Chapter Eight
Juliet stepped back, and her breath hitched while she held Dane’s gaze with hers. “Oh, how terrible. I’m so sorry,” she said. She raised her hands, rubbing his arms in a comforting gesture even as her eyes softened, drawing him in, as her words registered.
Even now, the memory brought a painful lump into his throat. But Juliet’s compassionate reaction caught him off guard. Dane swallowed hard, still unable to comprehend why he’d even revealed this private information to her.
But the kiss had scrambled his normally ordered mind. He wasn’t acting rationally or reasonably.
First, he’d never responded with such need to a simple touch. And to know it was her first…that did things to a man. A possessive need to claim her as his own need pumped through his veins. And when she’d promised not to tell anyone, not to attempt to trap him in marriage…
How could she have known that he needed to hear that? He needed to know this wasn’t an attempt to become a marquess’s wife but just a kiss shared between two people.
But that shouldn’t matter at all.
He would take a wife. One that he’d carefully chosen and they’d build a future based on mutual interest and shared children.
Still, he couldn’t deny the attraction between them, the primal urges she effortlessly invoked.
Jealousy, desire, a need to touch her whirled through him. He tamped down his urges with great difficulty. Now was not the time to act on his impulses. He’d only just met her yesterday. “We should catch up to Chase and Ophelia before they worry,” he said, breaking their tenuous connection.
She nodded and they started down the path, a silence falling between them.
Chase and Ophelia had stopped up ahead. “There you are,” Ophelia called. “Is everything all right?”
Juliet waved her hand in a wide arc. “Fine. Absolutely fine.”
Ophelia dropped her chin, staring at her sister. “Are you sure?”
“I got a rock in my slipper. Lord Hartwell helped me remove it.”
He drew his brows together, watching her face. Juliet’s voice grew louder with every word. What had gotten into her?
Ophelia’s lips pressed together but she didn’t say more as she and Chase turned and continued down the path.
The silence between them had grown heavy and, wishing to break it, he grasped about, looking for something to discuss. Anything that might break the tension. Staring at the cliff, he noticed what looked to be a cave. “Is that what I think it is?” he asked, pointing.
Juliet looked up, following his finger. “If you think it’s a sea cave, then yes.”
“Can you get into it?” he asked, his boyish curiosity taking over.
She shook her head. “Not that one. It’s too high and there isn’t enough of a ledge to reach it from the path. There are others, further down the beach but they are dangerous for different reasons.”
“What reasons are those?”
She pointed to the water. “In about two hours, the tide will swallow nearly all of the beach here. But further down, it will disappear entirely and the water will rise up the cliff, covering the lower caves.” She looked over to him. “They are fun to explore but it is best done at low tide.”
He nodded. “That makes sense. This place is full of beauty. I’ll say that.”
“I loved growing up here. It was the happiest of childhoods before my mother passed. And even after. Ophelia soothed so much of our hurt.”
“You’re lucky to have such a sister. Will you miss her when she marries Chase?”
Juliet nodded. “Very much. But I hear they are discussing the purchase of a place near here. Then Ophelia will be close to us and Chase not far from you.”
He stopped, some sort of pain tightening his chest. “Chase plans to build his new family in close proximity to me?” The more he learned, the more he realized Ophelia didn’t seem to be tricking or stealing his cousin. She was building a life that revolved around both her family and his. “Can I confess to you that I am starting to see the merit in their relationship?”
She gave him a large grin, slipping her hand into his arm and giving his biceps a squeeze. “Dare I hope to convince you that they are in love?”
Dane shook his head. “Now you are pushing.”
She laughed, a sound he was growing to adore. “Fine. I will settle for my tiny victory.”
The path opened up onto the beach, the sound of the waves, filling his ears. “Now wait until you see our little hideaway.” Juliet yelled over the roaring noise. “We played here endlessly as children.”
He stopped, staring out at the water. “Chase mentioned it yesterday.”
“Come on.” She tugged on his arm. “It’s just over here.”
They followed Chase and Ophelia until the couple slipped between what must have been a space in the rocks. His eyes widened. If you hadn’t known the entrance was there, a person might just miss it. “How fun,” he said, picking up the pace.
The moment they stepped inside, the noise of the ocean calmed, the rocks blocking the sound. The rock wrapped about them, with only a tiny opening, creating an open-ceiling room that had to be twenty feet wide and fifteen deep with a soft sand floor.
“Do you like it?” she asked, pulling on his arm again. “As children it was our favorite place in the world and we’d spend hours here playing pirates or princesses or acting out some Shakespearean play.”
He looked around. “It’s breathtaking.”
Ophelia laughed as she spread out the blanket. “Juliet was most always the princess or the hero of our stories.”
A blush filled Juliet’s cheeks again as her arms dropped to her sides. She was so obviously embarrassed by this trait of hers. “And who was the villain…wait let me guess.” He tapped his chin. “Certainly not Cordelia. She’s too quiet. And not Bianca…too sweet.”
Both sisters stared at him but Juliet raised her brows. “Go on.”
He was getting it right. “Ophelia was likely your director.”
Ophelia gasped, “How did you know?”
He chuckled and Chase rolled his eyes. “My cousin is an uncanny observer.”
Dane gave them a wicked smile. “That means Adrianna was most definitely your villain and her choice of Lord Crestwood as husband makes a great deal more sense.”
The entire group laughed and Juliet stepped up next to him again, looking up at him with a soft smile. It made him want to stroke her cheek with the back of his fingers. “And what do you think of my sister, Juliet?” Ophelia asked, her eyes twinkling.
“I already told her. I think she is a sparkling gem, an emerald, I’d wager.”
“Emerald?” she whispered, her eyes growing a bit glassy.
“Diamonds are too cold. But emeralds…” He stopped before he exposed too much about his desire for her.
Juliet could barely catch her breath. He thought of her as an emerald? The beauty of the compliment was nearly as good as the kiss had been. “Thank you,” she murmured, turning away. For some reason, looking at him hurt a bit. It made her heart beat faster and her chest ache.
“Shall we hunt for shells before we eat?” Ophelia asked.
Juliet shook her head. “Let’s eat now. The tide is rising quickly.”
They settled into a very pleasant picnic. Juliet tried to remember a more pleasant time. She was having a picnic with a handsome man who’d called her a warm, sparkling gem and he’d kissed her. She wasn’t certain how to tell him that she didn’t need a marriage proposal. That his attention today had filled her with the sort of reassurance she’d been longing for. She needed to know she wasn’t just an annoying nuisance, irritating her sisters, barely tolerated by Dashlane. With Dane, she felt wanted, liked, special.
She gave him a small smile as Chase regaled them with a tale from their childhood. “And there I was, stuck waist-deep in the mud. Dane had to climb in too to pull me out.”
Ophelia laughed. “I can see I’ll have my work cut out for me, kee
ping you out of trouble.”
Dane chuckled too. “I shall help you, Miss Moorish, and I’ll be glad to share the burden. Now if I could just find a husband for Charlie.”
They all laughed and Juliet looked away, once again overwhelmed by all the feelings swirling inside her. But her gaze cast to the entrance of the cave. “Oh dear,” she murmured. “The tide is in and it’s about to enter our hideaway.”
Ophelia cried, scrambling to her knees. “It never comes this high.”
They quickly rose and began cleaning up all of their belongings. Juliet started for the opening when she stopped. The water blocked most of the beach. “We’re going to have to get wet to make it to the path.”
Without hesitation, Chase swept Ophelia into his arms. “Not on my watch,” he called and swept past them.
Before Juliet could even mouth the question, strong arms lifted her and then Dane pressed her to his chest. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll get you safely to the path.”
Her entire body heated as her bosom and stomach pressed against him. She’d never been next to a man like this. “Oh,” she gasped as his boots splashed into the frothy water. “Your Hessians will be ruined.”
He chuckled. “I’ll get a new pair. That gown, however, is worth saving.”
She circled her arms about his neck. “Thank you, Dane,” she said. “And not just for this. Thank you for today. I will remember it always.”
He didn’t answer, instead, he leaned down, water all about them as another wave crashed into the shore and captured her lips again. It was brief and fierce and made her ache in her most private of parts.
Then his head lifted as quickly as he’d brought it down and he splashed through the rest of the water until he reached higher ground.
When he set her on her feet again, she knew she should let go of his neck, but she didn’t want to. Instead, her fingers stayed locked behind his head, the soft strands of his hair, twining into her fingers.
“You’re safe now,” he said, quietly, so only she could hear.
With a nod, she slowly dropped her hands, letting them slide down his chest. “I believe you.”
He took her hands in his, gently lowering them to her sides. “It’s time to get you back to your family.”
She tried not to frown. It wasn’t that she needed more from him today, it was just that she didn’t want this moment to end.
Would they have another kiss? Her breath caught as she realized that she desperately wanted to touch him again. Kiss him. Nearly as much as she wanted to breathe air. Could it be that she was falling in love?
Chapter Nine
Juliet stood in front of the mirror, assessing the silk gown she’d chosen for tonight. Not that it had been much of a choice. One look in her wardrobe and she’d known she’d wear the emerald green silk.
The top of the bodice clung to her body, showing a good deal of cleavage. The high waist allowed fabric to cascade down over her hips. She pulled on her high gloves, her hair having been piled atop her head in an intricate coif.
Cordelia sat at Juliet’s dressing table, already dressed for the evening. “The clouds are growing thick,” she said. “It might rain tonight.”
Juliet nodded, not really caring about the weather. “At least it’s held off this long.”
What she was far more interested in was the storm currently collecting in her belly. Nervous jitters fluttered about. She’d planned this party, wanting an opportunity to dance with Dashlane but now…all she could think about was Dane.
He’d promised her a dance. Her heart thudded and her hands pressed to her stomach. How would she feel to be in his arms again? Her breath caught when she remembered being held by them.
“So…” Cordelia said as she fiddled with the handle of a brush. “Are you going to try and dance with Lord Dashlane?”
Juliet looked over at her sister. “I…” She cocked her head as she noted Cordelia’s nervous fidgeting. “I doubt it.”
Cordelia’s head snapped up. “Really?”
Juliet turned toward her sister. “Really. I think he’s very handsome but…” Her mouth twisted. “I’d like a man who thinks I am like a sparkling jewel, not one who barely tolerates me.”
Cordelia slumped down in her chair. “That makes a great deal of sense.”
Juliet was tempted to ask if Cordelia would attempt to procure a dance but she let it be. Her sister was quiet and she’d talk when she was ready. “Shall we start downstairs?”
Cordelia nodded. “I can’t believe you managed to make this ball happen in such a short amount of time.”
Juliet linked her arms within her sister’s. “I was motivated.” Funny how much her priorities had shifted. The image of Dane rose to the forefront of her thoughts. A few days ago, she didn’t even know him and now, he occupied her every waking thought. She wanted to be with him all the time. Not only did he like her for who she was, but…She nearly tripped on her own feet, he was a perfect complement to her boisterous personality.
She picked up speed, wanting to see him again…wanting to touch him in any way she could. As they reached the top of the stairs, her breath caught. She needn’t wait long. He was standing with her father and Chase in the entryway.
She swallowed as their eyes met.
“Come on,” Cordelia softly whispered. “I begin to understand why you no longer care about Lord Dashlane.”
She looked at her sister. “Lord Hartwell doesn’t believe in love.” She’d been so happy with his attention the day before, she hadn’t considered that as she wanted more from him, he might not be willing to give it. Even now, he might decide that he shouldn’t give her his attention this evening.
She shook her head, he’d promised her a dance at least.
“If anyone can change his mind, you can,” Cordelia said next to her ear. “Of that, I’m sure.”
She shook her head. “I hope you’re right. I’ve gone and grown soft on him.”
Cordelia winked. “He’s soft on you too. Just look at him.”
He stared up at her, his face soft and his eyes intense, his gaze unwavering. They reached the bottom of the stairs and he held out his elbow to her. “May I escort you into the ballroom?”
She slipped her arm from Cordelia’s and into his, her breath catching in her throat. Her father grinned as they waited for the rest of her sisters, greeting guests as they began to arrive.
She could barely concentrate as Dane’s hip brushed hers, the small touch starting a riot in her body. Juliet attempted to remember the name of the husband and wife that were entering. They lived in Haversham. He was a merchant. But her normally good memory failed her.
“Good evening, Mr. Kent,” her father called. “So good to see you.”
Kent…Juliet attempted to commit the name to memory but Dane’s hand brushed her fingertips and her thoughts scattered again.
They made their way into the ballroom, a crush of people lining the walls and filling the dance floor as a lively six-piece orchestra played. “Juliet,” Ophelia said from her right. “How did you get so many people here?”
Juliet shrugged. This party had been everything she’d focused on for the past several days but she’d hardly thought about it the last two days. “There are so few events that nearly everyone I sent invitations to accepted.”
Her father chuckled. “True. But still well done.”
“I made you a promise to dance,” Dane said close to her ear. “Would you fill me in on your dance card?”
She gave a nod, her cheeks heating. Then she looked down, picking a spot later in the evening. A dance she knew to be a waltz. “I’ve filled you in for the third set.”
He nodded, his finger lightly massaging her elbow. “Third it is.”
Her sisters began to scatter, talking with friends or dancing. The heat of the room already making her cheeks flush. “It’s grown quite warm in here.”
“That’s how parties such as this go,” he replied. “The best thing to do is step outside.�
� Dane started weaving his way through the crowd.
She looked back to see her father engaged in conversation, only Cordelia and Charlie remaining by his side.
Biting her lip, she let Dane lead her through one of many large double doors that led out into a large garden.
She’d loved this garden and had played here all her life. As the sea air hit her skin, she drew in a deep breath. “So much better.”
He chuckled. “Your party has only just begun and you already wish to escape.”
She squeezed his arm. “It’s so odd, but the things I thought I wanted are turning out to not be the things I need at all.” The question, however, remained. Would she get what she needed now that she knew her true desire?
Dane looked down at Juliet, her profile just lit from the candles glowing throughout the ballroom. Desire rumbled through him as he took in the sweep of her eyelashes, the gentle slope of her nose, the full, tempting curve of her lips. “That I understand completely.”
Two days ago he’d arrived here intent upon saving Chase from what he was certain was a coerced match. Now…now he was on a completely different mission. One to discover if he’d been wrong about love all these years.
The idea frightened him far more than he cared to admit. Had he been wrong? Could he find a woman who not only shared his life but stole his breath?
Looking down at Juliet, he wanted to believe that it was true. That love could exist and also that she might be that very woman. Checking quickly about them, he started moving again, intent upon finding a shadowy corner. He only had a few minutes before he needed to get Juliet back inside but, somehow, he needed to touch her again. Kiss her lips and hold her close. As if that touch would provide answers to his questions.
“Let’s go over here,” Juliet murmured, pointing into the darkness.
He squinted, trying to see where she pointed but she began tugging him and soon they were on a dark path. As the moon came out, it shed just enough light for him to see as the path opened into a little spot that held a bench. A privet lined it, creating an intimate little room within the garden. “Is this another of your favorite spots?” he asked as he sat on the bench, pulling her down into his lap.
Romancing the Rake: Seven Regency Romances Page 33