When the Earl Met His Match (Wedded by Scandal 4)

“Are you certain they will lift to the sky?”

He pointed to a note, and she reached for it.

I should be much astonished if they did not.

Hugh stood, came over, and gently drew her to her feet. With a warm, reassuring touch at her back, he guided her toward the edge of the cliff. The sky had grown darker, and though it was barely past noon, it appeared as if dusk would soon fall. Phoebe inhaled. “I can smell the rain on the wind.”

Strolling side by side, they went toward the edge of the cliff. Phoebe’s breath caught at the beauty of the land and the sea below her. Rolling verdant grass covered the hilly incline leading down to the shores. To the left, tall juniper and willow trees rose toward the skyline and the sea itself. White frothy waves rumbled in the water to crash against rocks before retreating once more. The roar of the sea beckoned to her, and she stepped a bit closer, feeling quite safe with Hugh by her side.

He pointed, and she lifted her gaze up. Dozens of lanterns slowly rose to the sky, spreading out toward the sea. She had done over sixty small drawings, those that included her family and the hopes she had for them all, and many had included her Viscount and his family. The fire which helped them to rise flickered inside, and the lanterns bobbed in the sky with the wind. The sheer beauty of the moment stole her breath, and Phoebe felt as if each fear she had expressed was truly being swept away. It was impossible to tear her gaze away from the lanterns as they crowded the sky in a stunning display.

A gust of wind swept down the treetops and pushed at her. With a laughing gasp, she clutched at her bonnet. The wind was so strong, it nearly swept her off her feet, and the cold air stung her face. “I think…I think it best I go back lest the wind grab me up.”

She stepped back and encountered a wall of muscles. His heat enveloped her, his frame protecting her from the strong wind. Phoebe’s heart became a beating mess. She turned her head to the side and then tilted her face up to look at him. He was staring out at the sea.

“Out here is so very beautiful,” she murmured. You are beautiful.

He turned his face slightly, and her lips dragged against his skin and went perilously close to his mouth. He had a clean, masculine scent that was so rousingly pleasant that she wanted to press closer.

“Thank you for today,” she murmured huskily. “I will treasure the memory.”

He smiled, and it had the oddest effect on Phoebe, like the way she had felt after she danced several dances at a ball, invigorated and terribly breathless. “I…perhaps it is best I return inside.” For she wanted him to kiss her more than anything. The desire confounded her, for she had never felt this way before…ever.

His beautiful blue eyes darkened, and Phoebe could see the jerk of a pulse at his throat. Her belly went hot, and her knees weak at the quick revelation of raw desire on his face before his expression shuttered.

An undeniable longing filled her body, and a strange, darting heat pooled low in her stomach. His lashes lowered, and when his eyes met hers again, all the heat had been replaced with coolness. She wanted that brief flash of hunger she had seen in his gaze to return…and stay. And she wanted to ask him so many things.

She turned in his arms to fully face him. The last several days she’d often wondered what lingered beneath her husband’s indifferent facade, and now she knew, there existed a charmer who had the power to steal the breath from her body. How she wished they could speak unfettered, and her heart ached with the limitations that had been set to his entire life. Did he make no sound at all? Did he know the joy of laughter?

She touched the softness of his mouth with a single finger. “Have you been silent since birth?”

His eyes darkened, and he nodded.

Her heart ached for him. “I am sorry for it,” she said gently. I would have loved to know your voice.

He shook his head as if to say no sorrow, and in his gaze, she spied no hurt or regret. Then he bit the tip of her finger that still lingered near his mouth. With a light laugh, she lowered her hand. “Teach me your language. Caroline has been showing me, but I would like for you to take over.”

The wind whipped at her bonnet and the skirts of her gown as they stared at each other. Some of her hair had blown loose, whipping the strands in her face. She held still when he reached out and pushed those stray ringlets of hair behind her ear. His head lowered a mere fraction, and breathing was nearly impossible as Phoebe waited for his kiss. How could he have such a powerful effect on her?

When he seemed as if he would pull away, she tipped slightly onto her toes and pressed her lips to his. It is happening again, she thought dazedly as languid heat rushed through her entire body.

She had thought passion was something warm…easy…something with a hint of sweetness. This raw pulse of hunger felt frightening, as if it had the power to consume all her senses.

He clasped her shoulder, bringing her even closer to him, as much as her stomach would allow. He kissed her longer, deeper…lovingly. A hitch went through Phoebe’s heart at her fanciful longings. Her heart fluttered like wild birds in her chest, then her thoughts were drowned under a tide of pleasure as she parted her lips to his coaxing. His mouth moved over hers, fiercer, ravishing, passionate, and with a muffled moan she twined her hands around his neck and kissed him back with all the burning passion in her heart.

Phoebe wasn’t certain for how long they kissed, but finally they parted. His eyes glittered fiercely, and for a moment she thought he would bear her down on the grass and ravish her. With fingers that trembled slightly, he cupped her cheeks and pressed a kiss to her forehead. And then the bridge of her nose, and then the corner of her mouth. By the time he reached her lips, Phoebe was giggling, a sound he captured with his lips, and for long moments, they kissed endlessly.

This time when they broke apart, he laced their hands together and held her in the cage of his arms. A motion

beside him had her looking up to see a footman handing him a blanket. Waves of heat crept up her cheeks to know their embrace might have been witnessed by their staff. Then she grinned, unable to contain the pleasure warming her heart.

He eased from her and wrapped the thick blanket around her shoulders. Immediately, she was snug. They stood in silence watching the lanterns bobbing in the sky for a long time. Even when the fire burned out and they slowly came down, they watched as the footmen combed the sands and grass collecting the papers and the wires.

Unexpectedly, she yawned, and to Phoebe’s astonishment, he lifted her into his arms as if she weighed the same as a feather. Her lids dropped, and the exhaustion that settled on her shoulders felt difficult to fight. Instead of struggling against the sleep, she lowered her head to his shoulder and allowed herself to drift away peacefully into slumber with lightness and hope in her heart.

Chapter Nine

Phoebe’s feet were propped on Hugh’s lap. Her red bonnet discarded onto the blankets, and his hands were beneath the dress of his wife. They had been married now for a little over a month, and for the last few weeks, in the mornings after breaking their fast, they would walk together to this peaceful secluded meadow surrounded by the woodlands of his estate. The grass here was lush and thick, the flowers pleasantly scented, and a small waterfall gushed from the hills to settle into a brook, which babbled gently in the background.