Beguiling the Duke, page 12
Law had certainly accomplished what he’d set out to do: the labyrinth was no longer a place that gave her anxiety and made her feel foolish. Instead, it was a place of magic and wonder, where she’d connected in the most intimate way—both physically and emotionally—with Law. It was, perhaps, the place where she’d fallen in love.
It was also where she realized that love could not flourish. Unless…there really was such a thing as magic. Because that was the only way she’d ever be a duchess.
Chapter 10
Law had watched Sadie dance with a few men after they’d left the labyrinth. One was the gentleman with whom she’d danced earlier in the evening. Of all the men she interacted with, she seemed to smile and laugh the most with him. Perhaps he would offer for her.
The thought provoked a powerful jealousy in Law.
They’d arranged to meet at the gate at midnight in order to return to Fieldstone. Now, as Law drove them back to her home, he hoped she might fall asleep on his shoulder again. Anything to have her near.
His mind was full of their encounter in the labyrinth. That she’d trusted him in the place where another man had so utterly failed her filled him with a wonder and joy he’d never experienced. She made him feel things he’d never imagined, and the prospect of losing that was beginning to be more than he could bear.
Beside him, Sadie yawned. “Pardon me,” she said after lowering her hand from her mouth. “I’m not sure which is harder work—managing Fieldstone or being a maiden fair.”
Law chuckled. “Which do you enjoy more?”
“Managing Fieldstone,” she responded without hesitation. “It happens that I am a simple woman at heart.”
He’d known that about her, could see that the happiness she hunted would have to include the things that gave her purpose and defined her self-worth: hard work, loyalty, helping others, and much more. This was just one of many things about her that he found so compelling.
“Sadie, I want you to know that I don’t take what happened in the labyrinth lightly. I’ve come to care for you a great deal.” He slid his gaze toward her to see her looking at him.
Her smile was warm and familiar—Law could never tire of seeing that, especially when it was directed at him. “That’s lovely to hear. I care for you as well. And I have no regrets about what happened.”
“I’m glad.” Law needed to open himself to her completely. He could no longer hide what he’d been on his way to do when fate had delivered him to Sadie’s doorstep. “I hope you’ll continue to feel positively toward me after I confess something that I should have told you from the start.”
Her smile faded. “What’s that?”
Taking a deep breath, Law plowed forward. “I was on my way to Dorset when the wheel came off my coach. Before my father died, he asked me to—no, he demanded that I wed his friend’s daughter. I said I would consider it, but he wrote to Lord Gillingham before he died and told him that the betrothal between me and his daughter was imminent. I put Gillingham off for six months, but I was finally on my way to meet his daughter. If we suited, we would sign a marriage contract.”
Law stole a glance at her. Her focus was on the road before them, her features impassive. It was a long moment before she finally spoke.
Turning her head toward him, she asked, “Why didn’t you just say all that when you arrived?”
“I didn’t want to think of it, let alone discuss it. I’d already been having second thoughts. I saw the accident as a reprieve from a future I wasn’t sure I wanted.” He should not have told her this while driving. He wanted to take her hands, to hold her, to look into her eyes. “Every hour and day I spend here with you is confirmation of that—I don’t want to marry Lady Frederica. I don’t even care to meet her. She represents my father’s expectations, which I have long tried to fulfill, to my own displeasure. I’ve come to realize that I want to be my own man, make my own choices. I don’t want to spare a thought as to what my father would want or think.”
“I sensed your relationship with your father was poor, but now I see it was more complicated than that.”
“I don’t want it to be. Not anymore. I want to be free of him. I am not interested in being the most admired or feared man in the room, nor do I need to command everyone’s attention with arrogance and might. You say you’re a simple woman, and I suppose I’ve learned that I’d like to be a simpler man.”
“Is that possible for a duke?”
Law laughed. “I’ll let you know.”
She fell silent again, and he had to work to hold his tongue, to let her consider and respond in her own time.
As they neared the drive to Fieldstone, she said, “Is there anything else you’re hiding from me?”
The note of distrust in her voice tore at him. “No, there isn’t anything else. I should like very much to send word to Lord Gillingham that I won’t be coming, but I will have to wait until after the festival to find someone to take a message to Dorset.”
“Yes, although if you truly wanted to send one now, you could find somebody equal to the task—for an exorbitant fee.”
“Honestly, I’d rather not be the reason someone misses the festival. I’ve become wholly invested now.” He turned onto the drive toward the house.
She smiled at him. “Marrywell has a way of winning people over.”
“Marrywell certainly helped, but you’re the reason I’m invested, the reason I don’t want to leave, the reason I’m not marrying Lady Frederica or anyone else.” He heard her intake of breath and silently cursed the fact that he couldn’t take her in his arms.
Thankfully, they reached the house a moment later, and he stopped the gig in front. Bryan was waiting for them and took the reins as Law climbed down. “Thank you, Bryan,” he murmured before circling around to Sadie.
She took his hand, and he grinned with the joy of touching her. He helped her down, and they stood for a moment looking into each other’s eyes.
“Night, then,” Bryan said before driving toward the stables.
“We should go inside,” Sadie said softly.
“In a moment,” Law whispered. He removed his glove from his right hand and caressed her face. “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you about the purpose of my journey. I didn’t mean to hide it from you. I was hiding from it.”
“I know what it’s like to hide. That’s what I’ve been doing the past four years since Osborne made me feel so ridiculous. It was much easier to immerse myself in my work here at Fieldstone, where I feel competent and worthwhile.”
He stroked her jaw with his thumb. “I hate that you ever felt you weren’t, even for a moment. I don’t want you to hide anymore. You deserve the future you want—a house and a family.” He hesitated, but only the barest moment. “Are three houses too many?”
Her eyes rounded. “You aren’t suggesting—”
“I am asking.” Law smiled, never more sure of anything in his life. “Could you find a way to be my duchess? To share my life, my home—homes—and be my family?”
She blinked several times. “Law, I never imagined—” She pressed her fingers to her mouth as her eyes glimmered in the light from the lantern next to the door. Lowering her hand, she took a breath. “I’m the daughter of a farmer. You’re a duke. I don’t know how this would work.”
“I know it would be an adjustment. I will be right by your side every step of the way. It’s a great deal to ask—leaving Marrywell, though we’d visit as often as you like. I really do love it here.”
Her brow furrowed, and her distress was evident. “I don’t know. I need to think.”
Law leaned forward and kissed her forehead, then her cheek. Then he lightly brushed his lips against hers. “Take as much time as you need. I’m not going anywhere. Unless you ask me to.” He felt her shiver. “Let’s get you inside.”
Putting his hand on her lower back, he guided her into the house. “Should I extinguish the lantern?” Law asked.
“No, Bryan will come back and do it once he’s sure everyone has returned.”
They walked upstairs together. Law kept glancing over at her. Her jaw was tight, her features tense. He worried she was angry with him for not telling her about his potential betrothal.
Outside their rooms, she turned to him. Law realized he’d been holding his breath since the stairs.
“I want to say yes,” she said.
Though he heard the hesitation in her voice, Law couldn’t help the joy that surged inside him. “Then say yes.”
She laughed softly. “I wish it were that easy. And yet…perhaps it is. I do care for you. I just…it would be a very big change for me.”
“I understand. Take some time to consider it. Please.” He ought to tell her that he loved her—because he did. But he’d already shocked her—and himself—with his proposal. He’d wait to tell her until tomorrow. “May I kiss you?”
She slipped her hand back to cradle his neck. “Always.”
Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her against him as his lips met hers. There was heat and reverence and a crushing need to claim her as his. But he would be patient.
Her tongue met his, and he eagerly swept into her mouth, losing himself in her lush abandon. Her fingers speared through the hair at his nape, urging him to deepen the kiss. Law angled his head and caressed her back, her waist, her backside. She pressed her pelvis to his, and Law was all too aware of his stiff cock, already desperate from their earlier activities in the labyrinth.
Law lifted his head, panting, and took a step back. “We should go to bed.”
She arched a brow at him in the most flirtatious expression he’d ever seen on her face. He laughed. “I meant separately.”
“Well, that is probably for the best.” She sounded disappointed, and that gave him hope. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep.”
“Let me know if you can’t.” He winked at her. “Good night, Sadie.”
“Good night, Law.” She turned and went to open her door. Before stepping inside, she looked back at him over her shoulder. “I’ll try to have an answer for you in the morning.”
“I meant what I said. Take as much time as you need.”
She gave him a slight nod, then closed the door.
Law turned to go into his room just as Yates was coming down the corridor. Dammit, he’d been so caught up with Sadie that he hadn’t even thought of the valet coming to prepare him for bed. Had Yates seen them kissing?
“I saw that you arrived,” Yates said in a clipped tone, his expression sour, but then it often was.
If he’d seen them in the drive, then he’d likely witnessed their near embrace if not their kiss of a moment ago. Law narrowed his eyes at Yates. “Keep any commentary to yourself. I’m not interested in hearing it.”
“I suppose a dalliance before you wed is to be expected,” Yates said as he opened the door for Law. “Your father would not have begrudged you that.”
Law snapped his head toward the valet. “Miss Campion is not a dalliance. That is commentary, and I told you I didn’t want to hear it. Furthermore, I don’t care to hear my father’s opinion. I realize you feel a certain loyalty to him, but I am my own man.”
“Of course you are, Your Grace. I am merely offering your father’s voice since he is no longer here. He wanted me to guide you, and since you took me on as your valet, I thought you wanted that too.”
Damn. Now Law felt somewhat badly about being curt. He exhaled, letting out his frustration. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do. However, it is time for me to stand on my own—without my father’s counsel. Can you understand that?”
Yates inclined his head in response. “I suppose I can.”
“Good.” Law went into the chamber. Then he turned and blocked the doorway before Yates could follow him. “I don’t require your assistance this evening. You may retire.” Law preferred to be alone in order to contemplate how he might woo Sadie into accepting his proposal.
Bowing, Yates said, “Good evening,” before closing the door. Law heard him walk away.
Dismissing the valet from his mind, Law stripped away his coat and focused on a far more tantalizing prospect—Sadie as his duchess. Though his proposal hadn’t been planned, he didn’t regret making it for one moment. He just hoped she’d say yes.
Sadie had no idea how long she lay in bed staring at the ceiling. It wasn’t just her mind churning with Law’s surprising proposal; it was also her body yearning for his touch. She’d been so close to inviting him into her bedchamber so they could finish what they’d started in the labyrinth.
When she thought of how he’d brought her such rapture, she wondered why she hadn’t immediately said yes to his proposal. But it was more than that. He was also kind, charming, and protective in a way that made her feel like she was the most special person in the world—at least to him. And that was what mattered, wasn’t it?
That he’d helped her this week meant more to her than she could say. He’d promised to see her betrothed, and here she was at the end of day five and she could very well be…
She bolted upright. Was that why he’d proposed?
Throwing the coverlet off, Sadie jumped from the bed. She didn’t bother to don slippers or a dressing gown before hurrying from her chamber. Closing her door, she moved over to his. Then she hesitated. Should she knock?
No, she didn’t want to wake anyone else.
She pushed open the door and stepped inside. The only light was the coals in the hearth, but it was enough to make out Law’s form on the bed. She moved toward him and stopped short as she realized he was…nude.
“Sadie!” He dove under the covers and pulled them up to his waist. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
“My apologies. I…” Her mouth had gone dry. She hadn’t seen exactly what he’d been doing, but she’d heard him breathing—rapidly—and seen his hand moving in the vicinity of his pelvis. “I needed to speak with you. I should have knocked, but I didn’t want to wake anyone. I didn’t mean to, ah, interrupt you.”
“Come closer.” He waited until she moved to the side of the bed. “Did you see what I was doing?”
“Not entirely, but I could, ah, guess.”
“You know what men do to pleasure themselves?”
“I have four brothers. Sometimes they say things when they don’t think I’m listening—or they don’t realize I’m in the room and can hear them talking.”
“I see,” Law murmured. His breathing had slowed to normal. “I hope that wasn’t shocking. Hearing them talk or seeing me engaged in…it.”
“I didn’t see much, but I confess I’m now intrigued.”
He grunted softly. “For the love of God, Sadie, why are you here?” The question was practically a growl. It wasn’t a fearsome sound, but a…seductive one.
“Why are you asking like that?”
“Because I am desperate for release, and your being intrigued by my frigging myself has got to be the single most erotic thing I’ve heard.”
Frigging…yes, that was a word she’d heard before. And she certainly knew what it felt like to want release. “It feels good?” She assumed it must.
“It satisfies a need. It would feel much better if you did it or if…never mind.” He sounded as if he couldn’t breathe.
“Could I help you finish, then?” she asked. “I should like to return the favor you gave me in the labyrinth.”
Law groaned. The sound was dark and seductive. It stirred Sadie’s desire, which she realized had sparked as soon as she’d learned what he was doing to himself.
“You still didn’t answer why you are here.” He still sounded strained, as if he were in pain.
“It’s silly, probably. I wondered if you’d proposed in order to fulfill your promise that you’d see me betrothed by the end of the festival.”
“Sadie.” He said her name like a plea, low and rough, as if he might perish if he couldn’t have…something. He moved on the bed, pushing the covers back as he reached for her.
Sweeping her up, he laid her on the mattress, then hovered over her before setting one knee between her legs. “Sadie,” he repeated, but softer. “That is not why I proposed to you. I want you to be my duchess because I love you. Because when I think of leaving Marrywell and never seeing you again, I’m filled with a terrible anguish.”
He loved her? She’d suspected she felt the same, but she hadn’t allowed herself to let it be true. But hearing him say it and seeing the emotion in his gaze, she felt the same emotion unfurl inside her. “I love you too.” Suddenly the divide between them didn’t seem so vast. It would be a monumental change, and she might very well falter, but he would be at her side. Love had seemed a luxury, but now that it was here staring her in the face, she didn’t want to turn away. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
She put her hands on his shoulders and ran her fingertips along his collarbones. Then she dragged them down to his chest until she reached his nipples. He sucked in a breath, and she smiled at his reaction.
“Did you really say yes?” he whispered.
She nodded. “I did. And now, I want you to let me help you finish. You said I could do it for you.” She moved one hand down to his abdomen. His breathing grew more rapid, sounding nearly like when she’d first come in. “Or there was something else—did you mean that you could finish inside me?”
He kissed her then, his mouth claiming hers with a ravenous passion that set her completely aflame. His tongue thrust into her, sliding along hers with a dominance and desperation she felt in her soul. She gripped his hip as he caressed her breast through the linen of her night rail.
Tearing his lips from hers, he kissed down her throat, licking her flesh. He pulled at her bodice, widening the drawstring so that he could tug the garment down to expose her breasts.
“You are magnificent.” He used his thumb to tweak her nipple, sending shocks of need straight to her sex. His hand cupped her as he licked her cleavage.
“They’re too big.”
