Taking a breath, he considered waving his friend off but another opinion might do him some good. “She fancies soldiers, because she thinks they are heroes but she had fallen in and out of love with several. I am afraid her attention may wander to a new interest after a time.”
Chris cocked his head, considering him with a sidelong glance. “When you were Rose’s age, how many ladies did you fancy?”
Alex paused. Chris was right. He had fancied many. “I see your point. It does not mean she will never commit to one man. But how am I to know that I will be the one that she does commit to. With the circumstances as they are, it has not given her much time to decide.”
“Trust is difficult and not something I have personally excelled at. I have little advice for you there other than to say that you must try.”
Sighing, Alex gave a single nod to his friend. “My sincere thanks.”
Giving a nod, Chris took the now sealed letter and placed it in his breast pocket. “I will return as quickly as I can with an answer.”
Alex raked his hand through his hair as he watched his friend leave. He should change, bathe, and eat but he found himself drawn toward the study where Rose sat with her father.
Still undecided, he stepped into the hall and turned towards the study. He knocked softly and then pushed open the door. The earl was sleeping, looking content at least, but his was pale and his skin slightly sunken. Rose sat next to him, tension marking the lines of her body. He moved towards her and her head snapped up. Pain drew down the corners of her eyes and his heart jumped in his throat. He would do anything to ease her suffering.
“He looks terrible,” she whispered.
Alex couldn’t help himself. He drew her into his arms, holding her close and resting his cheek on the top of her head. “He doesn’t have a fever. That’s a really good sign that there is no infection. Take heart.”
“You will help bring Carl to justice, won’t you? I know this is my fault and I’ve no right to ask you to correct my wrongs but I can’t do it on my own.”
“Rose, you’ve done nothing wrong. How could you possibly have known? And you’ve every right to ask the man who is to be your husband to aid you. Let’s go have a quick breakfast. It will all be better with a full stomach.”
She gave a nod and slipped her hand through his. Alex knew that he must avenge her father and perhaps then, he would gain her heart.
TAMING A DUKE’S WILD ROSE
CHAPTER EIGHT
Rose sat next to her father the entire day. He woke a few times and she even managed to get him to drink a little broth. Dr. Adams was optimistic about her father’s chances for a recovery. But it left her long hours to consider a great many things.
First, what it was she might really want to do if she were alone in this world. After her mother’s passing, she had dreamed of a hero who would rescue her from sorrow. But here and now was Alex, a man who had actually kept her safe, a man whose kisses set her on fire.
But a rescuer was a foolish notion, for little girls, and holding on to it had cost her greatly. It may have even cost her father’s life. She had agreed to marry Alex for her father’s sake but she couldn’t go into it thinking that Alex was going to save her from suffering. It was time to be an adult.
In practical terms, what did that mean? They would marry but, somehow, it was important that she be realistic in her expectations.
She stood and moved to the window. It was a grey, cool day that whispered of the coming fall. She shivered and pulled her shawl tighter around herself. As she moved, two figures caught her attention. Fear trickled down her back. Was Carl skulking around the grounds? But upon closer inspection, she realized it was Alex, now in riding attire, speaking to his soldier friend.
Their heads were bent together, shoulders slumped in a conspiratorial way. The day had been arduous, simply from being so still. Her nerves jumped under her skin and, without thought, she set off for the door. It would do her good to get a little exercise and if, by chance, she overheard a little of their conversation, then how could she help that?
As she moved past the kitchen, her guards fell in behind her. The corners of her mouth pinched, but she kept moving. Alex had most certainly ordered that her guard remain for her safety, and she would abide it, but she tired of their presence. Opening the door, she lifted her skirts to keep them dry and moved as swiftly as she could across the lawn. Snippets of their conversation began to float towards her.
“Rumor is he’s a spy,” Chris’s deep voice floated down the lawn towards her. Her heart began thumping in her chest. How could she have loved a man who could be a spy? But then, when did she ever make sound decisions of the heart?
“…Launch formal investigation,” Rose just managed to hear Alex’s words.
“Careful, we don’t want another slice on your face.” Their voices became clearer.
“My face be damned. I’m far more worried about Rose’s well―” Alex’s voice abruptly stopped as Chris noticed her and gave his friend a jab to the arm.
Alex turned to her, a full scowl on his face. Stopping short, she pressed her lips together. She was eavesdropping again. She would like to say she hadn’t meant to but she, in fact, had. Alex would try to protect her and she wanted to know. This was her fault and she didn’t want to be sheltered.
“Rose, you shouldn’t be out here. It’s best you don’t know. How are you able to move so silently?” Alex stepped between her and Chris, still scowling.
“I am a lady, we always move gracefully. And you are correct that I shouldn’t be out here. It was a private conversation. But you are incorrect in assuming that it is best I don’t know. How I am to mature as you wish me to if everyone continues to treat me as a child? I will only learn from my mistakes if I understand the full extent of them.” He had moved towards her and she reached out her hand to touch his chest.
His look softened, somewhat. “You are, in part, correct. You will never grow up if you are never allowed responsibility. In this particular instance, however, I am afraid you will take blame that does not belong to you. It was his actions, not yours, that have brought about this trouble.”
“But I invited him in. I should have seen how malicious he was. I was blinded by my foolish notions of heroics and love. Now it would seem he doesn’t love me at all. Though why he would want to marry a woman he didn’t love, I couldn’t fathom.”
“For the same reason many marry, I would guess. He expects to gain wealth, power, or both. A chance to move his station in life.”
She looked stricken. “How could I not have seen that?”
“But you have seen it and what’s more, you will learn from it. My only concern now is what Mr. Lundberg might be capable of.”
“What do you think he might be willing to do to get what he wants?” Her voice choked with fear.
“I honestly don’t know but I will do everything within my power to keep you safe.”
Rose bit her lip. “I shouldn’t require you to save me. I’m a foolish, silly―“
“Rose, we all need help sometimes. Even I require assistance in this matter. There is nothing wrong with needing help.” He placed his hand at the small of her back, urging her back towards the house. “I will be right back, Chris.”
They began walking back towards the house. What she didn’t dare say was that he would be far better off not marrying her. With clarity, she realized she brought nothing of value to him while he gave her everything in return. What she should do is stop complaining and thank her lucky stars he was marrying her. Perhaps, if she were grateful enough, he wouldn’t notice what a colossal mistake he was making.
“What are you thinking?” He stopped walking and turned her towards him.
As their eyes met, she knew she couldn’t lie. She was a terrible liar. She would have to answer with some version of the truth. “That I am very lucky to have you.”
“Tis I who am lucky.” He pulled her closer.
“I hope you always feel that way.” H
er eyes crinkled in a grimace but a laugh bubbled from his chest. His scowl had evaporated once again.
“How funny, I was thinking the exact same thing about you.”
He grinned and she couldn’t help but return it.
***
That night, Rose lay in bed, unable to sleep. By all accounts, she should be exhausted but her mind refused to stop turning. Her lady’s maid had spent the evening prattling on about needlework. She had insisted that if Rose kept her hands moving it would help keep her mind occupied, but it had only served to further annoy her, Rose was sure of it.
It must have been close to midnight when she finally threw back the covers and wrapped her dressing robe around herself. She may as well check on her father and get a book to read.
Making her way down the steps, Rose padded across the entry floor and towards the back of the house to the library and study. She peeked in at her father and he appeared to be sleeping soundly. Tomorrow they would move him up to his room. So far, it looked as though he would make a recovery. Did that mean she would still wed Alex in two weeks’ time?
The thought of not marrying him made her insides twist. She held her hand to her stomach. It wasn’t the lovesick feeling she had experienced when she thought she couldn’t marry Carl, this was deep in her bones, worry that stole her breath.
A noise from behind her made her turn her head. “Rose, are you well?” Alex was there, his brow puckered with worry.
She didn’t even bother to respond, stepping in close to him she stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his. Her body hummed with the same need she had experienced in the carriage and her hands came to his shoulders.
His arms wrapped around her waist and he lifted her into his arms, carrying her into the study. Dimly the sound of the door clicking closed penetrated her mind, but only dimly. The sensation of their bodies pressed together, their mouths moving as one, took over almost every thought in her mind. She wrapped her arms around his neck, winding her hands into his hair. He set her gently back on her feet and his hand slid down to her buttocks, pressing their bodies closer together. She moaned at the sensation as heat spread through her core.
“Oh Rose.” His guttural voice only heightened her desire and her body moved pliantly with his as he sat down on the settee, pulling Rose into his lap. His lips moved along her jaw and then down her neck. She arched into him as his mouth made a tingling trail down her chest. His fingers deftly untied her robe and with a single flick, it was open so that only her nightdress covered her skin. His lips lightly touched her clothed nipple and Rose cried out, pulling him closer.
His hand was steadily moving up her leg and an impatience filled her, though she knew not what she yearned for. But as his fingers brushed her nest of curls, her legs fell apart in an invitation she didn’t even know she could give. Her fingers pulled harder at his hair and arching further, she thrust up and then whimpered as his fingers met her sensitive flesh.
Alex lifted his head and removed his fingers and she gave a cry of protest. He chuckled and quickly undid a few of the buttons on the front of her nightdress. Moving it to one side, his lips came down on her bare skin, his fingers returning to the juncture between her legs.
“Please,” she gasped as everything in her body tightened. “Don’t stop.” His tongue was dancing in circles on first one nipple and then the other as his fingers moved slowly but rhythmically over her sensitive flesh. She grew more frantic under his touch, his other hand wrapped around her back, cradling her in support.
“Oh, yes,” she cried as her toes curled and her body burst in perfection.
He continued to kiss back up her chest to her neck and then her lips as his fingers slowly withdrew, sliding down her thighs. “May I ask again, are you well, my love?”
“Oh, yes.” This time her words were accompanied with a sly smile.
He chuckled in response, laying them both on the settee. As she snuggled in, his hard shaft pressed against her buttocks. She turned in surprise. “Pay it no mind,” he whispered as he pulled her closer.
Not understanding what it was, Rose allowed instinct to take over and explore. Her bottom rubbed against his hard flesh in a slow motion that mimicked the one he had just used on her.
He grabbed her hips to still them and Rose heard his teeth snap together as he clenched them. “All in due time. Trust me when I say that when we are married, chances are I will get far more than I give.”
“Will we marry? Even if my father recovers?” She turned to look at him, wanting to see his face as he answered.
“Do you want to? I’ll understand if you don’t. No one will know what has happened here and you’ll still go to your marriage bed a virg―“
Her lips pressed to his. “I do want to marry you.” It was true. She didn’t know if she would always feel this way but she was beginning to understand that what she felt for Alex was far deeper than anything she had felt before. She had known it when she let him kiss her in the carriage, before her father had been shot. “Do you want to marry me?”
“More than anything.” He snuggled her back in closer.
With a smile, she nestled herself against his body and before she could think another thought, fell asleep in his arms.
But Alex lay awake for a long time. He stared at the perfect picture that lay sleeping before him. He replayed her face as she climaxed in his arms over and over. Had it been their wedding night, he wasn’t sure he would change a single thing. It had brought him so much exquisite pleasure to simply watch her joy. He didn’t know that was even possible.
Rose could very well be driving him mad. Because he was sure he could kill any man that tried to come between them. It was primal and fierce, this urge to keep her by his side. He couldn’t sleep for thinking of it and what they had just done had only increased the need to keep her close. She had looked troubled when he had first seen her, what clouded her mind with worry? Her whole visage had changed at the sight of him. She had lit up just before her lips had pressed against his.
It was also clear she was looking forward to their nuptials. That was a relief, to say the least, but would she continue to want him when he wasn’t rescuing her from spies? That was his deep fear.
Thinking that Rose was now soundly asleep, he lifted her into his arms and carried her up the stairs to tuck her into her own bed. As he went to turn into her room, he saw her guard asleep in his chair. The man would have to be replaced. Walking over to Rose’s large, four-post bed, he gently lay her down and drew up the covers. A longing to climb in with her nearly overtook him but he resisted. While they would soon be married, he still did not want to tarnish her reputation. Placing a soft kiss on her forehead, he turned and left the room.
Instead of returning to the study, he went to his own bed. It would do his mind and body well to get some real sleep. He would need his strength both to beat Carl and to convince Rose to give her heart to him forever.
The next morning, Alex rose, feeling like he hadn’t gotten nearly enough sleep. He dressed hurriedly and headed down to breakfast, hoping to find Rose still there so that they could discuss last night. A smile played on his lips as the evening’s events danced through his thoughts for the hundredth time.
He heard Rose’s laughter float from the breakfast room and he picked up the pace, eager to see her. But another male voice interrupted her laugh and filled him with dread.
Skidding into the breakfast room, Alex’s eyes pierced into his friend. There sat Chris across the table from Rose. Her two companions sat on either side of her. They all chattered and laughed as Chris regaled them with some heroic story.
Alex could barely think above the buzzing in his head. White hot jealousy shot through him. He should have ruined Rose last night while he had the chance. His face twisted. One of the ladies wrinkled her nose like she smelled something terrible as she looked over at him. It only vexed him further, and his fists clenched at his sides.
Chris rolled his eyes. “I never realized Alex had a jealo
us streak.”
Rose looked over at him with a mixture of shock and disbelief and then a dawning comprehension lit her face. He grimaced, having been called out for exactly what he was. But she stood from the table and walked over to him, giving him an angelic smile. “Are you really jealous?” she asked softly, raising her eyebrows.
He didn’t answer, scowling further. He willed his hands to unclench but they refused to listen. Her soft fingers touched the tips of his. It sent tingling sensations humming down his arms and coursing through his body. It awoke all the desires he’d been trying to repress. He realized that sexual frustration was also fueling his jealousy.
Closing his eyes, he tried to check all his wayward thoughts. Rose was wreaking havoc on him, mind and body. He needed to gain some measure of control. He could feel her moving closer, which only served to worsen the situation. The slight brush of her body sent shivers running down his spine and she must have stood on tiptoe because her breath tickled his earlobe. “I only have eyes for one hero.”
“Rose,” one of her companions chastised and Rose stepped away. But when he opened his eyes, her lips were curled into a sultry smile that nearly knocked the wind out of his chest. Rose had always been beautiful but the tinge of sexual energy that now surrounded her made her near impossible to resist.
His fists clenched again but, instead of jealousy, it was pure raw desire that he fought. While Rose wanted him now, what would happen when her dragon was slain? Go slow, his brain commanded. Make sure this is right, it argued. But try as he might not want to rush into this, he couldn’t seem to help himself. The rest of his body had very different ideas.
“Why don’t you have some breakfast? Captain Masters said that you served together. I thought you said that you had only lent assistance?” Rose delicately took her seat again and Alex took the position at the head of the table since Lord Wentworth wasn’t there. She looked innocent enough but he could tell she was fishing for information. Perhaps he would need to double his contributions to the crown’s cause in order to maintain her affections. It would certainly make the Prince Regent happy, and at this point, he was willing to do nearly anything to keep Rose by his side.
Taming a Duke's Wild Rose: Taming the Heart Series Book 2 Page 7