A Marquis to Marry (19 page)

Race grinned roguishly. “Practice. Where there’s a will, there is a way.”

“More of Lord Chesterfield’s quotes, I presume?”

He laughed. “I hope not. I can’t believe we stayed at that blasted party for over four hours and never had one dance.”

Susannah looked at his somber face in the dim light of the carriage. She nestled into the soft cushions and sighed. “I fear that is my fault. It’s been so long since I’ve been to such a lavish affair I didn’t want the evening to end. The Hall was so glamorous and festive, I’m afraid I was caught up in the magic of the evening. There were so many people to meet and talk to, and it was impossible to get away from some of them.”

“Like Lord Snellingly?”

“Ah, no.” She laughed. “He was an easy gentleman to run from, but truly the time seemed to fly by.”

He edged closer to her and wrapped his arm comfortably around her. She rested her head on his shoulder. The solid warmth of his body dispelled the chilly air in the carriage. He first kissed the back of her hand and then turned it over and kissed the center of her palm. The warmth of his breath penetrated her cotton glove and heated her skin.

“I know. I shouldn’t complain. It was your first party in years, and you were indeed the diamond of the ball tonight.”

She glanced up at him with disbelief. “You jest. The diamond of the ball is reserved for an innocent young lady, and we both know I do not fit into that category.”

“But you were, just the same. Everyone wanted to make sure the proper introductions were made so they could put you on their invitation lists. I counted at least nine eligible bachelors who tried to monopolize your time.”

She gave him a teasing smile. “That many? Then you must enlighten me as to who they were, because I only recognized three of them.”

“As Lord Chesterfield used to say: ‘The day I do that, it will be a cold day in hell.’”

Susannah laughed freely. “I don’t know all of Lord Chesterfield’s sayings, but you and I both know the man never said that in his letters to his son or anyone else.”

“Probably not, but since he is dead and won’t know it, we can attribute it to him with a clean conscience.”

“You are too hard on your grandmother’s dear friend. But I was just thinking that there is one good thing about not dancing tonight.”

“I can’t think of what that might be, Susannah,” he said dryly as he rubbed her palm with his thumb.

“Perhaps there will be a next time.”

Race let go of her hand and let his fingers drift along her cheek to her chin, and he turned her face to his. “I’ll make sure there is.”

As his tender gaze stayed on hers, his hand slid around to the back of her neck, the heel of his palm resting on her collarbone, his thumb at the hollow of her throat. He bent down and kissed her tenderly, briefly, as if he were shy, and she knew that was not the case. His lips were warm, soft, intriguing, promising more to come. Susannah’s breath came in little gasps.

The kiss deepened. A breathless fluttering filled her stomach. When he broke the kiss, Susannah wiped her lips with her tongue. His lips touched hers again, the same as before, brief, non-threatening, but very satisfying. She didn’t know how or why such innocent kisses should send deep thrills of desire spiraling through her, but she welcomed them and the way Race made her feel.

She had fallen victim to his charm the first time she saw him, and every time since then, when she was with him, her attraction to him grew stronger.

Susannah lifted her lips to his and whispered, “We don’t have much time before Mrs. Princeton returns, Race. Kiss me again.”

He needed no more urging. His lips covered hers quickly with hard and hungry pressure as his other arm snaked around her and pulled her tightly against his strong chest. She opened her mouth to him. Their breaths mingled, and their tongues played together as they devoured the heated moment of passion that flared between them.

With one hand he held her close, while the other slipped beneath her cape and found her breast. He caressed her with such skill, she wanted to cry out from the sheer pleasure and excitement his touch created inside her. His movements were exhilarating. As her body reeled from his sensuous assault, she clung to his shoulders, feeling desperate to get closer to him.

His mouth ravaged hers in a savoring kiss that was meant to seduce her and be victorious. His tongue probed her mouth with intensity, and she gave back as much as she took in. His hand expertly kneaded her breast before gliding down her ribs, past her waist, and over her hip, and then slowly moving back up to cup and lightly fondle her breast again.

Susannah sighed with contented pleasure, wanting to give her body over to his exquisite touch. Her arms circled his powerful back. She gloried in the feel of him beneath her hands.

Slowly Race stopped the kiss and moved away from her to the far corner of the seat. His breaths were short and shallow.

Stunned from his withdrawal from her, Susannah asked, “Did I do something wrong?”

“No, no, not you, me,” he said huskily. “You tempt me too much, Susannah. I have very little control where you are concerned.”

Still reeling from exquisite passion, Susannah swallowed hard and said, “I find myself in the same position as you.”

“Yes,” he whispered. “But you are a duchess and deserving of more respect than to be taken in a carriage on the street.”

That certainly put the situation in perspective for her as to what he was thinking, but his answer did little to satisfy her craving. She was still savoring the way he was able to make her feel. Yes, she was a duchess, but she was also a woman who wanted the touch of this man. Was it wrong for her to want him when he thrilled her in a way she had never experienced before? She appreciated his chivalry and expected nothing less from him, but… “

You are right. I am not a lady of the evening. I am a thirty-year-old widow who has found a man who makes me feel things I have never felt before. I don’t want to deny myself this opportunity for I fear I will never have it again.” Susannah paused and then said, “Race, will you come to my bed tonight?”

His eyes rounded. He blinked slowly, as if giving himself time to let her words sink in and believe what he had heard. He shifted in the seat and said, “I—of course, if you are sure.”

She reflected for a moment on what she had asked of him. She did not regret it. “You seem stunned that I’ve asked you.”

He settled back into the plush cushions once again. He looked at her from hooded eyes. “All right, I am. It’s not every day that I have the lady of my dreams invite me to her bed.”

A little embarrassed, Susannah smiled to cover her feelings. “I have to admit I’m a little stunned myself that I have asked you. Does my forwardness displease you?”

“Never,” he said in a hushed but fervent voice, continuing to keep his distance from her.

“Yet, you are still reluctant.”

“No, Susannah, I’m having a hard time believing my good fortune.”

In the darkened carriage, she couldn’t see his eyes too well, but she could see enough to know she had truly shocked him. “You are the first man in a very long time that I have wanted to kiss. No, it’s more than that. I long for your touch.”

“You make a very strong case, Susannah.”

“I would never pressure you to come to me.”

“Susannah, please, I feel no pressure except the heaviness in my trousers. I am desperate to have you beneath me, have no worry about that.”

“And I have no innocence to protect. I have no young maidens looking to me as an example for behavior. I have lived an exemplary life for twelve years. And now, after meeting you, even with the unsettled issue we have between us, I want to be with you the way a woman wants to be with a man she desires.”

His eyes were inquisitive as he asked, “Have you had no lovers since your husband?”

“There’s been no one.” Her gaze fluttered down his face. “I have never wanted one until now, until I met you.”

“I will come, but what will you do about your maid and Mrs. Princeton? That woman watches you like a hawk.”

Susannah laughed lightly. “She does take her job too seriously, sometimes to my detriment. My bedchamber is on the first floor. They sleep on the second floor, the opposite side of the house, and they are both sound sleepers. If we are careful, no one should know of your presence. There are stairs on the east side of the house that lead to a door on the first floor.”

Race opened the carriage door and then looked back at her. “I saw the stairs when I was there the other day.”

“Once inside, take the door on the left. It will lead you to a hallway. My room is the first door on the right.”

“Make sure the door is unlocked, Duchess. I will be there.”

Race stepped out of the carriage and shut the door.

Susannah’s heartbeat danced with expectancy, warming her as she tucked her cape tighter about her shoulders. Her decision to invite him to her bed was rash, and perhaps she shouldn’t have asked him until she understood her feelings for him. But when she was with him, she simply didn’t want to deny herself his attention. The instinctive reaction Race aroused in her was the response of a woman wanting a man’s touch. She knew he wanted to be with her as much as she wanted to be with him.

She had never desired her husband’s touch, though he was a good and kind man, and she was an obedient and faithful wife. She had accepted his attentions whenever he came to her bedchamber, but she had never been pleasured by him.

In her youth, she had wanted Lord Martin Downings’s touch, but now, unlike with Lord Martin so many years ago, she was experienced enough to know Race wasn’t promising love, marriage, or even tomorrow. He simply wanted to enjoy her tonight, and she intended to enjoy him.

Susannah had said good night to Mrs. Princeton and dismissed her maid as soon as her dress and undergarments were unfastened. She had no fear that either of them would wake during the night.

After unlocking the outside door so Race could enter, Susannah was filled with wonder and anticipation. She went to her room and lit a candle on her dressing table and one by her bed. There would be no need for the brighter lamplight tonight. She was nervous yet excited; she was calm yet eager. And she had never felt saner in her life. Race had captivated her like no other man ever had. She believed with all her heart that what she was doing was the right thing for her to do.

With trembling hands, she stripped to her white cotton chemise that fell in length to just above her knees, and then she sat down at her dressing table. She was taking the pins and ribbon out of her hair when she heard a soft, brief knock.

From the mirror, she watched the doorknob turn and the door ease open. Race stepped inside and slowly closed the door. She heard the lock click behind him. He was still handsomely dressed in his evening clothes. She turned on the stool and then rose to face him.

“That didn’t take long,” she said.

“Fear that you might change your mind, and my eagerness to be here with you, made me hasten.”

Susannah smiled and opened her arms to him. Race rushed to her and picked her up in his arms and buried his face in the warmth of her neck.

“Hmm, you smell so damn good,” he said, breathing in deeply as he crushed her to him.

“I’m glad you didn’t wait. Dawn will be here before we know it.”

He set her feet on the floor. She reached up and untied his neckcloth while he shrugged out of his jacket. She took off his collar as he unbuttoned his waistcoat and threw it aside. He yanked his shirt from his waistband and pulled it over his head. Her hands roved up the warm, firm skin of his back and shoulders. She loved the feel of the solid wall of muscles. Her hands moved around his sleek, wide chest and Race unbuttoned his trousers.

Susannah touched her cool lips to the crook of his hot neck, and he groaned. She smiled when she felt him shiver at her touch. How wonderful that she could do that to him by simply placing her lips against his skin.

“Susannah,” he whispered huskily. His hands cupped her small waist for a moment and then moved lower to mold his palms over her shapely hips to draw her more snugly against the hardness beneath his open trousers.

He bent his head, and his mouth sought hers in a kiss so tender it was heavenly. He then lifted his head just enough so he could look into her eyes. Though he didn’t say a word, she could see that he was giving her one more chance to change her mind, to throw him out of her room, to say she had made a mistake. But Susannah had no such feelings. She had never been more sure of anything in her life. She placed her fingertips to his masculine lips and slowly moved them gently over his chin, down his throat and chest, past his flat stomach, to the bulge beneath his clothing. She let her hand mold and then close firmly around him.