Chapter Seventeen

I awake to soft touches along my collar bones and a light kiss grazes my neck. I pull in a sharp breath as the kisses spread along the exposed skin above my shift. Groaning, I turn my neck to the side giving more access as I slide my hands into long blonde hair.

"This is a pleasant way to wake up," I say as a familiar weight settles upon me.

"I tried to wait until you woke naturally," Amelie says between kisses. "I really did. But seeing your hair strewn about on the pillow like that while your shift almost reveals a breast. It was honestly too much to resist."

I chuckle. "You are insatiable."

"Mmm," comes the reply as she nibbles the underside of my breast. "Are you complaining?"

"Absolutely not," I groan as she takes a nipple into her warm mouth.

"Good girl," she murmurs, and the praise sends a shot of excitement right to my core.

I whimper at the words, and file the response away for later. Definitely something to explore further. Her hands grip my waist briefly before slipping under the shift to trace the skin on my thighs. Together we pull the material off and I tug at hers, which shortly follows mine to a place on the floor.

Capturing her lips, I set the pace for a demanding kiss. Pulling her until her thighs bracket mine. Sitting with her in my lap I trace circles over the lines of her stomach. She rocks against the touch and the hands in my hair tighten. Grinning, I slip my hand between her thighs and collect the moisture there.

I bite my lip and take a breath in. "You weren't kidding about being unable to wait."

"Please baby," she says rocking her hips and trying to get more friction from my exploring fingers. "Don't make me wait longer."

Slowly I push two fingers into her heat, and marvel as she bears down on them and rolls her hips with a loud moan.

"Heavens," I breathe as she rocks in my lap, and I look up at her in wonder. My own body responding powerfully to her noises and the desperate way she moves with my fingers within her.

I curl my fingers slightly, touching that place I know she likes best. She throws her head back and rocks unabashedly against me.

"Yes," she whimpers. "Right there baby. It feels so good."

I push my hand up to meet each of her thrusts and her nails dig delightfully into my shoulders as she grips them tightly and cries her pleasure to the ceiling. Her whole-body tenses, but I don't stop my movements. Determined to wring every last piece of pleasure from her as she moans incoherent words above me. Only when she slumps into my body do I stop to take her in my arms and lay her gently on the bed beside me.

I smile as I look over her covered in a light sheen of sweat and breathing heavily. I am quite pleased with myself at how long it is taking her to recover. I lean down and take her lips in mine kissing her soundly as my hips rock against her without any conscious effort on my part. My own need quickly becoming something impossible to contend with. Her fingers trail along my body, heading right for my centre.

"Please," I whimper dropping my head to her shoulder.

A knock at the door startles both of us and I jump violently. Amelie's strong hands keep me in place and her fingers don't stop their decent.

"Miss Hawkford," a timid voice calls out. "The Earl has sent me to see if you are well?"

"Well?" I repeat back to her, attempting to keep my voice from wavering as Amelie swirls her fingers around my swollen bud.

"You haven't come down for breakfast," the woman says through the door. "The Earl seems genuinely distressed about your wellbeing. He is a right mess Miss."

I close my eyes and drop my hand to still Amelie's. "Please let the Earl know, we will be down shortly. I have simply overslept," I say in a friendly voice.

I hear the woman retreat and I regretfully climb from Amelie's lap. "We should go," I say hating the words as they come from my mouth. "No doubt Arthur and William are still distressed from the events of last evening."

Amelie looks at me hungrily and sighs, "Seems fair for them to interrupt us seeing as we cock blocked them first."

My eyes widen at the blunt statement and a deep laughter spills from my belly. "Oh, please find a way to drop that statement in front of them."

Amelie's lips quirk as she helps me into my dress. Help is a loose word, as she caresses and grazes every part of me that she can get access to in the process. By the time we leave the rooms I am aching with need and just a tad bitter at the interruption. Amelie on the other hand looks at me with merriment and I know I am in for an interesting morning.

We make it to the dining hall without further interruption and Arthur practically springs from his chair as we enter. The wooden furniture rocks alarmingly but he catches it with a hand before it tumbles to the stone floor.

"Elizabeth," he says with a warm smile and approaches me taking my hand in his. His eyes filled with worry. "Are you well?"

"I am well," I reply, aware of the servants drifting through the space around us.

William makes a gesture and food is loaded onto the table before Arthur dismisses the help from the room. The minute we are alone the two men look over at us anxiously. I cast a glance at Amelie who nods her head towards the pair ever so slightly. I take her hand and lead her over to the table settling her down and deliberately moving my chair as close to hers as possible.

The two men watch us like hawks and relax ever so slightly as I openly show affection to Amelie. It may not be in the same compromising way I had caught them last night, but it does seem to level the field at least a little.

"Relax, Arthur," I say as he attempts to wring his fingers from his hand. "We have not changed our minds since last night."

He lets out a sigh of relief. "I wasn't–," he starts and plops back heavily in his chair. "I wasn't sure if you would change your mind once you had some time to process."

William sits in the chair beside Arthur and shakily pours a cup of tea. He downs it in a quick succession of gulps and refills it.

Amelie looks between the two men, who seem to struggle to maintain any form of composure. "Must you catch us in the act before you believe we won't hold your relationship over your heads?"

The two men have wildly different responses. William blanches so much he could blend in with a limestone wall and Arthur's face reddens to match his hair.

"That won't be necessary," Arthur says hurriedly holding up his hands, while William shakes his head aggressively.

Amelie lets out a small bubble of laughter. "I never would have imagined men existed who would turn that down."

Arthur rubs his face in his hands. "I have no inclination towards women whatsoever."

"How did you intend to get through the consummation of the wedding?" Amelie asks curious.

The mortification on the two men's faces is enough that my own smile crawls onto my face.

"Don't take this the wrong way Elizabeth," Arthur says slowly. "You are an incredible woman and astoundingly beautiful, but it would have been a struggle."

"Would have?" I ask, confused at the wording. It seems I have somehow been released from this obligation, but I cannot understand how.

"Consummation requires witnesses according to your fathers wedding contract," Arthur says grimly.

I look to the group. "Can Amelie and William be the witnesses? They could just say it happened.

Arthur breathes a sigh of relief and takes the cup of tea William offers him. "I was hoping you would agree to a plan such as that."

"Excellent," William says patting Arthur on the shoulder and allowing his hand to linger there for the barest of moments. "We have another problem that needs solving. We need to publicly declare our engagement." William says gesturing between Amelie and himself.

Amelie sits back in her chair. "That is a problem. And it needs to happen before the wedding, so I have reason to stay."

Arthur looks pained, "That will mean a formal event and it will give Elizabeth's attacker another opportunity."

"We could delay it," Amelie says. "But that increases the chances my father moves me away before any formal declaration can be made."

I shake my head. "That is not an option for me," I say firmly.

"Could Elizabeth not attend?" William asks. "Perhaps we could organise protection?"

Arthur grimaces. "That did not work out well for us in the past, and Elizabeth not attending would look poorly. None of us could stay with her in isolation either. Amelie must be here and for me to be alone with her prior to the wedding…" he trails off and looks at me apologetically.

"Would be unseemly," I finish. I reach to take the toasted bread from the table and shell an egg delicately. "I have not been attacked in company," I say finally.

"Amelie was there every time," William points out.

"Each of those times an attacker wouldn't have anticipated me to have company," I say slowly as I mash my hardboiled egg onto the toast. "Amelie travelling with me here was arranged the night before, and I don't think anyone expected to find her in my rooms."

The men nod and look uncomfortable at the implication. I smile cheerfully. There is no need for them to be aware of the exact time frame of mine and Amelie's relationship. Amelie looks at me with a knowing grin which only seems to discomfort the men further.

"So, you are suggesting that you should attend the announcement?" Arthur asks.

Amelie nods beside me as I answer, "Where am I better protected? With strangers, or with you three?"

William raises his eyebrows. "She does have a point."

Arthur nods and seems a little queasy as he contemplates the food on the table in front of him. The spread today is marvellous, with a range of foul to a variety of fruits and condiments.

"You two should eat," Amelie says, with a smile that begets trouble. "You need more to sustain yourselves than each other."

Arthur gapes at her. William beside him goes through a series of micro expressions before settling on a smile. "You are going to be a very entertaining woman to be married to."

She grins. "I'm only just getting started."

"Before this conversation spirals out of control," Arthur interjects as William's grin gets wider. "Can we agree that the announcement should be made within the next few days?"

Amelie and William nod.

"What about your families?" I ask at their ready agreement.

"Arthur is my family," William says simply. "My parents are long gone, and my brother can sod off."

I blink at the statement as Amelie says, "Father will only come if there is money involved, and he would never allow my sisters to finish a job early to attend something as inconvenient as my wedding."

Arthur and I glance at one another following their blunt and brutal statements about the regard they hold and receive from their families.

"Well, with the wedding five days from now, it would be prudent to act quickly," Arthur says slowly. "I shall organise a party for two days' time."

I finish off my toast and start another. Arthur tentatively reaches for an egg of his own and struggles to shell it. After long moments of watching him pick tiny pieces of shell off the boiled egg, William takes it from his hand and deftly removes the covering before returning the white remains. Arthur nods and smiles at him thankfully and mashes the egg into a slice of toast. Breakfast is a quiet affair and ends abruptly when two men enter the room.

"My Lords," they say with a bow. "Ladies," they add as an afterthought.

One with large pockets of acne speaks in a wobbly voice that painfully reminds me of Thomas. "Your stepfather," he pauses as his voice breaks and clears it. "Your stepfather is trapped in a hedge."

"A hedge?" Arthur repeats astounded. "How in the blazes did he get stuck in a hedge?"

"It is unclear Sir," The young man says. "He isn't making much sense and smells strongly of drink."

Arthur rubs his forehead. "Can you cut him out?"

"We have tried," the young man says. "Every time we come near him with the shears he thrashes about, and the task becomes dangerous."

I try to hold back a smile at the mental image, and I see Amelie's hand fly to her mouth. A gesture she only just manages to express as shock. I quickly divert my gaze because the chances are high that if I see her mirth, my composure will break.

Arthur lets out a huge sigh and rises from his chair. "I am on my way."

William springs from his chair gleefully and collects an assortment of breads and stuffs them with meats.

"Wait for me," he calls as Arthur makes his way to the door. "I'm not missing this."

The two men depart in a flurry, and Amelie and I are left alone in the room. As soon as the door closes a giggle escapes me. The stunning blonde turns to me with a grin that makes my heart hammer as the early morning light seems to make her hair shine.

"I cannot wait to hear the entirety of that story," she says in a light voice. I smile at her mirth and suddenly her gaze darkens as she glances about the room. She leans in close, her voice significantly deeper, "Looks like we are all alone in here."

I glance around the empty dining hall and feel a quiver of excitement as she leaves a blazing path with her hand as it travels gently along the exposed skin of my arm.

"Amelie," I warn, even as my heart rate picks up. "This is a common area, and anyone may come in here at any moment."

She leans in, centimetres from my lips and whispers, "Isn't that what makes it exciting?"

I swallow heavily at the words. "It makes it dangerous," I say in a voice that is anything but firm.

She slides a hand into my hair and pulls me in for a long deep kiss that awakens the desire from this morning that I had somehow managed to quell during breakfast. My resolve crumbles quickly as she kisses me, and I realise no matter how inappropriate what she is proposing is, I am not likely to turn her down. I shake with the rush of excitement that flows through me and between my thighs as the kiss ends.

"If you want me to stop," she says peppering my jaw and neck with kisses in between every word. "Just say so."

A strong nip to the join of my neck and shoulder pulls a moan from me.

"All, you have to do, is say stop," she whispers, tracing a finger lightly across my decolletage and locking eyes with me.

I bite my lip to hold in the involuntary noise that tries to escape.

"Please don't stop," I plead with more grace than I thought I could muster at this moment.

Amelie's grin is thrilling as she pushes my chair back slightly from the table. I follow her lead as she dazzles me with kisses of such perfection, they leave me breathless.

"Now baby," she says in a sultry voice. "Remember we are in a public place, and those beautiful noises of yours will get us caught."

I nod, doing my best to stem the noises that try to escape at the implication. Amelie kisses her way down my chest and when the dress denies access to further skin, she ducks to her knees under the table and lifts my dress over her body.

"Heavens!" I whimper. Only just managing to suppress the cry that had wanted to burst forth, as her lips kiss the inside of my thigh.

I glance around the room, but no doors have flung open, and I allow myself to be present in the moment. Amelie shifts and a tongue flicks through my heat. I drop my head back on the chair and lift my hand to cover my mouth, knowing silence might not be a thing I can maintain under this onslaught of sensation.

Her strong hands grip my thighs and spread them further apart as she gains access to more of me, and it doesn't take long before I am a right mess. I writhe in the chair, and I know the noises spilling from my lips are very likely audible to anyone outside the doors. But in such a euphoric state, I cannot bring myself to care.

Two fingers press into me, and I bite the back of my hand as my peak crashes over me with a sudden violence that leaves me shaking and out of breath. It isn't until I nudge her away that she ceases her attentions, and she is quick to climb into my lap and claim a demanding kiss that has me tasting myself on her tongue.

"Baby," she says with a grin. "That was not quiet in the slightest."

I pull her close. "Trust me," I say. "I was much quieter than I wanted to be."

She laughs gently. "I was rather determined to break your resolve."

"Consider it broken," I say joyfully.