A Scandalous Deception (16 page)

The coach slowed to a stop and out the
window, Fin spotted Annie and Chivers, the coachman’s leg propped
up atop one of Lissy’s portmanteaus, sitting along the side of the
darkened road. He’d focus on Lissy just as soon as he got back to
the inn, but now he had other tasks that demanded his
attention.

A knock sounded at Lissy’s door and she
frowned towards the threshold, wishing she could see through the
dratted door. It couldn’t be Fin on the other side, could it? The
knock hadn’t sounded quite as determined as his usually did. Then
again her world had just been turned upside down. She might not be
the best judge of usual things.

The knock came again, a little louder this
time.

Blast it all. There was only one way to find
out. “Yes?” she called from her spot in the middle of her rented
bed.

“Ye
are
there.” Lady Elspeth’s voice
filtered into the room. “I thought ye might like a bit of
company.”

The Scottish girl had thought most wrongly,
not that Lissy could say as much. She’d have to play the role of
pleasant host, even if it was the last thing she wanted to do.
“Door’s open,” she called more brightly than she felt. Much more
brightly.

A second later, Lady Elspeth poked her flaxen
curled head inside Lissy’s room. “I hope ye don’t mind me barging
in on ye. Being alone, I find I’m nearly climbing the walls.”

“Not at all,” Lissy lied, though she did pat
a space on the bed beside her for the Scottish girl to join
her.

Lady Elspeth hardly needed the invitation,
however, as she dropped onto the bed, facing Lissy, a most anxious
expression upon her face. “Have ye ever felt so incredibly helpless
that ye didn’t know what to do with yerself?”

The first few months of her marriage, Lissy
felt nothing but helplessness, but she wasn’t about to admit as
much. “Are you all right?” she asked instead.

Lady Elspeth shook her head, making her
blonde curls bounce about her shoulders. “That’s just it. I don’t
know. And I won’t know, not until I reach Loch Ericht. And I can’t
get there any faster than we’re going. I think I’ll be half-mad by
the time I do get home.”

“What is the hurry?” Lissy couldn’t help but
ask, though she had a fairly good idea it had something to do with
a gentleman. Lady Elspeth had that lovesick look about herself. A
look Lissy desperately hoped she didn’t sport herself. She’d have
to examine herself in the mirror once the Scottish girl left to see
if any telltale signs were obvious upon her countenance.

Lady Elspeth sighed. “I’m afraid I’ve been
blind and kept in the dark about something rather important. And if
I don’t get home before he leaves for parts unknown…”

It
was
a he. Lissy’d been right about
that, not that the fact made her terribly happy. One more naive
girl, thinking the sun rose and set because of some man. “I’m sure
all will be fine. If the gentleman is worth his salt…”

“He’s worth everything,” Lady Elspeth
insisted. “He’s prefect.”

Perfect
. No man was perfect. Well, no
man other than Phineas Granard, but Lissy pushed that thought from
her mind. “And does he think you’re perfect, Lady Elspeth? I find
that would be the true test of the man.”

“Probably not.” The Scottish girl frowned.
“But I’ve bungled everything. Ian says a blind simpleton sees
things more clearly than I do.” She shook her head quite
despondently. “And, in this, I’m afraid he might be right, which is
rather frustrating, to be honest.”

At that, a laugh escaped Lissy. “Oh, I know
that feeling better than most. There was never anything more
frustrating than when my sister Georgie was correct about
something. The look she’d wear, always so filled with the most
acute disappointment, was something to be avoided at all costs. No
matter what.”

Lady Elspeth laughed as well. “Fortunately,
Ian’s not right most of the time.”

“Then you are more fortunate than me.” Lissy
squeezed the Scottish girl’s hand. “My sister was always right
about everything, which was quite maddening, let me assure
you.”

“I didn’t know her.” Lady Elspeth smiled
sadly.

Lissy returned the gesture. “She was the most
wonderful lady. I could try all of my days, but I would never match
her grace or wisdom.”

“I’m sure—” the Scottish girl began, but
stopped when a firm knock sounded at the door.

That was a knock that had a familiar
determination to it and Lissy gulped. She glanced towards the door.
How she’d love to clamp her lips shut and not utter a sound, simply
wait for Fin to tire of standing at her door; but with Lady Elspeth
sitting just a few feet away, her eyes boring into Lissy, that was
most definitely not an option.

“Yes?” she called, since she didn’t have a
choice.

“Lissy?” Fin’s voice hit her ears. “Annie and
Chivers are settling into their rooms and the innkeeper’s sent for
a doctor.”

Lissy scrambled off the bed, Lady Elspeth
quick on her heels. She opened the door and her gaze locked with
Fin’s. Heavens! The intensity of his brown eyes, focused on her,
made Lissy’s breath catch in her throat. Never in a million years
had she ever imagined having Fin look at her like
that
.

“Well,” Lady Elspeth said rather awkwardly,
as no one else was saying anything. “I suppose I should find Ian.
Do excuse me.” Then she quickly brushed past the two of them,
though neither Lissy nor Fin gave her the least bit of
attention.

After a moment, Lissy cleared her throat. “I
should check on Annie.”

But Fin shook his head. “Annie’s fine,” he
said, stepping over the threshold into the small room, which seemed
quite a bit smaller now with him taking up most of the space with
his large frame. “But we should talk.” He kicked the door closed
behind him.

Heavens! The last thing Lissy wanted to do
was talk. What was there to say? Couldn’t they just forget about
everything? Pretend that kiss along the side of the road hadn’t
happened? “I don’t think there’s anything to say,” she began.

But he gently cupped the side of her jaw
before she could say more. “Then let’s not say anything.” And a
second later, he pressed his lips against hers. That delicious
swirling feeling that encompassed her earlier that evening washed
across her once more, and Lissy had to grasp the lapel of his
jacket to keep from melting to the floor in a heap.

She knew she shouldn’t kiss him back,
but…Well, she couldn’t help it. Kissing Fin, being held by him, was
like nothing she’d ever experienced and wasn’t likely to ever
experience again.

Her tongue tangled with his, sending desire
racing to her core. One of Fin’s arms snaked around her back and
secured her against the wall of his chest, and Lissy nearly sighed.
She’d never felt so desired, so loved, so…safe. She was safe. She
was always safe with Fin.

He growled slightly across her lips as his
hand on her back drifted lower and lower. When he squeezed her
bottom, Lissy gasped in surprise and she reared back just a
bit.

Oh, they shouldn’t be doing this. What were
they thinking? “Fin,” she began, trying to catch her breath and
think clearly all at the same time, which was more than
difficult.

His warm, passion-filled eyes peered down at
her, and he shook his head. “Don’t, Lissy. Whatever you’re about to
say, don’t say it.”

So she said nothing. She just blinked up at
him, wondering what in the world had changed between them. Never in
a million years would she have ever thought Phineas Granard, the
starched and proper Viscount Carraway, would have inserted himself
into her chambers and kissed her for all he was worth. Never in a
million years would she have imagined that kissing him would shake
her to her very core. And never in a million years would she have
ever thought that she’d do just about anything for him to kiss her
again, but they couldn’t.

“You shouldn’t be in here, Fin.”

“I probably shouldn’t,” he agreed, smiling
rakishly in return. Heavens! Who would have ever guessed that Fin
knew how to smile that way? “And I shouldn’t—” his fingers trailed
from her jaw, down her neck, stopping right above her
décolletage
“—do this either.” His hand slipped beneath her
bodice and chemise until he held the weight of one of her breasts
in his palm.

Lissy sucked in a breath. It felt so
wonderful, his touch, like nothing she’d ever experienced before.
She closed her eyes, trying to recompose her thoughts, trying to
block out the sensation of Fin’s gentle fingers caressing her
flesh, hoping to—

“Or this.” He rolled her straining nipple
between his thumb and forefinger and every semblance of rational
thought fled her mind.

Her eyes flew open. Fin pinched her just a
little bit harder and she nearly leapt into his arms right
there.

As though he was a master seducer, one
confident brow lifted, silently challenging her to beg him to
stop…or maybe to never stop, she wasn’t certain which. With his
free hand, he tugged the edge of her bodice lower until he freed
both of her breasts from their confines. Then he caressed her most
reverently as his gaze dropped to her exposed flesh. “So beautiful,
Lissy,” he said, his voice a mere whisper.

Then he dipped his head down and captured one
peaked nipple in his mouth. Heavens, she had to grasp his shoulders
to remain upright. Even still it was difficult. He suckled her so
sweetly, his tongue flicking across her sensitive flesh, his teeth
tugging ever so slightly, and Lissy wasn’t certain how long she
could stand there before her weak knees buckled beneath her.

He moaned against her skin and Lissy clutched
his shoulders even tighter, willing herself not to fall. Fin must
have noticed because he slowly released her nipple from his lips
and rose back to his full height before scooping her up in his arms
and carrying her the very short distance to her bed.

He deposited her in the middle of the bed and
began pulling at his cravat until the knot came undone and he let
the silk flutter to the floor somewhere behind him. Lissy couldn’t
move. She could only stare up at him as he ripped his jacket and
waistcoat off, then yanked his shirt over his head.

She gulped at the sight of a half-naked Fin.
Heavens, he was a sight. All muscled and handsome with a light
smattering of dark hair across his chest. At once, however, terror
reached up and grasped her heart. She’d once thought Aaron to be
quite the Adonis, though not after their wedding night and never
again.

She tried to shake the terrible memories of
that first night from her mind. Fin wasn’t like Aaron in the least.
He’d already taken much more care with her than Aaron ever had.

“Are you all right?” he asked softly, and
Lissy almost burst into tears.

Was she all right? She had no idea how to
answer that, not with the awful memories swirling about her mind,
not with the sudden confusion about her feelings for Fin.

“Lissy.” He dropped onto the bed beside her.
“I want you most desperately, but—” his warm, brown eyes locked
with hers “—are you all right?”

And with those words, she knew she’d be all
right with him. Though, honestly, she’d known that before he’d
spoken. But his words were just what she needed to hear, a
reassurance that he cared for her, that her well-being was
important to him.

Her heart expanded in her chest and she
nodded quickly. “I’m all right.”

A relived smile spread across his face, then
he pressed her back against the pillows and settled right beside
her. Fin kissed her once more, kneading her breast with one hand
and sending frissons of desire and anticipation racing to her
core.