Page 48 of Nothing But a Rakehell
“Beautiful,” he whispered.
He squeezed her breast and rubbed his palm across her taut nipple. When he pinched it, she gasped. When he rolled it between his fingers, his breath rasped against her ear, and her head fell back. Leaning down, he followed and captured her mouth again.
The passion, the want, it swept her up. She didn’t recognize her body anymore. It was alight, charged with a desire that arched back and forth between his fingers and her womb.
“Yes. Feel it,” he ordered. He kissed her fiercely before drawing back. “This is what you were made for, Glory.” He took her hand and pressed it against the engorged length of his cock. “This is what you do to me. It’s a kind of power. It’s yours and you should treasure it.”
She let her fingers roam and explore the expanse of him. He groaned and pushed into her hold. “You are missingnothing, do you hear me? You are whole. Complete. Utterly lovely. Someday you will wield this power again, on a man who will fall on his knees before you and offer you the world.” He sucked in a breath. “But it will not be me.”
He let her go and stepped away, but she reached out and grasped his arms. “Why not, Keswick?” she asked desperately. “Why not you?”
His face had gone bleak. Color and warmth were draining away. “Will you make me say it out loud? Fine, damn you.” He looked away. “Because I have nothing to give. I have a title and an income—and nothing else.” He held a fist to his chest. “Everything that makes a man worthwhile is in here. But I’m just . . . empty. A husk.”
“No! Keswick—”
But he’d stilled—and the look of horror blooming over him came not from her words, but from the sound of someone calling her name.
“Lady Glory?” A moment’s silence, then, “Lord Keswick?”
“Hurry!” He stepped close again and yanked her stay lacings tight. She pulled up her bodice and while he reached around to fasten her gown, she tried to reconnect the two halves of her overdress.
“Here. Let me.” He got her fastened and then straightened her skirts.
“Lady Glory?”
“It’s Miss Munroe.” She patted her hair. “How do I look?”
He shook his head and gave a little laugh. “Guilty.”
She didn’t join in.
“Come on.” He offered up his hand, but she pushed it away. “We’ll probably get away with this—and that is all the better for you. But let’s go out and meet her.”
He could smile about it because he thought he’d made his escape. She stepped carefully out from behind the tree and back to the faint path. He was wrong. This was far from over.
Chapter 10
It was, indeed, Miss Munroe calling for them. They met her as they made their careful way back out the way they had come. Keswick watched her closely for signs of censure, but saw none. She didn’t appear to be looking for clues as to what they’d been up to. In fact, judging by her darting gaze and wringing hands, he guessed she was caught up in some distress of her own.
“Oh, there you both are,” she said with relief. “I’m so glad I caught you. I . . . I have something to tell you.” She cast him an uncertain glance. “You, especially, Lord Keswick.”
He didn’t want to hear it. Now that he knew they were in no danger of being called out for impropriety, his only thought was to escape.
He needed distance. Space to be alone and think about what had just happened—how she had nearly tempted him into crumbling up and throwing away every foundation stone he’d built his life upon.
Damn the girl. She was courageous and loyal. Smart. Amusing. And oh, so very tempting. Curse her, she made him want things again, dredged up the old feelings of longing that he’d hacked off and buried long ago.
But the longing didn’t come alone. It dragged along memories—bad memories of pain and betrayal and the forlorn, certain knowledge of his inadequacies.
No. That was his past. He might have a future. Perhaps. Someday. But for now, his path led only through this barren wasteland.
“Can we speak privately?” Miss Munroe asked. “It’s just, we’ve had an unexpected family visit and I wanted to discuss it with you.”
The wood was thinning. The shore lay just ahead.
“Would you mind if I returned to my chair, first?” Glory grimaced. “It is set apart from the crowd and should lend us some privacy.”
“Oh, of course! Your leg must grow tired. All of this activity on top of our dancing this morning. Let’s get you settled.”
