His throat tightened. Devil take this life! Both sides of him warred, to say nothing of his own budding feelings for the woman before him. Royce shoved all of those thoughts to the back of his mind as the string quartet struck up a few preliminary chords of a waltz. Some of the couples on the terrace moved back into the drawing room. Slight panic welled in his chest, for his time with Isobel was extremely limited. “Please indulge me in a waltz.”
“I don’t feel like it.” She took another step away.
“Isobel, please?” He dared to take her hand. The other couples who’d decided to linger had returned inside. “We needn’t go inside to enjoy a dance.” When she still hesitated, he tugged her away from the open French-paned doors, down the flight of stairs, and then led her into the garden until trees and shrubbery hid them partially from the windows. “Don’t think beyond tonight. Let us both enjoy ourselves as you intended. The future can worry about itself when it comes.”
You’re naught but a fool, Marsden. A fool who’s well on his way to becoming a lovesick puppy.
Perhaps that was true, but how could he deny it when Isobel smiled at him and that adorable, wicked gleam returned to her eyes? It would seem his addiction hadn’t quite been conquered, and for the moment he didn’t care.
“I would like that very much.”
“As would I.” Though Royce cursed himself for a bacon-brained idiot twelve times over as he took her into his arms, he ignored the warnings screaming through his head. There would be other days to disappoint her and tonight would only postpone the inevitable, but he cared not. For the moment, she was still his.
When the first notes of the waltz reached their location, he started them off. Due to the close confines of the garden, he was obliged to adjust his steps, but the dance was no less magical. Her skirting swirled about his legs; her breasts brushed his chest, for he held her closer here in their shelter than he ever could inside that drawing room.
“You are beautiful tonight,” he murmured with his lip near the delicate shell of her ear. “It’s inconceivable to think you haven’t managed to charm some poor gentleman inside.” The floral scent of her combined with the heat of her as they moved in ever tightening circles sent him closer to the edge of reason.
Isobel’s smile could light up the night, but instead, she gave it only to him. “I’m glad you noticed.”
“How could I not? You’ve made certain of it from the first.” And fool that he was, he continued to follow her when she led him a merry chase, for he craved her company.
She drew her hands up his arms, slid them along his shoulders, and pressed herself closer, forcing them to a halt. “Would that nothing had to change. I’ve fully enjoyed this affair.” The warmth of her breath skated over his neck just above his collar, and his control faltered.
“So have I, which is odd because I never knew just how much I look forward to each one of our meetings.” How could he give her up in the face of his title? For that matter, how could one woman be so good for him yet so bad? He refused to be the first Earl of Worchester who set fire to the title due to scandal and gossip no matter how utterly captivated he was with Isobel.
“Then we should continue on as we have.” With a few insistent pushes, she urged him deeper into the shrubbery and foliage. The pungent scents of evergreens and other green fauna assaulted his nose, but he hauled her hard against him. “I want you.”
“I’ve never known a woman quite as voracious as you.” Regardless of how hard his length had grown or how great the urge to claim her body was, he tamped on those feelings. The risk of discovery was much too high, and soon he’d be thrust into society in a different vein than he’d been before. Proper etiquette had to be observed, and soon.
“Perhaps I merely needed the right man to bring it to the forefront.” Isobel lifted up onto her toes and pressed her lips to his. With her eyes wide open, she watched him, waiting, but for what he couldn’t say. When she applied the slightest pressure at his nape, he was lost.
“What am I to do with you?” he murmured. Seconds later he crushed her into his embrace as well as the greenery and set out to kiss her senseless. There was still plenty of time to play the cad and call an end to what they shared.
While heat and passion clouded his brain and he explored every centimeter of her sweet mouth, Royce finally acknowledged what he’d been denying for a few days now. He was in danger of falling in love with Isobel… if he hadn’t already started.
Bloody, bloody hell.