Lorelie Brown is a frequent commenter here at It’s Not Chick Porn and a good friend to our blog. In fact, you might remember her from her awesome entries into those writing contests I used to throw (and I will again, I promise, once I find the time… and the dough). When I asked her if she could oblige us with a novella and she gave me this one, I squee’d. So fun. So sexy.

If you haven’t already, please read chapters one two, three, four, five, six, and seven.

Two years ago, Corrine McQuade was desperate to escape her father’s house. In a perfect world, she would have run to Adam Springton, handsome owner of the Gilded Angel saloon and the man she’d daydreamed about for years. Believing he saw her as only his sister’s best friend, Corrine struck out on her own, finding employment and creating the best life she could. Suddenly Adam is paying attention to her – the kind of attention that makes her skin tingle and heat and she’s tempted by a new chance at love.

But who ever heard of a happy ending for a whore?

Presenting the final chapter of Lorelie Brown’s Tarnished Angel…

Chapter Eight

Later that evening, Corrine slipped into Madame Adrianna’s office. “Do you have a moment?”

The elegantly dressed woman set down her fountain pen and folded her hands on the green desk blotter. “Of course.”

Corrine sat into the chair across from the desk and folded her hands as well. It was unlikely Madame had made the gesture in an attempt to keep her hands from trembling. “I’m afraid I cannot continue to work for you.”

“I’d anticipated this.” As she drew an account ledger closer, Madame smiled. “You’ve paid off the initial investment I made in your wardrobe long ago. Since your vices are not expensive, your account should make a handsome dowry.”

“Dowry?” Corrine repeated dumbly. “I’ve no need for a dowry.” Though she realized now she’d been particularly stupid about her wages. Money had never seemed vitally important in her decision. A way to escape her father’s house and a roof over her head had been enough. It couldn’t be too crass to ask about money when she’d already earned it flat on her back.

If it was a sizeable amount perhaps she could begin a small dress shop of her own. Then she wouldn’t need references. Just how much did Madame consider a handsome sum? She didn’t require much. A tiny storefront with a workshop in the back, some stock in cloth and other materials. A building with living quarters above would be ideal. She could do the sewing herself to begin with and if she was successful eventually hire assistants. It was only right if she were a bit more lax than other employers with regards to references and history.

“Why are you leaving me then?” A fine line appeared between Madame’s lowered brows.

“I’ve decided to leave town.”

“Child, I oughtta slap you in your mind.” The thick Southern accent Madame worked so hard to weed out of her speech cropped up.

“Pardon?”

“You mean to tell me you ain’t hitchin’ yourself up with Adam Springton?”

Corrine blinked and shook the cobwebs out of her head. “Why would you think such a thing?”

“Because he finally came for you, girl. And don’t think I didn’t notice the day you came in well tumbled.”

Her slippers swam into view as Corrine looked down at the floor. No one had been in the front hall. It had been easy to believe she’d slid in unnoticed. “While Adam and I may have had. . . an encounter or two, I don’t see why you should leap to such far-fetched conclusions.”

“A body with half a brain can see that boy’s been in love with you for years.”

“Adam Springton is no boy.” It was easier to latch on to than the woman’s other, unsupportable statement.

Madame wouldn’t let her skirt the issue. “Boy, man, monkey, he loves you. Goodness girl, he was one of the prime reasons I was so hesitant to take you on. Didn’t you notice I invested very little in you at first? I felt sure as soon as Adam returned from Atlanta he’d snatch you back.”

An affronted sniff slipped out of Corrine. “I begin to wonder why you even took me on in that case.”

“I’da been ashamed to call myself a business woman otherwise. I had a chance to entice the higher class men of this town and I took it. I’ll keep it, too, once you’re gone. Mr. Heath’s taken quite a shine to Gertie when you weren’t available.”

“I’d thank you kindly to figure up my sums and prepare the funds. I’ll need them in a matter of days.”

“Haven’t you gotten high and mighty? You’ll be speaking to Adam before you think of going anywhere?”

“I’ll do no such thing. There is no future between us.”

“I didn’t figure you a fool. If I had any chance of an upstanding man being interested in me, I’d grab on with both hands.” Madame expelled a gusty sigh. “Get out of here. I’ll have your money ready in two days.”

Reeling, Corrine let herself out. Adam in love with her? Impossible.

***

With huge, furious strokes, Corrine slashed at the drawing on her page, crossing it out. Even sketching dresses was lost to her now. Her rebellious hand insisted on pages and pages of Adam. Adam gambling, with that curiously blank he wore when confronted with poker cards. Adam half-dressed in just his red vest and shirtsleeves, looking at her over his shoulder as he disappeared into the pines. A fully naked Adam stretched out beneath her, his arms over head and his eyes positively drowning in lust.

With a frustrated growl, Corrine tossed aside her pad and stood. She threw herself face first into her pile of pillows and screamed. She was foolhardy and stubborn. Somehow, someway, she’d managed to convince herself she could dance with the devil and remain unscathed. This was unsupportable. But what could she do? Blithely enter into an affair with no end in sight? Entrust Adam with her heart, knowing she could never marry him? That would be even stupider than making love with him in the first place.

A knock echoed on her door and Corrine sat up, dashing away her furious tears. Hopefully it would be Madame Adrianna, prepared to settle their accounts. With a bank draft in hand, she could disappear to an anonymous city and start from scratch in a place where her happiness wasn’t contingent on anyone else. Wiping away her fresh spate of tears, she snapped, “Enter!”

It wasn’t Madame.

Lissa stood at the entrance, Corrine’s hat in her hands. “You forgot something,'’ she said tentatively.

“Put it on my bed stand and go.” Corrine felt as exhausted as she sounded. “I wasn’t joking when I told you to sever all contact with me. Coming here isn’t an auspicious beginning. This is for your own good, I assure you.”

Lissa set the hat down but didn’t leave. Instead she toyed with the ebony dyed feathers that curled around the wide brim. “I despise when people tell me something is for my own good.”

“I have your best interests at heart.”

“Do you?” There was a curious gleam in the woman’s blue eyes. Corrine had to look away. Lissa had the appearance of Adam’s eyes, plus they seemed to look all the way into her soul. Like his did.

Too casually, Lissa said, “Do you know, Adam says much the same to me. Quite often.”

Corrine felt a fist wrapped around her throat, yanking tight. “Adam loves you like a brother should.'’

Her hands clasped behind her back, Lissa wandered around the small room. ‘’I do wonder at both of you, that you’re so sure what I want. What I need.” She came to a halt before the fireplace and picked up the sister to the sheep figurine that Corrine had thrown at Adam. “You and Adam both are so sure I need Inverness’s approval.”

It was a physical blow every time Lissa said Adam’s name in connection with hers. Breathy, as though socked in the guy, she said “You don’t?'’

Blond curls shimmied as she shook her head. “Their approval? No. Why should I? I have you and Adam and now I have Jonas.” An angelic smile slipped across her face at the mention of his name.

“Your children?”

“Who’s to say I’ll even be blessed with any? Or that they would even survive their infancy? No, I’ll cross that bridge if and when I come to it. If anything, I wish that people knew you the way I know you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Then they would love you the way I do.” Crossing her arms, Lissa glanced at the ground and paused. Corrine had a sudden desire to pull a pillow over her head and hide forever. She hadn’t even thought of the drawings that had scattered from her pad. The only prayer left was a desperate hope Lissa hadn’t found the nude of her brother. They would see how much she loved Corrine then, wouldn’t they? Bending gracefully, Lissa picked up the slip of paper. It wasn’t that bad. In the picture, Adam was naked, but only his strong shoulders and his sated, post-coitus expression showed. Damning, but not humiliating.Relief shot through Corrine, releasing the breath she’d not realized she’d held.

“Do you know, the hat was not what I was talking about when I said you’d forgotten something.”

“No?”

“When you left, I found Adam in your place in the sitting room.”

“Oh?” Asinine, but Corrine couldn’t force herself to say anything else. Her fingers clutched her coverlet in an attempt to ground herself.

“Oh indeed. I’d never seen him look like that before.”

Biting her lip, Corrine tried not to ask. She didn’t need to know. It was stupid; she’d only be torturing herself further. But she blurted. “How did he look?”

“Lost.” Lissa ran the edge of the drawing through her fingers, not paying attention to it. “He looked lost.” The urge to snatch it from her before she bent it was unbelievably strong.

“I saw Madame on the way up here. She said you’re leaving.”

Morning fog must have filled Corrine’s head. Lissa’s conversation jumps were dizzying to follow. “I am. Not that it’s any of your business, any longer.”

“Hm. Why?”

“Why isn’t it your business?”

“No, why are you leaving?”

“It’s time to go. I don’t know why I’ve stayed so near my father anyway.”

“May I speak honestly?” The mattress tilted as Lissa sat next to her.

A wry smile twisted Corrine’s month. “Don’t you always?”

“I think you’re leaving because you’re scared.” Lissa spoke slowly, her words carefully measured. “I believe you’re pushing both Adam and me away for the same reason. You’re frightened that if you don’t get rid of us first, we’ll someday give up on you.”

The tassel on her pillow corner slid through Corrine’s fingers again and again. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Lissa turned Corrine’s chin so they were forced to look each other in the eye. ‘’Don’t you?”

Exasperated, Corrine sighed. “I wish you would cut it out with the wise woman routine.”

An airy laugh spilled out of Lissa. “What I’m trying to say is that I don’t want you to leave. I love you! I can’t speak for Adam, of course, but it’s obvious you affect him powerfully, in one way or the other.”

Corrine’s mouth flapped open and closed. She didn’t know what to do. It was too much risk to give your heart away. True, Adam already owned hers but the important part was that if he didn’t know, he couldn’t intentionally trample on it. What was she thinking? Adam was too good a man to be so cruel. Lissa was right. She was scared, so frightened she was dismissing things she already knew about people she’d trusted for years. Before she could tell Lissa what an idiot she’d been, the door burst open with a crash. On a wave of overly sweet perfume, Gertie swept in. “Sorry for barging in but you’ll never think it.”‘

Both women sprang up. “What’s going on?” asked Corrine.

“It’s that crazy McCabe. He’s done stole hisself a girl and don’t you know it, he went an’ stole Ethel Wilkes. Can you imagine that little priss stuck with the McCabe?'’ Cruelly, Gertie giggled, but Corrine almost couldn’t blame her. Ethel had once spread a rumor that Gertie had caught a social disease. She hadn’t gotten any work for two weeks, until she could get the doc to examine her.

As she remembered her last conversation with McCabe, Corrine put a hand to her temple. “This is all my fault,” she said.

“Nonsense,” Lissa said crisply.

“I told him to find a new girl, that I wouldn’t put up with him anymore.”

“So? The appropriate response to that isn’t kidnapping.”

“The men already rode out to that farmhouse the brothers all bought.” Gertie plopped herself into Corrine’s chair and hung a leg over the arm.

“But that’s not where he’ll be.”

Gertie propped her chin on a fist. “And how would you know that?'’

“He has a cabin on the Cape Fear his brothers don’t know about. He’s tried for a while to get me to go out there.”

“Hum. The McCabe’s new place is the opposite way. By the time the men get out there, search and go the other way, Miss High and Mighty Ethel will done be ruined. Wonder if Madame Adrianna will offer her a job.” Gertie pretended to consider, tapping her lips. “Naw. That girl’s just about as frigid as molasses in winter.”

Corrine could sit back and let Ethel’s fate come for her. But she wouldn’t respect herself in the morning. Apparently neither would Lissa, because she smacked Gertie’s dangling foot. “We have to do something.”

“Yes,” Corrine said, resolute. “Madame has guns in her study. Gertie you can ride, correct?”

“Anything with four or two legs.”

“Good. You ride out to meet the posse and Lissa and I will go to the cabin.”

Lissa worried her bottom lip with her teeth. “Are you sure this is a good idea? Going after him when we’re just two women?'’

Corrine smiled but even to her it felt like a grimace. “I’ll be able to handle him. I can guarantee it. I’ve got a secret weapon.”

“If you’re sure. I trust you.'’

From the cabinet in Madame’s office, Corrine and Lissa each grabbed a rifle and all three took horses from Madame Adrianna’s tiny stables. Gertie rode west to the posse, while Lissa and Corrine rode swiftly toward the Cape Fear River. They ducked low over their mounts’ necks, avoiding pine branches and moving gracefully when the horses jumped thick roots and sandy washouts. As they reached the river, they pulled up on the reins.

“Are you sure you know where we’re going?” Lissa asked.

“Absolutely. Angus gave me explicit directions should I ever decide to join him.” She turned to follow the bank north. They came to a small trail marked with a red cloth and Corrine nudged her mount down it. The path opened into a clearing a half mile down and the women saw a one room shack, made of rough hewn boards. It was a worn, light color, and a skinny horse was ground tethered in front. No sound came from inside.

Sliding her rifle from its ties, Corrine rode her horse slowly around the house, Lissa following. There was no back door and only the two windows in front.

Corrine led her horse into the woods and slid off, still clutching the cool barrel of her rifle. She tied the reins loosely to a low branch. Taking a moment to lean against the tree, she studied the shack as she worried her lip with her teeth. This was doable. They could help Ethel, with only a modicum of danger. Doing nothing was unthinkable and it would be far too late for Ethel once the posse got here.

Her hands shook slightly and her heart pounded in her chest. If, by some chance it all went wrong, she’d never see Adam again. Corrine couldn’t believe how she’d been stupid and too afraid to trust. When this was done, she’d take her chances and accept whatever Adam offered. They’d never be pillars of the community but so long as they were together, she could be happy.

A crook of her finger brought Lissa near. “You’re the better shot, so I’ll go in first,” Corrine said. “You stay behind me. If he doesn’t see the gun, maybe he won’t panic.”

“You’re going in unarmed?”

“I think I have to.” When Lissa opened her mouth again, she cut the other woman off with a gesture. The men wouldn’t get here for at least a good half hour or so and who knew what could happen to Ethel in that time? Besides, it wasn’t as if she had much to lose at this point. She put her rifle on a fallen log.

At the door, Corrine opened it as if she were coming home and hadn’t a care in the world. “Hello, Angus,” she chirruped. “I decided you needed one last time with me after all.” Dramatically, she paused. It certainly was a scene worth drama. Ethel Wilkes was tied to a wooden chair, wearing only a large apron and a matron’s cap. She looked at Corrine as if she were the cavalry approaching, her eyes wide and her cheeks wet with tears.

But the icing on the cake was Angus McCabe. He stopped in the center of the room. A large diaper wrapped around his midsection and he clutched an oversized rattle and a knife. The room was fairly but for the chair, some cabinets and a man-sized crib set in the corner. “Mamma?” he said weakly, calling Corrine as he always did during their sessions.

Corrine had to bite her tongue to hold back nervous laughter. This might just work after all. “What in the world is going on here, Baby Boy? Have you gone and gotten yourself a new momma already?”

“But you told me to.”

Corrine tisked at him and moved a few steps in and to the right so that Lissa had a clear shot. “I said no such thing.”

“You did, you did!” His voice had the whining tremolo of a toddler.

“Who’s the baby?”

“I am.” He ducked his head and ground a toe into the bare dirt floor.

“And who’s the mommy?”

“You are.”

“And Mommy’s always right.”

Angus was nodding his agreement when Lissa moved. Sunlight glinted off the raised gun barrel.

“Who’s that?” he whined, hairy jowls trembling. “This isn’t right. You’re being mean. You’re not my momma anymore!”

Raising the knife, he lunged at Ethel, who screamed. Lissa fired. The bullet winged his shoulder, a clean shot. He stumbled and fell into the wall. His injured shoulder hit first and he howled. “Why are you being mean to Baby Boy?”

“Oh shut up,” Corrine said, not unkindly. “What were you thinking, kidnapping her?”

The pitiful sack of a man didn’t answer, just cried gibberish.

“Let me go,” begged Ethel.

“In a minute,” Corrine said. “The way I see it we have two options.”

“What are you talking about?” she sniffed.

“You haven’t always been kind to my friends and me. I’m tempted to leave you there. The men will be along before long and you know they’re just as bad as women about gossiping.”

“You wouldn’t!” Ethel gasped.

Lissa snickered, even as she held her rifle trained on the still sobbing McCabe. Corrine continued as if she had never heard Ethel speak. “It seems to me a scene like this would be talked about for a month of Sundays. Of course we could release you, let you get dressed. Even put some pants on this idiot. But . . .”

“But what? I’ll do anything.”

“Seems I’ll be needing some kind of recompense from you.”

“Money? Papa will pay you anything you like.”

“No, it turns out I don’t need money,” Corrine led the simpleton to it. “You’re a bit of a gossip yourself.”

“I won’t anymore. Not about you or anyone else you say.”

“I say you don’t gossip about anyone, my friend or not!”

“Yes, ok, no gossip.”

“I’m not sure as I believe her,” said Lissa, her rifle never wavering from McCabe.

“Momma knew how bad things were with your father,” Ethel said desperately. “From talking with your mother before she passed. I’ll tell everyone and tell them you didn’t have a choice but to whore.”

A smile spread across Corrine’s face. “Deal.”

Clothes were neatly folded in the cabinet. After cutting Ethel loose with McCabe’s big knife, she dropped half the bundle in the woman’s lap and left her to fend for herself. Ethel shot her a nasty look from under short, sparse lashes. Corrine wasn’t so foolish to think that Ethel would stop gossiping for good. It was her nature to be spiteful, plus she would resent Corrine for knowing such an embarrassing thing about her. But the girl would hold her tongue for a little while, until the anger boiled over inside. With just a little bit of luck and some fast maneuvering, Corrine might have long enough to scrabble herself a slightly more respectable position. Opening a dress shop in Inverness wasn’t inconceivable. And perhaps, if she were truly lucky, there might be another opportunity still open to her. One that would involve Adam in her bed every night.

Turning her back on Ethel, Corrine made her way to where McCabe sprawled against the back wall.

“Don’t get too close to him,” Lissa warned.

“I have to.” Corrine gathered up her skirts and crouched next to him, holding his pants. “He knows you’ll shoot his balls off before you let anything happen to me. And that Adam will then feed them to hogs. Don’t you Angus?” She brushed a lock of hair off his forehead.

McCabe stared up at her, his eyes wide and filled with more than one type of pain. “That’s right,” he said softly.

Corrine helped him with his clothes, even as she continued to speak. “Is that why you didn’t try to take me?”

“Yep. Adam ain’t a man to be trifled with.”

Behind them, Ethel huffed. “I’ll have you know my father will protect me, better than that saloon keeper ever could you.”

Corrine rolled her eyes as she buttoned McCabe’s fly with practiced moves. Calling the girl stupid wasn’t the best choice right now. She glanced over her shoulder. Ethel’s dress was over her head and her slender legs were still exposed. Were there any words to express stupider than stupid? “Perhaps this isn’t the best time to draw attention to yourself,” Corrine said in a carefully modulated tone.

“I’m going to be in trouble, aren’t I?” asked Angus.

She turned back to McCabe. “Yes. But I imagine we can get you sent to Dix Hill, in Raleigh. I hear it’s not so bad. Careful diet and exercise.”

“I lost everything lately. If I had a mother she could fix it all. That’s what mothers do. Fix things.”

Corrine thought of her own mother, languishing in a darkened room with a scented cloth over her forehead. “Yes, mothers want the best for their children.”

Suddenly McCabe grabbed Corrine’s hand. The sharp ratchet of the rifle action echoed in the little room but he didn’t seem to notice. “You won’t let them lynch me, will you?”

Corrine waved Lissa off behind her back. “No, don’t worry.”

As Ethel did up her buttons, Corrine stood and helped with the ones the other woman couldn’t quite reach. “The other thing you shouldn’t forget,” Corrine said quietly, “is that I know how to spread rumors as well. Like a nasty one that Lissa and I got here too late, after you’d been compromised.”

“But that’s not true!” Ethel whirled to face her.

“No. It’s not. But could you ever prove it’s not?”

“Of course. I’m still a virgin.”

“Are you? That’s not what I heard. Men who wouldn’t dream of breathing a word of certain conquests think nothing of speaking to a whore. Don’t think to cross me.”

Ethel turned an unflattering shade of purple.

The bone shaking thumps of horse hooves pounded outside. Saddles creaked and quite a few voices called “Whoa!” Thank heavens she and Lissa had come on their own. It was so like men to ride in with a full frontal attack, giving no thought to the consequences. Why, anything could have happened. McCabe had that hunting knife. If she and Lissa hadn’t snuck up and surprised him, it was possible he could have killed Ethel. Corrine wanted to believe he wasn’t actually capable of it but it was hard to really know.

Her hands linked in front of her waist, Corrine stepped into the dooryard. She stood in the open so none of the thick headed men would think she was being coerced.

Adam rode near the front of the pack, on a huge black horse. He was behind Sheriff McLeary by only inches, barely holding himself back. Full of cold fire, Adam’s gaze locked on her. Corrine swallowed hard. No, she’d made the right choice, no matter how angry Adam was. “It’s over, gentlemen. Everything is under control.” She spoke in an even tone but projected from her diaphragm to ensure everyone heard.

“My girl!” Mr. Wilkes clamored down and wove through the crowd. “Where is my girl?'’

“I’m right here, Papa.” Ethel stepped out, looking none the worse for wear. She ran into her father’s outstretched arms. He was shorter than her, yet she bent and rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m fine papa, just fine.”

“My poor baby.”

“No, it’s all right Papa. I was frightened but Corrine and Lissa arrived in time.” She shot Corrine a look of pure calculation over her father’s shoulder.

“Indeed we did. Jonas, could you please go relieve Lissa?”

“Goddamned fools, the both of you,” Jonas muttered as he slid down and strode into the shack. A few men followed him but they seemed calm, walking slowly. A couple looked around with a dazed look, as if they weren’t quite sure what had happened. Corrine could almost feel amused by it. They’d ridden out, expecting to be the heroes of the day, only to find out they’d been shown up by two women and hadn’t even been riding in the right direction.

Sheriff McLeary approached. ‘’What in the world were you thinking, child? You should have waited on us.”

Saying nothing, Corrine did her best to keep a smug smile off her face. Lissa was one of the best shots in the county and Corrine couldn’t help but think it had all turned out well. She risked a glance at Adam and all desire to smile fled. Cold blue flames still snapped in his eyes and the muscle in his jaw ticked rapidly. He still sat atop his horse, as rigid as a bronze statue. One hand fisted on the reins and the other clenched and released on his thigh. Corrine bit her lip and looked away.

It didn’t take for McCabe to be led away, his hands and feet bound. Corrine mounted her horse. Jonas and Lissa had already disappeared. Corrine felt a strange sense of let down. The energy that had flooded her during the danger slipped away like morning dew under a summer sun. Her hands shook imperceptibly. She wanted to ignore the heated looks Adam shot her way and make her own way to the whorehouse. The obstinate man would feel it was necessary to scold her for awhile and Corrine didn’t know if she had the patience. It wasn’t as if he had any say so over her person.

But when she had been unsure of the day’s outcome, Adam had been her only regret. For all her bravado, Corrine had been quite aware she could fail and she wished more than anything she hadn’t run away from Adam.

She rode behind him and allowed him to lecture her all the way into town. He continued even as they arrived at his house and handed their horses off to a stable boy, his speech full of words like “foolhardy” and “reckless.” Inside, Adam veered for the sitting room, but Corrine stopped following. She stood on the bottom stair.

Adam noticed she wasn’t in the room and stormed into the hallway. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I have no desire to be yelled at where anyone could walk in.” Removing her pins, Corrine pulled off her hat and set it on the wooden newel. “Lissa could be home at any moment.”

“I imagine Jonas is keeping her quite busy.” Adam stood with his fists on his narrow hips, glowering up at her.

“Still, there are the servants.” Stripping her lace gloves and dropping them, Corrine mounted a couple stairs.

“It’s Mrs. Jenkins’s day off.”

“That is convenient.” She moved up two more steps. ‘’Do you know we have yet to make love in a bed?'’

*

Adam’s brain turned into a bowl of grits. Pure mush. A minute ago, he’d been angry for some reason but now he couldn’t remember why. All he could think of was Corrine naked on his large bed. He’d kiss and taste her all over and slip into the wet heat that would grip him so tightly. But first he would see if she still tasted of honey and spice.

Corrine slipped free a few of the seed pearl buttons that marched up the front of her dress. Adam’s breath stuttered in his throat as he waited for a glimpse of the full swells of her breasts. Instead she reached up and began pulling pins from her soft brown hair. In the silence, they made tinny plinks as they fell to the stairs. A brown curtain fell around her shoulders and Corrine shook it out. “That’s much better. Do you know it gets tiring having all that piled on your head? Men have it much easier.”

Adam thought he grunted. Maybe. The woman drove him mad. When would Lissa return? There was no way to really know but hopefully it would be hours. If that was even enough. Adam could have Corrine in his bed for days and it wouldn’t be enough.

She undid two more buttons, revealing the heavy under-curve of her breasts behind a sheer chemise. His palms itched to touch them. She touched her hips, smoothing down her skirt as innocently as if she’d gotten up from tea.

Adam couldn’t take one more moment of teasing. He stalked up the stairs toward Corrine, who giggled and stepped up.

“Corrine,” he said.

He felt like he warned her, but of what he had no idea. Did he want her to stand still or to run so he could chase her? She made the choice for him, turning and darting upstairs, scrambling down the hall. She must have known where his bedroom was because she headed unerringly for it. Adam caught up to her at the threshold, before she could get the door open, and pinned her lightly to the wall.

She smelled like flowers and gasped — from her short run or arousal, Adam didn’t know. Her hair tangled around her shoulders and Adam gently gathered it, draping it over one shoulder. He kissed her bared neck and she shivered.

“We’ve yet to make it to a bed, Adam.”

“I’m surprisingly fine with that.” He scraped his teeth along the taught tendon. “There is something about you that drives me insane. Always has been.”

“Always?'’

“Always. Even when you were my sister’s virginal friend, I wanted to pull you into dark corners and kiss you blind.'’ He slid a hand into her gaping blouse and cupped the heavy weight of her breast. She arched into his touch. He flicked her nipple and it pebbled instantly. “When I returned and found you’d become a whore, I was furious. Not because of your choice but because another man touched these, tasted these before me.”

“And now?” She moved restlessly in the loose cage of his arms, and rested her forehead against the papered wall. “Are you still mad at me?”

“No. I’ve realized something.” The rest of her buttons released easily and Adam traced the soft curve of her belly through her chemise. The silk was smooth but Adam knew from experience her skin would feel ninety times better.

“What’s that?'’

“Huh?'’ Adam was searching for the clasp to her skirt but he couldn’t find it.

“What did you realize?” She sounded faintly exasperated.

Adam couldn’t allow that. He returned to her breasts, massaging them and tweaking her nipples, as he laved her neck.

“I’ve realized it doesn’t matter who’s had you first or how many there have been since. So long as I’m the last.”

Adam opened the door to his room and pulled her in with him, pushing her up against the closed door. Adam kissed her and she joined in fully darting her tongue into his mouth, then sucking lightly on his when their positions changed. He worked fast, until all her clothes were stripped and she was a fragrant bundle of skin and curves and dips in his arms.

Her leg rose and wrapped around his thigh and Adam hitched it over his hip, giving himself easy access. He palmed the taut ass under his hand, then dipped around to her cleft. She was hot and wet and the position of her leg left her open for his exploration. Softly, he grazed her lips and the crisp curls, then delved in to circle the tight bud at the top. Corrine moaned and tried to claw him closer, her nails digging into his jacket, Adam stroked her until she came, her head falling back and a pink flush suffusing her delicate skin.

He eased up, petting her slowly and supporting her weight as she came back to earth. Her eyes focused on him but her pupils were still dilated. She licked her plump lips.

“Bed?'’ she said hoarsely.

“I’m not sure. I like this.”

Corrine laughed, a full throated purr, but she lowered her leg. Grabbing his skinny tie, she walked to the bed. “It works for me too. But let’s see if we can do even better.'’ The mattress dipped as she clambered up on it and arranged herself against the pillows. She patted the cover next to her ship slim hips. “Come here, but get naked first. I’m getting a bit tired of being the only one unclothed around here.”

“It makes for such a wonderful view for me.”

She was beautiful, draped across the mounds of pillows. Adam had complained when Lissa decorated his big bed with heaps of satin edged nonsense but now he appreciated her unknowing vision and forethought. Corrine was a pagan goddess surrounded by luxury, her decadent body displayed for him. As he slowly undressed, he took in her lush curves, the coy way her leg was tipped to conceal her sex. Most of all, he loved the sensual look in her eye as she watched each bit of his own body revealed.

When he had only his pants on, the front placket drooping open and barely concealing him, Corrine bit her lip. She touched her swollen breast and Adam nearly came undone. He stripped off his pants and fell to her, fitting the sharp edges of his hips to the welcoming softness of hers.

Adam framed her face in his hands and stared into her eyes. She looked steadily back at him, unquestioning. A soft smile tipped her lips and there was an answering throb in his chest. Never before had he felt a connection this deep with anyone. Adam dropped a soft kiss on Corrine’s lips. Or at least it was meant to be soft. Instantly the fires of lust consumed them and they kissed furiously with Adam licking into her mouth.

A shift of his hips fitted Adam’s cock to her entrance and he sank deep with one thrust. A ragged moan ripped from Corrine’s throat and he checked himself. The last thing he would ever want to do would be to hurt her in any way but perhaps he had moved too quickly.

“Are you OK?” If he ignored how raw his voice sounded, perhaps she would as well. If she wasn’t all right Adam would force himself to withdraw, even if it was one of the most difficult things of his life to pull out of the clinging satin heat.

“I’m even better than that.” Corrine laced her hands behind Adam’s neck and drew him down for a kiss, even as she hooked her legs around his ass.

With a groan, Adam stroked in and out, loving the quiet moans that sounded in his ear. The sensations built intensely and Adam’s balls tightened as a tingling started in his lower back. He wasn’t sure how long he would be able to hold on. Levering himself up on one arm, he reached down and stroked her fevered button in time with his thrusts. Just in time, the tiny fluttering of her orgasm pulled on his cock. With one more hard thrust, Adam came, burying himself deep in her body and his face at her neck.

When he was able to gather his thoughts, Adam discovered he lay heavily on Corrine. She wasn’t complaining and instead was lazily running her nails up and down his back. It sent tingles down his spine that were both wonderful and almost more than he could handle in his oversensitive state. With a groan Adam rolled over and tucked Corrine into the crook of his shoulder. She fit there perfectly, just like she fit him everywhere else from the physical to the emotional.

He sighed. “Wasn’t I mad at you?”

“Hmm. Maybe?” She played with his chest hairs.

“What am I going to do with you?”

She raised her head off his chest and looked down at him. There was a smile on her face but in the depths of her eyes Adam read vulnerability. “Love me forever?”

Gently he kissed her. “Yes. That I can do. I suppose you’ll marry me then?”

She chewed softly on her lip. “No. Not yet at least.”

Anger was attempting to rip through him but Adam shoved it back with a couple deep breaths and a raised eyebrow to express his displeasure. “And why not?”

“I have a plan.” Briefly she confessed how she’d blackmailed Ethel Wilkes, including the truth about how she and Lissa had found the pair. “I’ll never be exactly respected but I believe I can improve my situation. And by effect, both of ours if we’re married.”

“If this doesn’t work out? I love you anyway. I’d marry you no matter what.”

She cupped his jaw in her tiny hand. “I know. I love you too.” That saucy grin he loved so much, the one which was making more appearances, tipped her lips. “If it doesn’t work, we’ll live in sin.”

Laughing, Adam rolled her onto her back and buried his face in her breasts. “So long as I have you, that would be fine with me.”

I’d really like to thank Lorelie Brown again for sharing with us this wonderful tale. It was a fabulous few weeks. We love you, Lorelie!

___________________________________________

Lorelie Brown is a goddess walking among us. She works for the US Government and is married to a paratrooper who’s very stingy with his X chromosomes. As a result, they’re trying to turn three hellions into well behaved little boys. She can order a beer in five languages and is one of those annoying people who always win at Trivial Pursuit.

Occasionally she even remembers to move the laundry from the washer to the dryer.

This an original story given generously to us by Lorelie Brown. DO NOT post any part of this story on your site without attribution to Lorelie or a holla-back at her site. That’s not cool. Always give credit where credit is due, yo.

Note: Hey, other writer-types, do you want to contribute to The Serial? If so, email me and I’ll hook you up, yo.

Till, then… Love, peace, and snarkage, my babies. Peace!

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