“Well,” he said, “I would have to keep you locked away, just in case anyone decided to come looking for you. You would be my little prisoner, but of course I would not hurt you. I would only give you pleasure. That is, unless you were naughty. If you were naughty, I suppose I would have to discipline you.”
She exhaled a shaky breath and squirmed again. “How-how would you discipline me, Papa? What would you do?” Her eyes widened with excitement.
He ought to stop this nonsense. But he couldn’t. Not when she was so very thrilled with his story and couldn’t cease wriggling on his lap and rubbing herself on his engorged manhood. Did she realize how she was affecting him? In her sweet innocence, likely not. He took a deep breath and hoped his next words didn’t scandalize her too much.
“If you broke a rule, little girl, Papa would have to give you a good scolding. Then I would have no choice but to take you over my knee, bare your little bottom, and give you a well-deserved spanking that would no doubt leave your behind a deep shade of crimson.”
She gasped, but she didn’t appear frightened. Not in the least. If anything, she seemed…giddy at the prospect of receiving his discipline. No, not giddy. Aroused. His blood heated further and he was suddenly stifling hot in the carriage.
“Papa, I find your story so exciting I can scarcely catch my breath.”
“What part excites you the most, little girl?”
“Oh all of it! The part where you steal me away from Talcott House, the part where you keep me locked up like your prisoner, and even the last part.”
The last part. The spanking. He stared down at her, thinking he must be the luckiest man in the world to have gained this lively and beautiful creature as his bride. Passion flared in the depths of her eyes, and he found he could no longer hold himself back from tasting her.
He grasped her face in his hands and captured her lips in his, delving his tongue against hers and thrilling at the act of claiming her in this way. She squealed in surprise but didn’t attempt to pull away, and her acquiescence pleased him beyond all bounds.
She eventually gave a soft moan and pressed her tongue to his in a timid manner that nearly left him undone. Still kissing her, he released her face and placed his hands firmly on her hips. Then, holding her in place, he ground his hardening cock up against her bottom.
This elicited another squeal from her. “Papa,” she said breathlessly once they came up for air. “Papa, is that your cock I feel?”
Perhaps he should scold her for such bold language, but right now his thoughts were a bit muddled as all the blood in his body rushed south. God’s teeth, he had never known such heightened desire in his whole life, as if he teetered on the brink of madness. He wasn’t a rake by any means, but he had visited a bawdy house now and then. Most gentleman did. But unbridled passion—that was the only way he knew how to describe his current feelings toward Hyacinth—he had never known such a fierce emotion before.
Yes, he would have planted a facer on Lord Kensington and stolen her away from Talcott House if he’d had no other option to make her his wife. Truth be told, he would commit acts far more atrocious than physical assault and kidnapping on her behalf.
Treason. Murder. Heresy. He didn’t care, as long as the end result was Hyacinth belonging to him forever. He stared at her, wondering if perhaps he should be aghast at the dark turn his thoughts had taken. He had always thought he would take a wife of his social stature, a bride of convenience with whom he was well-matched in every way, and enjoy a cordial relationship with her that mayhap one day led to tender regard, though perhaps not quite love. He’d never thought love and passion were a necessary ingredient in marriage, so long as an heir to the earldom of Shively was produced. Damn and blast, he’d had it all wrong, and he suddenly pitied all the members of the ton who settled for convenient, passionless marriages.
“Papa?” she asked again, and he responded by pressing her down on his lap even harder.
“Yes, little one,” he finally answered. “Yes, that is your papa’s cock you feel. But, we must try to contain our excitement for one another until we arrive at Grayson House.” He glanced out the window of the carriage. “Ah, it appears we are nearly there.”
A minute later, the carriage came to a stop. Grayson’s heart pounded and he tried to compose himself in quick order. He gently lifted Hyacinth from his lap and pressed a kiss to her forehead. The carriage door was opened and the afternoon sun beamed into the conveyance, gleaming on his little girl’s golden curls. He took her gloved hand in his, giving it an affectionate squeeze.
“Welcome to Grayson House.”
Chapter 9
Grayson House was larger and more lavish than Cynny could have ever imagined. Lord Grayson’s London residence was an impressive four story expanse with two wings, and though he’d yet to give her a full tour, she imagined it contained dozens upon dozens of rooms. Not little rooms either, but huge rooms with high ornate ceilings, if the rest of his house was anything like the room they currently occupied. In fact, the entirety of Talcott House could have fit into the drawing room, which is where they both now sat, enjoying a late afternoon luncheon.
She had thought her new papa might take her to his bedchamber immediately upon their arrival and teach her exactly what happens to married people, given the intimate turn their conversation had taken in the carriage, but when he’d heard her stomach growling loudly after they exited the carriage, he had insisted she take refreshment at once, hinting that she would “need her energy” with a waggle of his eyebrows.
After he’d taken her into the drawing room, within minutes two servants had appeared with a tea tray that also contained little sandwiches, cakes, and other delicious morsels for them to dine upon. Though she was impatient to continue the intimacies they had started in the carriage, she was appreciative of the meal, as she’d been too nervous to take more than one bite during breakfast.
“Everything is quite delicious,” she said. “Thank you, Papa.” She took another sip of tea and smiled at him over the rim of her cup.
“I am glad you like it. Cook, as well as the rest of my staff, will be pleased there is finally a lady in house.” His eyes darkened. “But none will be so pleased as me.”
A heated flush spread up her neck and covered her entire face, and in a bout of shyness Cynny glanced down at her tea cup.
“You’re adorable when you blush, little Cynny,” he said, addressing her by her nickname for the first time. “I think making you blush will be my new favorite activity.” He moved closer, and the heat of his body wafted against hers as the tension between them swelled. He took the cup from her suddenly trembling hands and set it on the table in front of the couch.
She became aware of the moisture between her thighs when she squirmed in her seat and wished she’d worn a pair of drawers. She felt her face grow hotter, knowing her papa might soon discover the wetness in her kitty. He would take her clothes off soon, surely, now that they were husband and wife. She tried to remember everything Cammie’s letter said, but as she gazed up at her handsome papa, all coherent thought fled from her mind.
“As much as I want to strip off your gown and ravish you here on this couch, Cynny, I shall endeavor to not be so beastly. You are a sweet little girl and you deserve every bit of the patience and gentleness I have promised you. Though I will claim you soon as my wife in truth, it will be in my bed after we’ve both had some time to recover from our travels.”
She nodded. “Thank you, Papa. I-I suppose it would be nice to refresh myself.”