Laughing, she locked her gaze with his. “Well, I thought he was a bear when I first saw him.” She pouted prettily. “And he will always be mybaby.”
Said baby was managing to tangle himself in a myriad of smaller branches.
Garrett leaned forward and placed an open-mouthed kiss on her shoulder. And, as if the most natural thing in the world, Natalie tilted her head to the side. Much better, now he could explore the skin behind her ear. The familiarity of touching her so ought to bother him. Being with her was too easy—it felt artless and instinctive. As he swirled his tongue along her neck, she moaned softly.
Somehow, he’d veered away from his plan to obtain information from her. He wished to ask her a few questions, questions that had nothing to do with the sweet softness of her skin beneath his lips. Such a delightful distraction.
He nuzzled her and stepped closer, their bodies meeting, shoulders to thighs. Without moving his hands from the tree, he had her exactly where he wanted. He heard the hitch in her breath and felt the quickening of her heartbeat in the pulse beneath his mouth.
Fragile arms wrapped around his waist. Hesitant at first, they tightened as she grew bolder. Garrett dragged kisses along her jaw, pausing when he reached the tender skin at the cornerof her mouth. These inclinations were likely to lead them both straight to the altar.
“Garrett,” she breathed. “Garrett, just kiss me already!”
He’d rethink this problem later.
Dropping his arms, he pulled her against him and gave his lips free rein. He didn’t need to tease open the seam of her mouth. Her lips were already parted.
And her hands explored him.
He could not suppress a groan when she reached inside his waistcoat and beneath his shoulder blades. A part of him wondered that he had not felt this way with any other woman. This was lust, yes, hot, blazing lust, but there was something else—protectiveness, tenderness, a fierce desire to make love to her and then hold her till she fell asleep.
Garrett broke the kiss and pressed her head into his chest. He could not let this proceed in its natural direction without knowing more.
If he were to offer for her, would she have him? She’d not sounded eager to become betrothed again when they’d spoken of it earlier. Likely he was fooling himself, but he needed to know: could she be happy as his countess?
Breathing deeply, he spoke. “Tell me about your betrothal to the Duke of Cortland.”
It took a few seconds for her to comprehend what he said. She pulled back and looked at him quizzically. Then, nodding thoughtfully, seeming to make a decision, she pushed herself out of his arms and stepped over to retrieve Baby Bear’s leading string. “I liked Cortland. He was, heis, an honorable gentleman.” Untangling the string, she freed the dog and allowed him to pull them farther into the trees. “He is a good friend to my father, was, anyway. He is pleasant.” She took a few steps. “He is good-looking. He courted me formally. Always,alwayswe had a chaperone present. The only time wewere alone was during the three minutes required to ask for my hand.”
“Three minutes?” Garrett asked with raised eyebrows.
“One minute for him to ask. One minute for me to accept. And one minute for him to seal our agreement with a kiss.”
They took several steps without talking. And then Garrett delved deeper.
“What about the betrothal caused you distress?”
“I felt no distress at all in the beginning,” Natalie responded. “The wedding was set for a year off, and I assumed I would come to have more romantic feelings for him as the engagement progressed. I hoped so anyway, because—well, the begetting of children and all that.” She looked over at him from under her lashes.
“But you did not.”
“No.” Natalie halted for Baby Bear, who’d stopped to examine something curious to only him. “I came to know him better. He was always kind. He was always a perfect gentleman.” And then she smiled mischievously. “Unlike other gentlemen I know.”
Garrett persisted. “You did not wish for him to be such a gentleman?”
“That is a good question.” She tilted her head back and gazed up at the trees. “With the wedding just a month away, a group of us went on a picnic to my dower property, London Manor. Our party consisted of my brother Joseph and his now wife, Glenda. Also her Aunt Lilly, Lord Danbury, His Grace, and myself.”
Lilly, the name sounded familiar. “The aunt? She is the lady Cortland married, is she not?”
“She is. But please, please do not be sorry for me.” Natalie grasped a twig and broke it off. “Lilly is my friend. She is in love with Cortland, and he is in love with her. I became certain of it that day. In fact, I sent them off alone in hopes they mightwork things out. At that point, I was already desperate for Cortland to break things off.”
Cortland would never break the engagement. The little Garrett knew of the duke was enough for him to know of his impeccable honor.
Garrett did not speak. He assumed she had more to tell.
“Glenda and Joseph went into the manor, and Lilly and Cortland disappeared into the woods. That left Hugh and me alone.”
Oh, hell. Not Danbury!
