Chapter 20
How had they gotten so far from the truth? Tom didn’t know how it had happened but he wanted to pull them back to reality before it was too late. The last few moments had made it clear his belief in her indifference was untrue. Maybe she was lonely and wanted attention, but if that was the case she could have found comfort with Anthony Braighton. He liked Sophia’s brother, but killing him was not out of the question. “Can you answer my original question before this goes any further?”
Wide-eyed, she searched the fire as if she might find the question there. She gasped. “I am not in love with Anthony Braighton. It is an absurd question.”
“Is it?”
“Yes, Tom, it is.” She crossed her arms, pushing her breasts up until they almost breached the lace trim of her chemise. Her hair hung around her shoulders, picking up the flicker of firelight.
His mouth watered at the sight of her. Still, he had to know. “Why? Why is it absurd?”
Rolling her eyes, she harrumphed. “Because I am in love with you.”
The air evacuated the room. Perhaps the world was coming to an end. It could be he was dying. If that was the case, he would die contented. Tom’s lungs ached and his hands shook so hard he fisted them to keep control. “Are you?”
“Yes,” she whispered. Lovely in every way, she blushed the most charming pink from the part in her hair down to where her golden skin dipped beneath the cream fabric. “I love you.”
“You are certain of this?” Maybe none of the rest mattered. They could begin from this night in the music parlor of an unused cottage and forget everything that had come before.
Leaning forward, she took his hand and kissed his fingers. “I have never been more certain of anything. Leaving you was the most difficult thing, but being apart from you broke my heart. I have never felt anything like it in my life. Every day I thought, this will pass, but it grew worse by the day and night. I longed to hear your thoughts. Teach you to play the harp. Learn how to be a wife to you. Discover new music together. I missed your input when I play and all I could write were dirges, which sent the house into tears, and me as well.”
He should pull her into his lap and kiss every inch of her flesh until they were both sated and exhausted. Let Jane find them in the morning naked in front of the hearth. He wouldn’t care. However, the misinformation standing between them gave him pause. They couldn’t pretend the past had not happened. Too many things drove them apart. “May I set the records straight, Dory?”
She nodded and brushed her cheek along the back of his hand.
Skin as soft as a rose petal. Lord, it was painful not to touch her. “I have loved you for years. First, I loved you because you played like an angel sent from heaven and I could not resist your talent. When I knew you better, my love spread beyond the music room. You were above me in station, so I had resigned myself to never having you. When you came with your proposal, my heart reeled at the idea.”
“You said no, if I recall.” Letting go of his hand left a gaping hole between them.
“You were still above me, and more than that, you only wanted to marry me to escape Hartly. I knew a relationship would suffer because I was the only one who had any emotion invested. I was afraid loving you would destroy me.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but he held up his hand.
“If I may.”
She frowned, but nodded as she frayed the bottom of her chemise.
“With all my doubts, I could not allow Hartly to have you. It was too horrible a thought. Things were good at first and I let my hope outstep my good sense. Then I heard what you said to Elinor and it scared me to have left myself so open to the pain you could inflict with so little effort. I closed myself off and for that, I apologize. If I had made my presence known immediately, we could have talked the matter over.”
She tugged the fabric, causing a tear. “Why did you accept the duel with my father?”
Rescuing her garment, he pulled her into his lap and took her hands in his. In part the position kept his hands from wandering all over her luscious body. “He challenged me in public. There was little I could do without becoming a joke among the ton. Still, killing him was not an option. I could not kill your father. Despite your strained relationship with him, I knew you would never forgive the man who killed him. My plan was sound. You would inherit my estate and never have to rely on your family to survive again.”
“I am glad you survived.”
“As am I. If he had been sober, it might have been a different outcome.” He plucked at the lace along her shoulder and kissed her warm skin.
Resting her head on his shoulder, he was intoxicated by the scent of lavender. “So you would have died all because of me.” Her tears dripped on his hand.
“I would die for you but it would not have been because of you, love. You are not responsible for the acts of your father or that ass Hartly. You are innocent of blame and I never thought otherwise.”
“But what Michael said?” Her grip on his hands tightened.
“Michael told you the truth, but that does not mean I put a higher value on my finances than our marriage. I would lose a hundred fortunes to keep you in my life.” He pressed his lips to her temple.
“But what about your farming plans and the country estate? You must be upset about that. I heard a land deal fell through. I know you had hopes for a new farming process.”
Taking her by the shoulders, he turned her to face him, which landed them both on their knees. “If I lost a few pounds over the duel, so be it. Still, it was not your doing. I am very wealthy, Dory. Deals fall through all the time. Another piece of property will avail itself when the time is right. None of those things matter if I lose you. When you said we would be better off living separate lives, you tore my heart out. That is the only part of this that was your doing and I see now it all came from misinformation and lack of communication.”
“I was a fool.” She stared at the green and brown rug and wouldn’t meet his gaze.
“We were both fools. I would like to make a bargain with you, sweetheart.”
Her eyes were gleaming green pools he longed to drown in.
“No more hiding the truth. No more hoping the other will say or do something to make us believe they love us. I love you. Do you believe me?”
“I do. I love you, too.” Her breath came in short bursts, lifting her breasts in the most alluring way.
“I never thought any four words could make me so happy. From here forward we can have anything we want, Dorothea Flammel.”
She cocked her head. “That is not my name.”
“Dorothea Wheel.” If a man could die from happiness, Tom was closing in on his demise.
Leaning forward, she kissed his jaw. “Would you be shocked if I suggested we make love right here on the rug, Tom?”
Already aroused, he came to full attention. “I am shocked.” He pulled her close and kissed her. “But since I’d never make it up the steps in my current condition, I am also relieved.”
She giggled. Her lips softened under his and she opened for him, welcoming his tongue inside and sighing against his mouth. “No more hiding and no more running away.”
He quivered from the kiss. A million nightmares of a life without Dory washed away with the touch of lips. Her breath mingling with his was the elixir bringing him back life. Surviving the last few months had all been worth it to kiss her again. He knew he could never let her go. No more separations. “I cannot be without you,” he mumbled against her neck.
“You shall never have to be.” She released his blouse from his trousers and caressed his back.
On fire, he pressed her to the rug, intent on making up for months of separation.
She trembled beneath him.
“Are you cold?”
“No.”
“Afraid?” He hated that she
might be afraid of him or lovemaking.
“Not in the way you think.”
“Why are you shaking?” Soft as satin, her skin shuddered beneath his fingers as he tried to caress away whatever caused the shudders.
Reaching up, she brushed the hair out of his eyes. “I have never wanted anything as I want you right now. Not company, not love, not music, nothing has ever been more urgent than the way I need you. That is both terrifying and wonderful.”
The passion in her voice struck to the heart of him. “I understand.”
“You will not make me wait, will you, Tom?”
In his head, he wanted to go slow and savor this moment. Other parts of him couldn’t be as patient. He released her, stood, and stripped out of his clothes.
She scanned his body from head to toe. A warm blush bloomed over her entire body.
Wherever she gazed caught fire until he could bear it no longer. He knelt between her legs. “I will not make you wait because I am not capable of holding back.”
Lying on top of her, he eased forward until his shaft pressed inside her. Pure heaven encased him as he waited for her body to stretch.
Gasping, she gripped his shoulders.
Nothing would ever be so perfect again. He eased back, intent on slowing things down and seeing to her pleasure first.
Dory wrapped legs around his hips and pulled him inside for a quick thrust. Crying out, she threw her head back and tipped her hips to bring him deeper.
Lost, nothing could stop him. He thrust deeper and faster until the world and everything in it exploded.
Her body quivered around him and she shuddered out her pleasure.
His own rapture blinded him to hers. “We shall have to do that again, my love.”
Idly, she traced her fingers up and down his back. She lifted her hips. “Will we?”
Needing a few minutes, he groaned, but let the pleasure wash over him. “I forgot to open my eyes and watch as you found pleasure. I love to watch you.”
Eyes closed, she smiled sweetly. “I can deny you nothing.”
* * * *
Sweat glistened on her skin and he kissed her shoulder. For Tom, only one thing could make the night better. “Will you play for me?”
She rolled to face him. Gloriously naked, her hair a mass of tangles around her heart-shaped face, she’d never been more beautiful. Her smile lit the room. “It will be dawn soon.”
“We only have two servants here. No one will look for us, and I will lock the door if you will play for me as you are.” The notion had him fully aroused.
“Are we exchanging wishes?” A serious tone fell over her question.
Propping himself up on one elbow. “What do you wish, love? If it is in my power, you can have anything.”
“I want to go to Kent and meet your mother.”
Nothing could have brought him more joy or surprised him more. She did not want a house or a new harp. She wanted to be part of his family. “As soon as we are free to leave, we will go see my mother. She will love you as much as I do.”
Catlike she stretched along the rug. Golden and delicious, she pulled herself up in a languid motion.
His mouth watered and his body burned for more of what he should have already satisfied. Did she know what she did to him? Watching her cross to the instrument, he banked the fire. The room had become stuffy. In part to open the window and in part to be close to her, he followed her.
The morning air lifted the room even though he kept the curtains closed.
Full breasts exposed and her nipples tight from the breeze, she placed her hands on the keys.
Tom forced his breath out as he leaned against the pianoforte and let the first strains of Handel flow through him. He hoped he lived to be an ancient man and woke every morning to the sights and sounds before him. They would be old and wrinkled, but he would adore watching her play and making love to her until they left the earth.
Her body, the music, the quiet of dawn. Perfection.
She played the last note, her eyes full with passion as the tone resounded off the walls. “Thank you,” she said.
“What can you possibly be thanking me for?” His heart had lodged in his throat. In spite of the large music room in his London home, he was considering putting an exact replica of that one in the back parlor.
“For agreeing to let me meet your mother, and loving my music and understanding it. Mostly, for loving me despite my mistakes.”
He wiped the tear that escaped her eye and kissed the moisture from his thumb. He longed to be a part of her happiness. “If you knew how happy I am that you want to meet her, you would not say it. Your music is a gift from God and I would be a fool not to understand and love it. We have both made mistakes, Dory. I dare say we will make more before long, but we shall make them together from now on.” The stool was too small for two. Tom brought a chair over and sat next to her.
“I love this room.” She trilled out a few randomly beautiful notes and then a chord.
He placed his hands alongside hers and played a third creating harmony. “I was thinking we should put a parlor just like this in the London house.”
“We already have a very nice music room in London.” She began the Sonata for Piano for four hands.
Elation shot through him as if he’d been set on fire by the idea she wished to play a duet with him. He joined her in the music. “Can we put a pianoforte in the bedroom?”
“It would have to be a small one.” She emphasized the next stanza more than it was written in the score.
Loving someone so much would be more wonderful than he expected. She could tear him apart with a word. He trusted she never would. “I shall see if Michael would like to sell this fine instrument. I quite love the tone.”
Her smile was worth the fleecing Michael would give him for the sale. She gentled her play. “Until I married you, I had never written a piece for four hands.”
“It shall be a fun endeavor for us to take on.”
* * * *
Two days later, Tom and Dory were walking the property when three carriages paraded down the drive. Tom gripped her hand tighter and she returned the squeeze. Regretting the end of their short holiday would not keep the carriages at bay. “It would seem our rescue is at hand.”
She sighed and kicked the gravel path. “A shame.”
Lifting her hand to his lips, he gave a squeeze then kissed her fingers. “I agree, yet it will not keep me from giving our friends a sound talking to. They had no right to trap us here.”
“If they had not, we might never have spoken and worked out our differences.”
He stepped in front and faced her. “It might have taken longer, love, but I believe you and I would have found our way back to each other.”
She closed the gap between them and brushed dust off his jacket. “I am glad we did not waste any more time.”
Dreams of growing old with Dory warmed him as much as she had warmed his bed. They had started writing a promising duet for pianoforte and put the music room to good use in other ways as well. “I would not trade a moment of the last two days.”
The carriages stopped near the front door. Daniel and Sophia hopped down from the first and Michael and Elinor from the second. The third carriage was his own, and he narrowed his eyes at Mally atop the driver’s seat.
Mally did not make eye contact.
Daniel grinned like an idiot. “Do not blame poor Mally, Tom. He had his orders and I made serious threats to get him to comply.”
Swept away into the house by Sophia and Elinor, he missed Dory next to him more than was healthy. She had become as important as air to him. He forced a deep breath. “Fine, then I shall take up my complaint with you two. How dare you trap me here with no means of getting away.”
A cool breeze rustled through the trees. Autumn had arrived a
nd winter would not be far behind. Tom dreamed of warm fires and fur throws with Dory wrapped in his arms. It was difficult to remain angry with his friends while entertaining such thoughts.
Michael slapped him on the back. “You could have walked to town.”
“Dorothea could not have traversed that distance and you know it.”
Walking toward the front steps of the cottage, Daniel said, “You could have left her here and gone about making your way home.”
“It isn’t as if you had no options.” Michael followed Daniel. “Your health has returned. You had the means to leave.”
It had been a beautiful day for a walk when he’d asked Dory to join him. Dark clouds blew in on the cool wind. “You know full well I could not leave my wife here with no protection. An assistant cook of perhaps sixteen years and a kitchen boy are not ample staff for a lady. But you both knew that and know me well enough to recognize I would not leave her. This was all carefully planned and I will have my say about it.”
Daniel turned at the top step and fisted his hands on his hips. “Have your say, then. I regret nothing. You were both acting like children and someone had to put a stop to the stupidity. So, your friends conspired to trap you with the one woman who can make you happy. Oh, and she happens to be your wife.”
“You had no right to interfere.” It was a weak argument. Tom had never been happier in his life, making it difficult to drum up any real wrath.
Michael climbed the steps. “You gave us little choice, Tom. Someone had to get the two of you in the same room. Besides, from the way you were looking at Dory when we rolled up, I’d say things have worked out for the best.”
“The outcome does not justify the means. Do not interfere with my life again.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow. “As long as you do not act the ass, we will mind our own business. Beyond that, I make you no promises.”
It was too funny not to laugh. He and Dory had behaved like idiots. They’d made assumptions and avoided subjects, which undid any good between them. It was their inability to communicate that had landed them in trouble. “Fair enough. Since I have no intention of ever allowing my wife to journey more than one hundred feet away from me, I should be safe from your trickery.”
Desperate Bride Page 23