The Duke of Daring (The Untouchables Book 2) (28 page)

His throat constricted, and he fought to take a deep breath. “I have nothing but the utmost esteem and admiration for Miss Parnell. Please excuse me.”

He wanted to talk to Lucy, but he couldn’t do it here. Had he hurt her? He needed to know. He also needed to warn her about Greene. He cut his way through the crowd, his mind made up.

He directed his driver to drop him at Bolton Street.

L
ucy watched her grandmother begin to nod off as they rode home in the carriage from the ball. They’d stayed later than normal, and Lucy wondered if Grandmama would even make it upstairs without assistance.

“That was quite a successful evening.” Grandmama’s sudden declaration surprised Lucy, making her twitch.

“Did you have a good time?” Lucy asked.

“Oh yes, of course. But I meant you. You danced so much! I daresay this might finally be your year. Yes, I’ll be shocked if Edgecombe doesn’t come up to scratch.”

Lucy had danced with him again, and while he was charming and pleasant, he wasn’t Andrew. Unfortunately, she compared everyone to him.

“Who was the young gentleman you danced with—the tall one?”

Greene. Lucy had grown suspicious when he’d asked her to dance again. He still hadn’t seemed to recognize her, but she’d gone out of her way to act incredibly feminine to be sure. She’d actually
simpered
. Or at least she’d tried. As with tittering, she didn’t count simpering as one of her skills. “Mr. Greene,” she belatedly answered.

“He’s very attractive. You may inspire a battle.” Grandmama’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction in the lamplight.

Lucy didn’t want a battle. She didn’t want Edgecombe or Greene or anyone who wasn’t Andrew. And she couldn’t have him.

The coach stopped in front of the town house, and the footman helped Grandmama down. Lucy stepped out and took her grandmother’s arm as they walked up to the door. The butler let them in, and Lucy escorted Grandmama to her chamber where her maid was waiting to take over.

“She’ll be asleep in a trice,” Lucy whispered. The maid nodded.

Lucy yawned, thinking that she’d fall asleep quickly too. Good, she didn’t want to lie awake thinking of Andrew.
 

She went to her chamber, closing the door behind her and immediately pulling the band from her hair. As she crossed the carpet to pass her bed on the way to her dressing area, she stopped short.

There, reclining on the bed, his cravat loosened and his coat nowhere to be seen—wait, it was on the back of a chair—was Andrew. His gaze connected with hers, and a fervent longing stabbed through her chest and spread heat lower.

She clutched the band with her fingertips and stared at him in shock. “What are you doing here?”

He uncrossed his legs and jumped up. “I came to see you.”

She tried to ignore her attraction to him. It was incredibly difficult because he was almost unbearably handsome. His cravat was loose, exposing more of his neck than was appropriate. But then she supposed they’d moved quite past propriety, especially since he was standing in her bedroom. “How did you get in here?”

He gave a light shrug. “I’m sneaky. I saw your maid, but I convinced her I was here with your permission.”

“You aren’t.”

“No.” He came toward her slowly. “I saw you dancing with Greene.”

“You were at the ball?” Her voice sounded a bit high to her ears.

“Yes. I went to find you.”

He’d gone to the ball, and now he was here. Awareness danced along her flesh and flutters of desire careened in her belly. She turned from him and dropped her headband on her dressing table. “What’s wrong?”

He’d moved close behind her—she could feel his proximity like a fire heating her back. “I believe Greene knows you’re Smitty. I wanted you to be aware.”

She turned. He was very close. She pressed her thighs back against the dressing table. “He told you?”

“No, but he’s been acting odd.” He scowled. “I nearly ruined everything at Darent Hall when I called you ‘her’.”

She arched a brow at him. “You ruined everything when you told them I was a physician.”

His scowl deepened. “I apologized for that.”

“Did you?” She honestly couldn’t remember. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. What’s done is done. I appreciate you sharing your suspicion. I shall take it under advisement.”

His brows formed a V over his eyes. “What does that mean?”

She shrugged, perversely enjoying his agitation. “It means that I’ll assess the situation for myself when I next see Greene.” She ought to tell him she agreed with his assessment, that she’d wondered if Greene had seen through her disguise, but didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.

He blinked. “You have plans to see him?”

Was he jealous? “Not specifically, no. Is there another reason you came to my bedchamber? You could just as easily have sent me a note about Greene.”

“I could have, but I didn’t wish to write it down.”

She appreciated that.

They looked at each other without speaking. He seemed to be trying to determine what to say. Lucy, meanwhile, was trying not to throw her arms around his neck and kiss him.
 

At last he said, “I didn’t like how our conversation ended yesterday.”

Her breath stuttered in her chest. “How was that?”

“It was very…formal. Businesslike. And final.”

Yes, it had been all those things—on purpose. “Should it have been something else?”

He edged closer. “Perhaps. Lucy… Did I hurt you?”

“No.” She’d enjoyed every moment of their encounter at Darent Hall. She realized, stupidly, that he didn’t mean it like that. He wanted to know if she was upset about the dissolution of their association. “We had a temporary arrangement. Things…progressed beyond what we would have imagined.” She lifted her chin. “On the contrary, I’m grateful to you for the experiences we shared. Particularly since I doubt I’ll be able to repeat them in the future.”

“
Lucy
. I don’t like thinking about you…alone. Never…” He didn’t finish his statement, but she knew what he meant. She’d die a virgin, never knowing what it was like to truly lie with a man. The notion hadn’t plagued her before, but now that she’d tasted pleasure with Andrew, she had to admit she didn’t like thinking of that—being alone forever—either.

“Andrew, what are you doing here? Did you come to seduce me?” She prayed he didn’t hear the hope in her voice. God help her, she wanted him, even if it was just for one night. One night that would provide the fodder for a lifetime of dreams.

He stroked the side of her face and gently tugged a lock of her hair as he stroked it between his fingertips. “I didn’t. But now that I am here, I am utterly captivated. I thought that maybe things had changed. Your friend Ivy, she approached me at the ball and told me to leave you alone.”

Lucy thrilled to his touch, even if it was just her hair, and longed for him to cup the side of her face or pull her against him. Delicious anticipation stretched and grew between them.

“Ivy doesn’t like men. I told her what happened, and she was horrified. She doesn’t speak for me.”

“I see.” His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “In that case, I
could
seduce you. Even though I shouldn’t.”

Emboldened by his response, she laid her palm against his waistcoat over his heart. “Mayhap I’ll seduce you.”

His lips curved into a toe-curling smile. “I would expect nothing less from you, Lucy. You’re the most extraordinary woman I’ve ever met.”

His words heated every part of her. She pulled her gloves off in quick succession, never breaking eye contact. When her hands were bare, she curled them around his neck. “No one will bother us. You did tell my maid that you were here at my request?”

“I think I told her that her mistress said I should call on her at any time of day if I had something important to share.”

Lucy stood on her toes and pulled his head down to hers. “This is very, very important.”

“Very.” His lips captured hers in a searing kiss, and his arms came around her, pulling her tight against his chest.

He felt like heat and man. He felt like home. She kissed him with abandon, thrusting away all the reasons she shouldn’t be doing this. Rules, she decided, weren’t for her. She didn’t need to preserve her reputation, not when she had no intention of marrying Edgecombe or anyone else. If she couldn’t have Andrew, she didn’t want anyone. But right now, Andrew was hers. And she meant to hold on to every moment that he was.

Lucy tugged at his cravat, loosening the knot until it gave way. She wound her hands in the ends of the silk, holding his neck down while he kissed her. His hands moved down her back and cupped her behind through her garments. He pulled her up against his groin. His cock pressed between her thighs, sending pulses of desire outward from her core.

She tossed his cravat away and unbuttoned his waistcoat, eager to feel his bare skin. Once she had the buttons free, she pushed the garment over his shoulders. A moment later, she felt his fingers along her back, plucking at the fastening of her gown.

He drew away from her with a groan. “Lucy. Are you certain?”

She nodded. “Never more.”
 

She went to lock the door and when she returned his gaze raked her from her feet to the top of her head. “I’m so glad you’re dressed as a woman. As much as I enjoyed disrobing you the other day—I’ll admit there was something rather erotic about it—your feminine beauty takes my breath away.”

His words enflamed her. She reached out and pulled his shirt from his waistband.

“You’re so far ahead of me. It isn’t fair.” He picked her up and bore her to the bed, where he laid her carefully on the coverlet where he’d reclined earlier. Removing first one shoe and then the other, he tossed them to the floor. “I think I did that wrong,” he said, frowning. “Stand up again.” He helped her up, her stocking feet hitting the carpet beneath her bed.
 

“How do I take your dress off?”

“Over my head.” She helped him pull the garment off, raising her hands while he swept the fabric over her head. This left her in a petticoat and stays, with her chemise and stockings beneath. “I think men’s clothing is far easier.”

He laughed. “You may be right. Still, this is incredibly arousing.” He leaned forward and kissed the side of her neck, his lips and tongue devouring her flesh as he moved down along her collarbone.

Lucy curled her fingers around his head, holding him to her as sensation rushed to her breasts and far lower. He untied her petticoat and let it fall to the floor.

His hand came up and cupped her breast. She closed her eyes on a moan but jerked them back open before she completely lost herself. She turned, presenting her back so that he could unlace her stays.

He pulled at the cord, tugging and loosening until she felt it fall away from her back. He shoved the corset down, and she wriggled her hips until it slid down her legs, and she kicked it away.

“Do that again,” he rasped, his mouth at the back of her neck.

“What?”

He clasped her hips and pulled her back against him. “Move like that.”

She twitched her backside, and he groaned.

“God, Lucy.” He kissed the back of her neck, his mouth open and hot, his tongue licking and enticing her. He wrapped his arm around her hips, holding her snug to his arousal. His other hand came up to cup her breast through her chemise. He squeezed and stroked her, his fingers pulling on her nipple.
 

His hand stole beneath the hem of her chemise and caressed her thigh, then her hip until his fingertips settled over her mound. “Open your legs.” He spoke low and rough against her ear, his teeth tugged at the lobe.

She widened her stance, giving him access to her heated core. He swept his fingers against her, coaxing her, stirring her, driving her mad with need.
 

“You are so wet for me.” He slipped a finger inside her, going slow and then pumping in and out.
 

She bent forward, clutching the coverlet for something to hold on to.

With his other hand, he pushed the back of the chemise up, exposing her spine. He tugged it off her completely, forcing her off balance as she lifted her arms. He caught her before she fell forward, wrapping his arm around her beneath her breasts. His hand continued its delicious assault on her womanhood, stroking her folds and thrusting inside her.