will bother us for days, except to bring us food.”
Lydia stared at him. “Days?”
“Days,” he echoed as he cupped her neck and urged her to lean into him so he could brush his lips over hers.
She surrendered to his kiss, and he managed to distract her from all other thoughts. He moved his mouth to her neck, gently scraping his teeth along her skin before he nipped her. She jolted as a sharp pang of need shot straight to her womb.
“Be bad with me, Lydia. Let me show you a way to pass the hours ahead.” He murmured the tempting words in her ear, and she found herself nodding eagerly before she could stop herself. He slid his hands up her skirts, teasing her calves and her thighs, and she wriggled on his lap. When he reached the apex of her thighs, she wanted to beg him to hurry, but he took his time. He unfastened his trousers and urged her to lift her hips. Then he was pulling her down on his erect shaft. The sudden sensation from this new angle was so very different than the previous night when he had lain on top of her. She felt fuller sitting on top of him like this.
“What’s the matter, lass?” he whispered as he kissed her.
“This is different than the last time,” she gasped before kissing him back.
“Different how?” He rocked her up and down on him. It was becoming harder and harder to think, with the building pleasure between them.
“It feels full . . . almost too much,” she confessed in a whisper.
He smiled. “Lass, how you flatter me.” He captured her lips again in a raw, open-mouthed kiss, and she buried her hands in his hair, fisting the thick, dark strands as she rolled her hips, feeling him move inside her at the same time.
The gentleness that had begun as an echo of last night gave way to a frantic coupling. Brodie grasped her bottom under her skirts as he lifted her and jerked her down onto him. She broke free of his kiss to gasp and clutch his shoulders as he used her in the most delicious way.
“That’s it,” he growled. “Take your pleasure from me.”
And she did. She circled her hips in a way that felt good and hit all the small secret spots within her, until she reached a glorious peak where there was nothing left for her but to fall back to earth. He followed her over the cliff of ecstasy a moment later and buried his face against her neck.
She breathed his name and cradled his head as they held on to each other for a long while. She didn’t want to pull away. She wanted to stay connected to him as long as she could. But she knew they couldn’t, and when at last he separated them, he used a handkerchief to clean her before he helped fix her skirts. She was more than mortified when she came to her senses and realized what she had done. That she had made love in a coach like some wild, wanton creature.
“Don’t be ashamed.” Brodie pulled her into his side, curling an arm around her shoulders as he comforted her.
“But I am,” she replied. “What we did was . . .”
“Was perfectly natural, lass. We just didna use a bed.” He nuzzled her cheek, his soft laughter easing her embarrassment somewhat. She liked it when he was in a good mood. This was how she’d first pictured him that night of the ball, a charming rogue with no worries.
“Will you show me all the different ways to make love?” She pressed her head under his chin and burrowed into his welcoming warmth.
“Aye. I will,” he promised with a silky chuckle.
“Good, because if I am to be your mistress, I wish to know what all the fuss is about.”
His arms tightened around her body, and he kissed the crown of her hair. “I will make you happy.”
She believed him, even though her heart worried that it wouldn’t last. Rationally, she couldn’t see how it would be possible.
Joanna Kincade was sitting in the drawing room at Castle Kincade with her mother and older brother Ashton, talking about London and all their mutual friends, when a clamor outside had her leaping to her feet in alarm. A young footman burst into the room, his eyes darting around until he found her.
“My lady! An urgent message just arrived from Edinburgh.” He thrust a letter into her hands.