distant over the past month or so. When I tried to confront him about it, he became furious and told me to never speak about it again. Then last week at a society benefit, I overheard a rumor that a man matching Edmund’s description had been seen all about White Chapel taking up with ladies of the night. I even caught the scent of another woman’s perfume on his collar,” her voice waivered. “I suppose it’s entirely my fault because I wanted to remain celibate until our wedding day, but...”
She leaned back against a wall and looked down at her shoes, before John lifted her delicate chin. There were tears in her eyes, and she was on the brink of crying. Kelly was enamored by her beauty, even in sadness; he didn’t even think before saying the next words that came out of his lips.
“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about Miss Addison. You’re a beautiful and virtuous woman. Edmund Stride is a foolish man. If I had a fiancée as wonderful as you, you would never have to look far to find me. I would always be right by your side.”
Kelly’s compliment caught Addison off guard and her breath caught in her throat. Her cheeks flushed , and for a moment she stood completely still, looking up at him with her bright doe eyes. Then she cupped her hand around Kelly’s head, tightened her fingers in his brown tousled hair, and pulled him in for a deep, passionate kiss.
Kelly was surprised by the gesture, but only que stioned it for a fleeting second. He dreamt of this moment since he had first laid eyes on her. Addison’s pink lips were soft and sweet, and Kelly felt a wave of heat come over him as she gently massaged his tongue with hers. He waited for the moment when she would come to her senses and pull away—they had only just met and she was engaged to another man-- but it never came. Addison kept pulling him in for more, moaning in unspeakable yearning; and when she finally collapsed into his body, Kelly felt her heave her breasts into his chest. John lost one of his hands in the curls of her gorgeous blonde hair, while he ran the other down her firm backside.
“I want you to make love to me John,” she said when their lips broke away. “You’re so handsome and kind, I want to give myself to you in every way.” She kissed him again, with wet, passionate furry. “Please take me upstairs.”
John felt his erection growing as Addison expressed her deepest yearning, but he couldn’t help think about the ungodly timing. Everything was happening so fast. The girl he had barely known yet made love to only hours before was murdered by an unknown hand, and here the only girl who had ever truly caught his eye was begging him not only to satisfy her, but to take away her virginity.
Nothing made sense, but Kelly’s mounting desire to know every inch of Addison Wilkes’s exquisite body was strong enough to cloud his proper judgment. He had had one taste of carnal bliss, and he was hungry for more.
As he stood there, contemplating fucking Edmund Stride’s perfect fiancée, Kelly began to realize that there were extenuating circumstances in which he and Edmund Stride weren’t so different after all.
Addison grabbed Kelly’s hand and pulled him through a small doorway in the alley. They climbed up a twisted flight of stairs to the second floor, although John was having a hard time keeping his hands off of her. Addison opened a door and pulled Kelly into a barren apartment. The only sign of life was a bed with white, rumpled linens, and a small desk messed with papers in the corner.
“ Is this where you live?” Kelly asked.
“Not exactly ,” Addison answered, kissing Kelly on the mouth before she lay down in the stranger’s bed. She looked up at John with a temptress’s eyes, filled with desire, and whispered, “Have your way with me John Kelly.”
John removed his shirt and jacket, and stood before her for a moment. She arched her back and curled her body, anticipating his touch. Kelly lowered
Honoré de Balzac, Charlotte Mandell