Promising Virgin Read online

  He was such a very good-looking man. He was tall, which made him easy to find in a crowded ballroom. And her gaze did follow him at every party she attended. His shoulders were broad and his arms and legs muscular. Being bedded by him was a very appealing thought that made her insides tremble with joy and anticipation.

  Marrying an earl would be a real feather in her cap, and she would be one of the highest ranked ladies wherever she went. She was not so meek and mild that she wouldn’t enjoy taking precedence over several young ladies who had snubbed her because she was only the daughter of a baronet.

  No matter how angry she’d been at the earl’s arrogant proposal—if it could even be called a proposal. It was more like an order to a servant!—she did like him. He was interested in her conversation and they’d had some enjoyable discourses on a wide range of topics. His speech was elegant and witty and his manners—apart from that one occasion—impeccable.

  The major hurdle was, could she trust him? If he did ask for her hand again—and that was a big if—would he turn crass and rude and ignore her after they were married? Would he leave her in his castle in Scotland and spend all his time in the arms and beds of other ladies in Town? She wanted to share her husband’s life. To be by his side, helping him in any way she could. She wasn’t inexperienced at holding balls and parties. She’d helped Georgina and Grandmama plan all manner of events, and she loved the whole process. Writing invitation cards and designing menus, arranging flowers, sorting out seating plans for dinners—none of these tasks was less than enjoyable for her.

  And with the earl, she was certain the marriage bed would also give her great pleasure. Her heart beat faster when he looked at her. Her most secret inner places clenched when he held her in a waltz. But would he just use her to get an heir, then ignore her? Even being left in Scotland while he was in Town would be better than to be ignored and rejected at balls and routs they both attended.

  That day he’d been so very different from the man she thought she knew. The man she’d grown to love during the Season. The man who was the reason she’d rejected so many other suitors. Had he finally displayed who he really was that day he asked Simeon for her hand in marriage? A cold, arrogant, rude, managing dictator? Or was that the aberration? Was he really the man who was interested in her life and a wise, witty, caring, helpful companion? How could she discover which was the real man?

  The emotional half of her wanted to throw herself into his arms and beg him to marry her. The thinking side of her said to stay away. That she was much better off without him and should focus her thoughts on some of the other, younger men who would be more than happy to offer for her. Men who worshipped her and were grateful for any little attention she paid them.

  But somehow she knew she could never be happy with a man who let her keep him in leading strings. It was decided. She’d let the earl talk with her and weigh up his actions and words. Of course, having come to this decision so laboriously, mayhap she’d find he’d already left Kingsdene and returned to Town by the time she came downstairs. Well, so be it.

  ****

  The earl had not left. He was standing with his back to the fire talking with Simeon and Amos when she descended to the morning room in time for nuncheon.

  Amos grinned at her. “I’m taking Joel and Micah back to Eton early tomorrow morning. I expect the servants will be filled with joy as soon as our carriage departs.”

  “They’ll breathe easier at the very least. What about you? Are you planning to return to Oxford yourself and stay there long enough to attend any of your classes this time? I doubt your fellow students would even recognize you, you’re so seldom there,” answered Sapphira.

  Amos grabbed his chest dramatically and staggered backward. “Ah cruel. I’m wounded nigh unto death!”

  “Not wounded enough to study for your examinations though,” said Simeon. Then he turned to Sapphira. “Amos and I have decided that he might as well come down and help me with the management of the finances and the estates. Father’s agents are all becoming old and it’s time Amos took over some of their tasks.”

  Sapphira nodded.

  The earl asked, “And what of Miss Deborah? She is the most acute child I’ve ever met.”

  “Georgina and Barnabas are returning Deborah to her school on their way back to Town.” He pulled out his fob watch. “It’s almost noon. I must meet the children in my book room. I doubt that whipping the boys will improve their behavior. They act from intelligence, curiosity, and lack of direction, rather than from wicked intent. Still, it must be done. They must learn to think of the consequences before they act.”

  Sapphira watched him leave then said thoughtfully, “It’s a pity Deborah wasn’t born in the time of Queen Elizabeth. The Queen would have appreciated her abilities and Deborah would have helped her rule the world.”

  “So you approve of a woman on the throne, Miss Sapphira?” asked the earl.

  “One doesn’t get to choose, does one? A person is born to it as they are to an earldom, a baronetcy, or a landless peasant. But there have certainly been women more than capable of ruling a country. Not just Queen Elizabeth, but also Eleanor of Aquitaine and others.”

  “Oh yes. Boudica and Joan of Arc,” added Amos.

  “I could certainly see Miss Deborah leading her knights into battle,” added the earl, as they walked into the breakfast room and sat at the table.

  Sapphira was hungry and ready for nuncheon, but more than that she enjoyed the easy conversation between her brother, herself, and the earl, loving their quick repartee and witty remarks.

  But is this the real him?

  She wasn’t sure whether she was glad or sorry when the remainder of their house guests arrived to join them for the meal.

  ****

  Anne was wearing one of her new bedgowns. The pale-green muslin was so sheer it was almost transparent. It tied with two ribands on her shoulders and exposed a lot of her bosom. She was certain Simeon would like it even though seeing herself in the looking glass had made her blush from her head to her toes. The dark hair covering her privates was quite visible through the bedgown. She almost felt she should put her hands there to hide it, but he’d requested her to get some bedgowns like this so it must be what he wanted. Even though it was bordering on indecent.

  Well, the things they did in bed at night were extremely indecent, so mayhap to wear such a gown was the right thing to do. She gave a little smile. Tomorrow the last of the house guests would be leaving Kingsdene and the children were returning to school. Simeon, the Dowager, Sapphira, and herself would return to Town, and Amos would join them there to complete the Season after he’d collected all his possessions from his rooms at Oxford. Not that he’d spent much time in Oxford lately. It seemed reading history had not interested him very much. She hoped he was more interested in estate management because Simeon would really appreciate his help.

  Simeon tapped lightly on her door and walked in. He was so very handsome. His sunburned face and tanned forearms spoke of his hours out on the farm and his muscular body paid tribute to the fact he worked as hard as his tenants. A pale skin might be what society valued, but to her the fact that he was clearly involved with his land and his people was much more attractive than society’s approved skin color could ever be.

  He genuinely cared for his people and knew everyone by name. He knew about their crops, their herds, and their worries and concerns. He helped them dig ditches, repair fences, and harvest their crops. He visited them when they were ill or injured, not just leaving that to his womenfolk. He was a completely involved land owner, and to Anne, that made him truly a man to be proud of.

  And right now he was looking at her with lust in his eyes and a long, narrow, carved wooden box in his hands. The stone phallus! He’d shown it to her a few evenings before and promised to use it on her soon.

  Her cunny wept with honey at the thought of such an item inside her. It was big, but no bigger than his own cock. But surely he’d want to penetra
te her himself as well as use the dildo on her?

  “I want to use the stone phallus tonight. May I?”

  “Oh yes. But what about you? How will you achieve your pleasure?”

  “I’ve had some thoughts about that too.” He placed a small vial of oil and the carved wooden box on the table beside the bed. Very deliberately he removed his robe, his slippers, then his breeches. He wasn’t wearing a shirt. “I like your new bed gown. Stand up and let me look at you properly.”

  She stood up from her chair and moved several steps toward him, letting the gown flow freely around her ankles so he could see her body through its almost sheer fabric. She watched his face and saw his gaze grow even hotter, and his eyelids droop lower over his eyes. When she stopped before him, he licked his lips and she saw his chest rising and falling very fast with his breaths. Her gaze dropped to his cock. Oh yes, he liked her new bedgown.

  He gulped, then tugged her into his arms, pressing his lips to hers and gluing his body to hers from chest to knee. His manhood was hot, huge, and hard through the thin fabric. His hands on her shoulder and back were no less heated.

  “My beautiful wife, I love you,” he whispered, before dropping his mouth to her breast and sucking her nipple through the muslin. That was almost more arousing than his mouth directly on her skin. It seemed—decadent, naughty somehow—as if he were doing something forbidden. The very thought made more honey wet her inner thighs.

  Carefully he untied the ribands holding the gown on her shoulders, then he kissed his way down her skin as the garment slid off her body. His mouth trailed from her shoulder, over her breast, down to her belly, stopping to lick her bellybutton before reaching her secret place. He tongued her nubbin, making her shiver with happiness, then drove his tongue deep inside her cunny, lapping up her honey.

  “Oh, Anne, you’re so ready for me. Truly I’m blessed to have you.” He swung her up into his arms and laid her on the bed, then kneeled beside her and opened the box. He drew out the dildo and ran it over her skin, circling it around her breasts, sliding it under the globes, then around her nipples. The stone was not cold, but not warm like his cock either. Finally, when she was once again shivering with need, he gradually pushed it inside her, then teased her by pulling it out and putting it in again.

  She felt pleasantly full and stretched with it inside her and enjoyed the way he watched her face as he pulled it out and pressed it in. Having his gaze on her cunny and her face was very thrilling. His eyes ate her up as if she were his favorite meal.

  He crawled closer to her and lifted her legs up over his shoulders, sliding her ass onto his thighs. Then, with his gaze holding hers, he began running a finger around her anus. He’d put his fingers in there before and it had heightened her arousal exponentially. “Oh yes. I like that,” she whispered.

  “I want to take you there tonight. With the dildo in your pussy and my cock in your rear, you will fly higher than ever before,” he promised.

  “But doesn’t the church forbid it?”

  He grinned. “It’s not a conversation I’ve had with Barnabas, you understand. But I do know many men use it as a method to prevent pregnancy when they’re unwilling to forgo the pleasures of the flesh. For that reason it’s possible the church frowned on it in years gone by.”

  “In that case, you will simply need to be sure to spill your seed inside me next time then,” she said.

  “Oh I think I can arrange that.” He wiggled the dildo inside her, dragging it gently along the walls of her channel. She hissed with pleasure at his tactic and wished she could reach his manhood to tease him in return.

  Simeon began playing with her anus in a more purposeful way, letting his fingers drift in and out of the hole, massaging the rim of tight muscles, always keeping at least one finger inside her as the other hand moved to tweak her nipple, wiggle the dildo, or gently stroke her skin.

  Her hands fisted in the bedding, grabbing it tightly as the heat and pleasure built inside her. Soon her body was writhing with urgency and she had to bite her lips so she wouldn’t beg him to enter her.

  Reaching over to the little table, he picked up the vial of oil, dripped it onto his cock, and rubbed it around the head and down the shaft. Then he put more on his fingers as he pushed three digits inside her and oiled the entry to her rear.

  She could tell he was forcing himself to go slowly. Sweat beaded his brow and glistened on his shoulders. “I’m ready. Enter me. Take me.”

  “Oh my love, I want this to be very good for you,” he said, as he placed his cock at her rear entry. He pushed a little, but had done well in preparing her for himself. Although it burned a bit as he first entered, the burn was a good feeling, one that enhanced the wickedness of this joining together.

  Once his cock head was inside her, the rest of him slid easily down her passage, until she could feel his balls against her skin. He leaned forward and kissed her, then began moving the dildo in and out of her cunny, sliding it right and left. Then he’d hold her hips and make similar maneuvers with his manhood in her ass.

  Now he was leaning over her, at last she could grip his arms and hang on, raising herself into his strokes, accepting him a fraction deeper by wiggling hard against him.

  He began to thrust into her, slowly at first then faster. She felt so very full, the stone phallus was not as big as him, but it did stretch her pussy and fill her. Then with him in her rear she was full beyond imagining, possessed in front and behind. Her body tingled all over from the power of his taking her like this.

  “So good,” she said softly.

  “You look so beautiful like this. Your face all flushed with desire, your body pink with the heat of our coming together. Inside, you’re so hot, so tight. You grip me so perfectly.”

  He pressed into her faster now, his hips driving against her, their flesh slapping together, the room redolent of the scent of man and woman. The need inside her was bursting to be released. The pleasure was so good it was almost too much.

  Simeon leaned forward and withdrew the phallus, then pushed it inside her as deep as it would go as he thrust deep into her himself.

  The heat in her belly burst, flaring out along her arms and legs, up her spine, out the top of her head. Her entire body shook uncontrollably and her honey poured from her. She felt another explosion of heat inside her and knew Simeon had reached his peak too. He drove into her a few more times, but she was shaking so hard she couldn’t think. All she could do was feel and enjoy.

  Finally the shaking slowed and stopped. Carefully Simeon pulled out of her and removed the phallus, dropping it on the little table by the bed. He tugged the blanket up and over them, and held her hard against him.

  “Good?” he asked, nuzzling her hair.

  “Very.”

  She lay limply in his arms for the longest time, then slowly slid her hands over his taut ass. All the work he did on the land kept his muscles in mighty fine working order. Seldom did she have the opportunity to lie and touch him like this.

  He made no comment as she stroked his lower back and cupped his ass cheeks. The muscles there were as hard as the ones in his arms and legs and she loved smoothing her palm over them and feeling the leashed power in him.

  He pushed one of his legs between her two legs, and she rested her damp pussy on his thigh as she played with his ass. With his legs apart now, his rosette tempted her. She loved having his fingers there so mayhap he…

  Tentatively she pressed the tip of her finger to his anus and lightly ran it all around the rim. His cock quivered against her leg. Smiling to herself she pressed the finger just the tiniest way inside and his cock grew longer. Thus encouraged she teased and played there more until she had two fingers inside him, twisting and turning rubbing his walls, loosening the muscles until her fingers entered easily.

  His cock was now weeping against her leg, so she stopped all pretence of playing and said, “Roll over onto your front so I can play with you.”

  “I need to kneel so I can fi
st my cock.”

  “Can I use the phallus on you?”

  “I don’t…I’ve never thought…Why not? But oil it thoroughly and go slowly.”

  “I just watched you. I believe I can handle this.”

  She used the oil liberally over the stone phallus, then gently and slowly pressed it against his anus. At first she was frightened of hurting him, but she only had to push firmly and it slipped easily inside. Then the games began. She twirled it around. She pushed it and pulled it out, moving slow, then fast, then slow again. She waggled it from side to side and noted that in one position he gasped, so made sure to angle it just like that several more times.

  Simeon gasped and moaned and sweat poured down his back, so Anne sped up her work, thrusting in deep, then pressing to the side a little on each withdrawal.

  He was balanced on his knees and one forearm, the other hand tugging on his cock. Suddenly his seed spurted from him, coating his belly and his hand as he came.

  Hastily she withdrew the dildo and pushed him onto his back. While his cock was still spurting, she sat over him, sliding her body over his, taking him deep inside her so she could feel the heat of his seed in her. He pinched her nipples, first one, then the other, his other hand on her nubbin, teasing, pinching, stroking. Seeing him like this, touching him like this, was so exciting for her, and very soon she too was reaching her pleasure, her cunny clenching on his cock as she came. Deliberately she tightened her inner muscles, holding his cock inside her as her inner walls convulsed.

  Then, exhausted, she dropped flat on top of him. “Oh my,” was all she could say.

  “Oh my, indeed.”

  Chapter Four

  Zethan was determined to speak to Sapphira, to apologize to her. He supposed he’d need to apologize to Simeon too. He wasn’t sure which was worse, admitting he’d made an utter cake of himself, or admitting he wanted her so desperately he’d do almost anything to win her hand.