Earl of Sussex (Wicked Lords of London 0.50)

His world seemed to slow as he watched Crummell attempt to spin her around on the polished marble floor. That man didn’t deserve a woman like Tabbie. It was laughable.

As the set came to an end, he intercepted them on the way to return Tabbie to her mother. He didn’t say a word as he held out his arm to her and she slipped her gloved hand into the crook of his elbow.

They took a position on the floor and then began to effortlessly glide as the strains of a waltz filled the room.

“How did it go with my father?” she asked as his hand clutched at her waist.

He gave a shake of his head and then told her about the conversation that had transpired. “I promised you time to decide, my love. I am sorry to take it from you now.”

“You are not, my father is.” Her eyes glowed up at him, shining in the dim light. His moon goddess, looking even more mysterious in her mask.

He wished he could kiss her. Instead, he asked, “Have you decided if you prefer my suit or that of another?”

Her body brushed against his. “You are my choice. My heart is yours.”

Hellfire and damnation, he wanted to sweep her from this room and kiss her until they’d both gone blind from it. But instead he pressed his lips to her ear. “Then we must form a plan.”

Chapter 8

While Tabbie had tried to convince Luke to simply ruin her, in the end, they had decided to elope. It had a certain poetic beauty, as far as schemes went, and he could ruin her thoroughly during the journey to Gretna Green.

The part that was rather startling was that it was decided to leave that very night. So here she sat on her bed in her riding cloak and sturdy travel clothes, a bag of necessaries and trinkets at half past two in the morning.

Which was the time he was supposed to arrive, but she settled in to wait. Luke would likely be late.

Surprise rippled through her as her window cracked open and his head appeared. With strong arms, he pulled himself through the opening and landed with a soft thud on the carpet.

“You’re on time,” she giggled, surprised.

He quirked an eyebrow. “Are you saying I am normally late?”

“Always.” Standing, she crossed the room and wrapped her arms around his waist. “We are truly eloping?”

He gave a nod and then captured her lips with his. “I simply can’t sleep another night without my moon goddess.” His lips captured hers again. “Besides, this gives us the element of surprise. If we wait, your father will have time to grow suspicious.”

She gave a nod, her entire body tingling with excitement and desire. She loved a good scheme and somehow it only seemed to amplify her passion for Luke. “Will we climb back out the window?”

“And risk breaking that pretty neck?” He trailed kisses down its column. “No, I have a carriage waiting one alley over. We’ll walk out the back door.”

She rolled her eyes in mock protest. “How dull.”

“I could put you in breeches and then you could climb out. I think I should like to see that.” His husky whisper only made her shiver with want.

“Let’s go. Before we are caught.” She tugged on his hand, toward her bedroom door.

He softly pulled on the handle but the door refused to move. Turning back to her, both his eyebrows moved toward his hairline. “Apparently, your father is suspicious already.”

Tabbie’s lips twisted into a frown. She should have known her father would be suspicious but it was still irritating. “What do we do now?”

But rather than answer, Luke picked her up and slung her easily over his shoulder. “Stay still and close your eyes.” And then he was crossing the room toward the window.

“Luke,” she gasped clutching the back of his shirt. “You’re not actually going to—” But she stopped as he began climbing out the window. One look at the ground from her second story vantage point, perched upside down on Luke’s shoulder, and she did as he said and squeezed her eyes shut as her breath came out in ragged huffs.

He made quick work of the trellis and landed them both on the ground. “Don’t move,” he ordered as he scaled back up the trellis and then reappeared with her travel bag.

Shaking her head, she huffed when he landed next to her. “You are trying to kill me.”

Pulling her close, he captured her lips again, making her breathless for an entirely different reason. As he slowly pulled back his lips, he touched his nose to hers. “You were the one who said going out the door was dull.”