Liberty for Paul (28 page)

“That’s simple,” he said easily. “You’re the only company, mixed or otherwise, I’ve ever talked that way in front of. For some reason, you embolden me.” He shrugged and cast her a simple smile. “When I’m around you I do and say things I’d never imagine saying in front of others. In a way, Brooke had it right when she claimed I was shy. I am. But not with you. As you already know, I’ve made an idiot of myself more times than not in your presence.”

Her smile returned. “But why did you let it go so far?”

“You mean why did I kiss and touch you?” he asked.

She nodded weakly.

“You’re my wife, Liberty. It’s no secret I desire you that way. I wanted to kiss and touch you. And, as selfish as it sounds, when you kissed me, all thoughts of telling the truth fled because I wanted whatever you were offering. Even if it was meant for another man.” His voice cracked on the last sentence and Liberty felt her heart crack.

“I’m sorry,” she said, truly meaning it. She’d always been the model of all that was prim and proper, and in a moment of weakness, she’d given into lust and allowed liberties to a man she didn’t know. “I didn’t do that with the intention of hurting you,” she whispered.

“I know,” he whispered back, taking a seat on her bed.

She ached to join him, wrap him in her arms and feel his strong arms come around her and pull her close. Instead, she settled for sitting next to him. “Can we talk honestly? No lies, no barriers?” she asked quietly.

“I’d like that,” he said softly, grabbing her hand.

“Why did you stop?” she asked quietly. “It’s no secret I enjoyed your touches. Why didn’t you take my virtue?”

“It wouldn’t have been fair to either of the two, or should I say three,” he winked at her, “of us. You would have thought you’d given your innocence to a stranger and I wouldn’t be able to correct your assumption. Not to mention that I, as your husband and Mr. Daltry, would have found myself in an awkward situation of trying to shoot myself from both ends of a dueling field.” He sent her a grin. “Truly, Liberty, I wanted you. But I knew if I couldn’t have you as my true self, then I’d rather not have you at all.”

“Why didn’t you reveal yourself when we went to my room?” she asked, biting her lip.

“Are you cracked?” he teased. “There was a rapier in there. I’ve no doubt you would have gladly finished the job Sam started.”

She laughed. “I noticed you didn’t bring it up today.”

“No. But not for fear you’d use it on me,” he replied, giving her hand a light squeeze.

She gave a mock gasp. “And you say I’m bloodthirsty. All right. Why did you come today?”

“I didn’t want to,” he confided, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb. “I came because I figured I’d have better luck talking sense into you as your trusted, mysterious confidant than as your dull, skirt-chasing husband.”

She swallowed a lump in her throat. “All right. I understand. All is forgiven about the masquerade. However, I’d like some other explanations.”

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “Ask away.”

The sensations his body was creating in hers made it hard for her to think. All the questions she wanted to ask faded and she couldn’t think of anything she’d previously wanted to ask. Finally, she asked, “Why are you a vicar?”

He laughed. “You mean why do I stay on even though everyone thinks I’m Seth’s father? At first I panicked and tried to stem the gossip. But I soon realized that short of having Lucy announce the truth in front of everyone, the problem wasn’t going to go away. I knew that would hurt her more than it would help, so when she offered, I told her no. Then I tried to get transferred, but there were no openings. So I stayed on and watched my congregation fall apart. A few months later I met your father, he suggested I should go visit the families that had left and let them get to know my character.”

“That’s why they’ve been coming back?” she asked, then “Oh, no, they’ll all leave when they find out what I’ve been doing.”

“You mean with your illegitimate illiterates?” he asked with a lazy smile and a shrug. “Who cares? If someone has a problem, I’ll quit.”

“But you can’t,” she protested.

He intertwined his fingers with hers. “Money isn’t a concern any longer,” he said with a shrug. “My grandfather, the duke that gave me the watch, left all his money and investments for me in a trust. On my next birthday all the money is mine.”

“Oh,” she said simply. “And when is your birthday.”

“Soon.”

“It better not be tomorrow,” she said only half-jokingly.

“It’s not,” he assured her. “It’s the day after.”

She looked at him horrified. “You’re having me on,” she said laughingly after a minute. “That silly grin of yours only comes out when you’re teasing.”

“So I am,” he acknowledged. “My birthday is at the beginning of next month. I’ll be five and twenty on the first of April.”

She looked at him skeptically. “You’re serious aren’t you?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” he said solemnly. “However, I’ll be the one with the last laugh this year when I receive more than a hundred fifty thousand pounds worth of investments.”

“So you really didn’t need my dowry?” she said dumbly.

“No.” He shook his head and smiled at her. “Last January I started getting the monthly dividends on my grandfather’s investments. That money alone is enough money to support us.” He gave her a tight squeeze. “Speaking of which,” he said abruptly, his voice turning rather serious. “I never intended for you to have to work.”

“That’s all right. I like being Elizabeth’s companion. I don’t think of it as work,” she said with a smile.

“Nonetheless, I intended for you to have an allowance. Apparently I forgot to sign something. Anyway, the money is in Bath, waiting to be spent.”

“Thank you,” she said as he let go of her hand and slipped his arm around her shoulders. “One last thing. If Sam’s not dead, why did the doctor or whoever that was, say there was good news and you’re cousins say I’m as good as viscountess. Can’t he just remarry?”

“
Yes, he can,” Paul said, nodding. “But that’s not the good news the
solicitor
was speaking of.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, furrowing her brow.

“
Sam won’t be having any more children,” he said simply. “The solicitor knows I support Sam’s brood. The good news was that there wouldn’t be anymore. Sam
can’t
have anymore,” he further explained after he caught sight of her blank stare.

“Why not?” she asked innocently.

He pulled her onto his lap. “All his parts aren’t in operating condition anymore,” he told her with a grimace.

“Oh,” she said, turning pink.

“So now, Mrs. Grimes, it depends on us to continue the family line,” he said with an exaggerated sigh.

She swatted him on the arm. “So you do want a broodmare,” she teased in mock indignation.

“No,” he said quietly. “I want you.”

“Oh, Paul, I’m so sorry,” she said, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. “I’m sorry for the way I’ve treated you all this time.”

“I don’t want to talk about the past. I forgive you for everything, including the bit with ‘Mr. Daltry’,” he said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“I didn’t intend to hurt you,” she said, her voice cracking and lips quivering. “I j-just wanted to b-be wanted.”

“I do want you,” he said raggedly, pulling her closer to him. “I do want you.”

“Did you mean everything you said when you were ‘Mr. Daltry’?” she asked uneasily.

“You mean the parts about wanting you for you and marrying you without a dowry?” he asked as if he’d read her mind.

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Absolutely,” he said without hesitation. “Your father may think he tricked and bribed me, but he didn’t. I wouldn’t have married you if I hadn’t wanted to. I just didn’t know at the time that I wanted to.”

She shook her head and ran her fingers in mindless patterns on his chest. “What did you write on my chest that night,” she asked, stilling her fingers and looking up at him with wide, curious eyes.

“Isn’t that obvious?” he asked, reaching up and pulling a pin from her hair. “I wrote ‘I love you’. When you asked me to do it again, I didn’t dare.”

“I love you, too,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing her face close to his.

“I know,” he said before pressing his lips to hers. “Liberty,” he said raggedly, breaking their kiss. “I want to make you my wife.”

“I already am,” she giggled, pressing her lips back to his.

Pulling back, he said, “No. I want to make you my wife in truth.”

“Oh,” she said, blushing. “Here? Now?”

“Yes, here,” he said, standing her up.

“But, we can’t,” she said, shaking her head.

“Why not?” he demanded, pulling the rest of the pins from her hair and releasing it into a thick wavy mass.

“It’s my sister’s house,” she squealed as he started undoing the buttons at the top of her gown.

His hand stilled and he turned her to face him. “You’re jesting, right?” he said sarcastically. “She basically gave us her blessing.”

“Well,” she said with an exaggerated sigh. “I suppose we’ll have to get to it if we don’t want to be locked in here for the rest of our lives.”

“Just so,” he agreed, bending to kiss her neck. “And, we have my family line to think of. I’d hate to see the title go to Lloyd.”

She shuddered at the thought. “All right,” she sighed, feigning playful resignation. “In the sake of duty, take me to bed.”

He flashed her a grin. “Gladly.”

Chapter 31

Paul drew back and whispered, “Liberty, as I said earlier, I’m not an expert in this area. You’ll have to tell me what you do and don’t like.”

She flashed him a grin. “Well, sir, I
don’t
like all these clothes, I think I’d like it very much if they vanished,” she said, flicking her wrist.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a mock salute. “I’ll get right on it, ma’am” Then his lips took hers and he brought his fingers back up to the top of her gown to work the buttons.

Liberty returned his kiss, matching his movements. She brought her hands up to his face and ran her fingers along his smooth cheeks, tracing the outline of his cheek bones and jaw. “So smooth,” she murmured against his mouth.

He leaned back and grinned. “Did the mustache make you itch, too?” he asked, bringing his hands to the front of her gown.

“No, not really. It kind of tickled, actually,” she said with a smile, running her finger over his bare upper lip.

He grabbed the caps of her sleeves and reverently let his hands slide them over her shoulders. “You’ve beautiful shoulders,” he murmured before leaning closer and kissing the flesh he’d just bared. His hands lowered her gown all the way to the floor and she felt so naked and exposed standing before him this way.

Her hands delved to the inside of his waistcoat and pushed it open. He shrugged out of it and let it fall to the floor along with his coat, forming a careless, forgotten heap. His mouth came to settle on her right shoulder, tenderly kissing a path to her neck. Her fingers went to work on his shirt, making quick work of the buttons as he started to kiss the sensitive skin behind her ear and absentmindedly toyed with the straps of her chemise with his fingers.

She gasped when he gently nipped her neck. Recovering, she started pulling his shirt off. With a growl, he broke away from her neck and allowed her to remove his shirt. Her eyes did a slow and thorough survey of his chest, mentally taking note of each contour. Nervously, she reached her fingers up to run them over his chest. Funny that she’d been so brave about touching him when she hadn’t known who he was.

As if sensing her hesitation, Paul reached up and covered her hand, bringing it to rest on his chest. “Touch me,” he rasped.

Slowly, she moved her hand from the spot he’d placed it. She ran her fingers over his muscled chest, stilling on top of his heart for a second. His hands came to rest on her shoulders, and he hooked his thumbs under the edge of her chemise straps. Bending to kiss her lips again, he groaned when she brought both hands to his chest and slowly trailed them down his torso to the top of his trousers.

Breaking their kiss, he lowered his head and scattered kisses on her chest above her chemise while his hands dropped lower to caress her breasts. Sighing at the sensation of his strong hands firmly shaping her, her fingers stilled on his buttons. His head lowered again and his mouth closed over the tip of her breast. She groaned and arched her back, offering him more of herself. His hands grabbed the hem of her chemise and she felt it sliding up her skin. Abruptly, his mouth left her breast and she whimpered at the loss of closeness. She felt rather than saw his grin at her reaction and she blushed in embarrassment.

“No need to be embarrassed,” he murmured. “I want you to enjoy it.”

Her eyes flew to his. He was right; there was no need to be embarrassed. He was her husband. He wasn’t going to mock her for enjoying his touches. He loved her.

As soon as her chemise was off, his mouth took hold of her aching nipple once again. Her hands flew to his hair. Twining her fingers in the back of his dyed locks, she held his head to her chest. His hands came to rest on her hips and slowly he walked her backward toward the bed. Laying her down atop the feather mattress, he kissed a trail of kisses from the top of her sternum to her naval. “You’re so beautiful,” he panted. “Did you know I thought so the night we met?”

She rolled her eyes and ran her palms up and down his thick arms. “Do you know where you go for lying?” she asked with a sweet smile.

He chuckled. “Of course. But, I’m not lying. The night we met, I saw you smile and I thought you were the most beautiful woman in the room,” he said, his voice full of conviction. “I love to see you smile, Liberty.”

“I know,” she said honestly. “Only a besotted man makes an idiot of himself in front of his wife on St. Valentine’s Day,” she teased, brushing her knee against his arousal.

“Right,” he said curtly. “I forgot. You’ve a curiosity for male parts.”

She put her foot flat on his thigh and inched her toes in the direction of his waist. “Hmm?”

He stood up all the way and brought his hands to rest on his waistband. “Since you seem to remember my body so well, perhaps I shouldn’t even bother taking off my pants,” he said, rolling his eyes up to look at the ceiling and twisting his lips as if he were in deep contemplation.

She repositioned herself on the bed so she was lying on her side with her head propped up on her hand. “Drop your pants,” she demanded with a sultry smile.

His eyes went wide and he gasped. “And here I thought you’d never extend me the invitation again,” he said, feigning shock.

“I didn’t,” she chirped. “It wasn’t an invitation, it was a demand. Now, drop ‘em.”

“Or what?” he asked, grinning.

“Or I’ll do it for you,” she said sweetly.

He groaned. “As much as I’d love to have you do just that, you’d better not. It might be my undoing.” Making quick work of his boots and trousers, Paul soon stood before her in all his naked glory. “Look your fill,” he told her hoarsely. “I know I’ve been.”

Liberty giggled. “You know, I have a hard time sometimes remembering you’re a vicar,” she said laughingly. “You have a tendency to say some of the most shocking things.”

“Only to you, Liberty,” he returned. “As I said, you embolden me. I may be a man of God, but I’m still a man. I still get angry like a man and I still have the same desires of a man.”

“Clearly,” she remarked dryly with a pointed look at his rampant erection.

In a second Paul was on the bed with Liberty. His hands traveled down her legs, taking her stockings with them. Carelessly, he threw them to the ground before starting to work on her drawers. When he had her free of her drawers, he brought both hands to her thighs and softly massaged her tender flesh, sending waves of excitement coursing through her body. Burying his head in the crook of her neck, he spread her thighs.

Her hands kneaded the hard muscle in his broad shoulders and back. His body shifted and came to rest between her legs, causing her to involuntarily stiffen. “Relax,” he murmured into her neck.

She felt his hand slide up her thigh until he reached the apex of her thighs. Slowly, his fingers started touching her soft flesh, causing a fresh wave of sparks to fly through her. “I thought—”

He kissed her lips to silence her question. “Just let me touch you first.” He slipped one of his thick fingers inside and she gasped.

She opened her mouth to ask if he knew what he was doing, but he silenced her again with a playful pinch on her bottom. Perhaps he did know after all, she thought a minute later when an intense pressure started building inside her. She shut her eyes and let the sensations created by his steady rhythm take hold. The pressure became too much and just as it threatened to overtake her, he stilled and withdrew.

On the verge of protesting his sudden absence, she felt him at her entrance again. This time he felt bigger, thicker. Awareness dawned. This was it. His eyes met hers and they locked gazes as he carefully pushed forward. She felt her body stretching and adjusting to his size, she braced herself for what she knew was coming next.

With a murmured apology, a look of remorse, and a savage cry, Paul pushed forward past the last barrier between them, catching her startled cry with his mouth. His body stilled and he waited for her eyes to meet his. “There was no other way,” he said raggedly.

“It’s all right,” she assured him, wiggling her hips to get more comfortable.

He groaned and lowered his head to rest next to hers for a second before he started moving in a steady rhythm. Instinctively, she started to respond by rocking her hips to match his movements, increasing her pleasure. Once again she felt herself on the verge of something she couldn’t comprehend. Not wanting to escape it again, she closed her eyes and gave herself completely over to it. She was lost to her own pleasure and was barely aware of Paul’s savage growl of release.

His body rested on top of hers for a minute before he rolled off mumbling something about being too heavy. Laying her head on his chest, she stroked his sternum with one delicate finger.

“I love you, too,” he said a second after she was done.

She looked up at him. “You’re better at that than I am.”

“No. You were just distracted when I did it to you, that’s all,” he pointed out.

“You’ll just have to do it again sometime,” she said, kissing his cheek.

“I will. Don’t worry,” he said, holding her close.

She idly twirled a curl of his chest hair. “I wonder if Brooke’s unlocked the door yet.”

“Who cares?” he asked, favoring her with a wolfish smile. “I’ve no plans to leave anytime soon. Do you?”

“Absolutely not. We have duties to fulfill in here,” she teased, moving her hand down to his hip to trace the scar she’d longed to touch since the night she’d first seen him naked.

He laughed. “You can use that as an excuse to share my bed if you want. But I want to share yours for love. And I think you do, too,” he said, giving her a gentle squeeze.

“It’s true, I do,” she said, snuggling closer. “I’ve hidden behind duty and propriety too long. I want to share your bed because I love you, Paul, not for any other reason.”

Liberty felt Paul’s large hand rub soothing strokes on her shoulders and was about to close her eyes to go to sleep when her eye caught a little white ball on the floor. “What’s that?” she asked, pointing to ball.

Paul stopped rubbing her and looked to the ball beside his discarded trousers. “I believe that’s a note,” he said matter-of-factly. “The night of the ball it was lying in your bed and I snatched it up before you could see it and realize who I was.”

“What does it say?” she asked, looking at him curiously.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I shoved it in my pockets and forgot all about it until just now.”

Not wasting another minute, she leapt from the bed and scooped up the ball of paper. Unfolding the note, she read it aloud, “‘Dear Paul and Liberty, I thought you two needed a new start. Love, Brooke’.”

“No post script from the others begging us not to be angry with them?” Paul inquired with a smile.

“Actually, yes. Except the three of them begged we not seek revenge by way of killing, maiming, or injuring any of them,” she said, leading them both to laugh at their ridiculous pleas.

“She was right, you know,” he commented a minute later when his laughter had subsided. “We did need a fresh start. For as much trouble as that masquerade caused, it led to a new beginning for us.”

“Oh, Paul, I love you,” Liberty said, tossing the paper on the floor.

“Come show me.”

And she did.