Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

“ I want you,” Madeleine breathed against his ear, her hands roughly ripping his shirt down his chest.

Percy groaned, unable to ask how or why this was happening, and captured her lips with his own. The sweetest, neediest moan he had ever heard poured from her, and she pressed her curves to him closer.

“I want you, too,” he rasped between kisses, his hands trembling as he tore the sheer white robe away from her. “God, I need you.”

“Then take me,” Madeleine pleaded, her voice pitching into a needy whine as her hands freed him from his trousers.

With a deep groan of need, he picked her up, pulling her away from her task, and walked her to his bed. Madeleine’s back arched beautifully as he laid her down, and his mouth watered as he took her in. She was everything he had thought she would be.

Firm, round, heavy breasts, sat identically atop her chest; her beautiful, small, dusky rose nipples pointed to the sky as if praying to be touched. Following the ample swell, his eyes lowered to her Boticelli-like waist, her flared, smooth hips, and finally to the thick thighs that looked so delicious he wanted to sink his teeth into them.

“Percy, please,” Madeleine whispered, reaching her arms for him.

Unable to hold back, not wanting to hold back, Percy slid his body atop of hers, both of them moaning deeply at the pleasure. Madeleine spread her thighs immediately for him, lifting her hips for his rigid member to take claim, and he cursed through gritted teeth as he slid into her tight, sweetly hot, and wet entrance.

They moved together without words, without thought as they rode the ecstasy of finally being together, and Percy soon felt his release threaten to burst forth.

“I- I cannot last,” he panted though the licks and nibbles he was placing over her neck and breasts.

“Neither can I,” she whispered back, her nails digging harder into his back as her legs grew tighter around his waist. “Come with me, Percy. Come.”

Percy moaned Madeleine’s name as he jolted awake, the intensity of his orgasm forcing him to sit straight up in bed. Wave after wave of pleasure rocked through him as he kept his hand around his pulsing cock, feeling his seed spill over his fingers and sheets.

“Oh,” he panted aloud, taking a long look around his dark, empty bedroom. “Oh God, that was intense.”

But it had been a dream. Just a dream. None of it was real. There was no Madeleine in his bed, no sounds of her whimpering pleasure, no delicious taste in his mouth. He was utterly alone.

Sighing, Percy arose from his bed, cleaned himself up, removed the sheets, and splashed cold water on his face from the pitcher on his washstand. I should not have allowed myself to go so far with her. His fear of the curse haunted him. As long as it is merely lust between us, she will be safe from the curse. If I sense myself having feelings for her, I will distance myself from her. In truth, Percy was not certain that the other side of the world would be far enough away for him to forget her. Having her in his arms had felt like the fulfillment of something much deeper inside himself.

Shaking his head, he growled in frustration. She had not left his mind since their encounter at the ball. He had spent the rest of the evening watching her dance with other noblemen as was expected at such social functions, but each one had dutifully returned her to his side. No man would try to seduce her in front of him, but she was drawing such attention with her beauty that it was only a matter of time before they started calling upon her in droves. Without an engagement to claim her officially as his woman, their fear of him would only go so far to keep them away.

At least it will keep her father from marrying her off to the likes of Herbert Mowbray. He is a decent enough bloke aside from the drinking and gambling, but he is not meant for her. He is not strong enough to endure her fire, let alone possess the ability to set her ablaze. His mind once again turned to the heat of her body against his mouth. God, I burn for her even now!

Donning his clothes, he stormed out of his bedchamber.

“Your Grace?” his valet inquired from the next room.

“My apologies, Jacobs. Go back to bed. I will not need you until the morning.”

“As you wish, Your Grace.” Jacobs disappeared from view in acceptance of his employer’s orders.

Percy continued on to the stables to saddle his horse. A groggy stableman came out of the loft, hay clinging to his hair. “May I be of assistance, Your Grace?”

Percy smiled, shaking his head. He could not move within his household without someone hearing him and wishing to be of service. “All is well, Gregor. I simply wish to go for a night ride. Return to your rest. I will saddle my own horse.”

Gregor was used to his employers’ strange riding habits so nodded and returned to his pallet in the hay. The stableman had his own room with a bed, but he preferred to sleep nearer the horses to ensure their safety. Gregor had been with the family since before Percy’s grandmother had died. He had watched over Percy’s mother until her death, and now, he did the same for her son.

The family story was that Gregor had once been of the traveling people and had left his people to serve Percy’s grandmother. Percy’s grandmother had been highly respected among her people, revered as a queen or prophetess would be. Gregor had taken it upon himself to be her guard, and he had served her and the generations that followed faithfully without complaint. Having Gregor nearby made Percy feel closer to his grandmother and mother.

Percy saddled his favorite black horse, stepped into the saddle, and took off into the night. He allowed the wind and the darkness to cleanse his mind and body of its cares. Moonlight streamed down in beautiful beams, dappling the darkness with dim glimmers of light.

Despite his best efforts to forget the woman on his mind, he found himself riding up to the back gate of the Gillett townhouse where he and Madeleine had shared their first kiss. He gazed up at the darkened house feeling foolish. He had felt the need to reassure himself that she was well and that their activities at the ball had not brought her to ruin.

Enough, he silently growled to himself. You are behaving like a desperate fool. Where is your control? If her family knew of what we had done, her father and brother would have already challenged me to a duel. She is well. Now forget her. Spurring his horse forward, he attempted to put as much distance between himself and the alluring Madeleine Gillett as he could.

Madeleine sat in the drawing room of the Gillett townhouse and silently prayed for mercy. The young unwed gentlemen of the English ton had been paying call to her door from nearly the moment that she had awoke.

“What has overcome the young bloods of England?” Cecil complained after the last of their guests had finally departed. He stretched, rising from his chair where he had served as chaperone for the last several hours. “Do they not comprehend that you are already being courted by the Duke of Greyhall?”

“Men want what they cannot have,” their sister Emily reminded him. “She is more alluring to them because she is out of their reach.”

Cecil shook his head. “I hope that it is not like this at our annual dinner party in a fortnight.”

“It probably will be,” Emily predicted.

Cecil’s frown deepened at the thought. “One would think that they would be more afraid of Percy than that.”

“They are afraid of him,” Madeleine informed him. “I have seen it in their eyes when they look at him. They respect him but fear him.”

“Perhaps I should make them fear me,” Cecil offered. “It might help.”

“You underestimate the vigor of an untethered man,” Emily remarked, giving Madeleine a sympathetic look. “I am afraid that it will be this way until Percy proposes marriage.”

Cecil made a strange noise in his throat, coughed, then turned away from the girls to look outside of the window. “Do you think that he will propose?” he asked, his voice sounding oddly strained.

Madeleine did not know how to answer the question without giving away her secret deception. “I do not believe that he will propose any time soon. Such things are to be considered carefully. There is no rush.”

Percy nodded, turning back to study her face. “If he did ask, what would you say?”

Madeleine’s heart raced in her chest. Her brows rose in surprise before she could stop them. “I do not know,” she answered breathlessly.

“Do you not love him?”

“I hold the Duke in great affection and esteem,” Madeleine answered judiciously.

Cecil snorted. “He said the same of you.”

“You act as though you do not wish for me to marry him,” Madeleine observed.

“I do not,” Cecil admitted.

“Why?”

Cecil looked as if he were considering his answer carefully. “I do not believe you to be well matched. You never cared for him when we were children. We would all be having fun together then you would get upset and leave without any explanation.

“How do you propose to build a life and family with someone that you cannot bear to spend time with? You do not share the same interests. You made that quite clear as children.”

“It was not our shared activities that upset me, Cecil.” Madeleine could not believe that her brother could be so blind to the pain that he had caused her. “And it was not just Percy that I was trying to avoid.”

Cecil’s frown deepened in confusion. “What do you mean by that?”

“I also wished to avoid you.”

“Me? Why would you wish to avoid me? Do not be ridiculous.”

“Do you truly have no notion as to how much your teasing and name calling affected her?” Emily demanded to know, coming to Madeleine’s defense.

“What do you mean?”

“How would you feel if you had spent your formative years being called Bacon Face? It still affects her to this day. Or were you too wrapped up in your friends, jokes, and handsome looks to consider how your cruelty affected her.”

Cecil’s eyes grew dark as his expression sobered.

“Twice in one week,” he muttered under his breath.

“What was that?” Madeleine asked. She was sure she had heard him, but she had no idea what he was referring to.

“Nothing,” Cecil said quickly, shaking his head. “Emily is just not the first person to point out the sins of my past is all.”

He looked up at her, shame and regret coloring his face.

“I am so sorry, Madeleine. I did not think.”

Madeleine’s cheeks burned with embarrassment. She was surprised by Emily’s vehemence on her behalf. Madeleine would have gone to her grave without ever telling her brother how much he had hurt her, but now that he knew her feelings, there was no going back. She was also deeply curious as to whom else would be bold enough to shame her brother outside of their family.

“Emily speaks the truth,” she found herself saying. “I am still affected by it to this day.”

He reached for her hand, squeezing it tight.

“Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?” he asked, his eyes pleading. “As you have forgiven Percy?”

Madeleine looked at him, startled. I have not forgiven Percy. He is still calling me names. Sometimes he calls me names in public, shaming me further. She almost said the thought out loud but stopped herself. Even if the term monkey does not bother me as it used to, it is still rude.

Cecil took her look as meaning that she could not forgive him. “Please forgive me, Madeleine. I never meant you any harm. I was foolish. I will not call you names or tease you about such things again.” His face showed true regret.

Madeleine rose from her chair and walked over to Cecil. She wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a hug. “Of course, I forgive you. You are my brother. We are family. I could never stay mad at you forever.”

“Thank you,” Cecil sighed in relief as he returned her hug. “I am so very sorry.”

“It is in the past now,” she attempted to soothe his regret.

“You must know, I never meant it seriously,” he went on, his elder brother tone coming back to his voice. “You are beautiful. You have no need to concern yourself with such matters. You could have any man that you want. You need not fear spinsterhood.”

Madeleine chose not to argue with him. It would not have done any good. They were in a better place with one another. She did not wish to ruin that with an argument about whether she wished to marry or not. She gave him one last squeeze then stepped back. “I believe that I will spend some time reading before the evening meal.”

Cecil nodded in approval. “I am off to White’s. Perhaps I will instill a bit of fear into my fellow noblemen while I am there.”

Madeleine chuckled, waving him off to more pleasant diversions. She turned to Emily. “Will you and the Viscount be joining us this evening?”

Emily shook her head. “We are committed to dine with the Viscount’s sister.” She spoke of her husband with such love in her voice. Her eyes glowed at the thought of him. “We are to finish discussing the plans for our garden party.”

Madeleine stepped forward and took her sister’s hands in her own. “I am pleased to see your happiness.”

Emily flushed with pleasure. “I am so very happy,” she admitted. “Charles brings me such joy. I miss him when we are apart from one another.”

“Then I will bid you adieu, my beautifully blissful Viscountess,” Madeleine teased her with a smile. “I thank you for your support with Cecil.”

“It was time,” Emily replied firmly. “It should not have been allowed to continue for so long.”

The sisters shared a brief hug then Emily departed for her own townhouse where her husband awaited her return. Madeleine retreated to the library to find some solace in the stories found therein. It had been a taxing day, greeting and rebuffing her many suitors.

Her sudden influx of suitors had been an unwanted and unpleasant side effect of her ruse with the Duke of Greyhall. If a man as powerful and wealthy as the Duke of Greyhall wanted her, in the eyes of the ton, that made her all the more valuable on the marriage market.

She dreaded what the next social event was going to be like. England was full of men such as Herbert Mowbray, who wished to claim a woman as their own but lacked the charisma to draw them in without a wearying persistence.

I need to be careful. Eventually, Father is going to discover that Percy has no intention of marrying me. I pray that I am able to think of a better plan to maintain my independence by then.

Madeleine knew that if she were truly honest with herself, marriage was the only option for a woman of her age and class, but she was in no way ready to admit defeat. As far as she was concerned, such societal logic and practical reasoning could wait.