"Charity, I do not think I could bear the thought of you marrying another,” he whispered in a rush. It was a sudden need, and a sudden urge to ask her again, even though he had already said the words. She tilted her chin up toward him a little, her eyes quite dazzling. He just gazed at her, quite relieved she could not see the desperate manner in which he was regarding her. “Last night, when you and Luke…”
He trailed off, unable to put it into words. She was right about one thing. It was mad indeed to consider marrying so hastily after meeting, but he hardly cared. The thought of her exchanging sweet words with Luke, or with any other man made his gut curl in jealousy.
“I thought I was going mad with envy,” he confessed in her ear. When her lips softened into the sweetest of smiles, he glided his hand down to her hip before drawing her leg over his body and pulling her in closer. She sighed, with contentment, and nuzzled him again. Seth trailed a hand through the golden tendrils of her hair, admiring the way the sun glimmered in those locks.
“I could not have imagined this feeling when I found you in my room,” she whispered, pressing her head into his shoulder.
“Nor I. I was simply terrified you would see me there, or God forbid, think I was there to hurt you.”
“How strange…” she mused, leaning back a little, enough so he could see her face and note the way she chewed on her bottom lip. He practically growled at that action, for it made him want to bite that lip for her, to drive her wild by tipping her onto her back and showing her pleasure again.
Control yourself.
He concentrated on her words as she spoke again.
“Even from that first moment, you showed me you would not hurt me. And then you took me to your home and cared for me the night of the storm. You are different, not at all what you seem to believe.” Her gaze lifted and for a second, he could have tricked himself into thinking she was looking him in the eye. “You do not mollycoddle me either,” she said with an unexpected laugh.
“Mollycoddle?” he chuckled at her choice of words. “I have seen just how capable you are, Charity. Look at what you have done to my house already, the way you are transforming it.”
“You are still different,” she murmured in earnest. “I cannot believe you saved me from one marriage, and are now offering me another—” Suddenly, she released him, her hands seizing up to cover her mouth.
“What is it?” He leaned over her with sudden concern. “Charity? What is it?”
“My father.” She lowered her hands again. “May I confess something to you? When I knew I had missed my wedding to the baron, I took delight in imagining my father’s frustration. I rather fear what his reaction might be if he discovered I said yes to marrying another man.”
“Do you wish to change your mind?”
“No, no,” Charity added hurriedly. The great tension that had begun coiling in his stomach released. She reached for him,her hand resting at the center of his chest. He sighed deeply, warmed by her touch.
She has an effect on me that no other woman has ever managed.
“I would not worry about your father,” he whispered, dragging his lips to that perfectly sensual place beneath the hollow of her ear to kiss her again.
That man is the last person in the world I wish to think of at this moment.
A man who filled Seth with such anger had no place in this chamber, no place when he was with Charity. He kissed up her neck, listening to the soft and breathy moans that escaped her lips.
“I will sort it. I do not want you to worry,” he promised her, drifting his lips to hers. When he kissed her, he lost time, uncertain how long he was lost in that kiss. All he knew was that by the time he was done, they were both panting, clinging onto one another, her body pulled into his so her legs were straddling him.
His length had hardened, needing her center, but he would not take her.
Not yet.
When he drew back, he saw her smile, then watched the smile flutter and fade. Clearly, her thoughts had coasted to her father once more.
“Sadly, Charity,” he whispered, making the words as soft as he possibly could, “I fear your father does not care for you as much as he should have done. I am sorry for that.” He thought back to the way her father had willingly given her to a man who was going to force himself onto her the night before her wedding.
Another reason to detest that blackguard!
“I have always known.” She nodded, her golden tresses tickling his chin. Her hand raised and trailed up and down his bicep. He rested his head back, his eyes tracing that movement across his arm.
“I shall obtain a special license. One privilege of being a duke is I can pull strings in places when needed, with or without a father’s permission. I will get that license.”
“If all else fails, we could do Gretna Green,” she reminded him softly.
“Gretna Green? How did you come to know of that then?” he grinned.
"I had overheard Edith discuss it with her husband before Papa had learned of their courtship and intent to marry. I have eversince fantasized about doing the same someday to escape that prison,” she smiled sadly.
