With you.“I was young, caring not for tomorrow.”
“Caring only for me.”
“I loved you then,” she admitted quickly.
“As I loved you. As I still do. Each minute with you proves it to me.”
“Be careful what you say, Theo. My heart is easily bruised by you.”
“I have loved you through all these years, Penelope. Through the ordinary days, the mundane acts of daily life, the Christmases and Easters, the diplomatic missions to St. Petersburg, a fire in my house, the birth of my two daughters, the death of my two wives and their stillborn babies, yes. I believed I loved you. The clear memory of you, your charming smile, your readiness to laugh and your unique understanding of farming and threshers and ploughs, yes, you were my touchstone. Turning all the bad times and the horrible days, the death and the trauma, the hard work and even the arguments with women who had not your good nature and who did inspire bitterness, yes, I believed you were the one I loved best. And never could I have you.” He stopped, his face pale, his throat working fiercely against sorrows he had only listed.
“I say,” a bass voice intruded.
Penn fought back the urge to rise, grab Theo’s arm and run away with him.
“Are you two waiting for two more to join you in a game?” Lord Riverdale looked hopeful.
“No, my friend.” Theo cleared his throat and got to his feet. “We were just leaving. Off to read in the library, aren’t you, Lady Goddard?”
“I am. And you, my lord?”
“I will find a book, then seek solitude in the orangery, I think.”
“Best do it now,” Riverdale confided. “Others are noticing your…solemnity.”
“Yes, well.” Theo arched a brow at her. “Shall we, my lady?”
She offered her gratitude to Riverdale and as graciously as her thumping heart would permit, she preceeded Theo out to the hall.
There she grasped his hand and led him quickly along the corridor.
At the double doors to the library, she tugged him inside.
Laughing, she fell into his arms. “A fine escape!”
He cupped her cheeks. “I need you, Penn. Your joy, your charm, your dedication to farming and orphans. Your love for people. Could you not love me?”
The plea in his voice broke her. Going up on her toes, she sighed his name and pressed her lips softly to his. Oh, my god. He was warm and sweet, firm and fierce. Her kiss was too tame, too kind. His arms were too insistent, so strong and unyielding. All that she’d ever wanted in a man had been in his image, his example. She circled her arms around his shoulders and ran her fingers through his silken curls. He groaned and caught her to him. He took her mouth as if he were insatiable, starving. His tongue tangled with hers as he sought all of her, her flavor, her surrender, her soul.
She broke away for breath.
He gulped for air. “I will show you how I care.”
“My darling,” she murmured and crushed her aching breasts against his chest, “each word you utter does that. How can I deny you?”
“Don’t.” He took her lips in a ravenous kiss. “What could keep us apart now?”
Every bone, every muscle in her body melted for him. Only she could keep them apart. At least, keep him from her arms and her bed. Because all those issues that had torn them apart twelve years ago still existed. Those she could not change. But for tonight, for this house party, she could seize a portion of the happiness they had been denied before.
She tossed her curls and eyed him like a coquette. “I know a secret. Want to know what it is?”
He gave her a sideways look. “Only if you promise to kiss me again after you tell me.”
She fluttered her lashes at him. “Demanding man. Come with me.” She wrapped her fingers around his wrist and led him to the far corner. Old copies of leather-bound tomes stood cock-eyed on the two foremost shelves. Reaching inside, she found the handle and the wall, the shelves, the books all gave way. The tiny alcove held two slipper chairs and a wooden staircase up to the next floor.
He scooped her against him. “You hide wonderful secrets, my lady.”
She kissed him. “I do! Do you see these stairs? They lead up to the corner of the east wing and my bedroom is just there at the end.”
