Impossible Desires (novella)
Read Impossible Desires (novella) Online
Authors: Tamsin Baker
Tamsin Baker
Tamsin Baker
A widow who likes to control. An earl with no time for innocence. A relationship bound by dark needs and subversive desires set in the glittering world of Regency England.
Lord Gareth Osborne is a wealthy earl in need of a wife, but the insipid debutantes he encounters do not fulfil the darkest fantasies of his soul. He fears that it will be impossible to find a woman who will satisfy his needs and make a suitable companion, until he meets the sensual, self-assured Eleanor.
Lady Eleanor Rossette is newly widowed, though not unhappily so. Her marriage put her into the hands of an abusive, controlling man, and Eleanor knows she will never surrender her control again. She yearns for a strong, passionate man who will yield to her in the bedroom, and she wants that man to be Lord Osborne…
Tamsin Baker is an Aussie girl who just discovered erotic romance ten months ago. Before that, she would read sexy romance, skipping the plot and looking for the all the naughty bits. Since then, she has written erotic romance and erotica novels of varying length and has had fourteen published (so far!). She absolutely
loves
reading and writing! She has two other jobs, including kids and a hubby too – but writing is a passion that she has to indulge for fear of insanity.
M/M is a passion of hers so even when she writes ménage, there is always an M/M story. She particularly enjoys writing female dommes, but she loves experimenting in all genres. Tamsin is learning to write and read more one step at a time. Soon, she’ll have stories published in every sub-genre of erotic romance – well that’s her aim anyway!
To the people who organise and create NaNoWriMo every year. Thank you. This story could not have been written without you.
To Gina Kincade, Bianca Sarble and Kissa Starling – my amazing trio of BDSM beta readers and critique partners. Thank you all for your amazing support and help! I could not have done this without you all!
Bestselling Titles by Escape Publishing…
London 1815
Gareth perused the room and shook his head. He was destined to be disappointed again. At five and thirty, he had promised himself he would find a bride this Season. Yet no one suited him. As a wealthy Earl, he needed neither a dowry nor high connections in a wife. She needed to be a lady of good breeding of course, but he longed for so much more than that.
He wanted beauty, he wanted intelligence, and above all else he wanted a woman who could please him in bed – and that was not an easy task.
He sighed and walked away from the ballroom. Ladies whispered as he stalked past and Gareth’s breeding demanded he acknowledge them with a small nod. He wished he could publicly denounce them for the invasion.
“What I want is impossible.”
Placing both hands on the marble balustrade, he hung his head.
A woman’s voice whispered behind him. “Nothing is impossible, my lord.”
A flush of blood stained his cheeks when he realized the lady was responding to what he had said. A very private thought that he had voiced aloud.
His cock stirred at the tone of her voice, but his social armor slipped into place. He was an eligible bachelor and alone on the balcony at a social engagement. He had to be careful with whom he was seen with and spoke to.
“Good evening, my lady.” Gareth bowed and scanned the shadows from whence the voice came.
He was in the market for a wife but he was not averse to obtaining a mistress as well. He hadn’t had a permanent one in a while and if he couldn’t find what he needed in a long-term commitment, then a mistress would suffice.
Out of the shadows stepped a spectacular woman in pink silk. Her black hair was gently coiffed and her neckline was more daring than most. Even so, Gareth could see the breeding, and smell the refinement in her.
“Excuse my rudeness, my lord, but I could not stop myself from responding to such words.”
The woman curtsied without introducing herself, and fluttered her fan over her bosom.
Gareth’s eyes unerringly swung to her décolletage, where her ample charms were lushly displayed. His body stirred at the sight of her soft breasts swelling out of her dress. He truly loved a woman with more flesh than less.
He bit the inside on his cheek, tasting blood and groaning as the pain aroused him further. He had never understood that about himself.
“Are you hurt?” the lady inquired with a quizzical brow.
Gareth shrugged, unable to move forward lest his erection become more obvious.
“I am very well, thank you, my lady. I have not yet introduced myself, yet you seem to know who I am?”
The woman laughed and circled him. His back straightened in wariness as she moved around him. He wasn’t used to being looked at with such blatant regard, completely forsaking the rules of society, and he was discovering that he didn’t like it.
“If you would excuse me.” Gareth bowed again and turned to leave the company of the woman who was both intriguing and insulting. Her presence was exciting him far too much and he wasn’t sure exactly why. It was unacceptable to feel this way whilst at a
ton
ball.
“I will not excuse you, Gareth. Come back.”
The soft words had steel behind them and he walked straight back to her. He was drawn like a moth to a flame.
“I am Lady Eleanor Rossette. My husband was the late Baron of Vartone and I have come to London specifically to make a new match.”
His eyebrows lifted, shocked by both her approach to him and by her speech.
He had heard of the Baron and known he had died, but Gareth had not realized the man had left behind such a widow. Why hadn’t anyone told him a woman like her was available?
But then, when had he been looking at anything other than eighteen-year-old virgins? No wonder he didn’t want one of them when this was the sort of woman that aroused him in such a manner.
She was beautiful and she was strong. He wanted that.
“You wish for a husband, Lady Rosette? What attributes do you need? Perhaps I can suggest someone for you?”
He offered his arm to the lady and drew her closer. She had the most remarkable green eyes and Gareth felt his body harden once again.
Her gloved hand rested lightly on his arm as she allowed him to draw her back to the entrance of the ballroom.
She waved at the assembly of the
ton’s
elite.
“I want a gentleman who doesn’t need money.”
He nodded. It was not an unusual request for a lady – especially if she was without money herself.
“You have no dowry or inheritance?” He pitched his voice low out of respect for her feelings.
Lady Rossette laughed, the husky sound causing the hairs on Gareth’s arms to prickle.
My God
.
What was it about this woman that affected him so strongly?
“Quite the contrary I assure you, my lord. However, I have no wish to become prey to a fortune hunter.”
He smiled – a rare sight. This woman was unusual indeed and that alone attracted him. He nodded towards the overcrowded ballroom. He needed a distraction.
“The gentleman standing by the punch bowl has twenty thousand a year and is ready to marry.”
Gareth heard himself suggesting young Lord Werthing while at the same time, his hand folded over hers. He was trying to be a sophisticated
ton
gentleman, but if he was honest, he wanted her for himself. He did not want to hand her off to some other lord. She was a rare beauty, with a spirit to match. Everything inside Gareth was screaming
MINE
, but he stilled the beast within.
“Does he ride?”
Her question made his mouth kick up at the corner. Not unless riding meant in a carriage.
“Not well.”
“Does he box?”
Gareth wanted to laugh aloud at this one, his head growing a little giddy. He had never been so entertained by a woman before – how peculiar to find the quality in one this beautiful.
“Sadly, no.”
“Do you know another gentleman, my lord, who perhaps has those attributes?”
A grin began to stretch across Gareth’s face as he pretended to scan the room. There was no other man in London who would suit her…other than him.
It was time to make his intentions known.
“Perhaps you would come home with me this evening?”
Again, she laughed her throaty laugh and Gareth experienced a fresh wave of lust. What an amazing sound.
“Perhaps I won’t, my lord. I play for keeps.”
Gareth felt his heart give a strange kick at her declaration. He chose to ignore it.
“And I play for fun.”
Lady Rossette squeezed his arm and sighed. “Hmm, I know.”
She disengaged her hand and sashayed away.
Gareth moved back into the ballroom to follow her. He had never been so intrigued by a woman before. He had always believed he would have to marry a virgin. Perhaps he didn’t.
A well-bred widow had the same advantages of a well-bred virgin without any of the setbacks. However, he needed an heir and he knew the Baron had died without one. That was worrying.
“Lord Osborne.” An older gentleman bowed in front of him and Gareth struggled to remember the man’s name. He was usually excellent at remembering people’s details, but the woman had rattled his brain somehow.
“My lord, how are you this evening?”
“I am well, thank you. Have you heard anything more about the India Trading Company that we were discussing last sennight?”
Gareth smiled and began to rattle off what he had recently learnt about his new investment. He knew this world inside out – the world of the London
ton
, with their proper behavior and thousands of rules. He followed every one, which was why he had remained unmarried for so long.
For he desperately craved another world – a darker one. He wanted to experience a grand passion and he needed a woman that would inspire such desire. The woman he had met tonight had a dominance that he found arousing. It was also an exceptionally uncommon thing to find in a woman.
Why did he feel as though the key to the new life he craved was Lady Rossette?
The following evening, Gareth stood at the edge of another ballroom, willing Eleanor over to him. He watched as she flirted with an older Marquis and a younger Viscount. Why was she bothering with either of them? Those gentlemen both needed to marry wealthy virgins.
“I see that Lady Rossette has found the Viscount. She had been asking about him.”
Gareth heard his best friend’s voice and cringed. He didn’t want to talk to anyone. He wanted to watch Eleanor.
Clenching his stomach to quell the urge to push his friend away, he turned and smiled.
“Patrick.” He extended his hand to his handsome friend. “You know Lady Rossette?”
Patrick smiled and raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, though only briefly. She spoke to me earlier tonight. Quite a striking woman.”
Gareth watched his friend stare at Eleanor for a little longer than he should have. He clenched and unclenched his fists against the need for violence. What was wrong with him tonight?
“She is. I met her last night, but know nothing about her.” Gareth changed the tone of his voice to indicate his interest, hoping his gossipy best friend would pick up on it.
Patrick smiled a cat-that-ate-the-canary smile and took a slow sip of his whiskey.
“She is looking to marry, and I hear she will have nothing to do with anyone who wants otherwise.”
He nodded. This information should hasten his disinterest. Instead, the hunter in him awoke from a long sleep, stretched his arms above his head, and picked up his bow and arrow. It was time for action.