The Merchant and the Clergyman (13 page)

He opened his eyes to take another peek
between their bodies. Declan’s cock was still partially exposed.
His length wasn’t yet fully embedded. How was it possible all of
that
could fit in him?

“Relax,” Declan grunted, his face contorted
as if in pain. His jaw protruded, it was clenched so tight, and his
breathing was ragged.

James exhaled again, inhaled slowly, and
forced himself to stop resisting. Once James let go of his fear and
allowed his body to loosen, Declan easily thrust the rest of the
way in. He stopped with James fully impaled and looked down into
his face.

“How do you like that?”

“Good,” James muttered, almost unable to meet
Declan’s gaze. It was difficult to be so invaded by another human
being. His fingers slipped across the wood of the headboard. He’d
lost some feeling in his hands from the stricture around his wrists
and from having his arms raised for so long. His fingertips
encountered the top of the headboard, curled around it, and
gripped.

Declan ever so slowly withdrew his length
completely.

No. I need more.
James wanted to cry
out.

Declan’s eyes glittered, and a smile tipped
his lips. “Again?” he asked.

“Yes.” That tiny voice couldn’t be his.

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, please.”

“What do you want? Tell me. Do you want
more?” he coaxed.

“Yes, more. I want more,” he begged.
“Please.” He rocked his body, pulled his knees even closer to his
ears to give Declan more access. If that lovely, hard cock didn’t
fill him again, he would go insane. “I need…” he trailed off.

“You deserve it.” Declan stopped teasing. The
way he said those words, it didn’t sound like a taunt the way it
had when Kit would hurl the words at James while nearly choking him
with his cock. It sounded like a reward James had earned. It
sounded kind and loving.

And for the first time, James didn’t feel so
awful about his craving.

Once more, Declan pressed forward, filling
him up until his thighs hit against James’s rear. Slowly and easily
he continued to move, then a little faster and harder.

James gritted his teeth when Declan rammed
him harder than expected, but even that was pleasure. He craved
every stroke, every powerful drive that brought Declan all the way
inside him, completing him. And he lived for the expression of pure
ecstasy he’d brought to Declan’s face, so happy to return the favor
after the pleasure Declan had given him in the churchyard.

Their bodies slapped together in an
inexorable rhythm that built and grew, Declan’s grunting growing
louder, until he thrust once more and froze. James felt the subtle
pulsing of his cock and the warmth of his spending.

Declan collapsed over him. James couldn’t
bear to have his legs drawn up this way much longer. He gave a
small moan and shifted slightly.

Immediately, Declan pulled back, ceded
James’s body back to him, and reached to release the braces from
his wrists. He chafed James’s reddened skin with both hands,
bringing the blood rushing back in, then kissed each wrist on the
pulse point. “All right?”

James nodded. Better than all right. It had
been a minor discomfort considering the extreme pleasure it brought
him to be so controlled.

“And this?” Declan rubbed the back of James’s
thigh. “Not cramped?”

“No.” James flexed the toes of both feet as
he straightened his legs. “I’m fine.”

“This?” Declan’s hand trailed lower, touching
the stretched entrance he’d left wet and used. “Not too much
pain.”

James smiled. “Just the right amount.”

“Ah, good.” Declan returned his smile. “I’m
glad. I hope it was everything you wanted it to be.”

All that and more
, but it wouldn’t do
to nourish that smug smile too much, so James kept the thought to
himself. “Thank you,” he offered freely.

“You’re more than welcome. Thank
you
.”

And now Declan would get up and put his
clothes on. A note of melancholy such as the twilight brought
stabbed through James. Over so quickly. He would never feel
anything like it again. Once Declan Shaw had left town, that would
be an end to James’s experimentation.

Declan did get up, but only long enough to
take a handkerchief from his jacket pocket and use it to wipe up
both himself and James. He lingered on James’s stomach, erasing the
sticky traces of his spending. When he was finished, he lay down
again and pulled James into his arms.

The heat between them was tremendous. The bed
was too narrow to stay apart. And James couldn’t have been happier
than to have more precious moments to spend with the stranger who
had miraculously become his lover.

Chapter Twelve

After a few minutes, James began to shift
away and murmured against Declan’s chest, “Excuse me.”

Declan froze. Perhaps he’d assumed too much
thinking James would want to continue their contact. Apparently,
the man wanted him out of his bed and out the door.

James got out of bed and reached for his
drawers. Declan sat.

James put hand on his shoulder. “Please. I’ll
be right back. Don’t move. Would you like some tea? Or food?”

“Not a thing.”
Nothing other than you
,
but James’s nervousness silenced that flirtatious comment.

James walked away quickly. When he reappeared
a few minutes later, he stopped in the doorway, wearing only the
knee-length drawers.

Declan put his hands behind his head and made
obvious his admiration of the view.

James gripped the glasses and pitcher of
water he carried and appeared so uncertain, Declan asked, “Are you
all right?”

James flushed red and mumbled something about
how he’d had to visit the necessary.

Such a clergyman to be embarrassed by earthy
matters, but Declan didn’t want to embarrass him further by showing
his amusement. Instead, he asked, “You are a lovely sight. How did
your legs grow so muscular?”

James carried the pitcher to the night table,
poured two glasses, and handed one to Declan. “I walk
everywhere.”

“There’s a stable behind this cottage. Why
not keep a horse?” The water, pumped straight from some underground
spring, took the edge off Declan’s raging thirst.

“I had a mare, but she grew too old to ride.
She lives with a farmer up the road now.”

“It’s generous of him. Useless animals would
be a matter for the knacker man in most places I’ve visited.”

He noticed James wore a rueful look. Declan
said, “Don’t tell me, you pay for her keep?”

James only nodded as he set his empty glass
down by the pitcher.

“Of course you do.” Declan grinned.

“There’s no need to scoff. She gave me years
of faithful service.”

“You’re mistaken. I’m not scoffing. I’m
delighted by your tender heart. Come here and let me show you how
delighted.”

Declan shifted on the bed to press his back
against the wall and opened his arms.

James returned his smile and climbed onto the
bed. “I apologize for my awkwardness. Once I left the bed…I didn’t
know if I should return. One is unsure of the etiquette of such a
situation.”

“There is none,” Declan informed him. “I
wager a clergyman must always put on a show of meekness and fine
behavior. For once, you need not worry about what you say or do. I
shan’t judge you, and I hope you don’t judge me.”

“Never.” James pressed close to him then and
kissed the crook of Declan’s neck.

He sat up suddenly and gazed down at
Declan.

“What’s wrong?” Declan asked. “You look as if
you’ve been smacked across the face. James, really, I enjoyed our
session together. Do you feel like a sinner?”

“Do you know, I rather think I don’t, and
that’s astonishing.” His large eyes seemed huge.

Declan nudged his knee. “Are you going to
explain? Or you could just kiss me. You have natural ability, by
the way. Very good at learning a new skill.”

“You knew I hadn’t kissed anyone before?”

“I guessed. Why is it you look as if you’ve
been given the key to a treasure chest? Admit to me it’s the sight
of my body, and I’ll allow you to admire it more closely.” He had
drawn a sheet over his lap but now kicked it off to expose his
naked self.

“Yes, that is a gift.” James gazed at his
torso then shifted to Declan’s eyes. “But it just occurred to me.
You are so generous with yourself, body and mind. If you, a man I
believe I must admire, are not disgusted by what we do—”

“Not even a little bit,” Declan interrupted.
“But do go on.”

“Then I feel reassured and less…”

Declan waited as James cast about for a
description. He suspected James would say
less perverted
or
less of a sinner
.

“I am less lonely,” James finished.

“Good,” Declan said and reached up to pull
James down onto his chest again. His scent already seemed
familiar—and arousing. Declan wanted to master him again, but this
time make this mild, kind man remember him. He kissed his way down
James’s body and took his growing penis into his mouth. This would
prevent James ever forgetting their time together.

James’s moans and thrusting aroused Declan.
He had to move against the rough sheet, but he did nothing more. He
refused to lose himself in his own pleasure. This would be only
about James, and he would make sure no one would ever give him the
same intense pleasure that hands and lips and tongue could
bring.

“Going to spend.” James rolled his hips as if
trying to push up and get away at the same time. “Ah, no, no, you
must stop.”

Declan took a moment to pull off. “No.” He
went back to his pleasurable work.

James erupted in his mouth. Instead of
discreetly spitting it out, Declan swallowed every hot taste. James
shuddered and rested his hand on Declan’s hair as if giving him a
blessing. He stroked Declan’s cheek.

“Three times. Goodness, you’ve felled me
entirely,” James murmured. “I can’t stay awake.”

“You need a horse. You’re tired from all that
walking,” Declan said.

“Is that what it’s called? Such an
interesting euphemism.”

Declan chuckled. James burrowed against
Declan and fell into a doze almost at once.

Declan remained awake, half-aroused and
wondering how soon he could buy his new friend gifts.

Never. He’d been selfish to try to burn
himself into James’s memory when he would leave. The last thing he
needed was to entangle himself. Worse still, he didn’t want to
remain in this neighborhood a moment longer than necessary, and
James lived too close to Declan’s unpleasant relations.

Very well, he would make an anonymous
donation of a horse to the curate. That thought pleased him. Declan
rarely spent money on himself or his friends, so he had an enormous
sum saved for the day when he left the family business.

The only personal spending he planned was a
trip to the Continent for a fortnight or month. He’d earned this
taste of frivolous freedom from business duties to indulge his
cooking fantasies. Declan knew of humble establishments with fine
chefs in Paris, Sicily and Naples. He hoped to spend time in their
kitchens to learn their techniques.

The room grew darker—outside the small
window, clouds must have passed over the moon. Wind rustled through
the leaves of a large oak next to the cottage.

He must get up and return to the hall before
the rain began. They would have missed him by now, and he hoped no
one had raised an alarm.

“Are you all right?” James asked, sounding
wide awake as Declan disentangled himself.

“Yes, hush. I you need to sleep. I must
return to the hall.”

James sat and stretched. The light picked out
the pale planes of his torso. Declan brushed fingers down his side
but then sternly reminded himself he must be leaving.

“Can’t you go back to sleep?” he asked.

James yawned. “I wake easily and fall back to
sleep almost as quickly. I’m summoned at all sorts of hours for the
sick or the dying or those in need of comfort in the small hour.”
He sounded unconcerned, and Declan wondered how he’d respond if a
parishioner discovered Declan at his house in the middle of the
night.

James stood and dressed quickly, like a man
used to dressing for emergencies.

Declan rolled out of bed too. Now they would
grow silent and awkward, perhaps, but he’d discounted a clergyman’s
ability to fluently converse anywhere and at any time.

“Did you speak to your uncle or your aunt
about what the doctor told us?” James asked as Declan pulled on his
trousers.

He picked up his braces, and James gave a
quiet but audible moan. Declan put them on slowly. James turned
away and busied himself with his own clothes. His message was
clear: he wouldn’t allow himself to be distracted.

“I only saw my aunt briefly today. She wasn’t
at dinner,” Declan said.

They moved to the other room. After James
added some wood, he sat on a chair next to the fire. “Tell me
more.”

He listened to Declan with every sign of
quiet interest, not too avidly and without a hint of judgment. On
another man, that slightly cocked head and those steady eyes would
seem an affectation, but Declan suspected James rarely so much as
looked in a mirror.

Declan interrupted his own description of the
confrontation between Kip and Squire Darnley to ask, “Do you have
any notion of how very attractive you are? Of course you must. From
what I understand, young ladies swoon at your feet.”

James flinched as if Declan had taken a swing
at him. He opened his mouth, closed it, then said, “Thank you.”

“Ha, that’s not what you were going to
say.”

“Perhaps not.” James’s smile only increased
that angelic beauty. “But back to more important matters. If Kip
and his father behaved perfectly naturally afterwards at dinner,
then that sort of unpleasantness is likely common between
them.”