Chapter 6 #3
Inside, the warmth and decadent noise of the Black Swan swallowed them whole as the door clicked shut behind them.
This time, it didn’t take long to spot their targets.
They stuck out for their hurried steps and frantic search.
The younger man from the embassy was stalking through the main salon, his sharp eyes scanning the crowd.
His companion, an older man with a hawk-like nose and the controlled gait of military training, flanked him.
Both radiated purpose, their heads bent together as they spoke in low, rapid Russian.
Nathaniel leaned close, his voice a whisper against her ear. “They saw her.”
“Yes. But they lost her. They are still looking for her inside the club, which means they didn’t see the way she went.”
Keeping their distance, they shadowed the Russians for over an hour as they moved from room to room—first the gaming salon, then a series of private chambers where laughter and muffled moans mingled with the faint music and the clink of crystal.
The Russians’ frustration was evident in the tightness of their movements, the way the younger man’s gloved hand curled into a fist at his side.
At last, the pair conferred in hushed tones.
The younger man from the embassy ran a hand through his hair, but nodded tightly to what his older colleague was saying.
Then the older man clapped him in the back and, after talking briefly to a blowsy redhead, they both entered a private room with the woman. A courtesan or another conspirator?
Nathaniel pointed with his head and led her to the end of the corridor, turned left, and then turned again back around through a door and into a shadowy corridor that ran parallel to the main hallway they had just left.
Here, gas lamps turned low burned at intervals, while tapestries depicting salacious scenes dotted the wall on the side of the bedchambers.
Nathaniel counted the tapestries, stopping in front of the fourth one, and, to Alice’s amazement, simply slid the tapestry aside, revealing a small peephole.
It was likely meant for titillation rather than espionage, but it served their purposes perfectly.
From there, they could observe without being seen.
“How did you know this was here?” she whispered close to his ear.
His response, delivered in the same way, sent a tingle down her spine. “I found it during my earlier reconnaissance. Take a look.”
Alice peeked and gasped. It was immediately evident the Russians had realized the widow was gone and abandoned the search in favor of more self-serving pursuits.
“Anything?” Nathaniel murmured, his hand braced against the wall beside her shoulder, his lips brushing her ear.
She shook her head. “Let’s listen.”
Through the faintly warped glass, they watched the Russians shed their masks.
The older man placed a hand on the younger one's shoulder. “Enough, Dimitri. Tonight, we enjoy ourselves. Tomorrow, we continue the hunt.”
At last! They had a name. Dimitri. They spoke Russian, but that was no problem. She had some knowledge of the language. Enough to understand what the man had said. And Nathaniel was even more proficient than she.
“Da,” Dimitri replied. “The widow’s gone for now. I wish Lord A were here.”
“He will return soon enough. But we’ll find her before that.”
“He should be the one dealing with this mess his agents caused,” Dimitri said, his voice fierce with frustration.
Then, as the courtesan poured them wine, the older man replied, “Bah, we are better at this than these weak English lords. Next time, we’ll make sure no loose ends remain.”
Alice’s stomach tightened. Had they said loose ends? That meant the widow and anyone protecting her.
But for now, the Russians were abandoning their search.
Their attention shifted wholly to the courtesan, who laughed and sank gracefully onto Dimitri’s lap.
He lowered her bodice, exposing her breasts and fondling them for a moment, before his hands dropped to the fly of his trousers and he freed his erection.
The courtesan hummed appreciatively, closing her fist over his cock and pumping.
Meanwhile, the other man, who remained standing, unbuttoned his trousers and presented it to her.
“Take me in your mouth,” he ordered, and the woman complied immediately. Letting go of Dimitri’s erection, she grabbed the other man’s cock and took it in her mouth, sucking enthusiastically while Dimitri lifted her, turned her away from him on his lap, and impaled her with his cock.
Alice leaned back slightly from the peephole, her pulse racing despite the tightness in her chest. “They’re done hunting for tonight.”
“Which means we have until morning.” Nathaniel’s gaze flicked down to her, his eyes glinting through his mask. “How shall we spend the hours until then?”
She couldn’t answer. Her throat closed while her breathing grew shallower.
She was brimming with anticipation. With arousal, if she were being frank—and she always was with herself.
It had been so long. So damn long since she had kissed Nathaniel.
Since she had felt his touch, indulged in his lovemaking.
This attraction between them had never dwindled.
Having him so close, the heat of his body warming her all over, his scent teasing her nostrils, the promise of pleasure evident in his eyes…
Apparently taking her silence as a response, his head dipped. His lips were so close. His breath ghosted over her mouth, an insubstantial caress that left her wanting more. If he didn’t kiss her soon, she would expire with want. She leaned forward, seeking…and his lips closed over hers.
She couldn’t suppress the moan of pleasure that erupted from her chest at the feel of him.
God, how she wanted him. He was the only man who had ever elicited this response in her.
How had she lived without this? His mouth eased, and she closed her fingers on his lapels, holding him closer, afraid he would leave her after too brief a kiss.
His lips curved over hers, his low, sensual chuckle reverberating through her. “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. Do you want me, Alice?”
Her response was a low murmur. He held himself away, just a smidgen of separation between their lips, but it was too much. She tried to close the gap, but he pulled back.
“Tell me.” His command was low, dark. Sensual.
“I do,” she moaned, past embarrassment. “I want you.”
She felt his pleasure at her words in the purr that rumbled through his chest. He rewarded her by ravishing her mouth once more.
His lips commanding, his tongue mastering her mouth like a conqueror.
She gave as good as she got, her own tongue meeting his, tangling, dueling, caressing.
Greedily taking all she had been missing.
They knew each other too well. Knew what brought pleasure, what each other needed. She slid her hands into his hair, her nails scratching his scalp, eliciting a groan from his throat. It ratcheted up her own arousal.
He rewarded her by inserting a hard thigh between her legs, pushing it up, right against her core, where she was swollen, drenched, aching for him. Of her own accord, her hips rolled against the hard invasion of his thigh, seeking relief, striving for completion.
“Let’s go to a room.” The invitation, issued against her lips, rumbled through her, exciting her from within. But…
“I’m not sure that’s wise,” was her breathless response.
He deepened the kiss once more, his leg hitching higher. Soothing, inflaming.
“Probably not,” he agreed a few moments later. “But it’ll feel so good.”
Her only response was a low mewl. It was the only thing she was capable of while his mouth possessed her, his hard, uncompromising body compelling her.
“I could take you right here.” His voice, low as sin, whispered against her ear. “I could lift you up against this wall and sink my hard cock in your hot, wet cunny right now. It is wet, isn’t it, Alice?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Tell me. Tell me how wet you are for me.”
Oh, the devil. He was using every weapon in his arsenal to weaken her defenses.
Her husband had never been shy in the bedroom, verbalizing what went through his mind in scandalous detail.
And he knew damn well what that did to her desire.
But…she couldn’t tell him. Not now. Not when she knew this wasn’t wise.
She bit his lip instead. He chuckled approvingly.
“You don’t want to tell me? No matter. It’s more fun to seek the proof for myself.
” He snuck his hand under her skirts, sliding up the inside of her thigh, past her garter, through the naked flesh that quivered under his touch.
Intruding through the slit in her drawers, until his hand covered her mons.
His fingers slid through the ample moisture covering her flesh.
“Fuck, you are drenched,” he rasped. “Is this all for me, Alice?”
He stroked her casually. Too slow. Inflaming and keeping her on edge. She could barely form a coherent word with his fingers wreaking havoc with her senses. But she knew he would continue to tease her until she replied.
“Y-yes. All for you.”
He hummed with satisfaction. “Good girl, getting all wet and ready for your husband.” His cocky grin should have infuriated her. But she was past that. Why deny what her body was so explicitly revealing? “Do you need me here?” He inserted a finger into her sheath.
She gasped, clamping around him, seeking a fullness his fingers alone could not provide. His finger withdrew, and the next time a second one joined the first. Ahhh, better. Not as good as his cock, but it would do. She rocked her hips, riding his fingers. Chasing the completion she craved.
“So eager. I could give you more. Give you the fullness you need. Shall we adjourn to one of the rooms, or shall I take you right here?”
“We…shouldn’t.” She got out in between gasps.
“But you are not saying no. We are going to do this, aren’t we, Alice?“
How could she deny the truth of that statement? “Yes.”