“It was not my place.”
Devlin levelled a stare meant to pierce the butler’s brain. Exactly where did Reeston’s loyalty lie? It was another barb in his heart that the servants valued Lexi more than he had. He was every kind of fool.
“Orion is waiting.” Reeston spoke matter-of-factly.
Devlin’s brows rose with the statement. He cast his recriminating thoughts to the side as he reassembled and nodded affirmation.
“Very good as always.” He strode from the room and out through the back kitchen. Lexi may have a few hours on him, but Orion was far faster than any travelling coach, and he had confidence he would catch her by early afternoon.
Alexandra was miserable. Leaving Kenley Manor was her only option, yet making sense of it did little to balm the ache of her heart. Saying goodbye proved every kind of nightmare. Cook had cried herself through two handkerchiefs before bustling around the kitchen to pack a hamper fit for a week-long travel, rather than an extended carriage ride. A wry smile coaxed the corner of her lips. What an unexpected experience to love the odd assortment of servants who comprised Devlin’s staff. And to love Devlin.
She closed her eyes and leaned her head to rest against the coach squabs. Sleep had abandoned her the night before, her restless mind and broken heart the cause. Then at sunrise, she rose and numbly walked away. Now, exhaustion from feeling and fighting made her bone weary. Perhaps the steady rhythm of the carriage ride would invite sleep. John was a trustworthy coachman. Surely he would protect her interests as they travelled from London.
But anticipation of the future and regret from the past continued to plague her, and in an effort to find peace, she summoned the daydream locked in her heart. She was once again caught in Devlin’s embrace while his lips glided over her cheeks in persistent caresses before he found her neck, his hot mouth burning a trail of desire to her shoulder. He liked to nip her there and the remembrance of the sensation gave her pleasurable gooseflesh. She smiled, lost in the memory. If only she could feel his strong hands skim her breasts, the press of his thumbs firm at her waist as he held her firm, his possessive kiss meant to overtake her, claim her, and brand her, as his. She never experienced the honest emotion he wrought, no matter how much he denied it in himself.
Her heart beat a steady rhythm as each image flittered through her mind. Devlin. So very handsome, his dark eyes as mysterious as his laughter, elusive and intriguing, his body as close to perfection as any man could be. She shifted on the seat in an attempt to find comfort, unwilling to relinquish the memory that both healed and plagued her. When she gazed into his fathomless eyes, she saw her own love reflected. She could never share herself if she did not believe it true. Yet it wasn’t enough.
She clenched her lids tighter and refused to allow tears to gather. Her entire life lay ahead of her. She would not lose herself to regret. She must extract the good memories and allow them to remain. And there were better times: conversations with Aunt Min and her friendship with Phineas and Julia. And Devlin’s rich laughter. A rare treat.
Perhaps sleep would come if she focused on the happier moments. She forced herself to relax, although her body thrummed with a newfound tension as if the cadence of her heart grew louder instead of surrendering to much needed rest. Her eyes shot open, her pulse in sync to the drum of horse hooves bearing down upon the coach. She flipped the curtain to the side and looked out of the small square window, but she saw nothing save for the trees that lined the country road from London. Just Henry began to yip frantically from his perch on the driver’s seat, and still the hooves gained on them. Could it be a careless rider, unable to control his horse, about to force them into a nearby ditch?
With an abrupt jolt, the coach stopped. She inhaled a clarifying breath and dismissed the flighty path of her panic. Good heavens, John was an experienced coachman. How foolishly she behaved. She would need to do much better in her independent life once she said farewell to her father in Brentwood.
She barely exhaled her admonishment before the coach door flung open and Devlin’s dark head poked in.
“Going somewhere, Lexi?”
His brow quirked as if he didn’t already know the answer to the question and she fell upon him, quite purposely, and pressed a kiss to his deliciously soft lips, because it only took a breath and a kiss for her to realize she wanted nothing more than to be rescued from her decision and returned to his arms.
He did not disappoint. He backed her up into the carriage and kept her there with a passionate kiss that claimed her as his, just as her daydream taunted. He held her face and whispered her name with reverence, and her lids fluttered open to discover she lived the fantasy indeed. Devlin’s eyes were as clear and intense as she’d ever seen them.
“I love you, Lexi.”
His words, a mixture of raw emotion and wonder, brushed against her lips as he claimed another kiss. He pulled back the space of an exhale and a smile curled one side of his mouth. “It feels good to say it aloud. And I do love you, Alexandra. It’s always been there since the moment I saw you. I just didn’t allow myself …” He leaned forward, his mouth against hers. “I didn’t believe my heart.”
His confession was lost in another deep kiss and it wasn’t until one of them dared to pull away that they professed their love, half in and half out of a carriage on a busy country lane leading from London. Alexandra flooded with exhilaration, never having felt so cherished, and it was truly serendipity, gloriously so, that caused her duke to understand his heart just by her act of leaving him.
They returned to Kenley Manor atop Orion and handed him off to a groom before they hurried into the manor house. Their words and kisses tumbled from them as if there were no boundaries to contain their emotions and their laughter filled the hall as they entered. Reeston may have smirked as they rushed past in the foyer and climbed the stairs, but Alexandra shrieked with delight as Devlin, ever impatient, lifted her to finish the steps. He pushed open his bedchamber door and tossed her unceremoniously on his bed. And then the air grew subdued with emotion. Time slowed decidedly.
He approached her with a lopsided smile, one of both delight and desire, and she was forever charmed. “You are quite a bit of trouble, Alexandra Elizabeth Patricia Grantchester, but you are my bit of trouble, completely and utterly mine.”
She smiled and scooted further onto the bed, away from where he eyed her, intent on anticipating his next move.
But he surprised her and all humour dissipated when he finished his approach and dropped to one knee, a look of pure adoration on his handsome face and reflected in his eyes.
“Alexandra.” He exhaled a deep sigh. “Lexi. I have a confession to make.”
She levelled her voice to equal the heartfelt tone of his. “Yes?”
“Do you remember when we argued in the garden yesterday?”
“I remember every word you said.”
“It wasn’t what I said. It’s what I didn’t say. I didn’t tell you how much you mean to me or how I’ve come to cherish every moment we’ve spent together. Or that the sound of your laughter echoes inside me when we are apart and the emotion of your intimate whispers keep me alive as much as my heartbeat. I failed to mention how the sight of you makes me fight for restraint because I want nothing more than to touch you, caress you, because I know there is no madness like the wanting of you. And the thought of a life without you frightens me with a force I’ve never known. I love you. I can’t live without you in my arms. Please tell me you will be mine, today and for ever.”
Tears streamed down her face at the honesty of his confession, but she fought through her emotion, her heart overflowing. “Yes. Oh, yes.”
He climbed beside her and wiped at her tears, although he soon turned to kissing them away. Their fingers worked their clothing with haste as buttons and tapes were unfastened with amazing alacrity. They chuckled with the joy of it, the freedom to love, and they fell back on the mattress, the velvet coverlet an enticing sensation against the heated skin
of their bare bodies.
“You don’t have a mirror above your bed?” It was easy to tease, now that her heart was free to love him.
“You didn’t believe that, did you?” He nibbled on her neck, his hands busy doing amazing and wonderful things to her breasts.
“I wondered.” She sighed with contentment as he settled atop her, his arms bracing his weight as their bodies rubbed with sensual friction. Her body reacted in all the right ways and she grew wet with the wanting and the anticipation of what was to come.
She reached up and encircled his neck, drawing him deeper into their kiss, deliciously heady, overwhelmingly happy, and she offered all the love she had to give, her body in cadence to the rhythm of their tongues. He tensed above her, every muscle rock hard.
“You feel like heaven. I could bury myself in you for ever.” His voice, husky and intimate, sent a spiral of desire straight to her toes.
“I have dreamed of us together.” She pushed aside a sudden twinge of uncertainty. “I want to please you. You are my first.”
“I am your last.” He captured her breast to graze the peak with his teeth and swiftly soothe the tenderness with the sweet heat of his tongue.
When he returned to her mouth, she offered long sensual kisses that promised of what was to come. Her palms smoothed across the planes of his back, lower to his strong buttocks, the muscles firm beneath her touch.
This time she nudged against him with impatience and he chuckled low and wicked against her skin. “You are too anxious, love. I have thought of little else but this moment since I brought you into my house. Let me enjoy every inch of you.” He chuckled again and the vibration rippled straight to her core. “Do you even know what is to happen?”
Affront replaced desire. “I’ve seen horses in the stables.” She bit his shoulder to drive her point home.
“I despair if I’m to be compared to a racehorse. Have a care for my feelings.” His chuckle transformed into a sensual whisper against her ear. “Let me love you. Trust me. Let me give you my heart.”
She lost herself in the intensity of his gaze, the magic of his words, and her arms fell away in total surrender of heart and body.
Devlin did not disappoint.
He explored her with exact attention to detail; his lips and tongue in search of pleasure, her gasps of appreciation and whimpers of contentment, the greatest aphrodisiac of all.
Lost in the sensation of his fingers, she went slick with passion as his thumb found the little peak of pleasure hidden in her folds. He rubbed her, teased her, his fingers in an erotic temptation that kept her burning with need and want.
She opened to him in natural invitation, their erotic scent heightened her arousal and their passion built as her restraint weakened.
His hot mouth took her breast, one then the other, and nipped a path of passionate sensitivity, his mouth and tongue, hot fire against her skin. The smallest aching sound escaped and she arched against the love play of his fingers, his lips … she shuddered with desire as his mouth came down on her in wicked ecstasy. His tongue slid deep and she found heaven, his name on her lips, the ragged sound lost in his appreciative growl.
He settled above her and she reached between them, to offer him pleasure in return, but he stayed her hand and captured her mouth in a sensual kiss that left her dizzy and breathless. His erection brushed against her inner thigh and she shuddered from the touch, her body wet and open, anxious with impatience, the hot strength of his hardness a temptation that stretched the thread of control tighter. She panted his name, begged him really, with need for him to be buried inside her. But he chuckled, a deep, secretive laugh, as if he knew all her body’s secrets and would torture her, revel in her desperate need, tantalize her with his strong, sexy, power. His eyes, half lidded and hypnotic, held hers intently as the tip of his erection throbbed hot against her sex. Then her eyes flared, awakened from the hazy, decadent place where she’d gone with her climax, the realization of the one infinitesimal moment taking hold.
He leaned in, kissed her, and bit her bottom lip, as he entered her with one swift stroke. He captured her gasp in his mouth and stilled as her body adjusted to him sheathed within her. Tight, so wonderfully tight, her body hummed with each stroke. He moved slowly at first, then more smoothly. But it wasn’t enough to cease the building turmoil of need and restless want. She pushed him, her body a partner in their sensual, rhythmic dance, and demanded he give her pleasure and take her, all of her, into his heart. She bowed against him, matching his thrust with her own and their eyes never wavering no matter their bodies’ eager play. Her passion ignited his stroke, faster and harder, thicker and deeper, his grunts of pleasure matched by her own.
She ran her hands down his back, across the flex of his muscles, the sheer power, as he drove into her and discovered her release. She struggled to contain her pleasure, and the sound of her climax brought him to completion, fast and hard. He buried himself fully as the hot rush of his seed spilled inside her, the two of them absolute.
For a time, only their heavy breathing could be heard. Then he opened his eyes, his brow sweated, his body sated.
“I love you.” He leaned forward for a ragged kiss before he collapsed to the blanket and wrapped his arms around her, his mouth nuzzling the arch of her shoulder.
“Is it always like that?” It was an odd question. One that she wouldn’t have thought mattered, but curiosity overruled whatever sense she still possessed.
“No.” His voice dipped low, husky with honesty and sated pleasure.
When he didn’t say more, she rose up on her elbow, suddenly shy. She traced circles on his chest with her fingertip. “Oh. I’d hoped you would say yes. I found it quite …” She paused, searching for an accurate word to describe what they’d just shared. She finally settled for the only word that came close. “Perfect.”
He turned her chin in a loving gesture and slid a fingertip down the slope of her nose. “I’ve never experienced anything close to that perfection, my love. So, no, it is not always like that. Only between us. Although we can always test the theory.”
She smiled and his eyes glittered, and he reached forward and ran his thumb over her dimple. Her laughter filled the room as he pulled her atop him with a soul-searing kiss that proved his point beyond a doubt.
Chapter Thirty-One
Kenley Manor was turned upside down with extravagant preparations. The estate hadn’t seen guests in as long as Devlin could remember, at least not socially on any large scale. Phineas had long ago lost his status as visitor. And now Devlin looked forward to the event and enjoyed the transformation of the estate. Surprising, that. Yet it was just one of the changes he’d experienced in the month past. His future duchess, and he did like to refer to her in that way, planned a harvest party to celebrate their betrothal. It wasn’t going to be much of a gathering, less than fifty guests, but it would do the household good to get used to social affairs. Lexi would never allow him to remain closeted up at the estate. His beautiful avenger, he warmed with the thought.
Along with the Fenhursts, Devlin included his servants in the head count, for they were as much his family as any other name on the list. He also invited Lord Hasselby. Having considered the information Hasselby imparted on the evening of his ball, and the fact the old man opened his door in welcome to the “mad duke”, Devlin felt obligated and, more so, ready to reconnect with selected members of aristocracy. Granted he had no desire to take up his seat or anything so severe, but it would do no harm to find entrance into social circles with Hasselby’s support. Lexi would desire it, even if she never admitted it.
He stared out the study window and spied his wife-to-be as she ran circles in the courtyard with Just Henry. King lazed in a weak patch of sunlight. Autumn claimed the warmer season and he wondered if Lexi’s cheeks would be pinkened with the sudden bite of chilly weather. She dreaded winter’s severity. It was one of the reasons she insisted on holding a harvest party even though a field hadn’t been emplo
yed in decades. He smiled at her enthusiasm. She had the manor turned on its ear. Even the pond was stocked with fish. If nothing else, Phin would be happy.
Lexi stopped chasing Just Henry and as if she sensed him, she glanced towards the window. He waved and opened the terrace doors to venture out on the balcony.
“Good day, future duchess. You look very fine this morning.” Her cheeks were a wonderful shade of pink, like the first blush of a rose.
“Good morning, future husband. What are you doing up there? Your dog needs exercise more than mine.”
The little minx.
“Someone has to finish planning our harvest party. The event has stimulated a plethora of questions with the staff. All of which are only answerable by me.” He quirked a brow and grimaced in an attempt to portray annoyance.
Much to his delight, she mimicked him into the wind and he struggled to keep his scowl in place.
“You’re being disagreeable. Do I need to come up there and kiss you?” Her brilliant smile undermined her chastising tone.
“Sounds like a good idea to me.” A third voice joined the banter and Phineas stepped onto the terrace, waving to Alexandra below.
“What are you doing here?” Devlin’s scowl turned to annoyance as his friend’s poor timing. “Remind me to tell Reeston to start announcing you again. Every time I turn around you’re back.”
“As if you’d deny me entrance.”
“At least I would have a choice in the matter.” Devlin returned to his study, his chuckle of satisfaction echoed in the surprised look on Phin’s face.
“Clearly I am not here nearly enough. I can’t believe all that’s occurred since I visited last.” Phin dropped into a leather chair and leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “So how did it happen? What did you do?”
“I assume you enquire of my proposal?” Devlin sat down in the chair across from his friend. “Let Lexi tell you about it. She enjoys the retelling. It’s like one of your fish stories, every time I hear it relayed, there seems to be a new chapter. Besides I have something important to discuss with you. Something I’ve put off overlong, but my hesitation in confronting the issue kept me from action.” He ran a palm over his face in an effort to clear his thoughts.
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