Page 64 of A Cinderella to Redeem the Earl
She shook her head. ‘We lived very quiet lives at the vicarage, before my father died. You might say my father was my best friend. We spent a great deal of time together. He died not long before Alan. And then my life changed completely.’
‘Your stepfather is an earl, I understand.’
‘How did you know that?’
‘I made discreet enquiries once I realised you were not the common-or-garden cook I had expected. You use your own name. It was easy to discover your true identity.’
‘Will you tell my family I am here?’
He shrugged. ‘Not unless you desire it.’
‘No. I do not.’
‘Very well.’
Relief flooded through her. She gazed up at him. ‘Thank you. You are a good man.’
His laugh had a sharp edge to it. ‘Hardly.’
She turned fully to face him and, in a moment of longing and gratitude, kissed him full on the lips.
For a moment, like before, he hesitated, then he returned her kiss with passion.
Her heart sang. Her body trembled with desire. Instinct said there was no going back this time. And she was glad.
His kiss deepened. His tongue danced with hers. His breathing and hers mingled loud in her ears.
This was what she had missed. The excitement of body and heart and soul. The passion. The desire.
Longing filled her.
He groaned low in his throat, drawing back a fraction, gazing down into her face. ‘Are you sure you want this?’
How could he even find the mental capacity to ask?
‘Yes,’ she managed to whisper. ‘I want you.’
Very badly.
‘Then you shall have me.’
The words sent a sharp pull at her core. She moaned her pleasure at the long-forgotten sensation.
He kissed her again at length, until her bones felt liquid and her mind dizzied. She was aware of his hands wandering her body in pleasurable strokes and caresses, slowly sliding under her skirts to caress her calves and her knees.
He rose up on one knee, bending over her, gazing into her eyes.
She reached up and pulled at the knot of his cravat, pulling the ends free of his waistcoat and then unwinding it from around his lovely strong throat.
He smiled as she began undoing his waistcoat buttons. ‘I think this sofa is too small for the both of us, my darling.’
My darling.
What a chord of desire those words strummed through her body.
He pulled her to her feet, swept her up in his arms with ease and carried her into the bedroom.
The strength of him made her marvel.
