Caroline cleared her throat, and Captain Grafton raised his head. It was very late in the evening and both of them were still at their desks. She’d been back at work for almost a week now, and was feeling much improved.
“Yes, Mrs. Harding?”
She lingered by the door, her sudden shyness with him as unexpected as it was unnerving.
“I just wanted you to know that I have almost made up the time I lost on your books when I was unwell.”
“I would expect nothing less of you.”
“And if you wish to take the money you spent on bringing a doctor to see me out of my wages I would quite understand.”
He put down his pen. “Why are you being so pleasant to me?”
“Perhaps because I am grateful for your care?” Caroline offered.
“I don’t need your gratitude.” He looked down at his desk and shuffled his papers.
“Whether you accept it or not, it is still yours.” Caroline pointed out. “It was very kind of you—”
“Stop.” He pushed back his chair and came toward her. “If I’d known you were going to keep up this ridiculous fawning I would’ve left you in the snow.”
“You would not have done that.” She met his glare. “Just because you did something nice for someone once doesn’t mean that your horrible reputation is at risk. I don’t intend to tell anyone that you actually have a kind heart under your unpleasant exterior.”
“I don’t have a kind heart. I’m a deeply selfish man who simply does not relish the impossible task of finding another bookkeeper who also warms my bed!”
Caroline took a quick breath. “Then perhaps I can show you my gratitude in a more physical way.”
He went still, one eyebrow raised. “On your knees, perhaps?”
“If that is what you want.” She held his gaze. “Shall I await you in my bedchamber?”
He nodded, and she went back across the hall, made sure her office was secure, and then into her bedroom locking the exterior door behind her. For the first time, her fingers were steady as she undressed, her thoughts on how it would feel to kneel at his feet and offer him pleasure. Almost dying in the snow had made her think about enjoying the moments more. Denying that she liked him touching her was no longer an option. She would no longer be ashamed of how she felt.
By the time he arrived, she was down to her shift and the stockings he had bought her and left in her drawer. He studied her as he locked the door and came to stand by the bed.
“Take your shift off, leave the silk stockings.”
Holding his gaze, she stripped off her shift and went toward him, her nipples hardening as he stared at them. She dropped to her knees and started on the fastening of his trousers while he unpinned her hair. His cock was already hard, and it kicked against the constraints of his shirt. Leaning in she inhaled the salt sharp smell of his need and licked the bead of liquid already emerging from the crown.
His hand tightened in her hair, but he made no move to dictate her movements, allowing her to push down his trousers and weigh his balls in the palm of one hand as she caressed his shaft with the other. The taste of him, the taste of life intrigued her, made her remember how fleeting pleasure was, and how quickly it disappeared. If he grew tired of her—when he did—she would have these memories of taking him, giving him pleasure, and thanking him to keep with her forever.
“Caroline…” he said hoarsely.
“Mmm.” She swirled her tongue over his crown as it emerged from its covering, enjoying the slickness against her lips and the throb of his need as she sucked him in. She took more, making him groan, her fingers working the rest of his length while she gradually sank down on him and sucked hard in a regular rhythm that made him curse and grow even bigger.
She wished she could take him all, but had no idea how to manage it, contenting herself by using her mouth and hands until he rocked back against her, his fingernails digging into her skull with every roll of his hips.
“Enough.”
At first she resisted his efforts to stop her, but he was stronger than she was. He picked her up and set her on the side of the bed, her back to his front, her stockinged thighs spread wide as he stood behind her. Angling her slightly forward he slid into her from behind, making her gasp, and brought his arm around her hips, anchoring himself deep inside her.
He caught his breath as she wriggled against him, and he spread his fingers across her mound. He slicked through her need until he found her bud and played with it until it swelled and throbbed under the callous pad of his finger.
He nuzzled her ear. “Come for me.”
She gasped his name and did what he commanded, her body clenching around his cock until he thought he’d have to come with her or die. He detached her clinging fingers from the bedcover and brought her hand to her sex.
“Touch yourself.”
“I can’t—”
“You must.” He pressed her fingers against her bud. “Here, play with this show me what you might do when I’m not here to fuck you. Show me what you learned to do when that useless husband of yours denied you pleasure.”
“I didn’t—”
Her breathy moan almost undid him as she gently touched herself. He watched over her shoulder leaning her back against him altering the angle of his cock inside her just so he could see more clearly. While she played, he pinched and rubbed her nipples until she was writhing against him and coming again.
With a growl, he withdrew his cock, climbed up onto the bed, turned her onto her back and sheathed himself once more making her scream and buck. He ground himself against her and she kept coming, each wave more intense than the last until he could no longer stop himself from joining her.
When he eventually rolled off her he was breathing hard. He’d come inside her. He hadn’t wanted to pull out.
“Christ,” He came up on one elbow and looked down at Caroline. She looked flushed and lush, and his cock twitched, wanting to go again. He gently touched her inner thigh and saw the end of the now soaked string where she’d prepared herself. “I’m sorry. I didn’t pull out.”
She stared back at him, a small crease on her forehead. “If it helps, I’m due to bleed tomorrow. Mrs. Bridgewater told me that was the safest time to do things.”
“Things?” He bent and kissed her nipple. “You mean like fucking?”
“Yes, that.” She was blushing now, which considering what she had just done with her mouth was rather amusing.
He eased her thighs apart and cupped her mound. “Then I’ll want you again.” He bent his head to lick her and she quivered against his questing tongue. “I’d like to fall asleep on top of you and in you and wake you up from the inside.”
Her fingers slid into his hair, and he smiled against her thigh. He wasn’t sure exactly why she was willing to want him like this, but he damned well wasn’t going to question something that felt so right.
Caroline attempted to move away from the heavy arm anchoring her waist and checked the time. It was still dark, but the clock showed it was already six in the morning. She needed to be up preparing breakfast and making sure her mother and sisters were ready to meet the demands of the day. None of them were naturally early risers.
Beside her Captain Grafton stirred, flipped onto his back, and started to snore, which made her want to smile. He’d fulfilled his promises of making love to her again twice. She was now rather sore, and there was an all-too familiar ache low in her stomach that probably meant her monthly courses were on their way. She washed herself as best as she could and put on her clothes while admiring the stark beauty of the captain’s naked torso in the dawn light.
She paused at the door to put her slippers on and stared back at the bed. Should she wake him? No one would enter her bedchamber after she had left it, so he shouldn’t be in any danger of discovery. Making the decision to leave him where he was, she exited through her office and walked down the corridor to stoke the fire in the grate and start making breakfast.
To her surprise, her mother was already up and sitting at the table drinking tea.
“Good morning, Caroline.”
“Good morning, Mother.” Caroline patted her somewhat disordered hair. “Is everything all right? It’s not like you to rise early.”
“I am quite well.” Marie studied her carefully. “I assume the man in your bed last night was Captain Grafton.”
Caroline went still. “What makes you say that?”
“Well, look at you.” Marie made a very French gesture. “You’re practically glowing with satisfaction, and there is a bruise on your throat that looks suspiciously like a bite.”
Caroline’s hand immediately flew to her throat. “I—”
“I’m not judging you, my dear.” Her mother’s pragmatic French streak asserted itself at the most inopportune of times. “We all have to make our choices in life, and Captain Grafton is probably a hard man to resist for long.”
“I owed him money.” Caroline sank down onto the chair opposite her mother’s. “That’s how it started.”
“And now?”
She shrugged. “I am not ashamed of sharing his bed.”
Marie reached across the table to take her hand. “He is not the kind of man to… settle.”
“I know that.” Caroline found a smile. “After he grows bored with me I don’t want or expect anything more from him than continued employment. If he can offer me that, I will be content.”
The thought of not sharing his bed after last night was harder to contemplate than she would have believed possible. Despite his repeated denials, he wasn’t cold hearted, and to the contrary, was loyal to a fault to those he considered under his protection. Letting him go—and he would go—would require all her strength of purpose. But she’d survived worse and would eventually accept it.
Ruby came into the kitchen, helped herself to a cup of tea and settled at the table her gaze fixed on her older sister.
“Why is everyone up so early?” Caroline attempted to make a joke. “I never thought you would all be so eager to get to work.”
“I didn’t sleep well.” Ruby glared at her. “There were… sounds.”
Caroline rushed over to flip the ham she’d started in the pan, her cheeks almost as hot as the fire.
“Ruby, don’t be unkind to your sister.” Marie admonished her daughter. “Does she not deserve some happiness?”
“Happiness with a man such as Captain Grafton who exploits the poor?” Ruby demanded. “I would’ve thought my sister would have better taste!”
“Your sister provides a roof over your head and pays your bills, so it might behoove you to start treating her with more respect.”
Caroline swung around, the pan still in her hand to see Captain Grafton and Ivy side by side in the doorway.
Francis looked over Ivy’s head at Caroline who was blushing furiously. “Your sister came looking for you. We had a nice little chat, and she confided in me that both she and Ruby knew you were my mistress, so I didn’t need to skulk around anymore.” His gaze swept the kitchen. “So if you are cooking breakfast, I’ll join you and save myself the effort of traipsing back through the snow to the George.”
Caroline gestured at the table. “Please be my guest.”
“Thank you.” He sat down beside Marie and opposite Ruby who was regarding him with intense dislike.
“Caroline doesn’t pay all the bills. We all work.” Ruby stated her arms folded over her chest.
“I know exactly how much each of you earn,” Francis replied. “Do you really think you’d be able to afford this place if I wasn’t employing your sister?”
“Or bedding her,” Ruby muttered.
“True.” He held her gaze. “So perhaps you should respect her choices and be grateful.”
“You aren’t a good man.”
“Says who?” Francis demanded.
“Everyone except my oldest sister.” He didn’t cow Ruby at all. “You own the most dilapidated properties in town, and you throw people out if they don’t pay their rent on time.”
“I’m a businessman. That’s how I make money. Would you prefer it if I demolished all those run down old places and threw everyone out on the street? What good would that do?”
Ruby bit her lip but didn’t answer him.
“When I found out Mr. Keswick was cheating me and bullying my tenants I got rid of him. I haven’t heard any complaints since.”
“That’s because everyone is too afraid to speak up in case you do throw them out!” Ruby retorted.
“Really. Then perhaps those people might consider lodging a complaint with Mr. O’Brien who has a far calmer temperament than me.”
“I’ll certainly suggest that people do so.” Ruby said grandly.
“Good.” Francis raised an eyebrow. “Now may I eat my breakfast in peace?”
Francis shook hands with Mr. Fletcher from the locomotive company and walked him to the door. “I’m glad we could come to an accommodation, sir.”
“It’s not a done deal quite yet, Captain,” his companion cautioned him. “I need to speak to my board again, but I definitely think the idea has possibilities.”
“It will benefit all of us. You will get the land you want, and I’ll make a profit regardless.”
Mr. Fletcher smiled. “I can’t argue with that logic, Captain. Good day to you, sir.”
Francis watched him go down the stairs, turned to knock on Mrs. Harding’s door and went in.
“Caroline, I have to go out and speak to the bank manager about some incoming funds. If anyone comes looking for me, can you tell them to return after four?”
She sat up straight in her chair, her hands together on the desk. She wore a high-necked blouse with a ruffled neck that still barely covered the bruise at her throat. “You just called me Caroline.”
“So what?”
“Such familiarity is hardly appropriate in this setting.”
He glanced around. “I don’t see anyone else but you and me.”
“I would still rather that you kept such things for… other places.”
“Like when I’m fucking you?”
“If you insist, then yes.”
He strolled closer. “Oh, I insist on fucking you, Caroline. In truth the thought of sitting you on your desk, hitching up your skirts, and thrusting into you sometimes consumes me.”
“You are incorrigible,” she sniffed and avoided his gaze
“I am a man.” He sat on the corner of her desk. and looked down at her bent head “Are you still upset that your whole family knows we are sharing a bed?”
“Yes!” She covered her face with her hands. “It was one of the most mortifying moments of my life. Ruby said she and Ivy couldn’t sleep because we were making so much noise!”
He laughed and patted her shoulder. “Oh dear God, that’s funny.”
“Not to me.”
“Of course not. You are something of a prude, and they are your sisters.” He squeezed her shoulder. “To be honest, I’m quite relieved that everything is out in the open now. I hated creeping around like a felon.”
“I would’ve thought you would’ve gained a great deal of experience creeping out of many bedchambers.”
“Well you would be wrong. The secret is to walk in as if you have every right to be there, and then no one questions you.”
“I’ll remember that if I ever decide to take on the role of mistress of many.” She picked up her pen. “Now did you say that you were going out?”
“Are you trying to get rid of me before I lose what is left of my morals, lock the door, and take you?”
She stood up, marched over to the door, and held it wide open. “Good afternoon, Captain Grafton.”
He strolled over and halted right in front of her. “Francis.”
“As I said, this is not—”
He set a finger under her chin so that she had to look at him. “Say it, and then I’ll go.”
She sighed. “As you wish, Francis.”
He kissed her. “Next time scream it when you’re coming for me.”
With that, he winked and walked away his spirits lighter than they had been for a long time. His smile faded as he walked down the stairs. Normally by this point, he was bored with a lover and seeking a way out. Caroline Harding still excited and challenged him, and the business opportunities in the town were beginning to multiply.
It was raining so he put on his hat and took his umbrella even though the bank was just across the square. He paused in the center near the statue of his ancestor and tried to imagine what it would be like when the locomotive station and hotel were built…
It was hard to visualize, but he could already imagine the huge profits to be made when it came to pass. And it would happen. Now that he had committed himself to it he would make sure of that.
Caroline made herself a cup of tea in the deserted kitchen and took it back to her office. Luckily, she’d only had to deal with Ivy’s schoolwork as Ruby had taken herself off in a huff to Mrs. Sims for the day. She was fairly certain that Ruby would have more to say to her about her choices and was keen to avoid the conversation for as long as possible.
A man came up the stairs and hesitated by Captain Grafton’s office, hat in hand.
“May I help you, sir?” Caroline called out.
“Good afternoon, ma’am. My name is Mr. Fletcher. I do apologize for disturbing you. I think I might have left something in Captain Grafton’s office when I visited him earlier. I encountered him in the square, and he told me to come up and check for myself.”
“Mr. Fletcher.” Caroline smiled at the man. She’d noticed his name in Captain Grafton’s appointment diary that morning and thought she recognized his voice. “Please go ahead. What exactly did you leave behind?”
“My scarf.” He went into the office and whisked it off the back of a chair. “My daughter knitted it for me, and if I returned home without it she would be most upset.”
“Indeed.” Caroline smiled at his thoughtfulness. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”
“No thank you, my dear. Captain Grafton and I have settled our business over the building of the station and hotel, which will smarten up Millcastle considerably.”
“We are getting a locomotive line?” Caroline asked.
“A passenger line, ma’am, with a grand station and hotel facing onto the square.” He gestured out of the window. “You will have a splendid view of it from here.”
She stared at the medieval part of the square. “I suppose that will take up a considerable amount of land.”
“Nothing that will be missed.” Mr. Fletcher chuckled. “We don’t want people coming out of the station and having to deal with the kind of vermin that lives in Three Coins now, do we?”
“I suppose not.” Caroline said slowly.
Mr. Fletcher bowed. “A pleasure to meet you, Ma’am.”
“Goodbye Mr. Fletcher.”
Caroline continued to stand at the window until she saw Mr. Fletcher striding across the square. If he was correct—and she had no reason to think he would lie to her—then what would happen to Three Coins and the people who lived there? She walked over to Captain Grafton’s desk and immediately spotted a pile of papers with a Millcastle Locomotive letter heading on them.
Holding her breath, she sat down in his chair and read through the proposal to purchase the land around Three Coins from Captain Grafton. In return, he would receive money for the land and options to invest in the construction of the station and the hotel beside it.
“They are not all vermin,” Caroline whispered. “Where will everyone go? Where will they live?”
She tried to convince herself that Captain Grafton, the man who had just asked her to call him Francis, would literally sell people’s homes from under them. He had never pretended to care for anyone other than himself, and this latest example of his callousness shouldn’t shock her.
Except that it did. She pressed a hand to her heart. Was it worth asking him to change his mind? She pictured his expression if she tried and shuddered. Carefully replacing the papers exactly where she had found them, Caroline left the office, shutting the door behind her.
She hadn’t heard a single rumor about the possibility of a locomotive company buying up land in Millcastle and wondered how many people actually knew it was even a possibility. From what she remembered reading in the newspapers, a new locomotive line required an Act of Parliament. Had that already been obtained? Captain Grafton had been remarkably close-lipped about it, and there was no mention of it in his accounts books. Yet.
Which meant it was still possible to stop him.
But how?