Ravi’s fingers shook as he opened the drawer and picked up the small tin. Since Claire had first marched into his office, demanding his help, he’d known, deep down, that this moment would happen. She’d kept pushing him away, yet every time they talked, he became more enamoured with her. She delighted him, more than just this physical attraction. And in fact, he knew that the physical attraction had grown because of her brain, rather than discovering that a brain came as a bonus to her body. That she’d come to him today seemed important in a way that he couldn’t quite grasp yet. His desire didn’t care, they could work that out later. She was here, she was willing, and he had her taste, rich like brandy-soaked fruitcake with her own musk overlaid, on his tongue. Every other woman he’d been with in the past was just practice for this moment, they leant him confidence, because he knew how to give her pleasure, how to make her want him over and over. Forever. He dropped the tin. Forever? His heart thudded. Yes, forever. He picked up the tin again, and turned towards Claire, his future. His erection throbbed, harder than he’d ever been, as he saw she had moved. She lay naked, stretched like a cat on his bed, surrounded by the rich colours of his heritage. A goddess with a sly smile, her gaze fixed on his cock.
‘Would you like to do the honours?’ he said. Her blush grew, her cheeks bright pink, and a lighter shade washed down her throat towards her breasts. Her nipples, darker than he would have guessed, were tight buds, begging for his attention.
‘I’d love to.’ She half sat up on one elbow, her breasts swaying with her movement. Her hair had come loose, and hung in long strands over her shoulder and framing her face. She held her hands out, and he placed the tin on her palm. ‘We had to train patients how to use these at the university hospital, but I’ve never put one on a real person. Forgive me if I fumble a little.’
‘I’m sure you’ll be fine.’ If he could survive her touch on him, it’d be a miracle, he was so hard and ready. She closed her hand over the tin, and tilted her head as if considering how to approach him. He held his breath. She sat up, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. She wriggled across until she sat in front of him, then wrapped her ankles behind his knees, pulling him close to her naked body. She placed the tin on her thigh and reached out for his cock, gliding her fingers over the head. He thrust into her hand, unbidden, and forced himself to hold still. She didn’t jerk away, instead she wrapped her hand around him.
‘Tighter,’ he said on a groan. She looked up at him for a half-second, considering, then did as he asked. Perfect. Yes, just like that. She stroked him, each movement taking away his control. ‘You have to stop.’
‘Was that wrong? Too tight?’
‘You are perfect. But I won’t last if you keep that up. I’ll spill right here, over your breasts.’ He sucked in a deep breath, fought for control, but she arched her back, lifting her breasts up for him.
‘Really?’ Her voice was breathless, just as he was unable to breathe too.
‘Minx.’ He grabbed the tin, rolled the protection onto himself, and bent to suck her nipple into his mouth. She moaned, then whimpered as he played with both.
‘Stop teasing me.’
‘Say yes. Say yes and you can have anything you want.’ He waited, unmoving, for her answer.
‘Yes. I want you. All of you.’ Colour washed over her face. He lay himself over her, his cock resting at her wet entrance. ‘Yes, there. That’s what I want,’ she said. He kissed her, as he slowly pressed in. God, she was so tight, slick and ready. She started to tense under him, and he stopped, concentrated on their kiss until she relaxed again. He eased out a fraction, drawing on his experience and patience to make this wonderful for her. She grazed her fingernails down his back, tilting her hips, asking for more. He slid in again, slightly further before moving out again, building up a gentle rocking in her molten heat, each time entering her more, teasing her. She panted into his kiss, and yet he still rocked, not going in all the way, until she grabbed his backside and dug her fingers in. He responded to her unspoken question and thrust deep inside. She clenched around him, and he buried himself in her. She cried out, an orgasm pulsing around him. Control slipped from his grasp as she tightened around him, and he pounded into her deep, hard, satisfying, and continuous until he came in an explosion, shards of white light behind his eyes as he buried himself in her. He collapsed onto her, left with a sense that his whole life had changed for the better.
Ravi lost track of time, snoozing against Claire. She was so warm, so perfect, so soft.
‘You are very heavy,’ she said.
Blast. ‘My apologies. Let me clean you.’ He ignored her confused frown, pushing himself up on his arms, before going to collect a clean handkerchief to clean her with. He tossed the used French Letters in a small bin with no regret. Some people washed and reused them. He found that quite revolting, besides he could afford to buy a new one for each time. He should have rung for warm water, it would be much nicer for her than a plain piece of cloth, however, he didn’t want a servant to intrude on this moment. He carefully cleaned her, murmuring his apology. She tilted her head and looked at him with a rampant inquisitiveness that did nothing to halt his libido.
‘I need to use the necessary,’ she said.
‘There is a small room behind that door.’ He pointed to the corner of his bedroom, and she walked, naked, away from him. A few moments later, she returned.
‘Climb under the sheets to warm up,’ he said.
‘Only if you join me.’ She grinned slyly before diving under the covers. ‘Oh, you lie, these sheets are ice cold.’ He smiled and joined her in bed. She rolled against him, snuggled with her back against his chest. His erection had stirred again, and lay pressed against her buttocks. He didn’t want to push his luck, so soon after her first ever experience, even though his body insisted. He ran his hand over her long, gold-streaked hair.
‘That’s lovely,’ she whispered. ‘I can’t believe I’m in bed in the afternoon, and there is nowhere else I’d rather be.’
‘Dusk will surround us soon.’ He let his hands drift over her skin, lazily stroking her as they both drifted into a snooze.
A knock thudded on the door twice. Ravi hugged Claire tighter, not wanting to leave her and her warm, soft body. The pounding intruded, reminding him of Claire’s arrival. Why had she made this choice to be with him today? What prompted her?
‘Are you decent?’ His brother’s dulcet tones sang through the door, far too friendly an interruption.
‘Not really,’ he muttered. Sanjay waltzed in regardless.
‘Oh, I see. Lakshmi has brought us luck.’
‘What do you want?’ Ravi swung his legs out of bed, and stalked, nude, towards his brother.
‘Perhaps you shouldn’t barge into my bedroom.’
‘Little brother, not so little anymore …’
‘Sanjay.’ Ravi infused his words with a warning.
‘Ravi. You know how much I want this. I’m so glad that you have found a wife.’
‘You are assuming a lot.’
‘Do you mean that you have taken a young woman to bed, and she isn’t to be your wife? How depraved are you?’
‘That’s rich coming from you.’
‘What on earth are you two doing?’ Ravi spun around to see Claire sitting up in bed, with the covers pulled up to her chin. She looked smaller, more fragile than her usual bold self, as her gaze flicked between him and his brother. He wanted her there forever, in his bed, just not with that caution written on her brow.
‘Aren’t you Dr Carlingford?’ asked Sanjay.
‘Yes. Precisely what do you mean—you are glad Ravi has found a wife?’ Claire’s voice was like ice, and had an instant shrinking effect over his nether regions.
‘Nothing. He oversteps.’ He resisted the urge to cover himself. Damn Sanjay for barging in here and destroying the tender balance of his burgeoning relationship with Claire.
‘Ravi agreed to take a wife to solve a small problem for me. Lakshmi has provided the answer to our prayers.’ Sanjay spoke over the top of him, and waved in the direction of the tapestry that he’d placed in here a month ago. Ravi’s hands bunched into fists at his sides. Claire wasn’t going to like the implication, and damn it, he was so close to having her accept his love. Ishwar ke liye, Sanjay had ruined everything with his poor timing.
‘I see. The older brother is infertile, and has forced his brother to find a convenient broodmare.’ Claire, of course, saw directly to the point.
‘Infertility is not the precise issue,’ said Sanjay. Ravi grinned as his brother bristled at the implication. Funny how her barb could still hurt him.
‘Why don’t you get your own broodmare then? Why force your brother to do this?’ sneered Claire. Her tone made Ravi want to rejoice, to punch the air in satisfaction, as she leapt to his defence.
‘It sounds so simple, yet I find I couldn’t hurt a woman enough to take her into this role. Nor trust one enough to explain the full situation.’ Sanjay’s comment sent a rush of empathy and sorrow that sucked all the air from Ravi’s lungs.
‘Oh. But it is fine to ask your brother to do the same.’ Claire stepped out of the bed, and dragged the silk covers around her. Ravi folded his hands in front of his penis at the sight of her, his breath catching in his throat. She was a queen, his jaaneman, completely regal. He had no doubt that both he and Sanjay would end up complying with her wishes, whatever they might end up being.
‘Ravi agreed.’ Sanjay’s simple comment made him want to hang his head in shame at the truth of the matter. When they’d discussed this plan, Ravi had agreed, thinking that one wife would be like any other, a suitable warm body in bed, someone to run his household. The future of the estate mattered more than himself. But now he’d met Claire, no other would do. Ravi opened his arms wide, conscious of his nudity, but not caring because he wanted her to see the truth of his desire for her.
‘If I was to follow Sanjay’s plans and get, as you say, a convenient broodmare, I’d pick someone much less argumentative. I want you, Claire, for you. You are my jaaneman, my one true love. I want to be challenged by you. You won’t make an easy wife, but you will make a thrilling one. It’ll be an exciting ride to spend life with you. Sanjay can find his heir another way.’
‘Hey, you agreed. You can’t renege on that,’ said Sanjay. Ravi spun around and poked his finger in Sanjay’s chest.
‘Why not? I find my wishes mean more to me than your desire to preserve the estate. Sell it instead.’
‘I can’t do that to everyone on the estate. An heir is required to keep everyone safe.’
Claire rolled her eyes. ‘If you truly believed that, you would educate them and set them free to have the lives they wanted. Instead, you want to beholden them to your estate for future generations. Land based wealth is dying. Move on. Forget trying to preserve this crazy system that we have.’
‘You are right, Ravi. She wouldn’t make a comfortable wife …’ Ravi stilled as Sanjay paused. ‘But she is probably the wife that Dalhinge and its estate requires.’
‘I am right here. And I refuse. Both of you.’ Claire clutched the covers tighter around her shoulders in a regal gesture and stormed out of the room.
‘Damn you, Sanjay. Why did you have to march in here and ruin everything? Find an orphan child and pretend it is yours if you can’t stomach having relations with a wife.’ Ravi walked to the far side of the room and pulled on his trousers. He couldn’t chase after Claire without pants.
‘That’s not fair, Ravi, and you know it,’ said Sanjay. Ravi spun around and pointed his finger at Sanjay.
‘Neither is storming into my bedroom and disrupting me. I was going to ask her to be my wife before you interrupted. How will she trust that I love her now?’
‘She must know. You just told her.’ Sanjay shrugged. Ravi clenched his fists at the dismissal.
‘It’s not that simple. All her life people have chased her for the Carlingford fortune. And you’ve just stated that you believe I’m doing the same.’
‘I don’t care for her money. I have enough for all of us. I just—’
‘Yes. You want her babies.’
‘No. I want you to deal with the babies. Smelly, noisy things that they are. I want an heir, a fully grown heir that can build the estate for the future. Someone has to plan ahead.’ Sanjay stood, arms folded over his chest, glaring at Ravi. Ravi took his time to button his trousers, collect his shirt from where it had been flung on the floor earlier, and slowly put it on. His brother’s foot tapped impatiently, and he grinned internally. The door creaked open. His head jerked up and his queen, Claire, stood on the doorway.
‘That conversation was quite enlightening. I will do it on one condition.’ Her voice filled the room, strong and clear. Sanjay unfolded his arms and held his hands behind his back. Ravi’s smile burst out and all he could do was grin inanely at her. This was going to be good.
‘Yes?’ Sanjay sounded cautious. Ravi’s smile stretched.
‘I want to vote. Get me that and I’ll provide the heir you desire. And if I have only daughters, they will exist in a world that values them enough to grant them equality,’ said Claire. Ravi coughed at her statement, while Sanjay’s face glowered.
‘You can’t be serious.’
‘I’m perfectly serious. You want me to give up my independence to create a child for you, one that you will take away from me, and you expect me to do this purely because I love your brother.’ She loves me. Ravi’s smile broadened as his heart pounded. His hand shot up to his chest.
‘Isn’t love enough?’ said Sanjay.
She shook her head. Claire stepped into the room with the confidence of a warrior ready for battle, an incredible sight while draped only in his bed covers.
‘No. Love is private, but life still needs to be lived. I pay taxes to this government, yet I have no say in anything they do. I want the vote.’
‘I may be a Lord, but I am just one among many. I don’t have the power to force that change.’
‘Just as I have the power to walk away.’
‘Ravi. Say something,’ said Sanjay. Ravi winked at Claire and shrugged his shoulder a fraction.
‘She loves me. What else needs to be said,’ he said. Her eyes sparkled, shards of gold flashing in the dulling light of dusk.
‘Nothing else needs to be said. If you love each other, then marry, have babies, and we all win,’ sneered Sanjay. Ravi opened his mouth to agree, but Claire spoke first.
‘There are many ways to prevent the conception of children. Perhaps I will dedicate my life to my career instead, or to campaigning for the vote. After all, I have a lawyer on my team already.’
A laugh burst out of Ravi as Sanjay’s mouth dropped open. It was a rare day when someone got the best of his big brother.
‘Excuse me, Dr Carlingford.’ Her foreman Higgins’ voice interrupted. Claire turned to look over her shoulder.
‘Yes?’
‘Mr Carlingford sent me. I have some distressing news.’
‘Well, come in. Spit it out,’ she said. Ravi glanced at his brother who stared down his nose at everyone.
‘Your brother has been arrested,’ said Higgins. Damn it all to hell. He’d hoped, against hope it seemed, that the bookmaker Sutton’s assistance would find a different answer. To be fair to Sutton, his contribution couldn’t be called evidence, rather he pointed out the lack of evidence. Most bets weren’t recorded anywhere, they were a simple cash transaction with a ticket issued. Their only hope was that the perpetrator held an account with the bookies in question, and then their bets would be in the settling books. Sutton had nothing in his files for that meeting. Officer Wedsley had railed about the trip to Newmarket being a waste of time, and had declared he’d take the first train back to London. Ravi had gone with him to keep track of the next step in the case. What had he missed? Wedsley must have some new information.
‘Which brother?’ said Claire. Ravi rubbed at the sudden frown on his forehead, thoroughly confused by her comment. Didn’t she only have one brother?