His Mischievous Bride (Regency Matchmaker Book 2) Read online

  "Oh, you were very naughty indeed, my little wife."

  "Wh-what are you going to do about it?" I asked, glancing up at him from beneath my lowered lashes. Now that I was assured William had not been injured, I was feeling daring again, all the regret at my own foolishness that had filled me mere moments before, completely forgotten. It was time for fun.

  I darted into the sitting room and waited for William to join me. Turning, I wiggled my derriere at him. "Is this what you are looking for, sir?"

  His growl sent a throb of desire to my womanly core, moisture gathered there. Catching a glimpse of him in a mirror, even with my back to him, I saw the precise moment he lunged for me and I skittered away just in time. He kept his balance and chased after me as I rounded behind the sofa and nearly overturned a lamp.

  Unused to such exertions, or perhaps due to arousal, my breath came in gasps as I continued my efforts to elude capture. So caught up was I in avoiding his grasp I failed to plan strategically for my path of escape and I soon found myself literally backed into a corner, William, his eyes bright with desire, descending upon me. He placed both hands on the wall next to my head, one leg between mine in order to impede any thoughts I might have entertained of attempting to flee again. The air between us was charged with energy and pent up passion and he brought his face close to mine. My heart pounded hard in my chest and butterflies fluttered in my stomach. William licked his lips, staring at my mouth with his dark gaze. "I thought you said you could out run me," he said, his voice a husky whisper.

  "Perhaps I was ready to be caught," I said. He growled low in his throat and kissed me with such abandon the air was drawn from my lungs and I clung to him like a lifeline.

  Like a wanton, I pressed the mound of my womanhood against him, gasping with pleasure when I felt the hardness of his desire.

  What had I been thinking running from this man? Teasing him, when all I wanted was to feel him inside me. Oh, the mere thought of it sent warm, wet tingles through me. In the past, I had resisted allowing myself to have too many erotic thoughts about William, but now, all the barriers were gone and I wanted... wanted everything, all of him.

  This was what I had longed for for so many years, even when I did not know for sure what it was I yearned for.

  My hands explored the hard, hot flesh of his torso. I sighed, feeling as though I was finally at peace now that I could touch him at will. Other than a few dances in our youth, until last night, I had never touched William in anything other than a proper and polite way.

  Now, that we were husband and wife, my head spun with the possibilities, the tantalizing details of which were fresh in my mind from our couplings the night before.

  William stilled my hands in their exploration of his body. He drew my fingers to his mouth and kissed my fingertips, his gaze holding mine. "There is still the matter of your spanking, my naughty wife."

  I gasped and jerked my hand away. "No!"

  "Are you implying your behavior does not deserve to be punished?"

  My shoulders slumped. "No, I am not implying that. I feel horrible that you fell and hurt yourself. But I said I was sorry, did I not?"

  "Yes, you did."

  "Can we not continue our current pursuits?" I glanced up at him from beneath my lashes and stroked my fingertip down the flat of his stomach. "We have so many more interesting things we could be doing, do we not?"

  "We have all day…. and the rest of our lives." He turned me so my back was to him and gave my bottom a pat. "Therefore, we have ample time to see to your discipline as well as our pleasure."

  I fisted my hands at my sides, infuriated, though whether with him or with me, I cannot say. Of course, ‘twas my own fault I found myself in this predicament.

  I wanted to be angry with him. I held myself stiff, doing my darnedest to convey to him my disapproval of his insistence on disciplining me. When his strong fingers worked into my hair, massaging my scalp and threading his fingers through my tresses, it was hedonistic, and I tipped my head back, resting it against his chest. He pressed a kiss to my forehead.

  In a matter of a few heady moments, I stood before him panting in eagerness. He turned me round to face him and I blushed at his close perusal of my body. My breath caught in my throat and I stared into his face, trying to decipher his reaction to what I offered. Though he had done the same the night before, that had been in a frenzy of passion. Today, the sun shone brightly through the windows and there was no hiding in the shadows. I was no longer a young girl. In the intervening years, I had born a child and lived a full life.

  When he finished his inspection, his eyes met mine. "You are even more beautiful this morning than you were last night, my dear Callie."

  I beamed and blushed under his praise. "Thank you," I whispered.

  He took my hand and lead me toward the bed, my feet tripping across the carpet in heady anticipation. Once we achieved the bed, he sat and pulled me across his lap, my face toward the floor.

  Oh my lord. He really did intend to spank me. He lightly slapped across the entire surface of my backside and the tops of my thighs. It was not painful so much as it was embarrassing to be in such a position. I wiggled across his lap and giggled nervously.

  "Hmm," he said. "Do you find this funny?" He stroked his fingers between the crevice of my backside and down to the slit of my womanhood, slipping just inside the folds and I inhaled sharply at the intimate contact.

  "No, sir," I said, my heart beating madly in my chest. "Funny is not the word I would choose."

  His digit probed further into my private space and I gasped. "What word would you choose?" The exploring finger moved in and out of my hot passage.

  "I-I cannot think clearly at the moment, sir."

  "Hmm. I like having you call me sir. But I think I would like it better if you called me Colonel."

  "Y-yes, Colonel." Rotating my hips in an effort to deepen the contact, I whimpered when he withdrew his hand and then smacked my bottom, this time with a stinging heat that was not present before.

  "Now, Lady St. Clair, I would like for you to hold still while I finish your spanking and then I will fuck you. Would you like that?"

  "Colonel St. Clair, I cannot say such a thing aloud, not even to you."

  "Do you think you would dislike having me fuck you?"

  "Oh no."

  He continued swatting up and down my backside, his swats becoming harder and harder.

  "Ouch, ouch, ouch," I said. "That hurts."

  "Good. Now, I want you to tell me how much you wish for me to fuck you, make you scream my name."

  My face burned with embarrassment. I am well aware I often say inappropriate things, nearly always without intending to do so, but I simply could not say make such an intimate and scandalous statement.

  However, my arse was burning from his hard palm and it appeared clear the only way to make it stop was to confess my deepest desires.

  "Yes," I whispered, unsure if he could even hear me. "I want you to fuck me."

  "I heard you speaking, Calliope dear, but I could not make out exactly what you said. Please speak up." He punctuated his request with three hard smacks to my sit spot.

  "Fuck me. Please, fuck me."

  "Louder."

  "Now, I want you now. Fuck me, William. Fuck me hard."

  William

  Were any words sweeter to my ears than those? Carefully, I turned my wife over and snuggled her against my chest. How many nights had I fallen asleep imagining myself with her in my arms. By some miracle, it was reality and I could scarcely believe it.

  "You were a good girl to take your punishment without too much complaint," I said. "I had not expected you would require a spanking, but considering your tendency to act first and think later, I believe you ought to prepare yourself for regular discipline."

  Calliope gasped and gaped at me with eyes like saucers. "But, Colonel, what if I have not done anything to deserve a spanking?"

  "Well, my little wife, what do you suppose
are the odds you will not, at least once per week, engage in some sort of naughty behavior? And, on the rare chance you have behaved perfectly, then you shall receive a good girl spanking. Can you look me in the eye and honestly say you did not enjoy your session over my knee just now? Or the playful swats I gave you last night?”

  "It hurt!"

  "And there was no pleasure at all?"

  "No, of course not."

  "Hmm. You see, falsehoods are another reason why you will need weekly discipline, I believe."

  "How dare you accuse me of telling untruths."

  I lifted her from my lap and lay her across the bed, my eyes taking in the glory of her naked body, her hair flowing around her shoulders.

  Nudging her thighs apart, I reached between and touched her cunny. "What is this, my Callie? It would appear you are still quite aroused from your spanking. Is that not true?"

  "I am not aroused by your spanking, ‘tis everything else. You have me naked and you are touching me... there."

  "Did you not, mere moments ago, beg for me to take you, fuck you? Is that not proof the spanking aroused you?"

  "I only said those things to make you stop your horrid behavior."

  "Do you expect me to believe you have no desire to make love, or as you so clearly put it—to fuck?"

  In reply, she glared at me with a mixture of stubborn pride and annoyance. I flipped her onto her stomach and, grasping her hips pulled her into position at the edge of the bed.

  "The time for discussion is over," I told her, giving her pink bottom a slap. "You may protest all you like, but you want this as much as I do."

  I gave her rounded bottom a couple more slaps before sliding into her heat. Where our prior couplings had been slow and tender, this one would be hot and hard. My balls slapped against her wet folds and I gripped her upturned arse in my hands, pulling her toward me until I was fully encased by her pussy. The wet walls clenched around my length and despite her feeble protests to the contrary, my wife rocked back into me eagerly, her eager cunny taking every inch of my cock and begging for more.

  I wrapped my arms around her waist and lifted her from the bed, pounding into her like a madman. She braced her hands on the bed and screamed my name in climax just before I shot my hot seed into the depths of her pussy.

  Sated, we collapsed upon the bed and napped until well into the afternoon of our first day of marriage.

  Chapter 5

  William

  When we woke, I ordered dinner delivered to our room. Rested and nourished, we stared at each other across the table. The realization of what we had done settled over us.

  "Did we really get married?" Callie asked with a nervous giggle.

  "Yes, we most certainly did. And by a bishop no less."

  "You were like a man possessed," she said, glancing at me shyly over the rim of her wine glass. "I never would have imagined you behaving so impulsively."

  "I never would have expected it either," I said. "You bring something out in me no one else ever has or ever could. Remember how you used to tell me stories when you were a little girl?"

  "Yes, how could I forget," she said, gazing at me with love. "You were the only person in the whole world who listened to my stories and ideas and did not make fun of me or tell me I was foolish. You made me feel important. Special."

  "You are important and special, Calliope." I took her hand in mine. "Did you know I intended to propose to you that night at your birthday party? I loved you then and wanted to spend the rest of my life with you."

  She gasped and pulled her hand away to cover her mouth. "No," she said. "I had no idea. Oh, I knew you fancied me, as I did you, and that you were frightfully angry that night. I was angry with you too." She hung her head and fell silent for a few moments. "That was the worst night of my life," she said. "I have regretted it ever since. Did you know I went to your house the next day, hoping to see you and apologize, to make things right between us? But, you were already gone."

  My heart squeezed at the pain in her voice and my own remembered anguish. "I acted rashly after you banished me from your life. My uncle tried to talk me out of my plan to join the army, but I would not be dissuaded."

  "Oh, just think how different life would have been if we had not quarreled."

  "That is true," I said. "But, the fact is, we did quarrel. We cannot change that. We were both young and headstrong. If we had not argued, I would not have joined the army and I have had a good career with the army. I have done things which brought honor to my name and to my companions. I do not believe I would have been as satisfied with life as a country gentleman. My only regret is the loss of being with you. I would have given everything up, to be with you."

  "We are together now, so let us not dwell on regrets. I am proud of you for joining the army and serving our country. Tell me about your work in the army. What did you do? Did you go to war?"

  "Yes, I did go to war."

  She reached over and squeezed my hand. "You must have seen horrible things."

  Ugly visions passed through my mind, and I fought to blot them out. "Yes, I have."

  "But, you are done now, are you not? You were not wearing a uniform. Is your time of service over so we may spend our time together?"

  I cleared my throat. I did not wish to keep anything from Callie now that we were married, but I also could not share everything my duties involved.

  "I have one last assignment to complete," I said, and she looked up at me in surprise. "I cannot tell you all of the details because they are top secret. But, for your own safety, I must tell you I am involved in an undercover investigation. I am still a colonel in the army, but for this assignment I am posing as a retired officer. In addition," I fisted my free hand in anger that still burned over this aspect of my duties, "a rumor, a decidedly untrue one, has been spread about me in order to flush out suspected traitors to the crown."

  "What?" she gasped. "Traitors? What does this mean?"

  Taking a deep breath, I plunged in with all of the details I felt I could share. "You cannot speak of this with anyone, do you understand? My life and your own will be endangered if the wrong people find out about this. Promise me you understand. This is not a game. Many people, not just the two of us, are risking their lives for this operation."

  "Oh, my." Callie's eyes glowed with excitement and a flush colored her cheeks. "How intriguing."

  "Calliope," I warned, as I tapped the bridge of her nose, "this is no parlour game or a tableau being played out at a house party. We are talking about real people who are a threat to our country." I raked a hand through my hair and shook my head ruefully. "I ought to have thought of this before rushing off to the bishop’s house last night. I hate that I have involved you in a potentially dangerous situation."

  "I am not afraid." Callie tipped up my face, so she could look into my eyes. "I wish to help you and be the best wife I can."

  I hugged her to me and prayed my rash behavior had not endangered my precious Callie.

  Three days later

  William

  Calliope and I finally emerged from our hotel suite and returned to reality. Much as I had enjoyed our private time together, I was eager to show off my new love. Everything looked bright and sunny, as though the world had been scrubbed and polished during our absence. Callie sat next to me in the carriage, her gloved hand clasped in mine.

  "I have a meeting this morning with General Fitzwilliam," I told Callie. "We shall leave you to collect your things and then I shall call for you when my meeting is over."

  "I shall miss you," she said, and her words warmed my heart. "But I look forward to introducing you to my family."

  Having lived as a bachelor for so many years, I nearly forgot that others had families. "I look forward to it. How many of them are there?"

  "Well, there is Jimmy and his wife Tempest, I told you about them. Lady Ambrosia made their match. And then there are my boys. I shall have to break the news to them that we will have a new home."

/>   Taken aback, I paused for a moment. "Your boys?" I had not considered I might be taking on more duties than just Callie. I had been in such a rush to make her mine, I had not thought about all of the possibilities. Regardless, I was a man of honor. "Whatever they need, I shall be certain they are cared for."

  Thereupon I was enveloped in a hug of bear-like proportions. "Oh, thank you. I am sure you will love them, just like I do. They are such dears. And they will be so pleased to have a papa. They are quite energetic, and it will be nice for them to have a man to show them how to behave properly and not act like a band of heathens as they sometimes do."

  The discipline of the army, as well as my own gentlemanly upbringing, had given me thorough training in the art of non-disclosure. My countenance remained placid while my brain spun at the idea of sharing a house with a group of heathen-like youngsters.

  Regardless, I loved Calliope and was determined to make her happy. In pursuit of that goal, I supposed I ought to find out about these boys for whom I was now responsible. The notion of fatherhood was certainly daunting. My own father had been a bit of a ne’er-do-well; however, my benefactor uncle had been quite fatherly. Though I had never become a father myself, I had spent a good deal of time guiding the young soldiers in my command and I hoped that experience would bode well for my new role as parent to these boys.

  "How many boys do you have?" I asked.

  "Four if you count Jimmy, but he is grown and on his own, so that just leaves the three small ones," Callie said with a proud smile. "Their names are Darcy, Bingley and Wickham and they are the delight of my heart."

  Three boys. My carefully composed demeanor wavered for a fleeting moment. Perhaps they were away at school and did not necessarily require a fatherly hand on a day to day basis, despite Calliope’s suggestion they would benefit from regular contact with a father figure. "How old are they?"