Working from memory, William added more to Rachel’s portrait, shading some areas, and outlining others. He worked by habit, but his mind was on the most beautiful picture Rachel had ever given him; that of her in the throes of bliss.
The flutter of her lashes against her cheeks, the warm, aroused red of those satiny cheeks, the way her plump lips had parted, and the musical cries of completion that had come from those lips.
His hand faltered a little as he outlined her ear, and his eyes closed. Seeing her like that, a haze of lust had ripped through his body, and it had almost—almost—snapped the thread of control he had held onto so dearly.
Rachel was untried, a virgin, and she deserved more than a sordid romp on a hard bench in Vauxhall as her first time into lovemaking. She deserved a soft bed, with perfumed sheets and rose petals sprinkled around her.
He shifted the pencil from his right hand to his left and kept on drawing. Again, the more he thought about Rachel, the peril she found herself in, and his need to save her from it, the more he ran into obstacles harder than a brick wall.
I have no right.
I have no place to object.
I have no way to save her.
The thoughts came one after another and circled his mind like a torrent. No matter how he tried to imagine a solution, he could not find one. He heard soft footsteps coming from behind him but did not turn to see her, and he knew she understood why.
Rachel rested a hand on his free shoulder. “Starting without me?”
“T’ wasn’t hard,” he said softly. “Your face is unforgettable, and especially with my mind, it’s not difficult.”
As she took her seat and smiled, William detected a change in that motion. Her smile was not forced nor tightlipped, and he sensed a true joy behind it.
Is it because of last night?
He could not ask her, even though he knew full well that Rachel had shared what had happened last night with his co-conspirator as soon as she had woken up. When he had first approached Miss Colton with the hair-brained plan, he had been sure that she would have refused him, but no. Instead, she had agreed with him to take her mistress out that night without knowing where they were going.
All she had said was,I trust you.
Now, he saw a difference, a glimmer in her eye, a curve in her lips. True happiness. Pleased, he set about his work, comfortable in the secret they shared amongst them.
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Chapter 18
Hours later, when William called for the sitting to end, Rachel sent her maid inside and stood from her seat and came to him. “How was your night?”
Daring, William brushed a curl from her cheek. “The most restful I have had in weeks.”
“Good.” She placed her palm against his hard jaw. “I don’t know if you’ve realized, but I have feelings for you, William. When I am with you, I am myself. I can be as free as I want to be as I have never been before. You do not see me as others do. I know that the ton sees me as a weak, cowed-down wallflower who is destined to go unmarried and unloved. And…” she said, flushing yet. “I never thought I would be as happy and peaceful as I am with you.”
His hands closed over hers. “I’m in love with you, Rachel.” He said plainly. “I think I have been since I first laid eyes on you.”
Her breath was shuddery. “I doubted myself in hoping that you would say that as I love you—amin lovewith you. Being with you, laying in your arms is like a warm blanket, comforting. And I… I desire you.”
He stood and tugged her to her feet as well. Caging her face with both hands he said, “It torments me to know that I cannot take you away from here. From this inevitable marriage that I know you are fearing.”
“You want that?”
Smoothing his thumbs over her cheekbones, he nodded. “Of course, I do. I hate to know that this lord will rob you of all you want. He will tear down the bright soul inside you and rip it into shreds—I hate it all.”
Her gaze grew wet and flickered from one eye to the other. “You truly do believe that do you?”
“With all my heart,” he said earnestly.
Hugging him tightly as the words she needed to say were lumps in her throat. When she was able to speak, all she could say was, “Thank you.”
He brushed a soft kiss across her forehead as he pulled away. “I want you to know that I will always love you, no matter what happens in the next few days.”
