9. Chapter 9
Chapter 9
R osina couldn’t bear to face James over breakfast after how she reacted to him, so she had Molly request a tray to be brought to her chamber. It was the coward’s way out, but she wasn’t ready to see him so soon after she had kicked him out of her chamber as he was almost certainly going to express something beyond what their arrangement was supposed to be.
She had cried for a couple hours as the guilt racked her entire body. She could allow herself to admit that she had enjoyed waking up to a man in her bed. No, not just a man, but James. When he called her “Rose” just as Ry used to do, all she could think about was how she had loved Ry with everything she had, and she didn’t wish to betray his memory.
And even if she could get past that, her love hadn’t been enough to keep him well and with her. She wasn’t certain she would survive such a devastating loss again.
Picking at her food, she stared at the plate, feeling more numb than she had in months.
“Are you ready to admit that you have a tendre for the duke?” Molly asked, her tone forceful but caring as she cut into Rosina’s thoughts, startling her.
Rosina sighed and her shoulders slumped further. “I believe I shall lie down for a while.” She only hoped that Molly would drop the matter as she didn’t care at all to speak about it.
Still donning her robe and night rail, she climbed back into her bed and hugged a pillow close to her. The same pillow James had slept on, and the sandalwood scent engulfed her senses, preventing any chance of pushing him from her thoughts.
Ry had said he wanted her to move on and live a full life, but how could she have a full life without him? Was that even possible? Then there was still the very real risk that something could happen to James. Sickness, highwaymen, carriage accidents…any number of things could happen, and her heart wouldn’t be able to bear it.
She wasn’t certain if she had fallen asleep or not in the time she spent lying in the bed imagining how she would leave the house party and return her life to what it was before she met James. But after some time had passed, she opened her eyes and knew she couldn’t lie in bed any longer. There was no way she could hide away in her chamber for the rest of the house party, so she might as well join the others and get the uncomfortable moment with James over with.
Climbing from her bed, she rang for Molly to help her dress. She spotted the dress Molly had left prepared from earlier that morning and removed her robe, dropping it into the nearby chair. After pulling her night rail over her head, she donned a white chemise that was laid by the dress.
Molly came storming into the room without a knock. “You won’t believe it, my lady. There has been a fire.”
“What? What can you mean?”
“The stables,” Molly said, catching her breath. “They went up in flames.”
“Was anyone injured?”
Molly moved across the room to where the dress lay waiting. “I’m not certain. I heard a couple of gentlemen ran into the building.”
Panic gripped Rosina’s heart. “Who?” she demanded. “Which gentlemen?”
“I wasn’t told, my lady.”
Doing her best to tamp down her fear, she moved quickly to Molly. “Quick. Skip the stays and help me with my dress.”
Molly did as she asked and hurried to help button up the dress.
“Just quickly pin my hair up. I must go downstairs and ascertain what has occurred.”
Once her hair was pinned in place and she had put on her slippers, she bolted from her room without another word to Molly. She needed to see if James was all right, hoping he hadn’t been foolish enough to run into a burning building.
She moved down the grand staircase as quickly as she could. When she reached the foyer, she saw guests congregating in the salon. Glancing from guest to guest, she searched for James. When she didn’t see him, her heart raced faster. She searched the corridor and didn’t see him there, either.
Moving to the terrace, her breathing was short and quick to match the pace of her heartbeat. At first, she didn’t see anyone on the terrace and then a movement in the far corner caught her eye. His back was to her, but she knew it was him. “James.” She sighed, briefly closing her eyes in relief.
He spun around to face her. “Rosina.” His tone was tinged with trepidation.
“I thought…well, it doesn’t matter what I thought,” she said. “I am just glad to see you are well.”
He eyed her cautiously. “Lord Demming and Lord Knox ran into the stables, but they are both resting in their chambers after all the smoke they inhaled.” His expression shifted to one of hope. “I am fine if that is what concerned you.”
Rosina released an audible breath and glanced at her feet, shifting herself on them as if she were standing on hot coals. “I’m relieved to hear that.”
“Why did you force me out of your chamber?” he asked, almost cutting off her words and taking a few steps closer.
She huffed. “It does not signify.”
He took the last few steps towards her and caught her gaze with his intense blue eyes, like that of a stormy sky, that kept her frozen in place. “Everything about you most certainly signifies to me. Tell me, please.”
He reached for her hand, and as soon as he clasped it, the ever-present electricity between them shot through her entire body. She pulled it away and glanced around at their surroundings. “We cannot speak here, Your Grace.”
James reached for her hand again and clasped tighter that time. He pulled her down the steps of the terrace and through the garden. “Where are we going?”
“You shall see.” His tone was one of mirth, which was in stark contrast to his demeanor when they were on the terrace.
Rosina allowed him to lead her beyond the gardens and through a gathering of trees. Once they reached the other side, there was a folly on the other side.
“How did you know this was here?” she asked, being pulled towards the structure.
“I wished to distance myself from the other guests earlier and discovered it.”
He pulled her through the opening. The folly was in the shape of a turret that appeared to be a couple of stories high and made of brick. Moss was growing along the outside and there were cutouts for windows that were open to the outside.
“There,” he continued. “We are quite alone. So now you shall tell me what upset you this morning.”
She wrapped her arms around herself. “I woke up to find a man in my bed. I was alarmed.”
“I think there is more to it than that. You told me not to call you ‘Rose’, and then you became upset.”
Rosina drew a deep breath and turned away from him. She glanced at the tall ceiling of the folly and then took a few more steadying breaths. Shifting her gaze down to the floor, she responded, “Ry called me Rose.”
“Rosina,” he started, his tone pained as he turned her to face him again. “I didn’t know. I’m so sorry.”
“I know you didn’t. I just felt…” her voice trailed off.
He cupped her cheek with his hand. “What did you feel?”
“Ry was the only man I had ever shared a bed with in that way.”
“I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “I shouldn’t have done so.”
She shook her head. “You don’t understand. I enjoyed it.”
He contemplated her. “And that makes you feel guilty.” He didn’t pose it as a question, nor did he appear to be irritated by the revelation.
“I don’t know what I feel, James.”
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him, almost causing her to go weak in the knees from his embrace.
“But you feel something?” The tone in the way he asked was almost pleading.
James lowered his lips towards hers and stopped just before they would touch, waiting for her to give some kind of response. She gave a few small nods, and he pressed his lips to hers. Deepening the kiss, he swept his tongue into her mouth and massaged hers with such intensity that she became dependent on his hold on her to remain standing.
“I want you, James,” she whispered, breaking their kiss.
He released a low growl and picked her up so that she wrapped her legs around his waist, then took her lips again. Walking towards the nearest wall, he pressed her back to it to help anchor her against him. The cool brick beneath the fabric of her dress warred with the heat of his hard body against her front.
Working his hand beneath her skirts, he brushed his fingers across her slit, causing her to release a series of moans.
James slipped two fingers inside of her cunt. “I am pleased you are so wet, as I can hardly wait.”
She watched as he removed his fingers and began working the buttons of his falls to free himself. As soon as his cock jutted between them, he lifted her over himself and then lowered her to take all of him.
“You feel so bloody perfect,” he whispered against her ear before licking and sucking along the sensitive part of her neck.
Rosina rocked against him as much as she could with the wall supporting her back, and he groaned. He thrust into her, gripping her hips to hold her in place against the wall. Tightening her legs around his waist as he bucked harder, his breathing ragged from the exertion.
She removed one hand that had been around his neck and slipped it between them to massage her pearl while he took her.
“Yes,” he ground out. “Touch yourself. Lift your skirts higher so I can watch.”
Releasing his neck, she did as he said and bunched her skirts with her other hand so we could see her hand at work.
He slowed his thrusts and kept his gaze trained on her hand, releasing a series of low growls and moans as she panted from bringing herself closer and closer to a sweet release.
Steadily increasing his speed, he thrust harder into her. He entered her so deep with his entire length, and she became more undone each time he did so. When her orgasm hit, it consumed her entire body. She rocked and cried out his name with abandon since no one would hear them.
James pulled her off him, set her to stand before him, then took himself in hand to stroke his shaft, closing his eyes. She dropped to her knees on the stone floor and sucked the head of his cock into her mouth.
“Fuck,” he whispered, clasping her head in his hands and pushing himself deeper into her mouth.
Rosina cupped his ballocks with her hand and massaged them while she sucked hard down the base of his length. He growled and pulled back, then thrust again. She didn’t relent on how she sucked him, and he thrust one more time before he spent his warm seed on her tongue.
As soon as she had swallowed what he gave her, he reached for her and pulled her to stand before him, then placed a few tender kisses at the corner of her lips.
“Rosina,” he whispered, resting his forehead against hers while they both caught their breaths. “What is happening between us?”
“I don’t know.” That much was true.
“What do you want it all to mean?”
“I truly don’t know, James.” Another truth. “Can we just enjoy each other for now?” She trembled, still uncertain she could allow herself to accept her feelings. When she had said she wanted him, she didn’t just mean physically, but admitting that to him would only start them on a path she wasn’t certain she wished to be on.
He pulled back and gave her a soft smile. “Of course,” he replied, then shifted his expression to a smirk. “Minx.”