Page 74 of A Spinster for the Cold Duke

CHAPTER 26

“We should get you back inside.” Henry finally spoke after a long moment of silence between them.

Surely, he couldn’t keep holding her here, in the conservatory, dressed the way that she was.

Annabelle’s eyes widened, and her flushed cheeks brightened in the moonlight that pierced the glass ceiling of the conservatory.

“Oh!” she said, trying to pull away. “I…I can go back in myself. You?—”

Henry’s brows slashed downward above his eyes. “So eager to be rid of me, are you?” He grouched and she blinked up at him.

“I’m sorry?”

“How little do you truly think of me,” he said, “that you would think I would leave you alone like this, after that explosive moment we just shared?”

Now, Annabelle gasped. Her blush spread past her neck to pepper the tops of her breasts, which were now hidden from his gaze inside her chemise.

“Henry!”

“Good Lord, how I love my name on your lips.” He sighed while adjusting his hold as he carried her through the moonlit garden toward the house.

With each step, his heart pounded in his chest.

“Well, Henry.” Annabelle wrapped her arms securely around his shoulders. “Perhaps you should put me down and let me walk.”

“Absolutely not,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her temple. “I rather like having you in my arms like this. Makes me feel like some sort of knight errant carrying off his fair maiden.”

“More like a scoundrel absconding with an innocent,” she countered, though her tone held no real reproach.

“Innocent?” Henry’s chuckle was low and wicked. “My dear Annabelle, after what we just did, I think we can safely say your innocence is a thing of the past.”

Heat flooded Annabelle’s cheeks at the reminder, and she buried her face against his shoulder. “You’re terrible.”

“Terribly besotted with you,” he corrected while navigating the servants’ entrance with stealth.

The corridors were mercifully empty. The household had long since retired for the evening.

“Now, kindly tell me where we’re going before I walk right into Lady Oakley’s chambers.”

Annabelle’s laughter was like music to his ears, but she obliged him, whispering the directions in his ear. Henry fought back the urge to take her again.

When they reached her chamber, Henry set her down gently. His hands lingered at her waist as she found her footing. The intimacy of being alone together in her bedroom sent another flutter of awareness through him and he toyed with the notion of seducing her once again.

“I should go,” he said quietly, though he made no move to leave.

“Yes, you should,” she agreed, though her hands remained pressed against his chest.

They stood there for a moment, neither moving, the air between them thick with unspoken words and barely contained desire.

And then they both gave in.

Henry’s lips captured hers once again in a kiss that was both tender and demanding. His arms pulled her against the solid warmth of his chest. She melted into him. Her hands fisted in the fabric of his coat as the familiar fire ignited between them.

When they finally broke apart, both breathing hard, Henry rested his forehead against hers.

“By God, I cannot stop kissing you, Annabelle Lytton.” He confessed again in a voice that was rough.

“Neither can I,” she admitted. The words tumbled out before she could stop them. “I cannot seem to help myself.”

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