Page 19 of Papa's Desires
Chapter 8
Perhaps she wasdreaming.
Cynny almost pinched herself, because she could scarce believe the events of the past few hours. In fact, she wondered if her heart would ever cease its frantic pounding in her chest, or if the nerves in her stomach would eventually calm enough to allow her to fully appreciate and enjoy her abrupt change incircumstances.
She cast a shy glance at Lord Grayson seated next to her in the carriage and felt herself flush hotly when his dark gaze collided withhers.
Her husband. He was her husband now, and her papa,too.
Through an incredible series of events, her day was turning out vastly different than she’d anticipated when she awoke this morning, after spending a night tossing andturning.
In a rather short period of time, she’d gone from thinking she was about to marry Lord Kensington, to fearing she was about to be arrested and jailed for her thievery of the pocket watch that had been intended as a wedding gift for Lord Kensington, no less...to finding herself suddenly married to the handsome Lord Grayson, owner of said pocket watch and a constant fixture in her thoughts ever since the day he’d approached her in thegardens.
Oh, heavens. Why had she stolen the watch? If she hadn’t done that, everything might be absolutely perfect on this day. Guilt and fear filled her heart suddenly, because she’d trespassed against her new husband, her new papa, and now she dreaded him finding out thetruth.
What would happen if he learned she’d stolen from him? Would he still think her eyes were like the morningsky?
She felt faint with increasing worry. What if he regretted fighting for her and promptly returned her to Miss Wickersham? The very possibility left her heartbroken. And such a fall wouldn’t only affect Cynny. If she was found out, her grave blunder would forever tarnish the reputation of Talcott House as well. She made a mental note to stealthily place the pocket watch in a random part of his house at the first opportunity, where no doubt it would be found by happenstance and he would simply assume he’d misplacedit.
Yes, that’s just what she would do, and then all would be well and she could have her happily-ever-after with the intriguing Lord Grayson who’d shown up at Talcott House to oh so romantically fight for her hand in marriage. With a large sum of money and a pistol, noless.
She studied him, admiring how rugged he looked compared to the first time she’d met him in the gardens of Talcott House. His wavy shoulder length hair, dark blond with brown undertones, was swept back over his shoulders but wasn’t as neatly styled as the last time she’d seen him, as if he’d repeatedly run his hands through his disheveled locks in a fit of frustration. His jacket and trousers were a tad wrinkled, but she would not have noticed had he not been so finely dressed during their meeting in the gardens. His eyes were alert and his stature confident as ever, though she occasionally saw flashes of fatigue in his darkdepths.
Well, she supposed his slight ruggedness was a result of his hurried, apparently last minute, trip to the country to try and prevent her wedding to Lord Kensington. Her insides fluttered at the thought of his hasty yet impassioned decision to claim her as his wife. He’d arrived at Talcott House with great urgency, his carriage barreling down the lane, having traveled from London during the late hours of thenight.
The companion who’d come along with him, Lord Caldwell, was apparently returning to London this afternoon in the company of Lord Kensington, for which Cynny was grateful. Lord Caldwell’s presence would have made their post-wedding carriage ride all the more awkward, and perhaps the gun-toting man would be kind enough to make sure the lord to whom she was formerly betrothed wasn’t too upset over her decision to marry LordGrayson.
Oh, please don’t let Lord Grayson find out about the watch,she prayed silently.Please let us fall in love and be happy forever and ever. Please let this marriage be the fresh start I’ve so desperately been seeking. I’ll be good and never steal again, Ipromise.
She glanced down at her hands and realized they were shaking in her lap, and she quickly folded them tightly together and hoped her new husband hadn’tnoticed.
“You needn’t be afraid of me, Hyacinth,” Lord Grayson said, and his use of her given name rather than calling her Miss Heathrow, spoken in his deep masculine voice, made her insides flutter as a pulsating warmth affected her nether area. But she wasn’t Miss Heathrow anymore, she realized with a start. She was a lady now. Lady Grayson. She almost pinched herself again, for this twist of fate seemed too good to be true. She wondered if she would ever recover from the surprise oftoday.
She squirmed delicately in her seat, puzzling over the odd but not unpleasant sensations that were unfurling within her, then took a deep steadying breath before peering up at herPapa.
“I am not afraid of you, my lord.”Yes, I am. I’m terrified. You might get rid of me or have me arrested if you find out the truth about me.In this moment, she vowed to let him continue disbelieving the tale she’d told him about belonging to The Weasels. If he questioned her about her past again, she would simply claim to have once been nothing but a boring, homeless orphan taken in by MissWickersham.
Lord Grayson slid closer to her, until his thigh was touching hers. His nearness overwhelmed her, and her entire body came alive, some parts of her heating and tingling, while other parts of her, like the area between her thighs, began to throb. Her ninnies felt weighted and achy in the confines of her bodice, a garment she wasn’t accustomed to wearing. She almost reached for her bosom, but unfolded her hands and then curled her fingers tight around the skirts of her bridal gown and tried to remain as still as possible, lest she lose control and shame herself in front of LordGrayson.
“You’re trembling, little girl.” He reached for her, tilting her chin up and forcing her to gaze directly into his eyes. A shiver ran up her spine and her bottom cheeks clenched. Would he be a strict papa? Given the firm set of his jaw and the serious gleam in his eyes, she got the sense that he wouldn’t kindly abide any amount of naughtiness from her. She wondered if he would really punish her for spying on him in Miss Wickersham’s study.We shall see to your discipline once we are married.His words came back to her now and made her kitty clench up with delicious sensation. But she didn’t know him well enough yet to determine whether he’d been serious or only teasing when he’d saidthat.
“I’m not trembling, my lord.” She tried to withdraw from his touch, but he leaned over her, crowding her against the wall of the carriage and leaving her with nowhere to look buthim.
“You will call me Papa from now on, Cynny, unless we are in public or entertaining guests. In those settings, you will address me as sir or my lord.” He stroked one of the golden curls that framed her face. “Now, little one, I want you to be a good girl and sit in Papa’slap.”
She swallowed hard, past the sudden dryness in her throat. Papa. He wanted her to call him Papa. She couldn’t think of anything else she’d rather do in this moment. She drew a deep breath as she continued staring at him, her heart contracting with warmth at the tenderness that was now glimmering in his beautiful dark eyes. Had she ever seen eyes so lovely on a man before? She didn’t think she had, though perhaps lovely wasn’t a word she ought to use to describe any part of Lord Grayson. The man radiated masculine power, and a quiver raced across her bottom cheeks as she again wondered if he would discipline her forspying.
“Yes, Papa,” she finally said. “I would love nothing more than to sit in your lap.” She smiled at him and allowed him to lift her onto his firmthighs.
Finally. Her spirits danced with joy. She finally had a papa of her veryown.
The handsome LordGrayson.
* * *
Grayson revelledin the feel of the petite blonde beauty in his arms. Miss Heathrow, who he’d only a short while ago learned had the first name of Hyacinth, or Cynny for short, was now Lady Grayson. His new bride. His sweet little girl. And he was now her papa and herhusband.
He planned to take his duties as both her papa and her husband very seriously. Most of all, he would lavish her with affection, attention, and praise, but as he understood the way of things it was also his obligation to guide her and even punish her when she wasnaughty.
