Indiscretions (4 page)

I don’t need you
, she told him silently, even as she leaned into his caress. Yet, a prickle of uncertainty ran beneath her skin. Vaughan might infuriate her, but he also enchanted her. She would miss him if he were gone, though gaining Lucerne for herself surely countered that. She loved Lucerne, after all, while she reminded herself daily that wasn’t the case for Vaughan.

Heavens, if Vaughan weren’t around, then maybe Lucerne might actually propose to her, as she knew her brother Joshua so often wrote to him insisting upon. If Vaughan weren’t around, things would be very different.

Relaxed. Tranquil. Calm.

Calm was not a state that ever existed in this house with Vaughan dwelling in it.

Suddenly, she doubted her need for his company. Was her tolerance of his actions keeping him here? If she fought harder to gain Lucerne for herself might Vaughan leave?

“I’m going to bed,” she said stiffly, stepping back from Vaughan’s touch.

Her body protested the loss of the caress, her nipples tingling and growing increasingly steepled, while her ribs started to ache, until she realised she’d been holding her breath, anticipating more from him that this idle toying with her.

“His, I suppose,” Vaughan remarked as she started to turn.

Bella jerked her head round to face him again. Her lips formed into a tight moue. “I do have a bed of my own.” Though she’d spent no more than three or four nights in it, and it was true that she’d intended to snuggle into Lucerne’s vast tester bed. Why shouldn’t she sleep there? She had no reason to suppose Lucerne wanted her out of his bed, and at least in it she’d be cocooned in Lucerne’s scent while she waited for his return. “I certainly wasn’t planning on spending it in yours.”

Vaughan eyed her cynically. “You weren’t invited.”

* * * * *

Bella thought Vaughan would stop her when she turned away from the fire, but he allowed her to depart unmolested. Despite their verbal sparring she still expected him to act in a certain way. He might be mutable, but the pendulum arch of his moods followed predictable patterns. Excitement over him having his wicked way with her ebbed as she mounted the stairs, and transformed into genuine unease by the time she reached the bedroom. She remembered all too well the previous occasion when Vaughan’s mien had turned cold and instead of meeting fire with fire, he’d stayed his distance. She’d almost lost both him and Lucerne, which was not a prospect she cared to face again.

Damn Vaughan to the fiery pits of hell. She could count on one hand the number of nights they’d spent alone together. Why couldn’t they spend tonight having fun? So what if she’d sport a few bruises by morning. It’d be worth it. It always was.

And damn Lucerne too, for that matter. Why in heaven’s name had he wandered off, and where had he gone?

Once undressed, Bella dismissed her maid and climbed between the sheets of Lucerne’s bed. She closed her eyes, only to open them again almost immediately when the door latch lifted. “Lucerne?”

Bella raised her head a little when he made no reply. As the banked embers of the fire provided little light she could only make out his fuzzy silhouette through the gap between the bed curtains. He appeared to be undressing.

“Lucerne? Is everything all right?”

The mattress dipped as he climbed onto the far side of the bed. “Sorry to disappoint. He’s still not home.”

Vaughan! Her pulse punched rapidly into life. “What are you doing in here?”

“Ah, Bella! You seem to have forgotten, this is my bed too. I’m waiting for Lucerne, though I seem to have found his whore instead.”

He knew perfectly well this was where she’d intended to sleep, which meant he’d come here looking for a fight. Clearly, he had not liked that she’d had the last word downstairs. If walking away from him could be considered that.

Vaughan lay on his back away from her, so that a broad expanse of cold sheet lay between them—the space where Lucerne ought to have been. Bella folded her arms and remained propped upright against the pillows. Heaven help her, but she could smell him, all spicy and musky, with a sharp hint of cologne. It took all of her willpower simply to sit still and maintain a steady pace of breathing, when what she wanted to do was to roll towards him and bask in his heat.

Fact—she wanted Vaughan. More than that, she wanted him to want her. Her whole body tingled simply due to his nearness. She coveted his caress.

“Are you asleep?” she asked after what felt like an eternity in purgatory, listening to the even sounds of his breathing. Her shift brushed mercilessly against her skin adding to her frustration. She’d put it on out of habit, but most nights she slept without it, pressed naked against Lucerne for warmth.

“No.”

“What are you thinking about?”

“Miss St John.”

The girl from the recital. He was thinking of Miss St John, not of Lucerne or whatever punishment he had planned for her for colluding against him. For one frightening moment, she wondered if he intended to lie beside her all night and ignore the tug of desire between them.

“Do you like her?”

A small chuckle escaped his lips. “No. She’s no nightingale whatever her aunt may think.”

A smile tugged too at the corners of Bella’s lips. In friendlier moments, on those rare occasions when she and Vaughan truly saw eye to eye, he’d been known to call her his nightingale, though not for her singing proficiency.

“Vaughan, I didn’t arrange anything with Lucerne. I swear it. I just want him to come home.”

He remained silent. Bella wished she could discern more of his expression, for the poor light made him even more difficult than normal to read. “I know you didn’t,” he said at last. “You’d have taken me to him if you did, rather than have me drag you home and leave him waiting forlornly somewhere.”

Bella rolled onto her stomach, reducing the gap between them to a matter of inches. “Is that why you’re not punishing me?

She felt his snort of mirth, as a tremor in the mattress, rather than heard it. “You’re angling again. Dear God, anyone would think you craved my love, the way you’re prompting me.”

Smiling Bella rose onto all fours and reached out to make contact with his chest. It wasn’t his love she wanted, not even really his affection, but how he could make her feel. He was bad for her, and she knew it, but like the opium addicts that occasionally moved among society, she continually hankered for another fix.

Bella splayed her fingers wide across Vaughan’s abdomen. The hard slabs of muscle beneath her fingers tensed, but he did nothing to dissuade her approach. “We both know it’s not about affection.” She leaned closer to whisper, so that her heavy breasts swayed above him and her nipples brushed the diamond of dark hair upon his chest, while the motion also caused her shift to bunch up around her waist.

Crouched over him, she looked down into his eyes. The black pupils shone in the dark like bottomless pools she could fall into and drown. His other features were less distinct, the sharpness of his cheekbones and jaw line tempered by the lack of light. He still remained the most beautiful man she’d ever met. Beautiful, not handsome like Lucerne, who while angelic, was still more rugged than Vaughan. Rather he was flawlessly saturnine. Lucerne and Vaughan—her angel and her devil, both with personalities to match. No wonder she loved sharing their bed, and risked everything day in, day out in order to do so.

“You know I don’t just perform for anybody,” Vaughan whispered back, prompting her to further coax.

Bella flicked her hair back over her shoulders. “But I’m not just anyone. I’m a very persuasive someone.”

“Really?” The hint of a challenge darkened his voice.

“Yes.” Bella dragged her palm down from where it lay against his stomach towards his groin. He was not as she’d supposed, already semi-erect, rather his cock lay slumbering against his thigh. It stirred readily enough as she stroked him, stiffening and growing in both thickness and length.

“How persuasive?” Vaughan’s hands settled upon her shoulders, and exerted a downward pressure.

Bella wriggled backwards, while still working his cock. “Very, very, very persuasive.”

“Show me. I’m not sure your efforts really warrant that claim just yet.”

Bella trailed a line of kisses down his body until she reached his cock. She didn’t take him in her mouth immediately, but instead directed her attention to his inner thighs, running her tongue over the delicate skin there, and teasing him with gentle nips. She knew it wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy him, but then they were only toying with one another so far. Even after all this time living together, they still circled one another like beasts before fucking.

However, before they reached that part, there was the small matter of Vaughan’s unnatural stillness to contend with. Generally, he took charge. Bella could think of no more than a handful of occasions when he’d lain so placidly and seemed content to wallow, rather than institute some action. He’d certainly never allowed her to pet him like this before, nor to direct things so much.

Bella dipped her head. She pressed a kiss to the very base of Vaughan’s shaft, and then ran her tongue up to the very tip, where a tiny drop of moisture exuded from its eye. Then she flicked her tongue against the head of his cock, provoking an extravagant groan.

Pleased with the response, she followed that with another lick and another. Then she circled his glans all around her parted lips before allowing him to dip properly inside. She released him again a moment later. “You know I’m not so familiar with this particular act. Maybe you ought to give me some instruction, or explain to me how Lucerne does it.”

Vaughan affectionately ruffled her hair. “You’re doing just fine, which is hardly a surprise given how much time you spend sucking Lucerne.”

It was true, that she’d performed this act numerous times before. Lucerne had a small fetish for fellatio given while they travelled by carriage, or maybe it was simply that the confines of the carriage gave them a degree of privacy they rarely enjoyed elsewhere, but she had little real experience of sucking Vaughan.

In fact, she wasn’t sure she’d ever done so. It seemed a small thing at first until she deliberated on it further. Considering the many crude and debased acts he enjoyed and how often he chose to penetrate her arse, it seemed odd that he hadn’t made this particular demand before. It was only when she took him more deeply and began to lavish attention on his shaft that she understood why.

Vaughan stiffened quickly, swelling from root to tip. His hips bucked up off the bed and rolled in time with her movement, until he was sweating and trembling, as eager for her touch as she was in need of his. He couldn’t quite hold onto his distance while she was arousing him like this. He had to relinquish control.

Bella basked in the moment of glory, sucking him harder, and using her hands too in order to make him groan with pleasure. His hips rolled faster, so that their combined motion caused the headboard to tap out a rapid tattoo against the plaster.

Between her thighs, Bella’s quim was flush with blood. She was moist and ready for him, longed only for the feel of his cock pushing against her and filling her up. Rutting with her, like some feral beast.

Instead, Vaughan’s fingers laced within her hair. He clove to her, hips jerking compulsively. “More,” he insisted, aiding her descent, so that his cock pushed deeper into her mouth almost making her gag. Bella fought a little against the intrusion, but he remained insistent. “Breathe, damn you,” he cursed, allowing her time to make a shallow gasp. “Now, again. Take me. Take all of me.”

Just when she thought she’d gained some control, Vaughan snatched it back.

Dizzy from lack of air, Bella meekly complied, letting him drive the full length of his cock into her throat, swallowing and breathing when he said, though her sharp fingernails curled into his thighs, marking him with half-moon shaped bruises.

“Good,” Vaughan encouraged, as they slowly found a rhythm that didn’t leave her choking. “You’re right, Bella. You can be very persuasive. This is how Lucerne takes me. He’s still not quite mastered the art. You’re doing rather well.”

The compliment made her beam and work a little harder. She took him repeatedly, drank him down, while her body trembled with the strain of keeping pace with his thrusts.

“That’s right. Just like that. Just a little more.”

Vaughan heaved beneath her, rapidly approaching climax. The pungent taste of his seed tingled on her tongue. It dawned on her then, that he had no intention of stopping. Rather he intended to come in her mouth, leaving her aroused and desperate.

She could envision it so clearly, even as she continued to satisfy him. He’d simply peel back the covers and walk away. Leave her to the paltry satisfaction she could gain from rubbing her own clitoris.

Bella dug her fingernails more sharply into the tender part of his inner thigh, finally breaking the cycle and causing him to withdraw.

“What!” he growled, reaching for her again, as she rested on all fours panting. Moisture covered her lips and chin.

“You were going to walk away.”

Despite the arousal still driving the roll of his hips, Vaughan’s lips peeled back into a callous smile. “Says who?”

Bella planted a palm firmly upon his chest and drove him down hard into the mattress. “When are you going to learn that this isn’t all about you, and that I’m not just going to let you take?” She’d had her fill of that. She’d heard the stories the married women told too, of how they were constantly left wanting and unfulfilled.

Vaughan stroked a hand between her pussy lips. “You’re wet because you like what I do. If you wanted prissy lovemaking you wouldn’t have grabbed hold of my cock. Accept it, Bella. You like it rough, and you like that you’re left wanting.”

“No. I like being satisfied. Lucerne does that.”

Vaughan pulled her close so their noses were pushed together and they were looking straight into one another’s eyes at close quarters. “I like fucking Lucerne, but I’ve no wish to be him. And you’re wrong if you think he’s all you need. Now, I want to come in your mouth, and you’re going to oblige me, aren’t you Bella.”