Romancing the Rake: Seven Regency Romances

by Tammy Andresen

  Craven made a small sound that was halfway between a laugh and snort. “You mean you didn’t find that fun?”

  Was the man being sarcastic? Luke had no idea. What was going on with Craven? The man never made jokes, if that’s what that was. “I personally thought the exercise had some merits.”

  Dashlane grimaced. “But you missed your boat. How will you get north now?”

  He looked down at his full drink, spinning the glass. “I reckon I won’t. I mean, it wasn’t the best use of my energy anyhow.”

  Craven sat back in his chair. “Good God, man, what’s gotten into you?”

  Dashlane gave a salacious chuckle. “I think the better question is what he’s gotten into. Perhaps the answer is a Moorish sister.”

  For some reason that comment, which he would have found funny a day ago, irritated him to no end. To make such a comment about an innocent woman who was kind, and caring, and so lovely…He slapped the table. “Don’t disrespect her or any of her sisters like that.”

  Craven leaned forward. “Interesting.”

  His hand on the table drew into a fist. “It isn’t interesting, and it isn’t like that.” What they’d done today had been the furthest thing from Dashlane’s innuendo. He’d told her things that no one knew…

  Dashlane shrugged and sat back in his chair. “Suit yourself. I don’t care one way or the other. What I know is that Juliet Moorish has some definite ideas about me and the future and I’ve no intention of aiding her in their implementation whatsoever.” Then he took a long swig of his ale. “Which is why I shall leave as soon as I can.”

  Luke grimaced and nodded stiffly. Likely a good plan. He’d somehow opened a door today, or perhaps it had been yesterday, but now he was having trouble closing said door again. He twisted his neck, giving it a crack. She’d given him a great gift and truly, he hoped to give her one in return.

  With that in mind, he pushed the pint away. It was nearing nine o’clock and he had no intention of getting inebriated this evening. First of all, he’d need all his control. She was an innocent and she’d stay that way. Second, and this one surprised him, he wanted to experience every moment with her without the fog of alcohol clouding his judgment or enjoyment.

  “What sort of ideas does Juliet have?” Craven asked. “What kind of family are they?”

  Luke crinkled his brow “What kind of family? What does that mean?”

  “Well, there are the sort of families that attempt to tear each other apart and then there are the sort that spend Christmastide singing together and hugging between verses.”

  Luke had to chuckle at that. “They are definitely the sing and hug sort.”

  “How nauseating.” Dashlane lifted his warm ale then and took a large swig from the glass.

  Craven ran his index finger over the top of the glass. “I don’t think it’s gross in any way. In fact, I rather like it. It’s just that I wouldn’t have the first clue how to act in that sort of family. I’m far too…”

  Luke gave his friend a knowing glance. “Me too.”

  “Excuse me, my lords.” A man stepped up behind Dashlane, giving a short bow. “The Honorable Thomas Moorish has asked me to extend these invitations to you.” And the man handed each of them a sealed envelope. “Someone will return to the cottage in the morning to collect your replies.” Then the man turned and left.

  “Bloody Christ,” Dashlane swore, banging his tankard of ale on the table. “It’s a dinner invitation for certain.”

  Luke sliced his open with his finger and then quickly read the contents. “For tomorrow night.”

  “Juliet is behind this. I’m certain of it.” Dashlane’s lip curled up. “I’m not going.”

  Luke grimaced. “I’m not one to force a lord of our breed to socialize with such innocent women, but I’d like to remind you that Moorish had been exceedingly kind to us. Providing food, shelter, staff and—”

  “I’m doing him a favor,” Dashlane muttered, then gulped down another large swig from his mug. “He’s far better off if I stay away from his daughters.”

  Luke clenched his jaw. “And this would be the second time you’ve turned down his invitation.”

  “Hellfire and damnation,” Dashlane swore, finishing the pint and waving to the barmaid for another. “I’m going to need a great deal more ale to face this.”

  Craven had been silent, holding his note in his hand. “Well then. It looks like we’re spending two more nights in Seabridge Gate.”

  Adrianna crouched behind a bush strategically placed so as to see the path down to the bluffs but not be witnessed herself. She’d not be caught waiting for a man who didn’t come. It offended her pride. She pressed her hands together. Perhaps she should go back inside.

  Because right at this moment, she was in a position for him to make her look foolish. Which was a situation she never allowed. Why was he an exception? But she knew the answer. She liked him. Which, honestly, was dangerous. As the youngest sister, she’d see her sisters safely wed before she sought a match for herself.

  “What are we staring at?” Luke whispered just next to her ear. It took every ounce of her control not to scream.

  “You cad.” She turned, swatting at him. “You frightened me.” How had he gotten the drop on her when she’d been trying to do the same to him?

  “Your dress picks up the moonlight. You look like a fairy. Or a moon goddess.” He wrapped a hand about her waist, pulling her close. “Do moon goddess’s take night walks on the beach?”

  “You are a silver-tongued devil, you know that?” While her insides warmed, her mind hesitated. He’d thrown her off guard again, just as he’d done earlier. She felt off balance, hot and giddy. The sensation swirling through her both delightful and worrisome.

  He chuckled drawing her close, his breath tickling her ear. “I had no idea.” And then he drew her toward the path.

  She hesitated. “You said you wanted to talk. We can talk up here.”

  He stopped, turning toward her. “Are you worried?” His touch softened. “Don’t be. I know who you are and I won’t compromise that.”

  She grimaced. “You already have.” And that was the truth. Being alone with him demonstrated a definite social gaff that could have dire consequences, but when she was with him, she forgot to worry about such things. She’d never allow one of her sisters to participate in such behavior.

  “Adrianna.” He brushed his fingertips down the back of her arm. “That’s it exactly. I want you to tell me who you are and what you want. Perhaps I can help you.”

  “Help me? Help me to what?” Tingling raced up and down her spine.

  “You want to help your sisters in the marriage market? Find a husband for yourself?” He drew her a bit closer. “That is definitely something I can aid you in.”

  Was he considering proposing? She allowed him to pull her closer. “How? Why?” Her body came into contact with his, warmth radiating from every spot their bodies touched.

  “Because I like you. Because you helped me today and because everyone needs help sometimes.”

  “Oh,” she murmured, but she didn’t say more.

  He took her hand and started down the path, his words easing her trepidation about being alone with him in the dark of night on the isolated beach. Yes, she’d wanted more time with this man and certainly she’d wondered where this was building, but moonlight walks seemed more like the behavior of a rake and less like a gentleman wishing for her hand. But if he were doing this to help her as a friend, then that was entirely different.

  They made their way down to the beach as the wind whipped at their clothes. She shivered and he slipped an arm about her, pulling her against his chest. “Did you say there was a shelter down here?”

  She nodded, placing her arms about him too. “This way.”

  As they moved together, he lightly kissed the top of her head. Somehow, the intimacy in his gesture further relaxed her. Surely rakes were not so tender as that?

  Was she being a
fool? Part of her worried she was.

  Chapter Ten

  Luke held Adrianna close as he breathed her in. Damn, this woman felt so good against him.

  She led him toward the cliff and in the darkness he didn’t notice that one section jutted out, wrapping around the rock face and creating an open-sky shelter until they were nearly upon it.

  He stepped inside, looking about him as the rock immediately cut the wind and the temperature warmed considerably. He stepped on something soft that shifted differently from the sand. Looking down, he realized there were several blankets strewn about. “What’s all this?”

  Adrianna chuckled. “Ophelia and Rathmore had a picnic here. Remember? I told you of it earlier. We’ve been so busy, we forgot to clean up.”

  After letting go of Adrianna, he reached down and felt about the sand until he grasped a wax pillar. “Candles?”

  “One hundred of them, I believe. Rathmore used them to propose,” she said as she dropped down next to him.

  He heard the catch in her voice. She found that romantic, did she? “And you want that too? A proposal by candlelight?”

  “Oh. I don’t know,” she said softly, her voice sighing over his skin. “I’d be happy with any sort of proposal so long as the man cared for me.”

  “Too bad we didn’t bring a lit candle down. We could have restarted some of them.” He could try to start one with his flint but finding dry enough material would prove challenging on the beach.

  “A candle would have never made it down here tonight. Too windy,” she murmured.

  “Well.” He reached for her hand, bringing it to his lips. She wore no gloves and his lips caressed her silky skin. He threaded his fingers through hers. “You are interested in getting a proposal from a man who cares about you. I can help you with that.”

  “Really?” she asked, her other hand covering his. “Luke. I…” Her voice tapered off.

  Rather than speak, he took advantage of the silence by pulling her in for a soft kiss. He’d teach her how to make a man beg for more of her kisses. He knew it wasn’t exactly what she wanted from him and he’d hate to let her go when the lesson was over. She’d been the first person to break through his shell in such a long time. But he also understood he wasn’t the man who’d give her forever either. He didn’t know how to love any longer and he wasn’t certain he could ever really open himself up again.

  But he could give her this. Luke started slowly, a few small, slow pecks and then leaned in for a longer kiss. “The key to a good kiss,” he whispered between touches, “is to build the tension.”

  Another longer kiss. “Oh. I see.”

  “There are lots of men…” Another touch of their lips. “Who think that passion should instantly explode…” He slanted her mouth open and touched his tongue to hers. She gasped and trembled underneath him. “But I think desire should build slowly. That’s when the end is most satisfying.”

  “The end?”

  She shivered again and he smiled before taking her mouth in a long, drawn-out kiss where their tongues tangled together and their breath mingled. He could explain it to her and that had a certain appeal but somehow, he thought the end might be a thing best shown.

  And so, he settled her into his lap as he continued to ravage her mouth. Their bodies pressed together and he had the sudden urge to remove her dress and corset, really feel her curves, explore her bosom, her chest, and then lower, down her belly. But all of that wasn’t for tonight. He had a virgin in his arms and this was a lesson, not a seduction. Well, perhaps it was a bit of both and he’d enjoy every moment to its fullest but it was ultimately for her benefit. Not his.

  With that in mind, he ran one of his hands down her neck and over her chest, cupping one of her small breasts. He liked the way the entire globe could be covered by his palm and he began to lightly massage her skin, feeling her nipple peak in his palm.

  She whimpered, pressing closer, and he gave a groan of satisfaction. Damn but he wished he could suck the whole thing into his mouth.

  Growling out his frustration, he slid his hand lower, over her waist and down her hip to her long, lean legs. Only when he’d reached her hem, did he flick the fabric up and start running his hand up her soft cotton pantaloons, feeling the muscles of her leg underneath. He liked them and gave her calf a soft squeeze. “I can tell you walk and exercise much more often than a woman of the city.”

  She stilled underneath him and he swore, her cheeks grew hot close to his. “There must be so much more to do in the city. How wonderful that must be. I like to be busy. I…”

  “Trust me when I say it’s much nicer here, love.” Then he kept sliding his hand over her knee and up the inside of her thigh. “I’d love to see those legs.” Bloody Christ, he wanted them wrapped around his hips, squeezing the life out of him.

  She gripped his shoulders as her breath came in short gasps but her thighs trembled in anticipation and widened to allow him to continue. He smiled against the skin of her neck as he closed his eyes. This was even better than he’d imagined.

  Adrianna blinked trying to think a clear thought, but all of them were foggy and muddled with a burning need for his touch.

  He’d mentioned something about a proposal, hadn’t he? But she couldn’t even focus on that thought as his hand slid higher until he nearly reached the apex of her thighs, his caress so slow that it was a deliberately exquisite torture. She wiggled underneath him, practically begging for more of his touch. Her body yearned for something she didn’t quite understand.

  And then, with a practiced flick of his hand, his fingers slipped past the slit in her pantaloons and his fingertip just barely touched the skin of her folds, so light that she could hardly feel it and yet… Her entire body jolted in response.

  “Oh,” she said as she gripped his shoulders harder, pushing toward his hand because she just needed…more.

  He chuckled, soft and low close to her ear. “I know, love. See how much your desire builds with my slow touch? You can drive a man crazy if you do the same to him. So light, so gentle, he’ll want to beg you for more. But don’t give it to him. Make him wait.”

  She let out a small, high moan as he lightly rubbed his finger up and down her seam. “I need,” she begged, absolutely loving the touch, but wanting more pressure, deeper contact.

  “I know,” he answered, not giving it to her, instead keeping his touch so soft and light she thought she might faint from the need. “I’ve seen the way you spar. You know how to hold a man back while still drawing him in. Tempting and salty and so sweet, it’s maddening.”

  She was surely leaving marks on his skin, she dug her fingers so deeply into his flesh. “You,” she ground out. What was he saying? Did she madden him?

  He smiled against her hair. “Remember this lesson. It will help you later.”

  Lesson? Help her with what? But then he gave her what she’d been begging for and he pressed more firmly, right against her sensitive nub, drawing a tight circle and pleasure spiraled through her as her head fell back and her body arched. She cried out as he increased the pressure further, pleasure like she’d never experienced before building inside her.

  “That’s it, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Let go and let it happen.”

  Pleasure tightened every muscle in her body until she could hardly stand another second. Her insides convulsed and then pleasure exploded inside her, causing her body to shake and spasm. She cried out, holding him tighter. “Luke,” she whimpered, not sure what else to say.

  With the euphoria came a vulnerability she’d never experienced before, a need to be close to him that overwhelmed her so completely her eyes pricked with tears.

  He pulled his hand from her under her dress and wrapped them both around her. “I know,” he said against her temple. “It’s hard to explain, isn’t it?”

  She nodded, her hands slipping from his shoulders to wrap about his waist. “I didn’t know.”

  He shuddered against her. “Adrianna.”

&
nbsp; “Is it, is it like that for men too?” she asked, thankful for the darkness as she rubbed her cheek against the rough fabric of his waistcoat.

  He cleared his throat. “It can be.”

  She leaned back then, squinting into the dark to try and see his face. “It wasn’t just the physical part. Emotionally, I…” She stopped, not sure she was ready to admit how connected to him she felt. Did he feel the same? “You said it can be…it isn’t always?”

  He swallowed, still holding her close but staring into the pitch-black night. “Men can turn off the emotional piece and just enjoy the physical aspect. Some women can too. It’s why you’re right to want to watch after your sisters. So many men will try and trick them just to get physical pleasure from them.”

  She shivered, hating the next question. “Have you had an emotional bond with a woman? With your fiancée?”

  He paused, so quiet that she squeezed him to get his attention once again. He looked down at her, his gaze dark and unreadable. “With Miranda? I suppose I did.”

  She ached, deep inside. Jealousy, yes. That was most certainly the first emotion, but she sensed his hurt too and her gut twisted for him. She reached up a hand to touch his cheek, caressing his rougher skin with her fingertips before she slid her fingers into his hair. “That must have made her betrayal so much more difficult.”

  “It did,” he answered, his voice so low, she barely heard him. Then without warning, he started to stand, lifting her easily into the air. “But what we did tonight isn’t about me. It’s about you.”

  She shook her head. “No this is about both of us. And our—” She’d been going to say relationship, but he interrupted before she could get out the last word.

  “We should get you back inside. It’s getting very late.” He started to carry her out of the alcove in the rocks.

  She pressed her lips together. Returning to her home was the last thing she wanted to do. “Don’t you want to stay a bit longer?” Leaving his side made her nervous. Anxious even. Once she did, she’d have to face her own thoughts and fears over what they’d just done and what she wanted out of this. Their kiss had been innocent enough and she’d considered it a valuable lesson. But this? She’d once went swimming in the ocean after a storm in the strong current. It had pulled her along until she’d grown afraid it was whisking her away. That was exactly how she felt now. There was a fine line between learning the ways of rakes and succumbing to them. “I thought we came to talk.”