Chapter Fifteen
B oudicca sat in front of the mirror pulling a few brushstrokes through her hair. It had been quite the irregular afternoon. Up until the garden party, most of their time had been spent alone, or at least, privately. But there, sipping tea together, and him bringing her a treat had felt…different. And he had brought her a taste of her favorite flavored ice. For everyone to see. And many were observing and speculating. Surely there would be gossip spilling out of this afternoon’s event.
The most peculiar aspect of the ice escapade was that it was one of the least scandalous things they had done together, yet it would be the topic of gossip. More scandalous actions included the following: she had worn breeches in front of him, they had fenced, she had won, and of course, they had kissed. That was patently the most scandalous of all so far.
All her life, her public life, Boudicca had followed the rules. Prim. Proper. Responsible. But some rules were just meant to be broken. The rules she broke were only ever for herself, namely the breeches and the fencing. One day she would work up enough nerve to go public with those actions, but she needed a bit more time. It was a dream to instill confidence in other women. Empower young girls. Girls were always praised for being beautiful, as if that were the highest possible achievement. Boudicca had always felt within her a need to be a force. It was the very essence within her that people perceived as intense. The essence she subdued, all but when she was fencing. Hence her plans for an academy.
Enjoying her ruminations in solitude too much, Boudicca was surprised when without warning, there was a short knock on the door, no time to reply, and then Mimi. In the middle of her room.
“What are you doing here? It’s late,” Boudicca said.
Without a word, Mimi rushed over to the window and flicked something that sounded almost like the click of a lock.
“Mimi, what are you doing?”
And sure enough…“I’m unlocking your window.”
“Why?”
“Why?” Mimi’s eyes popped out of their sockets. “How can you even ask that? What if the duke decides to show up in your room tonight only to find your window locked? You might be asleep and not hear him. What will he think then? He may think you’re turning down his advances.”
Boudicca’s leg started bouncing at the same rate as her heart was pounding. “He would never…”—she shook her head—“no, he wouldn’t…”
“He might…”
“No.”
“He could.”
“He wouldn’t.”
“Bodi, I saw the way he was looking at you today. You have spent time together every day. You’ve,” she darted a glance around the clearly empty room, “kissed.” The last word was unnecessarily whispered.
Boudicca rolled her eyes. She should have never told her sisters about the kiss. Especially Mimi. She would only contrive some hopeless fantasy over it all.
“If he came—if”—she held up her hand—“if, it’s a hypothetical Bodi, what would you do?”
“I would turn down his advances if he came through my window at night.”
“Any night? Or just tonight?” She hadn’t even flinched at Bodi’s reply, already having a secondary question prepared.
Exasperated, Boudicca released a ragged sigh. “Out with you.”
“I just want to make sure you’re ready if he does come.” She swiftly looked down at Boudicca’s nightrail. “You’re not wearing that, are you?”
“It’s night time. I’m going to sleep. This,” Boudicca pulled on the sides of her most comfortable cotton nightrail, “is what I’m wearing. To sleep.”
“But—”
And then realizing the only logical way to get Artemisia out of the room was to apply Mimi’s own argument against her, Boudicca said, “If he does come, the last person he will want to find in my room is you.”
“But—” Artemisia held up her index finger as if she had a tertiary argument. Silence. “No, that’s a perfectly good point.”
Having pushed her sister across the room and toward the door, they were nearly there…yes, the doorframe was within reach. Boudicca used it as leverage.
“Just don’t lock the window,” Mimi commanded.
“All right,” Boudicca sighed.
“And change. Please. For the love of God, change.”
“All right!” Boudicca whispered sharply.
She closed the door and leaned against it, resting her head against the wood.
What an imagination that girl had. The duke would never visit her chambers in the middle of the night. That would be the most asinine behavior she could ever conceive of him. He was a duke. A powerful, sought-after-by-all duke. They had shared one kiss. He wasn’t going to come to her room tonight. Or any night.
Boudicca looked down at her nightrail and used her hands to smooth the lines of the worn fabric down her thighs. Searching for and finding one loose thread in the nightrail, she changed out of it.
*
It was the most moronic, imbecilic, foolhardy, some might even say, asinine, thing he had ever done.
His gentle tap on the window was the loudest sound in the dark of night.
He didn’t hear anything, so he tried the window. It was eeking open. It was unlocked? But the thought didn’t have time to register because as he was pushing the window open, so was she.
“Wesley?” Bewilderment encrusted her query.
“Yes. It’s me.” He hopped into her room. The first thing he noticed was her nightrail. It wasn’t a tattered old cotton article that he had been expecting. The one she wore looked almost new. There were no sleeves. He sucked in a breath. And it had a few bows on it. Ties. That he could pull to unwrap her. And, by God, he was pretty sure he could see the outline of her impressive breasts in it. He couldn’t help staring, and as he did, his imagination of them turning turgid became a reality. And he could feel his cock swelling.
“What are you doing here?” she crossed her arms over her glorious nipples.
He cleared his throat. “I came to…talk.”
“You came to my room in the middle of the night to talk?”
“Yes.”
“Really. Won’t we talk tomorrow?”
“Yes. But we have our lessons. And then there’s a ball tomorrow evening…” he was rambling like the biggest idiot he had ever seen. What had become of him? The man with the highest standards. The duke who had never courted a lady.
“I dare say you have ulterior motives.”
“I might.”
“Just be honest then.”
“I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to kiss you again.” There. He had said it. It sounded stupider out of his mouth than inside his head. What was twelve hours to wait?
“All right. You want us to have another kissing lesson then? I suppose you do owe me a few, so catching up is a good idea.”
“Let’s be clear about one thing. This is not a lesson.”
“It’s not.” Half-question.
“No. I—um…was unable to separate passion and the lesson. This—me coming to you at night—is me coming as a man interested in a woman.”
He couldn’t very well have said gentleman and lady, for in no way were his intentions that honorable. And if they did become intimate and he proposed, doing the honorable thing, he knew she would decline the offer. She had already told him as much. It seemed a win-win, if she wanted it as much as he did.
“You’re not a gentleman tonight?”
“No,” he said, stepping closer to her. “But if you’re a lady, I’ll do the honorable thing and leave you in peace.” He slipped a finger under the strap of her nightrail. If one could even call it that. He didn’t ask how she acquired it. He was just thankful she had it. He pressed a kiss to her neck, remembering that she liked that option.
Her hands slowly came up to his neck, and her eyes closed as she tilted her head to grant him better access. “I don’t think I’m a lady tonight. You make me feel too much a woman.”
He growled in response and bit her neck softly. His cock was already aching, wanting to press against her, slide through her, and into her if she wanted it.
“You lead. I already know what I would have us do tonight. But I know this is new for you.”
“I don’t know what there is to do. As much as it chagrins me to admit it, it’s better if you lead. I’ll follow.”
“The mighty Boudicca,” he whispered into her ear, “will follow my lead?” He was teasing her, of course. But there were layers of truth laced into his jest. He was a man with incredibly high standards. He commanded people to act and they did. He could have any woman he wanted, if he wanted any woman. Yet here he was, stupefied, falling for the most challenging woman he had ever met.
She had her own standards. And though they clashed against his, they didn’t undermine him. Not only that, she had her own set of rules by which she lived her life. Ever the perfect face in public, she broke rules when it was important to her. The woman was a master fencer and no one knew. God, she was brilliant.
And he was…
“I’m humbled, Boudicca. That you would follow me.”
“I trust you. In this.”
The words that had the potential to soar him to the highest heights stung. She trusted him. In this. Yet it was all accurate. She should only trust him in this. Yet, he wanted her to trust him in more. Maybe.
Maybe the bet wasn’t silly. Maybe fate had intervened when he was most cocky, thinking he could simply gallivant through another bet and win. Maybe it was fate that he had bumped into her.
At the very least, she trusted him in this. So he would devote himself to making this the best experience for her.
“I’ll give you your options then.”
Her soft smile pierced his heart. She could be vulnerable. She could be sweet. He had seen it. Yet she could be fierce. She was everything he needed but didn’t know he wanted in a woman. And she was here, trusting him with her body. Possibly more.
“If I give you two options, there’s always a third. Any time you want to stop, just say it.”
She nodded.
“First option,” he said, pointing toward the fireplace, “chaise or bed?”
“Chaise.”
He led her by the hand and sunk into the chaise. The tent in his breeches already jutting upward to greet her.
“Come,” he tugged her wrist and positioned her to straddle him. As she did, what little fabric she had pooled around her hips, and he could see her bare thighs. His hands stroked her smooth skin and squeezed. “God, you’re beautiful. The most beautiful warrior queen I’ve ever seen.”
She chuckled. “You’ve seen many then?”
“None. You’re the only one.”
She leaned forward and took his lips for ransom. It was not gentle. It was not the quiet calm she had been emitting. It was voracious. Her body was plied to his and then sinking down onto him. And the friction he craved soon started.
This was not at all the pace he had in mind, but if she was setting it, he was in it.
His hands dove up her back caressing her, feeling her. The closeness was heady. She was everything soft and fierce, and he couldn’t stop himself from wanting more.
And then she was up on her knees, pressing her breasts against his chest, and he wanted to be wearing far fewer layers. None to be precise.
His heart was on fire. His cock was on fire. The whole house could be on fire and he wouldn’t care. He needed her like he had never needed a woman before.
He pulled back. “Let me kiss you,” he whispered.
“Yes,” she answered and he knew she didn’t understand what she was agreeing to.
“Options,” he remembered aloud with a ragged breath. “Here.” He pointed to her nipples then dragged his finger down to her center. “Here.”
She nodded with heavy lids. “Yes,” she arched upward.
With the slightest tremble, he reached up and untied her straps, letting the bodice fall. Famished, he took one of her breasts and sucked. Her moan sunk into his ears, his bones. He pushed up into her, alleviating the ache he knew they both possessed. He laved on her nipple, torturing her by pulling away and blowing a cool stream over the wet trail he had left with his tongue.
“Wesley,” she moaned his name. It was too much. He had to kiss her more deeply.
“I need to kiss you,” he said as he lifted her. He laid her on the carpet near enough to the fire to stay warm.
“Options,” he had barely remembered to offer them. “Here,” he pointed to her core again. “Or here.” Her lips. Parted.
She couldn’t speak but used her hand to cover her mons.
Oh God, that was the choice he wanted her to make. He wanted to taste her. He wanted to drink from her fount and worship her body.
He circled her ankles with his hands and slowly ran his palms up toward her thighs, exposing more and more of her until finally he saw her dark curls.
Kisses. All up her leg, on the side of her knee, up along and upward, inward on her thigh. He could see her chest moving up and down quicker now.
And as much as he wanted to lick her senseless, he needed her trust. He wanted absolute certainty sure that she wanted it too.
He asked permission once more to lick the cunny of his goddess.
“Yes?”