Page 99 of In Need of a Duke
“You made me wait,” he reminded her. “Tough, isn’t it?”
“You don’t have to sound so smug, darling.” She leaned forward with a grin on her face. “I remember how I made you squirm.”
He leaned forward, ghosting his lips over hers. “We can do it again if you’d like.”
She sat back as if to recline back against the bench seat, then reached for his jacket, and hauled him close enough for her lips to brush against his. He deepened their kiss, reaching back around to untie the blindfold and tossing it to the floor beside their feet.
Charlotte drew back and rested her forehead against his, her blue eyes studying him with that heavy-lidded desire he craved. “I like kissing you. Even if you are terrible at providing hints.”
“But think of everything I excel at.”
“Are you fishing for a compliment, Husband?”
“It would never hurt my pride to hear one.”
She laughed again, curling her fingers back into his hair. “Where have you taken me?”
Ian moved, allowing her a better view from the carriage window, but all the while, never taking his eyes off her face, watching as confusion, then surprise, and delight washed over her features.
“Astley’s?”
He nodded, grabbing her hands as the carriage finally rolled to a stop. “We will only be two patrons in a sea of hundreds, Lottie. Whatever we must contend with as Duke and Duchess can wait until tomorrow. Tonight, let us have fun.”
The apples of her cheeks rounded as she flashed him a giddy grin. “I’ve never been here. My parents would have never allowed it.”
“I haven’t been here since I was a schoolboy.” The carriage door opened, and he stepped out, handing her down to the street on the warm late spring evening.
“And there are horses?”
“I heard there will be an elephant this evening.”
She looped her hand through his outstretched elbow and glanced over at him. “An elephant? Are you certain?”
He shrugged. “I guess we will need to see.”
“Can you imagine?”
“I've never seen one before, so I don’t know what to expect.”
“Very smart creatures, elephants,” Charlotte said matter-of-factly. “This promises to be quite the adventure.”
“If it is too much, we can always turn around and return home. I shouldn’t have assumed you would?—”
“No, this sounds lovely, Ian.”
It did. An evening where they could disappear among the rest of London to laugh together and watch all sorts of spectacles—the likes she never would have encountered if they remained at Stonehurst.
As they filed into the building and found their seats, Charlotte continued to sneak peeks at him, tearing her stare away to study thestage curtains or the ring or the large chandelier suspended from the middle of the open room.
“What is it?” he asked, nudging against her shoulder.
“It’s only…” She sighed, reaching for his hand as the light dimmed slightly. “This reminds me of the afternoons we would spend reading together or riding together, and we would talk about the most pointless things. It all meant nothing, but we had everything to say. I could have listened to you for hours.”
“And now?”
“I am doing a terrible job of making my thoughts make sense. What I am trying to say is that I enjoy spending time with you best when we have nothing to do. When it is us…” She shrugged as he gestured toward the crowd filing in. “We are only two people in love this evening, enjoying one another’s company. What a simple pleasure. I’ve missed it very much.”
He grabbed her hand and brought it against his lips, dropping a kiss against her gloved palm just in time as the show began.
