Page 6 of Seduced by a Scoundrel (Tales from the Brotherhood #1)
Six
D errek had never been one to play at housekeeping. Not even with Joseph. Even though Joseph had been meticulously neat in everything he’d done, the two of them had never set up a traditional house nor attempted to wedge themselves into the roles of husband and wife.
Jeremy was a different sort of man entirely. He wasn’t anywhere close to being a wife, but as the morning hours ticked by with the two of them giving the Maidstone Close gamekeeper’s cottage a thorough airing and washing, he began to see that Jeremy had a domestic inclination that was as sweet as it was amusing.
“I do not suppose you thought to bring washing soap with you,” he sighed after they paused for a luncheon of bread, cheese, and summer sausage. “It is only that the curtains and other linens could use a thorough scrubbing to make this cottage truly habitable.”
“They seem fine as they are,” Derrek observed, glancing over his shoulder at the curtains Jeremy had tied back on the window beside them.
“They are dingy with dust,” Jeremy lectured him with a stern expression. “And even though the bed linens have been folded and kept in a chest all these years, they could stand to be laundered as well.”
“Why bother laundering them when we’ll only muss them again tonight,” Derrek replied, fighting to keep a straight face.
Sure enough, Jeremy blushed up a storm, nearly choking on the piece of bread he’d just taken a bite of. “I…I did not mean to imply, that is to say, I am quite certain that the only activity either of us will be engaged in as regards the bed is sleeping.”
Lord bless him, but the man was adorable. Derrek laughed, his heart feeling decidedly too big within his chest.
“Once again, you are teasing me,” Jeremy said with an impatient sigh, standing and taking the bit of cloth with the uneaten remains of his luncheon to the high, narrow table near the stove that served as a counter.
“I am,” Derrek admitted jovially. “But only because you are such a delight to tease.”
Jeremy sent him what Derrek supposed was intended to be a withering look over his shoulder.
“Come now,” Derrek said, getting up and taking the teacups the two of them had used over to the counter. “What is a bit of teasing between friends?”
“Are we friends?” Jeremy asked, one eyebrow raised. Derrek was certain he was attempting to look scolding, but he merely looked vulnerable.
“We are,” Derrek said, resting a hand on his shoulder. He grinned, then added, “We should be, seeing as there’s only one bed in this cottage and we’ll have to share it.”
Jeremy’s eyes went wide, but instead of stammering out some excuse why they couldn’t share the same bed, he turned his attention to cleaning up their meal instead.
The question of them sharing the same bed hung in the air for the rest of the day, though neither of them had the time to discuss it. After climbing up onto the cottage’s roof to determine why the chimney was smoking, not only did Derrek discover that several nests needed to be removed for that bit of the house to work right, he noticed a few patches on the roof that were certain to leak when it rained if he did not do something about them.
So the rest of the daylight hours were spent with Derrek on the roof, fixing the chimney and tiles, and Jeremy in the house, scrubbing floors and walls and making a pile of washing to be done as soon as soap could be procured.
They enjoyed another light repast that evening after which the two of them were too exhausted to do more than chat about inconsequential things for a time, then, when they realized that candles and lamp oil were another thing they would need to procure on a trip to the nearest market, they decided the day was done and went to bed.
“It really won’t be a problem sharing a bed,” Derrek assured Jeremy as the two of them went through their nightly ablutions, albeit in separate rooms with the door mostly closed between them. “It might not be a large bed, but neither is it particularly small.”
“It will be a problem,” Jeremy said with a sigh, walking timidly into the bedroom dressed in a thick, woolen nightshirt.
Derrek smiled at him. All that the nightshirt was missing were a few frills around the cuffs and neckline to be the perfect nightgown.
“Is something amiss?” Jeremy asked, glancing down at himself.
“Not at all,” Derrek said, trying not to laugh as he finished scrubbing a damp cloth across his chest and arms. “Only, I do not generally wear a nightshirt to bed.”
Jeremy seemed taken aback by that answer. Or perhaps the way he stared at Derrek with such tension in his body was because all Derrek wore were his drawers. Sure enough, Jeremy’s eyes raked over Derrek’s form with enough heat to make the cold room cozy, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed in appreciation of the sight before him.
“Come on, man,” Derrek said with more than a hint of teasing. “You’ve seen an undressed male form before. You’re a tailor, for God’s sake. You see and touch bodies all the time.”
“Yes, but not—” Jeremy stopped abruptly, then snapped his gaze up, keeping his eyes firmly on Derrek’s. “It will be a problem, though. Us sharing a bed.”
“It will not be from my end,” Derrek said with a shrug, pretending he didn’t know what Jeremy was talking about.
In fact, he did not know what Jeremy was talking about. Not really.
“I am a restless sleeper,” Jeremy said, edging around Derrek and scrambling into the turned-down bed. “You have been forewarned.”
Derrek chuckled and finished with his washing. “I am certain all will be well,” he said.
Derrek completed his preparations then climbed into bed with Jeremy. He took exceptional care not to get too close to him nor to touch him, which required him to lay as close to the edge of the bed as possible. There truly was enough room for the both of them, provided they kept to their own sides.
Jeremy did not keep to his own side. They both fell asleep quickly, but Derrek was awakened after what felt like no time at all as an arm flung across him. The flailing gesture was accompanied by Jeremy’s light snoring, which told Derrek the man was genuinely asleep and not trying to tempt him. He shifted to his side, carefully lifted Jeremy’s arm, and returned it to his side of the bed.
A short time later, the flailing happened again, only this time with a leg. Derrek had a harder time moving Jeremy’s leg away, but he managed to tuck his bedmate away again.
Then Jeremy rolled over entirely.
By that point, Derrek was beyond exhausted and only passingly amused by his friend’s antics. Jeremy was clearly blissful in slumber, he just would not stay to one spot.
On and on it continued through the night until Derrek finally lost his patience entirely. Instead of returning Jeremy to his side of the bed, he pulled the man over him like a blanket and clamped his arm around Jeremy’s waist to keep the two of them snuggled tightly.
That seemed to do the trick, and the rest of the night passed in relative peace. Jeremy snored on, and Derrek managed to close his eyes and drift away as well.
In the morning, as the first bits of sunlight stirred Derrek, always a light sleeper, from his dreams, another problem with their sleeping arrangements became apparent. Jeremy was still sound asleep, tucked against him…sporting the most magnificent cockstand. As soon as Derrek realized what the thick, warm spear pressed against his hip was, he burst into a broad smile.
“Well, well, my little dove,” he murmured in a sleep-heavy voice. “It seems you have been hiding quite a bit in those bespoke breeches of yours.
A wealth of erotic imagery flitted through Derrek’s still sleepy imagination. He tended to prefer taking the active role in lovemaking, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have a use for a good, solid cock. A man liked to look at what he fancied, after all, and taste it as well.
He growled low in his throat as his own morning wood twitched harder at the thought of rolling Jeremy to his back, pushing his thighs apart, and feasting on the meat that was on offer. He could practically hear Jeremy’s moans of pleasure as he rushed closer to orgasm.
As if Jeremy was a part of his thoughts, the man let out a plaintive whimper and moved his hips slightly. Derrek’s smile grew as the quick, slightly unfocused frotting against his hip continued. Jeremy mumbled something that could very well have been a name. With any luck, it was his name.
He was certain Jeremy would come in his sleep, but with a sharp intake of breath, Jeremy popped awake, instantly aware of his situation.
“Good Lord! I am so sorry,” he gasped, scrambling back from Derrek until his back was pressed against the wall that the bed was wedged against. He gathered as much of his nightshirt and the bedcovers, which had slipped down, as he could and held them in front of his groin. “I am so terribly, terribly sorry.”
Derrek chuckled and threw aside the bedcovers so that he could get up and leave Jeremy to deal with his morning surprise however he wanted. “It happens to the best of us,” he said with a smile as he stood.
A good man would have been discreet, but Derrek wasn’t entirely convinced he was all that good. He made certain Jeremy had an eyeful of his own erection straining against the thin cotton of his drawers, even scratching around his balls to draw attention to it, before heading for the door.
“I’ll just wash up and fetch water outside,” he said, acutely aware of Jeremy’s wide eyes staring at the thick outline of his cock and the small wet patch near the top of his drawers.
He left Jeremy to his thoughts and fancies and headed straight outside. The morning was still cold and dewy, but that didn’t stop Derrek from walking past the water pump and into the edge of the forest. He didn’t need the concealment, not really, but as soon as he found a friendly tree to lean against, he tugged at the drawstring of his drawers, took his freed cock in hand, and stroked until the kiss of pleasure brought on by a quick orgasm had him feeling relaxed again.
He took a moment to catch his breath and shake his head over how easily he was able to bring himself to completion with thoughts of Jeremy in his mind’s eye. He sincerely hoped that Jeremy was back in the cottage, treating himself to the same morning pleasure with thoughts and memories of him.
Once he recovered enough to piss, tidy up, and fetch the water he ostensibly went outside to get, he returned to the warmth of the house. Jeremy was already dressed and had fires in both the stove and the fireplace, but it was evident to Derrek that his dove hadn’t made good use of his hand to relieve his tension. Jeremy was as tight as a bowstring.
“We need to make our way to market at some point today,” he said quickly and thinly, not looking at Derrek. “Aside from washing soap, candles, and lamp oil, we need milk, flour, and everything else to stock a kitchen so that we can fend for ourselves.”
Derrek paused on his way to the bedroom to dress. “Do you know how to cook?” he asked before ducking through the doorway.
“As it happens, I do,” Jeremy called from the other room as Derrek gathered up his clothes for the day. “I’ve been a bachelor for all of my adult life.”
“Most bachelors have a maid or housekeeper to cook for them,” Derrek said as he changed his drawers for breeches and tucked in a warm shirt.
“True,” Jeremy’s voice rang from the other room. “I have never felt comfortable relying on someone who might spill all my secrets if they felt I’d wronged them in some way, though.”
Derrek frowned as he sat to pull on stockings. “You have the boys who work in your tailoring shop.”
“They have a vested interest in protecting both me and themselves,” Jeremy answered, sounding like he’d moved to the table. “And besides, I feel as though I must have a care for them. I do hope they are eating well while I am gone.”
Derrek grinned. So Jeremy, like a great many of the rest of them who were eligible for membership in The Brotherhood, kept himself safe by surrounding himself with other men who needed their secrets kept and who relied on him for care and camaraderie.
“I suppose in circumstances like that, learning to cook would be a benefit,” Derrek said, finishing with his shoes, then standing and heading into the main room.
Somehow, in the short time he’d been dressing, Jeremy had laid out a small feast of the items they’d brought with them from The Chameleon Club for breakfast. There was tea and toast and somehow eggs as well.
Jeremy stood beside the table, and when Derrek paused to stare at the breakfast, he smiled and gestured to everything he’d created.
Something prickled and blossomed deep in Derrek’s chest. It was an old emotion, something he hadn’t felt since Joseph had died. It lifted him and made him feel like Jeremy had poured warm honey through his insides.
“I wish it could be more,” Jeremy said, sliding easily into one of the chairs and gesturing for Derrek to take the other, “but that will have to wait until after we’ve been to market.”
It took a moment for Derrek to propel himself forward again. The scene before him was so endearing and the emotions swirling within him were so potent that he didn’t know what to do with himself at first.
Once he cleared his throat and joined Jeremy at the table, the momentary feeling of swirling through the clouds subsided and he felt more like his randy, teasing self again.
“This looks perfect for a bright spring morning,” he said, reaching for the teapot so that he could pour for both Jeremy and himself. He hoped the tea was better than it had been the other day in Jeremy’s rooms.
“Er, Derrek, it is decidedly gloomy outside, not bright at all,” Jeremy said, offering Derrek the crock of butter that had been among their Chameleon Club supplies.
“Everything is bright with you around, dove,” Derrek said, winking.
He loved the way Jeremy blushed at the slightest compliment. He loved the fussy way Jeremy set to work making sure that their meager feast was to Derrek’s liking. And he loved the lush curve of Jeremy’s backside once the meal was done and the man got up to clear their things. What he wouldn’t do to that backside if given half a chance!
“I do not suppose the market will be set up this early,” Jeremy said as he worked cleaning up. “We might have to busy ourselves this morning. I brought a bit of work from the shop to get done, neckcloths that need hemming and the like, to occupy myself.”
“What really needs to be done is clearing out the garden,” Derrek said. “We will probably only be here a short time, but we could at least pull out the weeds and make certain the beds are tidy.”
“I wouldn’t know the first thing about tidying garden beds,” Jeremy said with a slightly breathless laugh as he came back to the table to take the last of the breakfast things Derrek had finished with.
“Afraid to get your hands dirty, are you?” Derrek teased him, twisting in his chair so he could watch Jeremy’s furtive actions. The man had definitely given himself blue balls rather than relieving himself earlier. He would regret it for the rest of the day.
“It isn’t that I’m afraid of hard work,” Jeremy explained. “It is just that I have no idea which end of a garden is up.”
Derrek nodded as he came to a decision then pushed himself to stand. “Come on,” he said, holding out a hand to Jeremy. “I’ll teach you. On a morning like this, the soil will be nice and soft, the worms and snails near the surface, and the weeds easy to pull.”
“I—” Jeremy hesitated, staring at Derrek’s hand for a while. Then he took a breath, set aside the towel he’d been clearing dishes with, and took Derrek’s hand, saying, “Very well. Teach me.”
A rush of lust, and something purer, pulsed through Derrek. If Jeremy needed a teacher, he would offer his services until they were both satisfied. The funny thing was that he meant those words to be true for gardening as well as bedsport. He meant them in every way they could be meant.
“You will enjoy gardening,” he said, taking Jeremy through the house, gathering up their coats on the way, then heading outside. “In fact, I would wager that you will fall in love with it. In no time at all, you will be studying the names and growing times of all the flowers of England, touring other people’s gardens, and purchasing a house of your own outside the city so that you can build your very own garden.”
“I doubt I would ever live outside of London,” Jeremy said, glancing around the fresh but tangled garden beds in front of the cottage. “For one thing, you’re in London.”
They both froze as the implication of Jeremy’s words sprung to life between them. Once again, Derrek felt that warm, magnetic feeling in his chest.
“That is to say,” Jeremy corrected himself in a rush, “everyone I know is in London. The Chameleon Club is in London. I wouldn’t want to move away from all the people I know and care about.” He blushed harder and stammered on with double the awkwardness as he said, “I mean, I care about you as a friend. A new friend, but definitely a friend. I would not want to leave you behind so?—”
“Shush, dove,” Derrek said smiling. He realized he still held Jeremy’s hand and squeezed it before letting go. “It’s called base, animal attraction. Some people are just drawn to each other. I am happy with our fledgling friendship, too, and you saw my body’s reaction to you this morning, as I saw yours.”
Jeremy went red enough to rival the roses that likely grew in the estate’s gardens.
“It doesn’t have to be anything more or less than that, though,” Derrek finished. “Men react to other men.” He shrugged, and since Jeremy was clearly out of his depth, he pretended to ignore the glowing attraction between them by saying, “Now, I thought I spotted a garden shed out here somewhere. Let’s see if it has what we need to clear away the weeds.”
Jeremy relaxed slightly, but he was still on edge as they set about their morning chore. Derrek had to admit that he was pleased by the close feelings between them. They were embers only, but every friendship, regardless of what it evolved into, had to begin somewhere. The sprouts of connection between the two of them only made Derrek more determined than ever to keep Jeremy safe from whoever had put a price on his head, and if it took a much longer period of hiding than he’d originally thought, that would be perfectly satisfactory to him.