The Scent of Love

by Platt, Meara

  He frowned thoughtfully. “Have you been dreaming of me, Belle?”

  “That isn’t the point. Our courtship is a pretense, a business arrangement to help us catch the thief who is stealing from my father. Besides, how can you want to marry me when you know so little about me? You can’t possibly be in love with me yet. Love doesn’t happen overnight.”

  “I’ve known you since May. It is now August. Disgustingly hot, if you ask me. And love does happen overnight. Within minutes for some. Violet and Romulus fell in love fast, in the time it took them to escape the swarm of bees. How long did that take? Minutes?”

  “They are the exception to the rule.”

  “What rule? Love is not orderly or regimented. It strikes some of us like a bolt of lightning. Others need to take their time and think it through. Sadly, some people don’t recognize it when they find it. They end up alone or marrying the wrong partner.” He took her by the elbow, glancing at her hands as she clutched the cloth sack. “Our time is up. Honey’s coming toward us.”

  “She is? Oh, I see her. Goodness, the afternoon went by so fast.”

  “It does when you’re enjoying the company. Belle, you’re right about my not intending to speak of marriage. But it has nothing to do with the book. It has to do with you and the way you see yourself. I know you’re not ready to hear any of what I wish to say to you.”

  Honey called out to her.

  She waved back, eager to end this conversation.

  “Meet me here tomorrow,” he said. “Same time. If it’s raining, meet me inside the Royal Academy hall. I’ll be there.” He held her back when she sought to avoid him by walking toward her sister. “I’ll always be here for you.”

  “No, you won’t.” He made her ache. He made her want to cry. He made her want things with him that she would never have. “I scare men away.”

  “Those men are fools.”

  “You’re more stubborn than most. How many attacks must I suffer before you come to your senses and run away? You will run away. They all do.”

  “Braydens don’t run.”

  Oh, she was going to cry.

  This is pretend. It isn’t going to last.

  Their courtship only needed to last long enough to trick her father. “Shall we wager on it?”

  Chapter Five

  Finn strode along the quadrangle the following afternoon, scanning the crowd to see if Belle had arrived. His watch was attached to a fob kept in the breast pocket of his vest. He drew it out and checked the time. It was already a few minutes past two o’clock. She was late.

  Had he botched matters and scared her away? He’d gone about it stupidly, making her believe he was lost under the spell of this mysterious book. That book merely explained what he was already feeling, that compelling urge to be with her for a lifetime. What he felt was genuine. His heart had responded to Belle the moment he’d met her in May.

  As he pondered his next step, he saw Honey and Belle make their way through the crowd standing in front of the academy hall steps.

  He emitted a breath of relief and strode toward them.

  Belle had the cloth sack with her, no doubt containing the book. However, she was not smiling.

  Honey nudged her forward as he greeted them. “Good afternoon, Mr. Brayden. Feel free to give my sister a swift kick in her backside if she spouts off about being unlovable. You have my hearty approval.”

  Belle’s eyes widened in surprise. “Honey!”

  Finn smiled. “I see Belle told you about yesterday’s conversation.”

  Honey nodded. “She tells me everything.”

  Belle frowned. “Well, I won’t make that mistake again.” She snapped her mouth shut and put her fingers to it as though to button her lips.

  Finn arched an eyebrow, pleased to have an ally in Belle’s sister. They both looked exceptionally pretty today. Honey’s hair was a little darker than Belle’s, the golden hues a little more fiery. Belle’s hair was more of a tawny gold, but still contained that hint of flame. Their gowns were of a similar ivory color, but Honey had on a pale peach pelisse over hers while Belle’s was moss green.

  Honey was a beautiful girl, to be sure. But Belle…she turned him inside out. “Ready to start on chapter three? Which sense is that?”

  “The sense of touch,” Violet said from behind him, breathless as she reached them. “I sent Elsie off on a harmless errand to distract her. She’ll be back soon, so we don’t have much time to get you safely away. I thought I’d join Honey at the lecture while you and Belle go over the book. Am I late? Have I missed anything so far?”

  Finn couldn’t help but grin. “Are you speaking of the Academy program or of my time with Belle? The lecture hasn’t started yet. But I see word of what Belle and I are doing is spreading around the Farthingale household like wildfire. I suppose you were there when Belle confided in her sister.”

  She nodded. “I was. We tell each other everything.”

  Oh, lord! He’d better remain on his best behavior around Belle. It wasn’t going to be easy. She brought out the hot and wicked, simple brain mating urges in him. “Honey just mentioned the same to me. This cannot go further than the three of you. No one else can know.”

  Violet’s eyes widened as she regarded him in earnest. “I wouldn’t dream of repeating your plan to anyone else, nor would I ever interfere. Do take Belle away, and go on about your business. Honey and I will see you after the lecture. Oh, and be careful with the sense of touch. It seems harmless, but it isn’t really.” She whispered something to Honey as the two of them scurried up the steps into the Royal Academy hall, their heads bowed, and the two of them giggling.

  Belle began to nibble her lip furiously.

  He took her arm to escort her to a quiet corner. “You’ll make your lip bleed if you don’t stop fretting.”

  “How can I stop? You heard what Violet said. Touch is dangerous.”

  “It doesn’t have to be. I’ll touch you gently.”

  She shook her head and groaned. “Oh, Finn. That’s the most dangerous of all. You mustn’t be gentle with me. I mean, you ought to be gentle, but you mustn’t…perhaps it is safest not to test it out at all.”

  “Then how are we to experience the sensations the author of this book wishes to convey to us?”

  They found the same empty bench under the shade tree. Finn remained standing while Belle took a seat. She looked up at him, her gaze almost pleading. “Let’s set it aside for now.”

  “Let’s not. We have already touched, although not with the awareness one has when concentrating only on the person beside them. Surely you know I’d never hurt you.”

  She nodded. “I know you wouldn’t purposely.”

  “Here’s a compromise. Let’s read through the chapter, and then we can decide if we wish to experiment with this sense.” He sank onto the bench beside her. “All right? Let’s see where this takes us.”

  He tried not to respond to her nearness as she leaned close to read silently along with him. But it proved difficult. All of his senses were going off like fireworks. Belle’s scent of sweet lavender reminded him of a gentle breeze in a Highland meadow. Her body was sheer temptation, and he almost leaped out of his skin when her shoulder accidentally grazed his arm.

  When she realized she’d drawn too close, she hastily drew back with a muttered apology.

  “Don’t apologize for what comes naturally between the two of us.” But it was more than that to Finn. She stirred something deep within him, something innate and primal that not even he fully understood.

  They had yet to discuss the sense of hearing, but ripples of pleasure tore through him every time she gasped or laughed or spoke up about one thing or another. The sense of sight was perhaps the most devastating of all, for she grew more beautiful each time he saw her. He wasn’t certain why. She hadn’t changed her appearance. She wore her hair the same way, dressed the same way, hadn’t grown any taller, nor had the shape of her body changed.

  So, what made her mor
e beautiful?

  Perhaps this next chapter would explain it to him.

  “Finn, how silly of me,” she said after they had read to the end of the chapter. “No wonder Violet warned us about this sense. I only considered the touch of our hands, but there are other ways we can touch each other. I hadn’t thought of the touch of our lips.”

  He laughed. “It’s the first thing that came to my mind.” He’d kissed her lightly when sealing their agreement on the sham courtship and again the other night in the garden, perhaps not so lightly that time. Still, he had done his best to hold himself back.

  Their courtship would be no sham if he had any say in the matter. The mere brush of his lips to hers had sent his body into a hot spiral. What would happen when he truly gave free rein to his desires and kissed her as he’d fantasized?

  Perhaps this was his low brain function taking over again, because he could not get the thought out of his mind. If he wasn’t careful, the ache to kiss her would become an obsession. Who could blame him?

  He turned to Belle.

  Her lips were puckered in thought.

  They were perfect lips. Beautifully shaped. Soft to the touch. “I’m going to kiss you properly this time, Belle.”

  He wouldn’t blame her if she struck him over the head with the book.

  She looked up at him, her eyes wide in alarm. “Here? Now? And what would you call last night’s kiss?”

  Dark clouds were gathering overhead, now threatening rain. Had he not been so caught up in reading the chapter on the sense of touch, he might have noticed everyone clearing out of the quadrangle and hurrying indoors.

  He shut the book and stuck it in the sack, then took Belle’s hand. “Let’s go inside before we are drenched.”

  They made it into the Royal Academy just as the first drops of rain began to fall. “Oh, dear. I didn’t bring my umbrella,” she said, gazing out one of the tall windows as rain began to pelt against it. “Honey didn’t think to bring hers either. And I didn’t see Violet carrying one.”

  “These afternoon downpours never last long. The sun will be shining again by the time the lecture is over, and they find us.”

  She nodded. “What shall we do in the meanwhile? We could catch the last part of the lecture.”

  “No.” He still held her hand. Her gloved hand, for she hadn’t taken off her ivory lace gloves as they’d been reading. They were light and appropriate for a summer outing. He still hated the barrier they created between his palm and her soft skin. “There are plenty of rooms throughout the building. Old naval offices. Art studios. Probably a small library.”

  “Where we can continue reading?” As they’d run inside the building, the quickening wind had swept a curl or two of her hair out of place.

  Finn couldn’t resist touching her to nudge the wisps back in place. As he finished, his knuckles grazed her cheek in a gentle caress. “We’ll do that as well.”

  She licked her lips. “As well? What else are we going to do?”

  “I told you. I’m going to kiss you deeply and unrestrainedly.”

  “Must you?”

  He sighed. “No, Belle. Not if you don’t want me to.”

  “Honesty in all things,” she muttered, her cheeks turning fiery as she met his gaze. “I want you to. Of course, I do.”

  His tension eased, and he cast her a tender smile. “So do I, but you already know that. There’s a small naval library just down the hall. It hasn’t been in use since the Royal Navy’s administrative offices were brought into the Admiralty. If we’re alone, I’ll kiss you behind the stacks. No one will see us. If we’re not alone, then we can simply chat and enjoy each other’s company.”

  The door was unlocked when Finn tried it. But he did not take Belle inside until the hallway had cleared, so there was no one to see them. For his part, he didn’t care if they were caught alone. He knew he wanted Belle.

  But Belle had not yet made her decision.

  He knew she liked him, perhaps felt something more for him. But she could not get out of her own way to release those doubts about herself and see herself for the wonderful person she was. Right now, she was more comfortable believing this courtship was a pretense and would be over once he figured out who was stealing from her father.

  If it eased her mind to think so, he was not going to make an issue of it now.

  But this was no pretense to him.

  He had yet to figure out why but supposed the answers would come to him as they continued reading that book. It wasn’t magical, but it did have insights into the workings of the mind that he found quite intriguing.

  The library was musty, and the books obviously had not been touched in months. Dust had collected on the stacks. Finn worried Belle might breathe it all in. Little motes floated in the air. They were a mere nuisance to him, perhaps might evoke a sneeze out of him. But what damage would they cause to Belle’s lungs?

  She must have read his thoughts. “I’ll be all right, Finn.”

  He frowned. “Are you certain?”

  She nodded. “Yes. I’m with you. I know you’ll take care of me if something happens. But it won’t happen.”

  His frown deepened. “How can you be sure?”

  “Because I feel safe with you. If I start to cough, we’ll just leave. Fear or panic is what sets off my attacks. I’m not afraid of anything when I’m with you.” She regarded him for a long moment, appearing startled by the realization. Finally, she smiled at him. “I like having my very own gladiator to protect me.”

  He wanted to tell her he would always be there to protect her, but she was not ready to think of him as a part of her life beyond these next few weeks.

  “We won’t be in here very long,” he assured, mostly to warn himself not to share more than a steamy kiss or two. She wasn’t ready for more.

  But he was.

  He wanted to devour her. He supposed this was his low brain function taking control again.

  He led her behind the third row of shelves and took the reticule holding The Book of Love from her hands. He set it on one of the empty shelves and drew her up against him. He noticed that her eyes were wide with trepidation as he circled his arms around her.

  He held her lightly, so as not to hold her captive. He wanted Belle to understand she could pull away at any time.

  However, it pleased him that she did not seem inclined.

  She slid her hands up his chest to circle them around his neck. “I’m ready.”

  “Close your eyes.”

  He watched them flutter closed and took another moment to study her face even down to the freckles on her nose. “You’re beautiful, Belle,” he said, and was about to lower his mouth to hers when the door suddenly opened and what sounded like two people frantically whispering to each other hurried in.

  Belle opened her eyes and stared up at him in alarm.

  Lord! They couldn’t be caught in here together. But there was no way to escape without being seen. They had no choice but to wait until these two intruders left. How long would it take?

  He gazed at Belle, hoping she would not panic.

  Apparently, maintaining eye contact with her seemed to reassure her.

  But whatever relief either of them might have felt soon turned to embarrassment as they realized what this couple had rushed in here to do. Believing the naval library abandoned, they had stolen in for an assignation.

  From what Finn could gather from their whispers, the woman was married, but not to the gentleman who accompanied her.

  Hen’s teeth.

  They began to have sex on one of the tables. The sort of hungry, animal, groping…never mind. Their grunts and groans could not be ignored or mistaken for anything other than a noisy climax.

  Belle’s face was in flames.

  Finn kept her in his arms and had her just look at him. The pair finished rather quickly, to his way of thinking. If he ever had Belle in that situation, he wouldn’t merely be shoving himself into her and finishing fast.

&nb
sp; He shook out of the thought. He would never be with Belle in such circumstances. Married to others? Clandestine meetings for quick sex? Desperate and unhappy? The strangers righted themselves and stole out, leaving him and Belle alone once more.

  Belle looked as though she wanted to cry.

  Finn groaned. “We are nothing like that couple. You are not a sordid assignation for me. I hope you know this.”

  She managed an unconvincing nod.

  “I’m so sorry, Belle. This is all my fault. I should not have brought you in here. Blame it on my low brain. I wanted to kiss you. I wanted to hold you in my arms. But this feels wrong. I’m not going to kiss you in some musty back room. You deserve better.”

  “Let’s go, Finn.” She eased out of his arms and took a step back.

  He nodded, still kicking himself for his stupidity. The unhappy couple and their desperate, clandestine groping were a warning to him. “When I kiss you again, it will be in a rose-scented garden under a silver moon.”

  “You’ve already done that. Please, let’s go.”

  He stepped around her and walked to the door, carefully opening it to peer into the hall. “Belle, I’m not ashamed of my feelings for you. The kisses we’ve shared were heartfelt and real. But they were also restrained. I purposely held back because you are innocent, and I wanted to make you feel comfortable around me.”

  “I appreciate your explanation, but I don’t think we ought to kiss again. We aren’t meant to be. Isn’t it obvious? The couple who interrupted us moments ago, they were an omen, a warning that we shouldn’t be doing this.”

  “That we shouldn’t be falling in love? Why? Because you think you are unlovable?”

  “I don’t wish to talk about it.”

  She was overset, not that he blamed her. He knew better than to press her about her feelings now. “I’ll take you back to Honey.”

  Once he was certain the hall was empty, he escorted her to the lecture hall where her sister and Violet were listening to a renowned scholar on ancient Greece. He was about to open the door when Belle suddenly gasped. “The book! We left it on the shelf! Oh, Finn. I can’t lose it. Violet will never forgive me. We have to go back.”