Chapter 5 #2
“No!” It was the panic in her voice which made him turn back to her. “No, do not leave me, Phineas. Please!” She was reaching blindly for him, and the frantic fear in her expression made his heart clench.
“Shh, lass. Dinnae fash.” He stepped closer until her hands could reach him. “I’m here. I’ll no’ leave ye.”
With a grateful whimper, Olive stepped closer, her hands questing, touching, feeling. “Phineas,” she whispered.
“Aye.” He wasn’t sure if he were asking or agreeing, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“Phineas,” she breathed again, as her fingertips brushed against his cheek, then his lips, before fluttering up to caress his brow. Her other hand had dropped to his stomach, and he felt his muscles clench under her touch.
That wasn’t the only thing clenching though. In the space of a half-dozen heartbeats, most of his blood had pooled below his stomach, and he felt his cock hardening, even as her palm brushed against the wool of his waistcoat.
“Phineas,” she whispered a third time, and he wondered if she could sense his arousal.
“Aye, love,” he croaked out, his palms already itching as he reached for her; the need to claim her overriding all common sense.
“There you two are!”
Phin jerked away from Olive, but surged back when he remembered her panic, and turned them both to face Lady Dumpkins, who clutched Da’s arm in one hand and her muddy skirts in the other.
“We’ve been wondering where you two had gone off to.
” She eyed Phin’s hand on Olive’s arm. “Not being naughty, I hope?”
“Countess?” Olive’s face swung back and forth, as if trying to find the source of the voice. “Is that you?”
The countess clucked as they came closer. “Yes, dear, here I am. And I have Ewan’s escort, lucky me.” The way she beamed up at the older man made Phin’s father beam.
But she turned to study Olive, and Phin pulled her a bit nearer, as if protecting her. Olive clutched at him gratefully.
“I have lost my spectacles, Lady Dumpkins.”
“Oh, dear!” The older woman began to peer at the ground, obviously thinking they’d been dropped.
Before Phineas could speak up—not that he was certain he wanted to blame wee Callan in front of their host and hostess—Olive did.
“I have a second pair in my room. If Mr. Oliphant would be so kind as to escort me back there, I will be fine.” Her grip on his arm tightened.
“I do not think I can make it back alone.”
The countess peered at them, then turned to exchange a knowing look with Phin’s father. “Oh, very well, but be discreet please. I know house parties have a reputation for naughtiness, but we cannot bandy it about!”
“Discreet is my middle name,” Phin intoned drily.
“And I’ve never bandied a thing. Come along, Miss L’arbre.
I shall return ye—discreetly—to the house where ye might retrieve yer second set of spectacles.
” As she clutched at his arm, and he moved her away from their host and hostess and avoided the group strolling up the river path, he murmured to Olive, “And I’ll do my best to fetch yer original pair from that scamp, Callan. ”
She patted his arm distractedly, and he could tell from how tense she was that she was concerned about the path ahead.
So he did his best to keep his voice calm and his steps slow as he described the route they were taking.
As the minutes passed with them strolling carefully back toward the manor house, he felt her slowly relax.
As they passed the hedge maze, she finally spoke. “You must think me foolish.”
Her voice was little more than a whisper, but it surprised him. “Why would ye say something like that?”
“I dream of adventures—of seeing the world the way you have—and I cannot even walk back to the manor without my spectacles.”
Hating her tone of derision, Phin tightened his hold on her arm. “There’s a right turn coming up, then the steps. Having to wear spectacles is nae reason no’ to see the world, Olive.”
“It is if I cannot see the world.” She responded to his nudge, and they turned toward the steps of the side door he’d been leading her toward. “What if I was in the depths of some temple somewhere and I triggered a booby trap, but my spectacles fell off and I froze?”
As they entered the house, Phin shivered at the thought of being helpless in some of the situations he’d been in.
Still, he didn’t want to frighten her, so he tucked his hat under his arm and assured her, “Most archaeology doesnae involve quite so many dangers, love. It can be hot and dry and boring work, with the only risk being sunstroke or yer fingers cramping around yer shovel. Mind the stairs here.”
“But still,” she insisted, as they climbed toward her room, “if I were to lose my spectacles in such a situation…”
This time, he chuckled under his breath. “Then I’ll lead ye back to yer rooms to find yer spare pair.”
It wasn’t until she pulled him to a stop that he realized what his promise had meant. Standing there in the hallway, she lifted her hands to his face, her fingertips brushing across his cheeks.
And there goes my cock again.
He should have a headache with his blood jumping up and down through his body as much as it did, but somehow, he just didn’t mind a bit.
“What if you are not there, Phineas?” she whispered.
He captured her fingers in his and brought them to his lips so he could kiss the delicate pads on the tips. If she joined him in his adventuring, these fingertips wouldn’t remain soft for long, but would become callused and experienced like his own.
He found he didn’t hate the thought.
“I’ll be there, Olive,” he whispered against her skin. “I promise.”
The smile which bloomed across her face was appealing enough to make him clear his throat and step away. He had to get her into her room before someone came by and wondered at the two of them.
“Besides,” he began as he took her elbow and ushered her into the room she indicated, “spectacles arenae the hindrance ye suppose. We’ll just connect the arms with string, which will rest across the back of yer neck, and that way, if they do fall off, they’ll just fall to yer chest.”
She was still smiling as she shut the door behind them, and it took a moment for Phin to realize she’d given them the privacy he’d been hoping for.
“That is really quite brilliant,” she admitted. “I should start doing that now, perhaps.”
“Perhaps,” he murmured, distracted by the possibilities.
She began to feel her way around the room, and he jumped forward to help. “What do ye need?”
“The desk beside the window.” She nodded toward it while hesitatingly moving in that direction. “Blast! I hate how blind I am!”
As they reached the desk, he leaned down and brushed a kiss across her nose. “Ye are perfect in every way.”
She froze, not even breathing as far as he could tell.
And then, just when he wondered if he’d offended her, her hands reached for his face again, but instead of caressing him, she grabbed his cheeks and pulled him down toward her.
He was smiling when his lips crushed against hers, and why not? This was the second time she’d kissed him this way, letting him know exactly what she liked, so how could he not love a woman like that?
This kiss was hot and furious and desperate, and seemed to pick up where they’d left off that evening beside the window in the library.
Her fingers dug through the hairs at the back of his head, and his hat fell from his suddenly nerveless fingers to the floor with a thump neither of them acknowledged.
His hands were on her arms, then her hips, pulling her closer.
The feel of her pressed against him like this, even in her morning gown and all the corsets women wore to hold themselves in, was driving Phin mad. He needed her; he needed to feel her.
“Olive,” he murmured against her skin as his lips trailed down her jaw, “I need…”
“Yes!” she gasped, arching against him. “I need you too, Phineas!”
That hadn’t been what he’d meant, but he wasn’t going to pass on an invitation like that. With a growl, he tightened his hold on her waist and lifted her.
When her rear end hit the surface of the desk, her legs fell open as she wriggled backward invitingly. All he could do was step up and settle himself between her legs as his lips crashed down atop hers once more.
The little mews of encouragement were all he needed, and one hand found and cupped her breast through the silk of her gown, delighted to realize she wasn’t wearing a corset today. She arched into his touch, even as she groped at his backside, trying to draw him closer.
Aye, lass. That’s the way.
His throbbing cock was nestled against her inner thigh, and when she began to pump her hips, he knew what she wanted.
What she needed.
His thumb found her nipple through the fabric, and he wished he had the time to unbutton her far enough so he could taste her there, but she was too close—he could tell—to waste any time.
Her hands dropped from him and fumbled for her skirts. As she drew them up over her knees, she wrapped her legs around him, linking her ankles behind his arse and settling his cock directly over the wet heat he so desperately needed.
But some semblance of reason kept him from reaching for the button of his trousers. He didn’t want to take her innocence like this, not when he wasn’t certain about so many things.
But he could bring her the pleasure she was desperate for.
As she nibbled at his jaw, whispering harsh words of need against his skin, he dragged his palm up her smooth thigh. He shifted to one side, and his questing fingers found her damp drawers. When he pushed aside the split to brush his finger down her wet folds, she jerked hard against him.
He froze, afraid he was moving too quickly, but her legs tightened around him, and she shifted her hands to the sides of his face again, pulling his mouth against hers, and darting her tongue across the seam of his lips.