“Yes.” She looked down and plucked at the folds of her garment with one hand before finally lifting looking at him. Her eyes were dark with emotion.
He reached out to cup her cheek then gently lowered her head to rest against his shoulder. Her breath ruffled the mat of hair on his chest, and he inhaled deeply, struggling to keep a tight rein on his desires.
Finally, she sighed. “Your past is such a mystery to me. My childhood was blessed with love and parental affection. I was lucky enough to know the love of a sister whom I adored. Today you moved me to tears, and I must know more.”
“It is a sorry tale, darling.”
“Please tell me.”
Her breath stirred him again, and she lifted her hand to his chest as if were the most natural thing in the world. Relaxing into the plush chair, he sighed and held her tighter. “I could not escape from my father quickly enough after Mother died. As you know, I went to the Orient and made my fortune. A hefty one. I did not want to depend on my inheritance. I did not want anything from the man who had so abused my mother. I might still be in China if it were not for receiving a letter from his solicitor.”
“What did it say?”
“The letter said my father was dying.” Idly, Nicholas rubbed a hand over her shoulders and down her back. “I had to come. What a wasted sight he was, but I felt no pity for him. Lord help me, I hated the very sight of him. Every time I looked into those jaundiced eyes, I remembered how desperately my mother had called for him, cried for him. I had no pity left.”
“How awful for you.” Eliza looked into his eyes and placed a kiss upon his chin. “What happened?”
He drew in a breath, knowing he must come to the part that deeply concerned her. “He told me that he had changed his will. He wanted me married and settled. His only concern was not for me, but for the dukedom. The man was frantic that I wed and continue what he’d begun. Sorry bastard!”
“Why was this so hard for you? It only seems normal that a man do his duty.”
“Duty?” He made a rough sound. “All I had known of duty was positively nothing. Where was his duty to my mother? I vowed to live as I pleased without hurting anyone.”
Eliza stiffened against him. “There have been tales.”
“Yes, I know of my reputation. Womanizer. Rogue. Scoundrel.” He laughed grimly, knowing how horrible he must seem to her. “Yes, I have had many women, but loved none of them. You must believe, darling, that I never loved them. They wanted sex just as I did. Sex became, I think, almost an addiction, but I never preyed on young innocents. From my mother, I had firsthand knowledge of the pain love could bring and wanted no part of it.”
She sat utterly still, and he worried that he’d said too much. “Attachments were something I vowed to avoid, so I hardened myself to anything but the easiest of affections. Perhaps those careless meetings with women reminded me that I was human and not a machine like my father.
“Yes, I was the greatest fool ever born. I came to think that love was nothing but a figment of my mother’s imagination. Everything about my life after Mother’s death felt hollow, unreal. I was bitter, I know. But I knew that if I did not honor my father’s will, Park would inherit.”
“Would that be so wrong?” Tension laced Eliza’s voice. “You already possess a fortune, more than most Peers of the Realm. You did not have to honor the will.”
“I did,” he said with the utmost assurance. “Park is an imbecile who would have bankrupted the estates as quickly as possible. You have met the people here. They are honest, hard-working folk who must depend on their lord. I have seven other estates just like this one.”
“I understand. My father is also responsible for many people, so I comprehend your feelings of obligation. The night of the soiree, Park told me horrid things about you.” She looked at him. Her brows knitted.
Nicholas pressed a kiss to her forehead. “He obviously did not want us to marry. If I was not married by my birthday, the estates and title, the entire fortune would revert to him. He is more clever than I thought. He knew I courted you and he sought to destroy everything.”
“Things seem so much clearer.”
“These people you met today would have suffered grievously had he inherited the title, Eliza. Surely you understand?”
Drawing away slightly, she looked into his eyes and cocked her head. “Yes, I understand now, but why did you choose me?”
He flashed a grin. “Ah, love, how could I not? It was because you were the most beautiful.” She took an outraged breath, but he laughed and shushed her with a finger over her lips. “Let me tell you what I saw that night,” he said, turning solemn. “That night you were a vision. Cool, aloof, reserved, and the most beautiful woman I had ever set my eyes upon.”
She opened her mouth, but once again he hushed her. Leaning close, he breathed against her lips. “Everything about you set my senses reeling, sweet one. There was vulnerability beneath your haughty airs, and you cannot deny it. I knew. I knew that you would fit neatly into my arms. Life would never be dull with you there snarling at me.” He laughed and pressed her closer. “I did not know your name, but I knew I must have you.”
“That is silly in the extreme,” she said with a sniff. He saw the uncertainty in her eyes and laughed out loud.
By God, he was winning!
He could feel it in her relaxed posture. See it in the slight smile she fought to hide.
“Edward came upon the scene, and I fought hard not to punch him in the mouth. Already I admired you, but then he came forward and taunted you. I could not bear it and I freely confess I wanted to kill the man for his attack. You were like a Valkyrie. Strong, undaunted, you faced him like a warrior. I was quite impressed.” He laughed as Eliza melted against him.
“From that moment, I knew I must have you.” He settled his hand upon her thigh. “You enchanted me.”
“I did?”
Her words were so sweet, so childlike, moving him to a softness he’d never felt before. “You still do.”
She drew back a bit and frowned. “Tell me about this bet between you and Lord Darlington.”
Nicholas felt his face heat and prayed she did not see. “Foolish. It was the most stupid thing I’ve ever done.”
“Why did you do it?”
“Stephen is my half-brother.”
She gasped.
“It is true. My father dallied with his mother, Beatrice. You remember her?”
“Oh, my. I had no idea.”
“Stephen is unacknowledged, of course. Though, I would claim him in a second. We were childhood friends.”
“Would this not hurt his reputation? Already, he is a lord.”
“But, he could be more.”
“Yes. Does he want more?”
“I do not think so. He only wants to maintain his estate and live in comfort.”
She gave him a questioning look. Such a determined creature!
Nicholas sighed. “Would that I could call back everything, he would be my brother. It is my belief that Beatrice was bitter that I ranked higher. I believe she poisoned his mind against me.”
“You were friends before.”
“Yes, we were, yet as we grew older people began to remark upon our similarities. The truth became impossible to ignore. We knew that we were brothers, but then, animosity came. Everything was a competition.”
He pulled her closer and sighed deeply. He wanted her to understand, to forgive. “The night I met you, he was searching for a bride, as well.”
“He was?”
“Yes. He’d set his sights upon you, and I was furious. I wanted you for myself. He challenged me at every turn. I was childish, Eliza. Very childish. I let myself be goaded into a ridiculous bet, but you were not some weak-willed woman to be manipulated. I soon learned that.”
She straightened. “The two of you talked about me?”
He shrugged. “What can I say? We did. We talked about you like men talk about women. We sang odes to your breasts, your thighs—”
>
“Enough! You are becoming ridiculous.”
A mischievous light danced in her eyes. His humor was working. He smiled and ran his finger over her sweet lips. “We are competitive. He offered a challenge and in a fit of temper, I accepted. I was a beast. I felt a sense of competition with my brother and fell deep into a pile of—”
“I understand,” she said quickly.
“Do you?” He leaned closer and touched his lips to her forehead. “I was a fool to take you as a woman who’d allow men to bet over her. It was demeaning to you and I apologize. Stephen’s taunts did me in, and I succumbed like a juvenile. Please forgive me, love. I had to marry; I had to choose you.”
She lay quietly in his arms and a stillness settled over them as the fire continued its crackling, giving meager light in the darkness. Then, she popped up again to gaze at him in sudden surprise. “An Li!”
“What? What about An Li?”
“Do you not see? She is in love with him. He is in love with her.”
Shaking his head, Nicholas stared at her. “What on earth are you talking about? An Li has gone to live at Charlotte House and is extremely happy.”
“No. She is not.”
He frowned, completely at sea. “How do you know?”
She relayed what she knew, including snippets of conversation between An Li and Stephen.
“So my brother has found love,” he said, smiling.
Eliza frowned. “I would not be so sure. Things seemed rather strained between them.”
He looked at her and shook his head. “We have trouble enough of our own, do we not?”
“Do we? Have trouble?” Her innocent question, the sweet questing tone of it, unmanned him.
“I love you, sweeting. I have adored you almost from the beginning. Why have I waited so long to tell you?” He took her shoulders in his hands, felt the tremble overtake her.
“Do you mean it? Or is this another jest at my expense?”
He stared into her eyes. His hands trailed the column of her throat to capture her jaw. “I love you. I have had women, but it is with you that I want to grow old. Today when I saw you with the baby, I had the most miraculous hopes. Wishes. Dreams. In the beginning, it was all a game, but I fell in love. Love, my sweet, changes everything. I offer you my heart, my soul. Will you take it?”
She stilled. Her eyes were wide as she stared at him without speaking. Moments ticked by until defeat wound itself around his heart. He’d pushed too hard. Revealed too much. He’d lost her. Stricken, he released a breath and struggled to hide his despair.
Then she smiled a siren’s smile and moved from his lap to stand before him. His heart nearly stopped beating as breathless anticipation soared through him.
“Come,” she whispered, reaching for his hand. He let her draw him from the chair until he stood before her.
Softly, she touched her fingers to his face, his throat. He groaned as she burrowed her face against his chest, her hot breath teasing him mercilessly. The tie at his waist was loosened by busy fingers. Heaven! Her touch was heaven! His body readied itself for her as she brushed the dressing gown from his body. It fell to the floor.
“Mine. All mine,” she whispered in a rush of words. “No other shall touch you.”
“Never.” His relief was so great that he shuddered with it. “Touch me. Please touch me.”
“Heavens yes.” She laughed with an elation that was contagious. Happiness, a sense of completion, filled him at the sound of her gaiety. Her touch on his torso seared him.
“Tell me that you belong only to me,” she murmured against his flesh.
“I do, oh, God, I do. No other woman can fulfill me.”
“Promise?” She laughed wickedly. “I am extremely jealous of all your experience.”
He groaned and pulled her closer. Her mouth settled over his ribs, and he gasped. “You shall receive all the benefit of that experience, love.”
“Yes, that is good! Teach me more, Nicholas. Show me in word and in deed how much you love me, and I might tell you the same.”
“Might?” He wanted to tease, to enjoy her intelligence, but his need was great. Slowly, he sucked in a breath as she lowered her lips. No part of him was left untouched. Her Tongue flicked out to tease his nipples, and her fingers lingeringly plundered the hair on his chest.
“Yes,” he murmured as his body clenched.
For a virtually untutored woman, her touch was as brazen as any courtesan’s. Her hands swept his ribs then returned to linger. When her hot mouth followed, his blood roared in his head. Before he could think to stop her, she dropped to her knees before him.
“Magnificent, my lord.” Her hands began an intimate study of his thighs, the calves of his legs. Her breath fell on his erection and he looked down at her.
From her subservient position, she returned his stare, but there was nothing submissive in her expression. Her unbound hair brushed his throbbing hardness, and when he sucked in a breath, she smiled and rubbed against him like a kitten. Only a blind fool could fail to note the aura of empowerment glowing on her face. It must be a heady thing for her to realize the hold she wielded over his body.
When she took the heavy head of his erection into her mouth, he groaned. He plowed his fingers into her silky hair and lost himself in the hot depths of her mouth. Her fingers discovered the hard, swollen sacs and plied them as she continued to pleasure him.
Nothing had ever felt so good.
His head fell back as pleasure seared him. He gripped her hair, the heat of her mouth a threat to his composure. All would be lost if she continued, so with great difficultly he looked down and murmured, “Enough, darling. Enough.”
“But why?” she whispered. Her lips were berry red, moist and tempting as the devil. “Did I not do it correctly?”
He laughed. “You do it too well, darling, but I would last for you. That lovely mouth of yours will be my undoing.”
Nicholas drew her to her feet and lifted her in his arms. When they were beside the bed, he released her and stripped the flimsy garment from her body. He tossed it aside. Everything within him clenched with desire as she stood tall and proud before him. His hands itched to touch; his mouth watered at the sight of all that glorious warm skin. She made him hungry for a taste.
When she reached for him, his mind reeled. Never in a million years had he thought to reach her so quickly. Swimming in love, he evaded her questing hands, drew her to the edge of the bed, and laid her upon it. Desperate to convey his feelings, he made love to her with his mouth. She smelled of lavender and the faint perfume that he only associated with her. Sweet. Spicy. All consuming. When the climax tore through her, she sobbed wildly, and he wanted to weep with her.
In the aftermath, he drew her deeper onto the bed and settled her among the pillows. He cuddled her close. Kisses rained over her perfect nose, her cheeks, and her eyelids, damp with tears. Gently, he nipped her jaw and throat. He took a nipple into his mouth and trailed his hand down the smooth planes of her body. His fingers found her wet and swollen with need. She writhed beneath him. Her legs parted in welcome. His lower body brushed her hip. He pulsed, ached, and needed her so much that he knew he’d die if he did not have her now.
Whispering words of encouragement, he gently turned her onto her belly and moved behind her, between her spread legs. She made a soft sound of confusion. “Shh, sweeting. Trust me,” he breathed against her shoulder. “I love you, Eliza. More than life. I want to feel you deeply, completely.”
Taking a moment, he caressed her naked back, her shoulders. He tasted the sweet indentation of her spine and the darling dimples at it’s base. The firm globes of her buttocks were delight that he sampled with his mouth and hands.
Eliza wriggled beneath him, making him smile.
Taking a pillow, he drew it beneath her belly. With a hand beneath her knee, he lifted it to the side and penetrated her slowly from behind. Her gasp of excitement motivated him to follow the will of her body.
“You are so tight. So perfect,” he said. Burying his face against her neck, he rocked slowly. Moving a slight increment, he pushed deeper against a spot that caused her to cry out.
It was wonderful, he thought, as he drove himself within her. Eliza arched beautifully to meet him, moving back frantically to take him as deeply as possible. He brushed her womb then and knew he’d died, gone to heaven, or maybe it was hell. Reaching down, he took the tender nub of her sex between a thumb and forefinger. Gently plying it, he felt her quiver. He heard her moan.
“Yes, that’s it,” he murmured. She arched against him as he lightly took her nape with his teeth.
Releasing the spot, he laved it to soothe. “Come for me. Now.” His breath came harsh, and he made a rough sound as she clenched around him. “Tell me, Eliza. Tell me. I shall die if you do not give me the words.”
“I love you!” she whispered at the pinnacle of her orgasm. The words reverberated over and over again, her tremulous cry streaming through him until he gritted his teeth and fell over the edge with her.
Sated, breathing roughly, he relaxed atop her and stroked her body as it trembled beneath him. A deep satisfaction filled him as he moved to the side and drew her close.
She sighed then daringly looped her leg over his thigh to cuddle close. He smiled with uninhibited emotion. She was his, really and truly his. Closing his eyes, reeling with the long-awaited pleasure she’d afforded him, his thoughts turned to the future they would share. Children, love, laughter. Selfishly, he wanted perfection.
Unbidden, a nibble of fear tore through the edge of his happiness. A crack of lightning rent the sky outside as if a portent of danger. Helpless to explain his sudden worry, he shivered and drew her closer. Slowly, beautifully, she opened her eyes as the lightning sounded again, illuminating her pale body lying in his arms. Still yearning, needing to be inside her for all eternity, he drew her closer and pushed inside her again.
The ominous feeling of danger didn’t dissipate and a deep desperation filled him. “Say it again,” he softly demanded, as he began to move to her gentle words.
And through the night and the storm’s fury, he said the words as well, and together they branded the phrase upon their hearts. I love you. I love you. I love you.
Silk and Scandal Page 24