Heat kissed her cheeks, even though she wanted him to see her. Wanted him to kiss where his finger had just teased. But she'd never been with a man that she had not been married to. As liberating and scary as that truth was, she did not stop him. Instead, she forced herself to relax and enjoy what was to come next.
Albert bent over one breast, his tongue flicking out to tease her pink, beaded nipple. Victoria clasped his face, holding him captive so he may never stop.
"Oh yes, Albert. More…"
His tongue flicked at her puckered nubbin before he covered her with his mouth and suckled. The sensation spiked need between her legs, and she barely bit back a moan. She squirmed on his lap as his mouth lathed and teased her until she could stand it no longer.
"The other one, please," she implored him.
He pushed her down onto the settee, covering her. Albert took little time in pulling the gown down to her waist, exposing her fully.
"I have admired your breasts for some time. I could kiss them forever," he admitted.
Victoria enjoyed the admiration, reaching back and holding the settee armrest, flaunting herself to him with little embarrassment.
There was no time for awkwardness. Not anymore. Not when she knew he could make her feel alive. Something she had not felt for years.
"I am yours to do with as you please," she declared, her voice huskier than she'd ever heard it before.
Albert groaned, coming over her. Their lips met, held, and he took her mouth in a demanding, punishing kiss. Their tongues meshed, teeth mashed as the kiss turned wanton.
And then he was gone, his mouth over her second breast, his free hand teasing and kneading her other.
Victoria moaned, her body not itself. He teased her toward something that she'd never experienced before. It remained aloof, close, but not quite there.
"Melvin? Are you in there? I'm looking for Victoria, but I cannot find her. Have you seen her about the house?" The handle of the door rattled as Josh tried the latch several times. "Melvin? Did you hear me?"
They both stilled at the sound of her brother's voice. Albert moved first, wrenching off her and dragging her from the settee before she could fathom what was happening.
"Turn about. Your gown needs to be put to rights," he whispered, physically turning her and pulling up her dress, his fingers working madly on the buttons of her gown.
"I won't be a moment," he yelled out to Josh. He turned her back around, cringing at the sight of her hair. Victoria reached up and realized several pins had fallen out.
"You need to hide." He looked about the room. Victoria did too but could see nowhere that she could remain hidden.
"In the window, there is a little ledge. Sit on that, and I'll cover you with the curtain."
She looked at the window. The ledge, if one could call it, was extremely narrow. "I do not think I will fit in there."
He ushered her over there, securing the last of her buttons as he did so. "You will." He pulled the curtain aside, helping her to sit on the seal, before he wrenched the curtain past her face, blocking her view from the room.
Victoria huffed out an annoyed breath, both because she was being hidden away but also because when she had entered this room, she had needed Albert. Now with her brother interrupting them, she was even more in need since they had not finished what they started.
She glanced down at her gown, correcting it more when she heard the lock of the door give way before it was opened.
Victoria recognized her brother's footsteps, holding her breath as he walked in and about the room, his steps coming too close to the window. She held her breath, expecting at any moment for the curtain to be wrenched aside, her brother's disappointed visage staring back at her.
"I do believe I saw Lady Victoria head out into the gardens after breakfast. Should we head outdoors and see if she is still taking the air or is on the terrace?"
For a man who prided himself on honesty, and there were no falsehoods when it came to Albert, he certainly knew how to fib very well. Had she not known the truth, even she would have believed such tales. Her brother did not reply straightaway but continued to walk about the room with a casualness that made her armpits damp. Did he suspect she was in the room? Is that why he had not left yet?
"The garden, you say?" Josh said, his footsteps determined once more, and headed toward the door. "Let us go and fetch her then. Mama wishes to leave soon for the picnic."
"Of course," Albert said, closing the door and leaving her alone.
Victoria bit her lip, having forgotten that they were to go for a carriage ride before lunch and picnic somewhere on Albert's estate afterward.
Retreating footsteps sounded down the hall, and Victoria took the opportunity to escape, leaving through the back of the house and using the servant's stairs to make her room, just as her mama came to fetch her.
"Ah, you're back from your walk. Very good, shall we go? I believe the carriage will be brought around soon."
Victoria picked up her bonnet and cardigan, forgoing the shawl, and followed her mama. She breathed a sigh of relief as they came downstairs, into the foyer just as her brother and Albert came in through the front door.
"Ah, there you are, sister. I have been looking for you."
"Not very well," her mama said, throwing her only son a warm smile. "She was in her room."
Her brother opened his mouth as if to say something but then thought better of it, holding out his arm to escort them to the carriage. "I must not have looked very well at all. Shall we?" he asked throwing Victoria a pointed stare.
Victoria dared not meet her brother’s eye or look in the direction
