Tempting Taffy (House of Devon #8) - Meara Platt Page 0,28
day.”
“It isn’t possible,” she said, frowning.
Aye, she did not bother to hide her irritation, but all he saw was the blaze in her beautiful eyes and the indignant purse of her lips. Her ugly gown was buttoned to her neck and he was still in palpitations over what lay hidden beneath that unsightly sack of cloth.
“I dinna know why it had to be with ye, lass. It would be easier on all of us if it weren’t. But so be it. Ye’re the woman who will always hold my heart.”
He swore she was about to punch him in the nose, so he took her fisted hands and held them firmly in his. “Will ye deny ye have feelings for me?”
“Of course, I will deny it.”
“And I’ll not believe it. I’m no green boy, but a man full grown. Fool yerself, but ye canno’ fool me. I’ve seen the way ye look at me when ye think I’m not looking.”
“You are my assignment.”
“Do ye look at all yer assignments with soul-searing desire? Dinna bother to deny it. Ye’re too innocent to understand the physical aspect of what ye’re feeling. But I know, and at the proper time I’ll show ye what a man and woman can share.”
He felt her hands tremble in his and gave them a light, comforting squeeze. “I will no’ take ye for my mistress. I want ye for my wife, but I’ll be honest with ye. I dinna know yet if this is possible. Were I not my father’s heir, I would no’ think twice about it.”
“But you are his heir. It is impossible.”
“No, lass. There has to be a way.”
“Please, my lord. Say no more. I will not deny I have developed feelings for you, and it does not make me happy in the least. To end up like Lady Vera, desperately sad and pining for a true love I can never have, is no way to live one’s life.”
“I will not lose ye, Taffy. Give me time to figure it out. But I had to tell ye what’s in my heart.”
“No, my lord. You didn’t. You ought to have kept it to yourself and not given me hope.” Tears filled her eyes. “Did you think I was strong enough to take all of this in and not have my heart shatter?”
“Aye, lass. I did.” He caressed her cheek. “Foolish of me, I can see that now.”
Foolish and cruel of him. He’d done nothing but twist a dagger in her heart. She was a foundling, never having had a family to claim as her own. Even the Ralstons, for all their affection, had fallen short of truly making her their own daughter. Now here he was blathering about his feelings and in the same breath telling her that he could not marry her and make them a true family.
Indeed, he was cruel.
“Taffy, I know it is too late to take back these words. Nor do I want to take them back. I love ye, lass. Rafe loves ye, too.” He released her hands to cup her face, using the pads of his thumbs to wipe away a few, stray tears that had spilled onto her cheeks. “I love ye.”
He bent his head to hers. “I would no’ kiss ye if I dinna love ye.”
And then he kissed her, intending it to be a gentle emphasis to his declaration. But desperate feelings did not allow for patience or politeness. He swallowed her up in his embrace, drawing her up against him and turning to fire the moment he felt the soft press of her breasts against his chest and the accidental touch of her hip against his loins.
“Put yer arms around my neck, lass,” he whispered before crushing his lips to hers with ravenous longing and losing himself in the taste of her mouth, the sweetness of her touch, the intoxicating beauty of her body.
He knew it would be like this.
He knew she would fit perfectly against him, that the scent of her skin would be Highlands lavender, that her hair would be lush and the color of a silken flame. That she wouldn’t know how to kiss, but would yield to him anyway with captivating innocence.
He knew she would be soft and warm, and meant for him.
When had he ever poured his heart into a kiss?
Sadly, never before.
Not with Vera, although he’d tried to be gentle and patient with her. But it was hard to open one’s heart to a wife whose heart was closed to