Sattie.
She’d never called me that.
Yes, we were getting there.
I smiled at her and didn’t make any sudden movements, just looked down at the picture.
Brides of this world didn’t carry bouquets, by the by. They walked down the aisle with their intended, a garland of leaves and flowers wound from his elbow, over both hands, and up her elbow, connecting them.
It was pretty danged rad.
The one Maxie liked would not have been my choice, although it was lovely. It looked made of eucalyptus leaves, cream and pink sweetheart roses with some tiny pompom green things stuck in to give it fullness.
“I love it,” I whispered.
Her lips curved.
“I love the picture you’re painting more,” I told her.
Her gaze drifted to the easel then back to me, and bashfully, she offered, “When I’m done, do you want it?”
“It would be my most prized possession in this world.”
I said that, and I meant it.
Her eye warmed, her cheeks pinked, and seeing both was both a gift of the fates and a curse to hate Edgar Dawes, Seventh Count of Derryman even more.
Rushing footsteps came down the hall.
We both looked there and saw Carling sway to a halt right before we heard the front door swing open and Mom call out, “Look what the cat dragged in!”
She appeared, looking like the winner from the world’s most flamboyant beauty pageant, carrying four humongous, individually-wrapped-in-paper bunches of spiky stems of different colored irises.
“Darling Carling,” she greeted.
Carling blushed.
Mom grinned.
“Can you take these?” She handed off the flowers. “Please put them in water. I’ll be down to stem and arrange them a bit later.”
And there you had it.
Totes getting off on this Lady Corliss thing.
She then dramatically swept off her giganto hat, nearly hitting…
Loren.
“Oh my gods!” I cried, tossing my book aside.
I hopped off the couch, ran across the space, and threw myself at him.
I pulled his head down to mine and gave him all I had.
His arms closed around me, tight, he growled into my mouth, and obviously with all that yumminess, it instantly got heated.
I vaguely heard my mom tutting and muttering, “Kids.”
I also heard a man clear his throat.
Loren tore his mouth away.
I pouted and panted.
He let me go but grabbed my hand and started dragging me down the hall.
“We’ll be back,” he said.
“Don’t mind me,” Maitland replied. “I’ll be fine as my life just became all about studying this extraordinary painting of the park.”
I looked over my shoulder to see Maitland wink at me.
And then Loren pulled me into the study.
He whipped me around.
I slammed into his body.
He slammed the door.
We went at it again.
My gods, I barely knew him.
But I missed him.
I was pressed back to the desk, and he was pressed to me when his mouth left mine and went to my ear.
“Fuck,” he growled.
“Why’d you stop?” I bitched.
“Because I’m not having you first in a carriage, and I’m not having you first on a davenport in a study.”
I grabbed his head and pulled it back to me.
We made out again.
He ended it…again.
“I feel it safe to confess I’m enamored of your greeting, dear heart, but we must talk.”
“Okay,” I replied, pulled his mouth to mine and kissed him again.
He groaned and pressed deeper into me.
And harder, if you get what I’m saying.
Yum!
He lifted his head, muttering, “Darling.”
“Maxie picked our wedding flowers.”
He pulled his head away further in a manner that made me surface from his consuming deliciousness.
“Maxie?” he queried.
“Yes. Pink and cream sweetheart ro—”
“Satrine, it’s your wedding. Not hers.”
“I—”
He shook his head. “I’m not being an ass. I’ve no doubt you wish to involve your sister. And we shall. But it’s the only wedding you’ll have so you should have what you wish.”
“Oh my gods,” I griped. “Stop being amazing when I’m mad at you for leaving me for two weeks and for stopping kissing me.”
He grinned, dipped in, nipped my bottom lip, that was so hot, I experienced a mini-orgasm, then he pulled away.
“You’re pulling away again,” I complained.
“We have things to talk about.”
“Is the world ending?”
He grinned again. “Not that I know.”
I tried to draw him down to me, mumbling, “Then they can wait.”
I cried out as I was lifted and my ass was planted on the edge of Dad-not-Dad’s desk, but not for good reasons.
Loren left me there and moved to stand behind a chair.
I narrowed my eyes at his new position.
“I can’t even,” I stated.
“And you won’t, until you learn to be good.”
How could he be hot when he was being a wet blanket?
“Warning, Marquess of Gorgeousness, I’m very rarely good.”
His expression changed, I was pretty sure I experienced a not-so-mini-orgasm, and then his expression gentled.
“We have a future to discuss, dearest.”
He didn’t know the half of it, and the thing that killed me was, he might not ever know it.
Because I was very probably stuck there, and I was totally down with marrying this awesome guy I barely knew.