Her hands quickly undid the buttons on his jacket, and then his shirt, and spread the fabric wide. Her fingers curled into his chest hair. He loved it when she did that and loved even more the feel of her nails running along his skin.
He lifted her by the waist and carried her to the chaise, then juggled her in his arms until she was curled against his chest, his erection pressed into her bottom.
He kept his hands on her waist as she freed his cock and groaned when she rubbed the entire length of him in her essence. She positioned him against her entrance and caught his lips in a kiss while sliding down his length in one long, languid movement, until she was seated fully. He was so aroused from their activities and watching her undress that he nearly spent himself in that moment.
Then she pressed her lips to his, squeezed herself around him, and he was lost.
He threw his head back as an orgasm rocked through him. “My God, woman, you will be the death of me.”
“There is much still to learn,” she said as she lifted herself off his lap. She turned her head around the room before stopping her gaze at his neckcloth.
He splayed his hand over his throat. “Absolutely not.” He reached into his jacket and removed a folded square of fabric. A handkerchief. She accepted it and gently cleaned the result of their exertions away.
Before he realized what she was doing, she had gently tied one of her garter ribbons into a bow around the base of his shaft.
“What is this?” he asked, amused. “It is a remarkable specimen, but a gift?”
“It will be our secret,” Olivia said. “Send me the chains when you wish me to wear them and wear my token in return.”
His body flushed with heat and as she slipped her chemise back on, the ribbon chafed. He adjusted himself, and she shot him a sultry look.
His cock twitched again. She knew what the ribbon was doing to him.
He wanted to bend her over right there and take her again. He stuck his hand into his pocket and let the chain run through his fingers. It would be a challenge not to send it to her immediately, but he preferred to draw out their pleasure through anticipation.
He removed the ribbon, warm from the heat of his body, and folded it into his pocket with the chain.
If he were to do as she bid, it would have to be at a ball where he was not expected to dance. Knowing what she was wearing beneath her gown would be too much of a distraction for him to take any other woman into his arms.
##
When Thel returned to the ballroom with Olivia on his arm, it was to find Constance in the refreshment room on the arm of a black-haired man wearing a star-studded cape and a crescent moon mask. He leaned close to Constance and whispered something in her ear that made her erupt into giggles and bump into the table, spilling lemonade onto the floor.
The night had barely begun, and his daughter was already drunk.
“Who is that man?” Olivia asked.
“Not Mr. Ringwell,” he said. “Where the hell did that boy get off to?”
He had trusted Mr. Ringwell to stay by Constance’s side. He would not have left them alone if he had suspected the boy had not been committed to his task.
Constance spotted them and clutched the arm of her companion. “F-Father. I was looking for you. This is—”
“Allow me,” the unknown man interrupted. He swished his cape and bowed. “John Dawson.”
The chatter of the surrounding crowd shushed to a dull hum threaded through with a high-pitched whine. So, this was the man who had crept into his daughter’s life and disrupted his plans for her future.
“It is a pleasure to meet you,” Olivia said tightly.
“Indeed.” A muscle in Mr. Dawson’s cheek pulsed. “I am surprised to see you here, Lady Allen, given what is being said about you.”
She clenched Thel’s arm. “I was never one to let rumors spoil my fun. We have arranged to attend several events in the coming days to ensure Constance is properly introduced to society.”
“Ah, but…” Dawson flicked his gaze to Constance, then to Thel, then back to Olivia. “Constance does not require introductions.”
The unsaid wordsif we are to marryhung between them like dust floating in the air, visible but unremarked upon. Thel imagined planting his fist into Dawson’s face. He would wrap his hands around the man’s neck until the smug smile vanished from his face.
“Perhaps you might advise me, Mr. Dawson,” Olivia said loudly. “Constance mentioned you are to inherit your father’s rail company. As it happens, I am looking to invest.”
