Page 87 of Dare to Love a Duke
He exhaled, his forehead pressed to hers. “Brookhurst made it quite clear there would be repercussions for my defiance. I’ve no idea what he plans, but nothing is outside the realm of possibility.”
“Then we fight back.”
“You make it sound simple,” he said wryly.
“It won’t be. But the alternative is to meekly accept whatever he doles out. And I can’t be meek.”
“That,I know. Now,” he said after one more kiss, “let us find a home for your dreams.”
She quickly climbed the stairs, and would have soared up even higher, had it been physically possible.Dioknew that her heart was up in the firmament.
Chapter 21
The property Tom and Lucia toured had not been quite right for her needs—there weren’t enough bedrooms for the girls, and the chambers on the ground floor were too small to serve as classrooms—but she’d been determined to keep looking until she found something perfect.
They’d returned to Bloomsbury and, in the sanctuary of her room, abandoned themselves to shared pleasure. Afterward, they lay together in her narrow bed, bodies snug and damp. She drifted into sleep and he held her, his gaze tracing over the cracks in the bedroom ceiling while his thoughts paced like captive creatures.
Time slipped away from him. Somewhere, hidden beyond the horizon, lurked Brookhurst’s retribution. But there was no way of knowing what the duke planned. All Tom could do was balance nimbly on the balls of his feet, awaiting the strike.
Until then, he cradled Lucia with the care she deserved. Her breath feathered over his chest, her hand splayed atop his heart.
Make the world stop. Let this moment last forevermore.
But it could not. He was expected home for supper, and then he’d rise early the next morning to return to Parliament.
“Love,” he murmured against the crown of Lucia’s head. Her hair held her scent, and the slight tang of perspiration, and he inhaled it deeply. “I’ve got to go.”
“No.” Her voice was thick with sleep—she wasn’t fully awake. “Don’t you leave me, too.Rimani.”
His chest contracted painfully. Yet he couldn’t linger.
“I’m so sorry, my love. I must be off. I’ve obligations.”
A brief silence, and then she gave a long exhale while her body lost its slackness as she came fully awake.
“Yes, of course.” She sat up, the blanket pooling around her waist, and rubbed her knuckles against her eyes. The room had darkened as evening had fallen. Though he couldn’t see her fully in the shadows, his gaze moved over her greedily, taking her in.
She slid from the bed to pull on a robe before lighting a candle and seating herself at the table. In the candle’s flickering illumination, he dressed, hating the feel of his clothing against his skin. She felt so much better contacting his flesh.
“When...” She cleared her throat. “When will I see you again?”
“If I had my choice—tomorrow. Better yet, I wouldn’t leave and you’d be the first thing I’d see upon waking.”
Pink washed over her cheeks, and he took delight in making an experienced woman blush.
She murmured, “Barring that...”
“Not until Thursday.” He growled as he tied his neckcloth, frustration taut along his limbs. “Too many commitments.”
“It is the way of life,” she said in a voice that sounded desperately offhand. She gave a slight shrug.
He wouldn’t let her retreat, not when they’d both bared themselves to each other. He bent so their faces were level, and said fiercely, “Know this—when I’m apart from you, you occupy my every thought.”
“I think you mean to destroy me.” She blinked hard, but he saw how her eyes turned liquid.
“No, love.” Ferocity ebbed, leaving tenderness in its wake, and he kissed her. “I mean to build you up. Higher and higher until you can look down at the stars.”
Brookhurst kept his distance when Tom returned to the Lords the next day. Tom observed the duke warily, yet all that day and into the next, things remained chilly but relatively cordial. It helped that Tom’s schedule kept him occupied so he hadn’t time to brood.
