Page 25 of A Wicked Earl's Widow
“Your daughter has commandeered my best hound too. She can’t have him, you know.” His laugh died away when a spasm of pain cross her face. “Did I say something?”
She shook her head and turned away from him. An owl hooted in the distance. A flash of his yellow eyes gave away the bird’s hiding place. “Do you see him?”
“The owl? No.”
“It’s there.” He pointed and she tipped her head, searching in the direction he pointed. “Here, follow my finger.” He bent so that his head was just over her shoulder and they could follow the same path of vision. Then he straightened his arm until the tip of his finger lined up with the bird. “See it?”
She nodded. “He’s beautiful.”
“As are you,” he whispered in her ear, his lips brushing her slender pale neck. Eliza stiffened beneath her touch.
“I apologize for taking liberties, but it could take another week to see you alone.” He stilled, waiting to see if she would push away. Emboldened, he laid his cheek against her hair and breathed in the intoxicating smell of jasmine and mint. He closed his eyes, slowly put his arms around her, and moved against her back. Again, he stilled.
When her body relaxed and leaned back into his, he wanted to spin her in his arms, claim her mouth, and ravish her with his tongue. She sighed, her head tipping back against his shoulder, her bodice tightening with the movement. His eyes traced the line of breasts, white against the moonlight, the curve of her jaw, the outline of a smile on her lips. She was exquisite. No other woman molded to him so perfectly, stirred his blood so quickly, or made him feel the need to protect so fiercely.
Maxwell’s words came back to him.Marry her.
Marriage had always been a distant obligation he would someday fulfill. He had neither disliked nor been overly fond of the institution. His steward was happily married, but his parents union had been a disaster. The odds were evenly split whether he would find happiness.
Yet, with Eliza in his arms, he wondered how he would be happy without her.
“I’ve been thinking about your predicament,” he began.
“As have I. Lady Falsbury wrote with a solution that I’ve been mulling over.” Her voice sounded hesitant. “She feels that ifIwere to choose a husband for myself, my father would be forced to find another avenue of finance.”
“Yes, my steward and I had come to the same conclusion.” Here was his chance if he wanted it. The opening Maxwell would see as a sign from the good Lord, himself.
Eliza pulled his hands down gently and turned. Tears gathered in her eyes as she stared at the buttons on his waistcoat. “Nate, I—”
He held her face in his hands, waited for her to look at him, and saw the desire. He touched his lips to hers, brushing one way then the other. Her gasp was hot against his mouth and he dipped his head for a kiss. Her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him down, and her lips parted for him.
Delving in, the sweetness of honey coated his tongue. Her taste, her smell, her touch was an aphrodisiac. His pulse pounded in his neck and sent jolts down his body. His desire became evident as a moan escaped his throat. She was everything he’d imagined love could be.
Love.
A cold shower couldn’t have shocked him more as that word penetrated his brain. Her breathing was quick, her gaze searching his face, tears of disappointment swimming in her eyes. He tried to pull her close again and reassure her, but she took a step back.
“I-I…” Her hands clasped her stomach as if to settle it, pulling in deep breaths. “I have decided to take Lady Falsbury’s advice. I shall write to Grace for an introduction to my mother’s family in Scotland. Though I have never met them, I believe they would welcome Althea and me.”
“Scotland? There’s no need for you to leave.” He reached for her again but she took another step. “Eliza, I want you to stay.”
She shook her head. “No, I cannot impose upon your hospitality indefinitely. I must think of my daughter and begin a new life. Here, we are in limbo. We cannot go back, and we cannot move forward.”
Nate’s chest tightened. It had never occurred to him she would leave, make other plans without conferring with him or Sunderland. He understood her reasons but selfishly wanted more time. More time to come to know her. More time to see if they were truly compatible. More time to see…if this was love.
“I will try to convince you otherwise, you know.”
She nodded and closed the distance between them. Placing a hand on his cheek, she whispered, “You are such a good man. I wish I was worthy.”
“There you two are,” cried Hannah. “Those chords were harder to determine than I had anticipated.”
His sister’s guise did not fool him. She had purposely given them time alone and he was grateful. The interlude had only confirmed his attraction to this delectable widow. But did he want to marry her and spend the rest of his life with her? He had long ago sworn not to follow in his father’s footsteps. When he took a wife, he would be faithful.
The conversation from earlier this afternoon echoed again in his head.
I’d leg shackle myself to that girl up and save myself the torture of looking for a wife in London next year.
Lady Eliza was not an object to be bought or sold. She was pure of heart, intelligent and desirable. He would not marry her out of convenience.
