you truly cannot bear a child, then we will adopt all of Lady Hamweigh’s orphans. We will steal children from wayward governesses…not because I need a son, but because I can see how much you want to be a mother and yet have denied yourself that hope after all these years.”

Isabel choked out a sob. “Yes. I have wished and longed for it,” she admitted for the first time to anyone.

“Then I’ll ensure you get what you desire. And the rest won’t matter because we’ll fill our home with love and laughter. I will
never
regret my choice.”

Isabel trembled, right on the edge of surrender. Seth must have sensed it because he dropped to his knees on her parlor floor and looked up at her.

“Isabel, please marry me.”

She stared at him, filled with love for him and hope for their future. And she realized there was no way to deny him, especially if Serena stayed true to her vow not to let them out. Eventually he would dissolve her walls.

“Yes,” she whispered as the first tear began to fall.

He was on his feet in an instant and his arms were around her. He laughed as his mouth met hers, filling her with all his heat and hope and certainty that they would be happy. Those things dissolved her remaining hesitation and she clung to him, allowing herself to want him with everything in her for the first time since they had parted a week before.

He drew back. “Shall we call for your sisters and have them let us out?” he asked.

Isabel looked up at him. “You know, I never got to choose my last option from
The Ladies Book of Pleasures
.”

Seth’s eyes darkened and dilated with instant hungry desire. “Ah, that is true. And we
are
locked up in this parlor.”

She nodded as she drew him back to the settee and urged him to sit.

“So what is your pleasure, my lady?” he asked as he cupped her hips and moved her to stand between his splayed legs.

“In the book, the lady describes making love with abandon to the man you love more than any other.” She began unbuttoning her gown. “And I love you most desperately.”

“Excellent,” he growled as he fumbled with the buttons on his fly.

Within seconds his erection popped free and Isabel kicked her gown away. She shed her drawers just as quickly and stood before him in only her silky chemise that came to just the top of her thighs.

He slid his hands up her bare legs and cupped her naked backside. She hissed out a sound of pleasure as she slowly straddled him.

There was little preamble to their joining. There didn’t need to be. She was already ready and he was more than so. She positioned herself and glided down, taking the heavy weight of him into her in one slippery slide.

She rested her forehead to his and their breathing matched in its panting excitement.

“And to think,” she gasped as she squeezed her inner muscles around him. “I will be able to do this with you for the rest of my life. And all because of a book.”

He let out a strangled moan as she pulsed harder around him. “I am going to find out who that lady is and send her gads of money to write a sequel. But we are together, my love, because of
you
.”

She shivered as he cupped and stroked her bottom. The little fluttering of his fingers encouraged her to move, and finally she couldn’t hold back anymore. She thrust her hips in steady, mounting strokes, driving him within her sheath over and over again. She was able to stimulate her aching clitoris by grinding her pelvis and soon her motions became erratic and then her pleasure rushed over her.

She was out of control as she quaked and rocked, biting back her wails of release in case anyone was listening in the hallway.

As soon as her orgasm peaked, Seth was close behind, driving his hips up, his neck straining, and then he groaned her name as his essence pumped into her.

She collapsed down against his chest, holding him and kissing his neck as her heartbeat slowed.

“
Now
we can go tell my sisters,” she panted.

He held her closer with a laugh that warmed her heart. “I don’t know, Isabel. Your sister made it clear that we were not to join them until our differences were resolved. I think we may still have some.”

She sat up and cupped his cheeks, kissing him with all the love she felt. When she drew back, she whispered, “I’m certainly willing to open the debate when you are ready.”

“I will always be ready for you,” he promised as he drew her down to him again.

About the Author

Jess Michaels is the award-winning author of over forty romances, erotic romances and urban fantasy novels. She lives in Arizona with her fantastic husband and two adorable cats. When not writing about sexy gentlemen and wicked ladies, she can be found doing geeky things like playing video games and performing aunt duties to two nephews. You can find her online at
www.authorjessmichaels.com
, on Facebook (Jess Michaels) and on Twitter
@jessmichaelsbks
.

Look for these titles by Jess Michaels

Now Available:

Mistress Matchmaker

An Introduction to Pleasure

For Desire Alone

Her Perfect Match

The Pleasure Wars

Taken by the Duke

Pleasuring the Lady

Beauty and the Earl

Beautiful Distraction

Coming Soon:

The Ladies Book of Pleasures

A Moment of Passion

A Measure of Deceit

The Notorious Flynns

The Other Duke

The Widow’s Wager

The Scoundrel’s Lady

Seasons of Passion

A Christmas Affair

Can true love begin with a lie?

Beautiful Distraction

© 2014 Jess Michaels

The Pleasure Wars, Book 4

It has been a particularly trying day for Olivia Cranfield. Despite her impeccable manners, stylish clothing and posh accent, another protector has detected her lowborn status and rejected her out of hand.

When fellow courtesan Violet invites her to come to Bath to help with the wicked seduction of the scarred, reclusive Earl of Windbury, Olivia jumps at the offer, eager for some excitement and a change of scenery.

The moment Malcolm Graham lays eyes on the delectable woman lurking in the bathhouse alley, he knows she’s a decoy to keep him busy while her friend seduces the earl inside. For a moment, he allows her to play her game…but one touch, and all he can think about is ending the two years of self-denial he’s endured in the name of friendship.

Instant attraction quickly turns into a decidedly erotic affair that makes Olivia question all she’s ever known about passion. But when the truth behind Violet’s assignment comes to light, betrayal threatens to bring everything they’ve built crashing down around Olivia’s broken heart.

Warning: This book overlaps with
Beauty and the Earl
, so some passages may seem familiar to readers of both. Contains a lady lying for a good cause, a gentleman as loyal to his friends as he is passionate in the bedchamber, and a steamy affair that will change them both forever.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Beautiful Distraction:

Malcolm leaned against the cold stone wall next to the little door that led into the exclusive, private bathhouse and shook his head. Liam was utterly predictable in so many ways. He would growl and sputter and allow his emotions to overtake him. When Mal pointed it out to him, he blustered. But within a few days, he was all apologies and attempts to make amends.

It hadn’t always been like that. There had been months, especially just after the accident, when he had feared Liam would take his own life. Nightmares of the times he had thwarted the earl in his designs to do just that still haunted him.

Mal squeezed his eyes shut to block out the thoughts. He drew a few deep breaths before he opened them again. To his surprise, he was no longer alone in the narrow alleyway that hid the secret entrance to the baths. A lady stood in the entrance to the side street, watching him.

An extremely beautiful lady.

She did not wear a hat and her blonde hair was spun up in an elaborate style. Little tendrils fell down to perfectly frame a heart-shaped face. She had full lips, finely boned cheeks and dark-brown eyes that were currently focused on him. She wore a silk gown in a fetching shade of green that highlighted the warmth of her creamy skin. She was obviously a lady of breeding and money, though that made her appearance in the dingy alleyway all the more confusing.

“Good afternoon,” he said, not moving from his leaning position against the wall.

“A very good afternoon to you as well,” she replied, the corner of her lip tilting into a seductive half smile. “Mr. Graham, isn’t it?”

Now he straightened up, stepping toward her. “It is indeed, though I don’t know how you know it.”

She laughed, a low, husky sound that hit him in the gut and wound its way into his loins. Already his body stirred with a reaction that he fought to tamp down.

“A woman of my kind has means, Mr. Graham,” she responded.

A woman of her kind. He looked at her more closely. She was staring at him boldly, brazenly, with the knowing heat of a woman who recognized sex as a tool in her arsenal. So not a lady after all.

She slid toward the street, and he found himself following behind, lured by her presence.

“You leave me at a disadvantage,” he said, coming around the corner to find her waiting for him. The street was quiet, a mere means to the back entrance to the private baths.

“Because you don’t know my name?” she asked, arching a brow.

“That is one reason,” he conceded.

She laughed again. “I cannot imagine there are others. You do not appear to be a man who is often at a disadvantage to anyone else.”

He shrugged. “Not often. I find it interesting, I admit. So, what
is
your name?”

“Olivia Cranfield,” she said, extending a hand in greeting.

He took it. Just as her head was bare, she also wore no gloves, and her skin was exquisitely soft against his. He lifted her hand and without thinking, flipped it over to press a most inappropriate kiss to her palm.

She shivered almost imperceptibly and her pupils dilated, showing him the reaction he craved. She wanted him. That was real, even though he knew she had an ulterior motive in approaching him, namely the woman who was now creeping past him into the alley toward the entrance to the bath where Liam was taking the waters.

He should have stopped that mystery woman, but he didn’t. Liam could use a woman’s touch to calm him down. In truth, he could himself. Mal was realizing now just how long it had been since he’d felt soft skin on his, smelled honeysuckle and mint on a woman’s hair and breath, felt wide eyes watching him with desirous intent.

Too long.

“And what is your friend’s name?” he asked.

Her gaze, which had been heavy and hooded, suddenly widened. “My friend?”

“The one who just scurried down the alley in order to seduce Lord Windbury?” he pressed, drawing Olivia closer, close enough that he could feel her body heat in the cool spring-afternoon air.

She tensed, and there was a flash of fear that briefly crossed her face before she erased it with the effortless pretending of a woman of a certain profession.

“Do you intend to have her arrested?” she asked, her tone even and still flirtatious despite the question.

He grinned. “For what, exactly? I assume she has no intentions of hurting him.”

“None whatsoever,” Olivia reassured him swiftly. “Nor do I have any intentions of hurting you, Mr. Graham. Quite the opposite, in fact.”

She leaned in and he felt the gentle stir of her breath on his cheek. His blood was pumping hard now, making it nearly impossible to think of anything except her—taking her, seeing her naked beneath him.

But he somehow managed to control all those instincts.

“I assume you were sent here as my distraction?” he whispered, touching her cheek with the back of his hand.

“Something like that,” she verified, breathless.

“Because
she
asked you to?” he pressed as he jerked his head toward the alley.

Her gaze locked with his. “Yes,” she admitted calmly. “But that doesn’t mean I find the task to be an unpleasant one.”

He held her stare for what seemed like an eternity as thoughts invaded every corner of his mind. She was willing to seduce a stranger for her friend. The fact that she now found him attractive didn’t change the fact that she had probably taken that duty before she knew anything about him. Which meant she would do anything for that friend.

Something he knew a great deal about. And yet he wasn’t entirely pleased at being on the receiving end of such a “sacrifice”.

“You must care for her a great deal,” he mused out loud.

Her brow wrinkled, not that he blamed her. They were a hair’s breadth apart and yet he was talking about some other woman instead of taking Olivia’s offer of distraction.

“I do care for her,” Olivia admitted softly.

“And you are willing to do what she asks,” he continued.

She withdrew a fraction. “Yes.”

“But do you do anything for yourself, Olivia?” he pressed, tilting his head to explore her pretty face closer. “Or are you so wrapped up in her welfare that you forget your own, forget what you want and need?”

He realized as he said it that it was a question he also asked himself. A question he had avoided for a very long time. But now that he had said it out loud, even ostensibly aimed toward another person, he felt the question sink into his skin, his body, his soul.

“You think I only martyr myself for someone else?” Olivia asked, interrupting his troubled thoughts.

Her eyes flashed as if she was angry and her face flushed with pink color that made him wonder if she blushed the same way when at the heights of pleasure.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve only just met you.”

She scowled at him for a moment, then to his shock, she stepped up to him, cupped his cheeks and drew him down to press her lips to his.

He was stunned by the unexpected kiss, but only for a moment. Then he sank into it, his arms coming around her waist, drawing her against the length of his body as he angled his head for better access to her mouth. Her lips parted, an invitation to further pleasure, and he dove in, driving his tongue to duel with hers as he spun her around and pressed her against the cool stone wall of the building behind them.

She offered no resistance as his kiss grew more demanding; in fact, she parried his attack with a passionate offense of her own. Her arms came up to wind around his neck and she moaned softly as she lifted herself, ever so slightly, into his embrace.

Everything was rapidly spinning out of control. What had started as her response to his jab was now a kiss so erotic that he found himself gliding his hand down her side, feeling her shudder as he settled his fingers against her hips. He wanted to pull her skirts up and have her, right here in the street, in the broad daylight.

He had to stop this before all that became reality and they were arrested. After all, this wasn’t exactly the kind of neighborhood where such acts of public obscenity would be ignored.

He tangled his tongue with hers one last time, memorizing her taste, the feel of her kiss, and then he gently set her away and stepped back, panting with desire as he stared at her.

“Go home, Olivia,” he managed between ragged breaths.

Her desire-glazed expression faded and there was no mistaking the confusion and hurt that replaced it.

“I beg your pardon,” she said, edging away from him and folding her arms as a shield in front of her breasts. “Are you dismissing me?”

He nodded even as he reached out to run a finger along the angle of her jaw. “Only with great difficulty,” he said softly. “The next time you see me, Olivia Cranfield, offer yourself to me again. But this time, I want you to do it only for your own pleasure. And mine.”

He leaned forward to steal one last kiss and then took all his wavering self-control to turn away from her.

“And where are you going?” she called out from behind him.

“To get a very stiff drink in the hopes it will make other things less stiff,” he said without looking back. “I have a feeling my friend will be a while before he finishes his fun.”

“You could have had your own fun, you know,” she called out.

He paused and turned back toward her. He wanted to rush back and take her somewhere quiet and have that fun. Just not on these terms.

“I hope I’ll have another opportunity, Olivia,” he said. “Until I do, trust that I will think of you often and in most uncomfortable ways.”

With that, he saluted her and then forced himself to continue walking away as he questioned if he had lost his mind entirely.