Matthew's Mask

STORY EXCERPT

Matthew Hawk stared at the attorney, his mouth agape.

“You mean my rotten son-of-a-bitch father was really my rotten son-of-a-bitch uncle?” he asked.

The attorney flinched then nodded. “Regrettably, yes.”

Matthew blew out a breath. “You regret it all you like. I don’t.”

The man cleared his throat and shuffled the papers on his desk, his head bowed. The call to the attorney’s office in London wasn’t unexpected, now that his father—make that his uncle—dropped dead last month. Matthew didn’t expect to inherit much coin, that was certain. Hawks were blessed with their finances, or so the late Viscount Lindhurst always said. Pity he was as loose with his money as he was with his seed.

“You’re still heir to his property,” the attorney went on, adjusting his glasses to peer up at him. “And you now hold the title of Viscount Lindhurst.”

“And little else save for my own money, isn’t that right?” Matthew finally sat back down in the chair across from him. “Bloody beautiful.”

“The viscount had debts that had to be paid, my lord.” His cheeks reddened. “It seems there were several women in the village who he—”

“Fucked and abandoned?” Matthew cut in. “Don’t worry about my sensibilities, Sims. I know what a bastard my father—excuse me, my uncle—was. He was a hypocrite as well.”

“Be that as it may, you have claims on another estate.”

“My real father’s? Tell me he’s dead, too. That will save me the trouble of confronting the man who fucked and abandoned my mother.”

A memory came to him, that of the sweet woman who’d raised him until he was nine years old. That was precisely when the viscount had taken over, sparing Matthew neither his tongue nor his fists in his effort to “make him into a man.”

It was a blessing the bastard died in that public house last month, collapsing on the poor girl unfortunate enough to take his coin for a tumble. Though Matthew had grown as big and strong as the man, the verbal jabs never ceased. Matthew’s hold on his restraint to pay him back in full had been tenuous at best.

“Yes, the late Earl of Hawksfell went down with the Titanic in April.”

“Screwing his way across the Atlantic until it struck the iceberg, no doubt.”

The attorney gasped, and Matthew waved a hand at him. “Don’t expect me to mourn a man I never knew, Sims. I’m certain he was like every other Hawk in our part of England. A rutting bastard with no conscience or responsibility, save for legitimatizing their offspring.” He laughed without humor. “Although my father didn’t even do that, did he? No, he let his brother raise me.”

“The truth of your sire was always in these papers, my lord,” Sims said. “I wasn’t at liberty to divulge it to you, and apparently, your uncle never saw fit to do it either.”

“Yes.” Matthew thought about the many things his uncle kept from him. “No doubt he feared I’d finally lose my restraint and punch his perfect teeth down his throat.”

Sims blinked. “I have the information on the current Earl of Hawksfell, my lord.”

“The brother I never knew I had. Well, half-brother. We Hawks are all ‘half-something or others’ aren’t we?”

“I’m afraid so.” More paper shuffling, then Sims sighed. “Do you wish me to pen a letter to the earl?”

“For what reason? So that he can deny me my rights as one of the late earl’s legitimate heirs? He did legitimatize me, didn’t he?”

“Yes. Here are copies of the papers he signed right after you were born.”

Matthew took the papers and stood again. “At least I won’t have to prove that on my own. Where is this Hawksfell Manor?”

“In Yorkshire. It sits just outside the village of Helmsley, my lord. On the moors.”

“Helmsley? I’ve been at the inn there. Last spring.” Matthew thought for a moment, recalling just what he’d gotten up to at that inn set in the shadow of his then-unknown brother’s estate. “Thank you, Sims.”

Sims nodded, and Matthew left the attorney’s office. His motor sat waiting at the curb, and it was a finely-outfitted vehicle. His uncle might have been lousy with saving money, but he’d been adept at making it. Matthew carried that trait along with the Hawk lusts, and his own fortune had grown in the past few years. Now he was twenty-six years old and wealthy in his own right. Even before this new development. He directed his chauffeur to take him home to Lindhurst and sat back on the leather seat.

He’d never tried to contain his Hawk beast, not since he’d reached puberty. If he did, pain would consume him until he found release. No, he’d taken his pleasure anywhere and with anyone despite the consequences when his uncle unerringly learned of it. Funny, but he’d always beaten or berated Matthew for giving in to his baser urges even as he fucked everything that moved.

“Bloody hypocrite,” he muttered.

Why shouldn’t Matthew take his lusts as a gift instead of a curse? He gave as much pleasure as he took. He could fuck forever, in a groom’s ass or a serving girl’s pussy, and used his mouth and hands to make them come, too. The people around Lindhurst Manor knew what a Hawk was and what a Hawk could do. He was always kind with his words and generous with his coin. He always made certain to leave them happy. But leave them he did.

No one had a hold on his heart, nor would they. That was a weakness he would never allow. His uncle had been right on that count. And now he was on his way to Helmsley and, ultimately, to Hawksfell Manor.

ADULT EXCERPT

Matthew grinned and disrobed quickly. Posy stood in her corset and stockings, her breasts heavy and her nipples tight. They now wore only their trousers, but she could see their cocks were rigid.

“Oh, why don’t you take off your trousers?”

“I don’t know about William, but my pants are the only thing keeping me from spreading your legs and fucking you right now.”

She shivered as her juices began to flow. “Oh, please do.”

Matthew winked at William, and some sort of silent communication passed between them. He worked the laces at the front of her corset, easing the pressure on her breasts.

“My God, you’re gorgeous,” William said. “You never cease to surprise me.” He stepped close and palmed one breast. “Have you ever seen such beautiful breasts, Matthew?”

“Never.” Matthew closed a hand over her other breasts and gave a squeeze. Her nipple pulled tighter still as he pinched it. “Lovely.”

She began to rub her legs together to ease the ache in her pussy. “Touch me, please.”

Matthew clicked his tongue. “Oh, no. We’ve been waiting to get you between us, love. We’re going to take our time tonight.”

She looked from one to the other. Their eyes were hot and their cheeks were flushed. “You’ll kill me, do you know that?”

“Hardly,” William said. He urged her toward the nearest wall and spread her legs once more. “You’ll love this, I promise.”

Matthew nodded and brought his mouth to her breast. His tongue dragged across her flesh, and she bit her lip. He began to suckle, and she was grateful for the wall at her back. When William began to lick her other nipple, she clutched their heads to her. With her eyes squeezed shut, she reveled in what they did to her.

It was amazing how different they were and yet how they each so easily drove her mad. William was tender, nibbling gently at her flesh as he murmured words of praise. Matthew sucked hard and nipped her almost to the point of pain as he grunted naughty words. She thought she could possibly come just from what they were both doing.

“Oh, please,” she urged, unsure of precisely what she wanted.

Their fingers teased her inner thighs again, coming so close to her aching pussy she arched toward them. Her breath came fast, and she was wild between them now.

“What do you need?” Matthew asked, bringing his thumb so close to her clit she moaned.

“One of you, lick my pussy!” she cried.

Matthew chuckled. “You heard our girl, William.”

William said something she missed, but she didn’t care. The next moment he fell to his knees in front of her and buried his face in her cunt. His tongue was bold, his lips magic on her flesh, as he licked and sucked at her. Matthew pinched her nipples now, having gotten behind her somehow. His cock teased her bottom through the thin cloth of his trousers. She was grateful for the support of his hands as William grabbed her ass and lifted her up on her toes as his mouth went wild on her. He nibbled on her clit, and she felt her orgasm start. She trembled between them, so close she ached.

“Yes, oh please,” she murmured. “Please, please, please.”

Matthew bit her gently on her neck as William drove two fingers deep inside her. She broke. Wave after wave of pleasure crashed over her as they never ceased their torture.

Slowly William eased her down onto her feet again. She felt boneless as she rode the aftershocks of the orgasm they gave her.

“Perfect,” Matthew said. “God, I’m so hard I’m about to rip my trousers.”

She turned in his arms and stroked his shaft. He hissed, closing his eyes as his cock grew harder still. Bringing her mouth to his, she kissed him. He drove his tongue into her mouth, and she sucked on it. She pulled away. “I’ll suck your cock, too, Matthew.”

He groaned and set her from him. “William needs your attention, love.”

She turned, clasping her hands in delight as she found William stark naked and ready for her. Without another thought, she dropped to her knees as he had earlier and engulfed his cock in her mouth. Cupping his rock-hard buttocks in her hands, she bobbed her head as she stroked him with her tongue and lips. William moaned, thrusting into her mouth. “Matthew!” he cried.

She glanced up to find Matthew behind him now. His hand touched hers, and then he eased two fingers into William’s ass.

“How does that feel, William?” he asked, his voice low.

“So good,” William said. He reached up and grabbed on to Matthew’s shoulders. “Suck me harder, Posy.”

She did. Her pussy began to ache from William’s reactions to what the two of them were doing to him. She cupped his balls and gently squeezed the base of his shaft as she nibbled around the head. William was lost now, as lost as she’d been between them, and she wanted him to feel what she had. When he began to tremble, so close to release she could taste him already, she closed her mouth over the head again and hummed.

“I’m coming!” he cried.

Matthew held him up as William exploded down her throat. She sat back on her heels after, watching his beautiful face as he tried to catch his breath. Matthew turned his face toward him and kissed him on the lips.

“Oh, that’s just lovely,” she said.

Matthew patted William on the shoulder. “Now how about our girl again?”

He tore off his trousers, and his cock was huge in his hand. “I want to feel you come around my cock, Posy.”

Excited, she jumped to her feet. “Oh, yes!”

Derek's Dare

STORY EXCERPT

The sound of a motor drew her eye to the drive. Her heart flipped when she recognized the car Derek had taken despite the gloom of the coming evening. She’d watched him being driven away. It was much more pleasurable to watch him return.

“Yes, Diana,” she said to herself. “He’s coming home to you.” She snorted. “Not likely.”

“Miss?” a parlormaid said from the doorway.

Diana eyed her. She was a pretty thing, all dark hair and eyes. Had Derek taken her, too? Her heart, so recently buoyed by Derek’s imminent return, now felt as heavy as a stone.

“N–nothing,” she managed to say to the maid.

The girl bobbed a curtsey and left her. Diana stepped away from the window and ran her hands over her dress and patted her hair. Thankfully she’d decided to wear one of her new dresses for dinner tonight. Though the cut was sleek and draped beautifully over her hips, the fabric also hugged her waist and showed a bit of her décolletage. Her corset was doing its job. The tops of her breasts felt plump and soft to her hands. Her fingers danced over her throat and the side of her neck. Derek had buried his face there, his hair-roughened cheeks delightfully setting her nerves to tingling. He’ll give me what I’ve been asking for. The truth was, she had no notion of what precisely she was asking him for. She would ask him tonight. That was all.

She heard the front door open and the low rumble of Derek’s voice. Attempting to assume an air of nonchalance, she pretended she just happened to step out of the parlor into the entry as Derek arrived home.

“Diana,” he said, drawing up short.

“Hello, Derek.”

He nodded, swallowing so his Adam’s apple bobbed. She ran her eyes hungrily over him. He looked marvelous, as usual. His overcoat spanned his wide shoulders and when he removed it she wasn’t disappointed by his tweeds. His hair was slightly tousled and he seemed uncertain as he stood there. Both elements combined to lend him a bit of approachability that made her step closer as if pulled by an invisible thread.

“Was your trip enjoyable?” she asked.

“Enjoyable?” He waved the footman holding his suitcases to head upstairs and handed his coat to a waiting maid. He said something to her she didn’t hear but the girl didn’t appear to blush or giggle. She just hurried away. He faced Diana again. “I suppose you can say that.”

Questions burned within her, but she wouldn’t press him for answers. She wanted to know only one thing. What he believed she wanted him to give her and how soon he would do it.

“You’re in time for supper,” she said. “The family is already in the dining room.”

His jaw tightened. “I plan to eat in my room tonight, Diana. I have to see to a few things if I’m leaving the day after tomorrow. An evening spent with a table full of Holbrooks is not something I need right now.”

Her throat tightened as she focused on the only phrase that affected her. “You’re leaving. Again.” Oh, it was like a repeat of that last morning just days earlier!

“The Earl of Hawksfell has invited me to stay for a while. I find I can’t resist the prospect.”

“But why so soon? You’ve only just returned.”

“I’ve had a hell of a few days, Diana.” He turned away and began to climb the stairs. “Please don’t press me.”

Diana fumed for a few long moments, then chased him up the stairs. “Why do you hate us so much, Derek?”

He stopped at the landing and faced her. His dark Hawk eyes looked almost sad. “I don’t hate any of you. I just don’t want to be the center of a Holbrook dinner conversation again.”

He turned away and walked toward his room. His words struck her. He was right. The blasted Holbrooks, male and female, old and young, seemed fascinated by all things Hawk. It had been that way since he’d come to the hall, but she’d never really paid much attention. She’d only wanted to be near him, not to know everything about his cursed family’s past. To think that he lumped her into that group of gossipmongers cut her.

She descended the stairs slowly and headed for the dining room. She could hear her family talking and laughing, meaning the men had already imbibed generously on her late father’s wine. As she entered the room she saw there were eight Holbrooks dining tonight. Her mother’s eyes stabbed at her.

“Where’s Derek, dear?” she asked. “I’d heard he came home not too long ago.”

“He’s eating in his room,” Diana answered.

Silence met that statement then the room erupted with stories and suppositions that scorched her ears and curled her toes. She couldn’t handle this tonight. Holding a hand over her mouth, she made a retching sound that shut up the group of Holbrooks.

“Are you all right, Diana?” Betsy Holbrook, her second cousin, asked her.

“My stomach is a bit ill,” Diana lied. “Mother, please forgive me.”

She didn’t give anyone time to worry more over her phantom stomachache. As she left the room, she could hear the conversation begin to buzz again. She knew she wasn’t the subject. No. They talked about hunting and riding, parties and pairings. And Hawks, of course. Always Hawks.

ADULT EXCERPT

She felt like quite the wanton, rubbing herself against this lovely man. He was sweet and gentle and she so wanted him to put his pretty mouth on her breasts again. His slightly callused hands were sure as he ran them over her flesh, moaning his desire and whispering words of praise. He moved and covered one breast and she arched as she had before.

“Please…” she groaned.

He lowered his head and suckled her nipple. His tongue dragged over the tip, starting a fire within her. Her limbs trembled, and her pussy grew hot and tingling. His fingers trailed over the edge of her stockings, setting her skin on fire. He neared her pussy, his fingertips tickling her.

“You’re wet, Diana,” he said, his voice low. “Are you wet for me?”

She was. “Yes, Evan.” She wanted him to please her, as astounding as that should be. Wanted the pleasure she just knew he could give her. “I’m wet for you.”

He pinched her clit and she jumped. Chuckling, he spread her legs and buried his face between her thighs. It was everything she remembered from her time with Derek, but more. Yesterday she’d imagined this very thing and today she had her wish. His tongue stroked her flesh as he made the most intriguing sounds.

“Delectable,” he murmured, lifting his head to grin at her. “You are delicious, love.” He dropped a kiss on her belly.

She swallowed, meeting his hot gaze. “Lick me, Evan. Please.”

He smiled again and lowered his head once more. She felt his fingers delve inside her swollen pussy as his tongue stabbed at her clit. Her legs were spread wide, her hands fisted in the fine linens on his bed. His rooms were lovely but she might as well have been on the floor of the garage for the notice she paid to her surroundings at the moment. Her every sense was focused on what he was doing to her. His lips and tongue, his fingers and breath, drove her closer and closer to that pinnacle Derek had shown her. She wanted it so badly. She whimpered and thrashed beneath his tender hold as his mouth drove her clearly over the edge.

She bucked wildly as her orgasm took her breath. “Evan!”

He soon gentled, licking and kissing her pussy and her inner thighs as she slowly recovered. He moved up and kissed her mouth. She tasted herself on him, that and his warm, bright taste.

“Did you like that, Diana?” he asked.

She caught her breath and nodded. “Oh, yes.”

“Then you will love this,” Derek said from the doorway.

He stood there, large and dark, in Evan’s bedroom. Her gaze shot to Evan, who wore a smug expression. “You knew he’d come here?”

He shook his head. “Not entirely. I suspected as much.”

She leaned up on her elbows again. She knew she made quite a display, her bent legs splayed and her breasts bared. She didn’t care.

“Why are you here, Derek?” she asked.

He began to remove his clothes. “I’m going to fuck you, Diana. Isn’t that what you want?”

She glanced at Evan, who moved to sit beside her. “What about you? I thought you were going to take me.”

“I believe you want Derek now.”

“But you just made me…” She bit her lip, tears threatening. “You made me come,” she finished on a whisper.

He smiled. “And I enjoyed it. You are remarkable.”

“But now Derek…?” She turned her head to find Derek blessedly naked.

He stroked his cock as he had the other night. He was huge in his own hand, even larger than she remembered from their night at Holbrook Hall.

“Oh, what are you going to do?” she asked him.

He came closer and she caught his scent now. Spice and heat, which mingled with Evan’s bright smell and her own sex. Her heart beat faster.

“I’m going to fuck you, Diana.” He knelt on the bed between her trembling thighs. The underside of his cock rubbed delightfully over her still-engorged clit. “I’m going to fuck you hard.”

She gasped as he shifted and drove inside her. Pain shot through her center and she cried out.

He stilled, dropping kisses on her face. His brows were drawn together over his dark eyes. “I’m sorry, love. I should have been more gentle.”

“It’s all right,” she whispered. “You’re just so…”

“Big?” Evan offered.

She slid him a look out of the corner of her eye. He seemed eager to watch Derek take her, his face intent on where their bodies joined. Then Derek moved inside her, and she felt a burst of the pleasure Evan had just given her.

“Oh, my!” she gasped.

Derek braced himself above her. His gaze was dark and intense. “All right, Diana?”

She nodded. “Fuck me, Derek.”

He flashed a quick smile. “Yes?”

“Fuck me…hard.”