“Easy, let it happen,” Alec encouraged, his voice whisper soft against her ear.
With Alec’s soft breath blowing gently against her ear Scarlett completely let go, and when she did, her body seemed to explode. It was a sensation like nothing she had ever experienced before, like nothing she had even known was possible. She arched upward, her fingers clutching Alec’s shoulders, her face buried in the curve of his neck as she rode the waves of mind-numbing pleasure.
As Scarlett convulsed around him, Alec gave one final thrust, and then pulled from her a split second before having one of the most intense orgasms of his life. He collapsed on top of her then, completely spent.
Scarlett curled her arms around him as her body shuddered one last time, burying her face in the side of his neck, her senses completely shattered by the magnitude of what had just happened. Nothing could have prepared her for her body’s explosive reaction to Alec’s lovemaking. As she gradually drifted back from wherever place it was that she had gone, she became aware of Alec’s weight as his body lay motionless atop hers. She relished it, clinging to him, never wanting to let go.
Over the course of the next few hours, they talked, laughed, explored each other’s bodies and made love once again. Scarlett knew without a doubt that it was a night she would cherish for the rest of her life. Near dawn, Alec fetched a damp cloth from the washbowl beside the bed and gently wiped the traces of their love making from her body. The intimacy of the gesture brought a slight blush to Scarlett’s cheeks, but considering what had transpired between them over the past few hours, she was a little surprised that anything could make her self-conscious anymore. Alec had touched and caressed every inch of her body, murmuring words of praise and admiration at every dip and curve, making her feel like the most beautiful woman alive.
When he finished, Scarlett raised her hand and trailed it lightly down his cheek, wishing she could say the words that she was feeling. I love you Alec. I love you with all my heart and soul.
Alec saw the dreamy, almost blissful expression on Scarlett’s face, and it gave him pause. Gradually, as his head began to clear, the sensual haze of the past hours slowly began to dissipate and reality took its place little by little. Although he could hardly deny that he’d just had one of the most incredible sexual experiences of his life, he would never allow himself to confuse passion with love. He couldn’t allow Scarlett to do that either. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, but he had to make sure she understood that what had just happened between them hadn’t changed anything.
“Scarlett…”
Alec’s expression had grown serious, his tone suddenly somber, and Scarlett instinctively knew what he was about to say. Despite what they had just shared, she knew better than to presume that anything had changed, at least for Alec, at least not yet. Gently she pressed her fingers to his lips. “You don’t have to say anything.” She met his gaze unflinchingly. “This was my choice, and I understood the terms. I have no expectations and no regrets.” She could only hope that she sounded convincing.
Alec gazed into the depths of her incredible blue eyes and realized just how fortunate he was. Despite her innocence, Scarlett had given herself to him with wholehearted abandon and without reservation. He should have felt remorse, and a part of him did, but there was another part of him, a smaller selfish part that felt only joy. Pulling her tightly into his embrace, he kissed her with the care and reverence of a man who had been given a priceless gift.
All too soon, knowing that dawn was but moments away, Alec helped Scarlett into her rumpled dressing gown, and then tugged on his discarded breeches. Barefoot, they walked to the door, kissing once more before Scarlett turned and slipped silently from his room. As the door closed softly behind her, he silently counted the days before he was to return to London. Then, a moment later, his head fell forward to rest against the closed panel. He closed his eyes, his hands balling into fists at his sides as he fought the guilt that tore at him like a knife.
Chapter 5
When Scarlett awoke, she turned her head toward the small porcelain clock that sat on her bedside table. Her room was awash in light and she was stunned to see that it was well past ten. She had always been an early riser, rarely sleeping past six-thirty or seven, and though she was grateful, she was a little surprised that no one had come knocking on her door to check on her.
Turning onto her side, she snuggled into her pillow, smiling as she felt the slight tenderness between her thighs and memories of the night before came flooding back. She had never imagined being intimate with a man could feel so magnificent. She had overheard her bothers on occasion, talking and joking about sexual matters when they didn’t know she was listening, and had assumed that the act was something quite enjoyable, at least for men. However, nothing, absolutely nothing could have prepared her for the magnitude of her own pleasure. Despite the fact that she had given her virginity to a man who had made it clear that he wasn’t interested in commitment, she didn’t care. She was madly, helplessly and hopelessly in love with Alec Weston, and she knew with absolute certainty that in time he would realize that he loved her too.
When she finally made her way downstairs at half past eleven, she learned that her brothers had taken Alec bird hunting in the dense woods beyond the estate. The woods surrounding Grey Oaks were ripe with wild turkeys, pheasants, grouse and numerous other types of game, and although her brothers had taught her to shoot years ago, she rarely accompanied them on their hunting trips. She was an excellent shot, but had quickly discovered that she preferred firing at inanimate targets far more than shooting at wildlife.
Having missed breakfast, her stomach was beginning to rumble, so she quickly made her way to the kitchen. Snatching up an apple tart, leftover from the morning meal, she spent several minutes chatting with the kitchen staff, most of who had been at Grey Oaks for as long as she could remember. They were like her extended family and she was just as comfortable sitting with them at the large wooden kitchen table as she was seated in the grand, formal dining room, perhaps even more so.
A short time later however, Tess came looking for her and quickly hustled her back upstairs. She had been pestering Scarlett for days to start preparing for her upcoming trip to London, and today was clearly no different. Tess was leaving the following week to spend the next two months visiting her sister in Wales and would not be accompanying the family to London. Though Scarlett wasn’t leaving for the city for another three weeks, Tess was determined to make sure the packing and other preparations were well under way before she left for her sister’s. The fact that Georgie would be temporarily residing with the family in London, as well as acting as Scarlett’s chaperone, was the only reason Tess had agreed to take the well-deserved vacation that she and her brothers had been trying unconvincingly to get her to do for years. This would be the first time that she and Tess had spent any length of time apart, and it was a big step, for both of them.
Now, watching as Tess mulled over the various gowns within Scarlett’s wardrobe, the majority of which had been specially made for her debut, she couldn’t help feeling a bit wistful. She wasn’t a little girl anymore. She was a woman now, in every sense of the word. Turning toward the window, she gazed thoughtfully outside, her thoughts turning to Alec and her future.
When she eventually turned back around, she saw that her bed had disappeared beneath a dozen or more gowns of nearly every color of the rainbow. There were morning gowns, evening gowns, ball gowns, riding habits, silks, satins, taffetas and more. It all seemed so silly to her. Just one of the elaborate ball gowns alone, had cost a small fortune. For a girl who had grown up on a quiet country estate, the lavish excesses dictated by Society seemed absurd. However, knowing that Alec would be in London with scores of beautiful, fashionable women swirling around him at every turn, made the extravagance slightly less difficult to bear. With so many women vying for Alec’s attention, she wanted to look her absolute best. And so, with a sigh of resignation, she began fetchin
g the silk stockings, lacy undergarments and numerous other requisite fripperies a well-dressed lady required, and added them to the pile on the bed. When Tess finally summoned a couple of footmen to bring up her trunks, Scarlett’s bed was nearly indiscernible under the enormous mountain of clothing and accessories.
Once the trunks had been delivered, it took her and Tess, as well as two additional maids, the remainder of the afternoon to carefully pack the seemingly infinite number of garments into a half dozen large traveling trunks, all of which would have to be steamed and pressed once again when they reached London. Despite the fact that she stayed busy, the day seemed to drag on endlessly as she waited for the sound of the men’s return.
By late afternoon, Tess finally seemed satisfied that the bulk of the packing was done and that Scarlett could adequately handle the last minute details herself. After summoning several footmen to carry the trunks to one of the large upstairs storage areas to await their departure to London, Tess followed doggedly on their heels, and at last the room was cleared.
With her room once again restored to order, Scarlett took the welcome solitude to once again daydream about Alec and the night ahead. For her, it couldn’t come soon enough.
Scarlett was seated in the front parlor, trying unsuccessfully to focus on the book in her hands, when the men finally returned. Having already relinquished the spoils of their hunt to the kitchen staff, they entered the foyer, talking and laughing as they shed their heavy clothing.
“I don’t know about you boys, but I could use a drink to warm these cold bones,” Rory told them, heading into the parlor. He spotted Scarlett an instant later as she rose from her chair. “Well, well, look who’s up and about,” he teased, as he made his way to the sideboard.
“Pour us all a glass, Rory,” Gavin directed, short on Rory’s heels. “My entire body has gone numb.”
“Well hello there sleepyhead,” Conner said, as he entered the room with Colin and Alec right behind him.
“As if any of you have room to talk,” Scarlett chided, wishing at that moment that the ground would open up and swallow her. Leave it to her brothers to make a big deal out of the fact that they were all up and about before she was for once.
“Well it is a rare occurrence when you’re the last one up, Scarlett,” Colin added. “Did you have trouble sleeping last night?” he asked, always the concerned older brother.
“Perhaps a little,” she murmured vaguely. “I’ve just had a lot on my mind with the trip to London coming up so soon. Deliberately keeping her eyes away from Alec, she strove to appear nonchalant, praying no guilty blush was staining her cheeks. “You needn’t worry about me so much Colin,” she told him with a sweet smile.
“Not like that will ever happen,” Rory told her, with a sardonic grin, as he handed a glass to his brother and another to Alec. “Big brother’s already a nervous wreck about your debut.”
Scarlett was well aware that all of her over-protective brothers were more than a little anxious about her launch into Society, even Rory and Gavin. The thought of their darling little Scarlett, soon to be inundated with male suitors, made them all a bit uneasy. If they’d had the slightest inkling of what had transpired between her and Alec the night before, well, she didn’t even want to imagine it.
“And you’re not?” Colin retorted, with a derisive grin of his own.
“Of course I am,” Rory admitted affably. “I well expect to have my hands full keeping all of Scarlett’s ardent suitors at bay.”
“Let’s change the subject, shall we.” Scarlett interjected, eager to turn the conversation in another direction. The last thing she wanted to do was discuss potential suitors in front of Alec. The Duke of Worthe was the only man she had any interest in, and she couldn’t imagine anything or anyone ever changing that. “Tell me about your day,” she requested with exaggerated exuberance, gladly willing to listen to the details of their hunt, if it would serve to divert their attention. “How was the hunt?”
She did her best to appear interested as the men regaled her with the morning’s events. While they lauded each other on their stellar marksmanship, and occasionally ribbed each other for the inadvertent missed shot, she finally allowed her gaze to linger on Alec. He looked as handsome as ever in his sporty hunting attire. His white lawn shirt, unbuttoned at the collar, revealed a tantalizing hint of the muscular chest she had caressed just hours ago, and a lock of his rich black hair had fallen against his forehead, adding to his raffish appearance. She wanted to reach out and touch him more than anything.
Sensing her eyes upon him, Alec looked up and captured her gaze for a mere instant. As his mouth curved into a nearly indiscernible smile, a silent message passed between them, a shared secret between two lovers.
As the week progressed, she and Alec spent their days acting the part of friendly acquaintances and their nights wrapped in each other’s arms. During their passionate assignations, Alec made no false promises and Scarlett did her best to disguise the fact that she was head over heels in love with him.
By the end of the week Scarlett was exhausted, for she was woefully disinclined to leave Alec’s bed until dawn, but then forced to crawl out of her own bed a short time later so as not to raise her brother’s suspicions. Sheer adrenaline kept her going, as did the fact that her time with Alec was quickly coming to an end. Alec however, obviously well accustomed to late city nights and functioning on minimal sleep, seemed to have a boundless supply of energy.
Two nights before Alec was scheduled to return to London, her brothers finally hauled him off to the local village, leaving Scarlett at home. She knew that her brothers occasionally enjoyed the “private” services of a few of the local tavern wenches on their treks to the village, and could only hope that Alec didn’t choose to partake as well. Though she certainly had no claim on him, the thought of Alec in bed with another woman was nearly unbearable.
Every time she looked at the clock, her anxiety increased. She tried to read, but found herself scanning the same page over and over, unable to process the words. Eventually she gave up and tossed the book aside. She wandered aimlessly around her room, stopping every few minutes to push aside the drapes and glance out the window. She told herself to stop, but she couldn’t seem to help herself.
When they finally arrived home, hours later, Scarlett forced herself to stay in her room until the house had gone totally quiet. It was an agonizing wait. When she finally slipped into Alec’s room, she forced herself to appear unaffected, her carefully controlled expression revealing none of her inner turmoil. She found him casually leaning against the large marble mantel that topped the fireplace, a knowing smile on his face.
“Waiting up for me?”
The self-satisfied, slightly amused tone of his voice made Scarlett lift her chin in feigned irritation. “Actually I was sleeping quite soundly, until I heard all the commotion.” She tried to look blasé, doing her best to appear merely vexed that her sleep had been disturbed. “The lot of you made enough noise to rouse the entire household.”
The answering twinkle in his eye told her that he wasn’t buying her act.
“How unfortunate,” he teased. “If I had known how much you needed your rest, I wouldn’t have ignored the buxom blonde who kept trying to catch my attention all night, or hurried your brothers home so quickly.”
Though she did her best, she could only hope that the relief she felt wasn’t too evident on her face. “Do you fancy blondes, Your Grace?” With her disposition vastly improved, she grasped an auburn curl and began to slowly twirl it around her finger.
“I’ve been known to upon occasion,” he murmured, slowing moving away from the hearth toward her, a seductive smile on his lips. “However, I seem to have become partial to redheads as of late.”
“Have you?” Scarlett inquired coyly, a saucy little grin turning up the corners of her lips.
“Indeed I have,” he affirmed, his voice a husky whisper as he reached Scarlett, sweeping her up into his arms in o
ne fluid motion. Seconds later, he tossed her on the bed and showed her exactly how partial to redheads he had become.
The day before Alec’s departure, they agreed to meet in the stable for one last early morning ride. When their mounts were saddled, he on Brutus and she on her own beloved Mischief, they cantered out into the crisp morning air. The sun was shining brightly and the snow that had blanketed the countryside was beginning to melt away. Delicate crystal droplets fell from the branches of frozen tree limbs as their icy shrouds gradually began to thaw, and not even the slightest breeze ruffled the air. It was a beautiful day. They rode for several miles in companionable silence, enjoying their time alone, a rare opportunity outside the concealing walls of Alec’s bedchamber.
After a while, and once they had traveled a safe distance from the house, Alec suggested they stop and walk for a bit. Something had been gnawing at him for days, a question he needed answered, a question he should have asked before, despite the selfish cravings of his body. After tethering their horses to the limbs of a towering Oak, they walked only a short distance before Alec grasped Scarlett’s arm, gently turning her to face him. “Why did you do it, Scarlett?”
The Hellion and The Heartbreaker Page 10
