Her breath caught as they stood staring across the room at one another. This was the moment she’d been waiting for and yet she couldn’t make her limbs work. Would he hold her in his arms or send her away forever?
Chapter Twelve
Dash drew in a deep breath, energy along with air filling his lungs. She’d come all this way. The impossible had just happened.
“Innkeeper, see that Mr. Clark gets a room on the third floor. There are servants’ quarters available?” Just a few hours before, he’d wondered if he’d ever see her again, and yet now she stood before him, wearing a wrinkled gown, her mahogany hair disheveled, and dark circles etched beneath her eyes. He couldn’t imagine a more beautiful sight.
“Yes, Your Grace.” The innkeeper nodded as he bobbed into several short bows.
Mr. Clark, however, hesitated. “And where will Lady Tannenbaum’s nieces be housed?”
Dash gave Noelle a quick glance. She trembled, her emotions clearly overwhelming her. He needed to get her alone where they could talk and he could hold her in his arms. “Lord Tidemore and I will share a room so that the ladies may have one of their own,” he answered.
Mr. Clark gave a short jerk of his chin and followed the innkeeper up the steps as Dash turned to confirm the plan with Jack, but neither Jack nor Holly were there. His gaze narrowed as he considered where the two of them might have gone.
“Dash?” Noelle’s voice trembled next to him and his attention focused back on the woman who’d ventured out into the night to find him. Without thought, he reached for her, pulling her into his arms.
Her small body fit against his as he held her tight. “Noelle,” he murmured against her hair. “I am so very sorry, my love. Can you ever forgive me?”
“Forgive you?” She leaned back then, looking up at him with softly parted lips and sparkling eyes, made brighter by the tears that brimmed in them. “I’m the one who sent you away. I didn’t trust you—"
He silenced her with a kiss. “I deserved your anger. I’m a cad for leaving and worse for lying.”
He touched his lips to hers again, reveling in the soft feel and the warm Christmas scent that wrapped around him. “Can you ever forgive me?”
Her hands pressed to his chest. “I already have. I didn’t trust you because I didn’t quite trust myself. After what’s happened with my parents and when my feelings for you began to grow, I got…frightened.”
He shook his head, pulling her even closer. A group of men entered the inn, calling to one another as they made their way to an empty table. Frowning, Dash let go of Noelle with one hand to lead her up the stairs. This conversation required some measure of privacy.
Reaching his room, he led her inside. She didn’t hesitate, her body still pressed to his. As his hand splayed out on her back, the rightness of being together like this washed over him. This woman was meant to be by his side.
Closing the door, he pulled her back into his embrace. “You don’t have to explain. It’s me who should be apologizing. I should never have left in a fit of anger. I wish I could explain but I just assumed you didn’t really want me and that your rejection was a forgone conclusion. No one has ever really cared for me and—” He broke off, needing to think through his next words. “Noelle. I love you. I might have loved you from the first moment I saw you. But no one I have ever loved has returned my affection and I assumed you wouldn’t either.”
Her brows drew together as she stared up at him. “You told me once that your mother and father’s relationship was unhappy. But surely, she loved you at least?”
He shook his head. “I was her duty to him and one she resented more often than not.”
Her gasp filled the room and she took a step back. For a moment, he had a wild thought that Noelle would reject him still. That by telling her about his mother, Noelle would realize that he was, in fact, unlovable.
But rather than turn away, she reached into her travelling cloak and pulled out a letter. “Lord Merriweather gave me this to deliver to you. Holly opened it accidentally and said that I should read it.” Her gloved hand reached out to his and he saw his mother’s broken seal on the letter.
“You didn’t?” he took the note from her slender fingers, wishing he could pull off the glove and feel the delicate softness of her skin.
“I did not.” Then she stepped closer. “Because I trust you and because…” Her chin tilted up, her gaze achingly sweet and so tender his chest ached. “I love you, Dash. I didn’t mean for it to happen but I do. I love you so much, it hurts.”
The letter crushed between their bodies as he swooped down to kiss her lips once again. Her free arm wrapped about his neck, her fingers twining into his hair as she pulled his mouth closer still, their lips parting and their tongues tangling together. Dash hadn’t realized how desperate he’d been to hold her. It was as though he’d lost a piece of himself and then found it again.
When he finally began to feel whole again, he lifted his head and looked down at his sweet little cookie crisp. Her cheeks were flushed, her mouth puffy, her eyes unfocused with passion. In that moment, he vowed that the two of them would never be parted again. “I want you to read the letter.”
“What?” she asked, blinking several times.
“Open it,” he said, stepping back and pushing the letter back toward her. “You’ll understand my fear once you do, though I swear to you, I will never allow the fear to get between us again.”
She looked down at the note in her hand, her fingers trembling. “I don’t know. This is private, and as I told you, I trust you.”
Reaching out, he brushed his fingers down her velvet cheek. “I know you do but I trust you too. I trust you to know the worst of me and still love me.”
She gave a tentative nod and then slowly unfolded the sheet of paper. Her eyes scanned down the page, a gasp escaping her lips.
“What is it?” he asked, managing to just keep from cringing.
“She…she called you an ungrateful worthless son who…” She broke off, her hand coming to her mouth. “She demands that you increase her allowance to allow for ten parties per year rather than seven.”
He scrubbed his face. “She had more than enough for twenty parties per year, along with a large estate that is regularly redecorated in all the latest fashions.”
Noelle’s tongue darted out to lick her lips. “Does she really talk to you like this all the time? What mother tells her son she wishes he was never born?”
That one hurt. Not that his mother said the words. She uttered them often. But that Noelle knew. “Mine.”
She shook her head and tossed the letter aside. Slowly, she pulled off both her gloves, tossing them onto a seat of a chair and then unfastened the clasp of her cloak. The heavy garment landed on the chair over her gloves. Then she crossed back over to him, her bare hands sliding up his chest, around his neck and into his hair. “When we’re married, I’ll tell you how much I love you with every breath I take. I’ll tell our children how much I care every day for as long as I live.” Then she rose on tiptoe and nibbled at his lip, peppering his face with tiny kisses. “My mother taught me what it means to love and be loved and it’s high time that someone taught you the same.”
Emotion thickened his throat. “I want that,” he admitted, his eyes burning. “More than you’ll ever know.” He lifted her off her feet, wrapping his arms under her behind to carry her over to the bed. “Do you think we could start this very instant?”
She smiled against his mouth. “Oh, I think we can.”
Loosening his grip with one hand, he held her still as he began to undo the tiny row of buttons at the back of her dress. It took several minutes, not that he cared. As he worked, he kissed her over and over, their mouths wordlessly confirming all their feelings. Tonight, he’d cherish her the way she was meant to be loved.
Reaching the final button, he set her down, carefully pulling each arm out of her sleeves and shimmying the dress down over her hips. He’d see all of her tonight. W
ith that in mind, he laid her dress across the chair and then crossed the room to stoke the fire. “I can’t have you get cold,” he said quietly as he worked.
Blood roared in his ears when he turned back to see her unlace the short corset under her dress. He rose from the hearth and invisible silken threads drew him to her once again.
“So thoughtful,” she murmured as the garment fell away. She sat on the bed and began unbuckling her boots, but then glanced up at him from beneath her lashes. “Would you be a dear and help me with these?”
A grin, that he suspected looked rather salacious, spread across his face. “Of course, my love.” And then be bent down on one knee to carefully remove the shoes. “What my lady wants, she gets.”
He skimmed his hands up her legs, untying her pantaloons and sliding them back down her body. Stockings came next and he grinned to know he only need remove her chemise and he’d see all of her.
He reached for the hem but she held out her hand. “Pardon me, Your Grace,” she gave him an impish smile. “But you’re still wearing all your clothes.”
The lady wanted him to undress? Who was he to refuse?
* * *
Dash reached to untie his cravat, but Noelle grasped his wrists. “You have beautiful hands,” she murmured almost to herself. “Strong, powerful.” She drew them down to her lips, placing an open-mouthed kiss on each. “Gentle.” Kiss. “Salty.” Kiss. She smiled to herself. “Spicy.”
Dash leaned forward, a little impatiently, and dropped a kiss on her shoulder. “And you always taste like ginger.”
Giggling, she released his hands to focus on untying his cravat. The knot was a simple one and it loosened easily. “You tied this yourself. Don’t dukes employ valets?” She was going to have fun with this.
“Carstairs is in London.” Those warm strong hands settled at her waist. “When I go off with Tidemore and Merriweather, we generally don’t bring them along.” His voice sent a shiver through her. He is mine.
Grasping the end of the silken tie, she tugged until it fell away from his neck. “Where was your original destination, before stopping in Maybridge Falls? You never told me.” She tossed the cravat over her shoulder and then smoothed her hands along the collar of his waistcoat. “Won’t you be missed?”
He cleared his throat. “Merriweather sent word, I believe.” Noelle undid the final buttonhole and when she pushed it off his shoulders, he impatiently drew his arms out of the elegant garment. “Noelle, you’re going to be my undoing.”
“This is far more complicated than I imagined.” She commented softly, examining the various buttons on his trousers. “Was it to be a house party?”
He growled and in one fluid motion, Dash had the braces hanging at his sides and was sitting on the bed wrestling with his boots. Wanting to be close to him and wanting more than anything to soothe away the pain he’d known with love and pleasure, Noelle dropped to her knees.
Once they’d dispatched of his boots, she moved between his legs to unfasten his trousers.
He inhaled sharply, however, when her hands grazed the hard bulge in her way. It swayed a little and then jerked, as though seeking her attention.
She met his eyes, remembering how he’d pleasured her in the larder. It had been about more than mere physical satisfaction. He’d worshipped her. He’d loved her.
Staring into one another’s eyes, both of their hands worked at the buttons, and then he lifted his hips. She pushed them down to his ankles and without giving herself the chance to be timid, took hold of his member in both her hands.
It was velvety soft and yet hard at the same time. “It’s warm.” She flicked her gaze back up to his.
“Noelle.” His voice sounded hoarse. “Come up here.”
In answer, she lowered her mouth then swirled her tongue around the tip. He’d gone unloved for far too long. She would love him in whatever way she could.
His hands landed on her shoulders, and then in her hair, and his grip tightened as she grew bolder.
“Noelle,” he groaned. She quickly learned that which he liked and that which he loved. She used her hands, her tongue, and ever so gently, her teeth. She gripped the base and sucked in slowly, and then loosened her grip and took him deep into her throat. With each stroke, the ache between her thighs grew more and more unbearable.
He tensed and strained. It was as though he was fighting himself. When he jerked away, she felt bereft at first, thinking she was doing something wrong. The ferocity of his gaze told her differently.
“Enough.” He lifted her up and had her lying on the bed. “Another time for certain, Sweet. But for now, I need to be inside of you. I want to feel you come apart around me.”
The skirt of her chemise became gathered around her waist and he lay atop her, one hand between her legs. She welcomed his touch, reaching for him with little thrusts. “Noelle. My sweet Noelle.” He captured her moans in his mouth in a kiss that hinted at the intimacies to come. Wet heat. Tasting. Devouring.
He stilled, and meeting her gaze, moved his cock to her opening.
“I love you.” He whispered.
She clutched both sides of his face with her hands, lost in the depths of his eyes, the color of the sea at night.
“Love me,” she whispered.
He pressed in slowly.
“Love me,” she insisted.
He pushed in farther. She felt a twinge, but it was nothing compared to the elation of giving herself to this man. She’d thought she’d lost him. She’d thought she might never see him again.
She tightened her legs around his waist and closed her eyes.
“More.”
Which was apparently, all he needed to hear. He buried himself to the hilt, filling her completely only to withdraw and then fill her again. Tears of joy—of a completion that was both sensual and otherworldly—threatened to overflow as she learned this rhythm of love.
His pace quickened and he buried his face in her neck. They moved as one.
Two sharp deep thrusts and then one slow deep one stretching her, consuming her, making them one.
White flashed behind her eyes at the same time a liquid heat seeped into her core. His seed.
His breaths rasped along with hers as he collapsed, almost boneless, atop her and she welcomed his weight. The mattress was soft and he was warm.
When he lifted himself up, she tugged him down again. “You are my blanket.” She whispered. “My protection.”
“Always.” He pressed a kiss against her lips, still inside of her.
They drifted off together and Noelle didn’t awaken until his weight left her and he drew the counterpane up to cover them both. She murmured in contentment when he drew her into his arms.
When she touched her cheek to his shirt, she chuckled softly.
“What amuses you?” He whispered.
“I am still in my chemise and you are still in your shirt.”
“An oversight,” he agreed, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “But I am not sorry.”
They had both seemed to forget everything in their frenzy to be together. “Is it always like that?”
She barely caught sight of his throat moving in the waning firelight. “No.” He dropped one leg over hers. “I’ve never felt this way with anyone.”
Which was just as it ought to be.
“The house party. The one you were traveling to. It was not a proper house party, was it?” She’d suspected this, and hated to ask, but… A woman needed to know certain things.
“Noelle.” Dash lifted her chin so that she could meet his eyes. “When you saved me, that night, you not only saved me from certain death, but you saved me from a meaningless life. It was not a proper house party, love. Not even close. But that was my past and you are my future. That night in the snow, I discovered the other half of myself.”
Noelle nodded, her breath catching on the words.
“That reminds me.” He sat up and slid out from beneath the covers. Noelle sat up and tilted her he
ad, confused but unconcerned when he climbed off of the bed. Standing in the firelight, he flicked his gaze down and frowned at his attire. He caught her ogling his legs, however, and grinned. Heat climbed up her cheeks but she didn’t look away. Rather, Noelle’s lips parted in appreciation when he grasped the hem of his shirt and drew it over his head.
This time when he lowered himself onto one knee and took her hand in his, her heart nearly stopped.
“I love you, Noelle. I want to be your husband; I want to watch you grow large with my children. I want to share my life with you in every sense of the word. Marry me, my love. Not for an heir, not for security. Marry me and let me love you. Marry me and love me.”
Naked and proud, he was offering her more than she knew she ever wanted. She traveled her gaze from his eyes to his cheek, his jaw, to those kissable lips of his and back to his beautiful eyes.
“I love you, Dash. I want all of that. I want all of you.”
Tears overflowed and she wrapped her arms around him. With a laugh, he pulled away and stared into her eyes.
“Is that a yes?”
“Oh yes!” She nodded emphatically. And because she couldn’t help herself, she teased, “My beautiful beloved baron.”
Whereupon he growled and then tackled her onto the bed.
“Your what?” He pinned her hands to the mattress.
“My dashing duke.”
“That’s better.” He growled. “Because a duke beats a blighting baron, hands down.” He insisted.
“Except, perhaps,” she grinned into his eyes, “in the larder.”
Epilogue
Two weeks later.
Christmastide morning…
The sun just peeked over the trees as the snow crunched beneath the rails of the sleigh. Dash, now familiar with the vehicle, urged the horses faster as Jack swore next to him. “Bloody hell, you and this damn sleigh.”
Dash gave a small smile, not bothering to respond. Nothing could ruin his mood today, not even Jack’s surly nature. Today was Dash and Noelle’s wedding day.
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