Seducing His Lordship Read online

  He dropped the pen and rose from his chair. Short paces took him in circles around the furniture as he debated the reason behind Carmody’s smile. Did she think him bacon-brained for letting her dangle her lover right under his nose? He had to barge in upon his wife and the rakehell. How long should he delay his intrusion? Should he give her ample time to go beyond kissing the rapscallion or just presume the two were engaged in an illicit affair?

  Prudence suggested he have proof of her infidelity.

  “Lord Laramore, will you take all your clothes, including your winter coat?” Silas intruded on his deliberations.

  “Take my clothes?” He looked up, puzzled. “Where?”

  “Her ladyship has asked that I pack them. However, she wasn’t very specific, so I’m not sure if she meant your summer attire or everything right down to your wools.”

  Naturally, when Gabriel made a deal, he kept his word. In the case of his wife, he wasn’t quite certain he could. She talked of their good name, and yet, she went against the grain with the impropriety of her apparent affair.

  “Pack nothing, Silas. I’m not going anywhere. Lady Laramore will not put me to the curb.”

  “But her ladyship said—”

  “You can inform her ladyship of my intention to stay.” Gabriel took a deep breath and sat back down at his desk to resume tallying his accounts. He would give her a good ten minutes before confronting her and her lover.

  He found concentration hard for even a second. How long would it take for that chap Reginald Kent to have his clumsy paws all over Carmody? Once the doors closed, they could have instantly been in each other’s arms, kissing and groping, fresh with the excitement of doing it under the lord of the manor’s nose.

  Gabriel shook his head to clear away the image of the bloke opening his wife’s bodice, exposing her young and tender breasts. Did she like her nipples sucked or nibbled, twisted or plucked? This wasn’t the first time he had pondered the details.

  He rose from his chair when his imagination got the better of him. Carmody’s entrance helped relieve him of the thoughts he had of her on the settee with her skirts raised and her legs spread wide for Reginald.

  “What do you mean you’re not leaving?” She breezed into his study, swinging her hand in front of her with a slip of paper in it. “I have already sent invitations for forty-six people to attend my dinner tomorrow night. I haven’t any room left at the table to add another place setting.”

  “The table seats forty-eight.”

  “Forty-six invitations, milord, and then a place for Reginald and myself. That equals forty-eight.” She paced in front of his desk, her white beaded reticule swaying back and forth from where it dangled off her wrist. “I mean, really, we did have a very good plan for when you would be here and when I would.”

  Gabriel watched her beautiful hands brush over her sleeves. When he didn’t see her cut produce more blood, he let his gaze stray. The way she moved, the sound of her voice, and the color of her eyes attracted him. Sleek-toned like a feline, her sultry voice soothed his emotions in a way that made him want her to be around during some of the rougher days in his life. The coming of spring was the hardest, what with his desire to mate.

  “Carmody?” Reginald’s voice echoed from outside the room.

  “Where did you pick up the popinjay?” Gabriel asked, pressing his hands on the desk and leaning forward so that Carmody blocked his view of watching the man preen himself.

  Carmody waved to signal Reginald to wait for her in the foyer. Gabriel had a better plan to send the chap scurrying out the door. However, the way he wanted to do it would raise the kind of questions he wasn’t about to answer.

  “Keep your voice down.” Carmody stepped closer, her lips puckered, displaying irritation, yet poised for him to kiss. “You don’t know him, so there’s no need to call him names.”

  Gabriel dismissed the urge to start a new set of troubles by tasting her delicious mouth.

  “I’m waiting,” he reiterated.

  “I met him at Dolly’s,” she finally answered, a puff of her breath bursting against his nose.

  “Dolly who?” Did he know a Dolly? Probably, but keeping up with the names of women was never his strength in socializing.

  “Lady Dolly Mitchell, Lord Mitchell’s sister?” She angled over the desk from the other side. “He is fabulous with his hands.”

  “Lord Mitchell?” The implication of a confession stunned him.

  The fichu around her neck had loosened, and without the scarf tucked securely, a great deal of her lovely assets came into view.

  “No, silly, I was speaking of Reginald. He has gifted hands.”

  Carmody’s revealing bodice cast a spell of silence on him as he stared into the valley of her rounded breasts. For a petite woman, she had a full bosom, the healthy size a man could plow his cock between with vigor.

  Gabriel shuddered. Not at the vulgarity of his decadent thoughts, but the imaginings he had of his arousal, nestled between the twin mounds of creamy flesh, while Carmody licked the preliminary drops of semen from the crown.

  He tore his gaze away, looking past her at the lanky fellow in the foyer. The contrast helped deflate the growing hardness in his trousers.

  “Do I dare ask where he might have put his paws?” He returned his stare to her, lowering it to indicate the lush curves rising above the rim of her bodice as she took a deep breath.

  “That is not an appropriate question, Lord Laramore. I was referring to his decorating talents, nothing lewd.” She pursed her lips, obviously aggravated by his insinuation.

  “Forgive me, then. I misinterpreted your comment.” While he put as much sincerity as possible into the statement, it didn’t change his suspicions.

  Lowering his attention to the pleasant features of her well-crafted shape reminded him how deprived of sex his marital status had left him. He had no inclination to take a mistress as long as he fancied his wife.

  “What are you looking at?” Carmody touched her neck, finally noticing how his gaze lingered in that direction. “Is something on me?”

  Gabriel got up and moved around the piece of furniture that kept him from touching her. “There might be.” He lifted his hand, thinking how devilishly suitable the timing.

  “Heavens, do get it off.” She stepped forward until there wasn’t enough space between them to put a book.

  Gabriel scrutinized her neck. Brushing his fingers against the silk-textured skin aroused him to new heights. His body grew tense in places he ached to rub. Blood pounded through his constricting veins as his heart beat faster. His face dampened as the strain of containing himself became almost unbearable.

  “Did you get it?” Her frantic voice quivered.

  “Let me look on this side.” He tipped her head and pulled the fichu completely free. As he continued his ploy, he took advantage by stroking the smooth skin pulsing as rapidly as his own.

  “Well?” She breathed faster.

  “It’s gone into your hair,” he lied.

  He untied her hat and tossed it to his desk. Then brushing his fingers over the silky locks, he tried picturing her naked with the long tendrils dancing around her nipples.

  “Is it a bug?” Her fingers gripped his sides. “I detest insects, especially ones that are creeping around on me.”

  Gabriel noted Reginald watching them from outside the room. Unable to hear their conversation from that distance, the man paced back and forth in anxious strides. If ever there was a good time for Gabriel to discourage his wife’s lover, it would be now.

  “Hold still,” he whispered to Carmody, pulling her closer, inhaling the exquisite, heated scent of nervousness oozing from her pores.

  “I am doing my best.” She brushed against him with her jittery up-and-down movements.

  Gabriel slid a hand around to her back, calming her with a gentle glide of his fingers along her spine. He pretended to look in her hair. Slyly, he turned her as he lowered his face toward her shoulder. With the
right position and the proper angle to the foyer, he hoped to make it appear to Reginald as if he kissed her. He took his time, moving his head and his hands to give the perfect performance.

  “Do hurry.” She squirmed against him.

  Her thigh pressed between his legs, nudging his trapped erection. The little stepping in place she did, continued abrading his cock, teasing and taunting him to react. He held his breath, clenched his jaw, and fought the dire urge to pounce on her as she continued the moves that made him harder.

  “I’m getting goose bumps thinking about the crawly little thing touching me.” Her leg wedged tighter into his crotch.

  Her hands slid farther around him to his back. They were in a position some might look upon as hugging. He felt it close to a position of lovemaking. Dropping his hand, his fingers rested on the edge of her gown. One tug, one forceful clawing downward, and he’d bare her shoulder.

  “Did you find it?” Carmody’s warm breath rushed over his cheek, waking him from the growing fantasies he had of undressing her right there before her lover.

  Gabriel flicked his finger along her collarbone. “There, all gone.” He let go, needing her to move back and take her enticing body off his.

  Only she didn’t let go. Her arms folded up under his, and she grasped his elbows. She stared at him with a strangely hypnotizing expression.

  Ensnared by the fragrant smell of her tantalizing scent, and the thump of her heart vibrating her breasts against his chest, Gabriel struggled to say something, confess his desires and consummate their marriage.

  “Thank you, Lord Laramore.” Her appreciative, but suddenly cool tone broke the spell.

  “It was nothing.”

  “You are my hero.” She smiled, her demeanor taking another turn so that he felt she played games with him.

  Only she pressed a kiss to his cheek, and it made him feel bad for his ruse of a bug on her.

  A slight turn of his head and he would have had her soft pink lips against his. Except, she lowered back on her heels, let go of his arms, and spun away, and in that second of stunned hesitation, he missed his golden opportunity.

  Carmody looked over her shoulder at him as she marched toward the doorway. “Oh, and do be a dear and take your cat with you.”

  “I don’t have a cat,” he blurted out.

  “You must. He has shed hair all over everything.” She extended an arm and pointed to the red tufted piece of furniture. “For shame on you, Lord Laramore, fibbing about having a pet, when just a look at the velvet on the settee, tells me different.”

  Carmody sashayed out of the room.

  Gabriel stepped back and leaned against the desk. He watched with fascination the way his wife glided from his presence as if she were on a cloud of air. Although, out of sight, wasn’t out of mind when seconds later her laughter drew him to the door.

  Escorting Reginald into the dining room, Carmody didn’t hide her affection. The man wasn’t any better, what with his arm surrounding her shoulders, holding her close. It was all Gabriel could do to hold back his predatory instincts to bound across the foyer and pounce on his rival.

  “The woman is impossible,” he grumbled, frustrated by his attraction to the one person he feared approaching with his feelings.

  Before his marriage, he’d never had trouble with bedding women at leisure. Yet, when he had the one woman he really wanted obligated to him by contract, he dreaded her rejection.

  “Milord, did you say something?” Silas surprised him with his nearness.

  “No.” Gabriel returned to his desk and gathered his paperwork. “It appears I’m to be put out of the manor. Her ladyship is taking over, and if I don’t—” He tossed the papers back to the desk.

  “Milord?”

  Gabriel stared at the discarded straw hat, and then he looked up at Silas. “This is my house, is it not?”

  “Milord?”

  “It is, and therefore I’m staying.” He slammed his fist down on the desk. “She will just have to get used to my presence as well as my attendance at her little dinner party.”

  “Yes, milord.”

  “Wait.” He stopped Silas from departing. “Her ladyship brought with her a case of wine. Expensive, I’m sure. See that it’s stored in the wine cellar so it’ll be the proper temperature for serving.”

  “I’ll handle it personally, Lord Laramore.” He backed to go, pausing at the opening. “And the cat, milord?”

  Gabriel frowned at Silas for reminding him of the unusual condition.

  “It is spring, and you know how…um…how the season affects him,” Silas elaborated. “He’s a mite frisky, and her ladyship is not aware how her presence will further aggravate the situation.”

  Gabriel waved the man to leave him.

  Alone with his thoughts, he slid his hand over his face and rubbed his jaw. Having Carmody there was like having a canary out of its cage where the cat was concerned. He’d prowl the house and grounds in search of ways to get close. Then the heat of her would drive him intolerably mad.

  She was bound to run into the animal during their stay together, try as he might to avoid the confrontation. It made him ponder what she’d say about her marriage to a wild beast.

  Chapter Two

  Carmody motioned for a servant to shut the dining room doors. Once the two paneled slabs of wood tapped together, she let out the breath she held.

  “How did I do, Reginald?” She dropped into the chair he tugged out from the table.

  “Perfect. Your indifference was a stunning performance.” He sat on the seat next to her. “Though I’m not sure why you want the man to fall in love with you. The marriage arrangement allows you complete freedom with financial security.”

  “Dear cousin, this may be a bit unusual for you to understand, but I’m in love with my husband. From the moment I met the very handsome Lord Laramore, his charm as well as some indescribable and amazing characteristic has enamored me. I’d like to believe there is something he sees in me as well, or why else would he have married me? My family is well-to-do, but not nearly as wealthy as Lord Laramore’s, so it couldn’t be for my dowry.”

  “You’re his trophy—a beautiful woman that catches the eye of every man, and yet you’re owned by him.”

  “I hardly think Lord Laramore considers me a possession. If he did, he’d show me off at social events rather than neglect me. We’ve been married for two years. I only see him on a semi-annual passing when we switch residences. I saw more of him before we married!” She propped her face in the palms of her hands and leaned on the table. “Are you sure Lord Laramore will find me more desirable by my aloofness? Our constant separation hasn’t proved to be advantageous so far.”

  “I meant aloof in his presence, not missing from it.” Reginald played with the flower arrangement on the table. “He apparently needs a direct approach since even bleeding him of his assets hasn’t worked in your favor either.”

  “I do feel he has some interest. I got the distinct impression he wanted to kiss me while in his study. He said there was a bug on me, and while I believed him then, I’m not sure it wasn’t a deception to lure me closer, especially when I felt his—” She stopped short of speaking of Lord Laramore’s lower region. She and Reginald were close and shared the deepest of sentiments with each other, but something about what she experienced during her dreams of Gabriel stopped her short. Her fantasy affair was hers alone. It made her blush whenever she lingered on the details, all of which were snippets of what she knew should and could transpire between a man and woman.

  “Felt his what?” Reginald demanded.

  “The hardness beneath his inexpressibles,” she whispered, indicating his trousers.

  “Aroused, you say? Then see, he’s already shown an interest. However, I’m still of the mind you waste your time with the man. I’ve heard no rumor of him having a mistress, and that means only one thing.”

  “He’s faithful to our vows?” She was hopeful, because she too had not heard a peep l
inking his name to any lady.

  “The man may simply not be interested in the female sex.”

  Carmody turned her head and stared at Reginald. “You can’t mean to suggest he likes…no, not possible. Lord Laramore is too…he’s simply too manly to be…” Aware of Reginald’s sexual preference, she let the statement pass. “No, I’m not wrong. The way he looks at me can only be described as desire. That’s what is so frustrating about this whole situation.”

  “If you ask me, the thing to do would be to forget him and find yourself a lover.” He sat back, finally leaving the flower arrangement alone.

  “I can’t do that, no matter how discreetly acceptable it is among our friends. I love Lord Laramore, and I want him devoted to me, just as I want to show him how enamored I am with him.”

  “That well may be your goal. Nevertheless, I still fear for your happiness if you fail.”

  She too worried. Life without love already wore grievously on her heart. “I shan’t think of failure, Reginald. I’m here to win the affections of my husband no matter how little they may be, and that’s that.”

  The doors slid open, and Carmody rose to her feet. “Lord Laramore.”

  “I’m not leaving and neither is the cat,” he stated flatly and then turned and walked away.

  The news renewed the fire of determination in her heart. Her intuition had led her on the right path, and she wasn’t going to risk losing her edge by pretending stubbornness.

  Carmody smiled and patted Reginald’s hand. “Be a sweetheart and go now.”

  “Go? Where?”

  “Home, darling. Your presence is no longer needed.” She tried hurrying out of the room, ready to implement a plan of seduction.

  “Carmody.” Reginald grabbed her arm. “Are you sure you want to be left alone with him? After leading him to believe we’re having an affair, he might not be safe to be around. Husbands aren’t appreciative of having lovers dangled under their noses.”

  “He’d not do anything to me.” She bit the inside of her lip while giving it a little more thought.

  “Are you so sure?” Reginald’s voice lowered. “When I first came into the manor, I thought I heard him growl.”