It Happened One Christmas (18 page)
Read It Happened One Christmas Online
Authors: Kaitlin O'Riley
“In my view, poverty only begets more poverty. There has to be a way to break the cycle. Hopefully this will do it. Most important, the families we select to live here will have access to clean water, which they don't get in the city and what causes much of the diseases that run so rampant through the slums. Each home will have its own garden so they can grow their own food. And they will have a beautiful space to move and breathe in. There will be a church over there and the main street of the village will run along here, with shops and a school.” He pointed with his free hand. His other hand still grasped Lisette's. He noted with pleasure that she had not pulled away from him.
“What about employment?” she asked, her face alight with interest. “How will they earn a living and support themselves?”
Impressed with her intelligent questions, he answered, “That will be the goal of the selection committee to choose families with some sort of trade skills to start with. We will also train some of them to work in the stores and shops. We are only a short train ride into the city, and they can seek employment there as well. They will live in the houses free to start and eventually begin to pay rent, with a possibility to owning the home at some point. All the rent money we collect will go back into improvements on the houses and the community in general.”
“This is quite an enormous undertaking you've begun, Mr. Roxbury. Do you really think this will work?”
“I have people telling me I'm crazy to attempt this, stating that a venture of this magnitude will never succeed. They tell me it is destined to fail. But how can we not try? I think they are wrong and it will be successful. If it turns out to be an abysmal failure, then I will know I was wrong. And I would have lost a lot of money. However, I can't help but believe that something good will come of all this.”
“Has anything like this been done before?” She looked up at him, the expression on her pretty face full of wonder and admiration. Quinton's heart skipped a beat.
“Not that I am aware of.”
“What of the children?”
“What about them?”
“Schooling is not compulsory as of yet, although there is talk that it will be eventually,” Lisette said. “But I think it should be a requirement of this community that the children living in the houses here, both girls and boys, must attend school every day.”
“I agree with you on that. Their education is of the utmost importance. Ignorance only perpetuates poverty. We'll see to it that schooling is a mandatory part of living in the community.”
“What shall you call it? This community?”
“I have no idea.”
She smiled, slanting a look up at him. “How about Roxbury Park?”
“I would never seek to be so vain as to name it after myself,” he said, laughing. “And what if it should be a dismal failure? Then my name will be associated with it forever!”
Lisette laughed lightly with him. “Yes, I see your point.”
He loved the sound of her laughter, so sweet and clear. What was it about her that drew him to her as if he had no will of his own? Wishing he could sweep her up in his arms and kiss her, he said only, “I'm sure the committee can come up with a suitable enough name.”
As the two of them continued walking along the site, suddenly her boot caught on a large tree root and she stumbled, pitching forward. Quinton reached out to catch her from falling to the ground. His arms quickly wrapped around her small frame, and he pulled her close to him to steady her.
“Are you all right?” He held her in his firm grip, feeling the pounding of her heart next to his chest. She felt so good in his arms, so right. Her body pressed against the length of him, her seductive shape a painful reminder of what he should not want. A slow banked heat began to burn between them. Lisette looked up at him and he saw undisguised desire flash in her pretty green eyes. He felt it, too, wanting to press his lips to hers and take her mouth in a sweet kiss. It would be so easy. The curve of her full lips, slightly parted, enticed him with the memory of their exquisite taste. He could just lean down and kiss her. He was so close . . . However, he steeled himself not to. They stood like that for some minutes, suspended in a dangerous limbo of longing.
“Yes, I'm all right,” she finally murmured as she pulled back from him, breaking their little reverie. “Thank you for catching me. I must take more care where I am walking.”
He released her with great reluctance, and she took a step or two away from him.
“I suppose we should be getting back,” he suggested, suddenly feeling the cold wind more sharply than he had before she had been in his arms.
“Yes.” She nodded. “I suppose we should.”
Although he longed to, this time he did not take her hand as they walked silently back to his carriage. He felt oddly bereft without her small hand in his, but he knew that not touching her was the wiser course of action even though it went against every instinct of his being. With a sigh of resolve, Quinton directed the coachman to take them to Devon House, and then he helped Lisette into the carriage and took his seat across from her.
“Thank you for bringing me here today,” she said as the carriage began to move forward.
“I was happy to show it to you.” It was the truth. He'd gained much pleasure from looking at the land through her eyes. Lisette seemed as much a part of the project as any of the financial contributors. “When we have the time to do so properly, I would like to show you the detailed designs for the houses. Your opinion would mean a great deal to me.”
“I would love to see the designs! I've never seen the architectural plans for a house before or any other building for that matter.”
“I think you would find them quiâ”
The carriage jolted to a sudden stop, flinging an unsuspecting Lisette forward with a little squeal of surprise. Seated across from her, Quinton reached out and barely managed to catch her before she landed on the floor of the carriage in a tangle of skirts. While helping her return to the seat, the carriage lurched into motion once again, causing him to lose his balance and fall upon her. She sprawled back on her seat sideways and their bodies angled together on the seat in such a way that he was on top of her in the most intimate of positions.
Quinton reminded himself to have a talk with his coachman later, but was not sure whether to upbraid him for his poor driving or thank him. Landing atop Lisette Hamilton seemed to be a continuing test of his principles and willpower. It was also heavenly.
Neither of them moved. Nor uttered a single sound. In fact, they barely breathed at all. Their gazes were drawn to each other and they could not look away. The swaying of the carriage rocked them back and forth in a hypnotizing motion. Time hung suspended between them once again. Temptation and desire warred with the consequences and the consciences within their beings.
But this time, Quinton felt his resolve slipping away . . . He was so close. The wild beating of her heart pounded in his ears as he watched the rapid rise and fall of her chest under her velvet cloak. The allure of her lips, the force of her own longing reflected in her sultry eyes, and the feel of her warm body beneath his were more than a man could bear. Within the privacy of the carriage, Quinton could easily kiss Lisette to his heart's content with no one there to see. No one would ever know. Every inch of his being cried out for her. Wanted her. Needed her. Longed to possess her.
Looking into her deep green eyes, now heavy-lidded with desire, he knew she felt the same way. Which did nothing to cool his ardor.
Logic told him to remove himself with all haste and put a respectable distance between them, all while begging Lisette's forgiveness. But at that moment logic and good sense had no place in his mind. Or in his body.
On the edge of a steep precipice, he let loose an anguished growl before he took her mouth in a ravenous kiss. Lisette kissed him back just as hungrily, her arms reaching up around his neck, pulling him to her. The satisfied little sigh that escaped her parted lips before he touched them excited him beyond measure. He could not get enough of her luscious mouth. In an instant they were locked in a passionate embrace. Heat flared between them as their mouths and tongues devoured each other. Their kisses increased in intensity, consuming them, fueled by a forbidden desire and the need to take what they could while they could.
In spite of the heavy cloaks and gloves they both wore, he pulled her tightly against him, settling himself quite firmly between her legs. She sighed, most unmistakably, with pleasure and it almost undid him. Breaking their kiss, he reached his hands around and pulled his gloves off, and with greater haste removed his coat, flinging it to the floor. His eyes on her, he lifted her hands and gently began to remove her gloves. One by one he slowly released her fingers from their leather coverings. The feel of her silken hands, warm and soft, intertwining with his, took his breath away. He undid the clasp of her cloak, opening the front. He lowered his head and captured her mouth in another kiss.
So lovely was she, that he could drown in her scent and softness without a moment's hesitation. Then his hand slid down with deliberate intent to cover her breast. Even through the layers of clothing he could imagine the feel of her, and he squeezed her with unbridled need. Her back arched at his rough caress, and her fingers splayed in the hair at the back of his neck.
God, how he desired her! Never had he wanted any woman the way he wanted Lisette Hamilton. There was something about her that drew him to her. His desire to remove her cumbersome clothing, to feel her naked skin against his own and to possess her body completely and thoroughly, threatened to overwhelm him.
“Lisette, Lisette,” he murmured, kissing her soft cheeks, the curve of her neck.
With a trembling hand, he raised up the skirts of her gown bit by bit, caressing the length of her stocking-clad thigh. Again, Lisette sighed at his intimate touch, melting into him, arching against him. She clung to him, her mouth pressed hungrily against his. Her bare hands wound around his neck, weaving through his hair. Her response thrilled him. She did not protest his advances, and in fact seemed to welcome them. Rock hard with need for her, he realized he could take her right then and there in his carriage.
That terrified him.
Alarm bells rang in his head. This was far too dangerous. The consequences were monumental.
Uttering a strangled cry, he broke away from their embrace, and an anguished sob tore from her throat. He maneuvered to a sitting position and pulled her up so she was cradled in his lap, then he wrapped his arms around her. She rested her head against his chest, and he stroked her back as they both regained their normal breathing.
Christ. How did she do this to him? How had it come to him almost taking her in a moving carriage? He should be ashamed of himself.
“Lisette,” he whispered low in her ear. And a pretty, delicate ear it was, too.
“What are we doing?” she asked softly.
There was a wealth of emotion in her question, and his heart longed to give her the answer that his head would not allow him to give. He said simply, “I wish I knew.”
“We promised this was not going to happen again.”
“Yes we did.”
“I've never . . .” Her voice was as soft as rose petals.
“I've never been kissed like that before.”
A thrill of pride and possessiveness welled within him at her sweet confession. He did not want to think of anyone kissing Lisette the way he just had. Ever. He also had to wonder what was wrong with old Henry that he
hadn't
kissed his beautiful fiancée that way after so many years together.
hadn't
kissed his beautiful fiancée that way after so many years together.
Then it struck him. Quinton had never even kissed his
own
fiancée that way. Lady Emmeline did not inspire within him the desire to kiss her. He doubted that she ever would.
own
fiancée that way. Lady Emmeline did not inspire within him the desire to kiss her. He doubted that she ever would.
But Lisette did.
And he held her in his arms most lovingly. If Lisette were his fiancée, he would have married her already because he wouldn't have been able to wait any longer with only her kisses to sustain him.
He lowered his head and kissed her again, his mouth covering hers in a swift and sure motion. She clung to him, her lips hot on his. Before drowning within her completely once again, he pulled back.
“You mean he has never kissed you like that?” he asked, intent on knowing that he was the only one who had elicited such passion in her. He knew it, but he wanted to hear her say it.
With a slow movement she shook her head. “Never.”
He asked low, “Do you like when I kiss you that way?”
She met his steady gaze without blinking, without wavering. “Yes.”
The passionate look in her eyes almost undid him then and there. If he had her in his bed right now and not a carriage, he would make love to her for days and days on end. His thoughts bordered on the torturous. He had to stop.
“Oh, what are we doing?” she asked again in a distraught whisper.
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