A Lady for the Taking

by Bethany M. Sefchick

  “It is so quiet,” she marveled. “As if we are completely cut off from the rest of the world.”

  “As it is intended,” Harry supplied, coming up to take her arm as he guided her toward one of the follies in the distance, this one a recreation of a Grecian temple. Or what some architect many years ago assumed a Grecian temple might look like, probably never having seen one himself. “This section has been here for years, but about eight years ago, someone had the idea that this would make a perfect secret meeting spot.”

  He didn’t mention that the “someone” had been the Bloody Duke or that it had been intended both as a lover’s meeting place and as a place for the duke’s spies to exchange information.

  “I can see why,” Penny whispered as she allowed Harry to lead her toward the folly overlooking the brackish water below. “No one would ever find someone if they were hiding here.” She looked back over her shoulder. “Had you not led the way, I would have ridden right past that overgrown path without even noticing it.”

  “That’s the idea,” he said as he guided her to the folly’s rail that prevented people from tumbling head first into the waters below. “Here people can be alone without fear of being watched or observed. They can do as they please.”

  Which was why Harry had brought Penny here in the first place. During their ride, that same feeling of being watched had returned and it made him uneasy, especially as he had no idea who might be the one watching. He had planned this ride so that they could be alone together and he would be damned if they spent their entire morning together with him looking over his shoulder to make certain they weren’t being followed.

  “Is that why you brought me here?” she asked quietly. “So you can do as you please with me?” Penny wasn’t being coy; Harry could tell. Hers was an honest question.

  “I brought you here so that we could be alone,” he replied honestly, turning to her. “Out there? Someone is always watching, whether we can see them or not.” He meant that in the literal sense, but she didn’t have to know that yet. “And I want to be alone with you, Penny. It makes no sense, as we hardly know each other and I know that you do not trust my intentions, but there it is.”

  That was as close as Harry could come to admitting that he was spying on Penny without actually admitting the full truth. For a man who always did the right thing and who never doubted his course, as of late, what he should and should not do was becoming more and more complex and confusing. Especially where this woman was concerned.

  “Would it shock you to know that I want to be alone with you, too?” Penny confessed as she turned to him so that they now stood face to face. “I shouldn’t. There are…things about me you don’t know.” She bit her lip. “I wish…I wish…”

  Reaching out, Harry stroked her hair back from her face just as he had done last evening. “I wish too, Penny. There is so much I wish I could tell you about so many things. But I can’t.”

  Penny could see the secrets hidden within the depths of Harry’s eyes and once more, she felt a flash of fear along with the certainty that he knew she was hiding something. But then she looked at his full, rather kissable lips and forgot that she should fear this man and stay as far away from him as possible. This was her time, the tiny part of her life that would only ever belong to her, and she wanted to spend that time with Harry for as long as she could.

  “Then don’t worry about what you can’t tell me,” she replied as she reached out to take his hand in a rather bold move. “Simply focus on what you can tell me.”

  Something in his face softened then and he became even more handsome than before. “I can tell you that I think you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Not to mention the most extraordinary.”

  Penny snorted, hating to ruin the perfect setting. “Now I know that you are lying, Harry. I am so far from a diamond of the first water that it is laughable.”

  She had hoped that he would laugh at her words, but suddenly, he was extremely serious, the mood between them changing in an instant. “I do not lie about things like that, sweetheart.” His use of the endearment surprised her, but he rushed on without hesitation. “You are beautiful. More so than I think you realize.”

  “You are only saying that because you wish to kiss me again,” Penny teased, hoping to lighten the mood once more. For a brief moment, the look in Harry’s eyes had been incredibly intense and it had terrified her while warming her to her toes at the same time.

  Once more, his eyes darkened with intensity and she had the feeling that this man would not be put off. Not if there was something on his mind. “Perhaps. But I do think you are beautiful and you tie me up in knots in a way no other woman ever has for reasons that I cannot explain.” He reached out and cupped her cheek. “May I kiss you again, my perfectly beautiful Penny? I know it cannot go any farther, but a kiss is still a kiss. And your kisses are particularly delightful.”

  She should tell him no and run back to her horse, demand that he stay far away from her. This man was dangerous. Well, dangerous to her uncle’s plans anyway. But what about what she wanted and what she desired? From the time Penny had become her uncle’s ward, she had always ceded to his wishes, even when he had locked her away in that hell of a finishing school that was more like a prison. Here, in this small part of the world where no one could see, wasn’t it time she took what she wanted instead of being ordered about like a servant? Even if it was only this once?

  “You may.” Her voice sounded breathy and seductive to her own ears, so unlike her normal voice. “In fact, I was rather hoping you would.”

  The kiss wasn’t at all what Penny was expecting, even after the kisses they had shared in the theater the other evening. That first kiss had started hard and demanding while this kiss? This kiss was more like a caress, the faintest hint of pressure as Harry’s lips met hers. It was light and airy, more like fairy wings and innocence than the dark and dangerous passion she had tasted the other night. But the passion was still there. She could tell the longer the kiss went on that it was. In fact, it was lurking just beneath the surface, and she sighed with pleasure in response to that knowledge.

  It was then that Harry pounced, deepening the kiss as his tongue sought out hers when she opened to him without thinking. He tasted of mint and tea, and something else. Something much darker that made her blood hum in her veins and brought her senses to life.

  Penny could feel Harry’s hands on her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. She could feel the warmth of his skin next to hers, more powerful than even the sun that now shone down on them intently. She even swore she could hear the beat of his heart, or perhaps that was her own heart pounding as her blood thundered in her ears.

  Harry was all around her, his scent and his taste seeping into her very bones until there was no Penny and no Harry. There was just one being and that being was perfect. And yet, she still craved more.

  “Harry,” Penny whispered as he pulled away from her lips so that he could kiss the hollow of her throat.

  “Madness,” he replied softly, his voice rough and throaty and yet so delightful to her ears at the same time. “Complete and utter madness. I’ve no other words.”

  “We should stop. Before this goes too far.” She said those words just as his hand came up to cup her breast, and even through the thick fabric of her riding habit, Penny could not stop the moan that rose from deep within her. “Oh, Harry.”

  He nuzzled her throat again as he continued to explore the curves of her body. “Tell me to stop and I will. I should. Any true gentleman would. I know that. Tell me, Penny.”

  “I can’t.” She could no more tell him to stop than she could cease to breathe just then. “I don’t want you to stop.”

  Slowly, he parted her jacket. She hadn’t even been aware that he’d undone the buttons. “Nor do I wish to stop, sweetheart, but this isn’t a good idea.”

  Even as he said that, Harry’s hand snaked inside Penny’s jacket and he reached for her breast again, this time w
ith far less fabric between his hand and her flesh. She shifted, needing to be closer to him and he widened his stance, settling her in between his legs.

  Penny felt his hard length pressing into her thigh and knew she should play the missish spinster and pull away. Demand that he stop. But she didn’t want to. Just as it had been so often as of late, Penny finally felt alive for the first time since her parents had passed away. She felt as if she was awakening from a long, deep sleep and she didn’t want this feeling to end.

  “I don’t care,” she finally admitted as she arched her body into his touch, craving more. “I should care. There are so many reasons why I should, but I don’t.” And then, Penny simply stopped fighting what her body, her mind and her heart all desired. She simply gave in to the sensations washing over her and the way Harry was making her feel.

  Because he was making her feel. She felt lovely and desired. She felt alive and happy. But most of all, she felt free. Free in a way she hadn’t since her uncle had come up with his mad scheme to exact his revenge on Lord Fullbridge – the man he blamed for his daughter Elizabeth’s death in a time that now seemed so very long ago.

  So Penny kissed Harry back because she wanted to and because he wanted her and because, just then, all she cared about was what she wanted and how this man made her feel. How his lips set her blood racing and her heart pounding. And because she wanted more. So very much more. She also felt as if such a thing might finally be within her grasp. But only with this man.

  Finally, it was Harry who pulled away, his chest heaving and his eyes glazed over with lust. For it had to be lust. There was nothing else it could possibly be. Even Penny, with her dreams of white knights and damsels in distress, was not so foolish as to call this love.

  “We need to stop, sweetheart, before I do something that I will regret.” Harry sounded as out of breath as Penny felt.

  “Such as do more than kiss me?” She knew she should not be provoking him in this manner, or even hinting that she might be amenable to such things. After all, she was no wanton!

  On the other hand, the idea of giving her innocence to this man rather than to the unseen – and possibly rather beastly – Lord Fullbridge held a great deal of appeal. This would be her choice. Not her uncle’s.

  Harry stroked a finger down her cheek. “This is madness. I know it is. We are still little more than strangers.”

  “Are we?” Penny asked. “Truly? While I may not know everything about you, Harry, I know what is important. At least what is important to me.” She covered his hand with hers. “This can never be more than a moment out of time. You know that. We both do. But could it not be something more than just a few stolen kisses, something that is just between us? At least if that is what we both desire?”

  She was talking madness! Truly she was and yet, Penny didn’t care just then. Her body was aching for more of Harry’s attentions and her soul craved more of the light and warmth he brought into her life simply by being in it.

  Gripping her by the shoulders, Harry looked deep into Penny’s eyes. “What exactly are you asking of me?”

  “I…I don’t know,” she confessed softly. “What I do know is that if my uncle has his way, my future is already decided for me and what he wants is a future I would not choose. But this time with you? What we do together? That is my choice. And, if you are willing, I chose to go as far as we wish together.”

  “Why?” Penny heard echoes of her own question from the other evening in his voice.

  “Because you make me feel alive.” She could be honest about this, if nothing else. “Because this is madness and yet, I have never felt freer in all my life.” Penny hated the pleading note in her voice, but there was nothing to be done for it. “I wish I could tell you everything, Harry, but I can’t. I want to, but for so many reasons, I simply can’t. But I can and will tell you that I want you. That for this small moment of my life, you are my choice, even if I cannot explain why.”

  For a long moment, Harry said nothing. Then, he gathered her close and buried his face into her hair. “I am not some foolish young buck, Penny, and while I cannot explain this connection that I feel with you, I cannot deny it either. Nor can I tell you all of the things that I wish I could. But, like you, in this moment of time, you are my choice. You are what I desire, even though that desire makes no sense to me.”

  “It doesn’t have to make sense.” For the first time since she had arrived in London, Penny truly relaxed, burrowing into Harry’s embrace. “It simply is.” She paused. “So now what do we do?”

  Again, she was met with silence for a long moment. “We go on as we planned,” Harry finally replied. “We do as we please in secret, away from the prying eyes of Society and all who would watch us. When we are in public, we act as we ought. The way we are expected to do and no one shall be the wiser.”

  “And when we are alone?” Because Penny had to know this part. She wanted him to be perfectly clear. She was a single breath away from giving this man her body at some point in the future. She had to know exactly where she stood.

  Pulling back, Harry looked into her eyes and Penny swore she could see the world laid out before her. “When we are alone, we do as we please, my perfect Penny. No restrictions. No holding back. We may be fools and we might be playing a dangerous game that we will come to regret in time but that is my offer.”

  Harry hadn’t mentioned anything about his secrets nor about hers and they were still between them, looming large, but it didn’t matter. This was about the physical and nothing more. Could she do this? Honestly, Penny had no idea but she knew she wished to try. This man was the only thing she had ever desired for herself. She was this close to finally having something to call her own. She would not hesitate now.

  “I accept.” There really was nothing else for Penny to say. What else could she say? This was what she wanted, wasn’t it? Yes. Yes, it was.

  And when Harry bent down to kiss her and another sigh of pleasure escaped her lips, Penny knew she had made the only decision possible.

  Chapter Ten

  “You look absolutely lovely this evening, my lady. The green suits your coloring, if I may say so.”

  “Do you really think so, Janie?” Penny eyed herself critically, wanting to simply believe the maid but having a bit of difficulty doing so. After all, it hadn’t been until recently that Penny had felt the least bit beautiful. She was still having a bit of trouble with the concept that anyone, but especially Harry, could look at her and think she was anything other than plain.

  Janie nodded. “I do, miss. The pearls are a nice touch as well. Much more appropriate. Not so garish as when you first arrived.”

  Penny had to agree with the woman. “Well, that was my uncle’s doing more so than mine.” Most of the time, anyway. Save for the other evening when she had deliberately wanted to catch Harry’s attention.

  The maid sniffed indignantly, providing her assessment of the situation without words. “Might be so, but this? This is better. More proper, this is. Not to mention they bring out the light in your eyes, if I may be so bold.”

  Standing in the front hall waiting for the hired hack to arrive with Miss Bridget, Penny did agree with Janie’s assessment. The gown, another new LaVallier creation, was extremely flattering and Penny wondered if Harry would think so as well. Not that she should be dressing with Harry in mind, of course, but, well, she had, and she couldn’t deny that she’d chosen this evening’s gown specifically to see the light in Harry’s eyes when he saw her later tonight.

  After their interlude in the hidden part of Hyde Park that morning, Penny had all but floated back to her rented home on a cloud of, well, lust, for lack of a better word. Though they hadn’t made any promises about when they would see each other next, later that morning, an invitation to attend the entertainments at the Vauxhall pleasure gardens that night had arrived via special courier. Thankfully the invitation hadn’t been accompanied by any sort of chocolates or flowers, so it was easy enough to mention t
o Lord Willfield’s staff that the invitation had been issued by the Duchess of Candlewood – wife of the Bloody Duke.

  Penny had no doubt that bit of information had come in the front door and gone straight out the servants’ entrance by way of a footman so that the news could be passed on to her uncle as quickly as possible. She had yet to figure out which servant specifically was passing on information to her uncle, but Penny had no doubt one of them was. Not that it really mattered, she supposed. The end result was the same.

  Although Uncle Charles might be terrified of Lord Nicholas Rosemont – as most normal and sane people were – it was also common knowledge that the duke and Fullbridge were extremely friendly as of late and if there was one person Fullbridge might return to London to see, it was the Bloody Duke.

  However, it wasn’t much of a stretch on Penny’s part to imagine that Harry had requested that the duchess issue the invitation. After all, Harry and the duke all but lived in each other’s pockets and, as Penny herself had never met the estimable Lady Eliza Candlewood, Penny had no idea how the duchess would even know her name otherwise. There was always the possibility that Lady Radcliffe had suggested the invitation, of course, but Penny rather doubted it.

  Especially not when the invitation arrived smelling vaguely of mint. The same scent that she was quickly coming to associate with Harry.

  “Thank you, Janie.” Penny gave the maid’s hand a squeeze, gratified when the other woman returned the gesture. Out of all of the staff here, this woman was the only one Penny now truly trusted. “I feel pretty.”

  “Pretty enough to catch the eye of your young man?” When Penny glanced back in a panic, Janie waved her off. “Most of the staff knows what has been going on around here, my lady. Difficult to keep such a secret, what with the spying and all going, not to mention the urgent messages going back and forth to Cumbria as of late. I still can’t believe your uncle would choose Lord Fullbridge for you over Mr. Greer.” Janie shook her head. “Fullbridge is a strange one, that man, even for a duke. And they’re all known to be a bit peculiar.”