Blame It on Bath Page 0,26

the seam between her lips with the tip of his tongue. Katherine hesitantly parted her lips when he did it again, and he growled low in his throat, the sound redolent with satisfaction, as his tongue swept into her mouth. Automatically she tried to retreat, but he gathered her closer without any apparent effort, tipping up her chin a little farther as he tasted her mouth leisurely and sensuously. She felt overwhelmed by him—his size, his strength as he held her, the warm taste of burgundy wine on his tongue, the way he made her heart pound so hard she thought she might faint. She didn’t know what to do—what he expected or wanted her to do—so she could only stand there and let him kiss her. And the sole thought her brain could form was one of thanks that he had said yes before he kissed her this way.

After an eternity, much too soon, he raised his head and looked down at her for a moment in silence, his expression somehow hot and fierce in the firelight. “Yes, that will do,” he murmured as he released her. “For now.”

Her cheeks burned. Reason flooded back through her. “You should have asked,” she said tightly.

That naughty, sensual grin bent her new fiancé’s wicked mouth. “You asked me.” Katherine just glared at him, scrabbling for her lost dignity. Her breasts still tingled from being pressed so intimately against his chest, and from the way his eyes glinted as they slid over her, he knew it. “Or did you not know what a husband’s duty included?”

Duty. Of course. She flattened her hands against her skirt and reined in her body’s reaction, aided considerably by his choice of words. “Of course I do,” she said, making her voice carefully free of emotion. “You merely startled me.”

“Good,” he said, sounding suspiciously amused. “We can be married tomorrow.”

Katherine’s mouth fell open. “Tomorrow? What do you mean?”

He produced a paper from his pocket and handed it to her. She unfolded it and read the special license, giving the bearer permission to marry at any time without banns. He couldn’t have shocked her more thoroughly if he’d produced a vicar from the cupboard. She looked up at him, speechless.

He cocked his head when she just gaped at him. “Have you changed your mind? It’s not too late.”

“No! I— I—” She looked away from him, away from his intense gaze, down at the paper in her hand. Not only was he willing to have her, he kissed her. He wanted to make love to her. He was going to marry her tomorrow. This was not at all what she had expected. A thrill of excitement twined with the panic unfurling in her stomach. “You surprise me,” she said, trying to hide both emotions. “I didn’t anticipate such haste.”

“Unfortunately, my dear, I don’t have time to spare. You knew I was on my way out of town three days ago.” He crossed the room to the table and came back with a glass in one hand.

Her mind leaped from one topic to another without pausing long enough to make any decisions. Somehow she’d completely lost control of what should have been a very controlled situation. He took the license from her and handed her the glass, the wine he had poured earlier. “Where are you going?” was all she managed to ask.

He just smiled, a watchful, wry expression on his face as he tucked the license back into his pocket. “Where my search takes me. I assume you will come with me. That is, after all, why I procured the license. I also thought you wouldn’t want to return to Lucien Howe’s home, given how far you’ve gone to avoid wedding him. No doubt he won’t be the most gracious of hosts after tomorrow.”

Yes, that was true. She dipped her head in acknowledgment.

The captain nodded. “I thought as much. You and your maid should remain here tonight. Tomorrow we can be married at the church, then collect your things. You can pack in an hour or two, can you not?”

“Remain here?” Katherine was appalled all over again. She’d be discovered missing for certain . . . except, that wouldn’t matter much now, would it? Lucien couldn’t do anything to her with the captain standing beside her as her husband. In fact, the greater danger probably lay in returning to Portman Square tonight. If she had been missed, Lucien would be furious, and heaven only knew what he would do to