Kane Samantha - Brothers in arms 1 (14 page)

The sensation of licking into Veronica’s mouth was similar to that of having imbibed too much brandy. It was hot, spicy, intoxicating. He was instantly drunk on the taste and texture of her. He couldn’t get enough. He licked and bit and drank from her, sharing her breath, giving her his, until she whimpered, and clung to him.

At her surrender, Michael pulled her so close to his body, he could feel every curve, every pulse. The throb of her heartbeat was soon echoed by the throb in his cock, drowning out his conscience. He dragged his hands up and down her back, finally cupping her derriere in one, pulling her up onto his thigh, and bringing one around to cup her full, warm breast.

She broke their kiss then, pulling back to moan, and rub against his leg. “My lord,”

she whispered huskily, her voice that of a fully aroused courtesan.

Michael spread hot, wet, open-mouthed kisses down her neck, impatiently pulling the material of her clothes aside, exposing her young breasts, the nipples turgid with desire. He felt himself losing control, but there was nothing he could do. Never had he felt this way, never. He dipped his head and licked a nipple, causing Veronica to whimper and clutch at his hair.

“God, yes, Veronica,” he rasped. “You’re so beautiful, my little Amazon. Would you let your greengrocer do this?”

Before she could respond he sucked her nipple deep into his mouth and devoured her. He vaguely heard her cries of passion, felt her legs spread wider as she rode his hard thigh.

Some small part of his brain registered when his hand began to push under her skirts, when he reached her garter and skimmed his long fingers over the smooth skin of her thigh. It was not the part that housed his conscience, however, and he nearly shouted in triumph when he reached beneath her undergarments and found her wet and swollen with need.

“This is where he wants to be, Veronica, here in your sweet pussy. Will you let him do this?” he whispered in her ear as he eased the tip of his finger inside her. The tightness of her sheath, its creamy heat, nearly undid him. He could feel his cock stretching to its limit, trying to burst free, seeking her.

“Oh God,” she whispered brokenly. “I can’t, please, oh God.”

Her murmurs drove him higher, her breathy voice a siren’s song. He pushed his finger in deeper, in a long, slow movement that he enjoyed as much as she did. He 73

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stopped only when it was as deep as it could go, his palm cupping her, rubbing against her swollen bud.

“Do you want me to show you what it’s all about, my sweet Veronica?” he asked her, lightly nipping her earlobe. She mindlessly twisted her head away, and then back again, seeking him.

“Yes, yes, my love, show me,” she whispered, her innocent lips pressing against his cheek, his chin, his lips. He took possession of the kiss as he began to gently undulate his finger inside her, rubbing against a most sensitive spot inside, and against her sex outside. The dual stimulation had Veronica pressing against his hand, learning the age-old rhythm of a woman being pleasured. She pushed against his shoulder, at the same time twining her tongue around his, escalating the kiss.

Her mixed signals only served to assure Michael of her desire. He wanted so badly to feel her climax, to know he was the first to bring her. The sudden fierce possessiveness he felt might have given him pause if Veronica hadn’t chosen that moment to speak again.

“My lord, what’s happening? Oh, don’t stop, please, don’t ever stop.” Her voice was trembling with newfound passion and she began to ride Michael’s hand harder and faster, her breathing ragged as she climbed the peak.

“Yes, darling, yes, fuck my hand, Veronica, that’s it, darling girl. You’ll see, you’ll see what it’s about, what I can give you.” Michael felt each stroke of her tight hot pussy not only on his finger but when he closed his eyes, along his cock. He didn’t need to imagine what fucking her would be like, he knew. It was with great willpower he resisted the urge to free his shaft and drive it into her willing pussy. His hips began moving in rhythm with hers, rubbing his cock along her hip.

“Oh, oh, God,” Veronica choked out as her body arched into her climax.

Her long drawn-out moan was loud in the deserted alley, low and throbbing along Michael’s nerve endings straight to his cock. As she rode his hand hard, he fucked his cock along her hip rapidly until he too arched against her and he exploded in a hard climax that had him breathless.

“Veronica,” he whispered into her hair as they clung to one another.

Too soon Michael became cognizant of where they were, and what he had just done. His finger was still buried in her, in the tight, sweet, virgin pussy of Jason and Tony’s soon-to-be niece, for Christ’s sake.

He pulled away quickly, as if she were a live coal. He lost all finesse in his urgency to distance himself from her. Only as she stumbled from the rapid loss of his support did he touch her again, holding her up by her shoulders. The sight of her, disheveled, half clothed, her eyes glassy with sexual satisfaction, her breasts still rosy from his kisses, almost defeated his belated good intentions. Her next words were like a pitcher of cold water over his desire, however.

“No, my lord,” she rasped, “I would not let Mr. Beedle do that.”

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Neither of them spoke as Veronica righted her clothes. When Lord Kensington tried to offer assistance, she brushed his hands away impatiently. She may have been lost to passion just a few moments ago, but she definitely had all her faculties now.

She was trying desperately to conceal her panic from him. She was no longer a virgin. She’d given her maidenhead to a stranger in an alley, and it hadn’t even been to pay a bill. What was she to do now?

Even through her distress, however, Veronica still felt the throb of pleasure that had overtaken her at the end. She still remembered the wonder and heat of his hands on her, his possession. So this is what Aunt Kate feels, she thought, and not with one man, but two. How miraculous.

There were so many emotions warring for prominence inside her, Veronica was incapable of conversation. Once she was dressed properly again, she turned for home without direction from Lord Kensington.

Halfway there he tentatively touched her arm, and when she didn’t rebuff him, he held it gently as they walked. Finally he spoke.

“How old are you, Veronica?”

She couldn’t help it. She laughed at the sheer terror in his voice. Even as she did it, she recognized the rather strident quality in her laugh.

“I’ll be seventeen in two months, my lord.” She stopped and turned to him. “There are some girls who are already married by my age, but I do not wish to be one of them.

In spite of the fact that I gave you my virginity, I will not marry you.”

Lord Kensington looked taken aback. “You won’t marry me? I’m sorry, I don’t recall asking.” He sounded vaguely perturbed. “And why the devil not?”

“I’m too young to be tied down to the first man who shows me sexual pleasure, my lord. And I refuse to be forced on a man as a means to salve his conscience.” She looked away, feeling her face heat. “If there is a child, however, I may be forced to change my mind.”

She was shocked at Lord Kensington’s laughter. How could he laugh at a time like this? Clearly she had been just another virgin to be breached for him. Veronica turned on her heel and began to march home purposefully, leaving him behind.

“Veronica! Wait, darling, please. I didn’t mean to upset you.” Lord Kensington ran to catch her, once again stopping her with a firm hand on her arm. “Please, stop, just for a moment. I believe I can relieve your mind, my dear.”

Veronica turned to him and after glaring daggers at him, pointedly looked at the hand on her arm.

“Oh, no, I’m not letting go until I say my piece. I know you now.”

Lord Kensington’s voice was still laced with amusement, and Veronica tried to wrench her arm free in her ire.

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“There, see now? I knew you’d try to get away,” he told her, at the same time grabbing hold of both her hands and holding them behind her back as he pulled her close.

“Please, sweeting, listen to me.” He spoke gently into her hair, and Veronica stopped her struggles. “What we did back there, it wasn’t sex. I mean, it was, but I didn’t take your virginity. You are still intact. I meant what I said, I don’t deflower virgins. Although, by God, you almost made me forget back there.”

Veronica closed her eyes as the tears she’d been holding in tried to leak out.

“Truly?” she whispered, wanting to believe him, and yet somehow sad that he hadn’t made her his. Their time together had been so sweet and exciting. It would have been a good memory.

“Truly,” Lord Kensington whispered, reassuring and defeating her in the same breath.

Suddenly a man’s voice called out in the night. “Michael?”

Lord Kensington released her almost as rapidly as he had in the alley, but not soon enough. Veronica turned to see another young man stopped not ten feet away, his head cocked to the side as he regarded them quizzically.

“Is everything all right?” he asked conversationally, walking slowly up to them.

“Everything is fine, Wolf. This is Miss Thomas, Jason and Tony’s niece.”

Veronica startled, and looked at Lord Kensington. “Not yet, my lord, and there are no guarantees. If I was as sure as you, I would hardly have made that appointment this evening.”

Lord Kensington glared at her. “We will not speak of that again. I shall take care of it.”

They both forgot about the other man standing there, observing their conversation with fascination.

“Oh we shan’t?” Veronica responded with a glare of her own. “Which part?” She backed a step farther away from him. “And I no more wish to be compensated by you for the evening than I wish to be your wife.”

“Damn it, Veronica, I’m trying to help,” Lord Kensington growled, his frustration evident.

“Yes, well you’ve helped enough this evening,” she replied with as much disdain as she could. “I don’t think I can stand another lesson from you.”

Just then the other man coughed, but Veronica couldn’t tell if it was to get their attention or conceal a laugh.

“What the hell are you doing here, Wolf?” Lord Kensington barked, rounding on him.

Wolf held up his hands as if in surrender. “Don’t kill the messenger. I was sent to tell you to wake up Miss Thomas and bring her to Jason’s. We can obviously dispense with the first part.”

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Veronica’s heart leapt into her throat. “Has something happened to Aunt Kate?”

she demanded, unconsciously reaching out for Lord Kensington’s hand. Wolf noticed the familiar way in which he took it, pulling her toward him and putting an arm around her shoulders in a comforting gesture.

“No, no, please don’t distress yourself. She’s fine. Everything will be explained when we get there. I’ve brought Jason’s carriage. If we hurry, we can be there soon.” He turned back toward Veronica’s house. “I’m Wolfgang Tarrant, by the way. And you, I presume, are Miss Veronica Thomas?”

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When the carriage pulled to a stop in front of a fashionable townhouse in Mayfair, Veronica hardly noticed. She was intent on finding her aunt. Wolf jumped down from the carriage and lowered the steps, handing her down, and she raced up the steps immediately.

Michael took longer to alight from the carriage. He was dreading seeing Jason and Tony, and telling them what happened. But he had to, he loved and respected them too much not to. He was cursing himself for three kinds of a fool when Wolf grabbed his arm, stopping him from walking toward the door.

“What is it?” Michael asked.

“Surely you’re not planning on going in there looking like that?” Wolf asked sarcastically.

“Like what?” Michael was perplexed and glanced down at his attire. What he saw made him blush and curse. The huge wet spot on the front of his pants left no doubt what had happened.

“From the condition of your buckskins, I can only assume she’s at least a virgin still?” The sarcasm still present in Wolf’s tone couldn’t hide his concern.

“Yes, damn it, she’s still a virgin.” Michael tugged his arm free and began walking toward the door again.

“Are you mad?” Wolf stepped quickly to intercept him. “You can’t go in there like that. Jason’s already in a murderous rage, this will certainly push him over the edge.”

Michael refused to look at Wolf. The shame he felt at what he’d done to Veronica was burning a hole in his chest. “I have to tell them, Wolf. It’s the right thing to do.”

“Bloody hell, it’s the right thing to do! If she’s still a virgin, no harm, no foul. Let it lie, Michael.”

Michael turned a cold eye on him. “Jealous, Wolf?” He cringed at the stricken look on the other man’s face.

“I’m sorry, Wolf, that was uncalled for.”

“Michael, please, just let it be.”

He turned away. “I can’t.”

When the footman opened the door, Veronica didn’t wait to be announced, and she didn’t need directions. She could hear raised voices, and ran in the general direction of them until she saw a large group of people in one of the drawing rooms.

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She burst through the doors and took in the scene immediately. The room was filled with men. Jason and Tony were arguing across the room, and everyone seemed to be talking at once. There was no sign of her aunt, but Kitty Markham was sitting on the settee with a cloth to her face. A gentleman came over and removed it, and Veronica saw the swollen purple bruise along the right side of her face. Her eye was partially swollen shut. Without thought Veronica grabbed a large vase sitting near the door and advanced on the man standing over Kitty.

“You bastard,” she snarled as she started to bring it down on his head.

Talk stopped immediately as Jason and Tony both yelled, “Stop!” but she ignored them. The man cowered before her covering his head, but the blow never came.

Someone behind Veronica lifted her off her feet and plucked the vase from her hands.