Earl of Sussex (Wicked Lords of London 0.50)

“Why?” she asked.

“I?

??m not entirely sure.” He gave her a small smile. “I found the idea of touching her revolting.”

“Oh,” she responded her eyes going wide. “You did choose her.”

She looked glorious in the moonlight that filtered through the bay of windows behind her. By day, she was stunning, but at night she was a moon goddess. Unable to help himself he reached for her hand and pulled her close. He kept his back to the throngs of people, the plant blocking much of their bodies so they had privacy. Her body molded to his in the most gratifying way. “The problem I seem to be having is that I don’t want to touch anyone but you.”

It was the truth. He thought his words might soften her further but they had the opposite effect. She stiffened and began to pull away. “You’ve only known me a day. Give it time. Some other lady will catch your fancy.”

His own eyes narrowed. He was sensing a theme, something simmering below the surface. “You’re correct. We’ve only known each other a day. Perhaps you have no idea what I may or may not do.”

“No, you are incorrect. I have met you on multiple occasions prior to yesterday. I know precisely how you will proceed.”

That made his head snap back. “You mean you’ve seen me at social events?”

Her face scrunched up in pain. It made his chest ache seeing her hurt like that. But he also knew he wouldn’t at all like what she was about to say. “My lord, we’ve been introduced three times, including yesterday.”

His mouth fell open and he stared as she moved back out of his arms, pressing against a window. “The other two times, you were too busy with your current infatuation to even acknowledge my presence. And while I am flattered to have made the list, I am aware that your interest is fleeting. Painfully so.”

She started to walk away but he came to his senses and grabbed her hand, pulling her back behind the fern. Because now he understood all those references to his rakish ways and the true reason she was so against their marriage. He had inadvertently rejected her.

But he had a decision to make. He wanted her to know that she was different from those women. Special because she was so much more than just attractive or available. She was everything he could ever want in a partner. The question was, did he want a partner?

As he looked down into her eyes, made silver by the moonlight, he knew that he did. He wanted her, his moon goddess, in his bed every night and by his side every day. But how to convince her that those other women had been meaningless compared with her? “Tabbie,” he took a breath as he fitted her back against himself. “I won’t scheme with you to end our impending engagement any longer.”

She took a hissing breath and attempted to jerk back out of his grasp but he was ready for it and he held her fast. Her eyes shot daggers at him. “You don’t want to marry me. You will tire of me in a month and then I will have to watch as you ogle the new Lady Ravenna.”

“I do want to marry you. And there will be no Lady Ravenna. There never was, by the way, a Lady Ravenna in my life. I told you, I have standards. And even though she was well known for her trysts prior to and after marriage, I don’t touch unwed ladies of a marriageable age.”

“But I saw you, your eyes were all over her.” Tabbie’s voice was sharp as though she were growing desperate.

“I was trying to figure out how to delicately remove myself from the situation she was attempting to put me in.” He looked her straight in the eye, hoping that she might see the truth.

“Are you going to tell me the same is true with Lady Ashford?” Her lip curled as she bent as far away from him as her body would allow.

He wasn’t going to allow her to put that much distance between them. Bending down he whispered softly in her ear. “I never denied that I was a rake. What I need you to understand is that there is a world of difference between what I felt for Lady Ashford and what I feel for you. There is no confusing the two.”

She shivered in his arms and he pulled her closer.

“If I believe you, then it is my heart that is at risk and once we are married, it can not be undone. Even if you break my heart, we are tied together.”

He grimaced. She was right. All the risk was hers to bear. “I understand. I am not asking you to commit to the engagement. In fact, I will put it off as long as I can. I only ask that you not actively try to stop it so that I may have time to prove myself worthy of your affection.”

He felt her still against him and then relax into him, her face softening. Wanting to kiss her, he resisted, opting to graze his lips across her forehead and then bend lower to touch his nose to hers.

Her breath caught. “What do you mean, prove your affection?”

“I will show you that my feelings are based on your wit, charm, and depth of character. Though it does help that you look like a goddess in the moonlight.”

“Goddess?” she squeaked.

Luke smiled. Because while he was attempting to prove that he wasn’t a rake, it wouldn’t hurt to use a touch of his rakish charm. It had tempted many a lady. “Undoubtedly a goddess,” he whispered. “But what will keep me entertained over a lifetime is your undeniable ability to keep me on my toes.”

Tabbie looked into the depth of his eyes, desperately wanting to believe him. This was the man who had looked through her on more than one occasion. But he had also seen her in ways so few had. Her body tingled at his touch. “I want to believe you,” she whispered back. Which was a dangerous admittance. It revealed how much she cared.

“Have you participated in the ball at all this evening?” he asked, grinning.