“You risked scandal for a kiss from me.” His expression was so smug she longed to tear it from his face. And she would have done, had she not feared he was right. Could it be true? She loved this man? She was not certain she could handle this at present.
Aware of them drifting closer to the jetties, she stiffened. “Alex, return me to land at once.”
“Admit you love me.”
“Alex,” she said tightly. “Row us back or I shall do it myself.” She reached for the oars, but he moved them back out of her way.
“Lucy…”
“If you do not, I shall jump.”
A dark brow lifted. “Like hell you will. You wouldn’t survive the scandal of it all.”
“I will,” she insisted. “I’ll jump.”
His smile turned smug again. “You would not dare.”
Blowing out a heated breath, she rose from the boat, undid her bonnet and handed it over to him. She was tired of this. Of the confusion. Of pretending.
“Lucy?”
“I will certainly not have my future dictated to me again.” She pushed off the heels of each of her shoes with her toes, wavering in the wobbly boat. “Never again, Lord Kirbeck, do you understand?”
She jumped into the water. The frigid water bit straight through her clothes, and she heard Alex shout her name.
Ignoring him, she pushed on. At least the shore was not far away, she supposed. Her clothes weighed a ton and it seemed to take forever until her feet found the ground. She rose out of the lake, feeling rather like a sea monster. Given the reaction from the crowd of people who had gathered at the waterside after hearing her splash, she might well have been.
The crowd parted as she walked purposefully up the shingle toward the road. Bernie pushed through and blocked her path, his pallor grayer than ever.
“What are you doing, Lucinda?” he asked. He fought to pull off his jacket.
She lifted her chin. “I went for a little swim.”
“You look…awful,” he hissed. “And everyone is looking. Goodness, your mother nearly fainted when she realized it was you.”
Lucinda fixed him with a glare and waved away the offer of his jacket. She was weary of pretending to be someone she was not for Bernie’s sake.
“Take the jacket. I can see almost everything,” he bit out.
“You know, some men might appreciate that fact.”
His eyes widened and he stared at her for several moments. “What has happened to you, Lucinda? First you barely write to me, then you vanish off at a moment’s notice and now this after being in a boat with a known rake? Of which, by the way, I do not approve.”
Hands to her hips, she met his gaze head on. “You know, Bernie, I do not need your approval.”
“I should have thought you do, considering you have been hoping for me to propose for many years.”
Lucinda opened her mouth, shut it, then opened it again. “I do not believe I was ever hoping.”
“Well, I was thinking of doing it this week, but it seems you are not the respectable lady I thought you were. Especially if you are keeping company with men like the marquis.”
“You know, I may not be respectable in your eyes, Bernie, but you are quite rude indeed to believe a woman is anticipating a proposal and leaving her to wait for years on end. Before long, I shall be a spinster.”
“So you should be grateful for my attention.”
Shaking her head, Lucinda twisted to view the boat, bobbing some way out on the lake. Had she really run away from Alex for this? Or was she simply too scared to risk it all again?
“Bernie, I am sorry.”
She did not want her future dictated to her, that was certain. Did not want Alex forcing her to pay attention to him. But she did want her say. She did want it to be her decision. And she suspected she had already made it the moment she leapt from the boat.
Bernie scowled. “Lucinda?”
“I am not the woman you want me to be and I never will be. You can keep your proposal.” She grabbed her skirts and turned around.
“I just said I was thinking twice about proposing. That did not mean I would not.” He stepped in front of her. “Whatever are you doing?”
She shrugged. “Causing a scandal, most likely.”
She moved around him and waded into the water. Behind her, she heard Mary-Anne give a shout of encouragement whilst the onlookers chatted excitedly. Perhaps her mother was in a faint and would not see a thing but either way, she was done paying for her one mistake.
Once the water reached waist height, she began swimming, making her way back to the boat. Alex must have been watching her interaction with Bernie, but he stared at her for some time before he tore off his jacket and his boots and then dove into the water. With strokes far more powerful than hers, he met her where water was still only shoulder deep and latched his hands around her waist.
“You were right,” she said. “I do love you. I’m not certain how or why but I do.”
“I knew it.”
She looped her arms around his neck. “I do not care that you are a rake or that this is the most scandalous thing I have ever done in my adult life. I cannot live like that anymore. I cannot be a wife to a man like Bernie.”
“What about a wife to a man like me?” He pushed wet strands from her face with a hand. “Because, Lucy, I’m going to kiss you right here, and you will most certainly be ruined and have to marry me.”
Biting down on her lip, she nodded eagerly. It had been all too clear, standing in front of Bernie, what her life was going to be like. With Alex, she had little idea, but she did not care. That was the excitement of it.
“I tried hard to be a gentleman and court you, you know.”
“I know.” She pulled him into her and pressed a swift kiss to his lips.
“What was that for?”
“I could have drowned, you know,” she replied with a grin.
“And now you have ruined me.”
“You had better ruin me back, I suppose.”
He gave a wicked grin. “That I can do.”
He took her face in his hands and pressed his lips to hers, his mouth warm and delicious against the coldness of the water. He kissed her until she could scarcely draw in a breath and the chill from the water had vanished.
Somewhere on the shoreline, she heard her sister let loose a whoop.
Epilogue
“You know she sent us here with exactly this in mind, do you not?” Adam lifted a glass of brandy to his lips and took a long, slow sip.
Leo rolled his eyes and leaned back in the armchair. “He’s been saying this for months now.”
Alex shrugged and finished the last drop of his own brandy and then masked a yawn with the back of a hand. The hour was late, the drawing room lit by lamplight that suffused the masculine smoking room with a warm glow. Despite the fact they were heading into the height of summer, rain pattered against the windowpane. “It’s probably true.”
Leo shook his head. “Yes, but he does not need to be so smug about it.”
“One married and another in two days’ time,” Adam mused. “I expected it from you, Leo, the moment Rebecca set foot in Langmere, but not you, Alex.”
Alex narrowed his gaze at his brother. “Do you have a problem with my pending marriage?”
He grinned. “Not one jot. Lucinda is a fine woman. But do not expect me to fall so readily. I have no intention of giving up my bachelor status anytime soon.”
“Even though you are still technically banished to Langmere?” Leo asked.
Adam gave a nonchalant shrug. “Unlike you two, I am entirely capable of finding entertainment that is not of the female persuasion.”
“That’s a lie. I cannot recall that last time you were without a woman,” Leo said.
Lifting his chin, Adam’s smile grew more arrogant and he held up two fingers. “Two months and counting.”
“Well, enjoy it while it lasts.” Alex set his glass down on the tray beside him and rose. “Mother arrives
for the wedding tomorrow, so I think I need a full night’s sleep before I deal with her.”
“If she’s anything like she was with Leo’s wedding, you will have your hands full.” Adam lifted his glass in salute. “I have never seen her more excited. Which means I am entirely correct, and she planned this whole thing all along.”
Alex would not deny it. It seemed likely at this point that their mother had persuaded them to come to Langmere with the express intention of throwing them into the paths of young, eligible ladies. Not that he minded. If she had not begged him to come here, he would not be marrying Lucy.
“It will not be long before you fall too,” Alex warned Adam.
He snorted. “Never. It has not happened before now, and it will not happen anytime soon. Besides, with any luck this Miss Kingsley stuff will be solved before long and I shall be returning to Town whilst the two of you pretend to be country gentlemen.”
Leo rose. “I had better return to Rebecca before it gets too late.” He looked at Alex. “I’ll be mightily glad when the house is finished, and I do not have to listen to this one’s smug diatribes.” He gestured to Adam with a grin.
“You should be used to it, you know. I’m always right,” their brother piped up.
Alex let his lips curve but ignored the taunt from his brother. “Good night, gentlemen.”
He made his way upstairs, chuckling to himself as Leo waded into an argument about who was right more often. If Alex was to put money on it, it would be Adam, though it would be a close call indeed. If their mother had intended for them to find matches, two out of three was a fine achievement indeed.
Leo had wed Rebecca not four weeks ago and Alex frankly envied him. The sooner he wed Lucy the better, but he’d done his best to take things slowly, ensure he courted her properly, despite insistence from everyone that they should rush the wedding given their most scandalous public kiss.
He grinned to himself as he opened the door to his bedroom and shut it behind him. Not long and she would finally be all his.
A bath had been prepared for him, reaching curling fingers of steam toward him. He ignored the bell pull, opting to undress himself and sank gratefully into the copper bath, running hands over his face and through his hair and then sinking back and closing his eyes.
Yes, not long until Lucy was his wife, though he had no regrets really about the courting. It had allowed him to take her to all the sights of Langmere and watch as her face glowed with excitement at every new discovery. Once she was his marchioness, life would be busy indeed, so he could not regret such time together.
Though, he did have every intention of visiting as many castles as they could on their honeymoon. He’d yet to tell her of his intention but he hoped she would like the surprise.
“Alex?”
“Bloody hell.” His heart near jumped into his throat and he cupped his hands instinctively over his crotch area as he opened his eyes and straightened. “Lucy, what the devil are you doing here?”
She gave a shy smile, hands clasped in front of her. “Rebecca helped me sneak in.”
He cast his gaze up to the ceiling. Of course she did. Leo’s wife had a wealth of experience sneaking around his house after all.
“And why, pray tell, did she sneak you in?”
Lucy took a few steps toward the bath then paused, her cheeks flushed bright red. He saw her throat work as she cast her gaze down the length of him.
“As you know, my mother was insisting on a quick wedding, considering you kissed me in front of the entire population of Langmere.”
“You kissed me,” he pointed out.
“A tiny peck. You kissed me properly.” She waved a hand. “Anyway, my point is, despite my mother’s insistence, you were determined to be as gentlemanly as possible and give me time.” Her lips curled. “I have appreciated that time so very much.” She closed the gap between her and the bath and kneeled beside it.
Alex had to clamp his teeth together to maintain some sense of control. Only two more days until she was his wife. He could survive until then, surely? But why did she have to look so blasted pretty, with her curls so red in the lamplight, and her cheeks perfectly rosy and that wide mouth infinitely kissable?
Even the gown, with its tightly pulled fichu, made every inch of him heat. He swore his body temperature would set the water to boiling before long. Somehow, he adored those high necklines now. Lucy might have been keen to set aside the rigid, cautious woman she had been, but he appreciated that she would always remind him of the woman he’d first set eyes upon.
“I only want you to be happy,” he managed to say, aware his voice sounded strangled.
Which it was. Her proximity was making every part of his body pound and it would not be long before she glanced down and realized that.
“I am happy.” Her smile broadened. “Happier than I have ever been. However—”
He straightened in the bath a little. “However?”
“I should like to start our lives off on the right note.”
He scowled. “Lucy?”
She lifted a hand and tentatively ran it over the damp skin of his chest. He closed his eyes briefly and sucked in a sharp breath. Only Lucy could make him feel this way with a mere touch.
“I wish to be scandalous, Alex.”
∞∞∞
LUCINDA COULD SCARCELY believe she had managed to utter the words. Although having Alex naked and wet before her helped a great deal. These past months of courting had been wonderful and had allowed her mother time to get over her disapproval of this man.
Her father already liked him, most likely because he knew Lucy would be taken care of, but whilst she appreciated the time given to slowly rediscover the old Lucinda—the one only brought to the surface by Alex—she was tired of the formality of their arrangement. She needed to be with him. Alone. And properly.
Or improperly, perhaps.
His eyes darkened and a few beats of silence passed, accompanied by only the slight slosh of water. “You understand what you are saying, Lucy?”
She bit down on her bottom lip and nodded.
“I have tried exceedingly hard to be a proper gentleman,” he said. “You test me right now.”
“Good.”
He shook his head, his lips slanting. “Will you ever fail to surprise me?”
“I hope not. I hope our life will always be filled with adventure.”
“Oh, I know it will.”
He twisted in the bath and lifted a hand, giving her the briefest glance of his body in all its glory before curving it around the back of her head to draw her close to kiss her.
Frankly, it was a miracle she had survived this long. His muscular body, all slick and spread out for her, had made her knees weak from the moment she set foot in the bedroom. She gasped at the contact of his mouth and closed her eyes, sinking deep into the kiss.
Rising onto her knees, she cupped his face and kissed him back urgently, pouring two months’ worth of desire into it. He twisted suddenly and, with a splash, she tumbled into the warm water.
“Oh.” She snapped open her eyes, finding herself on top of him with water up to her waist and lapping at her bodice. Water sloshed over the side.
Alex grinned wickedly. “If we’re going to be scandalous, we may as well do it properly.”
“In water?” she asked, eyes wide.
“That can be done but I do not think there’s enough room.”
“Then why—”
He lifted a shoulder. “You cannot blame me for wanting to get you wet for a third time.” His grin expanded. “It has been rather a large part of our relationship and, I have to tell you, you look rather fetching when soaked to the skin.”
She drew in a shuddery breath and smoothed her hands down his shoulders. “As do you.”
“There are other things we can do here, though.” He moved his hands down her waist, grabbed her hips and allowed her to feel the hard length of him against her.
“Goodness.”
Water spilled over the edge of the tub once more, but she could not bring herself to care. Alex’s jaw worked when she slid back and forth, his nostrils flaring slightly as though this movement was bringing him as much pleasure as it was her.
“This is...quite scandalous indeed...” she murmured.
“You should see it from my point of view.”
Lucinda imagined what he saw, her all wet, riding him with abandon, and her body pulsed. She loved that Alex revealed that side of her, that she could see herself as someone exciting and adventurous. There were times when the woman who feared scandal above all else still reared her head, but Alex never failed to aid her in seeing who she really was. It was hard to believe she had been willing to consign herself to a life of boredom with Bernie or even alone when this was at her fingertips.
“That’s it,” he urged when she picked up the pace.
Hot pleasure sizzled through her. She moved back and forth, creating great waves of water as her breaths came in pants. Gratification ran through her veins until the sensation built and she stilled, allowing it to crescendo through her. Eyes clenched tightly shut, she let the bliss lap over her, savoring each pulse until it ebbed. When she opened her eyes, she found Alex staring up at her as though she was the most beautiful, sensual being in the world.
“Out,” he ordered abruptly.
“I—”
“Get out of the bath,” he said tightly. “I need you on that bed right this second.”
“Oh.” She struggled to stand, her soggy skirts weighing her down.
“Damn it, woman, not quick enough.” Hands to her hips, he lifted her with him, his naked body aligned with hers. She might well have collapsed at the feel of him so close and so, so naked had he not been holding her.
He lifted her, hooked one arm under her legs and marched over to the bed, dropping her unceremoniously onto it.
“I’ll get the bed wet,” she protested.
“We’re being adventurous, remember?” He moved over her, and she dropped her head back against the pillow, any fight vanishing.
The Tempting of a Devilish Lord (The Lords of Scandal Row Book 2) Page 10