She left the door ajar and walked back to him. He clenched his fists, willing himself not to reach out and touch her. He would not. He could not.
“I hope you find someone perfect,” she said softly.
If she hadn’t reached out and touched his bare hand, he might have been able to remain strong. If her eyes hadn’t looked like liquid pools of blue, he might have been able to keep the ache from his throat. If a hint of sadness hadn’t sounded in her voice, it was possible that he would have been able to walk past her, out the door and back to the ballroom to continue his search for his future marchioness. But those things, combined with the fact that he’d just spent the last three hours thinking of no other woman but her, made him reach out and trace the soft line of her cheek.
She closed her eyes and trembled at his touch. The moment he heard her sigh, it was too late. Damn it. He’d tried to stay away, done his best, but tonight his control snapped. He hadn’t touched another woman in all these weeks. There was something wrong with him. He knew that. He was weak. He was mad. He was lost. Justin pulled Madeline into his arms and his lips came down to meld with hers.
Her head tipped back, and her lips parted while his hands came up to cup her soft cheeks. He kissed her, deep and long. His tongue delved into her mouth again and again as she melded her body to his and wrapped her arms around his neck. She moaned, and he went rock-hard. His arm moved down to her lower back to pull her into sharp contact with his hardness. Her hands moved up to push through his hair, hold her face to his as the kiss deepened. And it felt so right.
Many moments later, he finally pulled his mouth from hers. Their sharp breaths mingled in the space between them as Justin pressed his forehead to hers, his hands still cupping her cheeks.
“I tried to stay away from you, damn it,” he growled through clenched teeth.
“I’ve tried too,” she admitted, her breathing ragged.
He closed his eyes and moved his hands down to cup her shoulders. “The truth is…the truth is, Madeline, you’re the only woman I can think about.”
The noise that emitted from her throat was half groan, half cry as her arms wrapped around his neck once more and they continued their ravaging kiss.
Moments later, he pulled himself away from her once more. “I must return to the ballroom. My absence will be noticed tonight.”
“Of course.” She took a deliberate step back. Her fingertips went to her lips. “You’re the host.”
He closed his eyes briefly and clenched his fists again. This was agony. Pure torture. “Madeline, I—”
“Just go,” she said. Her voice hitched.
Justin nodded and made for the door. What more was there to say? They couldn’t keep their hands off one another. What was he supposed to do? Hide in one room of his bloody house forever? Order her to stay off the ground floor? It was madness.
When he got to the door, it was shut. An uneasy feeling shot through him. Hadn’t Madeline left it open a crack? He quickly stepped out into the corridor and looked both ways. Empty, thank God. He strode back toward the ballroom, smoothing his hair and cravat as he went. One thought repeated itself over and over in his head as he went.
He was in such trouble.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Maddie sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the lone candle that lit the room. Ever since her latest kiss with Justin hours earlier in the drawing room, she’d been unable to stop thinking about it. She searched her mind, but she could find no reason to stop. She wanted him. He wanted her. It was that simple. Why shouldn’t they spend the night together? They’d already gone too far as it was. They’d done their best to stay away from each other the past two months, and it had been a truly honorable feat. But the first time they’d been alone together in a room, they couldn’t keep their hands off each other.
She’d missed him these past two months. Time and time again, she’d been sorely tempted to go in search of him. To look for him in his study, to reenact that night when he’d made her body sing with delicious pleasure. He’d said the same to her tonight…that he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Perhaps if they got it over with, spent the night together, they could both move on and be normal in each other’s presence.
He was planning on choosing a wife. That would change everything. It was one thing to kiss a bachelor, but she would never, could never, dally with a married man.
Besides, it might be her only chance for a night of passion. She had no intention of marrying and it wasn’t as if she planned to take other lovers. She wanted something to remember in her old age. If she spent the night with Justin, she had every indication she would remember it forever.
She’d never had such a reaction to another man, and she doubted she would again. More reason to take the chance. It was selfish and it could endanger her job. Or it might just satisfy an urge that simply needed to be satisfied and afterward they would stop this madness. There was only one way to find out. Regardless, she couldn’t resist him any longer and she didn’t want to.
It was settled. She would go downstairs to Justin’s bedchamber.
Wearing nothing but a dressing gown, Justin paced near his bed. It was two o’clock in the morning. He’d said good night to all of his guests, had a drink in his study, and come up here to brood. What in the bloody hell was he going to do about Madeline?
He was no closer to coming to a decision when the door cracked open and Madeline herself slipped into the room.
Justin closed his eyes. Bloody hell. Was the universe testing him? Torturing him?
She closed the door behind her, and he was unable to speak as she moved toward him slowly, pulling the pins from her hair. When she arrived in front of him, she shook her head and cascading waves of blond fell in a tempting mass over her shoulders.
Justin took a deep breath. He wasn’t about to ask her what she was doing here. It was far past time for questions…or regrets.
Without saying a word, he scooped her into his arms and took her to the bed. She pushed herself up on her knees and pulled her gown over her head. Her stays and shift quickly followed and within moments, Madeline was naked on his bed.
