The Price of Innocence (The Legacy Series) (21 page)

She escaped into a make-believe world, feeling calm and ready as she sat inside the beautiful Chambre. When the door opened to reveal Marquis Barone, Suzette jumped to her feet in protest. He smiled wickedly and locked the door behind him.

“Monsieur,” she boldly protested. “I’m waiting for Lord Holland. I believe you have the wrong room.”

He merely shot a grin in return and began approaching with beast-like lust in his eyes.

“No, it’s not a mistake. I’ve just purchased your services from Madame Laurent. Apparently, your lord has been a bit remiss in taking what he paid for and won’t be here this evening.”

The next few minutes turned into a fiendish nightmare. Gone were her visions of a wedding night. Instead, they were replaced by the aggressive Marquis. He aggressively stripped her of her gown and then disrobed in front of the locked door, which Suzette had tried numerous times to escape through. Fully naked, he dragged her to the bed, threw her down, and climbed on top. She was helpless under his mass. It was then she heard the pounding of Robert’s foot against the wooden barrier.

Suzette clawed and screamed, and when the Marquis had pinned her arms above her head, Robert burst into the room with fury. It frightened her. She never witnessed such intense anger in a man’s eyes before and fully expected him to kill the Marquis.

It happened all so quickly and now she was here, in the carriage, with Robert holding her tight. She wanted to thank him but couldn’t form the words. Instead, she began to worry what would happen to her next.

A few minutes later, the carriage halted. Suzette recognized the hotel. Robert released his arm from around her shoulder and brought her chin up with his hand to meet his eyes.

“Mademoiselle, I am putting you up in a hotel for the evening. However, I don’t wish you to enter the lobby looking like such a fright.”

He was quite right. Suzette had grabbed her old dress from the laundry house, which she secretly kept after having it washed. Her hair was a mess and her makeup smudged.
I must look terrible
, she thought.

“I shall procure a room, and the driver will take you around to the servants’ entrance down the alley. I will meet you and then escort you to the room up the back stairway.”

He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and then opened the carriage door and exited. Suzette heard him mumble instructions to the driver, and Robert disappeared inside the foyer of the hotel.

The carriage lurched forward, turned down a side alley to another entrance, and came to a halt. Suzette anxiously looked at the door, waiting for Robert to arrive. A few minutes later, it opened, and his head popped out. The driver jumped down, opened the carriage door, and escorted Suzette to the servants’ entrance. Suzette pulled Robert’s topcoat tightly around her due to the cold outdoors.

As she approached, he smiled warmly, attempting to alleviate her fears. When she reached his side, he put his arm around her waist and led her inside.

“Follow me, sweetheart.” He escorted her three flights up a small staircase, and then once through the stairway door, he inserted a key into the first room on the right. It opened, and she entered a room illuminated by a small lamp. He quickly locked the door behind them and made his way to the side table to turn up the light.

Robert walked over to the window and drew the curtains shut. A housekeeper had started a fire per his request to the desk clerk. It was beginning to take the chill out of the air. He walked around surveying the quarters, while Suzette stood motionless in the middle of the room. Robert sighed.

“It will do for the evening until I decide what to do next.” He walked over to her, taking his coat off her shoulders, and pulled her closer to the fire.

“Stand here for a moment and let the fire warm you. I will pour us a drink.”

Robert pulled the stopper off a crystal decanter filled to the brim with brandy and poured two glasses. The reality of the situation bore down upon him, for now he was faced with a difficult choice. He looked over his shoulder at the petite figure that stood facing the fireplace. In his zeal to save her, he had done so without thinking of the consequences. A hard decision would need to be made.

He remembered when he was a little boy how his father had scolded him for bringing home a stray puppy, and Robert admitted how much he loved to rescue anything in need. It was his weakness. He felt terribly responsible for her predicament, especially now that she was practically homeless again.
Bloody awful timing,
he thought to himself.

He walked over to her side and handed over the glass. “Drink. It will warm you.”

“Thank you,” she mumbled, eying the brandy. She hated the taste, but needed something to calm her down.

“You’re welcome,” he said, while tenderly pushing back her messed-up hair from her cheeks. “Even with a tear streaked face, you are quite the most beautiful woman I have ever known.”

Suzette felt secure and safe with Robert by her side. She owed him her life, and she wanted to thank him. He had shown her true kindness and mercy, when others had not. She placed her glass upon the hearth of the fireplace, then turned and looked into his blue eyes.

“I owe you a kiss,” she said, leaning into him. Suzette unashamedly placed her lips on his and kissed him deeply. The sensation of his warm touch felt marvelous, and her heart swelled with adoration.

Robert, shocked at her actions, put his glass down next to hers and took advantage of the moment. He pulled Suzette into his arms and kissed her deeply in return. As she moaned, responding to his hands that slid down her back, it aroused his need. He released her lips quickly, knowing if they continued it would end in the consummation of his purchase.

“Please, let me thank you. This is the only way I know how. I can give you what you paid for now,” she said, lowering her eyes. “I’m not afraid.”

Robert’s heart pounded in his chest. “No,” he said, pulling away from her body. “Not like this.” He picked up his drink and walked back to the decanter to refill his glass. Suzette followed and put her hand upon his shoulder.

“Don’t you want me?”

He turned and looked at her beautiful face. “Want? I burn for it, Suzette, but I did not rescue you to be repaid in this way.” He shoved his fingers through his blond hair with frustration, as he tried to decide what to do next. He looked at her petite form, acutely torturing him each passing second.

“I must go. You need to sleep, so get some rest. I will be back in the morning, and we’ll talk.”

“Must you leave?” Suzette asked sorrowfully.

“Yes, I’m afraid so.” He gave her a glancing kiss upon her cheek and cupped the side of her face in his hand. “Get some rest, Suzette. You’ll think clearer in the morning, and you’ll understand then.”

“You said that when I wanted you as much as you wanted me that you would take me.”

Suzette looked at him with such longing, he knew she had arrived at that point.

“I want you,” she pleaded.

Robert’s resolve weakened—he not only wanted Suzette, he needed her. He pulled her into his heaving chest and gently encircled his lips with hers and kissed her passionately. Her arms reached up around his neck in response, and a soft whimper escaped her throat. The two lovers released their yearning.

When a flurry of kisses had subsided, Robert pulled back again and looked into her pleading eyes once more.

“Make love to me,” Suzette whispered.

“You don’t need to do this,” he protested.

“I want you, Robert. It is the only way that I can express to you my love for what you have done for me.”

Robert stood speechless, looking into the pool of her amber liquid eyes that flickered from the moisture of tears. Her longing was sincere, and his desire intense.

A moment later, he began working the row of worn buttons encasing her petite form in the old dress. Robert’s slender fingers moved from top to bottom until each button freed itself through the tiny frayed eyelets releasing the prize underneath. Slipping his hands around her shoulders, he pulled the dress down, revealing her porcelain skin. Drawn to her beauty, Robert trailed kisses across her exposed flesh, as his fingers enjoyed the smooth touch of her skin that still held the fragrance of perfume.

When he finished, he pulled the garment down to her waist and released it to fall in a heap at her feet. Underneath, her breasts spilled forth, and Robert lost all senses. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her body to the bed and laid her down on the satin coverlet with her head upon a pillow. Robert put his waistcoat upon a nearby chair and then unbuttoned his white linen shirt until it fell open in the front. He slipped his arms out and flung the garment to the floor.

As he drew near her with his bare chest, Suzette reached out to receive him. He closed the distance until he found her lips. As the moments of desire intensified, each stripped the other of their remaining clothing. At last, Robert found himself naked upon the innocence he had protected only an hour before.

“Do not be afraid,” he assured her between kisses. “I will be gentle.” His hands framed her face, and he kissed her multiple times, sweetly and softly, on her cheeks, neck, and lips. His tongue moved down toward her breasts until his lips suckled her nipples. He hands caressed them, and Suzette arched at the pleasure of his touch. Her response fueled Robert, and he placed one hand between her inner thighs. Suzette stiffened for a slight moment, and Robert assured her it would be all right.

“Please, relax . . . you will enjoy.”

His lips pressed over hers, and his hand slid slowly upward until he touched her moisture. Suzette moaned with pleasure. When he aroused her until she seemed as if she could bear no more, he positioned himself to enter her body.

He stopped and looked into her anxious eyes and placed his mouth over hers, kissing her deeply while sliding himself into her innocence. As he broke the barrier of her virginity, she flinched and tightened her grip around his neck and moaned.

With each stroke of gentle lovemaking, Robert made Suzette his own. He had taken that which he had paid for, and Suzette had offered herself willingly in return. He felt no remorse over his actions. In a second, innocence was lost, and both their lives changed for eternity.

* * *

Suzette woke the next morning, surprised to find an empty bed. She rose and anxiously glanced around the room. Her eyes caught sight of a note propped up against a lamp on the nightstand, which she snatched and flipped open.

Suzette,

I hope you had a pleasant night’s sleep. Since you are in need of a wardrobe, I have departed this morning to buy you clothes. I thought you might be hungry upon waking, so I arranged for breakfast. It should be sitting on a tray table outside your door.

Bon appetite, my dear. I shall return later this morning.

Robert

Suzette breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t abandoned her, and she smiled at his endearing note. She grabbed her old dress and slipped it over her head before heading to the door. After unlocking it, she peeked around the corner and saw a tray on a small table. A silver lid covered the plate, and Suzette smelled the aroma of warm food.

She held the door open with one foot, while she grabbed the tray and carried it inside. The door closed behind her, and she set the tray down on a table. She lifted the lid and saw Eggs Benedict with fresh fruit. Famished from not having eaten anything the day before, she sat down and began devouring the food.

A pot of warm water was in a teapot on the side, and she poured the brew into a cup. The warmth of the liquid and food in her stomach brought comfort. When she finished, she read Robert’s note again and smiled.

“A man shopping for a woman. This should be interesting,” she mumbled aloud. Suzette chuckled as she thought of what he might bring back, but she promised herself not to tease him should his taste in clothing be atrocious.

She laid the note down, ran her fingers through her unruly hair, and contemplated all that had transpired. Unsure what would happen next, Suzette clung to Robert’s words that he would take care of her, though she wasn’t certain what that meant. Afraid of being alone and destitute again, she knew in her heart that things were about to drastically change.

Her thoughts drifted back to the evening before. She had heard Robert scream at Madame Laurent through the door just after arriving downstairs.
“How much?”
Unable to hear Madame Laurent’s response, she wondered how much he had paid for her freedom. Robert must have settled her indebtedness and paid a hefty fee to liberate her from the Chabanais.

As she took her last bite of food, Suzette thought about the prior evening. As Nadine had warned, she was experiencing a bit of discomfort, but strangely felt no shame over what occurred. Something had come over her, and though she knew it was morally wrong to have sex out of wedlock, she needed Robert. In the heat of their passion, consequences were not in her thoughts.

She felt bound to him at present and somehow more secure that she had given Robert her virginity. Certainly, he wouldn’t abandon her after last night. He had been tender and wonderful, and Suzette believed he cared for her deeply. Though he hadn’t expressed it in so many words, she wanted to believe he was falling in love. There was no other reason, in her mind, to rationalize his kindness in saving her life or the amount of money he had spent for her rescue.

Her first time had not been as painful as she feared. He elicited from her body such unabashed cravings that Suzette blushed over the thought of being with him again. A moment later a knock came at the door.

“Open up, Suzette. It’s me . . . Robert.”

A smile crossed her face. She quickly rose and swung the door wide open. Robert stood in the hallway with a silly grin upon his face and his arms full of boxes. He looked like a juggler about to lose everything.

“Here, let me help you.” Suzette walked over grabbed a few from underneath his arm, and then closed the door. He walked straight to the bed, flashing a big smile along the way.