Never a Mistress, No Longer a Maid (13 page)

“But it’s in my self interest to eliminate all your
nightgowns, although I must admit the very prim nature of this one makes me
ravenously hungry to see what’s underneath.”

The heat of that statement ignited a fire in Jane.  And gave
her a much needed dose of courage.

She removed her hands from him and stepped back.  Then she
grabbed hold of the hem of her gown and slowly, inch by inch, pulled it up her
body.  Ned’s eyes were riveted on the rising hem as he strained to stay in control. 

When the hem was high on her thighs, she dropped it to the
floor.  This was met by another of his groans.

“I forgot to unbutton the top,” she said by way of
explanation.

She began undoing buttons, one at a time, from just under
her chin downward.  Every one of Ned’s muscles tensed.  His hands were balled
in fists at his side.  And his cock had somehow grown even larger, harder.

Once Jane had finished with the buttons, revealing just a
hint of her breasts, she began to slowly unlace her cuffs.  First one, then the
other, then she began to lift the hem again.

Unable to take the slow torture any longer, Ned pounced.  He
had the gown over her head and on the floor before she knew what was happening. 
Then with one arm under her legs, he lifted her and deposited her on the bed,
following her down immediately.

It was skin on skin for the entire length of their bodies. 
The weight of him on her.   His mouth on hers.   And the feel of his cock
pressing against her stomach.

She reached down to grasp him and stroke.  He brushed her
hand aside.

“You had your turn.  Now it’s mine.” 

Before she knew what was happening, he held both her wrists
above her head.  She struggled, but he didn’t budge even an inch.  He kissed
her neck, then moved his lips down to the swell of her breasts.

“Lovely,” he said as he brought his tongue down to her
nipple.  He suckled, nipped lightly at it with his teeth, then blew on it. 

Jane came off the bed several inches.

“My hands.  Let me use my hands.”  Now her voice was raspy.

He ignored her plea. 

He continued kissing his way down her body to her ribcage. 
Then he flicked his tongue around her belly button before finally delving
inside, which drew a groan from her.  Then he kissed further and further down,
until he came to her curls.

Jane fully expected him to travel back up her body,
releasing her hands so she could exact her revenge on him.  What she was
completely unprepared for was the surge of pure sensation that shot through her
entire body when he licked a trail down to the very heart of her.

“Ned!  You can’t… this isn’t…”  She protested even as she
knew she didn’t want him to stop.  Ever.

And he clearly had no intention of ending his ministrations,
as he placed her legs over his shoulders to better position himself at her core. 
With long, slow licks, he brushed through her folds.  First one side, then the
other.  Then he slowly licked his way down and inserted his tongue inside her. 
He moved it in and out several times, then replaced his tongue with one finger,
then added another.  He licked his way back up to her button of flesh and begun
to suck on it as he moved his fingers in and out.

Jane was writhing.  Lost in sensation.  He finally released
her hands, enabling her to run her fingers through his hair as she climbed higher
and higher.  Finally, just as she thought she was unable to take any more, he
flicked his tongue and she was swept over the top in a wave of intense pleasure. 
She turned her head to cry out into the pillow.

When she finally regained her senses some time later, she
looked down to see Ned with his head still between her legs.  He kissed the
inside of her thighs, then she reached down to pull him on top of her.

But instead of simply lying there passively, she pushed him
onto his back.  He was surprised, but more than willing to let her lead.  

Before her courage could fail her, she said “I’d like to do
to you what you just did to me.”

Ned froze.  He went completely still.  Except for his heart
that was pounding so hard he thought it might fly out of his chest.  She
couldn’t mean what he thought she did.  Could she?

“You don’t have to do anything, love,” he said, not wanting
her to feel uncomfortable or somehow obligated, even though he was hoping
against hope she would follow through.  “I’ll feel the same way you did when
I’m inside you.”

“But it’s not the same.”

Ned couldn’t believe what the goddess above him was saying. 
Then he couldn’t believe what she was doing as she leaned down to kiss his
lips, then his neck, then down to his chest.  She was repeating the journey
he’d made on her.  But he was sure he’d explode before she even got close to
the end.

Her tongue flicked over his nipple, then she nipped lightly
and blew.  At his sharp intake of breath she looked at him and smiled. 

She continued downward, first to his ribs, then around his
belly button.   Getting closer and closer to where he wanted her lips the most.
 Nothing in his storied career in the bedroom had ever felt like this.  Had
ever excited him like this.  Other women had been more experienced.  But none
had had this effect on him. 

She was now kneeling between his legs, looking at his cock. 

She leaned down, closer and closer, then placed one hand
around his shaft and swiped her tongue slowly over the tip.   His hands buried
themselves in the silk of her hair and it was all he could do not to press
himself into her mouth. 

She brought her lips to the rounded head and rubbed them up
and down, then slowly took him all the way into her mouth.  It was too much. 
Ned’s hips reflexively gave the gentlest of thrusts, but it was enough to show
her what to do.  While her hand continued to squeeze and stroke, she took him
in and out of her mouth.

He had no idea how much of a natural she’d be at this, but she
very quickly caught the rhythm.  And it was the sight of her, coupled with the
feel and sound of what she was doing, that drove Ned closer and closer to the
edge.  Then she groaned in pleasure and it was his undoing.  He lost all
control and had barely enough time to withdraw from her mouth before spilling
his seed all over the sheets.

For a long moment, he lay there, eyes closed, recovering
from the most intense climax he’d ever experienced.  Then he kept his eyes
closed a bit longer because he couldn’t remember ever being this embarrassed. 
He’d not only spilled like a green lad, but he’d probably horrified her.  He’d be
lucky if she didn’t order him out of her house immediately, then sic Titania
the champion mouser on him.  He’d deserve it, too. 

“Ned?”

He kept his eyes closed.  Maybe she’d think he’d fallen
asleep.  Or, with any luck, died.

“Ned?” 

This time she gently shook his arm.  He had to stop being a
coward and let her react as she wanted.  He just dreaded seeing the look of
disgust in her eyes that he knew would be there.

He finally opened his eyes.  She was smiling.  An almost
angelic smile, if angels did what they’d just done.  He reached for her, still
not believing she’d let him touch her again.

“That was the most intense experience of my life,” he said
as he pulled her down to lie next to him. 

Then she frowned, which sent a chill through him. 

“Please don’t say things you don’t mean,” she said.  “I know
you’ve been with many women.  Ones who knew what they were doing.  There’s no
need to flatter me.”

“But I’m telling the truth.  I’ve never experienced anything
like that – the intensity, the explosion that went through me.”  What he didn’t
add was that the entire experience had left him feeling exposed, which was an
unfamiliar and unwanted emotion for him.

He kissed her gently.  She lay in his arms for a moment,
then just as he was about to continue, she pulled away and got out of bed.

“Where are you going?”

“Back to my room.  That was enough for tonight, don’t you
think?”

“No.  There are plenty of other things we can do.”

She leaned down and kissed him lightly on the lips.

“But I still have a great deal of thinking to do.  And that’s
something I can’t do in your bed.  Thank you for a wonderful night,” she said
as she donned her night rail and dressing gown.  “I’ll see you in the morning.”

As she left, Ned fought the urge to run after her.  And as he
settled into the sleep of the sated, he realized that even though he hadn’t
planned on getting married at this age, there could be some distinct advantages
to it.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

When Wheeler picked Jane up shortly after breakfast to check
on the much-improved Penny, Ned declined the invitation to join them.  There’d
been a letter with the Barrington seal waiting for him yesterday when they’d
returned from his ill-fated tree-climbing expedition.  He’d ignored it at the
time, but today he reluctantly read it.  It was a summons from Madeleine
telling him to call on her today. 

As much as he dreaded going back to Barrington Manor, the
sooner he put an end to the informal agreement with Madeleine, the quicker he
could formalize plans with Jane.  He hoped last night had been enough to
persuade her that they belonged together.  He wasn’t used to having to persuade
women to do anything for him.  In the past, they’d all been so….willing.  Maybe
that was one of the reasons he liked Jane so much.  He could never take her for
granted.   

So, after Rigg dressed him and offered words of support that
included the advice to not drink anything he was given just in case they
planned on drugging him then dragging him to the altar, Ned set off for
Barrington Manor. 

When he arrived, he was treated like a long-lost loved one, finally
returning home.  The butler was surprised Ned had come on Knightley and not in
his carriage fully loaded with the luggage he’d be moving back into the manor. 
But Ned assured him this was just a brief visit, then asked to see Miss
Merriman. 

Madeleine greeted him as a vision in pink, after appearing
with the stealth of a hunter.  She ushered him into her father’s study and shut
the door.

“La, Lord Edward, but you do look fine this morning,” she
said, eyeing both the tailoring of his clothes and the body beneath.

“Thank you Miss Merriman.  But I believe it is time to talk.”

“I believe it is time we did more than that, sir.”

Madeleine closed the distance between them as if propelled
by catapult.  Then she put both hands on his lapels, pulled him toward her with
almost frightening strength and kissed him.

Ned wasn’t all that surprised to learn the chit could kiss. 
Her tongue slid along his lips, surprising him into opening his mouth, which
proved to be a mistake as her tongue barged in as she rubbed herself up against
him.  They were moves very few men could resist, and had they been done by the
right woman, he was sure what they would lead to.  But since they were being
done by quite the wrong woman, Ned pulled back.  Madeline moved in for another
frontal assault, but he firmly, yet gently held her away from him.  Her look of
surprise would’ve been comical had Ned not had the feeling something very bad
was about to happen.

“While I am enormously flattered my dear, I’m afraid I’m not
interested.  And now I must be going.”

There was a flash of anger in her eyes, the split second
before she said quite loudly, “Lord Edward, what can you mean by kissing me
so?”

The words had no sooner left her mouth, than the door opened
and Lord and Lady Barrington fell into the room.

“A kiss!  How wonderful, my lord,” exclaimed Lady
Barrington.  “When can I announce the happy news?”

“I would have preferred you to speak to me first, my boy,”
said Lord Barrington, “but I understand the course of true love.”

But it was true commerce the man had on his mind, as he told
Ned he’d be available to draw up the marriage contract any time starting now –
he just happened to have a draft ready – and extending for however long Ned
intended to stay at Barrington Manor.  Outmaneuvered and seething with anger,
Ned excused himself and stormed out of the house.

*                    *                    *

For a cat who loved mousing, Titiania spent a lot of time in
trees.  Vi looked up at her beloved cat, who was once again on a branch much
too far from the ground. 

“Please come down, Titania.  Mrs. Heldt will be so upset
when she realizes I left the garden to find you.”

“Wot we got here, Johnny?  A li’l girl wot done lost her
cat.”

Vi spun around to see two filthy men walking toward her.  They
were dressed in torn clothing with hair matted to their heads.  One carried a
club and they stood between her and the path home. 

“Pity that, ain’t it, Marty?  Especially since she’s such a
pretty young ‘un.”

“Wot’s your name, sweetheart?” asked Marty.

“Vi.”  She tried hard not to appear as scared as she felt.

“Would that be Violet Wetherby?  The bastard of Jane
Wetherby?”

Vi stared at the men with wide eyes.   If she ran in the
opposite direction she’d be trapped by the river.  If she ran into the woods,
she’d be going even further away from home. 

“Oi!  Are ye Violet Wetherby or ain’t ye?”

Slowly, she nodded her head.

“Then it’s time ye was off to the orphanage.”  With that,
Johnny sprang at her, grabbing hold of Violet’s arm.  She screamed and kicked
the man between the legs, something Mama had taught her, just as Titania
pounced and scratched him.  The man let go of her.  She began running to the
woods, but then the other one, who was laughing at his friend, grabbed Vi by
the hair, but kept her an arm’s length away, so she couldn’t kick him.

“The sprite’s feisty, ain’t she?”

Johnny slowly got to his feet, then moved toward her.

“I’ll show the little brat wot happens when ye messes wit’
me.”

Vi struggled with the man who was holding her, because the
other one looked so very angry.  But all of the sudden, the man released her
and she went tumbling to the ground.

“Run Vi!  Run!”

Suddenly Ned was there and he was hitting the man who’d
grabbed her.  But the other man looked like he wanted to hurt Ned.  Vi ran as
fast as she could into the woods.

*                  *                   *

Ned had never been so angry in his life as when he’d walked
into the clearing and seen Vi struggling with the two men.  He’d killed men in
battle before, even dispassionately, because it was what he’d been trained to
do.  But nothing had driven him to rage like those two brutes attacking his child.

He looked up to see Vi run into the woods.  Thank God.  The
man he was attacking was down on the ground, but the one Vi had so capably incapacitated
made a move to run after her.  Ned left the man on the ground and grabbed the
other.  He hit him in the jaw, with a resounding and quite satisfying crack of
bone.  But by then the first man had recovered enough to pull Ned down,
enabling the other to retaliate for the broken jaw with a brutal kick to the
stomach.  Momentarily winded, Ned knew a second more dangerous blow was coming,
when suddenly the man on top of him was hit on the side of the head.

Ned looked up to see Vi hitting the man with a branch almost
as big as she was.  Good God, why hadn’t she stayed away?

Fearing what would happen to Vi if he passed out, Ned got a
second wind, then head butted the man on top of him, pushing him over.  The other
man rose, then Ned kicked his kneecap, crumpling him to the ground.  Both men
lay moaning.   Neither got up.  Ned wanted desperately to finish them both
off.  He knew he could kill them with his bare hands.  But he couldn’t do it in
front of Vi.

She was beginning to tremble and her eyes shone with unshed
tears.  The sleeve of her dress was torn.  He took a step toward her.  She ran and
threw herself into his arms.

“Did they hurt you?” he asked, dreading the answer.

She shook her head.  “They just grabbed me and pulled my
hair.”

Bad enough, thought Ned, but thankfully it hadn’t been
worse.

“I told you to run!” he told her.  Anger at the men was fast
being replaced by fear of what might have happened.

“I couldn’t leave you to fight them yourself.  You could’ve
been killed.”

“And then what would’ve happened to you?”

The girl really began to shake then and Ned realized he
wasn’t making things better.  So he picked her up.

“Let’s go home, poppet.”

She nodded.  “But we have to bring Titania.”

He whistled at the cat who was surveying the two downed men
and whose opinion of them was in complete sympathy with Ned’s.  Then he walked home
carrying his precious bundle.

*                    *                    *   

Jane had just returned from visiting the much improved Penny
Wheeler and was trying to decide what she should say to Ned.  Even now she
couldn’t believe how wanton she’d been the night before.  But instead of being
horrified by her actions, he’d seemed to find them acceptable.  He rather liked
them, even.  She still had a lot of unanswered questions, but she was finally
getting the courage to at least ask them.

“Mama!”

Jane turned to see a grim Ned carrying Vi, who’d obviously
been crying.  He looked like he’d been in a fight.  Jane ran toward them.

“Vi!”

The girl scrambled out of Ned’s arms and ran to her mother,
who knelt down to receive her.  “Mama!  The men, they tried to hurt me.  They
called me a bastard and said they were going to take me to a- a- a orphanage.” 
Then she buried her head in her mother’s neck.

Jane tried to let the words sink in, but couldn’t believe it. 
Someone had tried to kidnap Vi.  To take her to an orphanage.  It was too
terrible to imagine.  Just as she needed it most, she felt a pair of strong
arms draw her against a well-muscled body. 

Ned didn’t say a thing.  He just held her, while she held
their daughter. 

“Sweeting,” said Jane, a few minutes later after they’d told
her the whole story, “you must stop running off from the house.”

Vi lifted her head, her tears finally ended, to nod
solemnly.  “I know.  I was just worried about Titania.”

“Titania can take care of herself, poppet,” said Ned.  He
hadn’t been this close to tears in more years than he could remember.  But one
little girl was bringing him closer. 

Much quicker to recover than either of her parents, Vi announced
she was going to see Mrs. Heldt for a biscuit. 

Jane pulled out of Ned’s arms as soon as Vi was out of
sight.

“When can you be ready?” he asked, as he reluctantly let her
go.

“For what?”

“Our trip to London.”

“We aren’t going to London.”

“Yes, we are.”  His voice was solemn but firm, brooking no
opposition.

“For what reason?”

“To straighten things out with your grandfather.  I assume
he’s the one behind today’s attack.”

“I assume he is, as well.  But it’s my problem and I’ll
manage on my own.”

“While I have nothing but respect for your abilities,
today’s actions go far beyond any obstacles you’ve faced in the past.  And it’s
our daughter who’s at risk.  I must insist you accompany me to London
tomorrow.  We have to sort this out as soon as possible and I won’t allow you
to remain here unprotected.”  Ned strode toward the house.

“Won’t allow it?” she asked as she ran to catch up to him.  “You
may be her father, but you aren’t my husband to be ordering me about.”

He turned to her, barely civilized.  The scare of that
afternoon still in the forefront of his thoughts.  “Don’t fight me on this
Jane.  You and my daughter are accompanying me to London tomorrow.   You can either
come willingly, or I can place you bodily into the carriage, bound and gagged. 
So what will it be?”

 “It would be wholly inappropriate to travel alone with a
man unrelated to us.”

“I’m related to one of you.”

“I haven’t forgotten that fact, sir.  But it’s a relation
that cannot be acknowledged.”

“Mrs. Heldt can accompany us.”

“Unfortunately, Mrs. Heldt doesn’t travel easily.  The
motion of the carriage makes her sick.”

“Hire someone from the village.”

“With what, sir?  I barely earn enough to put food on the table
and keep a roof over our heads.  And before you offer to pay, I will not take more
charity from you.”

“Then we shall travel alone, we three.  But we are going to
London.  I only hope your grandfather is healthy enough for me to thrash.”

“My grandfather is a formidable enemy.”

“All the more reason for you to cooperate with me.  I intend
to have the full force of the Duke of Lynwood behind us.  Trust me, your
grandfather won’t stand a chance.”

Jane and Ned were about to enter the house when a footman in
livery rode up the drive.  The man dismounted, then bowed.

“Begging your pardon milord, but Lord Barrington has asked
you to return to the manor as soon as possible so you can sign the marriage
contract.”

Ned felt Jane stiffen from a foot away.

“Thank you, but please tell Lord Barrington I am unable to
come today.”

With a nod, Ned dismissed the servant who looked like he
dreaded being sent home with such dismal news, then quickly entered the house.

Jane was on his heels.

“What marriage contract?” she asked.

Ned ran his hands through his hair.  “Events have transpired
that have some people believing I’m engaged to Miss Merriman.  Which I’m not.”

Ned said the words so quickly, Jane wasn’t sure if she’d
heard quite right.

“Come again?”

“I didn’t propose to Miss Merriman, but in answering the
missive she sent yesterday I walked into a trap.  Her parents walked in on us
and now believe us to be engaged.”

“What were you doing with Miss Merriman that was so
objectionable that it required marriage as a remedy?”

“Kissing, but…”

“You were kissing Madeleine after you and I….you’re a cad!” 
Jane couldn’t believe how her heart suddenly felt as if it were caught in a vise. 

“It’s not what you think.  She attacked me, then her parents
walked in, no doubt because they were lying in wait behind the door.”

“You’re telling me you were overpowered by Madeleine
Merriman?  You just fought off two grown men, yet Madeleine Merriman was able
to force you to do her bidding.”