“If ever there was a woman who ought to have children, it’s you, Mal. I’ve seen you with the little ones, and you’re wonderful. They love you, and you love them back. Only yesterday, you held little Zachary in your arms, and a more perfect picture I’ve never seen. I cannot imagine you not having babies of your own.”
“I still may, in time,” she said.
But as she considered the idea, she wasn’t so sure. After losing Michael, she couldn’t imagine putting herself back in the marriage market, going through the bother of flirting and courting and trying to find a man she wanted to wed. Yet without a husband, there would be no children.
Once again, Adam was right. She did want babies. It would break her heart all over again never to have that chance.
But re-entering the ranks of eligible ladies during some future Season was a moot point, was it not? With her reputation in shreds, Adam was her only hope for a husband and family. If she didn’t wed him, there was little chance she would marry at all. She would become a spinster, and there would be no babies.
Ever.
Her nieces and nephews would be her “children.” But would they be enough? Would they fill the empty space she knew would exist inside her heart?
“Which leads me to the last, and perhaps most persuasive benefit of all,” Adam said, as he played a hand over her hip.
“What?”
“This.” Reaching up, he cupped her cheek in his palm and pressed his mouth to hers.
Her heart leapt wildly beneath her breasts, blood instantly rushing to places it had no business going. She couldn’t help herself, her body responding, even as her mind struggled to catch up with the tumult Adam was provoking. Her eyelids grew heavy, then slid closed as pleasure swept through her with the inexorable force of a tide. Brain muzzy, her muscles grew lax, knees weak and unsteady as he drew her deeper beneath his spell.
Thank God, he’d locked an arm behind her back; otherwise, she would surely have crumpled to the floor in a heap. Yielding to his command, she parted her lips and let him inside, dazed by the lush, sultry decadence that threatened to burn her inch by delectable inch.
He stroked a hand over her hip again, then lower to pull her tighter against him. “I don’t think we need to worry about whether or not we’re physically compatible,” he murmured against her lips.
Her eyelids opened, a quiver chasing over her nerve endings.
“Count this as a mere taste, sweetheart, of all the pleasure I can give you. Marry me and let me show you more. Be mine, and I’ll take you on a journey the likes of which you’ve ever only imagined.”
She gasped as he crushed her lips beneath his again, desire spinning her in a crazy dance that left her utterly undone. She could barely think, her senses too overwhelmed for rational thought.
And yet, he wanted an answer.
“Say yes, Mallory,” he urged, punctuating his words with tiny plucking kisses. “Tell me you will be my bride.”
Fighting to collect her scattered wits, she stared into his dark, melting eyes.
Eyes she knew.
Eyes she trusted.
This was Adam. Her friend and confidant. The man she turned to more than any other in the world. He would take care of her. He would be good to her. With him, she would never need to fear. For in spite of his reputation, she knew without asking that he would be faithful, making sure he never broke the sacred vows that would bind them together.
But more, if they married, she might be able to laugh again the way he wanted, filling his home with glad sounds rather than silence. In his arms, she might be able to forget her pain, smothering it beneath the rapture of his touch and the promise of carnal pleasures she knew were no exaggeration or lie.
All she had to do was answer him.
All she had to say was yes.
“Are you sure this is what you wish?” she whispered, her heart beating in her chest as fast as hummingbird wings. “I don’t want you to be sorry.”
Something hot and violent flashed in his gaze, an undisguised longing that made her tremble. “I will never be sorry,” he said on a rasp. “I want this. I want you.”
Seconds slid past as she stood inside his arms. “Then yes, Adam, I will marry you.”
A fierce elation burst like fireworks inside Adam, happiness vying with passion as he bent to claim her mouth once more. He knew he was showing his true feelings, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically, but he couldn’t help himself.
She’s mine, he thought. Never again will I let her go.
Forgetting himself completely, he ran his fingers over the buttons on the back of her dress, slipping the first one free of its loop.
Without warning, a knock came at the door, the knob turning before he had a chance to realize what was going on.
“Wedding bells had better be ringing,” Jack said as he stepped over the threshold. “Or I really will call you out this time, old chum.”
Mallory gave a squeak of surprise and tried to step away. Adam kept her where she was, turning her so she stood tucked close against his side, his arm looped over her shoulder. “You’re certainly making a habit of barging in on people these days,” Adam remarked.
Jack arched a sardonic brow as he strode farther into the room. “I knocked, which would have been sufficient if you two hadn’t been busy dallying together.”
“Jack!” Mallory complained, cheeks colouring.
Her brother ignored her, his attention focused on Adam. “And considering that you’ve been in here for the better part of an hour, I assumed you must surely have gotten around to settling matters with Mallory. You have, have you not?”
Adam nodded. “You may indeed wish us happy, since your sister has done me the great honour of consenting to be my wife.”
Jack glanced between the pair of them before his face split into a wide smile. Striding forward, he pulled Mallory out of Adam’s embrace and into his own, hugging her as he bussed her on the cheek. “Every happiness, Pell-Mell.”
“Thank you, Jack,” she said, returning his hug.
“You’re to tell me straightaway if he doesn’t treat you as you deserve.” Jack released her and took a step back. “I’ll be there in an instant to bully him back into shape and give him a thorough thrashing besides.” Turning, he faced Adam. “Count this as your only warning, Gresham.”
“Warning duly received, Byron.”
From the corner of his eye, Adam saw Mallory scowl with concern, obviously concerned that he and her brother were about to come to blows again.
But Adam knew she had no need for worry, Jack cuffing him on the arm a moment later before pulling him into a hearty, backslapping hug that Adam returned with equal enthusiasm.
“Congratulations and welcome to the family!” Jack said with a laugh, as they broke apart. “It’ll be good making it official since we’ve been brothers in all but name for years. Now we will be in truth as well.”
“My thanks. And let me just say that I couldn’t wish for better relations if I’d chosen them myself.”
He and Jack laughed, all their prior animosity gone.
“Men!” Mallory declared in an exasperated voice. “Since you two obviously have a great deal of celebrating to do, I believe I shall return upstairs to my room.”
She turned on her heel to leave, but before she got more than a couple of steps, Adam reached out and caught her hand. “Just a moment there, my dear.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“First,” he said, tugging her gently forward, “that I look forward to seeing you for nuncheon. You will be there, will you not?”
Her expression softened, her voice dropping low. “Yes. I shall be there.”
He smiled and leaned down to brush a kiss over her forehead. “Second,” he continued, “there is this.”
“What?”
Gently, he spun her around so her back was to him. He didn’t say a word as he fastened the single open button on the neck of her gown with quick efficiency. Cradling her close so they wer
e turned away from Jack’s gaze, he kissed her neck. “There,” he whispered in her ear, “you’re presentable again. Although I rather wish I’d had time to open a few more of these buttons rather than having to do this one up again.”
Her skin warmed, colour rising on her neck and ears.
“Be good, and I shall see you soon.” Straightening, he released her.
Her own back straight, she marched toward the door, clearly not trusting herself to give him another glance.
“We should tell the others,” Jack said, as soon as Mallory left the room. “Everyone will be waiting to hear, assuming Mallory doesn’t tell them first.”
“I suspect she means it about returning to her room. I doubt anyone will see much of her again until the midday meal.”
Jack nodded, then thrust his hands into his pockets. “One last word, if I might.”
Adam resisted the urge to cross his arms. “Yes?”
“This marriage between you and my sister—I know it isn’t what either of you planned. I know too that she’s in a bit of shock, everything rushed as it’s been.”
“Forced, you mean.”
“I wouldn’t put it quite that way considering the kiss I happened upon when I came in here, not to mention finding the pair of you in her bed.” Briefly, Jack’s jaw grew taut at the reminder. “Look, what I’m trying to say is—”
“You want to know if I care for her?” Adam interrupted. “Or if it’s only physical.”
Jack met his gaze, creases gathered on his forehead. “Something like that.”
“I love her, Jack. I would give my life for Mallory, she means that much to me.”
For a long moment, Jack studied him. Suddenly he relaxed. “You really do, don’t you? Grace told me as much. I guess I ought to have simply taken her word. She has a deuced inconvenient way of being right, don’t you know.”
One corner of Adam’s mouth turned up. “Your wife is a very wise and observant woman.”
Jack smiled, his mind’s eye clearly turning inward on some pleasant thought. “Grace is a marvel. I thank heaven for her every day.”
“I feel the same about Mallory. I’ll do everything in my power to make her happy.”
Jack met his gaze again. “I can see that you will.”
“I would appreciate it, however,” Adam said in a serious voice, “if you didn’t say anything to Mallory about our conversation, you or Grace. Mal’s been through a rough patch and needs a bit more time to adjust without my acting the swain.”
“So you haven’t told her how you feel?”
“Not yet. I will when the time is right.”
Jack looked as if he was going to disagree, then changed his mind. “I’ll leave it up to you to decide.” Pausing, Jack offered his hand. “Sorry I was so angry, by the way. I just didn’t expect to find you in her bed.”
“I’d have done the same if I were you. Don’t bother yourself about it again.” Relieved that he and Jack were in accord once again, he shook his friend’s hand.
“Shall we go celebrate then?” Jack asked.
Adam grinned. “Most definitely.”
CHAPTER 13
Mallory spent the rest of the day wondering exactly what it was she’d done.
I’m engaged to Adam, was the refrain she couldn’t get out of her head. I’m engaged to Adam, when I’m not ready to be engaged to anyone.
But she and Adam had already been over this, and there was no going back—especially not after the congratulations began pouring in.
Her mother sought her out first, giving a soft rap on Mallory’s bedroom door. “Hello, dear, may I come in?”
“Of course, Mama,” she called from where she sat in a chair near the window, Charlemagne curled contentedly in her lap.
“I’ve just had the news from Edward,” Ava said as she closed the door behind her and crossed to take a seat in the chair opposite. “So Adam’s doing the right thing? He’s proposed?”
“Yes, he has.”
“And you’ve accepted?”
Mallory’s hand slowed as she petted the cat’s black fur. “Yes, I have.”
Her mother paused, a gentle expression in her clear green eyes. “It is the only thing to be done, of course. Considering what occurred, you cannot remain unwed. I am sorry though that we did not have a chance to talk before now. The house was in such flux yesterday, what with Meg having the baby, and all of us so tired afterward. I just thought it would be best to let you sleep last night rather than insisting we converse.”
“It’s all right, Mama. As you say, it wouldn’t change anything.”
“I know, but still, we ought to have talked earlier.”
Mallory rubbed Charlemagne’s chin and earned an appreciative purr. “I’m sorry for the scandal. Are you terribly cross with me?”
“Cross? Why no, darling. Surprised perhaps that Lord Gresham was here in your bedchamber, but Ned explained the matter. He says you’ve been having nightmares.”
A lump rose in Mallory’s throat, and she nodded.
“If you were troubled, you ought to have come to me, or one of your brothers or sisters-in-law. The fact that you did not, and that you preferred to unburden yourself to Adam, reveals a very great deal.”
Yes, Mallory realized, she supposed it did. For no matter how close she was to her family, Adam was the one in whom she always felt she could confide.
“Which is why,” her mother continued, “I am not at all distressed that you and Adam shall marry. I suspect you feel you need more time to recover from your mourning, but this turn of events strikes me as a good thing. You and Adam have always gotten on famously, and a change of scenery will do you good. Managing your own house shall as well. It will keep you occupied and leave you little time to dwell upon memories best put aside.”
“That’s what Adam says.”
“And he is right.” Reaching over, her mother caught her hand and gave it a squeeze. “It’s hard losing people we love, but it’s part of life. Your major is gone, and it’s time for you to let him go.”
In that moment, she realized she hadn’t let Michael go. Not really. She might have watched them lower his casket into the ground, but she’d never truly buried him. Instead, she’d been clinging to his memory as if his death were all some great mistake and that one day he would walk through the door again.
But he never would.
Michael was dead.
But Adam wasn’t.
Adam was very much alive; memories of his kisses tingled on her skin even now. Kisses she wanted to repeat, touches she longed to explore in greater depth and detail.
She blinked, forcing the warmth not to rise in her cheeks over having such thoughts while she sat across from her mother.
“You and Adam will be good for each other,” Ava said. “If you let him, I believe he’ll make you happy. If I thought any differently, I’d keep you here at home with me and plague take the scandal.”
Mallory smiled, then she laughed. “I love you, Mama.”
Ava stood and leaned down to give her a hug, a disgruntled Charlemagne leaping off Mallory’s lap just in time not to be squeezed in the middle.
“I love you too, Mallory,” Ava said, kissing her cheek.
When her mother straightened, Ava’s eyes were moist with tears. She blinked them away, while Mallory did the same.
“Well now,” her mother declared. “We have important arrangements to plan.”
“Arrangements? What arrangements?”
“Why your wedding, of course! I always thought I’d have a year or more to plan your nuptials, but I suppose two weeks will have to suffice under the circumstances.”
“Two weeks, but—”
“Wait any longer, and we’ll have another scandal on our hands, what with people speculating about whether Adam is really going to marry you or not.”
“Of course he will. But two weeks, that’s not enough time to arrange a wedding.” And most definitely not long enough for her to wrap her mind around the idea
of actually being his wife.
“It shall have to suffice,” her mother insisted. “Otherwise, the house party will be over, and tattlers like Daphne Damson will be on their way home, eager to spread word of your supposed impending ruin.”
Mama resumed her seat. “No, much as it pains me—and believe me it does, since you children are always putting me to the trouble of planning impromptu weddings—you and I shall have to whip something together post-haste. But I am certain it can be done.”
Lacing her fingers together, Ava began considering ideas aloud. “You’ll marry in the chapel here at Braebourne since that’s the most reasonable location. Meanwhile, Adam can procure a special license so the banns need not be read. As for your gown, we shall send word to Madame Morelle in London. She has all your measurements, although she’ll have to take them in as you’ve lost weight since you were last in her shop.”
“But she and her seamstresses will be in a panic with so little time to complete a new gown,” Mallory said. “Mayhap we should look through my wardrobe. Surely we can find something suitable.”
Her mother shook her head. “No, that won’t do at all. We may not have time to plan an elaborate wedding, but you shall have a proper wedding dress nonetheless. Rest assured that for the right price, Madame will move heaven and earth to create something truly special for you.”
“But what about the fittings?”
“She and her girls can come here to Braebourne. It shall be a treat none of them will wish to miss.”
No, Mallory conceded, she didn’t suppose Madame or her assistants would pass up an opportunity to see the principal residence of the Duke and Duchess of Clybourne. The visit would likely keep them sharing remembrances for the next year to come.
“As you wish then, Mama.”
“Come now, don’t look so harried.” Her mother leaned across again and patted her hand reassuringly. “It shall all come together and splendidly too. You’ve always loved planning events, just think of the fun. As for your dress, what better excuse for spending money than on one’s own wedding gown?”
It was true. Before Michael died, Mallory had taken great pleasure in her wardrobe, never appearing in anything that wasn’t the first stare of fashion. While she’d been in mourning, however, clothes had been the last thing on her mind. After more than a year, she realized that her wardrobe must be dreadfully passé.
Wicked Delights Of A Bridal Bed Page 14
