Redeeming the Deception of Grace (16 page)

"
Grace
,
"
Ewan whispered hoarsely, teasing the sensitive flesh around her temple with his nose and raining more soft kisses along her cheek and onto her jawline
.

With a sigh of contentment and disbelief
,
Grace lifted her chin to allow Ewan better access.
He
caress
ed
the other side of her neck, trailing gently down her shoulder and then
her
arm before finally lacing her fingers within his own
.

With a squeeze
,
he held tightly to her hand while his other one masterfully pulled on her hairpins to release her
cinnamon and gold
mane. Before Grace could react or think to stop him, her hair cascaded around her shoulders releasing the heady scent of her rose and citrus soap
.
Ewan groaned as his hand picked up a curl and inhaled the scent.

"
Even better than I imagined or dreamed
,
"
h
e whispered, resuming his gentle kisses to her jaw and then lower to her neck
.
Grace couldn
'
t believe her ears. Had he dreamt of her, as she had of him?

"
Of me? You
'
ve dreamt of me?
"
Grace whispered, unable to keep her voice
from
wavering
as her breath
ing
was uneven in response to Ewan
'
s kisses.

Leaning back
,
Ewan looked into her eyes and caressed her face with the back of his hand.

"
Oh yes
,
Grace
,
"
h
e answered, searching her eyes.
"
But nothing, not the best
of
dreams
,
could ever compare with this.
"
As soon as the words were out of his mouth
,
he pressed his lips softly to hers.

****

Ewan shivered in response to the sensation of Grace
'
s lips caressing his own
.
Shuddering with desire at her innocent response to his attentions, he struggled to be gentle
.
The last thing he wanted was to scare her with his intense desire
. N
o, this was Grace
,
and she deserved the most perfect of kisses
.
E
ven
if it killed him, he would give them to her, again and again
.

The scent of her skin filled his senses
,
and the rose and citrus fragrance imbedded itself in his mind
.
Nothing would ever compare to it
.

Her lips were soft and plush as she innocently accepted his attentions, not returning them
.
Trying to curb his frustration at her lack of response
,
he restrained himself from demanding more of her, choosing to put her needs before his own
.
A strange concept, that
.
Gently he raised his hand that had been holding her hand and guided her gloved fingers to his shoulder, never once breaking the seal of their lips
.

Once she touched his shoulder
,
she moved her arm around his neck and drew him closer.
S
he
tentatively
began to tug at his hair
,
nearly dissolving
Ewan
'
s
fragile self-control
.

Physically shaking in efforts to control himself
,
he kissed her harder, teasing her to open her mouth
.
When she gasped as he ran his tongue along her lower lip
,
he seized the opportunity and gently caressed her teeth with the tip of his tongue
.

With hesitation, Grace began to follow his lead and kiss
ed
him back
.

Ewan
reached
his hands
around
her
and pressed the small of her back
,
guiding her into a closer embrace that left no space between them. Reaching up
,
he lost himself in the long tresses he had unbound earlier and thrilled at their weight and texture
.
Each caress of her tongue, and nip at his lips brought Ewan closer to the point of breaking
,
but with each moment
,
his resolve seemed to firm
further
.

This was no passing fancy, no hidden rendezvous
.
This was Grace, and it was love. And as much as he wanted to reach down and pick her up,
to
carry her to a secluded corner and mak
e
her his in every way, he restrained himself.

Gently he broke the kiss, savoring the taste of her lips, a flavor all her own teasing his senses
.
Looking down into her green eyes
,
he swore to never forget the look of passion in the smolder of her eyes and swell of her lips
.

I
'
m the cause of her heated gaze; I am the one who christened her lips
,
h
e thought with triumph
.
Silently he vowed he would be the only one to do that to her, no one else
.
Which left only one question.

"
Grace?
"
h
e whispered as he leaned down and lightly brushed her swollen lips with his own, reveling in their softness.

"
Ewan.
"
H
er voice
was
husky with desire
.

Ewan couldn
'
t suppress the groan as he felt himself once again burn with desire. Closing his eyes to calm himself
,
he took a deep breath.
"
Grace, love.
"

She looked up, waiting.

"
Do you think…
"
He paused, searching for the perfect words
,
not wanting to rush through without thinking.
"
Would you ever consider…
"

****

Grace waited expectantly
, holding her breath
.
What was he asking
?
Could he truly be considering marriage? To her? She couldn
'
t believe it, wouldn
'
t believe it until her she heard the words.

With exaggerated motions Ewan reached up and smoothed her hair away from her face, trailing his finger down her face causing Grace to close her eyes.

"
I love you
,
"
h
e whispered
.
Grace
'
s eyes shot open as she searched his for confirmation of his words within their depths.

"
I love you
,
Grace
.
I don
'
t know when I started
.
It might have been when you were five and I put a frog in your bed.
"
He chuckled at the memory as he continued to trace lines down her face.
"
Or perhaps it was when you lied to your father and as a result caused me to suffer the worst punishment of my life.
"
He traced her lips with his finger, causing them to burn with an exquisite pleasure.
"
Or
maybe I was simply born to love you and was to
o
ignorant to realize it until I almost lost you.
"
His hand stilled on her lip.
"
But it
'
s true
,
and my heart is yours, only yours.
"

He trailed his fingers down to her chest and placed his palm on her heart as he reached with his other hand and placed her hand upon his heart as well
.
"
It beats for you.
"
He moved her hand up to his mouth.
"
I
breathe for you
,
"
h
e whispered as he kissed her fingertips one by one.
"
I live for you
,
Grace
.
"
T
he
clarity in his blue eyes convey
ed
his sincerity
.
"
Grant me life
,
Grace, be my wife
,
because my heart will surely cease to beat without you.
"
H
e search
ed
her eyes with
a
vulnerability Grace was humbled to discover.

"
Yes
,
"
Grace whispered, hardly able to believe she was being asked.

With a blue fire burning in his gaze, Ewan leaned down to find life in his love
'
s kiss.

Grace melted into Ewan
'
s embrace and returned his affections unabashedly
.
Feeling free in her love for Ewan
,
she unleashed her careful control and kissed him with all the love in her heart. She was unable to get close enough to him as he pressed his body against hers
.
She couldn
'
t kiss him deep enough nor long enough
.
Just as Ewan braced
her
against the wall
,
she heard the door to the hall open
.
Breaking apart from their heated embrace
,
she saw her father blink
, then smile and
clear his throat in effort to hide his amusement.

Before Grace could find her voice
,
Ewan spoke
first
.

"
She
'
s ruined me
,
sir
.
I demand she marry me at once
,
"
h
e called loudly to her father, earning a laugh that quickly turned into a cough.

"
I see, well,
Grace
,
you must do the proper thing and marry him
.
Make an honest man of him
,
you know…
"
The uncomfortable smile her father gave them caused
Grace
to grin in amusement.
Of all the wicked things to say, Ewan had come up with a clever remark indeed!

"
I
'
ll marry him, but as for being honest
—
well,
that
we
'
ll have to wait and see
.
"

"
Ahh, always my pretty little liar
,
hmm?
"
h
e teased
as he brazenly nipped her ear as he whispered the words.

"
Who
'
s the liar now?
"
She shiver
ed
in response to his gentle tugging on her earlobe.

"
Um, well, I
'
ll expect to see you two in exactly five minutes. Understood?
"
Her father called as he left them alone once more.

"
I imagined him to be a bit more upset in finding me in such a compromising position
,
"
Grace mused as she watched her father retreat
.

"
Ah, well
,
I did already speak with him and secure his permission for your hand
.
I can
'
t say he was all
too
surprised, which in turn did surprise me
,
"
Ewan admitted with a wry grin
.