Intentions of the Earl (28 page)

But sleep wouldn’t come.

The next day passed in waves of boredom and
tension. Tonight was
the night
, he kept reminding himself.
Both of their futures would drastically change after tonight—one
for good, one for bad. Knowing this led to Andrew’s inability to
keep concentration and pay attention to anything anyone was
saying.

Andrew was still trying to get past his guilt
and unease when he met up with Brooke outside the servant’s
entrance where they'd arranged to meet to sneak out to the
telescope to look at some stars.

They walked in silence to the gazebo where
Alex kept his telescope. He occasionally looked over at her form.
She was beautiful. She walked with such grace and she had good
posture, even for being and American. Her body was so lean and
straight and when she walked she looked like she was floating.
Never did she stumble or misstep. She was perfect. Too bad this
would be the last time he’d get to look at her thus.

When she looked over and almost blinded him
with her smile, he could feel a knot form in his gut. He tried to
chase it away by thinking of the wrong he was going to be able to
correct by pulling this off. He was going to make amends with his
mother, and Brooke was going to be safe from Gateway back in
America. However, as much convincing as his mind was doing, his
heart felt heavy and started to hurt. Was there really any greater
good by doing such a vile thing? Andrew gave a harsh laugh at the
thought.

“Something funny?” Brooke asked
innocently.

Andrew started when Brooke’s voice
interrupted his thoughts. “No,” he answered smoothly.

Brooke nodded, but looked like she didn’t
understand at all.

They continued to walk in silence. “I must
say that I didn't pin you as one who was interested in stargazing,”
Brooke said lightly.

Andrew flashed a smile. “No? I may not be
very knowledgeable, but when I go to Rockhurst sometimes I look up
at the sky.” That wasn’t entirely a lie, he did look at the stars
at Rockhurst, just not from a telescope.

“I’ve noticed it’s nearly impossible to see
anything through the thick fog in London.”

“Is it easy to see the stars in New York?”
Andrew asked casually, fighting for calm from the storm that was
brewing in his body.

“Yes. Well, most times. To be truthful
though, I have no earthly idea what anything up there is besides
the sun, moon, and stars.”

Andrew put his arm down and grabbed Brooke’s
hand. With her hand in his, he intertwined their fingers. “You mean
you have no idea about the constellations?” he asked in mock
horror. At his words, he noticed her brow had puckered. “Is that
not a term you are familiar with?”

“No,” she admitted. “I assume it has
something to do with the stars, beyond that I fear I am without
knowledge.”

“We’re even then. I haven’t a clue about
them, either. Alex has a telescope out here that we can look
through, but I have no idea what we'll be looking at,” he confessed
with a small smile.

Brooke smiled at his open acknowledgment of
lack of knowledge. “Most men I know would never admit such a thing.
Instead, they try to pretend they know everything about the subject
until they’re proven wrong. Even then, they are still reluctant to
admit they were clueless all along. That’s what I like best about
you, Andrew; you’re so honest with me.”

His heart felt every word of her statement.
If only she knew just how dishonest he'd been with her since the
day they’d met.

They walked together in companionable silence
a little further before Brooke stopped walking and turned to face
him. “We’re not just here to look at stars, are we?” she asked, her
voice had a hint of excitement.

“Perhaps. Perhaps, we might do something
else,” Andrew allowed. Was he really that transparent? He hoped the
excitement he heard in her voice was not nervous excitement.

They walked a few more steps before finding a
little gazebo type structure that was tall and thin. Up at the top
of the gazebo was a long tube hanging out one of the top
windows.

“This is it,” Andrew said, gesturing to the
gazebo. “I believe we must climb up a few stairs in order to get to
the eyepiece.” He walked over to the entrance and waited for her to
step inside.

Brooke stepped inside and looked around.
“It’s rather dark,” she mused after a minute.

“Good thing I brought these then,” Andrew
said as he pulled two candles and small holders out of his pocket.
“I wasn’t sure if there were candles already down here, so I took
to liberty of swiping some on the way out.”

Andrew lit the two candles and handed one to
Brooke who took it and walked a whole three steps to the other side
of the gazebo.

“Not very roomy is it?”

Andrew stifled a small laugh. “No, I’m afraid
not. Alex probably doesn’t make a regular practice of bringing
guests here. We’re probably the only people besides Alex to ever
sep foot in here.”

Brooke walked back to his side and together
they looked at the makeshift ladder. “I hope this can hold us
both,” Andrew said, grabbing the ladder and giving it a shake to
test its durability.

Brooke let out an unfeminine laugh.

Andrew’s gaze shot to her. “Something funny?”
he asked, using her own words back to her.

“Yes. No. Well, a little.” Andrew's arched
brow prompted her to say, “It’s just that you are just like other
men. Instead of inspecting the wood to make sure there are no major
cracks or broken steps, you jiggle the ladder to see if it gives
way.” She shrugged. “It’s just funny the way you're testing the
ladder, that's all.”

“But why?”

“It just doesn’t seem like your personality.
I thought you’d just walk right on up,” she said flippantly.

“And find out the ladder is unstable that
way?” Andrew asked, stepping away from the ladder. If she thought
he looked ridiculous by jiggling the ladder, he’d just let her test
it herself. “All right, the ladder is all yours. You may check it
however you see fit.”

Brooke put her candle down on a nearby ledge,
marched right up to the ladder and began to climb.

Immediately Andrew’s hands went to her waist
and tried to pull her off. “What do you think you’re doing?” he
demanded.

“What does it look like?” she responded
defiantly.

“It looks like you are about to break your
silly little neck.”

“Do try not to be so dramatic. If Alex climbs
up this ladder, there is no reason that it would not be able to
hold me.” She looked over her shoulder, and cast him a skeptical
look. “Do you see a reason it would not?”

“No,” Andrew said hastily.

“Good, because if you were going to say
anything to imply otherwise, I was going to have to brain you with
the telescope,” she said with a smile.

Brooke climbed up a few steps up to the
telescope and looked out. “Oh, it’s wonderful! It is like the stars
are so close I could touch them.”

Andrew put his candle down next to hers and
came up behind her. “Are they?” he murmured in her ear as his hands
moved to clasp her waist.

Brooke slightly jumped at his touch.

Andrew steadied her. “It’s all right. Just
relax. What do you see?”

Brooke put her eye back up to the telescope
and looked out again. “Stars. Lots of stars.”

“Anything else?”

She gave a little shrug. “The moon.”

“Tell me about the stars you see,” Andrew
whispered in her ear. His fingers started to rub slow circles on
her waist and hips.

Breathlessly, Brooke started to go into
detail about every star she saw until she was rambling about
absolutely nothing.

Andrew took Brooke’s inability to form a
proper sentence as a good sign. His hands moved from her hips and
he was massaging her lower back with his thumbs while his fingers
were splayed over her ribs.

“No corset tonight?” he murmured against her
ear.

“No,” she breathed.

He lowered his head and feathered kisses
along the back of her neck and in between her shoulder blades.
Slowly he took his hands from her sides and brought them up to
where the buttons started at the back of her gown.

Resisting his primal urge to rip that row of
buttons apart with no regard to her gown, he traced slow patterns
on her neck and upper back where it was exposed. He took delight in
the shiver he felt run through her body.

He bent his head close and softly kissed her
soft, warm skin again. Her skin was so soft on his lips, and her
sighs so sweet to his ears, he had to resist his own urge to
sigh.

He kissed her with open mouth kisses on her
back while undoing the first button of her gown. He undid two more
and pressed his lips to each of the points of her spine he’d just
exposed, giving each a warm, wet kiss.

He felt her whole body relax and sag against
his. “We should probably get off this ladder,” he whispered in her
ear.

Brooke let out a little gasp as he undid a
few more of her buttons, but did not resist when he stepped down
from the ladder, taking her with him.

Once she was off the ladder, he snuffed their
two candles and tucked them back into his pocket. Taking Brooke by
the hand, he led her outside.

They walked about twenty feet in the
direction of the house when he tugged on her hand and walked over
to a little area of trees he had seen earlier. This area afforded
them some privacy, but was still close enough that anyone who came
walking by would notice something going on and would be likely to
stop and inquire; which would in effect lead to the demise of
Brooke’s reputation.

Shaking off his guilt as best he could,
Andrew dropped to his knees and pulled Brooke down with him.

Brooke’s hands went to his face and she ran
her fingers along his hard cheekbones and jaw bones while his hands
found her hair and began to remove the pins. “I’ve wondered what it
looks like when it’s all down,” he murmured before taking her mouth
in a consuming kiss.

Brooke’s lips relaxed and relinquished
control. Andrew’s lips took the control that was offered and he
began to kiss her with the stark hunger of a starving man who could
only survive if he ate and drank what Brooke’s lips alone could
offer.

Her hands left his face and she wound her
arms around his neck. Andrew gently pushed her backward until she
was lying on the ground. She ran her fingers through the curls that
rested on his neck before she moved them to explore his hard
shoulders.

He sought to deepen their kiss, and she
willingly responded by opening her mouth to his. His fogged brain
remembered this. He remembered how sweetly she tasted the other day
in the orangery and when they kissed on their picnic. His hands
hand finally freed all of her hair and he broke away to look at
it.

“You’re hair is so beautiful,” he panted,
running his fingers through her long silky brown locks.

“So is yours,” she said without thinking.

Andrew smiled. “As much as I admire my hair,
it pales in comparison to yours.” Then before she could argue or
say another inane comment, he took her mouth again.

Gently, he came to settle with his upper body
directly on top of hers, his legs on the ground next to hers. His
hands left her hair and went to her sides where they skated up and
down her ribs.

Brooke’s hands squeezed and kneaded his
shoulders before they moved down to explore his muscled chest.
After a minute she moved them inside his coat, and ran her fingers
along the top of his shirt and waistcoat. He could feel the warmth
of her fingertips radiating through the layers of his clothes.

He pulled away from their kiss and looked
down at Brooke. She was staring at his lust consumed face as it
hovered right above hers. Her eyes were wide with wonder; it was a
sight he could look at forever.

It took only a matter of seconds for him to
remove his coat and waistcoat then toss them in a pile beside
them.

Taking hold of Brooke’s hands he brought them
up to his chest and leaned back in to kiss her again. “Touch me
again,” he said, breaking their kiss for a second.

Instantly, she resumed touching his muscled
chest through his shirt. When she reached a finger in between his
buttons and touched his bare chest, Andrew groaned. When she
started to undo his shirt, he groaned again. “You’re too much for
me, sweetheart,” he panted, rethinking his decision to leave his
shirt on. He only left it on so she wouldn't think he was pushing
her.

Brooke’s fingers worked the best they could
at getting his buttons undone. When she had three undone, she ran
both hands up and down his chest. Her fingers set out to explore
his chest, searing his skin with each and every touch.

Taking advantage of Brooke’s interest in his
chest, he moved his lips from hers and kissed her jaw, then moved
onto her neck. When his kisses lingered to the top of her chest,
her fingers stopped moving and her head lulled to the side. His
hands slid down the front of her body, caressing every part of her
they could. She was so soft and curvy in all the right places.

His hands traveled down to her skirt and
grabbing handfuls of the thick masses, he pulled it up, baring her
delicate stocking-clad legs delicious inch by inch. Moving his body
lower, he kissed the plane of her chest while reaching for the leg
he'd just uncovered.

He put his hand on her slim ankle and with
his thumbs gently massaged a steady rhythm right above it before
sliding his hand up the delicate curve of her calf. Her flesh was
smooth and pliable, just like a woman ought to be. His hand found
her knee and he ran a gentle finger along the back.

Brooke released a gasp when Andrew’s fingers
touched her thigh and massaged the soft flesh around her
garter.

Andrew took her gasp as encouragement and he
hooked his fingers around her garter and undid the tapes. When he
felt her body tense, he moved his hands lower and caressed her knee
and calf.