Just One Kiss (27 page)

Sadly, this was not the case, whether her mother and brother had had a similar plan to avoid everyone else Daphne wasn’t sure, but what was apparent was that the whole family was breakfasting late.

“Good morning,” Daphne said to the room at large.  Anthony offered her a small smile, while Mrs.
Hargreaves
sniffed irritably in response.

Daphne had barely sat down however when the butler entered the room with a card.  He dipped his head in Daphne’s direction.

“There is a gentleman come to call, miss, should I tell him that you are currently indisposed?”

“A gentleman?” Daphne gasped, her whole face lighting up.  There was only one gentleman who would come to call on her after all, but her question was drowned out by her brother’s roar.

“What gentleman?” he bellowed.

The butler hesitated nervously and then cleared his throat.  “It is Lord Coventry, sir.”

Anthony was out of his seat,
barreling
out of the door and into the hall before the butler had even finished speaking.  Daphne gave a little cry of her brother’s name and hurried after him.  She was unable to keep up with his quick, long strides, but she could
hear
him shouting.  The whole house could hear him no doubt.

“…the hell out of my house, Coventry!”  Daphne didn’t hear what Edward said in repl
y
, but Anthony’s response was a loud: “stay away from my sister!”  Daphne rounded the corner, and entered the hall where the two men were
squaring off.

Edward looked
so astonishingly handsome that Daphne’s breath caught in her throat and she paused for a moment just to drink in his profile.  He must have felt her eyes on him however, because he turned and shot her a slow,
smoldering
smile, which was probably why Anthony then exploded with: “if you don’t get off my property NOW I’m getting my pistols!”

“NO!” Daphne shrieked hurrying forwards to where the men were standing.  She literally threw herself between the pair of them.  They both stared at her, Anthony, furiously, while Edward was looking mildly amused, even if his amusement was glinting out from under a layer of steely determination.

“It’s all right, Daff,” her husband said calmly.  “If
you
want me to go-” he began slyly, smiling when Daphne immediately interrupted him.

“
Oh no I-!” however she
was interrupted by her brother.

“What?” he snarled.  “Are you forgetting that we came here to
escape
from him-?”

“If you want to escape that’s fine, Anthony,” Edward growled smoothly.  “It’s
my wife
I came to see after all.”

“Is that so?” Anthony snarled.  “Well-”

“We shall be only too happy to allow the two of you some time together, Lord Coventry,” Mrs.
Hargreaves
' voice suddenly cut off her son’s exclamation of rage. 

Daphne wasn’t disposed to think too well of her mother at present, however even she had to be grateful for this interruption.  She had been terrified that Edward and her brother really would come to blows.  Anthony was too good a gentleman, and too good a son, to contradict his mother in
public, but
there was a mus
cle twitching his clenched jaw. A
vein throbbing in his temple
.
Daphne thought it best if she and Edward made as swift an exit as possible.

“My lord,” Daphne breathed, giving Edward’s arm a firm tug.  He looked a little annoyed that his battle of wits with Anthony had been cut short, but he followed his wife obediently, nodding his head respectfully at his mother-in-law as they passed by.

Chapter 28

Daphne led Edward into the drawing room, feeling oddly flustered once they were alone.  “Would you care for tea or refreshments, my lord?” she asked automatically, pleased that she at least had something that she was meant to say, because she couldn’t for the life of her think of anything to ask Edward.  Just being near him seemed to have addled her brain.

“No, thank you, I’m fine actually,” Edward replied.

“Oh,” Daphne frowned,
realizing
that she was rather hungry and thirsty herself, not having had anything for breakfast yet.

“But if you-” he began, only Daphne cut him off quickly, ladies weren’t really meant to eat after all.

“I’m quite all right, my lord,” she smiled br
ightly, at which she watched him
raise an eyebrow.

“It’s Edward, as I’m sure you remember,” he breathed taking a step closer to Daphne, and making her skin hum with his simple presence.  “And if I’ve called at a bad time, I really can-”

“Oh but you haven’t!” Daphne exclaimed.  She reached out a hand automatically, and was a little embarrassed to find that she’d grabbed his arm.  “I mean I-” she tried to draw away again, but Edward had covered her hand with his own and lifted it to his lips.  He kissed her knuckles tenderly, and Daphne felt the swirling heat that was growing so familiar when Edward was around burst to life again within her womb.  “Edward,” she sighed breathlessly.

“Daphne?” he purred in response, smiling wickedly at her as he stroked his fingers over the back of her hand, twisting it gently so that he could brush his lips over the racing pulse that was fluttering under her delicate skin.  “I missed you,” he whispered, drawing her closer.

“Edward, no,” she murmured, but offered no real resistance as she was enfolded in his arms. 

“Why not?” he breathed, bending low, his breath whispering against Daphne’s lips in anticipation of the kiss that promised to come.  “You’re mine you know,” he said softly, his voice a velvety growl.  “I made you mine,” he rasped, closing the last inch of space that separated their lips, claiming her mouth in an exquisitely searing kiss that made Daphne’s heart sing.

“You shouldn’t do this to me,” she gasped, her words be
coming almost lost in the heat o
f their kiss.

“What am I doing?” Edward demanded, letting his hands wander.  They moved to cup Daphne’s pert little bottom, dragging her flush against his body as he continued to plunder her mouth.

“
This
,” she panted, as it were obvious.  Her blood was humming and her body was crying out in need.  “You- you make me forget,” she puffed, looping her arms around his neck.

“Forget what?” he whispered, nibbling at her earlobe.

“Everything,” she sighed, her knees giving way as she sagged against her husband, only staying on her feet because he bore her weight.  He was so strong, so solid and hard, and crushed up against her soft curves that Daphne couldn’t suppress the lustful tremor that shivered down the length of her body.  “Everything but us,” she whimpered.

“That doesn’t sound so terrible,” he chuckled.

“No,” Daphne was forced to a
gree, although she couldn’t qui
t
e
reme
mber what she was agreeing to. S
he simply wanted to feel Edward’s mouth upon her own again.  She reached to try and guide him back to her, only he resisted, to her frustration.

“Except it might be if your mother walked in,” he mused, lips quirking at the look of alarm that flashed across Daphne’s face.  “Or your brother,” he added wryly.  “Probably worse if it was your brother in fact,” he chuckled, as Daphne slipped out of his arms and began frantically patting down her dress.  “I meant it you know,” he said gruffly.  “You are mine.  They couldn’t stop me from taking you.”

Daphne gasped, feeling shaky and disorientated, and very much like she wanted to throw herself into Edward’s arms and beg him to take her away with him.  She managed to restrain herself however.

“W-why did you come to call this morning, Edward?” she asked, rather bluntly, rudely even, but it was what she was wondering.  He had knocked her completely out of sync and she seemed to have misplaced her manners.

“Shouldn’t I have?” he frowned, withdrawing into himself suddenly.

“Oh no!  I didn’t mean that!” Daphne said hastily.  “I just- I meant- oh I don’t know what I meant!” she sighed at herself in exasperation, which drew a small smile from her husband.

“You know, if it’s all getting too much for you here, you can always come home with me,” he purred.  “To stay.”

“Edward!” Daphne whimpered, looking up at him with pleading eyes.  She couldn’t go there, not yet.  Her husband sighed heavily, but he didn’t press.

“I actually came to see these paintings of yours,” he said.

“Really?” Daphne blushed prettily.  “They’re not really very good,” she said quickly.

“I doubt that!” Edward was swift to interject.

“And they’re all upstairs,” she continued, but she was flushing a darker shade of pink at Edward’s praise, even if it was unfounded.  He simply nodded at this new piece of information and looked ready to follow her wherever she led.  “In my- in my room,” she explained.

“All right,” Edward nodded.

“My
bed
room, Edward!” she said, exasperated.  “I hardly think that you can come with me there!”

“I should hope,” Edward began, his voice a low dangerous drawl, “that I am the only man who can come with you there.” 

Daphne’s face went absolutely crimson.  “I-!” she stammered.  “I-”

“Yes
?” Edward murmured helpfully, but his grin was positively wolfish.
“I suppose you could bring them
down here for me to see?”  Daphne nodded silently, not trusting Edward’s new logic at all.  “But then where would the fun be in that?” he whispered huskily.

“Edward,” Daphne whimpered.  “Someone will see us…”

“No one will see us,” he countered easily, sensing that she was about to admit defeat- and she was; she just couldn’t keep fighting him, not on something as silly as this at least.

“I suppose if we’re quick, and use the servants stairs from the kitchen-”

“I have a better idea,” Edward said, beaming.  He held out his hand to his wife, and then led her out of the room and back out into the corridor, looking around quickly before darting into Anthony’s study, which was, highly fortunately, empty.

“How did you know-!” Daphne spluttered, only able to imagine the rage her brother would have been in if they’d barged into his sanctuary unannounced and found him sitting at his desk!

“I saw him storming about the gardens while I was trying to convince you what a good idea this was,” he said, before Daphne had even finished her question.

“Oh,” she said, (sounding rather silly, Daphne thought to herself.)  “But why are we in here anyway?” she mused, puzzled.  Edward shot her a slow conspiratorial smile.

“Did Anthony never show you?”

“Show me what?” Daphne frowned, watching Edward as he walked over to a large, (and rather ugly, Daphne had always thought) tapestry that hung on one of the walls, covering it from floor to ceiling.  He lifted it up, and to Daphne’s complete amazement revealed a hidden passageway.

“Anthony and I found it when we were children,” he grinned, and then a fleeting shadow of sadness pushed that happy memory away.

“I can’t believe you never told me!  I can’t believe I didn’t know about it!” Daphne exclaimed, hurrying over to have a better look.  “Where does it go?” she asked eagerly, rather excited at being let in on this secret.

“Up to the master’s suite, and if you go down it leads out into the gardens,” he informed her, his smile returning.

“I wonder what it was for?” Daphne breathed quietly, looking into the dark space and shivering, forbidden liaisons perhaps, a means of escape, but from what?