The Wedding Runaway (26 page)

Shudder after shudder rippled through her. He was so talented.

He pulled back
,
and she reached for him. He secured her bonnet to the tree
,
tying the ribbons around a branch.

"
You are sopping wet
,
you know.
"

Yes
,
this fustian pelisse had been a poor choice
,
and being splashed by the carriage had made it worse.
"
And muddy.
"

He opened his coat.
"
Let me share with you.
"

She hesitated while he waited the sides of his coat held open. He looked warm and dry and oh-so-inviting. Unwilling to get him wet
,
she stripped off her wringing wet gloves and stuffed them in her pocket. With near desperation she undid the catches and dropped her pelisse
,
while stepping forward.

He caught her coat and tossed it across a branch before enfolding her in his warm embrace.

"
Helena
,"
he whispered before once again covering her mouth with his.

The rain continued to pour down around them
,
but she felt safe and warm in the cocoon of his sealskin coat. She was warm and alive in his arms. Alive and enthralled by the power of his kisses.

Only now his hands slid down her back
,
below her waist
,
cupping her curves and pulling her tight against him. A hard object prodded her stomach and interfered with their closeness. Helena tried to ignore it
,
but she thought it a part of his clothing that she could push aside. She reached and as her fingers curled around the hard length
,
she realized her mistake.

"
Christ Almighty! Oh damn!
"
he swore.

It was not part of his clothing
,
it was under his clothing and it throbbed under her hand.

"
What is that?
"
she whispered
,
shocked
,
confused. How could he conceal such a large part of his anatomy?

She tried to pull her hand away
,
but Trevor pinned her against the tree
,
so tight she couldn
'
t move
,
nor could she pull her hand out from between them. Oh
,
stars above, what had she gotten herself into?

Chapter Eleven

"
Don
'
t move
,"
Trevor gritted out between clenched teeth. He was in danger of falling over the edge and losing control. Helena probably had no idea what she had done
,
grabbing him like that. Hell
,
undoing her bonnet
,
stripping off her gloves
,
tossing her coat coupled with the way her damp white muslin gown clung to her breasts and revealed more than she could know had driven him to the brink.

He knew he scared her
,
but knew she had to feel his penis pulsing against her hand. His problem should be clear to her. He could only think to pin her against the tree so she couldn
'
t wiggle or rub or clench her fingers around him. Any move might spiral him into release.

"
Just give me a minute
,"
he whispered. In any case he had to stop. They needed to discuss how far she intended this tryst to go. She had left behind her keepers
,
but he doubted she meant to be seduced in a public park
,
against a tree
,
in the pouring rain. Any one of those factors should have rendered her safe from an excess of attention.

"
I do not know what I am about
,"
she said with a rising note of panic in her voice.

"
Yes
,
but you have damn good instincts.
"
He kissed her forehead.
"
Don
'
t fret
,
we are stopping.
"

She blinked her green eyes at him and bit her swollen lower lip.
"
Is that what you want?
"

Another wave of desire crashed through him.
"
That is the last thing I want.
"

He could hardly believe that she had been kissing him
,
with all the abandon he could have ever hoped for. He had been sensitive of her inexperience
,
but that was not enough to stop him in the moment he dreamed about for five years.

"
I do not understand. Why...what...Oh
,
I feel so strange.
"

"
I could fix that.
"

She stared at him.
"
How?
"

For the life of him, he did not know if she wanted him to explain or persuade.
"
I fear I will shock you
,
sweetheart.
"

She flinched at the endearment
,
or perhaps at his reminder that they had crossed boundaries they should not have ventured past. Did she think he had pressed too far because he was not a member of the nobility
,
but just a crass commoner. One bit of encouragement
,
even another question
,
and he would see to her education in the art of seduction.

She shook her head as if she could not believe what had happened. The haughty reserve dropped back over her face. A tense stiffness replaced the pliable softness in her body.

Finally
,
able to ease his hips back
,
he pulled her hand away
,
just in case she had any ideas of exploring her power over him. And she possessed an incredible amount of command over him.

She had run toward him
,
then drew up before he could embrace her. Her penchant for running hot, then cold, with him reduced him to a beggar. She had only to beckon and he would follow her to the ends of the earth. Yet
,
he wanted more than stolen moments of passion.

"
Helena
,
my intentions toward you are honorable even if my behavior is not.
"

She lowered her gaze. Not an auspicious beginning to a proposal.

And it was a lie. His intentions weren
'
t honorable
,
especially since he knew his suit would be refused. The best possible solution he could hope for was to be her lover. She was not raised to be the wife of a working man
,
not even a well-heeled business owner. He was not an owner and years would pass before he had substantial wealth in his own right.

He twisted
,
pulling his coat off and draping it around her shoulders.

"
You shall get wet.
"
She pulled his coat tight. His overcoat swamped her
,
yet she still managed to look regal with water droplets glittering like jewels in her coronet of braids and clinging to her eyelashes. She was a woman made for court functions in palace ballrooms. Boston had no palaces.

"
Helena
,
not a day has passed in the last five years that I have not thought of you.
"

She closed her eyes. Her white skin paled and her expression grew pinched.

"
I do not know if that is love
,
but you cannot deny that there is something between us.
"

She held out her hand.
"
Do not. Oh, pray stop. I am sorry. I have misled you. I did not mean for things to go so far. I came to tell you I must not see you again.
"

He yanked the ribbons of her bonnet loose
,
pulled it off the branch
,
then brushed it out
,
making sure no pieces of bark clung to the inside.
"
Come
,
I will walk you home.
"

With such a reception for his declaration of feelings
,
what else could he do?

She nodded and busied herself with tying her bonnet. He carried her saturated coat as they left the park and walked toward her house. The torrents of rain hid the last gray light of the day. The darkness crashed around them, mirroring his mood.

He hardly looked at her as they walked with heads down. Another block and she would be home. He would not see her again. He would not put himself through this again. She hesitated before crossing the last street leading to the square where she lived.

He turned back to look at her.

She pressed her hand against her lip and trembled. With his winter coat
,
she could hardly be too cold.
"
What?
"

"
I left through the mews
,"
she spoke to the ground and he could not make out her features under the brim of her bonnet. Ashamed to admit her sneaking or afraid to enter through the front door? In either case he cared little. He would not slander her reputation
,
and he doubted she would be punished.

"
It is dark
,
Lady Helena
.
I will see you to your front door and bid you a good life.
"
He bowed like any good English gentleman would
,
although he did not have a hat to doff and his clothes were saturated
,
which was a good thing
,
because he needed the dousing in cold water.

A plain black carriage turned into her square.

"
I do not wish for things to end so.
"
Her voice quivered.

"
I do not wish for us to end either
,
Lady Helena. But you give me no choice. I cannot be your toy to play with when the mood suits you.
"

"
Trevor
,
I truly do not mean to toy with your affections. I just—my father is ill. I cannot do anything that should upset him. And my mama is very worried
,
she cannot tolerate any more burdens.
"
Helena gingerly placed her hand on his arm.

He hated that his heart pounded at her slightest touch. And she actually spoke his given name.
"
You are of age now.
"
She had not been when he was here before.
"
You do not need your parents
'
permission to marry.
"

"
If that was a proposal
,
it was the worst in all time
,"
she said lightly.

Damn her
,
and she was right. He dropped to a knee in a puddle of icy water.
"
Helena
,
would you—
"

"
Oh, no!
"
She clapped a gloved hand to her mouth.
"
That was the physician
'
s carriage. Oh
,
heavens
,
he is entering my house.
"
She skirted around him and darted toward her home.

Trevor stood and winced as the cold material of his trouser leg slapped his leg as he walked after her. So much for noble gestures. He should have told her to send him word after she married and was ready to take him on as her cicisbeo.

Marriage was a business affair to her
,
an alliance of bloodlines. The English upper classes often looked for love outside of marriage. He was the outsider
,
challenging their long-established protocols.

As he stood in the rain outside the open front door of her house
,
a footman walked out, extending Trevor
'
s coat.

Passing Helena
'
s soggy coat to the servant while he took his own back
,
Trevor stared at the house. Light beckoned from the windows
,
but the welcome excluded him. The door clicked shut and he remained alone in the darkness of the street.

~*~

Lydia woke in the darkness and for a moment wondered where she was. Her shoulder throbbed and she remembered. Victor
'
s bed. She had slept in long stretches most of the day and well into the evening. She did not know what time it was
,
but it was very still.

When her shoulder began to throb, she would climb out of her drug-induced fog long enough for Jenny or Victor
'
s manservant to give her another dose of laudanum. Victor had been noticeably absent for most of the day
,
ever after the surgeon had arrived.

At one point there had been food
,
but Lydia ate only a few bites
,
before falling asleep again. A gnawing emptiness in her midsection suggested she had not eaten enough.

Lydia vaguely remembered Victor standing in the doorway a time or two
,
but then again she might have just hoped for his presence.

A pale strip of light framed three quarters of the connecting doorway to the other room. His wife
'
s room.

Was Victor in there? Did he have the door cracked so he might hear if she called out?

She pushed the covers down and swung her feet to the floor. A shawl lay across the foot of the bed and, miracle of all miracles, she had undergarments on now. She still wore the nightshirt that belonged to Victor
,
but Jenny had whip-stitched ties on the shoulder so the slit would stay closed when the surgeon was not attending her. Lydia wrapped the shawl around her shoulders and tiptoed toward the connecting door.

She pushed it open. It glided silently on its hinges. The room revealed was clearly a mate to the one she slept in
,
although softer with more delicate furnishings
,
including a full-length cheval glass. The drapes were a matching wine
,
but the walls were papered with vistas of English gardens. The only green to match that of Victor
'
s room was in the stems of flowers and piping about pink cushions.