Dancing with the Duke (5 page)

Where was that damned maid?

“You have no idea, do you?” she said.

He knew he should leave. Logic was telling
him to leave now and to continue this conversation with her on the
morrow, during the light of day. He seemed incapable, however, of
moving.

She took a step toward him. “When I was
younger, I was infatuated with you.”

His throat was thick, but he managed to
reply, “I know.”

“Did you also know,” she said, taking another
step, “that I still am?”

She was inches from him and it took all of
his willpower not to reach for her. Her green eyes were glittering
up at him, taunting him. She reached out and placed a hand on his
chest. His heart began to pound, as though it were trying to reach
out of his chest and connect with her.

“What I want you to apologize for, Alexander
Thompson…” She licked her lips and he almost groaned. “I want you
to apologize for pushing me away tonight.”

This was too much. No man should have to
endure such torture. He closed his eyes to shut out the
overwhelming temptation that was Charlotte Grant.

“Your maid —”

“Isn’t coming. I sent her away just before
you came.”

His eyes sprang open at that.

“Tell me, Alex,” she continued. “Was kissing
me really so bad?”

She twined her hands around his neck again,
her lush body pressing against his, and he was lost. Against her he
had no willpower. He lowered his head and kissed her. But this time
there was no tentative exploration at first, only white hot need.
He should have been surprised at Charlotte’s exuberant response,
but all he could feel at that moment was a desire so great he
almost staggered under its weight. He had shared a number of beds
over the years, but no one had ever made him feel quite so
desperate as this woman.

“The door,” she murmured against his
lips.

He didn’t take his mouth from hers. He
couldn’t, and so he backed her up until she was pressed against it
and reached down to turn the lock. She drew his coat from his
shoulders and he shrugged it off. When he felt her fingers moving
with quick confidence down the row of buttons on his waistcoat, he
knew that there was no stopping this. He could no longer fight his
need to claim her for his own.

With shaking hands, he pulled her away from
the door and started to undo the hooks that held up her dress. His
movements weren’t as graceful of hers, but his need to see all of
her was too great to allow finesse.

He gasped with pleasure when she placed her
hands on his abdomen, under his shirt, and began to explore the
muscles there.

“Charlotte,” he murmured, drawing his mouth
along her cheek and down her throat, “are you sure about this?” He
hated to ask the question, but he had to know she would have no
regrets.

“I have waited so long for this,” she said.
“Please, Alex. Please don’t stop.”

Heat surged through his blood. “I have no
intention of stopping.”

After having reached the last hook, he
dragged her dress down her arms. She made a shimmying movement, and
it dropped into a pool of satin at her feet. She was clad now only
in her undergarments and his mouth went dry. He bent and scooped
her into his arms, where she curled closer against him. Her weight
against him felt good, as though she belonged there, and he had to
close his eyes briefly, unable to believe this was actually
happening. He almost stumbled when she placed her mouth against his
throat and began to place hot, open-mouthed kisses there. Somehow
he made it to the bed and laid her in the center. He removed his
waistcoat and lifted his shirt over his head before joining her
there.

They both stilled when he rolled onto his
back and draped her over him. Her body pressed along the length of
his was a maddening temptation. He wanted only to tear the
remaining garments from her body, to bare her completely to his
gaze. It was several moments before he could control that urge and
move his arms up to undo the strings that held her stays in place.
She drew in a deep breath when he cast aside the confining garment,
and he closed his hands over her breasts. She looked down at him,
the green of her eyes almost feverishly bright.

“I should hire you as my maid to undress me
every night.”

He couldn’t reply. His attention was on
dragging the chemise up her body and over her head. When he’d
finally stripped her completely, he rolled her over so she was now
beneath him. He lay above her, bracing his weight on his forearms
as he stared down at her breasts. He felt himself grow harder than
he had ever been in his life.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, a slight tremor in
her voice.

He met her concerned gaze. “You have freckles
on your breasts.”

Heat bloomed on her cheeks. “Do you hate
them?”

He wasn’t sure how he could manage any words
at that point. “They are one of the most beautiful things I have
ever seen.”

He dropped his head to show her just how much
he liked them. With his tongue, he traced a hot, wet path over the
spray of small, pale brown flecks. She squirmed beneath his
attention, her hands flexing on his shoulders. Finally, he drew one
hard nipple into his mouth.

“Alex,” she moaned, unable to hold still as
he to suckled first one, then the other breast.

He finally released her breasts and traced a
path down her body.

“What are you doing?” she said, her words
barely coherent.

“Tasting you.”

The red hair at the juncture of her thighs
was a shade darker than the hair on her head. He didn’t think it
possible, but it aroused him further. He felt a pang of regret when
he realized she had already removed her stockings, but that didn’t
stop him from spreading her legs and burying his head in her hot,
already wet heat. Her arousal told him more than words could that
she wanted him with a desperation that matched his. He stroked his
tongue over that one spot that made her shudder.

The taste of her on his tongue was maddening.
He wanted to bury himself inside her, but knew this would be her
first time and he wanted her to find her release first.

She wasn’t long in finding that release, and
when she did, she carried him up as she bucked off the bed. He rose
from the bed in a swift movement and removed the rest of his
clothing before joining her again. Her greedy eyes on his body had
him moving with haste. She opened her legs when he lowered himself
back onto the bed. He settled between her thighs before pressing
his shaft against her opening and shuddered with need.

“You are so incredibly beautiful,” he said.
Unable to hold back longer, knowing she was as prepared for him as
she’d ever be this first time, he drove into her with one swift
motion.

She stiffened and he lowered his head into
her neck, somehow holding himself still to allow her body time to
adjust to his invasion. Her tight heat clenching around him,
spurring him to action, make the effort next to impossible. When
she clutched his shoulders and lifted her legs around his hips, he
could no longer hold back. He lifted his head watched her for signs
of pain as he began to move, but instead she matched him stroke for
stroke, pushing up when he pressed into her.

His name on her lips, and her hands moving
down his back to clasp his buttocks, spurred him to thrust faster.
She enveloped him totally at that moment, both body and soul. When
she shook again in climax, he stiffened and followed, his mind
going blank with the intensity of his release.

He collapsed on top on her, completely spent.
It was a few moments before he realized he was crushing her.
Cursing himself for an unthinking brute, he rolled off her. She
snuggled against his side

His mind raced as he tried to grapple with
what had just happened.

“Alex?” Charlotte raised her head and looked
at him when he didn’t reply. “Are you going to apologize for making
love to me?”

He smiled at the edge of challenge in her
voice.

“No,” he said, drawing her head back down to
his chest and dropping a kiss onto her now tousled locks.

“Good,” she said, snuggling closer.

Her hand moved over his chest, stroking him.
He closed his eyes and banished all thought of consequences. He
would worry about them tomorrow. He knew what he had to do, but he
also knew just how stubborn Charlotte could be. He suspected that
the very worst thing he could do at that moment was to propose
marriage. She was proud and he’d have to convince her that he
wasn’t acting out of a sense of obligation, but wanted to marry
her. Because if there was one thing he had learned that night, it
was that he would never let go of Charlotte Grant.

Her hand trailed down his chest and over his
abdomen. Alex sucked in a breath as he felt the renewed stirrings
of arousal, and then let it escape through clenched teeth when her
hand closed over him.

“Is this all right?” she asked, moving her
hand along his now erect length.

He flipped her over onto her back and moved
over her again. “Most definitely.”

* * *

Charlotte woke with a large smile on her
face. She stretched lazily as she thought about the night she had
shared with Alex.

Alex.

He had stayed with her for most of night,
finally leaving to return to his room just before dawn. They had
made love one more time before he’d left. It had been the most
amazing night of her life.

She tried, but couldn’t wipe the smile from
her face. Heavens, what was she going to tell Lucy? Not the truth.
Not yet.

She had to speak to Alex. They had only been
acting in the moment last night and hadn’t discussed what would
happen next.

She washed quickly before ringing for her
maid and dressing, and then made her way downstairs. When she
reached the breakfast room she wasn’t disappointed. Alex was
already there.

He rose when she entered and came to her.
Aware of the footman’s presence, she restrained herself from moving
into his arms.

“Good morning, Alex,” she said, trying to
keep her voice even.

He took her hand and squeezed it gently
before releasing it again. “How are you feeling this morning?”

His concern made her heart skip a beat. She
let the truth of her reply shine through her eyes. “Happy.”

Alex was about to say something but was
interrupted when a maid came into the room to clear away Alex’s
breakfast dishes. Charlotte waited until the woman left before
speaking again.

“You already ate.”

She knew it was silly, but she was
disappointed. She’d been looking forward to having a leisurely
breakfast with him. It was the only time they’d have together that
day before Lucy and Lady Clarington woke.

“Yes. I needed to get an early start this
morning.”

Something in Alex’s demeanor had her senses
on alert. She tried to keep her voice from betraying her concern
when she asked, “You have plans?”

They were interrupted again, this time by the
butler.

“Your carriage is waiting, Your Grace. Mr.
Wells was able to pack one trunk for you. He will follow later this
morning with the rest of your belongings.”

Alex thanked the man and dismissed him.

The brief disappointment Charlotte had felt
at being denied the opportunity to have breakfast with him was
nothing to shock and sense of betrayal sweeping over her now.

“You’re leaving.” The words sounded hollow to
her ears.

“Charlotte, listen to me.”

He reached for her hand again, but she
snatched it back. She couldn’t bear to have him touching her right
now.

He dropped his hand. His expression was
carefully controlled, and she fought against an almost overwhelming
urge to lash out and hurt him the way he was hurting her with his
distance.

“I cannot continue to live under the same
roof with you. Not after what happened last night.”

She’d suspected as much. He was going to
apologize again, tell her it was all a big mistake. She turned and
took a few steps away from him, struggling to maintain her
composure.

“I understand,” she said when she could
manage to speak.

“No, I don’t think you do.” She heard the
click of a door closing and then he was behind her. He spun her to
face him and she saw that they were now alone. “Charlotte, I cannot
live under the same roof as the woman I am courting. Your
reputation would not survive it.”

She was afraid she hadn’t heard him
correctly. “Courting?”

The heat in his eyes reached right inside
her, reigniting the smoldering embers of her love for him.

“Yes, courting. After last night I want to
spend more time with you, get to know you better, and I want the
whole world to know it. But I cannot do that while living
here.”

A bubble of happiness welled up inside her
and she couldn’t resist the urge to tease him. “Oh dear. What about
Lord Haversham?”

Alex swore and Charlotte laughed, feeling
freer again. She moved to throw her arms around him, but he took a
quick step back, and instead, took her hands in his.

“I need to leave now while I am still able
to.” The way he looked at her, as though he wanted to devour her,
told her that leaving was the last thing he wanted to do. She
swayed toward him and he closed his eyes, his expression pained

She didn’t speak when he dropped her hands
and turned to leave, but her smile was now firmly back in place and
her spirits even higher than they’d been when she woke.

Alex was as good as his word. During the weeks that followed, he
was at every event she attended and speculation was rife that the
Duke of Clarington was smitten. Even Lucy had been surprised at how
quickly her brother had come around and had confessed that she’d
thought he’d be much more stubborn. If she suspected that something
more had happened between Alex and Charlotte, she didn’t say
anything about it, and Charlotte had not brought up the subject.
Not because she thought her friend would judge her, but because the
memory was too precious to her. She couldn’t bear the thought of
exposing it to the harsh light of day, and so kept it tucked away
close to her heart.