Mesmerised, she stared into his golden eyes, heavy lidded and fixedentirelyon her. After what seemed like forever, he gave a low groan which her body responded to with a trickle of moisture in that secret part of her. Then he raised his hand to grip the back of her head, pulling her inexorably towards him.
Her hands were still around his neck, gripping the hair at his nape. A distant part of her wondered if she should be resisting, struggling to get off him and back to her feet, but even as the thought came, she dismissed it. In truth, if hell had her, she could have not pulled away.
At long, long last, his lips were less than an inch away and without taking his eyes from hers, he raised his other hand to stroke his thumb across her mouth, until with an incoherent murmur, he threaded both hands into the hair at her temple and pulled again, until her lips finally,finallytouched his. The barest whisper.
She’d never imagined they would be so soft… until they weren’t. His groan wasn’t low this time, but almost tortured. He held her still as his lips plundered hers, drinking their sweetness like a drowning man. Instinctively, she opened her mouth, tangling her tongue with his, unconsciously making a soft whimpering sound as she tried to somehow press herself into him.
And then his left hand slid from her head and slipped in between them. Without thinking, Mercy lifted her upper body, automatically giving access to his seeking fingers. With the briefest of pauses, his hand slid over her left breast, cupping it in its entirety, giving relief at long last to the ache that had so plagued her. Wildly she wondered how it could get any better than this, but when his other hand slid to cup her other breast and his thumbs finally brushed against her erect nipples, she cried out against his mouth, her whole body spasming.
Her soft cry brought Nate to his senses. Dear God, what the bloody hell was he doing? He snatched his hands from her breasts and gripped her shoulders to hold her still while he tried to get himself under control. For a second, Mercy resisted, instinctively pushing against his vice like grip, until he ground out hoarsely, ‘Mercedes, we have to stop,now.’
Blinking, she gazed down at him, still in the grip of feelings she’d never even imagined existed. Then, slowly her face suffused with colour as humiliation crept in and she tried to extract herself.
‘Don’t.’ His voice was harsh, and she stopped, looking down at him in sudden fear. ‘Don’t,’ he repeated, this time softly. Seconds later, he took a deep breath, and pushed her gently until she was sitting astride him. Gritting his teeth at the feel of her softness against that part of him that needed her the most, Nate finally managed to sit upright.
For long seconds they stared at each other. ‘Forgive me,’ he said softly. Mercy simply shook her head and lifted her hand to touch his scar as she’d wanted to do for so long. Wordlessly, she traced the puckered line down towards his jawbone. Though he stiffened, Nate didn’t try to stop her. Tears pricked at her eyes at the agonies he must have suffered over so many years.
But no more. She would love him until the last breath left her body.
She suppressed an instinctive gasp as sudden realisation gripped her. This wasn’t simply an infatuation. She loved Nate Harding with all her heart and soul. She had no idea when it had happened, but she knew with a certainty that transcended all common sense that he was meant to be hers.
And she was meant to be his.
Mercy didn’t resist as he placed his hands underneath her arms and lifted her up towards the bench until she was finally able to get her feet back underneath her.
It took minutes more for Nate to extract himself from the bushes they’d fallen into and by the time he managed to climb back onto the bench, he collapsed with a soft expletive.
‘Tea, my lord?’ she asked when he finally looked over at her.
He lifted his brows and regarded her enigmatically for a few seconds, until abruptly they both burst into a peal of laughter.
***
‘Thebastard,’ Reinhardt swore softly. The news that Mercedes Stanhope was all of a sudden betrothed had come as a complete shock. He had no doubt that the hurried engagement had been arranged after his abortive kidnapping attempt. Likely to keep him from trying again. Did Stanhope know about her inheritance?
Climbing to his feet, Reinhardt poured himself a brandy, his thoughts a maelstrom of anger, fear and sheer desperation. If the Earl did know, how the devil had he found out? Swallowing the fiery liquid in one gulp, Reinhardt gripped the glass tightly, only just managing to quash the urge to smash it against the wall.
Stanhope couldn’t possibly know.
Gritting his teeth, Reinhardt poured himself another drink. That he’d brought this on himself with his ill-considered gamble in Corsham only fuelled his anger. When he finally got his hands on the bitch, she’d pay, oh, how she’d pay.
But the fact remained that the option of taking his time and lulling Stanhope into a false sense of security had gone out of the window. He needed to actnow. Which meant taking a risk. His plan to sail on TheWindwardin six weeks’ time was also no longer possible. He needed to buy passage on TheWestern Starwhich he knew was leaving in two days.
Reinhardt turned to Davy, standing nervously near to the door, clearly fearing the American’s reaction to the news of his quarry’s sudden betrothal.
‘Find out what she’s doing over the next twenty-four hours. I want to know any plans that involve her leaving the house. And warn off the priest. Tell him to be ready to get his drunken arse to the docks.’ He swallowed the rest of his brandy and slammed his glass onto the tray. ‘Tell Tess I’m going to need the room from tonight. She’s to take no other lodgers until I’ve wed the bitch and we’re on board the ship. You’ll get your money before we sail - I suggest you take it and run – as far and as fast as you can. The Earl of Cottesmore doesn’t forgive or forget.’
***
Nate looked at himself in the mirror. Reallylooked. It was the first time he’d done so in years. Then he touched the scar, tracing the path Mercy’s fingers had taken earlier. What the hell did she see in him? Why didn’t his disfigurement repulse her?
He thought back to their impromptuencounterearlier and immediately felt himself going hard. He had no doubt that she’d wanted him. He saw again the look on her face as he’d stroked her nipples. If he’d yanked up her skirts and delved between her legs, he knew she’d have been more than ready for him. Why? It didn’t make any sense.
He hadn’t had sex in… bloody hell, he really couldn’t remember – only that he’d paid for it. And now, all of a sudden, he had a beautiful woman actuallypantingfor him.
He gave a harsh laugh. His face certainly hadn’t improved since he’d last looked at it, but for whatever reason, Mercedes Stanhope saw something that no one else did.
And it terrified him.
