Chapter 14

14

Agatha was still uncertain why Sebastian had instructed her to meet him at the opera house. He had reserved a private box and told her that having people see her with him in public would only assist her in building her reputation as a mistress.

His argument held some merit, she supposed. Though shouldn’t she be looking for more affluent men who could offer her protection? Still the thought of being intimate with another man the way she’d been with Sebastian made her feel ill, but that was a concern for another day.

He’d escorted her to the box and they were waiting for the opera to begin. She’d only been to the opera one other time and she’d found it pleasurable enough though admittedly she’d preferred the theatre.

But as the lights dimmed, she found herself feeling on edge with anticipation. Something about sitting so close to Sebastian in this public setting.

He was so very handsome. Nearly every woman, young and old, turned to stare when he walked by. Their journey through the opera house lobby had turned heads. He was the very image of virility; tall and muscular with that square jawline hidden behind a day or two’s worth of whiskers. His perfectly full lips and those startling green eyes. Simply put, the man was beautiful. Though with his golden beauty, she’d wager he resembled more the Norse gods rather than a mortal man.

And he had a twin brother, he’d mentioned that. Though he said they looked nothing alike. Still, if there were two men this attractive in London, they would have their selection of whatever women they wanted.

He was here with her, though. She hated that that thought warmed her insides, but it did. She would not fool herself into believing this was special for him. He likely took all women he’s shared intimacies with to the theatre or the like. Being born on the wrong side of the blanket, as it were, meant he wouldn’t be welcomed into polite society. But a public outing such as this, his money worked just as well aristocratic money.

Felicity had suggested, as a mistress, she fall just a little bit in love with each man she took as a lover. The problem was, Agatha could see too many things to love about Sebastian, the least of which was his handsomeness.

Obviously, he was a gifted lover. Even without experiencing another man’s touch, she knew Sebastian’s would be different. Most of the men she’d met were far too selfish and self-absorbed to be as dedicated to their partner’s pleasure the way he was.

He had a lovely sense of humor. She’d never expected to laugh during intimate activities, but she legitimately had fun with him. Judging from the way he’d assisted two elderly women up the stairs of the opera house, he was also kind. She’d watched a handful of “gentlemen” walk right past the two women without a second glance.

Sebastian, though, had helped her to the top, then immediately marched down the stairs to aide them.

“Little dover,” he breathed into her ear. Gooseflesh covered her body and her nipples pebbled beneath the many layers of her clothes.

What would he think if he knew she’d been sitting here mentally extolling his virtues. She was a ninny.

“Can you see any of the other people in the boxes around us?”

She squinted and peered into the darkness. With the lights on the stage, it was nearly impossible to see anything around her. She turned to whisper to his ear, but nearly crashed right into his face he was so close to her. She licked her lips. “I don’t think so. Who am I supposed to be looking for?”

“No one. Not being able to see anyone is the very point. Now we’re going to play a game.” The deep timbre of his voice was like the finest of silk against her skin.

“I don’t think we can play a game in here. We won’t be able to hear one another very well.” Did people normally play games at the opera?

“Yes, lovely Agatha, we can. Now then, I’m going to do something to as you. Your duty is to be still and as quiet as you can. Do you think you can do that?”

“I don’t know.” Nerves skittered through her body, though she felt no fear. She trusted him implicitly. “What are you going to do to me?”

“It’s a surprise.” He leaned closer and placed several heated kisses along her neck, just below her ear.

She was already so aroused simply from his nearness that she’d probably soaked her drawers.

“You smell good, little dove. Now the challenge tonight is two-fold.” His lips were right next to her ear as he spoke. “One, we want to see if you can lose yourself in the sensations of your body despite your environment. Two, if you can do that, you should try to be quieter than you were the last time.” His chuckle felt like a lick across her nipples. “Be a good girl and keep your eyes on the stage.”

This man was pure sin. And heaven help her, but she loved it.

The performers on stage sang beautifully. Though, in a language Agatha did not understand, she watched the characters move across the stage with their powerful voices.

Her heart pounded so rapidly she was tempted to look down and see if the fabric of her dress moved with the beat.

Sebastian shifted in his chair, and then he was gone. On the floor in front of her. Oh no, he couldn’t possibly think he would… big, warm palms slid up the backs of her stockinged calves, then gripped the backs of her knees. He forced her legs to spread further as he disappeared beneath the yards of material that made up her skirts. He maneuvered her body so she was more forward on the chair, allowing her legs to fall open and his head to move into place.

Oh, my heavens, he was actually going to lick her here in front of everyone. No, no one could actually see them, but still. A thrill shot through her at the thought of someone seeing or hearing. Surely that meant she was just as wicked as he.

A finger spread through her folds, then slid inside of her. She clenched around his finger and bit down on her lip. Her eyes glued to the stage, she watched the people move around, their voices loud and melodic, but she had no idea what was happening.

And then his mouth was on her. She placed her hands on her dress over his head. His tongue lapped at her, circling that hidden bud as his finger thrust in and out of her. She kept her teeth secured into her bottom lip to keep herself from moaning. She couldn’t however, prevent herself from rocking her pelvis towards him.

The pleasure tightened in her belly, moving lower into a tense spiral. The players on stage hit a particularly moving part of their music, but Agatha’s focus had narrowed to her core where that wicked, wicked man hid beneath her dress licking her until she thought she’d go mad.

She was getting closer, she could tell, felt her womb tightening on his finger. He responded by inserting a second finger, then he curled them both and found a spot on the front wall of her womb. He rubbed those fingers and licked her nub, over and over and over.

Finally she shattered around him, gripping his head and shaking in her seat. She knew she was likely manning, but it couldn’t be helped.

Then the lights flipped on inside the theatre and she froze. Sebastian stealthily slipped from beneath her skirts and came up holding a pair of glasses.

“Here you go, my dear, I found your glasses.”

She knew she was blushing fiercely, but there was nothing to be done about that. She opened the fan dangling from her wrist and popped it open to wave it in front of her face. Perhaps any onlookers would simply think she’d overheated.

She should be angry with him, but the truth of the matter was she felt nothing but pleasure and amusement at his antics. Perhaps she had the right temperament to be a mistress after all.

One glance at the wicked man next to her and her body heated all over again. He was watching her, his blue eyes nearly black with desire. Her gaze lowered to the front of his trousers. Even in his current seated position, she could see the pronounced urge hidden within. He had his fingers at his mouth and he was methodically licking them clean.

She swallowed, then licked her lips.

“You are a wicked man,” she said.

“Oh, little dove, you have no idea.” He leaned a little closer. “What I’d like to do is bend you over the railing of this box and pound into you from behind. I don’t care who watches. I’m so bloody hard for you right now I’m close to making a mess in my trousers.” His face hardened and he nearly looked angry. “I do not ever lose control. But the taste of your sweet cunny drives me to near madness.”

His words produced a fresh wave of moisture to her core. And she found she didn’t want to wait any longer for him to be inside her. She forced herself to wait until the intermission ended and the theatre fell dark once again.

“I believe I’ve come down with a headache. Perhaps we could leave early. I suspect the nice dark confines of the carriage will be more pleasurable for me at the moment.”

He swore, then stood and faced her while he readjusted his pants to better conceal his arousal. Then he held his arm out to her. “I’m sorry you’re feeling unwell.”

They did not speak again until they were enclosed inside her carriage. He’d barely sat on the bench seat before he’d pull her into his lap. Straddling him proved momentarily challenging because of her dress, but he was able to shift her skirts in a way that nestled her against the hard ridge at the front of his trousers.

She bucked against him, trying to alleviate some of the pressure in her core.

“I’m taking you back to my townhome. I’m going to fuck you on every surface I can.”

Agatha sucked in a breath. “So very wicked,” she whispered.

He bucked against her effectively rubbing himself where she needed him most. “I don’t hear you objecting.”

That, she couldn’t deny. He kissed her then. Long, and deep and slow. A kiss that seemed to make promises she knew that neither of them could keep. This, what they had, wasn’t going to last. They were a comet, burning bright. Hot and fast, then disappearing without even a streak across the sky.

Though Agatha couldn’t ignore that tiny voice that warned her repeatedly that this—that he—could leave a lasting and significant scar on her heart.

The truth was she couldn’t afford to worry about such matters. Whether or not her heart was broken at the end of their tryst didn’t change anything about where she was right now. He was providing her with skills she’d need to know if she wanted to take control of her future. This was the only way she could claim any power over her life. And it didn’t matter that the thought of another man touching her the way Sebastian did made her want to run away to a nunnery.

She’d have to rely on the things that Felicity shared with her. Presumably, Agatha would be able to fall a little in love with every many she made an arrangement with. It certainly hadn’t been hard to fall for Sebastian.

She could do this. In the meantime she would enjoy the things that Sebastian could teach her about her body and about men’s bodies. She would absorb that and all the pleasure he brought her because there was no guarantee that any other man could illicit such feelings in her.

His big palm cupping her breast broke her out of her thoughts. She arched into his touch. His lips left hers and trailed down her throat until he reached the cleavage peeking at the top of her gown. He nibbled on the tender flesh here.

“How do you want me to take you first?”

She cleared her throat and tried to concentrate on his words enough so that she could answer him. It was challenging though because his mouth anywhere on her body made her brain lose focus. “I think I’d like to try the position you mentioned in the theatre.”

“You want me to bend you over something and take you from behind? Is that what you want, little dove?”

His words painted a vivid picture in her mind and she whimpered. “Yes.”

“I should like to do that very much. Grip onto these wide hips.” He did so then with her still on his lap, his fingertips digging into her dress-covered flesh. “I believe I’d like that view. Watching your plump arse jiggle as I push in and out of you.”

The carriage rolled to a stop and he assisted her down from the rig. His townhome was large and not all that far from Violet’s.

“Do you live here alone?” she found herself asking.

“My brother and I share the home. He has one wing and I have the other. That way we don’t get in each other’s way. We keep very different hours. My job keeps me up at all hours of the night, while Spencer, being an artist, prefers to work during the daytime so he can make usage of the lighting from the sun.”

“He’s an artist?”

“Indeed. A member of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood. We’re very different to have shared a womb.”

She laughed at his jest. He led her through the front door and into a room off the pain corridor.

“This is my study.” His hand gripped the thick arousal still visibly pressed against the front of his trousers. He glanced around the room. “I’m trying to decide if I shall bend you over my desk or that settee.” He nodded to the brocade settee near the bookshelf. It would be a good height, she thought.

“But first, I want you completely undressed. I want to see every creamy inch of you bared to me.” He approached her and spun her around to face away from him. His tongue clicked against his teeth. “Always with the buttons.”

Her face heated and pleasure swarmed her. Admittedly she’d selected this very dress because of all the buttons along her spine—from neck to waist—a tight line of tiny pearled fastenings. Her breath grew more rapid with each one he slipped from its confines.