Page 31 of An Earl Like You
They had reached the bottom of the stairs, where the butler waited, expressionless and facing away from them. With a finger to his lips, the earl took her hand and whisked her into a small morning room. Quietly he closed the door.
“What—?” she began, but he put his hands on her hips, propelling her backward until she hit the side table. With one motion he lifted her onto it, took her face in his hands and kissed her. Eliza sighed and threw her arms around his neck to kiss him back.
“I’ve thought of that since Thayne’s ball,” he whispered. “I thought of you... and this...” He kissed her again, his hand resting beside her knees. Eliza’s legs widened on instinct as she strained closer to him, searching for that closeness they’d had on the terrace. He growled and ran one palm over her skirt, a light touch that made her quiver with anticipation. “Just like this, yes,” he breathed, easing her knee aside until he pressed forward, his hips between her thighs.
Eliza might be a virgin but she was not ignorant. Without a mother to instruct her, she had listened intently to any bit of knowledge about men and women, boldly asking her married friends for more information when necessary. She had begun to think it would never be necessary, for her, but for the first time in years, she was very grateful for the knowledge. She gripped his jacket for balance and raised her gaze to the earl’s. “That’s very bold, sir.”
“Is it?” His dark eyes gleamed. His hands slid around her hips. “Should I stop?”
Eliza swallowed. “No.”
His mouth curved, a sensual, dangerous expression. “I suspect I should, my dear Eliza.” But his hand kept moving, up her back. “If I don’t stop soon... I won’t want to stop at all.” He cupped her jaw in both hands, lifting her face as if for his kiss. It felt like her bones were trembling. “If I don’t stop now, I’ll want to drive you mad, until you beg me not to stop.” Eliza shuddered. She already didn’t want him to stop, even though she couldn’t speak—couldn’t think—“I dream of driving you mad with pleasure,” he breathed, his breath hot on her neck as he nuzzled her ear.
Kiss me, she thought wildly.
He did not. Slowly he withdrew his hands, and even more slowly he lifted her down from the table and set her back on her feet. Then he did kiss her once more, tenderly and sweetly. She could only look at him, flushed and flustered and still throbbing with desire. The wry smile faded from his lips, and his brow creased for a moment.
“I’m a beast,” he said thickly. “You should slap my face.”
Mutely she shook her head. Never. Not when she wanted him so badly. Not when she was falling harder for him every day.
Hastings took a deep breath. “Your carriage is waiting. I wish...”
“What?” she whispered. She still couldn’t believe this was real. Surely at any moment he would shake his head and step back with a look of distaste that he’d been kissing the plain, awkward girl with no connections.
At her question he grimaced, and reached out to smooth a wisp of hair back from her temple. “I wish I had more time with you. Come, my dear.”
She walked out with her hand on his arm, her heart pounding.More time with you.He handed her into the waiting carriage, and gave a little bow as the footman closed the door. He stood on the steps watching as the carriage drove off. Eliza kept her eyes on him until they rounded the corner, and then she fell against the velvet-covered seat, wrapped her arms around herself, and gave a giddy laugh of joy.
She was helplessly, irrevocably in love.
Hugh lingered downstairs a few minutes after the carriage vanished around the corner. He’d wanted to kiss her again, to see if it had been real at Thayne’s ball, and now he felt even more off balance. She kissed with longing and joy, and it had been very difficult to keep his hands off her.
When his blood had cooled, he went back upstairs and found his mother standing at the window, gazing out. He doubted she was watching Eliza leave, but he strongly suspected she had noticed how long it took Eliza to reach the carriage.
“Thank you, Mother.” He closed the doors behind him.
She stood stiff with anger. “I wish I understood.”
He ignored that. If all went according to plan, she would never know. “What did you think of her?”
“She is as you said—warm, sweet, a bit shy. Not a beauty but very elegantly turned out.” She made this admission reluctantly. “You say she can dance and sing. I suppose that is something.”
“Her garden is a place of wonder,” he offered. “She’ll transform Rosemere if given the chance.”
His mother turned to him, disapproval stamped in every line of her expression. “And that’s why you’ve chosen a common swindler’s daughter?”
Not for the first time Hugh had to swallow his irritation. “She is not her father,” he repeated.
“Edith is very upset,” his mother went on. “Benwick put a flea in her ear about Edward Cross, and she refused to be here today. You know Henrietta always follows Edith’s lead. I hope you realize what you’re doing, forcing this girl upon your family.”
He’d had about enough of Edith’s tearful bleating about Benwick. “Is this how you would react if I paid court to one of Thayne’s sisters?”
“Of course not! We know them!”
“And in time you’ll know Eliza. Put some effort into it, Mother. I assure you she’s eager to secure your regard.”
Her face set and tears glinted in her eyes. “I wish your father were here to talk some sense into you.”
