Chapter9
Aurora stood in an upstairs chamber on Conduit Street the next day, astonished by the changes that had been made overnight. Gone were the dust covers over furniture, the dusty floors, too, had been swept and the bed had been freshly made by the look of it. The light streamed through the windows, casting a delicate warmth over her.
And him.
Her toes curled in her slippers as Sullivan kissed a path down her throat. His breath was so warm against her skin that she was already aroused. He’d been kissing her since she’d first walked through the door downstairs, half an hour ago, and he seemed incapable of stopping.
“You’ve been busy,” she whispered.
“My valet helped, though he chafed a bit at the chore of improving a room in a house that does not belong to me as yet.”
Sullivan was so warm against her, she felt the urge to purr like a cat as she rubbed her body ever closer to his. “Are you going to buy the place?”
Sullivan hands roamed to her waist, then crept up higher, toward her breasts, his breath churning. But he did not touch them, merely teased his thumbs ever closer. “Should I? We could meet here again tomorrow.”
Aurora looped her arms about his waist, and then she let them slip a little toward his rear. Tomorrow was a long way away. “It’s not my place to say you should. But…”
“But?”
“As an investment, it is not far from Bond Street, which a woman of the house would appreciate. But it is farther from Hyde Park where you always ride, and where the ton gather to show off for the fashionable hour.” She met his gaze, noting the blue in his eyes had brightened. Lust did that to him. “Do those things matter enough to make it a bad investment?”
His fingers dug into her hair, the pins spilling to the floor at their feet as he took it down without asking. “Not really. It is hard to come by a place like this for sale without everyone knowing about it, though. Everything else is wrapped up in ninety-nine year leases.”
Aurora sighed as he ran his fingers through her long hair, twisting it behind her head and letting it fall down her back. “Then you’ve already made your decision to buy it, I think.”
He pressed his head against hers. “If you thought it a bad idea, I would listen.”
She grimaced that he continued to speak as if her opinion really mattered in the long run. She was his lover now. A temporary arrangement between them, even though he kept trying to bind her to his life. Aurora would have him now, enjoy this unexpected affair, and then give him over to another lady’s pleasure soon. But she didn’t want to think of that now. She just wanted to enjoy being with him. Being her true self.
Aurora slid her hands up his chest, rising up on her toes to claim his lips. She gave herself over to passion, allowed herself this selfish moment with the earl. She knew he wanted more from her, but she couldn’t give him the forever he wanted.
There was just this moment to share.
There was no reason to be shy about why she was here. He must know her character wasn’t as pristine as that of other spinsters by now, especially after yesterday. She was not here to help him make a match anymore. Her intentions toward him were more carnal.
The earl seemed to need nothing more from her by way of words at the moment, and he kissed her back as if he was starved.
Aurora looked beyond him at the neat square bedchamber facing Conduit Street. It was a pretty room. The bedding had been turned back, revealing crisp white linens, and it looked comfortable indeed to spend the afternoon in. She looked forward to lying there upon the bed with the earl over her, having his most immediate needs met.
Sullivan kissed her throat before wrapping her in his arms and lifting her feet from the floor. “I want to hold you for a while,” he whispered.
Sullivan was deliciously solid around her, but Aurora shook her head. “That wasn’t what I came for, and you know it. Stop trying to be a gentleman.”
She knew the signs of a man on the edge of control. He hadn’t climaxed with her yesterday, and until he did, she couldn’t be satisfied with anything less.
“All right. If you insist. I need you on that bed, and now,” he told her.
Aurora shivered in excitement at his demanding tone.
But he lowered her to the ground and lifted her chin to stare into her eyes. “It’s natural to feel fear,” he whispered.
She returned his stare steadily. “Is there a reason to fear you?”
“No.” He looked a little lost for words for a moment. “I promise you will never have one, either. But continuing and increasing intimacy with me might be unsettling at first.”
Dear God, he thought she was an innocent still. She closed her eyes, embarrassed momentarily that she wasn’t, for his sake. But it was a passing feeling. She’d had years to accept she wasn’t like the proper young women of the ton. The women he’d considered courting before. “I’m not afraid.”
“Good.”