Her Only Desire (42 page)

But at last they were underway, merrily rolling homeward.

T
he distant sounds of tinkling music and revelers' laughter floated out to the moonlit gardens from the sprawling manor house, but Lily Balfour scarcely heard above the pounding of her heart.

What a debacle!

On her hands and knees, she scanned the ground, frantically raking her satin-gloved fingers through the silky blades of grass.

Fool! How could I have lost it?

She knew very well it had been reckless of her to sneak away from the ball in the first place—unchaperoned, no less—merely to indulge her silly, sentimental nostalgia over the stupid gazebo.

She had first spotted the garden folly from the gaily lit terrace; then an opportunity to steal away for a closer look had presented itself when he had arrived. Her beau's new friend caused a distraction, nay, an uproar, every time he made his entrance someplace new in Society. Amid the excitement of his arrival, Lily had seized her chance, slipping off into the shadows and hurrying away through the beautiful rolling parklands to see if the fanciful little structure was indeed like the one back home that had meant so much to her as a child.

It wasn't, as it turned out.

Her host's garden folly was fashioned as a miniature pagoda, whereas the one Papa had built for her as a child—her hideaway where she had spent so many happy hours immersed in her imagination—had been fashioned like a tiny Taj Mahal. All the same, it had been nice to get a break from the stuffy ballroom…and, admittedly, from Edward.

At any rate, within a few minutes, Lily had had her fill of looking at the garden folly and enjoying the vista of the ornamental lake nearby, kissed by moonlight. But she had no sooner steeled herself to return to the ballroom and to her beau when she realized by pure chance that she had lost one of her earrings.

Her initial alarm had turned to panic in the moments that ensued. Good God, she had to find it! She could not afford to lose the diamond, and certainly couldn't afford to replace it. Its great sentimental value aside, her diamond earrings were some of the last Balfour jewels not to have been pawned, and one of the few tangible details helping her to keep up her moneyed charade.

Blast!
A twinkle of silver among the dandelions turned out to be nothing but a sequin off her borrowed costume as the fairy queen.
That does it.
She straightened up, still on her knees, and tipped her pale satin half-mask up over her brow, revealing a fair young face set with a scowl of determination.

I am not going back inside without my earring.

Climbing to her feet, she walked back in the direction from which she had come, scanning the ground all the while, when suddenly, a flicker of motion in the garden caught her eye. She froze.

Someone's coming!

Oh, please, don't let it be Edward,
she thought at once. If he found her out here alone, he would not miss the chance to make advances that he knew he should not. Lily wasn't sure she was in the proper frame of mind to extricate herself from her beau politely enough not to offend him.

Bent on escape, she dashed around the garden folly and hid behind a large rhododendron just as the intruder marched into view.

But then her eyes widened—and her heart lurched. It was not Edward Lundy, the millionaire nabob at whom she had set her cap.

It was Edward's new acquaintance—the cavalry hero, newly arrived from India.

She had not been introduced to Major Derek Knight yet, in fact, she had been going out of her way to avoid meeting him, but she knew who he was. Everyone in London did. Especially every female.

Heart pounding, Lily pulled her half-mask down again to hide her face and conceal her identity in case the barbarian spotted her.

From her hiding place behind the leafy cover of the rhododendron, she watched him stride over to the edge of the ornamental lake. He stopped on the reedy shore with his back to her. Resting his hands on his lean waist, he stared out across the water in brooding fashion, his feet planted wide. Her lost earring momentarily forgotten, Lily spied on him in consternation and more than a little disapproval.

What sort of man came to a mask ball and refused to wear a costume, anyway?

Derek Knight was dressed exactly as himself. It was of no consequence to Lily, except…the sheer chiseled beauty of the man was so blasted inconvenient.

Gnawing on her lower lip, she studied him. She could somehow feel the pull of his dangerous magnetism even from here. Moonlight gleamed on his ebony knee-boots, buffed to a brilliant sheen; above them, his tight, pale riding breeches molded the manly perfection of his thighs and derriere; but on the upper half of his body, all that was visible of his indigo cavalry coat against the dark backdrop of the lake were the gold epaulets on his shoulders, and these appeared about a mile apart.

He wore his glossy black hair gathered back in a queue that hung just below the gold-trimmed collar of his uniform coat. His shoulder-length hair and savage bronzed tan only added to the aura of wildness and exotic danger about him.

Oh, dear,
she thought with a sinking feeling in her heart and a flutter in the pit of her stomach. Staring at him, Lily deemed it useful to remind oneself that he was a younger son and a military man, to boot. Handsome as sin, but she couldn't afford him.

Mother would wring her neck if she brought home a half-pay officer, no matter how blue his eyes were and how charming his smile. Best to pretend that men like Derek Knight didn't exist.

By dint of will, she dragged her stare away from him, and moving stealthily, resumed her search for her earring. Of course, his presence nearby made her task even more difficult. She wondered briefly what he was doing out here in the garden, but judging by his lascivious reputation, it wasn't too difficult to guess.

There were rumors that he possessed a devilish expertise in the pagan arts of love practiced in the East. Every adventuress in the ton had been clamoring for a tryst with him, and tonight he had probably come out merely to accommodate the next feckless woman on his long, long list.

Lily made a better effort to put the beast out of her mind. She knew she had to hurry. If Derek Knight had already left Edward to his own devices, then her beau was probably asking where she had gone—a question her chaperon would want to know the answer to, as well.

Rising to her feet, she lifted the hem of her sequined skirts until they skimmed the grass, stole one final glance at the stark, brooding figure of Derek Knight by the water, and then turned, gliding away silently from the garden.

Retracing her steps through the deepening twilight, Lily passed alongside the tall boxwood maze, scanning the ground before her for any hint of her diamond shining in the grass like a tiny fallen star.

She was so intent on her purpose that she did not hear her pursuer stealing up behind her until suddenly, rock-hard arms snaked around her waist, and even as she gasped in shock, husky, roguish laughter bubbled warmly by her naked earlobe.

“Leaving so soon?” a low voice murmured by her ear. “How naughty of you to waste my time, my little shepherdess. You're the one who pestered me to meet you here, and now I find you sneaking away? What's wrong? Lost your nerve?”

Before she could respond, the strong hands that firmly held her waist turned Lily around; but she knew who her captor was even before she saw his face, indeed, even before she caught the fleeting whiff of sandalwood that clung to him.

Her heart thumped like it would leap out of her chest. She tilted her head back, wide-eyed behind her mask, and still puzzling over his words.
Shepherdess? I'm not a shepherdess, I'm the fairy queen—oh, no!
She realized he had made a mistake—that she had best explain her costume—fast!—but when Derek Knight smiled at her, she melted and panicked simultaneously.

She pushed against his chest to no avail. With a knowing little smile—giving her no time whatsoever to argue—he lowered his head and simply claimed her mouth.

Lily let out a muffled cry against his mouth, but it came out sounding more like a moan. She wanted to shove him away, but instead, in spite of herself, she went very still.

His right hand curved tenderly around her nape; his sword hand, probably. He had killed men with that hand, she thought, but his touch was so gentle, so reassuring it could have soothed away the defenses of the most reluctant maiden. His silken lips dragged across hers slowly, beguilingly, back and forth a second time with such skilled, patient coaxing that her own shaped a kiss in answer, and sought more from his. When she tilted her head back farther, it was all the permission he required.

The battle-hardened stranger deepened his kiss and gathered her closer with a cozy pull on her elbows. She let him draw her nearer; let him part her lips with a velvet stroke of his tongue; she let him ravish her mouth in dazed delight, and she fell helplessly, naturally into his urgent rhythm.

His desire was all-encompassing. If the philosophy of
carpe deum
could be said to have a taste, she thought, it would surely be the enticing flavor of his kiss. Lily pressed the back of his hand with which he caressed her, unsure herself if she was trying to stop him or urging him on. As his tongue glided against hers in warm, seductive expertise, heady intoxication bloomed inside her.

Ah, God, she had forgotten what this wonderful feeling was like—arousal—the clamorous want, the throbbing confusion. He made her yearn to throw caution to the wind. For so long she had managed to ignore the lonely ache to be touched, caressed, held. Just like this.

The warmth of his arms around her warded off the cool hint of autumn that had crept into the clear night air.

This was madness, pure delicious madness. Yet her senses exalted in the masculine solidity of his broad chest pressed against her womanly softness. Madness.
Good God, what am I doing?

Her eyes shot open wide as the sudden remembrance of her duty snapped her back to her wits. Here she was, enjoying herself—on the brink of ruining her life! Dear heaven, did she not know what the consequences could be for this rash momentary indulgence? Complete and total ruin, the end of all her marriage prospects, and her family's utter doom?

If Society's gossips caught wind of the fact that she had even been alone with him, she was finished. To say nothing of Edward. Edward! It was only a question of which of them he'd kill first if he ever found out about this.

She pushed her tempter away abruptly and glared at him from behind her mask, cursing the charm in his smoldering eyes, the invitation in his knowing smile.

“Don't think I'm done with you yet,” he whispered, but she when he moved closer, she backed up, prepared to flee.

Derek Knight might be every inch as delicious as those wicked rumors claimed, but she must not forget again, even for an instant, how much she stood to lose….

Also by Gaelen Foley
Published by Ballantine Books

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P
RAISE FOR
G
AELEN
F
OLEY

His Wicked Kiss—
a
USA Today
and
Publishers Weekly
bestseller!

“Foley maintains the delicious tension between Jack and Eden throughout; that, along with the mystery of Jack's past, propels the novel to an exciting conclusion.”

—Publishers Weekly

“This is adventure romance at its best, a mix of
Indiana Jones
and
Pirates of the Caribbean
that stirs you and leaves you sighing with satisfaction.”

—Romantic Times

“Compelling, absorbing and a delicious smorgasbord of different settings and characters,
His Wicked Kiss
is another nimble writing adventure from Gaelen Foley.”

—
RomanceJunkies.com

“Always fabulous.”

—J
ULIA
Q
UINN

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“Delectably entertaining, lusciously sensual…an irresistible author skilled at blending passion and intrigue.”

—Booklist

“
One Night of Sin
is pure perfection.”

—The Historical Romance Club

“An absolutely fabulous romance! Don't start this tale late in the day, or you'll be up all night finishing it.”

—FreshFiction.com

“A compelling romance.”

—TheBestReviews.com

“
One Night of Sin
is a wonderful historical novel that takes readers on an adventure they will never forget…sure to be a favorite among readers.”

—RomanceJunkies.com

Devil Takes a Bride

“With its wonderfully complicated, unforgettable characters, sharp wit, and a riveting plot rife with menacing danger and sizzling passion, Foley's latest Knight Miscellany historical Regency is simply superb.”

—Booklist

“A truly sensual romance, possessing depth of plot and character.”

—Publishers Weekly

“Complex and engaging characters…Intense emotions and great depth of poignancy enthrall from beginning to end.”

—Romantic Times
Top Pick

Her Only Desire
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

         

A Ballantine Books Mass Market Original

         

Copyright © 2007 by Gaelen Foley

         

All rights reserved.

         

Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

         

B
ALLANTINE
and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

         

         

www.ballantinebooks.com

         

eISBN: 978-0-345-49728-4

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