“I’m not, but I’m not what Bertram made me into either. I deserve happiness!” She paused and shifted her gaze to the space between them, suddenly shy. “And maybe even love.”
The hand of God may have taken hold of his heart, because Garrett couldn’t breathe from the weight expanding and tightening around his chest. The world narrowed to a pinpoint before expanding to the bed and Rora. “What are you saying?”
Her breath shuddered as she drew it in, but she kept her gaze locked with his. “I think I began my foolish decision to find a disinterested husband like Potsum or Lord West to avoid the possibility that I could love you. If I loved you, then you would have the power to destroy me. With those other men, there was no risk of heartbreak.”
If she kept talking, he didn’t hear much after her confirmation of loving him. He shook his head to clear it, and indeed, she was still rattling on.
“You see, if I married someone benign, I could be safe and perhaps have a child. I—’
“Stop.” He pressed a finger to her lips. The contact was almost too much to take, but he couldn’t listen to more until he knew if he’d heard her correctly. “Did you infer that there is a possibility you could love me?”
A fresh warm blush pinkened her cheeks. “Of course, I love you, Garrett. How could I not love you? You are the best man I know. No one treats me as equally as you. No one looks at me as you do. No one makes me feel as safe and important as you do.”
He swallowed and closed his eyes, lest he embarrass himself on a sob of pure joy. It took several more gulps of air before he looked at her and found the ability to speak. “You are not now going to tell me you love me like a brother, are you?”
A devilish smile pulled at her exquisite lips. Slipping her hand inside his shirt, she grazed his nipple.
He drew a sharp breath as the sensation shot straight to his shaft, which was now fully alert.
“I love you in every way there is to love another person. I thought loving someone would make me weak, but there is power in love, is there not?” She edged closer until her hips pressed to his.
Garrett lifted her at the knee and wrapped her leg around his thigh, bringing them even tighter and making sure she knew the power she held over him. “There is, and so much more that we have yet to discover, sweet, sweet Rora.”
Pushing away, she turned her back to him. “Will you help me out of my gown and stays?”
It was all too much. He’d nearly resigned himself to some loveless life where he fathered sons and kept his own council about all other things. If he were lucky, he would find a wife who was a friend, and they would do well together. The life he imagined and this dream in front of him were so dissimilar, he shook with the rocking of the sudden change.
Holding in the wave of emotions that assailed him, Garrett closed his eyes. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he took several long breaths before he reached for the ties at the back of her gown. “You’re not going to vanish like all my other dreams, are you?”
With a voice as out of breath as his own, she whispered, “You shall have a hard time getting rid of me.”
Hands at her waist, he drew her back until his forehead leaned against her curved back. “I shall never wish to be parted from you, Rora, my love.”
Relaxing a fraction, she leaned into him.
It might have been a second or an hour they remained locked in that moment of perfect declaration. Standing, he brought her with him. He slid his hand to the ties again and unlaced them. The regal fabric fell to the floor, leaving her in her corset and shift. The boned contraption had left deep red marks at her shoulder blades, and as he let it fall, he kissed the marks then trailed more kisses to her nape, the curve of her neck and shoulder, then back up to her ear.
He was more drunk on Aurora than any wine or spirits had ever made him. Lightheaded with the thrill of her, he pulled the ties of her shift and let the thin fabric fall to the floor before lifting her from the mountain of fabric and lowering her to the bed.
With quick efficiency, he tore out of his clothes and leaped onto the mattress beside her.
Aurora laughed, full and round, like she had when they were children. “I’m glad you’re enthusiastic. I thought I would have to encourage you.”
Nothing would ever match the joy rocketing through him. “Tell me again that you love me.”
She cupped his cheek with her hand. “I love you, Garrett. I think in my most secret place, I have always loved you.”
Possessing her lips, he branded the feel of them into his soul and plunged his tongue into her sweet mouth. She was sweetness and fire, and he would never have enough of this magnificent woman.
She moaned against his mouth and arched into him, entrusting her exquisite body to his care.
Garrett wanted to worship her for hours, but his body rang with need so encompassing that waiting was impossible. “You shall have to forgive me, but I cannot wait.”
A slow smile spread, filling her eyes with both wickedness and delight. “I don’t know when I’ve heard anything so romantic.”
Lord, but she was amazing. Pulling her against him, he rolled until she straddled his hips. With his shaft trapped and pressed at the apex of her, he was at once in heaven and hell. Perhaps it was purgatory, but he couldn’t bear the pleasure much longer.
She rocked forward, her wet folds sliding along his rod. Her breath caught, and she repeated the motion again and again with her head thrown back and soft cries falling from her lips.
No amount of experience could prepare a man for such perfect eroticism. Reaching up, he cupped one perfect breast and rolled the tight nipple between his fingers.
She quickened her pace.
Garrett lifted her hips enough to maneuver his shaft to her center. “Look at me, Rora.”
Her passion and the flickering light turned her eyes to the same dark blue of the gown lying on the floor. She met his stare as she pressed onto him, crying his name until she was fully impaled, and he was near to bursting.
Holding perfectly still, he wanted to give her time to adjust, but then she moved. Riding his shaft in beautiful fluidity.
Garrett sat up and suckled one nipple and then the other. Her slow canter and impassioned gasps were too much. He rolled her to her back and pressed harder and faster, meeting each of her cries with one of his own. His body tight with pleasure, he slid his hand between them and found her bud slick and hot.
At his touch, she exploded with pleasure. Her sheath pulsed around him, taking him over the edge.
Rolling them to their sides, he held her through the shudders and pulsations. Still linked intimately together, each vibration rocked him with ecstasy. “Are you alright?”
“Mmm.” She nuzzled her head against his chest and under his chin like a cat settling in. “I’m better than that.” As if to prove it, she eased her hips forward taking his exhausted shaft deeper.
“You may have to wait a few minutes for whatever you’re thinking, my love.” Though the minute the notion was broached, he grew hard inside her.
Again, she slid over him, and even at half arousal, it was exquisite to possess her and be possessed by her. Like an insatiable teen, he was hard and wanting in moments. “You’re not sore, Rora?”
“I can’t get enough of you, and I don’t want you to leave or tell me I must go home.” Panic laced her words, even as delight spread from her body to his.
Shushing her gently, he reached down and lifted her leg over both of his so he could fill her completely. Slower this time, he kissed her, and their tongues slid together, teeth gnashed and they breathed as one until they shattered in each other’s arms and lay replete and satisfied.
They must have dozed, as when Garrett next opened his eyes, the sun was coloring the sky in pinks and oranges, and Aurora was nestled against his chest. He kissed her forehead, her cheek, and her nose.
She arched her back but didn’t pull away. “Did we fall asleep?”
“I’m afraid so.” He kissed her ch
in and down her throat before going lower and letting his hand cup her breast as he licked circles around her rosy peak. “I will take you home.”
Tracing delicate lines down his chest until she held his shaft and made love to it with her hands, she said, “When?”
“Soon.” As he made the halfhearted promise, his heart was near bursting, and his body shook with need. Kissing his way lower, he longed to taste her. The night before he’d been too desperate, but now he needed to put his mouth on her and give her pleasure.
She groaned a complaint when he moved too far for her to touch his shaft, but pleasure cried out of those same lips as he lapped at her folds, dipped his tongue inside her and teased her sensitive bud. Cupping her bottom, he slid his thumb inside her while lapping up the sweetest honey.
The most beautiful sight was Aurora coming apart with her hips bouncing off the bed and her pleasure spilling out in waves and cries. Garrett rose and pulled her to him, muffling her cries with his kisses. The servants would be rising, and the morning was going to be awkward enough. Still, he couldn’t rush them out of the house. Not when he still yearned for more and she was so full of emotion and need. “I like seeing you like this.”
She straddled his lap. “Wanton?”
“Alive and lively.”
Impaling herself on him, she threw her head back and rode him like the goddess she was.
It was after nine when they finally rose from the bed, washed, and dressed. Garrett laced up her gown, as there was no proper lady’s maid for such a morning. “I’m sure I’ve made a mess of this.” He looked down at the laces.
“Don’t trouble yourself,” she said in a stoic voice.
Fear shot through Garrett, and his pulse raced. He spun her around to face him. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
At first her mask of indifference was firmly in place, but then it cracked, and she relaxed her shoulders. “I think I should still go to Cheshire. There will be gossip, and if I’m not here, it will be less.”
“You know I want to marry you. You can’t possibly think I only wanted this.” He pointed to the rumpled bed.
Blinking her glassy eyes, she shrugged. “I know you love me, and that was enough for this.” She too gestured to the evidence of their lovemaking.
Garrett dropped to his knees in front of her and took her hands. “Aurora, my only love, make me the happiest man in the world and marry me. Do not marry me because we made love or because you think you must. Not even because you want a child. Marry me because you love me, and I love you, and we can be happy together.”
A tear rolled down her pale cheek, and she bit her bottom lip. “I still worry my past will ruin any future we could have.”
He had to force his gaze away from that lip and all the wonderful things he wanted to do with her in the rumpled bed, and other rooms of the house. and other houses. “Nothing can harm a future where you are mine and I am yours, Rora.”
A second teardrop glided to her chin where Garrett captured it on his thumb and kissed the salty morsel away.
“You will tell me if I am not a good wife?”
Shaking his head, he said, “Impossible. But if you will tell me when I am not a good husband, I shall agree.”
She gave him a solemn nod.
“What is your answer, Rora.” His heart had firmly lodged in his throat, and there was no sign he would ever draw breath again.
“I once said I would never marry again, not even for a duke. It seems I was wrong. I will marry you, Garrett.”
Rising, he lifted her in the air and spun her around the room until they were both dizzy and collapsed on the chair by the fire.
A knock at the door forced them both to stand and brush out their clothes. “Come in.”
His valet, Bronson, stepped inside and closed the door. He bowed his dark head. “I have called for the carriage. I assumed her ladyship would wish to leave before the streets become busy this morning.”
Garrett liked Bronson. The man showed no signs of judgment or distaste. He stated facts and did so kindly and politely.
“I do need to be getting home. Thank you.” As if she were exiting a parlor at an appropriate hour rather than a man’s townhouse after a night of passion, Aurora lifted her chin and descended the stairs to the front door.
Garrett followed her, and Bronson trailed behind. “Bronson, Lady Radcliff and I will be going to her home, but I will return later to arrange a few things. I shall need to dress for a visit to the Archbishop of Canterbury this afternoon.”
“I will see to it, Your Grace.” Bronson paused. “May I be so bold as to congratulate you both and wish you joy.”
“Thank you, Bronson.”
The closer the carriage got to West Lane, the more Aurora twisted her gloves in her hand and chewed that delicious bottom lip.
“Are you expecting someone to be at your house?” It was difficult to be overjoyed and see her so worried.
“We left the ball without a word. Faith, Poppy, and Mercy will call this morning.” Aurora frowned.
Garrett wrapped an arm around her. “They will be happy for us, or do you know something I don’t?”
“No. I just feel foolish having sworn to never marry. Now I must tell them I will marry after all the trouble I put them through.”
Unable to control his grin, he didn’t bother to try, but kissed her head and held her for the rest of the short ride to West Lane.
It was early for callers, but not only were the carriages of her friends indeed present, but others were as well. Most notably, the Dowager Countess of Marsden. Even Garrett’s joy dimmed at the idea of facing her mother. “This should be interesting.”
Tipton opened the door as soon as the carriage pulled to a stop. He stood perfectly stoic and silent until they reached the top step. “The ladies, her ladyship, and the Marquess of Potsum are waiting for you in the great parlor, my lady. I tried to get them to come back later, but they insisted on waiting.”
“Thank you, Tipton.” Aurora drew a deep breath and lifted her chin like a soldier going to battle. “Garrett, you may leave if you wish. You are not required to face the firing squad.”
“Where you go, I go, my love.” He offered his arm.
Tipton’s lips actually twitched in what might have been a smile before he returned to his standard repose.
They went to the double doors leading to the large parlor. Garrett opened the doors and they walked in together.
Poppy jumped up and clasped her hands together, her smile bright, though she managed to say nothing.
Faith and Mercy remained seated, but both smiled, and Mercy raised a brow.
“What is the meaning of this?” Aurora’s mother narrowed her eyes and slapped a folded fan against the arm of the overstuffed chair facing the large fireplace.
“Good morning, Mother, your lordship.” She smiled at her friends. “This is an unexpected pleasure at such an early hour. What brings you to West Lane?”
Potsum sputtered, stood, and pointed his shaking finger at Aurora. “I gathered your mother at first light and told her of your rude dismissal of my marriage offer. We have come to show you the error of your ways. What on earth is he doing here? And why are you still in your gown from last evening?”
Both of Aurora’s brows rose, and she cocked her head at her mother. The answer to his questions seemed obvious to everyone in the room but Potsum. “I shall spell it out for you if you wish, my lord.”
Jemima stood and held up a hand. “That will be neither necessary nor appropriate, Aurora. I hardly know what to say, but I do wish to know if you plan to marry.”
“Yes, Mother. I shall marry.” Aurora sauntered over to the table and took a biscuit from the tray. The staff probably didn’t know what to do with callers that early, so they served tea. Aurora ate it down in two bites and closed her eyes with delight. “I had no idea how hungry I was. Tipton, do you think Cook might put a small breakfast together?”
“For how many, my lady?”
Mercy covered a giggle, but Poppy and Faith made no attempt to hide their mirth.
Garrett struggled to keep his own laugh from escaping. He could see why Aurora was so attached to the butler.
Gazing around the room, Aurora made a show of counting. “Mother, Lord Potsum, will you be staying?”
Something that might have been a smile pulled disturbingly at Potsum’s mouth. “Since you have decided to use good sense and marry me, I shall be delighted to breakfast with you.”
Even Jemima had to hide her amusement at the density of Potsum. She walked to the window and pretended disinterest.
“I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood, my lord. You see, I would not marry you if my life depended on it.” She looked at the ceiling as if in thought. “Perhaps if one of my friends’ lives were at stake.” She shook herself out of the notion. “But that seems an unlikely scenario at this point, since I happily agreed to marry the Duke of Corwin less than an hour ago. He goes this afternoon to the Archbishop of Canterbury for a special license.”
Potsum’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. Wide-eyed, he stomped his foot. “I asked first. This is very disturbing.” He stormed to the door, took his hat from the table, and left, muttering about unfair and unheard of.
As soon as the front door closed, the Wallflowers rushed over and surrounded Aurora.
Garrett didn’t know if he’d ever been prouder of anyone in his life. Even nervous and afraid, she’d pulled her shoulders back, lifted her chin and told the room what she wanted. Lord help him, but it was him.
The ladies were standing and chatting, but Garrett was awash with so much emotion he sank into a chair near the door and held his head while leaning his arm on a gilded table against the wall.
Maybe he hadn’t truly believed she would marry him until the moment she’d made it public. Part of him expected her to falter or deny her feelings. Yet, here she was bubbling with excitement over marrying him.
Silence followed the chirping of happy women.
Aurora knelt in front of him. “Are you well, Garrett?” She cupped his cheek, and her soft cool hand was a balm for all his worry and doubt. Her eyes filled with trepidation, and a small crease formed between her brows.
Not Even For a Duke Page 25
