Chapter Four
Charlie held to Balstead’s lapels like one might cling to a dingy in a storm. She was sure if she let go, she’d be cast adrift.
By contrast, he felt exactly like a giant oak tree: large, strong, and deeply rooted. Both shelter and strength, his massive hands wrapped about her body, nearly covering her entire back.
His lips began moving against hers, keeping hers closed before he lifted and then kissed her again. She wasn’t certain how many times he repeated this movement, but her head grew increasingly muddled with every touch until rather than pressing her lips together, he nudged them apart and dipped his tongue between her parted lips.
Then any shred of reason she had left evaporated. She snaked her hands about his neck, drawing him closer as he tasted her. He had the distinct scent of leather and the smoky cherry of his cigar. Under that was a deeply masculine scent that made her pulse flutter wildly.
Tentatively, she met his tongue with her own, and tingles shot from the touch straight to the juncture between her legs.
He ripped his mouth away, taking a half step back.
She tilted wildly, her legs hardly holding her, but his hands slid to her waist, steadying her on her feet. “Consider our bargain sealed,” he whispered. “I’ve met your condition.”
Then he slowly slid his hands away and took another step back.
Her fingers fluttered up to her cheeks. Bargain? She wasn’t even certain she remembered her own name. The kiss had scrambled all her thoughts, her reason, her sense. “What?”
“Our bargain, beautiful. You’re going to help Cassandra, and I am going to teach you about rakes. Consider our kiss the irrevocable seal on our deal and your first lesson.”
“Lesson?” She blinked as she attempted to swipe the fog from her eyes. His kiss had been so delicious… “What lesson was that?”
He stepped closer again, sliding his hand along her jaw, cupping her cheek, and her body pulsed with a need for more of his kisses. More of his touch.
“Rakes are exceptionally good at touching, kissing, and coercing a woman into being alone with him,” he said. “If you’re not careful, far more careful than you’ve been with me, you will find yourself ruined. Caution is needed.”
He dropped his hand and made to turn but her mind had begun to work. “But there is one thing I don’t understand.”
He looked back over his shoulder at her. “What’s that?”
“Surely, I’ve met rakes before, without realizing it.” She drew in a shuddering breath. “None of them ever…” She didn’t need to finish. They both knew what they’d just done.
He spun back and moved closer once again, nearly touching her. Her body trembled at his nearness. “You wanted me too. That was the difference.” Then he turned again and disappeared into the darkness.
She stood there, peering into the void where he’d disappeared. Her arms wrapped about her middle. She’d gotten exactly what she’d asked for and yet she was fairly certain she’d lost another round against the Baron of Balstead.
She made her back to the kitchen, easing herself through the door and back up to her room.
She didn’t bother with a maid, instead undressing herself, which took ages, and then she flopped onto her bed in just her chemise.
She brushed the tips of her fingers across her lips. She’d been kissed.
She closed her eyes. Not just any kiss. A soul-moving, earth-shattering, mind-numbing kiss. That ought to keep her thoughts off the loss of her parents, the loneliness that had nearly engulfed her. Only Dane had kept her from sinking from the weight of her grief, and now he was gone too.
Well, not really gone but he’d left her in another sense. Off to a beautiful new life with Juliet. Perhaps Balstead was right. Mayhap it was time she married too.
Raithe sat silently as he listened to the men. Fortunately, his absence had been short enough that he hadn’t been missed.
Strange because the interlude had felt like an eternity. No, that wasn’t correct. He shifted in his seat, as he rubbed his face with one hand. He’d wanted the kiss to last forever—their little tryst in the garden had been far too short—but now that he’d had it, he was…altered. Hot. Bothered.
He still wanted to help Cassandra, of course. She was the one good thing in his life. A friend when he had so few, and a link to when he’d been wholesome, and not jaded by how cruel life could be.
But he’d also begun to wonder about his vow to remain unwed, unattached. Or perhaps he just questioned his solution, which had been to become a womanizing rogue.
He sat forward as Crestwood and Craven chatted with their soon-to-be father-in-law. “How is the purchase coming?” Mr. Moorish turned to Crestwood.
“Excellent.” Crestwood grinned. “Adrianna was right. The land is a gem and we shall benefit greatly from its purchase.”
Mr. Moorish chuckled. “I’m sure you shall and may I just say, I’m glad I was not the one who had to purchase the property. That girl can wear a man down. I tried to tell her, I’m a ship’s man not a farmer. But she doesn’t listen.”
Crestwood chuckled. “Well. I’ve been warned. I’m fairly certain she won’t listen to me either. It would be easier to digest if she weren’t right so often.” He didn’t look irritated, however. Rather the man wore a tender smile as he lightly rubbed his knuckles along his jaw.
“How nice to have found a woman who is intelligent,” Raithe said, joining the conversation for the first time. Jennifer had been such a woman as well. She’d challenged him. Made him better. Damn how he missed their partnership
Crestwood eyes him over the rim of the whisky. “It is.”
Craven shook his shaggy head. Thinner than Raithe, the man was equally tall and extremely well-muscled. Raithe didn’t fear many men but he always gave Craven a careful step.
“What I didn’t understand about love until I met Bianca was how filling it would be. It lights the dark corners,” Craven said.
Crestwood and Mr. Moorish chuckled, but Raithe started in surprise. He’d barely heard the man speak and now he was waxing poetic?
“Lights the dark corners?” Had he felt that way with Jennifer? He hadn’t remembered having dark corners then. He’d been young, fresh, the son of a gentleman. Privileged without the burden of being a lord.
The other man brushed his dark hair back. “That’s right and I’m lighter for it too.”
Lighter? Raithe had been weighed down by grief for so long. He looked down at his glass. “I don’t even remember what it means to be light.”
Mr. Moorish leaned forward. “You should stay for a few days. Seabridge Gate is an excellent place to restore and refresh your body, mind, and spirit.” He waved around the room. “I was lost before I returned here, married, and started my family. It’s when I feel my real life started. The one of joy and meaning, anyhow.”
Crestwood gave Raithe a wink. “There are rumors that Mr. Moorish here was quite the rascal in his younger days.”
Mr. Moorish shook his head. “Rascal implies that I enjoyed myself. When I look back at that time of drink and women, it is as Craven said, the darkness before the light. My life since I left London, fills me rather than draining my life’s blood.”
Raithe shook his head as if someone had slapped his face. He couldn’t even imagine what happiness again might feel like. He’d been down in the dark for so long. Then an image of Charlie, sparkling in the moonlight, danced in front of him. His teeth clenched tighter. She wouldn’t make his life lighter. Would she?
He knew a few things for certain. That kiss, her first, had filled him with a desire he’d never known. He’d barely been able to step away from her. It had taken every shred of his self-control.
And if he kissed her again, the rightness or wrongness of touching a woman like her wouldn’t matter. He might lose himself in the passion she so effortlessly evoked.
Chapter Five
Charlie woke early and rose from bed, dressing in a beautiful morning gown of pale
blue. Her hair was dressed in simple coif at her neck; today would be a day of doing, not lounging.
What exactly she’d do, she was uncertain. But her fingers itched and her legs twitched. She needed a plan. She’d thought her rake research would keep her mind occupied, but last night’s activities had only sent it racing.
What was her future going to be? She liked the attention she’d receive as a debutante. Multiple men swirling about left so little time for thinking.
She’d assume she’d be bored in a marriage but perhaps, she needed such an activity to make her feel…safe and less lonely. A force like her brother had been these past several years.
Heading downstairs, she found Mr. Moorish in the breakfast room. “You’re up early,” he said as he gave her a smile.
She nodded. “I went to bed early with a headache.”
“Feeling better this morning?”
“Much,” she answered as she headed to the buffet; she filled her plate with food then sat down at the table. It wasn’t the truth. If anything, she felt far worse. But she needn’t burden Mr. Moorish with that.
“Charlie.” Mr. Moorish patted her hand. “I want you to know that you are welcome to stay here for as long as you wish.” He gave a soft sigh that rang with a note of sadness.
She looked over at him. “Thank you. I appreciate that.” Then her mouth twisted a bit. Should she ask what was troubling him?
He looked down at his eggs. “Cordelia is going to marry Lord Dashlane.”
“I see.”
“I’m going to be rumbling about in this great house all alone,” he said, indicating the vast space with a wave.
“Oh dear. That does sound dreadful.” Her chest squeezed as she recognized the loneliness in his words. “When I lost my parents, I felt terribly adrift. Only my brother anchored me and now he’s…” She hadn’t said these words out loud to anyone. Somehow, it felt good to share them.
He nodded, still patting her hand. “I understand completely.” He propped his chin on his other hand. “Just know that you can always call Moorish Manor home.” Then he pushed his chair back. “I’m off to the office but enjoy your breakfast, my dear.”
Charlie nodded, glanced at her plate, then dipped her fork into some eggs but didn’t bring them to her mouth. Instead, she continued to stare at her plate.
Her bargain with Lord Balstead would fill her summer. Matching his friend actually sounded delightful.
And spending time with him…. Her breath caught as she pictured him before her. The way he’d kissed, the power in his every move.
But then what? Once Cassandra was matched, he’d leave again.
In the meantime, he’d promised to educate her on rakes. The truth was that simpering lords had become tiresome and doing a more dangerous dance with a rake had sounded…exciting. She sighed. Always filling the void with excitement.
Balstead had been right. It was a foolish pursuit, dallying with rakes. She was liable to be ruined, or hurt, or…. She thought of Balstead. In his case, she lost all sense of reason, which made him the most dangerous man of all and the most intriguing one too.
“Good morning,” her cousin, Chase, the Duke of Rathmore, called from behind her. “Here alone?”
She turned to smile at Chase. “Good morning. Mr. Moorish just left. Went off to the docks.”
Chase scratched his chin. “Makes him an excellent businessman.” Then he winked. “But a terrible chaperone.”
Charlie raised a brow. “Is there a story here?”
He crossed to the buffet but didn’t look at her as he answered. “Not for your ears.”
Another person entered the dining room, heavy footfalls signaling his entrance as goose pimples erupted on her flesh. She knew that it was Balstead even before she saw him. Chase filled his plate as Balstead came up behind her, leaning over to whisper in her ear. “I begin to understand why you want an education.”
A flush heated her cheeks as she turned to look at him. His face was just inches from hers, his square jaw and full lips within her reach. If she just leaned over a bit, she could graze a kiss along his skin to his mouth…
But then he pulled away, straightening, and crossed to the buffet. Disappointment slumped her shoulders. She gave her head a little shake. Balstead brought out the absolute worst in her.
Ophelia entered the dining room, flashing Chase a grin. “Did you just arrive to breakfast? What a coincidence.”
Balstead turned back to her then, quirking a brow. Silently, he mouthed, not a coincidence.
Charlie stifled a giggle. Bad or no, he had another side that appeared…playful and she was most interested in learning more about that part of him. Her worries and fears melted away. “What’s everyone going to do with the day?”
Ophelia shrugged. “Wedding plans, correspondence, the usual.” Then she slid next to Charlie. “Why? Did you have something you wished to do?”
Charlie nodded, eyeing Balstead. “The four of us should take a nice long walk on the beach. I, for one, could use the exercise.”
“Splendid idea,” Chase said, turning toward Balstead. “Care to join us?”
“How can I refuse?” Balstead replied to Chase, but his intense gaze was trained on Charlie.
Raithe wished to refuse. Spending time with his little minx was stirring up far more trouble than it was likely worth.
But then he thought of Cassandra. Charlie would have all the best invitations, all the connections to help his friend get an excellent match. If Mr. Moorish was the businessman that everyone claimed he was, perhaps they could figure out a way for Raithe to provide Cassandra with a dowry without sullying her name.
He scratched his chin. He was most definitely going to have to stay here for a bit, which meant going for a walk on the beach.
Not that he minded the beach. The ocean waves, the sand under one’s feet could be quite relaxing. But the company of Charlie was anything but.
“Excellent,” Chase answered. “We’ll leave shortly after breakfast before it gets too hot. The weather is warming, for certain.”
“London will empty out soon enough,” Charlie said, glancing down at her plate.
Chase gave her a sympathetic look. “Sorry, Charlie. You missed the whole season.”
She shrugged. “Your and Dane’s marriages are more important. And besides. I’m only nineteen. They’ll be others.”
Chase gave her a winning smile as Raithe watched them interact. It was a different side of Charlie. One that cared more for other’s needs, one that wasn’t sparring. He quite liked her like this. Warm and soft.
But then he reminded himself that this was the woman who’d bargained to learn about rogues. Who made him forget his vows and question his life choices. He didn’t have room to like her.
“There will, for certain,” Rathmore said. “Dane and I will take turns escorting you. I am sure Juliet and Ophelia will help in that regard too.”
Charlie didn’t answer at first but Raithe noted that she had a tight grip on her fork. “Of course you’ll take turns. You’ll be busy building your new lives.” Her mouth pinched.
Something clearly troubled her, though Raithe had no idea what it might be. And frankly, it wasn’t his concern.
They ate their breakfast, the conversation remaining light, and then headed out for a stroll.
Rathmore escorted Ophelia and Raithe offered his arm to Charlie, her hand slipping into the crook of his elbow. He imagined her fingers felt like that of a bird resting on him, her touch was so light.
“Do you want to see the caves properly?” Ophelia called from just ahead. “The tide is low.”
Charlie shook her head. “I think I’m done with the caves. Thank you.”
“Caves?” he asked.
She nodded. “There are caves that dot the bluffs. But many of the reachable ones also flood so you have to make sure and explore them when the tide is on its way out.”
“And did you? Explore them?” he asked. Raithe wasn’t certain why he was cur
ious but something about her behavior puzzled him.
She nodded. “I did. But I didn’t wait for the group and—” She stopped. “It all worked out fine.”
He looked at her. “I’d like to hear the part between I didn’t wait and it all worked out.”
She sighed. “What does this have to do with rakes?”
“I’m not certain yet. But I suspect something.” That was the truth. And he knew he should likely mind his business. Keep his interactions with her as brief as possible but he couldn’t shake the feeling that the caves and researching rakes were of the same origin.
“Well.” She licked her lips and his entire body tensed. Her tongue was the same pale pink as her lush, delicious mouth and he wanted to taste her again. “A few days ago, the Moorishes held a ball.”
A touch of jealousy made him flex his arm. “And did you have scores of suitors?”
She shook her head. “Not at all. Honestly, everyone else was so engaged I was rather lonely.” Then she drew in a sharp breath. “Anyhow. The next morning I woke up restless.”
That word again. Restless. And the other…lonely. He was beginning to sense a theme. One he honestly shared. “And so you set off to explore caves that flood…on your own?”
Her hand tightened in the crook of his arm. “That’s right.”
“And what happened next?”
She shuddered. “I was deep in the cave, looking at some skeletons of fish and shells of crabs when a burst of water hit my feet. I’m not a strong swimmer and I rushed to the front of the cave, I realized the water had completely covered the sand and was climbing the rock face. I had no idea of how deep it was or—”
He heard the catch in her voice. His other hand covered hers. His own heart beat wildly thinking of the danger she’d been in. “How did you escape?”
Romancing the Rake: Seven Regency Romances Page 49
