The Redemption of a Dissolute Earl (10 page)

A fierce desire to brush the curls off his
neck and kiss the sensitive spot near his ear soared through her.
She tried to will her desire away, but as she studied him, her
desire only grew stronger. His shoulders curled forward, his neck
lowered as he obviously studied something before him. Drew in deep
concentration was a sight an artist would long to paint. She
pictured his eyes―as they had always looked when his mind was
occupied― light blue turned to dark and his lids would slant just a
touch. She bet he had one long, slender hand propped against his
right cheekbone.

Besieged with curiosity, she tiptoed towards
him, scarcely daring to breathe lest he be alerted to her presence.
She should alert him. That was the right and proper thing to do,
but every instinct she possessed told her whatever he was
concentrating on was important.

For better or worse, she wanted to see what
held him captivated. Before she’d allowed Drew to bed her, her
instincts had never failed her, and since she had fled her home for
London and joined the theatre, all her instincts had been correct.
She embraced her intuition to keep her presence unknown and moved
silently until she stood behind him.

Looking over his shoulder, she peered down
at the scroll he was writing on, but she couldn’t see a thing. She
squinted, trying to make out the words. Drew sat up abruptly and
faced her.

Yelping, she jumped back. His blue eyes bore
into her, a smirk pulling at his lips. “You’re very quiet, but your
scent gave you away the minute you came close.”

Her heart fluttered being so near to him.
His shirt collar hung open, allowing her to glimpse the top of his
chest and the dusting of golden hair that covered his skin. She
knew―memory by singed memory―what lay lower. Shoulders thick with
corded muscles, a stomach chiseled by ripples, long, muscular
thighs that would trap her between his legs and hold her captive
until she was spent. She swallowed against a wave of desire that
left her dizzy.

Drew laughed knowingly. “Care to sit?”

She nodded. If she didn’t sit she might
swoon from the need pulsing from her belly all the way to her core.
“What are you doing?” she asked as she took the seat opposite of
him.

“Making a list.” His gaze held hers,
unblinking and unrelenting.

“Of what?”

Drew slid the paper towards her.

Setting the pillow and blanket on the chair
beside her, she glanced down, her breath catching. Her hand shook
as she brought the paper towards her, but she managed to control
her nerves enough to pick up the parchment and make sure she had
seen the words correctly. “This appears to be a list of
occupations.” She did not want to assume, though it did seem
forthright.

“You always have been clever, Char.”

Good God
. Drew had actually been
sitting here making a list of occupations well below an earl’s
expectations.

“Is this for you?”

“Surprised?”

That was putting it rather mildly. Dare she
believe what her mind suggested? Fear made her mouth dry. She
licked her lips. “Earls do not work.”

He nodded. “Precisely.”

Her mind raced through the facts. Drew had
not known she would come down here to give him a pillow and
blanket. He had thought her in bed, and no doubt he had assumed he
would not see her until the morning. This could be no ruse―no
game.

He had been serious earlier
.
He
had actually been serious
. Her heart hammered in her ears. The
pounding blocked all other sound but the noise of her emotions that
released, welled and broke through the careful barrier she had put
them behind.

Tears flowed freely down her face. She
blinked them away, then looked at the man she loved, had never
stopped loving. “You really meant what you said earlier
tonight?”

Drew nodded, his gaze burning bright. He
reached over and stopped just short of grabbing her hands. “I love
you. I want to marry you, and I’ll gladly give up everything down
to my trousers to get you back.”

Charlotte sniffed. “Not your trousers,
darling. People would be scandalized.”

“Who cares?” Drew stared at her
intently.

She knew what he wanted. Or she thought she
did. That was the problem. She could not know for sure. Without
certainty could she risk it all once again for love? What was the
other choice―risk nothing and attain nothing? She glanced at the
paper and chose the first occupation Drew had listed. “Surely a
solicitor can afford trousers?”

Drew smiled ruefully. “I might be aiming too
high for a position as a solicitor. I’m not terribly good with
following rules or getting others to follow them. I might end up a
coachman.”

Her heart ached with his words. She loved
him, and she did not think she would ever love another as she loved
Drew. She had to risk her heart once again. “That’s all right,
darling.” She smiled at Drew, tears of joy filling her eyes. “I’m a
terribly famous actress, and I need another good coachman.”

Drew leaned towards her, his lips almost
brushing hers. “What about a husband?” he whispered with an
intensity that made her tingle.

“I suppose, though you’ll be poor, you’ll
do.”

“Char?”

“Yes?”

“I think I’m going to have to break my
promise.”

With a chuckle, she reached out and twined
her hands into his hair, pulling his lips against hers, helping him
break his promise not to touch her. One of his hands came to the
back of her neck to cup it. His other hand slid into her hair, and
his fingers twined into the silky strands. “God, Char. I’ve had so
many dreams about touching you this way once again that a part of
me fears I’m still dreaming.”

“You’re not,” she whispered as his mouth
descended upon hers. His lips brushed hers reverently, exploring,
licking, and nipping ever so gently. The longing she had kept pent
up for over a year poured through her, and she let out a moan as
his lips became more demanding. She could feel, by the increasing
assault of his lips, the need he had bottled up releasing inside of
him. He let out his own ragged moan just as his tongue delved
inside her mouth and incited her own need and hunger for him to a
frenzied level. She wanted more of him. She needed more of him.

“Drew,” she panted as she pulled back. “I
need you.”

“I need you too. So badly in fact, I’ll
probably lie on this cold, hard floor all night with an
enormous—”

Charlotte slapped a hand over his mouth and
giggled at the picture of him lying on the floor, pining for her.
Finally, her fondest wish had come true. “Come to my room with
me?”

“God, no!” Drew pushed back in his chair.
“If I so much as stepped foot in a room where we were alone with a
bed, I’d ravish you. I’d rather die first than put my needs before
you ever again.”

Charlotte flung herself in his arms and
hugged him. “I love you, Drew!” It felt so freeing and so right to
say it once again.

“I’m so glad to hear you say that, Char. I’d
hate to think I’d wasted all night coming up with ways to earn a
living for someone who detested me.”

She kissed him on the neck, on his cheeks,
his chin, his nose and finally his lips. If she didn’t stand up
soon, they would both end up on the cold, hard floor but no one
would be wasting any time pining. Reluctantly, she pushed back her
chair and stood. Finally remembering the pillow and blanket, she
reached down and handed them to him. “These are for you. I’ll see
you bright and early in the morning.”

He rose, took her hand and kissed it. “And
every morning after for the rest of your life.”

Happiness suffused her, but as she walked
back to her bedroom, a light chill settled over her. Her father’s
illness weighed heavy on her mind, along with the knowledge that
she and Drew would more than likely have to face his father
tomorrow. A grey pall threatened to consume the happiness from
moments ago.

Once she was inside her room and nestled
under her blanket, more doubt crept over her. What if Drew
crumbled, as he had done once before, when face-to-face with his
father? What if the duke joined in the argument against Drew
marrying her? She’d never known anyone to win a verbal match
against the Duke of Danby. Had she been stupid to allow Drew
completely back into her heart? She buried her head in her pillow.
There was nothing else she could have done. She loved him too much
not to give him a second chance, whether foolish or not. She prayed
he did not fail her again. Just imagining her devastation if he did
left her in a cold sweat and sleep evaded her into the darkest hour
of the night.

Late the next night after slow travels due
to the snow, Drew peered into the darkness as the carriage finally
turned onto Danby Castle’s long drive. Every blasted achingly cold
moment of the previous evening had been worth the possibility of
gaining Char’s trust and her hand in marriage. Drew stared at Char,
resisting the desire to gather her into his arms and hold her
close. The rational side of him knew he would not muck things up
again and lose her, but the irrational side of him remembered every
moment without her and the memories made him shudder. He twined his
fingers together so he would not wake her until the last possible
second, but the wheels rolled over the pea-gravel making Char stir
in her sleep.

He grinned to himself. Since clearly she was
waking up, he reached over and pulled her close to his side before
pressing his lips to the top of her head. This was right. This was
how it could have been a year ago had he not been a weak, cowardly
fool. His shame twisted in his gut. It would take his life and
beyond to make up his failing Char.

Edgeworth snorted from the other side of the
carriage. “I hope I never fall in love.”

Drew ran a hand over Char’s silky locks, his
heart clenching with a sweet ache. “Why?” he whispered, not wanting
to jar her from sleep but to let her come gradually back to him.
Her fear for her father’s health had mounted all day on the trip,
and in sleep, the small line of worry that had been present between
her brows had finally disappeared.

“The look on your face,” Edgeworth said,
straightening to glance out the carriage window.

“My face?” Drew softly brushed his lips
against Char’s. He couldn’t resist, and in his defense her
eyelashes were fluttering

“Yes, your bloody face. You look so struck,
so damn vulnerable. I never wish to be vulnerable again.”

Drew forced his gaze away from Char to his
cousin.
Again?
Had Edgeworth said
again
? As far as
Drew knew Edgeworth had never loved anything but the fact that
women flocked to him in such great numbers. “Something you care to
talk about, Edgeworth?”

He shook his head. “Not really. It would
change nothing.”

Drew did not want to push his cousin. If the
man needed an ear to confide in, Edgeworth knew Drew would listen.
“If you ever need to talk you know I’m here.”

Edgeworth shrugged, his discomfort obvious.
“Maybe later when your logical mind returns.”

“I’m afraid you’ll be waiting a long time
then. I’m in love, and I’ve come to the conclusion that logic has
little to do with love.”

“Exactly what I mean,” Edgeworth grumbled as
the carriage jerked to a halt. His cousin frowned. “Roberts must be
tired to be so clumsy.”

“Give the man a bit of leave. We drove him
into the ground today, demanding we travel in this weather.”

The door swung open and a disheveled Roberts
let down the stepladder. Reluctantly, Drew shook Char until her
eyes fluttered open. “We’re here, sweetheart,” he whispered in her
ear.

She sat up with a start, her eyes opening
wide. “Will you come with me?”

The green silk she wore accented her red
hair and fair skin. His lust soared, but he ignored it. Char didn’t
need his lust, she needed his honor. “Of course,” Drew assured her
and took her hand to help her descend the stepladder.

The grand front door to the castle opened
before Drew and Char made it to the steps. Brightson, the footman,
smiled at them. “Neither of you were expected until tomorrow.
Welcome back, Miss Milne.” Brightson turned to Drew. “Welcome home,
my lord. His Grace will be so pleased to see you. He’s still awake
and in his study if you care to see him tonight, and I can check to
see if Lord Norland might still be up if you wish a word.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Drew said,
bringing Charlotte’s hand close to his chest. The footman gaped at
Drew, but he ignored the man’s stare and focused on Charlotte. He
sensed the urgency to see her father in the tremors of her body.
“I’ll see Grandfather and my father tomorrow. I’m going to attend
Miss Milne while she cares for her father.”

“Cares for her father?”

Drew glanced back at the footman at the
confusion in his voice. The footman stared blankly back at
Drew.