[excerpt] (3 page)

A little flustered, she asked, “Could I have their names, please?”

Duncan answered, “Lord and Lady St. James, Miss.”

Married
. A pout covered her lips.

Duncan added, “They’re twins. I’m the caretaker, and these two are me family.”

Twins.
Did he say twins?
Serina’s lips changed direction.

“Miss, she’s as cold as ice,” Molly answered through chattering teeth.

One look at Duncan, hunched over with his head between his legs, hyperventilating, and Molly ready to collapse, Serina had to get them out of there before she had two more to care for.

“Molly, finish tending to Duncan. Keep him occupied. Ask some of the neighbors if they’ve any spare trousers and shirt for this gent. And all the more water you can spare? Ta.”

Molly grabbed Duncan’s hand, helped him stand, and retreated for the safety of her home.

Serina looked to the man for whom she now had a name to go by. “Lord St. James, sweet dreams!” And with that said she placed the ether-soaked cotton over his nose and held him as he drifted off to sleep.

Laying her hands lightly upon his shoulders, Serina focused on his interior body, allowing her healing powers to sift through him to mend the ruthlessly damaged ligaments, muscle, organs, arteries and veins. Moving on to his bowels, Serina’s eyes watered and her stomach bucked. She would not vomit again.

Wrong!

Serina stuck her head out the door and heaved. Pulling the windows open and pushing the doors out, she prayed for frigid air and moments later, an arctic blast ripped through the carriage, chilling her to the bone.

So much to learn, so little time.

Serina wasted no time and directed her powers to the man’s abdomen, watching as his intestines folded neatly, securely back into his body cavity and that foul, vile stench dissipated. She sent a warm, static heat through his blood to kill any bacteria that harbored there.

After scanning Lord St. James’ body, Serina strategically placed some bandages, just in case anyone had questions. As she neared completion, she noticed two things that piqued her interest.

His left hip held a birthmark shaped like a crescent moon with a star-shaped spot wedged between the two points of the moon. It was perfect, as if someone had painted it on him, but then, she noted, everything about him was perfect.

Her second more noticeable point of interest lay between St. James’ thighs. She took a deep breath as she eyed his endowment and fought back nervous giggles. The sight of him lying there spread out before her made her think things she’d only heard whispers of from others, never having experienced them herself. He wore one long, thick erection, almost too long, almost too thick. Serina licked her lips.

Even dying he’s erect. Typical male.

In the distance, Molly and Duncan’s voices brought her back to an all-too surreal reality. Serina patted her chest. Exhausted and completely misted a second time today, she washed him with cool water to rid any residual stench that clung to him. Ripe? Indeed he was.

Serina’s last task was to replenish his blood loss. She decided to use her blood even though it differed from mortals. Serina dug through her little black bag and retrieved the necessary bottles and tubes and needles. She tied off her arm with a leather strap that, one, hurt like the dickens, and two, made the veins in her arm and hand throb and bulge.

Watching the needle pierce through her skin, she whined, “I really despise sharp objects aimed at me.” Serina had no clue how much blood to give the man, but taking in the bloody carriage, she transfused one full bottle. Giving him that much left her shaky, cold, and nauseous. He, on the other hand, appeared rosy and warm. She reached for a ladle of water and gulped it down to replenish some fluids.

Glancing at his tattered trousers and what lay so close, enticing her, Serina grabbed a dark silk shawl she’d spotted earlier crumpled into a ball in the corner of the seat. She draped it across his lap and tucked in the edges under his belt, giving her eyes respite and thus returning his dignity.

While waiting for Lord St. James to come around, she tended to Lady St. James. Serina found the woman stunning regardless of her putrid color. Black, silky tresses draped down to the floor of the carriage. Ebony eyelashes blanketed her alabaster cheeks in a complimentary contrast.

With her examination, Serina found Lady St. James’ uterus had been damaged, so badly the woman would never be able to bear children. Serina swallowed the lump of bile in her throat and let her energy flow throughout the woman. She reshaped the muscle, removed the adhesions, returning to her the opportunity to bring life to this world.

To get her healthy glow back—“Not again?” Serina gnawed on her bottom lip. The woman needed a transfusion too.

Watching her blood replenish Lady St. James, Serina had a moment to feel good about what she’d accomplished tonight. She’d given two strangers a second chance at life. It was the polar opposite of working in the morgue. Her moment cut short when her head filled like a hot air balloon and started lifting off towards the stars. “Just let me get through this,” she prayed as she undid all the tubes and bottles and packed them into her bag.

Her stomach in a tumultuous knot, Serina yanked out handfuls of cloths before she chucked the bag into the street. Picking up the last bucket of water, she chugged the fluid and then dowsed Lord St. James and the carriage, cleaning both as best she could. She didn’t want them to see a bloodbath that would scare the daylights out of them when they came to. At most, she thought they’d be disoriented. She certainly was. With that last viable thought, she passed out facedown into Lord St. James’s lap.

Lucian St. James pried open his heavy eyelids, feeling as if the weight of the world rested upon them. Confused by his surroundings and unable to get a grasp of the evening events, he instead grasped a woman. He tried to recall what happened, but he drew blanks. His night became a jigsaw puzzle with missing bits and pieces. He was at a loss as to why there lay a scantily dressed female in the carriage with him with her face pressed precariously close to his groin.

Doing what? he wondered. Had she fallen asleep? A curl touched his lips. “Could I have fallen asleep?” He scoffed at the very idea.

Lucian found this situation most amusing. And so it seemed, the more amused he got, the more aroused he got. On the opposite seat his sister lay quiet. Completely out of her character. Chatting with no one conscious he said, “Please let Raven be asleep. Don’t wake up now. Good God, how much champagne did I consume? And who is this little slip of a thing?”

Lucian ran his fingers through Serina’s wavy auburn locks to rouse her. With a gentle touch, he traced the outline of her body, over her back, her ribs and lower to her hips. He slid his hand over her bottom, and enjoyed the soft, supple firmness. For a split second, he envisioned her naked, lying across him while he gently spanked her. He laughed aloud.

He thought about undressing her in her febrile state. All right, he agreed “feverish” was a lame reason, but if she came around that’s what he was sticking with. Then better judgment kicked in and he decided to keep her clothed...for now. What if she woke up naked and began screaming? Glancing at his soggy predicament of tattered trousers, a black shawl draped oddly across him, his shirt shredded, frustration set in. He squinted, while his fingers puttered with his five o’clock shadow and his free hand slapped her lush little behind.

Lucian went back to his puzzle. Who was this woman with soft sensuous curves he would love to skim with his fingers and memorize with his heart? Why was she face down, buried within his loins...asleep, no less?

Why was his sister snoring to the high heavens in the carriage? He’d seen her at the party with a shandy in hand, and he knew all too well it only took one to get her glassy-eyed and giggly. Therein lay his answer.

Where the dickens did Duncan disappear to? He rubbed his jaw in thought. Oh wait, the last time he saw Duncan he’d been playing craps with a few friends with a nice mountain of winnings in front of him. Probably enough to buy London Bridge, not that England would
ever
sell her.

And more importantly, was this little woman going to finish what he hoped she’d started? She’d obviously attempted to rip off his clothing in a heated passion.
Wish I remembered it
.

“Excuse me, Miss.” Lucian gave her a gentle shake. “Would you be so kind as to remove yourself so as I may try to regain my composure? Mind you, you were a tad bit rough with my attire. These did have buttons on them at one point.”

Serina stirred.

Dizzy and disoriented, Serina couldn’t quite figure out where she was. Blinking, she tried to see past some large, silky, dark object blocking her view.

After she rubbed her eyes, Serina reached out to examine what obstacle threatened to poke her eye out. With a solid grip on the steel shaft Serina froze. Slowly, she rolled her eyes upward at the tumescent erection still blanketed in silk. She couldn’t move a muscle to save herself, but then, obviously, she couldn’t stay there with her face buried in the man’s loins, either. Her fingers opened with reluctance.

What do I do to get out of this sticky situation with my dignity intact?

Nothing came to mind...Well, that wasn’t exactly true. One thing came to mind. Her eyebrow lifted in a non-prim, non-proper fashion.

Serina licked her lips. Truth be known, she’d read his mind and had seen what he’d wanted from her. He wanted Serina to take him, all of him, into her mouth, lick the length of him, taste him, nibble her way down his shaft and capture his more delicate parts, and ultimately drive him over the edge. She was pretty confident she could grant his wish.

Instead, heart racing, she turned her head away.

“Sir, I know this looks completely enormous…”
Dear God
!
Serina bit her tongue and covered her mouth, disbelieving she’d uttered such gibberish.

Lucian laughed wholeheartedly which compounded her embarrassment.

“I mean outrageous. I know this appears scandalous, but please give me a minute of your time before you say anything or judge my reasons for being here like this. I swear ’tis not as it seems.”

“I believe, Miss, you’ve already had a minute or two from what I can see. I’ll leave the final judgment until you’re finished.” He smiled smugly.

Someone thought his vain sense of humor funny. Serina rolled her eyes.

“Oh no, Sir. Is that what you think? I was not! A lady would never.” She attempted to sound appalled.
Oh, Serina. You lie. You most certainly were thinking that and you would...
“Let me try this again. Lord St. James, I am Dr. Serina Spencer. Your sister and you sort of fell into my lap and were in need of emergent care.” She gazed up at him, a wall of muscle, and she felt like the little slip of a thing she’d heard Molly call her. The man was sheer, rugged beauty she wanted blanketed across her body, stoking her already heated desires.

“Well, Dr. Spencer,” Lucian gestured to her position in the carriage. “Your story is backwards, dear, for who is in whose lap?”

Lord St. James wore a grin the devil himself would envy. She realized he was toying with her and enjoying every second of it. Oddly, so did she. Serina decided to get up and out of the carriage before anything more embarrassing happened. With one arm to each side of his body, she pushed away from him and lost her footing in a puddle of water. About to say, “Oops,” she slipped fast and forward directly onto the man’s welcoming silken-covered erection. She became all arms and legs trying to get off him.

Lucian grabbed her forearms and steadied her.

“Oh, by the Goddess, I’m so sorry,” she prattled. “Oh, I’m so…” Serina tossed the shawl aside and grabbed his penis a second time, lifting his warm shaft to inspect it...Still solid! “I didn’t hurt you, did I? I’m utterly mortified.” Feeling a slight pulsation coming from beneath her fingers, she glanced back towards her hand. He was bubbling over with joy, literally.

The small gestures of her hand along with the warmth of her breath was all it took, and Serina knew Lord St. James was in no way injured, and that all body parts worked just fine. His head fell backwards, and he sucked in a huge gulp of air with a languorous glaze to his eyes.

Good thing you fixed his airway, Serina
.

“Oh, Sir!” Serina gasped along with him, no longer overwhelmed with guilt for hurting him, or thinking she had, but now for touching him.

“Umm!” He cleared his throat and gave the chin nod towards his groin.

She released her grip on him, again!

Lucian placed a gentle finger to her lips. “Shush, m’lady. I’m fine. You’ve more than seen to that. You’ve a most peculiar bedside manner.” He couldn’t help but smile as he straightened the shawl, covering himself once more. “I must confess to you, it is very stimulating, finding a beautiful woman in my lap...And a first.”

He placed his fingers beneath her chin and tilted her head upward to get a closer look. He found her ravishing, with a small, slightly turned-up nose, soft facial features, unforgettable glistening, green eyes and lush full lips made for him alone to kiss. That thought caught him off guard, but then it seemed everything about her did. When she laid her head back down on his shoulder to regain her composure, he knew she was thoroughly mortified. With that small movement, Lucian wasted no time and placed his hand back in the silken strands of her hair, savoring the moment.