Her hand flew to her mouth, covering a gasp, then she dropped it to her chest, making a fist. “Is that what you were doing? Preparing me for how a rake might act? Teaching me how they seduce?”
“No.” He reached for her, but she jerked away. “I only wanted to show you how to find your own husband and guide your sisters into—”
“Enough,” she grated out. “I don’t want to hear anymore.”
“I…” She started to turn away, but he reached for her arm. “Please understand. I care for you. I—” He shouldn’t tell her he loved her now, it would only muddy the waters, but the words vibrated on his lips.
She turned back to him, her own gaze tight and filled with pain. “You what?” Then she closed her eyes. “You’re right. You have taught me a great deal. The next time I meet a rake, I won’t allow him to pull me into a web of desire.” She drew in a shaky breath. “I never want to see you again.”
Then she spun from his grasp and fled the room.
Adrianna’s heart shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. Belatedly, she realized she’d fallen in love and the only explanation for the way her heart seemed to be breaking. Of course it had been love. She’d listened to his past, his problems, and shared hers. His touch had excited her but even deeper, his company had engaged her mind, her heart, her soul even as his touch excited her body.
And he didn’t want her in return. Who had she been trying to fool, sparring with a rake? She stopped in the hall, tears threatening to spill over.
“Adrianna,” he called behind her, and for a wild moment, she spun about, lifting her skirts, ready to flee.
But then she stopped. “Does my father know you followed me?”
He grimaced. “I promised him that we’d stay in plain sight in the hall.”
“What?” Why did that feel like a betrayal on her family’s part?
“Please.” He drew in a deep breath. “I think it’s time I told you the whole truth.”
That made her body freeze even as her blood rushed in her veins. What had he been hiding from her all along? And why? The answers he might give frightened her to the core. “Whole truth?”
He moved closer, gently taking her hand in his. “I told you about Miranda, remember?”
She swallowed down a bitter lump. “The one whom you felt a great affection for, but she decided to take another path besides marrying you? Yes. I remember. And may I just say, I have a great deal of sympathy. Empathy really. Of what it means to care for someone and have them just toss you aside.”
He paused, a shudder running down his body. “I am not tossing you aside.”
She stepped closer, her hands balling into fists. Anger made her tremble. “You touched me when you had no intention of marrying me.”
He scrubbed his face. “I touched you because…” He let out a heavy sigh. “I couldn’t help myself. And I would be honored to marry you. The only reason I am not is for your own safety.”
That made her shaking stop. “My safety?” Was this some sort of elaborate lie to make her less angry? She couldn’t help herself. She needed to hear his explanation. “I think you’d better explain.”
He gave a curt nod. “Can we sit?”
Adrianna looked about. There were no chairs in the hall and she wouldn’t enter a room with him now. She’d made the mistake of being alone with him far too much already. Finally, she crossed the hall, then sat on the sill of a window overlooking the village. The sky was grey and soon they wouldn’t be able to see Seabridge Gate at all. He came over and sat on the ledge too, his knee brushing hers. Even now, his touch sent tendrils of excitement racing through her and she moved her leg to make sure it didn’t happen again.
She caught a movement out of the corner of her eye and saw her father peek out into the hall. Adrianna gave him a tiny nod. They were being watched.
Luke cleared his throat. “Right.” He scrubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “I might as well spit it out. You see, I can’t marry you because I can’t give you the life you deserve.”
That made no sense. “I beg your pardon?”
He shook his head. “I’ve been a terrible earl. I don’t participate in society. I haven’t married, I haven’t created an heir. I do take care of the people. Well, except for one, though I’ve tried. My brother made me promise to care for Miranda. I allowed her to stay in the estate, of course. Keep her allowance as it was before. But she swears that I should marry her and—” He stopped. Why did this sound more ridiculous out loud?
Adrianna stared at his ashen face. She might have thought he was joking except he’d gone pale. “You can’t think…”
He shook his head. “I’d never touch her. I’d rather die. But if I marry you, I’ll fail Michael and the promise I made him.” He shuddered. His brother had no idea that he’d been involved with Miranda. Couldn’t know what he asked.
Her heart had risen into her throat and her hands trembled as they reached for his. “Oh Luke. You don’t actually believe that.”
“I do.” He shook his head. “And Miranda believes it too. She wrote me a letter, you know. I received it today.”
Real fear trickled down her spine. This was not about him being a rake or even about her abilities. This was about a man who was deeply hurting from his past. That was one of the tendrils that had drawn them together to begin with and it made her drop her guard. If there was one thing she believed in more than being strong, it was helping people. Hadn’t she taken him on to keep her sisters safe? The thing was, he needed her help most of all. “Don’t listen to her. That woman is a viper. I’ve told you before but I’ll say it again.”
He made a cold grunt of disbelief. “She knows me better than anyone. And she knows I’m useless. That everything I touch crumbles to dust and ash. That—”
She couldn’t listen anymore. Her heart was breaking. “Stop. I insist you stop.”
He looked up at her, confusion and grief making his features drawn and craggy. She lifted her hands and pressed her palms to either side of his cheeks. “That’s enough of that.”
“But—”
“No buts.” Then she leaned over and placed a soft kiss on his mouth. The time to hold back was over. She was strong. Something inside her clicked and he needed that strength now. “She knows you well enough to twist you into knots.”
Those words made his throat stick. They rang with such truth. “You honestly believe that?”
“Listen to me. We are being watched. Intermittently, of course. But you’re going to excuse yourself. Say you’re not feeling well. And I am going to go to bed. I’m heartbroken. And then in half-hour’s time, you’re going to climb up the trellis next to my window and we are going to continue this conversation in private.”
Chapter Fourteen
Luke stared up at the trellis, a slight grimace marking his face. Up above Adrianna stared down at him from the balcony. A cool breeze blew off the ocean, ruffling his hair. “You want me to climb this?”
“I’ve done it hundreds of times,” she called back. “It’s quite safe.”
“Not all of us have your catlike reflexes,” he said, reaching up and giving the trellis a small tug, testing its sturdiness. It was true. She’d managed to rescue him at the balcony. He’d watched her scale a cliff to save some cats. She was uncommonly coordinated.
“Fine,” she called. “I’ll come down.”
He blew out a breath. “No.” First of all, he wanted to see her bedchamber, and second, this evening was much cooler, he wanted her tucked in the warmth of her room. But also, it pricked at his male pride. “I’m coming up.” Then he started to climb. She was right. Once he got the hang of it was quite easy. After reaching for the balcony, he hoisted himself over the side of the rail to meet Adrianna’s warm hands.
He hadn’t been able to see her clearly from the ground, but now he noticed that her hair was down, waves blowing softly in the breeze, even as the silk of her dress flowed about her ankles. Her feet were bare, and he caught sight of her naked
calves as a larger gust blew up the hem of her dress. “Adrianna,” he rasped out, reaching for her waist. “I thought we were going to talk.”
“We are,” she answered, sliding her bare hand down to his and pulling him into her room.
“Then why aren’t you wearing shoes?” He’d felt those legs, but seeing them in the flickering candlelight, he had the distinct urge to kiss every inch of her.
She turned back, looking over her shoulder at him. “I like having my feet bare and I wanted to be comfortable while I listened.” Then she stopped, turning toward them. She lifted their joined hands and brought the back of his to her lips, placing a soft kiss on his rough skin. “Luke, this is me. Bare feet, hair down, ready to give you whatever you need.”
His heart, which had been slowly accelerating in its beat, nearly stopped in his chest. She was going to undo him. If she was trying to coerce him into marriage, she was surely going to be successful. “Adrianna. Don’t take your choices away. I told you. You don’t want to marry me.”
She stopped then, her free hand reaching for his cheek. “I do want to marry you. I love you.”
He growled out a guttural noise of satisfaction. “No.”
“Yes,” she murmured, kissing his hand again. “And even more than I wanted to be strong enough to defeat a rake, I want to be loving enough to heal a hurting man.” She stepped closer. “Your brother dying was awful but it happens far too often. I’m not sure I blame you for not wanting to marry. You’d have to face the same worry with a wife. My father lost my mother from something very similar and I know it’s been hard on him.” She took a deep breath. “But I also know that he considers his time with her a gift.”
His face spasmed. “And wishing my brother dead? Because that is what I did after he proposed to Miranda and now he’s gone.”
Adrianna moved even closer. “I’m fairly certain I wished Juliet dead the other day just for making me go out on that ledge to get Mittens. If she gets sick, will it be my fault?”
Luke drew in a shuddering breath. “No. It won’t.”
“So when your brother died, was that your fault?”
His face spasmed. “No. And you’re too good at this.” She was winning this war of words, but did that make her right?
Adrianna was right up against him now. Close enough to realize that not only did she not have stockings or shoes on, but in fact, she didn’t wear a stitch under her clothes. He brought a hand to her shoulders, running it down her back. No corset and no chemise as far as he could tell. He stopped at her waist. If he ran his hand over her backside this conversation would be done.
She threaded her arms about his neck. “See. Even you know it’s true.”
“I know it’s true.” He dropped his face into the crook of her neck. “I needed Miranda. Way back then.” He drew in her violet scent and let it fill him. “And she left me. Worse still, she left me for my brother. He was the one man I still called family and I couldn’t even look at him without hurting.”
“I know,” she whispered, as one of her hands combed through the hair at the back of his neck. “It was a cruel thing to do.”
He squeezed her tighter to his chest. Her body fitting against his, her warmth seeping into him. “Is that why you called her a viper?”
“She will say whatever she thinks will get her way and she isn’t afraid to hurt you. Whatever she wrote in that letter, don’t listen to a word of it.” She stroked his back with her other hand.
But he jolted back, staring down at the woman in his arms. Miranda had always been terribly selfish. Why had he not seen it before? “By God. You’re right.”
Adrianna gave him a soft smile. “Your mistake was not wishing your brother dead but giving your affection to the wrong woman.”
He stared down at her, drinking in her crystal-blue eyes and the softened curves of her face. “A mistake I won’t make again.” But not because he wouldn’t love again.
Her smile wavered. “It’s all right that you don’t want to marry me. I just needed you to know that she was wrong and that you are not to blame and—”
“Adrianna Moorish.” He finally slid his hand down the perfect curve of her backside pulling her hips up and into the cradle of his. “I have every intention of making you my wife.”
Her gasp filled the room, but he covered her mouth with his. He kissed her long and fully, his tongue dancing with hers until they were both breathless.
“You are everything that has been missing from my life and if you let me, I’ll love you with my whole heart.” His fears had melted away as they’d talked and he realized that Adrianna was the piece that had been missing for such a long time.
“Did you say love?” He heard her little squeak and he might have laughed but he was too busy lifting her up into his arms to carry her to the bed.
“Love,” he repeated, his lips sliding down the long column of her neck. “I love you so much I ache from it.”
“Oh, Luke. You don’t have to say it. I wanted to help you, not myself.”
He laid her down on the bed, his body covering hers. “I know. That’s one of the reasons I’ll not let you go.” As he pressed his weight on top of hers, he lifted his head. “Now tell me. The land you most want to buy. Is it that piece just across the bridge?”
She gasped, her eyes trained to his. “How did you know?”
Adrianna attempted to pinpoint exactly where this meeting had veered from her agenda, but it was difficult to think with this man cradled between her thighs. “I heard you on that first night,” he answered. “Even then, I was drinking in every word.”
“Every word?” He untied the back of her dress, bringing the neck down her shoulders as his lips kissed all along her collarbone and chest. Her pulse raced as she looked down at the stunning man, holding her in his arms.
He glanced up at her, his fingertips lightly dragging the fabric down even further so that it just covered her breasts. “I’ll try to find a jeweler tomorrow. Is there one in the village?”
She pressed her palms against his back. “In Haversham.”
“Even better.” He gave the fabric another tug, letting her small breasts free. Then he carefully kissed all around the base of one, slowly working his way to the tip until he sucked the entire thing into his mouth. Damn, he loved small breasts.
She fisted his jacket, crying out at the pleasure that ripped through her. “Luke.”
He let go of her breast, his mouth making a small pop. “I’ve been wanting to do that for days.” Then he shifted over and did the same to the other. She squirmed underneath him, the pleasure almost painful.
“Why?” she asked her hand raking up into his hair again. “My chest is hardly noteworthy.”
He sucked a little harder and then let her flesh go. “It’s perfect. You’re perfect.”
He leaned up and shrugged off his jacket, ripping the knot loose on his cravat and shrugging the shirt over his head.
In response, she pulled her arms free of her dress. “If I were smarter, I’d wait until you’d actually proposed.”
He stopped, looking at her with a dark, heavy gaze. “Try to get away from me now, love. You’ll be my wife, I promise you that.”
The words, his look, they took her breath away.
He reached down and brushed the fabric over her hips and down her legs. “Tomorrow, we’re buying that property. We’ll build a home close to your family and we’ll make our life here in Seabridge just as your father has done.”
She swallowed as the dress fell to the floor. “Really?” She leaned up on her elbows. “But if my father takes my sisters to London…”
“We’ll go,” he sighed. “Even though I never want to return. But I know you’ll want to keep them safe.”
That made her smile. She could hear the resistance in his voice. She lay back down, lifting her arms to him. “I’ll need your help. Who better than a rake to know a rake?”
A smile pulled at his lips as he kicked off his boots. “Why don’t I show y
ou why you’ve made an excellent choice choosing a rake for a husband?” Then, rather than kiss her mouth again, he brought his lips to the valley between her breasts. He started kissing slowly down her abdomen, his hands grasping her ribcage.
“What does that mean?”
He kissed lower, past her bellybutton as heat pooled between her thighs. But he didn’t answer as he brushed past her triangle of curls and gently pushed her legs wider. When his tongue flicked out to brush her soft folds, pleasure shot through her body, making her torso curl and her head lift off the bed.
She dug her fingers into his hair, even as he made another pass, applying more pressure. Heaven help her, desire churned in her stomach as she held him tighter to her body. He answered by creating a firm rhythm even as he lifted her hips for better access. She could barely breathe or speak as her body tightened until she couldn’t stand the pressure another second and she finally exploded in a shower of stars.
Chapter Fifteen
Luke felt her orgasm, his body so taut, threatening to break. Rising up above her, he looked down at the beautiful picture she made. Her hair fanned out on the bed, her body soft from his lovemaking. Damn. A man could get used to this. No one, in his entire adult life, had ever given to him the way she had. And he’d repay that kindness by using his every waking breath to make her happy. “Love,” he grated out as he came down on top of her. “Let me stay with you for a while before I return to the cottage.”
Her brows drew together even as she lifted her arms to him. “Leave? Why?”
He fell into her embrace, unable to resist. “I’ll not take your maidenhead before our wedding. I might be a rake but—”
She smiled at him, pulling him in for a playful kiss that made him tremble with need. “You’ve done other things to me. They didn’t take my maidenhead?”
Romancing the Rake: Seven Regency Romances Page 18