Lady Vivian Defies a Duke - By Samantha Grace Page 0,56
At a loss for words, she joined him at the waterline and squatted to rinse her hands as he was doing. She stood and, overcome by a rush of mischief, flicked droplets at him.
Still kneeling, Luke lifted a brow and flashed a wicked grin. She backed up a step, but not fast enough. He smacked the water with his hand and aimed a stream at her. The shock of cold water against her bodice made her gasp.
“Luke!”
Her nipples tightened and jutted through her thin muslin gown. Crossing her arms, she spun away from him. “You are evil,” she accused, laughing in spite of her embarrassment.
“You started it, water sprite.” He came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and nuzzled her ear. “And I always play to win,” he whispered.
His hot breath on her neck sent delicious pulses to her core and made her breasts tingle.
In the distance, she spotted servants coming their way with baskets. She stepped from his embrace and spun back toward the water. She kept her back to the young girls as they delivered their meal.
“Offer my thanks to Mrs. Dillingham,” he said, “and see that we are not disturbed again this evening.”
“Yes, Your Grace.” Vivi imagined the girls offering a rushed curtsy before dashing back to the house, eager to share what they had witnessed.
Heaviness settled in her chest, overriding her earlier lightheartedness. She had known she shouldn’t be alone with Luke, but she hadn’t sent for a chaperone when he had extended the invitation. In truth, she had practically run him down in her eagerness to escape the cottage. Every decision she made seemed fraught with recklessness. It had always been that way for her. She didn’t understand the reason Luke hadn’t yet noticed she wasn’t like other proper young ladies. Yet he must see her as she really was eventually. She dreaded arriving at Irvine Castle, where he would compare her to the other young ladies in attendance. How would she win his heart then?
Maybe she should let go of her ridiculous plan. She had made no real progress since they had departed from Brighthurst. He may have kissed her once, but that hardly meant a proposal was close at hand.
Luke slipped up behind her again and touched her shoulder. “Is everything all right, Viv? I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
His gentle concern filled her heart to overflowing. Lord help her, but she didn’t have it in her to give up. Not with Luke. She turned, threw her arms around him, and buried her face against his neck. His skin was fragrant, robust and woodsy, as if he had bathed in water scented with clover.
He embraced her tightly, and she wilted against him as his hands traveled her back in slow caresses that made her long for more. Even though she feared never being capable of becoming the type of lady his position required, she couldn’t let him go. She needed him.
“I’m so sorry,” she said softly.
***
Luke’s heart was battering against his ribs. He tried to work out Vivian’s mumblings as she snuggled against him, her lips playing over his neck. He might have asked her to repeat herself, but that would mean she must pull away to be heard, and he liked her where she was.
He wanted to kiss her, but even in the fading light, someone might spy them from an upper floor of the cottage. After dusk, he could safely kiss away whatever worries were plaguing her without the chance of embarrassing her again.
It might be unfair to begin his courtship of her before she had met other potential suitors, but he didn’t care. If having her alone allowed him an advantage over other would-be suitors, he would take it. As he had admitted a moment ago, he was playing to win, and Vivian was a prize worth winning.
She would want for nothing as his wife, including the freedom to be herself. No other gentleman could pose a better offer. This knowledge alone eased his conscience somewhat for breaking his promise to help her make another match and binding her to him.
Reluctantly, he eased her from his arms and captured her hand. “Shall we see what Mrs. Dillingham has prepared for us?”
She nodded, uncommonly reserved.
He led her to the blanket the kitchen maids had spread over the grass and helped her lower herself onto it. At his request, Mrs. Dillingham had prepared a simple meal of cold meat sandwiches, fruit, and Vivian’s favorite, chocolate biscuits.