In The Prince's Bed (21 page)

Frantically, she tried to hang on to her objections. It wasn’t easy when her skin felt too tight for her body, every inch alive and alert to his amazing caresses. “This goes… beyond hypothetical.”

His hand slid inexorably higher. “Then call it a sample. Of what I would do.” He smiled impishly when his fingers brushed the slit in her drawers. “Put yourself in the senhora’s place and tell me how she’d like my sample.”

A laugh bubbled up inside her throat that she firmly squelched, not wanting to encourage his naughty behavior. “Sample, hah. That’s just rhetoric.”

“If you say so.” He slid his hand inside her drawers. “You’re the one who knows such things. I’m but a simple man with simple pleasures.”

“There’s nothing simple about—” His hand cupped the warm, throbbing place between her thighs as if he’d guessed exactly where she craved his touch. “Ohh… that’s… truly… outrageous…”

“Would the senhora like that, do you think?” His fingers fondled her shamelessly, sweeping through her tangled curls to find the hidden tender flesh.

She gasped when he pressed against some delicate spot that sent the blood beating in her veins in time to the drums sounding more loudly from the amphitheatre. “The senhora would… certainly like… that.”

With a devilish smile, he bent his head to brush a kiss to her breast. “Are you sure? You seem very agitated by it.”

“Because… ohh, what… are you… doing to me?”

“Showing you how I would touch the senhora.” His finger slid along the slick flesh of her most intimate place, then delved deep between the folds.

She grabbed for his arm in shock. “Alec!”

“Yes, senhora? Do you like my sample?” Ignoring her grip on his arm, he repeated that devilish driving motion with his finger. When she moaned, he cast her a knowing smile. “Those sounds you’re making say you do.” He stroked her deftly. “Does this please you?”

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“Yes.” It made her ache and yearn… and want him never to stop touching her in the shameless and exhilarating way he touched her now.

“Do you… would the senhora… want more?” he asked hoarsely as he thrust his finger inside her over and over, his thumb caressing that tender spot higher up.

“Please, Alec… please…” she choked out, scarcely noticing that her hand had fallen away from his arm.

“Please what?” His strokes grew bolder, hotter, melting her resistance away with their sheer heat.

“Please stop? Or please give you more?”

Please stop. “Please… more,” she whispered.

With a growl of satisfaction, he took her mouth in a long, searching kiss, all the while stroking between her legs so adroitly that he soon had her gasping and undulating wantonly against his clever hand.

“That’s it, sweetheart,” he tore his lips free to whisper against her hot cheek. “Reach for your pleasure. It’s there for you. Relax and let it come.”

She barely heard the words, too caught up in the incredible tension coiling right where his fingers rubbed and fondled. It tightened as his strokes quickened, until she was writhing beneath him and wanting…

needing… longing…

The explosion of heat took her off guard, wringing a hoarse cry from her lips. As the burst of flames devoured her, then slowly died to smoldering embers, she melted into the nest of costumes. Her eyes closed in rapt contentment as she held on to the last bit of wanton warmth. A mock battle still raged inside the amphitheatre, but out here, a comfortable peace stole over her.

“What… what did you… do to me?” she whispered.

“Pleasured you, that’s all.”

If the woman resists, pleasure her well to bring her willingly to your bed. Wincing, she cursed
The Rake’s Rhetorick
for poisoning her enjoyment. She opened her eyes to search Alec’s face. His expression was strained, his jaw taut as he hovered over her.

“And is that all… you intend to do to me?” she couldn’t help asking. Deliberately, he drew his hand from between her thighs and tugged her skirts down. “For now. I don’t deflower innocents.” He bent to kiss her breast so tenderly, it made her heart leap. “But once we’re married…”

He left the promise dangling in the air between them, rousing a feverish anticipation. The very idea of the liberties he might take with her as a husband sent heat washing over her, starting at her cheeks, flashing to the breasts he’d caressed so wildly, then moving lower to the still-throbbing place between her legs. She tamped down her excitement firmly. This was no time to get carried away. These were serious matters they were discussing, no matter how eager her body was to throw caution to the wind.
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Sitting up, she tugged her chemise over her breasts. “I still haven’t agreed to marry you. You haven’t really even asked me.”

He sat up, too, looking earnest and infinitely dear. “All right, I’m asking you now. Will you marry me, Katherine?”

Her foolish heart leaped to hear the actual words, but she forced herself to respond rationally. “Why do you want me to?”

That seemed to flummox him, but his gaze steadied on hers. “Because you’re the only woman I can ever imagine marrying.”

She swallowed. He hadn’t spoken of love, but neither had she. Given the choice between Sydney, who said he loved her but acted otherwise, and Alec, who treated her as if he did without saying the words, she might be better off with Alec.

You barely know him, her good sense cautioned.
You can’t even be sure of his character
. But all of that faded to nothing when he was with her, when he kissed and fondled her, when he rode up on a Thoroughbred to snatch a piece of pear out of her hand rather than risk hurting her, or halted his seductions because he didn’t deflower innocents.

“Yes,” she whispered before she could regret it. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

“Good,” was all he said, but he leaned forward to punctuate the word with a long, searing kiss that roused her blood yet again.

When she wrapped her hands about his waist, he groaned and drew back. “We have to stop this.” He jerked his head toward the door. “Listen.”

When she did as he bade, she heard a rising hubbub in the field beyond the outbuilding that signaled the end of the final performance.

“They’ll be trying to get in here any minute,” he said.

“You don’t want them to findustogether like this, do you?”

Her face flamed, both at the possibility and at the fact that only he had thought of it. “Of course not.”

The sounds in the field increased, and he rose swiftly. “Thank God I latched the front door.” He snagged his shirt and drew it over his head, then held out his hand to help her up. “I’ll take the back way out, while you stay in your chemise. They’ll assume that you took off your costume unassisted, but couldn’t put on your gown without help.”

Feeling useless and bereft, she watched him stride about the room, making sure nothing was amiss and no evidence of their scandalous encounter remained.

“Tonight I’ll speak to your mother,” he went on. “Tomorrow I’ll send the announcement to the papers. I can procure a special license—”

“Alec,” she broke in. “Don’t speak to Mama tonight about our marrying.”

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He froze, then faced her warily. “Why not?”

“I’d like to tellSydneyfirst.”

His eyes glittered dangerously as he strode up to her. “Send him a letter. Better yet, let him read it in the paper. He’s a poet—I’m told they read a
lot
.”

She bit back a smile. “I’ve been half-betrothed to him most of my life. He at least deserves the courtesy of hearing about my engagement in person.”

“I see.” A muscle worked in his jaw as he glanced away. “So how long will you make me wait? He’s in the country, and you don’t know when he’ll return.”

“Lord Napier’s estate is only a short ride fromLondon. I’ll call onSydney’s mother tomorrow to find out the direction, then send a message saying I want to see him. If he doesn’t come in a few days, then we can assume we’re free to announce the marriage.”

He scowled at her. “We
are
free. You’re the only one saying otherwise.”

He looked so delightfully grumpy about the whole thing, she couldn’t help smiling. “You’re adorable when you’re jealous, you know.”

His rigid features slowly relaxed, though he grumbled, “Adorable, am I? Next you’ll tell me I’m sweet.”

“You
are
sweet.” She laid her hand on his arm. “Most of the time.”

Drawing her close, he kissed her roughly, brazenly, his hands roaming her body as if to mark his claim. When he pulled back, her heart was racing.

“And the rest of the time?” he rasped. “What am I then?”

“The only man I can ever imagine marrying.”

Relief showed in his eyes as he rubbed his thumb over her lower lip. “How in God’s name will I wait until after we marry to make you mine? I can hardly bear to leave you now.”

The sincerity of his tone warmed her heart, making her smile and lean into him. With a sigh, he lowered his head toward her lips again, but the sound of the door rattling, followed by a loud knock, made him release her.

“Blast. I have to go. If they can’t get in the front, they’ll come to the back and I’ll be trapped.”

The door rattled again. “Miss?” came a worried voice. “Are you in there?”

“I’m here!” Katherine turned to the door to call out. I m coming. When she turned back to tell Alec she would see him outside, he was gone.

The rake should never let duty come in the

way of pleasure—
unless he wants lectures

on crop planting to be his only

entertainment.

—Anonymous,
A Rake’s Rhetorick

As the carriage trundled back to the town house, Alec ignored Mrs. Merivale’s nonstop gushing about his “feats of daring.” All he thought of was Katherine, all he saw was Katherine, sitting across from him in her demure gown.

Which now hid nothing from him. Because he knew what her pert breasts looked like under the layers of fabric, how fine her skin was to the touch… how reckless the nature that lay coiled beneath her controlled demeanor.

His wife-to-be might possess the practical instincts of a woman used to taking care of everybody and everything… but they were tempered with a healthy dose of pure animal lust. And when do I get to taste and touch you? He broke out in a sweat just thinking of her lips pressed to his chest, her teeth tugging on his nipple, her tongue licking over his—

By God, how would he make it until their wedding night? Especially with her no longer resisting his physical advances. Just to see what she’d do, he stroked his boot up the side of her leg farthest from her mother, using the darkness and her skirts to cover his actions. Her eyes widened, then grew sultry. Casting a furtive glance at her mother, she echoed his caress with her slipper.

Every muscle in his body went instantly hard. Which wasn’t wise when he wore glove-tight breeches and sat across from his future mother-in-law.

Ruthlessly he wrestled his lust into submission. Had he ever desired a woman this intensely? If so, he didn’t remember it. But Katherine was no ordinary woman. Who else could take in stride his impulsive inclusion of her in an equestrian performance?

Not to mention his revelation of secrets any other woman of rank would have found appalling. But not Katherine; oh no. She merely found them intriguing.

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Thank God she didn’t know the worst of them. He must go to any length to keep her from finding out until after the wedding.

But what then? After they were married and back at his estate, she would have to learn how poor he was. Given her clever little mind, she would probably realize that her fortune had provoked his initial interest.

She wouldn’t like that one bit. And when he revealed that he was really the by-blow of a debauchee whom she regarded with contempt…

He shook off his niggling unease. It didn’t matter what she thought. By the time she discovered all his secrets, it would be too late for her to do anything but resign herself to the marriage. The thought of a resigned Katherine going through the motions as his wife chilled his blood, but he refused to let it bother him. She wouldn’t sulk for long—he’d make sure of that. He’d simply use Katherine’s wanton nature against her, pleasure her so often and so well in bed that she’d eventually forgive his deception.

A smile touched his lips. That certainly gave him something to look forward to. But he had to get there first. That meant he’d have to keep her too busy to look closely into his finances. When Mrs. Merivale paused for breath, he seized the opportunity to speak to Katherine. “We never did have that ride in the park. Perhaps we should attempt it again tomorrow.”

Her smile faded. “I can’t. I have a prior engagement, remember?”

Ah, yes, Lovelace. She was going to see Lovelace’s mother. Damn that poet and his hold on her.

“Sorry, I forgot. What about tomorrow evening, the fete at Holland House?”

Katherine sighed. “We weren’t invited. Mama and I don’t exactly move in the same circles as you do.”

Mrs. Merivale scowled at her daughter. “We
were
invited. You don’t see all the invitations we receive, you know.” When Katherine raised an eyebrow, her mother grew suddenly absorbed in straightening her skirts. “I turned it down, is all. That Lady Holland is too scandalous a woman for my daughter to associate with. A divorcee, imagine!”

“That divorcee is the toast ofLondonexcept among the high sticklers, Mama. You would never have turned down her invitation.” Katherine shot Alec a rueful smile. “Mama simply doesn’t want you to know that we are so low on the social ladder that even a ‘scandalous’ woman like Lady Holland wouldn’t inviteusto a party.”

“Katherine, really!”

“It’s all right, Mrs. Merivale,” Alec said, suppressing a chuckle. “I’m not courting your daughter for her connections, I assure you.”