Page 53 of Unmasked By a Captivating Lady
He took a deep breath. He must respect her decision. As soon as he was able to move, he would journey to Thorn House to recover, and then head back to London. It was the only thing that hecoulddo in the circumstances.
He turned restlessly from side to side, thinking about it. Back to London, or Kent. Back to the same old life. Back to the same old social scene, the endless round of balls, parties and activities. Back to the same old people, with the same old stories, that he had heard a thousand times before. It was all so predictable and dull that he could barely stop himself from screaming in frustration.
He blinked back bitter tears. Why had he even met her, if fate was going to do this to him? It was as if life was playing with him, toying with him like a cat with a mouse. How could the most beautiful, amazing woman he had ever met suddenly enter his life, only to be snatched out of it? Was destiny teasing him in the cruellest of ways?
He sat up in the bed, staring at the candle. No, he could not go back to his old life if she decided that she did not want to see him anymore. She had changed everything now. He would have to do something completely new. But even the thought of that, without her, depressed him so much he simply couldn’t think clearly.
Suddenly, he heard a sound near the door to the room. Footsteps, approaching it. He sat up higher, his heart beating hard in his chest.
His eyes slid to the clock on the mantelpiece. It was almost midnight. Much too late for any of the staff to be looking in on him. They would have all retired at least an hour ago; he knew the schedules that servants in houses like this kept.
His heart thudding, he got up, ignoring the sudden sharp pain in his arm. Slowly, he approached the door, putting his hand on the doorknob. Without thinking any further, he reefed it open.
He gasped. Ara was standing there, blinking rapidly in surprise. Her mouth was wide open, her jaw dropped in an almost comical way.
His eyes swept over her. She was wearing a long, full white nightgown, and her hair was plaited, hanging over one shoulder. In her left hand, she carried a candle in a holder, the flame sputtering gently.
“Hello,” he whispered, his heart thudding harder.
She bit her lip. “I was only walking by,” she stuttered, her dark eyes wide. “I have just been to the kitchen, as I do sometimes at night, if I cannot sleep…”
He gazed at her steadily. She was so obviously disconcerted and uncomfortable. Perhaps she really had only been going to the kitchen, to get a midnight snack or drink. But something told him there was more to it than that.
She is concerned for me,he thought suddenly. But she doesn’t know how to express it.
“I…I…should go,” she said slowly. “You need to rest…”
Suddenly, there was the sound of stairs creaking. Someone was walking down from upstairs. And if Ara did not move quickly, she would be discovered standing outside his room in her nightgown.
The thought had obviously occurred to her as well. She stiffened slightly, her eyes darting left and right, as if she was cornered.
“Quick,” he whispered, taking her hand. “Come in here. You can wait until they have gone…”
She didn’t need any second prompting. The next minute she was in the room, and he had closed the door firmly behind her.
She gazed around the room as if she had never beheld it before in her life. He saw a deep flush creep up, over her neck, staining her face as she suddenly realised what she had done. That she was standing there, in her nightgown, alone with him in this room, and the hour was past midnight.
He gazed down at her, his heart thudding hard. Slowly, gently, he raised his hand to her face, trailing his fingers down the side of it in a tender caress. He could feel his fingers burn slightly, from even this small contact with her skin.
She jerked back, as if he had hit her, glaring at him. “Do not try that again,” she hissed, her eyes fierce. “I didnotcome here for that. And you take too many liberties…”
He winced slightly. “Ara, I love you. Iloveyou…”
“I do not believe you,” she whispered fiercely. “I willneverforgive you, for lying to me in the way that you did. I do not know why you are even here…”
He grabbed her in his arms, gazing down at her, as fiercely as she beheld him. “I came here because I could not stay away from you,” he muttered, his face close to hers. “I know that you feel the same way. I can tell by the way your body reacts to mine…”
She twisted in his arms, trying to pull away. Desperately, he pulled her closer, trying to calm her. He could feel her trembling all over.
“Shhhh,” he whispered, into her hair, stroking her gently. “Shhhh…”
She stilled in his arms. As if in a dream, he bent his head to hers, seeking her lips. For a moment, she resisted, stiffening in his arms. He deepened the kiss, glorying in the sweetness of her. And suddenly, as if she were a flower blooming into life, her lips opened beneath his. She clung to him fiercely, as if she never wanted to let him go.
In a daze, he scooped her up in his arms, carrying her to the bed. Gently, he lay her down, climbing onto it, lying next to her. Her eyes were half closed, in a kind of rapture as his hands feverishly fell on her. It was as if they remembered her body now. It was as if they knew her secret soft places, the ones that made her gasp and mewl when she was touched, arching beneath him, straining for more.
He felt his blood pound, deep in his veins, as he blindly felt for the bottom of her nightgown, pulling it up quickly so that her pale legs were exposed. At the same time, he pulled at the top of the gown, letting her full breasts spill out.
His eyes feasted on her for a moment. Slowly, as if in a dream, he bent his head, seeking out her nipples, his tongue darting frantically from one to the other.
