Indiscretions (3 page)

Had Vaughan not noticed the flirting going on? He didn’t normally tolerate such competition. She spied him on the far side of the dance floor, surrounded by his barnacles, seemingly oblivious to what was going on. There was no question of her approaching him; her effort would only meet with some noxious rebuke that made her feel small. That or he would make her some lewd conciliatory offer to satisfy her in place of Lucerne. Only, she didn’t want Vaughan’s comfort. She wanted Lucerne—Lucerne, who was supposed to be her lover.

How she longed to press herself against his lean limbs and feel his taut muscles moving beneath his clothing as he guided her around the dance floor. She wanted to feel the ache in her womb grow and know that Lucerne’s need for her was equally great, and that when they got home he’d fill her exactly as she needed him to.

Vaughan wouldn’t provide that. Vaughan would leave her burning and frustrated. Only with Lucerne did she ever find true relief.

“Three dances,” she remarked when she finally obtained Lucerne’s hand. “Wasn’t that a little excessive. Do you truly like her that much?”

“It costs me nothing to be polite, and I’m making up for Vaughan’s absenteeism.”

Bella cocked her head to better take in his expression, a typically half-fixed smile. “You know, I don’t think it works like that.”

“Does it not? Won’t they remark that while she failed to ensnare Lord Pennerley, she thoroughly bewitched Viscount Marlinscar?”

“Likely,” Bella conceded. “But if you don’t mind, I’d like to bewitch you now. Let’s slip away and spend the night together. Vaughan won’t notice us leave.”

“That would hardly be fair, now would it? I do wish you two wouldn’t make everything into a contest. Can’t you simply accept that I enjoy having you both?”

“I’ll accept it when he does.”

As they turned and swirled to face one another again, Vaughan swooped between them and claimed Lucerne’s hand. Bella came to an abrupt halt, suddenly un-partnered in the centre of the dance floor. Around her, snorts of mirth accompanied the frantic flap of fans. Lucerne and Vaughan were dancing together. Within seconds, several of the other rakehells had taken to the floor similarly paired, only to split up again moments later to claim prettiest ladies.

Bella waved away offers from three gentlemen in order to follow Vaughan and Lucerne as they sneaked away. She found them outside, standing on a lantern-lit terrace overlooking the gardens. Stars twinkled overhead and the mingled scents of chamomile and lavender fragranced the breeze.

“How dare you embarrass me like that?” She marched right up to Vaughan and growled into his face.

Vaughan’s dark eyes reflected the night sky. He looked down at her slowly. A stab of heat pierced Bella’s innards as she gazed upon his face. There was no denying he was a breathtakingly beautiful man and his seditious and yet somewhat melancholy expression only added to that.

Sometimes she hated his beauty. Right now, she hated the fact that he was so much taller and hence couldn’t meet him eye-to-eye.

“I dare,” he said simply. “Don’t worry. I didn’t have to exert myself.”

She sensed Lucerne biting his lip in order to stifle his smile.

“You’re no better.” She poked him in the ribs. “You let him insult me. You allow him to get away with this sort of thing.”

“Twas no more than a bit of fun, Bella.”

“It was impossibly rude.”

Vaughan shrugged. “Why the devil would I want to stand around waiting when I had the perfect means of getting what I wanted immediately? You’ll never understand. Opportunities should be seized.”

“Is that what this is about, seizing a chance to abscond with Lucerne and leave me behind again? He’s not yours, Vaughan.”

“Nor is he yours.”

“I never claimed him to be. Ours, remember. That’s what we agreed.”

Vaughan stepped forward so that less than an inch of space lay between them. His hand cupped the back of her head. Bella tensed, unsure whether he intended to kiss her or bite her. He’d done both on numerous occasions and his mood was no predictor.

Strangely the prospect of both excited her. Vaughan’s kisses burned. They consumed her senses, but when he bit… Well… The strangest feelings ran through her making her think that the show of dominance wasn’t so much about aggression and scaring her off but making her his possession too.

“Step back, Vaughan.” She formed her fists, ready to strike him if necessary. Not that she anticipated it being so. There were simply too many people around for him to attempt anything truly terrifying. Besides, he’d never yet done anything to her that had caused her any real harm. Mostly, he just frustrated her beyond reason.

“He’s coming home with me,” Vaughan said, his voice low enough so that only she could hear it. “And you’re not invited.”

There he was, staking his claim again, trying to prove that his will took precedence and that she was insignificant. His words washed over her, failing to rile her in the way he’d intended. She knew Lucerne loved her. Once or twice she’d doubted that fact, but never for long. If Lucerne hadn’t cared for her, her presence wouldn’t have rattled Vaughan so much. She grinned winningly up at him. He could pretend all he liked, but she remained as much Lucerne’s lover as he, and neither of them had any more right to Lucerne than the other.

“And what does Lucerne say to that?” she asked.

They turned their heads as one, only to find Lucerne had gone.

* * * * *

They were driving him demented. Lucerne slipped away from Vaughan and Bella as they stood bickering and made his way back into the house. Never-ending strife, that’s all he had to look forward to. As much as he loved them both he couldn’t face yet another squabble over whose turn it was to share his bed; rather, it seemed better to sleep alone for once.

Thankfully the number of guests in the salon had thinned a little. Lucerne helped himself to a large measure of brandy from off a side-table and swallowed it eagerly. Sometimes it felt as if he were the rope in a tug o’ war contest. They both wanted him and constantly pulled in opposite directions. Worse still, there were times like the present when they were so busy fighting, they forgot what it was they wanted.

Most of the time he stuck around and played mediator. This evening he couldn’t face the ordeal. Perhaps leaving them to it was the best thing to do. Let them work the tension out of their systems and come back later when they’d calmed down.

In the hallway he caught sight of Lord Darleston, and fell into step between him and his brother. “Going on?” he asked.

“In a fashion. Why, are you up for some fun?” Darleston asked as he accepted his cane and box coat from the Wincombe’s footman.

“You know, I think perhaps I am.”

“Good man.” Neddy, Darleston’s twin brother clapped him upon the back. “Then you can choose the game, although I’m all for easy mort myself.”

“Actually, you’re just easy,” Darleston said. He turned his gaze to Lucerne and looked at him down the length of his rather pointed nose. “You’re more than welcome to join us, Marlinscar. Can we expect Pennerley too?”

Lucerne shook his head. “He’s otherwise engaged.” He wondered how long it would take Vaughan and Bella to notice he’d left. A while at least. Generally they were so caught up in each other whilst arguing that lightning could strike a foot away and they wouldn’t notice. “Shall we, gentlemen?”

They bade Mrs Wincombe goodnight and then strolled out into the night air, their canes tapping in time with their steps. Lucerne cast a wan look back at the building. Part of him wished that Vaughan or Bella would come tearing down the steps and snatch him back, yet another part of him felt weirdly free.

The three of them being together all the time had become rather claustrophobic. He never had any space or peace. His every move was scrutinised for signs of favouritism. He wasn’t sure when he made the decision, but he intended to stay out all night.

Part Two

Bella stumbled and fell against the soft pile of Vaughan’s coat as he dragged her from the carriage and up to the front door of the Mayfair townhouse they shared with Lucerne. If William, their footman, was surprised by the nature of their abrupt return, he showed it only in the brief lifting of his beetle-black eyebrows.

“Where’s Lord Marlinscar?” Vaughan barked, as he threw off his hat and gloves. Bella tugged at the ribbon fastening of her cloak, only for Vaughan’s grip to tighten again around the top of her arm causing the garment to fall and puddle around their feet.

“Has he not returned with you, milord?”

“If he’d returned with me, I wouldn’t be asking, would I?” Vaughan snarled.

William’s habitually wooden-like face scrunched into a frown. “No, I suppose not, milord.”

Despite the pinch around her upper arm, Bella fought to stifle a giggle. Though she remained vexed at Lucerne for running off, and doubly so at Vaughan for dragging her from the music recital at such an early hour, seeing Vaughan succumb to a snit was far too great a delight not to appreciate, particularly as he saw himself the victim of some conspiracy.

“Parlour,” he barked at her, and then marched her across the hall, leaving poor William to retrieve her rumpled cloak. Just over the threshold, Vaughan spun her so that they were facing. “Where is he, Bella?”

Her ghostly reflection shone in the dark heart of his pupils. “Have I not told you a dozen times already? I don’t know. I no more saw him depart than you did.”

“And you know perfectly well that I’m not asking about the direction in which he walked. Where did you arrange to meet him?”

“Hmm,” she sighed, raising a hand to cover her lips. She wished she had arranged such a meeting. “I must have forgotten that conversation, for I don’t recall making such an arrangement. When could I have done so? I’d only just reclaimed him from Miss St John when you cut in, and before that you were the one playing his prize barnacle.”

“Where there’s a will, Bella.”

Bella shook off his hold and began to pluck pins from her hair. Even after eighteen months in town she still hated to have her hair dressed and piled upon her head. There were still days when she longed for the freedoms living in the wilds of North Yorkshire had afforded her. “Think what you wish. However the truth remains that I don’t know where he has gone, other than away from the both of us it would seem. I wonder if he doesn’t tire of your possessiveness.”

“
My
possessiveness?”

“Yes.” Bella placed her hands squarely upon her hips, knowing the stance would further infuriate Vaughan. He positively hated the fact that she was prepared to knock heads with him. Most folks backed down. But then most folks considered him quite horrid to deal with when angered, while she had always delighted in his antics when he was at his most foul. She knew him, understood him better than most, and more fully than even Vaughan realised. Without Lucerne around as an outlet for his frustration, he’d turn his attention to her, and though he would madden her this night, he’d also give her unimaginable pleasure. In the unruly world of Vaughan’s emotions sex reigned supreme. He hid in it, wielded it like a weapon. He’d make her scream and sigh and weep, and she’d relish every single moment, because no one else ever quite made her feel so alive.

The flicker of his pulse showed at the side of his temple, thumping in rapid succession almost in synch with the rhythm of her heart. Oh, he was delightful, and it raised butterflies in her stomach to further provoke him. The more she vexed him the more punishment he’d dole out. “Honestly, do you think that if Lucerne and I had arranged a tryst I’d have stood arguing with you and then allowed you to tug me hither and thither? No, I’d have made sure that I was well out of sight and reach of you before either of us slipped away. Lucerne acted alone. Maybe someone else caught his eye.” She didn’t really believe that, but the lick of pain that shot across Vaughan’s face suggested that he wasn’t quite so convinced.

“Who would he meet?”

Bella shook her head, for in truth there was no one she could even imagine Lucerne slipping off with. The three of them might bicker and fight, but the arrangement they shared was also deeply satisfying. Well, save for the fact that she gained little time alone with Lucerne, but that was a minor gripe.

“You’ll forgive me if I’m not entirely convinced by your honesty or your little theory,” Vaughan said. He turned away from her and strode over to the fireplace, where he took up the poker. Bella watched him stab at the white-glowing coals causing them to collapse and spit hot ash over the hearth.

Vaughan stamped upon the glowing embers, and then shovelled up another scoop of coals, bending low to do so. The fabric of his breeches pulled tight across the back as he bent, giving her a glorious view of his perfectly muscled arse peeking through the back split of his tail coat.

Bella came up behind him, wanting to touch him, but not quite daring to be so bold. “You may think whatever you please. The truth remains that I have no more idea of where he’s gone than you do. Don’t you think I wish that I did? Imagine the night I might enjoy without you around spoiling things and dictating everything. Do you have any idea how long it has been since Lucerne and I were allowed to make love to one another without your interference?”

Vaughan drew his hand across his face as he turned, pushing his hair back off his forehead and leaving a smudge of coal dust behind. He did not seem surprised to find her standing so close, or to find her hand partially extended toward him. He stepped closer still, closing the gap between them to an indecorous few inches.

The glow of the fire danced in his eyes as he leaned over her, raising her expectations as well as quickening her pulse. Any moment she expected him to pounce and demand she pay a forfeit for her role in ruining his night.

“Why can’t you ever leave us alone?” she goaded him.

Vaughan regarded her silently, his mouth set in a grim line. “You’d not thank me if I did. How long do you think you’d last together if I wasn’t around?” The edge of his fingertip traced the lacy neckline of her gown. “He’d tire of you quickly enough. He needs more than you can give him, Bella.” The implication as he held her gaze and traced a circle around one covered nipple was that she too would tire of Lucerne, if they were left in peace.