Chapter18
No power on earth could have kept him away.He didn’t know what love was, but he knew about compatibility.Mary Trenton was levelheaded, and her background made her suitable for any member of the ton.Her sharp wit and keen observations amused him.Beyond that, he liked and respected her a great deal.
And there was no denying her beauty.His feelings for her had quickly grown from mere friendship—how could they not?He’d seen the way other men looked at her.After he’d made his own interest in her known, they’d started sniffing around her for themselves.The thought that one of those men might win her heart had his stomach clenching in knots.
He lusted after her.He hadn’t expected to, but the all-too-brief kisses they’d shared had awoken an ache within him that had grown each day.
He couldn’t imagine wanting to make another woman his viscountess.
If he were a better man, he’d play the part of the honorable gentleman he was supposed to be.But Mary’s invitation had chased away any vague notions he might have had about behaving honorably.No, if Mary Trenton wanted to know what it would be like to be intimate with a man, he’d show her.And then he would do everything possible to secure her hand.
He slipped around the side of the house, hoping no one would mistake him for a thief, and headed toward the back of the garden.They hadn’t made it this far during their quick tour the other day, but it wasn’t hard to find.The very top of the gazebo’s roof peeked out over a row of tall hedges.He had no idea what kind they were, but they would provide a measure of privacy.Just enough for him to show Mary that he could take her to heights of pleasure using just his hands and mouth.
He made his way down the row of hedges, a slight frown creasing his brow.Had he gone the wrong way?But then he saw the barely visible gap between the dense shrubs.
He froze when he caught sight of her.She was sitting on one of the stone benches that seemed to line the interior of the gazebo.She sat facing his direction, but her eyes were closed.He took in the sight of her white nightdress.Her unbound hair, which appeared darker under the illumination of the moon, fell around her shoulders almost to her waist.His hands clenched with the need to bury his fingers in that mass.
She opened her eyes then and their gazes met.
Silence stretched between them for several long seconds before he stepped into the gazebo and crossed the small distance between them.
Mary rose to her feet, her hands clasped together at her waist.She looked up at him and shook her head.“I didn’t think you’d come.”
Disappointment crashed through him at the cool note in her voice, but he would never force himself on her.He took hold of one of her hands, delighting in the way her smaller, bare fingers felt in his.“How could I resist such an invitation?But if you’ve changed your mind…”
Her head tilted to one side as her eyes searched his.She took a deep breath, and he had to force himself not to look down at her chest.The bodice of her nightdress was more modest than the gown she’d worn earlier that night, but the knowledge that she was clad simply in her sleep clothes had his senses on high alert.
“I haven’t changed my mind.”
He let out the breath he’d been holding.Pulling her closer, he stared down at her, searching for any hint of hesitation on her part.When she bit down on her lower lip, he wanted to groan.Instead, he cupped her chin in one hand and drew his thumb along the soft plumpness of her lips.
She closed her eyes and nuzzled into his touch.Sending up a silent thank-you to the heavens above, he lowered his mouth to hers.
He wanted to go slowly, had planned to, but all caution fled when she pressed herself against him.The feel of her soft breasts against his chest, bare of any restraining corset, had him wanting to take everything she would give him.
She opened her mouth in invitation, and he delved in.Their tongues battled, soft sounds of contentment coming from the back of Mary’s throat and echoing against his own groan of relief.
He wrenched his mouth away and stared down at her for several long seconds.When her heavy-lidded gaze met his, he lifted her into his arms.
She let out a soft gasp and twined her hands around his neck.“I’m too heavy—”
“Nonsense,” he said, turning them so he could lower himself onto the bench where Mary had waited for him minutes before.He settled her across his lap.Much as he wanted her to straddle him, he wouldn’t rush this.
Her face was buried against his shoulder.“I can’t believe we’re doing this.”
He forced himself to say, “I will stop at any point if you change your mind.”
By way of reply, she swept her tongue along the edge of his cravat before reaching out to tug at the knot.It came undone with only a few deft movements of her clever fingers.
“I’ve always wondered what a man’s whiskers felt like.”She brushed her face alongside his.“I think I like it.”
Images of brushing those same whiskers along her breasts and the skin of her thighs flooded his mind.Restraint was going to be harder than he’d imagined.“You make it almost impossible to behave like a gentleman.”
She pulled back and gazed up at him, a slight frown appearing between her brows.“I thought the idea was for younotto be a gentleman.”
He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the invitation in her words.His tenuous grasp on restraint was quickly fraying.
“Of course, if you think I should ask someone else…”
And just like that it snapped.