Page 33

D iana walked with her aunt on the weather deck.

She couldn’t keep the smile off her face.

While she wanted to spend more time with Sebastian alone, to her surprise she’d enjoyed the ball at the Messina’s estate.

She suspected Sebastian did as well. They’d managed to sneak in a few secret moments but all it did was torment them.

“That is a gigantic smile you are wearing,” Aunt Winifred said.

Diana looked at her startled. Her aunt stopped and pointed at two chairs. They both made their way over and sat. Diana couldn’t believe how lovely the weather was. On land, July felt scorching hot but the breeze from the ocean took away some of the heat.

“You and Devons have grown close.”

“Yes, I consider Seb—Devons, I mean, a great friend,” Diana said, flushing at her flub of using his given name.

“His feelings run deep for you,” his aunt remarked.

Diana shook her head. It was the trip, the sun, everything. She knew that. “You are mistaken, Aunt.”

“Do you want to know a secret?”

Her aunt’s tone left little room to say no, so Diana nodded. She sighed. “When I was a very young girl, perhaps eighteen, I fell in love with a man far beneath my station. I loved him fiercely.”

“Before you met your husband.”

Her aunt nodded. “I loved Lord Clark, but not in the way I loved this man. His name was Roger, and he was a barrister from the village by the family estate. We spent a summer in the country together.”

Diana squeezed her hand. Her aunt turned towards her with watery eyes. “It was the most passionate experience of my life. If I close my eyes, I can still remember his touch. That is how much he has been seared onto my heart.”

“Did he propose?”

Her aunt laughed. “Goodness, no. My parents would have destroyed his life. All of your mother’s meanness comes from our parents. She is an exact replica of them. And even if we had somehow figured out how to make it work, he died in some rebellion in Africa.”

Her aunt never rambled, so Diana knew she was trying to make a point. “Why are you telling me this?”

Her aunt grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly.

“Because I want you to enjoy your time with Sebastian Devons, but I would suggest you keep your heart locked up. It’s what I wished I had done.

I regret professing those romantic words to Roger.

Some people can never be together, and as much as I wish that weren’t true, we both know that is how the world works. ”

She wanted to laugh and deny such emotions existed between her and Sebastian, but the words wouldn’t come out. Still, she told herself that she and Sebastian were only lovers. It would end after the trip.

“Aunt, it is only because we are on this journey.”

Her aunt smiled sadly. “And for Roger and me, it was only a summer until it wasn’t. In the end, instead of saying goodbye, we professed our hearts to each other. We never should have. It complicated everything.”

“Well, there have been no professions of love on either side.”

Her aunt released her hand. “Good.”

“Would it be so preposterous if a successful businessman married a dowager marchioness?” she asked.

The words were out of her mouth before she could think about it. Her aunt’s eyes flew to hers. Diana turned crimson. “Not that he would ever ask me.”

Aunt Winifred frowned. “It wouldn’t be easy or scandal-free for the owner of a gentlemen’s club and the mother of a soon-to-be duke to wed. They would have to love each other very much to endure such gossip.”

Diana was silent. Why had she asked that?

Sebastian’s feelings for her were not that deep, and hers for him weren’t either.

Them dancing around Messina’s garden flashed in her mind.

The joy she felt. No. She wouldn’t allow herself to wander down this path.

They were involved because of this trip.

If it never happened, they would still be practically strangers. Maybe.

Her aunt stood and held out her hand to assist Diana to her feet. As they walked, she murmured, “It takes bravery to have a love like that, and if you can’t be courageous, don’t give him false hope.”

Diana nodded. Tears welled in her eyes. She wasn’t sure why.

Later in the day, Diana sat at her desk writing her Ladies of London letter.

Her aunt’s words lingered with her. Courage is what her aunt said it took to embrace a love between a commoner and a lady.

Was it that scandalous? Would Robert be impacted by a choice like that?

She tossed her pen on the desk. It didn’t matter.

She wasn’t lying when she told her aunt there had been no declarations of love.

They’d admitted they had an incredibly strong attraction to each other but nothing more.

They were having a tryst. That was all. The blasted trip made everything seem like so much more.

Just like her aunt mentioned about her summer away from society with her barrister.

She needed to guard her heart as her aunt suggested.

As for Sebastian’s heart, she would never hurt him. She wasn’t like Lady Wesley.

She sighed, tired of her melancholy thoughts.

Right now, she wanted to enjoy the moments she had left with Sebastian.

Happiness was all she wanted on this trip.

She smiled, thinking about how wonderfully perfect Sardinia had been.

She reread her Ladies of London letter, wanting to ensure it was perfect.

To the Ladies of London,

Sardinia’s soaring cliffs and beautiful water are a sight to behold. If any lady has the opportunity to visit, they should. Perhaps even bolder, they should dip their bare feet in the ocean. The shores are covered with little coves and caves that make you think Sardinia is Poseidon’s paradise.

Also, on this beautiful island, we were introduced to an ancient civilization with its own story worth learning about: the Noras. I do hope at some point to bring some of this civilization to London as part of the Historical Society for Female Curator’s exhibits.

We ended this visit dancing the night away at a ball put on by one of the families that have been here for hundreds of years. I even persuaded Mr. Devons to join in on the festivities.

Lady Hensley

*

The door opened, and Sebastian slid in, pulling Diana towards him. She giggled as their lips connected, and they tumbled onto the tiny one-person bed.

“Shh…you must be quiet.”

“This is me being quiet. I feel like a young schoolboy sneaking about.”

She pulled away from him, sliding off his lap, and raised a brow. “I imagine you do plenty of sneaking about.”

He started to say something but thought better of it. It had been many years since he had to pursue a woman. She looked at him. “What were you going to say?”

“Nothing.”

She slapped him on his arm. “Tell me.”

“I own a club that hosts two scandalous balls a year most use to find their next lover. I don’t need to sneak about.”

He was silent, wondering if she would judge him. He glanced at her, and she burst into laughter. “The conceit you have is shocking.”

A wicked grin formed on his face. “Maybe.”

Sebastian needed to touch her. He leaned in and kissed her. A dominant pressing of his lips to hers. Her lips parted, and he overwhelmed her, plundering her mouth with his tongue. Why did it feel this spectacular with Diana? He pulled away, needing air.

“Perhaps the conceit is reasonable,” she said with a smirk.

He winked at her.

She asked, “What are your scandalous balls like?”

Surprise crossed his face.

She nudged him. “Tell me.”

He ran his fingers through his hair but finally said, “They are more theater than anything. There are acrobats, singers, dancers, and all types of entertainment. The food is sumptuous. All the men and ladies who attend must wear masks in public places.”

How much should he tell her? He continued, “The Den gardens are quite expansive. There are small cottages throughout them. Often, they are used for liaisons. Trysts can sometimes be in a public setting.”

Diana gasped. “Have you ever done that?”

He shrugged. “Not at the Den. That isn’t my fancy. Some people like to watch and be watched.”

“Goodness,” she said, standing and pressing her hand to her cheeks. Then she glanced at him. “What are your fancies?”

He tilted his head and studied her. She blushed. “Stuart and I had a very healthy relationship, but I imagine nothing like what you have done. I worry this may all seem plain.”

He rose and went to her, annoyed she would think that. She backed up, bumping into the wall. Sebastian rested one arm above her head, looking down at her.

“Nothing about this is plain. And what you had with Stuart and what you have with me are two different things. It’s okay to want or desire something with me you didn’t have with him and vice versa.”

She smiled, seemingly relieved at his words. “You must believe me to be so innocent.”

He stroked her cheek. “No, I just know how much you loved your husband.”

Why did he have the urge to comfort her? He told himself it was because he was a decent man. His heart was not available to Diana. It couldn’t be.

“Sebastian.”

“Yes, love.”

“Kiss me, please.”

There was nothing he wanted more. He leaned into her and gave her a slow, lingering kiss.

He kissed her jaw as his hands slid behind her to remove the ties holding her dress.

The garment fell to the floor, and he kicked it away with his boots.

She pulled his shirt from his pants, pulling it over his head and then tossing it.

His eyes flicked down to her front. The peaks of her breasts were pebble hard underneath her chemise. With one hand, he untied her petticoats and kicked them away. He purred in approval. “Lady Hensley, no corset. You have become rather bohemian.”

She winked at him, playing along. “Porto, or maybe it was Malaga that turned me.”

Diana, in her chemise and drawers, was as intoxicating as a naked Diana.

He kissed her again and pushed his hard cock against her stomach.

This woman drove him mad. He pulled his shaft from his pants and, in one motion, wrapped her legs around him while parting the slit in her drawers, entering her.

She gasped as he pressed her back against the wall.

At first, he entered her in deep, slow long thrusts, savoring the sensation of her around his cock.

She cried out, but he placed a finger on her lips.

“Shh…you have to be very quiet if you want me to stay buried in you. Is that what you want?”

He rotated his hips, and she whimpered. He pumped into her quickly, and he whispered in her ear. “Do you think you can do that?”

She nodded, and he rotated his hips again before entering her over and over again. She clenched his shoulders and murmured, “Sebastian.”

Her quim clenched around him, and he could tell she was so close to climaxing.

He pounded into her deeply and paused, staying lodged in her.

He ground against the nub of her most feminine spot until she let out a quiet, strangled sob, peaking and crashing all at once.

She sighed as he felt her pulsate around him.

He leaned his forehead against hers, breathing heavily.

His shaft, still buried in Diana, throbbed with the need for release.

Sebastian began to move again. His thrusts became deeper and more savage.

She clenched her legs around him, urging him on.

He wanted to sear this woman with his desire for her.

That is all he thought about as he pounded into her.

Sebastian gasped, on the verge of spending.

At the last moment, he withdrew, releasing his seed before collapsing against her. Their hearts pounded in sync.

He gently slid her to the floor before gathering a cloth by the basin and cleaning them both.

Diana leaned against the wall of the cabin, taking deep breaths.

Her chemise and drawers were still on, and her hair had fallen out in large curls around her face.

She was a vision. A vision he would never be able to forget.

He sat on the narrow bed, content to watch her for the moment.

They were both silent, but eventually, Diana asked, “Sebastian, will we still be friends when we return?”

His eyes flicked to her face. “Why would you question that?”

She seemed reluctant to share more. “Just promise me all this won’t make us hate each other.”

Alarm filled him. He could never hate Diana, and he wouldn’t be able to endure her feeling such an emotion towards him. “Come here.”

She walked to the bed, and he pulled her into his lap before placing a kiss on the top of Diana’s head. “All will be fine.”

But deep down, Sebastian felt deceptive about promising her something he couldn’t truly control.

The next morning, Sebastian sat in the main saloon, waiting for the SS Lark to dock in Tuscany.

He’d struggled with writing his most recent letter for the column.

He’d feared he would share too much. He wanted to write about his time with Diana at the cove or dancing with her in Messina’s garden, but he couldn’t.

After he left her the night before, he’d spent a few hours pondering his feelings for her.

Sebastian was falling for her. What a damn fool he was.

He’d told her yesterday it would be fine, but he’d lied.

He was losing his heart to a woman he could never have.

It would be wise if he ended their liaison, but he was too obsessed with her.

Every day he could spend with Diana he would take and deal with his heart later.

He would find a way to make sure this all didn’t end in catastrophe.

He wanted her to walk away from their time happy.

Sebastian needed that for Diana. He smirked at his letter.

It was rather short but maybe Sardinia was just for him and Diana.

To the Ladies of London,

The water and cliffs of this island are delightful. While I enjoyed all the places we have visited, this one is truly the best stop. The water and the history are both perfect for any ladies hoping to go on an adventure.

But by far my favorite part of the visit was the dancing.

Sebastian Devons