Page 65 of A Caribbean Heiress in Paris
Was that longing in her eyes? Did he dare tell her that all he wanted once they arrived in Edinburgh was for her to stay?
“Let’s forget about Edinburgh for now.” He bent down to kiss her shoulder, the curve of her neck, as she sighed with pleasure. Luz ran the tip of her finger from his temple to his jaw, scratching through his beard as she went.
“I didn’t think I fancied these.”
He pulled her to him so her heat was pressed to his arousal.
“Have I changed your mind?” he asked before dipping down to capture a nipple between his teeth.
“I am very close to being convinced,” she confessed hotly, as he tipped them until he was looming over her.
“I must apply myself to it, then,” he said before pressing inside her again, and then neither of them had anything to say for a very long while.
He’d allow himself the next two days with her, and once they arrived in Edinburgh he would do whatever he had to in order to protect Luz from the plans he had with Apollo. He would not let his choices touch her. Even if it meant making an enemy of his brother.
Nineteen
“Mr. Clark said you have the new Stein and Argyle stills,” Luz Alana called with excitement from where she stood next to one of the copper pot stills he’d had installed last spring. After breakfast she’d asked to return to the distillery as she had more questions for the Braeburn’s master blender. She’d been fascinated by Paul Clark, an American Evan had hired away from a bourbon distillery a few years earlier on a trip across the Atlantic.
“Clark can tell you a lot more about them than I can. He came up with the design.”
“Lord Darnick is fearless,” Clark said with humor, and Luz Alana responded with a smile that lit up the older man’s usually serious face. Evan could not blame him for being smitten with her. So far everyone who’d crossed paths with the new Lady Darnick had fallen just a little under her spell. She’d been magnificent to behold, here in her element. Her eyes shining with unbridled curiosity at every new thing she discovered. Evan couldn’t remember ever being happier.
On the heels of that came the reminder of the telegram he’d received from Apollo just that morning. In a few words his brother had let him know unequivocally that he would not alter the plans they’d made. The duke would be unmasked at the ball, and no one must know of his existence...or there would be consequences.
Will you betray me too, brother?
Those had been the last words in Apollo’s message, and they’d served their purpose, reminded Evan that he had obligations. That going back on his word and putting his own wants first would only prove that like his father, he was selfish and self-serving. Once he told the truth to Luz Alana he would lose her, but if he turned his back on his brother he feared he’d lose his soul.
You have her now. That must be enough.
This morning she was attired in what she’d called aworking summer dress, which her cousin had designed especially for her. It was made of a light material that she informed him allowed her to stay cool in the oppressive humidity of the tropics. It was a pale yellow with a wide skirt that carried no bustle, the bodice done without any frills or embellishments other than a panel of lace covering her upper chest. A row of mother-of-pearl buttons went from the base of her throat all the way down to her waist. On any other woman it would’ve looked homely, but the color made her bronzed skin glow, and it accentuated her lush curves. Errant chocolate and honey curls framed her face over her straw bonnet. He could hardly keep his eyes off her.
“Evan, come,” she said, waving her hands. “Can you take me up so I can look inside?”
It’d been like this since their wedding night. It was as if Luz Alana had opened a door to him which had previously been closed, and from those glimpses he’d gotten of this freer, infinitely curious creature, he knew it would not take very much for him to be irrevocably lost to her.
You are lost already.
“We’ll be late for our outing.” Evan pushed off the doorframe he’d been leaning against and went to her, his pulse quickening with anticipation as he got close enough to touch her. His bride, Luz Alana Heith-Benzan.Sinclair-Heithnow, he reminded himself as something wild burst inside him.
“Mrs. Crawford has everything ready for the ride out to the beach,” he coaxed, then grinned as her eyes widened at the mention of their plans for the day. “I’ve a basket replete with berries for you.”
“Raspberries too?” she inquired, letting him pull her to him until he had her by the waist.
“Loads,” he whispered, mouth pressed to the sensitive patch of skin below her ear he’d recently discovered.
“Evan,” she protested with apparent embarrassment, but he heard a slight intake of air he’d grown familiar with in the last couple of weeks. “Mr. Clark is right here.”
“Mr. Clark has five grandchildren,” he told her as he caught a glimpse of the man in question moving farther away from them to go check on one of the stills. “He is well aware of what people typically engage in on their honeymoon and is probably as puzzled as I am as to why we’re not currently in bed. We are doing a very poor job of behaving as newlyweds.” She trembled when his lips grazed over the lace covering her collarbone.
“It’s fairly warm. Perhaps the beach would be a good idea,” she pronounced in a low, lusty tone that went straight to his groin.
“Yes,” he agreed eagerly. “I need to get you away from here for the day. You are much too popular with the staff.” She laughed at his feigned annoyance. In truth he loved seeing her get on with everyone in the house. It took quite an effort not to let his imagination run wild with images of them walking hand in hand in the gardens years from now.
“My charm is irresistible,” she told him as they reached the curricle.
“It is to me,” he said truthfully.
