Page 10 of Loved by a Duke

L ord Rex, Duke of Smythington

“This brandy is very smooth.” Flynn sat across from me, his legs stretched before the fire as he sipped from his glass.

“Yes, very smooth.” I looked at the mantel clock chiming the hour. Apprehension continued to settle in my gut as I waited for Eleanor to join us.

With all the celebration of Anne’s engagement, we shared a family dinner, the conversation centering on wedding plans and discussions about their wedding journey. Usually, the bride’s and groom’s plans were kept a secret. Anne wanted Eleanor and me to know where she was because she knew we would worry.

The moment Eleanor asked for a private audience, I knew what she wanted to bring up. The door creaked open, and Flynn and I looked over to see my wife enter. The color was high on her cheeks, and there was a nervousness about her person not normally present.

According to what Flynn had told me, he had given her the option to decide when and if our affair would take place. I still had reservations myself. Once we went down that road, there was no coming back.

Flynn hopped to his feet like a gentleman, his hand on the back of the chair he’d just vacated. His thumb set a steady rhythm against the leather, revealing he wasn’t as cool as he projected.

She smiled at both of us, but it didn’t reach her eyes. I immediately got up and poured her a glass of brandy. Moving to her side, I pressed it into her hand. “Here, I think you might need this.”

“Thank you, I think I might.” She looked at me, a wry smile twisting her lips.

The coal fire hissed in the fireplace as the gas lamps flickered. The study was paneled with wood and smelled of books and parchment. Starting at a young age, my father and I worked in this very room where he taught me everything he knew about being a duke.

Eleanor took a seat in the chair next to me, cradling the glass in her hand. Her ring tinkled against the crystal, and she took a tentative sip. It was a testament to her uneasiness that she was actually drinking brandy. She didn’t imbibe in strong spirits but preferred wine.

Indecision flashed over Flynn’s features as if he wasn’t sure what to do.

“I have asked Flynn to stay because I sense this conversation will involve all three of us.”

She choked on the brandy as she took another drink and waved a hand before her face. Wrinkling her nose, she settled the glass back down into her lap. “I guess he told you what we discussed.”

“Yes, he did.” This was so unconventional that I wasn’t sure what to say next. I had known her half of my life, yet I didn’t feel like I could talk to her about this, which was very unusual. “Do you have questions because I know I do?”

“I have many questions.” Despite the words being said in jest, the seriousness in her gaze concerned me. She looked at me with hurt in her eyes, and I wanted to soothe away her sorrow. “My most urgent question is, have you always had these feelings toward other men?”

“You started with the hardest question.” Indeed, it was a difficult one. I can’t say one way or another if I did. It wasn’t as if what happened on our last night in Oxford had been planned. We’d simply both drank too much and things progressed once we fell into bed. I considered it experimentation at the time and dismissed it as a fluke. “When I met you, Eleanor, I fell in love with you, and I’m still in love with you.”

“You don’t show it anymore and I thought, well, I thought it might be my fault.” She bit her lip, tears shimmering before she seemed to catch herself. She glanced over at Flynn and then back at me. “That’s why I thought perhaps you’ve been hiding this from me. And even though you and I have been close over the years, you are no longer attracted to me. If that’s the case, I need to know if it’s because I’m not a man or because we have fallen into a rut.”

I felt like the worst sort of heel at hearing her words and shook my head vehemently. “It isn’t your fault. It’s not my fault either. I think we allowed our romance to fade away between our children and our many obligations. I desire you Eleanor, I always have. It wasn’t until recently I started remembering my night spent with Flynn and well...” I trailed off. I couldn’t speak any further.

“What he’s trying to say is that he wondered, like I wondered, if it really was a chance occurrence that night, or could there be something real between us,” Flynn said. “I know I desire you in the biblical sense. There are parts of Rex I find appealing as well. I can’t explain it. It is part of who I am. I would like to explore my desires with the two of you. It is obvious you desire me and your husband.”

“My desire for either of you is not the issue at hand,” she snapped. “I made a vow to Rex, and I have lived up to it.”

“I have lived up to my vow as well and I will continue to do so.” When I made my vows to Eleanor, I meant to keep them. There were many men in my station who had mistresses, and if I had had one, society wouldn’t look down on it. However, being with a man would bring shame upon my family. As a duke and an earl, respectively, we were untouchable. Our titles did not pad us from scrutiny, however. We had our families to think about as well. “I want to do this together or not at all.”

“I’m still not sure. I am sorry,” she said.

“Neither one of you need answer right now. As I said, both of you are on even ground.” Flynn moved closer to the fireplace until we were all within three feet of each other. Head tilted, he offered a pained smile.

“Have you ever done this before with um, people?” Eleanor asked. She turned a rosier hue, clearly embarrassed by her question.

“I was interested in the same thing.” I had been curious about his past as well. During our conversation on the boat, he indicated he had had an affair with another couple in the past. Or at least with another man. Flynn had seemed so sure this would work, and with my limited experience with matters of the flesh, I had to trust his word.

Flynn nodded and placed a hand at the nape of his neck. With a sheepish smile, he said, “I will admit, only in this room, that I had an affair with a man after Mary died. I relived my university days and tried to capture the time I was the happiest. That night with Rex was one of the highlights of my memories.”

“You’ve never been with another couple?” I had to know the answer.

“Technically, they weren’t a couple.” His smile broadened. From the light of lust brightening his eyes, he was thinking ahead to what would come if Eleanor and I agreed to his request.

Eleanor stared straight ahead. I could see her jaw working as she chewed the inside of her mouth, a nervous habit she had. “What exactly did you and Rex do at Oxford?”

“Do you want to take this one?” Flynn asked.

“I had received news of my father’s death early in the day. Flynn and I went to the local pub and drank until the pain disappeared. When we returned to our dormitory, I couldn’t really stand up and Flynn was supporting me. We fell on the bed and I don’t remember if I instigated it or he did. The next thing I knew, we were kissing. It was the first time I had ever kissed anyone.” I had felt it to my toes. Now, my cock remembered the newness of having somebody touch me other than myself. “We were still young and full of vigor, and after the kiss, we touched each other through our clothes.”

“That is all?” Eleanor shifted in her seat and drank some more brandy. The color was even more heightened on her neck, a true sign she was not repulsed by what I was telling her.

“That was just the beginning.” Flynn moved closer to her chair and placed his arm on the back of it. I could see her chest rising and falling with increased speed at his nearness. She didn’t appear as if she wanted to leave and was rooted to the spot by our description of the events so long ago.

My own body reacted in a similar manner to hers. Just recalling what had happened with Flynn and thinking about Eleanor in the mix ignited my passions like nothing else had in recent memory. “No, we ended up removing our clothes, and Flynn sucked my cock.”

She gasped and twisted, looking at me, her mouth opened. “Beg pardon?”

I tried to keep my own color down. The conversation had turned and was heading to a dangerous place. I needed to be honest with her. The more we spoke, the more I wanted this to happen. It was shameful to admit even to myself, but I was a man with a man’s needs. “Then I reciprocated.”

“Neither one of us knew what we were doing.” Flynn laughed, his eyes glazing over with yearning. “I’m assuming she’s never done that for you?”

I had to speak with care so as not to insult my wife or place the blame on her. “When we first wed, I attempted to further our play. She reminded me she was a lady, which was on the mark. Our coupling was fulfilling. At least it was for me. I assumed it was for Eleanor.”

“It was. I swear it was, and I am sorry.” She cast me an apologetic glance, regret in her eyes. “I was still new to the marriage bed and...” Tears shimmered in her eyes, her voice breaking, “well, I was trying to be a proper lady.”

“You are not alone on that score. A lady is often sheltered and fed horror stories to keep her in line,” Flynn said.

I couldn’t believe we were having this conversation, nor could I believe Eleanor sat there and listened without slapping us for our insolence. Of course, that wasn’t in her nature. This was not a natural conversation to be having in polite society.

“Would you be open to trying?” Flynn asked.

Eleanor furrowed her brow, the color so high she looked like she was about to faint. “I know women often perform...that on gentlemen and gentlemen pleasure a woman in a similar fashion.”

“Where have you heard such things?” I asked. Eleanor had been my first lover, and although I had heard and wanted to do more than intercourse, my upbringing told me to respect a lady and never treat her like a common doxy. When she’d told me in no uncertain terms she wanted to keep her night rail on and have relations under the covers and in the dark, I agreed.

“Women talk, Rex.” She exhaled again, her breasts pushing against her décolletage.

“I’m sorry to have affronted you and if I failed you somehow. I simply wanted to treat you with respect.”

“You’ve always treated me with respect and I’m grateful for that. I’m also interested in finding out what more there is to experience between us.” Eleanor finished her brandy and set the crystal on the side table. “Flynn asked me for one night, and I’m willing to give you both that night. I can’t commit to more than that.”

I shared a glance with Flynn and read the joy in his expression.

“If you are sure.” I wanted to give her one last opportunity to say no. Or perhaps I was doing it for my own selfish reasons. While my body said yes, my mind said to be careful.

“I have one more request. If I agree to this, I don’t want you and Flynn to continue an affair without me. That may seem unfair but I would feel betrayed otherwise. I know it makes little sense. That’s just how I feel.”

“Then we are in agreement?” I couldn’t believe we were doing this because I couldn’t wait either.

“We are in agreement,” Flynn said.

“We are in agreement.” Eleanor nodded. “When would you propose we plan this?”

“If we are to do this right, I think we should find a place outside of our homes where we won’t be faced with constant interruptions.” Locking ourselves in a room for an hour was feasible. To do so overnight would require more planning.

“I think that’s an excellent idea. However, I would like to give Eleanor a taste of what she agreed to. What do you think? Can I pleasure you while your husband looks on?”

She held out her hand to me, and I took it. “Only if he takes part.”