Always the Rival (Never the Bride #7) - Emily E K Murdoch Page 0,38
her hopes, a new certainty washed over Charles’s mind.
He did not want to marry Miss Lloyd. More than that, he wanted to marry Priscilla.
It was a certainty he had never felt before. He could not apologize for it, just as he could not apologize for being the Duke of Orrinshire, or for having blue eyes.
It was who he was.
“Why are you deciding to give up your…your rivalry now?” He spoke quietly, with no resentment. There was no need to be bitter when the way forward seemed so clear.
Priscilla laughed wryly. “Well, I have hardly been succeeding up until now! I had thought our…our encounter last week would tempt you. Would make you see…but you are too good for that, Charles. You honor your commitments, and it is time that I honored them, too.”
“I am not too good for that.” The words came out almost as a croak. He took another step closer, and Priscilla could not back away. “Priscilla, all I have been able to do in the last seven days is think of you.”
Her eyes widened, her fingers still clutching at the sodden gown held up under her arms.
“I have been able to concentrate on nothing else,” he continued, “since you stepped out of that drawing room shouting that you wished you’d never spoken to me about…about this.” Charles swallowed. He had never said this to anyone before, but if not now… “Priscilla, I love you.”
She gasped. “You love me?”
He nodded. “I cannot believe I did not know it before, or I would have told you far sooner – but Priscilla. I cannot go ahead with this marriage without telling you. I-I love you. More than my own flesh. More than anything. More than anyone.”
This time it was she who stepped forward, her cheeks flushed. “We – we should not speak this way. You are engaged to be married.”
Charles lifted a hand and caressed her cheek. Priscilla flinched away from his touch, but he did not remove his hand. After a heart-stopping moment, she tilted her head and allowed the caress.
“Engagements are made to be broken,” he whispered.
It happened so quickly that Charles did not know whether he had leaned forward or if Priscilla had, or if they had both moved.
Whichever it was, they were kissing, Priscilla abandoning all attempts at restraint. Her hands were in his hair, and Charles had both hands on her buttocks, cupping her toward him as he clung to her, the only real thing left in the world.
This was precisely where he was supposed to be, with the person who was supposed to be there alongside him.
It was Priscilla. It had always been Priscilla.
Eventually, she pulled away, and with blushing cheeks, said, “My gown is getting you all wet.”
Charles grinned. “Wet, I can handle. I would like nothing more than to take all your clothes off and make love to you.”
Chapter Ten
Her heart was beating so fast, for a moment, Priscilla was sure she had misheard Charles.
“I would like nothing more than to take all your clothes off and make love to you.”
Her fingers almost slipped on the gown she was still attempting to keep above her breasts, but she maintained her grip as her mind spiraled.
She swallowed, staring into his tumultuous eyes. It was everything she wanted – everything she had hoped for – when she had first suggested the rivalry with Miss Lloyd.
Was it possible that all her dreams were coming true? It felt more like a fairytale than real life.
She licked her lips, playing for time, hoping that her mind would catch up with her, and Charles gave a groan and tightened his grip on her, which did not help her concentrate any better.
He said he would break off his engagement. He said he wanted to make love to her – did this really happen to people?
Her body reacted quicker than her mind did. Desire to be touched, to be teased, to be caressed… Those passions overwhelmed her, putting her mind in a heady state not exactly conducive to making decisions.
But as she looked at him, all sense of decorum, of dignity, of what was expected of a lady of the ton disappeared from her mind.
She wanted him. She would never be able to say it aloud, so scandalous a thought it was, but she could know it in her soul, nonetheless.
They could be together now.
“I…” she started to say.
Her mind did not permit her to continue.
What if they did not marry? What if she fell with a child?