‘Anna...’
‘I could call your grandmother back out here.’
A flash of anger animated his face ‘All right, maybe it’s not because I’m afraid of turning into my father. Maybe it’s because I don’t see why I shouldn’t! His family never even acknowledged my existence, let alone wanted to meet me. I’m the heir that nobody wanted, but if I inherit then I’m expected to just give up the life I built for myself, a life that I love, out of some kind of familial loyalty? Why should I? I never asked for their money and I sure as hell don’t want it now. Why shouldn’t I drink and gamble it all away just to spite them? How can I ever belong in a place where I was never wanted?’
She took another step towards him, feeling a burst of sympathy at the look of heartfelt anguish on his face. ‘For what it’s worth, I think it was your family’s loss not to know you.’
‘I could say the same thing about your grandfather, the Duke.’ He looked deep into her eyes, his expression arrested and faintly wondering. ‘It’s strange, but you might be the only person in the world who can understand.’
She felt her pulse quicken at the words. It was the same thing she’d thought when she’d told him how she felt trapped, as if they truly could understand each other. As if m
aybe, despite everything, they might be a good match after all, just as the Baroness had said. The way he was looking at her now suggested he thought so, too, but how could that be possible? She was a shopkeeper and he was an earl...maybe. Or maybe not. There was an equal chance that he might remain a captain.
‘I do understand.’ She tried to keep her voice normal. ‘Only my mother told me recently that bitterness and resentment weren’t very attractive qualities. Shall I repeat her lecture?’
‘Did it make you feel any better?’
‘No, but it did make me think. Now I want to let go of the past and move on, wherever it leads me.’
‘Wherever...?’ He echoed the word as he lifted a hand to the side of her face, his fingers sliding gently across the curve of her cheek and beneath her chin, tilting it upwards. The touch sent a thrill of heat coursing through her body, making her feel as if every inch of her skin was blushing. Thank goodness they were outside in the dark. Although they really shouldn’t be. Not together and certainly not touching like this. No matter what he said about understanding each other, there were still too many obstacles between them. Only it was becoming hard to hold on to that thought.
‘We ought to go in.’ She swallowed nervously. ‘You said it was time for supper.’
‘Did I?’ He moved closer, his jacket brushing against the front of her dress. ‘I can’t remember.’
‘Yes. I don’t think...’
Her words faltered as his arms closed around her waist, enveloping her in a feeling of strong masculine warmth. She didn’t move or resist, too surprised to do anything as he leaned in towards her, his mouth moving slowly towards and then hovering above hers, so tantalisingly close that it was hard to believe they weren’t already touching. She could feel the warmth of his breath as it skimmed across her cheek...and then there was a sensation of cold air as he moved to one side, gently grazing the edge of her mouth.
She gave a small jolt of surprise, vaguely wondering if he’d missed, though it was hard to imagine how that could be possible at such a close distance. Not that the sensation was unpleasant. On the contrary, her cheek seemed to be throbbing beneath the caress of his lips. No, he hadn’t missed, she realised, as his mouth drifted down her neck and into the dip at the base of her throat, his tongue darting out in a way that made her breathing come to an abrupt and ragged halt. She lifted her hands to his shoulders to steady herself, her pulse accelerating to a dizzyingly rapid tempo as her fingers curled around the hard, solid mass of the muscles beneath his jacket. Was the whole of his body like this? she wondered. There was only one way to find out...
Tentatively, she lowered her hands, dragging them slowly over his chest, her breath returning in a series of too-loud, too-rapid gasps. Yes, she realised, he was the same all over. Emphatically so. Hard and honed and muscular. And she was touching him. Fondling him almost as his lips and tongue continued to trail a path over her throat. She tipped her head back and closed her eyes, mortified by her own behaviour and yet powerless to do anything to stop it. Her whole body was in thrall, alive with so many sensations that it was hard to hold on to reality. All she wanted was to keep on touching him like this, to keep on being touched, too...but they had to go back inside. If anyone found them like this, they’d be well and truly compromised...
One of his hands pressed against the small of her back, smoothing its way up the length of her spine until it cupped the back of her head. She opened her eyes to find his only a short distance away. They were watching her intently, possessed with the same look of hunger she’d seen when she’d reached out to him in the colonnade. Did she look the same? Probably. She could feel the same ache she’d felt that day, too, that odd empty, yearning sensation low down in her stomach.
Now, surely now, he was going to kiss her? She hoped so. Maybe then the ache would be satisfied and go away. Just one quick kiss and they could go back inside the house and nobody would be any the wiser. In the meantime, all her senses felt in danger of being overwhelmed. The silvery light of his eyes, the husky sound of his breathing, the warm touch of his fingers, the citrusy scent of his cologne... There was only taste left and, more than anything at that moment, she wanted to taste his lips, just to see what they would be like. She felt her own part in anticipation and saw his gaze follow the movement.
‘Samuel?’ She spoke his name in a whisper.
He answered by moulding his lips against hers, plundering her mouth with an intensity that only made her want more. So much for one quick kiss. If anything the aching sensation seemed to be getting stronger, but that couldn’t be right, could it? This was nothing like the first time she’d been kissed. She’d never even imagined that a kiss could be so completely destabilising.
‘Anna...’ He pulled away again after a few moments, breathing as rapidly as if he’d been running.
‘Yes?’
‘If this is your idea of talking some sense into me, then I’m convinced.’
‘Then you’ll come with us?’ The prospect seemed ten times more exciting all of a sudden.
‘I will.’ There was a sound of a gong being struck and he nudged his lips against hers one last time. ‘Just as long as you know this conversation isn’t over.’
Chapter Fourteen
He wished it were raining.
Samuel pulled the brim of his hat down over his face and scowled, silently resenting the sunshine that seemed determined to accompany them all the way on their journey from Bath to Derbyshire. It felt wrong to be arriving in Staunton on such a beautiful spring day when all he could feel was dread. There ought to be clouds. Big grey stormy ones preferably, filled with torrential rain and lightning and hailstones for good measure.
He threw a swift glance towards the carriage where Anna and her mother were ensconced while he rode on horseback. After two days of near-constant travel, they were both probably sick of the sight of the interior, but at least they were safely out of range of his thunderous glares. He’d joined them for some of the journey, but it had only made his mood worse. Sitting opposite Anna without being able to touch her had been more than his patience could bear. They hadn’t been alone since his grandmother’s evening party, but every time he looked at her he found himself wanting to kiss her again. Just the memory of her lips made his own tingle. Not to mention other parts of him. He wondered if she felt the same way, half-afraid that she might have changed her mind after the party, but unfortunately there had been no opportunities to find out...