Page 48 of A Lady's Dangerous Secret
Was Lottie here?
James needed to see her. His remorseful letters had gone unanswered. These past few days had been some of the most painful ones he could remember.
He knew he had acted like a fool. He now felt like the scum of the earth for taking her virginity. Although her kisses had been innocent, the moment she went to her knees like a practiced courtesan, he had let his cock rule his mind and had told himself she was no virgin. He had wanted her so badly. All he could think about was making her his and sinking his cock into her delectable cunny.
If he had been truthful with himself about her likely virginity, he would have acted differently, he tried to convince himself. But he could not. He lost all reason when it came to Lottie.
He knew he deserved every minute of torture he had endured since that night. He did not think she would ever forgive him, and it tormented him beyond measure. He had barely slept. His stomach was perpetually tied in knots. He was disgusted with himself, but he also knew her treatment of him was ultimately for the best.
He had no right to her.
She was the daughter of an earl and was destined to become the Duchess of Westcliffe. Yet he had selfishly sought one perfect night with her that he would carry for the rest of his life, even if she became someone else’s wife. Now, he had ruined everything that existed between them.
He had to speak with her. His eyes kept searching for her among the guests who stood near Lady Bridget and her friends.Even in a costume, he would recognize her chestnut hair and the confident way she held her shoulders back. James expanded the perimeter of his search.
His eyes suddenly detected a woman weaving through the crowd. James’s stomach tightened. “Gabe, I’ll be back.”
He made his way through the throng of people, side-stepping anyone who got in his way. He needed to reach that familiar veiled woman, the same woman he’d seen in Roberts’s office: Mrs. Gibson.
Luckily his height allowed him to keep his eyes trained on the black veil that wove in and out of the clusters of guests toward the doors that exited the ballroom.
Itwasher. The same color hair, the same height, and the same way she carried herself.
He ignored the protestations from a man he elbowed who did not move out of the way quickly enough. He arrived at the doors just before the veiled woman reached her destination and positioned himself in front of her.
This is it. I’ve finally found Mrs. Gibson.
The veiled woman stopped abruptly.
”James?”
His knees almost buckled beneath him.
Lottie? No, it couldn’t be.
His mind spun. “You’re Mrs. Gibson?”
He heard a gasp from beneath the veil, and Lottie tried to shove past him. He was so unsettled that he was caught unawares by her delicate frame colliding with him. He almost lost his balance as she moved away. Once he was steady, he turned and saw her disappear into the bottleneck of guests who were trying to enter and exit the ballroom.
He started after her, but a woman stepped in front of him. “Not now!” he growled.
“Oh, but you’re so handsome and so…big.”
He looked down to see a woman clinging to his arm, pushing her breasts against him.
“I’m not interested.” He peeled her hands off his arm and stepped around her.
“Dammit!” he cursed under his breath, as he tried to muscle his way past other guests and through the doorway.
Once he finally made it out of the ballroom, his mind raced with possibilities. He ran toward the front of the home, reasoning that she was intent on making a hasty exit.
James darted outside the house and the cool, fresh air took away his breath momentarily after the stuffiness of the ball. He assessed the scene before him. Carriage after carriage lined up along the road in front of the property awaiting their owners. On top of that, vehicles were still entering the drive that led to the house to drop off arriving guests.
James sprinted to the line of equipages and proceeded to hastily check each one for a veiled head of chestnut hair.
He was such an idiot.
How did he not realize Lottie was Mrs. Gibson?
