Beauty and the Earl Read online

  He studied her. “You have always been around my circles.”

  “Yes, but not fully in them,” she said. “I have not taken a titled lover before.”

  He seemed surprised by that revelation. “Ever?”

  “Not until I snuck into your private bath,” she corrected herself, moving toward him.

  He cleared his throat and set his drink down on the sidebar with a clink that echoed in the suddenly quiet room. “And was it worth the wait?”

  She met his gaze. There was hot, burning desire in his stare that made a low ache begin between her legs. One that had very little to do with her real purpose here, even though it would further that purpose.

  “Are you fishing for a compliment, my lord?” she asked softly.

  He took a long step toward her. “Do you have one?”

  She bit her lip. “Was I not clear when we made love last time? Did I not properly express my pleasure?” He didn’t respond, so she walked toward him, only stopping when he was within arm’s length. “Should I tell you how I have thought of you as I touched myself in the days since? Or that I have awoken from dreams of your body inside of mine? Will that be clear enough?”

  He made a low sound in his throat and grasped her wrist in an iron grip with his good hand.

  She smiled. “I very much enjoyed every moment of our encounter in the baths, Liam. And I have thought of little else since we parted.”

  “Then allow me to return the compliment,” he said, his voice rough with desire he didn’t seem willing or able to control. “Since you intruded upon my privacy and utterly shocked me with your seduction, I have thought of you every moment. I do not keep women, Violet. I will not keep you. Nor did I bring you here in order to share my supper. I want to take you upstairs to my bed and strip you naked. I want to have you until I cannot move, until I cannot think, until I can feel nothing but the slick remnants of fucking you all night.”

  He pulled her closer. “If that is agreeable to you.”

  Violet could hardly breathe. She was in the business of passion, but so often she had chosen men who wanted her to generate it. She avoided men like this, men who dominated a room just by entering it. Men who could make a woman weak. She knew the consequences.

  And yet she didn’t pull away. She couldn’t. Because she wanted him.

  “Take me upstairs,” she whispered. “Now, Liam.”

  Chapter Four

  Violet entered Liam’s bedroom feeling a little like a virginal bride, thanks to her nervousness. It was a ridiculous reaction. After all, she had been with many men—she had even been with Liam.

  But invading his private, personal space felt…more complicated.

  Not to mention the fact that as he pushed the door shut behind them and leaned against it, she felt a powerful urge to wrap herself around him and never let go.

  “You are an enigma,” he said as he placed a big hand on her hip and cupped the curve possessively.

  “How so?” she said, trying not to wither beneath the heat of his desire.

  “I cannot read your facial expressions,” he said.

  She held her gaze on him. “You are one to make such a claim, when you do not allow any emotions on your own face.”

  “I suppose we will have to show what we feel and what we want in different ways,” he murmured.

  She looked up at him, nodding. She might have said something more, but he crushed his mouth to hers and silenced her in the most delicious way possible: with his lips, with his tongue, with his hard, heavy hands dragging her hard against his wicked, ready body.

  She could hardly find air as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Her nails raked against the fabric of his shirt as he spun them so her back was against the door instead of his and leaned into her. There was no mistaking the rock-hard erection that pressed to her belly, even through his trousers and her gown.

  She wanted that erection without the barrier of clothing. She wanted long, languid lovemaking until she couldn’t move. She wanted him, tonight, all night.

  So she lifted her trembling fingers to his shirt and began to undress him. She focused on each button, hearing her breath echo around her as she slipped them free and revealed his chest, bit by bit. She moved to push the shirt away, and he stiffened.

  She jerked her face up to him at his sharp intake of breath.

  “Did I hurt you?” she asked.

  He eased his injured arm into a different position and shook his head.

  “There is occasional pain,” he admitted, heat flooding his cheeks. “But the pleasure of your touch makes up for it.”

  She shook her head. “Don’t be silly, Liam. I have no desire to hurt you. I want anything we do together to be nothing but pleasure.”

  He arched a brow. “That may not be possible.”

  She slipped his shirt down, more careful now. “Anything is possible.”

  He didn’t respond to that statement, but his expression changed. It became more guarded, filled with a hint of disbelief that cut Violet to her core, especially when she thought of the pain she had seen on his sister’s face at their estrangement.

  This man was utterly alone, even when surrounded by people.

  And she wanted to fill him for a few hours. To make whole what had been broken, even temporarily.

  Those feelings were terrifying, and she shoved them away, removing them from her mind by lifting on her tiptoes and kissing him.

  He returned the kiss passionately, pinning her to the door as his mouth claimed her. His hands cupped her backside, lifting her with his good arm as he rocked himself against her just as he would once they were naked. Her body reacted instantly. She felt hot, her nipples hard and her body growing wet and slick for him.

  He pulled away, searching her face for a moment too long before he stepped back and motioned for the big bed that was the centerpiece of the room.

  “We’ll be more comfortable here,” he suggested.

  She didn’t argue. Partly because she could see the weakness his body betrayed in him was not something he wished to discuss, partly because she truly wanted to climb into that big bed and lose herself in pleasure.

  She moved forward and stopped when she reached the edge of the mattress. Turning, she smiled at him.

  “Will you undress?” she asked. “Although I did have the massive pleasure of seeing your body at the baths the other day, I would greatly like to take my time observing you now.”

  “Do you always so fully take control?”

  Her lips parted in surprise at the question. “I-I suppose I do. It is my profession, in part, but also the kind of men I have been affiliated with.”

  “Ones who wanted their mistress to take charge in bed?” he pressed.

  She shrugged. “Sometimes men who are in control all day like the idea of surrendering it.”

  He shook his head. “I am not one of those men.” He moved closer and spun her around, opening her dress in rapid time. “You don’t need to tell me what to do, Violet. I know exactly what I want.”

  He leaned down and bit gently where her neck met her shoulder. She gasped, but as the shock of the act faded Violet arched her back with a shuddering sigh that didn’t fully express her pleasure.

  He pushed her gown forward, trapping her arms in the folds of fabric as he bent her over the bed, lifting her partially exposed backside to grind against her in hard, insistent circles. When she shuddered, he slipped a hand inside the gaping opening in her gown and slid two fingers down the parting of her bottom, then around to stroke her aching slit.

  She shivered as those exploring digits found her tingling clitoris amidst the folds of her sex. He circled it swiftly, teasing and stroking. To her shock, the expert touch caused an almost instant reaction. The orgasm hit her, and she buckled, just catching herself on the edge of the bed as she cried out and slammed her hips against him, looking for more, looking for release, looking for something she couldn’t quite name.

  Finally, he slowed his working finge
rs, and she collapsed on her stomach against the bed, panting as the final tremors of pleasure echoed through her shaking body.

  “As you can see, I am more than capable,” he whispered before he leaned down to press a hot kiss against her neck.

  She peeked over her shoulder at him. Rising above her with the firelight behind him, he looked like a dark god of pleasure and sin. And he was unlike any lover she had taken in a long time. He would dominate their encounters, he would demand control.

  She shouldn’t have liked that idea, but oh, how she did.

  But if she gave herself over to him, would she be able to obtain his secrets? More importantly, would she be able to fully extract herself from his power when this affair was over?

  She straightened up and faced him.

  “You are most definitely capable, Liam,” she said, her knees still shaking even though she tried hard not to show him that weakness. “No one could doubt that.”

  The corner of his lip turned up in a smile, and her heart stuttered. Great God, but he was stunning. She looked at him, staring at her with possessive, powerful control, and she almost forgot everything else.

  Including her real reasons for coming to him.

  “You hesitate,” he all but purred. “You fear the fact that I could steal your control in a moment.”

  It was meant as a challenge, and it took everything in her not to rise to the bait.

  Instead, she pushed her dress off fully and stood before him naked, flushed from orgasm, aching for more. “Do I look afraid of you?”

  He swore under his breath, so low she couldn’t fully make out the word, and then he moved on her. But he didn’t slam her backward onto the mattress, as she thought he might. He cupped one breast with his right hand, stroking a thumb over the already distended nipple. She bit back a sound of pleasure and squeezed her eyes shut.

  Her body wasn’t normally so pliable. She found pleasure, yes, with every lover, but not like this. Not like a wildfire that needed to be extinguished before it destroyed everything in its path.

  The power of it did frighten her, even if she denied it.

  “You are beautiful,” he breathed, lifting his gaze to look at her like he was seeing her for the first time. “And I want to be inside of you, to take some of that beauty for a short time.”

  She drew back at that unexpected sentiment. She examined his face, all the hard lines and angles, the dark green eyes dilated with pleasure. It would be easy to only see control, passion, lust there…but deeper, in a place she doubted he wanted anyone to see, she saw desperation. Sadness.

  “Take what you need,” she whispered as she reached for the waistband of his trousers. “Take everything.”

  He kept his stare on her for a moment, then brushed her hands aside and all but tore his buttons open. His pants dropped around his ankles, and she sucked in a breath.

  The lean, muscular body she so admired was something to behold in a fully nude and fully ready state. His cock nearly touched his navel, proud and heavy with lust.

  She reached around to cup his firm backside as she drew him closer, kissing him, tasting his tongue and letting the ache of desire he had satisfied with his fingers just a moment before build again, this time to greater, more frantic heights.

  “Lay down,” he ordered, his voice rough and low as he pulled away from her kiss.

  She slid onto the bed and rested back against the pillows, enjoying every moment as he crawled up to join her. He covered her body with his, settling himself between her legs and letting the tip of his cock nudge at the opening of her body. She wiggled, trying to get closer as he delved into her with a deep kiss that stole everything that kept her grounded.

  She clutched at his shoulders, massaging his hard, warm flesh as he dragged his hand between them and guided his cock to the right place.

  He thrust, and she was utterly lost. She lifted to meet him, kissing him deeper. He was heavy over her, but she reveled in his weight, reveled in the rhythmic thrusts between her legs. His pelvis hit her clitoris every time he dove deeper into her body, and it didn’t take long before her second orgasm of the night began to build deep within her.

  She tilted her head back against the pillow, biting her lip as pleasure mounted, mounted and finally burst like a dam holding back water for far too long.

  “Scream for me,” he ordered, staring down as she did just that, losing herself in release so powerful that the world spun before her eyes as she rocked through it.

  His movements came faster now as she continued to come, squeezing his cock with her body while the tremors spiraled faster and harder. She could see he was on the edge, the tendons in his neck straining, his mouth tightening. He barked out a massive shout of relief and then pulled from her to spill between them in a hot burst of satisfaction.

  Then he collapsed over her, his mouth against her neck where he showered light kisses and his body shaking with the same powerful pleasure that still made her tremble too. She put her arms around him, holding him as their breath merged into one. And as she stared at him, she wondered yet again if she was truly prepared for what she had agreed to in London that seemed like so long ago.

  Liam shut the chamber door and walked back to the bed with the heaping tray of food balanced precariously on his good arm. As he set it down on the rumpled coverlet, Violet let out a sound of excited pleasure that made his stomach clench and his cock ache.

  Damn, but the woman did entice. Especially when she was wrapped in nothing more than his thick white sheets, which seemed to accentuate the olive tones of her soft skin.

  “Oh, this looks divine,” she breathed as he sat down beside her.

  He looked at the tray, which was laden with food easily eaten in just such circumstances. He was certain his cook wasn’t pleased to have been asked to alter her supper menu, but the olives, cheeses, chicken and breads did look tempting.

  “Eat,” he ordered as he shed his robe and slid into the bed beside her.

  She popped an olive between her full lips and almost rocked with pleasure. “Mmm, so famished. I’m so glad you didn’t decide not to feed me.”

  He looked at her in surprise for a moment, then laughed. She was like no woman he had ever known. Certainly not like any of the women he had bedded since the accident. She didn’t coo or play or pout. In fact, he never knew what she would do or say.

  “How long are you in Bath for holiday?” he asked.

  She buttered a slice of thick-cut bread before she answered. “A few weeks, and you?”

  He felt his smile fall at the question, but kept his tone even. “I had not made specific plans.”

  “Hmmm,” she replied, her eyes still on the plate of food. He thought he saw her cast a side glance in his direction, but her gaze flitted away too swiftly for him to be certain if there was any meaning to the look.

  “Violet, why don’t you forget your place in Bath? Stay here with me instead.”

  The moment he said it, he shook his head. He hadn’t intended to invite this woman to stay with him. And yet here he had done it and somehow he did not regret it. He should have been finished with her, but he wasn’t.

  She tilted her head with a slight smile. “You mean as your houseguest?”

  He shifted slightly. She was teasing him, but she was also forcing him to ask for what he wanted directly. Another move in what was turning out to be a battle for control between them. He found it rather…invigorating, actually. Too often everyone just gave him what he wanted, either out of deference to his title or pity for his past.

  “No,” he said. “Stay with me as my lover.”

  She didn’t respond for a long moment, nor did she look at him. “I told you, my lord, I am not in the market for a protector at present.”

  “And I told you, I’m not in the market to become one,” he replied, his voice a little sharp.

  She jerked her face up at the statement, and her eyes narrowed. “You are saying you want me to come here as your lover simply because I choose t
o be? No ulterior motives, no exchanges of promises.”

  He looked at her evenly. He understood why a woman in her position might not accept such a bargain. He’d never judged courtesans for trading in their bodies for survival. And although he hadn’t spent time with Violet over the years, he had seen her enough and heard about her enough to know she was very good at the bargains she made. Men liked her, wanted her, and they were willing to pay for the privilege of her company, both in and out of bed.

  But he couldn’t go down that road. Keeping a mistress was not in his mind, and he wouldn’t insult her by implying she was a lightskirt who would accept trade for a night. Nor would he lie just to keep her. It wasn’t fair to her.

  “So far we have had no promises or ulterior motives, have we?” he asked.

  Her gazes flitted away for a moment, and he stiffened. Despite her claims at the baths that she had come to him simply for pleasure, had she approached him with the idea that he would keep her? He couldn’t blame her if she had, but he wouldn’t have his mind changed.

  “You do intrigue me,” she admitted as she rested back on the pillows and stared at him through a hooded gaze. “Let me think about your offer.”

  He pushed the tray aside and reached up to the edge of the sheet. Slowly, he pulled it down, uncovering her breasts inch by inch. She gasped at the fabric dragging across her skin.

  “Let me give you something to think about,” he whispered as he leaned up and braced his arm beside her head. She opened her legs and he took the unspoken invitation, driving hard into her body with a groan of pleasure that spiraled him away from reality, away from everything but the tight grip of her pussy around him.

  As he pounded into her, her body jerking beneath his as her pleasure built, he realized how much he wanted to be lost in what she offered. For a few weeks, he needed what she provided.

  After that? Well, he had his own plans. And they were ones which no one in his life could alter. Even the woman whose legs were wrapped around his hips, whose mouth dragged across his, whose folds clung to his cock as he fucked himself into blissful, pleasurable oblivion.