Page 41 of Beauty and the Rake (Endless Love #1)

G raham locked the door behind him to ensure they wouldn’t be disturbed at any time. He strode over to Roxanne who was already sitting on the bed, her slippers and stockings in front of her on the floor. She stood again as she tried to rid herself of her gown.

“Here, let me help you,” he growled into her ear.

By the time he had her stripped down to her chemise, his cock ached in the confines of his trousers.

She stood before him, removing his cravat and pulling at his shirt in order to take it off.

“I’ll get it. You get out of that and get up on the bed. ”

After divesting his clothes, he noticed Roxanne lying on the mattress, propped up on one elbow watching him lustfully.

Her hand breezed over her breasts and continued on.

She parted her legs and touched herself, her eyes on his jutting tool.

Sensually, she licked her lips, sending Graham almost over the edge.

He needed her here and now, fearing he wouldn’t last much longer.

The mattress moved as he put his full weight on the bed.

He covered her with his muscular body as he spread her legs even wider.

He kissed her deeply, their tongues in a wild lover’s duel.

His hand dropped to between her legs, to her heat.

Rubbing her lightly, he inserted a finger as far as he could.

She gasped at the sensation. Moments later he removed his digit, replacing it with two.

This time she moved with him as he brought her to new heights.

Crying out, she arched her back to take him deeper.

Removing his fingers he guided his cock between her legs and thrust. Roxanne cried out once again at the sensation of him stretching her as she wound her fingers through his hair, his mouth crashing down.

They said little more than a groan for the next few moments. Then he thrust hard one last time and filled her with his seed. He kissed her wildly before pulling out of her wet cunny. Slowly, he lowered himself on her, his elbows keeping him from putting his full weight on her.

“We need more of this,” she whispered in his ear.

His breath returning, he laughed. “Yes, we do. We need to try it in the attics. We need to try it by the lake…”

“There’s no privacy at the lake.”

“Yes, there is. I just haven’t shown you yet,” he replied with a wink.

Roxanne wriggled under him with such force he had to move, lying next to her propped on his arm. She sat up and glared down at him. “How would you know this? Did you take your paramour out there? Did you make love to her while you were there?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Roxanne. Why would you think such a thing? I have taken no one there. My mistress never set foot on any of my private properties.”

She pursed her lips. “How do you know you can’t see anything if you haven’t taken someone there?”

“It was a place your brother and I came to as boys. We knew we could hide there and that no one could see it from the house.”

“Really?” she asked meekly.

“Yes,” he replied with a sly grin. “We could swim naked in the lake if we wanted without worrying you would come.”

“Still, I could have.”

“You were not allowed near either of the lakes. Not the one here or the one on your family’s estate.”

“True. Father was very strict about that.”

“So you’ll let me take you to the lake some time in the near future for some spirited shenanigans?”

“Yes. Now can we get some sleep?” She stretched and lay against the pillows.

He looked at her with mock horror. “You mean you don’t want to have a second go? You hurt my feelings, madam.”

“Not now. I’d rather sleep first, and I don’t buy that nonsense about your feelings being hurt.”

He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer until she had her head on his chest. “Then sleep it is. Good night, my love.”

Hearing no reply from her, he looked down and found her asleep.

She was beautiful even asleep, and he couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have, after all these years, reconnected with her in the deepest way.

For Graham, sleep eluded him as it normally did.

He would finally succumb to slumber early in the morning.

Perhaps his wife could help change this.

The reason for his sleepless nights was due to, or at least he thought was due in part to whatever happened during the day.

Tonight, it was not only his wife, but the strange meeting he and Arthur had with the man they knew deeply had knowledge of the disappearance of his wife’s father and mother that captured his brain.

He couldn’t get it out of his mind that the man thought he could play innocent in the matter.

Some of his remarks, plus Arthur’s father’s ring on his hand, made Graham certain the man knew far more than he was letting on.

He was old enough that he could have even played a part in their deaths.

Why, he could have done it himself. Why, was the huge question.

Why were they murdered? No one had ever come up with a satisfactory answer or conclusion.

Bandits had been the reason, and being that neither the duke nor duchess had survived the incident made that became the official version.

No one believed it. Any attempt on the family’s part to reopen the case was met with a huge lack of cooperation from law enforcement.

They made it abundantly clear that the case was closed and would not be reopened no matter who requested it.

That refusal to help in the case spoke volumes.

He and Arthur would get to the bottom of it all.

Feeling his eyes grow heavy, Graham wondered if he could truly fall asleep.

Perhaps if he concentrated on one thing, shutting his mind down, he could sleep.

The next thing he remembered was his bride snuggling as close as she could to him.

Cold. She had to be cold as they had nothing covering them.

Slowly he found a piece of the cover and pulled it up over both of them.

He hadn’t realized how cool the room had become and wondered if it were time for someone to come restart the fires.

It was going to be hard for him to keep from making love to his wife.

His cock was so hard, it wasn’t going to allow him to sleep until he either took himself in hand or relieved himself with her.

*

After a quick coupling, Roxanne fell back to sleep well satisfied.

Graham waited a while until he was sure he wouldn’t wake her by getting out of bed.

Still, he rose quietly and, grabbing his robe, he walked over to the windows to see what sort of day it was going to be.

Dawn was just beginning to show its pinks and purples.

A perfect day for a ride. A ride with his wife; a ride to the lake where he was intent on proving to her they had more privacy than needed.

First, though, he would dress and have breakfast before he spent most of the morning in his study.

Today would entail more than his usual days.

His estate manager was expected with his monthly report.

Sometimes it was lengthy, sometimes not.

He expected it would be lengthy because there were activities about to take place.

Livestock, harvest. Everything being prepared for when they did happen.

Roofs of tenant houses needed to be repaired if necessary.

He didn’t want anyone having a leaky roof in the cold.

This was where he’d find out if any repairs were needed to the rock walls or stables.

Fortunately, his estate manager knew the land as well as Graham did.

He’d taken over when his father was no longer able and proved himself over and over again.

He was someone Graham could leave for months at a time and know the estate would be just as he left it.

The man kept up to date on all the farming changes, new inventions to help make things easier.

Graham tried to remember everything he had on a list sitting on his desk.

He knew he was interested in how much money was being brought in by the various products made on the estate.

Roxanne had an idea regarding the tenants that he wanted to discuss with his manager.

It was done by others, but not with the personal touch she wanted to give it.

She wanted to be the one who gave everything out to them.

She had given him a list of what she needed.

Foodstuffs that would last better during the colder months than in summer.

He had no hesitation letting her represent him.

She was, after all, the countess, and as such, she wanted to be one who was seen by tenants.

That she wasn’t some entitled aristocrat who sat in her manor and never mingled with anyone outside her social standing spoke volumes.

*

Once the estate manager arrived, the pair sat at a round, mahogany table and went over every entry made in the past month.

After which, he told Graham what needed to be done before it got too cold.

They settled on what was priority, after which he brought up how Roxanne wanted to take foodstuffs to the tenants.

She wanted to give out shoes and coats, but that would be done another time and would probably be set up somewhere close to the manor.

He told the manager he could deal directly with the countess regarding what she needed.

As the two finished up their meeting, Graham happened to mention taking Roxanne to the lake.

He was told there was a group of workmen cutting the brush back and cutting the grass.

Graham was glad he’d thought to mention it because he certainly didn’t want to ride over there and be surprised they weren’t alone. That would be for another time.

He bid him farewell and returned to his desk now filled with papers, which he now gathered and placed together in a pile to his left. He could always take the camera and plates with them. Then they would both get some practice with this.

Deciding it was time to find his bride, he took one more look at the top of his desk. As far as he could tell, there was nothing so important it couldn’t wait.

Roxanne was descending the stairs when he went in search of her. She was a breath of fresh air, dressed in a light-blue day dress. “Did you have a good meeting with your estate manager?”

“Yes, it was excellent. We got a lot accomplished, and he is looking forward to meeting with you about the delivery to the tenants.”

“Wonderful.”

“What have you been doing this morning?”

She smiled broadly. “I’ve just spent the past hour with Mary and her nanny.”

“I can see you enjoyed your visit immensely,” he said.

“Yes, she’s such a joy to be around. To be that innocent. It’s too bad that all changes as the years pass.”

“A lot of that has to do with the environment a child is raised in,” he said.

“True, but even if it’s the best, sometimes a child is just going to be unpleasant. There is little that can be done to change it. It’s the way they were born.”

“Fortunately, we won’t have that arise in any of our children.”

“What do you have in store for us this afternoon? Unless you have other matters to attend to,” she said.

He rubbed her cheek with the pad of his thumb. “I was hoping we could ride to the lake, but I understand there is a work crew down there cutting back weeds and shrubs.”

“That’s too bad. I was so looking forward to seeing it.”

“Another time,” he said.

“Yes.”

Just as she was going to add an idea she had, the butler came out of nowhere with a letter for Graham.

He took the paper and studied it after dismissing the older man.

It was from Arthur and if he was sending him a missive this soon, the investigator must have found something new and sent Arthur a report.

“That’s Arthur’s handwriting,” she said, standing next to him.

“Yes, it is. He may have received a report from our man.”

“Go find out. I’m going to take a walk around the gardens in the meantime.” She lifted her skirts and strode in the direction of the drawing room.

He hated keeping things from her, but she had the habit of getting emotional about how matters should be taken care of.

He opened the letter and stood to read it.

Information they’d been trying to get answers for were anyone’s guess.

Crenshaw’s movements seemed to be taking a turn they feared they would.

The man, with another couple, had taken a ship out at high tide this morning, headed for India.

Their fears were real. He was following in his father’s footsteps and taking people with him, acting as a private tour guide. Just as his father had done with Arthur and Roxanne’s parents.

He walked towards his study. He needed to think this through. Was there anything they could do now? Could their investigator get an idea which route Crenshaw would go? Would it be wise to try and write this couple and warn them that their host may not be as honest as he appeared?

Graham decided to send Arthur a reply with his ideas and suggestions. This wasn’t a matter that could wait because if the trio got too far, the harder it would be to find them until they arrived in India.

They were close to finding out the entire truth, and the last thing they needed was to get into too big a rush and spook Crenshaw off.

He’d done it before, and they didn’t need to have a repeat of that episode.

Arthur would agree with him; especially now that he knew the man wore his father’s ring.

He knew all Arthur and Roxanne wanted was the truth of what really happened to their parents, and he would do his utmost to see the truth was known.