Intentions of the Earl (29 page)

“Are you all right?” he asked.

Brooke bit her lower lip, but didn’t
answer.

Seeing her hesitation, Andrew removed his
hand from her leg. He resettled his body with one of his legs
settling in between hers then came up on his elbows, to look into
her beautiful brown eyes. “Brooke, I’ll stop if you ask it of me.”
His lust riddled mind hoped she would not ask it, but he needed her
to know he would never force her.

Her body relaxed once again and she moved her
hands to his neck and pulled him down to her. Their mouths met and
they were kissing again. Brooke’s hold of his neck loosened and she
ran her hands back down to his chest and slipped them inside his
shirt, but this time she moved her hands to feel the broad expanse
of shoulders.

Slowly breaking their kiss again, Andrew’s
lips kissed her chin and jaw while his hands went to her chest.
Slowly and gently, he traced the curves of her breasts, going under
and to the sides of them without actually touching them, the same
way he’d done yesterday. He remembered how much she had liked it
before and how relaxed she had been when he’d done it then. When he
felt her fingers relax on his shoulders and saw her eyes shut, he
moved lower.

She was enjoying this, he was sure of it; and
he was, too. He was so caught up in the present all thoughts,
beside his immediate actions on her body, were forgotten. He forgot
about everything and everyone except this moment with Brooke.

He moved one hand to her thigh and tenderly
massaged her supple flesh. Slowly, he moved his caresses higher.
She offered no protest when he reached the bottom of her drawers
and slipped his fingers inside to run along the bottom of the
fabric.

While his bold fingers moved higher to do a
slow and thorough exploration of her thigh, his mouth kissed her
upper chest and around the bodice of her dress. He wished now he’d
taken time to lower it, but at this moment nothing could make him
move his hand from where it was.

He moved his lips back to hers and his hand
glided higher inside her drawers until it was at the juncture where
her leg joined her body. He could feel the slope of her leg and the
dip that led to her most secret area. Cautiously, he brushed his
fingertips back and forth, delighting in the way her body arched in
response to his touch.

He shifted his hand just a fraction and
silently rejoiced when she didn’t stop him. He could now feel her
springy curls and knew he was within inches of touching the core of
what made her a woman. He was shocked to discover just how much he
wanted to touch her, and only her, there. He would have never known
the truth himself if he currently was not so close to doing so.

He reached his fingers closer to where he
longed to be: tangled in her nest of curls, when abruptly Brooke
was no longer kissing him and he felt her whole body go stiff and
her legs violently clamp together, her hands suddenly shoving at
his chest. “Stop! Stop! I cannot do this,” she exclaimed.

Andrew took his hand out from under her skirt
and pulled her skirt down the best he could to cover up her legs.
“I didn’t mean to go so far,” he lied in a voice that sounded
uneven to his own ears.

Brooke looked at him blankly like she was
still trying to put the pieces together herself. “I’m sorry,
Andrew, I just cannot do this,” she said, trying to hide the little
sob that was escaping.

***

Brooke could read the disappointment that was
stamped on Andrew’s face. But as disappointed as both of them were,
she knew she had to be true to herself.

Long ago she had made her mind up that she’d
never let a man who wasn’t her husband seduce her. Fortunately, she
hadn’t learned this hard lesson for herself; but she had seen more
than one of her intimates fall victim to men who would seduce them
then discard them quickly afterward.

One of the most drastic situations she had
been privy to had resulted in the girl getting with child; and
after telling the father, he had denied involvement with her and
abandoned her. Brooke shivered just thinking of it, but the memory
helped her to hold her resolve.

“Thank you for keeping your word,” Brooke
said, gaining more control of her voice.

“It’s all right, I respect your wishes. I
told you I'd stop if you wished it,” Andrew assured her with a
faint smile, then moved away to go sit with his back against a
tree.

Brooke sat up and looked at him. He was
taking this rather well for being denied what all men wanted above
all else, or at least that’s what she’d been told.

Where they were sitting was very dim, but
there was enough moonlight shining on them she could make out his
features, which did not look as calm as he was pretending. His jaw
was tense, his face looked as dark as a thunder cloud and his chest
was rising and lowering considerably with each breath he took.

“I—I um, well, thank you, I just can’t…” she
trailed off and waved her hand as if that would state what her
voice could not.

“It’s quite all right,” Andrew said in a
measured voice. “You owe me no explanation, a lady is allowed to
change her mind.”

“I didn’t change my mind,” Brooke snapped. “I
never said that I wanted to do…to do…that. You just took my lack of
protest as confirmation that I would allow further advances.”

“Once again, you are correct.” Andrew reached
for her and pulled her to his lap.

“I shouldn’t,” she protested weakly.

“I promise not to do anything other than hold
you,” Andrew assured her.

Brooke knew she could take Andrew at his
word. Clumsily, she allowed herself to be pulled onto his lap.

Se wiggled to get settled and Andrew groaned.
She felt a hard ridge below her bottom. She cast a questioning eye
to Andrew who just looked at her and said, “Not to worry, it will
go away shortly.” When she relaxed a little she could have sworn he
muttered, “I hope.”

She wanted to ask what he had in his pants
that was hard and prodding her, and then ask him to move it because
it was rather uncomfortable. But then she remembered the day at the
museum and the statue she'd seen and decided not to mention it; she
knew what it was, and there wasn’t anywhere he could move it, it
was attached. She felt her face flame and was glad it was dark
outside so he couldn’t see her face.

“Andrew, I’m sorry for my reaction. It’s just
that I cannot allow you to go so far. I cannot allow anyone to go
so far.”

“I see.”

“No, I don’t think you do. I have
convictions.”

“Convictions?” he echoed.

“Yes, I cannot give my virtue to the first
man who comes along,” she said before giving any consideration to
how that sounded.

“Of course not,” he agreed.

Brooke’s body started to shake on its own
accord and her mind began to war over all the reasons this was
right against all the reasons it was wrong.

She had come to realize she did indeed love
Andrew, but did he love her? That was what it all came down to. If
he truly loved her he wouldn't rush her, right? But he hadn’t
rushed her, not yesterday and not today. He’d stopped both times
without complaint. She was so confused. The feelings she had just
minutes before came flooding back to war with her decision.

She had felt so safe and comfortable with his
caresses, but once he touched her as no man ever had before, she
panicked. What if he took what she offered and abandoned her? What
if her feelings for him outweighed his feelings for her and she
ended up alone and stripped of the only valuable thing that a woman
had: her virtue. That realization shook her to the core. She had
been so close to throwing it away. All for a man who she loved, but
had no idea if he felt the same.

After a few minutes of them both sitting
there consumed with their own thoughts, Andrew wrapped his arms
around her and pulled her as close to him as he could. “Are you all
right?” he asked soothingly.

With his strong arms wrapped around her, she
felt safe, like nothing bad could ever come to her. “Yes. I was
just thinking of something,” she answered, looking up to meet his
eyes.

“What are you thinking about?”

“It’s nothing.” Brooke tried to keep her
voice firm, but it cracked anyway.

“You can tell me anything,” Andrew said with
a tender smile.

“I feel that I’ve ruined everything. That you
won’t feel the same about me now that I’ve ended…” she trailed off
and lowered her gaze.

Andrew gave her a reassuring squeeze. “I can
assure you my feelings for you are the same as they were half an
hour ago; and if they have changed, they’re stronger. Why would you
think that my feelings would change?”

Brooke turned her gaze back up to his and
said, “Most men change their minds when they’re denied.”

“Not this one,” he said softly. His embraced
tightened a slightly. “How would you know that? How many men have
you taken this far in the dark?” he asked in a rough voice.

“No need to be jealous,” she teased. “I have
never been this far with any man. However, anytime I've let a man
kiss me then stopped him from advancing, he never speaks to me
again, or not kindly at least.”

Andrew laughed softly and Brooke could feel
the rumble of his chest against her cheek and his breath against
her hair. “Their loss I’d say,” he told her, placing a tender kiss
on the top of her hair.

“I’m fairly certain they don’t think so,”
Brooke said laughingly.

“They’re just angry you didn’t allow them to
hold you like this,” he said, giving her another tight squeeze.

“You’re too kind, but I do not think holding
is what Gateway had in mind when he took me in the bushes, nor did
he feel at a loss when I ended it and he called me a tease,” Brooke
said as she brought her hand up to his face and pushed some of his
hair away from his eyes.

“Gateway?” Andrew thundered.

“Yes, Townson,” came a reply from ten feet
away in the dark bushes.

Chapter 24

Brooke jumped nearly a foot in the air,
knocking Andrew squarely in the nose, when Gateway’s voice floated
to her ears.

Andrew’s reaction was a slightly different
from Brooke’s. Instead of jumping, he went still as a portrait, his
big arms squeezing tightly around Brooke’s midsection.

When it was clear Andrew wasn’t going to
speak, Gateway stepped closer and looked them over.

Andrew felt the blood rush to his head. This
was what he planned, wasn’t it? He wanted someone to discover the
two of them in an inappropriate situation that would result in her
shame and his success. However, now that it happened, it all felt
different, wrong even.

“What are you two about?” Gateway inquired,
cocking his head to get a better view.

Andrew felt Brooke’s body shiften and her
face rest against his chest. His bare chest. In less than a second
he comprehended just how bad the situation really was. He was
without a coat and waistcoat, his shirt was for the most part
undone, Brooke’s hair was down, her gown half unbuttoned in the
back and she was sitting on his lap.

“Just out enjoying the night,” Andrew replied
smoothly.

“Enjoying each other seems to be a more
accurate description,” Gateway said with a chuckle.

Andrew felt something wet on his chest, he
registered immediately I twas Brooke’s tears. The one thing he had
hoped to eliminate for her was complete mortification, which was
exactly what was happening.

Andrew relaxed his right arm and brought his
hand to her back where he rubbed small comforting circles, trying
to calm her shaking body.

“Now, now, Miss Banks, was his performance so
bad you have to cry about it?” Gateway asked with a grin.

“Better than yours would have been, I'm
sure,” Brooke retorted hotly as she twisted around to face him and
swiped the tears off her cheeks.

Andrew couldn’t see her face, but he imagined
rage was visible in those expressive eyes of hers because Gateway
did not immediately respond to her taunt.

Their good luck did not hold out for long
though. “You’ll never have the privilege to find out what it’s like
to have a real man. It seems to me that you have made your
selection.”

Andrew could feel Brooke stiffen again as she
realized exactly what he meant by that. If anyone found out what
they'd been doing, or how they were found, they’d be forced to
marry. Her body’s reaction to that knowledge hit Andrew like a
punch to the gut: he wasn’t the man Brooke wanted.

He should feel relieved, but instead he felt
agitated. Why was she so affronted at the idea of marriage to him?
Not that was going to offer it, but to know she was so opposed
hurt.

Brooke settled Gateway with a stern look.
“You would not be so much a cad to spread this story would
you?”

“No,” Gateway allowed. “I have nothing to
gain from your circumstances, unlike your companion.” The duke
glanced pointedly to Andrew.

Andrew seethed. Was Gateway about to expose
him to Brooke and ruin everything? What purpose would it serve for
him to do so? And what did he mean he had nothing to gain from her
circumstances? He had everything to gain; this whole thing was his
idea. He was the one who wanted them to go back to America for
whatever reason.

As if hit by lightening, Andrew had a
breakthrough. He still didn’t know why Gateway wanted them to be
sent all the way back to their homeland, but he figured out why he
wanted the family shamed: Brooke had rejected him.

Andrew let out a loud, harsh laugh. Brooke
had told him as much just before they had been discovered and if he
had been able to think about it for a minute before they were
interrupted he would have solved that piece of the puzzle
already.

Brooke turned a quizzical eye on Andrew. “How
can you laugh at a time like this?” she demanded.