Everly felt his mouth everywhere. Need pounded within her. “Asher.”
“Say it.”
His command, which should have disturbed her, sent her body reeling to get closer.
He was going to break her.
“Asher,” she pleaded. Her hands gripped his shoulder just as much as she tried to hang on to who she was.
“Say it,” he growled against her sensitive skin. “You are mine.” He bit her again. The sensation struck in her core.
“Ah!”
“Are you mine?” Then his mouth was at her ear and he licked her lobe.
“Yes!” She moved to pull him closer but found herself up in the air and seconds later, she was on the bed.
∫ ∫ ∫
3 5
Asher studied Everly like the abundant feast she was.
And she was all for him.
She had no clue how glad he was to know that she was his alone. She’d waited for him without even knowing it. Again, the idea that they were destined for each other struck him.
He stared down at her and could see the trust in her gaze. She’d given herself into his hands, which was something she’d done with no other.
His precious Everly was finally his. His to hold and cherish. His to adore and care for.
She was likely only thinking about the moment, but as he stared into her beckoning eyes, he saw forever.
He didn’t just want this room in Lady Preshea’s house. He wanted today and tomorrow and every day after that.
He wanted her back in his home and under his roof where he could protect her always.
The past tried to attack him, reminding him of how many he’d failed before.
He would not fail Everly, he vowed.
“I won’t fail you,” he whispered.
She giggled. Her red tresses had fallen from their bindings and flowed over her chest. She was the most beautiful and succulent temptress he’d ever seen. Her quiet laugh was like a siren’s call. “I’m sure you won’t disappoint.”
Ah. She thought him to be speaking about the moment.
He meant so much more.
He settled next to her on the bed and propped his head up with his hand. His other arm went around her waist.
She turned to look at him. There was a little confusion, but then she was still smiling, clearly still glad to simply be with him. “Well?” she prompted.
He smiled. “I’m going to make love to you.”
She held his eyes and giggled again. There was still the confusion. He knew her mind was wondering why he’d not mounted her as of yet.
As though between her thighs were not the one place he greatly wished to be.
Then he said, “After we’re wed.”
Her smile remained, but for only a second. Then slowly it fell away, and the confusion turned to worry. “What?” She tried to sit up, yet he tightened his arm around her ribs and kept her down. Her head rested back on the bed. Her head was turned to his. “What are you talking about?”
“Will you marry me?”
She blinked. “Absolutely not.”
He knew her too well. He’d been prepared for that answer and therefore when it came it hardly hurt. To him, it only meant he’d have to work very hard to change her mind. He’d said he’d wage war for her, and he had every plan to defeat her fears.
“I’m going to call on you tomorrow,” he told her.
“Why?” she asked.
“Because, it is what a gentleman does when he wishes to marry a certain young lady.”
She was angry now. “We are not young. We are old.”
He laughed. “I don’t care what society says about our ages. We are not old.”
She crossed her arms, which could only be done over his own arm, and glared at him. “If you come, I’ll not be home.”
“You’ll be home,” he told her. “Waiting for me.”
She gasped. “Asher, what has gotten into you?”
He pulled her closer until she was nearly right under him. “You have, my dear. You have shouted and banged your way into my heart.”
He noticed what his confession did to her. Great portions of her anger fled. Her eyes softened. Then she whispered, “If you come, I’ll refuse to come down. That means you’ll have to join me in my rooms.” She grinned deviously.
He threw back his head and laughed. Then he wrapped her in his arms and pulled her across himself.
* * *
I could do this forever.
She thought it over and over again as Asher laughed underneath her, his body shaking with merriment.
It was a frightening thought, but she allowed herself to live in that fantasy for a moment. A growing part of her wanted to marry Asher. It nearly tore at her heart, commanding her to relent and give in.
But fear would not let her.
What if he changed? What if he became her father?
No. He’d never become her father, yet though he was not a tyrant, he was still a duke and eventually, he’d use his rank to get his way with her.
Finally, he looked at her. “You will be a proper young lady when I call. You will come down and we will speak.”
He’d proved her point already.
She didn’t want him over tomorrow. It was one of the days the women came for classes. “I fear a headache is coming on. It will leave me indisposed on the morrow.”
He laughed again. “Everly!”
She smiled and couldn’t find the energy to be upset with Asher, not when he was causing her such joy, not when he held her like she was the most valuable thing in the world.
You have shouted and banged your way into my heart.
Oh, he could break her if she let him. She played a dangerous game with getting to know Asher. She wanted to stop but couldn’t.
When he finally came down, with eyes that glowed like stars, he asked, “Whatever am I going to do with you?”
Brazenly, she whispered, “Many, many things, I hope.”
His eyes darkened. His arms tightened. “I will. After we’re wed.”
“No, I will not wait.” Her fist came down on his shoulders. “I want it now!”
He laughed again.
There came a knock at the door.
His hands tightened before she could move off of him.
“Go away!” he shouted at the door.
“Oh, pardon me,” came a muffled lady’s voice from the other side. Her feet were heard going farther down the hall.
Asher’s gaze came back to her. “You’ve waited all these years for me. You can wait a little longer.”
It was debatable whether she’d waited for him, but she admitted that no other man had ever tempted her before.
His words came from the conclusion that eventually he would get his way. She was horrified to know that even he knew she was weak. But then, hadn’t he called her his Achilles Heel?
Suddenly, she was under him again. His hardness pressed into her side. “Marry me.”
“Never.”
He dipped his head and brushed his lips against hers, which sent tingles far past her belly. “Marry me.”
She sighed. She was losing. How could desire hold so much power for anyone? “Make love to me now and we shall see to the future later.”
He chuckled against her mouth. “No.”
She hit her fist against his shoulder again even while knowing her hits were likely more annoying than causing any pain. She might as well have struck a mountain for all the damage she could do to him.
“You must concede to me first,” he said.
Her eyes widened. “Concede? It is as though you want my ire.”
His face was serious. “No, Everly, I want to make you happy. I want to show you what it is like to have a man who thinks the world of you.” He touched her cheek. “You deserve to know what is to give and receive and to know that I am as much yours as you are mine.” After a moment, he said, “I am not your father.”
“I know,” she whispered, as she tried to also un
derstand everything else he said.
“If you think you know bliss now, you will see heaven as my wife.”
Her eyes widened anew. “That is the most arrogant statement I’ve ever heard.”
“We Curbain men do not make vows we cannot keep.”
How could she have forgotten that?
“You vowed to never marry,” she reminded him.
He narrowed his eyes. “Everly, don’t be clever right now.”
“But I must.” Her voice quieted. “You’re frightening me.”
He grinned. “You will never have reason to fear me.”
But she already had reason. She was losing her heart and with it would go everything else. She was sure of it. She blinked as she felt tears slide down her cheeks.
Asher’s eyes tracked them and then his gaze softened. “I’m quite ready to quit this party. Let me see you home.”
She nodded.
He stood and, without a word, picked her up.
She was floored by his strength. She barely held on, knowing he’d not let her fall.
Then she caught his eyes.
His looked stern but beseeching. “Give yourself to me. Let me hold you forever as I am now.”
More tears came. She touched his cheek. “Asher, please.” She could not take anymore tonight. Already she feared what she’d lose if she said yes or no. On one hand, she could lose the man before her, but on the other, she could lose herself.
When he didn’t seem willing to listen, she said, “Please, no more. I have to think.”
Though he seemed to hate doing so, he finally let her go. He settled her gently on her feet. “I’ll see you home.”
“There’s no need.”
He held her eyes. “Everly, give me this, and I’ll ask for nothing else tonight.”
She sighed and nodded.
Conceding.
She suspected it to be the first time of many.
∫ ∫ ∫
3 6
Asher turned at the knock on his door. “Enter.”
Hero stuck his head in, grinning. “We ate breakfast before anyone else could join. We’re all anxious to know how the evening went.”
Asher paused with the cravat between his fingers. “I proposed to Everly.”
Hero’s eyes widened. “Hold on. I’m going to get Lore.”
Asher shook his head but said nothing to stop his brother as he went to get the younger. He didn’t know why he’d confessed the truth, but supposed they’d eventually know he had when Everly became his wife.
But first, he had to get her to agree to it.
And he had to do so without giving into his other needs. Her desire for him had been just as strong as his last night. With every passing moment and every laugh, she had become harder to refuse, but then all he had to think about was how much better it would be when she was officially his.
He could not wait to spoil her. She deserved spoiling, his Everly.
Lore came into the room and asked, “What’s this about?” Clearly, Hero hadn’t told him.
Hero was still grinning but remained silent.
“I proposed to Everly,” Asher said.
Lore crossed his arms and grinned. “Did she say yes?”
“No.”
“I didn’t think she would.” Lore was still smiling, but Hero had lost his.
“She said no?” Hero asked, seeming offended at the very thought.
“Don’t worry.” Asher grabbed his jacket. “I plan to change her mind.”
Lore chuckled.
Hero was visibly surprised. “You plan to try and woo her?”
“Try?” Asher lifted a brow.
Lore laughed. “I don’t believe Everly knows what she’s in for. I wish you all the luck in the world, which you will need. Though, knowing her as well as I do, might I make a suggestion?”
* * *
Everly stood when her butler showed a young man into her sitting room.
A man!
Her servants knew better than to interrupt her when the women were present and never was one allowed when the women were there.
She was vibrating with anger, but t
he butler vibrated with something else. Joy. “This is Mr. Harland. He has been sent by Lord Ayers.”
“Ayers?” Preshea asked from her place on the couch.
Next to her was her lover, Viscount Jordian’s daughter. On her other side, Miss Laura Fairchild, who was slowly trying to explain the subject of white light. Everly was following more than a few others. Still, though few of the women were interested in the topic, they all wanted Laura to feel comfortable sharing her thoughts.
Laura’s eyes were on the package that the young man held. Everly herself had just noticed it when Laura spoke. “What is that?”
The package was large and sphere-shaped. It looked heavy, but Harland held it as though it were nothing.
The young man held Laura’s eyes as he spoke in a calm voice. “A telescope.”
The room gasped.
Laura grinned and stood. “Achromat?” she asked. Then she moved toward him. She was a small woman and very thin with black hair and dark eyes. She was very pretty. She stopped before Hartland. “I mean, is the lens achromatic? I mean...” She blushed. She’d just spent the better hour speaking to a room of people who barely understood a word she said, “I mean, it’s a lens—”
“Helps all the colors to focus on a convergence point,” Harland finished for her. “But—”
“Limiting the result of chromatic.” She was no longer looking at the telescope, but at Harland as though he were a god among men.
Finally, someone who could speak her language!
And it was not lost on Everly that Harland was finding Miss Laura quite fascinating. It was also not lost on her that Harland was attractive.
Tall and lean muscled with a charming face that belied his intellect. Though he’d held a package Everly had been able to tell by his clothes that he was not a servant. He was also not as young as she’d thought him originally. He was likely only a few years younger than Everly.
Laura asked, “What was your name again?”
Everly thought the girl would likely be found whispering it in her sleep.
Mr. Harland grinned. “Mr. Alexander Harland. My father is gentry. I studied under a professor, who was a student of Mr. James Jurin. Who was a student of—”
“William Whiston,” Laura said, impressed. “Who was taught by Mr. Newton himself.” She gasped. “You must be a genius.”
“I was moments away from saying the same about you, Lady…” He waited for her to fill in the rest.
Laura blinked. “Oh, I’m not a lady. Miss Laura Fairchild. My father... owns a mine.” She said the last while pulling away, as though prepared for him to shun her. Many of the upper class would, but Everly’s home had always been a safe place.
Harland said, “Then your father is fortunate to have a daughter who is as beautiful as she is wise.”
Laura smiled and moved closer to Mr. Hartland.
Everly grinned at Preshea, who was grinning back.
All the women were grinning.
“Mr. Hartland, we are so glad you are here,” Preshea said, gaining her feet. “Laura has not had anyone to speak to for weeks. Perhaps, you and Miss Fairchild would like to have a discussion in the study?”
A private discussion?
Everly lifted a brow at Preshea, but the woman’s return glance showed she had not a shameful bone in her body. Everly turned to the butler. “Have two maids taken to the room with them.”
Preshea escorted them away. “I’ll be back in a moment.”
Two maids would hardly do, but Everly was certain no other woman in the room wished to hear another word about colors and prisms.
“That was very kind of Lord Ayers to find someone who could help Laura with her pursuits,” Lady Pole said. She was in her early fifties but hoped to someday understand the inner workings of the human body. Alas, Everly would never be able to get
her a body to examine.
Lady Pole reminded Everly why Hartland had come at all and she readily agreed. It had been very kind and though she knew he’d done it more for her than Laura, Everly was besotted nonetheless.
It didn’t even bother her that Mr. Hartland was a man. So long as he vowed to keep his visit unknown…
The butler returned with Asher.
Everyone stood and curtsied.
Asher bowed in return, but his eyes were all for Everly. “I didn’t dare show myself until I was sure you were happy with my gift.”
He looked magnificent. His coat was a dark green. He wore it with a white shirt, beige waistcoat, and buckskin breeches. He was still dressing the part of a reveler, just as Everly was in her innocent costume, a pale green dress that flattered her coloring. Everly had been quite embarrassed to host the women dressed as she was and thoroughly upset with Asher and the silly bet, but never had she wanted him more than she did at that very moment.
Thankfully, she’d already moved across the room so only Asher could see her expression, see just how pleased she was and how much she wished to show her gratitude.
His gaze darkened.
She pulled in a breath and then closed her eyes, calming herself before she turned the other women in the room. “Continue your studies.”
The women nodded, grinning.
Everly showed Asher from the room and to her blue and white salon.
Once he was inside, she closed the door.
His hand was on her a second later, spinning her around and pressing her into the door.
She grabbed his neck and curled up onto her toes.
Their kiss was pure madness.
No corner of her mouth went neglected. It blazed heat into her belly and beyond.
“Did I do well?” Asher asked.
Everly was panting. “Extremely so. And you were right. Man or woman, Mr. Hartland was a fine idea. You might have just found Miss Fairchild a suitor as well.”
He pulled away and met her eyes. “The thought of another woman getting married makes you happy?”
The Perfect Duke (Valiant Love) (A Regency Romance Book) Page 18
