Miss Hillary Schools a Scoundrel (12 page)

The weight of his implication slammed into her. He could as easily be in any lady’s bed as hers.

“Lana.” Drew captured her mouth again and kissed her until she almost forgot his words. When he pulled away, he didn’t release her. “I’m not with anyone else. I’m yours, peach.”

For
now.
Lana wouldn’t fool herself into believing otherwise, but she still thrilled at his admission.

She walked toward the maze entrance. “Let’s be off then.”

“We can’t be seen together. I’ll go to the stable yard first to chat with the groom and coachman. They know to be discreet, but I’ll make certain they have additional motivation. I won’t have them bring the carriage around to the front, so come to the west side of the castle. I’ll wait for you.” Drew enfolded her in his arms and rested his cheek against hers. “You can still change your mind,” he whispered.

She shook her head, loving the security of his embrace and sensation of his skin against hers.

“Don’t dismiss the possibility too hastily. Think about it.” He kissed her temple. “If you don’t come to me, I’ll understand.”

“I won’t keep you waiting.” Lana kissed him once more before he walked away. Their fingers were the last to break contact. “I will be there, Drew. I promise.”

She breathed in deeply and ran her hands along her upper arms as he disappeared into the fog. She wouldn’t change her mind. She would never forgive herself if she didn’t go to the man she loved, and she did love him. At least she could be honest with herself if no one else. And even though Drew didn’t return her love, her sentiment remained the same.

The
west
side
of
the
castle.
Lana stepped from the maze and stopped to get her bearings. Drew’s shadowed frame appeared out of the fog again.

“Did you change
your
mind?” she called out.

“Quiet, ya worthless whore.”

Her body convulsed and she stumbled backwards, barely maintaining her footing. “Y-you should remember your place. I’m a close friend of the duke and duchess. They shall hear of your transgression.”

The hulking form advanced. “Ya think I
work
for ’em, bitch.” Hatred dripped from the unfamiliar male voice. His guttural accent and vulgar tongue separated him from the guests at Irvine Caste. “The bloody toffs ain’t ’ere to save ya.”

Lana dashed into the maze. If the cur thought she would subject herself to his abuse willingly, he was even dumber than he sounded.

“Bloody hell.” The man’s heavy footfalls pounded as he gave chase, but she had gotten a good lead.

Thick fog inside the hedges made it impossible to see more than a few inches ahead, but she barreled on, less concerned about falling than being captured.

“You can run, bu’ ya cain’t ’ide,” the man sang out, taunting her.

Frantic, Lana scooted to the edge of the maze and skimmed her hand along the manicured hedges to orient her to the trail. If she found the secret passage again, maybe she could escape.

Think, Lana. Think.
At the first intersection, the directions to Cupid’s chamber flooded her memory.
Left. Left. Right. Left. Right. Right.

She hurried her pace, repeating the directions.
Now
a
left
.

“I ’ear you, ya li’l slut.” He spit out the venomous words. “And yer gonna pay for makin’ me chase ya.”

Lana’s hand flew to her mouth to hold back the scream building in her throat. No one would hear her except her pursuer, not in the thick hedges.

Another
left.
She shuffled along, the branches scratching her arm.
Right.
She listened to determine the man’s location, but the only sound she heard came from her own breathing and pounding heart.
Go
left. Hurry.

A sharp crack echoed close behind, and she ran blindly into the mist.
Go
right. One more turn. Almost there.
Bursting into the open area, she smothered her cry of despair. She had gone the wrong way.

Panicked, she lurched into the room in search of a place to hide. Five steps in and the Cupid statue loomed into sight. She stumbled into the hedge and flailed her arms, searching for the gap that marked the secret passage.

“Ya like ’ide-an’-seek, do ya?” His voice sounded close. The crescendo of his bootfalls indicated he approached the area where she hid. “I got sumptin to ’ide, inside ya. Aye, a good time you’d ’ave.”

Dear lord, she was going to lose her dinner. Her movements became frenzied as she batted at the hedge. When her hand encountered the small open space, she almost sobbed with relief. Lana shimmied through the hedge just as she detected the man’s heavy footsteps entering the clearing.

Once through the opening, she lifted her skirts and dashed for the stable yard. She had to reach Drew. Perhaps the stranger knew of the secret passage too and pursued her still. Staying focused on her goal, she pushed herself harder, her side stitching painfully.

As she rounded the corner of the castle, the bulky shapes of the carriages rose out of the fog.
Where
is
the
Forests’ coach?
If the man had eavesdropped on her conversation with Drew, he knew where she was headed. She darted to the first carriage several feet away and pressed her face close to the door in search of the correct insignia.

She heard voices somewhere close to the castle and the groom speaking softly to the horses. Likely, the drivers and footmen gathered near, but with the thick fog hiding them, the servants seemed miles away. Should she yell out for help? She had no way to explain her presence in the stable yard and didn’t wish to draw notice unless she had no choice.

Thudding footsteps rounded the corner of the castle. A scream lodged in her throat and she hurried around the back of the carriage to race to the next one. The door bore the Foxhaven coat of arms. Easing the door open, she scrambled inside.

“Peach, you came.”

Lana dove across the carriage and covered Drew’s mouth. “Be quiet,” she whispered fiercely. She cocked her head and held her breath. The man’s footfalls ran past the back of the carriage. Once she could hear him no more, she released a whooshing breath and dropped her hand. She looked up, and her heart stopped. She was kneeling between Drew’s legs with her hand resting scandalously on his lower belly.

***

Lana’s hand lying against Drew’s abdomen scorched him. When she hadn’t appeared after a while, he thought she had become frightened and returned to the ball. But here she knelt between his thighs, her hand only fractions of an inch from his rapidly growing firmness. He had severely misjudged her. Lana Hillary was no innocent young maiden.

She shifted her weight, brushing against his length. Drew sucked in a sharp breath. He hadn’t bedded a woman since his arrival at Shafer Hall, and her touch was a blend of pain and ecstasy.

Lana’s gaze lifted from his breeches to lock eyes with his, and she trembled. “There was a man…”

Drew had heard the bugger too, but he hadn’t discovered them together. They were safe. He entwined his fingers with her glorious ginger locks and bent forward to kiss her, hoping to quell her anxiety. No one knew of their clandestine activities.

Lana clambered from the carriage floor and threw her arms around him with a whimper.

“I was so frightened.”

“You’re all right, peach. You are safe.”

He dropped his mouth to hers, testing her receptivity. When her lips parted beneath his, he groaned and swept his tongue inside her sweet little mouth, greedily consuming her kisses. She pressed her supple body against his harder one, clutching him tight.

Dear God, she was a passionate one. Drew couldn’t wait any longer. With frenetic movements, they tore at each other’s clothing. She tugged at his cravat, loosening it in no time. He gently grasped her hair, tilting her head back so he could nibble along her elegant neck. When his lips trailed to the swells of her breasts, Lana rewarded him with a delightfully lustful moan that made him even harder.

Shoving her skirts around her waist, Drew deftly untied her drawers to rid her of the unnecessary hindrance before hauling the front of her bodice down. One at a time, her pert breasts burst free. Cupping the soft flesh, he grazed his thumb over one nipple while his tongue stroked across the distended tip of her other mound. Her cool skin heated under his fingers.

She murmured her pleasure as he arched her backwards, supporting her weight with his arm and swirling his tongue over her breast before closing his mouth around her nipple. Lana dug her fingers into his hair, her nails lightly scraping his scalp, and urged him to take more of her.

Lily of the valley coiled around him, reminding him of their first encounter and heating his blood. Drew had dreamed of making love to Lana the first night in the garden. Now that he held her, he couldn’t believe he’d waited this long. Everything about her aroused him, her smell, her taste, those erotic little noises she made.

His free hand slid up her silky thigh.

“Oh,” she responded as if surprised when he explored the opening between her legs.

She was creamy and hot beneath his fingers, the discovery causing a husky groan to lodge in his throat. He gently stroked her pleasure spot, and she bucked against his hand with a strangled cry.

“Oh, Drew.”

He loved the breathy quality of her voice and his name on her lips. When he grinned up at her, she kissed him with a wildness he matched. Their tongues wrestled until the drive to become part of her overwhelmed all else.

“I want to be inside you, Lana.”

“Yes,” she whispered, her slender fingers unfastening his breeches. Pushing the front fall down to release him, she ran the backs of her fingers along his hardened length. Waves of lust engulfed him, the intensity sudden and staggering.

“Come here.” He captured her wrist to end the exquisite torture before he shamed himself, and then lifted her to straddle his lap. As she lifted her skirts, he probed her luxurious softness. Positioning himself at her entrance, he clutched her hips and roughly pulled her down on him in one swift movement.

A tiny whimper broke through the blinding haze of lust that gripped him. Lana’s body had resisted his entrance.

He didn’t move, his breathing ragged as he fought the urge to plunge deeper. “Lana?”

She cupped his face with both palms and kissed him tenderly. When she pulled back, her beautiful eyes held his. “Please, don’t stop.” She adjusted her weight and gasped as the change of position sheathed him to the hilt, her nubile body gripping his shaft tightly. He’d never experienced anything as divine, never.

Withdrawing from her only made him desperate to bury himself deep again. A few thrusts sent him soaring. His release hit him like a tidal wave, unexpected and powerful. His breath came in pants and his heart beat a heavy rhythm against his ribs. He hugged Lana close as her body held him snug inside her. He loved the feel of her and the sweet scent of her perfume combined with her own essence.

He caressed her back up to her neck and down again until his world righted itself. Lifting Lana, he placed her across his lap and cradled her against his chest. He kissed her, slowly, tenderly. “Your turn, my little peach.”

He gingerly caressed the curls between her thighs, careful to bring her no more pain. Lana’s head lolled back, a sensual moan escaping her parted lips. Devil take it, she was receptive to his touch. His fingers glided along her luxurious skin, stealing their way inside briefly before withdrawing to stroke her pleasure bud. He did this again and again, slowly at first then gradually increasing speed as her excitement grew. The tensing of her muscles and sudden outpouring of moaning sighs signaled her own moment of satisfaction. How exquisitely pleasurable to observe as she surrendered to ecstasy. Drew’s chest filled with tenderness for his lovely forbidden fruit.

Lana allowed him to hold her for a long time without moving. Had he hurt her? If he had known with certainty she had been pure, he would have been gentle. But she’d led him to believe she wasn’t a virgin.

“You lied to me, Lana Hillary. You insinuated you were experienced.”

Her spine stiffened and she pushed herself to a seated position. “What difference does my lack of experience make?” She reached down to gather her drawers from the carriage floor and stood to pull them on again.

Drew frowned. “It makes all the difference in the world.”

She stared for an endless moment before adjusting her dress. “Not to me, so why should it matter to you?”

“How could you believe your virginity would make no difference to me?”

“You needn’t bother yourself on my account, my lord. I
was
an innocent. I am no longer, and you are free to go your merry way.”

Did their lovemaking mean nothing to her? Anger coursed through his veins. “Go my merry way?”

“Yes, Drew, you’re in no danger. I haven’t fallen in love with you, so do not fret over breaking your
unbreakable
rule.”

“Lana—”

The carriage lurched and she tumbled into his lap.

“Drew, we’re moving
.
” Her panic rang out in the enclosed space. “We’re moving. We’ll be discovered.”

What was the blasted coachman doing? Drew hadn’t given the signal to leave.

“Please, stop yelling. Let me think.” He could jump from the carriage, but they might pass the front door in seconds. He could leap into a crowd of guests for all he knew. Besides, with Lana’s mussed hair and disorganized clothes, it would be obvious she had been tumbled. He wouldn’t leave her to face the consequences alone.

“Drew, my mama will be heartbroken.” Her tears flowed and the pain in her voice broke
his
heart.

“We’ll have to marry, peach. That is all there is to it.”

Her outraged cry startled him. “Marry? We don’t
have
to marry, you blackguard. I would rather be ostracized.” The carriage stopped and she flew out the door.

“Lana, wait.” Drew raced after her, fastening his breeches at the same time.

The look of shock on Phoebe’s face as she and Rich wandered out the front door of the castle fleetingly grabbed his attention. Lana ran up the stairs where Phoebe gathered her into her embrace.

“
Andrew
,” his brother growled and tore after him, but Drew’s focus remained on Lana. Her shoulders hunched and her frame shook as she sobbed onto Phoebe’s shoulder. Rich’s fist slammed into Drew’s cheekbone, landing him with a thump on his backside. Stunned by the blow, he remained on the ground until Rich lifted him by his lapels and dragged him away.

“Phoebe, you and Miss Hillary step into the carriage before anyone else comes outside,” his brother ordered.

The realization that his brother intended to take Lana away woke him from his stupor. Drew struggled against Rich’s hold. “Let me go to her.”

“You’ve done enough damage. Leave her be.”

He continued to fight against Rich and almost broke free of his grip. “I need to speak with her. Take your hands from my person.”

Rich slammed Drew against the castle wall, knocking the wind out of him. “We need to get her out of here. Stay the night at Irvine then come speak with her in the morning. Think of someone besides yourself, Drew.”

He rubbed his face with his hands, weary. All the fight drained from him and he sagged against the wall in defeat. “Will you tell her…? Tell her I…”

“I will apologize for you, but you must make everything right tomorrow.” Rich glowered. “And you
will
correct your mistake. Do I make myself clear?”

His brother could be a self-righteous prig when he chose to be. “I make my own decisions.” He shoved away from Rich and lost himself in the fog.