The Sweetest Kiss (Brothers of Worthington Series) (18 page)

He grinned. She was jealous, just as he was envious of Nic. The knowledge filled his chest with excitement.

After the meal, the few men gathered in the drawing room for cigars and brandy. Trey didn’t want to mingle, yet constantly mulling over something he could never have didn’t sound pleasing, either.
Nic
stood beside him near the hearth as they sipped their drinks.
Trey
doubted this was the place to talk about
Nic’s
flirtation with Judith, but he’d let his friend know his feelings soon.

Nic
chuckled, breaking the silence between them. “Miss Faraday is certainly one intoxicating woman. She’s very easy to talk with, and she made me laugh more times than I could count.”

Trey held in his anger as he gripped the glass tighter. Perhaps now was indeed a good time to talk about
Nic’s
actions. “Good to hear she’s performing well. Mother worried her ward would not be able to carry on a good conversation with nobility.”

Dominic raised his drink to his lips. “I believe she has mastered that goal. Why, she nearly had me hypnotized this evening. I could not get enough of her.”

Trey gulped down the remaining liquid, then motioned to the servant for another. “I noticed.” He rested his glare on Nic. “But I thought we had already discussed this.”

“Discussed what?”

“That you would not pursue your feelings for her until we learned more about Alexander Cutler.”

Nic
threw back his head and laughed.
“Oh, Worthington, old boy.
Be careful. The green monster of jealousy inside you is baring its hideous, sharp teeth.”

The servant brought Trey another drink, which he quickly tossed down. “You are talking nonsense. I’m not envious in the least. I just don’t think you should begin your pursuit until we find out more about Mr. Cutler.”

“Well, if you don’t find him, rest assured, Miss Faraday will win every man’s heart at her ball.”

Trey clenched his teeth. “It relieves me to know she will do so well.”

“Oh, yes. Your drawing room will be filled with many callers after the event, I can assure you. You will have her married in no time.”

Married and away from me.

That had been Trey’s goal since learning his mother had a ward. Now he couldn’t imagine her with another man.
Didn’t want to.
When Trey thought of her in a man’s arms, it was with
him
and no other. His chest constricted and he took another long gulp. Why couldn’t he get her out of his head? The best thing for her was to find a good husband who would take care of her. Unfortunately,
Nic
was not that man either, since he and Trey were titled rogues with the best of them.

All around him, the walls closed in, and suffocated him. Dizziness swam through his head, warning him he might have drank too much tonight.

“Hawthorne? I need to step outside for a moment. Please excuse me.”

Without waiting for his friend’s answer, Trey rushed to the side doors and hurried out. He walked down the path toward the stone bench near his mother’s flower garden, taking deep breaths as he tried to clear his head. So perhaps he did have too much to drink. He dismissed that thought. If so, he wouldn’t be thinking about Judith and caring that she would marry another man.

He reached the bench and plopped down, holding his head as he closed his eyes. The night air helped clear his head, but still thoughts of Judith wouldn’t disappear. At least the ground wasn’t tilting any longer.

Several minutes passed and he stayed in this position, elbows resting on his knees while his palms cradled his head. Songs from the evening’s insects hummed around him, but it didn’t override the laughter from inside the house. A few times, he detected Judith’s voice, and he smiled. Strange how he knew her sound so personally. Not only that, but he knew the tilt of her head and creased brow as confusion filled her. He knew the exact part of her lips when she breathed heavily, especially the heady twinkle in her eyes right after they kissed.

Her flowery fragrance would continue to stay on his mind, reminding him how wonderful she smelled. Even now, he detected the scent of flowers, and his hands itched to wrap around her as he buried his face in her neck. The soft click of shoes brought him out of his thoughts as the scent became stronger.

“Trey?
Are you ill?”

He snapped his head up and met the wide eyes of his fantasy.

Tonight was going to be pure hell, to be sure.

~*~*~*~

Judith breathed a sigh of relief. Trey was all right. She worried when
Nic
had mentioned Trey had stepped outside to inhale some fresh air due to his intoxicated state. Not very often did she run across a man who’d consumed so much alcohol. Even now, she couldn’t tell if Trey had or not.

“Ah, Judith, my love.
You are a sight for these tired eyes tonight.”

Her heart flipped. He’d called her
my love
. Did it mean what she had hoped? Or did that only happen in her silly dreams?

“Lord Hawthorne told me you had come outside for some air. I worried you were ill.”

“Why do you fret over me?”

He cocked his head, peering at her through squinted, glassy eyes. Perhaps he was intoxicated after all. Obviously, it was a challenge for him to look at her.

She smiled. “I didn’t want you to think I had the food tampered with again.”

Chuckling, he took her hands in his and pulled her closer. Her heartbeat drummed quicker, making her breathing ragged. Although the house was full of guests, they were alone outside where they could be discovered at any moment. How much longer did she have with him like this?

“Ah, dear Judith.”
He kissed her knuckles. “I know you didn’t poison the food. Instead, I poisoned myself with liquor without thinking of the consequences.”

“May I ask why?”

He lifted his head. His eyes opened wider, and shined in the full moonlight. “Many problems weigh on my mind, and I required some help sorting through them.”

“Has it worked? Has the liquor helped you at all?”

He rolled his eyes and frowned. “Not yet.”

She pulled one of her hands from his only to brush her fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes and let his head fall back. The urge to kiss him overwhelmed her, but even worse was the desire to trail her lips down his neck. Indeed, he had put her under a spell, a hex she had no wish to have removed. She hungered for him as a starved person does for food, wanting his touch, his arms around her more fervently than ever before.

She licked her suddenly dry lips. “Trey, I missed you while you were away,” she whispered. Silently, she scolded herself. Why did she tell him that? What was the use of having feelings for someone who’ll never return them?

Slowly, he opened his eyes and met her stare. A grin stretched across his tempting mouth. “I doubt it was anywhere near how much I missed you.”

Her heartbeat accelerated, yet at the same time, she wondered about her weak mind. She wanted to stay mad at him, mainly so she wouldn’t daydream about him. “You have a strange way of showing it,” she mumbled.

He arched a brow. “Pray, how do you wish me act, my love?” He stood, and his jacket brushed against her gown. “Were you expecting me to take you in my arms and devour you with kisses?” His hands slipped around her waist, keeping her in a loose hold. “Or did you want me to sweep you off your feet and carry you to a private glade on the estate where nobody could find us?”

Heaven help her, both sounded pleasing.
But no.
She must remain
put
out with him. That was the only way to keep a level head.

She shrugged. “Although you have described some intimate situations, my lord, I think not flirting with another woman would be the perfect way to act as if you missed me.”

He blinked with wide eyes. “Pray, what are you talking about?”

“At the table tonight you flirted with
Nic’s
cousin, Mrs.
Pettengill
. I would think if you missed me as you proclaimed, you would not have carried on with her as much as you did.”

His stare stayed on her for a few silent moments,
then
a slow chuckle rumbled in his throat. Within minutes, it had turned into a full-fledged bout of laughter. Irritation grew inside her, but she waited for his fit to subside.
Tilting her head as she narrowed her glare on him.

“Oh, Judith, what a humorous woman you are.” He cupped her face. “We are similar creatures, you know.”

“No, I’m not aware of this.”

“I, too, had the same jealous feelings tonight as I watched you and Hawthorne converse with your heads close together. Every time you laughed at something he said, the vile monster of envy wrapped his long claws around my heart and squeezed.”

Huffing, she pushed his hands away. “I’m not a jealous person, Trey.”

He grinned. “Yes, you are, and it pleases me beyond words.”

Strange, but hearing his confession delighted her, also. “So, are you admitting you were flirting with Mrs.
Pettengill
just to vex me?”

“I’m not admitting any such thing, love.”

She growled. “Oh, you’re impossible!”

Judith wanted to stay angry at him, but the wider his smile stretched, those adorable dimples in his cheeks flashed at her, making her want to kiss him and never stop. The longer she stared, the lines of laughter on his face disappeared until his expression turned serious. His gaze dropped to her mouth, and her heart leapt. Were they far enough away from the house that they couldn’t be seen? Did she dare to step closer and let him take the lead?

His hands brushed down her arms and sent trickles of warmth through her body. As his fingers retraced the path, she closed her eyes and tilted her head back in silent encouragement. But heavy footsteps on the bricked pathway jerked her to awareness.

“There you are.” Dominic stopped beside her.

Trey withdrew his touch so quickly she wondered if she imagined his fingers igniting a fire inside her.

“Yes, here we are,” Trey answered. “Is there something amiss, Hawthorne?”

Judith collected her composure and faced
Nic
, forcing herself to smile, even though she wanted to scold him for the interruption. “I hope I didn’t worry you, my lord.”

Nic
took her hand and patted it.
“On the contrary.
I had suspected you were searching for Worthington. However, the dowager is looking for you both. It seems some of the guests are about to depart.”

“Oh, dear,” she replied. “I cannot believe I forgot my hostess duties. I need to get back.”

“Indeed, that’s the proper decorum.”
Nic
offered her his elbow. “Shall I escort you, my dear?”

Nibbling on her bottom lip, she switched her attention briefly to Trey. His creased forehead and drawn brows communicated his jealousy.

Almost as a reflex reaction, her heart melted. “My lord, please come in and join the party. I think the fresh air has cleared your head enough, do you not agree?”

He arched a brow and the corner of his mouth lifted. “Indeed it has, my sweet.” He looked at Nic. “Hawthorne, lead the way, my good man.”

Judith kept her hand on
Nic’s
elbow, but it was Trey’s body she felt as he walked on the other side of her. The occasional brush of his arm made her heart skip and her skin burn. She knew he did this on purpose, since he’d admitted earlier of his jealousy.

Tomorrow, she’d ask Trey if he had heard any word from his solicitor about Alex. If the solicitor hadn’t found anything, she’d take it into her own hands. One way or the other, she had to find the truth about the man who promised to marry her then left without a trace.

Staying at the Worthington estate was not good for her mental—or physical—state. It was time she stopped letting others make her decisions for her and take control once again.

Judith smoothed her hands down the cream colored day dress she’d donned that morning, hoping her moist palms wouldn’t mark the material. She stood in front of the door to Trey’s study, the very room he’d been in since before breakfast. No voices were heard on the other side of the thick door, but his fascinating scent of spice and leather wafted around her, reminding her how his very aroma could make her an emotional mess.

Last night had ended terribly, especially after the guests left. The dinner party itself had turned out splendid, but Judith was anxious to talk to Trey, yet somehow he’d disappeared once the last guest departed. After that, the dowager kept Judith busy so she couldn’t search him out before retiring for bed.

However, this was a new day, and she felt like a new woman. No longer would she allow herself to melt when he was near. She wasn’t going to waste her time longing for a man who couldn’t commit to a marriage.

Swallowing hard, she raised her hand to knock, but quick footsteps down the hall made her hesitate.

“Miss Faraday?” the butler called.