Regency Romance: The Rake's Fake Marriage (Historical Arranged Marriage Romance) (19th Century Victorian Romance) (80 page)

''Now, my Lord, we will do this gently and at a
pace,
I am
comfortable with
. Do you agree?''

The Duke nodded.

''You may kiss me.''

He took her in his arms and kissed her. Emily felt his tongue trying to open her lips, but she managed to keep them tightly shut.

''Now, that was
nice,
wasn't it?'' she asked him.

Again he nodded. He
was racked
with desire and couldn't speak. His member was harder than it had ever been and he wanted to plunge it into her, without delay.

Emily took his hand and placed it
to
her breast. He felt her nipples stiffen under the thin nightgown. ''My Lord, please forgive me. I am inexperienced in the ways of the bedroom. I have never had a man before.'' The Duke's breath quickened at the thought of taking this
virginal
beauty. ''I ask you to have patience with me. I will give myself
entirely
to you, in time. For the
moment,
I am comfortable letting you kiss me and touch certain parts of my body.''

The Duke listened in dismay. All he was going to
get
was a kiss and a feel of her breasts. It wasn't enough, but other than raping her, he concluded he had little choice but to wait.

Emily pushed him down so that he was lying on the bed. She lay next to him and propped herself up on one elbow. She kissed him. ''My Lord. Please be assured of my
firm
interest in you, but one thing is troubling me. One thing that may come between us and ruin any chance we have of happiness together.''

The Duke looked up at her. He had accepted that his sexual desire wasn't going to
be quenched
this evening. ''What on earth
could possibly
come between us?''

''A process of bidding,'' Emily said boldly. She looked at the Duke. She knew that look. It was the same
guilty
look she'd
used
when her mother had caught her using her pearls.

''How do you.....?

''My cousin heard you and the other two gentlemen talking about holding an auction for my hand.''

''Emily please, that was just......''

''I am flattered. Don't think me angry in any way. It is just that I am worried in the extreme that you will
be outbid
and that any chance of happiness I may have with
you
will
be destroyed
. I have a proposal to make.''

''Please go on,'' the Duke said.

''I understand the agreement is for five rounds of bidding. You must tell me after the fourth
round
of bids what your final bid shall be. I will use my womanly charms to persuade the others that your bid is much lower than it is and you will win
me,
and we can follow
our
hearts at last.''

She kissed him again. This time longer and with her mouth slightly open. ''Any other outcome would break my heart,'' she said as her forefinger traced a path over his stomach and down to his belt.

''Oh, Miss Emily.
You are so beautiful, and I desire you like I have no other woman on this earth.
I will tell you, of
course,
I will.''

*****

''How many of the men have you met with?'' asked Beatrice, as she walked with her cousin over the freshly cut lawn at Priory Manor.

''So far, only the Duke,'' Emily replied.

''And what are you feelings for him?''

''He is the most
objectionable
man I have ever met. Do you know he evicted a tenant family when their daughter was ill with tuberculosis? He is conceited and arrogant. He has untold
wealth,
and I could become a Duchess, but he is quite intolerable.''

''Then there are just two,'' Beatrice added.

''I don't know. Mr. Carrington was adamant that his position made it impossible for us to meet. He has
been disinherited
and has no money. He rather charmingly told me that he wants the best for
me,
and as
he
can't offer it, he won't consider meeting with me. Of that, he left me in no doubt whatsoever.''

''Then you must make him fall in love with you. You must
make him desire
you, so much that he will do anything to have you. Only then will he give up his notion that he must have money to court you.''

''And how do I do that when he
won't even see
me.''

''I will attend to that. Don't worry.''

*****

''Come to my room when you
are finished
,'' Emily whispered. Masters looked at her and swallowed hard. Emily said goodnight to the guests, with whom she had shared a pleasant evening at the dinner table and left the room. Masters hadn't provided her with a maid. He wasn't as wealthy as the
Duke,
but he was
wealthy
enough to move in the circles Emily's mother found acceptable.

In her
room,
she took off her clothes and put on a nightdress. She arranged it in such a way that Masters would see her breasts. She'd enjoyed his company at the dinner table. He had proven amiable and witty. He had told the guests of his trips to the Far East. Emily had been mightily impressed by his recollections of the evening he'd fought off a tiger that had entered the camp he'd been
staying in
.

The bed was large and much more comfortable that the Queen Elizabeth bed she had slept in at the Duke's residence. Emily lay under the covers and waited
for
him. As she had anticipated, it wasn't long before he knocked on her door.

When
she
'd let him in, Emily stood before him, in her nightgown. She'd left the top few buttons
undone,
and Master's looked at her breasts. He pulled her to him and kissed her passionately. She held onto him pulling him against her. She could feel his desire touching her hip through their clothing. She gasped as he threw her onto the bed. Her
nightgown
slid up as she fell, allowing him a glimpse of her silky legs.

He stood at the side of the bed and took off his waistcoat and shirt. Emily marveled at his muscular physique and let out a little scream when he pulled her up to him. He kissed her again.
This time,
she felt his tongue inside her mouth, prodding, searching. As they kissed, Masters took hold of her nightdress at the hem. He pulled it up over her buttocks. She lifted her arms and in one swift movement, she was naked. 

He pushed her back down and began to unfasten his trousers. Emily looked at him, fascinated. When he slipped the material down over his legs, she gasped as his penis sprang out. It was the first time she'd seen an erect member. She began to feel
warmth
between her legs and realized she was now a woman with desires.

When he was naked, he got onto the bed and gently parted her legs. He lay between them and kissed her on the mouth. He lowered his mouth to her nipples and sucked. Emily let out an involuntary
cry,
and as she did so, he entered her. She cried out again, this
time,
louder. He felt her body
stiffen,
and her arms tighten around his back.

He remained inside her but didn't move until he felt her soften under him. When her breathing returned to something like normal, he began to move his hips. Emily felt his hardness filling her and she liked it. As he moved in and out of her, she felt it increasingly difficult to catch her breath.

Suddenly he stopped and pulled out of her. She grabbed him and tried to pull him back to her. She liked it and didn't want him to
stop
. She didn't realize he wanted to change positions. It took him several tries to get her to put her bottom
in
the air in just the right manner. On her hands and knees with him behind her, she felt open, vulnerable and quite uneasy. When he entered her again and began to thrust hard into her, her opinion of this position changed.

After fifteen minutes, Emily was exhausted. Masters had moved her at regular intervals and taken her in as many positions as he had in his repertoire. Back in the missionary
position,
Emily felt more
comfortable,
and she could again concentrate on the pleasure of their lovemaking.

As he pushed into
her,
she felt herself beginning to shake. Wave after wave of delight had started to flow from her wet center. Masters put his hands under her, raised her buttocks thrust into her harder. Now he was taking
her like
a
man,
and she loved it. He felt her nails dig into his arms as she pushed her pelvis up to meet him, her body willing him on. Her moans sped him
forward,
and she felt the muscles in his back begin to tighten. She realized he was at the
peak,
and the thought of him coming inside her pushed her over the edge. She rolled her eyes, arched her back and let out a low moan as she felt a jet of warm semen flowing into her.

Afterward,
as they lay in each other’s
arms,
Emily began to cry. ''My love what on earth can be wrong? Did I hurt you?''

''No I liked it very much. It's just, I am afraid.''

''Why be afraid, I am here?''

''I am afraid I may lose you?''

''Dear Emily, please tell me why you would think that, especially after we have confirmed our need for one another, here in this bedchamber tonight.''

''I know about the auction you and the others are holding for the right to my hand. The thought you may not win is one that is too abominable to contemplate.''

He looked at her sheepishly. ''Emily I wasn't thinking
correctly
when we made that stupid agreement. I hardly knew you. Now I am mortified I had anything to do with it. If I could change it, I would but
I
made an
agreement,
and
I am bound by it
.''

''Of course, Dear, and I wouldn't want you to go back on it. You have your reputation to
think of
. I have a
proposal
if you may allow me?”

''Please, anything to get us out of this terrible predicament.''

''You must tell me after the fourth round of bids what your final bid shall be. I will use my womanly charms to persuade the others that your bid is much lower that it is. You will win
me,
and we can follow our hearts at last.''

''That is
a splendid
solution,'' he said.

*****

''Dear Mr. Carrington, please accept my apologies for interrupting your
day,
but I have some urgent business to attend to concerning Miss Emily Ashington.''

''She isn't ill is she?'' he asked, a genuine look of worry on his face.

''No, but she is very concerned
for
her reputation.''

''Why would she be that? She has an excellent
reputation;
everyone thinks her divine.''

''The auction Mr. Carrington,'' Beatrice said, looking at him sternly.

''Oh,'' he replied, not quite knowing what to say.

''She knows about your scheme with the other
two,
and she is desperately worried that if it becomes common knowledge, her reputation will suffer. After all, I think you may understand if you give it some thought,
which men,
wagering money over a lady, is hardly good for her reputation. It is marginally akin to prostitution. ''

''Oh, what a terrible situation. It was
a silly
agreement. I hardly knew Miss Emily then. We were in high
spirits,
and it all happened so quickly. I don't know what I
am able to
do about it. I cannot change it now. A gentleman's agreement is final.''

''Of course, Sir. Miss Emily fully understands your predicament. It is
just;
she needs your assistance. Of the three, she is most drawn toward you. She does understand, however, that because of your circumstances, there could never be a liaison between you.
However,
your actions have caused a danger to her
reputation,
and I must ask you to make amends.''

''Amends? How may I do that?''

''By stepping out with her until the whole sordid business is finished. If society sees her courting with a single man in a steady, proper manner, it will be much less inclined to call her reputation into dispute should your sordid agreement become public. They will think it a rumor when they look at the two of you.''