A Lord Rotheby's Holiday Bundle (66 page)

She frowned up at him with a blank
look. So far, so good.

“
Where would you prefer to
spend most of our time? We can find a home in London if you wish to
be close to your father. Or I can begin my search somewhere closer
to Somerton, near your aunt and uncle. I would like to see to all
of your comforts.” Since he hadn’t yet sorted out all of the
logistics involved in Priscilla and Harry’s situation, he’d just
have to suit it around whatever Lady Grace preferred. She would be
his wife, after all.

Her glassy eyes now stared through
him. She showed no reaction that she heard a single utterance from
him. Alex wanted some reaction. Anything was better than nothing.
He needed to know she would be happy with him, that she was
satisfied with the arrangements he’d made for her
future.

“
My lady, I know this is
all very sudden. I know we haven’t had a traditional courtship or
romance. But under the circumstances—”

“
Under the circumstances?”
she roared at him.

Alex’s eyes flew wide. Well, he’d
finally provoked a response, at least. She poked a finger in his
chest, and he took a few steps backward from the force of her
anger.

“
Under the very
circumstances you’ve caused, do you mean? You egomaniacal,
insufferable brute!”

This was not quite the reaction Alex
had hoped for. He never imagined she would be anything less than
thrilled to have him protect her honor.

“
You didn’t listen to a
word I said to you yesterday, did you? Then you had the audacity to
kiss me in
public
,
with half of the Quality of Bath in attendance. And now—now? You
have the nerve to drag me quite against my will away from my
chaperone, and
inform
me we shall marry with ‘all due haste.’ Of all the pompous,
ignorant boors, how did I become so unlucky in life to be saddled
with you?” She had built such a head of steam during her tirade
against him he could imagine her exhaling flames toward him.
Against his better judgment, he found it quite attractive on
her.

Perhaps his tactic of telling her of
his arrangements instead of asking her wasn’t the brightest idea,
but it was too late now. “I’ve bungled this, haven’t I? I
apologize, yet again.”

They stared at each other for a few
moments and she continued to fume. Her eyes were the loveliest
crystal shards, much like diamonds. They mesmerized him.

“
My lady, might I have the
honor of your hand as my wife?” She would surely warm to him now
that he asked instead of informing her.

“
No, you may not. I believe
I made myself abundantly clear on the matter. You should leave me
alone, my lord. I’m not a suitable bride for you.” She wrung her
hands together in obvious agitation.

He recoiled from her words. Not a
suitable bride? He knew they didn’t always see things the same way,
but she was obviously well-born, well-bred.

“
What, pray tell, makes you
unsuitable?” She could never convince him to change his mind. Such
an answer was an utter impossibility.

Her agitation grew as he watched. She
shifted from foot to foot and he thought she might rip one of her
hands free from her arm. She took her time to formulate an answer.
He could almost see the thoughts fly through her mind. He fought to
keep his temper in check as he waited what seemed an inordinate
amount of time for her answer.

She still did not respond and his
temper exploded. “Are you only an unsuitable bride for me, or are
you an entirely unsuitable bride?” He only allowed a moment before
he continued. “Answer me, Grace!”

Her eyes widened. She backed away from
him and turned to flee before he placed a restraining hand on her
shoulder. She flinched at his touch. Did she think he would strike
her? Alex took a deep breath as he turned her to face him. She
wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“
I will not hurt you,
Grace. I’ll never raise a hand to you in anger. You have no need to
fear me, but I require an answer to my questions.” He prayed she
would trust him with the answer. He needed to know.

She finally raised her eyes to his,
wide as saucers and on the verge of tears. “I—I cannot marry you,
my lord. Please do not ask me for more. That is all the answer I
can give.” She trembled beneath his fingers.

“
But you must marry me.
I’ve compromised you. Your reputation—”

“
My
reputation
is already in ruins, my
lord, and I was compromised long before we ever met. It’s the
reason I’m visiting my aunt and uncle. There’s nothing you can do
to repair it. Please. Do not ask me for more.”

She tried to escape again, but he
wouldn’t allow it. A silent rage, far more dangerous than his
previous temper, seethed beneath the surface. Someone else had
compromised her? And then left her alone to deal with the
ostracism?

He yearned to face the man
responsible. Alex had two younger sisters—he knew all too well the
difficulties they faced in a world dominated by men. The need to
set things right for her became an ache in his stomach.

Why had her father done nothing?
Chatham should have insisted the bastard marry her. And if that man
did not comply, he should have issued a challenge. But instead, he
had sent Grace away to live with her relatives and hide from the
gossip.

To say the
ton
could be less than
understanding over matters such as this would be an understatement.
She would never find a decent match. All of this new information
reinforced his determination to marry her. She had now been
compromised twice—her reputation would never survive the gossip
mill.

“
Grace, sweetheart, that is
precisely why you must marry me. You need the protection of my
name.” He bordered on pleading with her before she interrupted him
again.

“
There is no protection you
can give me. It’s too late.” She refused to face him, staring
instead at the trees behind his shoulder.

The obstinate chit didn’t know what
was good for her. Alex’s fury continued to grow. He was angry at
the cur that compromised her and ran. He was furious with her
father for not forcing the recreant to do what was right. He was
irate with Grace for being so headstrong. He’d mishandled the
entire situation, which irritated him with himself to no
end.

She backed away from him. “I must
return to the ballroom. My aunt will miss me. Please, don’t try to
see me again. It’s better if you stay away.”

That did it. A sound escaped his mouth
that sounded more animal than human. He roughly clasped her hand
and hauled her against him.

“
If you’ve already been
compromised, Grace, we may as well do this right. You
will
marry me.” He
trapped her hand behind her back and lifted her until her toes just
brushed the ground. She looked up at him with frightened eyes and
her lips parted in shock. Her face sat mere inches from
his.

Before she could call out, Alex kissed
her. His lips were hard against her silky lips, and his tongue
sought possession. With a ragged moan, Grace allowed him
entry.

He crushed his free hand against her
backside, kneading even as he held her captive. She struggled to
pull her hands free. Once he released them, they roamed over his
chest, tickling in their tentative search.

He pulled his head back to lick her
neck. She tasted of roses and woman. He breathed her into his
senses and thought he might drown from the heady sensation. In a
moment, he was hard and needy.

This had to stop now—before he went go
too far—but he couldn’t stop if his very life depended on
it.

He needed more—her scent, her taste,
her needy little sounds. He needed it all.

Grace squirmed as he slid his hands
over her curves and recesses. He grasped her waist and kissed her
again. Slowly, smoothly, he moved his hands up her
frame.

Alex broke the kiss to look at her.
Her eyes blazed liquid sapphire. She was reacting to his every
touch with soft sighs and lusty moans. With the tips of his
fingers, he traced the outline of her breast. She inhaled in shock,
trembling against him. The nub of her breast tightened at his
touch, and he throbbed in need.

Drunk with his need for her, he
commanded, “Marry me, Grace,” as he continued his sensual assault.
He moved his mouth to her ear and nibbled on the lobe.

He stroked her to a fevered frenzy
with his hands, reaching inside her gown to fondle her breasts with
no barriers to his touch. Her skin was smoother than silk. It
jumped beneath him as he kneaded her mounds.

Her trembling grew stronger. “I can’t,
my lord.”

Alex pushed the top of her gown aside
and freed her breasts. She was exquisite. Bouncing, porcelain
bosoms with hardened, dark pink centers danced before him. He
feasted on her with his eyes.

He lowered his head and took an areola
into his mouth. She tasted of heaven and sweetness, a perfect
mouthful. Her skin was velvet beneath his tongue.

“
You can.” He moved her
against the trunk of a tree as his hands moved lower. He raised the
skirts of her gown and shift above her knees and stroked the soft
flesh of her thighs through her drawers—smooth and shapely and
quivering. “Marry me. Be my wife. Let me restore your
name.”

She braced herself against his
shoulders. He pressed his hands forward, upward, inching his way to
her most private area. She did not protest when he cupped her
center through the flimsy layer of fabric. Her need matched his.
Boldness and appetite took over as he stroked her
wetness.

A low sound rushed from her lips. “My
lord. You can’t. No one can re—restore my name. It’s too
late.”

She was on the verge of climax and he
hadn’t even dipped a finger inside her. Good God, she was so
responsive. Alex couldn’t hold back any longer. He kissed her full
and deep. “I need you, Grace. You must stop me now, if you don’t
want this.” Please God, let her not stop him. How would he ever
manage? Alex held his breath and waited for her
response.

Her eyes clouded with need, but he
refused to take her by force. She must want this also, or he would
find some means of walking away from her.

She looked deep into his eyes as she
answered. “Do not—do not stop. Please. I need—I have no idea what I
need, but for the love of God, don’t stop.”

That was all the permission he needed.
He pulled away from her to remove his coat and unfasten his
breeches, ripping impatiently at the buttons. He laid his coat on a
bed of grass and settled her atop it, then hastily undid her
drawers, dragging them to her ankles and free from her
body.

This would be her first experience,
but he couldn’t bear to hurt her more than necessary.

He was erect to the point of pain.
With his arousal free, he settled between her thighs, kissing her
again and again. His shaft throbbed and pressed into her belly. She
shuddered beneath the intimate touch of flesh against
flesh.

He suckled each of her breasts in turn
to reignite the fire she had experienced earlier. “Grace, this will
only hurt for a moment. I promise it won’t last.”

She looked straight into his eyes, a
fiber of trust discernible in her gaze through a miniscule cloud
fear. Please let it be fear of the unknown. He’d never made a habit
of deflowering virgins, so he could only hope that was the
cause.

He positioned himself at her opening
and inched inside, glorying in the sensation of her tight walls
surrounding him. Grace writhed beneath him and arched her hips to
meet his, wrapping her legs around his body to pull him deeper.
Alex couldn’t restrain himself any longer. He plunged forward,
burying himself in her warmth.

But found no maidenhead.

Unable, even unwilling, to stop and
think, Alex set the tempo. He withdrew and thrust inside her again,
eliciting surprised gasps of pleasure from her. Within moments, she
matched his pace. He became almost frantic to find release, but
first wanted to help Grace to hers.

She panted as he ground his hips
against hers repeatedly. He hoped her sounds meant pleasure
outweighed any fear or uncertainty. She couldn’t know, couldn’t
understand, the release her body was fighting to experience.
Reaching between them to stroke the swollen nub of her desire, he
pressed on and increased the speed of his thrusts.

Her breath quickened and grew ragged,
and her muscles tightened around him. Alex kissed her again and
captured her cry of ecstasy in his mouth. With one final drive, he
found completion. Intense pleasure swarmed over him as his seed
filled her.

After a few moments, he realized he
was pinning her to the ground, so he lifted off and moved to her
side. He was still fighting to catch his breath as he tried to
memorize everything about the moment. She was sheer
perfection.

When Grace said she had already been
compromised, he never imagined she would have been compromised
quite as thoroughly as this. Simply being caught alone with a man
would have been enough to accomplish her ruin. He was determined to
get to the truth of the matter.