wiles; a lady julia/nicholas brisbane fic
wiles, a lady julia/nicholas brisbane fic
commissioned by the glorious omfgcate
brisbane is trying to cut out on another of julia's social engagements,
which leads to some cat-and-mouse over the chamber door's key.
“Brisbane, you cannot do this to me,” I said hotly from the doorway. “This has been planned for weeks and you have been aware of it from the beginning. You can’t just… abandon me and swan off on some new cloak-and-dagger mission!”
“You’ve known from the start that I do not keep regular hours,” he retorted, hastily packing an overnight bag. Everything would be terribly wrinkled-and it would serve him right. “My work cannot be deferred or rescheduled simply because you have a dinner party planned.”
“And I simply cannot deal with the number of guests invited-half of which you invited-on my own! I need you there to be my stalwart support; to help steer the conversation and manage any conflicting personalities.”
“Why don’t you call on Portia and have her come and play hostess?” he suggested.
“Because Lord Weatherby will be here. And you recall what happened the last time he and Portia faced each other across a banquet table, don’t you?”
My husband paused, hands in the process of unknotting his cravat, and a slow smile spread across his dark, handsome face. “The newspapers spoke of little else for a solid week.”
“Well, one could have hoped that Weatherby would have been wiser than to have made such rude comments in front of my sister, given how outspoken she is with her views. He brought the entire fiasco upon his own head, and I don’t feel the slightest shred of pity for him. Even so-I wouldn’t care to see a repeat performance acted out under our roof.”
“If things get too rambunctious, just have Aquinas throw the miscreants out. Politely, of course,” Brisbane suggested with a devilish smirk.
It was one I’d seen him wear on countless occasions, but for some reason it grated on my nerves as it never had before. I had been fretting over this dinner for a solid week, hoping to use it as a networking opportunity to uncover potential future clients for our detecting business. With Brisbane’s reputation for competence and discreetness, and my own societal connections, I intended to make our services available to for any delicate work our guests may need handled. But of course, such overtures wouldn’t be welcomed from a woman; it was a sad fact that the world largely ignored my sex, regardless of how intelligent or capable we were, in favor of men who might be far inferior to us in those respects. Which was why I needed Brisbane there, to act as the mouthpiece for both our sakes’. I would be hard-pressed to reconvene this particular guest-list before the season was over.
A rush of anger seized me. I’ve been warned-and often-to look after my temper, but it’s a difficult thing to manage once riled. Lifting my heavy skirts, I stalked to the chamber door, slammed it shut, and twisted the key in the lock. And, while my husband glowered at me, dropped it down the décolleté of my dress.
“Julia, I fail to see how this will further your goals,” Brisbane said. “Locking me in here will not enable me to play the charming host.”
“This will be the third social engagement I’ve planned that you conveniently cannot attend,” I said pointedly. “Twice may be a coincidence, but three times is absolutely over-doing things. If you’ve gotten involved in something so time-consuming and serious, I demand you share the details with me. We are partners, after all.”
“Or,” he said, striding toward me with that wild animal grace I found so intoxicating. “I could recover that key, truss you up, and leave you for Morag to find after the guests have arrived.”
“Try it, and I will fight you tooth and nail,” I promised sweetly as he loomed over me in all his state. “In the greater scheme of things, I’m not demanding all that much from you, husband. A wife has a right to expect things from her beloved.”
“Hmm,” he said, hands pressing heavily on my waist, the heat of his skin tangible even through the layers of satin.
“There should be a balance maintained in a marriage,” I continued, licking my dry lips as he bent his face toward mine. Months of marriage and he still had an electric effect over me. When our bodies neared there was a chemical reaction that occurred, as explosive as black powder and sometimes just as destructive. The number of gowns I’d lost to his rough hands…
“And I’m not being so unreasonable…” I whispered as he cupped my face, kissing each cheek in turn, drawing red hot lines across my skin with his lips. His mouth pressed against the curve of my neck-and then I felt his fingers dip down between my breasts to where the key lay. “…No, you don’t,” I said, catching his wrist with one hand, hooking his ankle with my slippered foot, and pushing sharply out from the wall. He fell back heavily, dragging me with him, and we landed on the floor with an almighty crash that rattled the basin on the dresser.
My skirts were an encumbrance, but I had been diligently practicing such movements in anticipation of unsavory elements on future cases. While Nicholas was still winded and unbalanced, I hiked up the layers of petticoats, grounded my knees firmly on either side of his waist, and twisted the arm I still held up and over his chest, locking my elbow firmly against his. “Your seduction tactics won’t work tonight,” I said, rather breathless myself.
“Pleased with yourself?” he said, a hot light in his eyes.
“Exceedingly.”
“You know very well that I could gain the upper hand at any moment.”
Which was true-in a physical contest, Brisbane had the advantage of weight and a complete control over his body that came from years of combat experience. I had a few tricks up my sleeves but was most certainly an amateur in comparison. I tightened my grip on his arm and leaned closer. “Then why don’t you?”
“Perhaps I like seeing you on top.” He reached out with his unpinned arm and pulled me closer, guiding my lips down to his. After several pleasurable moments in that fashion, I found myself rather frantic to unlace the gown Morag had spent twenty minutes putting me into. My hair had already spilled from its pins and I knew I no longer needed any rouge to darken my cheeks.
My initial goal disappeared like flash paper in a flame; such was the effect my husband had on me. Soon the floor was littered with clothing, I was marking his broad chest with my nails, and every roll of his hips made me breathless and dizzy. We quite lost track of time-of the entire world around us, to be honest-and it wasn’t until a polite yet firm knock at the door interrupted the post-coital caresses that I realized just how late it had become.
“Bugger,” I muttered mutinously, raking a hand through my tangled hair. “Aquinas, could you tell the guests we’ve been momentarily indisposed? And send Morag up, if you could. Now where did that bloody key get to…”
“I love seeing you in such a state of dishabille,” Brisbane murmured beneath me.
“Perhaps because only you can get me into such a state, wicked man,” I countered, slapping him lightly. “…You don’t really mean to run off now, do you?”
“Well, after the loving attention my devoted wife has just lavished upon me, it would seem rather boorish to ride off and leave her in distress.”
“I’m glad I could talk some sense into you. Where is that blasted key,” I grumbled, rolling off my husband and shaking out the discarded clothes.
“This key?” he said in a lazy drawl as he stood, holding it out enticingly.
“Brisbane,” I warned.
“You did say marriage should be a balance-why can’t I play the same trick you’re so fond of, wife? Perhaps it’s your turn to win it off me.”
I tackled him onto the bed and, as it was, neither of us heard Morag’s pounding at the door for rather a long time.
commissioned by the glorious omfgcate
brisbane is trying to cut out on another of julia's social engagements,
which leads to some cat-and-mouse over the chamber door's key.
“Brisbane, you cannot do this to me,” I said hotly from the doorway. “This has been planned for weeks and you have been aware of it from the beginning. You can’t just… abandon me and swan off on some new cloak-and-dagger mission!”
“You’ve known from the start that I do not keep regular hours,” he retorted, hastily packing an overnight bag. Everything would be terribly wrinkled-and it would serve him right. “My work cannot be deferred or rescheduled simply because you have a dinner party planned.”
“And I simply cannot deal with the number of guests invited-half of which you invited-on my own! I need you there to be my stalwart support; to help steer the conversation and manage any conflicting personalities.”
“Why don’t you call on Portia and have her come and play hostess?” he suggested.
“Because Lord Weatherby will be here. And you recall what happened the last time he and Portia faced each other across a banquet table, don’t you?”
My husband paused, hands in the process of unknotting his cravat, and a slow smile spread across his dark, handsome face. “The newspapers spoke of little else for a solid week.”
“Well, one could have hoped that Weatherby would have been wiser than to have made such rude comments in front of my sister, given how outspoken she is with her views. He brought the entire fiasco upon his own head, and I don’t feel the slightest shred of pity for him. Even so-I wouldn’t care to see a repeat performance acted out under our roof.”
“If things get too rambunctious, just have Aquinas throw the miscreants out. Politely, of course,” Brisbane suggested with a devilish smirk.
It was one I’d seen him wear on countless occasions, but for some reason it grated on my nerves as it never had before. I had been fretting over this dinner for a solid week, hoping to use it as a networking opportunity to uncover potential future clients for our detecting business. With Brisbane’s reputation for competence and discreetness, and my own societal connections, I intended to make our services available to for any delicate work our guests may need handled. But of course, such overtures wouldn’t be welcomed from a woman; it was a sad fact that the world largely ignored my sex, regardless of how intelligent or capable we were, in favor of men who might be far inferior to us in those respects. Which was why I needed Brisbane there, to act as the mouthpiece for both our sakes’. I would be hard-pressed to reconvene this particular guest-list before the season was over.
A rush of anger seized me. I’ve been warned-and often-to look after my temper, but it’s a difficult thing to manage once riled. Lifting my heavy skirts, I stalked to the chamber door, slammed it shut, and twisted the key in the lock. And, while my husband glowered at me, dropped it down the décolleté of my dress.
“Julia, I fail to see how this will further your goals,” Brisbane said. “Locking me in here will not enable me to play the charming host.”
“This will be the third social engagement I’ve planned that you conveniently cannot attend,” I said pointedly. “Twice may be a coincidence, but three times is absolutely over-doing things. If you’ve gotten involved in something so time-consuming and serious, I demand you share the details with me. We are partners, after all.”
“Or,” he said, striding toward me with that wild animal grace I found so intoxicating. “I could recover that key, truss you up, and leave you for Morag to find after the guests have arrived.”
“Try it, and I will fight you tooth and nail,” I promised sweetly as he loomed over me in all his state. “In the greater scheme of things, I’m not demanding all that much from you, husband. A wife has a right to expect things from her beloved.”
“Hmm,” he said, hands pressing heavily on my waist, the heat of his skin tangible even through the layers of satin.
“There should be a balance maintained in a marriage,” I continued, licking my dry lips as he bent his face toward mine. Months of marriage and he still had an electric effect over me. When our bodies neared there was a chemical reaction that occurred, as explosive as black powder and sometimes just as destructive. The number of gowns I’d lost to his rough hands…
“And I’m not being so unreasonable…” I whispered as he cupped my face, kissing each cheek in turn, drawing red hot lines across my skin with his lips. His mouth pressed against the curve of my neck-and then I felt his fingers dip down between my breasts to where the key lay. “…No, you don’t,” I said, catching his wrist with one hand, hooking his ankle with my slippered foot, and pushing sharply out from the wall. He fell back heavily, dragging me with him, and we landed on the floor with an almighty crash that rattled the basin on the dresser.
My skirts were an encumbrance, but I had been diligently practicing such movements in anticipation of unsavory elements on future cases. While Nicholas was still winded and unbalanced, I hiked up the layers of petticoats, grounded my knees firmly on either side of his waist, and twisted the arm I still held up and over his chest, locking my elbow firmly against his. “Your seduction tactics won’t work tonight,” I said, rather breathless myself.
“Pleased with yourself?” he said, a hot light in his eyes.
“Exceedingly.”
“You know very well that I could gain the upper hand at any moment.”
Which was true-in a physical contest, Brisbane had the advantage of weight and a complete control over his body that came from years of combat experience. I had a few tricks up my sleeves but was most certainly an amateur in comparison. I tightened my grip on his arm and leaned closer. “Then why don’t you?”
“Perhaps I like seeing you on top.” He reached out with his unpinned arm and pulled me closer, guiding my lips down to his. After several pleasurable moments in that fashion, I found myself rather frantic to unlace the gown Morag had spent twenty minutes putting me into. My hair had already spilled from its pins and I knew I no longer needed any rouge to darken my cheeks.
My initial goal disappeared like flash paper in a flame; such was the effect my husband had on me. Soon the floor was littered with clothing, I was marking his broad chest with my nails, and every roll of his hips made me breathless and dizzy. We quite lost track of time-of the entire world around us, to be honest-and it wasn’t until a polite yet firm knock at the door interrupted the post-coital caresses that I realized just how late it had become.
“Bugger,” I muttered mutinously, raking a hand through my tangled hair. “Aquinas, could you tell the guests we’ve been momentarily indisposed? And send Morag up, if you could. Now where did that bloody key get to…”
“I love seeing you in such a state of dishabille,” Brisbane murmured beneath me.
“Perhaps because only you can get me into such a state, wicked man,” I countered, slapping him lightly. “…You don’t really mean to run off now, do you?”
“Well, after the loving attention my devoted wife has just lavished upon me, it would seem rather boorish to ride off and leave her in distress.”
“I’m glad I could talk some sense into you. Where is that blasted key,” I grumbled, rolling off my husband and shaking out the discarded clothes.
“This key?” he said in a lazy drawl as he stood, holding it out enticingly.
“Brisbane,” I warned.
“You did say marriage should be a balance-why can’t I play the same trick you’re so fond of, wife? Perhaps it’s your turn to win it off me.”
I tackled him onto the bed and, as it was, neither of us heard Morag’s pounding at the door for rather a long time.