Page 102 of Enslaved
“My aunt and uncle should be here by then. Lord, I’m not looking forward to the inquisition I’ll get.”
“I’ll be glad to speak to them, Lady Diana. Give them all sorts of dire warnings about what could happen if they press you too hard.”
“Thank you, Doctor.”
“Peter should be back by then too?” Charles said, giving Mark a look that warned he’d better get his feelings for the lady sorted out before his brother returned.
Mark walked Charles to the front door of Hardwick Hall and held it open for him. “Charles?”
“Yes, Mark?”
“Mind your own damned business.”
Charles grinned with delight, not the least bit offended.
As soon as she was alone, Diana slipped from the bed and opened the wardrobe. There hung the hideous beige pannier dress and, beside it, the old-fashioned corset. Her glance then fell on the trunk she had left behind the morning she had run away from Hardwick Hall. She knelt down to open it and memory of her pretty new clothes came flooding back.
Here was the saucy red half-corset and the jade velvet gown she had bought at Madame Madeleine’s. She shook out the velvet folds and hung it up, then did the same with her other dresses. Diana tucked the nightgown she was wearing beneath the pillow and donned the corset. It certainly wasn’t as exotic as her Roman garments, but she was willing to bet it was the most daring article of clothing in modern-day Bath.
She put on her smart black riding habit, then twisted her long hair into a chignon at the nape of her neck. When she couldn’t find the earl indoors, she wandered out toward the stables. He was saddling a horse, and when she asked him to saddle one for her, he frowned.
“The weather isn’t conducive to a sedate ride in the park, Lady Diana.”
He was back to addressing her formally. She wondered if it was because of the severely cut riding habit. “I don’t ride sedately. I have learned to ride neck or nothing, as I have learned to do most other things. It’s so much more exhilarating.”
“The doctor advised you not to overdo it.”
She lifted her chin withhauteur.“You are not the only one who needs the outlet of a wild ride every once in a while. Being caged indoors makes me, too, long for freedom.”
He relented and saddled the horse for her. Apparently they shared the same feelings about freedom. He took her to the back of his acres to the site of the dig, where she dismounted and plodded about in the mud, as fascinated as he was himself with the archaeological project.
From there they rode to the stone quarries, where he noted she asked the workmen scores of intelligent questions. It dawned upon him that she was not pretending an interest to flatter him, as most women would do, she was genuinely curious.
When they stopped at an inn for a bite of lunch, the earl did not dare to order a private room. They kept a cool distance between them while they ate and talked, as if they had declared an unspoken truce. They avoided personal topics, they avoided antagonizing each other, and they avoided any reference to last night.
Their politeness continued on the ride back to Hardwick Hall. When they arrived, both were pleased with themselves. They had spent time together without once losing their tempers. It was a relief to both of them that they could act in such a civilized manner.
Diana went to her room, determined to take a nap so that she would not be overtired later this evening. It was possible that Prudence, Richard, and Peter could arrive tonight if the roads were passable. She removed the riding habit and hung it in the wardrobe. Tonight she would wear the jade gown to give her confidence. She did not wish to be at a disadvantage when she faced Prudence.
The chamber door swung open. “Diana, I—”
Mark’s black eyes took in the long legs, the succulent breasts, and the saucy red garment in the space between. The picture she made was such a contrast with the one she had presented in the severe riding habit that he lost control.
His hands closed about her tiny waist and he lifted her against him for a kiss.
“Oh dear heaven, don’t kiss me—once we start, we can never stop,” she breathed.
Chapter 32
Holding her in his arms brought such a heady sensation, Mark Hardwick couldn’t have stopped if he’d wanted to. When he held her in the night, she had been genuinely terrified and his protective feelings had outweighed his desire. Now, however, Diana wasn’t afraid of anything unless it was the intensity of her reaction to him.
His mouth on hers was hard, demanding, and she responded hungrily as if she were starving.Don’t stop—don’t ever stop,her brain cried out.
One kiss was not enough. His lips brushed her eyelids, temples, cheekbones, then slanted against her mouth once more, forcing her lips open to accept him inside her. Her tongue played with his deliciously, endlessly, until he mastered her and she yielded willingly, generously.
They kissed until they were both panting, kissed until their need for each other was ravenous. He picked her up, and her arms slid about his neck and clung possessively. Her smallness excited him, as did her passionate surrender. She would hold nothing back—she would allow him to be as wild and dominant as he pleased, endlessly taking from her, as she endlessly yielded.
Diana moaned softly as his powerful hands roamed her curves, remembering, remembering.
