Authors: Karyn Gerrard
“The toast and cheese?” he replied.
She laughed. “No, after. Something quite delicious.” She brushed her fingers teasingly across the fall of his trousers, pleased to feel the hardness there. With a dazzling smile, she turned and hobbled from the room. As Phil walked away, her smile disappeared. No matter what happened between them, the poignant words and touches, she remained determined to leave. It was the only sane and rational thing to do.
Supper consisted of a simple repast of ham, eggs, and fried potatoes. While it certainly filled Spence, he hungered for much more. Having her in his life felt real and natural. They slipped into a seemingly domestic rhythm he loathed to break. As tempted as he’d been to bring her to full arousal while in the tub he held back, giving her teasing, feather-like caresses enough to spark her desire, but not inflame it. He laid the foundation for declaring his love and for asking her to stay. You would think after all this time he would be used to rejection, but this refutation he dreaded most of all. He would be laying his heart and soul bare; however, he would regret it for the rest of his life if he did not.
They sat before the fireplace in his study surrounded by blankets, pillows, and the two dogs. Phil speared a piece of bread at the end of the fireplace poker and held it over the flames. The cheese sizzled and bubbled as the bread toasted to a golden hue.
“I used to make this for my father. The last time was shortly before he died. We would sit before the fireplace, just the two of us, and he would tell me of his day. He was a doctor at St.Thomas’s Hospital and always had a funny tale to tell. Or a gruesome one.” A small smile curved about her lips at the recollection.
“How did your parents die?”
She inspected the bread, and seeing it required more toasting, shoved it above the flames. “The way most parents die at the same time, in a senseless accident. One minute they were here and in the next gone--leaving me all alone. I wandered about our house in a state of shock. My aunt and uncle swooped in. The house was closed up and the contents sold.” She paused and frowned.
He would hazard to guess she rarely spoke of her past. He did not interrupt nor did he encourage her to reveal more.
After a few moments, she exhaled, and continued. “My father held a responsible post. He made a good wage and was well respected in the medical field. The money he had set aside passed to my aunt and uncle for my upkeep. Since two years later I’d been abducted from the train station, I certainly did not see any benefits of it. When I did visit them the last time don’t think I didn’t notice the new furnishings. The money spent, it wasn’t even worth asking for. I wonder now if they even reported me missing or hired anyone to look for me. I doubt it.” She frowned again, her lips pulling into a thin line as she removed the bread from the flames. “We will let it cool for a moment.”
Potent fury clutched him tight. How dare her aunt and uncle treat her with such disdain and indifference? The overwhelming temptation to head to Cheapside, flush out this disgraceful couple and throw them to the cobbles fueled his ire. Let them experience what it felt like to have no one to turn to and no means by which to live. Spence tried to hide his anger, but his voice shook with emotion nonetheless. “I am sorry. No child should lose a parent let alone both at once. It must have been unbearable for you. You are the most courageous woman I have ever met.”
“Oh, give over. I am a survivor I’ll grant you that. Be damned if I would be a victim. I refused and took my fate into my own hands, setting my own rules. I had no other family to turn to.” Phil pulled off the bread and handed it to him, then commenced to making her own. “I learned early on you have to look out for yourself as no one else will.”
“Rather a lonely existence, is it not?” He bit into the toasted bread, relishing the explosion of hot cheese.
“I’ve accepted my lot in life. A lonely existence is also your chosen path. Look where you are staying.”
“Yes, I admit I prefer to be alone in most circumstances, but not all. Everyone yearns to be loved, Phil. Even the most hardened and determined hermit. I do enjoy the company of my family in small doses I grant you, but nevertheless I love them dearly. I also have a few friends like the ones who hired you. I suppose they were well meaning. At first I resented their interference. Now I will thank them with all my heart for bringing you to me even if it is for only a short duration.”
“You know it must be.” Phil sighed, biting into her piece of toast.
“I know nothing of the sort. You are the one who refuses to talk about what is between us or the possibility there could be more.” Spence popped the last bit of toast in his mouth and chewed, trying to keep his annoyance from rising to the surface.
Phil lifted her chin in stubborn defiance. “The discussion will turn into an argument; I can guarantee it. I’m putting it off as long as I can. Why not enjoy these last days we will have together? I do not wish it to degenerate into accusations and hurt feelings. Besides, I’ve been through entirely too much the last twenty-four hours, let us take this evening to relax and enjoy each other.”
Spence stared into the flames, his heart sinking. “You intend to reject me no matter what I have to say?”
Phil ate more of her toast, not answering. Spence watched her expression change from frustration to annoyance, then to puzzlement. He waited.
“I do not know.”
“Well, at least you did not rebuff me outright. I will bend to your will for tonight, but hear me, Philomena McGrattan. Tomorrow night will be the last one, and we will be discussing this at length. Do you agree?”
She met his gaze and a slight frown curved about her mouth. “You are determined we will have this out. Fine. Tomorrow night. Are you ready for more toast and cheese?”
“Excellent change of topic. Well done. Not at this moment. What I do want is this surprise you mentioned.” He gave her a playful wink and it lightened her mood immediately. The furrow between her brows disappeared.
“I have not done this in years. I will no doubt make a hash of it.” She rose up on her knees, clasped his shoulders and pushed him down until he lay flat on the pillows and blankets. “Oral sex. My lips on your cock. Sucking and licking and taking you deep into my mouth until you come.”
* * * *
Lord.
He hardened immediately at her erotic words. Pulling her down on top of him, he claimed her mouth, his tongue plunging deep, taking utter possession. The kiss spoke of everything he felt, passion, love, and a desire so intense he thought he would blow apart from the force of it. As they kissed she unbuttoned his shirt, exposing his chest. She moved her hand to the fall of his trousers, reaching in and pulling out his erect prick.
The kiss ended and Phil lay on her side next to him. She leaned in and closed her mouth over the swollen head of his cock. The immediate wet warmth that encased him caused the breath to seize in his throat. God above, the sensation. Blood boiled in his veins as his heart thumped at a rapid pace. When he finally exhaled, he couldn’t stop the words from tumbling from his throat.
“Yes. God, yes. Take me in your mouth.” The tone of his voice contained a strange mix of a harsh command and a passionate pleading.
A few tentative licks, then Phil grasped him tight, squeezing as she soon found a rhythm. The hot and wet interior of her mouth felt very similar to her quim, but different in a good way. Taking him deep, she hollowed her cheeks creating a suction that had his hips lifting off the floor in ecstasy.
Spence clutched the blanket tight with one hand while his groans filled the air. The dogs acted unconcerned and continued to nap. He tunneled his other hand through her ebony hair, which hung loose about her shoulders, then grabbed a length, twined it around his wrist, and gently encouraged her to take him deeper. Maybe he barked the command, he could not be sure. Moving his hips, he pushed her head downward.
Take me. Suck me. Swallow me.
Did he speak aloud? Spence was completely lost in a haze of ecstasy and couldn’t be sure. Seems he did, as Phil gave a muffled groan of desire and increased the pressure of her grip. He knew what her pleasure sounded like, since he became quite intimate with her responses and ached to learn much more.
Floating…that was the sensation. As if suspended in the clouds. Insane. Perhaps madness lay at his core as his husky grunts grew louder. Perspiration rolled off his forehead. The pressure in his sac built. So close. Spence cried out and his legs stiffened as he came. With great effort, he loosened the grip on her hair, but she did not move away. She swallowed his very essence, the motion of her throat intensely erotic. Shuddering still from his orgasm, he watched as Phil licked him, catching the last of his release on her tongue. She smiled as she rose up on her knees.
“My. You are quite the wild animal, Professor.” She leaned down and kissed him. Her sweetness mixed with his musky taste. Intriguing. She lay next to him and rested a hand on his still heaving chest. “I may tease, but I do enjoy how you let yourself feel everything. You hold nothing back. I quite admire you for it.”
He exhaled, catching his breath at last. “Only with you, Philomena. Only you.”
* * * *
As much as she did enjoy and admire his unfettered responses and tender glances, they also concerned her. Phil trailed the back of her fingers across his astounding cheekbones. He leaned into her touch, closing his eyes, and gave a husky moan. His whiskers scratched at her hand. Spence needed a shave. Perhaps she would give him one tomorrow.
No one should feel this much in such a short acquaintance, and she meant the both of them. Though they hinted at the depth of emotions, they had not spoken about them in any detail. Unfortunately, he would insist they do so tomorrow night.
Phil could deny how she felt, be cruel and dismissive. Claim their assignation had merely been a paid assignment and nothing more. She could not break his heart. Spence experienced enough rejection during his lifetime. How to convince him a connection between them would be ruinous for him? She must think of his future. Protect him from further censure and ridicule. The only way to achieve that goal would be to leave him, even though the prospect already had her heart and soul in tatters, but what else could she do?
Spence opened his eyes. The stunningly beautiful shade of blue always caught her breath. They shone with intelligence and affection. Her heart hitched in her chest. She had not taken much pleasure in oral sex in the past; it is why she removed it from her prossie repertoire. With Spence? Thoroughly enjoyed it. She could do it again. Glancing down at Spence’s cock, he appeared ready for another go. Phil stifled a yawn, covering her mouth with her hand.
Spence kissed her cheek. “You are tired. We should head to bed.”
She nodded, giving him a wan smile. With no further conversation, Spence stood, and with a sweep of his arms, lifted her up then carried her to his bedroom. How she could get used to such attention. She curled her arms about his neck and laid her head against his chest, inhaling his musky, male essence.
Phil swallowed back the tightness in her throat. Love was a foreign concept to her outside of what she felt for her late parents. Long ago she vowed not to allow such complications into her life. To find it here in a crumbling manor leaning precariously on the edge of a cliff in an inaccessible section of Wales--made no sense. Who would have thought the eccentric third son of a duke would be everything she longed for? She loved him and had to leave him. The sadness that flooded her at the admission would stay with her for the rest of her life.
“Time to awaken, my dearest Phil.” His deep sensual tone rolled across her body as if he had touched her with those graceful fingers of his. They lay side-by-side like two spoons in a cutlery box. As he placed gentle, affectionate kisses on her cheek, he thrust his hips making sure she could
not
possibly miss the hardness of his erection brushing against her arse.
“Do you have one of those sheaths nearby?” he whispered. “I may need your assistance.”
Barely awake and already aroused, Phil reached for the cloth bag on the table and retrieved an envelope. Turning to face him, she threw back the covers. Beautifully naked. Spence gripped his erect cock and watched as she slid the condom on. With a swift motion she lifted the nightshirt over her head and tossed it aside.
“Lay back in the position you were before,” he commanded.
My.
The more experience he gained, the more he assumed the dominant role. She did not mind. Not in the least. Spence turned out to be a passionate and lustful man. A wonderful discovery and almost as wonderful as discovering it existed within herself.
He prodded her and laid her leg on his thigh. “You are wet for me. I do not even have to check, do I, Phil?”
“No, you don’t.”
He entered her with a swift glide. While nibbling on her earlobe, he moved in and out of her with agonizing slow thrusts. They both writhed and moaned, prompting him to increase the pace. This position was entirely magnificent. If only she had known. She pushed back taking him deeper. Phil clutched the muscular globe of his ass, pulling him in tighter. Faster they moved until her release caused her to cry out, the sound hoarse and raw. A few minutes later and Spence groaned and shuddered. He pulled her closer and nuzzled her neck. The whispered words of desire awakened her arousal again. He was still inside her as if he loathed breaking the connection. She understood it, for she longed to stay joined.
After several minutes he kissed her cheek and stood. The loss of his warmth caused her to shiver. “Breakfast?”
“Worked up an appetite have you, Professor?”
He grinned. “Of course. So have you I’ve no doubt. Are you feeling better?”
“Yes. Entirely recovered. You are a skilled healer, talented indeed.”
He reached for his trousers and slipped them on. “Good. The sun is shining. Time to get the day under way.”
“Is that an order?” She laughed.
“Well, let’s call it a request.” He tossed her the nightshirt and laughed when it hit her square in the face.