Lilac Temptress (53 page)

Drake’s long deep strokes became
quicker and more uncontrolled. He cupped one hand under Sierra’s
bottom, raising her hips, riding her with mounting intensity.
Sierra needed little instruction. She arched her back and matched
his rhythm instinctively.

Drake groaned, hearing her pleasurable
cry as she reached her climax, and then he joined her release with
his own, before collapsing onto her. He let his body rest over
hers, cradling her. He could not stop trembling as he lied holding
her even though his breathing was becoming easier.

“
Drake,” Sierra asked
gently, “Are you well?”

“
Of course,” Drake murmured
into her ear, but he didn’t have the courage to tell her that his
mind was opening up to the truth of his heart.

“
Then let’s do it again,”
Sierra whispered, her eyes closed as she inhaled deeply. She wanted
the sensual gratification that his tactile body promised over and
over.

Drake laughed softly and smiled at her
insatiable appetite for him and after a short while he answered
Sierra’s wish, making love to her again—and again, each time with a
need he could not express in words; she was perfection. With every
coupling she became bolder, testing her newly learned skills,
exploring him, teasing him, and bringing him to pleasure. And as
they came together over and over, he experienced a swelling of
emotion that he could not deny. He didn’t need to guess that he
loved her. Each time that he was inside of her he knew that he only
existed to love her, and he spent his body into wonderful
exhaustion as he tried to convey his feelings in actions, if not
words.

* * *

Drake stared at the
hand-painted floral ceiling while Sierra slept cuddled close to
him, one leg thrown over his. He turned his gaze on her—lying
beautifully in his arms and with every passing moment the reality
of his life sank its teeth into him.
What
have I done? Why did I let it go so far?
He
silently cursed himself.
Damn my soul.
What the hell have I done? I am to be married tomorrow.

Soon it would be daybreak
and more guests would be received at Newhaven. He was expecting
Girard and Daniel to arrive
early that
morning.

With ease Drake slid from underneath
Sierra’s leg and gently positioned her snugly onto the pillows. As
he reached for the sheets, which lie at the bedside, he noticed the
stains of their lovemaking on them. Immersed in his own guilt for
taking her innocence, he gently wrapped her in a quilt that lie
nearby instead.

For a moment he gazed
tenderly down at her nestled comfortably inside the quilt. Her
tranquility tempered his wild emotions. He needed to build some
defense against his feelings for her. He began to dress quickly,
chastising himself all the while.
She
loves me... she is in love with me
. He
almost began pacing the floor frantically, before he stopped
himself.

Everything his father had
wanted for him, all of his father’s sacrifices for their family,
could not be lost on him. His head started spinning—his sense of
reasoning lost. Drake ran his fingers through his hair in
frustration while staring at Sierra, who was sleeping so
serenely.
Making love to her had been an
erotic experience beyond anything he had ever known.
She truly moved him.

I do want her, but she is
not for me and I am not for her,
Drake
tried to tell himself. He couldn’t accept how much he wanted her,
needed her. He hardened his heart against any thought that could
lead to putting his future at risk. He decided he wouldn’t let
himself feel anything at all. That’s what he had been doing all
along, wasn’t it—putting a barricade around his heart? He needed to
get out of there before he let his heart rule his head and convince
himself that loving Sierra was worth forsaking everything he had
worked for.

* * *

Lying in bed, still caught in a dream,
feeling the way Drake held her, moved her, and made love to her,
Sierra rolled to her side reaching for him, half-asleep and
half-awake. When she found nothing but air against the cozy quilt,
she fully opened her eyes to find the bed empty where Drake should
have been lying.

Sierra bolted upright, rubbing her
eyes and glancing at the small silver hand clock that sat on the
bedside table. It was already mid-morning. She searched the
nightstand and then the bed pillows looking for a note that Drake
might have left her, but there was none. She leapt out of bed
quickly to bathe and dress.

Without a doubt she knew that Drake
would call off the wedding—she knew that he had chosen her. She
knew that he loved her. He might not have said it, but the way he
caressed her, cuddled her, and his attentiveness toward her told
her all that she needed to know.

Happily, she picked out something
pretty to wear and as soon as she was ready she left her room in
search of Drake.

Chapter 21

Though the outside air was warm and
breezy, making for a beautiful sunny day, Drake didn’t feel as
cheerful and bright as the morning atmosphere offered; his mind was
wrecked. He couldn’t stop thinking about his incredible night of
lovemaking with Sierra, and his dismay at knowing the bliss of that
union could not be repeated. He sat at the terrace breakfast table,
together, but apart from his inner circle. Isadora, seated on his
left, sipped on her orange juice.

Daniel, to his right, amused the group
with tales of his travel exploits. Even Kyle and Rosaline, who had
arrived well after the story was underway, joined in with
comfortable laughter, Drake noticed. Everyone was very much in the
moment leaving him feeling decidedly absent. And in the presence of
Isadora, he dwelled on his obligations to his father while thoughts
of Sierra heavied his mind, and the turmoil of his heart manifested
in his stomach.

He watched Rosaline with Kyle,
remembering what Sierra had told him about them last night. New
light appeared in Rosaline’s eyes that seemed to radiate brightly
when she smiled in Kyle’s direction.

Drake contemplated speaking with his sister to voice his
opposition to her relationship with Kyle, but he worried that it
would spark her rebellious streak, and push her further into Kyle’s
arms. It wasn’t that he wasn’t fond of him, but Kyle was of a lower
station. It would take more than a good wage, which Drake could
arrange, and a handsome face, which the boy came by naturally—to
settle their parents on the match. He needed to be of their
caliber, to seriously be considered by his father.

Drake, aware of Rosaline’s
twinkling eyes, deeply assessed the way she that looked at
Kyle—really seeing her in love with a man for the first
time.
Why should I have a hand in
destroying her happiness when my own is compromised for the sake of
my being a McCalister man?
Drake
thought.

He decided he would not
interfere with the young lovers. He knew his sister well enough to
know that she wouldn’t do anything hasty. He trusted her, unlike
their parents, whose meddling only had made her rebel and run to
Newhaven in the first place. Drake would leave his father to deal
with Rosaline.
Like how he dealt with
me,
Drake thought, his misery
anew.

The boisterous laughter of the bunch,
except for Isadora, whose face remained sour and unresponsive,
followed the ending of Daniel’s story—Drake knew that Isadora had
never been too impressed with Daniel from the time that
introductions were made, a year earlier.

“
Drake, is there something
the matter? You didn’t seem to find the tale amusing,” Rosaline
expressed her concern, “and you’ve scarcely eaten a
bite.”

Daniel grimaced. He expected Isadora’s
lack of interest in anything he had to say, but clearly something
was not right with Drake if he could not be entertained by one of
his adventures, Daniel decided.

“
Excuse me.” Drake rose up
to take his leave. On turning to stroll away, he found Sierra
standing in front of him blocking his path. Drake inwardly screamed
as if his insides were being ripped out of him at the sight of her.
She stood there breathtakingly beautiful as if he were seeing her
for the first time, and her beauty had nothing to do with what she
was wearing. She had the glow of a woman in love. Drake’s breathing
became heavy, and his palms moistened. They both just stood for a
moment, taking in each other, as if no one else were there watching
them.

“
Good morning, Sierra,”
Girard spoke pleasantly, just loud enough to distract Sierra’s
gaze.

She smiled at Girard and
promptly fixed her eyes back on Drake, with a slight expression of
confusion. “You’ve not told anyone yet? You’ve not told
her
?” Sierra asked
glancing at Isadora for a second.

“
Told her what?” Drake
asked dumbfounded, though he had the distinct feeling that
something unpleasant was brewing within Sierra.

Sierra narrowed her eyes in
consternation. “You still plan to marry her, don’t you?” she asked
disgustedly. “Even after—” Sierra softly mouthed the words so that
only Drake could see them.

Drake glanced behind him at the
onlookers—Isadora was especially provoked, her fury clearly showing
on her face. “Sierra, come with me now. This is a private matter
that we should discuss amongst ourselves.” Drake took her arm to
pull her along.

“
No!” Sierra snatched her
arm back. “I have nothing to be ashamed of. Do you?” Sierra scanned
the shocked expression on everyone’s faces, especially Isadora’s.
“Do you still intend to marry her?” Sierra held up her arm,
pointing toward Isadora.

“
Sierra, you have said
enough! Don’t make a scene. There is no need for it!” Drake
demanded, trying to hush her. He did not want to become a spectacle
before everyone.

“
No, I will say when it has
been enough!” Sierra fully intended to give Drake a piece of her
mind regardless of his paralyzed expression and the stupefaction on
the faces of the others. “What Drake? Do I inconvenience you?
Certainly I did not last night!” Sierra pressed on. She didn’t care
what anyone thought of her. She didn’t care about her pride because
she had already given it to Drake. She didn’t care about her
reputation, because no one really cared about what a common girl
did and that was all that she was, nothing more. And she hated that
she had let herself forget who she really was amongst all these
upper class people.

Isadora rose to her feet. “Drake, what
is the meaning of all this?” she barked. “Have you slept with her
under the same roof that I sleep under? You dare insult me like
this—by keeping your whore by your bedside for late night
comforts?” Isadora clinched her fists, now understanding why Drake
had been denying her.

Drake bent his head down, unable to
speak, damned with the realization that there was no escape and
that he would have to face these women, and somehow try to atone
for what he had done—but how? He breathed out hard, weighed by his
guilt before looking at Isadora.

Drake’s eyes seemed to reveal his
inner struggle, which made Isadora’s entire body, tremble with
rage. She whipped her long tresses back away behind her shoulders
as if she were preparing for a brawl.

“
Such audacity! How could
you, and with this worthless little tramp?” Isadora charged at
Sierra. Raising her hand into the air she brought it down with
tremendous force, slapping Sierra hard across her face.

Kyle, Girard and Daniel immediately
jumped to their feet. Rosaline quickly grabbed Kyle’s arm to
forcefully pull him back.

Sierra touched the burning spot on her
cheek and then she instinctively raised her hand to strike Isadora.
Quickly impeding Sierra, Drake deadened her attack, jumping between
them and taking the intended blow to his arm.

Daniel quickly made his way to
Isadora, pulling her away from Sierra’s direction while Drake used
his body as a shield—holding Sierra back to thwart her from
attacking Isadora. Her liveliness caused him to embrace her with
the strength of a manacle.

“
Drake let go of me. Let
go! That witch has been asking for this for a long
time!”

“
Sierra, you cannot do
this!” Drake thundered at her, holding her tightly while she
struggled to be free of him. His words seemed to ricochet off of
her unheard.

“
But you saw her! All of
you did!” Sierra glanced around frantically. “She assaulted me!”
she cried. Sierra wondered why none of them would side with her and
curse the very ground that Isadora walked on.

“
And with good reason you
little miserable twit! You are finished here! Go back to the hole
in the ground you crawled out from!” Isadora screamed, giving
Sierra a contemptuous glare. “Drake, I should have known!” Isadora
turned her fury on him.

“
Calm yourself, Isadora,”
Daniel spoke assertively, “before I find a way to help you do
it.”

At Daniel’s threat Isadora quickly
relinquished.

Girard stood wordlessly watching the
entire scene in astonishment while a stunned Kyle and Rosaline said
nothing and did nothing to intervene.