a quick flick of his tongue over her bottom lip, he drew her attention. When her eyes met his, her heart gave another stutter. He was so beautiful. And he was here in her arms.
He rolled his hips back and left her. The sudden emptiness made her want to cry. But the next instant, he thrust into her, hard and fast.
The chair squeaked. Her shoulders would be sore. They would be a constant, pleasant reminder for the next day or two. His torso rolled against hers, increasing the chafing sensation on her breasts. They, too, would sting in the days to come.
He drove his member in and out of her slick, clamping core. They’d shared many ardent moments in the last year, but each time it was more passionate. Burning waves of pleasure washed through her and rebounded from the contact points of his member in her, from his chest rubbing against her breasts. Her hips answered his every thrust, grinding against him, silently begging him for more.
He deepened his rolling thrusts. He pumped in and out of her, stroking her so deliciously that the hot friction they both created started that surge that flowed through her thighs and back and sides. Emiline knew she was going to come, sooner than she wanted or expected and fiercer than ever before.
She was marginally aware that her nails bit into his shoulders as she screamed her pleasure. She loved him so much tiny tears formed at the corners of her eyes.
He left her and came moments after her, his hand pumping his member until he’d shed the last drop. When he looked up, he had tears in his eyes also.
Leaning forward, he kissed her again while his hand left her hair and he fumbled to close his breeches again. He smiled.
“I love…your hair.”
Emiline knew that. It’s why she wore it down. For him.
He covered her again and got up. His knees popped. The smile died on his lips, and he turned his back.
Today seemed more tropical than most. Emiline had purposely tamed her hair this morning and carefully arranged it in a chignon so that now she could delight in every salty breath of sea breeze that tickled and cooled her neck.
Standing at the window, Emiline looked out onto the town of St. George’s, capital of Grenada. When she realized her nervous fingers were playing with the brocade curtain, she quickly brought her hand down. She didn’t really know exactly why she was stalling.
Emiline, I’m going to leave.
“You look lovely today, Emiline.”
With a thankful nod, Emiline turned, looking straight into the keen eyes of Monsieur Améliore sitting in a huge leather chair behind his desk. He was a good-looking man even though he was old enough to be her father. His full mop of dark blond hair was only faintly dusted with gray; his braid emphasized it was graying slightly more so at his temples. He was impeccably garbed. The laces around his neck were tight, but not too tight, spilling in abundance out of a periwinkle waistcoat that highlighted his cornflower blue coat. Emiline supposed it was difficult to take Paris out of a Parisian. Fashion and good manners were inborn to the French. She of all people knew that.
Just then Améliore wrinkled his forehead. Emiline had been silent far too long. She took a step closer to the small chair in front of the desk. “Any news of your nephew?” Last year the French had joined in King George’s War, and Améliore’s nephew had gladly enlisted. “Is he still in—”
“Yes, Louisbourg is under siege. Just this morning I got a letter that’s about four months old, dated April 29, 1745. By now I suppose the British have breached the defenses and are happily helping themselves to anything they can loot and pillage.” Améliore spoke with a light growl through clenched teeth. An animosity toward the British was inborn to the French as well.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Monsieur Améliore.”
He shrugged. “That’s neither here nor there, Emiline. Would you care to discuss why you’re here today?”
At first, Emiline was shocked that Améliore had so rudely cut to the heart of the matter, but on second thought…
Connor O’Driscoll had business with Améliore. When he arrived, the secretary assured him that even though Améliore was currently occupied, he could wait. Connor nodded and strolled to the seating arrangement by one of the open windows right next to Améliore’s office.
The late-morning breeze whispered over his face and made him sigh with bliss as he settled in the cushioned rattan chair. It was cooler indoors, a pleasant, slightly moist freshness that couldn’t be drawn away by the sticky hot weather. The large windows were wide open, and the white brocade curtains danced excitedly like debutantes at their first ball.
He sat back in the cushioned chair and enjoyed the solitude. It was quiet here, almost absolutely silent but for the tiny scratching of the secretary’s quill and the low murmur flowing toward him from the office in the next room. The voices were that of a lady mixed with the deep, smoky timbre of Monsieur Améliore’s, the best lawyer in St. George’s.
The Coraal had arrived just this morning, and as captain of the ship, Connor had dutifully seen to it that all the cargo went for the best price possible. Then, after having been at sea for several weeks, he had spoiled himself at the local bathhouse, indulged in scented steam and a shave, and afterward floated in rose-petal water until his fingertips were white and shriveled.
Feeling cared for and contented now, Connor let his head fall against the back of the rattan chair. An unruly strand of hair escaped its braid and danced around the tip of his nose. It tickled, skipping over his face. He wrinkled his nose a few times with a dreamy smile on his lips. The effort to brush it away seemed like too much at the moment.
The breeze was quite pleasant and cooling. He was sure his friend was staying cool as well. At that thought, Connor opened his eyes and looked over the town out of the open window. His gaze was immediately drawn to the red roof of the most dubious and finest house in all of the West Indies. He knew Reinier was there. They always met there.
But business came first. Connor sighed and let his head fall back again, closing his eyes to the soft voice of the lady inside Améliore’s office. By the tone of her words, she was polite and well educated, and very feminine.
His mind was lulled into a dreamlike state by the sweetness of her voice. Something in the way she talked sounded familiar to Connor. For the life of him he couldn’t say how; nonetheless, he felt as if he knew her. Yet, such excellent ladies rarely associated with the likes of him or his friend. Not normally, anyway.
Not that Reinier and Connor weren’t well respected. Quite the contrary, the proprietors of the Barhydt-O’Driscoll Shipping Company were very well-respected men. It was more that ladies like her didn’t play the games they liked to play. Not normally, anyway.
Outwardly, such ladies thought themselves much too good, too sophisticated, and above all too decent to enjoy the degree of decadence Reinier and Connor indulged in. But he knew better. Appearances were deceiving—especially with ladies. And most pointedly with lonely ladies who needed a strong hand…or two or four.
Yet, it could be equally as wonderful to enjoy the talents of less-respected, highly adept women with no inhibitions. They didn’t need to be convinced they’d like this or that. They already knew they’d enjoy themselves immensely.
Connor smiled and folded his arms over his chest while stretching his long legs.
