Barely a Bride (Free Fellows League 1)

It was half past ten in the evening, and it continued to rain. The rain had subsided from a steady downpour to a persistent drizzle, but even so, the staff of Abernathy Manor, each with umbrellas, had lined up to greet the master and his bride.

“Welcome home, my lord.” The butler, Keswick, was the first to greet them as they descended from the coach. “May I be the first to offer felicitations on your wedding?”

“But, of course. Thank you, Keswick.” Griffin moved back half a step to allow Alyssa to step forward. “Allow me to present my bride, Alyssa, Lady Abernathy. Alyssa, this is Keswick, the butler here at Abernathy Manor.”

Keswick bowed.

“A privilege, Keswick.” She looked up at the staff, dressed in their best livery and uniforms, lining the way to the entrance. “Thank you all for coming out on such a dreary night. I am deeply honored.” Alyssa knew that tradition dictated that the butler, housekeeper, head footman, and groom turn out at each arrival or departure of the lord of the manor and that the entire manor staff turn out in full livery to welcome a new member of the family.

Griffin had explained the tradition while she was buttoning his waistcoat and he was tying the ribbons of her bonnet.

She knew that they were expected to greet each member of the staff and bestow wedding tokens. At Abernathy Manor, the lord of the manor generally bestowed coin, having learned that the staff preferred it to more personal gifts.

It was a miracle they hadn’t been set upon by highwaymen, for Griff had traveled from London to Abernathy Manor with a purse full of gentleman’s coin. And as he led Alyssa down the long line, introducing her to each member of the staff and allowing each of the servants to bow or curtsy, Griff distributed the coin, pressing a gold sovereign into each one’s hand. The coin was given as reward for the service Griff had received while he was a bachelor and for the service he and his new bride would receive in the future.

Now that he had brought home a bride, the staff no longer answered solely to him. Abernathy Manor had a mistress to serve and to obey.

Griff and Alyssa understood there were traditions that must be observed before they could resume the game of seduction they’d begun in the coach. But enduring them was agony.

Every smoldering glance, every tantalizing brush of the fingers, every moment spent standing politely side by side instead of in each other’s arms was pure torture.

Alyssa’s body ached with anticipation of what was to come next. And it had been aching ever since she’d watched Griffin pleasure himself.

She was amazed at the trust and the confidence he’d exhibited in allowing her to share his intimate act. She couldn’t get the memory of it out of her mind. She couldn’t forget the expression on his face as he sought satisfaction, couldn’t forget the way his strong male body strained for release, the way that same powerful body had trembled uncontrollably as he found it, and the slight flush of embarrassment when he’d opened his eyes and discovered that she hadn’t just witnessed his private moment, but relished it.

She had handed him a handkerchief on which to catch the stream of liquid pulsing from the tip of his member. Griffin had made use of the square of linen and then carefully folded it and laid it aside. Alyssa had it now, tucked in the top of her bodice in the valley between her breasts, where the musky scent of him mingled with the scent of her rosewater and lavender fragrance.

Alyssa literally trembled with need. Her breasts were swollen to the point of aching, the peaks hard and puckered, the place between her thighs pooled with moisture, her knees were weak, and she shivered involuntarily as Griffin placed his hand at the small of her back and ushered her forward.

Theirs was a game of seduction run amok, where the current need for clothing inflamed their passions rather than cooled them. Alyssa craved to touch him and to feel him touch her. Her brain burned with hitherto forbidden images, and she desperately wanted to practice what she’d observed. And what’s more, Griffin knew it.

“Steady, my lady,” he whispered, as they neared the end of the long line of servants. “Almost done.”

Alyssa breathed a sigh of relief and shivered once more.

Griff thanked the last footman and maid, pressed the gold sovereigns in their hands, then turned, bent at the knees, and swung Alyssa up into his arms.

“I can walk,” she murmured.

“I’ve no doubt that you can do anything you are in mind to do, my lady.” Griffin smiled down at her. “But I believe it’s customary for the groom to carry the bride over the threshold, is it not?”

“I’d forgotten,” she admitted.

“I didn’t,” he replied.

“Then, please, get on with it,” she whispered. “I’m on fire for you and the lessons you’ve yet to teach me.”

“I understand completely,” he whispered back. “As I have a condition that requires your attention.”

“Is Lady Abernathy all right, sir?” Keswick asked.

“Tired,” Griffin answered the butler. “Lady Abernathy is tired. It’s been a long journey, Keswick, and it’s time we retired.”

The butler nodded. “The master suite is ready, sir. The beds have been turned down, and there are fires in the grates of both Your Lordship’s and Your Ladyship’s chambers. Your man and Lady Abernathy’s maid are already upstairs.”

“Thank you.”

The staff cheered as Griff ascended the front steps and entered the house. “Huzzah! Huzzah!”