Page 77 of A Night of Forever
Philip hesitated, but Maitland clapped him on the shoulder. “We’ll use the time to select the Runners you should take with you.”
Arend waited until Maitland and Philip had left the room and then approached Isobel, who sat sipping her tea, apparently without a care in the world.
“May I have a word, Lady Isobel?”
“Of course.” She gestured to the chair Maitland had just vacated. “Please. Sit.”
He gritted his teeth. “In private, please.” When she raised an eyebrow, he added, “His Grace has kindly offered me the use of his study.” Or he would have, if he’d known Arend’s intentions.
“How could I refuse such a polite invitation?” She put her teacup down with exaggerated care, dabbed her lips with her napkin, and then rose to sweep past him and out of the room.
He followed her to the study, and when they had entered the room, he closed the door and turned the key in the lock.
“Would you like to sit?” he said.
Face completely calm, Isobel studied him. “I don’t intend to be here very long. I’d like to finish my tea before it gets cold. Then I have to pack.” Her tone was neither rude nor defensive. She was merely stating facts.
If she could be calm, then he could certainly manage the same. “I owe you an apology for my behavior last night and this morning.”
“Apology accepted,” she said. “Is that all?”
No. It bloodywasn’tall. Why was she not railing at him? He deserved her to tear a strip off him. She was so cool, so controlled. Why wasn’t she berating him for the way he’d treated her? It was as if she no longer cared.
“When I spoke to you this morning, it wasn’t that I didn’t trust you, it’s—”
“It’s perfectly all right, Arend.” She shrugged her slim shoulders. “I’m getting too close. You just reminded me that I need to have patience.” Now her mouth curved. “You didn’t bring me in here to try to talk me out of going to Deal, so your forbearance now makes up for your rudeness this morning.”
All the tension and angst rushed out of his lungs, and her radiant smile made him want to pull her into his arms and kiss her senseless.
But he reined in his need to hold her. “On the ride to Deal, stay close to Maitland and do what he tells you.”
“Why, Arend.” She moved closer, tender delight sparkling in her eyes. “Worried about me?”
“Worried” was a mild word for what he felt. “Of course I am.”
The radiance in her smile increased. “That is so nice to know. You be safe too. I don’t want to lose a new…friend.”
Her hesitation over the word “friend” needed to be addressed. He wanted to be more than friends.
His body had tightened the moment he’d seen her standing in the doorway. Even now he wanted to pull her into his arms. Kiss her. Touch her. Her fragrance clouded his mind, and his mouth watered as he remembered the taste of her.
He closed the distance between them until her pert breasts brushed his chest. When a slight shudder ran through her at the contact, he felt as though he’d won a thousand pounds.
“I’m more than simply a friend,” he murmured. “And you know it. You can’t hide the heat and flare of desire in your eyes.” Gently he ran his thumb over her bottom lip. “The flames are fierce in those deep blue depths. They leap every time I touch you.”
She swallowed as he leaned closer. Gasped as his lips grazed her unblemished cheek. When her hands rose to press against his chest, all he wanted was to feel her hands on his naked skin.
“Whatever else we may have with each other,” she said slowly, as if trying to convince herself, “friendship has to be there too. Lust fades, desire weakens, but friendship rides the waves of time.”
And with that strange statement, she pressed her lips to his in a sweet kiss.
The flames inside him leaped at the feel of her. He deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms round her and pulling her into his body so he could cradle her against his aching heart.
Just remembering the feel of Isobel’s soft, untutored body writhing beneath his, her ripe breasts straining for his touch, her cries as she arched into him in the throes of ecstasy, heightened his arousal and desire.
He wanted another night with her. Wanted to spend all his nights with her. That knowledge, that desperate need, terrified him. What if she learned of his past and then no longer wanted him? To be married to the one woman who owned his heart and yet despised him would be hell. He’d rather face Victoria’s loaded pistol than see the light of adoration dim in Isobel’s eyes. He needed to tell her everything before they married.
Soon they would both be staying under the same roof, and already his body celebrated at the prospect. But he would have to keep his mind focused. He had to keep Isobel safe and capture Victoria before anyone else got hurt. Then he’d tell Isobel everything and lay his heart, his hope, and his pride in her small hands.
