Of Dukes and Deceptions (11 page)

Up until yesterday she’d have been able to convince herself that she had no interest in the duke. But yesterday she’d considered him high in the instep and far too full of his own self-importance. If she thought about him at all, it had been to congratulate herself upon seeing through his sophisticated façade to the base individual lurking beneath it. She appeared to be the only member of her family who’d not been taken in by his glamour. But now she understood him a little better, which left her in something of a quandary. She’d caught glimpses of the sensitive and rather lonely person beneath all that hauteur and no longer knew quite what to think of him.

Janet bustled along behind her, not saying a word. That wasn’t a good sign. She must be waiting for privacy in order to take her to task for being alone with the duke. Alicia didn’t know what she’d say to defend herself, since her behaviour had been all but indefensible.

Much to her surprise, Janet merely beamed at her when they were finally alone. She busied herself by helping Alicia to disrobe and brushed out her hair, smiling all the while. When she’d completed her tasks to her satisfaction, she plucked the rose from between Alicia’s fingers and placed it in a bud vase on the bedside table.

“You’ll be able to see it from your bed, my love.”

“Leave the candle,” Alicia said. “I won’t be able to sleep with all the noise coming from downstairs so I’ll read for a while instead.”

“All right, but don’t tire yourself, mind. I know what you’re like when you get your nose in a book.”

“I won’t read for long. Good night, Janet.”

“Good night, pet. Sleep well.”

Alicia settled in an armchair in front of the fire to wait. She was clad in her nightgown, a robe belted across it. Her hair was tightly braided but on a whim she pulled it free and it tumbled around her shoulders. She didn’t know what to do next and tried to concentrate on her novel, but so few words penetrated her brain that she might just as well have been holding the book upside down.

The party downstairs was gathering momentum. She heard snatches of conversations on the terrace beneath her window. Noise and laughter rose above the melodic dance music and Alicia wished she could be a part of it. The desire to be whirled around the floor in the duke’s arms just once more was intense. She needed a distraction but nothing was to hand so she stood and paced the length of the room, trying to concentrate on the duke’s suspicions and think of an alternative explanation for the attack on her.

Unable to concentrate, she gave up almost immediately and resumed her chair. Where on earth was he? She tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair, her nerves taut as a bowstring, endeavouring to remain calm. He wouldn’t risk coming until everyone was abed. He was taking a risk even then, but his presence was unlikely to be detected. The rest of the family slept in another wing. The rooms on either side of hers were vacant and no one else had any business in this part of the house after dark.

She must have dozed off in the chair. A light tap on the door caused her eyes to fly open. For a moment she was disorientated. Then she recalled where she was. And why. Flustered, she rose unsteadily to her feet and cautiously opened the door. She blushed deeply at the sight of His Grace standing on the threshold. He wore a shirt, open at the neck to reveal a thick mat of hair curling across his chest, and a pair of tight-fitting breeches. His feet were bare.

“Come in.” She opened the door wider and turned away from him, shy suddenly.

“I thought the party would never end.”

She was conscious of his calm assessment as he took the seat opposite hers.

“What hour is it?”

“After three.”

“Goodness, we’ll get little enough sleep tonight.”

“You ought to remain in bed in the morning and recover your strength. You’re still very weak. I imagine that Will can manage your animals.”

“Perhaps I’ll follow your advice.” Alicia stared in fascination at her half-dressed caller. She’d never encountered a gentleman anything other than fully dressed before, so her curiosity was entirely natural. But that didn’t account for the salacious nature of the thoughts which flooded her mind. He was watching her, and the languid, half-amused expression on his sculpted features made her suspect that he’d interpreted her thoughts. She shook her head, determined to remain aloof. “You had something else you wished to say to me? In view of the hour, we should make it brief.”

“Indeed.” His eyes came to rest on her face, and more specifically on her wayward hair, and he appeared to be in no hurry to do so.

“I’m listening.”

“Well then, where to start?” He cleared his throat but his eyes, once again focused on her face, didn’t waver. “I most particularly wish to impress upon you the fact that someone wishes you harm.”

“Yes, so I apprehend from our earlier conversation.” She wrinkled her brow. “But I really don’t see who it could be. Or why.”

“No, no more do I. But I intend to the get to the bottom of the matter before I leave Ravenswing Manor.”

“Oh, but I thought you were due to depart tomorrow.”

“I’ve made no immediate plans to leave.” The heat of his eyes on her face, the intensity of his expression, made her quake with emotion. Inexplicably she also found herself shivering. How was it possible to be both hot and cold at the same time? He noticed her difficulty, of course. “Are you cold, Alicia? Shall I bank up the fire?”

“No, I’m not cold.” She trained her eyes on the floor, unable to meet his gaze.

“I don’t wish to alarm you or tax your strength but I’m afraid you must hear what I have to say.”

“Very well.”

“Good. Now, where were we? Oh, yes, about the threat to your person and my plans to leave here. At the moment I’m motivated by a desire to keep you alive, which transcends everything else.”

He spoke with a deep sincerity that caused her breath to catch in her throat. She heartily wished that he’d stop looking at her in such a penetrating fashion. She was finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate upon his well-intentioned if misguided warning whilst his eyes held her captive.

The only light in the room came from the dwindling fire and the single candle by which she’d been pretending to read. She couldn’t bring herself to look directly at him. She didn’t need to because she was acutely aware of his presence. The emotion spiralling through her, causing havoc with her level-headedness, was desire. She wanted him. She wanted to experience, just once, the type of passion that could escalate between a man and a woman when they shed their inhibitions and followed wherever instinct led.

She couldn’t take his words about danger seriously. She was too preoccupied with other feelings for them to make any sense. She ground her teeth. If he didn’t remove his eyes from her face and leave this room in the next few minutes, then she didn’t think she’d be able to muster the strength to continue denying her passion.

“Thank you, sir, but it’s unnecessary for you to inconvenience yourself on my behalf,” she said in a commendably even tone, given the mayhem his presence was causing to her senses. “I’ll be perfectly safe here.”

“Then how do you account for the gunshot that missed your heart through nothing more than good fortune.”

“It has to have been an accident,” she said quietly. “I can’t bear to think otherwise. I can’t accept that any of my relations mean me harm.”

His eyes darkened. “What must I do to persuade you that the shot was no accident but a deliberate attempt to kill you?”

“My family are, perhaps, a trifle negligent in their displays of affection toward me. But you must believe it when I say none of them has any reason to wish me dead.”

“And you must believe me,” he responded savagely, “when I tell you that one of them must have.”

“No, it’s impossible.”

“That’s what I expected you to say.” He lifted his shoulders. “Ah, well, if you can’t think what it is, then I’ll have to work it out for myself.”

“If I really am in as much danger as you suggest, perhaps I should arrange to remove myself from the Manor now and take possession of my cottage.”

“That’s one possibility but it won’t serve.”

“Why not?”

“Because I can’t see the assailant’s need to kill you abating simply because you no longer live here.”

She bit the inside of her lip. “If you really consider that I’m in danger, then I suppose there’s merit in that belief.”

“Besides, you will be less well protected there. It will be easier for the assassin to gain access to you.”

Alicia shivered again, this time through fear. “That’s not a pleasant thought.”

“I don’t mean to distress you, but if it puts you on your guard, then so much the better. But now, if there’s nothing else you can tell me that might help to unravel this mystery, then I’d better leave you to your repose.”

He stood up. She was shamefully disappointed when she realised that he really did mean to leave her.

“Thank you,” she said, standing also, “for your concern. I’ll take your warning to heart and be very careful.”

The duke turned and held her gently by the shoulder that wasn’t injured. “I’m persuaded that you still don’t really believe you’re in danger but I
know
it to be so.”

His expression was almost brutal. Observing it, Alicia’s legs quaked. She could see that he was in deadly earnest, and for the first time she actually wondered if he could be right.

“Take great care, Alicia.”

She blinked, gratified that a duke should concern himself with the welfare of a mere poor relation. Now all she had to do was figure out why her safety should be of such importance to him that he’d risk calling upon her in the middle of the night in order to discuss it.

“Thank you, I’ll take your warning to heart.”

“Vary the times when you go to the village, if you must go at all. Take the main road, even if it takes longer to complete your journey. No one will risk attacking you if there’s other traffic abroad.”

His hand was still resting on her shoulder, the heat from his palm searing through the thin fabric of her robe. She looked up at him, a question in her eyes. Before she knew what was happening, his arms had encircled her body and, with a smothered oath, he was kissing her. Not fleetingly this time but with a deep passion that stole her breath away. His tongue foraged her mouth and she instinctively opened it a little wider, brazenly granting him access. His hands roamed the contours of her back. Soothing, caressing.

She felt safe in his arms, almost ashamed of her acute awareness of him. Her emotions were in turmoil but she didn’t have the strength to care. She felt as though she were floating outside her body, a voyeur drifting on an endless wave of pleasure intended for someone else. An explosive amalgamation of sensations threatened to consume her, and she didn’t seek to fend off their lethal embrace. Instead she emptied her mind and surrendered to his touch, willing to follow wherever he led. Anxious to discover what came next.

Which was why a small protest escaped her lips when he broke the kiss far too soon for her liking.

“Was I not supposed to invite your attentions?” she asked him breathlessly.

“You did, just now, with your eyes.”

She tried to look upon him severely. “Am I that transparent then?”

He chuckled. “You are to me.”

Nick’s resolve to behave in a gentlemanly fashion for the duration of his interview with Alicia was always going to be challenging. He valiantly tried to pretend that she wasn’t in a state of semi-undress. That her vulnerability and increasing dependency upon him didn’t change anything. But just looking at her was enough to cause desire to rip through him in a savage torrent. If he could quit the room before it took a stronger hold, there was an outside chance that he’d still be able to stick to his resolve.

He was about to open the door when she looked up at him, a passion she was too inexperienced to conceal reflected in her eyes, and Nick knew he’d lost the battle. Damn it, there was only so much temptation a man could endure. He was astounded by the turn his thoughts had taken. It would appear that after thirty years of searching, His Grace the Duke of Dorchester had finally located his conscience. Reluctantly he released Alicia and moved away from her.

“It’s late,” he said gruffly. “I’d best return to my chamber.”

“And if I don’t wish you to?” She tilted her head to one side. Her expression was innocent. Almost prim. But the extravagant sweep of the lashes shading her eyes was insufficient to disguise the need reflected in them.

Nick swore quietly. He was maintaining control by the merest thread. If she continued to look at him like that, he’d lose the skirmish with his newly located conscience and, with it, the war.

“Your wishes don’t signify.” He took a step toward the door. “It’s best if I leave.”

“Best for whom, Your Grace?”

Nick ran a hand through his hair, for once unsure of himself. “I didn’t intend to put you in this position,” he said, anguish in his voice.

“Don’t lie! You warned me of your intention as soon as you arrived here and, after due consideration, I’ve decided to take you up on your offer.” She twirled the sash of her robe in loose circles, almost as though she intended to unfasten it there and then. It was vital for the sake of Nick’s rapidly dwindling resolve that she didn’t do so. “But I believe I’m supposed to beg.” She canted her head again in that enchanting manner of hers and offered him a sultry smile. “Is that what you’d have me do, Your Grace?”

“Alicia, why?” He choked on an oath when she regarded him with a deeply sensual expression that had no place on such an innocent face. “Do you feel some sort of misguided duty because I rescued you? If so, then let me put you at your ease at once. It was entirely my pleasure. You owe me absolutely nothing.”

“Not at all. I merely wish to have my curiosity satisfied. I’ve observed horses mate on numerous occasions. I can’t believe that the couplings between humans could possibly be so clinically brutal.” She shuddered. “But I’ll never know unless I try it for myself. You’ve offered to teach me and…well—” She lifted her shoulders, spread her hands and left her unfinished sentence hanging in the air between them.

“I wasn’t in earnest.”

Alicia’s tinkling laughter was the last response he’d expected. “I took exception to your high-handedness, Your Grace. But I find now that humility suits you even less.”

“I didn’t really believe that you’d take me up on my offer. Your future husband should be the one to introduce you to the delights of the bedchamber.”

“If you’re trying to imply that I’m behaving loosely, then it won’t serve. I’m merely following your lead. Besides, I don’t intend ever to take a husband so must throw myself upon your mercy or forever live in ignorance.” Her gurgling laughter was almost his undoing. He turned away, struggling to remain steadfast. “Would you let me live out my life an old maid, when fate has provided us with the perfect opportunity to rectify that situation?”

Nick abruptly gave up the unequal struggle with his conscience and accepted her delightful invitation, wondering if he’d seriously expected this situation to develop in any other way. He dropped his head and captured her mouth with hungry urgency, feeding from the sweetness of her mouth with provocative passion. When he broke the kiss, they were both breathing heavily.

“Tell me what you know of workings in the covering barn,” he said, taking her hand and leading her toward the bed.

“Well, let me see.” She nibbled her index finger as she contemplated her answer. Her hair cascaded over one shoulder and Nick ran heavy locks through his fingers as he gently lifted it away from her face. “I’m aware that it’s only possible for the coupling to proceed if the mare is feeling receptive to the stallion’s advances.” She glanced up at him, frowning. “I’ve often wondered about that. I’ve never been able to understand what instinct drives her to tolerate such brutality. But since making your acquaintance, Your Grace, her motives become clearer.”

“Yes, the overwhelming desire to reproduce is prevalent in all species.” Nick trailed a finger lazily down her back. “What else have you learned?”

“Well, I know it’s important for the stallion to be rampant.”

Nick chuckled. “Oh, yes, that’s indeed an essential requirement for any male intent upon pleasuring a lady.”

She looked up at him, frowning. “Why are you laughing at me, Your Grace?”

“I’m not laughing at you, sweetheart. Quite the opposite, in fact. I’m enchanted by your innocence and analytical approach to what we’re about to do. But the difference between animals and humans is that the former act purely on instinct with no emotion invested in the act. Humans on the other hand—”

“But surely we’ll be acting on instinct as well? We don’t love one another and merely wish to satisfy our carnal desires.”

“Ah, perhaps that’s so. But for the duration of our coupling we will, I assure you, invest every shred of emotion we possess into pleasing one another.”

“Oh, I see. Pray excuse me, I didn’t realise that.”

“I dare say not.” His hand moved to the outside of her breast, tracing its contour with a gossamer-light touch. Alive to her every nuance, when she shivered he knew it wasn’t because she was cold. “And the first thing you must learn to do is to address me less formally.”

“Oh, but I couldn’t possibly do that. You’re a duke.”

“Indeed I am. I’m a duke who’s about to experience the rare privilege of being the first man to enjoy your—”

“Only when you are feeling rampant, presumably.”

Nick threw back his head and laughed aloud. “Oh, yes, m’dear, only then.” He brought himself under control and tilted her chin until she was compelled to look into his eyes. “Now then, my name is Nicholas. Say it, if you please.”

She shook her head decisively. “No, I can’t. It would be inappropriate.”

Nick was obliged to quell the desire to laugh for the second time in as many minutes. Here she was brazenly offering herself to him but couldn’t use his given name for fear of it being inappropriate.

“Nicholas,” he insisted. “Say it, darling. I want to hear my name slip past your lips.”

“Nicholas.” She spoke with patent reluctance, dropping her head and staring at her hands as she did so.

“Good girl! There, that wasn’t so difficult, was it?”

“I suppose not. But what happens now?” She lifted her eyes to his face. “I’m impatient to learn more.”

“And that’s your first mistake. In such matters haste is unpardonable. We intend to give one another pleasure, Alicia, and it’s sinful to rush pleasure.”

“But the horses do. For them it’s over in seconds.”

“Ah, yes, but that’s where we differ from horses.”

“Oh, I see.” She furrowed her brow. “Well, actually, I don’t see, not yet. But I have every confidence in your ability to open my eyes.”

“Eventually.” He took the end of her sash and pulled until the bow untied. “You’ll not be needing this.” He slid the robe from her shoulders.

“W-will I not?”

“It will only get in the way. Besides, I want to feel your naked flesh against mine.” Nick observed her face. She looked vulnerable now that she was sitting beside him wearing nothing but a thin silk nightgown. Perhaps the enormity of her actions had struck home and she was undergoing a change of heart. He gently agitated her nipple. It was already rock hard, and as pleasure gripped her he could sense her doubts rapidly draining away. “We require no impediments to our passion.”

“No, I suppose not.”

Nick stood and pulled the shirt over his head in one swift movement. Her eyes, brimming with curiosity, drank in the sight of his naked torso. He pulled her to her feet and closed his arms around her.

“Touch me, Alicia.” He guided her hand to his chest and held it there. “It’s very important for a man and woman who are impassioned of one another to have no barriers between them. Feel my heart, darling.” He moved her hand until it covered that organ. “Can you feel it beating?”

“Yes.” Her voice was a husky whisper. “But the beat is exceedingly fast. Are you unwell?”

He chuckled. “I’m suffering from a malady which only you’re in a position to rectify. You see, my heart is misbehaving due to the passion you’ve engendered in me.”

“It is!” She opened her eyes very wide, clearly astounded at this newfound power of hers.

Nick swallowed the spontaneous laugh that sprang to his lips in case it stopped her from voicing more of her enchantingly naïve thoughts. Educating this inquisitive innocent was going to be exceedingly pleasurable. “Indeed it is.”

“And do I also make you feel rampant?”

This time the laugh wouldn’t be silenced. “You certainly do. Just feel.” Nick guided her hand to the appropriate place and watched her eyes grow larger still. “Would you like to see the extent of my rampancy?”

She gulped but to her credit didn’t drop her eyes from his. “Yes, please, Your Grace. I rather think I would.”

“And so you shall, when you can bring yourself to address me informally. Obedience is a very important trait in a female if she truly wishes to give her man pleasure and doesn’t wish to earn herself a punishment.”

“I do wish to give you pleasure, Nicholas.” She nodded decisively. “I can’t think of a time when I’ve wanted anything more.”

“That’s very good.”

His breeches went the same way of his shirt. He stood before her, as naked as the day he was born, his hand gently massaging a throbbing erection.

“Oh, my! You’re very rampant indeed. Am I responsible for your condition?”

“Yes, angel, you most certainly are. Would you like to touch it?”

“Yes, I th-think so.”

She sounded anything but certain but curiosity still sparkled bright in her eyes.

Nick took her hand and closed it about his shaft. It immediately jumped in response to the contact with her fingers and with a little shriek of alarm she released it.

“It’s all right, sweetheart, it won’t bite.”

“But it’s so very large.” Her eyes were as wide as saucers. “Do you mean to put all of it inside me? Is that necessary in order to obtain carnal pleasure or can we make do with just a little of it?”

“Most assuredly you must take it all.” Nick bit the inside of his lip to prevent himself from laughing aloud.

“But what if it doesn’t fit?”

“If there’s one thing I can assure you with absolute certainty, it’s that it will fit.”

“Oh, well, if you’re sure. I suppose you know what you’re about.” She looked up at him and moistened her lips. “I think I’m feeling receptive now.”

“Perhaps, but there is much you still have to learn before you receive the benefit of my rampancy.”

“Oh, must I wait?”

“Yes, my love,” he said, bending his head to kiss her. “Indeed you must.”

Alicia felt dazed. It was as though she was watching this scene unfold from a great height, and the woman so boldly enticing the duke into her bed was someone else. But the touch of his fingers as they lazily explored the contours of her breasts gave her an exquisite reminder that she was the one who’d daringly initiated this tryst. She’d actually offered herself to this annoyingly alluring
roué.

Pleasure spangled through her entire body as he agitated her passions. She threw her head back as unknown sensual delights sent dizzying shock waves spiralling through her. They hit her so rapidly, creating a feeling of such inexorable need in her, that she was incapable of fighting against them. She emptied her mind, stopped caring if her behaviour was inappropriate, and simply permitted the pleasure to consume her.

The tie at the neck of her nightgown had come undone. Before she knew what he was about, the duke had grasped the hem of the garment and was in the process of lifting it over her head.

“Can you raise your injured arm?” he asked her.

Alicia, still in a daze, discovered that she could. She hadn’t considered the etiquette of the situation when offering herself to Nicholas. Even if she’d done so, she wouldn’t have imagined it necessary to divest herself of her clothing. She blushed as she stood in front of him naked and, for the first time, afraid. Afraid that he’d be disappointed in her and change his mind? Afraid of the step she was about to take? Alicia couldn’t be sure.

She was distracted from her deliberations by something she detected in Nicholas’s eyes as they roved slowly over her body. It was an expression that immediately set her at her ease, even though she couldn’t seem to put a name to it. Was it actually admiration? Could it possibly be?

It didn’t seem likely. He must have dallied with women a thousand times more attractive than she was. Which made it very important that she not be found wanting. Not when he was so truly magnificent. His torso was a solid mass of taut muscles and she was fascinated by the sight of it. Time and again her eyes were drawn toward it. He was unashamed of his nakedness, and his attitude helped her to forget her awkwardness. Impulsively she reached forward to touch him, tangling her fingers in the curly mass of hair which adorned his chest. He groaned and covered her hand with his own.

“Come,” he said with something approaching urgency.

He led her to the bed and they sat side by side on its edge. Only then did Alicia realise that Nick held the sash from her night-rail in his hand.

“What are you doing?” she asked when he reached behind her.

“You must be taught to trust me.”

“But I already do.”

“Not entirely, but all that’s about to change. I’m going to take you on a journey of discovery, Alicia, and teach you to trust your senses. They’re so much a part of what we’re about to do. If you can rely on them to guide you, then the pleasure you receive will be greatly enhanced.”