Page 17 of Sincerely, the Duke
His lips quirked into a slow, easy grin that made her skin chill with expectancy. “Then you will have to tell them the actuality of what is happening to you in London.”
She pursed her lips before saying, “That will not get them here. Auntie is not very strong but managing. I haven’t been ill, and I’m in no danger here in London.”
“I’m not referring to what has happened to you up to this point, Miss Fine. I’m talking about what is going to happen right now.”
Without warning, he caught her up to his powerful chest with such impressive strength, astonishing speed, and cavalier ease she rolled to her toes as if she’d expected or wanted his sudden embrace. Her pulse raced. One of his hands pressed firmly into the middle of her upper spine, forcing her breasts against the tautness of his chest. The other cupped the back of her head in his palm.
Edwina’s lips parted to object or to gasp, but there was no time before his mouth came down on hers with firm, persuasive warmth. Instantaneously they were sharing breaths, sounds, and tastes in the most intimate ways as his lips brushed back and forth across hers. Her body stiffened and then trembled. His fingers sliced through the curls of her chignon and massaged her nape with such excruciatingly slow and sensual movements they radiated stimulating sensations throughout her body, causing her to melt against him.
Her pulse throbbed in her chest, her ears, and all the way down in her most womanly part.
By all the holy saints, she and the duke were kissing! Worse, it wasn’t horrible or offensive. Just brash and overpowering. The way his lips roved over hers with demanding pressure gave her the stunning, surprising feeling he was eager and hungry forher. It was an extraordinary experience and she didn’t know what to make of it. Having never been kissed, she didn’t understand what to do or how to react to how he was making her feel.
She’d never evenseena kiss except from her father to his daughters’ foreheads or cheeks, and that was mostly when they were younger. What was she to do other than shudder in astonishment.
Seeming almost as quickly as he’d pulled her up to him, he let her go and stepped back. His breath was deep, heavy, and quick. So was hers. His expression intense but not worrying. A hot, willful silence stretched between them. They watched each other as if they were hunter and prey, facing off to see who the victor would be.
It had to be her. He’d wronged her by his sudden and aggressive ungentlemanly behavior, which led her to feel things she’d never felt before.
Edwina slowly backed away from him without taking her gaze off his face. “I can’t believe you did that,” she whispered, wondering how he’d taken her by such alarming surprise and why she wasn’t feeling more offense. She barely managed to add, “You, sir, are an uncivilized animal.”
“Only when I must be, Miss Fine. You wanted to tell your sisters the truth,” he said in an undertone so husky and sensual she was nearly ready to forgive him for the grave offense. “Now you can. Send a message to them today. Say the worst rakehell in London is pursuing you, and you fear if they don’t rush to your aid, you will marry him.”
CHAPTER 7
THE ART OF BEING A FINE GENTLEMAN
SIR DUDLEY SAMSON PEMBERTON FINE
It is perfectly fine for a gentleman to pat himself on the back, but only when no one is watching.
The solicitor, account managers, and anyone else who was expecting to meet with the duke today would have to wait until he returned. With all he had to do he would be up half the night to get it finished, but that didn’t matter. Rick wanted to see his mother and find out why the letter had been mailed to Miss Fine, and he didn’t intend to waste any time doing it.
The relatively small house in the oldest section of Mayfair looked much like all the others as he walked up the crushed stone walkway. It was well tended with a tall, neatly trimmed yew hedge lining each side and short boxwood shrubs acting as a fence along the front. There were bigger, more elaborate homes in which his mother could reside but this was the one she preferred. It was an easy walk to Hyde Park where she loved to stroll, and she’d known most of her neighbors since first coming to London as a bride.
He would have never expected such manipulation from her no matter how desperate she was feeling now that Shubert had a son. Was it possible she could have knownor even sensed how ill he was that night and decided to take matters into her own hands after all? Had the apothecary told her of his recent bouts of high fever, or could it be possible one of his servants had tattled to one of hers?
After the kiss, Miss Fine awakened her aunt and they made a hasty exit from his house. It was just as well. Rick had a lot to do. He left instructions with Palmer and Mr. Wrightmyer concerning things he wanted accomplished by the end of the day, and since there was nothing more to be done regarding Miss Fine—except keep the intoxicating kiss he gave her off his mind for the rest of the afternoon—he hurried over to his mother’s house.
“Maman,” Rick called, letting himself in the front door. He threw his gloves and hat onto a chair and called to her again. The butler came rushing into the vestibule and Rick tossed his cloak off to him. “Where is she, Webster?”
“In the garden. I’ll send someone for her immediately.”
“There’s no need,” he declared. “Does she have guests?”
“No, Your Grace.”
“Good.” Hardly slowing down, Rick headed toward the rear door.
When he stepped outside, he saw his mother walking from the end of the garden toward him with a book in her hand. The parcel of land behind her house wasn’t much bigger than the house, but kept in glorious fashion spring, summer, and autumn. At a glance, he caught sight of multiple colors of flowers embedded among intense shades of green.
“What’s wrong?” Alberta asked in her usual elegant voice. “I heard you calling to me from inside the house.”
He skipped down the steps and stopped before her, folding his arms across his chest, hoping to leave no doubthe was annoyed about something. A breeze fluttered the blue-and-white-striped ribbon that banded the straw hat and was loosely tied under her chin.
“You mailed the letter,” he stated with no question to the correctness of his comment as she stopped in front of him.
Tilting her head back, she smiled, and replied, “What’s this? I don’t get an affectionate hello kiss on the cheek or even a ‘How are you today, Maman?’from my son?”
