“Good. We will feed you delicacies, and put you to bed beneath lovely drapes, surrounded by soft pillows. And I will spend the night spoiling you without mercy.” He turned on his side, then tucked her back against his body. She nestled close, and felt the evidence that he would not sleep soon.
Kisses on her back ensured she would not either. That possessive arm moved until its hand could fondle her breasts, then caressed lower to raise her nightdress. Experienced, efficient touches aroused her quickly. When she was dizzy with pleasure, he bent one of her knees up in front of her body and pressed into her.
She smiled at the welcomed fullness. “How... resourceful.”
“More than you know. Here, I will show you.” He demonstrated how he could reach her breasts and elsewhere easily, and how the front of her body remained available to him.
“How wonderful,” she managed to say despite her short, shallow breaths. “It was naughty of you to save one of the best for last.”
“Not quite the last, Padua.”
Much later, when they were again entwined and he truly slept, she wondered if he had spoken of the way they joined, or when they would part.
CHAPTER22
“Ithink a turn outside is in order,” Gareth said. “That was quite a feast and I suddenly feel portly.”
“Eva said Ives here requested half of it,” Lance said.
“I had a taste for a few old favorites. It was kind of Eva to tell the cook to indulge me,” Ives said. “Regrettably, I overindulged myself as a result. I will join you, Gareth. We can waddle down the street like two old uncles.”
“I will enjoy my port, then retire,” Lance said. “The ladies have already gone above, so I will entertain myself.”
Outside in the crisp, damp air, Ives and Gareth strolled in the mist. The houses at the far end of the block appeared ghostly, with only diffused light coming from a few windows and their dark shapes bleeding into the fog.
“Eva is delighted that you convinced Miss Belvoir to visit,” Gareth said.
“Your wife has been very kind to her. Not all women would be, after—”
“After finding you in her bed?”
“Yes. And after learning about her father.”
They paced on, around the corner.
“How compromised are you, Ives?” Gareth asked.
“Thoroughly.”
“Does it go beyond losing the Crown’s favor?”
“Far beyond it.”
“What Lance and I carried out of that carriage house was not in itself incriminating. You never mentioned what was in the box you hauled away, however.”
“No, I did not. And do not ask.”
“You are risking a lot for this woman. Lance thinks you have lost your mind.”
“In a manner of speaking, I suppose I have. Not the way he means, and not the way he would ever understand. You would, I think.”
Gareth gave him a long look, then stopped him with a hand on his arm. “I am the last one to lecture. I have no right, and—”
“You have every right, if any man does. As much as Lance. You will probably make more sense than he does too.”
Gareth laughed lowly, then turned serious. “I have always been outside. I know the prospects from that vantage point. You have never been there. Do you think to keep this affair going once that trial starts? Even beingthe son and brother of Aylesbury will not help you much if you do. The scandal will be unbelievable. Your dealings with her, for her, will be poked and prodded and dissected until leaving your house will be something you dread.”
Gareth was correct. A year ago he might have braved it out. Secure in his honor, he could have withstood anything. He no longer owned that safe haven, however. He might never again.
