Carnal Knowledge Ch. 01-02

She tried to smother back another yawn and to focus on the words of the poem as the earl looked up briefly from the pages of the book to smile at her. She could easily imagine the fine ladies of the ton in London, fighting to be the recipient of one of his heady smiles.

Her sleepy mind conjured the image of a grand ball, filled with glittering, beautifully-dressed aristocrats. The earl, darkly handsome in evening finery, whirled her around the room, her dancing feet barely touching the floor. For the first time in her life, Eliza felt a pang of loss for the dances and parties she had never cared to attend.

Shy and soft-spoken, she had been content in her girlhood country life, though after about age thirteen, she could not help but notice how males had begun to treat her differently. The leering gazes that spoke to her bosom rather than her face made her uncomfortable, and she did her best to ignore it, even discouraging any beaus who tried to draw her out. Her mother was often sickly, and Eliza had been glad to forego the village social gatherings whenever possible.

Though not titled, her father had inherited their family home and oversaw their small estate and farm. It had been a great shock when they had discovered after her father's death the mounds of debt he had been concealing.

Tired of being held up so stiffly, her neck drooped, and the crimson fabric of the sofa felt soft and velvety under her cheek. You must stay awake and keep your wits about you, she scolded herself sternly but allowed herself to relax little by little against the padded back of the sofa. Gradually, she allowed the warm comfort of the room to seep into the empty, lonely places within her. A small sigh escaped her lips as her eyes closed.

***

Rockdale watched intently as his young governess's lashes became heavy and drifted shut. He continued reading for a while before closing the book softly and setting it aside. His eyes traveled her shapely form, resting first upon the braided hair gleaming gold in the firelight. He slid closer, picked up the heavy tail and brought it close to his face to inhale the sweet scent.

He trailed a finger gently down her cheek, relishing the texture of her creamy skin, wondering if she would taste even better than she smelled. Slowly he loosened the tie of her wrapper, drawing the sides apart. The small buttons down the front of her plain nightgown offered little resistance as he opened each with a flick of his fingers. Reaching her waist, he drew the thin garment open wide.

"Ah, yes..." he murmured, riveted by the generous curves of exposed bosom. His cock pulsed against the confines of his tight breeches.

For a petite young woman, she had delightfully plump tits, her pale, velvety skin crowned with small, rosy-coral tips. He traced one nipple with his finger, watching it pebble and harden for him. Leaning closer, the earl slid his hands leisurely over her bare chest, caressing, cupping, and lightly squeezing the firm flesh. His blood began to heat, and he reached down to adjust himself.

With an eye to the open door, he reluctantly drew her nightgown closed. He sat quietly observing her for a few long moments, the only sounds the huffs of her soft breathing and the ticking of the mantle clock.

Could she be as innocent as she seemed? He shook his head, marveling that she would fall asleep, even under the influence of his whisky-laced milk, trusting him to be a gentleman. But perhaps, that was all part of Harry Cavendish's plan, sending the girl here to be his governess.

His friend had written she would be a perfect bedmate for him and biddable to his sexual predilections, but the girl seemed even more innocent than he expected.

Rockdale unfolded his long length and stood, eyeing the girl another moment, considering and weighing. She moaned quietly in her slumber, and lust quickened like fire in his belly.

Leaning over, he carefully scooped her into his arms and carried his young governess up the stairs.

*******************************************

Chapter Two

Eliza woke slowly, her thinking muddled, but knowing immediately something was amiss. Panic began to beat a dull thudding rhythm through her body. Though the light was dim, she knew she lay in her own bed, in her own chamber.

She inhaled sharply in bewilderment, realizing she was completely naked, and her hands were secured over her head and attached by some means to the headboard. Her head thrashed and jerked, and she cried out in alarm.

A large, unmistakably male hand covered her mouth and muffled the sound. Eliza recoiled in fright as a candle was lit beside the bed, revealing the earl standing before her, his enigmatic eyes intent upon her.

"Poor little dove," he murmured, stroking her hair gently. "You must be quiet. Do you understand?"

Helplessly confused, a tear rolled down her cheek, and Eliza nodded.

Lord Rockdale removed his hand and began to undress. Her heart pounded frantically as waves of white-hot fear poured over her body. Almost frozen in shock, she stared as the powerful muscles of his physique were revealed. His skin was golden in the flickering light and covered with a dusting of dark hair.

He stood still before her, his powerful body proudly nude. Her gaze was drawn unwillingly down to his erect penis, which appeared massive and almost angry to her fearful gaze.

She whimpered as he approached the bed once more, his body graceful yet undeniably predatory. Eliza was innocent of relations between men and women, but the earl's apparent intentions were very clear.

Rising anxiety caused her breath to hitch unevenly in her chest. Finding her voice, words began to spill from her mouth. "My lord, please, please, release me. You must not do this, please," she pleaded, tears sliding freely down her face.

"Shhhh..." Rockdale placed a finger against her lips. "I regret to cause you distress, but it is unavoidable. The moment I saw you in my study, blushing so prettily, I knew it would only be a matter of time before I would have to be inside you."

His casual dismissal of her pleas caused a sudden fury to surge through Eliza, temporarily chasing away her panic and fear. "My lord, somehow you have gotten the wrong impression of me. Despite what you may think, I am NOT some trollop or... a whore!"

She jerked hard in frustration at her bound hands. "It is not seemly for you to treat me this way. I am your employee and thus deserve your respect. You must release me at once!" She glared at him furiously.

"Dear girl, I realize you are no trollop." The earl slowly surveyed her naked body with frank interest. "Have you lain with many men?"

"What! No! How dare you!" Eliza ground her teeth in frustration. "I am a virgin, my lord, and wish to remain one! Let me go this instant! You are a vile and dirty man to act in such a perverse fashion!"

He had the maddening nerve to cock one eyebrow. "Virgin, truly?" He frowned a moment then told her matter-of-factly, "Then your maidenhood is a gift I shall claim as master of this house."

Furiously she kicked at him, wishing she could claw his pompous face. "I am not yours to take!"

He leaned over and softly murmured in her ear, his warm breath tickling the sensitive skin there. "Miss Lockhart, I find myself enthralled with your delectable body. I am quite afraid I will be keeping my cock deep inside you as often as I desire it so."

His hands slid over her chest and molded over her breasts. She tried in vain to wiggle away, but he restrained her with no apparent effort.

"You have the most perfect pair of tits I've ever seen," he murmured, leaning over to nuzzle the bare flesh within his grip.

He moved to stretch full out beside her, his large body partially covering her smaller one. She froze as his tongue began to lick and lap at her neck and chest. "S-stop it! You must stop!"

The dark head lifted, and she stared fearfully into his glittering black eyes. "Just relax, my dear."

He pressed his mouth against hers almost roughly, drowning out her protests by sliding his tongue into her open mouth. Large hands cradled her head, his tongue rubbing against hers, exploring and probing.

The earl tasted of strawberries and some indefinable male essence. The intimacy of being kissed in such a manner shocked Eliza to her core. She drew in a shaky breath when he finally abandoned her mouth to lick along her jaw, and he found the vulnerable skin at the junction of her neck and shoulder. He bit down lightly, making a deep noise low in his throat and pressing his hard, hot staff against her leg.

She squeaked in fear, hating herself for being so weak. Her mind felt so groggy and panicked distress blurred rational thoughts of how to fight him or convince him to stop. "Please, my lord, please, no..."

His hands encircled Eliza's breasts, squeezing and fondling. "A juicy berry indeed," he muttered and took her nipple into his mouth. The sensation of his tongue sliding across and then flicking the sensitive flesh caused her to bite her lip in momentary confusion.

Her eyes started to drift closed as he licked and nipped her with his teeth, then suckled, giving equal attention to both her breasts. His thorough attention to her bosom almost distracted her from noticing one hand sliding lower across her stomach until his fingers began to trace the secret crevice between her legs. Her struggles renewed as he caressed the small patch of curls.

Eliza squeezed her thighs together as one large finger slid over her damp slit, rubbing back and forth, seeking deeper entry. She shook her head violently. "No! No, you mustn't!"

Heedless to her pleas, the earl shifted lower in the bed. Her strength was no match for his as he urged her knees apart and then used his body to spread her legs wide. Knowing her most secret place was now revealed to his hungry gaze, she turned her face into the pillow.

***

Rockdale bared his teeth in triumph at securing his place between the young governess' thighs. He took a moment to admire the bounty spread before him. The chit's lovely face and hair were shadowed, but the candlelight flickered over full, round tits thrust upward invitingly, her bound hands keeping her back arched.

His cock leaped in excitement as his gaze was drawn lower to the sight of the pale curls parted for him. He wondered how much of her act was real and how much had been instructed by Harry in order to play the part of the outraged virgin. Did she even know the real reason her father's friend had sent her to Verity Hall?

Rockdale shrugged the distracting thought away and cupped her intimately with his hand. He spread the lips of her mound further and traced the delicate folds inside.

"How pretty you are here, darling." Her body jerked as he began to work his forefinger inside her. His thumb found her clitoris, rubbing it lightly.

Her inner passage gripped his finger tightly and though the girl protested his possession, he felt her channel becoming wet and slippery to accommodate the inevitable coming penetration by his cock.

"No, you shouldn't do this, please, my lord!"

Her head rolled back and forth on the pillow as she pleaded, but Rockdale's attention was centered on the soft folds between her legs. He pushed any troubling doubts to the side and grabbed hold of his eager, dripping cock, blood pounding wildly in his ears.

Dimly realizing he was literally panting with desire, he allowed pure animal lust to take control.

He guided his cock between her nether lips, spreading the shiny beads of moisture leaking from the head as he slid his shaft back and forth over her entrance. She squirmed and undulated ineffectually beneath him as he aligned the blunt tip of his cock with her entrance.

The young woman cried out and reared up beneath him, back arching further with the sudden discomfort of his penetration. He grasped her hips, keeping her firmly in place.

Once fully seated, Rockdale covered her with his large body and kissed her squeezed-shut eyelids, then lightly her lips. Gently, but insistently, his tongue flicked over her closed mouth, demanding entry. "Open to me," he said against her lips, his arms wrapping around her in a tight embrace.

His triumph grew as she moaned and submitted to him. His tongue surged deep in her mouth as his cock stretched her tight inner passage. Bracing his elbows on either side of her, he began to slowly withdraw his cock before pushing it back into her hot center an inch at a time.

Sliding deeper with every stroke, he released her mouth to whisper in her ear, "You feel so good and snug around my cock. I knew this hot little quim was made to receive me."

His open mouth found her neck once more and he bit down lightly as his thrusts became faster and more urgent.

***

Eliza was overwhelmed by the merciless physical assault of her body. Never before had she imagined this was what it meant to join with a man. His scent, very male and foreign, surrounded her, and the raw sensation of the lord's naked, sweating skin rubbing and sliding against her own was nearly as alarming as the invasion of his large penis into her body.

Rockdale's hand once again captured her breast, rolling her nipple between his finger and thumb. She gasped as the pinching sent an unexpected wave of tingling through her body.

Grinning wickedly, he reached down between their bodies and began to gently rub the raised nubbin just above where he was joined with her.

An unfamiliar tension began to build in her body, and his finger began to feel slick and slide easier against her sensitive flesh. He whispered sweet words of praise in her ear mixed with crude carnal words that made her burn with embarrassment and yet, some other indefinable emotion as well. She fought mightily against it and pulled at her restraints.

"Yes, so lovely," he whispered. "I'm going to enjoy teaching you the pleasures of my bed."

Relentless in his physical assault, Rockdale loomed over her, his finger flicking her bud as his penis repeatedly slid shallow and deep. She moaned helplessly as the heat between her legs became almost unbearable, and her body bowed up off the bed.

"I knew you would love it when I claimed you," he hissed into her ear.

With a cry she could not hold back, the tension within her exploded, a surge of unexpected, blinding pleasure spiraling through her body.

She gasped for air, shocked at the heady sensations swamping her, wondering what strange wildness had taken over her body.

Rockdale groaned, his hands gripping and lifting her bottom as he continued to pound inside her, his thrusts becoming faster and faster.

"Yes!" he growled as he roughly surged within her twice more before grinding hard one final time.

Rockdale lowered his chin, breathing heavily. He collapsed, pressing her heavily down into the bed for several long moments.

The earl flipped them onto their sides, facing one another. He reached over her head and in a moment her arms were free. He held her against his chest, lightly stroking her hair.

Eliza trembled in his embrace, torn between tears and anger, overloaded with conflicting emotions, wrung out from the carnal encounter.

"I am sorry for hurting you," Rockdale murmured, his hand stroking down her back and familiarly over her bottom. "I did not mean to be so rough with you, little dove. I'm afraid you drove me quite out of my mind."

Unsure how to respond, Eliza only sniffled in reply. Her body trembled in shock as her mind struggled to absorb and understand what had happened this night.

The earl moved away, and she shivered as his penis slid out from her body. She curled up, feeling strangely numb. He returned with some water and a damp towel and gently began to wash her.

No more fight left within her, Eliza let him touch her as he wished and allowed him to spread her legs once more. After a quick wash of his own body, he returned to the bed, once again gathering her in his arms.

Exhausted mentally and physically, she lay still as he stroked her hair. She wanted him to go away. She wanted her nightgown. She wanted to stab the sharpest kitchen knife into the black heart beating beneath her cheek.

"Go to sleep now," he murmured.

With a ragged sob lodged in her throat, she closed her eyes, wishing with all her might to escape his tight embrace. Their naked skin pressed so close and still damp from...what he had DONE to her...was nigh unbearable. How could she have succumbed so easily?

Eliza closed her eyes and a single tear escaped to roll down her cheek.

***

Beams of bright sunshine on her face coaxed Eliza from a deep sleep. She rolled to sitting, rubbing her eyes and looked down to see her bare breasts.

She fell backwards onto the bed with a groan, the horror of the night before flooding back in graphic detail. The earl, oh dear goodness, he had ruined her, completely ruined her!

Self-pity and shame wedged like a cruel knot in her throat. What would she do; where would she go? What had she done to bring this down upon herself?

Nothing, that is what!

Anger overtook her as she bounded out of the bed, stomping naked around her chamber. The earl was a wretch, a cad, a morally-reprehensible cockroach!

Eliza fisted her hands, wanting to punch and hit someone, preferably the lord's snug face. How dare he do this to her? She was no light-skirt, no floozy to be dallied with in a dark alley. She was the great-granddaughter of baronet, for bloody goodness sake!

But quickly as her anger kindled, it fled. She collapsed in a miserable heap on the rug-covered floor, wincing at the newly discovered soreness of her body. Fighting back the tears that threatened, she rose again, heading to the small wardrobe. She must pack and leave at once.

Reaching the wardrobe, she caught sight of herself in the looking glass and gasped in dismay. Her hair was straggling out from its braid, her lips red and puffy. Looking closer she realized that there was an abraded place on her neck where he had bitten her. Bitten her! "The bloody beast!"

Earl or not, that man was going to answer for what he had done. Eliza would demand that he arrange for her to leave the estate and return home immediately. She took a ragged breath and steadfastly ignored the small voice inside her that wondered how she thought to force Lord Rockdale to do anything.

After a quick toilet, she dressed her hair in its customary bun and pulled on her drabbest gray frock.

It's a shame I didn't bring my black mourning dresses, she thought. It felt as though she should be in mourning for her lost innocence.

She headed downstairs and had set one foot inside the kitchen when Mrs. Biddleton shrilly called her name.

She turned, resigned at her bad luck. "Yes?"

"Decided to sleep the day away, I see?"

Eliza's spine stiffened; she owed this woman no explanation or excuse. "Did you require something of me, madam? If not, I would like to break my fast." She moved as if to continue past the housekeeper into the kitchen.

"Well, you're headed in the wrong direction. He's one day back, and you've somehow got him dancing to your tune," the housekeeper said waspishly.

Eliza frowned in confusion. "I beg your pardon?"

"The master has decreed you shall eat breakfast in the dining room..." Mrs. Biddleton scowled. "with the family." Throwing up her hands in disgust, she whirled away from Eliza in a flurry of black skirts.

Eliza reluctantly turned and headed back upstairs to the dining room on the second floor. What was the earl about? Did he think to humiliate her in front of the staff?

Two high-spots of color burning in her cheeks, she walked into the dining room, head held high. Teeth clenched, she noted the curious stares of the two footmen as she entered. She halted in confusion as she approached the table.

Young Nicholas and Anna were seated with their father, chattering away. Spying Eliza, Anna squealed in delight.