Page 29 of Escaping the Earl
She curled her arms around his neck, holding him close as she gave in to her building desires. It merged with her longing for the masked man she had seduced at the ball until it became this oneperfectmoment.
I really am the seducer.
The thought made her giggle a little as their lips broke apart. He grinned down at her, seeing her amusement.
“What is it?” he asked. His fingers massaged the back of her neck, removing the last bit of tension in her muscles.
“It’s nothing. Please don’t stop kissing me.” She pulled his head back down to hers.
They stayed like that for a long while, kissing by the firelight until she thought she might forget her very self and never leave that room or his embrace again.
He lifted her up onto the nearest reading table, putting her mouth at a closer height to his own. She gasped as he slid his hands up her thighs, pushing her skirts up to her hips so he could step between her spread legs. Then he dragged her closer to him, pressing her body tightly to his own. The hardness of his arousal pressed against her core, but he didn’t claim her. He simply kissed her and held her, his hands roving and exploring her thoroughly.
“Peregrine,” she whispered against his lips.
“Yes?”
“Please touch me...” She wanted his hand between her legs. She knew what pleasure could come from his touch, and she craved it so madly that she thought she would die if he refused her.
“Touch you?” He slid his hand down her side, brushing his palm over the curve of her hip until he reached between her legs. “Like this?” he asked, his voice rough with passion as he traced a fingertip around her wet folds.
“Yes, there!”
He didn’t hesitate. He entered her with that finger, gentle at first, then more firmly until she was pushing to get closer. His mouth on her lips was hard now, hungry and almost violent in a way that made her feel wild. There was no worry outside of this moment, no concern for tomorrow. There was only him touching her, him kissing her...
The climax caught her so suddenly that she cried out. He drowned the sound with his lips over hers, and she melted into him, boneless and free. He held her, still kissing her, but his lips softened into sweet, fluttering presses that made her heart quiver.
“You are beautiful when you come apart,” he whispered in her ear. He kissed her temple and held her as her trembling aftershocks faded. There were a thousand things she wanted to say to him, yet she could say not one.
By the time she crawled into bed, her arms full of books he had brought her, she was grinning like a fool, her heart warm and her mind dizzy. She was certain she had found her mystery lover, but she could never tell him. All she could do was enjoy what time she had left with him before they parted ways again.
She decided she would take a chance, let herself enjoy this small pleasure while she could. It was not as though she had a future marriage to worry about. As long as she didn’t allow it to interfere with her minding of Isla or bring scandal to Rafe, she could have some passion before surrendering to a loveless life.
Tonight, she would only think of Peregrine and the way the fire had lit up his tawny eyes, so like the falcon for which he was named, and how she had been completely and utterly lost in them.
10
At luncheon, Peregrine was still grinning like an idiot at the dining room table. Last night had been wonderful. Sitting and talking with Sabrina, holding her in his arms, he had felt like he was back at Lady Germain’s again. Somehow lightning had managed to strike twice. He hadn’t thought it possible to feel the same unimaginable passion with another woman after he’d made love to that mysterious fae queen beneath the stars.
Yet Sabrina had brought that feeling of magic back to him. That was what he’d been missing in life these last several months. The aching loneliness he felt as the Earl of Rutland had not only been tempered but was fading the more he thought of Sabrina.
“Had your fill of canaries, have we?” Rafe asked as Peregrine filled his plate with food.
Peregrine sat down across from Rafe. “Canaries?”
“You look like a satisfied tomcat who’s eaten a few too many plump little birds.”
Peregrine’s good humor waned a bit. “No, I slept well for the first time in months, that’s all.”
Rafe gave an unconvinced harrumph. “Well, you’d be wise to stay on your best behavior,” he reminded him.
The door to the dining room opened, and a stream of ladies came in. The last to enter was Sabrina, who held Isla by the hand. Peregrine stared at the lovely green gown she wore, gathered at the back by a dark-blue satin sash. The gown itself was the shade of summer grass on a perfectly manicured lawn. Her dark hair was pulled back with a ribbon at the base of her neck rather than pulled up in the current style. She led Isla over to a chair beside Rafe, then sat on Isla’s other side.
“Afternoon, my darling.” Rafe chucked his daughter under the chin, his open smile clearly full of love for his child.
“Good afternoon, Papa.” Isla greeted him with a grin as big as her father’s.
“We are to have a scavenger hunt this afternoon,” Zehra announced when the last of the guests arrived in the dining room for lunch. Several of the men at the table grumbled, and Lawrence stood up.
