by Rachel Lacey
“I don’t know.”
“You grew up in the castle with just your father and grandfather, after your mother passed away?”
He nodded, a faraway look in his eyes.
“Your grandfather sounds like a romantic man, the way he gave up his life here in England to marry Rose, but what was your father like?”
“He was everything my grandfather wasn’t. Strict, business-minded, ready to uphold his legacy as the Earl of Highcastle.”
Elle thought she was starting to get a clearer picture of his upbringing now. She imagined little Theo growing up in that big castle, how lonely it must have been with just the three of them, plus the staff. He’d grown up without a mother’s love, a mother’s touch. Any woman’s touch or influence, for that matter. What effect would that have on a man? Well, it might lead him to keep the level of emotional detachment she’d sometimes witnessed in Theo, his lack of sentimentality about things, his tendency to view personal relationships like business transactions.
But what did that mean for his future? Could she possibly hope to show him how to let his heart guide him at the appropriate times, instead of always using his head?
“Let’s stay in,” she murmured, resting her head on his shoulder. “It’s late already, and you can show me around tomorrow.”
“I have meetings until around noon, but after that, I’m all yours. We don’t have to drive out to the family estate until Saturday morning.”
“Perfect.”
“Are you hungry?”
“Starved—” She nipped at his neck. “—to have sex in London.”
“Well, in that case…” His hands slid down to cup her ass, yanking her up against him.
“Seduced by the Earl,” she quipped as her hands roamed beneath his shirt. “Sounds like a romance novel.”
“A dirty one,” he agreed, his voice gone low and throaty the way it did when he was aroused.
“Let’s make it as dirty as possible, shall we?” She worked her way down the row of buttons on his shirt.
“Too slow.” He ripped the shirt open, sending buttons pinging off the marble floor beneath their feet.
“That was hot.” She moved her attention to his belt, opening it and whipping it out of his pants in a single move. “Definitely romance-novel-worthy.”
“Do you read a lot of those?” he asked as he lowered the zipper on her dress.
“As many as possible. I’m a sucker for a happy ending, in case you hadn’t noticed.” Her dress hit the floor with a soft whoosh of fabric.
“I noticed.” He stepped her backward toward an expensive-looking black-and-white checked rug in the center of the room. “Is this scandalous enough for you?”
“Yes.” Her panties were soaked, and he hadn’t even touched her yet.
“How about we change ‘Seduced by the Earl’ to ‘Fucking the Earl’? What do you say?”
“‘Fucking the Earl on his Very Expensive Rug…in London.’”
“I like the sound of it.” He pulled a condom from one of his pockets, then stepped out of his pants in a move equal parts elegant and naughty, because now he was standing in the middle of his living room, buck naked and fully aroused.
“This is my favorite romance novel of all time.” She scrambled out of her bra and panties, and then they were pressed together, touching and kissing frantically. His hand slid between her legs, stroking her, and she moaned, arching her hips toward him. “Hurry.”
“As you wish.”
“That’s ‘The Princess Bride,’ not ‘Fucking the Earl.’” She laughed, gasping as he pushed inside her in one long, hard thrust. “Oh.”
He lowered them to the rug, where they lived out her romance novel fantasies…twice. And after they ate dinner, they had more fun in his bed. She wasn’t sure what time they finally fell asleep, but when his alarm started buzzing the next morning, it felt like she’d only just dozed off. That, and she was sore in some very interesting places.
“I think I have rug burn on my ass,” she mumbled through a smile, rolling to wrap an arm around his waist.
“And I most definitely have it on my knees.” His voice was deep and gravelly with sleep. “The good news is that none of it should show when we’re dressed.”
“Mmm.” She let her eyes slide shut. “I’m so glad I don’t have to rush off to work this morning.”
“Unfortunately, it’s my turn to rush off. I’ve got to shower and head into the office.”
“Oh yeah.” It was his alarm that had woken her, after all, but with the time change, it felt like the middle of the night. “How are you going to function? I’m so sleepy.”
“Caffeine and nerves ought to keep me awake.” There was an edge to his voice when he said it that had her sitting straight up in bed.
“The board meeting. You’re going to announce your charity this morning?”
“Yes.”
“Theo…”
“I’m ready. Thank you for getting me here.”
She swallowed over the lump in her throat. “You’re welcome.”
“Go back to sleep. I’ll be home before you know it.” He pressed a kiss to her lips, gently pushing her back down onto the sheets.
“Mmm.” She lay there, watching as he disappeared into the bathroom. She had half a mind to join him in the shower, had thought about doing a little exploring around London on her own this morning while he was at work, but she’d failed to take the time change into consideration, and the next thing she knew, Theo was leaning over the bed, dressed in a light gray suit, a wide smile on his face. “Showered already?” she mumbled.
“I’ve already been to the office and back. It’s half past twelve. Ready to get up and see the city with me?”
“I think your accent’s gotten more pronounced since we’ve been here.” Elle eyed him over her glass of lemonade, a smile quirking one corner of her mouth.
“Perhaps it has.” Theo leaned back in his chair, taking in the sight of Piccadilly Circus behind her. He didn’t frequent the more touristy areas of London, but today he was more than willing to suffer crowds—and even being recognized by the occasional Brit—to experience the city through her eyes.
She leaned forward, her green eyes sparkling as bright and vibrant as the grass in the park next to the café where they’d stopped for lunch. “It’s sexy.”
“I’ll bear that in mind.”
“Please do. I’m a sucker for an accent, especially yours.”
“What do you think of London so far?”
“I love it,” she answered without hesitation. “I knew I would, and I’ve hardly seen any of it yet, but already it’s somehow more than I’d imagined. These buildings…the history…”
“Nothing in America compares to it.” Not when they were sitting in front of buildings that had been around for five hundred years or maybe even longer.
“It doesn’t. I was completely wowed by New York City the first time I visited, but this is just…breathtaking.”
He thought Elle was a hundred times more breathtaking than London, but her excitement was contagious. London was already his favorite place in the world, but even more so now that he was experiencing it with her.
“I hope you don’t mind taking me to see Big Ben and Buckingham Palace and all the famous touristy stuff. Oh, and I want to ride on one of those red double-decker buses.”
“I’ll take you to all the touristy places and even a few hidden gems you might not have heard about, but trust me when I tell you that you don’t want to ride on one of those buses. I’m a much better tour guide.”
She pretended to pout for a moment before that all-too-familiar smile lit her face. “Of course, I trust you. And I’m sure your driver can take us around a lot more quickly than the bus.”
They finished their lunch and spent the next five hours on a whirlwind tour of the city. Elle’s energy and enthusiasm never dimmed. If anything, it grew with each location they visited. They took in the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, walke
d the London Bridge, and rode on the London Eye.
“There’s one more place I want to show you, and then we have reservations for dinner,” he told her as the car rolled to a stop in front of Kew Gardens. “My mother brought me here when I was a little boy. It’s one of the few truly happy memories I have of her.”
“Oh, Theo.” Elle squeezed his hand, her eyes glossy.
He marveled at her ability to empathize like that, to feel so much emotion for a little boy and his mother that she hadn’t even known. “I come here sometimes to remember her. The gardens close at seven, but we’ve got special access.”
“We do?” She gazed up at him with a tentative smile.
“My title does come with certain perks. Actually, my family is a longtime supporter of Kew Gardens, so we’re allowed to break the rules a bit.” Since it closed in a few minutes, the place was already near deserted. He was looking forward to giving Elle a private tour.
After bringing her to several of his favorite spots, he led her to a bench underneath a huge willow tree from which he felt like he could see the gardens from end to end. He’d sat here with his mom while she’d pointed out all the different flowers and plants to him, smiling the whole time.
Elle leaned against his shoulder, her hand in his. “I can imagine little Theo sitting here with his mom. What a beautiful place. I see why she loved it so much, and why you do too.”
He didn’t say anything, just squeezed her hand and gazed at the multi-colored flowers barely visible in the growing darkness around them. He couldn’t remember their names now, the names his mother had so cheerfully pointed out.
“How did it go this morning?” Elle asked softly.
“It went…well. Better than I had hoped.”
“Oh, I’m so glad.” She turned her head to press a kiss against his cheek.
He cleared his throat. “The board was unanimously enthusiastic about me pushing mental health awareness as my platform and speaking about my mother’s depression. They’d rather I not publicize the way she died, but they’re not going to prevent it either.”
“That’s wonderful.” She slipped an arm around his waist, leaning against him as sunset streaked the sky with orange and pink.
“It is.” He’d been surprised at the way he felt as he walked out of that meeting this morning, like he was ready to take on the world, and more specifically…like he was ready to face anything and everything with Elle at his side. “Thank you for pushing me.”
“I only helped you follow what was already in your heart. Your mother was a wonderful person, Theo. She suffered a devastating illness that cost her her life, but now you’re going to have the opportunity to see that she didn’t die in vain. I think you’re going to do so much to modernize your family’s views on things.”
“Alistair would have approved,” he said. “He was ahead of his time for an old man.”
“I’m sorry I never got to meet him,” she murmured.
“I am too.”
“And your father?”
“He was very traditional. I think, in retrospect, that he’s the one who hushed up my mother’s death in the first place.”
Elle’s arm tightened around him. “Whatever he was and wasn’t, he raised a fine son.”
“I think that the qualities you find admirable about me are probably more attributable to Alistair than my father.”
“Maybe. You two were close.”
“Very.”
They sat in silence, arms around each other as the sky faded into the inky purple of night in the city. In the distance, the London skyline glowed.
“It’s so beautiful,” Elle whispered.
“You see why I prefer it to Virginia.”
“I guess,” she said thoughtfully. “Maybe it’s because London is still so foreign to me, but I feel more like a guest here. Virginia feels like home, which is odd since I’ve only lived there a few months. I’m sentimental about Orlando since I grew up there, but I don’t love it. I wouldn’t be sad if I never moved back.”
“Then don’t.”
“It depends on how things pan out,” she said. “If Ruby’s able to find a property that we can invest in together, and if it happens to be in Florida, then I’ll go back. If not, well…we’ll see what happens.”
“I also discussed the possibility of keeping Rosemont Castle in the family and continuing your Fairy Tails program with the board this morning.”
She tipped her face up to stare at him in the muted light of the garden. “You did?”
He nodded. “I told you I would. They think it’s foolish but have no strong objection to it, so the final decision comes to me.”
“I’m sorry,” she said softly, her expression turned wistful, maybe even sad.
“For what?”
“For putting you in this position. I feel like I’ve twisted your arm, and our relationship has only complicated things. Maybe it’s best for all of us if you just sell as planned.”
He straightened on the bench. “I don’t understand. I thought staying at the castle meant everything to you.”
“It does.” She looked down at her lap. “But if it’s not what you want, Theo, then you’ll always be resentful about it, and ultimately it’ll poison everything. So if you decide to keep the castle, make sure you’re doing it for yourself and not for me.”
“I’ll be sure,” he promised, wondering even as he did so how he could ever truly be sure, because right now, he wanted to give Elle the world, and if that meant letting her stay on at Rosemont Castle, how could he say no?
17
Elle couldn’t contain the gasp that escaped her lips as the Langdon family estate came into view. The road unfurled before them over rolling green hills, lined with pristine rows of hedges and ending in front of a building that belonged in some sort of British documentary. Maybe they’d already made a documentary about it. Maybe Theo had been in it, a little boy dressed in pressed slacks and suspenders, racing through the garden with a dog at his heels.
“Impressive, isn’t it?” Theo said beside her, giving her hand a squeeze.
“You’d think by now, nothing could impress me where you’re concerned.”
“I love watching your reactions. It helps me see things through fresh eyes, through your eyes, I guess.”
An uncomfortable heat spread through her cheeks. “Through my naïve eyes.”
“Naïve is the last word I would use to describe you, Elle.” There was a sincerity, a fierceness in his tone as he looked at her that made her throat swell painfully.
She was still trying to think of a response as the car pulled to the curb in front of the estate. It was a three-story building constructed from intricately carved stone bricks, with a style and flair that nothing modern could ever hope to replicate. The roof was gusseted in the same style as Rosemont Castle. In fact, in looking at the building before her, Elle could see that Alistair had used it as his muse for the castle he’d built in America, adding his own flashy style to the home he’d designed for the love of his life.
As they stood from the car, Elle smoothed her free hand over the front of her dress, the other clutched in Theo’s comforting grip. She desperately wanted to make a good impression on the rest of his family today. A man dressed in the smart black suit of a butler came down the walk toward them, bending at the waist in front of Theo.
“My lord,” he said briskly.
“Hugh,” Theo responded, his tone as warm as the twinkle in his eye.
“And you must be Miss Davenport.” Hugh extended a white-gloved hand. “A pleasure.”
“Likewise,” Elle said as she greeted the butler.
Fortunately, she’d thought to question Theo about customs and formalities during the drive so she knew whose hand to shake, when to curtsy, and who to address by which title as she walked into the estate on his arm. She felt equal parts at ease and like a fish out of water as he made introductions. On the surface, she was relaxed and comfortable, but some small part of her was having an
out of body experience, like the proverbial devil sat on her shoulder whispering, “You don’t belong here…”
After being introduced to all manner of Langdons, Theo led her upstairs to their rooms, which overlooked the gardens in the rear of the estate. “Okay so far?” he asked.
She nodded, turning in his arms to face him. “Did I remember to curtsy to all the right people?”
A smile split his handsome face, his blue eyes dancing like sapphires behind his dark lashes. “You were perfect, but then, you always are.”
“Stop it.” She swatted at him, but he grabbed her wrist, pressing her palm against his chest, right over his heart.
“Feel that?” His heart pounded behind his ribs, shaking her fingers to the rhythm of his desire.
She nodded as her own heart picked up its pace to match his. She leaned in, letting their bodies touch. “That’s not the only thing I feel.”
“Watching you curtsy turns me on,” he said, pressing his hips more firmly against hers. “It has since that first day in the sitting room when you were poking fun at my title.”
“I wasn’t poking fun.” She went up on her tiptoes, trying to bring their bodies into alignment. “I was completely flummoxed to be in a real-life castle with a real-life earl.”
“And now?” His hand slipped beneath her dress, skimming over the edge of her lace panties.
She sucked in a breath, shifting her hips in an attempt to get his fingers where she needed them. “Still a bit flummoxed by the earl and his fineries, but I hide it better now.”
His hand stilled, and his eyes turned serious. “Really?”
She exhaled slow and deep. “Not when it’s just the two of us, but I’m out of my element here. You know that.”
“No, I didn’t.” A frown tugged at his lips.
“I grew up in a little apartment with a working class single mother. After she died and I went to stay with my dad and his family, I was the stepdaughter and half-sister no one wanted. I’ve always felt like a bit of an outsider, Theo. It’s just who I am.”
“Fuck.” He yanked her tight against him. “You’re never ‘just’ anything to me, Elle. I hope you know that.”