Dark Obsession (17 page)

Carefully Crispian raised Tania’s knees, which moved the deliciously throbbing balls, and then he positioned himself at an angle of ninety degrees beneath her legs with his lower leg under her buttocks and his top leg supporting her calves.

For a moment he stared down at her, watching her rapid eye movements and the way her body was rippling
beneath
the skin. ‘You’re ready to come, aren’t you?’ he whispered. ‘Do you want me inside you when you do?’

‘Yes! Yes!’ shouted Tania as the warm glow of the throbbing balls spread further up her belly and through her entire pubic area.

‘Increase the power to two,’ Crispian said to Annabel, and Tania’s whole body began to shake with the sensations that were swamping it. As Crispian’s right hand caressed her left leg, she parted her thighs as much as possible and felt him slide into her, staring down with his bright-blue eyes, watching her every response.

He used his legs to give his thrusts impetus and once he was into an established rhythm he gave Annabel another nod. Now she moved the balls into the highest speed and suddenly Tania’s shoulders pressed down on the bed as she arched her ribcage in the build-up to orgasm.

Crispian knew that she was right on the edge, and Annabel knew it too. She could imagine the delicious sensations the other woman must be experiencing and her whole body ached with a desperate desire for similar stimulation.

Tania had now passed the point of no return. Every nerve in her body was screaming for release and suddenly the insistent throbbing between her thighs began to dissolve into a white-hot, liquid sensation. At that precise moment Crispian’s free hand slipped between her thighs and he carefully massaged the shaft of her clitoris with a firm circular movement.

Unable to control herself a moment longer, Tania’s hips were lifted off the bed by the force of the contractions that tore through her whole body while her hands clutched desperately at the covering beneath her.

For what seemed to Annabel to be an eternity the auburn-haired girl’s body continued to twist and arch and all the time the balls throbbed within her rectum and Crispian’s finger continued its remorseless manipulation of her most sensitive tissue.

It was one of the fiercest orgasms Tania had experienced for a long time and when it slowly started to ebb away her body still jerked and jumped at intervals. She could have cried as the glorious feelings slowly dissipated and then vanished.

Only when she closed her eyes and slumped limply against the mattress did Crispian’s hand move from between her thighs and at the same time he signalled for Annabel to turn off the power. Then he turned the un-protesting Tania over and withdrew the balls. As each of them was forced out of the tiny opening his stepsister gave a muted gasp that was half-pleasure and half-protest.

‘I told you it would be a good evening!’ said Crispian, smiling at Annabel.

She stared at him, her lips slightly parted and her breasts jutting out proudly, the nipples still erect. ‘Is that it?’ she asked softly.

‘Afraid so,’ he said briskly. ‘Time for us all to sleep. Step-mama will be very annoyed if you’re not fit for work tomorrow!’ Tania gave a tiny sound of contentment and curled up into a ball by his side.

‘But …’ began Annabel.

‘What a greedy girl you’re becoming,’ he said mockingly. ‘Don’t tell me you wanted more?’

She felt her cheeks turn pink, and with as much dignity as she could muster got off the bed and started to dress. ‘No,’ she said shortly.

‘Now you’re the fibber! Never mind, I like responsive women. I expect your Matthew does as well.’

‘Sir Matthew is nothing to me,’ Annabel threw back, struggling back into her evening dress.

‘Well, I think I’ll see if I can change that. I’m sure he’d be as fascinated by you as I am, Annie. And I am fascinated you know, very fascinated indeed.’

Half-asleep, Tania heard the words and a sense of unease began to worry away at her. She forced herself upright and put a possessive arm round her naked stepbrother’s
shoulders
. ‘Not gone yet, Annabel? You’d better hurry. If Mother gets annoyed with you she’ll send you away, and you don’t want that, do you?’

‘I’m just going,’ said Annabel. ‘If you remember, you did invite me here.’

‘Yes; well, now we’re asking you to leave. There are some things we prefer to do in private.’

‘Good night, Annie!’ called Crispian when she closed the door behind her.

As she walked back to her room Annabel tried to imagine what the pair of them could possibly do that even they considered required privacy.

Chapter Seven

THE FOLLOWING MORNING
a rather tired Annabel found herself breakfasting alone. It seemed that no one else in the house was up and about, apart from Lord Corbett-Wynne, whose day it was to go to London and take his seat in the House of Lords.

While she was drinking a final cup of coffee the maid, Mary, came in and told her that Lady Corbett-Wynne would like to see her in her rooms as soon as possible. With an inward sigh, Annabel managed to smile and swallowed the last of the strong liquid. She had a feeling that she was set on a collision course with her employer over the dining room.

Considering that it was only nine-thirty she’d quite expected to find the older woman in a robe, but to her surprise Marina was already dressed in a blue and lilac striped skirt and overshirt, beneath which she wore a dark-blue camisole top with an attractive embroidered neckline. Her hair was loose, making her look younger, and her face was carefully but lightly made up to accentuate her fine bone structure. She looked, thought Annabel, like a woman who had taken pains to look her best without wanting to appear over-dressed.

Marina smiled at Annabel. ‘I have to go out this morning and thought we’d better have a little talk about the dining room before I go. Last night I had the feeling that you weren’t in agreement with me over the alterations there.’

Annabel took a deep breath. ‘I know it’s a very dark room, but it does have wonderful character. It’s everything that people expect from a stately home in England. I really think that to try and turn it into something foreign by using the Italian influence would be a disaster.’

‘Indeed?’ Lady Corbett-Wynne’s eyebrows rose. ‘And what precisely do you have in mind then?’

‘I think that the wood could be re-stained in slightly lighter tones, and that soft, concealed lighting would be better than the somewhat harsh glare that’s over the table at the moment. A different carpet would also make a considerable improvement. If you chose something that used grey as the predominant colour but had traces of gold and red in the pattern it would still fit in with the general ambience of the room but –’

‘I don’t like the “general ambience” of the room; that’s precisely why you’re here, Annabel,’ responded Marina, her cheeks flushed. ‘Even walking in there is enough to take away my appetite. I want it light; white woodwork, cream walls and perhaps impressionist paintings instead of those terrible portraits of people who’ve been dead for centuries.’

‘White woodwork?’ Annabel couldn’t believe she was hearing correctly.

‘While I’m out,’ her employer said firmly, ‘I would like you to draw up a design based on the lines I’ve suggested. If that’s beyond you then perhaps you’d better return to London and I’ll find another interior designer.’

Annabel looked down at the floor, considering her position. The proposals were sacrilege; the dining room would be ruined, but to her shame she realised that she didn’t want to leave Leyton Hall. She was enjoying her sexual adventures there too much to want to return to her
previous
existence of all work and no play, and she desperately wanted a chance to get to know Sir Matthew Stevens better. If that meant ruining the dining room, well, so be it, she thought suddenly. After all, she’d never have to sit there and look at the end result.

‘If you’re certain about this then I’m sure I can come up with something that will suit you, Lady Corbett-Wynne,’ she said politely. ‘I’ll spend the morning making some rough sketches and perhaps we could go through colours and fabrics later this evening.’

Marina nodded graciously. ‘I look forward to that. Fabrics are quite a passion with me, you know. Now I really must be going. I’m hoping to choose my puppy today. I’ve never had a dog of my own, not since I was a child.’

‘There are plenty of dogs in the house!’ said Annabel. She was puzzled.

‘All badly behaved and owned by other members of the family. This one will be mine.’

Annabel nodded, but as she left she thought to herself that it was far more likely Lady Corbett-Wynne had really been thinking of Sir Matthew Stevens when she spoke. She tried to picture the pair of them together, but failed. Her employer was so cool and self-contained. She gave the impression of a woman who would never lose control of herself, while Sir Matthew seemed the type of man who’d take his pleasure lustily and without too much regard for dignity.

‘You’re jealous!’ she said to herself, making her way to her room to collect her notebooks.

‘Jealous of whom?’ enquired Crispian, emerging from his room as she walked past.

‘You lying in bed while I’m working!’ said Annabel with a light laugh.

‘All you do is look round rooms and scribble notes and sketches. I don’t call that work.’

‘Believe me, when dealing with your stepmother, it is,’
said
Annabel with feeling. Crispian grinned at her retreating back. He could well imagine that it was, but he hoped Annabel wouldn’t give up and leave. He and Tania were having too much fun with her. They’d spent most of the previous night working out how they could get Annabel and Sir Matthew together. Having solved the problem he didn’t want her disappearing before they’d seen the results of their plotting.

As Annabel began work, Marina walked swiftly towards the Old Mill. As she approached her pulse began to quicken and she felt her heart beating erratically against her ribs, while the palms of her hands were damp with nervous excitement.

Matthew saw her approaching through the window of his study and felt a flicker of surprise that she was back so soon. Somehow he’d expected her to play harder to get, and her arrival today took some of the excitement out of the chase, although he was still captivated by her ice-cool exterior and clear lack of pleasurable sexual experience. All the same, he hoped she wasn’t going to call too often. He didn’t intend to become a one-woman man just yet, and highly strung women like Marina could become rather clingy.

Striding out of his front door he stopped in apparent surprise when he saw her coming up the path. ‘Marina, this is an unexpected pleasure. You should have telephoned me. I’d hate you to walk down here only to find me out, and I frequently am out during the day.’

Marina smiled happily, already aroused by the sight of him in cord trousers and open-necked shirt, his curly hair tousled by the slight breeze. ‘That’s all right. The walk’s good for me. I wanted you to know that I’ve arranged to start riding lessons again, as you suggested.’

Matthew, remembering the scene he’d come upon in the copse, wondered what her husband thought about that. ‘Excellent!’ he said enthusiastically. ‘Who’ll teach you?’

‘Jerry, he’s worked for James nearly ten years now and
he’s
the one who’s responsible for Tania coming on so well.’

‘You’ll be in safe hands, then,’ he said more softly, moving closer to her and taking one of her hands gently in his. ‘I expect you’ve come for another look at the pups, am I right?’

Marina would have liked to tell him that he was totally wrong, what she’d really come for was another look at him, but she nodded and smiled that once again she was doing what was expected of her rather than what she wanted.

Matthew knew very well what she wanted, but this time he thought that it would be exciting to do it somewhere more adventurous than in his drawing room. He was also aroused at the prospect of seeing the immaculate Marina reaching a sexual climax in the less than immaculate surroundings he had in mind. ‘I’ve just got to check the stable,’ he said, grasping her firmly by the hand and drawing her along with him. ‘I’m not sure that the boy who comes in to muck out does a really thorough job. Once I’ve checked we’ll look at the pups, they’re right next door to the stable.’

‘James says that our grooms are very good,’ murmured Marina, wishing that she hadn’t worn white, open-toed sandals if she was expected to walk into a hay-strewn stable.

‘I’m sure they are!’ laughed Matthew. ‘More attractive than my lad as well.’

‘James chooses them for their looks, but I think that Jerry makes sure they’re good at their job as well. The estate can’t afford to carry passengers.’

‘But it can afford the services of David Crosbie?’ queried Matthew.

Marina smiled at him. ‘No, I can afford the services of David Crosbie, or in this case David Crosbie’s protegée, who I have to say is turning out to be something of a disappointment.’

‘Why’s that?’ murmured Matthew, pushing open the stable door and feeling his excitement increasing.

‘She isn’t as modern as I’d hoped.’

‘What a shame,’ he murmured soothingly, privately thinking that she looked exceedingly modern to him, and highly attractive as well. He realised that Marina was hanging back, loosening her grip on his hand. ‘It’s all right, the horse isn’t here,’ he assured her. ‘He’s out in the field.’

With a sigh of relief Marina followed Matthew inside the stable, but felt a flicker of unease when he closed the door behind them, plunging them into darkness. She could smell the straw, the unmistakable odour of horses and the strong scent of saddle leather, a combination that held no attraction for her. Before she could turn to leave, she felt Matthew’s arms slip round her waist and then he was pulling her against his chest and his mouth was on hers, his kiss deep and passionate.

It took Marina a few seconds to respond. She wasn’t feeling relaxed – the surroundings weren’t to her liking – and she could tell by the way Matthew’s hands were roaming down her back and over her hips that he intended to do more than kiss her in this unhygienic and highly unromantic setting.