However, as she felt the mattress dip with Dominic’s weight, she found that the warmth of his body surrounding her chased away any last remnants of her fears, replacing it with something infinitely more desirable.
He seemed to notice the shift in her because he set a hand under her chin and asked in a slightly husky voice, “Better?”
She nodded her head. “For now, at least.”
He was about to pull away, but she encircled his wrist with her hand. “Don’t.”
He paused and as her gaze dipped to his chiseled mouth, she yearned for him to kiss away all the recent unpleasantness. She had never understood her aversion to tight spaces. It was just something she had never cared for. And she wanted to feel his mouth upon her to prove that all truly was well.
He slowly moved his head closer, and her heart flipped as he set his lips to hers. She waited for the fiery burn of passion, but it was a slow flame, licking at the center of her belly and traveling lower to the center of her core. As he moved expertly against her mouth, teasing, nibbling, and caressing a sensuous path along her lips, she had to press her thighs together to quell the demanding pulse of pleasure. She yearned to grasp onto his shoulders and slide his jacket down those strong arms, to remove his shirt and feel his hard body beneath her palms, but he broke the embrace and move away before the fantasy could properly take root.
“We need to get somewhere safe.” His voice was deeper than usual, and Lexie could see the signs of a decided bulge in his trousers when he stood. She bit her lip to keep from urging himback to her side, knowing he was right. The intruder could come back at any time.
He gathered her discarded gown and held it up. “You will need this when you return home.”
Lexie had almost forgotten about this little impromptu errand and an image of her frustrated aunt’s face rose up in her mind. As much as she didn’t want to depart when everything was turned upside down, she knew she would have to leave Dominic’s side eventually. She had no doubt that he would be free from harm, and once she was back in familiar territory, the same would likely be the case for her. But her heart ached because although they were from the same side of society, it was as if they were from two separate worlds that could never fully be combined.
His body was on fire.His cock was demanding to remain at Amos’s a bit longer and finish what he’d started with Miss Givenwald, but her safety was more important than his lust right now. He could slake that later when he was alone as the idea of lying with any other woman had suddenly paled when compared to her. He’d failed to tup anyone from the moment he’d met her, as obsessed as he was with winning her regard.
Alexandra. It was a regal name to be sure, but he knew she preferred to go by Lexie, which suited her much better. It sounded like something given to a boisterous and seductive woman, which was everything she was, and yet, so much more.
He would have continued to be furious with her if it hadn’t been for that small display of sensitivity that he’d witnessed inside the wall. He could tell she was highly disturbed by the situation and it had stirred something protective within him that he hadn’t felt in a long time, not since his mother had withdrawn from the world around her and secluded herself at the family estate. Lexie had shown that same timidity, and he knew hewould have done anything to ease those fears if he’d been able to dispatch with the thief on his own. However, since he didn’t know how far this overall threat went, he had to be patient until all the villains were revealed.
But that didn’t mean he hadn’t been overly tempted by Lexie and her sweet lips as they parted for his kiss. She had been clinging to him with such innocent abandon that he hadn’t been able to resist her silent plea to ease her inner suffering, even if it brought about more of his own. He was finding it impossible to deny her anything, and he didn’t want to stop until he gave her the world.
His hand gripped hers a bit more tightly than before as he led her out of the room and to the hallway from where Amos had left earlier. He glanced around the sill and inspected the shadows around them and was satisfied that they weren’t hiding anything sinister before he set his leg over the sill and stood on the small platform where a set of stairs led to the ground. He released her as she lifted her skirts, and he assisted her over. He forced himself to tamp down the stab of desire when a flash of her shapely bare leg was revealed.
They made their way steadily down the stairs and reached the ground without incident. He grasped her hand again and said, “Stay close.”
She nodded, and he led her through the labyrinth of cobblestoned mews that ran along the surface of the East End, beyond the areas where the dregs of the city dare not tread. Dominic, however, felt more at home here than in the most decorated ballroom in Mayfair. This was where he had always felt as though he could make the most difference, not idling away his time at some gentleman’s club.
Or fearing that he would follow in his father’s footsteps.
He nearly tripped, the reasons why he’d shunned matrimony for so long. He hadn’t wanted to end up like his sire who thought only of his own pleasure and comforts while leaving his wife andfamily to suffer for his failings. Although he hadn’t squandered away his fortune or completely smeared the dukedom with scandal, his cold and unfeeling mannerisms were enough for Dominic’s heart to harden and vow that he would remain the wastrel everyone believed him to be because it would be best for any future lady he might decide to court.
However, when the pressure to perform his duty had begun to weigh on him, he knew he had to make some tough choices. He’d imagined himself marrying some comely chit with a pretty dowry and a biddable personality, someone who wouldn’t care if he started to spiral down into a dark pit. This paragon wouldn’t be like his mother who craved attention and then started to sink in on herself when she was denied a kind word or affectionate touch. She would simply smile and turn the other way and engage in her own peccadilloes and once the heir and spare were born, then they wouldn’t even have to live together if that was what his wife wished.
At least, that was the original plan. His reputation had preceded him, which was why he hadn’t received many matrons cornering him to make their daughter a duchess. His title was the solitary bait, and it wasn’t always enough to endure the sort of lifestyle he had in mind.
However, when he imagined someone like Alexandra—Lexie—by his side for the rest of his days, he decided that perhaps the cycle could finally be broken, that the fate of years of unrequited love from miserable Duchesses of Cuthbert might finally shift. She wasn’t the biddable female he’d had in mind, but she had a strong spirit and heart that would surely keep his sensibilities in check. He had no doubt she would not tolerate anything untoward in her union and he was almost relieved by that. She was the woman he hadn’t realized he’d been waiting for—until she’d appeared.
He was impressed that she kept an even pace with him as he towed her along behind him. She didn’t appear to be out ofbreath, proving that her endurance wasn’t just mentally, but physically as well.
Her worth continued to grow, rising quickly in his esteem.
When he finally reached the safe house he’d secured near the Crown & Sceptre, he glanced about before he removed the key hidden beneath a loose brick on the front step. He hastily unlocked the door and ushered Lexie inside.
They were immediately cloaked in darkness. Although it was still daylight outside, the window coverings were closed tightly to preserve privacy, and the clouds he’d noticed that were rolling in from the west were an ominous prediction of the storm to come. He hoped it was just the weather he had to contend with and nothing more.
“I’ll grab a lantern,” he muttered as he left her standing by the front door. He wasn’t used to hosting guests, especially under these circumstances, so he let her wander about the small cottage at her own pace. There wasn’t much to recommend the area, as it was similar in size to that of Amos’s residence with bare furnishings and nothing personal that could be traced back to Dominic’s life. But it suited his purpose when he needed someplace to lay low for a while, and until the threat to his life—and that of Alexandra—had diminished, he would be here for as long as it took to snuff out the villain.
Unfortunately, that meant his days parading about society as the Duke of Cuthbert would have to subside. Avalon was needed now. There was work he needed to do before he could finally put this part of his past aside and move forward. He hoped that it would be with Lexie, but he wasn’t going to promise anything when he couldn’t guarantee anything past this moment.
Once he’d had a couple lanterns lit, he walked over to a spot in the floor where he knew the boards were loose. It was part of the territory that he kept spare food and clothes around in case of emergencies.
He grabbed the paper-wrapped bundle and tossed it on anearby chair. Lexie was still standing and observing her surroundings. He had to clench his jaw because she looked so out of place in such squalor. She should be encased with jewels and the finest silks that money could buy. Never again would he see her skin abrased by such coarse wool as the dreadful gown she currently wore.
Perhaps it should be removed…
