"... I'm going to take my leave," Derek was saying.
"No, you must stay to supper with us," Lily protested.
Ignoring her pleas, Derek grinned at Alex. "Good day, milord. I wish you luck with these two. You'll need it."
'"Thanks," Alex replied dryly.
"I'll see you out," Lily said, accompanying Derek to the entrance hall.
As they stood alone in the doorway, Derek folded his hands over hers and gave her a brotherly peck on the forehead.
"When are you coming back to Craven's?" he demanded. "It isn't the same without you."
Lily lowered her eyes. "Alex and I will visit some evening."
There was an awkward silence between them, while they each contemplated a multitude of words better left unspoken.
"So you have her back now," Derek observe.
She nodded, gazing into his dark face. "Derek she said softly. "I never would have survived the last two years without you."
She knew they were saying good-bye to their friendship as it had been. There would never again be the conversations before
the fire, the shared secrets and confidences, the odd relationship that had sustained them both in different ways. Impulsively
she leaned up and kissed his cheek.
Derek flinched as she took her mouth away, as if the touch of her lips had hurt him. "Good-bye, gypsy," he muttered, and left, striding rapidly to the carriage that awaited him.
* * *
The cat stared at Nicole with slitted eyes as she approached him with a winning smile. Reaching out slowly, she grasped his flicking tail. Hissing with annoyance, Tom whirled around and struck out with his paw, leaving a scratch on her hand.
Nicole's mouth opened as she regarded him with surprise and hurt. She began to wail piteously. At the sound of her
crying, Alex came to her swiftly, scooping her up as she ran toward him. He patted her back and jostled her comfortingly.
"What happened, sweetheart? What is it?"
Still crying, Nicole showed him her hand.
"Did Tom scratch you?" he asked with soft concern.
"Yes," she sobbed. "Naughty, naughty."
"Let me see." Alex scrutinized the faint pink line on the back of her hand. With a sympathetic sound, he kissed the tiny scratch
to make it better. "Tom doesn't like his tail pulled, sweetheart. When he comes back I'll show you how to pet him, and he won't scratch you ever again. Here, give me a hug, my brave girl." Amid his light talk is soothing, Nicole promptly forgot about her scratch and beamed at him, her little arm clutched around his neck.
Silently Lily stood watching from the doorway, an ache of love gathering in her chest until it became painful. Unaware that he
was being observed, Alex carried on a conversation with Nicole, setting her down and searching beneath the sofa for her misplaced doll. The sight made Lily smile. She hadn't known until this moment if he would truly want to be a father to her
child. She had no right to expect it. But she should have realized he had more than enough love to give both of them. He was
not the kind of man who would blame an innocent child for her unfortunate beginnings. He had so much to teach her, she
thought, about love and trust and wholehearted acceptance. She wanted a lifetime of being with him and giving him all the joy
one man could possibly endure.
Out of the corner of her eye Lily saw a passing housemaid, and she beckoned discreetly. "Sally, please look after Nicole for
a while. It's time for her nap, so if you gathered up a doll or two and took her to the nursery ..."
"Yes, mum," the maid said with a smile. "A good little girl she is, mum."
"She won't be," Lily replied wryly, "after a few years of Lord Raiford's spoiling."
Giggling softly, Sally went into the parlor and began to sort through some toys. "Mine!" Nicole cried, wriggling to be let down,
and she went indignantly to rescue her dolls.
"My lord," Lily said demurely, though inside she was filled with giddiness and anticipation. Alex looked at her questioningly.
"I wondered if we might have a word in private?" Without waiting for an answer, she headed to the stairs and ascended
them gracefully, her hand lightly touching the lacy iron balustrade at measured intervals. A frown worked between Alex's
tawny brows, and he followed her slowly.
When they reached the blue and white bedroom, Lily closed the door behind them and turned the key. Suddenly the silence became electric. Alex watched her but didn't move, conscious of his body swelling and thickening, his skin turning hot and sensitive beneath his clothes. His breathing became shallow, and he strove to control it.
She came to him, and he felt the touch of her fingers on his vest, her movements deft and light as she unfastened the intricately curved buttons. The vest hung loose, and she moved to his cravat, unknotting the warm silk and pulling it free from his throat.
Alex closed his eyes.
"I've neglected you terribly, haven't I?" she whispered, starting on his shirt.
He was stiff and straining with arousal. He knew she could see the flush creeping over his skin. The touch of her breath
sinking through his shirt to his chest nearly caused him to groan. "It doesn't matter." he managed to say.
"It matters very much." She pulled his shirt from his trousers and slid her arms around his lean waist, rubbing her face against
the rough hair on his chest. "It's hardly the way to show my husband how much I love him."
Suddenly his hands came up and closed around her wrist in an unconsciously brutal grip. "What?" he asked numbly.
Her dark eyes gleamed with emotion. "I love you, Alex." She paused as she felt a tremor in his powerful hands. "I love you,"
she repeated, her voice vibrant and warm. "I was afraid to say it until now. I thought you'd send me away once you knew
about my daughter. Or worse, that your sense of honor would make you keep us, when you secretly wanted to be rid of us
and the scandal we'd cause."
"Be rid of you," he repeated thickly. "No, Lily." He let go of her hands and caught her face between his palms. "It would
kill me to lose you. I want to be a father to Nicole. I want to be your husband. I've been dying slowly over the past days,
wondering how to convince you that you need me—"
She laughed throatily, her eyes bright with tears of happiness. "You don't need to convince me of that."
He buried his mouth in her throat. "I've missed you . . . Lily, my love ..."
Her breathless laugh dissolved into a moan. His body was hot and demanding against hers, his muscles taut beneath her palms
as she caressed him. Hastily he undressed her, and stripped off his own clothes. She reclined on the bed as she watched him, wanting to cover herself but knowing that he took pleasure in the sight of her. Lowering himself to the bed, he pulled her smooth, naked body against his and cupped her buttocks in his hands, urging her hard against him. "Tell me again," he
muttered.
"I love you," she whispered. "I love you, Alex."
His hand slid deep between her thighs, while his mouth possessed her in a long kiss. She touched her tongue to his, and they
slid together in a mingling of silken heat and fire. "Again ..." he said, but this time all she could do was sigh brokenly and writhe
in time to the invading push of his fingers. As she arched against him, the tips of her breasts dragged through the springy hair
on his chest. He bent his head and wet her nipples with his tongue, stroking and circling until the rosy peaks ached exquisitely.
Turning her face, she pressed her lips to his shoulder, drawing in the scent and taste of his golden skin. Moving lower, she searched with her tongue until she found the flat, silken point of his nipple, and he groaned with pleasure. Inquisitively her
fingers combed through the thick, inviting hair and over the
tautly delineated muscle of his abdomen, following the narrow
tracing of hair that led to a denser thatch. Her palm slid over him, lightly gripped the silken hardness, and she caressed him
once, twice, before he moved, pulling back and spreading her wide, easing inside her soft body with a guttural moan.
Intoxicated by the sensation, she wrapped her arms and legs around him, urging him deep within her supple strength. He
nudged upward, driving high and slow, lost in an intense enchantment. He pulled back and she grasped at him hungrily, using
her legs to press him inside her once more. He repeated the movement, taking fierce delight in the way she worked to pull him back. The smooth, controlled motion drove her wild, and she felt herself sliding helplessly into a trembling state of madness, existing only to feel him pushing and thrusting, his back turning as hard as oak beneath her hands, his hips driving with relentless force until the torment ended with a soaring, shattering burst of pleasure.
Afterward she moved her fingertips idly over his face, tracing each beloved line, the texture of his shaven cheek, the lush crescents of his lashes. Filled with contentment, Alex took her hand and pressed his lips fervently to the delicate palm.
"I've been afraid of so many things for so long." Lily mused absently. "And now . . . now there's nothing left to be afraid of."
Alex propped himself up on an elbow and looked down at her with a lazy smile. "How does it feel?"
"Strange." Her warm brown eyes stared lovingly into his. "It feels strange to be so happy."
"You'll get used to it," he assured her gently. "Soon you'll take it for granted."
"How do you know?" Lily whispered with a smile.
"Because I'll make certain of it." He lowered his head over hers, while her arms slid lovingly around his neck.
Epilogue
The coolness of autumn blew in from the partially opened window, causing Lily to snuggle deeper into the warmth of her husband's arms. They were in Wiltshire for a hunting weekend hosted by Lord and Lady Farmington. Gazing at the dark
sky outside, Lily sighed regretfully as she realized it would be time for the hunting party to rise soon in order to attend the early-morning meeting.
"Tired?" Alex asked.
"We didn't sleep much last night." she murmured.
He smiled against her hair. "No one did." Together they had rested in bed and listened to all manner of nocturnal sounds—
feet creeping down the hallway, doors quietly opening and closing, whispers of inquiry and assent as the weekend guests
sought out bedpartners for the night. Lily had made Alex chuckle by pointing out that they were one of the few married
couples who actually desired to share the same bed instead of someone else's. To demonstrate just how much he
appreciated her company, he had kept her awake for most of the night with his lovemaking.
The discreet tap at the door by Alex's valet alerted them to the fact that it was time to get dressed. Stretching luxuriously and grumbling, Alex left the bed and picked up the clothes that had been laid out for him. Lily, who usually prepared for a hunt with lively anticipation, was strangely slow to move. She propped herself up and watched him from the bed with a slight smile. Her
hair, a thick cloud of curls that reached her shoulders, spread across the downy pillows.
Alex paused and regarded her questioningly.
"Darling," she said slowly. "I don't think I'll hunt today."
"What?" Fastening his breeches, he came over to her and sat on the edge of the bed. His face darkened with a frown.
"Why not?"
She seemed to choose her words carefully. "I don't think I should."
"Lily." He took her shoulders and pulled her to him gently. The unanchored sheet fell to her waist, baring her slender body.
"You know I'd rather you didn't hunt—I can't stand the thought of a single scratch or bruise on you. But I don't want to deprive you of anything that makes you happy. I know how you love to hunt. As long as you're careful, and walk the horse around the more difficult jumps, I don't have any objections."
"Thank you, darling," she replied with a tender smile. "But I still don't think it's advisable."
His eyes became shadowed with concern. "What's the matter?" he asked quietly, his fingers tightening on her shoulders.
Lily returned his searching stare and traced the curve of his lower lip with her delicate fingertip. "It's just that women in my condition should avoid strenuous activity."
"Women in your—" He broke off in astonishment, his face becoming blank.
She smiled in the silence. "Yes," she whispered in response to the question in his eyes.
Suddenly he crushed her against him, burying his face in her hair. "Lily," he muttered in an aching whisper of joy, while she laughed softly. "How do you feel?" he demanded, pushing her away so that his gaze could wander over her. His large hand searched gently over her body. "Are you all right, sweetheart? Are you—"
"Everything's perfect," she assured him, lifting her face as he scattered kisses over her cheeks.
"You're perfect." He shook his head in be-musement. "Are you certain?"
"I've been through this before," she reminded him with a smile. "Yes, I'm certain. What do you want to wager that it's a boy?"
Alex bent his head to murmur in her ear.
Lily laughed throatily. "That's all?" she teased provocatively. "I thought you were more of a gambler than that." Smiling, she
drew him down to her, her hands clasping his broad back. "Come closer, my lord," she whispered, "and we'll see if we can't
raise the stakes."
Then came you, by lisa kleypas.txt Page 37