“Why is that?” Ashten lifted up then shockingly, actually settled his head in her lap as he laid back down again.
“What are you doing?”
“Resting, and I like it when you feed me. Please, don’t stop.” He caught her hand and drew the apricot she’d bitten into, down to his mouth. Another bite, another naughty grin, then he released her hand and closed his eyes. With a yawn, he stretched and made himself even more comfortable, his hair lifting in the gentle breeze and fluttering against her royal blue skirts. “Tell me why you miss Harry.”
“Whenever you and I have been together in the past, so has Harry.”
“Yes, I agree. Your lap is extremely comfortable, by the way.”
“You’re fortunate I sent my maid away. She would be flabbergasted by your current behavior.” Sunshine dappled across his high cheeks and strong jaw, the breeze stirring the lush foliage overhead and swishing it about. The water of the Serpentine rippled and lapped into shore, the grassy bank so close that if she wiggled a toe, she might even be able to reach the water’s edge with it, or if she wiggled and bent over, she might be able to touch her lips to Ashten’s, and not fleetingly either. No, she still wished to kiss him as disrespectfully as he’d kissed her in his garden, and she doubted she’d ever not wish to.
Gently, she ran her fingers through Ashten’s dark locks and tidied them. So silky soft, the length reaching his shoulders, wild and free, just as the man currently was. “My suitor isn’t Captain Poole.” A soft admission. She couldn’t help but make it.
“Then why accept Poole’s invitation for a day out?”
“So you won’t guess who my true beau is.”
“Blast it all, Ellie.” He thumped the ground, rose swiftly and tipped her onto her back on the blanket. His eyes glittered as bright as sapphires as he slid his fingers around her nape. “Damn you,” he murmured, then drew her mouth closer to his.
“Are you going to kiss me again?”
“No.” With a low growl, he brushed a kiss across her forehead instead of her lips.
“Pierce?” She wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him. “Life isn’t meant to be lived behind four walls.”
“I’m well aware.” He guided her mouth to his, urged her lips apart then kissed her, his breath whispering softly across her tongue in a teasing caress she completely adored.
“I love it when you kiss me,” she murmured against his lips.
“I shouldn’t be kissing you.” He caressed her sides, roamed down and scooped her bottom through her skirts. Lifting her closer against him, he pressed his hips more firmly to hers. “Say, yes to another kiss.”
“Yes.” Butterflies took flight in her belly, his warm breath fanning her lips.
Slowly, he brushed his mouth over hers, his lips so achingly soft as he joined them together a second time. Playfully, he nipped her lower lip, sucked it into his mouth and desire swarmed her senses. Her breasts swelled underneath the heaviness of his chest, and a sweet yet desperate sensation washed through him.
“I can’t believe we’re kissing.” She nibbled on his lips in return and he groaned, deep and throaty before capturing her mouth and offering her a wicked kiss she’d never forget. Intense passion flooded her.
“Ellie, I love how you feel underneath me, your body so gloriously curved.” He grazed a finger along the upper swells of her breasts where her blouse’s neckline dipped and she squeezed her eyes shut then opened them again.
“One more kiss,” she demanded.
“No, we’ve kissed too much as it is, and this is dangerous territory we’re headed into. I followed you to make certain Poole didn’t ravish you, and now here I am doing exactly that.”
“What if I said I liked being ravished by you?” She certainly did. She’d never lie to him about that.
Chapter 11
Frustration pummeled through Ashten. He’d kissed Ellie yet again and truly shouldn’t have, and now she’d gone and declared that she liked being ravished by him. Ugh, a diversion was needed, and fast. He eased up and put the picnic basket between them, poured her another glass of wine and handed it to her, then gulped the last few mouthfuls straight from the bottle before dropping the empty flagon inside the basket. The bottle thumped against a pack of cards in the bottom. Perfect. A game of cards would hopefully distract his amorous thoughts, and the last time they’d played together had been nine months ago after dinner one night at the Trentbury’s table. Harry had played too, as well as watched on and stated how evenly matched he and Ellie had now gotten. He shuffled the deck, asked her, “Do you care for a game of stud poker?”
“I’ve been playing with Winterly lately, and gotten quite good at the game. What shall the stakes be?”
“The usual. The first to win ten rounds always chooses their spoils, within reason of course.”
“Perfect. I’m looking forward to this.” She accepted the shuffled deck and dealt their cards.
Their game began and drat it all, but Ellie had most certainly gotten quite good of late. She won ten rounds in a row and he stared at her with annoyance and muttered, “Deal again. I need to at least win one hand before this day is done.”
“Of which it is almost at an end.” She motioned to the sun dipping lower in the sky. “Are you even concentrating on the game, Your Grace?”
“Pierce.” Hell, she appeared so ethereal sitting across from him, her voluminous riding skirts hiding her legs and her glorious golden hair swaying down her back, the ends falling into lush curls. She reminded him of a fairy, the way she sat so beguilingly with the woods on one side and the lapping waters the other.
“What’s causing your current anger, Pierce?”
“You.” His mind kept replaying their kisses, and how he’d much rather still be kissing her. She was full of effervescence, quick wit, and a caring and affectionate nature he’d always admired. Yes, she’d not only come to him at Blackgale House and actually managed to get him outside his front door, but she’d done so with an innocence he’d now stolen from her with his amorous kisses. He slid one hand into the pocket of his breeches and fingered the gold silk ribbon he’d tucked there this morning. Where was his good luck when he needed it? Particularly in setting her aside.
“Tell me what I can do to disperse your ill feelings then.” She touched his cheek with her palm, her skin so soft and warm.
“To start with, you could at least cease looking so adorable.” He scooped up the cards and stood. “Up you get. It’s getting cold.”
“Right then. I take it we’re leaving?” She pushed to her feet and brushed her royal blue skirts. “I’ll go and find Penny.”
“Don’t get lost while you do. I’ll wait for you at the curricle with the horses. Don’t be long either.”
“Yes, Your Grouchiness.” She chuckled and ducked his scolding look then walked off in the direction where Penny had gone when instructed to leave.
He packed the basket, folded the blanket over his arm, collected his cane and with their horses’ reins in hand, he ambled back to the groomsman and loaded everything away in the curricle.
Ellie arrived moments later with Penny, her maid having not gone too far thankfully, and after he’d aided Penny into her seat beside the driver, he gripped Ellie by the waist and lifted her into her saddle.
“Thank you.” She smiled down at him from up high on her perch.
“You’re welcome.” Discretely, he ran one hand along her calf under the hem of her royal blue skirts. He didn’t want to step away from her, didn’t want this beautiful day with her to end, didn’t want to leave this magical place either. Unfortunately, he had no choice.
He mounted his stallion and they rode back to her home. In the driveway, the sun dipped below the horizon, the sky awash with a splash of red before turning a midnight-black. He bounded down from his horse, came around to Ellie and swung her down beside him. He gave her a deep, respectful bow, murmured, “I’ve had a delightful afternoon.”
“So have I. The best
in quite some time.”
“I bid you a good night.”
“No, you can’t leave yet. I’ve chosen my spoils from my win, and within reason too.”
“What shall those spoils be?”
“For you to come inside for dinner. Mama will be terribly upset if you leave without joining us. It’s pork pie night.”
“I love pork pie.” And it was a fair request she’d made. He lifted his nose to the air and breathed deep, then caught the tantalizing aroma of pork wafting by. Something else as well. He sniffed again. “Is that roast beef I can smell too?”
“I’m not sure, but I trust your sense of smell. You and Harry could always scent what was for dinner before we ever entered the dining room.” A smile tugged at her lips. “Please, Pierce, come inside.”
“All right.” He grumbled a little, so she wouldn’t think she’d won him over too easily.
Grinning, she lifted a hand to the waiting stable lad. “Brush our horses down and give them both an extra hand of oats.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Thank you.” She hooked her arm through the crook in his own and he escorted her inside the house, where indeed the hearty aroma of roast beef swirled through the air along with the savory scent of pork pie.
“Mama?” Ellie called out from the foyer.
“In the drawing room, my dear.”
“Look who I’ve brought home for dinner.” He got tugged into the drawing room and more squeals resounded, shrieks twice as loud as this morning when he’d arrived and been greeted by Harry’s mother and sisters.
He kissed each of the ladies’ hands, Sophia and Olivia’s first, the ladies seated next to the crackling fire, then Lady Winterly’s after she’d dropped her embroidery into the basket at her feet, her lacy cap pinned atop of her head and her smile wide. As he bowed over her hand, he asked, “Did you have a lovely day, my lady?”
“Oh, my dear boy, we certainly did, and now you’ve topped it off again. Don’t forget, it’s Flora. There’s no need to stand on formality with me, as I’ve told you countless times before.” Flora grasped his hands firmly in his, as if she didn’t wish for him to step away. “The cook has even added apple to the pork pie, and I know you love that combination well. There’s roast beef as well, Yorkshire pudding and plenty of gravy. Victoria sponge for dessert. I hope you’re famished.”
“See.” Ellie cocked one brow that said she was right. He was expected.
“Now,” Flora gasped as she glanced from him to Ellie, “you must explain how you came to be together. Winterly mentioned you and Poole were to enjoy a ride and picnic in the park, so there’s surely a tale to tell which will explain how you left with one gentleman yet returned with another, not that I mind who you returned with of course.”
“Not long after Poole and I got settled in the park near the Serpentine, Ashten joined us, then a messenger rode in with a missive from Captain Poole’s brother, Major Lord Bishophale. The major asked Poole to meet him at the War Office, so he had to rush off. Thankfully, Ashten remained with me. That’s how we came to be together.”
“Oh dear, I do wonder what could be afoot now at the War Office.”
A puppy yapped from within the folds of the blanket covering Sophia’s lap.
“Shh, little one.” Sophia petted its wee head. “It’s all right. This is the Duke of Ashten. He’s Harry dearest friend.” Sophia waved him over. “Come and meet our puppy.”
“Well, it’s lovely to make your acquaintance.” He crouched in front of Sophia and held out his palm for the pup to smell. He got a wet lick as his reward, the puppy jumping on Sophia’s skirted legs, its black and white ears flopping about, the rest of his wee body a glorious patchwork of the same two colors. The tiny thing couldn’t be more than eight weeks old and could surely fit in the palm of his hand.
“He’s certainly happy to see you.” Sophia held the puppy out for him to take. “This is Beast, Winterly’s new hunting dog, or he will be when he grows up. He’s an English Springer Spaniel.”
“I missed meeting Beast this morning.” He hadn’t heard a word about the new addition to the Trentbury household either. He rose and tucked the tiny critter in close to his jacketed chest as Ellie rubbed between Beast’s ears. She dipped in and touched her nose to the pup’s nose, her cheek brushing his chest and making him hunger for more of her affection too. “Where do you keep him?” he asked Ellie.
“He sleeps in Harry’s room at night.” She nuzzled the puppy some more, her golden locks lit an even more brilliant golden hue by the firelight. “We keep a padded basket right beside Harry’s bed, so that when Harry next returns on leave, Beast will already be aware of his scent.”
“Are you’re saying Harry’s a smelly chap?”
“No, not at all.” She giggled, her face flushing so delightfully. “You are so naughty.”
“Not nearly as naughty as you.”
She gasped, her face flushing even further. At Lady Winterly’s laugh and her sisters’ chuckles, Ellie shook her head at them. “That’s what I mean by naughty, making outrageous comments like that. Ignore him. I am never naughty and you’re all well aware of it.”
“You’re the naughtiest of all my children.” Flora patted her chest as her laughter slowly subsided.
“Mama, if I have a touch of naughtiness within me, then it comes directly from you.” She kissed her mama’s cheek, Sophia and Olivia’s too, then wandered to the grand piano underneath the wide window framed with blue and silver drapes, which overlooked the rear gardens. Ellie sat on the polished wooden bench seat and tapped a few keys. She warmed up then asked everyone, “What would you all like to hear while we await the maid’s call for dinner?”
“Something naughty.” Olivia laughed and laughed, her blond locks bouncing about her sweet cherub face and her pure white gown shimmering from the corner lamp. With only a year separating each of these sisters, Flora had certainly had her hands fill, Winterly too once he’d taken his late father’s title and leading place in their household. Three husbands would be needed before too long, three men who enjoyed the closeness of this family’s familiar bonds.
“You are as naughty as the duke.” Ellie tsked Olivia.
“Good evening, everyone.” Winterly strode in with Tidmore one step behind him, then Harry’s eldest brother clasped him on the shoulder. “I heard the shrieks again and knew you must have arrived. Excellent, and I see you’ve now met Beast.”
“I have.” He secured Beast closer to his chest as he shook Mr. Tidmore’s hand. “Good to see you again.”
“You as well.” Tidmore straightened the hem of his tailed black jacket. “Winterly and I have sorted out the finer details surrounding our next shipment, and the accounts have arrived via messenger. All is awaiting your perusal.”
“Perhaps,” Winterly added, “you can peruse the correspondence after dinner, if that suits you, Ashten?”
“It certainly does.” He’d complete his business this evening, then they’d be no need for him to return to Ellie’s home tomorrow. Yes, he could remain safely ensconced within his own four walls with no issue, returning to his self-exile as he longed to do. Gently, he stroked Beast between the ears. “Where did you come across this pup?” he asked Winterly.
“Ellie actually found him sitting underneath one of the topiary trees in our garden last week, and yapping at the tree as if the tree were an intruder. Unfortunately, we’ve been unable to find who he might belong to, even sending Jeeves to knock on doors. Ellie insisted Beast would make a suitable hunting dog and I’m in agreement, so we’ve kept him.”
“That would make this little fellow your fourth puppy?” He recalled Buster and Blue, two golden retrievers who’d always followed him and Harry about while hunting, then had come Bear, a black retriever. “Is Bear still around?”
“Yes, and in his dotage. He’ll enjoy playing with this young fellow when we take Beast to Winterly Manor in the summer. Loads of wide open fields for him to bound around in.”
“He’ll get lost in all the tall grass if we don’t keep an eye on him though,” Flora warned before strolling across to Ellie.
Ellie cast her gaze to Tidmore and patted the bench beside her. “Shall we play a tune together?”
“Absolutely.” Tidmore strode across to Ellie and settled on the bench seat next to her. He ran his fingers over a few keys then cleared his throat as he gazed into his Ellie’s eyes.
Such delight fluttered over Ellie’s face and a deep sense of unease curdled in Ashten’s gut. Ellie had told him that Poole wasn’t her suitor, so perhaps it was Tidmore? He gritted his teeth as Tidmore leaned in far too close to Ellie, particularly for his liking.
“What about the piece by Mozart we’ve been practicing?” Tidmore asked her. “Sonata for four hands in D major K. 381. If you’d like?”
“Yes, allegro first, then if you’re content to continue, andante, and allegro molto to finish.” Ellie glanced at her mother. “Will there be time, Mama?”
“Of course, my dear. I’ll turn the pages.” Flora perched on a wooden-backed chair next to the couple. “I do so enjoy the Piano Sonata, and you two play so well together.”
“It’s practice that perfects one’s play.” Ellie readied their piano music on the stand for Flora to turn.
“How long have you been playing, Tidmore?” Still gritting his teeth, Ashten forced the words out as he eased into the seat Flora had vacated. Winterly strode to the hearth and added another log to the flames.
“From my earliest years.”
“Yes, Mr. Tidmore’s mother is a wonderful teacher.” Ellie brushed her shoulder against Tidmore’s as she settled her fingers into position, then asked the well-versed man, “Are you ready?”
“Yes, on the count of three. One, two, three.”
Together, Ellie and Tidmore both dropped straight into the musical beauty of the Sonata, and Ashten’s heart dropped as well. Unfortunately, together, they stunned him with their passionate portrayal of Mozart’s music. Clearly, they’d practiced this piece often at each other’s sides and his innards twisted into a rage of knots, although even with the fierce level of tension storming through him, the playful notes of the allegro slowly wound around him, settling him just as they always did.
The Duke's Bride: Regency Romance (Regency Brides Book 1) Page 9
