CHAPTER ONE

THE SUN SHONE down a little too warm as Emilia relaxed on the wooden lounger in her back garden. Her sandals were off, her feet were stretched out, and her legs were ever so slightly apart. Half an hour ago she had returned home from her shift at the hospital and changed into a short floaty skirt and a shoestring camisole top. She’d thought about her outfit very carefully and she was feeling very kinky. Little shivers of arousal were travelling through her like electricity.

It was spring, and it was quiet. Occasionally she could hear the sound of birds flitting between the branches of the cluster of trees that bordered their fence, the only barrier between her and the normally busy road beyond. She listened nervously and felt a small tingle of apprehension as her neighbours patio door slid open, closely followed by the quiet footsteps of Josie, their mousy and friendly neighbour as she made her way into her own garden. After a few tense moments Emilia could make out the snip-snip of shears as Josie began to tend to her roses.

She had been thinking about her risqué plan for a while, inspired after she’d read a racy scene in one of her naughty books and had finally managed to build up the courage to see what it would feel like. Her husband wouldn't be home for an hour, so she had plenty of time. But now as she was readying herself, she was starting to feel silly and on edge. If she didn't do it now, she thought to herself with a little tingle of excitement, then she might never have the courage to try it again.

She lay still, savouring the anticipation and then delicately rolled up the edge of her top, laying her hands flat on her stomach and looking around as her fingers lightly traced the contour of her belly. Tingling with excitement, she picked up her e-reader from the decking and swiped to unlock. It was already on the right page.

Her sister, Alice had recommended the book to her over a year ago. Emilia had initially balked at the idea of reading an erotic historical romance, but the seed had been planted in a repressed and shameful part of her mind and there it had blossomed. As she had become more curious she had ordered herself a little e-reader, and (with a fake email address) she had bought a copy online.

It was set in the lonely highlands of Scotland and centred on the unconventional love between the Duke, the Marquess Elizabeth and her best friend, the Countess Victoria. If she had bought this book as a paperback, it would have been ruined, battered and crinkled by now. She had read this particular chapter so many times that she knew it almost by heart, often recounting a little of it under her breath during quiet moments on her shifts.

It wasn't just the thought of the book that had inflamed her, not entirely. It was the thought of what she planned to do to herself as she read it. Every two weeks her and her husband Cassian’s work patterns left her with a whole hour to herself, and she would often come home, sneak up to their bedroom and have a little sensual alone time, and this week she was going to do so outside, with the sun warming her face.

What had aroused her so much though, was the thought that one of her neighbours in the houses that overlooked their garden might glance down from a first floor window or peek quietly through a hole in the fence and see her. It was the thought of being watched as she touched herself; a willing participant in an act of voyeurism. She was turned on by the fear and the guilt of being caught. It made her feel surprisingly giddy.

She’d never done it outside before and she found herself feeling like a young girl again, discovering her body for the first time. She’d never touched herself beyond the confines of her own bedroom before, and for weeks the idea had been preoccupying her thoughts.

She tried to settle herself down, and began to read, her breathing already uneven and shallow, her hands trembling.

The Duke was stood by the hearth of the manor, stoking a roaring fire which blazed from the coals as a storm swept down through the moor and battered the old stone building. On the chaise-longue opposite him, huddled under a thick blanket were the wet through figures of the Countess and the Marquess, stripped down to their petticoats, warming themselves before the roaring flames.

As she read, she slipped the tips of her fingers underneath the waistband of her skirt and into her knickers. She started slowly, circling herself with a single fingertip, her movements steady and subtle.

She read on as Elizabeth stroked Victoria’s knuckles beneath the large blanket, and then moved her hand down to her friends naked thigh.

Emilia closed her eyes, picturing the scene, whilst running her wet fingers down to her opening and back up to her clit.

Beneath the blanket by the fire, the shy and retiring Victoria had found herself electrified at the touch of her friend, and after some gentle exploration was now slowly unlacing Elizabeth’s petticoat strings as her hands explored between Victoria’s thighs.

Emilia quickened her pace, pushing her fingers inside and arching her head back, her eyes closed as she pleasured herself.

The e-reader fell aside, but it didn't matter, she knew the story well enough that she didn't need it. She pictured Elizabeth’s fingers making their way up Victoria’s thigh, finding the edge of her under garments and slipping inside them. She saw in her mind as the Duke stood up and made his way over to the two women, throwing aside the rug and revealing their secret and illicit affair.

Her underwear was getting wet and she pushed it down past her bottom and let out a quiet involuntary moan, and then blushed and froze as she wondered if Josie might’ve heard.

As she started again, she found she was picturing herself as Elizabeth the Marquess as the strong arms of the Duke picked her up and handled her like a doll, positioning her against the tall edge of the chaise-longue, his trousers falling aside and his thick member searching and then slipping into her from behind.

Emilia’s fingers were deep inside herself now, her movements no longer subtle or quiet, if anyone was looking out of their window they would see her playing with herself, and the thought made her quicken. She felt herself beginning to climax, her eyes fluttering open and looking around anxiously as her mouth let out another soft moan. Her fingers worked quickly against her clit, and for a fleeting moment she thought she heard Cassian calling her name.

She suddenly felt ashamed and guilty at the thought of her husband catching her thinking about another man, her fingers between her thighs. Then to her surprise she felt a rush of arousal as she pictured him in the room with them, seeing her bent over the chair, the Duke thrusting into her and filling her with his seed, knowing that Cassian would be next in line to have her, to claim her.

The thought of her husband watching her with the Duke caught her off guard and she felt a blush rise up past her neck as her whole body quivered. Her spine arched and she started to cum, her fingers deep inside her pussy… and then she could hear Cassian calling for her.

He was in the house, he had come home early, but it was too late now. She had passed the point of no return. She gripped

the edge of the wooden lounger as she climaxed and tried to stifle the moan escaping her lips, her mouth wide and her eyes screwed shut as she bent forward.