A Marquis to Marry (15 page)

Susannah had had very few opportunities to play the pianoforte for anyone other than her mother and any staff who might happen to hear her practice, but she wasn’t in the least nervous about playing for the marquis. She knew she was very good.

“Sit where you like,” she said.

She watched him sit down in the middle of the settee and prop one of his booted feet on the opposite leg. He was divinely handsome in his crisp white shirt, red waistcoat, and black jacket littered with tiny bits of shrub. She enjoyed simply looking at him.

Susannah needed no written music, and that was good, because she didn’t have any with her. But what should she play for him? Should she ask if he had a favorite? No, what if he asked for a song she didn’t know how to play? That might prove embarrassing.

Her fingers splayed onto the ivories, and she felt Race’s hot gaze on her face. Suddenly, she started playing the beautiful melody of Bach’s “Invention.”

About halfway through the piece, she glanced up at Race. He was watching her with admiration and desire in his eyes. It pleased her to know her talent gave him enjoyment.

She looked back down at the ivory, but what she wanted to look at was Race’s seductive eyes. She wanted to tell him she was charmed and flattered that he had come over, that he wanted to hear her play, that he was pursuing her.

He must know how difficult it was for her to resist him. His smile, his manner, and even his roguish reputation captivated her, intrigued her, and seduced her.

She took in a deep, languid breath as she finished Bach’s score and went immediately into Beethoven’s
Moonlight Sonata
. As she played, she kept thinking about Race. What was she going to do about him? If she accepted invitations and attended the exclusive parties in London, would she be opening herself up to the kind of shame and ridicule she experienced before she married the Duke of Blooming? Did Society ever truly forget about indiscretions, she wondered? Would being with the charming marquis be worth the risk of heartache again? She didn’t know the answer to any of those questions.

When the music was over, she rose, moved from behind the pianoforte, and curtseyed.

Race rose and clapped. “Bravo, Duchess, bravo.” He took both her hands firmly, warmly in his, kissing first one and then the other. “These hands are magical when you’re playing.”

She smiled and laughed lightly. “You are such a flatterer.”

With the backs of his fingers, he skimmed down her cheek and brushed aside a wispy stand of hair. “I have been, but not this time. I’m telling the truth. Thank you for playing for me. I had a hell of a, pardon me, I had a trying day, and listening to you play soothes me.”

“I’m glad.”

Bending his head, he gently brushed his lips across hers. The kiss was so gentle and brief that, if she tried, she could probably convince herself it never happened. Yet her heart rate told a different story. It was beating out of control.

She gazed into his eyes, her heart hoping he’d kiss her again, because she knew she wouldn’t resist him.

He gently tugged on her hands, and she went willingly into his strong, waiting arms. They tightened around her and snuggled her against his chest. He lowered his head again, and instinctively, her lips parted, her mouth opened, and his tongue slipped inside with a warm, slow, easy thrust. The kiss was long, generous, and eager. Short, choppy breaths mingled with long, whispery sighs.

He lifted his head barely an inch from hers and said, “I’ve wanted to kiss you like this since I first saw you standing so poised and so proper in my house, telling me I could charm a nun out of her chemise.”

Susannah laughed. “You know I never said such an outrageous thing.”

“Oh, right,” he teased. “You asked me to guess if you were a tiger or a nun.”

He was simply too charming for words. “You know it was a leopard, and I never asked you to guess anything about me,” she said with a smile. “You are a devilish rogue who has twisted my words beyond recognition. You have forgotten what I said.”

His eyes turned serious as he held her close. “No, I haven’t forgotten one thing about you. But what I remember most about that afternoon was that our attraction to each other was instant and mutual. We both felt it.”

A quickening started in the depths of her abdomen and shuddered all the way up to her breasts and lingered there before moving on to her throat, tightening it.

“I’m not denying that,” she whispered.

His eyes searched her face. “What do you suggest we do about it?”

“Accept it?” she questioned.

His lips crooked into a captivating grin. “Perfect answer.”

His head bent toward hers again. Susannah knew what they were doing was not acceptable in Polite Society, and heaven help her, but she didn’t care. There was something particularly delicious about once again being rebellious against all her peers held dear. She had no inclination to discourage Race from the liberties he wanted, and she had no inhibitions about being in his arms.

Her lips parted again, and when his touched hers, she knew this would not be a gentle kiss. His lips brushed hungrily, greedily over hers, and she matched his fervor. His strong, firm arms wrapped tightly around her back and crushed her to him. It pleased her to hear him swallow small gasps of pleasure as her tongue explored the inside of his warm mouth. Passion, hot and demanding, seared between them.

He kissed his way over her chin, down her neck, and back up to the sensitive spot behind her ears. Susannah’s skin pebbled with delicious tingles. He kissed the lobe of her ear, pulling it and the small gold earring she wore, into his mouth. Shivers of delight threaded across her breasts, through her abdomen, and settled between her legs. Her lower body strained to get closer to the hardness she felt beneath his breeches. The elating sensations caused her to press her lips to his once again and slide her tongue deep into his mouth with a muffled groan.

Susannah ran her open palms over the width of his strong back. She loved the feel of the expensive wool fabric of his coat beneath her hand. She slid her fingers into the back of his thick, rich hair and gloried in the freedom to touch him as she wished.

He found the hollow at the base of her throat, and his tongue sampled her skin again. “You taste as rich as the finest cream, Susannah.”

“You tempt me too much, Race.”

“I’ll consider that an honor.”

Desire soared between them as his hands ran up her back, over her shoulders, and down to her breasts. He cupped them, fondled them as he continued to kiss her lips, her cheeks, and her chest. She moaned her pleasure deep in her throat. Susannah felt as if her insides were twisting into wondrous knots of pleasure, and it was thrilling. She felt more alive than she had felt in years.

She loved the way his lips moved over hers and the taste of his tongue in her mouth. She was eager to enjoy everything she was experiencing, but should she give in to desire for a handsome, charming man as she once had?

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Susannah knew she was playing with fire so, reluctantly, she pushed out of his arms and stepped away from him.

Trying to calm his labored breathing, Race took a deep breath and smoothed down his hair with his hand.

“Susannah,” he said.

She turned to him, lifted her chin, squared her shoulders, and without emotion said, “I was eighteen and only three weeks into my first Season when it happened.”

Race started toward her, but she held out her hand to stop him from coming closer.

“Susannah, don’t. It’s not important what happened years ago.”

“It is to me. I want you to know everything about my past, and then if you still want me to meet you at a party some evening or go for another ride in the park, I will.”

“All right. Tell me anything you want, but know this, nothing you can say will affect what I am feeling for you right now or how I will feel about you after you finish.”

She believed him. Susannah turned away from him. He had given her an out. She didn’t have to tell him.

So don’t.

No, I can’t go any further with him unless I do, and my
heart tells me to enjoy this man.

Race watched Susannah closely as she turned back to face him, looking strong and confident. She was studying over what he had said. He didn’t care a fig about her past, but if it was that important to her, he would listen. It was the present and the future that mattered to him, and he had already decided he wanted her in both. He gave her an understanding smile and nodded once.

“I met him at my first party. He was so confident and handsome. My heart was so young and eager to find the perfect husband before the Season was finished. After our dance that first evening, I knew he was the man I wanted to marry.

“We danced the next night and the next. I flirted with other gentlemen, and I watched him dance with other ladies, but our eyes always found each other across the room. I remember I was so jealous when I saw him dance with ladies I considered prettier than me.”

“I can’t believe anyone was lovelier than you, Susannah,” Race said.

“There was.” She smiled at him. “One of my friends made a match after the first week of the Season to a gentleman she fell madly in love with. I was already into the third week and thinking I was going to be left on the shelf.”

He searched her face, wondering if she still loved the man. Race was pleased when he didn’t see pining for lost love in her eyes, just an acceptance of what had happened.

“I was worried and eager. Was there another that he loved? Was I going to lose him? When he asked me to join him in the garden one night, I was thrilled and readily agreed. I slipped away from my parents to meet him.”

“What happened?”

Her eyes took on that faraway quality that he often saw in Gibby’s eyes when he was remembering the past.

“He took my hands and told me how lovely I was and how desperately he loved me. He asked to kiss me, and of course I allowed him to. I saw no harm. I had so many stars in my eyes, I couldn’t see anything but him. Besides, he told me he loved me. I thought we were going to be married.”

“The beast was lying.”

“Yes, but I didn’t know that at the time. His kisses thrilled me. He wanted to touch me, and I wanted him to. Unfortunately, my uncle and two of his friends happened along and caught us with my dress off my shoulders.”

Though he really didn’t want to know, Race had to ask. “Did you let him make love to you?”

She took a deep breath. “So some would say. I was still a virgin when I married the duke, but alas, I was not untouched according to the strict rules of Society. In fact, my husband was quite surprised I was a virgin.”

“And also delighted, I’m sure. Why didn’t this other man marry you after he compromised you?”

She gave a mirthless laugh. “We never spoke after that. I suppose the main thing was that he didn’t love me. He wanted only to seduce me. After I allowed him to touch me, suddenly I was soiled goods as far as he was concerned. He told my father that, if I had let him kiss me and touch me as he had, then I must have allowed others to do the same.”

“He spoke like a pig,” Race said, his anger rising at this unknown man.

“I blame only myself.” She walked over to the window and stared out. “It was my folly. I shamed my parents. My mother took to her sick bed. In fact, I didn’t see or hear from her for over a year after my marriage.”

Race walked up behind her and laid his open hand on her back, rubbing from one shoulder to the other. “It must have been hard on you to have your mother reject you like that.”

“No, I felt it was justified after what I had done. My father told me I would never be welcomed in anyone’s house in London again.”

“Society’s rules can be harsh.”

“During that time, my parents seldom let me out of the house, and when I was allowed, I had to hide my face with my parasol. That was all right with me. I didn’t really want to see anyone. I was ashamed, not because I had let him kiss me and touch me, but because I was foolish enough to think he loved me. He made me feel like a fool, and that was difficult to accept.”

“How did it come about that you married the duke?”

She faced him. “My father heard he was coming to London to look for a suitable wife, so he sent him a letter about me. The duke came to London, and I was presented to him one afternoon. We married three days later. I left London and never came back until I came to find you. So you see, I have a tarnished reputation, and I’m not sure I’ll be welcomed at anyone’s house.”

Race’s forehead wrinkled into a frown. “I doubt anyone will recall such a minor event after so many years.”

She smiled at him. “It did not seem minor at the time.”

“But now you are a duchess—a beautiful, unattached duchess. You will be welcomed by everyone, Susannah; that is why you are already receiving invitations. The day you married the duke, your past was swept clean, and if your parents didn’t tell you that, they should have.”

Her eyes lingered on his face, and she smiled gently. “So now that you know about my past, do you still want to dance with me?”

Race moved closer to her. “Now more than ever. It does not matter to me that you had a few stolen kisses with a handsome beau when you were so young. Do you mind telling me the man’s name?”