A Rose Between the Thornes Read online

  Her body slid down his, and judging by the hard cock she rubbed over, he was more than ready.

  “Sadly, that delight need wait.”

  Dammit is he a mind reader as well?

  “Will you give me your word not to move from where I put you, whilst I go to help Nat?” he asked.

  She hesitated. The fact he would trust her made her be truthful. Because he did it changed her intended course of action. “No,” she said baldly. “But I give you my oath, I will not run, hide, or seek help until I have looked at Nathaniel’s wound. As I also promise not to do anything to hinder his progress. But not to move? It can not be so. I am stiff, tired, and bloody angry. Of course I will move. Now remove my blindfold, untie me or not, as you choose, but let us move forward and end this charade.”

  What would he do? Sophia held her breath, and felt he did the same.

  “Soon,” he said finally. “Trust me for one more short period, love, and then we will all be open and free with each other.”

  Ha, he thought she’d believe him? Sophia had no belief in fairytales. “Why not now?” she demanded. She heard his sigh, it seemed heartfelt.

  “Because I am in charge. You chose to agree, and eventually find out all we can be together. As we do not know how you will choose...” He stopped speaking.

  Sophia lost her patience. If they still mistrusted me what hope had they?

  “My lords, I have been open and honest. I will not tell a lie. And until I have checked Nathaniel’s wound I will be all compliance,” she said. “Unless you decide to take my instruction further, and choose not to tell me how and why. Then I assure you I will rebel. I may be interested and intrigued, but not in ignorance.”

  The silence to her while still unsighted was unnerving. As she supposed it was meant to be. In spite of the butterflies in her stomach, and the spiders crawling up her spine, she refused to be the first one to speak.

  Hands brushed the nape of her neck, and Sophia blinked as the covering was removed from her eyes. She looked about with interest. They were in an elegant bedchamber, its decorations sumptuous. On the far wall stood the biggest bed she had ever seen. It was easily large enough for three people to sleep, or she thought, make love in, comfortably. Beside her, Jasper watched warily as she looked from him to the bed and back again.

  “For us?” she asked.

  He nodded

  “Together?”

  He nodded again. “It was to be for us to fuck and sleep together. Now we may have to curb our excesses a while. I must bring Nat in and tend to his wound. I am taking you at your word you will not try to escape, or leave.”

  Sophia curtsied mockingly, not an easy feat with her hands and legs tied. “Will you help me to sit?” she asked.

  Jasper raised one eyebrow. “I will do better than that.” With ease he lifted her and put her flat on the bed before raising her head and putting a pillow beneath it. “I trust you will rest comfortably until I return.”

  “Still trussed up like a bird for the table?” Her words were scathing even as her body responded to the desire in his eyes that he took no pains to hide.

  He laughed. “Trussed up as I hope to see you at a later date, though on that occasion without the scraps of clothing you wear now. In fact...” He moved forward and the air around her stirred as his hands brushed her chest. He took hold of the neckline of her gown and with a swift movement tugged hard downwards. She watched, fascinated. There was a harsh ripping noise and a sudden cool breeze over her already tight nipples as he exposed her breasts to his view. If it was possible, her nipples responded by hardening even further, to the point of pain.

  Jasper grinned, and Sophia’s heart lurched. It was a grin of devilment, enjoyment, and lust. He bent his head and took each hard nub into his mouth in turn, sucking and nipping. Sophia’s body responded with a surge of moist heat between her thighs and a tingling awareness of his masculinity. Her clit clenched, and a rapid pulse beat its needs inside her cunt. It took all her willpower not to demand he allow her to open her legs wide and beg him to seek entrance to her honey pot. Instead, she did her best to regulate her breathing and just enjoy the moment.

  “There, that will be a welcome sight for Nat as I carry him in. Something to take his mind off his discomfort.”

  “I aim to please,” Sophia responded with sarcasm.

  He bowed and moved to the door. “For that, my dear, we will be ever grateful. I look forward to experiencing your pleasure. Rose?” His voice was serious. “I will be but a moment, and once back we need tend to Nathaniel. It is as well your aim was not true.”

  The assumption that she had a poor aim stung. “If I had not been attacked, my shot would have gone precisely where I wished it to go. Not, sadly, in his cock, which perchance I now feel I should have aimed for. Or his balls as I first said, although perhaps with hindsight I should have done. No, I had aimed exactly as I meant, and if you had not grabbed me, the shot would have missed him. His prick and ballocks might well be shriveled with worry, and his trousers be singed, but he would have been unscathed. By a scant inch, but my shot would have missed him nevertheless.”

  Jasper paused by the door. “You are that good a shot?” Interest and surprise colored his voice.

  “Oh, yes, one day I will challenge you. There will be no cheating there.” She could not keep the satisfaction out of her voice. “And I wager I will win.” As the words left her mouth, Sophia groaned. When would she ever learn to think before she spoke? It was all the Thorne twin’s fault. They addled her brains; she hadn’t meant to use the word wager. Of course he picked up on it.

  “Another wager? I look forward to it. And remember, pride comes before a fall.”

  “Oh go and get Nathaniel,” she replied crossly.

  Chapter Four

  Nat waited in the darkness of the coach and pondered on all that had occurred. Damn woman. Who would ever thought she had a pistol, a Manton no less, if his brief glimpse was correct. Not only that, but have the wisdom to use it? He chuckled and it became a gasp and a wince as his movement stirred up the pain in the arm. He moved it carefully. In truth he was sure it was but a mere graze, but if it suited him and his twin’s purpose to play on the fact he was injured, he would do so with gladness. All was fair in love and war after all.

  Footsteps outside heralded the return of Jasper. Nat struggled to sit up. There was no way he would submit to Jasper carrying him over his shoulder, and holding him by the arse. They may enjoy sharing a woman; they did not share each other.

  He said as much to Jasper when he opened the door and set the lantern he had brought with him onto the carriage floor. Jasper laughed, and even Nat could hear the relief in it. “Good grief, never. I can think of nothing more abhorrent. If I choose to utilize my predilection for a hot male arse, ‘twil be with your knowledge, even your voyeurism as it was in Paris, but never your participation.”

  Nat nodded. Although they had seen such activities between siblings, it was not for them. “I envisage neither one of us will have a need to indulge so if Rose Sophia is inclined to indulge us.” He thought for a moment. “Is she so inclined do you think?”

  Jasper sighed and put his arm under Nathaniel’s to help him stand. “Who knows? She had promised not to run, or extract retribution for our activities until you are well. I fear you may need to suffer a relapse once she is at your side.”

  Nat gave a chuckle, which became a groan as he began to get down from the carriage and hit his injured arm on the edge of the door.

  “Bloody woman, I’ll look forward to spanking her arse when I’m able. It will be a pleasure to add imagined injury on her behalf.”

  “If you continue to act so careless it will no longer be imagined,” Jasper remarked as they made their way to the lodge. “Your arm needs to be cleansed and bound, not knocked and reopened.”

  Nat didn’t bother to answer. His arm, even though he knew it was a mere flesh wound, was on fire. His head was spinning in a most unpleasant way and the remnants
of his lunch were threatening to part company with his stomach. All he wanted was to be in a warm bed, preferable with a warm body next to him. Not, he admitted, for anything other than comfort. His cock may be willing and eager, pressed so hard up against his breeches it threatened to pop over the top to greet anyone who was watching. The rest of him was sadly not of the same inclination. Although he was, he conceded, ready to lay back and let others do the work for him.

  Jasper helped him over the threshold and up the stairs to where their room was. Decorated with care and considerable forethought a few weeks earlier, with the hope of Sophia occupying it with them, they had chosen colors to compliment her. Nat was able to admire the way the deep golds and greens were indeed a perfect foil for her dark beauty. Her bound arms and legs glistened in the lamp light as she rested on their bed. Her uncovered body made his pulse jump. Heat as hot as any inferno spread through him.

  Damn my arm, I don’t need it to fuck. For that I have my cock. I deserve to be able to plunge myself inside her warmth.

  “Lie on the bed, Nat, and allow our lady to attend your wound.” Jasper guided him to the edge of the overlarge bed, and sat him down. “Let me remove your boots first. I don’t wish to bring any valet in here. Not at this moment.” He turned his back and took Nat’s legs between his to drag each boot off in turn.

  “You might take his uninjured arm out of his jacket before he stretches out,” Sophia said. She wriggled, and every inch of her shimmered. It was the most prick-arousing sight anyone could wish for. Her eyes sparkled with an indefinable emotion and the pulse in her neck beat out an erratic rhythm. As she moved her legs, her quim called to him to plunder and enjoy her. With what seemed deliberate wantonness Sophia ran her tongue around her lips. Nat could imagine her doing the same thing to his or Jasper’s cock. She smiled and looked at the bulge in his breeches. “It will be easier to remove the garment or cut it off then.”

  Nat wasn’t sure if her speculative glance was good or not, and the way she said it made him shudder. He was not sure what it she meant and had no desire to ask.

  Jasper raised one eyebrow, and for all that his body throbbed with a myriad of sensations, most unpleasant, Nat had to smother a grin. Neither of them had considered Rose Sophia to be an easy conquest, indeed they both relished the chase, but even now, when he would have thought she felt at a disadvantage she was pushing and he would wager, not cowed an inch.

  Good. I look forward to our couplings; they will be everything but dull and predictable. He glanced at his arm. That was an example of her feistiness.

  “You have a point,” Jasper said. His tone was grudging, and once more Nat concealed his mirth. Jasper was a natural leader, and struggled when others drew attention to something he should have thought of.

  With gritted teeth, Nat succumbed to Jasper’s ministrations as he began to ease his form-fitting jacket off. The resultant pain was like a red-hot poker applied to his arm as his injury was jarred, and it brought sweat to his skin. He swallowed hard.

  A flesh wound, nothing more than that. It will be over soon, do not faint, do not empty your stomach. Think of those who are shot on the battlefield, think...

  “Oh, for goodness sake,” Sophia burst out. “Untie my hands and let me do it. Jasper, you are not usually this clumsy surely? You who I have been told can make a body sing with pleasure?”

  A red flush ran over Jasper’s face. Nat waited for his twin’s response. Neither of them said a word.

  Eventually, Jasper nodded.

  “I thank you for the compliment, my dear, and look forward to seeing your body sing. I would be grateful for your help, and I will hold you to your promise that you will do nothing untoward.”

  “Yet,” Sophia added. “Nothing untoward yet; not until I have helped you, that was my promise.” Jasper grunted as he busied himself with the ties around her hands. Sophia flexed her fingers as her wrists were loosened, and moved her feet.

  “Oh no, my love, you do not need to move far, and I will help you. There is no need to untie your legs.”

  “There is when I fuck her,” Nathaniel said, his voice pain-filled. “How else do I fill her properly if I can’t get between her thighs?”

  “You mean you are so limited in ideas? I am disappointed; I thought from your introduction to me, such a minor detail as my legs bound would be but a superficial irritant,” Sophia mocked him.

  He frowned. They would have to remind her to think before she spoke. Don’t be a prosy stupe, she speaks her mind and I admire her for it. This grumpy mood is not me.

  “And if she fucks you, Nat, think how tight and delicious it will be to have your cock drawn into that restricted space. Don’t worry, once you are able, you will enjoy all the fruits of our labors,” Jasper said. “On my oath, I will not enjoy our lady, or she me until we are able to be three.”

  ***

  “If I am here,” Sophia could not help but add that. She may have no intention of trying to escape, the pictures that had painted for her were much too enticing, but neither was she going to let them think she was compliant. She would push and prod as far as possible, and enjoy all they meted out.

  “But of course,” Jasper said urbanely. “But I tell you now, Rose our love, you will be here.”

  “Why Rose? I dislike that name.” She was curious. They had once before intimated they would use her hated first name, and try as she might she could see no reason for it.

  “It is you, love. You are our Rose. Think about it.” Jasper advised. “Now can you aid me with this garment so we can tend to this wound?”

  She nodded. She would think about their insistence to use Rose as a name when she had time. “Move away and let me...no, on second thought use one hand to steady him, and keep the other available to grab me if I fall. I have no balance.” That was a lie. Playing circuses as a wild child, standing on the back of a horse as it cantered around a field, had given her an incredible sense of balance, but she saw no reason to demonstrate the fact.

  Jasper held Nat steady for her. Sophia pondered the best way to ease the coat off. There was a wicked gleam in Nat’s eyes as she leaned over him, and her breasts touched his chest. Sophia jumped, and her quim clenched at the desire she saw there. She had forgotten she was naked except for the remains of her tattered gown around her shoulders. Impatiently, she shrugged out of the rags and threw them onto the floor.

  “In the absence of being offered a robe to conceal my nakedness, I will ignore the look in your eyes and the condition of your cock,” she said. “And trust you to behave like a gentleman. Both of you, therefore please ignore my state of undress. Now.” She became brisk. “As this jacket is soiled and ripped I suggest we cut it off. Do you have scissors?”

  “Hold him, whilst I go to the cabinet.” Jasper walked away. Nat leaned toward her, his mouth on a level with her nipple. He took one in his mouth and sucked hard, his teeth grazing the sensitive areolae. Sophia’s body was filled by a surge of red-hot emotion, like lava as it spilled from a volcano. Her juices gathered and her body became as damp as his. How could she feel so aroused by such a small thing?

  “Give me the other,” Nat commanded. “Let me taste. It will give me something to think about as you probe my arm. I will imagine ‘tis me probing you elsewhere. “He lifted his face to stare at her. “Now,” he said, command in his tone. “Hold your breast to me.”

  Startled, she did as he bade her do, and lifted her breast. His tongue circled the tip before he took it into his mouth. Once more the sparks and shards of excitement bombarded her as his touch invested sweet sensations from her nipple to her quim and back again.

  “Ah, I sup, as I wish to taste all of you,” he said as he nipped, his words slurred by her breast inside his mouth. “I want more, and ah...hades that hurts.” Jasper with a nod to Sophia to keep Nathaniel occupied had returned and slit his coat sleeve from wrist to shoulder.

  “Now hold still whilst I remove the remains of what was once a very fine jacket. By Stultz,” Jasper said.
“Feast on Rose and let me work.”

  Sophia glared at him. It was not easy to remain detached and annoyed with either of their diktats when, she opined, she was enjoying the heightened awareness of what may transpire. Nathaniel nodded without removing his mouth from her and the tug on her sensitive nipple was enough to make her tremble. Her skin was a sensation of tiny prickles, as if someone was running a pin over her. Each minute stab sent a message to her cunt, telling her to be ready for anything. Her juices gathered and she knew the evidence would show on her.

  “Touch yourself,” Jasper said, his voice hard. “Use your fingers inside your cunt and run your nub with your juices. Show us how you like to be felt. Let the feel of Nat on your breast excite you further. Do it, Rose.”

  She moved her hand to her quim and circled her nub before putting a finger inside herself. As she had predicted she was so wet, so ready to come, she knew it would take one pinch and she would spiral over the edge and into ecstasy.

  Nat pulled away from her, and she saw the pain in his eyes. His coat and shirt were cut away, and his arm revealed. If anything was designed to cool her ardor that sight was it. Sophia was ashamed. How could she forget what had transpired to such a degree that one word from either of them, and she did as she was asked—no, commanded, she reminded herself—and she was ready to pleasure herself, to come, in front of them?

  “Let me tend to his arm,” she said abruptly as Nat began to slip sideways. “Put him flat on the bed.”

  Jasper did as she asked, and Sophia, with an impatient look at her ankles, shuffled forward. “Do you have hot water and a clean cloth?” she asked him.

  “I have them ready outside the room,” he replied. “I will get them.”

  Sophia gently prodded the reddened area on his arm, being careful to avoid the gouge her bullet had made. “It’s a mere graze,” she said, and heard the relief in her voice. “I had intended to singe your breeches and make you fear for your balls, but I was pulled backward and spoiled my aim. You are lucky. I could have spoiled your chances of procreation.”