Page 43 of An Innocent Maid for the Duke
His hazy gaze sharpened. His expression became enquiring. ‘Rose?’
‘Jake,’ she whispered.
He shut his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, they were clear, his emotions bare. He looked tortured. ‘Do you know how rarely anyone calls me by my own name?’
She brushed back the lock of dark hair that liked to fall on to his forehead. ‘Jake, I...’ How to say this without sounding forward?
He stepped back. ‘I should go.’
She caught at his hand. He glanced down at where their fingers intertwined, then lifted his gaze to her face. The muscles in his jaw flickered. ‘I am not made of stone, Rose.’
‘Nor am I.’ The thunder of her heart made it impossible to speak, so she smiled at him. Swallowed. ‘Stay. Please?’
His eyes widened.
She’d been too forward. Or had she? The heat flaring in his gaze said otherwise.
He put his hands on her waist. ‘Do not say it, if you do not mean it.’
Relief flooded through her. She could not stop the chuckle of delight that bubbled up in her throat. ‘I never say things I do not mean.’
A small smile curved his lips. ‘Never pretend, was what you said.’
She nodded slowly. ‘Never.’
He shook his head slightly, but his smile broadened. ‘You are lovely. Delicious. Gorgeous. Delightful.’
All words she recognised. Words that made her heart swell with an odd kind of pride that he would use them to describe her. She felt almost...precious. As if this moment was as important to him as it was to her. She twined her arms around his neck, gazing at his lovely mouth that formed such lovely words and her body tightened in anticipation of his kiss. ‘Jake, I...’
‘Mmm?’ he murmured, nuzzling against her neck, tasting a spot beneath her ear that sent strange surges of that same tight feeling rushing between her thighs. She rolled her hips against him, pressed closer.
‘I forget everything when you kiss me.’
‘Me, too.’ He drew in a breath. ‘You are sure you want this?’
She chuckled. ‘I have never been more certain of anything in my life.’
A shudder rippled through him. ‘A gentleman really does not take advantage of the women in his household. I do rather pride myself on being a gentleman, you know.’
Only too well. It was one of the things about him she found so endearing. Irresistible. But not when it held him back. ‘Can’t we just be Jake and Rose tonight? No titles. Not employer and employee. No rules. Merely two ordinary people enjoying each other’s company.’
He stilled as if considering the idea. So cautious, her Jake. So very thoughtful. ‘I would like that, Rose. Very much. You have no idea how much.’ He chuckled. ‘Jake the footman. I think it sounds well, don’t you? A devil of a fellow I am below stairs, too. But you...’ he rubbed his nose against hers in a gesture of affection ‘...are the only one I want.’
Want in the carnal sense. She understood his meaning and could not help but smile at his rascally grin. He could not know how her heart ached to hear that she was the only one he wanted. She’d had so few friends in her life, she would treasure his declaration even knowing he was being his usual flirtatious self. He had a family who loved him and could not possibly understand how lonely her life had been until now.
She was starting to feel as if she belonged somewhere.
She instilled laughter into her voice. ‘Lawks, now. Wouldn’t that be something? You a footman and me the upstairs maid.’
‘Who have ducked into the upstairs linen closet while everyone is at breakfast.’ Now he sounded mischievous.
‘We must be very quiet,’ she murmured, stroking her fingers through his hair. ‘We wouldn’t want the housekeeper catching us. We’d cuddle in the dark and you would whisper about your dream of becoming a butler, while I talked grandly of being the housekeeper.’
‘And in between, I would steal a quick kiss.’ He pecked at her cheek and she turned her face to catch it on her lips. The kiss was not in the least quick.
She melted against him, wanting to burrow into his skin, to feel him close.
He groaned, lifting his lips from hers and letting his mouth cruise her cheeks, her nose, her forehead, their bodies limpet tight.
