Nothing But Time (30 page)

Changing the angle of her hand, Kate rubbed the heel of her hand over the throbbing head of his erection before dragging it down the length of him.  She palmed him again knowing that she was nearing the breaking point once more and didn’t want to take the plunge alone.  “Come with me, Brand,” she begged huskily in his ear.  She felt his arousal jerk in response
, felt the ache of her own orgasm radiate out from her core
.  Kate
flicked her tongue against his earlobe and panted hotly.  “Oh, Brand, Brand, please, come with me.  Please!  Now!  Now!  Ohhhhh!”

Kate exploded against his fingers with a cry of release, her hand unconsciously clenching tightly around Brand until he, too gave a guttural shout as his climax came upon him.  He thrust against her hand even as Kate lifted her hips to his before they collapsed together.  Kate felt his weight fall heavily on her but didn’t care.  She ran her palms up his damp back as he lay on her breathing deeply.  His heart pounded with hers, matched hers. 

Kate had never felt anything like that moment as she hugged her lover to her.  She felt complete yet strangely empty. 
It was bewildering.  Despite finding her climax twice, she was dissatisfied in a way she had never been.  Then she knew.  With Brand, with the riotous emotions he invoked in her, physical release wouldn’t be enough.  She ached for him to fill the void in her.

She wanted his possession not just of her body but of her heart.  She wanted a meeting of souls.  She wanted to truly share with him in a meeting of body and soul.

Kate closed her eyes, vacillating between bliss and despair.  Clutching his head to her breast, Kate st
roked his hair.  Her heart welled
with emotion that nearly brought tears to her eyes.

She wanted his love.

What if she never earned it?

Brand fought to regain control of himself after one of the most breathtaking bouts of love play he’d ever experienced.  Never had he met a woman who wasn’t content to greedily prostrate herself to a man’s plunder however many times he ch
ose to do so.  No, his Kate ins
i
s
ted that they
find paradise together even if they could not become one in the doing.  And he had lost himself to her, lost control of his will.

No aloof participant was good enough for Kate, she had demanded that he fall victim to his lust, that he let it take him as
her
passion took her.  He had thought that he might allow her caress without giving into his release but her hot words, her pleading in his ear had done him in.

The release wouldn’t satisfy for long.  Having gotten a taste of the depth of Kate’s passion, Brand knew he would
not
be content until he had all of her.

Rolling onto his side, Brand drew Kate against him brushing a kiss to her temple.  She snuggled against him with a sigh that brought a smile to his lip
s.  How high might she take him?
he wondered.  Where would they go from here?

“What would your third base entail, I wonder?”

“I think it’s safe to say that you’ve made it to third already,” Kate told him
.  The shiver that ran through her body told him he how thoroughly he had tak
en that base.  “All that’s left would be the home run.”

“Hmmm.
”
Brand nuzzl
ed
her neck.  “I rather imagine that there would be a variety of different ways that one might accomplish that third base without risking going too far.”

“Don’t you have guests you should be getting back to?” Kate asked though she hugged his head close and arched her neck in encouragement.

“No one knows where I am,” he whispered.  “I told Geoffrey I had to turn in early to rest for my race tomorrow.”

“This doesn’t seem like a good way to rest,” Kate smiled into his hair.

“On the contrary,” he told her.  “I feel more invigorated than any night’s sleep might allow.”

Kate watched him as they
lay there together,
a secret smile
on
his
lips, before their hands once more began to roam.  Lips found the other’s in teasing kisses that
held the edge of passion and Kate had to wonder how thoroughly Brand meant to explore third base in that single night. 

But it wasn’t meant to be.  A knock on her bedroom door almost had Kate jumping out of her skin.  “Who is it?”

“It’s Janice, miss.  Master Nathan is calling for you.”

Kate met Brand’s gaze with an apologetic smile.  “I’ll be right there.”

Footsteps faded down the hall before Kate rolled off the chaise, searching for her clothes.  “Sorry, Brand.  Duty calls.”

“I think I might forgive you if you didn’t go to him when I need you so badly.”

Kate cast a glance down Brand’s thick body as he lounged back against the chaise with his arms locked behind his head.  The pose accented his shoulders and pecs and kept his abdomen tightly clenched revealing a fair twelve pack of abs that rippled down into his loosened trousers.  A shuddering sigh escaped Kate but rather than give in, she bent over him brushing a light kiss across his lips.  Her hand danced across his stomach before dipping into his trousers, the touch light and brief but enough to make Brand tense.

“Dream of me,” she teased with a smile before she left him alone.

Henley Royal Regatta

Day Two

“Wherever did you find her, Harrowby?” Susan asked softly
the next morning
as the earl came up into the nursery hall to find his sister leaning against the door, just as he had so often, watching Kate and Nathan within. 
Her presence brought him up
short
.  Surely she would question why he was there, would begin to speculate about his relationship wi
th her son’s tutor if the event
s of the previous day hadn’t already given it away.

To Harrowby’s surprise, his sister said nothing about it.

“She was just a maid, Susan,” he answered peeking around the corner to find the pair
across the room.  Kate was kneeling before Nate, tying his tie and speaking with him in a low voice.  Nathan was nodding solemnly and Harrowby gathered it was a reiteration of their conversation the previous afternoon. 
Harrowby turned back to his sister.  “Are you disappointed in her progress with Nathan?”

“On the contrary, I doubt anything Miss Kallastad chose to do at this moment
would disappoint me since she
quite assured me of her caring for Nathan
yester
day.  And look at him,” Susan sighed, looked more emotional than Harrowby had ever seen her.  “She’s worked wonders with him.  Do you know he said to me
last night
?  He said we needed to talk.”

“You needed to talk?” the earl parroted.

“Yes, apparently your Miss Kallastad told him it was ‘unhealthy’ not to talk about one’s feelings and that maintaining his silence could only harm others,” Susan went on.  “Nate apologized for hurting my feeli
ngs.  He sat in my lap as he has
n’t in an age and let me rock him as we talked about Charles and his illness and a dozen other things
of which we’d never spoken
.  He says he wants us to have more ‘alone time’, as well.  Have you ever heard of such a thing before?”

“I haven’t, but knowing Miss Kallastad, I’m not overly surprised.”  Harrowby turned to his older sister and wondered if there were any chance that, even if they might not ever have
the
familial closeness Kate shared with her family, Susan might at least share the same with her son.  “Kate wasn’t raised as we were, Susan.  She has spoken of a close-knit family such as I can only imagine.  Kate is urging Nathan to have that bond with you and I think you should encourage it.”

“What can I do to encourage such a thing?” she asked with interest.

“Being a part of his life each day,” he said recalling the things of which Kate had spoken.  “Play games together, talk about his schooling, read to him or let him read to you.  I know you think these are tasks for his nanny but I can’t help but think you’d both be happier for it.  I think I would have been.”

“Mother wouldn’t allow it,” Susan argued, though Harrowby could see the longing in her eyes. 
Having lost her husband, Nathan was all she had and Harrowby knew that, beneath her social veneer, his sister was a woman longing for a change as much as he was. 
It was a far
more difficult task for her to obtain such a goal as
Susan had had the unenviable duty of housing their mother
for the past eight years
.  He could only imagine how little say his sister had had in the running of her own household or the raising of her only child.

“Then Mother can go live at Standon Hall and ruin someone else’s life,” Harrowby said fiercely referring to his family estate in
Manchester
.  “I believe it’s about time to retrieve the reins
of
our own lives, don’t you?”

Susan toyed with the locket that hung around her neck, shifting it back and forth along the chain thoughtfully before she smiled up at her brother.  “That does sound terribly appealing, doesn’t it?”

“It does,” he agreed.  “What say you?  Shall we stand together on this?”

“I think so, yes,” she said, though a shaky laugh escaped her.  “I cannot believe I’m saying such a thing but it’s
rather
invigorating, is it not?”

Harrowby nodded.  “Yes, it is.”

“Nate invited me to
go
with him and Miss Kallastad to watch the races to
day
,” Susan said with a smile.  “Perhaps I will go and try to – oh, what was it that he said? – be a bigger part of his life.”

“Perhaps it would benefit us all if we embraced such a notion,” Harrowby added softly, drawing his sister’s attention.

“Even you, Harrowby?”

A little smile turned up the corner of Harrowby’s mouth.  “Why not?  Perhaps someday you might even call me Brandon again as you did when we were children.”

“Mother wouldn’t…” Susan bit her lip and released a little laugh.  “Yes, perhaps I might.”

They fell into a comfortable silence for a moment, perhaps the first they had shared since childhood watching Nathan and Kate from the door.  After a few moments, Susan turned curiously to her brother.  “What brings you up this morning
, Har
… Brandon?  I thought you had to be at the Leander Club early this morning or is that simply an excuse you gave Mother to avoid her breakfast this morning?”

Harrowby flashed a grin.  “Perhaps to a small degree.  I do need to be in Henley befo
re the first of the races begin
but I had
thought
to ask Nathan to join
me in the carriage and
enjoy a bit of the fair before I needed to ready myself for my race.”

“Just Nathan?” Susan asked bestowing upon her brother what might have been the first mischievous grin she’d delivered in more than a score of years.  “Oh, you needn’t attempt to inveigle me.  It took not a moment yesterday to see that Miss Kallastad holds a particular attraction for you, but worry not.  Miss Kallastad quite won my favor with her actions yesterday. 
You needn’t worry that I will say anything apart from this, having found joy
if only
for a brief time, I would think anyone a fool who did not embrace it for any length
of time
they might
have to
enjoy it.”

Harrowby studied his sister for a moment absorbing the conspiratorial smile that
masked a hint of sadness.  Seeing those expressions grace
a face that for years had held nothing but impassive detachment
warmed his heart.  It was a
moment of sibling affection unlike any they had shared since they shared a nursery together
.   Kate had given them that by
daring him to take control of his own life and by influencing Nathan to reconnect with his mother.

“Shall we be off then?” Harrowby asked, giving nothing away regarding his relations with his nephew’s tutor.  He’d promised to do his best to protect Kate.  Though his sister seemed oddly supportive of what might be considered a scandalous situation, he made no effort to affirm or deny her implication.

“Yes, Brandon, I believe we shall.”

***

Instead of traveling south directly into Henley-on-Thames, the quartet first made a short detour north after Kate expressed an interest in seeing Temple Island
where the races began. 
One mile upriver from Henley, Temple Island was an elongated oval island splitting the Thames straight up the middle. 

The
summer sun hadn’t yet burned away the
morning fog and, as a result
,
a hazy mist lingered over the river and the island.  As they descended the carriage to gain a better view, Kate found herself wishing that she had a camera with her for the sight before her was truly magnificent.  The mist filtered the morning light shedding a soft glow on the
water.  Willows backlight by the morning sun appeared as dark silhouettes in fog. 

The folly itself sat among the trees at the southern tip of the island.  It was a squat, two story white stone building that bowed at the southern end with a bank of windows facing the water.  That curve matched above by what looked like a replica of a Grecian temple sitting atop the building.  It was an open circular space edged by a dozen stone pillars and topped by a green dome.

It looked hauntingly surreal in the hazy light, with the fog clinging to the water and perhaps as lovely a sight as Kate had ever seen.  A handful of artists were present on the shores, their canvases before them, as well as a photographer confirming Kate’s opinion that she couldn’t be the only one to appreciate such a sight.

Trading murmurs of appreci
ation with Susan, Kate listened in on
Brand and Nathan’s conversation
,
which was predictably not focused on the view but rather on the bustle of activity
near the west
ern point of the island where preparations for the morning races were taking place.

After a few more minutes, they climbed back aboard the carriage to head back along the river to Henley at the end of the mile-long racing route from the island.

Casting an impish look at her charge, Kate filled the silence that fell over them.  “You know, if I have it right, Ramble House sits on the river just about halfway between here and Henley.”

“That’s right,” Brand replied though his glance was quizzical as if he knew she was up to something.

“Why I don’t think we even need to go all the way into Henley to watch the racing today,” she said.  “We could just watch it from your dock.”

Brand saw his nephew’s eyes widen and head begin to shake in denial and knew Kate was about to tease the poor boy devilishly.   Susan must
have
seen it as well for she smiled
also
, adding, “Perhaps you’re right.  There was such a crowd yesterday!”

“But, but,” Nathan began, his gaze darting back and forth between the women.

“There was!”
Kate sighed dramatically.  “It was just too much!”

“Yes, too much,” Susan chimed in with equal drama, even while Nathan squirmed in his seat.  “Surely you wouldn’t mind, Brandon?  We would get to see you as you passed, of course.”

“Oh, of course you would.”

“
No!
”
T
he protest burst from Nathan like a cannonball.  “We
’
ll miss the finish!”

The adults all laughed and catching on at last, Nathan crossed his arms and slumped back against the seat.  “That wasn’t funny!”

“Sure it was.
”
Kate laughed
and
rumpl
ed
his hair.  “Can I help it if you’re an easy mark?”

They arrived in Henley a short while later.  Brand helped Kate and Susan descend the carriage giving his sister a smile and holding Kate’s hand perhaps a moment too long and brushing his thumb across her knuckles before reluctantly letting her go.

Offering his arm to his sister, Brand cast a regretful look at Kate before the foursome turned toward the river and the crowd that was already cheering raucously as the first of the races headed toward completion.

“Why do some of the boats use two oars per man and some use only one?” Kate heard Susan ask Brand as they walked up the cobbled way that bordered the river.  It took them farther from the finish line but away from the worst of the crush of onlookers.

“Rowing allows one oar per oarsman
while scullers have two oars a
piece,” Brand explained in answer to her question.

“Oh, so when you do the single scull you’ll have two oars?”

“I’d go nowhere but in circles if I had but one.” 

The words were teasing ones and for a moment, Kate thought that Susan might take offense at what might be the first volley of sibling torment delivered between the pair in quite some time.  However
,
with an aggravated gasp followed by a grin, Susan elbowed her brother with a laugh.  “That wasn’t very nice!”

“Can I help it if you’re an easy mark?” Brand echoed Kate’s earlier words and they all laughed comfortably together.

Kate thought she’d never seen anything quite so wonderful as the blissful smile that lit Brand’s face, though perhaps the squeeze of the siblings
’
hands might have come in a close second.  The reserved, solemn nobleman and haughty woman of a week past were nowhere to be seen.  In their place were a brother and sister, comfortable and teasing.  Perhaps it would take some time before they found their way to what Kate considered normal family behavior, but this
giv
ing and receiving of playful taunting was an excellent first step.  Kate couldn’t be happ
ier for them, feeling as if the
Ryder clan might be on the precipice of something truly wonderful.