Chapter 16

" T hank you for doing this," Marina placed her hand on his arm and smiled, making his heart jolt.

"It's the least that I can do." Aaron relaxed slightly at her side as they watched the carriage approaching the house in the distance.

He had not wanted to have tea with his wife's friends' husbands, but he knew it would make her happy. And after the last time he had stood her up, he did not want to disappoint her for a second time.

The carriage came to a stop right in front of the house as Marina practically pulled him down the stairs.

A footman opened the door, revealing Marina's two married friend's along with their husbands.

A strange look flashed across the men's faces when they simultaneously locked eyes with Aaron.

"It is lovely to have you all here again." Marina beamed with pride as she greeted her friends.

The first of the women to come forward was a lady who introduced herself as the Duchess of Larsen and her husband, Xander Harrison. "It is a pleasure to finally make your, Your Grace."

Larsen's face was stark and unreadable, yet his eyes spoke of the defiance and outgoing nature that would undoubtedly clash with Aaron.

This is going to be a long afternoon.

Aaron returned the gesture with a stiff smile before Marina took his arm.

"And this is Penelope, the Duchess of Huxton, and her husband, Rhysand, the Duke of Huxton." She beamed with pride and gave his arm a gentle squeeze of encouragement.

Reminding himself why he had agreed to the afternoon, Aaron welcomed them after a brief introduction from Marina. "I hope you will all feel welcome here this afternoon."

"Just this afternoon?" Eleanor whispered under her breath, but quickly looked away with a sheepish smile when she noticed that Aaron had heard.

"I think we should all go inside and have some tea to start things off." Marina quickly intervened to avoid any kind of awkwardness and proceeded to usher them all up the stairs and into the house.

What have I gotten myself into?

Aaron heaved a sigh and practically dragged himself into the house. Penelope Patterson and her husband seemed quite nice. Rhysand at least seemed to be the quiet brooding type, but Aaron could tell then Eleanor was quite chatty and her husband equally outgoing and sociable.

They had barely entered the house when Marina stopped and turned in her tracks, making a face as if she had forgotten something. "Shoot, I completely forgot about that new dress that I wanted to show the ladies." She shook her head in a comical fashion that made Aaron want to roll his eyes.

Penelope looked slightly confused, but Eleanor nodded vigorously and hurried to Marina's side. "How silly of me, I completely forgot to remind you about that, don't you recall that we discussed this, Penelope?" Eleanor raised her eyebrows and widened her eyes.

Aaron almost felt like sighing and rolling his eyes when Penelope caught the hint.

"Oh yes, that dress. How silly of me." She hurried forward and linked her arm through Marina's.

"Will you gentlemen mind excusing us while we head upstairs? We shall call down later when we are done with the dress." Marina shot Aaron a bright smile that tugged at his heart once again.

The men all watched the ladies ascend the stairs before Xander turned to face them. "I do not know about you gentlemen, but I think that the three of us have just borne witness to a plot. If none of us were married, I would begin to fear that we were being set up for a marriage of convenience." He turned to Rhysand with a grin. "I am afraid that you are not my type, Huxton."

Aaron felt more at ease when the Duke of Huxton rolled his eyes.

"As if I would consider an obnoxious fool such as yourself," Rhysand grumbled under his breath.

Bursting out in laughter, Xander turned back to Aaron. "You must excuse the Duke of Huxton, Harper. He has the personality and sense of humor of a wet piece of cheese."

The corner of Aaron's mouth curled into a smile as he relaxed in their presence. "Shall we have a glass of brandy while we wait?"

"That sounds like a marvelous idea." Xander rubbed his hands together eagerly and followed Aaron into the study where he poured them each a glass from the cabinet.

Taking their seats in front of the unlit fire, Aaron watched as Xander lifted his glass to his lips and sipped before swirling the amber liquid. "So, are you going to tell us where you got those scars, or are we to stare at them all afternoon without knowing?"

Rhysand almost choked on his whisky while Aaron instantly stiffened, not knowing how to take such a direct question.

"Xander, you can be a bit of a bastard at times. You must forgive him, Harper. He means well, but he never knows when to take his foot out of his mouth."

"Bloody bastard!" Henry screeched from the adjacent room, making the situation even more awkward as all three men sat in silence.

Shutting his eyes and shaking his head, Aaron sighed. "I must apologize gentlemen; my wife's parrot has a struggle with social etiquette."

"So, you should understand Larsen then." Rhysand raised his eyebrows.

Xander merely smirked and continued to sip his whisky.

Settling down a little more, Aaron realized that it was better to get the question out of the way. "I got the scars in battle saving my brother's life," he simply stated the facts before taking another sip of his whisky.

A moment of understanding seemed to pass between the men as Xander sobered up considerably. "My apologies, Harper. An act of valor such as yours should never be made fun of or taken for granted." He seemed genuinely sincere in his apology.

"You are a far greater man than most scum of the ton." Rhysand raised his glass in salute before chugging the final drops.

A strange feeling of camaraderie that Aaron had not experienced in years, suddenly enveloped his chest. It had been a long time since anyone had looked at him with respect. Perhaps Marina had not been too far off in thinking that making him rejoin society would be a good thing.

Marina's heart raced a little when she finally went to see where Aaron had gotten to after their guest's departure. Everything seemed to have gone well, or at least that is what she had seen when she came down to find all three deep in conversation about boxing and war.

"Aaron?" She poked her head around the door of the study and smiled nervously at him.

Looking up from his papers, he met her gaze, making her heart flutter as she entered the room and shut the door behind her.

"You disappeared so quickly after we saw them off, I was worried that something had upset you." She gently broached the subject.

"I apologize for nor waiting. The Duke of Huxton mentioned something about a business venture, and I wanted to check something in my ledgers." His face seemed relaxed, making her breathe a sigh of relief.

"I take it that things went well?" She walked up to the desk and allowed her eyes to wander over the papers.

Nodding, Aaron allowed the papers he had been holding to flutter to the desk as he examined her face. "I do not think that I would mind seeing them again. It is strange; neither of them seemed to view me as a monster once they knew what had happened."

Her heart suddenly felt light as her lisp broke into a smile. "I am glad you had a good time."

Tilting his head to the side, Aaron continued to search her face, making her slightly nervous as she fidgeted with her dress.

"What is it, Marina? You can ask me anything."

"Do you really mean that?"

"Unless it is a favor that has to do with taking in more animals or me having to quit eating meat for life, then yes."

"Well… I just… Were you in love with the woman you were engaged with?" Marina just blurted the words, hoping that he would not get defensive or closed up again.

He took a moment to gather his thoughts, running his tongue over his lips. "I can't say that I was in love with her. I was certainly taken with her. I know now that it was a youthful error in judgement. But now that I am older, I can see that she never would have made a good wife. Anyone who runs away at the first sign of trouble should never be considered as a good partner. I guess what I am trying to say, is that I never loved or… desired her."

Does this mean…? No, I cannot possibly let my hopes up.

Still, she was relieved to learn that he had never loved the woman he had almost married in the past. But could he ever love her?

The thought made her pulse race as he stood and closed the distance between them, bringing his face closer to hers as he reached for a loose strand of her hair.

"Aaron?" Her eyes searched his face, making the pit of her stomach knot deliciously with desire when he pressed his body closer to hers.

"You know, there was a moment his afternoon when I really wanted the guests to leave…"

She cocked her head to the side in confusion when the corner of his mouth titled into a smile.

Placing his hand on her hip, he began to bunch up her dress in his fist, keeping his eyes locked on hers.

The fabric moved up her leg as her heart raced with desire.

"I wanted everyone to leave so that I could have you to myself…" he growled under his breath before leaning in pressing his lips against hers.

Shudders of pleasure suddenly overtook her body as his tongue snaked into her mouth, searching the warm depths with eager passion.

His hand slipped beneath her dress and chimes, making its way to her thighs and gently venturing between.

A soft gasp escaped her throat when his fingers reached her folds and expertly sought the tiny nub that brough her pleasure.

Placing her hands behind her back, she braced herself on against the desk as her chest began to rise and fall with every stroke of his fingers. Her thoughts quickly faded into the background of her pleasure when he dropped to his knees and lifted her dress, burying his face between her thighs.

"Will you be a good girl for me and stay still?" He commanded her sternly before flicking his tongue over her folds.

Gasping louder, Marina felt her legs being lifted over his shoulders as she scooted her buttocks onto the desk. Her entire body shivered with pleasure as he rhythmically used his tongue to push her to the edge of oblivion where nothing else mattered.

Aaron's hands worked their way up her thighs beneath her dress and chemise, gently massaging her flesh and adding to her pleasure.

It did not take long until she was whimpering form release as she leaned back on the desk. "Aaron!" She cried out and cupped her own breasts when her legs began to tremble with pleasure. Every fiber of her being was crying out for release when he gripped her hips, holding her body in place as he doubled his efforts.

She was practically screaming when her body began to writhe, signaling the ecstasy that had reached its peak.

Taking his time, Aaron continued to gently lick her down from the high, before stopping entirely and emerging for breath. The look in his eyes made her heart beat even faster when leaned down and lifted her dress, gently running his fingers over her folds as she shuddered.

"I cannot help but wonder… Will you come for me again?" The dark look of desire in his eyes almost sent her over the edge once again as he scooted her further back on the desk and opened her thighs, dipping his head once again.

Her breath had barely come back when the sensations of pleasure began to build once again, making her glad that she was now laying on her back. Bursts of pleasure made her whimper when he reached up and cupped her breasts, roughly rolling his palms over her hard nipples through her dress.

Moaning loudly, she feared she would burst when her body once again began to tremble with the onslaught of a second release.

"Aaron, I can't, this is too much!" She began to move furiously when he moved his hands down her body and held her hips firmly in place, making her yield to his tongue for once again.

"I never said that you could move, Kitten."

Coming down to her elbows, Marina propped herself up on the desk as her body trembled and shook in a violent manner that had her screaming.

The release came all too quickly when he added two fingers to join his tongue.

Her hips bucked beneath his hands when he suddenly sucked her folds into his mouth, making her fall back on the desk in bliss. "Aaron!" She creamed almost breathlessly as her legs lost all control.

Kissing her gently for a few moments, Aaron made his way up her body and gently lay beside her, not caring if any of the papers were torn or crumpled.

"That was quite something," she panted for breath, bringing her hands up to cover her eyes.

Running his fingers over her chest, he gently reached for her hand and guided it between her thighs. "We are not done just yet." He looked into her eyes when she finally managed to open them.

Marina could feel her heart racing again as she slipped her hand into his breeches and touched the rock-hard girth of his erection. She gently began to move her hand up and down as his eyes shut with pleasure. "I want to please you," She whispered in his ear, feeling his erection move along with her hand.

"You cannot imagine what you do to me, Marina…"

Aaron's face contorted with pleasure when she moved down on her knees and took the whole length of him into her mouth. She was timid at first but with his encouragement, Marina became more and more eager to lick and slide it in and out of her mouth. The motions continued for a few moments as she felt his body tensing, signaling the impending release.

He quickly placed his hand on her shoulder to brace himself when his legs shuddered. "Oh!" He collapsed against her body, breathing heavily as she worked him down.

"Did I do that right?" She asked him quietly before kissing him deeply.

Aaron could hardly breath when he returned her kiss. "I think it is safe to say that I never wish to leave this room ever again.