Page 79 of His Highland Duchess
“Oh, they could never,” she laughed.
“Let us not take that chance.” He placed Lenora down by his side and then raised an eyebrow at Aurelia. She saw it and grimaced, reluctantly letting go of Margaret’s leg. “There we are,” he said. “Much better.”
“She is here forever now.” Aurelia looked to Margaret and Lysander determinedly. “You promise.”
“Unless either of you does anything to change her mind,” Lysander teased.
Aurelia’s face dropped with fright, and Margaret laughed. “I am sure that will nae be the case.” She stroked Aurelia’s head. “Dae nae worry, I am here to stay.”
“Yay!”
“But…” Lysander stepped up to Margaret and took her hand. Then he pulled her in beside him, keeping a tight grip. “Margaret is tired, girls, she requires rest.”
“Oh, I am –”
“Tired…” Lysander looked at her with wide eyes, willing her to see whatever it was that he was trying to say. “And she needs rest…” His hand squeezed and his eyes drifted to her lips, paused on them for a moment, and then returned to her eyes. Now, they held a look that she knew intimately, one which had her body growing suddenly flushed. “Is that not right?”
“Y–yes,” she stammered, finding it hard to breathe all of a sudden. “Perhaps an hour or so to…” She flashed her eyes knowingly at Lysander. “To recover. For it has been a long day.”
A smirk rose up the side of Lysander’s face, and he kept a hold of her hand…
In all the heartache and all the confusion, I had forgotten what it was that brought Lysander and me together in the first place. By the looks of things, Lysander is only too eager to remind me.
The girls pouted and complained, but they knew better than to argue. Soon, Mr. Jeffries was escorting them away, and just as soon, Lysander was leading her up the stairs, down the hall, and toward his bedroom. He moved quickly and urgently, as if he might just collapse if he did not get her alone before it was too late!
Personally, Margaret was glad for the haste. She had not thought much on it these last few days, for she was too sorrowful and broken to dare let her mind stray in that direction, but now that the moment was upon her, she could hardly think of anything else!
Into the room she was dragged, at which point Lysander released her hand so he could close the door. He did so, and the sound of the lock clicking sent a jolt through her body.
“Forgive me for the urgency.” He stood with his back to the door, a wicked smile on his lips. “Surely, you can understand?”
“Oh…” She shrugged and ran her eyes over his body, relishing every inch like she never had before. “I suppose I can forgive it. Assuming you make it worth my while.”
“I am sure I can try.”
“Try?” She frowned playfully. “I am sorry, but that simply is not good enough.”
He laughed, and it turned into a growl as he sauntered toward her. “It is funny in a way,” he began. When he reached her, he took her hands, not once breaking eye contact. “These last few weeks, I was so… careful to control myself around you.”
“Were you?” she frowned, still playful because she knew very well how he had felt about her. “I dinnae notice.”
“I felt I had something to prove,” he said, still holding her stare. It was intense and probing and made her pulse quicken at how serious he had become. “That, for some reason, is how I felt about you, how much I…” He licked his lips. “…wantedyou was somehow wrong.”
“Oh, it is wrong,” she said, licking her lips as she glanced at his lips and then his eyes. “You’re just lucky that I encourage it.”
“I want you to know,” he continued, squeezing her hands tighter. “I do love you, and that will not change.”
“I should hope nae.”
“But I want you to remember that because…” He pulled her into him, moving to kiss her, only to keep his face back by mere inches. She could feel his breath on her lips, and it made her skinripple with pleasure. “Well, what I am about to do to you might suggest otherwise.”
“Oh…” She caught her breath as her legs quivered. “Is that… what are you… Perhaps ye need to show me. And then I can decide for myself.”
He groaned as their bodies pressed together. Their noses touched, but still he did not kiss her. “How you undo me.”
“As you do me.”
“How much I want you.”
