The secrecy and mystery, that sting of jealousy, the uncertainty of their rendezvous, all had served to keep alive the excitement of their affair through the years that they had known each other.
He took the stairs two at a time, his valet trailing after him, and went to his room. It did not take him long to clean up, and even though Carson was meticulous to the point of irritation about his ascot being tied just so, he was also nimble-fingered about it, and so, several minutes before midnight, he was once again impeccably dressed and groomed. He sent Carson off to bed and settled down before his fire to wait, pouring himself a small snifter of brandy.
He had a good deal of time to wait. It was almost one oclock before there was the soft scrape of a shoe outside in the hall and the door to his room opened. Devin rose to his feet as a woman slipped inside. She closed the door behind her and turned to him, reaching up slowly to push the hood back from her face. As many times as it had happened this way, his pulse still beat a little faster. Leona looked at him, a faint smile hovering about her lips.
She was aptly named, Devin had always thought, with her tawny golden hair, rounded, sherry-gold eyes, and lioness spirit. Leona was a wild creature, barely tamed by the rules and strictures of English society. She paid them lip service and nothing more, in private going her own way.
Devin had met her when he was eighteen and first came to London from his fathers estate. The world had opened up to him then, the sophistication of the city replacing the stultifying life he had known at Darkwater. Instead of his fathers prayers and moralizing, there had been gambling and boon companions and late nights spent in clubs and taverns. Instead of daily lessons, there had been hours of time to do with as he wanted. And instead of boring country misses, there had beenLeona.
He first saw her at a ball at Lady Atwaters. She had been wearing a dress made of gold tissue that clung to her every curve, and her skin had gleamed in the candlelight, her eyes reflecting the glitter of her dress. He had wanted her with a rush of lust he had never before experienced. She had played him like the green lad that he was. Looking back on it, Devin could see that, but, these years removed, the fact that she had done so only amused him. He had stumbled all over himself, trying to get her into his bed, but she had teased and eluded him for over a year, rejecting him until he was on the verge of giving up, then subtly sparking his desire into flame again with a look, an accidental brush of her bosom against his arm, a quick kiss in the garden.
His pursuit of the married Lady Vesey had been a scandal, of courseone of the many scandalous things he had done in Town that brought down his disapproving fathers wrath, driving an ever-widening wedge between the two of them. But he had not cared for scandal. Most of the things he enjoyed in life, he found, were a scandal. As Leona had pointed out to him, he and she were not like other people.
Hello, Dev, Leona said in her distinctive, throaty voice.
Leona. Devin strolled over to her, his eyes roaming over her face and down her throat to her chest, where the full globes of her breasts swelled up over the neckline of her dress. Leona, like some of the other wild set of ladies, often dampened her thin dresses, so that they clung to her voluptuous body more tightly. Tonight he could see the dark circles of her nipples through the thin material of her virginally white muslin dress, and his loins tightened in response. Trust Leona to dress like a maiden making her debut, yet somehow manage to look like a wanton.
He bent and brushed his lips against hers. You are looking lovely tonight.
It amazed him sometimes how well she had kept her looks. He did not know the hours and expense that were put into creams and cosmetics and hennas. Nor had he realized that in the past two or three years, he had almost never seen Leona in full daylight, their times together kept to evenings lit by softening candlelight.
He cupped his hand beneath her breast and trailed his thumb across her nipple, so that it hardened and pointed. Did you wear this to a party?
Yes. Nearly caused a riot at Lady Blanchettes soireeor at least one would think so, from the freezing way she talked to me. But the men all seemed to enjoy it.
I am sure they did. He chuckled, and his hands dropped to her waist, pulling her to him for a kiss. He winced slightly as their lips touched, and Leona drew back.
She looked up into his face, her eyes going to his lip. What happened? Does it hurt?
He shrugged. Some men jumped me, but I got away. It bled a little, but its all right.
Leonas eyes darkened seductively, and she went up on tiptoe until her lips were only a breath away from his. I never minded a little taste of blood, she murmured, and her tongue flicked out to run across his lips.
He pulled her hard against him and buried his mouth in hers. After a long, thorough kiss, he released her. Leona leaned back, looking seductively up into his face. Mmm. I have a surprise for you tonight, she purred.
His loins tightened. Do you? Leonas surprises were always sensual delights, worth the teasing she usually insisted upon before revealing them. A pleasant one, I hope.
Most pleasant. She smiled, walking her fingers down his chest. She hooked her hand in the waistband of his trousers, then pushed him away from her. But first, I think, a bit of brandy would be in order.
Of course. He had learned to enjoy Leonas cat-and-mouse games, enjoying the mounting pleasure and anticipation, even the frustration, knowing that it would lead to intense pleasure. He turned away easily and poured her a glass of brandy.
She took the snifter from him and gestured to him to sit down in the chair. He did so, and she took a seat on his lap, turning sideways. She sipped at her drink, then set it aside. She began to play idly with the buttons of his shirt, undoing them slowly one by one and slipping her hands in between the edges of his shirt.
I heard about your American heiress, she said after a moment, tweaking one of his nipples.
What? I dont have an heiress, American or otherwise.
I heard differently. It was all the talk at Lady Blanchettes. The daughter of a clothier, I believe.
He deals in furs. Devin smiled. Jealous, my love?
Me? Jealous of a fur traders daughter? Leona asked scornfully. Hardly. Interested, more like. Does she really want to marry you?
According to my mother, the father is panting for it. Wants to get his hands on an earls estate. Devin picked up Leonas discarded drink from the small table beside the chair and drank from it. They are, apparently, swimming in money. They could save Darkwater.
Oh, Darkwater. Leona dismissed the estate with a wave of her hand. They could save us.
Save us? Devin looked at her, a trifle taken aback by her words.
Yes. From financial ruin. Leona stretched, arching her back so that her breasts thrust even more boldly against the sheer material of her dress. Then she slipped her hand inside Devins shirt and let her hand roam freely over his chest as she talked. Vesey says he refuses to pay any more of my gambling debts. He says Croesus himself could not keep up with my spending habits. Her fingers settled on his nipple, caressing and squeezing it, circling it teasingly. I reminded him that I scarcely married him for his charming manner. He was to supply the funds, and I would provide the veil for his, uh, true sexual proclivities. But he said that no amount of behavior on his part could possibly be worth the amount of money I waste.