Page 55 of Unmasking a Wicked Marquess
She debated trying to explain her feelings to him when the words died in her throat as they stepped between some trees. In a clearing, once more, Edward had laid down a picnic blanket, yet this time, he had gone further. There was a basket of food with a flagon of lemonade beside it, and next to the picnic was a fire to keep them warm. Made quite perfectly with the wood stacked together, she could feel the heat from where they stood.
“You’re quite a romantic at heart, are you not?”
“Romantic? Me?” He laughed at the idea. “Perhaps I just like doing nice things for you, Juliet.” He kissed her hand, and she smiled, seeing that he did not quite understand what this meant to her.
It is that kindness I treasure so much.
“Come, let us enjoy ourselves as much as we can before we have to return to the house.”
He drew her towards the blanket, and they sat down, reaching for the food and the lemonade. Such excitement spread through Juliet to be with him again, completely alone, without their families and without Lady Clarissa in the vicinity, that she reached for conversation very easily. As always, one subject flowed to the next for them with perfect ease.
“Your family has won most of the races at Ascot this year. Surely you will win tomorrow’s too?”
“Ah, I will never consider it in such light. I shall never take a race win for granted.” He shook his head. “Something I observed in my travels is that some people in the world take their wins for granted. When that happens, their attitude towards their horses changes, too. They can sometimes be cruel to their horses. That will never happen to me.” He shook his head firmly.
Such warmth spread through Juliet to hear him talking about caring for the horses that she leaned towards him, not wanting to be far from him.
“You care for them deeply, do you not?”
“Of course.” He nodded. “I will not see a horse harmed by anyone who works for me. I have dismissed jockeys before if I think they whip the horses too much. I will see them cared for. Come what may.” The passion he spoke with made her heart pound in her chest.
“You sound a little like my mother. She has the same passion for animals and their welfare.”
“Then she has a good heart indeed.” He nodded with her. “Speaking of your mother …” He paused, a small smile growing on his lips. “Did you see them playing charades together last night?” he asked, leaning back onto a tree trunk behind his body. She shifted so she completely faced him with her legs curled up at her side. It meant that his thigh rested warmly against her hip, and she had no intention of moving away.
“I did.” Juliet nodded. “My mother smiled so often, for a minute, I thought it was as if the clocks had been turned back, and our mothers were friends again. That was until your father interfered, of course.”
“My father?” Edward grimaced. “Good God, what did he do?”
“He asked your mother to stop playing. Did you not see?”
Edward blinked, then shook his head.
“I must have been out of the room writing that note to you at the time.”
“Ah, well, yes. He asked her to stop playing, and she did as he asked. My mother was quite upset and joined another team to continue playing, though she kept looking at your mother throughout the rest of the evening.”
“Is it not mad?” Edward said with sudden passion and leaned towards her.
“Which part?” she asked with a deep laugh. “The argument? Or the fact you and I are so flagrantly bending the rules to be here?”
He smiled so mischievously that she shuffled a little closer towards him, wanting to be near him.
“All of it,” he said with passion. “The fact that an argument between our fathers could drive both families completely apart, too. When I think of my poor Uncle Hugh.” He grimaced again. “Do you know he never married after his betrothal with your aunt was broken off?”
“Your sister told me, but I had not known before.” Juliet shook her head. “It is mad,” she agreed. “One argument can drive so many people away. It hovers in the air like some noxious gas sent to doom us all. It’s really quite …”
“Appalling?” Edward filled in. “I’ve had enough of it.” He moved suddenly, and she gasped in surprise. He put her glass of lemonade down beside them in the tree roots and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her towards him. “I have no intention of staying away from you, Juliet. Argument or no argument.”
“Thank God for that,” she whispered and leaned towards him. The air crackled between them, much like the fire by their side, as her eyes darted down to his lips. She was hoping for another kiss.
Chapter 17
Juliet closed the distance between them, desperate to be nearer Edward. She felt heady and dizzy, and it was all because of him. Being completely alone with him out here in the garden felt illicit, yet somehow right. As if from their first moment of meeting, they had been on their journey to this moment.
He shifted her body. Taking hold of her waist, he dragged her forward and moved her to sit across him, her knees falling on either side of his hips as they continued to kiss. When she dragged her hips alongside his and felt him practically growl against her lips, a sense of pleasure ricocheted through her body. A wetness developed between her legs.
He shifted the two of them, moved her onto her back, and pulled the coif off her head in one clean action, revealing her auburn hair. Then, he bent over her, moulding their lips together and tangling their tongues. The kiss was so deep and intense that Juliet lifted her knees, feeling as if they almost acted of their own accord. They raised around his hips, and her body cradled his own, waiting for something, wanting something even greater than this thrill.
