Page 38

“I’ve news, my lady.”

“Clarissa.”

Aidan smiled despite the seriousness of the situation.

“I’ve news, Clarissa.”

He had not meant it to sound quite so . . . intimate. It was the reason he’d avoided using her given name. Every time he did, it reminded him of their first, well, second meeting. Of their time together. Of how often he’d thought of this woman throughout the years.

He watched as she folded her hands in her lap, the creamy skin of her hands so much warmer than the cool blue of the gown beneath them. He knew from experience . . .

Stop!

“The annulment,” he said, knowing he needed to tell her but not wanting to alarm her, not wanting to ruin what would be one of their last moments together. “It is done.”

As expected, she startled at first. Blinking, Clarissa watched him as if waiting to see if he would take back the words. And then the questions came.

“Done? What do you mean? How do you come by that knowledge?”

He explained everything his sister-in-law had told him, watching as her expression turned from confusion to fear. Bounding up from her seat, Clarissa made for the door before he could stop her.

“I must tell Father—”

“Wait,” he said, catching her. He’d meant only to stop her from leaving, not to grab her around the arm. But now that his hand was there, Aidan refused to pull it away. Though he could feel nothing but fabric beneath his fingers, being this close to her inflamed his senses. He could smell the soft lavender scent he knew she preferred.

His intention was merely to relax her, to comfort her, and yet she was no longer married to Lord Stanley. And one persistent thought kept repeating in Aidan’s head, no matter how hard he tried to silence it—

Clarissa is mine.

Without thinking, he pulled her to him, reaching up to cup her cheeks in his hands. He paused just long enough for her surprise to fade away and turn into something more.

She swallowed, her eyes wide. Clarissa knew what he was about to do, and she wasn’t going to stop him. He tried to be soft, gentle. But when their lips touched, he knew this was so much more than a simple distraction.

He wanted Clarissa to be his in truth.

She mimicked him, her hands on his cheeks, the warm touch overpowered by the sweet softness of her lips. But unlike the first time, he was not content to stop just yet. He touched his tongue to hers, sweeping it from one side to the other until she understood. Clarissa opened ever so slightly for him. She would have stopped there, but Aidan persisted, nudging her to open wider, and when she did, he swallowed her gasp as his tongue finally found hers.

My God. This woman had never been properly kissed. Despite her short marriage to Stanley, she was a virgin in every real way, an innocent so pure that he nearly despised himself for showing her now, on the precipice of her new life, the pleasures that could await.

Even still, he did not stop.

* * *

Clarissa was going to faint.

She’d never actually fainted, but surely this knee-weakening sensation could only lead to one thing. Engulfed by this man, his hands and mouth so gentle despite his size, Clarissa shuddered with pleasure. She marveled at the sensations, finally understanding what he had meant when he’d called their first kiss chaste.

That could barely have been called a kiss compared to what they were doing now. His mouth slanted over hers, devouring her and rendering her utterly unable, or unwilling, to pull away. When Aidan groaned against her mouth, she moved her hands from his face to his neck, pulling him toward her. Closer. Closer.

Then, completely uninvited, Lord Stanley’s words came back to her.

You are unworthy.

He had said the words each time, and though Clarissa had never truly believed them, they had lingered close to the surface of her mind. She pulled away, reminded of her past—and of her future. Aidan would not be hers.

“I—”

“Oh God, Clarissa, I am so sorry.”