A Gentleman's Wager (20 page)

Bella whimpered as his tongue drove deep, and he pulled her further from Lucerne. Was this some new power game, or real desire? Lucerne was growing restless; she could feel him shifting uneasily beside her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, tried to pull her away from Vaughan, but the marquis wasn’t about to relinquish her that easily. His grip tightened. Bella’s whimper became a moan. If one of them didn’t back down soon she was going to have some bruises.

‘Let go,’ said Lucerne.

‘You let go,’ Vaughan hissed into Bella’s mouth, never breaking lip contact. Lucerne’s shoulders stiffened.

‘No.’

Vaughan curled his free arm around Lucerne’s leg and caressed his inner thigh. Lucerne’s hold on her waist slackened. She was stunned that he’d been conquered so easily. Vaughan’s action had completely overcome his resistance. Vaughan broke off the kiss and she pulled back, eager for air. She looked straight down into his eyes. They were dilated and liquid, so open she thought she would fall into them. She gasped and escaped back into Lucerne’s arms.

Lucerne immediately cupped her face in his hands. ‘Bella,’ he mouthed, ready to kiss her. Then suddenly he released her. She turned her head, following the line of his gaze to find that Vaughan was pacing towards the door. Lucerne’s sigh of relief when Vaughan only closed it was audible. Bella was less relieved. She wasn’t entirely certain how she felt about Vaughan. He’d done nothing to ingratiate himself with her. The only thing he was useful for was a damn good lay.

The beeswax scent of snuffed candles filled the air as
Vaughan
moved about the room extinguishing them. Soon the only light came from the flickering coal fire. Bella watched him pour another cognac and position himself before the hearth to sip it. The orange fire glow lit his prominent features, his high cheekbones and angular chin. There was no denying he was a physically attractive man, but he was also cruel, and he was her rival.

The soft rasp of silk accompanied Lucerne’s departure from the
chaise longue
. Bella was sure a silent signal had passed between the two men as Lucerne crossed to the hearthrug. Perhaps they were waiting for her to leave. Well, if they wanted that they would have to be more forthright. Tonight she was determined to stand her ground.

Lucerne took the brandy balloon from Vaughan’s hand. He drained the contents then set it firmly on the mantel. Vaughan’s expression darkened, and he raised one eyebrow quizzically. He looked at the glass and then at Lucerne. Something was brewing. She knew it.

Lucerne caught a handful of Vaughan’s dark hair. Tension seemed to ripple through their bodies. Bella sniffed at the air, suddenly aware that she could make out the musky undercurrent of male arousal. Then the men were hip against hip in the darkness, pressing together, bruising each other with their erections. It was so unlike the previous occasion that she’d seen them kiss. They were relaxed, oblivious to their spectator or the effect they were having on her. Bella felt faint, and sucked down a deep breath to compose herself. Lucerne and Vaughan were as beautifully matched as sun and moon. She was jealous of their symmetry, and wanted to be part of it.

Lucerne held out his hand to her.

With eyes wide and bright she stared at his outstretched
palm
, uncertain whether she was more frightened of accepting it, or of missing out. Lucerne beckoned her again, and this time she rose as if mesmerised. She crossed the short distance with tiny nervous steps, weighed down by the lodestone of excitement around her neck. There was something about watching the two men kiss that seemed dark and forbidden. Was she joining them on the path to damnation? If so, it was already too late for her. She was beside them. Lucerne grasped her hand and they trapped her between them in a crushing embrace.

The soft cotton of Vaughan’s shirt pressed against Bella’s forehead. Her cheeks were flaming. She felt vulnerable, but deliciously wicked.

‘Brave, adorable Bella,’ Lucerne whispered as his kisses plucked at the nape of her neck.

‘Hmmm,’ murmured Vaughan approvingly, but Bella had a flash of him calling her a whore. She risked a quick glance at him, sure he was thinking the same thing. His expression was distinctly sybaritic. You think of me as a toy, to play with or discard at will, she thought. As if to confirm this, he smiled and nudged her playfully with his loins. He was fully aroused, and his cock pressed relentlessly against her pelvis. There was no easy way to escape him – they were both holding her, caressing her. Lucerne’s erection nudged against her bottom. Two sets of eyes regarded her wolfishly, awaiting a decision. Play along or go to bed alone.

‘Let us make love to you,’ Lucerne urged. His hands ran up her taut body and found her nipples, which leaped to attention under his touch. Her breasts felt heavy, and a dull ache of longing filled them. She wanted to feel his warm mouth around the teat. Instead, he began unfastening the back of her dress. The loose fabric chafed against her stays and chemise, while Lucerne’s
breath
tickled against her exposed skin and Vaughan’s lips grazed her throat. There was an understated bite to his action, as if he was letting her know that things weren’t as simple as they seemed. They were doing this because it pleased Lucerne, but that didn’t mean they weren’t enemies. Still, his lips trailed downwards, his hands cupping her into fullness as he buried his face in her cleavage.

Her dress slid to the floor.

‘I never said yes,’ Bella reminded them.

‘You never said no, either,’ said Vaughan. He rolled her pert nipples between fingers and thumbs, and the melting between her thighs grew thicker.

‘Which is it to be, yes or no?’ asked Lucerne.

‘Yes, of course,’ mouthed Vaughan.

‘Yes,’ said Bella.

Lucerne moved to kiss her, but she turned her head and offered him her neck instead; she wanted to watch Vaughan. Her rival had sunk to his knees and was pulling the cord from her boned stays with startling precision. When he reached the last hole, he. pressed a kiss to her stomach that made her tingle inside. His lips felt warm and soft even through her chemise. He lifted the hem and passed the bunched fabric to Lucerne. Being naked between them seemed to magnify every sensation; she could feel the air around her moving to Vaughan’s slow, deep inhalations and Lucerne’s sharper ones. Vaughan nuzzled her inner thigh. He inhaled her scent as though he were about to taste wine, and licked firmly at her clitoris. Her heart began to hammer; the brush of Lucerne’s clothing against her bare skin made the hairs on her arms stand up. She felt fully exposed, but her doubts had fled, pushed away by the men’s attentiveness. The past was done, finished with; they were writing a new page together.

Vaughan took a step back from her and removed his robe. He allowed her to pull his shirt from his trousers and over his head. Infused with confidence, Bella also unbuttoned him. His erection reared and jutted towards her accusingly. She circled his navel, resisting the urge to go down on him, and then traced his scar in fascination. She wondered who had given him the silvery gift, and what for.

While Vaughan stepped out of his remaining clothes, Bella turned to Lucerne. She realised immediately that he felt uncomfortable from the rather fixed expression on his handsome face. They had been leaving him out. She plucked at his clothing, frustrated by the many fastenings. He was hot to the touch and his body was firm beneath her fingertips, but the immediate goal was to get him naked. She wanted to rake her nails across his skin.

Vaughan wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, again demanding her attention and getting it. Bella could only watch as Lucerne undressed. Frustrated by his nearness and the gulf between them, she pushed back against Vaughan’s hardness and his penis pressed into the channel between her buttocks.

‘Changed your mind about a certain point of entry, have you?’ Vaughan whispered.

‘No.’

‘Mmm, too bad.’ He thrust against her anus.

‘Stop pushing your luck,’ she hissed, too distracted now to pay more than passing attention to Lucerne, the man she really wanted. Vaughan mercilessly nudged her again. ‘Vaughan!’

‘I think you want me to –’

‘I don’t.’

‘–you just won’t admit it. Deny that it feels good, that
you’re
not tempted.’ The pressure of his cock became insistent.

‘Vaughan, stop it.’

He relented and entered her vagina, leaving her gasping at the sudden entry.

Lucerne stood nude and magnificent before her, his clear skin shining a seductive ivory in the firelight. He had a curiously beatific smile playing about his lips that Bella couldn’t fathom, but there was no mistaking his arousal or the interest he was paying Vaughan’s leisurely penetration. Did Lucerne suspect, she wondered? She must have seemed to give herself far too easily to her rival.

Lucerne moved forwards to join them. With a single caress, he massaged Vaughan’s shaft and her clitoris. Vaughan immediately withdrew, as if the touch had been a signal. The two men sank to their knees either side of her, pulling her down to the carpet between them.

The sensation of being handled by the two men quickly became almost unbearable. Lucerne’s prick felt like a burning brand against her stomach, while Vaughan returned to his earlier position and slid his cock eagerly between her ripe cheeks. They were nipping, kissing and caressing her.

‘Vaughan!’ Again the reprimand was ignored, but now Lucerne was smiling. He stroked down her spine to the base then clasped her round bottom and pulled her cheeks apart to slide his fingers into the valley. Bella tensed as he touched her anus.

‘Relax,’ he whispered, and she did. He wetted his finger and slipped it past the ring of muscle, making her gasp into his shoulder. He was stretching her, stroking her inside, preparing her. She’d said no to Vaughan, but
what
about Lucerne? She trusted him – he was so much gentler than Vaughan was – but she still wasn’t sure she was ready to see herself impaled on his thick cock in that tender area.

Then the scent of almonds filled the warm air and some viscous liquid ran slowly between the cleft of her cheeks to pool around her dilated anus. Vaughan pressed in close. She felt his cock nudge her again, taking the position of Lucerne’s fingers.

‘Please … I…’ she managed to gasp. Lucerne’s smile was reassuring, his kisses intense, white-hot, distracting. As she fought for breath, she felt Vaughan’s cock hard against her. She clutched Lucerne and screwed her eyes shut. The crown went in. She bit Lucerne’s lip. Jesus, it hurt.

‘A little more,’ Vaughan urged.

‘No. I can’t, it’s too much.’ Tears prickled her eyes, ready to spill.

‘Try to relax, it’ll be worth it.’

‘Try,’ Lucerne repeated.

Relaxing was not easy; she was too aware of how stretched Vaughan already made her feel, and all her instincts were screaming at her to push him out.

‘Please, Bella.’ The urgency in his voice made her heart quicken. He really wanted this – really wanted her. She tilted her hips to ease his entry, and felt him push.

His full penetration was quite painful. She couldn’t bear him to move. She felt too full, as if the slightest thrust would tear her apart. ‘Please, gently,’ she gasped. Vaughan kept still. Lucerne supported her, while kissing her gently. Gradually her muscles stopped fighting, and she rocked herself gently against his loins.

Vaughan impatiently clasped her hips and thrust. He slid in deep and somehow seemed to strike a lance
straight
to her clitoris. Her rear throbbed under the onslaught, but the heavy sweet pleasure outweighed the pain tenfold, and the twin sensations made her feel light-headed. The experience was all-consuming; animal grunts quickly replaced her gasps. Vaughan’s thrusts drove her roughly against Lucerne’s lips. Her rectal muscles contracted around him, clasping him and making his sighs as voluble as hers. He was being more aggressive than she was ready for but Bella revelled in the moment, pushing back eagerly against his hips.

‘That’s right, move for me,’ Vaughan encouraged.

‘Make me come, make me come. Please.’ She grasped Lucerne’s hand and pushed his fingers to her clit. He touched her in all the right places, and in just the right way. Her body was liquid. Sensation rippled through her. She couldn’t get enough. She wanted more. Her cunt felt empty. ‘Lucerne,’ she cried, hardly able to express herself.

‘I think she wants you to fuck her,’ said Vaughan, characteristically blunt. By now she was past caring about his tone, concentrating instead on the way their bodies were moulded together and his breath was coming as fast as hers.

‘Speak, Bella. Do you want us both?’ asked Lucerne, ever the gentleman.

‘Yes, yes…’

He stopped massaging her and moved between her thighs while his penis bobbed beneath her, waiting for a pause in Vaughan’s thrusts so that he could nudge his way in. Bella briefly wondered if she could accommodate both men or if she would faint with the effort. Neither of them was small, and Vaughan’s thick member already filled her to distraction.

Lucerne was careful not to upset their precarious balance as he entered her, slowly pressing deep until her
was
inside her up to the hilt alongside Vaughan. As they began to move in unison Bella’s sense of reality vanished.

Vaughan’s laboured breathing was sharp against her neck. Lucerne’s eyes were glazed. She mewled into his shoulder and clutched him tightly as they ground into her, front and back. Vaughan’s hand snaked forwards from her hip to her pubis and encircled Lucerne’s prick at the base. He pulsed strongly within her at Vaughan’s touch and she heard the harsh rasp of his indrawn breath. The edges between the two men blurred and they became as indistinguishable as the sources of her pleasure. Her mind was filled by their rhythm as she struggled to meet both sets of thrusts. Then her vagina contracted sharply and she screamed as her orgasm enveloped her in a waterfall of light, pulsing through her anus and clitoris with equal force. Tears wet her cheeks and fell like scalding raindrops onto her breasts. She cried out again and her thoughts cleared enough to hear Vaughan groaning her name as he bucked wildly. He swore through clenched teeth and pressed his mouth hard against her shoulder to stifle himself.