A Scandalous Charade (31 page)

For a while, Juliet felt certain that she had indeed managed to make herself invisible, until Lady Edgecroft turned her pointed nose in her direction. “And you!” the lady remarked loudly. “Just where do I know you from?”

Juliet had never seen the woman in her life. At least she didn’t think she had. She shook her head in confusion. But the lady edged closer to her, and Juliet wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

“I’ve seen you somewhere before! I’m certain of it.”

Before Juliet could respond, Luke extricated himself from Lady Cressley and came to her rescue. “Oh, my dear Lady Edgecroft, I believe Miss Mitford just has one of those faces, you know?”

“One of those faces?” Lady Edgecroft repeated with a frown.

“You know,” Luke drawled charmingly as he reached Juliet’s side, “she could be a prissy duke’s daughter, or a wealthy heiress embroiled in some adventure, or a shy governess looking after a couple charges. Miss Mitford looks like she could be anybody. Though, I think of her as a diamond hiding among paste imitations.”

Blast him! Was it necessary to say all of that? Juliet sent him an irritated glance and then turned her attention back to Lady Edgecroft. “I’m sure I would remember if we’d met before, my lady.” Then she slowly made her way to other side of the room.

***

After a moment of idle chitchat with Lady Edgecroft, Luke excused himself and followed Juliet to the corner she was now hiding in. When he reached her, she glared up at him. He couldn’t help but smile. She was always so radiant when she was annoyed. “What was all of that about?” she demanded.

Luke shrugged and edged closer to her, running his hand along her arm. “You’re welcome for coming to your rescue.”

“I already told you I don’t want your help.” She looked away from him and Luke’s eyes dropped to her very prim bodice.

The dowdy dress didn’t display her heavenly body at all. He quite enjoyed the fact that he was the only man in the room to know the delights that this awful dress hid from everyone else’s view. She was stunning and he was the only one who knew it. “Princess,” he whispered, “I’ll never—”

Luke scowled and then turned his attention back to his princess. “Let me put your mind at ease, Robert. I have no intention of seducing Miss Mitford.” But enjoying the pleasure of Juliet St. Claire was something he was determined to have again, and often.

Before Robert could question him further, the doors to the drawing room flew open and Peter and Penny raced inside. There was an audible gasp from the crowd at the pair’s sudden appearance. The children were panting heavily and trying to catch their breath. Penny’s brown hair had fallen out of her braid, and hung about her face—making her look like a wild vagrant. Peter’s little cheeks were red from exertion. When the children saw that the room full of adults stared at them in shock, they both stopped in their tracks.

Lydia rushed toward the children and placed a comforting hand on each of their faces. “What are you doing here, my darlings? You should be up with Mrs. Norris.”

Peter looked at all the anxious faces, focused on him and his sister, and froze right up. But Penny excitedly took the countess’ arm and squeezed tightly. “We went down to the stables, like Lord Masten said we could. And, Lady Masten, the baby, the—” she squished up her face, obviously trying to get the words right— “foal. We saw it get born. It just fell—”

“Thank you, Penny,” Lydia loudly cut the child off, blushing to her roots. “I’m sure his lordship would love to hear all about it—tomorrow.” She stood up tall and began to usher the children from the room. “Let me take you back up to Mrs. Norris.”

But Juliet stepped forward. “Allow me, my lady.”

Not missing a beat, Luke crossed the room and offered Juliet his arm. “I’ll escort you, Miss Mitford. Gosling can be a bit confusing to navigate and I’d hate for you to find yourself lost in this maze of a house.”

Grudgingly, Juliet took his proffered arm and then the two of them steered the children back through the drawing room doors. Once they were in the corridor, she turned angrily and stared at him. “Will you just go away?”

“Absolutely not,” he answered airily and began to lead the children to the back staircase. “I adore you, Juliet, and I’m not going anywhere.”

She followed them, seething the whole way—he could tell because she sighed loudly with every other breath she took, while he chatted to Peter and Penny about the birth of the foal. But that was fine with Luke. He knew she was only fighting him because she still cared for him and didn’t want to be hurt again. That was perfectly understandable. If it took the rest of his life, he’d convince her she was safe with him. That her heart was safe with him.

After they’d deposited the orphans in the care of Mrs. Norris, he took her hand in his and started down a side passageway that was rarely used. She still hadn’t uttered a word, and Luke chanced a glance at her. Juliet’s pretty heart-shaped face was turning red, so he stopped in his tracks. Her brown eyes flashed with anger up at him.

“I know you still love me, Juliet. Let me back in.” He touched her chest, right above her heart with his fingers. “I love you with all my heart.”

Her eyes started to tear up and she sucked in a breath. “Heavens, Luke. Must you always make things so difficult? Why did you have to go and say that?”

He chuckled and slid his hand down to her waist, settling her firmly against him. “Because it’s true. Juliet, I am so terribly sorry that I hurt you. It was never my intent. I swear to you. I just needed time to sort through my thoughts.”

But it was going to take time. He could see that. She had been through so much, and time was something he had plenty of. “I’ll prove it to you, princess. No matter how long it takes.”

His eyes dropped to her lips when she licked them, and he lowered his head, slowly claiming her mouth. He felt light-headed, finally having her back in his arms, where she belonged.

She sighed and ran her hands up his chest, settling them behind his neck. Luke wrapped his arms more tightly around her. It was the first time he’d felt right since he’d taken her on his yacht.

Luke wasn’t quite sure how he managed to get through dinner. Lydia had sat him next to Juliet, which would have been wonderful, except that Robert was on her other side. How he wanted to touch her and whisper naughty things in her ear; but he couldn’t so much as let his gaze linger on her, without catching Robert’s attention. Damn his brother for being so irritatingly perceptive. Instead he’d had to converse with Mrs. Vaughan, a young matron who had been childhood friends with Caroline, for most of the night. The entire event was dreadfully painful in a torturous sort of way. He willed the hours away, until he could have Juliet to himself.

When the women left the men to their port, Juliet quietly excused herself from the group. She had much to think about, and socializing with the unrefined Dorset gentry was not something she would have wanted to do as Juliet St. Claire, and certainly didn’t relish in her role as Miss Mitford. Besides, she desperately needed time alone.

What was she doing? How could she open herself up to Luke again? Honestly, how could she continue to be that foolish? Just as she entered her small room, those questions vanished. In only his shirt sleeves and trousers, Luke leaned against her window, with his arms folded across his chest. He truly was a Greek God.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded, though she knew her reluctance came through in her voice. She’d wanted time to think, but Luke’s appearance in her room made that possibility quite unlikely.  And she so needed to get her thoughts in order. “Shouldn’t you be enjoying your port?”

“I’d much rather enjoy you,” he responded with a rakish grin.

She shut the door behind her and met his eyes. How could she be so determined and strong with everyone else, but always so weak-willed with him? The devilish twinkle in his eyes was capable of melting her resolve unlike anything she’d ever known. “You know you shouldn’t be here?” Then she walked toward the room’s small mirror hanging on the wall and started to remove her hairpins.

Before she knew it, Luke’s hands rested on her shoulders and he whispered in her ear, “I have something that belongs to you.”

Juliet looked over her shoulder at him, and frowned when he removed two sapphire hairpins from his pocket. She recognized them immediately from that night. “What are you doing with those?” She turned around to face him.

Luke shrugged with a charming smile. “They were all I had to remember you by.” Then he placed them in her palm and removed the remaining pins in her hair, releasing her tight bun.

She blinked up at him and shook her head in bewilderment. “Kelfield said you didn’t believe in foolish romanticism.”

His handsome face turned, momentarily, to stone. “Princess, when I’m envisioning you naked beneath me, the last name I want to hear is Kelfield.”

Juliet couldn’t help but grin and she took a step away from him. Funny how just the mention of the duke could still make him jealous. “Well, how should I know what’s on your mind?”

Really, she should put up some resistance. Though it was difficult to do so, knowing that he’d held on to something as sentimental as her hairpins for more than a month. She swallowed hard. “Won’t they all notice that we’re both gone?”

He simply smiled and brushed his warm hand against her cheek. “Let them.”

Juliet could respond, Luke scooped her up in his arms and claimed her mouth with his. All of her arguments vanished into thin air. He gently laid her on the small bed and fell into place beside her. Luke tucked one of her now errant curls behind her ear, then fingered the prim bodice of her dress. “Where did you find this horrible thing?”

The question brought her back to the reality of her situation, the reasons for her ruse as governess. She might not be able to resist Luke with her heart and body, but her mind was a different thing altogether. She couldn’t trust him with her secrets, not when Edmund’s safety would be the cost. Distraction would have to work.

Juliet shook her head and ran her hand down the fine lawn covering Luke’s muscular chest. “Do you want to make love to me or talk?” He was a physical being, and there was no question in her mind which option he would choose. Besides, she wanted him, needed to feel the way she had on the Thames.

A wolfish grin spread across his face. “Still my eager minx, are you?” He rolled her on to her side and began to unbutton her dress until it hung loosely across her. Juliet pulled the dress from her body and flung it across the room, then she quickly unbuttoned his trousers.

Luke nuzzled against her neck, whispering words of love and devotion. Then he lifted her chemise and untied her drawers. Juliet’s breath quickened when he slid two of his long fingers inside her while he feasted on one exposed breast. She wasn’t a governess. They weren’t in Dorset. It was as if they were the only two people alive, floating in the clouds.

After he’d relieved her of her clothing and tortured her with both his tongue and teeth, Luke nudged her legs open and slowly pushed himself inside her. His deep green eyes bored into hers, until he filled her completely. It was just like before, as if their souls were joined. Then he began to move inside her and Juliet lost track of all rational thought.

For Luke, it was even better than their first time. She was still gloriously tight, but now she knew how to respond to his thrusts, and he easily lost himself inside her. As he felt her clench around his shaft and find release, he found his own and spilled himself completely inside her, reaching a pinnacle of peace that until now had eluded him.

Then he collapsed beside her and cradled her back against him. Awash in joyless bliss, Luke splayed his hand possessively across her belly and buried his head in the curls around her neck. “Princess, you know I could get you with child,” he whispered in her ear. It surprised him that the thought brought a smile to his lips. A child would tie them together for the rest of their lives