Heaven Made (17 page)

"Much better," Ford said, smiling calmly at her as
if he hadn’t been in the process of ravishing her just hours ago. "I’m
going to work in the laboratory tomorrow, I think."

"Oh, of course." Is that all he ever thought
about? Sabrina wondered, trying not to show her annoyance. "Do you feel up
to going over some invitations?"

"I suppose we must," he said with a groan. "Let’s
see what you’ve come up with." He moved over so she could join him on the
sofa.

Sabrina sat down, as close as she dared, and began reading
the names off the correspondence. She commented several times that she knew a
few of the gentlemen and ladies who were giving the parties and made suggestions
as to whether their fete would be entertaining or a bore.

"Why didn’t you remarry?" Ford suddenly blurted
out, startling Sabrina with the question. "I mean, instead of looking for
employment? It just seems to me that you were in the right circles to make a
good match."

"I was engaged," Sabrina said, looking into the
fire, remembering a different time in her life. "To my brother-in-law."

"So, what happened?" Ford wasn’t going to let it
go.

Sabrina wondered if she should tell him the truth. At this
point she didn’t see what there was to lose since he had welcomed Alice into
his home. She doubted that he would kick them out now, no matter what she told
him. Taking a deep breath, she told him their story, well most of it anyway.

"I mean to pay him back, someday. But I’m afraid that
if Gerald finds us, he will force me to marry him. I think the papers I took
are somehow a part of why he wants me so badly. But I haven’t been able to make
heads nor tails of them."

"Why don’t you go and get the documents and I’ll have
my solicitor review them," Ford said, more sympathetic than Sabrina could
have hoped for. She felt like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders
by sharing her fears with him.

"Right now?"

"Yes, go and  get them now, and I’ll give them to
Robert in the morning." He yawned widely and smiled at her.

Sabrina left to fetch the documents. She stopped momentarily
to glance at her reflection in the mirror. Goodness, her dress was so very
drab. She hadn’t been able to get anything new after her mourning period was
over and the plain grayish lilac was unpleasant at its best. But there was
nothing to do about it. She might wish for a pretty gown to impress Ford, but
one had to make do with what was available. Sighing with resignation, she left
her room and returned to Ford’s suite. She hadn’t been gone for more than ten
minutes, but when she walked in, Ford was gone from the sitting room.

"Ford," she called out, looking behind the potted
fern and over by the window. "Mr. Northcliffe?"

Then she heard a faint snoring coming from the bedroom.
Sabrina tiptoed into the master’s private chamber and stood at the end of the
bed. Ford must have meant to only sit for a moment, but instead had fallen fast
asleep, fully dressed with even his glasses still on. She smiled down at his
handsome face, brushing a lock of tawny hair off his forehead.

"Ah, Mr. Northcliffe," she whispered. "How
very harmless you appear when resting."

First unlooping the wire frames of his spectacles from his
ears, Sabrina then kneeled down to pull off his shoes. His legs dangled down
the side of the bed as if he had sat down and laid back just for a second, then
fallen asleep. She stood and reached to loosen his tie. She could at least make
him moderately comfortable before she called for Freddy to come up and tuck him
into bed.

Sabrina looked longingly at the big tester mattress. It
called out to her to climb up on it and wake Ford in a most improper way. But
she resisted and simply unbuttoned his collar and leaned down for a quick kiss
to his cheek. But apparently, Ford wasn’t as deeply asleep as she had imagined,
because as she started to pull away, his golden eyes flickered open and he
reached out one hand to hold her firmly in place. The sultry look he gave her
stopped Sabrina in her tracks, sending a thrill through her body. She gasped at
the clear message she saw there.

"I brought the papers." She said roughly, trying
to make her voice sound normal. "They’re in the other room."

"Hmmm, where am I?" Ford smiled a slow, masculine
smile that burned through Sabrina’s layers of clothes.

"You must have dozed off," Sabrina said, almost
breathless with longing.

"Well, Mrs. Tremaine," he asked in a teasing
voice. "What shall I do with you now that I finally have you in my bedroom
and I’m feeling better?"

Sabrina couldn’t speak or move. She knew what she wanted,
but was deathly afraid to ask for it. Instead she just stood there, frozen,
waiting for Ford to make the next move. Please let him make a move! With a
gentle tug, Ford pulled Sabrina down on top of him, so that her thigh was
tucked snuggly between his and her hand was pressed to his hard, wide chest.

Sabrina could feel him swelling against her belly, and she struggled
to keep still and not wriggle against his hard length. She was burning up
already, and he hadn’t even kissed her. Heat pooled between her legs as she
felt his hand travel from her back down to her bottom, pressing her even
closer. Finally, he pulled her mouth down to his and pressed his soft lips to
hers. First lightly, teasing and nipping, sending her into a frenzy of need,
then taking her completely, opening her mouth with his tongue and ravishing her
as she had been dreaming about all day.

"Oh, Sabrina, you make me mad with wanting you."
Ford moaned against her ear, nibbling at it as he spoke. "Stay with me
tonight, please."

"Oh yes," Sabrina said, almost unable to mutter
the words through the wonderful sensations that were stealing her breath away.

Ford groaned with need at her response and pulled her all
the way up onto the bed so they were lying side by side. First, he gently
pulled the pins from her hair, running his fingers through it, sending shivers
down all her limbs. Then he covered her with his body and kissed her senseless.
With practiced ease, he began removing her clothes, unveiling her skin one bit
at a time. And with each piece he removed, he found a new way to make Sabrina
writhe with desire. When they finally both lay naked on the bed, Ford slowed
down even further and began a leisurely exploration of Sabrina’s body. It was
almost more than she could stand and she begged him over and over to take her.

"No," Ford said for what seemed like the
thousandth time. "I want this to be perfect. You are so beautiful, I want
every second to be burned into my memory so that I never forget. I never want
to forget you, Sabrina."

It was a strange comment to make, but Sabrina didn’t have
time to wonder about it as Ford’s mouth came down on her breast. He suckled at
her nipple, making it pebble and become oh, so very sensitized. Then his
fingers were between her thighs, stroking her wet heat, as she thrashed wildly
until she exploded, shuddering and falling apart, calling out his name.

"That was wonderful," he said, moving his mouth to
her other breast and laving it just as reverently. "I want to make you do
that over and over again."

Sabrina had only a moment to reflect on his words before she
was being wound up again. His fingers were magical, sinking into her heat and
gently pulling at her most sensitive nubbin. She needed him inside her, but she
didn’t know how to compel him to enter her. All of her encounters with Edward
had been simple. A few kisses, a little petting, and he would take her. But
this man, Ford Northcliffe, was not going to make it so easy. No, he wanted all
of her, completely and without reservation. Maybe if she touched him like he
was touching her? Sabrina wondered to herself before taking action. She reached
down between them and felt his length and hardness. It was hot and silky soft
and she took him fully in her hand, stroking and touching him in a similar
fashion as he was touching her. Ford growled low in his throat.

"Am I hurting you?" Sabrina asked, stopping,
afraid to go on.

"Only if pure ecstasy is torture," Ford laughed
gruffly, and then moved his body to cover hers. He settled between her thighs
and rested there, looking down at Sabrina and framing her face with his hands. "You
are so beautiful," he murmured, kissing her sweetly.

Slowly he entered her slick heat, until he filled her
completely. She pushed her hips up and wrapped her legs around him, holding him
as close as possible. This was what she had been waiting for, longing for, the
feeling of this gorgeous man within her, making her complete. Sabrina arched
her back, thrusting her breasts up and pulling Ford even deeper inside her. He
thrust with her, slowly at first, in and out, caressing her in the most
intimate way imaginable. Touching her breasts with his tongue, and nibbling
their tips. But Sabrina wanted more and she pushed him faster, and faster until
he was slick with sweat.

"Sabrina," he called out, gasping for breath. "Oh
God, Sabrina."

Just as she thought she couldn’t stand another second,
Sabrina felt herself shatter into a million, glittering pieces. Still throbbing
with pleasure she floated back down to the mattress. Ford’s release immediately
followed and he collapsed on top of her, breathing heavily.

"My God," he whispered into her hair. "I’ve
never felt so perfectly satisfied in my life."

Sabrina smiled smugly to herself. This was not what she’d
signed on to do, but it was better than anything she could have wished for.
Ford was everything she’d ever wanted in a man, and falling in love with him
had been easy. Too easy. Oh dear, what would happen now?

Suddenly, Sabrina wasn’t so sure about what they had just
done. It was terribly bad form to have slept with one’s employer even if she
did love him. What would he think of her? Did he think because he paid her
salary that this was part of her duties? She tried to pull away, but Ford
wasn’t letting her go.

"Where do you think you’re going?" he asked in a
drowsy voice. "You promised to spend the night. Besides, you don’t want to
wake Alice, do you?"

"No, of course not," Sabrina said. Now what should
she do? She had to stay here, at least until early in the morning when the
house would begin to stir. "But I have to leave before the other servants
wake up."

"I wish you could stay forever," Ford mumbled just
before he drifted off to sleep, snoring quietly.

It was more soothing than annoying, Sabrina thought with a
smile. She wondered if Ford had really meant what he said? Did he actually want
her to stay forever? Did that meant that he was thinking of asking her to marry
him? Oh, well this changed everything. Sabrina drifted off to sleep, dreaming
of a life with Ford, making love every night and helping him with his studies
every day.

Sometime in the middle of the night, Ford’s sweet kisses and
clever fingers pulling at her nipple woke her from a wonderful dream. But this
was even better. Ford made love to her slowly, exquisitely, and with a
tenderness that almost made Sabrina cry. His lips were soft and teasing, while
his teeth nibbled gently, bringing on the first shudder of satisfaction to
Sabrina’s already quivering body. She tried to give him equal consideration,
but his attention to her every need left her weak and helpless to do more than
react. When he finally entered her, filling her with his hardness, she arched
up to him, moaning his name. Ford moved slowly, pulling nearly all the way out,
driving Sabrina mad with need. When he came back down to her, she playfully
nipped at his ear, which drove him to the frenzy that she longed for. Faster
and faster he drove himself until they were both covered in sweat and panting
for release.

"Sabrina, Sabrina, I don’t want to live without you,"
Ford cried out just before he exploded and filled her with his seed.

Sabrina trembled with her own ecstasy, holding on to Ford so
tightly that she was afraid she had hurt him. But he just held her close and
whispered words of sweet satisfaction into her ear. They floated back to a calm
and quiet predawn morning, tangled in the linens and each other’s arms. Sabrina
was loath to leave, but she had to go now if she didn’t want to be caught in
the master’s bedroom.

With a sigh of resignation, she pulled free from Ford’s
arms. He whimpered a bit and tried to hold her, but he had already drifted back
to sleep and she easily extricated herself from his embrace. Gathering up her
discarded clothes, Sabrina glanced back at Ford one last time before tiptoeing
out of the room and through the corridors to her own bedroom. Sleep was
entirely out of the question now Sabrina realized when she tried to lay down on
her bed. Her mind was filled with the night she had just spent in the arms of a
man who she was desperately in love with. It was a crushing realization, and
under other circumstances wouldn’t seem like such a dilemma. But here she was,
the lady help, helping in ways that were definitely beyond her job description,
and yet it seemed so very right. Had he really meant what he said? Or were
those just words spoken in the heat of passion? The way he had looked at her,
with such tenderness and need, simply made her melt every time she even thought
of it. Edward never looked at her like that. No man had. Ever.

A tingle of pure delight spread through her at the thought
of spending all of her days and nights with Ford. And how he had taken to Alice
already; that was a good sign too. Now she just had to bide her time and be
patient, sooner or later he would ask her to marry him. She could just feel it.
She wondered how the rest of the staff would take it? Would they be happy for
her? But what if they were angry that she was stepping beyond her station? This
could be a problem, Sabrina pondered. It would be awful if she had to let
everyone go and hire a whole new household of servants. No, she wasn’t even
going to consider it. Delores, Roland, Freddy and even Mrs. Fitzsimmons were
far too dear to her already. They had all taken her and Alice in as if they
were family, and she would never betray any of them in such a manner. Besides,
they were definitely going to be happy for her and Ford when they eventually
made their announcement. After all, it wasn’t as if she were a servant trying
to be a lady. No, she was a lady trying desperately to be a servant.