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  “There.” He dropped the stockings off the side of the bed and stretched out once more beside her to claim her mouth for another deep kiss. Alicia sighed and her bare legs rubbed together as she leaned closer to let her mouth be teased and taken. His arms tightened around her and the world spun as Edward rolled them over again. This time, she was on top of him, and his hands pushed up underneath her dress, parting her thighs and settling her astride him. Alicia moaned as she straddled the ridge of his erection and writhed her hips. It was exactly what she had wanted and felt far better than she had imagined.

  “Oh, yes.” Edward’s hard hands stroked her naked thighs. “Yes, you will take to this ride very well.”

  She had no answer to that, so she leaned down to kiss him again. This, it seemed, was the right thing to do, because he pulled her close into his embrace again. Her swollen breasts rubbed hard against his chest, a sensation so consuming, she almost didn’t notice his strong, clever fingers working the tapes and hooks on the back of her dress, until she felt the draft of cool air against her spine.

  His hands moved up, to her waist, to her breasts, tugging and pulling at the confining fabric until he drew it fully over her head, leaving her entirely naked on top of him.

  “God in Heaven, you are beautiful, Alicia.”

  Her nipples puckered tight from the unfamiliar draft as much as from her excitement. Alicia pressed her palms against Edward’s linen-clad chest. The air might be cold against her skin but she was flushed and hot for all of that. She couldn’t catch her breath. Feeling filled her to the brim, leaving no room for air.

  Letting that feeling drive her forward, Alicia kissed Edward again, pressing her tongue into his mouth as he had pressed into hers. She shoved her hands beneath his shirt, delighting in the heat of his skin against her palms. She wrestled with the linen. He had promised her everything, and like a greedy child she wanted it all now.

  An unfamiliar sound reached her, and Edward’s chest bounced under her clumsy hands. She pulled back and stared, frozen between desire and disbelief. He was laughing at her. Laughing. It was absurd. She slapped his arm, and he only laughed harder. She raised her hand to slap at him again, but this time he caught her.

  “Oh, no, my dear, you are in no way ready for such games yet.”

  “Who are you to say what I am ready for?” she demanded.

  The world spun again. Alicia found herself flat on her back, and Edward loomed over her, his hard thighs clamped around hers, his hands holding her wrists pinned tightly over her head.

  “I am your betrothed lord.” He leaned close, the hairs of his chest just brushing the tight buds of her nipples and his hot breath caressing her cheek. “But you know that. Now you will learn that I am also lord of your body’s pleasure.”

  She opened her mouth to make a retort, but he kissed her too quickly, too deeply. He shifted his grip, so one hand held both her wrists. With his other he began again to play with her breasts, no longer gently, but rolling and pinching the very tips of her nipples. Pleasure rippled through Alicia, making her arch her back. His relentless kisses stopped her words, but the rest of her body could still beg.

  Edward pulled back, chuckling deep in his throat.

  “Stop…” She meant to say, Stop laughing at me, but Edward’s mouth had closed about her nipple, and her power of speech fled. He sucked her into his hot mouth. He licked her, rolling his tongue around the tight bud, and sucked again. With his free hand, Edward toyed with her other breast, kneading and plumping, preparing her for his wicked, wicked mouth.

  “You said stop,” he breathed against her damp and heated skin. “Shall I stop, Alicia?”

  Panic spiked deep in her center. “No. Please.”

  “Please what? Say what you want, Alicia.”

  “Your mouth. I want your mouth on me.”

  “Say you want me to suck your tits.” He kept her legs clamped firmly between his, holding her helpless while he rubbed the ridge of his cock against her slit, urged her with strength and pleasure to his bidding.

  She could not refuse. She did not even want to. “Suck my tits. Please, Edward.”

  “Well, since you ask so nicely…”

  He was smiling as he took her in his mouth. He released her wrists so she could grasp his shoulders and arch against him. She was lost to everything but the feel of his mouth, his tongue, his hard, beautiful body. Each breath, each nuance of pleasure, was a revelation, and she could never know enough.

  He shifted to the side, allowing his hand room to glide down her belly and caress her there, even as his mouth continued to suck and tease her swollen breasts. Gently, he slipped his hand between her thighs, letting his fingers stroke the sensitive folds underneath the dark tangle of curls.

  “You’re very wet, my dear,” he breathed into her ear.

  “Is that…Is that good?”

  “You tell me.” His thick, blunt fingers dipped into her wet slit and began to run slowly up and down.

  “Yes.” She sighed. “Yes, it’s very good.”

  “And…here?” He reached the very tip of her slit, where there was a tight little bud of flesh. He’d called it her clit, she remembered now. He pressed firmly and she cried out as pure delight spread through the whole of her.

  “Ah, yes, that’s it.” He stroked her clit. He was laughing again, but she didn’t care, as long as he didn’t stop caressing her in this way.

  “You are so beautiful, Alicia,” he whispered huskily. “So very beautiful. I like seeing you stretched out in my bed, begging for my touch.”

  “You…you make me feel so good.”

  “I want to show you my cock, Alicia. I want your hands on me.”

  “Yes. Yes. Please.”

  She thought she would die when he removed his hand from her to undo the buttons on his fly and kick his breeches away to let her see him fully naked for the first time.

  He was magnificent. His member was proud and strong, as was every other portion of him, but there was a fascination in the sight of his erect cock that held her gaze rapt. A flush spread through her, and her nipples tightened once again, even as her pussy loosened. But a thread of uncertainty trickled through her heated mind, and Alicia squirmed.

  “What is it?” Edward asked, a smile playing about his mouth.

  “Nothing, I’m sure. I…”

  “Now, then, you must not lie to your lord and lover, Alicia. What is it?”

  “I…You…You’re supposed to go…inside me?”

  “My cock in your sweet pussy. Yes.”

  “I don’t…I don’t think you’ll fit.”

  His smile was broad and wicked and slow. “Flatterer.”

  Would he never cease to confuse her? “I am in earnest.”

  “I know. But trust me, we will manage.” He stretched himself out so his back and shoulders were propped up against the mounds of pillows. “Come here, Alicia,” he said. “I want you beside me.”

  She wanted that as well. She lay down docilely against him. Edward smiled, and drew his fingers down her body, pausing at her breasts to fondle her nipples and make her shiver.

  “So beautiful,” he whispered. “Now, give me your hand.”

  She held her hand out and he took it. “Watch, Alicia.”

  She did. In fact, she stared. Edward lowered her hand to his cock and wrapped her fingers around his shaft. His skin was hot and velvet soft, but the shaft was so hard. She could feel his heart beating against her palm.

  “That’s good, Alicia.” He released her hand, and slid his own hand between her thighs. She liked the warmth of him there. His hand moved up toward her pussy and a thrill ran through her. Her hand moved, and she stilled it, unsure how it felt to him.

  “No,” he whispered. “Caress, me Alicia. I want it. Like this.”

  The edge of his hand pressed higher until it nestled snugly between her damp folds, caressing her back and forth, causing fresh pleasure to spread slowly out to the whole of her body. She groaned, and her hand moved on hi
m, echoing the rhythm of his caress between her legs. There was excitement in seeing her hand around his cock, as well as in the glide of his velvet skin and his heated strength against her palm.

  “That’s it. You see, we must relax you before you take me into you. You’re going to come for me, hard and sweet, Alicia, with your lovely hand around my cock.”

  She barely understood his words. The only thing she could fully comprehend was the desire of her body. “Harder,” she whispered. “Please. Harder.”

  “Yes.” He nestled his hand deeper, moved it faster. Her hips bucked, seeking yet more from him. He growled deep in his throat and his hand shifted inside her folds. Now she felt his fingers probing her entrance, even as his thumb pressed against her clit. She cried out and arched against his hand. It was too much. It was not enough.

  “That’s it, Alicia. Show me how much you want it.”

  “I want…I want…” Fire. Fire like she had felt before in the park, but this time there was nothing to confine it. It burned through the whole of her, and she gave herself over to it willingly. Her pussy opened wide as Edward’s fingers eased more deeply into her. His cock swelled against her palm, and that heated vitality fed her desire.

  “What is happening to me?” She couldn’t breathe; she couldn’t see. Her hand was wet where she stroked his cock, her pussy was wet where his fingers stretched her, but instead of opening farther, the muscles there began to clench tight around his fingers.

  “You’re going to come, Alicia. You’re going to come for me.” His finger thrust deep; his thumb pressed against her clit. The burst of pleasure was so hard and so sudden, her whole body shuddered and bucked, and somehow that felt better still.

  “Oh, yes. That’s it, Alicia,” Edward groaned. “Beautiful, beautiful, Alicia.”

  Slowly, her shuddering eased into a long, slow pulse of pleasure deep inside her. And still Edward’s fingers moved, caressing her sheath, toying with her folds.

  “Now, my dear.”

  He rolled them over once more so that Alicia was again on her back. Her strength was gone. Her body was limp and warm and yet it felt wholly wonderful. Edward clearly did not share her lassitude. He had his hands on her thighs and was spreading them apart. She shifted beneath his touch, placidly opening her legs and displaying herself entirely for him. He sucked in a long slow breath, and she smiled and stretched. For so long she had been hidden in a fog, but now she lay in the open sunlight of Edward’s delighted gaze, and that felt as good as any wicked caress he’d taught her yet.

  Slowly, gently, Edward settled himself between her thighs. The blunt tip of his cock pushed impertinently at her pussy’s folds. Alicia had thought herself gone beyond further pleasure, but this sensation brought fresh delight with it and her legs spread wider, hardly understanding what she did. Her body seemed to know just what it wanted, and she was content to let it have its way.

  Edward took his weight on his elbows. His chest brushed her breasts again. Their eyes met, and locked. His cock slipped farther between her folds, and found the entrance to her sheath. Nervousness fluttered through the warmth pooling in her center, and her entrance tried to tighten, but he was already inside her.

  “God,” she whispered, and her sheath tightened again.

  “Gently, my dear, gently.” Edward’s voice was tight and his eyes struggled to stay focused. “Let me inside.”

  “I…I…Yes.”

  He pressed deeper, one deliberate inch at a time. Alicia opened her thighs wider. She lifted her hand to his cheek. He was panting with effort. He stretched her sheath, and despite the relaxed state of her muscles, it hurt. She tried to ignore the pain. There was something beyond it, something she wanted very much to understand. She yearned for him to fill her, to take her through the pain to this new mystery. So, she held herself still and open as Edward groaned and settled deeper yet.

  There was a burning, bright and brief, and it was over, and Edward was fully inside her. Alicia’s thighs wrapped around him. She liked the feel of his muscled legs underneath her calves and her heels. She caressed his legs with hers and her hips moved. In response, Edward shifted inside her, and fresh pleasure slid into her veins.

  “Edward,” she breathed but could find no other words. It was all right; he understood. She could see it in the moonlight that glowed so brightly in his eyes.

  “Yes, Alicia,” he breathed. “I’m with you. Now, let us dance, you and I.”

  He began to move his hips against her, circling, lowering, and rising up again. He kept his weight on his elbows and knees, letting her adjust to the intense sensation of his cock moving inside her. At first, she wasn’t sure she liked it, but then she was. She began to match his movements, his rhythms, as she had when they had stroked each other with their hands. This new caress, this intimate sweetness, robbed her of the breath she had so recently regained. She wanted it faster, wanted him deeper, but he was holding back. She groaned, as much in frustration as in delight, and tightened her legs around his rock-hard thighs, arcing her hips up to force him farther inside her.

  “Gently, gently my dear,” Edward murmured. “You’ll be sore in the morning as it is.”

  “But I want this,” she panted. “Please. I want you.”

  “Oh, Alicia.” He cupped her cheek with one broad palm. “You have me.”

  His moonlight gaze filled her as deeply as his cock inside her. The two sensations redoubled the pleasure. She felt the tightness, the wildness, building up from deep with her once more. She arced her hips again. No warning from him could still her. Edward moaned and threw his head back. His cock thrust forward. She had him. He was as far gone as she had been. His thrusts grew faster and she knew his control was slipping. She welcomed this, as she welcomed his weight against her. She was filled to the brim with passion, and when he called her name the tide of it burst, rocking her against him, rolling her close into his arms, until together they collapsed in a tangled embrace and lay together, stunned and breathless.

  Nine

  Hester Hartwell.

  Hester sat bolt upright in her bed. Someone had called her name. She had heard it distinctly.

  Hester Hartwell. I would speak with you.

  Hester’s brow furrowed as she threw back the bedclothes and pulled the bell cord. While she waited for the maid, she calmly donned her wrapper of plain, gray flannel and pulled the sash tight about her waist.

  The maid knocked and entered. She was as perfectly turned out in her uniform as if it had been the middle of the afternoon rather than the early hours of the morning. It was not the first time Hester had needed to call for a servant in the middle of the night. She knew the maids drew straws to see who would sit up. She did not care how they ordered things among themselves, so long as the bell was answered promptly by a girl ready to do what was required. Anything less would bring about instant dismissal.

  “I need to get dressed, immediately,” Hester said.

  The girl asked no questions. She just curtsied and began to assist Hester into her plain black dress and to cover her white hair with a proper cap. Someone waited for her out in the darkness, but she would not appear less than ready. She was no fool to be overawed by her family’s enemy or to have her wits disordered by his summons.

  Once the maid helped her on with her shoes, Hester dismissed her. When she was alone, she pulled open her nightstand drawer and brought out the bundle of keys waiting there. One in particular was important now. It was a small, silver key that fit no door in Hartwell house, but was decorated with a carved cinnabar oval. Hester hung her key ring at her waist and let the amulet’s cool shield settle over her heart.

  Cane in one hand, candle in the other, Hester Hartwell descended the back stairs of her house. She blew the candle out and set it on the table by the door before she stepped out into the walled garden.

  The night was unusually warm, and the heaviness of the air said that rain approached. Hester walked without glancing left or right. She had no question as to where she mu
st go. Most of the garden was taken up by Gavin’s flower beds, but she had forbidden him to touch the center of the garden. There spread the pied-à-terre maze: a precise and intricate design of flagged paths and carefully trimmed plantings with a silver gazing ball resting on a plinth at its center. If anyone had been given the opportunity to study the two, they might have noted the paths of the ankle-high labyrinth looked strikingly similar to the cinnabar carvings on the key Hester carried.

  The labyrinth was not empty. A slender man stood beside the gazing ball. Long white hair cascaded across the shoulders of his white surcoat and gleaming golden mail. A golden circlet adorned his pale brow. His eyes were golden too, and shone as if lit from behind. This was no mere metaphor. The light of his slanting cat’s eyes mixed with the more workaday glow of the moon overhead, turning his face into a startling mask of gold and sepia shadows.

  “What do you want here?” Hester gripped her cane hard enough for its silver handle to bite into her bony fingers. The pale king at the center of the maze saw this, and smiled.

  “You know very well what I want.” His voice was as rich and strange as the golden light of his eyes. If Hester had not been shielded, that voice would have reached right through blood and bone to wrap around her heart.

  As it was, she brushed his charm aside. “You are mistaken. Nothing has occurred that would warrant your presence here.”

  “Really? Little Alicia has slipped her bonds, and you say it is nothing?”

  “What do you mean?”

  The king cocked his head toward her and Hester became uncomfortably aware of his silent mockery. “How strange that you should not feel it. I did. Distinctly. You’ve hidden Alicia from me for years now, but suddenly”—he made a gesture as if releasing a bird—“here she is again, only much grown from the little girl who came to play in my gardens.”