DangerbyDalliance (12 page)

“My sincere apologies, Miss Rigdon. I had not anticipated
this to take this long.”

Sarah suddenly realized that she still had her glove in her
hand and that both of them had black smudges. She pulled her purse onto her lap
and slipped the second glove back on under its protection. “I understand, Mr. Kemmer.”
She rose. “Is there anything else or have I cleared up this misunderstanding?”
She clasped her hands together, her purse dangling from one wrist as a cover.

He studied her with a suspicious frown. “Mostly, yes. I expect
to be informed the moment this Rigdon’s Banknote Verification Device has become
functional.” His expression darkened. “Do not attempt to play me for a fool.”

Her brows rose. “I will make sure that you do.” She nodded
at him and walked out of the office. His gaze bored into her back.

This was entirely more than it appeared.

Sarah kept her mien calm and nodded to the young man at the
front desk before stepping out onto the street. Her thoughts spun in circles.
It wasn’t completely unbelievable for a tax collector to have a fake note in
his office. The ink could have come off the note.

But somehow she didn’t think so. The ink had felt different,
as if something had been added to it. Something like the new chemicals the Bank
of England had recently incorporated into its ink in an attempt to stop
counterfeiting.

If her suspicions were true, Kemmer was far more dangerous
than she had ever imagined.

Unfortunately she had no way to prove it.

And by taking the note from his office she might have set
herself up as a target. She swallowed. Despite being clasped together, her
fingers shook.

She wanted Archer and Warren. Even if she could not tell
them what was going on, she could bathe in their presence and enjoy the feeling
of freedom and safety they gave her.

Sarah strode along the road, the image of Archer and Warren
at the forefront of her mind. A metal clinking pulled her out of her thoughts.
Three street-cleans were on the road, tidying away the rubbish. She grimaced.

Their flat, metal bodies and numerous appendages did wonders
for cleaning up the city, but they always made her think of oversized metal
insects scuttling about, getting ready to take over London.

She skirted two, grimacing when one stretched out a metal
limb and bumped her foot. She skipped out of the way, walked halfway down
Stanford Road and turned down an alley until she reached the tucked-away back
entrance.

The door tore open before she even had a chance to raise her
hand and knock.

“What happened?” Archer’s hair was tousled, as if he’d
pushed his hands through it numerous times. “Where have you been?” He scowled
as he stepped outside.

She stiffened and straightened her shoulders. “I am not
aware that I owe you an explanation of any kind about my day-to-day schedule. I
informed you I would be late. As far as I can see it is later.”

“We worried when you didn’t use the coach, nor send us a
message saying you didn’t need it.” Warren’s deep voice stroked across her
senses as he joined them before the back door.

Some of her stiffness eased. “I apologize. I had an
unexpected meeting this morning and forgot that the coach would be waiting for
me.” She took Archer’s hands in hers. “It would have only been polite to let
you know.”

He pulled her close and kissed her. “I don’t care about
manners. I worried something had happened.”

Something had, but it wasn’t anything she could share with
them.

Warren stepped beside her and pressed a gentle kiss on her
cheek. “Is there anything we can assist you with?”

She leaned into him, but shook her head. Right now she had
to put her discovery to one side and move on.

Warren and Archer guided her inside and pulled the door
closed behind them. Warren’s arms around her waist gave her a sense of safety.
Archer still held her hand, the contact diminishing her shock.

“Let’s get you some tea and then we move on to the studio.”
Warren gently tugged on her hip and she followed him.

A cup of tea would be nice. She looked back over her
shoulder at Archer. “Have you had a chance to look at the Rigdon’s Banknote
Verification Device yet?”

His brows shot up. Sarah spoke before he could reply. “I
know you’re incredibly busy, but my father mentioned he had plans to present it
to the Hall at the next meeting.” Her eyes met his. “I would prefer for him to
be aware of its capabilities before he did so.” She didn’t say that her father
most likely would be humiliated and laughed at, but then she didn’t have to.

Understanding dawned on Archer’s face.

He nodded. “I am hoping to have some time in the next couple
of days.”

The tight knot deep inside her loosened a little. Once
everyone knew her father’s latest gadget was useless, Kemmer would hopefully
move on to greener pastures.

The three of them walked into a big, sunny room at the back
of the house. A large pot of tea sat on a small table beside a buffet of cold
food, kept warm by a cog-powered heating plate. She let go of Warren and picked
up a cup, turning to the men. “Who would like some tea?”

Warren took it out of her hands and Archer guided her to an
oversized sofa. “Let us take care of you.”

He took her purse and set it aside.

Sarah sat and studied Archer as he prepared a cup of tea for
her. She had to bite her lip to stop herself from describing in minute detail
how she wanted it. Somehow it never tasted quite right when someone else
prepared it. But he was attempting to make her feel better. She could suffer
through one bad cup.

Warren put together a plate while Archer handed her the tea.
She took a careful sip. Her brows shot up. “It’s perfect.” And it was. He had
to have paid very close attention to her.

Butterflies tumbled through her stomach. No one had ever
deemed her important enough for this kind of attention. This realization on top
of her unsettling morning made her hands shake. The cup clattered, but luckily
nothing spilled. Archer sat beside her, his shoulder and leg touching hers.

His strength and heat sank into her, loosening tense
muscles. She nestled against him, had another sip of tea. Comfort and calm
seeped into her.

Archer met her gaze when she looked up. “You are important
to me. Of course I pay attention.”

Surprised he’d read her mind, she smiled. “Thank you.”

Tingles spread through her body and her heart drummed hard
in her chest. Sarah had more tea, using that as a distraction to escape his
all-seeing eyes. She wanted to believe that she meant something to him, to
Warren. But what if she was just an amusement, an available diversion? They’d
asked her to give them everything, told her that was the only way she could
fully enjoy the experience. But neither man had given any indication that they
were doing the same.

And what kind of future could she have with two men?

The last thought, added to everything else today, made her
slightly ill.

She crammed her doubts and worries into a dark corner of her
mind and turned to Warren. “What is the plan for today? You mentioned you weren’t
quite certain if you would continue in charcoal or if you were ready to move to
oil.”

The delight and excitement on his face turned her insides to
molten lava. “I won’t know until we get to the studio.”

“But you’re the artist. You are in control of your process.”

Archer shook beside her. One look confirmed it was with
suppressed laughter.

She frowned. “Did I say something funny?”

Both men shook their heads. “Not really, sweet.” Warren
picked up her hand and kissed each knuckle. “Archer is laughing his head off
because he knows how little control I have. I used to plan out when and how to
capture a subject, but invariably something would change and all my plans fell
apart.” He shrugged. “Now I listen to my inner voice and wait until I’m about
to start. Then I will know what direction to take.”

“You forgot to mention that when things don’t go your way
you grow very, very unhappy and have to share that mood with the rest of the
house.”

Sarah shook her head. “I am not sure if I could work like
that. When I assist my father we have a plan and follow it step by step. Of
course there are some detours, but we always return to the plan.”

“You and your father are engineers and have to follow
certain steps to ensure something functional comes out in the end. I’m an artist,
I am not necessarily dependent on what I did before.”

He raised the plate he’d filled. “Would you like something
to eat?”

Sarah nodded and over the next hour they enjoyed the repast
and chatted about process and the difference between science and art.

After a lull in the conversation Archer rose and held out
his hand to her. “Are you ready to get started?”

Her nipples hardened. Sarah took his hand and rose. “Yes.” A
wave of passion raced through her body and her heartbeat jumped.

Warren took her other hand and they walked to the studio.

Due to her meeting with Kemmer she wore her corset. The one
padded on the inside so she didn’t require a chemise. It was easy enough to
unhook the front and slip out of it, but she wanted to explore with her men and
try something new.

She squeezed their hands and released them. Then she turned
so she faced them both and began to unbutton her blouse. Sarah had to bite the
inside of her cheek to not burst into laughter at their expressions. They
literally froze in place, their eyes widening.

“Will you help me with my corset?” She couldn’t contain her
smile when they rushed to her side. “It only needs to be unhooked, don’t worry
about the laces.” The laces were just perfectly tied for her to dress and
undress without requiring assistance.

Archer stepped behind her and gently pulled her blouse off
her shoulders. She hadn’t undone the cuffs, so for a moment her arms ended up
tied behind her back. He made no move to free them. Instead he wrapped his hand
around both of her wrists and held them. For some reason Sarah could not fathom
she had to swallow to moisten her suddenly dry mouth and her heart rate went
through the roof.

He kissed her neck, then nipped her sensitive earlobe. She
twitched as if to move and he tightened his grip. A low moan escaped her.

“Ah, interesting.” His breath brushed her ear and his voice
seeped into every cell of her body.

“Warren, undress our lady.” His voice deepened and
roughened. His demand was sharp.

Warren’s brows rose. With a smile he moved in front of her.
He kissed her, his lips teasing hers before sinking deep. She wanted to raise
her arms and twine them around his neck, but she couldn’t. A groan worked
itself up her throat.

Archer kissed his way across her nape and shoulders, giving
her sharp nips in between. And at no point did he loosen his grip on her
wrists.

Warren caressed the opposite side of her neck until he reached
her décolleté. Slowly he raised his head and lifted his hands to the first hook
on her corset.

Sarah’s breathing grew uneven. He didn’t release her gaze.

With each hook the tightness around her chest should have
eased, but instead it increased. Her breathing hastened until she panted.

Finally he undid the last hook. The corset popped open and
slid down her hips. He caressed her chest, his finger circling her breast and
then moving closer to her nipples. Her peaks tightened further. She couldn’t
look away from Warren’s hands, waiting with desperation for him to cup her
breasts and pull her nipples into the wet heat of his mouth.

But he didn’t, driving her crazy.

Sarah bit her lip. Her head dropped against Archer’s chest
when he pulled her arms back. She was slightly off balance and attempted to
find her footing again.

Archer strengthened his grip. “Trust me.”

Her breath caught.

Then the tension she always carried deep inside her
released. Sarah leaned into his hold and trusted him to catch her.

“Good girl.” Archer tilted her head to the side and kissed
her.

She moaned when Warren continued to tease her. “Do it,” she
mumbled.

Warren chuckled, his breath stroking across her
oversensitized nipples. “Do what, sweet?”

Archer rubbed the fingertips of his free hand down her nape
and then around her shoulders. His touch was so light she had to focus hard to
capture it fully.

This was supposed to be a little bit of teasing on her part,
test her seductive powers. Instead they had pulled her into the fiery vortex of
passion and desire within seconds.

Enough is enough.

“For goodness sake, finish it!”

Laughter echoed around her, but she didn’t care. She hadn’t
planned for it to go this far, but now it had she wanted everything.

Archer released her wrists for a moment and undid the cuffs
of her blouse. He tugged the garment off her and recaptured her before she had
an opportunity to move. He nibbled on an ear. His free hand flattened on her
shoulder blade. He moved his palm down her rib cage and then across her
stomach. His touch varied between light teasing and slightly heavier with no
rhyme or reason, making it impossible for her to predict what he would do next.

Warren leaned forward and sucked the tip of her breast into
his mouth while his hand taunted the other nipple.

Finally. She arched into him.

Archer moved his hand and undid the clasp on her skirt. It
dropped to the ground. The underskirts followed in short order until all that
was left were her underpants.

Then those went as well.

Warren moved between her breasts, taunting and tormenting
her nipples with sucks, licks and nips. More and more wetness gathered between
her legs. The need grew nearly unbearable.

Archer gently nudged one foot with his and she widened her
stance. He pushed through her curls and cupped her quim. At the same time he
lifted the arms he had in his grasp a little higher. Lightning-hot sparks shot
through her body and once again she leaned into him.

He spread her lower lips apart and stroked through the
moisture. Her thighs stiffened. Her body tensed, longing for his touch to
deepen.

He had her restrained. Goose bumps ran across her body.

Archer rubbed his wet fingers over her clitoris. Warren
sucked one nipple and pressed it against the roof of his mouth.

Sarah’s eyes dropped shut. Her head fell back and noises
escaped her mouth she had never heard before. The pleasure built inside her
with every touch, every caress. Grew bigger and bigger until it became nearly
too much. But the thought of stopping was even more painful.

“Now,” Archer said.

He tightened his grip around her wrists until it was close
to painful, but it only constricted her insides even further. With his other
hand he drew small circles around her bundle of nerves. Warren bit one of her
nipples at the exact same moment that Archer tapped her clit.

The pleasure rolled through her like a giant wave. She
screamed. It was as if she were being pulled into numerous directions while at
the same time being pressed together.

It was unbearable and unbelievable. Pleasure so sharp it was
on the verge of being painful.

Her knees buckled.

Archer released her arms and caught her around the waist.
Warren softened his caress, prolonging her pleasure, before releasing her and
standing tall. With gentle hands he massaged her shoulders, which had stiffened
after being held at an awkward angle.

Sarah forced her heavy lids open and met Warren’s smiling
face. “Was this the help you had in mind?”

She chuckled and shook her head. “It was even better.”