Page 23 of Beauty and the Rake
Why was he always around? He knew how she felt about ever remarrying but still found reasons to be around her. He hadn’t tried to kiss her, which she found puzzling. Most men like him would have at least tried. It was almost as though he thought of her as a sister, which was how they’d always been growing up. They were grown adults and if they kept this up, people would start to think there was indeed something going on between them. She wasn’t ready to give up her newfound freedom to any man.
Chapter Eight
Graham gazed acrossthe carriage at Roxanne. With her eyes closed, she appeared to be asleep, but he knew better. She was angry with him for having ruined her holiday. It couldn’t be helped. Arthur asked him to help get her back to London. He was in the area and if he’d simply written her requesting her return to London, she would have ignored his request. Then he’d have to see if Lady Georgiana could assist him, and she wouldn’t be able to convince Roxanne without telling her the truth of Arthur’s request. He didn’t want to have to do that. This was bad enough because she would ask him if he knew, and he knew how that would end.
He tried to get his mind back into the book he was reading but found it nearly impossible. The lull of the carriage was going to have him asleep if he wasn’t careful. His lips twitched as he tried to avoid a smile as he continued to watch her. He was of good mind to get up and sit next to her and kiss her like she needed to be kissed. Heaven knew Casper had never been capable in that. He ignored her and avoided her at all costs.
He averted his eyes. If he kept gazing at her and thinking inappropriate thoughts about her, like taking her here, she was going to wake up and find him with his trousers tenting. He was having difficulty trying to leave those thoughts somewhere else. Right now, his main concern was handing her over to Arthur.
The one thing he did know was that if anyone deserved something good in her life, it was Roxanne. She’d been throughenough. Before Casper died, he deliberately took away all her cameras and photographic equipment out of spite. It was one of the things Roxanne loved doing, but Casper told her women weren’t meant to use cameras or to develop the images. It was an art form left solely to men. Arthur had shown Graham a couple of her images and he was overcome with emotion, which he was sure was what she was trying to accomplish. Perhaps, he could get her interested again. She was going to need something to occupy her time, a way to get her out of the house. This was something she enjoyed and was good at.
He sat back, his head against the back corner of the seat. Not realizing it, he sighed rather loudly. Once again, his eyes were heavy and though he had his own matters to ponder over, he couldn’t help but give in to sleep. To make it even more lulling, a rain began to fall on the roof of the carriage. Not uncommon being close enough to the seashore. Hopefully, it would dissipate before they made it to London.
He wished he’d followed his instincts and purchased tickets for the train back to London. Something distracted him, and he completely forgot to do it. Now, with the rain, they wouldn’t get into London until much later than planned.
Closing his eyes, listening to the gentle sound of the rain, Graham fell asleep. For how long he was unsure, but he was pleasantly surprised to hear Roxanne’s voice quietly trying to wake him up. Her hand was on his knee in her attempt.
“We’re entering London,” she said gently.
“Already?”
“Yes, we made good time despite the rain,” Roxanne said.
“They’re pushing the horses. That’s too much distance to cover in a day. They’ve got to be exhausted. The driver is a fool. I told him we’d stop for the night and start fresh in the morning.”
“They did stop. They changed out the team. So see, you have no reason to be grumpy.”
He said nothing. He never woke up easily and yes, Roxanne was right; he was grumpy first thing in the morning. “Humph.”
“You were sleeping. I saw no reason to wake you.”
“I normally don’t sleep so deeply,” he said.
“Obviously, you were tired.” She smiled. “You look so innocent when you’re sleeping. Did anyone ever tell you that?”
“I don’t usually leave myself that vulnerable.”
“What are you going to do when you marry?”
He arched a brow. Interesting. “I never plan on marrying.”
“You can tell that to someone who doesn’t know you so well, Graham. This is me you’re talking to.”
“True, but we haven’t seen each other in years. For all you know, I’m Jack the Ripper.”
She shifted on the seat. She was smiling. Something he wished she’d do more of. But as soon as they got to her home, all of that was going to fly out the window. Once again, her life was going to be changed forever.
“Some things about a person never change. They remain with you forever. It doesn’t matter how long it’s been since we’ve seen each other. You’re still the same decent man you were then as a boy. Though I will say one thing. You know something. You know the reason why you came to get me. Arthur just instructed you not to tell me.”
“You imagine too much,” he said. He hated lying to her, but Arthur had instructed him, and he respected his friend’s wishes.
“Do I? You and my brother may think you’re protecting me, when in fact I know when the two of you are up to something.” Her lips were pursed, and her face told him she was agitated but was trying hard not to let it show. He didn’t know how much longer he could continue this. He had to figure out a distraction at least part of the way through London. He’d kiss her. By doing that, he hoped he would leave her befuddled and speechless. There was, however, the possibility she would react negatively.She considered him a childhood friend, almost to the point of being like a brother because of his association with Arthur. It was a predicament.
Without another thought to the situation, Graham switched seats. He moved quickly, sitting next to her. The scent of oranges and vanilla woke his senses. He always thought of her when he smelled this combination. That and being this close to her did other things to him. It made him want to ravage her right here in the carriage.
That’s when he placed his hand on her cheek and lowered his lips to hers and kissed her like there was no tomorrow. Fortunately, either caught off guard or as eager as he was, she responded to him. His tongue pushed open the seam of her lips and tasted her. She opened to him, one hand holding on to his shoulder as though she depended on him.
“Graham, what are you doing?” she asked moments later. Her mouth wasn’t but inches away from his.
