Page 42 of The Earl Next Door
Why?
Did he not want to see her after last night? No, that didn’t feel right. He wouldn’t hide from her because of what had happened between them. From her husband she knew that men handled dalliances very well. Had he heard the pianoforte playing and thought to stop it as he had the girls playing outside? Now that wouldn’t surprise her but somehow that didn’t feel right either. The noise might have caused him to come outside but it wasn’t the reason he hurriedly tried to blend into the afternoon shadows to avoid her.
Another possibility leapt into her mind, causing her heartbeat to quicken, and her chest swelled at the thought. That explanation felt right. It would be just like him to do something so roguish.
Without taking time to really consider the likelihood or viability of what had entered her mind orwhat she would say to him about it, Adeline changed direction and marched alongside the tall yew border that separated her grounds from the school. She hurried across the small patch of garden and over to the vine-covered wall between her house and the dashing earl’s. As she rounded the corner, she saw he was about to disappear into his house.
“Don’t you dare go through that door until you have spoken to me,” she called to him. When it came to Lyon, she was always compelled by emotions, not sensible reasoning. If last night proved anything, it was that.
Lyon turned toward her. “If you insist.” He smiled innocently and headed back down the steps, saying, “And good afternoon to you, too, Adeline.”
Adeline?
Of course, he would now feel familiar enough with her to call her by her first name. And she familiar enough with him that the informality of it didn’t bother her. Without considering the violation of invading his privacy, she followed the wall down to the wooden gate that had been mounted at the end of the stone wall, opened it, and went through to his back garden and met him at the bottom of his portico.
“It doesn’t appear as if you are surprised to see me,” she said, trying to subdue the tingling awareness of desire that always assailed her whenever she was near him.
“Why should I be?” His gaze swept up and down her face, making her feel as if he were looking at the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. “We are neighbors.”
She met his gaze without flinching and said, “I believe you know why I’m here.”
“That’s not entirely true.”
His answer caught her unaware and for a moment she didn’t know how to respond. A crisp wind blew a strand of hair across her cheek and she brushed it behind her ear. “What do you mean?”
Apparently sensing her caution, he said, “There is more than one reason you could be here. I have no way of knowing on which to bestow the honor.”
Unable to deny the truth of his words, she said, “One of them we decided not to talk about.”
“Did we?” he asked in a husky voice and with an attractive quirk of his head. “Or didyou?”
“Both of us,” she answered firmly. “I asked that we not discuss what happened between us, and because you are a gentleman you agreed and it was settled. So that can’t be the reason I’m here.”
“All right,” he said, moving over a few steps and leaning his rump against the back of a marble bench in an attractively easy manner. “Another reason you could be here is because you are returning the umbrella you borrowed yesterday, but it’s not in your hand.”
“No,” she admitted guiltily. Because of how it came to be in her possession, she hadn’t even remembered she’d used it. “I’ll see it’s returned later.”
“Then you must have come over because you wanted to see me again.” He gave her a gentle smile. “That would be a sound motive for us to meet again.”
Adeline’s heart pounded. So he did want to be with her again. She hadn’t wanted to think about that todayand she couldn’t think about it now. She could play this cat–and-mouse game with him the rest of the evening, but if her instincts weren’t right, she was wasting valuable time. Trusting her intuition, she said, “You sent a pianoforte to the school.”
He took in a long breath but remained silent.
So it was true. She walked closer to him. “I want to know why.”
“Perhaps I grew tired of hearing the girls sing off-key each morning and thought some softly played music might be a welcoming respite.”
She swallowed a shivery gasp of chilling air before saying, “You are every bit the beast I thought you were.”
He smiled. “Do the girls like it?”
“They love it,” she said, and flew into his arms so quickly she almost knocked him over the top of the bench.
Lyon caught himself and her to keep them from falling backward. He laughed. Adeline laughed.
He spread his knees, and in an unthinking response she stepped in intimately close to him as he settled against the bench again with his feet firmly planted on the ground. He gathered her up against his chest, closed his thighs around hers and pressed her tightly against him. The warmth of his body, the tightness of his embrace, the humor in his face, instantly soothed her ruffled spirit and delighted her. She rested against his body, letting him hold her up.
Adeline slid her arms under his coat and around his waist. Reaching up, she placed her lips against his and gave him a long, soft, and gentle kiss. It was relaxing,heavenly. Natural and right. Savoring. His response was all she could want it to be. When she thought to break the kiss and pull away, his hand slid up her neck to hold the back of her head.
