“So she did have a secret she held over the man’s head.”
“She did and he refused to change his decision because of the fear that she would tell his secret to the one person he did not want to know it, a young wife he loves very much. Your cousin accepted his refusal, told him he needed to get the secret told or he would always be used as a pawn by someone, and then sought out a man with the power to change the decision the other man had made. Mother will soon have to leave the town house and she has no authority over Agatha from this day on.”
Olympia kissed him, unable to resist him when he looked so pleased and relaxed. It took her only a moment to realize that both of them were far too hungry for each other to be satisfied with only kisses. She had wanted him very badly when they had been at Myrtledowns, wanted the pleasure he could give her to wash away the fear she had felt for her son. Yet they had had to sleep apart and could not even attempt to steal a little privacy for themselves in order to feed their need for each other.
Brant knew he had to have her now. It was not going to be any sweet and tender bout of lovemaking, either. He was too hungry for her. The look in her eyes told him she shared that greed.
“Door needs to be latched,” he said, reluctant to let go of her and move to do so.
“Hurry then.” The moment he stepped back she began to unlace her gown.
He secured the door and, even as he removed his coat and waistcoat, he walked back to her. “Not sure I want to wait until you undress no matter how much I like to see you naked.”
“Fast then.”
“Very fast. So fast I should probably be ashamed of myself.”
He kissed her and picked her up in his arms. The moment she twined her arms and legs around him, he walked until she was pressed up against the wall. The little pantalets she wore were easy to remove and when he slid his hand between her legs he found the hot, damp welcome he needed so badly. He growled his approval against the hollow at the base of her throat as she undid his pants with her long, nimble fingers. The moment he was free, he shifted her against his body until hers was wide open to him, and then thrust inside.
Olympia held on tightly as Brant thrust into her again and again. It was a rough lovemaking, fierce and with little finesse, but her body had no complaint. The hunger within her was so fierce that she quickly began to feel that tightness inside her that told her bliss was just around the corner. She kissed him and a moment later cried out into his mouth as pleasure washed over her in hot waves. He joined her in that sweet place a heartbeat later.
Brant carefully eased himself from her body and, still holding her in his arms, staggered over to the bed and fell onto it. He liked the feel of her soft laughter against his throat as she adjusted her position so that she was sprawled more comfortably on top of him. Olympia was the perfect lover, he mused. She matched his passion to perfection and was so free with her own that he still marveled over the fact that he was her first real lover.
“Well, that was a fine celebration of a victory,” she said as she stroked his chest, idly wondering if she should undo his shirt so that she could feel his skin beneath her hands.
“A worthy effort, but, perhaps, if we rest a little, we can try to surpass it.”
The laughter bubbling up in Olympia’s throat suddenly vanished and a coldness swept over her. She stared at the headboard but did not really see it. What she saw was a terrified Agatha fighting an ugly old man. Behind them stood a smiling Lady Mallam with a nearly naked footman at her feet. And then, just as quickly as it came, the vision was gone. She sat up on Brant, fighting the dizziness that always accompanied the rare visions she had.
“You now control all that happens with Agatha, correct?” she asked.
Something in her voice caused him to tense and he gripped her hips a little more tightly. “Yes. Whatever my mother was negotiating with Minden is now null and void for no agreement can be made without my complete approval.”
“And where is Agatha now?”
“She was out riding with friends but might have returned home by now. Why?”
Olympia leapt off him and grabbed her pantalets off the floor to slip them on. “You have to go back.”
He stood up and began to redon his waistcoat. “Why? How do you know I have to go back?”
“Occasionally, actually, rarely, I have a vision. Not like my cousin Chloe’s, of course, but quick, sharp pictures or even just a sharp demand that I do something or go somewhere. I just saw Agatha fighting with a nasty old man. Your mother was standing there watching, a smile on her face. And, for some odd reason, there was a big, somewhat handsome footman, kneeling at her feet.”