Page 36 of A Lady's Lesson in Scandal
Because trusting him would give him access to my heart, and he would crush it. Must learn from past mistakes, Millie!
When he placed the washcloth on her back, Millie almost cried out, but she clenched her teeth instead. The lye burned into her wounds as tears stung her eyes.
‘Golly, that smarts!’ she hissed.
Drake’s dark chuckle distracted her from the pain. ‘So polite. I’ve heard far worse from your lips, Millicent. Coarse language doesn’t bother me, and I’ve found it helps in moments like this, oddly enough.’
‘Truly?’ Millie was willing to try anything to lessen the pain.
‘Let her rip, my dear.’
‘Well, in that case, bloody fucking hell! That hurts.’
His chuckle turned into a belly laugh that almost had her swooning. She wished she wasn’t facing the fire. She wanted to see Drake lost to mirth. It was almost worth the pain. How many people had seen the serious, dour, surly Earl of Tetly actually laugh? Not many, she’d wager.
‘Well done. Did it help?’
Actually, it had a bit. ‘It didn’t make things worse, that’s for certain,’ Millie admitted.
‘Keep going, sweetheart. This next part is going to be rough.’
So, she did, letting loose every foul word she knew and some she invented in the moment, as he used firm strokes to wash her back. He spent considerable time with a few of the cuts, sparing her no mercy as he meticulously scrubbed them out. It took several trips to the basin to rinse out the blood and soap, and Millie was nearly incoherent when he was done.
‘I think it might be best for you to lie down before I apply the balm, Millicent. You are shaking. I don’t want you to fall if you faint.’
Millie straightened her shoulders, the pull of her skin against the gashes causing her vision to blur. ‘Perhaps you are right, Beau. I’ll just…’ She took a step but stumbled, losing her grip on the dress still clasped to her chest.
Strong arms wrapped around her waist, carefully avoiding the worst of her injuries as he held her tight to his side. She completely lost hold of her dress. It sagged around her waist.Her breasts jostled lewdly as they moved, but Millie no longer cared. She just wanted to lie down and slip into the sweet darkness of sleep.
He helped her to the bed, then uttered a curse. ‘I hope you have other dresses as well. I liked this one immensely, but…’ A ripping sound alerted her to the fact her betrothed had just cut away the bodice of her dress. After a few tugs, she lay face down on her bed in a half-ruined chemise and nothing else. Patricia would be outraged. The thought of her stepmother sputtering in horror was enough to make her giggle under normal circumstances, but now it came out as a pained gasp.
‘I should have called for a doctor. You need morphine. Laudanum. Something for the pain.’
‘No. I’m well. I just need you to finish, and then I’ll sleep. I’ll be much better in the morning. I promise,’ she mumbled into the pillow. Already, the blackness beckoned. The only thing tethering her to consciousness was Drake’s rough voice and his warm, strong hands.
‘Lie still, my love. I’ll be as gentle as I can.’
His fingers were steady and sure as they wiped cool balm into her cuts. It hurt. Like the dickens, but not nearly as bad as the soap.
It may have been minutes or hours, but eventually, his hands left her back.
‘I’m done. Sleep now. I’ll send Penny in the morning to apply more balm and fresh bandages. You’ll have a tray for breakfast and can come down later when you’re ready.’
Millie wasn’t sure, but she felt the barest brush of soft lips against her shoulder before the door opened and then shut again.
If she wasn’t so exhausted, she would have wondered at his words.My love.Probably just a meaningless term ofendearment. It likely meant nothing. But her lips curled into a smile as she slipped into the embrace of sleep.
He should never have followed his stupid instincts. Maintaining control of his raging desire was almost impossible when faced with a courageous, vulnerable woman like Millicent. But he wasn’t so much a beast he would compromise an injured woman.
Thank God. I maintained control. Like a bloody hero.
Hardly.
He pushed through the door of their connecting room with the memory of Millicent’s silky skin beneath his lips fraying every nerve ending in his body.
Stripping bare, Drake poured cold water into the basin on his counter. Sluicing the frigid water over his heated body did nothing to cool his all-consuming arousal. His cock was so hard, a slight breeze would send him over the edge.
He stumbled to the bed like a drunkard, only it was lust, not whiskey flaring through his blood and causing his shaking hands and fumbling coordination.
