Page 42 of An Innocent Maid for the Duke
‘You are good man, Jacob Huntingdon, despite your attempts to hide it.’
Surprised, he stared at her. ‘Why would you think I—?’
She touched a fingertip to his lips. ‘You hated that event today, yet you came to please your grandmother.’
Not only his grandmother, but he wasn’t about to admit that to Rose. ‘It was my duty.’ He sounded stilted. Uncomfortable. But what was new about that? Nothing in his life was comfortable. Except perhaps his private moments with Rose, when he could be himself.
She shook her head at him. ‘You really deserve more than duty, Your Grace.’
His breathing quickened at her teasing tone. The urge to smile back pulled at his lips. He closed the distance between them. ‘What would you suggest?’
The delicious scent of her body filled his nostrils, her warm smile was an unexpected welcome. He wanted to bask in that warmth. To drink his fill of her sweetness. He should not. Must not.
As she placed her hand flat on his chest, he found himself wanting to hold it. He clenched his fists behind his back instead. He would not treat her as if she was anything less than a lady, even if she could never be his lady, in red or any other colour. He steeled himself to step back. ‘I beg your pardon. A gentleman should not importune a lady under his roof. I—’
‘If I was truly a lady,’ she interrupted softly, ‘you would not have kissed me last night.’
Regret speared him. An apology leapt to his tongue. But that little hand gripped his lapel tight enough for her knuckles to show white through her skin. ‘And if I was any sort of real lady I would not have kissed you back. I don’t want you to go.’
She rose up on her toes and pressed her mouth to his.
Unable to stop himself, he swept her into the circle of one arm, deepening the kiss, while opening her door with the other. He edged her inside and closed it behind them. A long moment later, he lifted his head, breathing hard.
‘Rose. That is what I call an ambush. And it is not the first time I have been ambushed by a lady. So don’t think it.’
She was panting and staring at his mouth with the kind of raw hunger that called to him on a very basic level. ‘You really do kiss beautifully, Your Grace. I have missed those kisses.’
‘Call me, Jake, sweetheart, please.’
‘Jake, right now, I would love it if you would kiss me again.’
He had never been propositioned so sweetly or so devastatingly. He fought to find some rational thought, some reason why he should walk away and...found nothing but the desire to kiss her again.
A groan rumbled up from his chest. Where Rose was concerned when it came to kissing, he had almost no willpower. A kiss, that was all it would be, and then he would leave.
He touched his lips to hers.
Chapter Seven
Rose wasn’t quite sure when she had decided she could give up her long-held principles and take this daring step with a man who could never really be hers.
Perhaps the sight of him in such delicious and tempting undress as he groomed his horse, or the way he treated her like part of his family, or patiently explained the meaning of a word she had never heard before, had made her feel this overwhelming fondness.
Or perhaps it was the terrible loneliness she had sensed in him in that drawing room this afternoon when, despite the crowds around him, he had seemed to stand alone. Surely the man deserved someone to care about him, the way he cared for his family. While she could not stand at his side, in private she could offer him affection.
And, yes, gain something for herself. A feeling of being needed.
Truth to tell, she really had missed his kisses.
Clearly, he was far too much a gentleman to press for what she had indicated was unwelcome so it was up to her to take the first step. Another thing to be grateful for in a life where so few decisions had been her own.
And Jake’s kisses were blissful. Intoxicating. A word she now understood, though she had never imbibed strong drink.
She opened her lips to his tongue’s gentle request along the seam of her lips, sighed as their mouths melded. Aching deep in her heart, she let her fingers wander through the silk of his hair, absorbing every whisper of sensation against her skin. The hard bulk of his broad chest pressing against her breasts. The hand caressing her back as he drew her close, the feel of his arousal against her belly.
Each breath she took was not enough. Dizziness made her head swim and her knees feel weak, yet she had no fear of him letting her fall. His heat and his strength surrounded her like a barrier against the world. Nothing and no one would harm her when she was in his arms. Safe as she had never been safe before.
What wonderful memories they would make and for a while, he could forget his duty and be himself. A good kind man. She cupped his face in her hands and he broke the kiss, looking down at her, breathing almost as hard as she was. That he wanted her, she had no doubt.
