Lovely Deception Read online

  *

  Cobblestone Press

  www.cobblestone-press.com

  Copyright ©2009 by Lillith Payne

  First published in 2009

  *

  NOTICE: This work is copyrighted. It is licensed only for use by the original purchaser. Making copies of this work or distributing it to any unauthorized person by any means, including without limit email, floppy disk, file transfer, paper print out, or any other method constitutes a violation of International copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines or imprisonment.

  *

  CONTENTS

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Epilogue

  Author Bio

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Lovely Deception

  Copyright© 2009 Lillith Payne

  ISBN: 978-1-60088-408-5

  Cover Artist: Louisa Gallie

  Editor: Barbara Louise

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  Cobblestone Press, LLC

  www.cobblestone-press.com

  Dedication

  For my husband, my lord of the manor.

  My thanks to everyone at Cobblestone Press for their continued support, especially my very talented editor, Barbara Louise, and to Louisa Gallie for the cover art.

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Prologue

  Southampton, England—1860

  Nina eagerly accepted Jacob’s erection between her lips, wanting to explore him intently. At first sight, his size gave her pause, but the heat of his skin against her palm made her forget to be anxious. Curiosity took hold, and she used both hands to encompass him, moving the skin between her fingers to reveal his true length and girth. The shining drip of fluid on his tip made her lick her lips. When she did, he pulsed in her hand.

  She lowered her head, a new want filling her. His scent drew her, and she licked the tip, tasting the salty fluid. When she did, he surged between her lips. Understanding she could give him pleasure was exciting, and she licked again. Drawing a deep breath, she closed her lips over his large head, taking small passes until she became acquainted with the action.

  With one hand, she continued to slowly stroke his cock while her lips made continuous passes up and down his length. Her reward was his sigh, his body tensing at her motions. Glancing up, she saw his head drop back. He lay with his hips jutted forward, his hands resting behind his head. The sight made her warm and liquid inside, a feeling she’d never experienced before.

  It was as if she’d been granted some special treat within her as her nipples budded to tight berries, hard and needy for contact. Nina didn’t think about her actions, rather let her other hand move to her breast, tugging on it until she found the rhythm that matched her need.

  The original concept of taking him in her mouth was no longer intimidating now that she had two experiences to consider simultaneously. Jacob’s cock surged between her lips, and she slipped lower, taking more of his length while she manipulated her nipple.

  “Damn, Nina, I’m going to explode,” Jacob whispered.

  Sitting back on her heels she looked up at him, saw his soft brown eyes, and knew she’d not stop. “Show me how,” she said, dropping back to his cock, taking him fully in her mouth, her tongue swirling all around. Her fingers twisted her nipple as she sought to take him deeper.

  He pulled from her mouth, his own hand taking his glistening erection from her lips and pumping it twice before letting his seed release across her lips and chest. A deep groan worked its way though him as he let out several smaller spurts of liquid.

  Nina swept her tongue along her lips, savoring him, and replaced his hand with hers, stroking his cock as she licked him clean.

  Jacob grasped her shoulders and drew her higher along his chest, his mouth latching onto her hard nipple, suckling her breast while his tongue licked his cum from her skin. The intense pull of his mouth made her body surge and she thrilled at the feeling acknowledging this was a first for her.

  Nina had her first orgasm with Jacob’s mouth to her breast, his semi-erect cock in her hand. As the sensations filled her, she felt her womb clench several times, her moist lower lips wanting more. She drew his hand along her stomach and boldly lowered it, giving him permission to touch her.

  He understood her need and let his fingers dance along her belly, taunting her with a missed touch her body craved. Each time he drew his hand away, he pulled the material of her nightdress higher on her thighs, exposing her legs and private parts to his view and touch.

  He continued to suckle her breasts, alternating sides while his fingers continued lower. She should have been embarrassed at the heat her body was producing, but instead she understood it was an incentive. He grazed lightly against her, and she lost control, letting the strangely intense waves of pleasure envelop her. Stroking along her lower lips, he moved his mouth to hers, letting his large finger gently probe inside her.

  Nina’s body bore down on his finger, deepening it inside her body, taking more than he was giving.

  “Relax, Nina,” he whispered against her neck, taking small bits of skin between his teeth.

  “Now, Jacob, I need…”

  “I know what you need,” he told her, taking her breast in his hand, flexing his fingers around her as he slipped deeper inside her.

  Nina felt her whole body contract and knew he could feel it against his finger. He withdrew from her, and she moved to push his hand back, pausing as he laughed at her and brushed the loose curls from her forehead.

  “God, you’re amazing,” he told her before slipping back inside her, using his middle finger with his index, filling her like she’d never known before.

  Stretched wider, her body jutted harder against him, taking both fingers deeper. In the moment, she let her body rather than her mind control her actions. She came a second time with Jacob’s lips to her nipple, two of his fingers buried deep in her vagina. Sharp, pinpoint lights reflected on her closed eyelids as her body shuddered.

  He didn’t pull away immediately, but softened his touch and eased from her body. She lay drained under him, her body and skin covered with a thin layer of sweat.

  “Oh, Jacob,” she managed, and he drew her against his body.

  “It gets better, Nina, I promise you.”

  “Better than that?”

  “Much better. Wait until my cock stretches you open, reaches deep within you.”

  “Now, Jacob,” she said with no hesitation in her voice.

  “Wouldn’t you rather a soft bed beneath you?” he asked, his tongue licking along her chin.

  “Now,” she told him, reaching along his torso, twisting to reach his penis, now fully erect again. With her hand tightly wrapped around it, she moved it forward and back, feeling his body tensi
ng against her. “Now,” she told him, and felt victorious as he moved fully over her body.

  Noise from the other end of the stable alerted them to the presence of another.

  “Damn,” he muttered, pulling from her touch, rolling to the side, and drawing a deep breath. “Stay here,” he told her in a quiet voice.

  He fumbled in the hay to right his trousers and didn’t bother rebuttoning his shirt. Jacob’s hands ran through his hair, forcing it from his face as he stood and moved from the stall. Nina lay still for only a moment before sanity came back to her, and she fumbled to pull her nightshift back into place.

  What they had been doing would be obvious to whoever walked in. She could hear Jacob speaking to another man in the distance and moments later, he returned to her. He reached to help her stand, picking several strands of hay from her hair.

  “It’s late; we’d better get you back to the house before you catch cold.”

  She allowed him to straighten her gown and watched as he shook hay from her shawl before draping it around her shoulders. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips before guiding her toward the door.

  The walk back to the house in the darkness should have been uncomfortable, but instead she felt renewed by the experience. Even if he never touched her again, she’d always have this moment in time.

  It amazed her how life could take turns with little or no notice.

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Chapter One

  Nina sat beside the sick bed of a virtual stranger. He no longer resembled the handsome young man she’d met seven years earlier. The strong, athletic man with sandy brown hair and clear blue eyes was now bloated and pale.

  Their ritual, monthly letters had gone from ideas of young love and marriage to the staid motions of remembrances of important occasions; he never forgot her birthday, nor she his. At the time they met, she’d been just eighteen, thrilled that her father approved of their engagement. They’d met five times socially before Wallace Arret asked for her hand.

  It was agreed at the time he’d finish his schooling first in order to provide for Nina and their family. She should have known there were faults with the contract, but she’d been brought up to see the positive in all situations and forced a calm front when asked about her missing fiancé and impending marriage.

  Never once did Nina let on that she felt imprisoned by the marriage contract, for she was allowed little time to socialize after its completion. She was off the market and was supposed to wait until the wedding before having a social life again, even though they hadn’t set a date nor did she wear his ring. While the balls and endless dances during the season used to annoy her, Nina found herself longing for the thrill of a new dress and a dance at one of the many socials.

  In the first years, Wallace made a point of coming back to London for the Christmas season. By the third year, he’d been too busy to travel. After that, he’d only come back once more, after five years, when he promised his education was almost complete. Although most men finished in four, he apparently needed another year and still another. In all those years, she’d been stagnating at home, waiting for the man she hoped he’d be.

  In the first years, he’d sent her fans and handkerchiefs as tokens of love. No painted miniatures or jewelry set with gems ever arrived for her. After the third year, he’d stopped sending her anything but the quarterly letter that updated her on his studies. Of course, she was a mere woman and wouldn’t understand the complexities of his work, so he didn’t bother to share it with her.

  Her letters became jaded, musing over the weather and hoping his health continued so he could finish his courses and return to her. In actuality, none of this happened. With time, she became relieved by the distance.

  When the letter from Viscount Jacob Mansley arrived, explaining that Mr. Arret had fallen from a scaffolding while working on a renovation, her father had flown into a panic. He insisted, after a subtle whisper from his new wife, that Nina must journey from London to Southampton to care for her injured fiancé.

  At twenty five, Nina Harbin found herself in a stranger’s home with no real prospect for a fruitful future. While Dartmoor, Lord Mansley’s country estate seemed lovely from the glimpse she was allowed upon arriving, her intuition told her this was not going to be the loving reunion she’d once longed for.

  Wallace lay comfortably sleeping in a laudanum haze. His right leg was splinted and wrapped, carefully placed so the bones would heal properly aligned.

  Tea was brought to her on a tray, for which she was grateful. Sitting before the fire, she indulged her appetite for the small sandwiches and sweets offered. Nina knew she was supposed to eat sparingly to keep her figure slim but in reality, she was hungry almost all the time. Her five-foot-seven-inch frame craved sustenance, though her corset reminded her not to over-indulge.

  She wandered around the guest room, feeling the texture of the finely woven cloth used for draperies and bedding. The deep purple was offset by intricate patterns of dark blue swirls. White trim softened the room’s overall appearance. It would have been a cheerful room if not for the depressing smell of sickness that clung to it. The footman who had taken her bags when she arrived showed her directly to Wallace’s room, not giving her a chance to freshen from her journey.

  As darkness approached, Nina watched from the second story window as several men on horseback arrived at the main entrance. While she couldn’t hear their words, she saw the humor they shared over something she’d never know. Two of the men left as the third entered the house. From the distance, Nina could only see a dark-haired man, tall with wide shoulders.

  Something inside her melted. A feeling she’d never experienced before, the sensation was oddly appealing. She wondered what Lady Mansley was like. At first thought, Nina decided the lady of the house was very lucky. With a pause she thought longer, wondering if Lord Mansley had become a disappointment to his bride.

  She ate the superbly prepared meal brought to her later in the evening and longed for the maid to talk to her. She knew nothing about Wallace’s convalescence and wondered how long she was meant to stay. Nina fell asleep in the armchair near the fireplace, waiting for Wallace to wake up.

  She was rudely awakened long after nightfall. The fire was still burning, but Wallace was groaning in his stupor of lucidity.

  “Wallace, it’s Nina. I’ve come to take care of you,” she told him over and over while using a soft cloth to blot his sweating brow.

  “Nina who?” he asked, taking the cloth from her hand and throwing it against the door. “I need my medicine, now. Go and get it.” He dropped back on the pillows, exhausted from his short tirade.

  Nina stood to the side, uncomfortable with the entire incident. Not recognizing her was understandable, and his attitude could be brought on by pain, but the tone of his temper made her leery. She saw no medications and decided someone in the household would know when it was time to administer them. But after several more similar outbursts, she pulled the cord to summon the butler. He would be the person to ask about the medicine.

  Daylen, as he introduced himself, arrived shortly with a small tray and a glass upon it. It was half full with liquid.

  “I’m sorry to disturb you, but he’s woken several times complaining of pain. I didn’t know what else to do.”

  “I’ll take care of him, Miss.”

  Nina watched the older man bend at the waist and hoist Wallace up on the pillows, repeatedly trying to get the liquid down his throat. When he finally woke, he drank the mixture without question, all but pleading for another dose.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Arret, we have strict orders about your medications. Let me settle you more comfortably, and then you can speak with your fiancée.”

  “My what? Don’t tell me some twit sent for that bland girl to come and nurse me? Whose stupid idea was that? I’ll never get any peace with her hovering over me.”

  Nina managed to hold back her stunned cry. Instantly, she understood that, to Wallac
e, she was nothing more than a name and bank account. And he’d kept her life hanging for seven years. Sadness encompassed her being for all her lost youth.

  Daylen cleared his throat several times, before finally say, “Mr. Arret, Miss Harbin is here.” His words filtered to Wallace, who finally stopped complaining.

  Scanning the room, he spotted her near the fireplace. Nina watched as he schooled his expression.

  “Miss Harbin, it was good of you to come to visit me after this terrible accident.” His voice had softened until Daylen scoffed quietly at his words. “Get out, you old fool,” he added. The butler moved quietly from the room, acknowledging Nina with a slight bow.

  “Nina, forgive me, I’m in so much pain I’m half out of my mind most of the time. It was good of you to come.”

  His smile was forced, more of a sneer, she decided, and she wanted to say she had no choice but instead nodded her head. Moving closer, she hesitated, bringing her chair beside the bed but beyond Wallace’s reach.

  “How did this happen, Wallace? Lord Mansley’s letter didn’t describe your accident in detail, only that you were injured.”

  “It was a ghastly accident; I’ll never forget the boards giving way beneath me, and the feeling of falling until I hit the ground. My leg, Nina, it will never be the same.” He turned his head away, but she saw his lips twist into a grin in the low light of the oil lamp.

  “How long will it take to recover? Have the doctors told you?”

  “Doctors, they’re all alike. They have no real idea of how truly it hurts, and would rather spout their platitudes about recuperation with exercise. Can you imagine, they want me to try and sit in a chair during the day, they want me to try and bear my weight on this mangled leg?”