Page 48 of Loving an Earl
She fluttered her eyes open and found him grinning at her. “You are welcome.” What did one say after being kissed? Especially one that had no effect on her at all. She wanted her head to tingle, her heart to stop, and her toes to curl. Perhaps next time if he used his tongue, which made her think. And before she could tell herself why thinking was a bad idea, she cupped his face with her hands, leaned into him and touched her lips to his. Then parted her lips and licked his with her tongue. Redford moaned, wrapped his arms around her back and thrust his tongue inside, sweeping it around and around. He didn’t hesitate in deepening it even more, and Lilly had trouble keeping up, especially when his hands began to roam down her back and got close to the curve of her behind.
Gasping, she pulled away, stepped to the railing, and leaned against it, breathing heavily.
He joined her at the railing. “Forgive me.”
The kiss had been nice. She was breathless, but was she breathless for the right reasons or just because she needed air? And why didn’t her body tingle? Would these feelings come to her in time? Could she make them come?
“Perhaps you could escort me back to the drawing room.”
Chapter Eighteen
On the carriageride home, all was quiet until Emmeline queried, “Tell me about Redford and where you two disappeared to.”
Heat suffused her cheeks, and she looked at Aunt Vivian, who was thankfully sleeping. “We went out on the veranda for fresh air.”
“And? Don’t keep me in suspense.”
“He kissed me. It was pleasant. Lips only.”
Emmeline sighed. “Don’t gentlemen know how to kiss?”
“Well, after he broke the kiss, I practically grabbed him and kissed him properly.”
Emmeline gasped and covered up a giggle with her gloved hand. “No.”
“Yes. I need to know If I have feelings for him. If I desire him. The kiss was nice until his hands drifted a bit low and I jumped away. For now, I’m going to continue enjoying his company, and hopefully, I’ll develop feelings for him before he asks for my hand—if that is what he plans to do. Perhaps he is looking for a dalliance with a widow and nothing more. If that’s the case, he will be sorely disappointed as I have no intention to dally with anyone.”
Before the conversation could continue, they arrived home. Lilly hurried up the stairs and made her way to Langford’s room to check on him before she went to bed. His door was ajar, and a candle flickered on the nightstand. Entering the room, she nodded to Mrs. Lewis who was doing some mending as she sat watch in a chair across the room, and she quietly tiptoed toward the bed, not knowing whether Edmund was asleep. If he was, she didn’t want to disturb him. Standing at his bedside, she startled when she saw his eyes were wide open and watching her intently.
“Oh.” She put her hand to her chest. “I thought you’d be sleeping.”
“I’m not tired after sleeping almost all day. And I’m bored. Tell me about Mr. and Mrs. Hadley’s dinner party.”
She was surprised he’d want to hear about it and that he was actually being cordial. “Truly? You want to hear about a dinner?”
“Yes. Anything is better than spending more time alone in this room and counting the pink roses in the wall covering.”
“I see. Mrs. Lewis,” she said, turning to the older woman, “I will sit with Langford for a spell if you would like some fresh air.”
“Thank you, my lady, but it’s not necessary. I only arrived a few minutes ago and relieved Mr. Mullens.”
Lilly nodded and sank into the comfortable chair beside his bed and adjusted her skirts. “Well, there were twenty for dinner. Do you want to know everyone who was in attendance?”
“Good lord, no.”
“Well, Blackstone was there in any case and sat beside Emmeline for dinner, and they played chess afterward.”
“How nice. Did he finally profess his undying love for her?”
“Not that I saw. Perhaps soon.” She clasped her hands together on her lap, suddenly nervous. “I sat beside Redford for dinner, and we went out on the veranda for fresh air.”
“Was it cold out?”
“Yes, there was a chill to the air, but the bright moon and the cloud formations were beautiful.”
“Did he finally kiss you?” His voice had dropped several octaves and seemed gruff.
So he wasn’t as unaffected about her and Redford as he made it seem. “He did.”
