He appeared as amazed by their kiss as she felt. Their gazes held, his breathing as hurried as her own.
“Well,” he said, pushing a curl that had escaped from her pins back into place.
“Well?” she echoed, wanting to lean into him. Except, his arms held her from him.
“If I am to honor your terms for this marriage, I’d best take my leave now.”
Yes,herterms.
His kissable lips spread into a slow smile. “We will dowelltogether, Miss Taylor. Very well. And now, good night, Clarissa.”
She nodded like the good minister’s daughter. “Good night, my lord.” She entered her room.
Who would have thought Clarissa Taylor could spark such reaction out of a man, especially himself?
Mars felt a bit dazed.
She may be an innocent but she was responsive, and obviously not that set against him. He’d desired nothing more than to sweep Clarissa up and take her to his bed. Except, that would be the wrong thing to do. He was thenewversion of himself. The responsible earl.
The one who had promised he’d not touch her... although after that kiss, Mars knew he could work his way around her. He’d also won her promise to act as if they were man and wife. He could win her to his bed.
He was also rather proud of the woman he’d chosen. Did she realize how tempting she was? How her response to his kiss, coupled with her fierce independence, offered a challenge few men could resist? He’d always considered marriage a punishment. Now he found himself looking forward to the wedding bed.
Because there would be one. He knew it, and so did she whether she realized it or not.
Clarissa deserved to be cared for. She had given much of herself to others over the years. She’d always been active in charity work around the village. There wasn’t a soul she wouldn’t help if she could, just as she’d helped him with Dora. She would actually be the very image of a benevolent countess.
Yes, he was pleased with himself. Marrying Clarissa was a good move.
In the past, his success would have called for a celebratory drink. Besides, the moon was still full. Mars had always liked drinking under a full moon. There had to be something heathen in his soul. A full moon set his blood running.
However, tonight, her kiss had done that.
Alone in his room, he went over to the window and looked out upon Belvoir’s carefully manicured gardens in the moonlight. The other night, he’d seen this scene and had bayed like a mad animal.
Tonight, he was a man in charge of his world.
It had been a long time since he’d experienced a sense of peace.
For once, his dreams were as he wished. He dreamed of the duel, only he was the one who faced Dervil, not his father. And Mars was the one who walked away alive.
The next morning, he woke clearheaded and ready for another kiss.
Chapter Ten
There is nothing like a wedding to make one feel as if he is standing on a precipice before an endless fall.
—Book of Mars
A knocking at the door woke Clarissa.
She opened her eyes, startled by the sound. Her first thought was a panicked one—Why hadn’t she heard from Dora?
Sitting up, she looked around the room and suffered momentary confusion. This wasn’t the nursery... and then she remembered. She was marrying today.
And last night, Mars had kissed her. A kiss that had kept her humming with, well, she wasn’t certain what all she’d thought about. It had been a mix of yearning and thankful relief that, finally, she’d been kissed—and by a man who knew how to do it well.
No wonder she’d had a fitful night until the very wee hours of the morning—
