The Earl's Secret Bargain Read online

  She studied him to determine if he was telling her the truth or not and finally decided he was. The realization pleased her. She hadn’t thought any of the gentlemen chose to go without a dalliance of some sort before marriage, and it was nice to know he had.

  She remained quiet as he rinsed her hair before washing it with soap. Then he rinsed it off again. He took his time in combing her hair, careful as he worked through her tangles. It was a very soothing action, and she found herself relaxing more and more with each passing minute.

  “Thank you,” she finally said.

  “All I’m doing is combing your hair.”

  “I know, but it’s the way you’re doing it. You’re being tender.” She cleared her throat. “You were tender when you cleaned the wound on my arm, too.”

  “Oh,” he replied, sounding a bit shy.

  This was the same gentleman she saw standing in the drawing room of her parents’ townhouse, practicing different ways to ask her if she was going to attend Lord Toplyn’s ball. He’d been unsure of himself, questioning what he was saying and how he was saying it. She’d found it so endearing. Since finding out about the wager, she thought he’d only been practicing what to say because he wanted to make sure she didn’t spend much time with Lord Pennella. But maybe it’d been as she first thought, that he had sincerely cared about her.

  He had no reason to pretend to be someone he wasn’t now that he was married to her. He didn’t have to tend to her wound and wash her up, but he was choosing to do that. And in none of his movements did he indicate that he planned to take her to bed.

  When he was done with her hair, he cleared his throat and stood up. “I’ll tell your lady’s maid to come in to help you get dressed for dinner.”

  “You’re leaving?”

  He stopped halfway to the door and turned toward her. “I wanted to make sure you were all right and help you get that mud out of your hair. I figure you can do the rest yourself, and your lady’s maid knows how to help you with your clothes.”

  Noting the way he shifted from one foot to the other, she offered him a reassuring smile. “Well, I can’t wash my back, and I’d rather not have my lady’s maid do it for me.”

  He hesitated, as if he didn’t understand her meaning.

  Realizing he needed a little more encouragement, she picked up the soap and held it out to him, sitting up straighter so her legs were no longer hiding her breasts. As she expected, his gaze went to them. Blushing, he quickly brought his eyes back up.

  “You want me to wash your back?” he asked, the same uncertain expression on his face that he’d had before she found out about the wager.

  “If you don’t mind?”

  “No, I don’t mind,” he softly replied.

  He walked back over to her, took the soap, and knelt behind her. She pulled her hair over her shoulder. She chanced a glance at him and saw the same gentleman she’d fallen in love with. This was the gentleman who’d made her feel as if what she thought mattered. The others had been so preoccupied with themselves, more concerned about what they could get from her instead of learning about who she was. But Toby had been different. He’d taken an interest in her. Maybe it hadn’t been an act. Maybe he had been sincere the whole time.

  He washed her back, and it took her a moment to realize his hands were trembling. It was subtle but still noticeable.

  “You have no need to be afraid,” she said. “I won’t bite.”

  He let out an uneasy chuckle. “I didn’t say I thought you would.”

  “No, but I can see that you’re not comfortable around me.” She cleared her throat. “I want you here.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.”

  “Well, I…I suppose not.”

  As he continued washing her back, she ventured, “Can I ask you something?”

  “Of course.”

  “I want you to tell me the truth.”

  He didn’t answer right away but finally said, “I’ve been telling you the truth ever since you found out about the wager in the Tittletattle. I’ll do the same now.”

  She nodded. “Did you care for me those times when you came to visit?”

  “Yes,” he whispered. “From the first time I danced with you, I cared about you.”

  “Really?”

  “Really.” He leaned forward and kissed her shoulder, and this time when she shivered, it was from the thrill of having his lips touch her skin. “I was impressed by your wit.”

  “Wit? All I did was complain about everyone attending the ball.”

  He laughed. “I know, but it was an honest observation.” He continued washing her back and added, “I was just as guilty as everyone else. You were probably the only honest person in the entire place.”

  She turned around as much as the tub would let her so she could get a good look at him. “You liked me from the first time we met?”

  “I did. Out of all the ladies there, I saw something in you I didn’t see with anyone else. I saw a future. I didn’t plan for it, but as soon as I realized the possibility was there, I wanted to spend more time with you. I couldn’t do that while pretending to be interested in someone else for the sake of the wager.” He reached for her hand and brought it to his lips. “I’m sorry. Orlando said I should’ve been honest with you from the beginning, but I was afraid if I was, you wouldn’t want to have anything to do with me.”

  “You were right. I wouldn’t. But then, I wouldn’t be here now.”

  His eyes met hers, and since he didn’t seem to understand her meaning, she cupped the back of his neck and pulled him toward her so she could kiss him.

  She thought he might hesitate to kiss her again since there was that hint of uncertainty in his reaction to her kiss. But then he relaxed, slipped his arms around her, and brought his lips back to hers. The kiss was just as exciting as the others they’d shared. Before her Season, she had assumed kissing would be pleasant enough, but she had no idea it could make her tingle from the top of her head straight down to the tips of her toes.

  His tongue traced her lower lip, and she parted her mouth to accept him. Up to now, this was about as far as they’d gone, with the exception of him touching her breasts, of course. But she knew this time, they would go even further than that. Maybe it was a wager that led him to her, but it wasn’t what connected them. Her feelings had, indeed, been reciprocated all along.

  When the kiss ended, he pulled away from her, not seeming to mind the fact that most of his shirt was wet. Picking up the soap, he worked up a good lather and said, “I thought since you started a bath, you should finish it.” He gestured to her arm. “How are you doing?”

  She examined it and saw that the bleeding had stopped. “I’m fine. I’m surprised there was so much blood to begin with.”

  “You must’ve hit the rocks and tree branches just right, so it looked worse than it was.” He ran his soapy hand down her arm. “What were you doing at the stream anyway?”

  “Enjoying the day. I thought it was a pretty place when you showed it to me. And,” she cleared her throat, “I was curious about dipping my bare feet into the water.”

  Eyebrow raised, he glanced at her. “You were?”

  She nodded.

  “Why didn’t you do that when I was with you?”

  “Because it seemed silly at the time. But then I thought that there had to be some appeal to it if you liked it.”

  “Next time I’ll go with you, so we can do it together. And,” he added as he traced one of her legs with the bar of soap, “I’ll hold you so you don’t slip.”

  She chuckled. “Given my grace, I’ll need the help.”

  He grinned. “You have grace. I saw you dance. You handled yourself very well on the dance floor.”

  “Only because my mother insisted I attend endless lessons.”

  “Her persistence paid off.” He lifted her leg so he could wash her foot. “Is your leg sore?”

  “Not at the
moment.” In fact, at the moment, every inch of her felt wonderful. When she came to the room, she was aware of how many bruises she had acquired from her slip in the stream. But right now, nothing hurt. Not even the wound on her arm. “I think the warm water helps.” That, and the way he was touching her, but she didn’t have enough nerve to say it.

  “Good. I’ll ask Cook to prepare you a tea to help ease your muscles. Maybe that will help for later.”

  Though she nodded again, she became aware of the way he was now rubbing her other foot. Who knew such a simple thing could be so arousing?

  His soapy hand traced the length of her other leg, and she noticed the closer he got to the inside of her thigh, the slower he went. At first, she thought it was to further excite her, but there was a cautious expression on his face. He probably wanted to touch her between her legs but wasn’t sure he had her permission.

  Her heartbeat picking up, she took his hand and brought it to her most secret place. The contact made her tender flesh ache, a curious thing since she couldn’t recall ever having such an ache there before. She shifted, hoping he would continue washing her there. And he did, careful as he brushed the bar of soap over her sensitive flesh. She let out a slight moan. She hadn’t meant to vocalize her enjoyment of what he was doing, but it slipped out before she could stop it.

  “Am I hurting you?” he asked.

  She couldn’t help but notice that while he directed his question to her, his gaze remained focused on where his hand was. He was leaning in the tub, water sloshing around him, but he didn’t seem to notice it. In fact, he didn’t seem to be aware of anything but her, and that sent another thrill straight through her.

  He finally glanced up at her. “Regina?” he whispered. “Did I hurt you?”

  She shook her head. “You didn’t hurt me. It felt,” her face grew warm, “rather pleasant.”

  His concerned expression became one of intrigue as he touched her again, this time without the bar of soap hindering him from exploring her with his fingers. His touch was light at first, but before long, he grew bolder, outlining the folds of her flesh, leaving no part of her untended to. She sighed in contentment and leaned back in the tub. Raising her hips to encourage him to continue, she was rewarded for her efforts when he slid a finger into her.

  “Is that all right?” he asked.

  She murmured that it was and shifted so that he was deeper inside her.

  This time he was the one who moaned. “You feel good.”

  She might have paid more attention to the undeniable trace of arousal in his voice if she hadn’t been so preoccupied by the mounting ache between her legs. And as he continued his exploration, she became aware of the parts of her that felt wonderful when he touched them.

  Placing her hand over his, she guided his thumb over her sensitive nub and brought another one of his fingers into her. Then she proceeded to join him in his exploration, trying different techniques until she found the one that made her lose all semblance of control.

  Her mother would be horrified if she saw her like this, rocking her hips with wild abandon so that water spilled out of the tub. But her mother wasn’t here, and since Toby didn’t mind it, she gave herself completely to the moment. Once Toby had established the rhythm she liked best, she let go of his hand and gripped the edges of the tub so she could better raise her hips to bring him deeper into her.

  He continued stroking her, his fingers teasing the part deep in her while his thumb rubbed her nub. And when she came to the point where she was barely aware of her moans and the way she begged him to keep going, she thought there was no better sensation she’d ever experienced in her entire life. Then before long, she climaxed. Crying out, she stilled and absorbed every part of the moment that she could. She’d never felt anything so incredible. Truly, she had no idea her body was capable of this kind of pleasure. But now that she did, she had every intention of enjoying this again. Many times, in fact.

  When the waves of pleasure subsided, her body relaxed, humming with satisfaction. “That was wonderful,” she whispered, out of breath.

  “Yes, it was,” he softly replied then lowered his head so he was kissing the top of her head.

  His fingers were still nestled deep inside her, lightly stroking her, something that continued to prolong the lingering effects of her orgasm. She shivered in pleasure and cupped his face in her hands. Lifting her head, she brought his mouth to hers and kissed him. He moaned and deepened the kiss, and soon his tongue was sparring with hers. There was no denying the intensity of his passion. He needed his release, and since he’d given her pleasure, she wanted to do the same for him.

  “Take me to the bed,” she murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck.

  As much as she missed the absence of his fingers when he pulled them out of her, she was eager to make love to him, to find out what it would be like to be filled with him. He carried her to the bed, and after he gently set her down, he removed his wet clothes. She took note of his broad, flat chest with a spattering of dark hair on it. Then her gaze lowered to his hands as he took off his breeches and drawers.

  She’d been curious about the part of him that seemed to strain against his breeches when they had shared their passionate embrace at Lord Toplyn’s. And now that she got to see that part of him, she found the differences between them fascinating. Maybe she should have been afraid of it, or at least a little intimidated since it was so different from anything she had, but she wasn’t. Despite her curiosity, however, she couldn’t bring herself to touch it. Not this time anyway. Maybe next time.

  Toby joined her on the bed, settling between her legs, and he was soon kissing her again. He didn’t enter her right away as she assumed he planned to do since she was very much aware that his penis was pressed against her entrance. But instead, he continued kissing her, the passion in his kisses making the ache between her legs return. She wrapped her legs around his waist and found that when she rubbed intimately against him, it brought back the same pleasure she had experienced in the tub.

  With a moan, he reached down between them and guided himself into her. There was a momentary sting as he pressed all the way inside, and he stopped kissing her so he could look at her.

  “Should I keep going?” he asked, his voice strained.

  She shifted her hips so the discomfort wasn’t so noticeable. “Yes,” she whispered and moved so that he went deeper into her. She relaxed. That didn’t feel bad at all now. “Make love to me, Toby.”

  Returning his mouth to hers, he did as she wished. Before long, he was moving in and out of her with ease, and she found herself, once again, pulled back into the wonderful place where all she could think about was the pressure building up in her core. Breathless, she ended the kiss and moaned. He murmured her name as he increased the momentum of his thrusting. She reached her peak again, this one not as intense as the one in the tub but just as enjoyable. He stilled and joined her, his body taut, letting out a cry of pleasure as he throbbed inside her, filling her with his seed.

  Afterwards, he settled into her arms, his breathing ragged as he kissed her cheek. “Regina,” he murmured then kissed her lips. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” she softly admitted. She probably loved him from the moment she met him but hadn’t realized it until now.

  Raising his upper body on his elbows, he studied her face. “Do you?”

  A smile tugged at her lips. “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.”

  “I wouldn’t have either.”

  “I believe you.”

  He smiled in return then kissed her again, this one much more gentle, but just as intoxicating. She could get used to this.

  Soon, he was cupping her breasts in his hands and teasing her nipples with his tongue in a way that made her want to take him back inside her.

  “You keep doing that, and we’ll never get out of bed,” she warned with a giggle.

  He lifted his head and shot her a hopeful smile. “We won’t?”r />
  “And the water in the tub will get cold, and we’ll have to call up for more hot water.”

  He glanced back at the tub and snickered. “There’s not much water left in there. I’m sure refilling the tub won’t be a problem.”

  “But toweling up all the water on the floor will be.”

  With a shrug, he brushed her nipple with his thumb, making her shudder in anticipation of what was going to happen next. “I don’t mind a little work. I’ll clean it up.”

  “Well, you are responsible for the mess.”

  He flicked her nipple with his tongue, and she let out a soft groan. “I’m also responsible for messing up the sheets, but something tells me I’ll live through it. Besides, I’m not done yet.”

  As he brought his mouth back to her breast, she sighed. “Good.”

  And soon he was making love to her again.

  Chapter TwentyTwo

  Two weeks later, Toby took Regina to the stream, and this time he didn’t wear his knit footed drawers, so when he took his boots off, his feet were bare.

  “Come on in,” Toby encouraged, surprised that she hesitated. “I’ll make sure you don’t fall in.”

  “I feel silly,” Regina replied as she glanced at the stream.

  “You shouldn’t. There’s no one here but us. I told you, it’s a secluded spot.”

  “Yes,” she slowly acknowledged but didn’t budge from where she stood.

  Amused, he held his hand out to her. “Then why are you waiting? I thought you wanted to do this.”

  “I do.” After a moment, she nodded and picked up her skirt, showing her bare legs, which had healed nicely since she’d taken her tumble. She accepted his hand. “All right. I think I’m ready.”

  He led her down a small pathway and into the water. The cool water washed over his feet and up past his ankles. She gripped his hand when she almost slipped on a rock. Letting go of her skirt, she wrapped her arms around him, and he chuckled and held her to his side. “I certainly don’t mind this.”

  He kissed the top of her head, and he meant to stop there. But having her in his arms made his mind think of other, more intimate things, and soon he was kissing her cheek and working his way down her neck.