“Three months and not a day more,” she said quickly. She glanced around the room, silently pleading for reassurance. “It’s not unreasonable, is it?”
“No, it’s not,” Faith said firmly, for which Hope was grateful, but Graham was quick to disagree.
“It’s too long.”
“Yes, but it’s respectable, MacKinnon,” Belle said, causing both Hope and Graham to turn to her. Belle focused on Graham with an intent gaze. “And it’s what my sister would have wanted. Very well. Three months it is.”
Graham inhaled through his nostrils, which flared slightly as his eyes darted back between Hope and Belle. For a moment, Hope wondered if he would refuse…but then he exhaled harshly and nodded.
“Three months.” Putting his hands behind his back, he eyed the chair that separated him from Hope. She hastily pushed it back under the table. “Then I’ve some correspondence to attend to as well. Hope, would you see me out?”
“Ah, yes, of course,” she said, following him out of the dining room without looking back.
A footman came up and handed Graham his coat and hat. A light rain had started sometime since his arrival.
“That’s all, thank you,” he said as the footman disappeared.
Hope thought that it was strange for him to dismiss the footman so abruptly. But she did not have long to dwell on it before a large hand wrapped around her wrist and whipped her around. Graham held her against his solid body and a noise escaped her lips.
“Three months?” he said, his mouth hovering above hers. He smelled like honey and she could almost taste it on her tongue. “You’ll be the death of me.”
“I-I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”
“You will,” he growled. “I’ll not go through this torture alone.”
“What torture?”
But her words evaporated as he pressed his mouth to hers, kissing her so deeply and earnestly that all sense escaped her. Without thinking, her arms wrapped around his broad shoulders, her fingers curling against the fabric of his coat that was spread taut across the muscles of his back. His mouth pulled and sucked at her tongue, luridly coaxing it out until she was a quivering mess in his arms.
Then he let her go.
Unsteadily, she tried to find her footing. After several deep breaths she looked at him. A wicked grin was playing at the edge of his mouth, his eyes dark with sensual tension.
“Good day, Hope,” he said with the barest of nods before he turned and exited the house.
“Good bye,” she said softly as the large wood door closed of its own weight.
Oh dear. What had she done? Three months seemed like an eternity now when she thought of how long she would have to wait before she could truly give herself to him. While a part of her was grateful to have so much time before their wedding to prepare herself, another part wondered if perhaps it was too long a wait.
Stop it.She needed to reel in her craving, lest she give any truth to her worry about being a wonton. Although Graham hardly seemed put off by her desires. The memory of all of their kisses, how he held her so possessively, made her long for things she barely even understood.
Shivering at the image she conjured up in her mind, she pressed her cold hand to her hot cheek and turned, going back to the dining room. If they were going to wed in three months, she needed to begin wedding preparations immediately. When she re-entered the room, she saw that her sisters were already discussing the event.
“Hydrangeas should be in bloom during the wedding,” Grace was saying as she buttered a piece of toast. “A perfect flower for a wedding. Don’t you agree, Hope?”
“Hmm?” she said, coming around the table to take her seat. The kiss she had shared with Graham had distracted her, but she shook her head to clear it. “Oh no, Grace. Hydrangeas aren’t a wedding flower.”
“They’re not?” she asked, confused.
“Not according to Robert Tyas’sLanguage of Flora. Hydrangeas represent a heartless boaster,” Hope said. “I believe there’s a copy in the library.”
“I’ll get it,” Grace said, standing up from the table, hurrying out of the room.
Faith and Hope sat in silence for a moment before Faith spoke.
“Three months,” she said, leaning back in her chair. “He’s rather eager, isn’t he?”
Hope felt a touch of uncertainty crawl up her shoulders at her sister’s tone, but she tried to push it away.
