Page 54 of Sincerely, the Duke
The silence seemed to stretch uncomfortably long before she lifted her gaze back to his and asked, “Were you lying to me about your inclinations?”
“What?” His eyes stayed steady on hers. “No, no, Edwina,” he said vehemently. “Don’t ever think that.” He walked over and threw the books into the fireplace. They caught in the low flames with aswoosh.
He strode back to her and immediately swept her into his arms and held her tightly against his chest. He gazed deeply, earnestly into her eyes. “Listen to me. There have been two other Stonerick dukes in this house before me. Those books could have been my father’s or his father’s, but they are not mine.”
The tension that had been choking her started relaxing. Her hands softened on his quilted white waistcoat and pressed against the fine linen of his neckcloth.
“I don’t know how they came to be in my desk and it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you trust me about my feelings on this.”
His eyes were as clear as a summer day. Her breath was short and shallow. A sudden pain pricked her heart. Maybe this was the time to tell him the whole truth of her past. Maybe she could trust him to understand and actually believe they were as normal as any young lady. She opened her mouth to reveal everything to him, buthis lips softly smothered her words with a kiss that vanished all thoughts from her mind except him.
Edwina’s eyes closed as Rick’s tongue tangled with hers. His arms tightened warm and strong around her. The passion that ignited between them was swift and undeniable. His palms molded over her hips, down to the curves of her bottom, and he drew her snugly to him as they kissed.
With nothing on her mind other than the amazing way Rick was making her feel, Edwina’s hands roved over his back and shoulders, feeling the breadth and strength of him. His lips left moist kisses down her cheek, over her chin, and along the column of her neck and chest, and then up to cover her lips once more. Wrapped together in intimate passion, all seemed well with them, her sisters, and with the world.
“Do you like my kisses, Edwina?” he whispered huskily into her mouth.
“Yes.” She liked them very much. They reminded her of the taste of honey, the scent of the woods, and the feel of sunshine on her face.
“Do they make you want more than kisses from me?”
Breathlessly she murmured another “Yes.”
“And my caresses?” he asked with his lips still pressed against hers as he brought his hands around her waist and up her rib cage to her breasts to cup and fondle them with light pressure.
All her sense of feeling seemed to race to her breasts and burst with sensation. “Oh, yes, please. Yes.”
But as she uttered the last word, his kisses stopped. His hands slid away from her body and he stepped back. Edwina’s heart lurched, and she moistened her lips nervously as her chest heaved as if she’d been running. She focused enough to say, “Did I do something wrong?”
Rick smiled softly. “No. You did everything right.”
That was hard to believe. “Then why did you stop kissing me, touching me?”
“Because I want you to know what it feels like to want me, Edwina.” He caught her up to his chest again and looked deeply into her eyes, with mesmerizing detail. He bent his head and gave her a deep but short kiss. “I don’t want you holding back or tamping down how I make you feel or what delights you. Enjoy and express it. I don’t want you afraid of my touch, afraid to touch me. I want you to desire me with your whole being.”
“I do,” she managed to say past a tight throat.
She wanted his full attention right now. She reached up to wrap her arms around his neck, but Rick caught her arms and slowly took them back down to her sides. “I would love nothing better than continuing what we were doing, but it’s time to get your sisters.” He ran the tips of his fingers along her cheek and gave her a sweet smile. “We have a ball to attend.”
CHAPTER 18
THE ART OF BEING A FINE GENTLEMAN
SIR DUDLEY SAMSON PEMBERTON FINE
There will be times when a gentleman has to be just a man.
Edwina had no doubt the duke meant it when he said he wanted her to desire him. He had her senses careening out of control and her body still tingling as they started the short distance to the historic Great Hall Ballroom. Edwina and Rick sat forward in the carriage while Auntie, Eileen, and Elle were seated opposite as the horses clipped along at an easy pace.
The spacious coach was superbly finished in every detail. Its big wheels rolled over the hard-packed ground as smoothly as a sleigh would glide over freshly fallen snow. Deep-red velvet squabs were soft as goose-feathered pillows. Trimmed and framed with mahogany, the walls inside were overlaid with button-covered tufts of the same rich velvet. Matching draperies had been drawn away from the windows and held with gold-threaded tassels.
With her heartbeat starting to slow, Edwina wondered if she was as well-prepared and polished for their first ball as the duke’s carriage.
Rick shifted his position on the seat beside her andhis arm grazed hers. Prickles of expectancy zinged deliciously over her, making her remember how enticing their kisses were just minutes ago. That set her heart to racing again. With flushed cheeks she glanced at Rick. He winked at her, assuring he had noticed the blush. But, along with the unmentionable emotions, that wasn’t all she was experiencing. She felt great appreciation for the duke. Impatient as he was at times, he was kind to her and her sisters.
“What do you think Papa would say if he were sitting in this magnificent brougham with us?” Eleonora asked to no one in particular.
“He would say the same thing we are thinking,” Eileen answered with a quirky smile. “How did Edwina manage to snare a duke when at most she hoped to catch the eye of a destitute poet who had a meager allowance but a soul kind enough to help take care of us?”
