Page 69 of The Last Duke She'd Marry
“Your driver will be soaked.”
Better Mulray copped a drenching than a delay exposed Evesham to impossible temptation. It was difficult enough keeping his paws off Juliet as it was. “He’s a hardy soul.”
“Nobody is expecting me. There’s no special urgency for me to arrive.”
There was, if she wanted to stay chaste. His hands gripped the edge of the leather seat. “Juliet, for pity’s sake…”
She lowered her eyelashes and started to pleat the wool of her pelisse. It was the first sign of nerves that she’d shown. Perhaps she was worried that he might overstep the boundaries. She wasn’t the only one. “I’m not expressing myself very well,” she mumbled.
He sucked in a shuddering sigh. This was torture. “We can’t stop on the way,” he said in a strangled voice.
She glanced up with a meaningful look. But for the life of him, he couldn’t work out that meaning. “Because somebody we know might see us?”
He couldn’t help sounding grumpy. “No. Because I want you, and a nice cozy inn with nice cozy bedrooms gives me too much opportunity to do something about that.”
Evesham waited for Juliet to tell him to go to Hades, but to his utter astonishment, she lifted her chin and spoke in a steady voice. “In that case, let’s find that inn.”
Chapter 19
If Juliet hadn’t been quite so on edge, she’d have burst out laughing at the complete astonishment on Evesham’s face. For once, she had the advantage over the worldly duke.
Oh, she was wicked to enjoy this so much. Although not as wicked as she intended to be.
The man who sat across from her had dressed with more care than usual for his meeting in her father’s library. Not to mention, a deep purple bruise marred his sculpted chin where Granville had hit him last night. But he was still the man she wanted above all others, even if she was damned for it.
She linked her hands in her lap and spoke calmly, as if she wasn’t breaking every rule that she’d lived by for twenty-six years. “I seem to have taken you by surprise, Your Grace.”
“You… We… I…”
At his continued speechlessness, she did laugh. Amusement helped to counter the nerves that fluttered like sparrows trapped inside her.
He sucked in an audible breath and managed to get a sentence out, even if in a raspy croak. “By Jove, Juliet, do you know what you’re saying?”
“I believe I’m in full possession of my wits, sir.”
He raked a trembling hand through his hair and stared at her as if she was likely to disappear in a puff of smoke. “I’m not sure you are.”
A cowardly part of her had hoped that he wouldn’t ask for explanations. The man she’d once judged him to be would just jump on her and have his way. She probably wouldn’t even need to wait for a convenient inn.
But he’d never been that man. If she was honest with herself, she wouldn’t be having this conversation with that ruthless seducer.
He stripped off his gloves and leaned forward. When he took her hand, her heart gave a great thump that made it difficult to speak.
“Last night, I spent a lot of time thinking about my life,” she said in a low voice. “I was still thinking while I packed to leave my home after Papa threw me out.”
One of those wry smiles that she loved. “I’m sure.”
“I thought about always being a model of propriety.”
“Until you met me.”
“Until I discovered what temptation was.”
The smile turned tender. “Thank you for that.”
“For what?”
“For admitting that I don’t yearn alone.”
