Matthew's Mask [Lords of Hawksfell Manor 3] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) (12 page)

“Lord Eyrdale, I presume,” he said.

“So you see. And call me Patrick, please.”

“Then you must call me Matthew.”

Patrick smiled. “Thomas said you look just like Gabriel.”

“Thomas?”

“Mr. Grantley to you. I suppose I’ll have to wait until midnight to see for myself.”

“Yes, the unmasking. I’m afraid you’ll have to wait longer than that, for I plan to be about my own games come midnight.”

Patrick laughed. “Spoken like a true Hawk.”

Matthew let that slide. A lovely lady came up beside Patrick, wearing a gown of burgundy that showed off her shapely figure. Amber eyes peered at him through her matching mask.

“Hello, Lord Lindhurst,” she said.

“Hello.” He looked toward Patrick.

“Allow me to introduce you to my wife, Mary. Mary, this is Viscount Lindhurst, the newest Hawk.”

She inclined her head. So this was the former maid who caught a Hawk? She seemed fresh and sweet, and it was little wonder that he’d let himself be captured. Grantley joined the pair then, a smile on his face unlike any Matthew had seen there before. He almost looked comfortable.

“Hello, Mr. Grantley,” Matthew said.

“Hello, my lord. I hear you brought a guest tonight?”

Matthew suspected there was little Grantley didn’t know about the household, including the identity of his guest. “Yes. A girl I met in the village.”

He saw the excitement on Mary’s face despite her mask. He suspected then that she was the one who provided the incredible gown Posy wore tonight.

“Let us go find some refreshments, Thomas?” she asked Grantley.

“Of course.” Grantley took her hand, and they left Patrick and Matthew relatively alone.

“Congratulations on your recent nuptials,” Matthew said.

“I’m deuced happy, Matthew. Never thought I could be, before I came here. Have you found similar happiness within these walls?”

Matthew eyed this Hawk he barely knew and shrugged. “Happiness? That remains to be seen.”

Patrick nodded. “Just don’t act the fool like I did.”

With that cryptic statement he left Matthew as well. The number finished, and as William was bringing Posy back over to him they were waylaid by Mary. It was obvious the two women knew each other very well. They embraced and bent their heads together as they quietly conversed. William left them and joined Matthew.

“Mary is her best friend,” he said in explanation.

Matthew felt a trill of alarm. Would Posy expect to catch what Mary had? No, there wasn’t an artificial bone in her luscious body. She had no designs on him, other than using him for her pleasure and William’s.

“Patrick married a maid,” he said in a low voice.

“Yes,” William answered. “They seem very happy.”

“Marriage can be that way, I suppose. My brother’s certainly is.”

William nodded. “There are any number of barriers to certain marriages though, my lord.”

“Back to that, are we?” Matthew teased.

“Only here.” William leaned closer. “I promise to call you Matthew when we’re fucking Posy together.”

Matthew barked out a laugh. He couldn’t help it. It drew the attention of the other guests, so he waved William away. Posy rejoined him, and the happiness shining in her eyes made something twist in his heart.

“Having a good time?” he asked her.

She bit her lip and nodded vigorously. Another number started, and he didn’t wait. He took her hand and led her out onto the dance floor.

He held her close as the music played, smelling her wildflower scent and feeling the heat of her body through her satin gown. They could talk out here, as no one would pick up their conversation.

“I loved seeing you dancing with William.”

“William is a lovely dancer,” she marveled, her voice low. “I never knew that.”

“As are you, too. So graceful and lithe.” He turned her, bringing his mouth to her ear. “I should have expected that, though. Your body is a marvel everywhere else. Why not on the dance floor?”

“Matthew,” she softly admonished.

He grinned down at her. “We have to get out of the ballroom before midnight, love.”

She blinked up at him. “Why?”

“There will be an unmasking at midnight.”

“Oh, that would never do!”

He nodded. “After supper we’ll find a way to sneak out and meet up in my room.”

“Then we shall play?” she teased.

His beast began to stir, and he growled at her. “Minx. We’ll play, all right.”

She stroked his cheek, her satin glove cool against his skin. “I want to do more than play, Matthew.”

He felt that shift again, and it felt right tonight. Maybe it was the mask, maybe it was the fact they were interacting like equals tonight. Either way, he wanted to do more than play, too. With both her and William.

“What do you want, Posy? A future?”

He saw hope flare in her eyes, and then she flashed that cheeky grin. “Oh, I know better than to hope for what I can never have. I’m not Mary, you know.”

“What do you mean by that?”

She glanced over at Patrick and his new wife where they stood talking with Grantley. Mary was poised and lovely, but so was Posy. She was beautiful, but so was Posy. She was loved by her men, but so was…

He stopped so suddenly she bumped into him. “I’m sorry.” He smiled down at her. “I’ll play more than games with you, love. Please know that.”

She looked from him to where William stood on the fringes of the dance floor. Her eyes held such longing, and he recognized it as an expression she’d turned on him more than once. Did she care for him like she did William?

She tilted a smile up at him. “Then midnight can’t come soon enough.”

Chapter 12

By the time supper was concluded Posy could barely contain her excitement. Being in Matthew’s arms, being treated like a lady by William, was amazing. Seeing Mary had been the delight she’d expected. Her friend looked so happy, and her men were so in love with her. It was something she didn’t dare hope for, but a girl could dream on a night like this, couldn’t she?

Matthew gave her a wink and a pinch, and she knew she had to somehow make her way to his room. It wouldn’t be easy to slip away as the other guests had been watching her closely from the moment the earl officially welcomed Matthew as his brother. No doubt they wondered at the girl who managed to catch the eye of the newest Hawk. At least it detracted attention from William.

More than one woman in attendance had eyed him like a treat in his fine clothes and dashing figure. She’d overheard ladies speculating over his identity in the corners of the ballroom as they awaited the next dance. Neither he nor Matthew had danced with anyone else but her, though. It was a heady feeling, to be wanted by two such men.

She slowly made her way through the crowd, but as she neared the stairs, she saw Lily sipping from a glass. She appeared a little drunk, so when she waved at Posy, she suspected the lady’s maid had no idea who she was. She hurried now, flying up the stairs to Matthew’s room at the end of second floor of the great house. She let herself in and collapsed against the door with a fit of nervous giggles.

“Was someone chasing you?” William asked.

She glanced over to find William wearing only his trousers and his mask. She wondered if he realized he still wore it.

She shook her head. “No. I ran into Lily, but thankfully she was drunk.”

William laughed. “I saw her take her first sip as the party started. I guess she must not have paced herself.”

She stepped out of her shoes and began to remove her borrowed gown. “Mary was a dear to lend this to me.”

“You look incredible, Posy. Do you know that?”

“Thank you,” she said.

The door opened behind her and Matthew stepped in. “I thought I’d never get away in time.” He loosened his tie and shrugged out of his jacket. “I was afraid you’d start without me.”

Posy giggled then covered her mouth. “I’m sorry. And I didn’t have anything to drink.”

“Oh, you mean Lady Hawksfell’s lady’s maid?” Matthew removed his shirt, revealing a chest and shoulders as impressive as William’s. “She made cow eyes at me tonight.”

“Me, too!” William said. “And before I’d even dressed for the ball.”

“What?” Posy set her gown down and placed her hands on her hips. “She approached you? When?”

“Before, Posy.” He waved a hand. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It bloody well does matter,” she said. “To flirt with an unknown gentleman is one thing, and I can’t put that past her. But to throw herself at one of my men? I won’t stand for it.”

Matthew and William shared a smile.

“We’re your men, are we?” Matthew asked.

Her cheeks grew hot behind her mask. “Well, I don’t mean that you belong to me or anything.”

“But we want to,” William said.

He removed his trousers, and it was clear that one part of him wanted to belong to her. His cock was rigid and thick, and her mouth and pussy both grew hungry.

She pulled at the laces at the front of her corset, but the strings tangled. “Oh, help me with this.”

Matthew stepped in front of her and loosened the corset, easing his fingers inside to tease her nipples. She shivered and grabbed on to his wrists. “Let the games begin?”

He gave her a carnal smile and removed her corset. She now wore only her mask and stockings. They were Mary’s, and they were trimmed with cunning, little, blue bows.

“I like these,” Matthew said, trailing his fingers over her legs to tug on the ribbons. “A pretty package, wouldn’t you say so, William?”

“Indeed.”

Matthew unfastened his trousers and freed his cock. He stroked it with a low growl. “I’ve been half hard all night for you, love.”

“Me, too,” William put in.

She didn’t know what would happen tomorrow, but she knew what she wanted tonight. She wanted William and Matthew to love her until she forgot the longing she’d felt when she saw Mary so happy with her men.

Matthew kissed her, their masks rubbing against each other as she opened her mouth to him. He grabbed her bare bottom and brought her hard against his cock. He teased her with it, pulsing against her belly as he pressed her up against his chest. Her nipples ached, and her pussy wept.

He pulled his mouth away from her and let out a whistle as he had out by the carriage house. “William, are you ready?”

“More than,” William said.

He grabbed her, and Matthew went rummaging through the dresser drawer for something. Before she could see what he had in his hand, William pressed her into the mattress. His mouth was wild on her breasts, his tongue and teeth nipping and licking as he made his way to her pussy.

“I’ve been dying for a taste of you since that evening in this room.” He kissed her inner thigh, and she trembled. “Sweet, sweet Posy.”

She heard it in his voice, a note that sounded like love. But then his mouth was on her, sucking and licking as he moaned his delight. Two fingers stroked her, deep and relentless, as the mattress dipped. Matthew was suddenly above her, an expression she’d never seen before in his dark eyes.

“More than just games, Posy,” he said. He kissed her then began to lick her nipple. He suckled her, hard and fast, as William continued to eat her. She came in the next moment, the pressure too much to bear.

“She’s wet and ready now,” William said, panting as he sat back on his heels. “We have to both take her.”

She leaned up on her elbows. “Both?” she whispered.

Matthew grinned down at her. “Do you trust us?”

She did. With her heart, she wasn’t so sure. But she did trust them with her body. “Yes.”

Matthew nodded to William, who grabbed her and held her close. “I can’t wait to love you as Matthew will. Next time I’ll be the one in your luscious bottom.”

His words made her tremble. He settled on the bed with her straddling his thighs. She was still on fire from what he’d done with his mouth, and the friction on his hard thighs drove her mad. His cock was rigid before her, and she wriggled closer until her pussy was up against its length.

“God, you’re scalding hot,” William said.

Matthew was suddenly behind her, pinching and teasing her breasts as William flicked his tongue over one nipple.

“You’ll enjoy this, love,” Matthew said. His hands stole to cup her bottom now. “I promise you.”

She nodded, closing her eyes as she readied for whatever he would do to her with his randy Hawk cock. His finger teased her hole, and she gasped.

“Easy,” he said. “I have cream.”

“So that’s what you took from the dresser,” she said.

He made a sound of assent and slipped a finger into her hole. The cream made his entry smooth, but she wondered about what would happen when his cock slid inside. William kept up his torture, teasing her pussy with his cock as he sucked at her nipples. Their bodies were slick now, sliding deliciously against each other. Before she was aware, she felt the head of Matthew’s cock at her bottom.