Bridal Favors - Engaged in Wickedness (4 page)

"And your father?"

"Passed of a fever after being kicked in the belly by his favorite goat."

She snorted, then pressed a hand to her mouth in horror. "Oh, I do beg your pardon. That is not funny at all. But the way you said it... I... well, it struck me as... I mean it
seemed...
Oh, I am so sorry."

He smiled at her, charmed as always. "No need to apologize. It was some years ago and yes, I have come to see the humor of it. He did love that goat, ornery beast that it was."

"And do you still have it? This ornery creature?"

"No. But it did live for a few cantankerous years afterwards."

They by-stepped another couple walking in the opposite direction, exchanging brief nods. Edward held his breath for a moment, fearing that she would stop to chat as was the normal course of things. But she did not, and soon they were moving on toward the doors that let onto the gardens.

"So you have had the running of the baronetcy for years?"

"Six."

"Oh my! That must have been very hard."

He shrugged. "It is a small estate, so not that very difficult. What I missed most was having another man in my very female household."

She giggled. "Are you buried in ribbons and bows?"

"And dresses and fashion plates and kittens. My sister has a great fondness for the blasted creatures and would overrun the house with them if I allowed it."

"You don't like kittens?"

"They are fuzzy and adorable, but they relieve themselves everywhere, snag the furniture, and I feel just awful when I accidentally sit on one of them."

"Yes," she said with mock seriousness. "Quite the mortifying situation."

"Quite," he agreed. "So I banned them from the house. It is my only decree as Baronet. No more than two cats in the house ever."

She nodded sagely. "That sounds very fair." Then she slanted a coy glance at him. "But are you able to keep track of which two are allowed in the house and which are not? If I were your sister, I should just make pains to keep the bulk of them out of your sight. And if I failed, well then, I would make a great fuss about shooing them out, apologize to pieces, and then go blithely about my own way doing—"

"Exactly as you wish? Yes, you have my sister to a tee."

She paused just before stepping out onto the terrace, her expression surprisingly serious. "That must be very difficult for you."

He frowned. "Having kittens underfoot all the time?"

She shook her head. "Having a sister who does exactly as she pleases, no matter what you say."

He stilled, his eyes narrowing as he studied her expression. Clearly there was special meaning here, but he was loathe to guess what it was. "It does have its challenges," he said slowly.

She nodded, shifting her body to continue out the door. Her step was light and her movements easy, so he assumed she had dropped whatever it was that had made her so serious. But a moment later, she continued their conversation revealing a depth that he had not expected to see so soon.

"I know I am a great trial to my brother, Robert. He just wants what is best for everyone, myself included. But I cannot bring myself to submit to his every autocratic decree just because he thinks it is the right thing for me to do."

Edward joined her at the railing, standing by her side as they stared out into the illuminated pathways. It was a charming view, but he was more interested in looking at her. So he turned enough to look directly at her profile. "Your brother is heir to an Earldom. I suppose issuing decrees was part of his education."

She released an unladylike snort. "He needed no education in that, I assure you. Robert began giving orders when he was still in his crib."

"That must be very trying for you," he said, only half meaning it.

"Not nearly as trying as I am on him when I disobey absolutely everything he says." She sounded positively gleeful about it, and he couldn't help but smile into her eyes. She was so beautiful, and he was already besotted.

Good God, what was wrong with him? He had to gather his wits! This was a campaign!

"Do you know what my brother's latest decree is?" she asked, fully disrupting his attempts to keep his wits in order.

"I am breathless with curiosity."

"He has decreed that I shall not go out into gardens such as this one with gentlemen." She glanced coyly up at him. "And that I absolutely should never, ever kiss them."

The muscles in his belly froze and his mind stuttered into gibberish. She couldn't possibly be suggesting... but of course she was... but it was too fast...
she
was too fast! But...

Somehow, he found the wherewithal to speak, though God knows they were the exact wrong words. "It sounds like your brother has made a very reasonable and prudent decree."

She pursed her lips in a flirtatious moue. "Ah, but that is just the problem. It is a
decree
, and I am possessed by a devil that makes me defy every one of his decrees."

So. Well. She did wish to. But he couldn't. It wasn't honorable, which of course was ridiculous in that he had already intended to seduce her. In fact, he ought to be gleeful about his progress, and yet...

She took his arm and began to head down into the lawn. He resisted for a moment. Not because he intended to, but because he was still frozen in shock.

"If it isn't you, it will be some other gentleman," she said with another one of her coy smiles. "I would much rather it was you, but if you refuse me..."

"Certainly not!" he snapped as he joined her on the steps. He wasn't even sure what he was responding to. He certainly wasn't refusing. The vehemence of his reaction startled him, but it clearly seemed to delight her as she laughed. In fact, she was entirely too bewitching as she patted his hand just as he had done to her not fifteen minutes before.

"Do not fret," she said in an exact echo of his words. "I assure you, I am well used to disobedience. I shall instruct you on exactly what to do."

They stepped onto the pathway, the stones well lit by lanterns. But it was a rather long path that ambled to a small park beyond. How easy it would be to disappear into the darkness for all manner of mischief.

His head nearly swam with the thought. Did she have no idea what could happen to her? What he could do? He was already rock hard and more than a little tempted to do the deed right here, right now. Of course he
knew
it was too soon and timing was everything, but good Lord, he was just a man. And she was leading herself right into disaster!

"Lady Gwen," he began, but she danced ahead of him, stretching out her arms and spinning around. Her head fell back and her hair swung free. And once again, he found his better thoughts slipping away under her hypnotic beauty.

"I do love the fall, especially when it is not so cold yet." She stopped spinning and pointed up to the three quarter moon. "I love the moonlight and the trees in all their colors." She danced around a trunk. "And most of all..." her voice trailed away as she disappeared behind a cluster of tightly packed trees.

Edward stumbled after her. She was an autumn fairy, leading him down the garden path. He was powerless to stop himself even knowing he'd changed from predator to prey.

"Most of all?" he asked as he rounded the corner.

It was dark here, but the leaves were well packed. Clearly other couples had found this particular pocket of darkness. But no one else was here now. None but her, her back against the tree and her eyes sparkling up at him.

"Most of all, sir, I love the way my skin tingles with the chill."

He stepped up to her, taking his cue to warm her by putting his hands on her. Her skin was indeed cool from the air. Did she know that her nipples were tight, that her skin glowed white in the moonlight, and that no man could resist her?

"You have done this before," he said softly. Not in accusation, but as a statement of fact. He was delaying, trying to find an honorable path but seeing only her.

"One question, Sir Edward, before I disobey my brother and let you kiss me."

"Yes, Lady Gwen?" He didn't know how he managed the words. His blood was roaring in his ears and his hands trembled. She felt so soft, so vulnerable, and he was so very large compared to her.

"You said you were here to find a wife. Have you selected one?"

"Yes," he confessed.

"Oh," she said, her shoulders drooping in disappointment. "Then you shouldn't be out here kissing me."

He leaned forward slowly, close enough to smell the rose scent of her hair and the sweet musk of her skin. "I am not the heir to an earldom," he whispered as he pressed his cheek to hers. "I do not issue decrees, but my parents did. My mother most especially."

She lifted her face, slowly rolling her mouth toward his. But he was not to be distracted or rushed as he stroked his lips across the arch of her cheekbone.

"So?" she asked.

"So," he said as he gently meandered his way toward her mouth. "I am no stranger to disobedience either."

Then he found her lips, starting to stroke them with exquisite care. He felt her breath catch and her mouth open. He felt her body soften and her hands ease up his arms. Within a second, she was gripping his shoulders and urging him to do more, to go deeper.

And then he completely lost control.

Chapter 4

Gwen felt her eyes snap open, stunned that this wasn't going as she expected. Usually at this point, the man just swooped in and started kissing her. And she's specifically positioned herself so that he could fulfill her favorite fantasy of pushing his groin against her. She wanted to feel it again, especially with him.

But he wasn't cooperating! He'd started by easing alongside her face, not at all where she wanted his mouth to be! But then he'd started teasing her, brushing his mouth slowly across her highly sensitized skin. And she felt the heat of his words curl about her ears, making her shiver in delight. No one had done that before!

She clutched his arms, hoping to draw him closer. Now more than ever she wanted to feel his weight against her. She arched upward, her mind struggling to manipulate the experience to her requirements.

She quickly learned she had no control here. This man would not be directed by her. At least not completely. Fortunately, he was finally doing what she wanted. He brought his lips to hers, and she sighed in delight. She was experienced enough with kisses to know that she was supposed to open her mouth, but she didn't like to give in so easily. So she kept her mouth closed only to discover that he didn't mind at all.

He began teasing the edges of her lips, first stroking them with his mouth and then abruptly nipping at the bottom of her lower lip. It startled her enough that she gasped in surprise which gave him the opening he wanted.

He took it with a swiftness that startled her. A thrust of his tongue, and he was inside. She began to duel with her tongue, but he was so much more the master here than she. He touched her everywhere, including the roof of her mouth and she could not believe how very wonderful it was!

At this point in the usual experience, she would sigh in delight, enjoy the experience for a second or more, and then sweetly draw away all the while tabulating the encounter in her mind. Then she'd return to her friend, Amelia, and relay everything in detail. That was her plan, but it didn't work.

She couldn't think of anything. Her blood was sparking inside her veins, and she had to arch into him just to release some of the fire. Her belly and breasts connected with him, and her head fell back against the tree. No matter though because he was so tall. He easily kept their mouths fused together. His hands slid up her arms and fire trailed in their wake. She was so absorbed in their kiss that she barely noticed when the shoulders of her gown began to ease down.

His hands flowed over her chest, pushing the fabric off her shoulders. She wouldn't even have noticed then, but the tightness of her sleeves held her upper arms pinned. She couldn't lift them like she wanted to stroke his broad shoulders or play in his hair.

And then her breasts popped free! She hadn't meant that to happen. She hadn't realized it could happen! But she had relatively small breasts, and he had slipped his fingers underneath the fabric to lift them out.

She cried out in shock, but the sound was lost in his kiss. She tried to pull back, but it was too late. His hands had found her breasts. He had such large hands and they covered her fully, lifting her up so his fingers could...

Oh!
He was squeezing her nipples, and her legs went weak from the sensation searing through her torso. She rolled her head to the side as much to get air as anything else. It was enough to break their kiss but not enough to leave him.

His mouth began to trail down her check and neck. He was pressing kisses into her skin, nipping her with his teeth, then stroking her with his tongue. And all the while, his fingers were doing things to her nipples. She couldn't even separate the sensations enough to know what it was he did. She just felt... oh so much!

His body abruptly lowered. It took a moment for her to realize that he had dropped down onto one knee before her.