Chapter Fifteen
S ara found herself unable to relax at the soothing melody of the musical. The comfort of her friends surrounding her didn’t bring her joy. The suspense of the unknown kept her waiting on guard for danger to strike. They’d spent the past month accepting countless invitations to welcome her into society and attending one event after another. However, the villain had grown quiet again.
Their every attempt at drawing the culprit out to reveal himself ended without success. Ian encouraged her to remain patient, but Sara became more frustrated at the tedious progress. She had thought of the perfect enticement to lure the culprit out. However, everyone had agreed the danger wasn’t worth her safety. They feared her idea might provoke the villain into harming her. But Sara disagreed.
During intermission, she would put her plan into action. It was best she didn’t inform Ian or her friends of her intentions. For them to act in surprise and for their reaction to be authentic, she must catch them unaware. She only hoped they saw through her performance and played alongside her. If not, her plan would fail, and their lives would remain stagnant with uncertainty.
Her eyes drifted closed to calm her nerves by absorbing the beauty of the notes playing in perfect harmony. She detested deceit of any form. However, she must present herself to the ton as they viewed her. A person below her station who had tricked the duke into marrying her to rise in society with wealth and power at her disposal. An image far from the truth but one that would strike the villain’s retaliation.
As the song ended, everyone rose from their seats to mingle with the other guests. Ian slid her hand into the crook of his arm as he guided them near the windows. He preferred them to stand where no one caught them unaware and he could view the room at large. With his status as a duke, he didn’t need to socialize unless he preferred to. His stance remained strong. He would snub those who wouldn’t accept Sara as his wife. It was their loss and his gain to have her all to himself.
They stood by themselves as their friends wandered from couple to couple. They socialized to draw out information to help them solve the mystery of who tormented them.
Ian waved a waiter over to them and handed Sara a glass of champagne. “Would you prefer something milder, my dear?”
Sara took a deep breath. “I would prefer if we could leave. This musical is a bore.”
A gasp sounded from her side, and Sara kept a bored expression on her face instead of wincing at her rudeness. She had timed her response to the exact moment the hostess arrived to greet them. To add to Lady Newburn’s discomfort, Sara arched her eyebrow in disdain only a duchess could do. She hoped to succeed with her crass behavior.
“Sara,” Ian hissed.
Sara ignored him, tossing back the champagne in one swallow. “Waiter,” she called out. “I will take another.”
The waiter rushed over, and Sara replaced her empty glass with a full one she drank just as rapidly. The effect of the alcohol disagreed with her, and a round of hiccups shook her body. However, she refused to hide her distress with a demure gesture. Instead, those near them heard the disturbing sounds and stared at her in disapproval. As much as she wished to crawl away in embarrassment, she must continue with her performance until Ian forced them to leave.
Whispers spread across the room of her behavior, stirring up a round of gossip Sara hoped would reach the villain. Soon her friends circled them to keep the peering gazes of the ton from seeing her, which was the opposite of what Sara needed to achieve success with her plan.
She grabbed another glass. “I would love to make a toast to my amazing friends,” Sara slurred.
Ian removed the glass from her hand and passed it to Vivian. “I fear you have overindulged this evening, my love.”
Sara attempted to claim the glass again, only to bump into Grace and Flora. “Nonsense. I am only celebrating being your duchess. A feat I thought I would never achieve.” She threw her arms in the air and raised her voice. “But I persevered and won the title.” She lowered her voice to a loud whisper. “And all that it entails.”
Vivian shot Ian a look filled with sympathy before wrapping her arm around Sara’s shoulder. “Perhaps some fresh air will do Sara good. Flora and Grace, will you please join Sara and me for a spell?”
Vivian didn’t wait to see if Flora and Grace followed as she ushered Sara out the French doors onto the terrace. However, there was more to Sara’s act. Her performance thus far hadn’t held the desired effect.
“Can you believe the atrocious dress Lady Newburn wore to host this musical? So drab and unbecoming. I must give her the name of my modiste. But then I suppose she cannot afford the dresses Somerville has gifted me. Along with the other ladies in attendance, no doubt. They cannot dress so grand either. Not to mention wear the quality of jewels I am able to.” Sara ran her fingers across the jewels of her necklace. “Why, this necklace alone is more than everyone’s yearly income.”
“Please refrain yourself,” Vivian reprimanded.
Sara jerked out of Vivian’s grasp and flounced across the terrace to slide across a bench hidden between some greenery. Darkness might’ve shrouded them, but Sara made out the disapproving glare from Vivian and Grace. However, she hadn’t fooled Flora for even a second, because her friend fought to keep her laughter at bay, but she failed once Sara threw her arm across her eyes in the dramatic pose of a pretentious duchess. Flora’s laughter floated around them, coaxing Sara to dissolve into giggles. If she could fool Vivian and Grace, then the other guests were fooled by her fall from grace. Sara didn’t regret one second of her act, even if she struck Ian’s ire.
Grace’s mouth opened and closed at Sara’s behavior, but she was unable to utter a rebuke worthy of her performance. Vivian’s eyes narrowed when she realized what Sara had done to ruin her reputation. However, her disappointment soon turned into pride at how Sara had jumped off a ledge to regain her life.
Flora clapped. “What an amazing performance.”
Grace swung her head to stare at Flora in astonishment. “Are you mad? She has ruined any chance of society accepting her.”
Flora waved her hand in the air. “A blessing in disguise, I must say.”
Grace growled. “Sara has created a scandal she will never recover from.”
“I do not believe she cares about her status in society as much as she wishes for the normalcy she most desires with Somerville,” Vivian murmured.
“It was an act.”
Sara nodded at Grace’s statement.
Grace joined Sara on the bench. “Are you not worried about how they might perceive you?”
“No. I only care about how my friends feel about me and Ian’s love and support.”
“Which you have, no matter how vexing your actions may be,” Ian growled from behind them.
Sara sat ramrod straight with her hands in her lap and her chin jutted out at Ian’s tone. While he stated his support, Sara recognized the disappointment in his voice. However, the desire blazing from his gaze spoke of something more sinister than he had ever expressed before. Had she pressed her luck with her performance? Would Ian send her away to keep his standing in society as pristine as it had been before he married her?
Hepburn whistled. “Who knew the timid governess possessed such a backbone?”
Ian kept his intense gaze focused on Sara. “I did.”
Still, Sara never wavered. To convince Ian and their friends of her bravery, she couldn’t falter before their very eyes. “I had no other choice.”
“While this evening’s performance might tarnish your reputations, Sara is correct,” Courtland stated.
“Aye,” Lockhart agreed. “Our plan has not worked to our advantage of late.”
“The question remains if Sara’s actions will provoke the villain to act with his usual form of vengeance,” Vivian stated.
“If so, with the safeguards we put into place, ‘tis only a matter of time before we catch the bastard and end this madness once and for all.” Ian held out his hand to Sara. “In the meantime, ‘tis best if my wife and I make our departure before Lord Newburn makes the grave error of ordering a duke and duchess from his home.”
Hepburn wrapped his arm around Flora’s waist. “Aye. We will rejoin the masses and continue Sara’s performance with our own mix of distaste for her actions.”
Grace brushed Sara’s cheek with a kiss. “Forgive us, dear, but we must show our revulsion for your behavior.”
Sara nodded. “There is nothing to forgive. A necessity if it helps to end the terror that has consumed our lives for the past year.”
Silence descended on them as their friends made their way back inside. Sara peeked a glance at Ian to see him staring through the windows with a frown. His distance swirled the emotions in her gut into a whirlwind of doubt. She couldn’t tell if he was furious with her behavior or if he supported her decision. The longer he took to react, the more uneasy Sara felt. When his gaze narrowed and his grip tightened, Sara understood without a doubt that she had disappointed him. She had shamed him in front of his peers and proved them correct that he was foolish to marry a nobody below their station. Even though she did so to protect them, the result of her actions proved otherwise.
Sara closed her eyes and lowered her head. “Forgive me, Ian,” she whispered.
Ian walked them toward the entrance and snarled. “Hold your head high, Duchess, if you want to convince them of your pomposity.”
Sara stiffened at the edge of his tone and the steely gaze he penetrated her with. No matter his reaction, she couldn’t waver in her stance without admitting defeat. Their audience expected her to walk past them with her head held down in shame from Ian’s reprimand. However, she pasted on the look of superiority and sauntered through the crowd with an expectation of them bowing at her feet because she had graced them with her presence.
The hissing of whispers echoed around them as they left the musical. Not once did she falter with her performance. Sara had had a goal when she set out to act with such obnoxious behavior and she would depart satisfied that she had achieved success with her performance. She would face Ian’s wrath with the grace of her true character once they were alone.
They sat across from one another in silence during the carriage ride. Sara was wise enough to wait for Ian to address her. Each maddening second passed quietly, only intensifying her anxiousness. It wasn’t until they left the trail of other carriages behind that he crooked his finger for her to come to him. However, he never moved an inch to make room for her on the cushions, which left her to kneel at his feet in between his spread legs.
Ian didn’t give Sara a chance to react to his demand before he bent over and speared his hands through her hair, sending her hairpins clanking to the carriage floor. He ravished her lips with the desperation of a man in fear for his lady. He had never been prouder of Sara, taking control of their nerve-racking predicament with her brave performance. Yet, her bravery left him in fear for her life. Her actions placed a target on her. He worried he couldn’t protect her from the consequences of her actions.
His tongue forced her lips apart so he could savor the sweetness Sara exuded with every breath she took. Their tongues tangled in a passionate exchange with the ferocity of their fraught emotions. Their lips melded together as he consumed Sara’s sighs with his growls of pleasure. The unknown before them left Ian desperate to claim Sara. He needed to feel her heart pressed against his, beating as one. She would only remain safe while in his arms.
He tore at the buttons on her cloak and swept it away from her shoulders in one tug. The buttons on the back of her dress, however, didn’t receive the same treatment as he ripped at the dress in one resounding tear that caused Sara to pull away from their kiss. Her ragged, indrawn breath should’ve been the tipping point for him to cease his desperate attempt to claim her. However, the sight before him only intensified the need coursing through him.
Sara knelt on her knees before him with her hair flowing around her in a tousled mess from his touch, with her breasts heaving from their passionate kiss. The moonlight cast a glow on her pearly skin that left him aching to caress her globes and draw her sweet cherries between his lips while she rode his cock to completion. When she struck her tongue across her lips, plump from their kisses, he lost what control he barely clung to.
“Undo my trousers,” Ian ordered.
Sara didn’t hesitate to do Ian’s bidding. The grave tone of his order swept through Sara like a tidal wave of shameless desire she needed to satisfy. Ian’s behavior pushed the edge of a passion she longed to explore with him. The mixed emotions swirling in his gaze left her with no room to refuse him, even if she wanted to. However, she held no desire to.
She slid her palms along the inside of his thighs and undid his trousers with trembling fingers. He had never requested her to perform to his needs in their intimate encounters. However, his intention of what he wanted from her was clear with how he leaned back against the cushions and watched her with his eyelids lowered. He waited with patience for her to proceed without his instruction.
Her inexperience would’ve caused her to hesitate before this evening. However, still heady with the power she’d wielded at the musical, it gave her the confidence to seduce her husband. Her body. But most of all, her love. She would tempt Ian with one loving touch after another.
Ian thought he had control over their intimacy with his order, but the flare of Sara’s siren gaze should’ve been a warning to his confidence. However, she fooled him with how her fingers trembled as she swept his cock into her hand like a seasoned mistress. But when her fingers closed around his cock and glided up and down, he realized he was at the mercy of her pleasure. He hissed when she bent her head to lick the juices from the tip.
Sara raised her head at his hiss, unsure if she had done something wrong. He closed his eyes for a brief second to control himself from spending in her hand before he had the pleasure of enjoying her lips wrapped around him while she brought him to the pinnacle of satisfaction. His eyes flashed open when Sara wrapped her lips around the head and sucked softly before drawing his cock deep into her mouth.
“Holy hell,” Ian gasped.
His wife might be an innocent in the art of sucking his cock, but her eagerness to please him only amplified the desire consuming him. He tried to control himself, but his hips arched off the seat as he pressed deeper inside her sweet-as-sin mouth. Her tongue only added to his destruction with each slide as he set a rhythm for her to follow. His hands tangled in her hair again with a firm grip in his search to find fulfillment.
However, Sara was relentless in her seduction with each delicious lick of her tongue against his cock. She left him hanging onto the edge near the flames as she teased him by pulling her mouth away to flick her tongue against the slit to savor his juices. To closing her mouth around him again and swallowing deeply.
When her touch gentled with whisper-soft kisses along the length of his cock, he went mad with a need to sink deeply into the warmth of her pussy and claim her as he had never before. With urgency, he pulled her up to straddle his lap and plunged into her with a thrust that left them both breathless. Her wetness welcomed him as if it had waited an eternity for the connection between them.
Sara’s dress draped off her shoulders in a tattered mess, teasing him with glimpses of her breasts. He finished his destruction and tore it from her arms, along with her chemise. Her nipples hardened under his stare, begging for him to claim them. He licked his lips before lowering his head and drawing one into his mouth. He wasn’t gentle but sucked the bud hard until Sara writhed on his lap with a need she had yet to voice to his satisfaction. Only whimpers spilled from her lips. But he was a greedy bastard who wanted her to beg for her release.
His lips trailed a path of fire to her other breast, where he teased her nipple with the flick of his tongue before taking a soft bite at the sweetness. Her hips arched against him in a silent request for him to move. How he found the power to remain still was beyond him. Perhaps he didn’t want to find gratification so soon after the torment she put him through with her rash behavior. Or else it was how alive he felt with her pussy gripping his throbbing cock, with their passion swirling around them, demanding release.
Sara had gone past the moment of madness when Ian took her by surprise by pulling her onto his lap and entering her with an intensity that left her shaking with a need she found impossible to describe. His attention to her breasts only intensified the desire exploding through her. Still, he teased her by staying still and not moving with the sway of her hips against his. When she pressed down against him, his hand tightened around her breast, sending shockwaves straight to her core, alighting every nerve on alert for his touch.
“Ian.”
Her breathy moan shifted Ian’s attention from her breasts to sliding his hand under her skirts to press his thumb against her clit with teasing flicks. His tongue teased its own magic along the length of her neck to under her ear. Sara could take the madness no more and yanked on his hair for him to meet her lips. His soft chuckle only fueled the passion urging her to take satisfying their needs into her own hands.
She rose up and rotated her hips with the tip of his cock, teasing her pussy, then she lowered herself with slow precision before grinding on his lap. Her actions led to Ian grabbing her hips and pressing upward. Sara threw her head back at the exquisite sensation of his cock sliding in and out of her while Ian lost control.
He had underestimated his wife and the control she yielded over him with her innocent reactions to the pleasures he sought from her mind, body, and soul. While he teased her until she begged, she struck out to seek her own pleasures from him. His wife was an innocent temptress he craved every second of every day. Every encounter elicited an enlightening connection nothing could ever sever. Sara enraptured his attention with every look, kiss, and caress.
“Wrap your arms around me, love,” Ian encouraged.
Sara followed Ian’s directions like the demure governess he had fallen in love with. However, ever since their bodies had joined as one, he knew her to be anything but demure. She was a fiery goddess. He would spend an eternity bowing at her feet with his love and devotion. She held his gaze while her fingers tangled in his hair. Their bodies moved as one with each slide of his cock claiming her pussy as his.
Sara lost herself in Ian’s gaze. The love shining from his eyes gave her the courage to be the soul she’d always wanted to be. He allowed her to be the fierce lady by his side, keeping the honest qualities she valued about herself, all the while showing her he would stand by her side at all costs. She clung to him as he heightened their pleasure with stroke after stroke in and out of her. Sara pressed her lips against his in the softest of kisses as pleasure overtook them.
Ian pulled Sara closer, never wanting to release her. As they succumbed to the ecstasy of their passion, the force of his love for Sara overwhelmed him to where he allowed his greatest fears to paralyze him. If he ever lost Sara, he’d be incapable of survival. The love he held for her far surpassed any love he had ever felt for anyone else.
Sara lifted her head from Ian’s shoulder and laid her hand on his cheek. “I love you, Ian.”
He gripped her hand. “Not nearly as much as I love you, my dear Sara.”
Her husband was a paradox of a gentleman on this carriage ride home. From a disgruntled duke to a passionate lover to a loving husband. Every single one she loved more than she could express. There were no grand words to define how she felt about Ian. Only the three simple words she spoke showed the depth of her emotions for this sweet man. Her behavior this evening showed everyone she didn’t deserve the duke’s love. However, what she shared with Ian in privacy was all that mattered.
Or so she hoped.