He should have resisted, should have pushed her away. But as the kiss deepened, he knew there was no hope of that happening. He was her willing captive. He kissed her right back.
His hand slipped around the back of her head, cupping the soft bun in which her hair had been set. She groaned. Every muscle in his body tensed. He wanted her. Their tongues tangled in a passionate encounter. Hot sexual need for this woman coursed through his veins.
He knew he should stop. This was wrong in so many ways. She and Guy might have their ongoing disagreements but by this time tomorrow, she would be his fiancée. James had to end this lunacy. But not yet.
Just a second longer. Just one more.
He finally managed to tear himself away, breaking the kiss. He stood, sucking in deep breaths. Ending the fierce embrace should have done the trick. But when he saw the glaze of passion in Leah’s eyes, James reached for her once more and began to trail hot kisses down her neck. He was no longer in control of himself.
It was only when Leah patted her hand hard on his shoulder and murmured “enough” that the spell was finally broken. Without her intervention, he would have happily kept going.
She withdrew from his embrace, leaving only a cold space between them. “Thank you. Hopefully, that should do it.”
Chapter Nine
There was an odd look on James’s face as Leah took a step back; it was a mixture of disappointment and confusion.
“Should do what?” he said.
She steeled herself, knowing her whole future depended on the outcome of what she was about to say.
“That kiss should have you immediately seeking out Guy and convincing him that he should cancel his meeting with my father tomorrow. No man wants to marry a girl who his best friend has just thoroughly kissed. A woman who is prepared to go into secluded rooms with other men for secret trysts is not the sort of woman a man asks to marry him.” She looked down, suddenly unable to meet James’s gaze.
She had expected resistance, or at the very least a moment or two of reluctance, but he had surprised her with his passionate response. As far as first kisses went, she doubted it could be beaten. He really did know how to make a woman’s toes curl. His lips were so soft and warm. The temptation to let him linger and play had been strong; the touch of his hands on her body had sent shivers down her spine.
It was sad to think that she would never know the touch of this man again. In another lifetime, she would have stayed in his arms and let the kiss continue. In that other life, she would be his. It would be easy to give him her all and know no regrets. James and his alluring brown eyes would be what she saw every morning when she woke.
But it was not to be, and that bitter knowledge made her mind refocus. It forced her to remember why she had lured James to this room. She blinked, and as much as she wished otherwise, her gaze drifted back to his lips.
Those same lips were now tightly held in a thin line. On his lovely, handsome face was the stark story of realization. He had been used.
“I see. And here was I being foolish enough to feel pity for you. It would appear that you and Guy are better suited than I thought. Your weapons of choice are, of course, different, but you are both playing the game to win.”
She shook her head slowly. His words of rebuke and regret stung. “No, James, you have it wrong. This is not a game. I am not playing at anything. I am fighting for my life.”
The last remnants of the pleasant and heady pleasure of that kiss evaporated. “Please. Go and tell Guy that I dragged you into a room and kissed you. His pride will ensure that he doesn’t tell anyone else, and I am certain that I can count on you to protect both your reputation and mine,” she said.
Leah was desperately grasping for the fast-dwindling hope she still had in getting James to make Guy Dannon break ties with her.
“And what of the kiss? Are you going to stand there and tell me that you felt nothing? Because I can assure you my heart is still pounding hard in my chest,” he replied.
He was right; it was better than anything she had expected. Not that she had gone into this encounter with any expectations other than seeking a way out of being with Guy.
Focus, Leah. You must focus on the outcome. Nothing else mattered.
“James, all I feel is fear. Fear that I will be bound to Guy for the rest of my life. I know he is your friend, but I cannot marry him. Please help me.”
James had to understand that as distasteful as her actions may seem, she was using him to save her future. When he finally nodded, she let a slow breath of relief escape her lips.
He understood.
“I shall speak to Guy and let him know that you lured me into this room and attempted to kiss me. But remember this, Leah. You and I kissed, and there was a hell of a lot more happening between us in that moment than you are prepared to admit.” He leaned in close to her. “Tell yourself all the lies you want, but we both know that you felt it too.”
Back in the ballroom, James discovered a less-than-happy Guy waiting.
After leaving the privacy of the study, Leah had headed off in the direction of the ladies retiring room. James, meanwhile, had found a footman bearing drinks and downed two large brandies in swift succession.
“Where the devil, have you been? And where is Leah? I thought the two of you were headed for the dance floor,” grumbled Guy. He looked behind James’s back as if expecting that the woman in question would suddenly appear.
James pointed toward the terrace doors. “You and I need to talk.”
Guy huffed. He was clearly in a bad mood. What James was about to tell him would only make matters worse.
Outside on the terrace, he guided Guy over to a secluded spot away from the other party guests. He could only hope that Guy wouldn’t risk losing his temper and creating a scene.
He had made a promise to Leah; he owed it to her to carry it through. Only a young woman with nothing left to lose would have made such a reckless gamble.
“What?” Guy asked.
“Leah lured me into a private room and before I knew what was happening, she was kissing me. She didn’t hold back. I have serious concerns as to whether she is the right girl for you. Could you trust her as your wife if she is going to try that sort of thing with your friends?” James stilled; his gaze locked on Guy’s face. He had basically just branded Leah as a tease or worse. A drip of cold sweat slid down his back. If Guy chose to punch him in the face here and now in front of other guests, there was nothing he could do about it.
One eyebrow raised then lowered. Guy looked away; his eyes fixed on the pot of flowers at the end of the terrace. Then a soft, knowing smile crept to his lips. It started small, before growing wide. A chuckle soon followed. He turned back to James; amusement written all over his face. “Did she now? The little minx.”
James swayed on his feet, taken aback at Guy’s reaction to his sordid confession.
Guy patted him on the shoulder and drew in close. “And was it good? She hasn’t let me near her yet, so I am interested to know.”
“Did you hear me? The girl you are courting lured me into a room and then kissed me. You can’t possibly wish to marry her after that; she cannot be trusted. Your future wife will make a cuckold of you,” replied James.
“Relax, James. I thought she might try something to dissuade me. Though I hadn’t counted on her trying it with you. Of course, I am still going to offer for her. I am going to be a politician and I shall need a political wife. If sexually innocent Leah is prepared to kiss you before she is wed, imagine what she will do to further my cause once we are married.”
“You cannot be serious,” replied James.
“I am perfectly serious. Once she is well trained in bed, I shall instruct her as to which gentlemen she should lure to rooms at parties. Leah will make the perfect political wife.”
James stood and stared at Guy dumbfounded. The man he had known at Eton was not the man who stood before him. This man was a stranger.
Guy shook his h
ead. “You are so naïve, James, that at times I feel sorry for you. But don’t worry about Leah trifling with you in the future. Once we are married, she will have plenty of other men to deal with. All you need to concern yourself with is writing your best man speech for the wedding breakfast and organizing my bachelor party.”
Guy turned on his heel and headed back inside. Leah soon appeared in the ballroom and Guy quickly marched over to her before taking her firmly by the arm. James watched as Guy led Leah away, sadness filling his heart as she shook her head when Guy leaned in and spoke to her. He dreaded to think what Guy was saying now that he knew she had kissed James.
Not that the conversation really mattered. What did matter was that the woman whose kiss had rocked James’s world was now destined to marry his best friend. A man who had revealed himself to be ruthless in his ambition.
And it was all his fault.
Chapter Ten
Mary Radley marched into the breakfast room and pushed The Times under James’s nose.
She pointed her finger to an entry under the betrothal notices. “Well, it is official. Guy is getting married. I cannot begin to tell you how happy Mrs. Dannon is to finally know her son is taking on a wife. It was all she could talk about at the luncheon yesterday.”
James managed the barest of smiles at his mother’s news. Leah and Guy’s betrothal was a fresh piece of hell for him. After Leah’s plea for him to help her avoid marrying Guy, James felt heartsick. He had failed her.
He stuffed a hearty portion of scrambled eggs into his mouth before washing it down with a gulp of tea. It was a display of poor manners, but he needed to eat and leave the house soon. With his mother’s arrival in the breakfast room, his father would not be far behind. James was keen on avoiding Hugh this morning. Today of all days, he did not need another lecture about his life choices.
“I won’t be home for supper this evening, Mama. I am seeing Timothy Walters and Timothy Smith after I finish work. They are due to head off to Derbyshire shortly for a painting commission,” he said.
His mother nodded but said nothing.
James was envious, but happy for his friends and their success. They had talent, and they both worked hard. The one thing he was prepared to admit being jealous of, was that their families had given them the opportunity to pursue their passion for painting. He could only dream of being able to paint and have patrons who supported his work.
Rising from his chair, he wiped his face on his napkin and made ready to make his escape. He got as far the breakfast room door before it swung open and his father marched in. Claire and Maggie followed close on Hugh’s heels.
“Good morning, Radley family. Lovely to see you all here,” said Hugh, clapping his hands loudly together. The Bishop of London was always a little too effusive in the morning for James’s taste.
He made to step past his father and hurry from the room, but a smiling Hugh looked over his reading glasses at him. “Come now, James, you can spare a few minutes to break your fast with your family. Your Uncle Charles is not that much of a tyrant to expect you at your desk right on the crack of nine. And he would want you to arrive with a full stomach.”
“I have already eaten,” explained James.
Hugh gave a quick glance in the direction of James’s unfinished plate of food, then pointed at it. “Wasted food is a sin. Now sit down, lad.”
A reluctant James followed behind Hugh, Claire, and Maggie, and resumed his seat. The only bright side of being made to go back to the table was that he could finish the remainder of his breakfast.
“Claire, darling, Leah and Guy’s betrothal notice is in today’s Times,” said Mary.
“Yes. Leah said Guy was at pains to have it announced as soon as possible,” replied Claire.
“When is the wedding?” asked Mary. To James’s quiet relief, the question was directed at Claire.
“A little over three weeks. It was the earliest they could get a booking at the church. Guy tried to talk Leah into an earlier date elsewhere, but she held fast on them getting married at St George’s. You should see the long list of things that Leah wants me to help her with in the lead-up to the wedding,” his sister replied.
Hugh nodded. “It is that time of the year when everyone is rushing to the altar. I have three weddings booked for this Saturday morning. As soon as one is over, the next will be coming up the steps of St Paul’s. It will require precise timing to get them all done and dusted first thing. In my day, you got married as soon as the season was over. There was none of this waiting-until-late-autumn business.”
James stabbed his fork into the sausage on his plate. He picked up his knife and after cutting the sausage in half, stuffed one portion into his mouth and sat chewing it slowly. All this talk of Guy and Leah’s wedding had now made him lose interest in his breakfast. He held the other half of the sausage under the table, and King quickly snapped it out of his fingers.
James swallowed, feeling the sausage going down his throat in the same painful way that the news of the impending wedding had. He rued not having given the dog the whole thing.
Under the table, he balled his hands into tight fists. After the events of the garden party and the ball, his interest in Leah Shepherd had gone from barely thinking of her to spending more time than he knew he should, wondering where she was and what she was doing. Even his dreams had not been spared.
His nights were now filled with visions of her pale blue eyes staring up into his. Of her tender, pliant lips yielding to his kiss. The touch of her hair, so soft in his fingers. Worst of all, he had enjoyed long lust-filled dreams, at the center of which were those tiny brown sun-kissed freckles. He wanted to place a kiss on every single one of them. To count them all and then begin again. To still be kissing them as he rose over her and slid his hard cock home into her heated, willing body.
He picked up his cold tea and downed the rest of it in one inelegant mouthful, ignoring his mother’s frown at his lack of table manners. He forced himself to think of work, of checking shipping manifests. He dared not risk trying to excuse himself from the breakfast table while his body was still in its hardened state.
He pushed some of the scrambled egg around on the plate, frustrated in the knowledge that he was completely besotted with Leah and there was not a thing he could do about it. The closest he would ever get to holding her in his arms again would be in his dreams.
“In other news of the ton this week, I hear the Dowager Countess Newhall is helping to arrange a country house party for her son,” said Mary.
James sat up and forced his attention on listening to this less-than-interesting tidbit. Anything to get his mind away from Leah.
Claire snorted. “Who on earth would want to go all the way to Derbyshire? And it is getting a little late in the year for a house party. I hear from Cousin Lucy that the first snow has already fallen at Strathmore Castle.”
“It snows all-year-round in Scotland, so I wouldn’t be using that as any weather vane,” replied Hugh.
“The former Countess Newhall is now the Countess of Lienz; she recently married the scoundrel she ran off with all those years ago. I know this because she sent a calling card yesterday. She is coming here later this week to discuss the possibility of you two attending the house party,” said Mary. She looked from Claire to Maggie, giving them both a hopeful smile. “Who knows? One of my daughters might fall in love with an earl. Wouldn’t that be lovely?”
Maggie shook her head.
Claire screwed up her nose. “No thank you, Mama. Lord Newhall and dear Cousin Caroline have had several nasty encounters of late. The man lacks manners. Besides, I shall have to stay in London to assist Leah with her wedding preparations; there is much to do.”
And with that, the chance of either of the Radley sisters becoming the next Countess of Newhall died a swift death.
“Well then, your grace, we can forget about spending our summers at Newhall Castle, though I doubt that the Countess Lienz will take the news so graciousl
y. She seems rather keen to have as many eligible girls in attendance as possible,” said Mary.
“From what I know of the woman, all she will be looking for will be the girl with the largest dowry. Though from what William Saunders has told me, he wouldn’t be surprised if Newhall holds out for a woman who has at least a degree of affection for him. No doubt the scandalous failure of his parents’ marriage will have left its scars. And as I have always said, a marriage based on anything other than passion and mutual interests will surely falter,” replied Hugh.
James caught the shared gentle smile between his parents. They were forever embarrassing their children with their stolen kisses and whispered words of endearment.
“Not that we are all granted the choice of whom we marry. It might sound unkind, but I think Leah and Guy’s union is founded on her father’s political connections rather than any degree of love. Her mother said it was a smart match and that Leah should be proud to have a possible future cabinet minister as her husband,” said Claire.
His sister’s words gave weight to Leah’s reasons for not wishing to marry Guy. James now found himself in the unenviable situation of feeling sorry for Leah, while knowing he should be supporting his friend.
It was a little after seven in the morning and already he had heard enough about the impending wedding for one day.
“And with that, I am off to work. Those shipping ledgers will not complete themselves,” James said, getting to his feet. He moved quickly out of the breakfast room, not bothering to look back. He didn’t wish to catch his father’s eye again in case he was asked to retake his seat. He had enough on his mind this morning without dealing with another argument over when he was going back to university.
His father’s words about a marriage based on passion and love were foremost in his thoughts as he climbed into the Radley town carriage a short while later. That sort of marriage made sense in his world. His parents’ marriage a prime example. A forced marriage, such as the one Leah Shepherd was about to endure, made a mockery of true love.
Two of a Kind Page 5
