The dark carriage was filled with the soft slurps of her mouth, his low groans, and her muffled whimpers. He could feel the carriage slowing and knew they were coming close to their destination.
One hand closed over her breast, squeezing almost harshly while the other pulled her down, holding her in place as his ecstasy crested.
“Swallow.” The word came out as a harsh order. “Drink me down, Mary.”
Pleasure erupted, and he jerked, gritting his teeth against the shout of climax. Hot liquid spurted as Mary’s mouth worked, pulling at his cock and swallowing his offering. She sucked, increasing his pleasure, and he emptied himself between her lips just as the carriage rolled to a stop.
Replete, satisfied, and feeling much calmer, Rex smiled down at her, using his hand to lift her head. Light stole in through the window of the carriage, and he could see her swollen lips, slightly parted, with a milky drop of seed adorning them. Scooping it up with one finger, he popped it into her mouth. Staring up at him, her expression was dazed.
“Up now, petal,” he murmured, helping her to the bench seat across from him, then quickly putting himself to rights. Mary did not need much, although strands of her hair had escaped the arrangement, and her skirts were somewhat rumpled. Mentally, Rex shrugged. It hardly mattered now, which was why the Viscountess had allowed him to whisk Mary off without a chaperone.
“What… what about me?” Her eyes were wide, pleading.
Rex took great delight in letting his smile grow, and leaning forward, he gently kissed her soft lips before pulling away.
“Naughty girls have to wait.”
Opening the carriage door, he climbed out before turning to assist her descent. If looks could kill, he would be dead before the engagement was officially announced.
Chapter 14
Mary
If waiting for her uncle, cousin, and betrothed to hash out the details of their marriage contract was irritating under normal circumstances, underthesecircumstances, it was downright torturous. Her aunt’s carriage had pulled up right behind Rex’s, meaning Mary had not been able to castigate him properly after he had left her aching and wanting, the taste of him still lingering on her tongue.
The bastard.
As punishments went, it was a good one, though she did not like to admit it. The spanking had been hard enough to keep her bottom tingling, her lower body was still throbbing, and the breast he’d tormented felt swollen and achy. Thomas had looked extremely disapproving when he caught sight of them, Arabella almost gleeful, and Aunt Elizabeth had rushed in to speak with Uncle Henry. The gentlemen had promptly departed to her uncle’s study to make arrangements, which she would not be privy to until they needed her signature.
Now, she was sitting with her aunt and Arabella, discussing wedding plans and doing her best not to squirm from both impatience and physical discomfort. Thankfully, Aunt Elizabeth seemed too distracted to notice Mary’s lack of composure.
“You will certainly need a new dress. It will need to be something grand… but also made quickly.” Aunt Elizabeth paced back and forth in front of the couch, where Arabella and Mary were sitting.
“Not so quickly, at least a month for the banns, and…” Mary started to argue, her voice trailing off when Aunt Elizabeth’s dark eyes pinned her in place. Her aunt raised her eyebrows.
“Yes, quickly. Despite Hartford’s quick action, the gossip is going to be fierce until you two are wed. Besides, with a rake, it is always better to have the wedding as soon as possible before, ah,complicationsarise.” The delicate phrasing made Mary blush when she realized what her aunt was insinuating.
“He did not… we have not…” The hot blush rising in her cheeks gave her away. While she was still not entirely compromised, her package was significantly more rumpled than it had been before the carriage ride here. Besides, she knew in the eyes of theton, being found kissing Hartford in the conservatory during a ball was enough to thoroughly ruin her. With his pursuit of her already acknowledged, the salacious tidbit would have every gossipmonger sure Hartford had made his claim.
To be truthful, hadn’t he?
“What actually occurred is not as important as what is perceived to have occurred,” Aunt Elizabeth said, confirming Mary’s thoughts. She eyed Mary, pausing in her repeated journey across the carpet. “If you truly do not want to marry him, this is the time to say so. It will be difficult, but the family will stand by you.”
“Of course, we will,” Arabella said firmly before her voice dropped to a mutter. “Although I think plenty has probably occurred already.”
That point was impossible to argue. Mary had put herself in this position. She had gone to his house for the masquerade, had thrown herself at him in the conservatory, and while she had done both things in service to her country, she had no excuse for her behavior at the end of the masquerade or during the carriage ride home from the ball. No justification… other than her own desires.
She did desire him. Even now, she ached for him. But could—would—desire lead to love? The answer to that question was very much undetermined.
Besides, she could not possibly expose her family to such scandal. Mary loved her aunt, uncle, and cousins far too much to force them to weather an unnecessary storm. Society would not be kind, and they would be tainted by association, even more so if they championed rather than repudiated her. To return the love and care they had heaped on her the past two years with such a burden would be unconscionable, even if she loathed Rex.
“No.” She shook her head, lifting her chin stubbornly. “This may not have been the schedule I would have chosen for our courtship, but I have no major objections to the outcome.”
“Good, good.” Aunt Elizabeth did her best to hide her relief. Mary silently vowed not to cause any more trouble for her poor aunt. “I will go get the fashion plates.” Giving Mary a bright smile, Aunt Elizabeth swanned out of the room.
Arabella scooted closer on the couch, and when Mary met her eyes, she was startled to see an almost avaricious expression on Arabella’s face. It was not malicious, but her cousin’s wife loved secrets and scandal.
“What happened in the carriage?” Arabella’s question was more of a demand, and Mary hesitated. There was no reason to think Arabella would share her secrets out of turn, but she did not know how much she wanted to confide in the other woman. Her jaw dropped open at Arabella’s next question, though. “Did he spank you?”