Page 24 of Denying a Rakish Duke
“Your Grace, I no longer care what you do, or where you choose to do it, so long as it is as far away from my family as possible.”
“I will stay away from your family if that is what you wish,” Joseph moved to stand with his back to the door as Vanessa twisted the key in the lock; she tried to open the door, but he forced it shut once more. “I will … I will give you my word, but please do not make me stay away from you. Vanessa, you are unlike any woman that I have ever met before, and I cannot lose you.”
“Perhaps you should have thought of that before having another woman lift her skirts for you!”
“I did not ask her to do that!” He placed his hand over hers on the doorknob. “Vanessa, I was attempting to convince myself that you did not matter. I know that sounds like the most backward thing to say, but I sat beside you all evening, desperately wishing to grab your hand, to speak to you, to have you stop ignoring me … I was going wild with the need to touch you, to be nearer to you … and I thought that if I could come up here with an old mistress of mine that perhaps I could get it out of my system … that if only I could go through with it then I could push you from my mind—”
Vanessa’s lips closed as she listened, her ocean-blue eyes locked on his forest green ones.
“I could not go through with it; I would not have done it, and even if I had not ever known that you were there, I would have made her leave. I know you have no reason to believe that of me, but it is the truth.”
“I could never be with a man who is not devoted to me, wholly, mind and body. I would never want to be with somebody like that,” Vanessa said softly.
“Never have I wanted that either, Vanessa. I know that I have made a mistake, but I cannot think of anyone but you.” He smiled softly, hoping that she would understand his meaning. “I went about it the wrong way; I should not have come up here with her. I knew that it was a mistake the moment the door closed, but I was not certain how to get out of it. You must believe me, please; just one chance is all I ask of you. Just one— if from this moment on you feel as if you cannot trust me for any reason, I will heed your wishes and disappear from yours and your family’s lives … I am not a man who begs, not for anything, Vanessa.”
His eyes dropped down to her lips, slightly parted as if she was unsure of whether or not she was willing to possibly be hurt by him again. “I could not stop picturing you, I wanted it to be with you so badly that I thought for a moment when I saw you under the desk that I had imagined you.” Joseph placed his hand on the door on one side of Vanessa’s head and leaned down over her, trapping her. Her fingers slipped off of the doorknob as she looked up at him.
“I have no desire to be courted by a rake, either,” she whispered, but he was not certain that she meant it.
“Shall I show you what it was that I wanted to do? What Ireallywanted?”
Vanessa pressed her lips together and attempted to list all of the reasons why it was an absolutely terrible idea for him to show her anything, that evenconsideringit was deplorable. Joseph slid his hands around her waist until he reached the small of her back and gently pulled her toward him. Her hands lifted to his chest, resting on the strong muscle there as he lowered himself to her slowly, giving her time to leave, giving her a moment to think better of the situation— and then he kissed her.
He kissed her slowly, at first. He savored the sensation of her lips against his, lost in the moment as Vanessa’s hands slowly slid up his chest to his shoulders and then to wrap around to his neck softly. She had such strong, capable hands, and yet she touched him with a tenderness that was almost painful. He pulled her closer, walking them back into the room as his other hand lifted to the back of her head, cradling her closer to him as he deepened the kiss.
He turned them, walking her backward until her thighs collided with the desk she had been hidden under before. He tightened his arm around her, lifted her up onto the desk, and angled his hips so that he could step between her thighs— her dress riding up a couple of inches higher. A soft sigh of pleasure left Vanessa, swallowed by Joseph as he ran his tongue along her lower lip, asking for permission to taste her. He desperately wanted to taste her.
Her lips parted, and both of their self-control shattered as her fingers slid up into his hair, tangling into the brown waves, and exploring the sensation as passion built within her. Her pulse quickened as his hand dropped to her covered thigh and slowly started to inch the fabric up on one side until his fingers softly brushed over her stocking-covered leg. Her eyes snapped open in surprise, and Joseph took the opportunity to press a kiss into the corner of her mouth, her jaw, and down the side of her neck.
The sudden rush of sensation was nearly too much for her, her head falling back as her eyes fluttered closed again. Each kiss was a searing brand of apology, and a physical declaration of the truth in his earlier words as he took his time savoring each inch of skin she allowed him access to.
“Do you like that?” he groaned into her skin. He trailed his tongue over the skin he had just kissed, anxiously awaiting her answer.
Vanessa nodded, her breath coming in short bursts. She was wholly overwhelmed, but her curiosity burned with equal brightness. She wanted more; she wanted to know what came next. She wanted to know what he did between a woman’s thighs that made them turn into such wanton creatures.
“Would you like more?” His green eyes flicked to her, something so delicious in them that her toes nearly curled inside her slippers. Slowly, she nodded and then twice more in rapid succession.
Joseph’s handsome face shifted into something wicked, and she almost doubted if she was truly ready for whatever he was about to do to her— when the door to the office burst open.
Startled, the two separated quickly as they could, Vanessa’s skirts falling back down over her legs, but the damage was done. Uncle Tobias stood there still as a statue, his mouth agape. All of the blood seemed to drain from his round face, and for a moment, he swayed in place as if he might faint from the shock of it all.
Then, just as quickly as he had come into the room, all color came rushing back to his face until he looked red and swollen like a beet.
“What is the meaning of this!”
ChapterFifteen
“Earl Evans, this is not what it looks like!” Joseph’s voice was calm and steady as he faced Tobias. Joseph positioned himself directly in front of Vanessa. She desperately wished that she could shrink herself down in size so that nobody else could see her. She did not wish to exist here; she did not wish to have anyone witness her disgrace.
She was not shy by any means; she never had been. She was not even overly modest but having been interrupted in the middle of such an intimate moment while her feelings were still raw and exposed … she could not seem to reconcile herself into any composed state. She felt dizzy and a little sick. It was too much to hope that Uncle Tobias would lower his voice after the initial shock wore off.
Somewhere in the Manor doors were opening, and bodies were heading in their direction. At this very moment, they were attempting to locate Tobias in order to see the cause for all of the screaming.
“Never in my life have I been forced to witness something such as this!” Tobias continued, each word pulsating more blood to his face and forcing spittle from his mouth. He was practically foaming at the mouth.
Vanessa slid from the desk behind Joseph and adjusted her clothing so that she looked as presentable as possible. She felt like a coward hiding behind Joseph’s large frame, but she did not feel guilt for being a coward right now. She would dwell on this moment later, perhaps every night for the foreseeable future, she would dwell on this very moment and all of the possible ways that things might have gone, different choices that she could have made. It had not even registered when she allowed Joseph to kiss her again that she had not relocked the door. This was all her fault. Shame started to pool in her gut as bodies came into the hall behind her.
This is it.
