Page 77 of The Lover's Eye
She didn’t know.She only knew him.Only knew she was matching that wild, helpless vulnerability every second, in each slow dip of his hips.
Isobel smiled, trailing a hand lightly down his back as she grew more comfortable with the feeling of his possession.“I wanted you sooner.I …” Her recent sensitivity had slipped back into dormancy, and she felt the deep, delightfully nagging buildup begin anew.She wrapped her legs around him and his hand fisted the linen sheet to a tight knot.
“I wanted you from the first moment,” he said raggedly.He slipped a strong arm under her back, pressing her closer against him and altering the angle of her hips.His lips trailed down the side of her neck, drawing a soft moan from her.
She put her palms against the bristle of his cheek; felt the moment his jaw flexed and saw his eyes turn hazy.She had words to say, an answer to give, but it seemed to be slipping through the cracks of her consciousness, disappearing along with everything else amid the mounting pleasure.
Giles was kissing her, desperate and ceaseless, the muscles of his shoulders flexing under her touch.She watched his struggle for control until the surge of pleasure reached her, sending her limply into the abyss, her eyes closed against the onslaught of feeling.A moment later, he was withdrawing from her, his release spilling hot against her stomach and his breathing labored.
Their eyes connected, glassy and sated, and they laughed.Isobel found her voice, and unearthed the words she had meant to say sooner.“I am all yours, Giles Trevelyan.”
♦
Isobel lay in Giles’s sleeping arms, a soft smile at her lips.Her hair was a tangled mess on his pillow, and her hand roamed over the dry warmth of his bare chest.
The fire had almost burnt itself out, but she was exquisitely warm and comfortable, even divested of her nightdress.We created this,she thought.A little lagoon of mutual desire and love that was untouchable from the outside; a space where she felt confident and safe and free.
Isobel nudged closer against him, wantingmore, even though he already held her close.The movement made Giles stir in his sleep, and he tightened his arm around her, blinking.He smiled and kissed her.
“I’ve not slept that good in months,” he said.“Actually, I think I’ve made a grave understatement.I don’t think I’ve slept any better in the whole of my life.”
“I stayed up half the night wishing I could look at you.”
He ran his hands over her rumpled hair, seemingly unable to stop himself.“And now that you can, what is your assessment of me?”
She levelled herself over him, staring attentively down.“You have the most spectacular eyes.The blue is almost like the shade of a bluebell.”She touched a finger to his brow.“And did you know they’ve a pattern?Like little ripples in a lake.”
“Why not like waves in the sea?”He raised a joking brow.
“Don’t be silly, I’m serious,” Isobel said, but she was smiling equally bright.“They are not like the sea.They’re too calm, too sweet—like their keeper.”
He kissed her then, his hands beginning to roam up her arms and down her back before he stopped himself.“I’m afraid I should return to myassignedchamber,” he said mischievously.“At least allow your father the false pretense of success.”
Isobel sighed and stretched up for a final kiss before he slipped into the dark corridor.
The next two days passed in a sort of suspended bliss.The cords of strain that had affected Giles and Isobel seemed to be cut free, and she made no attempt to hide her ardent desire to be near him and share her bed.She was delighted to watch their new closeness transform him.His steps were lighter.He smiled more and his eyes glistened.She would walk into a room and find him relaxed, easy, at peace.But perhaps she was changed, too.
Isobel felt more comfortable at Ridgeway House than she had since childhood.Freed from the Sempill’s incessant visits, she was able to enjoy her father’s company.Just as she had expected, her father’s misgivings faded as he observed their shared happiness, and Giles spent hours looking over the estate’s earnings, suggesting changes to the tenant farmers’ lease agreements that would work to everyone’s benefit.
Each of them was wistful when the time came to part.All of Isobel’s things had been packed into trunks and were being loaded for the journey ahead.She stood in front of Ridgeway House surveying the progress, while Giles remained inside speaking to Lord Ridgeway.
“I’ve made some little cakes and biscuits for you to take on the road, milady.”
Isobel turned to see the cook coming down the steps with a carefully tied parcel of treats.They smelled delectably sweet, and when she took the package in her hands, it was still warm.“Oh, how very kind of you!”
“You are most welcome,” Cook replied.“It has been a pleasure—” Her eyes trailed over Isobel’s shoulder, and all her excitement fell away.
Blood chilled in Isobel’s veins.She knew what awaited her without turning to see.
“I’d like a private audience with Miss Ridgeway,” came an all too familiar voice.
Cook gave a brief bow and rushed back up the stairs and into the house.Isobel managed to turn around, the soles of her boots grating in the gravel.
The sun was bright and hot, partially obscuring the person advancing toward her, but she saw the familiar chaise parked on the drive.They stopped just as their head blocked the sun and cast a shadow over Isobel’s face.
“I heard you’d come home to your poor papa, and I wanted to lay eyes on you myself,” Lady Sempill said.Her eyes traced a lingering, cutting path from Isobel’s scalp to her ankles.
Isobel held the other woman’s gaze.Memories pinched just beneath the surface, paralyzing and painful.Thank God Elias isn’t with her.
