Page 71 of The Last Duke She'd Marry
“I’ll tell Mulray to find us an inn.” Raw need grated in his voice.
“Off the main route. Anyone on the highway to London knows me.” It was an effort to think of practicalities, when she ached for more kisses, for Evesham’s hands on her. “I’ve brought a veil, but it would be better to go somewhere I won’t cause a local scandal. Or at least another local scandal.”
A more thorough kiss. By the time he drew back, her toes curled with pleasure in her half boots.
“I’ll have you to myself until tomorrow,” he said. “It’s more than I ever thought you’d grant me.”
A slow smile curved her lips. “I can kiss you as often as I like.”
“And I can touch you and hold you.” His hand drifted over her head with a light touch before he kissed her again. “You’ll have to move away while I talk to Mulray. He’s easily shocked.”
In a daze of pleasure, she disentangled herself. Evesham reached up and rapped on the roof.
Mulray opened the sliding panel to look down into the carriage. Water dripped from the wide brim of his hat, and he looked cold and miserable. “Yes, Your Grace?”
“Sorry the day’s so vile, old man.”
“Lovely weather for ducks, sir.”
“It is that. Do you know an inn on the Salisbury road where we won’t make much of an impression?”
“Salisbury, Your Grace? I was heading for London.”
“A small change of plan. Also I’d like you to take the shields off the doors.”
“Very good, sir.” Soon after the panel shut, the carriage jolted to a stop.
Juliet heard a few bumps and scrapes, as Mulray removed the wooden panels displaying the ducal arms and stored them in the luggage compartment at the back.
“He’ll know what we’re planning,” she said, once the carriage started moving again.
“He won’t betray us.” Evesham’s arms curled around her shoulders. Ridiculous as it might be, the embrace made her feel protected. “He’s been with the family since boyhood, and he’s unshakably loyal. But if you’re having second thoughts, we can continue on to London.”
A smile twisted her lips, although it warmed her heart to know that Evesham was letting her decide what happened between them. “Then poor Mulray might drown.”
“Or we could stop at an inn and have a meal and wait for the weather to pass. Two travelers seeking temporary shelter.”
She tried to read his expression through the darkness. “That’s not what you want.”
His grunt expressed fervent agreement with that remark. “Hell, no. However the choice remains yours.”
She raised her chin. “If I don’t take this chance, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”
He caught her up for another kiss, over too soon. “Your courage humbles me. Never think I take this gift for granted.”
How she wished that he didn’t sound as if she was the answer to his every wish. She fought so hard to keep a grip on stark reality. That stark reality was that while she’d remember what they did for the rest of her life, he’d move on to other lovers. He’d soon forget Juliet Frain.
Fate delivered her to Evesham for a single night. No more. If she persuaded herself that this extended beyond satisfying their attraction, she was asking for trouble. And she already had enough trouble to keep her busy into the next century.
She stared up at him through the gloom. “I wish we were already safe in a room somewhere, with just you and me and nobody to judge us.”
“Still a few misgivings?”
“One or two, but I won’t be a reluctant lover.”
“The first time I saw you, I thought of a captive flame. You contain such passion, Juliet. Tonight will be a glorious adventure.”
Heaven help her. Trouble had well and truly found her. What was the use of pretending otherwise? How could she resist him? How could she shut her emotions out? The blunt answer was that she couldn’t.
