Three Times the Scandal by Madelynne Ellis Read Free Book Online Page A

abandoned her the moment the deed was done, leaving Sir Hector as her only suitor.
    Dovecote paused on the first landing, so she could steady her rattling teacup. He rested his back against the burnt orange walls. “You look as if you’re expecting to be devoured.”
    “ Am I?”
    Fire flared within his eyes, and he moved swiftly forward. Fortuna squealed in fright and jerked away, causing the teacup to leap from the saucer. It tumbled down the stairs and smashed across the mosaic tiles.
    “ Oh! I’m sorry.” She lifted her skirts as if to follow.
    Dovecote pried the saucer from her grasp and chucked it after the cup.
    Fortuna stared up at him in shock, straight into his jade-green eyes.
    “ It’s no use without the cup.” His thumb brushed slowly across her parted lips, moistening them. “Do you want me to, Fortuna, or is it just what you expect?”
    Yes, yes, she did, and she didn’t. Her nipples were already two stiff spokes rubbing against the stifling barrier of her stays. She longed to feel his touch, yet feared the rejection that would surely follow. Eyes downcast, she refused to answer.
    “ I gave you my protection, so I’ll only do what you ask. So, tell me, what it is you desire?”
    She wanted his kisses to rain down upon her face, wanted to feel passion and love. Have him lift her breasts free and press his lips to them, roll her nipples hard between his fingers and thumbs. She wriggled at the thought, unable to suppress the urge to deliver a touch of friction to her quim.
    Giles’s pink tongue flicked against his teeth, and suddenly she sobered. He was enjoying this tease, and probably had no intention of delivering upon it. “You’re just like him,” she blurted, roused to sudden anger. What a fool she was to even imagine she was helping herself by coming here.
    Giles quirked an eyebrow. “I hope that by him you don’t mean Sir—.”
    “ Pennerley.” She cut him off.
    “ Ah!” He took a step back from her, and clasped the banister. “And we are speaking of him because?”
    Fortuna blushed furiously, realizing what she’d just admitted. Lord knows what Giles thought of her now. She hardly dared look at him to find out. No doubt he’d thought her chaste and virtuous.
    “ Did you enjoy what he did?” His voice was surprisingly gentle. “I know Pennerley is cruel, but rumour has it, delectable too. Although, I confess I’m surprised to hear you speak of him.”
    Her heart tumbled into her stomach as the memories of Pennerley’s touch flooded her senses. He’d tossed her like a wild storm, only to cast her aside when his pleasure was done. What little intimacy they’d shared had been brief, and fierce. It had made her feel crazy and alive. She’d burned with it, been consumed with the raw newness of it, but for Pennerley, she suspected it had passed as largely unremarkable. His rejection had hurt. It still hurt. It was like a little pocket of pain she carried around, but had no way of emptying out. Would Dovecote really be the same? After he’d spilled his seed, would the sheen on his knight’s armour seem tarnished?
    The next gulp of air she took, stuck like a hard lump in her throat, still she forced the words around it. “I...” She’d enjoyed and hated every minute of it. “Likely, you’ve more experience of him. He’s your friend. I bet you’ve spent numerous evenings in his company watching him engage in all manner of vices.”
    Giles smoothed his thumb over her palm in concentric circles, coaxing trust with the caress, and making her traitorous body sigh. Regardless of the rejection she was anticipating, she wasn’t ready to forgo the intimacy that came first. She’d made the decision to run away with him. She’d see it to the end. Despite Giles’s promises, she hoped this tarnished her reputation; perhaps then Sir Hector would frown at the thought of her. After his speech on the purity of female love, she didn’t think he’d consent to owning soiled goods.
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