Page 41 of A Devilish Element
“What are you about?”
“Ringing for my valet.”
“Why? Do you mean to eject me from the house naked?” In anticipation, Jem began propelling himself upright.
“Sit down!”
The snap of Linfield’s voice, so unlike his usual nasal whine, had the desired effect. Jem fell back onto his arse with a splash that sent water sloshing over the sides.
“Much as that might amuse me, no, I’m not about to eject you. That would hardly achieve my objective, would it? I need you. However, it has come to my attention that one of my guests is not quite the person they appear, but is in fact a harlot given to unbridled salaciousness. She is thus quite unsuitable as a companion for my wife, and I will be sure to make that known.”
“Goddamn you. Eliza has nothing to do with this. Will you leave her out of this matter!”
“Oh, Jamie. Numbers may evade me, likewise Latin verbs, but I assure you that both of my oars are in the water. She haseverythingto do with this. Your entire demeanour has changed since her arrival. You’re wholly diverted, you deny me, and that is most unacceptable. Moreover, am I wrong in thinking that it’s her opinion you’re afeared of, and which is preventing you from being your usual agreeable self?”
“What you’re asking of me—I think it’s monstrous. I expect Eliza would too, but that is hardly the point. I expect every person in this house would think the same if the matter were put to them.”
Linfield sashayed back towards him, waving a hand from side to side as if he were felling beasts to clear a path. “No, no, you must explain this to me. What exactly is so monstrous? The act of fucking me? Could it be that to which you refer? But surely not, for you have done that more than three dozen times over with no objections. Maybe it is the notion of me siring a child you find objectionable.”
The notion of a junior Linfield was certainly no great delight.
“But I do not think it is that. One must therefore conclude that it is my lady wife you object to. Yet, how can that be so, when you and Bell have regaled me at length with her virtues.”
“Linfield, you can’t truly expect me to fuck you while she watches…while in her presence.” He amended, pre-empting an offer to bind the lady’s eyes.
“Why the hell not? Why should it matter where my prick is bedded at the time? If I had proposed such a passion not so long ago—not now, because since the arrive of Miss Wakefield you have become entirely irascible, but a short time ago—you would have had no objection to fucking me while I fucked another. None whatsoever.”
“That’s not—” He intended to say true, but it was. He would have done it, and he’d have enjoyed it. His damned traitorous prick was excited by the notion even now. And that was a problem, given that Linfield had a bird’s eye view of it in all its naked glory.
Indeed, Linfield gave a mirthful snort. “See, you’re not so terribly appalled by the notion.”
Apparently, he could be appalled and aroused simultaneously.
Gentle fingers brushed through the hair on the back of his head, then seized his chin, turning him so that he was peering up at Linfield standing next to the tub. “Jamie… Jamie,” he sing-songed, while his thumb swept back and forth across Jem’s lips. “Do it, and I’ll have cause to be extremely grateful. You won’t only have my backing; words can be dropped in other ears. One does know a number of very flush and powerful men.”
A lump clogged his throat that he tried to swallow out of existence. Linfield certainly knew how to bait a trap. If he ever managed to apply himself to something other than racing and roistering, his mind might sharpen into a tool worthy of the position he’d someday inherit. It was only a shame that he was applying himself in Jem’s direction. Shit! He could see no way out of this bind that wouldn’t compromise Eliza’s reputation, which left him with no alternative but to forfeit her affections.
It was bad enough that she’d learn of his fascination for his fellowman, but to do so with her dearest’s friend’s husband while he attempted to plant his seed, she’d be appalled at him, would lose every ounce of respect for him. Nor could he blame her for it. Damn and blast, but he may as well write to Joshua Rushdale this very minute and congratulate him on his victory, for he would surely win Eliza’s heart with only a fraction of effort. Joshua…glorious, dependable, solid, Joshua, with his clever hands and silver wings in his hair, was everything he wasn’t and would never be. A magistrate, the brother-in-law of a marquis, flush with funds, and most importantly, not a sodomite or a prospective third wheel in a marriage bed.
“Linfield, please!” He stretched out an arm to the viscount, whose gaze slid over him hot and eager. “If you eject her, I’ll leave, too.”
“If you leave these walls against my wishes, I will take great relish in telling Henrietta both yours and Miss Wakefield’s histories and I will be especially distraught about it.”
“So, you’re going to blackmail me into this?”
“If it’s good enough for my father, then it’s good enough for his son. Mayhap you should think more carefully about who you fornicate with while under my roof going forth.”
Lord have mercy on him. “Linfield, it’s not like that. I’ve never… We haven’t—”
“You may claim it, but the evidence rather says otherwise.”
Jem flinched as Linfield brushed a thumb over the mark on his neck. “Although, I suppose I could be persuaded that you were in fact assaulted by one of Bell’s pets. The bruise is rather like those currently mottling my cock. Let me show you, that we might compare.”
“Linfield, I don’t want to—”
Too late. His falls were already undone, his semi-erect cock flapping about in Jem’s face. Mottled was an accurate description. The normally pale skin was broken up by circles of blue-black bruising.
“Similar, don’t you agree?”
