That Despicable Rogue (20 page)

Chapter Twenty-Two

I
t was Reggie who next interrupted him. He shuffled into Ross’s bedchamber as the afternoon sun was at its hottest and then slumped heavily onto the bed.

‘Well, I hope you are proud of yourself. Poor Prim has been crying for hours.’

Ross tried to suppress the pang of guilt that came at this announcement and shrugged as if he did not care. ‘She only has herself to blame. How dare she stand in judgement of me when she knows nothing about it?’

‘And whose fault is
that
?’ the big oaf said reasonably. ‘You could have explained yourself but you didn’t. You never do. Look at it from her point of view. One minute she thinks you’re her prince and the next she thinks you killed your dad. Me and the Captain want to know why you didn’t tell her what a bastard he was.’

‘Because she didn’t ask,’ he replied with a touch of belligerence.

She had. Eventually. But by then he’d been riled and wounded and angry, and had felt foolish for offering her his heart, so he had lashed out in his customary fashion.

Reggie had the nerve to look at him if he was stupid. ‘The Captain thinks you didn’t tell her because you were frightened she’d disapprove. You have to tell her. Sometimes women like to be confided in.’

He nodded sagely after his final point, to make sure that Ross understood it was important. The fact that Reggie had given so much consideration to it made him feel even worse.

Ross stood up and began to pace in exasperation. ‘She’ll get over it. And then everything will be back to normal.’ But would he get over it? Right now he sincerely doubted it.

Reggie rolled his eyes and stared down through the mess that had once been his nose. ‘She won’t get over it, Ross. You’ve really hurt her feelings.’

‘And she’s hurt
mine
!’ His irritation grew when he saw Reggie smile knowingly, as if he understood better than Ross did.

‘That’s precisely the point—I ain’t never known you to be so upset by a girl. Me and the Captain both think you’ve got a soft spot for her. Go and find her and make it up.’

‘I most certainly do
not
have a soft spot for her.’ Yes, he did. He could not stop thinking about her. He wanted to kiss her more than strangle her, at least. ‘What did you mean when you said she thought I was her prince?’

It was a sad state of affairs that now he was actively seeking Reggie’s romantic advice, but he was just a tiny bit curious.

‘To hear her speak, you’re a bleeding saint. ’Course, I couldn’t make out the half of what she was saying, on account of all the grizzling, but that was the gist. That girl has strong feelings for you.’

‘Did she cry a lot?’ Ross was feeling more miserable by the second. He had been uncharacteristically cruel.

‘If you call hours and hours a lot. Even Cook couldn’t get her to stop. She just kept saying that it was best if she left Barchester Hall for good.’

Now Ross felt truly wretched. She had asked him why he had done it and he had clammed up and sulked. He had behaved like a lion with a thorn in its paw. When she had tried to apologise he had called her a disappointment. He had been a cad.

‘Where is she now?’

‘No idea. She said she was going for a walk to think about things. We haven’t seen her since.’

Ross had a pretty good idea where he might find her, though.

Twenty minutes later his suspicions were confirmed. Prim was floating on her back, eyes closed, as naked as the day she was born. The sight of her made his groin harden and his blood heat.

Before he could think better of it, Ross skirted around to the opposite side of the pond and stripped off his clothes. What better way was there to make things up than this? She was sorry. He was sorry. They didn’t need to waste time talking about it. He had a strange desire to hold her in his arms.

‘Hello, Prim.’

The sound of his voice startled her and she sank under the water with flailing arms. When she spluttered, coughing, back to the surface he was swimming towards her with a wicked glint in his eyes.

‘Don’t come any further,’ she shrieked, while simultaneously trying to cover her naked body with her hands and trying to stand. Unfortunately the water in the centre of the pond was a few inches too deep, and she was forced to tread water one-handed instead.

‘Why ever not?’ he said innocently. ‘Don’t tell me you are naked under there?’

Like an otter, he suddenly dived under the water to have a look, and when he surfaced close by he was grinning.

‘You
are
naked! I am scandalised. Too shocked for words. Guess what?’ he whispered as he stealthily came towards her. ‘So am I.’

Hannah tried her best to swim out of his reach, but with one hand clutching her bare breasts staying vertical in the water proved to be quite difficult. ‘Ross—please,’ she pleaded. ‘Stay back. This is not... Oh...!’

Her voice trailed off as his arm grabbed her around the waist and pulled her tight against him. His skin was warm and slick against hers.

‘You were going to say not proper, weren’t you? You are absolutely right, Prim. This is not the least bit proper.’

His face was creeping closer to hers and she was forced to brace one hand on his shoulder or drown.

‘Are you going to move that arm?’

He stared pointedly at the arm in question. It was sandwiched between them, still covering her bosom. Hannah blinked in shock.

‘I see that I must resort to more dastardly means.’

With one hand still wrapped around her waist, he used his free palm on the back of her head to pull her mouth onto his. Like an idiot, she let him.

The kiss he bestowed upon her was achingly gentle. His lips slanted slowly over hers until her own began to respond. Little by little her resolve melted, until she finally succumbed fully to it. Goodness, the man could kiss, she thought fleetingly, before he tangled his clever tongue with hers. Hannah could do little more than cling one-armed onto his strong shoulder as she floated, helplessly suspended, next to him.

He pulled her hips flush against his own and she felt the hard length of him press into her abdomen. Did this mean that he had forgiven her? She closed her eyes and tried not to hope. The man confused her so very much. One minute he was generous and noble, and the next he could coldly hand his father over to the authorities and seemingly not feel guilty for it. But the more she knew him, the less likely it seemed that he could be that cruel and callous. Should she trust her instincts?

As if he’d read her mind, he kissed her softly. ‘My father was not a nice man. I
will
explain myself. But please don’t make me do it here. Kiss me, Prim.’

Hannah saw the truth in his eyes and did as he asked. She arched against him and he groaned. Emboldened by his obvious desire, she finally relinquished her hold on her modesty and wove her fingers into his slick wet hair, matching the movements of his teeth and tongue urgently. For long moments they clung together like that, until both wanted more. He wrapped her legs around his waist and lifted her so that her breasts came clear of the water and were level with his face.

Initially Hannah felt exposed, and embarrassed to be so intimately displayed, but then she saw the admiration reflected in his eyes and felt his hardness jut against her insistently. When his hungry lips finally sought her puckered nipple and drew it into his mouth she cried out and undulated her hips against his urgently. Her body wanted him inside her.

‘Please...’ she heard herself moan. ‘Please, Ross.’

He tortured her other breast first, worshipping the hard tip with his tongue until she made a guttural sound that she had never made before, and reached between their bodies to touch him intimately.

Now it was his turn to growl in pleasure. With her legs still wrapped around his waist he began to carry her out of the water, kissing her neck, face, breasts—anything he could reach. Only when they were safely upon the bank did he carefully lower her body to the ground.

He knelt beside her and allowed his eyes to slowly take in everything. ‘You are beautiful,’ he whispered in wonder, and she believed him.

‘So are you.’

It was the truth. Naked, he was magnificent. The dark hair on his chest clung wetly to his muscles and wove its way over his flat abdomen, stopping at the base of his large and rigid manhood.

Shame flooded her again and she thought she would cry. ‘I am sorry—I feel wretched about my behaviour last night.’

One side of his mouth turned up in a smile. ‘We were both in the wrong. I should have explained, but I have got into the habit of never explaining. Let’s not talk about it now.’

Hannah sighed at the sight of the raw emotion shimmering in his eyes. It was more than desire. She held her arms open shyly and he gratefully fell into them. Once again when their mouths met they forgot about everything except the moment they were in and the sensations they were eliciting from each other.

His hand cupped her breast and his thumb brushed over her nipple until she thought she would die from the pleasure. He eased back a little so that he could stare down into her face, watching her as his fingers brushed over her ribcage and her tummy and then slowly drifted into the soft, downy hair at the top of her thighs, then lower still. He carefully parted her flesh, touching her in a place that had never been touched before, and watched her shudder. Over and over he circled that sensitive spot until she could stand it no more.

‘Please, Ross...’ Hannah had no idea what she was asking for, and did not care that her legs had fallen open, allowing him to see her most private place. She wanted him to touch it. Her hips rose impatiently into his hand until eventually he positioned his body there, poised to push inside. Her breath caught and he saw her nervous swallow.

‘Am I your first?’ he asked, suddenly concerned, and she nodded. His eyes closed briefly. When they opened he was smiling. ‘Good,’ was all he said, and slowly pushed inside.

Inch by glorious inch his hardness filled her. It felt a little alien at first, but the moment he started to move Hannah felt the discomfort ease as pleasure built. She allowed her palms to roam freely over his back and buttocks, revelling in the solid weight of him on top of her. Once again she wrapped her legs around his waist at his encouragement, and he moved her hips to meet his thrusts until her body picked up the rhythm. By then conscious thought had gone, and all she could think of was where their bodies joined and how wonderful it felt to have him sliding in and out of her.

His eyes were locked on hers. She saw affection, tenderness, desire and wonder in their depths.

Even when she shattered and her muscles clenched around him it felt natural. It was as if she had been created to be joined with this remarkable, beautiful and complex man. A few seconds later his own climax rocked through him and she revelled in the beautiful moment when he finally collapsed upon her—fully spent. Their hearts beat together furiously against their ribs until eventually he withdrew from her body and pulled her wordlessly into his arms.

She curled against him instinctively, contented, until she happily drifted off to dreamless sleep.

* * *

Ross did not sleep. He couldn’t. Making love to her had turned the world on its head and he was still trying to sort out exactly how he felt about it.

He had always enjoyed sex. It was a pleasant way to pass the time and after a healthy bout of it he usually felt invigorated. But, frankly, the woman in his arms had disarmed him. Granted, she was his first virgin. That might have something to do with it. But the peculiar ache around his heart had got worse and he was overwhelmed with the most enormous feelings of tenderness and possessiveness now that he had had her. Already he wanted her again.

Prim had been no meek virgin. She had writhed and moaned and undulated against him with such untutored but such honest passion that he had lost his head somewhere in that pond. Even now he was not certain that all his wits had returned. For want of a better word, he was stunned. And perhaps bewitched. He was certainly besotted.

She had been so trusting it had humbled him, and it was very satisfying to know that he had been her first. No other man had ever seen her or touched her as he had. He suspected that she would be his last lover. He could not imagine wanting another woman ever again, and hell would freeze over before he allowed her to lie with another man.

She stirred against him and smiled sleepily. ‘Hello, Prim,’ he managed to whisper, sounding reasonably normal, and kissed the top of her head.

She rolled onto her back and stretched like a cat in the early evening sunshine, giving him a totally unencumbered view of her nudity. ‘Hello, yourself...’

She smiled seductively up at him and he realised that the stretching was a deliberate ploy.

‘There is nothing Prim about you,’ he muttered, running his palm over her breast. ‘I should have realised that the first time I spied you swimming in this pond.’

Her lovely eyes narrowed suspiciously. ‘The first time?’

Ross chuckled and kissed her. ‘I followed you here once.’

Her mouth hung open in shock, so he kissed her nose instead.

‘Don’t look so outraged. I did warn you that I am not a gentleman.’

‘Obviously not,’ she replied, half smiling, half still aggrieved. And then she kissed him in forgiveness. ‘I suppose ladies do not swim naked in broad daylight either.’

‘I think I might be in love with you, Prim.’

The words had just tumbled out, but he realised that he meant them. He was not risking his heart—he had lost it to her long ago. He had no control over how he felt about her and there was no point in pretending otherwise.

Her blue eyes blinked back at him. ‘I think I might be in love with you too. And that terrifies me.’

The ache near his heart lessened. ‘Well, that is a good start.’

‘But I still feel awful about the way I reacted last night.’

‘You hit a sore spot and I reacted badly. My relationship with my father is...was...complicated.’

She rolled on her side and faced him silently. Perhaps Reggie was right and women did want to be confided in. If they were destined to be together she would expect it. He exhaled and gathered her close to his chest so that he would not have to see her eyes when he spilled out all the sordid details.