The Rake and the Recluse REDUX (a time travel romance) (80 page)

Perry breezed into his town house on Grosvenor early that evening, throwing his hat and gloves to Harper who held the door wide for his arrival.

“I’ve added to the staff,” Perry said as he glanced around. “Uh, I thought she would have been behind me, but—” He walked back toward the door and looked out, then up and down the street. “Kerrigan,” he called back to his man, who was halfway upstairs with a trunk.

“Yes, milord?”

“Where’s Miss Lilly?”

“Not sure I know, milord. I thought as she was behind us.”

Perry ran down the front steps, looking for the small figure he had become so well accustomed to having around. He stuck his head inside the landau and found her, still quietly sitting in the corner. “Lilly! You had me worried. What are you still doing here?” He reached across the carriage for her hand.

“Not sure as I know, milord, I was just waiting. I— I do not know how to do this. I simply do not.” She shook her head.

“Sweet Lilly, I would like for you to be a guest for a few days, until you get your bearings. If this is difficult or too awkward after that, I will escort you to His Grace’s town house to join his staff.”

She took his hand and allowed him to lower her to the ground, placing her hand on his sleeve.

The look he received from Harper was enough to shake his composure. “Harper, a change of plans. This is Miss Lilly. She will be a guest here for a few days. After that we will determine where she belongs, be that here or at His Grace’s.”

Harper sized up the girl, and Perry.

“A guest, Harper,” Perry said sardonically.

“Pardon, milord,” he said with a lift of his brow. “Miss Lilly,” he said, bowing before her. He looked back to Perry. “The blue room, milord?”

Perry cleared his throat. He knew he wasn’t to be held accountable by his servants, but he felt guilty nonetheless. Everything about this girl had him off-kilter. “Yes, Harper the blue room, thank you. I will…see her up. Perhaps you could have Cook prepare a tray?”

Harper nodded and turned for the kitchens.

“Lilly,” Perry said as he opened the receiving door at her suite, “you are welcome to stay here for as long as necessary.” He stepped through the small entry and opened the second door. “There are a few things you should be aware of. First, you may have use of a maid if you would like, or not. Either way, if you have need of anything here you are to use the pull. Please do not try to accomplish everything on your own, as much as you would like to. Second,” he said as he strode past the large four poster bed toward the far wall, motioning for her to follow him, “the bathing room is just here, behind this door.” He waited until she reached the door, then continued. “The door at the other end of the bathroom reaches my bedchamber—directly.”

Her jaw fell open. Deafening silence ensued.

“Sweet, if you would prefer—” She shook her head, cutting him off. He cleared his throat. “Is there—is there something else?”

“No, milord, just, I…well. This room you’ve seen to give me, ‘tis for your wife,” she whispered reverently.

“Yes, sweet, but as I have no wife, currently the room is for whomever I choose. As well, if you were to be in a guest chamber, I would not hear should you have any night terrors.”

“Your household?”

“My household is quite familiar with my odd choices in manner. My household will think and do as I ask of them.”

She felt a shiver traverse her shoulders as he approached her slowly.

“Have no fear, my sweet. Whatever happens here remains between us. Even as it pertains to my staff.” He reached out and held her elbow, gently stroking her arm with his thumb.

Her breath caught and she looked up at him. He felt her muscles tense. This was different, though. This wasn’t her usual reaction to being touched. This was not a knee-jerk reaction, but something else. She blinked, then returned to her steady regard of his face.

He saw the astonishment cross her features, then realized where it came from. He had touched her, and she hadn’t jumped away, pulled back, flinched, or injured him. Not even a little, not in the least.

A bright smile broke her expression and she threw her arms around his neck, pulling his mouth to hers.

His eyes flew wide but he acquiesced quickly, drawing her up to him, lifting her feet from the floor as he straightened.

Lips locked in shared smiles, her hands tangled in his hair while his fingers spread at her back, holding her close. Their kiss broke, and he leaned his forehead against hers. “I would venture to say that was a step in the right direction.”

She nodded against his forehead, her eyes sparkling. Then she looked down at her feet, suspended above the ground. He laughed and lowered her slowly, then released her completely when they heard the knock at her door. He followed her back into the bedchamber and motioned Harper toward the table before the fire. She removed her cape, carrying it to the wardrobe.

“Milord, will there be anything else this evening?” Harper asked.

“Has Louisa seen to the bath?” he asked.

“Yes my lord.”

“Then nothing further, Harper. The household is free to retire.”

Harper bowed and closed the door behind him as he backed out.

Perry took her hand and pulled her over to the dinner tray. “Sit, eat, please. I need to go blow the dust off from the journey.” He turned back when he heard water rushing to the tub in the bathing room. “I will take my bath while you have your fill, then you can do the same.”

She smiled up at him and he placed a kiss in her palm, then left her to her supper.

Perry sank into the water, allowing the heat to soothe his muscles and his will. He leaned his head back and let it seep slowly to his bones. “Lilly,” he whispered as he closed his eyes. He breathed slowly, the scent of the herbs in the water pacifying him. Louisa always prepared the most comforting and soothing of baths. He drifted off for a while, only awakening when his senses picked up a sweeter note in the air. His lids lifted and he found Lilly crouching next to the tub, her gaze moving across his form appreciatively. His heartbeat picked up and he shifted, causing a ripple to collide with the side of the tub.

She wasn’t sure exactly when he awakened, but she was sure when he became aware of her presence. That particular part of him that announced his masculinity pulsed, straightened, shifted, and grew before her eyes.

His hand grasped her wrist and pulled her across him, obliging her to lift from the floor and lean far over the maw of the heavy clawfoot tub.

Her eyes widened with the force of his intent as his other hand wrapped around her hip, pressing her until she slipped into the water.

Her arms landed on his shoulders as she held her face out of the splashing water. It launched over the rim, flooding the room.

His hands searched through her sodden clothes, finding the roundness of her buttocks then kneading through the layers of fabric.

She looked down upon his face as his eyes lifted to hers. She watched, mesmerized, as his tongue swept his lower lip, then the upper. Her skin tingled as his gaze roved across her, her nipples tightening. She felt a shiver grow from her belly and spread in a circular pattern, her breath increasing exponentially. She was lightheaded, dizzy.

His smile became territorial in nature and he lifted up, capturing her mouth in a possessive kiss. Her hands slipped across his chest, sinking into the water around him, their bodies compressed. Her legs straddled his flanks and she held fast to his shoulders. With his hands on the sides of the tub, he pushed up with her wrapped tightly around his torso. Then his hands grasped her buttocks, shifting her weight on his frame as he bruised her mouth with his heavy kisses. She held tighter. Water poured from their joined figures, refilling the tub and spilling over to the floor.

He swept his hands down her thighs, urging her to stand before him. Without breaking their kiss, he worked his fingers on her ties, ribbons, buttons, and sashes until her saturated clothing fell away with a heavy slap on the side of the tub. His hands moved back to her hips, pulling her body tight against his.

She cried out and her hands fisted in his hair, pulling and holding him to her.

They shared breath, they shared cries, and they shared words within their joined lips.

Once again he lifted her to him, wrapping her legs around his long thighs as he stepped carefully from the tub, checking his footing on the tile to keep from slipping. He moved to her door then across the rug, finally laying her on the velvet and satin counterpane beneath him. He slid her body across the slick and soft fabric, pulling sighs from deep within.

He smiled against her, the sounds sinking to his very soul. He reached for pillows, stacking them and rolling her over them onto her stomach, then set to worshiping her. He ran his hands up her body, soothing and holding. He shifted his hands around her torso, finding her succulent breasts and teasing them to fullness. His arousal rode against her thigh, against the scars left behind. She tensed, and he paused, breathing heavily by her ear.

“Sweet Lilly,” he panted, his breath coursing over her cheek. He moved back slowly, pulling the length of his body alongside her, watching her face.

Her eyes were wide in the dim light, her mouth open to him, taking in as much air as possible. His hand rested gently on her back, smoothing circles into her flesh.

“Sweet Lilly, tell me.”

She moved before he could catch her, pushing him flat on his back and straddling him, high on her knees. She clenched her eyes, impaling herself on him as he writhed, slow to comprehend her movements, shocked to catch up to her will. She sank, her head falling back as she cried out.

He grasped her hips, pushing her down and back, burying himself to the hilt in her sweetness. She moved her hands to his chest and, leaning heavily, she raised up, then pushed down again, picking up the rhythm he set. She looked into his face. The shock, the worry, and the unmistakable rise of passion fought to overtake him.

Her nails dug in as her body started to tremble. Her response forced away his shock, and he took control of her movements until he drove her straight to the finale she yearned for. She screamed and tightened around him, drawing him deeper. He thrust and joined her pleasure with his as she collapsed on his chest.

Perry had no idea how long they lay joined, his mind turning and twisting violently. He drifted in and out of sleep, always aware of her relaxed breathing. Her hands, her arms, all the way down to her toes, she relaxed. Slumbered.

He allowed himself to drift, cradling her body against his.

When he felt her shift, he moved with her, helping her unfold and stretch out next to him. He smoothed her hair back from her face, then slid from the bed and lifted her. He pulled the counterpane down and snuggled her beneath it before easing in to warm her.

“How are you?” he asked quietly.

“I am, I…am,” she repeated after a thought.

“I won’t be here when you wake.”

She frowned. “You’ll stay here, for now?”

“Rest. Tomorrow— Well, later today there is more to learn.”

She giggled, and he could see a blush color her cheeks. “You think I’ve more to learn?”

“Oh yes, my sweet, much more.”

She sighed and wiggled into his strong frame, pulling a deep growl from his chest. “Lay still, or there will be no rest for us anytime soon.”

She did and he wrapped her up in his arms, holding her close.

As expected, she woke the next day alone. Even knowing she would be, she was still disappointed. She prepared for the day slowly, enjoying her solitude. She dressed in her best dress, still heavy and drab, and went below stairs to find the household’s dining room. She assumed it would be off the kitchen, so she followed her nose. As she rounded a corner she bumped into a footman carrying a tray of eggs.

“Miss, what are ye about?” he asked brusquely.

“I was only looking for the dining hall to break my fast. Is it near the kitchens?”

“You may follow me to the breakfast room. ‘Tis on the ground floor, at the back of the town house, not below stairs.”

“No, I beg pardon, I’m looking for the household’s dining room, not the formal dining room,” she said as she followed.

He stopped halfway up the stairs and turned back on her, stopping her suddenly. “You are a guest, miss, therefore you’ll dine in the formal room above stairs, not below stairs with the likes of us.”