DangerbyDalliance (16 page)

In and out.

What if Kemmer was trying to unbalance her even more?

Sarah exhaled.

That was a very likely strategy. He’d said himself he hated
it when things didn’t progress the way he wanted them to. If he had any idea
how deep her feelings for Archer and Warren had grown he would do everything in
his power to drive a wedge between them, to hurt her.

Kemmer demanded that she destroy her father’s greatest
dream.

Her vision blurred. Kemmer would never have had that
ammunition if she had made better choices. And now her decision to put her
feelings first would demolish her father’s lifetime goal.

What am I supposed to do?

The only thing you
can
do.

Sarah sat up straight and wiped the tears from her face.

Kemmer was a liar, a blackmailer and a forger. There was no
way in hell she would trust his words compared to Warren’s and Archer’s
actions.

For now she would do what Kemmer had demanded, but if she
was to look forward to a life of guilt and loneliness, then she would ensure
that her final night with Warren and Archer would be one she could remember
until her death.

And she had to find a way to get those photographs.

* * * * *

Warren stood in his studio, working hard at Sarah’s
painting. Her beauty and vitality, her intelligence and sensuality, everything
that made her the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with filled his
mind.

And he struggled to put her on the canvas. He’d never
struggled in this way before. He just couldn’t find a way to translate that
something else, that something different about her from reality to painting.
His attempts had gotten closer and closer, but something just wasn’t right.

He stepped away from the canvas and paced up and down the
windows. There was one final wall between Sarah and the artist in him. A
barrier that made it impossible for him to see her fully.

He thrust his hands through his hair, searching for a way to
break that final barricade, but he couldn’t come up with anything they weren’t
already doing. It was as if she herself hadn’t settled on who she was and
therefore didn’t allow the artist in him to see her.

“Fuck! Shit! Bugger! Piss! What the fuck am I supposed to
do?”

Warren needed a change of scenery. He stormed out of his
studio, through the house and into Archer’s office. “Arch, I need your help. I
can’t see Sa—”

Warren had rarely seen his partner in this kind of rage. But
it wasn’t just anger. Pain, a deep, ravaging agony filled his eyes. He sat
behind his desk. His neck was corded and the veins at his temples pulsed
visibly.

“What happened?” Warren asked.

His lover looked at him. “I have evidence that Sarah is
seeing another man.”

Warren fell back a step. “That is impossible. No way.” He
shook his head, strode up to Archer’s desk and leaned down. “No way in fucking
hell. You didn’t see how much she struggled the first time she sat for me in
her underwear. There is just no way that she has known the touch of another
man.”

Archer only looked at him, his fingertips tapping on his
desk.

Warren straightened again and braced himself. “Who is this
man?”

“Someone I am keeping an eye on. He came to my attention in
relation to the fake banknotes.”

“Impossible.” Warren paced. “No, I can’t see her being
involved.”

“Then why do you think she had ink very, very similar to the
one used by the Bank of England on her fingers that first day?”

“What? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because at that point I had no reason to suspect her.”

Warren turned away and walked along the shelves, back and
forth, hands crossed behind his neck, eyes on his feet. Heaviness settled in
his stomach. Finally he took a deep breath and turned back to Archer. “All
right.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “What is this evidence you have?”

Archer tapped a small AetherScreen and swiveled it so Warren
could see. With the help of the remote he flipped through a number of images
showing Sarah greeting a very handsome and distinguished-looking man and
entering his house. He paused and studied her expression. “She doesn’t exactly
appear to be looking forward to this encounter.”

“The man watching described her entrance as rushed and
hurried.”

Warren continued to look through until she disappeared from
the frame. “How long was she inside?”

“Close to thirty minutes.”

“That’s barely a quickie.”

Archer growled. “You are well aware that it is more than
enough time.”

Warren flipped through two images showing only the front
door before Sarah reappeared. He mentally cursed viciously when he studied her
in the next few images. Her cheeks were flushed, sweat stood on her upper lip
and forehead. It was difficult to make out in the static images, but her limbs
appeared to be unsteady.

He stepped back, shaking his head. “This proves nothing.
Look at her face. She is not wearing the same satisfied expression she has
shown us multiple times now. We have no idea what her connection to your
suspect is.” He planted his legs and crossed his arms. “I believe there is
another, perfectly innocent explanation.”

Archer leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers.

Warren exhaled a silent sigh of relief. “Why are you so
determined to believe the worst?”

His lover glared. “Because something else is going on here.
Connections and coincidences are stacking up.”

Warren cursed. “Why do you have to be so fucking cynical and
suspicious?”

Archer’s brows rose. “Why do you have to be so attached to
your rose-colored spectacles?”

“I’m an artist. I like color.”

Archer stilled and then chuckled.

Warren tried to, but couldn’t suppress his own grin for very
long. Archer might be correct about something else going on, but Warren
believed Sarah innocent.

If Archer clung to his cynicism and hurt her in any way, he
and Warren would go a few rounds.

Archer studied him. Warren made no attempt to hide his
reservations.

Archer sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. “All
right. I will not take any action until I have proof.”

Warren nodded, but he stood on one side of the desk and
Archer sat on the other.

Pain sliced through him. Never before had they stood on opposite
sides. It cut him to pieces.

* * * * *

Sarah sat on her bed beside a bag of papers.

Her father’s papers.

In a moment she would have to get up and send them to
Kemmer. She wanted to cling to each page, but she wouldn’t exactly be
inconspicuous walking into Archer’s house carrying these. No good explanation
came to mind. And she would also have to carry the actual machine.

No, she had to hand over her father’s notes before she left.
She only needed to get up.

Unfortunately that was easier said than done.

Five minutes ticked by. Ten. Fifteen. Finally she struggled
to her feet and lugged the bag downstairs. She opened the front door and stood
there, bag in hand. Within seconds footsteps sounded on the pavement and a
young man, not one she’d seen at Kemmer’s office, appeared before her.

“You have it?”

She nodded.

He took the handle of the bag and tugged, but she couldn’t
let go. He frowned and tugged harder, but she hung on.

“Lady, what’s the problem?”

Sarah exhaled and forced her fingers to let go. He pulled
one last time and the bag was his. Bile rose in her throat. Her hand shook as
she raised it to her quivering lips.

What have I done?

You just handed over your father’s heart blood and
lifelong dream to be destroyed.

Her vision blurred. She stumbled back into the house,
slammed the door and leaned against it. Sobs shook her body.

With time she got herself back under control. She
straightened and took a couple deep breaths. Her gaze strayed to the door
leading to her father’s lab to the left of her and she forced it straight ahead
as she took her first step.

She had one last night before she had to tell Warren and
Archer their dalliance was over. And it would kill her. For the first time in
her life she’d felt as if she was coming into her own, discovering who she
really was underneath society doctrine and expectations.

Because of Warren and Archer.

Unless she wanted to become a complete pariah and destroy
her father’s life completely, she had to give it up. But not before she made
enough memories to last her a lifetime.

If that added to her guilt or selfishness, then so be it.

Sarah increased her speed and hurried up the stairs to her
bedroom. She didn’t exactly have a plethora of seductive clothing, but she had
her good set of garters and her favorite corset, as well as her blue evening
dress. She’d never before worn it because she thought her body did not live up
to the beauty of the dress.

But tonight she knew she would be able to do the dress
justice. Adding to that, she put on her sheerest stockings and her highest
heels. Her legs always looked better in those torture devices and for once she
had reason to suffer the discomfort.

Dressed, she brushed her hair. It hung down to the middle of
her back and was ruler straight. None of the fashionable curls unless she
brought the iron out, and that usually resulted in more burns than locks.

She studied herself in the mirror. No, not even for them.
Instead she gathered individual strands and pinned them up in a loose up-do,
far more relaxed than her usual bun. She even allowed a couple of strands to
frame her face.

Once she was done she studied her reflection.

Anticipation sparkled in her eyes and a slight flush covered
her cheeks. She stood with her shoulders back and her chin up. The corset and
the dress accentuated her curves and for the first time in her life she didn’t
have the overwhelming urge to hunch over or hide herself.

She looked good.

Chances were that her world would come tumbling down around
her by sunrise tomorrow, but until that time she planned to savor every single
moment and live it to the fullest.

Archer had spent his afternoon turning his discovery over
and over, attempting to come to a decision. He didn’t want to believe that
Sarah had anything to do with the fraudulent banknotes, but it just all seemed
a bit too coincidental. She showed up with her need for money and somehow she
ended up as part of Warren’s and his life. Then he fixed the Rigdon’s Banknote
Verification Device and the first person he stumbled across who did not appear
happy about his success was directly connected to Sarah.

He rubbed his face. Then there was the ink on her fingers
and the false note he’d found in her purse. She couldn’t be in charge of the
fraudsters, otherwise there would have been no reason for her to come to him
for money. But she could be part of the crew, an assistant of some kind.

What was he supposed to think with the evidence stacking up
against her?

He threw the pencil onto the desk, crumpled up his
twenty-sixth attempt at a drawing and dropped into the already overflowing bin
under his desk. Nothing constructive would come out of him tonight.

He picked up the file he’d read half a dozen times already.
The handsome and distinguished man Archer saw her with was Melvin Kemmer, accountant.
He ran one of the tax collection offices in Westminster. Sarah lived in
Westminster, so it was more than likely that Kemmer’s office was where she paid
her taxes. But if that was all, why would she go and see him at his home?

He’d asked Johnson to see if there was any way to determine
what money in the bank came from what tax collection office. His friend hadn’t
been very hopeful. When Archer suggested that it could narrow down the source,
that it could show where the notes were added to the city, Johnson had walked
off, telling Archer he’d see what he could do.

The doorbell echoed through the house. Archer checked the
clock. It was close to dinnertime.

They rarely dressed for dinner in their house. Most of the
time he was neck deep in some sort of experiment and Warren splattered with
paint. But today he had made an effort.

For her.

Archer unrolled his shirtsleeves and buttoned his cuffs. He
straightened his waistcoat, checked his cravat and pulled on his coat. With one
final tug on the cuffs he walked to the bookshelf and picked up the small
tracker he had been working on for months. He wasn’t yet sure if he would use
it, but something was going on and he needed to know. He dropped it in his
pocket and walked out of the office and into the front hallway.

Sarah took his breath away. She was so goddamn beautiful.

The dress followed each and every curve of her luscious
body. The décolleté, lower than he’d ever seen her wear, presented her full
breasts to him. He couldn’t wait to free their bountiful weight, hold them in
his hands, suckle her sweet nipples.

His cock hardened and the need that always simmered just
below rose to the surface. “Good evening, Sarah. You look absolutely stunning.”

She smiled. “Thank you.” Her smile widened. “You also look
very handsome tonight.”

Archer took her hand and raised it to his lips as Warren
joined them.

“What do we have here?” He took her other hand. “The beauty
and the beast.” He sucked one of her fingers into his mouth, making her shiver.

“And what are you?” Archer asked, torn between annoyance and
amusement at the comment.

Warren laughed. He released her finger and pressed her palm
against his chest. “I am whatever you need me to be.”

Sarah tightened her grip around Archer’s hand. “That is good
to know.”

Archer studied her. There was something different about her.
It took him a couple of seconds to decipher the change.

She no longer hid her sensuality. Instead she had embraced
it with confidence.

He cupped her cheek. “Would you care for some dinner?”

She licked her lower lip, making him tremble. “After.”

Everything inside him stilled like a predator before an
attack. Every muscle in his body hardened. Beside him Warren paused as well.

“After it is.” He kissed her.

Archer wound his free arm around her waist, the back of his
hand rubbing against Warren’s hardening cock. Sarah responded to his kiss with
passion and delight, playing and teasing his tongue with her own and rubbing
her full breasts against his chest.

Warren stepped behind her, nudging her even closer until she
was sandwiched between them. Archer’s blood pounded in his veins.

This here, the three of them together, was the fulfillment
of his fantasy. He slid his hands up her body. The dress had a low back. He
caressed her nape, enjoying the feel of her smooth skin.

Warren wrapped his arms around her hips. After a quick grope
for Archer’s dick, he petted her stomach and hips. His cock lengthened when he
saw his lover and their woman together.

After a moment she pulled back and smiled. “Come.” She took
their hands and led them up the stairs onto the second floor.

Warren gently tugged her hand. “Third door on the left.” He
kissed her nape.

She shivered and continued on.

Archer opened the door to his bedroom and entered. Sarah had
a quick look around. Her grip on his hand tightened and uncertainty glimmered
in her eyes when she saw the massive four-poster bed. But she kept her chin up
and turned to Warren and him. “What next?”

Instead of speaking, Warren pulled her close for a deep
kiss. Archer pressed a gentle kiss to the back of her hand and then let go. She
plunged her fingers into Warren’s hair. Archer closed the door and leaned
against it. Watching them drove him crazy. He’d never seen himself as a voyeur,
but the two of them together were just gorgeous.

But the part of him that struggled to trust raised its head.
What had made her come to them like this? Why after weeks of following their
lead had she suddenly decided to take their encounter all the way? And that she
planned to sleep with them was not a question.

Unlike Warren he had never suffered physical abuse at his
father’s hands. No, his abuse had been mental. The never knowing what mood he
would find his father in, not knowing if his actions were good enough to gain him
acceptance. He could count those instances on one hand. The standard response
to his trials had been a disgusted grimace and a turned back. It had taught
Archer to be very, very careful with whom he allowed close to him.

This sudden change in course raised the hairs on the back of
his neck.

He put his hand inside his pocket and fingered the small
tracker. Warren would most likely kill him for this breach of trust. Archer
wanted to believe, but needed proof of her innocence.

Sarah moaned when Warren kissed his way down her neck. She
tilted her head and stretched her hand out to him. Archer stepped behind her
and gently took her purse. It was heavier than he had anticipated. With a quick
flick of the wrist he added the tracker and dropped the bag on a chair.

Then he forced his suspicions aside and undid the buttons on
the back of her dress. With each button loosened, a little bit more of her skin
became visible. His breathing grew uneven and by the time he pulled the dress
over her hips he was close to panting.

She just did it for him. No matter what.

Warren kissed across her décolleté, his hands on her hips.
Archer set his hands over his friend’s and pulled Sarah against his chest, his
hard dick rubbing against her arse. When he pressed his lips against her neck
and nipped the soft skin she moaned.

“Lord, what you two do to me.”

Her whispered words stroked across his senses. With one hand
Archer played with Warren’s, fondled the back of his lover’s hand and the
sensitive skin between thumb and index finger. With the other he moved up Sarah’s
side until he’d reached her breasts.

Her head dropped back against his chest. He curved his hand
under her breast but the corset didn’t have any give. Archer released Warren
and lifted both hands to the top hook of her corset.

Warren looked up and met his gaze. The inferno in his eyes
scorched Archer. Goose bumps spread across his body. For a moment time stood
still and all Archer recognized was the man before him and the woman in his
arms. When she moved against him he nodded. Warren responded in kind.

He knelt before her and opened the bottom hook while Archer
did the same at the top of the corset. And the next. And the next.

Archer kissed her nape.

Sarah shivered and moved against him. Each touch made her
quiver, lean deeper into the caress. When he tongued her earlobe and blew
against it she whimpered.

Archer’s and Warren’s hands met at the middle of the corset.
He looked over her shoulder at the kneeling man. Warren caressed the backs of
his hands with small touches and then released him to take both sides of the
corset. Archer undid the final hook and Warren gently pulled it off her body,
ensuring the material rubbed across her nipples. At the same time Archer cupped
her breasts and lifted them away from her chest, presenting them to Warren, who
sucked one nipple into his mouth.

She moaned and her peaks tightened even further. Archer used
his index fingers to tease the delicate skin of her areolas. When he tweaked
the nipple Warren did not suck on between thumb and index finger, her knees
weakened.

Warren came to his feet.

“Let’s move this somewhere comfortable,” Archer said. Before
Sarah could say anything he had swung her into his arms. She yelped and clung
to his neck. Archer chuckled.

Warren strode to the bed and pulled down the cover. With
care Archer deposited her in the center. He followed the length of her leg and
tugged off first one, then the other shoe. Warren stood beside the bed and
unbuttoned his shirt.

Archer moved back and pulled off his jacket, followed by his
waistcoat. His mouth went dry when Warren pulled off his shirt, his feelings
mirrored by the need darkening Sarah’s deep-blue eyes.

Warren tugged open his trousers and his cock jumped out.
Long and hard and red. For a second he gripped it in his right hand and stroked
up and down. Archer tugged his shirt out of his pants while wanting to sink to
his knees and suck that delicious prize.

He wasn’t the only one with that thought. Sarah had come to
her hands and knees. She gripped the dick with one hand and slid her tongue
along the hard length. Archer groaned and tore off his shirt. He kicked off his
shoes and yanked off his trousers, the tableau before him mind-bendingly
arousing. With a deep growl Warren pulled back. “Tonight is for you.”

Sarah raised her brows, but when they both nodded she lay
against the pillows.

Archer studied her for a moment, branding this moment into
his mind, his memory. “You look incredible.”

She blushed. For a moment he thought he caught shadows
crossing her eyes, but then she smiled and opened her arms to him. He climbed
onto the bed between her legs. With a few swift tugs he removed her underpants.
Naked, she reclined against the dark cotton, her curves enticing him, each inch
of her a treat to be devoured or enjoyed at leisure.

Warren stretched out beside her, kissing every inch of skin
his lips could reach.

Archer grabbed the base of his cock to stave off the
increasing need. Once he was sure he could control himself in the face of the
feast before him, he gently clasped her ankles and moved her legs apart.

Catching a glimpse of the pink lips of her moist cunt was
like adding more coal to the engine. Need roared through him. He lay between
her legs, his hands around her hips.

Archer kissed her thigh and worked his way closer and closer
to his goal. Sarah arched her back and her legs tensed. He reached the apex of
her thighs and pressed a kiss onto the soft skin of her stomach before
continuing on his journey down the other leg.

Her fingers clenched in his hair, trying to pull him back to
her pussy, but Archer disentangled her hands and took her wrists in his hand. “None
of that, darling. I am in charge.”

He smiled when she groaned and thrust up her hips.

Above him Warren played with her nipples, going back and
forth with his fingers and his mouth, driving her higher and higher.

Archer caressed her opening, his path impeded by her hymen.
He choked back the growl that wanted to escape and pulled back the protective
hood over her clit. She trembled and moaned softly.

He blew on her clit and her whole body shivered. Archer
released her wrists and held down her hips as he tongued her slit.

More moisture seeped out, taunting him with her delicious
scent and taste. He worked his way up and down, giving her clit only limited
attention.

Warren continued to kiss her breasts and intersperse those
with sharp little nips. He stretched out one arm until he reached Sarah’s
curls. Archer studied him. Warren smiled and carefully opened Sarah’s pussy like
a flower, spreading her for him.

Archer ground his cock against the mattress and gritted his
teeth. Seeing his lover open her up for him hurled him to the brink.

He settled more fully between her legs and set out to drive
her insane.

He licked her opening and kissed her sensitive inner lips, interspersed
with light taps against her clit.

Using the abundant moisture, he lubricated one finger and
played with her anus. She stiffened and moved away. Archer raised his head and
met her gaze. She swallowed and her hand in Warren’s hair tightened. He kissed
her stomach, continuing to hold her captive with his look. She softened, her
eyes giving him permission to continue.

He patted Warren’s ankle. His lover looked down at him. Archer
raised his brows.

Warren opened the bedside table and handed him the bottle of
lubricant, his expression filled with need.

Sarah watched their exchange.