Chapter 8
“Are you going to stand here all evening scowling at the gentlemen surrounding your ward like moths drawn to a flame?”
Alex continued to do exactly that rather than turn and look at his brother as Adam stood beside him.
Amanda had just returned to the ballroom with Emma after the ladies had been to the retiring room following their audience with Prinny. The two women had been pounced on by a group of eager young admirers the moment they entered the ballroom. Beautiful as Emma undoubtedly was, Alex knew it was not her but Amanda over whom those young gentlemen were now vying. Each wanted to claim a dance with this beautiful newcomer. No other gentleman would dare to approach Emma with the fiercely possessive Hawkwood anywhere in the vicinity of his wife, which he always made a point of being at these social functions.
Alex had almost swallowed his own tongue when Amanda swept down the stairs at Wetherby House earlier.
Her gown was an exquisite concoction of silk and lace, and of the exact same shade as her uniquely colored eyes. The style of the gown left her creamy shoulders bare above the off-the-shoulder puffed sleeves, the swell of her breasts visible above the low neckline and the tight fit of the bodice.
But it was not only the gown which made Amanda stand out. Her rich auburn hair was a riot of curls amongst a plethora of blondes, and secured with turquoise pins at her crown, with beguiling wisps at her temples and nape. Her beautiful face was alight with her excitement for the evening ahead. Her eyes glowed, her cheeks were flushed, and her lips that deep and naturally rose pout.
“I should have bought her a diamond necklace and bracelet to wear this evening.” He spoke his thoughts out loud.
“One should not attempt to paint the lily,” his brother drawled.
Alex glanced at him. “Shakespeare.”
“Exactly,” Adam dismissed.
The scowl returned to Alex’s brow as he once again watched the group of young puppies who were obviously flattering and charming that “lily.” “I should have realized the interest it would garner to introduce Amanda into Society as my ward this late in the Season.”
“I believe you do her a disservice, Alex. Amanda is beautiful enough to draw attention wherever she goes.” Hawkwood kept his own narrow-eyed gaze on those same gentlemen, but for the reason of ensuring none of them said or did anything unacceptable in regard to his wife.
Although Adam had had his dalliances over the years, Alex had believed his brother to be a confirmed bachelor until he fell in love with Emma several months ago and married her only weeks later. Unlike many society marriages, it was one based on deep love and devotion, along with a sexual compatibility neither tried to hide.
Indeed, he now heard Adam’s sharply indrawn breath as Emma gave her husband a come-hither glance above the curve of her fan and a slight nod in the direction of the doors opening out onto the terrace.
“How did you know?” Alex blurted before his brother could respond to that invitation. “That you had fallen in love with Emma and wished to marry her?” He glanced at Adam.
His brother shrugged wide shoulders, a slight smile curving the sternness of his lips. “How could I not fall in love with her and want to marry her? Emma is beautiful, intelligent, fiercely passionate, outspoken, and inquisitive. The latter sometimes to the point of endangering herself,” he added with a frown for the events of two months ago, which had almost resulted in Emma being killed.
“That was my fault—”
“You were not responsible for Juanita Millbrook’s jealous insanity, or the fact that she believed Emma was to be your next affair,” Hawkwood dismissed in a hard voice before giving Alex an amused sideways glance. “Although you should perhaps have chosen your next lover more wisely!”
Alex’s next lover had been Maria Dalrimple, and although she showed no signs of the same emotional instability of Juanita Millbrook, her glances in his direction this evening had been hostile to say the least. But as her husband was in attendance and stood at her side, Maria had so far not shown that displeasure toward Alex openly for having brought an end to their arrangement.
“I ended things with Maria yesterday, and I am so disillusioned at the moment, I am not sure there will be another lover,” he acknowledged.
“Disillusioned or perhaps becoming more discerning in your attentions?”
“I have always been discerning!”
“Then let us say, more specific.”
Alex shook his head. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“No?” Adam raised dark brows. “You spanked Amanda again, did you not? And after Emma and I both advised you not to do so.” It was a statement, not a question.
Alex felt the flush enter his cheeks. “How do you know that?” He never had been able to keep secrets from his older brother.
The other man shrugged. “I noticed a certain discomfort when Amanda entered my carriage earlier, and again when she sat down for the journey.”
Alex eyed him derisively. “And these are two signs of a woman having received a spanking?”
“In my experience, yes,” Adam drawled. “What did she do this time to earn it?”
Alex’s expression turned grim. “She lied to me, invented some cock and bull story of an intruder to explain how a vase came to be broken outside her bedchamber whilst I was out yesterday evening,” he explained at his brother’s questioning glance.
Adam’s gaze sharpened. “You are sure it was an invention? Amanda does not appear to me to be a liar. Also, it is not so long ago Juanita Millbrook attempted to kill Emma in a jealous fit over you,” he reminded. “Although quite what it is you do in bed to arouse these women to such violent passions, I have no idea.”
“I—”
“Nor do I wish to know.” His brother frowned. “I am merely advising that perhaps you should have taken Amanda’s explanation more seriously than you did rather than punishing her for it. A punishment, I might add, which seems to have stimulated you as much as it hurt Amanda.”
His gaze narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“I very much doubt it is the scintillating company of your brother which has given you a cock stand.” Adam glanced down pointedly to where Alex’s trousers tented out in front in order to accommodate his rapidly lengthening erection. “I should be more than a little concerned if it were,” he drawled.
“Fuck,” Alex muttered under his breath as he adjusted his jacket so that the bulge in his trousers became less obvious. Despite what Amanda might have implied to the contrary earlier, Alex had not given himself release after the two of them had parted. Partly because he was still so angry with her and the rest because he was conscious of having denied Amanda that same release.
Adam chuckled at Alex’s physical discomfort, sobering as he watched his wife cross the room toward the terrace. “If you wouldn’t mind now attending your ward? I believe my wife wishes for the two of us to go outside together for…a walk, in the moonlight.”
Alex gave a disbelieving snort as he watched his brother join Emma, having no doubt Adam’s remark had been a euphemism for the couple fucking in the moonlight.
Alex drew in a deep breath, squaring his shoulders as if for battle, before making his way across the ballroom to Amanda’s side.
Amanda did not need to glance in that direction to be aware of Alex’s approach. Why would she, when she had been aware of Alex’s every movement since they’d left the house earlier this evening?
She had witnessed his ease with his brother and sister-in-law during the carriage ride here.
The warmth of their friendship when he presented her to the Prince Regent and his group of friends.
The way in which all the ladies now glanced in Alex’s direction, as if drawn to a magnet.
How he had been engaged in laughter and conversation with several of the other gentlemen present when she and Emma returned from the ladies’ retiring room a few minutes ago, before Alex excused himself and rejoined his brother.
Her guardian, it seemed, was both well liked and his company in great demand by the gentlemen as well as the ladies, if for different reasons.
Except, Amanda had noted curiously, by Maria Dalrimple, who, when her husband’s attention was elsewhere, gave Alex fierce and angry glances instead.
Did that mean his relationship with the other woman was over?
Or only that the two of them had argued?
Not that it was any of Amanda’s business; Alex had made it more than obvious he did not welcome her curiosity regarding his private life.
As he had made it obvious he believed her to be a liar.
That distrust hurt her more than the unfair spanking she had received as punishment for the supposed crime.
“If you will all excuse us, gentlemen.” Alex took a firm hold of her arm and placed it through the crook of his. “I believe it is time for me to dance with my ward.”
Amanda gave him a startled glance as he led her onto the dance floor. For all that she had hoped Alex would dance with her this evening, he had not reserved one. The young gentleman who had introduced himself as Lord Sherborne looked less than pleased at having his dance with her usurped by Alex.
She could also feel the tension in her guardian as he led her around the dance floor in synchronization with the other couples dancing. “What have I done wrong now?” she prompted wearily after they had danced together in silence for several minutes.
He looked down the length of his nose. “Did I say you had done anything wrong?”
“Your demeanor says it for you.” Amanda felt the heat of unshed tears burning her eyes. “You should not have brought me here this evening if you intended to ruin it by continuing to be hateful toward me.”
“I am not being—” He drew in several deep and steadying breaths. “I gave you a choice of punishment earlier, and you chose the other one,” he reminded stiffly.
“So my sore bottom constantly reminds me,” she bit out waspishly.
Alex glanced around them as if to check if any of the other couples were close enough to hear their conversation. Apparently satisfied they were not, he continued. “We will not discuss that here and now,” he warned softly.
“No?” she challenged. “Then perhaps we should discuss your rudeness earlier to Miss Marchment?”
“I was blunt in my criticism, not rude.”
“I disagree.”
Dark brows rose over glittering blue eyes. “Indeed?”
“Indeed!” Amanda had no idea what was wrong with her that she was being so contentious. Except she had been out of sorts since sweeping upstairs to her bedchamber earlier.
Too agitated to do anything else, and mindful of Alex’s instruction for her not to touch herself, she had paced that room restlessly for half an hour or more before lying down on her bed—necessarily on her side—and surprisingly fallen asleep for several hours. No doubt because she was emotionally exhausted, both from the events of the previous night and this morning.
She breathed a sigh of relief as the dance came to an end, only to glance nervously at Alex as he maintained a tight hold of her arm and pulled her with him toward the doors opened out onto the terrace. “What are you doing?” she hissed once they had stepped outside.
Alex ignored her, as he ignored the other couples strolling on the terrace, one of which might be Adam and Emma. Instead, he pulled Amanda down the steps with him into the garden. He was so angry right now that he knew whatever came out of his mouth would only make this situation worse.
“Alex?” Amanda tugged against his hold, no doubt bruising herself in the process as Alex refused to let go.
Once he was sure they were far enough away from the house not to be observed, he swung her round toward him, her face appearing a pale oval in the moonlight. “Firstly, as I said previously, I brought you to the ball because I had said I would if you chose the alternative punishment, which you did. Secondly, I apologized to Miss Marchment for any insult I might have given by my remarks. She is a woman clearly ahead of her time with her convictions. I am not saying that is a bad thing,” he defended as Amanda looked set to argue with him again. “Nor, now I understand her reasons, do I disapprove of her teachings. Hawkwood and I have long deplored the inequality between men and women.”
“You have?”
Alex sighed at her skepticism. “Yes, we have, and with good reason. Our mother was…browbeaten by our father to the point she ceased to have a personality or will of her own,” he explained grimly. “As a consequence, once she had produced the heir and the spare, my father became bored with her and took himself a mistress, and after that another, and then another, until I am sure my mother died of a broken heart. Adam and I would have liked to dance on our father’s grave when he died five years ago, but decided he was not worth our exerting the energy.”
“Oh.” Amanda seemed at a loss what to say for several seconds but then roused herself again. “I am very sorry. About your mother. Not your father, who was surely deserving of his sons’ scorn.”
Alex rarely spoke of his parents, let alone their unhappy marriage. That he had confided in Amanda, the ward he had known only a matter of days, was somewhat disturbing.
“Is that why you have affairs with married ladies?” Amanda probed bluntly. “Because you do not wish their lives to be as without warmth and happiness as your mother’s was?”
Alex had never really thought of why he had continued over the years to bed married women, but perhaps Amanda’s assessment of that situation did have a little merit. Maybe more than a little, he realized with a frown.
“Even so,” Amanda continued determinedly when he gave no answer to her questions. “You have barely spoken a word to me all evening, and only when you had to. Then, just as I was starting to enjoy myself, you dragged me away to dance with you. All with a face like thunder, I might add.”
Whether or not she should upbraid him, she had done so anyway, Alex acknowledged ruefully. That Amanda dared to do so at all was more than any other woman had ever done, and not because he was dominating and critical as his father had been.
Alex was Lord Alexander Stirling, second son of the previous Duke of Hawkwood and brother to the present one. They were one of the wealthiest families in England, and Alex’s personal fortune was immense. Added to which he was a personal friend of Prinny, and so part of their Regent’s inner circle. Men and women of the ton treated him with the respect those things demanded of them. Even the women with whom he’d had brief affairs over the years knew better than to overstep the line of daring to reprove or criticize him for anything he did or said.
A line Amanda either was not aware of or felt no regard for.
As for “dragging her away,” and having “a face like thunder” when he did so, Alex was unsure what to say in answer to those accusations.
Unsure, or as confused as he was at having talked of his parents, as to what had motivated him to behave in that uncharacteristically rude and brutish manner?
Although he was known for his evenness of temper and charm—possibly because Alex was never challenged on any subject—Amanda had succeeded in rousing him to anger and desire in equal measure during the short time she had been staying with him at Wetherby House.
He had no explanation as to why.
She was beautiful, yes, but no more so than many other, less troublesome, women.
She had fire and spirit, but they more often landed her in trouble than the opposite.
She was passionate by nature and sexually responsive, and saw no reason to pretend otherwise. In fact, she seemed to delight in that sexual arousal and pleasure, as evidenced by the fact Amanda had not seen any reason why she should not be allowed take his cock out of his pantaloons earlier today and pleasure him.
Alex’s mind boggled as to how Miss Marchment might have tutored her students in that particular sexual practice.
If he had allowed it, how would Amanda have proceeded? Using her palms and fingers? Or would she have taken him into the silky heat of her mouth? Alex would be lying if he did not own, at least to himself, the thought of that had occupied him for far too long earlier after Amanda had gone to her bedchamber.
His gaze now moved to the rosy fullness of her slightly parted and moist lips as he imagined Amanda on her knees, those lips stretched about the girth of his cock, her tongue licking along the pulsing length as he thrust inside and to the back of her throat.