The Master's Lessons (11 page)

His eyes
flickered furtively from side to side. “I hoped it would go like
this, yes. I think I have both known and feared for many months
that I would feel this way when finally I became bold enough to do
whatever was needed to win you into my arms. Your dalliance with
the earl’s son was the opportunity I had sought for so long, and I
realised I had to have the courage to take full advantage of it –
for the reward for my courage had the potential to be the very
best.”

“Still I do not
understand -”

“Then hear
this, my dear.” Cooper drew a deep breath, his face unusually pale
as he took both her hands into his and gazed directly into her
eyes. “I have loved you from a distance for a long while now,
Amelia. It all but destroyed me to see you in Frederick’s arms, but
seeing it made me realise I had to throw caution to the wind if I
hoped to have any chance of making you mine. Still, though, I dared
not confess the full height of my desire to you, not when you
seemed so determined to battle me despite the lust you so clearly
feel.”

A wave of
dizziness crashed over her as his words echoed inside her head, the
very last words she had ever expected to hear from the grim and
impassive headmaster so feared at Highdown Hall. Yet somehow,
Amelia did not doubt their sincerity for even a moment. Awed and no
little afraid, she took a step closer to him and matched the
intensity of his unblinking stare. “I am here in your arms now
though, James. I think the time for fighting this is past,
particularly when...”

She trailed off
awkwardly and he tensed. “When what?”

“When hearing
you confess this has thrilled me beyond anything before,” she said,
closing her eyes briefly until his low, gratified groan emboldened
her. “But James, how have you kept all this to yourself for so
long?”

“I am not
accustomed to feeling such emotion,” he said. “I confess I found
myself at something of a loss when it came to dealing with this,
and I see now that perhaps I could have done better – I could have
made this easier and sweeter for you to handle, Amelia. I owe you
an apology for that, granted, but still it strikes me that here we
are on the precipice of all we want regardless.”

Amelia whetted
her lips. “Yes.”

Cooper slowly
exhaled. “And you cannot deny you have enjoyed my somewhat
unorthodox method of courting you.”

“No.”

A tiny, teasing
smile sparked at the corners of his lips with her breathless
answer. “In fact, I suspect I could tie you up against this
wonderfully sturdy tree and have my way with you now, love,” he
said hoarsely. “It is only the risk of prying eyes that holds me
back from doing so whether you would protest or not – though it
strikes me, now I think of it, that this copse is really rather
secluded. All the churchgoers will have returned home by now, so it
is highly unlikely we would be disturbed. Aye, the more I think on
it the more tempting it becomes!”

The deep flush
of her skin spoke her reaction far better than any trembling words
possibly could. With an incoherent cry, she stretched up onto the
tips of her toes and abandoned herself into the headmaster’s
possessive hold for him to do with as he wished, the lascivious
words he had whispered more than enough to drive her into such a
painfully heightened state of arousal that all she could think of
was doing whatever was needed to bring them both the satisfaction
they craved.

Emotion and
lust blazed as one in Cooper’s eyes as he impatiently tugged his
tie away from his shirt and gathered her hands behind the trunk to
bind them, but as his uncharacteristically clumsy fingers fumbled
over the knot, a crackle of dry bracken in the distance announced
the unwelcome fact that they were no longer alone.

“Stop!” shouted
a voice that was all too familiar to them both. “I must insist that
you put an end to this madness now!”

Freddie drew
ever nearer, his long legs rapidly closing the distance between
them as Cooper slammed a balled fist into the tree trunk and Amelia
froze in his arms.

IX.

Lesson Nine

Amelia’s heart
fluttered wildly as she stared at her former lover over the
shoulder of her new fiancé. Freddie was breathing heavily after
clearly sprinting from the manor to come to her side, but whereas a
fortnight before nothing could have held her back from throwing
herself into his arms to submit to the lust he showed so clearly,
now her legs stayed rooted to the spot.

Cooper slowly
moved back to allow her away from the tree trunk he had pushed her
up against, but when she silently followed him, his arm instantly
snaked around her waist to keep her possessively near. Though she
seemed to have lost the power of speech, she rested her head on his
shoulder and his narrowed eyes briefly softened before they locked
onto the young lord and began to simmer with barely-controlled
fury.

“What the hell
are you doing here, whelp?” he said, his voice barely more than a
low and menacing snarl. Amelia shivered as a fresh twist of desire
shot through her, her breath still coming in shallow gasps from how
near they had come to screwing where they stood. It was with the
greatest of efforts she forced herself to focus on all he was
saying to Freddie instead of how much she wanted him. “Have you no
sense of delicacy, Frederick? Surely you must be able to tell how
unwelcome your intrusion is!”

“You are a fine
one to speak, Mr. Cooper!” Freddie said indignantly. “I hardly
think you have a leg to stand on after the way you burst in on
Amelia and me; and besides, I have not come here to speak to you.
Amelia, darling?”

She tensed as
the headmaster drew a sharp breath at her side. “What is it?”

Freddie’s eyes
widened, the curt tone of her voice clearly not passing him by.
Though his smile seemed strained, he drew closer and held out a
hand in offering. “I want to talk to you, Amelia. Come, why don’t
you and I take a little stroll together?”

“No, thank you.
Anything you have to say to me can be said in front of James. He is
my fiancé, after all; I have no secrets from him.” Amelia squared
her shoulders, deeply relieved by the steadiness of her voice as
she reached across in search of Cooper’s free hand to hold. Though
Freddie seemed to be wordlessly imploring her to edge closer to him
instead, she found herself with no desire to do anything but stay
at the headmaster’s side.

Freddie’s smile
disappeared as he began to pace back and forth it front of them.
“Then it is true?”

“That we are to
be wed?” she said. “Entirely so. You heard, then – I did not notice
you in church.”

“I was not
there, for I only came back from London late last night. I was
taking a late breakfast in the gardens when I saw the two of you
disappearing into the copse, and then Father came back from church
to report that you were betrothed. What are you thinking of,
Amelia?! This is madness, no doubt about it – I shall forgive you,
for no doubt you were grieving after I so foolishly abandoned you,
but I am back now!”

Cooper opened
his mouth to angrily retort, but Amelia gently squeezed his hand
and gave the tiniest jerk of her head. Though he reddened, he
seemed to understand all she was trying to say without words, for
he stayed silent and allowed her to speak instead.

“And why are
you back, my lord?”

“For
you
.”
Freddie fell to his knees in front of her as a tiny, artful tear
snaked down his face. “Run away with me, darling. I shall take you
to London with me and we can forget this whole terrible affair; we
will be together once more, just as you want!”

Amelia’s tongue
darted out across her dry lips. “Two weeks ago that was all I
wanted, yes,” she said slowly. “But something troubles me, Freddie.
It strikes me that you cared nothing until you realised the extent
of the headmaster’s interest in me; it was not until you heard our
banns had been called that you came running. In fact, if you truly
cared, you would never had left as you did in the first place.”

“I know I was a
fool to abandon you as I did, but I was afraid, darling,” he said
passionately. “Mr. Cooper is a ruthlessly clever man, and he played
on my fears to drive me away from you so that he might worm his way
into my place. Clearly he has been successful in that ploy.”

“Never mind
that for now, if you please.” She hesitated, but then Cooper’s
thumb brushed reassuringly against the back of her hand and she
found the presence of mind to continue. “What of you, Freddie?
Where have you been since you abandoned me, as you put it?”

A dull flush
crept across his handsome face as she stared down at him with an
impassion she had learned from the very best. “I went to London to
forget you, but it was impossible. It is why I came back last
night, only to hear to my utmost horror today how quickly Cooper
has sunk his claws into you. Amelia, why are you still on his arm
when I have prostrated myself before you, begging you to come back
to me? Darling, you know I can give you everything you need -”

“Materially,
perhaps,” she coolly interrupted. “At least until you tire of me,
anyway. But that is inconsequential, for I need far more than the
fine clothes and jewels you would lavish upon me to keep me in your
bed, Freddie.”

He leapt back
to his feet and tore at his hair in agitation. “Then tell me what
you need!”

“What use would
it do? You cannot give it to me, I am afraid, for what I need is
all that James gives to me so freely. I do not know yet if this is
love, but what I do know is that I cannot imagine ever needing
anyone as much as I need him, Freddie – and most importantly,
neither do I even want to. James is my everything, the only one I
would ever sacrifice my independence for, for in his arms I gain
far, far more than I lose.”

Freddie’s hands
fell limply back to his side as she glanced across at the
headmaster, quietly thrilling in the force of the emotion she saw
there in his grey eyes. “I...I see,” the lord said under his
breath, finally backing away from them. “It seems I have had a
wasted journey, then.”

Cooper moved to
stand behind her and encircled her body with his arms in what could
only have been a deliberate statement to the other man. “Yes, you
damned well have,” he said with a black scowl. “Have you aught else
to say to Amelia, or will you be on your way now? You might not
have noticed, but she and I were in the middle of something when
you intruded.”

The lord looked
directly at her with one last, futile appeal in his wide eyes. “I
want you still, Amelia. Does the pain you are causing me mean
nothing to you?”

“Oh, I do not
doubt you will forget me soon enough,” Amelia said wryly. “You only
chased after me so avidly today because you realised I was no
longer yours.”

Cooper snorted
under his breath, his arms tightening around her as he spoke up
again to deal the final, decisive blow. “You are dismissed, little
lord – and should you ever dare to darken the doors of Highdown
Hall again, your father will hear precisely what it is you got up
to whilst you were a student. It was only my friendship with him
that held me back from expelling you there and then, Frederick, but
now my desire to keep Amelia safe far outstrips anything else. Come
within a hundred paces of my wife and I assure you, the tales I
have to tell the earl will ruin any lingering hope you have of
receiving your inheritance from the old man,” he said, a menacing
curl to his top lip that sent a desperate rush of desire speeding
down Amelia’s spine even as Freddie recoiled. “Am I
understood?”

She had eyes
only for the headmaster, pulling her head back to gaze up at him in
lustful awe as his fierce words echoed through her head. It was not
until he exhaled in grim satisfaction that she realised Freddie had
not bothered to answer with words. Instead, he had silently slipped
away from the copse to leave the two of them alone once more.

Their eyes
locked, and Cooper slowly nodded as he let loose his hold on her
only to circle around her and come to stand in front of her again.
His intent was etched clear into his taut face, but something of
what he said could not be allowed to pass by unheeded. Amelia
moistened her lips nervously as he reached out for her.

“You may have
had a slip of the tongue in calling me your wife,” she said, “but
still you have not asked me to marry you, sir.”

“Have I not?”
Cooper lifted one brow as he deftly tugged her blouse away, her
skirt following it soon after to rest discarded around their feet.
“Forgive me, Amelia, but whenever I have you in my arms I fall
slave to something far more compelling than words. Remove your
corset.”

Amelia’s hands
flew to follow his softly-spoken command even before she realised
he had avoided answering her. As her corset fell away, her lower
lip jutted out to elicit a low groan from the back of the
headmaster’s throat that was laden with lust, and before she could
press him he tore his tie away from his shirt and finished the task
he had attempted before Freddie’s interruption. She barely even had
a chance to draw breath before he bound her hands behind the trunk
of the tree and wrenched away the rest of her clothing to leave her
entirely naked before him.

Not flinching
even under the weight of Cooper’s hungry stare, she rolled her hips
in invitation, but he made no move to undress himself and follow
through upon the promise held in his eyes.

“Do not make me
wait, please!” she said urgently, tossing her hair out of her
feverish face as a whispered breeze sent the tendrils that had
escaped her bun drifting across her skin. “Surely you must know I
am more than ready for your cock, sir!”