Tammy Falkner - [Faerie 02] (15 page)

Finn bent his head and took her nipple into his mouth again as his other hand strummed at the other breast. Claire’s slit wept with need, and his manhood was shiny wet with his strokes against her cleft. But this was not enough. She ached. She needed him.

“Take me inside, Claire,” he ground out.

Claire took him in her fist again and pulled his manhood away from his body, aiming it toward that pulse that pounded so loudly inside her. “I don’t know what to do,” she admitted. She chuckled, a weak sound, and laid her forehead against his naked chest.

Finn took himself in one hand and raised her bottom a little with the other. His hardness pressed at her softness and the tip of him slid inside. Claire stilled as he filled her just that much. He didn’t advance. He stayed still as a statue, with just the crown of his manhood inside her.

Then he pulled her forward and down all at the same time, filling her in one solid stroke. Claire cried out. He filled her completely and totally. Claire looked down between them and saw through the slit in the dressing gown that he was indeed buried to the hilt inside her. “Mine,” he said.

“Yes,” she breathed. Then she rocked forward. She wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do. Not at all. But the noise that left his lips told her it was good.

He was hard as iron inside her, and his hands firmly gripped her buttocks, rocking her back and forth. He pulled her hard onto himself, and Claire thrilled when he began to push her back and pull her forward and down until she was riding his manhood. His rhythm grew more forceful, and Claire took up some of it with her knees and her hands on his shoulders. When she was moving freely on him, he pulled one hand away from her bottom and touched the place between her thighs that he’d rubbed so well and so forcefully before, the place that had made her shatter and break into a million pieces.

He strummed his finger across that aching little bundle of nerves, and Claire’s legs began to shake as tension built within her. It was like water pushing at a dam. With enough force, the dam would break. And so would she.

“Does that feel good, Claire?” he asked. His voice in her ear made her sheath clench around him and he groaned loudly, biting his lower lip between his teeth. His face was a mask of emotion. His jaw clenched so tightly that a muscle ticked in his cheek. “Claire,” he groaned.

“Finn,” Claire cried as his fingers and his manhood pumping inside her pushed her toward that precipice.

“Claire,” he ground out. “I need to come. I’m going to come so deep inside you. I like the way you wrap around me and squeeze me. And I want to feel you squeeze my manhood when you come. I want to feel the ripples of sensation as you reach the peak with me.”

His fingers pushed harder against that special place as she continued to ride him. Claire lost her breath as he continued to talk to her. To tell her how much he liked her riding him, how much he liked having her on top of him. How much he liked having her be in control of how fast or slow he took her. “I am yours to do with as you will. But I need for you to come, Claire.”

Claire cried out as the waves of sensation crashed over her. She stilled on top of him and rocked with the waves of her release, and he grunted beneath her and began to pulse within her. His release was a hot wash of fluid, almost as powerful as hers. She pulsed around his manhood, and he grunted and groaned as he said dirty things in her ear. She didn’t know what many of them meant, but he said them with such power and force as he emptied his seed inside her that she continued to pulse. Her culmination wasn’t complete. It was ongoing. And when he’d finally wrung all the pleasure from her and stilled beneath her, the warm wash of his spending leaked between then.

“Don’t move, Claire,” he said. “I’ll get something to clean us up. I’m afraid you’re a mess.”

Heat crept up her cheeks, but she really didn’t care. She’d just rode his manhood until they’d both found that sweet release. She’d just taken him. All of him. And he’d given all of himself back to her. He reached for the towel he’d pulled from her hair and brought it down between them.

“Be still, Claire,” he warned as he slipped out of her. “Claire, are you having your menses?” he asked.

“What?”

“You’re bleeding, Claire,” he warned. He kissed her forehead. “Don’t worry. I don’t mind. But it would have been good to know.” He chuckled.

Claire looked down between them and her heart leaped into her throat. She was bleeding. Her blood bathed his manhood, mixed with his seed. “Oh God, Finn,” she cried. She scuttled back from him, placing a hand over her belly where their child lay. “Something is wrong, Finn,” she cried. Tears pricked at the backs of her lashes. “Something is wrong. Call for a physician. Do it now!”

“I don’t think it’s as bad as all that, Claire,” he said.

“Now, Finn,” she screamed. “Call for a physician. Now!”

“Claire,” he warned. He got to his feet and approached her. But she didn’t let him touch her. He didn’t let her get away, however, and pulled her into him. “Don’t fret.”

A sob shook her frame.

“Claire, what is it?”

“I need a physician. Now.”

“All right,” he said.

***

Something was wrong. Claire was frantic. She sobbed against his chest, her tears wetting the front of his shirt as her body heaved with sobs.

“I’ll call for the physician. Do you want me to call anyone else?”

“My mother,” she said. “I need my mother.”

“All right,” he said, and he ran from the room to get a servant. He would send for the physician and send for her mother, and then he would find out what the devil was wrong with her. She was frantic for a reason. He just didn’t know what it was.

Claire was tucked beneath the counterpane on Finn’s bed when her mother arrived. She’d managed to stop the frantic sobbing. And she didn’t appreciate the whimpers her crying had left behind. Finn stood across the room and looked down at her. He’d donned a clean shirt and tucked it into his breeches, but he didn’t come any closer. Every time he tried, Claire cried even more. Finally, the door opened and her mother stepped through. Her auburn hair hung loose around her shoulders, and she wore a day dress that was buttoned wrong.

“Claire,” she said as she walked into the room.

But Claire felt a sob rise within her again. Her mother quickly searched the room until she found Finn. “Could you give us a moment?” her mother asked.

“I want to know what’s wrong.”

“So do I, but I have a feeling she’ll be more likely to tell me if you leave the room.”

“I’m going to marry her. I’m not going anywhere. Talk of menses and natural functions will not frighten me.”

Finn went and sat in a chair in the corner as Claire’s mother approached the bed. She sat down and pulled Claire into her arms. “What’s wrong, Claire?” she asked.

There was blood on the towel by the bed. “Did he hurt you?” Claire’s mother asked.

“I’m bleeding,” Claire sobbed.

Her mother struggled not to laugh. “Honey, that’s what happens when it’s the first time. It’s all right.”

“It’s not all right,” Claire wailed. Then she leaned forward and whispered to her mother. “This wasn’t my first time. My first time was several months ago, and I’m with child.”

Her mother’s mouth fell open, and remorse didn’t begin to describe what Claire felt.

“Did you call for the physician?” her mother barked at Finn.

“Yes, he’s on the way,” Finn replied. He sat forward in the chair and placed his elbows on his knees. “What’s wrong?”

Claire’s mother tucked her in more tightly behind the counterpane. She crooned to her as she stroked the side of her face. “Everything will be fine. You’ll see.”

The physician came in and shooed everyone from the room, including her mother. Claire squirmed under his gentle probing as he listened, manipulated, probed, and prodded her. He finally looked up, pulled the counterpane back up, and tucked it beneath her arms. “Everything will be fine, I think.”

“It will?” Claire whispered, hope swelling within her.

“I believe so. These things are rather common at this stage.”

“I’ve never heard anyone mention any such a thing.”

“Because old wives usually don’t talk of such things to young, unmarried ladies.”

Heat crept up Claire’s cheeks. “I see.”

“Shall we bring Lord Phineas in and give him the good news?”

Claire chewed on her lower lip. “I don’t know.”

“Is he the father?” The man began to pack his tools and implements back inside his case.

“Of course. We’re to be married.”

“Yet he didn’t know about the pregnancy.”

“Not yet.”

“I believe you’re past the point of no return now.”

Claire nodded. “I know.

The physician went to the door and opened it, and Finn and Claire’s mother came back into the room. But this time, Finn sat down on the side of the bed to comfort her.

The physician spoke. “Congratulations, Lord Phineas,” he said. “You’re to be a father.”

***

Finn choked. Like a dolt, he choked on his own spittle. The physician clapped him on the back with a laugh. “It’s not as bad as all that,” he said. “The babe is all right. I suggest that she stay in bed for at least a sennight, and then I’ll come back to check on her to see how things are progressing.”

“The bleeding wasn’t just her menses?”

The man chuckled again. “She hasn’t had menses in several months, my lord.”

She’d gotten with child the one time they’d been together, before she’d left to go back to the land of the fae. And she’d known all this time and hadn’t told him. Not a word. She’d been pregnant, his child growing inside her, and she hadn’t told him.

“Thank you, sir,” Finn bit out. He pulled some banknotes from his pocket and pushed them into the man’s hand. “I’d appreciate your discretion in this matter.”

The physician saw himself out, and Finn felt like he couldn’t catch his breath. He couldn’t look at her without knowing he’d done this to her, and without remembering that she’d kept it from him all this time.

“I’m going to ask you once, Claire. And then I’ll never bring this matter up again.” He waited and then said very quietly, so only she could hear. “It’s mine, isn’t it?”

She nodded, biting her lip so hard he feared she would rend it in two. “That night, I got with child.” Her voice broke. “I had planned to tell you.”

“When?”

“As soon as I got up the nerve.”

“You have enough nerve to walk into danger, but you can’t tell me something like this?”

“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice a broken whisper.

Finn got up to leave the room. At the door he turned back to see Claire’s mother sit down on the side of the bed and pull Claire into her arms. Claire let her, and her mother was soothing her as he left the room, closing the door tightly behind himself.

A baby. Claire was increasing. She carried his child. A smile he couldn’t bite back tugged at his lips. A child. God, the idea of Claire growing big with his child… it was everything he’d ever dreamed of.

He was hurt that she hadn’t told him. But he knew now. And now he knew he couldn’t wait for the reading of the banns. He would get a special license and marry her tomorrow. Her father had wanted three weeks. But this would be a six-month pregnancy, if his addition was correct. She would deliver their child no more than six months after their marriage, if it took that long. Tongues would wag.

He grinned. Let them. Let them have their fun. He would have Claire. And they would have their child. And more on the way someday.

Finn poured a whiskey and tossed it back. The door to his study opened without a knock. “Are you angry?” Lady Ramsdale asked.

“Angry?” Finn said as he set his glass down. He was giddy with excitement. He strode quickly across the room and spun Lady Ramsdale around in a quick circle. “Are you bound for Bedlam? I’m going to be a father. I couldn’t be happier.”

Lady Ramsdale smiled as soon as she got over the shock of being spun around. “She’s afraid you’re angry at her.”

Anger was the last thing he felt. “I’ll go talk to her. I just needed a moment.”

She arched a brow at him. “And whiskey.”

“Where is your husband?”

“At Ramsdale House. Asleep.”

She knew. “You knew all along, didn’t you?”

“I had a feeling.” She went on to clarify, “Claire missed her menses for several months. Why do you think we stayed in the land of the fae so long?”

“Does your husband know?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Do we have to tell him?”

She grinned. “I would suggest after the wedding.”

“Great idea.” He looked at her closely. She really was a lovely woman. And Claire did favor her. “Thank you for coming. You’re the only one she wanted.”

Her eyes welled with tears. “Thank you for telling me that.” Emotion choked her. “I’ll see myself out.”

Finn walked slowly back up the stairs. He opened the door to his bedchamber to find Claire had dozed off. Her face was blotchy and streaked with tears. He took off his clothes and slid beneath the counterpane with her. She stirred as he rolled her toward him. “Finn?” she asked, her voice groggy with sleep. And tears.

He pulled the counterpane lower and unbelted his dressing gown, which she still wore. In the low light of the room, he could see her looking down at him, as he looked at her no-longer-flat stomach. It was ever so slightly rounded. He ran his fingers over her flesh, which teemed with the life they’d created.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

He bent and placed his lips to her belly. Then moved up and kissed her lips just as softly. “I’m not,” he said.

Claire began to cry, softly this time, not the great wrenching sobs of the moments before. Finn rolled her to the side and pulled her back against him, until she fit him like two spoons in a drawer. He placed a hand on her belly, his son or daughter, and said, “Sleep, Claire.”

“You’re not angry at me?” she asked, her voice raw with emotion.

“Sleep, Claire.” He buried his face in her hair and breathed her in.

Finn paced back and forth in front of his brother’s home, unsure of how to proceed. He’d never felt so out of sorts in all his life, and he’d been in some precarious situations before. In his head, he had three problems.

One—It was obvious that Mayden had set his sights on Claire. Mayden had known Claire played the part of Mrs. Abercrombie. Finn’s guess was that Colette herself had told him. They were acquaintances from way back, which was one of the many reasons Finn had stopped sleeping with her when he did. Then Colette had decided to impersonate Claire impersonating Mrs. Abercrombie, much to her misfortune. He’d used Colette as a warning to Finn. But the threat was still real.

Two—He needed to marry Claire sooner rather than later. Her father wouldn’t appreciate that. He would probably be spitting mad. But Finn didn’t want to wait two more weeks for the reading of the banns.

Three—He needed to confess that Claire was increasing and that it was his child. He wouldn’t have anyone assume anything else. He just couldn’t. He had to let everyone know that the baby was his, even if it would be a six-month pregnancy.

A voice rang out from the shrubbery. “Are you going to pace outside all day or knock on the door?” Ronald, the garden gnome, was in the bushes.

“Sod off, Ronald,” Finn grumbled.

Ronald stepped out of the foliage and grinned. “You’re all out of sorts. Anything the matter?”

“None of your concern,” Finn murmured.

“She’s my concern,” the gnome said.

“Who?” Finn asked as he paced by the small man and back.

“Claire. She’s like family to me. Don’t tell me she’s not my concern.” He straightened his back and puffed out his chest.

“Yes, yes, family,” Finn murmured.

The little man smiled an almost feral smile. “Wonder what has you out of sorts. Could it be that Claire is increasing?”

Finn stumbled to a halt. Ronald stood there scratching his chin, a challenge in his eyes if Finn had ever seen one. “If you were a bigger man, I’d call you out for that.”

“If you were a bigger man, she wouldn’t be pregnant.”

He couldn’t hit the gnome. It wouldn’t be a fair fight. But Finn could trip him when he wasn’t looking. Or stuff him in a barrel and roll him down a hill. Those ideas wouldn’t be very fair either. But the little devil would appreciate Finn’s trickery after the fact.

“Shut it, Ronald,” Finn said coldly. He went back to his pacing.

The little man sat down on the bottom step of the manor and rested his chin in his hands. He stopped talking and just regarded Finn with a cold eye. Finally, after a pause long enough to make Finn uncomfortable, he said, “When’s the wedding?”

“Not certain yet.”

“I hope it’s soon.”

“As do I.”

Ronald slapped his knee. “That’s it. That’s why you’re so out of sorts.”

“I don’t know what you’re referring to.”

The gnome laughed loudly. “You’re afraid to tell her father. Not to mention your brother.”

“That’s not the case.” It was the case, but he’d be sent to hell and back rather than confess it to Ronald.

“You were asked to take care of her. And not for very long. And she came out of it pregnant.”

All right. So that was the problem. His honor was at stake. No matter that he was making it right. He would always be the man who’d taken advantage like an idiot and gotten her pregnant. Then didn’t make right on it when he should have. But she’d left, for goodness sake. She’d taken off in the dead of night and stayed gone for more than three months. He couldn’t change that fact, any more than he could change the fact that she’d be shamed in the eyes of society, all because of him.

Good God, what a muddle.

The front door opened and Wilkins stepped out. “My lord, His Grace insists that you come inside now.”

Robin knew he was there?

“Can I give you some advice, my lord?” Ronald asked quietly.

“If you must.”

“The damage is done. Stop acting like you’ll do more good by finding a likely story to explain it all.”

The gnome had a point. He was wearing himself out, not just with the pacing, but also with coming up with a good enough lie. He could tell them all the truth. And see how they thought it might be best to handle it. “Rightly so.”

Finn turned to walk into Robin’s house and went straight to Robin’s study. The duchess was there, and she sat on the edge of Robin’s desk facing him. Finn coughed into his hand, and she jumped from the edge of the desk and skirted around it, her cheeks pink and her eyes avoiding his. “Lord Phineas,” she said. “Good morning.”

“Yes, it is,” Finn said.

“Is everything all right?”

He heaved a sigh. “It will be.”

Sophia looked toward Robin, and he nodded his head at her. “I’ll leave you two alone,” she said.

“Thank you.” Finn tugged at his cravat.

“What’s the matter, Finn?” Robin asked as he sat down in the chair behind his desk.

“Claire is expecting my child,” Finn blurted. God, he was an idiot. He could have done that so much more smoothly.

Robin jumped to his feet. “What?” he yelled.

“Claire is increasing and it’s mine.”

Robin jerked Finn from the chair he was sitting in by the lapels of his coat. “Tell me you’re jesting.”

“Would I make light of such a thing?” Finn asked. He pried Robin’s hands from his clothing and set him back. It had been a long time since he’d tussled with his older brother, but he wasn’t above it. And he might even win.

Robin looked at him and growled. He sank back into the chair he’d vacated and dropped his face in his hands. “At least you’re already marrying her. In nine months, you’ll have an heir to your fortune.”

“It won’t actually be nine months,” Finn murmured.

Robin looked confused.

Finn rushed on. “Do you remember when you asked me to take care of her for you when you went to the land of the fae?”

“Yes,” Robin replied slowly, stretching the word out like a hiss through his teeth.

“We both had a little too much to drink that night, and… well… we were intimate.”

“You were.” Robin’s voice was monotone. And quiet. Much too quiet.

“Then when I woke up, she was gone.” He held up a hand to thwart Robin’s next complaint. “I scoured the roads between here and Bedfordshire. As she explained to me, she took the wind back to the land of the fae that night because her grandfather died.” He still didn’t understand that part. “Some kind of special transportation they have. They sent the wind to pick her up while I was sleeping.”

“Go on.”

“I looked everywhere for her, and then in one of your notes, you said that she was back in the land of the fae with her family. I couldn’t tell you about her, because, well, she’s your sister-in-law.”

“Yes, she is.”

“Then suddenly, she was here one night. She tumbled directly into my bedchamber.”

“Tumbled.”

“Tumbled. Right into my bedchamber.”

“And?”

A grin tugged at the corners of Finn’s lips. “And I was damned happy to see her.”

“Happy.”

Finn jumped to his feet. “Damn it, Robin, can you say something else and just stop repeating after me?”

“You don’t want to hear what I have to say.”

“Oh, I do.”

“You took advantage of an innocent lady.” Robin growled and withheld the rest of his speech.

“Those Thorne women,” Finn said, “they’re quite irresistible.”

“Apparently.”

“Don’t pretend you were a saint where Sophia was concerned.”

“Sophia wasn’t entrusted into my care, Finn,” he said. “And I was in love with her.”

Finn grinned. “So am I.”

Robin looked confused. “You’re in love with my wife?”

“I’m not in love with Sophia, you idiot. I’m in love with Claire.”

“Oh, yes, I remember you confessed that the other day.”

“So, my problem is that this is most assuredly going to be a six-month birth.” He did some math in his head. “And there’s no doubt the child is mine. I need to protect Claire from the tongues that will wag.”

“You’d have to take her out of the country to do that.”

That wasn’t a bad idea, actually. He could protect her from Mayden that way too.

“Her father is going to kill you. You might want to be out of the country so he won’t skin you alive. Her mother might boil you in oil.”

“I think that’s witches who do that. Not faeries.”

“Oh.”

“What do faeries do?”

“No idea. But I’d wager it’s hideous. And painful.”

Finn shrugged. “Her mother likes me. I saw her last night. She already knew about the pregnancy. Though she suggested that we not tell Ramsdale until after the wedding.”

“She already knew?”

“Yes, that’s why she stayed in the land of the fae so long. To help Claire sort things out.”

“I see.”

“We have another problem.”

“Don’t tell me Marcus is pregnant too. Because that will be three Thornes expecting.” Robin chuckled. It was good to hear his brother chuckle. He hadn’t done it for a very long time.

“No, it’s Mayden. He tried to kill Claire last night.”

“
What?
”

Finn went on to tell Robin what had happened the night before. By the time he was done, Robin was the one pacing the floor.

“So, what do we do?”

“How many of Mayden’s debts do you own? Enough to break him?” Robin asked.

Finn had started to buy up Mayden’s debts years ago, and the ones that Finn hadn’t bought, Robin had. The man owed more money than he would ever earn in ten lifetimes.

“I think it’s time to call in the debts,” Robin said grimly.

“Shall we pay him a visit?”

“I think it would be prudent.”

“Debtor’s prison would be a nice place for him to rot. I want to marry Claire. Do you think you could get a special license for me?”

“I think we should handle this with Mayden as the first priority,” Robin said. “Let’s get this settled, and by the time we’re done, two more weeks will have passed and you can be married by banns.”

Claire had to stay in bed and rest for a week anyway, per the doctor’s orders.

“Her father is probably going to hit you when he finds out, even if you’re married to her by then.”

“I don’t doubt it.”

“I would do the same for Anne.”

“Hell, I would do the same for Anne.” Finn repeated. He would. He loved his family, and he would love this child Claire was going to have.

***

Claire stretched wide beneath the counterpane as the sun filtered through the curtains and woke her. The sun was high in the sky, so she’d slept much longer than usual. The linens felt cool against her skin and she knew she’d been warm through the night with Finn wrapped around her. But now he was gone.

He hadn’t forgiven her when he’d come to bed. He’d just pulled her into his arms and murmured softly in her hair as she’d cried into the crook of his arm. But he’d held her and soothed her, and she’d finally exhausted herself and slept.

Did his being gone mean he was still angry at her? What if he didn’t want a fae child? She’d been so worried with the fear of having a human child that she hadn’t even considered that he might now fear having a fae child, one that could be taken from them if the circumstances weren’t just right.

He was in an impossible situation, and he had been in it since the day he’d met her. Guilt niggled at her conscience a bit as she reasoned with herself that this was all right. They would marry and they would have a child. Then they could move between the two worlds at will. She could continue to go on her missions, and he could continue to take care of his holdings, his investments, and manage his detective business.

She actually wanted to find out more about his business. As they’d lain there on the settee in the painting, he’d told her a little about his cases, but she’d fallen asleep in his lap before she’d heard much. Maybe over dinner tonight, she could ask him more questions.

Claire tossed the counterpane off and moved to get up. The physician had told her to stay in bed for at least a sennight. But certainly she could get up to use the chamber pot, couldn’t she? She took care of her personal needs and washed herself using his wash basin and a pitcher of cold water someone had left.

Claire still wore his dressing gown from the night before, and she belted it more tightly around her waist. But then she caught her reflection in the looking glass and unbelted the robe, slid it from her shoulders and let it drop to the floor. She stood in front of the full-length mirror and turned to the side. Her breasts were bigger than before. She hefted them in her hands and glared at herself.

Her stomach was slightly rounded, but it wasn’t overly large and she could probably go about in society for a few more months before she had to go into seclusion.

A knock sounded at the door and Claire jumped, sliding back into Finn’s dressing gown. “Come in,” she called, when she was tucked back beneath the counterpane.

Sophia opened the door and stepped through it, and behind her was their mother. “Good morning,” Sophia chimed. She took in Finn’s bedchamber as she walked into the room. “It seems a little odd to be visiting you here.”

Claire chuckled. “It’s a little odd to be here.”

“Well, I suppose you can’t leave, since the physician told you to stay in bed for a sennight,” Claire’s mother chimed.

“A sennight?” Sophia asked. “Goodness whatever did you do to yourself? Did you twist your ankle? Did you hit your head? Do you have a stomach ailment?” She felt Claire’s forehead with the back of her hand.

Claire grabbed for her hand. “I’m fine, really.”

“Well, you can’t possibly be fine if you have to stay abed for a week.” Sophia regarded her skeptically.

“I’m going to call for a tray,” her mother said. “Have you eaten anything yet?”

Claire yawned. “I just woke up, actually.”

Her mother slipped out of the room. Sophia pulled a chair closer to the bed and hissed, “Are you all right? Lord Phineas was at the Hall when I left, and he looked like he had a difficult night.”

Claire snorted. “I imagine finding out you have a child on the way is a difficult way to spend the night.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” Sophia said, dropping her face into her hands. “I thought you were going to pretend it wasn’t so.”