Page 40 of Seducing the Marquess (Lords and Ladies in Love 1)

He kissed Eugenia on the cheek before she retired upstairs for the night. When she seemed to hesitate, he pondered asking her to join him for a drink, but still battling the demons of jealousy and suspicion, he just bid her good night.

Two brandies later, he trudged upstairs and entered his bedchamber. Jake was ready for him and assisted him out of his clothing. More tired than he should have been, he wished his valet good night, dressed in his banyan, and settled into a chair by the fireplace with a book.

“Devon?” Eugenia’s voice drifted through the door separating their chambers.

He rose and moved to the door speaking through the closed portal. “Yes?”

“I apologize, my lord, but I need some assistance.”

He opened the door, and his jaw dropped at the sight of Eugenia coming to her feet in the bathtub, naked and dripping water. A low burning fire cast a golden wash and intriguing shadows over her delectable body. Her hair was still up from the evening, but damp tendrils drooped around her face and plastered against her slim neck.

She shyly covered her breasts with one arm and the patch of curls at the juncture of her thighs with her hand. “Sally has a stomach upset and had to leave me. I am afraid the towel is too far for me to reach.” Uncovering her delectable breasts, her slender arm waved in the direction of two towels sitting on a chair by the doorway.

When he didn’t move and continued to stare at her slack-jawed, she said, “Can you please fetch a towel for me? I am quite cold.”

Chapter Twelve

“’Tis best if a woman has a few secrets from a man.”

Secrets of the Bedchamber, p. 87

Eugenia shivered and shook, sure her gooseflesh had gooseflesh. It had seemed as though she’d sat in the cooling water forever. Despite what she’d thought had been a wonderful time last night, actually making love, not merely duty, today all her dreams had vanished like mist at sunrise.

Devon had been gone most of the day and then had left her as soon as they’d arrived at the Bennington rout. She couldn’t help but wonder if he’d used that opportunity to speak with the various women she’d seen casting him sultry looks.

In desperation at that possibility, all she could think about was getting him back into her bedchamber with hopes for a repeat of the prior night’s activities. She’d sent Sally on her way with assurances that she could very well finish her bath alone.

Then it had seemed to take Jake forever to finish up with Devon’s nightly ministrations. All the while, she’d languished in the ever-growing-cold water.

Finally, spurred into motion, Devon strode across the room to fetch the towels. As a gentleman, he averted his head—drat—and covered her with the towel before ass

isting her out of her bath.

She couldn’t help trembling as he ran the towel over her body. His hands seemed to linger at certain spots, the heat from his palms seeping through the cloth, almost singeing her skin. But he continued to keep his eyes averted as he finished the drying and snagged the nightgown Sally had left on the bed. Tempted to kick him in the shin to gain his attention, instead she allowed him to drop the garment over her head.

“Thank you. I was growing quite cold.”

Devon walked to the fireplace. “I will add more coal to the fire, which should warm you up.”

Having your arms around me would warm me quite nicely.

She sighed, again frustrated at how “ladies” were not permitted to show any interest in the marriage bed. How freeing it would be to walk up to her husband, wrap her arms around his neck, and pull him in for a kiss. Her stomach fluttered at the thought of his reaction.

What would her mother say?

He knelt in front of the fireplace, the banyan he wore stretched across his bottom. A hard muscular bottom she wanted to run her palms over. Her hands itched with the memory of how solid he’d felt beneath her hands, how all the corded sinew had fascinated her so. “Perhaps a touch of brandy would help warm me up, also.”

Devon rose and dusted his hands. “Indeed? I do have a bottle in my room.” He strode across the space, the front of his banyan parting as he walked, revealing strong, powerful legs with a sprinkling of dark hair on them.

Eugenia lost her breath.

He returned with the bottle and two glasses, and proceeded to pour an inch into her glass and two into his. She took the drink from him and sipped. “Yes. This will work well to warm me up.”

They settled side by side on the settee he had moved in front of the fireplace. Slowly, Eugenia began pulling the pins from her hair. Each one she took out loosened another cluster of curls. Knowing she had his attention, although he was trying very hard to ignore her, she continued on until the last curl fell. Then she shook her head, the hair floating around her shoulders and settling there.

Devon reached out and took a lock between his fingers, rubbing it gently. “You have delightful hair, Eugenia.”

Her heart sped up at the raspy sound of his voice. She turned to him. Everything in her screamed to slide closer, to feel the warmth from his body that already reached her, despite the space separating them. Before she could respond to her longing, he closed the distance by taking her hand and drawing her near. “Come here, sweetheart.”