Chapter Seven
L ou would have gasped if the man above her hadn’t completely robbed her of breath.
Somewhere in the course of their evening, she had decided that waiting for him to make the first move was going to turn her into a lust-driven madwoman—and the last thing she needed was to be distracted by the desire pulsing thickly through her veins. So she’d made the leap, and the man had responded like a hound who’d snapped his leash.
And she loved it. Reveled in it.
He finally ended the heart-stopping kiss, giving her a chance to breathe as well as speak.
“Let’s go into the bedchamber, my mattress will be far more comfortable than this small couch.”
Griff eased back and helped her up, playing the role of the solicitous gentleman. It tickled Lou he would be so polite with her, as though she were a lady of his social set.
He cleared his throat and straightened his clothes as they stepped into her bedroom. “Mada—Lou. I—”
She stopped and faced him. “First things first—you had best stick to Lou. We are about to become much more closely acquainted than the formality of titles dictates. I shall call you Griff, because it suits you and I prefer to forget you are a peer of the realm. Not my usual taste in lovers.” Lou decadently unbuttoned her trousers, letting them slip to the floor and leaving her legs fully exposed. “Second, you will not make any objections that might damage my delicate sensibilities. We are both adults. We find each other extremely attractive, if the chemistry between us is to be trusted, and I refuse to ignore the connection. It is a rare and precious thing in both my lines of work. Any other concerns I need to address?”
Her heart pounded in her chest, because she couldn’t take the humiliation of him rejecting her now. It would be too much to bear.
“As you wish, Lou. I won’t deny I want you. But are you sure this is wise, under the circumstances?” Griff posed the question as he let his evening jacket slide off his shoulders.
Her gut seized up like a cog and wheel with a pipe jammed in it. She needed to get this man out of her system. Needed to remind herself why remaining as she was had always been the best course of action. But steaming hells, every fiber of her being screamed out that this time would be different. He would be different. She couldn’t explain why she felt that way, so she ignored all of the doubts and worries.
Stepping into his embrace, Lou worked the buttons of his waistcoat and then his shirt free. “I dare say I don’t really give a damn for once in my life. Now, hush up and kiss me.”
Much to her relief, Griff did as she demanded and plunged his tongue into her mouth. They dueled briefly before she gave up and let him lead, explore, ravage her. His powerful arms banded her waist as he hauled her closer and she let her fingertips explore the warm flesh of his chest as she worked his clothes off his shoulders. But with his arms wrapped around her, she could only get so far.
Then his clever fingers were working the back of her bodice loose and soon the laces of her corset. As he freed her breasts, Griff leaned down and trailed kisses over the tops of the mounds until need had Lou gripping his hair in her fists to pull his head from her breasts.
“God, yes.” The words erupted from her like steam from a whistle, full of power and a little higher pitched than expected.
He growled and lifted her up, only to take a few steps and drop her on the bed. A wild giggle escaped Lou as she bounced on the well-sprung bed. Steaming hells, the man is fun! She couldn’t remember the last time she had been with such a playful lover. There was no suppressing the grin that stretched her lips. She looked up at him and found the gleam of desire burning bright in his eyes and so, without further ado, she reached up and pulled her shirt off, leaving herself fully exposed.
His gaze roved down over her body and snagged just below her breasts—where the tentacle of her clockwork octopus tattoo reached around her body to wrap around a cog.
Griff’s eyes widened as he took it in. “Is that…a tentacle?”
She smiled and rolled so he could see the rest of the artwork. “It is. I had an artist do this for me a couple years ago. I’ve been fascinated by the creatures since I first read about them, and I know the Tinkers also uses them in their imagery. I believe they picked it up from the railroads which have been likened to an octopus.”
He smiled softly. “I love how it seems to be ripping through your skin. It’s amazing artwork.”
“Thank you, but please continue with what you were doing.” She gave him a sultry smile. “I believe we were just about to get to the good part.”
Griff laughed and shed his own upper layers. “We were just getting to the best parts—plural.” Then he pounced on her and spread her across the bed in a wanton display.
Pushing up one breast, he licked and sucked the hard peak until it swelled and throbbed with need. Dragging his tongue over her sensitive flesh, he switched to the other breast and repeated his efforts. Her body arched up pressing her nipple into his mouth, desperate for more yet taught as a bowstring about to snap.
“So much better than I pictured after feeling all these curves pressed against me in my study,” Griff groaned as he slid lower, leaving her damp breasts to pucker in the cool air. “And then you strolled in tonight wearing only that bit of fabric to hide your pussy and all I could think about was flipping it up and tasting you.”
Lou’s body heated more at his sensual words. “If you don’t put action to those words soon, I may have to flip you over and sit on your face to get what I need—what you have made me need.”
Men were such self-serving creatures when it came to sex, she often had to manage them in the bedchamber to ensure any personal satisfaction. With a flex of her muscles, Lou prepared to do just that—when he slipped between her thighs and spread them wide. Slowly, slowly, he drew his fingertip through her dampness, gathered it up, and sucked it between his lips. Her hips bucked involuntarily as she ached to be filled up.
Does the man intend to torture me so sweetly?
Griff moaned and ripped his finger from his mouth before he pushed his face between her thighs. With a harsh cry of pleasure, Lou dug her fingers into his hair as he lapped at her pussy, driving her insane with broad flat strokes followed by little nibbles here and there. When he drove his tongue deep within her, she couldn’t help her body’s need to thrust, greedily demanding more. He withdrew his eager tongue, only to slip his fingers inside as he returned to licking and sucking her aching clit.
Lou had not felt desire like this before, such intense pleasure, and at one point it flittered fear through her. But her body was flying so close to the edge that all she could do was surrender to it as he pulled his fingers free and suckled her core, plunging deep with his tongue until she came apart for him.
“Griff!” was the word that flew from her lips as she held on to his head and rode his tongue. She swore she would dissolve into wisps of steam as wave after wave of pleasure rolled through her, seared her very senses. “Yes! Don’t stop, please…”
Her words dissolved into muttered curses and incoherent phrases.
As she came down from her climax, Griff gently placed kisses over her swollen and heated flesh until her breathing regulated. Then he climbed up her body to lie next to her while she recovered, all the while stroking her skin, her breasts, her hair, letting her know he was there.
As her haze faded, Lou arched into his strokes, enjoying the fresh stirrings of pleasure. Then she curled up to sitting and angled to face him where he lay next to her. “You, sir, have hidden talents.”
“You may be right.” He winked, a wicked smile on his still wet lips.
“Cheeky blighter. I’ll show you who has talent around here.” And with renewed determination, Lou opened the flap of his trousers and freed his cock.
With single-minded purpose, she flicked her tongue out and lapped at the dewy tip as a shudder rippled through him. Enjoying her power over such a strong-willed man, she swallowed the head of his shaft and worked her way down his length, Griff groaning as she took inch after inch of his length deep in her throat.
“Bloody hell! That—that feels amazing,” he gasped as she continued working him into her mouth, retreating a bit, then sinking further down until his entire length was encased in her mouth and throat.
Then Lou swallowed and his whole torso jackknifed partway up, her head clenched in his hands.
Pulling her off his throbbing erection, Griff set her face away from his groin with a rueful smile. “I have other plans for where I intend to come, and it’s not in your unexpectedly sweet mouth. Not tonight.”
Lou couldn’t help but grin as he pulled her up toward him and rolled over her, landing her on her back again. She loved how unapologetically physical he was. He treated her like a desirable woman, despite knowing the truth about her. It was a novel experience.
“Now,” he growled, “I want those delectable thighs wrapped around me as I sink into your hot cunny.”
“No arguments here. If you need one, there are some French letters on the nightstand.” She waved over towards the steam-lamp on her bed-side table and lay back, almost quivering with anticipation. Now she knew what he could do with that tongue…what could he possibly do with his cock?
A few moments later, Griff was back between her legs and his long, thick cock pushed into her pussy. With a sigh of contentment, she lifted her legs and wrapped them around him as he sank deeper within her body. Then she tangled her fingers in the hair at his nape and let him have full access to her body.
He trembled as he hovered over her for a moment, but then he gritted his teeth and slid slowly out of her heat. Lou threw her head back and moaned as he scraped over every raw nerve inside her quim, savoring the way he filled her, stretched her. Griff huffed as he pistoned in and out of her body in earnest, pumping his hips, driving her across the bed as he filled her up with each stroke. Lou’s heart raced and her body quivered with pleasure and excitement as he dragged her back up to the edge of bliss once more. As she hovered there on the precipice, she looked at the face of the man who was supposed to be just another mark…realized she was doomed.
Just as she had suspected.
And then her world exploded in a burst of pleasure that pushed all other thoughts aside and made her limbs quiver like jelly as she cried out his name over and over again. A few more pounding strokes, and Griff shouted her name as he pumped his hips, driving into her as deep as he could go. At the end, he strained over her and collapsed, blanketing her with his body.
The post-orgasmic wave of bliss wrapped her in an unusual cocoon of euphoria. Normally she was quick to disengage from her clients, separating herself physically and emotionally. But as Griff rolled to the side a chill swept in, replacing his body heat and stealing her moment of contentment.
“That was…incredible. I can’t even remember sex ever being so good.” He looked over at her and grinned. “You were right. We have amazing chemistry.”
Lou smiled back, but deep inside she worried what their chemistry would cost her in the end. In her experience, everything came at a cost.
Griff lay next to the woman who had tried to kill him, first with a knife, and then with pleasure. He much preferred the latter method.
He promised himself that despite giving in to the physical desire simmering between them; it didn’t mean there was something more. Certainly he liked her, but he had far too much on his plate—what with someone trying to kill him and such—and one too many secrets to allow himself to feel anything for any woman, let alone Lou.
He leaned up on one arm and looked down at her face as she appeared to be resting.
One dark eye popped open and focused on him with a penetrating gaze. “Why are you staring at me?”
He laughed. “Just considering our next move.”
“Well, unless you decide to ravish me once more—which I’m not opposed to, mind you—my next move is to track down my handler.” Lou sat up, completely at ease with her nudity.
Dazzled by her delectable curves, it took Griff a moment to catch up with her words. “ Your next move? Don’t you mean our ?”
“No, I don’t. Any meeting with my handler is a strictly one-on-one scenario.” She swept her silky long hair up into a twist and jabbed two lethal looking pins into the mass.
His gut rejected the idea instantly, but his head had questions. He decided to ask those questions before starting an argument—and any objection on his part would cause an argument, he was sure. “Why one-on-one?”
“Because I always meet with him alone.” Lou frowned, as though the question were immaterial and confusing.
“What is his name?” Griff was feeling a little lost in the wake of her less than transparent thought process. Is she hiding something from me?
“I cannot tell you that.” Lou sighed. “It’s enough you know he’s my handler. The one I usually get my assignments from. He’s a government agent, but despite that, I trust him implicitly. If you are supposed to be dead by my hand—within the week, I might add—and we show up together he will ask questions I am not ready to answer, not yet. It will already be bad enough that you are still alive, particularly if he’s heard you are a new client. I need to speak with him alone to get the answers I need.” She hesitated as if weighing her next words. “I…I don’t know what his reaction will be when he learns you are alive. What the consequences might be. Let me manage this situation for now.”
Griff hated the suggestion, but he could see the logic behind her plan. Of course, if he could stay in the loop, then he could follow her and be there in case she needed help… “What if I stayed back in the shadows? Kept out of sight as a precaution. In case something goes wrong, like your handler doesn’t show up but someone else does? Or if he turns out not to be as trustworthy as you think?”
She considered it for a moment. Then she gave him a sidelong look. “I’m accustomed to working alone. I’ve always managed whatever scrape I’ve gotten into. I can manage this one as well. Besides, I’ve known this man since I was a girl.”
Griff climbed off the bed, feeling at a disadvantage lying about like a harem boy. “I thought we were working together?”
She turned to face him after pulling on a silk robe. “We are, but some jobs are single person tasks. My handler can be a bit…let’s say, territorial. I think any meeting with him will go smoother alone. I promise to update you on all that happens.”
“I don’t like it.” Griff paused. He wasn’t prepared to give in entirely; he’d simply have to follow her to the meeting. “When will you meet him?”
“The day after tomorrow, most likely. I’ll need to let him know I wish to see him. Once it’s done I shall send you a note to join me here.” Lou offered him a pleasant smile, but he was sure she was keeping something from him. “Now, it’s late. Are you hungry? I can have Cordelia fetch a tray for us from the kitchen.”
Griff glanced at the clock on the wall and shook his head. “It grows late—or rather, early. I should find my own bed or else Higgins will be distressed. I rarely go out, let alone stay out all night, even if Parliament runs late.”
Lou offered him an oddly wistful smile. Did she want me to stay? “I understand. It’s probably best that you are seen leaving here anyway. I shall send for you to meet me here tomorrow evening to update you, once I’ve made contact.” She handed him a stack of four coins. “Here are some guest tokens—every member is granted a few to share with prospective new members and friends. You may use yours as you see fit, including to send me a message in a discrete but trusted fashion.” Then she winked and went about helping him get dressed.
All the while, Griff wanted to renege on his intent to leave. Would it be so bad if he stayed? But before he knew it, he was dressed and heading downstairs with a robed Lou by his side. At the front door she kissed him again, long and lingering as though she too hated sending him away…before she let him slip out into the pre-dawn dark to head home.