Ruin Me Please (50 page)

Knowing her as he already did.  He was aware that she
had questions.  He had tried his best to avoid them as often as possible.
 
Surreptitiously preparing
for a new mistress at Allin
g
ham
Park
prove
d to take time and organization and he wanted to surprise her.

He returned his eyes to her when she stretched like a cat, her heavy-lidded eyes ta
k
ing
a moment to focus
,
still cloudy with sleep
,
her cheeks r
osy from her nap. 

She was breathtaking.
 
Sh
e was so full of passion.  He was completely amazed that she would one day be his beloved wife.  He felt stupidly young and gauche
when his groin tigh
t
ened
.  He was
u
nable to control the slightest hint of desire that pulsed through him whenever she was around.

A slow easy smile covered her face when she saw him.  “Hello.”  Her
voice
was
still
husky with sleep.  Poppy looked
around
,
notic
ing
the deep shadows that covered the library walls.

“Hello
,
yourself
,” Declan
responded with a smile.

“Hmmm…what time is it?”
  She pushed herself up and
looked towards the
grandfather
clock in the corner.

“It
’
s actually getting close to dinner time
,
”
h
e said softly.  “But we
still have
plenty of time to talk before we need to dress for dinner.  If you would like
,
that is?”  He smiled endea
r
ingly at her.

“That smile will do nothing to appease my
irritation
.”  Poppy frowned.  “I am
annoyed with you right now Declan,” Poppy
said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“
Believe me I am
fully aware of your irritation,” h
e
said
with a quirked brow.

“You have practically ignored me for t
hree
whole days
,
”
s
he said with a
note of self-pity in her voice as well as a hint of jealousy. 

“Poppy, I have not ignored you for t
hree
days
,
”
h
e
attempted to
placate her.  “We were together this morning in your
secluded
garden
, if you remember
,
”
h
e stated as he cocked one of his black eyebrows.  “You are certainly aware of how much time we have been spending t
o
gether.  I was trying to stem any hints of impropriety.  I do not want you to be forced into an
y
thing that you may not want.” 

“Really
?
”
s
he asked with a note of surprise in her voice.  “That is all?
”

His gaze met and held her
s
.  A long moment passed before he gave an encouraging smile.  “
What else would you have me do?  You declined my offer of marriage.
” 

“I can see how that would place you in a precarious position.” 
Her mouth curved into a smile.  She relaxed as they sat and talked making easy conversation.  They spoke as if they had known each other their whole lives and the time flew past.
They talked
about everything under the sun.  Laughing at silly items of no consequence and trying to outdo each other’s childhood pranks. If anything, this time together cemented in Declan’s mind how right he and Poppy were for each other.  Bringing out the best each had to o
f
fer.  

He glanced towards the grandfather clock, just as it started chiming the quarter hour.
“Well
,
I believe it is now time for us to ready ourselves for dinner.”  Standing, he held out his hand.

Placing her hand firmly in his, Poppy stood.  Laughing as she once again had to search for her slippers. 

With an enigmatic smile, he reached down and pulled her slippers out from beneath the chair she had just vacated.  Kneeling,
almost reverently, he placed her slippers
on her dainty feet. 
Running
his hand softly up her leg,
he massaged
her calf
then lowered his hand to circle her
slender ankle
with his long fingers
.  The silkiness of her stocking covered legs was a sharp sensual contrast to his rough, calloused hands.  Breathing deeply, he lowered her skirt and stood.

Then he tucked her hand firmly through his arm and walked her up to her room.

“I did have something I wanted to ask you
,
” Poppy said quietly, her bottom lip caught between her teeth.

“Of course, you can ask me anything
,
”
h
e reminded her, i
ntrigued
at the timidity of her inquiry
.

“Well,” she hesitated.  “I
t is actually about Parker.” 
With a worried look she asked
, “
Do you know
anything about the rumors
that
I heard while in London
?”

His brows drew together for a moment before he answered
.  “Yes, I believe I have an inkling of what you are referring
.”  Declan’s mouth firmed as he decided how much to reveal.  “I think it would be best if you asked your brother for the details.” 

“I do
n’
t want you to reveal any promised confidences.”  Her brow puckered
as she blew
out a frustrated breath.  “I guess you are right.  I’ll need to discuss this with him then.”

Reaching out Declan gently rubbed the wrinkle between her brows.  With his head cocked at an
angle,
a tender smile curved his lips.  In a hushed voice he said, “Don’t worry my little angel.  Parker is fine.”  Leaning in
,
he placed a kiss on the tip of her nose.

Smiling widely he raised her hand to his lips.  Flipping her hand and kissing the inside of her wrist.
  She closed her eyes rapturously and gave a happy sigh.

With a
captivating
smile, Poppy raised her
other
hand and lightly skimmed his masculine jaw
,
l
oving the rasping of his whiskers on the palm of her hand.

Declan uncon
sciously leaned into her palm, a
lmost p
urring.
 
Unable to resist, w
ith deli
b
erate slowness, he captured her lips in a tender kiss.  She felt it all the way to her toes.  Like a bolt of
lightning
zinging acr
oss the sky.  Her cheeks glowed
with delight.  In that moment, ev
e
rything was right with the world.
 
He slowly drew a deep steadying breath and released her.  “I will see you at dinner
,
love.”  Bowing, he placed one last moist kiss on the inside of her wrist.  Turning from Poppy
,
he walked towards his suite of rooms.

Leaning back against her door, Poppy touched her lips
.
O
nce again
, finding
herself dazed
by his kiss.
  She stepped into her room, closed the door, and
made her way through her dressing room and the adjoining bathing room to knock on Piper’s door.  Not waiting for a r
e
sponse, she opened her
twin
’
s
door. 

Piper was laying on her bed reading and rose to her elbows when Poppy entered.
 
“How are you doing
,
Po
p
py?”

“I’m fine.”  Hopping up on the
bed,
she
plopped
down on her stomach proppi
ng her chin up with her hands, kicking her feet back and forth.
“I love him
.
”  Looking troubled
she i
n
quired
, “You like Declan
,
don’t you?”

“Yes, I actually like him quite a bit
,” she
said with a little smile.  “The last few days I have spent some extra time with him.  He is a wonderful man.”

“Do you think he loves me?”

“
I know he l
oves
you quite a bit. 
You will know everything soon enough.”

With a ha
rrumph, “This is so frustrating,
”
s
he groaned.
  F
lopping over to her
back,
she stared at the ceiling. 
Then she laughed as she glanced
at her sister out of the corner of her eye
. 
“I am learning that I am not a very patient person.”

Piper chuckled.
“You’re just now realizing that?”

***

F
eeling the need to make known Poppy’s concerns,
instead of heading to his room, he turned around and walked to
Parker’s study.
 
Declan lightly knocked on the study door and walked into the room.

He
found
Par
ker s
itting
near the black and white marble fireplace staring blindly at the wall with a decanter of brandy on the table near him
and a glass in his hand
.

Declan closed the door,
cross
ing
to the deep leather chair opposite him.  “Mind if I join you?”  Declan gave a small smile.

“Sure,
take
a seat
,” he
said, gesturing
towards the other chair.  “You’ll want to grab a glass over at the liquor cabinet if you want to have a drink.”  Parker gave
a slight nod toward the ca
b
inet.

M
aking his way to the cabinet, Declan poured himself some whiskey then sat down. 
Watching as
Parker
poured another splash of brandy. 

“Poppy mentioned
con
cerned for
you
today.  She mentioned the rumor
.” 
He took
a swallow of the smooth whiskey. 
L
ean
ing
his head back,
monitoring
Parker from beneath his lowered lashes.

Giving him a flat look, Parker blew out a long breath.  “That old
rumor surfaced again this year
.
” 
He shook
his head attempting to mask his dismay.  “
Why do a
ll
those nasty bus
y
bodies drag
up old nonsense for their bitter amusements
?
”
H
e slammed his fist on
the arm of his chair.  “It is just like those dried up old harridans to sit in their chairs watching for someone t
hey
make
squirm.  They derive some kind of sadistic pleasure from other’s pain and emba
r
rassment.  I
f I could throttle them I would,” h
e roared.

Declan waited quietly for him to finish.

“
What I was accused of was horrendous,
”
h
e said almost too quietly, too dispassionat
e
ly.  “Thank God my fathe
r trusted me.  I was almost hanged for
murder.”  With a wry gr
i
mace he continued
. 
“If I wasn’t titled and rich as Croesus, I would be on the continent right now.”  His chest heaved in anger.  “Peyton knows eve
rything, but I have worked doubly
hard to shield Poppy and Piper from these horrid tales.  Now it seems that I will have to explain everything.” 
He looked
at Declan with dismay.  “I don’t want them to be hurt by th
o
se old r
u
mors.”