Chapter Seventeen

B elle tingled from head to toe. Luke’s breath in her ear, and his hands then mouth on her back and bottom all sent bolts of pleasure to her quim. She would not be surprised if there was a puddle on the bedding.

He wanted her to turn over. As she did, she hoped he would give her front side the same treatment as the back. No, she wished he’d get his cock out and put it to good use. Criminy, she didn’t know what she wanted.

For a courtesan, she felt very unprepared. She was always—as she had planned this evening—the seducer. Tonight, though, Luke was seducing her.

She was past trying to wrest control back. From the moment he had bared her favorite furred letter, she was at his mercy. Her inner muscles clenched, impatient for his penetration, but the rest of her basked in his current ministrations. She would ensure his pleasure when he allowed it. Until then, she’d relax and enjoy this novelty as he requested.

She rolled to her back, trying to ignore that her breasts were a little lower and softer than they once had been. The decade of difference in their age was something to worry about tomorrow. Tonight, she would remind herself of his admiring words. She was beautiful, no matter what her age, and could have her choice of men there within the hour with a one-line note.

His lips came to her shoulder again, and she sighed, feeling as though she might melt into the bed. She still expected him to concentrate on his own physical pleasure, despite what he’d once chosen as a “reward.”

He worshipped her breasts for long moments, sucking each nipple deep into his mouth and laving it with pointed tongue before switching to the other.

The tugs had a direct line to her clitoris, and it throbbed in time with his suction and licks.

If it had been anyone else, she would have brought her fingers to that nub. For her pleasure, yes, but also as a show for the client. Luke had told her not to move, but she needed some friction there or she’d lose her mind.

He moved down her body, pushing her legs apart to kneel between them. Turning his wrist so his fingers pointed to the mattress, he laid them against her and pressed.

She moaned and swore her clitoris throbbed against him.

He rubbed the heel of his hand down then up, opening her.

“Luke,” she pled.

“Patience. I promise I’ll make it good.” His tone was guttural, assuring her he was enjoying this almost as much as she was.

Twice he’d made her beg for his touch. It was reassuring to hear the desire reciprocated in his voice. That knowledge did not help her composure, however. Her fingers curled around clumps of bedding to stop herself from shoving his head where she wanted it or taking things into her own hands.

Luke slid further back and lowered his head to her new favorite position.

Her confusion at his interest in the act disappeared in a puff of smoke. Or was that a puff of his breath over her most sensitive flesh?

He lapped at her, humming at her taste. After a few licks he muttered, “I might need this as my after-supper drink every night. And ’tis far healthier than whisky.”

A spear of fear about the future pierced her sensory haze, but she shoved it aside.

His mouth returned to her drenched folds, his tongue probing at her swollen nub to circle it, then flatten and press it.

She pushed her hips at him, her hands coming to his hair. “Ah!”

His hands slid under her bottom to squeeze and lift her to him, and with less than ten licks she was trembling and shuddering against him, thoroughly seduced.

He gentled his movements and brought her down by degrees before sliding his hands out. Bracing his hands on the bed by her hips, he leaned over her, panting. He straightened and brought his hands to the fastenings on his trousers, then stilled, gazing at her.

Oh, my word . He was asking permission. She might have swooned if she hadn’t already been supine. Recovering, she said, “I told you I wished to see the rest.”

He grinned and released a breath she hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Making fast work of his trousers, he knelt above her in a blink.

Leaning up on one arm, she reached for the part of him that pointed at her. “This looks a tasty treat.”

He snorted, and she sent him a startled look.

“Seems fitting, given the T .” He gestured to the line of hair down his stomach.

She fell back, laughing. A man with a sense of humor even when a willing partner had his cock in her fist. How refreshing. She would miss him dearly when their time came to an end. Despite what Bessie said, Belle couldn’t fathom how an heir to an earldom could marry her.

He notched his rock-hard member at her entrance, distracting her wayward thoughts, and met her eyes again.

She grabbed his hips and tugged, nodding. “Yes, now, please.”

“Wait. Do you have . . .”

“Oh!” How had she have forgotten that? She’d never! Nodding to the small table by her bed where she’d laid out a sheath, she said, “Yes. There.”

He flashed a smile at her preparation as he reached for it. After tying it on, he sank into her in one smooth slide. A feeling north of where they connected stabbed through her. She could not, dare not, identify it, as the thump behind her ribcage was too far from her quim to be a sexual reaction. Sex she recognized. This was something else. Uncertain and new.

He slid back out in the same slow glide, and she lost her breath. Her inner tissues were still sensitive and swollen from her first orgasm, and she swore every vein and ridge caressed her insides.

He swore under his breath, and his jaw clenched. He was holding back. The sweat rolling down his temple and his tense muscles gave him away.

She reached up to touch his cheek. “What do you want? I’ve had mine. ’Tis your turn now, Luke. Take it.”

He blinked, and his nostrils flared. “It has been too long. This may be hard and quick, Belle.”

“Just the way I like it,” she murmured.

“Don’t do that. I want you, not some act,” he growled.

She flinched.

Coming onto his elbows, he smoothed her hair back. “You are beyond lovely. You’re intelligent and independent, and no doubt skilled at your craft. The reason I want honest reactions rather than practiced moves is because the authentic you is enticement enough to have me in this state. I’m about to go off like a schoolboy.”

“Mmm.” She’d need time to absorb that more fully, but for now it soothed her frayed nerves and brought her back to her need for him to move. “Thank you. I meant what I said about your turn. Although, if you don’t start moving soon, I might have to take over.”

“Oh, no you don’t.” His lips met hers, all ravenous aggression.

She met them with equal greed, skill long forgotten in her quest for ecstasy.

When she shoved at his hips, he knelt up and thrust, holding her waist and tucking an extra pillow between her head and the bedframe.

A strangled noise sounded in her throat. The angle of his cock in this position hit a spot on her inner front wall that was just shy of painful.

A few more drives and she was clutching his forearms and shoving back in counterpoint.

He sped up, grunting.

Her nipples, belly, and internal muscles tightened, straining. Heat built to an inferno in her core. One more, one more. She screamed.

He shouted and pistoned even faster as she thrashed under him, keening.

She dug her nails into his arms, arching her back. The spiral of pleasure kept circling, spiking every time his cock pulsed in her, his pubis hitting her hardened quivering nub.

After a handful more thrusts he slowed, and she relaxed against the bed.

“Belle, perhaps you could sheath your claws?”

It took her a moment to get the message from her ears to her muscles, but she loosened her fingers on his arms, dropping her arms to the bed.

She couldn’t have him forever, but the next fortnight was going to be amazing.

As was her usual habit, Belle was up early. She snuck out of the bedroom with her clothes in hand, asking her maid to help her with her hair in the room Luke had been using. However, by the time she entered the dining room, Luke was waiting for her.

He poured tea for both of them as she joined him at the table. “Now, shall we talk about the Black Widow’s mandate?”

She balked, unprepared for the topic. She’d hoped to put that conversation off until she’d at least enjoyed his rather surprising skills and less surprising enthusiasm a few more times. Past lovers had stayed the night, of course, but their mornings had been spent discussing the newspaper or whatever social engagements they shared. She’d anticipated that marriage would feel different than her previous engagements, but she found herself wishing for a set of rules. Perhaps the Ton had it right with their betrothal contracts, even if they were wrong to negotiate them between men.

“Luke, I cannot believe you’re even considering this. I am in no way an appropriate marriage prospect for you.”

“Why not? As Mrs. Dove-Lyon said, I fit your specifications.”

“What of yours? Have you even given a thought to what you’d want in a wife?”

His shoulders dropped. “I am younger than you, yes. I had my head up my arse for the past year or more. I understand your concern. I cannot change the past, but those things helped me see what I want to change for the future.”

She smothered her surprise, as she hadn’t believed he’d given marriage much thought. Now, though, he seemed prepared to discuss it.

He continued, “We’ve already discussed how I’d like to help others, and I’ve told you that you inspired me. I meant what I said to the widow. A hostess and supportive partner are very much traits I want in a wife. Like you, I also want someone I can converse with. Lastly, I think last night showed yet another layer of extreme compatibility. I am wildly attracted to you, Belle.”

“I know ’tis unfashionable, but as William went that route, I must ask. Do you not care about love, then?”

One well-muscled shoulder rose, then dropped. “I have never felt it, at least since my mother died. I think my parents were in love, but look where that got them. The other attributes are not only more attainable, they are also here in front of me in a rather delicious package. Many a marriage has been built on less.”

She pressed her lips together.

“Come now. Never say you were looking for a declaration of undying adoration. You’d gone to a matchmaker out of practicality.”

No, she wasn’t, but it still was strangely sad to not hear one from him.

Moving on to her biggest concern, she asked, “What of children? An heir?”

He took a moment to answer.

Of course, she preferred a thoughtful answer. However, that also meant he hadn’t given it as much thought as she had, which worried her.

“Whilst I have always known I was expected to sire a son, I confess it has been a rather hazy part of the distant future.” His eyes flashed to hers, a defiant crease between his brows. “Much of that is because of my lack of maturity. You’ve seen me rectify that. I have nothing against having children. My only fear is knowing how to ensure their childhood is not like mine.”

Frustration at their debate fell away as he voiced her own biggest fear. “I, too, know nothing of how to care for children. I hate the way the Ton shelters girls, taking away any ability to care for themselves. Yet, I would not want my children to have to learn the skills I learned either. Where is the balance? And Luke, that is without considering the sons being heirs to an earldom.”

He leaned across the table to grasp her hand. “Belle, can you not see that you are a natural caretaker? Look at how you helped me. Then when Charlotte needed you, you added that to your tasks.”

Part of her fear about raising children had been that she’d be handling it alone. Originally that concern had been due to an incomplete picture of a husband, and Luke’s struggles had provided an excellent example of why her concerns were justified. His recent progress would put much of that worry to rest—if she were willing to entertain marriage to him. Now, if only she could believe him, Luke’s unassailable faith in her was heartwarming. However, she could not forget that they were a completely unsuitable match.

“I am simply asking you to consider it before rejecting the possibility,” he said with a squeeze of her hand. “Now I am wondering what tasks you have to accomplish today, or if we should pursue our compatibility more after breakfast.”

That sounded like an excellent idea. She’d think about the future later, after enjoying the present a bit more.