Page 58 of A Scandalous Love for the Enticing Duke
The week that followed that fateful day in the Birmingham household came with a lot of activities. Everyone had been assigned one duty or the other, to help with preparations for the wedding. All of the persons who had been saddled with responsibilities worked hard to ensure that their part was well taken care of. All of this was in a bid to see that the double wedding happened without a hitch. Victoria, relieved by the forgiveness she had received from her daughters after their intense discussion, orchestrated it all, as the greatest planner of all time. Anyone who watched her closely could see differences in her demeanour towards people and things. She smiled warmly, spoke kindly, and walked with a spring to her steps. Williams was glad to see these changes in his wife, being the first to have noticed. His daughters were happy, his wife was slowly becoming a better person, his life could not get any better, he declared. The girls were thrilled and walked as their mother, with a spring to their steps. All day, secret knowing smiles remained on their lips and dreamy sighs escaped once every other hour. Whenever they were seen together, they spoke in hushed voices and loud giggles. It was the harmonious sound of love, and it was blissfully pleasing to the ears.
The girls had been banned from seeing their fiancés before the wedding day, but that did not stop them from having their secret rendezvous. All three suitors formed a friendship that had them sharing tricks and secret escapades. This new friendship also had the three men climbing up the wall of the Birmingham town house into open windows, in the still of the night. Anyone who saw them would only surmise that they were fools. Such deductions would not be wrong for indeed, they were fools. Fools for love.
Benjamin was the first to drop into his open window. He landed so flawlessly, softly, ever so light on his feet that his lady heard nothing. He met her by her vanity, combing her hair as the light from the gas lamp illuminated a soft glow on her face. She had her eyes closed, her head bent slightly to her left, as she combed through the red locks which seemed to go on forever. His breath hitched in his chest. Oh, but she was beautiful. Ever since he accepted that this was more than lust, more than attraction, she managed to take his breath away every damned time he laid his eyes on her. His witch, she had him bewitched, and he had no hope for redemption, neither did he desire one. If he be doomed by this spell, then so be it.
He swallowed, pushing down the lump that had suddenly settled in his throats. Then, he made the mistake of staring at her bare neck in the mirror, and his throat promptly went dry. He should have halted his wandering gaze at that moment, he knew. However, a man who was under a spell as he was, had no control over his senses. So his eyes wandered until they caught her creamy bosom and a cleavage that disappeared inside a neckline that was too low for a man’s sanity. His blood began to heat up, and slowly, it found its way down south, filling his manhood, causing a discomfort in his loins.
Have some control, Benjamin, he chided himself. Do not stand here like a creep, ogling a woman who is unaware of your presence. He cleared his throat softly and posed, ready to hold her in case she screamed in shock and fear – women. With the lowest voice he could muster, he spoke, alerting her of his presence.
“A vain woman by the vanity. How fitting.”
She startled, and her eyes immediately flew open. However, there was no scream for she instantly recognised him. She stood up at once and spun so that she faced him.
“Benjamin! What are you doing here?” Her eyes darted to the door which was still firmly locked, and she returned them to him.
“What on earth! You gave me a fright! How did you manage to get into my chambers? What is it you are doing here by this hour of the night for that matter?”
He barely heard the words that she spoke. His senses were too busy getting mesmerised by her glowing embers, the sound of her lovely voice in the hush of nightfall. His manhood was too occupied with getting excited by the rise and fall of her breast as she panted in a bid to recover from her fright. His eyes could not stop themselves from roaming over every inch of her beautiful body which was gloriously evident in her translucent nightdress. He suddenly felt something hard hit his fingers, and he yelped in pain.
“Ouch!” he searched for the weapon of assault and saw the comb that was still in her hands.
“What was that for?”
“To restore your shame and senses back to you. You best answer my questions and control your roaming eyes like any gentleman would.”
He smirked at this and stepped closer. “I have never led you to believe that I am a gentleman, Isabelle. And the only man who would keep his eyes off such perfection would have to be blind or a eunuch. Why do my roaming eyes affect you so? Does it drive you wild to know the pleasure your body causes me?”
“I think you climbed up my window. Are you certain you did not fall and hit your head as you attempted the first climb? It must have left you delusional. What are you doing here, Witherspoon?”
Again, he had been too lost watching her lips move, and he had barely been able to hear any words.Oh lord. Those lips. Pink, ripe. He wondered how they would taste. He wondered how they would feel wrapped around his head. They would be a perfect fit. An image flashed through his mind’s eye at that moment. Isabelle, kneeling, her red flames falling to one side as she wrapped that hot damp mouth around his … bloody hell! There was only so much a man could bear. Without giving it a thought, he grabbed her head, pulled her to him, and crashed his lips against hers.
She froze against him, and he pulled her closer. He angled her head to provide better access to her mouth. Her scent filled his nostrils. There was that damned rose oil he always smelled on her. There was also lemon and alabaster. It consumed him, fuelling his blood, his loins. He bit her lower lips, and she gasped in shock. Taking the advantage, he plunged his tongue into her mouth, colliding with hers. His lips pulled hers, sucked, and nibbled, as their tongues engaged in a violent waltz. The body that had stood like a brick statue now pressed against him, proving that she was no statue. Soft, feminine curves gummed against his body. Her bosom pressed to his chest as her hands encircled his neck to get lost in his hair. He could not breathe, but he did not need that. He could survive on the sweet nectar she gave him. She tasted heavenly, sweeter than anything he had ever tasted, more exotic than the best of wine. He could get drunk on her taste, he knew. She whimpered as his hand found its way to her buttocks to palm and give a squeeze. The sound, coupled with what her tongue was doing to him, set him ablaze with fire, and a low growl emanated from his throat.
She could kiss. She was no naiveté in the mouth dance. She kissed like one who was learned in the act. He knew without a doubt that he was not her first kiss. That did not matter, as long as he was her first and only lover, and by God, he would be. He only would teach her the pleasure that came with lying with a man. He was going to marry her. She only did not know it yet. They began to walk, even as their mouths never left each other, and he followed her lead, willing to go wherever she led him, hopefully to her bed.
He withdrew his tongue to lavish her lips with attention. He caught her lower lips between his teeth and drew. She moaned, and his bulge grew, occupying all the space in his trousers.Her hands left his hair to cup his face and draw his lips closer. With an impatient moan, she pried his mouth open and dived in with her tongue. As she discovered the hidden corners of his oral cavity, he occupied himself with mapping out her body with his hand. From her buttocks, he moved to her thighs, and lingered inches away from her feminine centre, which he knew would be damp from her desire for him. He smelled it in the air, and it drove him wild. A sorceress. It was what she was.
He had planned to go about this in a noble manner. However, at the pace they were going, he did not think he would be able to bring himself to stop. Already, his balls ached from fullness. Apparently, this wasn’t his decision to make for she abruptly tore her mouth away and pushed him as she did.
He was about to ask what was happening when he realised they were now at her window. Now, he understood. She stared back at him, her eyes hazed, yet twinkled with mischief. Her lips were curved in a smirk, though they looked swollen from being properly kissed. Her hands were folded at her waist. He had been had, he knew this. Unable to help himself, he chuckled. One thing was certain – life with her would never be uninteresting.
She shot up her brow in question, and he did the same. She nodded at the window, and he widened his eyes, feigning ignorance. She knew the game he played, for she chuckled, and he knew he wanted to have these moments with her forever.
“Scramble away, Witherspoon. Go down the way you came. I hope you hit your head again and have your senses returned back to their appropriate places. You do not get to steal into my chambers and steal a kiss. I’m not one of those women who will melt into a puddle at your feet.”
“Ahh … I do not doubt that for a second, sorceress. Alas, you win this round. So long, until we meet again.” He tipped an imaginary hat her way, and before she would have the last word, he climbed out the window and began his descent.
He felt her eyes on him as he climbed down. As soon as he dropped, he looked up, and true to his expectation, he saw no one, but a flash of pink muslin.
Happiness brimmed within him as he shook his head. “I’ll be back, Isabelle,” he muttered to the wind, then turned around to walk away. He had to deal with his blue balls, anyway.
_
For Benjamin’s dearest friend, Nicholas, it was an entirely different case. The scholar had been warmly received by his love, and after bringing her the pleasure he had brought her the last time he had visited her chambers in this manner, they laid snuggled in each other’s arms, as they discussed the littlest things to the biggest things.
“You really think we would make each other happy, Nicholas?”
He smiled as he lowered his head to taste from her sweet lips. The kiss was tender, passionate, soft, and it sent shivers down his spine.
