She was his was the way he saw it, and every time another man got near her he felt the most primitive urge to protect what belonged to him. Which was insane. She wasn’t his a’tall, she was his maid! He’d like for her to be more than that, but she wasn’t cooperating in the least.
He went to fetch Regina and Danny some champagne. They’d had to twist his arm. He had not wanted to leave Danny alone for even a minute. Unfortunately, his glance passed over Emily on the way and he noticed her casting sad eyes at him. Good God, was she going to play the wounded lover now? And still insist he’d bedded her when he hadn’t?
“I do believe you are quite ready for bedlam,” a voice he knew all too well said behind him.
Jeremy cringed. His father. He hadn’t noticed James’s arrival, hadn’t noticed much of anything all evening other than Danny.
“I know.”
“What the devil could you have been thinking, to bring her here?”
“It wasn’t my idea. Think I wanted to share her with the ton and have every randy buck around ogling her? Not bloody likely.”
“Who then? Or do I even need to ask?”
“You don’t. Reggie, of course.”
“My dear niece has come up with some very odd manipulations during the course of her interfering-in-every-little-thing career, but I can’t fathom the reason for this one.”
“Pro’bly because only a woman would think of it. She figured the only way to get Emily to back off was to show her that I was interested in someone else, and she couldn’t think of anyone who could outshine Emily other than—”
“I get the idea, but wouldn’t a ‘Get lost, wench’ have sufficed for this troublesome young lady?”
“Reggie didn’t think so, didn’t think anything would make Emily find a new target. But this farce is more for the gossip mills, since Emily has been spreading the tale now that I’ve bedded her.”
“Bloody hell!”
“Exactly. But there will be an opposite view now. After all, why would I pursue a mere daisy when I’ve been courting a rare white rose.”
“Courting?” James choked.
“Just for effect,” Jeremy assured him. “And we won’t have to repeat this performance. Danny has made such a smashing impression, the ton will be talking about nothing else for weeks. Now what are you doing here? I could have sworn you said you had your excuses already prepared to escape being dragged along to these things?”
“Changed my mind. Wanted to have a look at this conniving chit who is trying to maneuver you to the altar. By the by, which one is she?”
Jeremy looked to where he’d last seen Emily. She wasn’t there. He then glanced back to see that his stepmother, George, had Regina’s attention for the moment, which left Danny unobserved by either of them, and alarm bells went off when he saw who’d taken advantage of that.
“Good God, Emily is confronting Danny.”
James raised a brow as he looked in the same direction. “This should prove interesting. Don’t think I’ve ever watched two women throwing punches, and considering where your Danny comes from, that’s a distinct possibility.”
Danny’s hackles rose when the lady pinched her arm to gain her attention. She was beautiful. Blond hair arranged elaborately in a perfect coiffure, a stunning white ball gown, which seemed to be the favored color for young debutantes, this one trimmed in powder blue to match the lady’s azure eyes. Those eyes were narrowed in a baleful scowl though. In fact, so much hate was pouring out of them, Danny was stunned for a moment.
“I don’t know who you are, but if you think you’re going to steal him from me, you are sadly mistaken,” the young woman told her.
It clicked then, who the lady was. Regina should really have pointed her out to give Danny some warning. Not that she could have avoided this, when she hadn’t noticed the lady approaching her.
After that unnecessary pinch, though, she didn’t pull any punches when she replied, “Ah, you must be Emily of the many lies.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“You’re making a fool of yourself, lady. He’s onto you, his family is onto you, and after tonight, the entire town will be onto you. Your lies will only serve to bury you in your own shame.”
Emily gasped, a high blush rising up her ivory cheeks. “I don’t think you quite understand. He is going to marry me. My father will see to that.”
Danny raised a brow. “Based on a lie?”
“I see you’ve been misinformed. I’m not a liar. He is, though, if he’s trying to deny that he trifled with me.”
“Is that what you call having a few words of conversation?” Danny asked innocently.
“Is that what he claims?” Emily looked incredulous, and it didn’t seem the least bit contrived. And then she added with a sigh,
“I should have known he couldn’t be trusted to keep his promises. After all, his father was the most notorious rake this town has ever seen, his uncle Anthony a close second, and obviously, Jeremy is endeavoring to follow in those same footsteps.”
Danny had no comment for that. She wouldn’t be a bit surprised if some of it was true. She knew Jeremy had no intention of getting married, had heard him say it. And obviously he took his pleasure where he could find it. His trying to get under her own skirts was proof of that. She didn’t think he was that callous though, to make promises he had no intention of keeping. He could have seduced the lady, yes, but Danny doubted he’d done it with anything more than a quick tumble in mind.
Danny hadn’t expected the lady to seem so sincere either. She was quite believable. Either she was very, very good at lying, or she was telling the truth.
Danny pointed that out. “If he’s as despicable as you say, why do you even want him?”
“I don’t anymore,” Emily insisted. “But I have no choice in the matter now.” Then she explained in a whisper, “I suspect I’m enceinte.”
“How can you know that already? He only met you last week!”
“I said suspect,” Emily hissed in annoyance. “I won’t know for certain for another week or two. And I hope I’m wrong, I really do, but unfortunately, I doubt it. So you can see now why you’re wasting your time and are headed for nothing but disappointment.”
Danny shook her head. “No, what I see is you’re deluding yourself. Buck up and accept your loss. Getting your father involved will just add to your own shame. And for what? He still won’t marry you.”
“What a dense twit you are! You don’t know how these things are handled. When the heir to a fortune is involved, it goes beyond personal preferences. Believe me, Jeremy will have no more say in it than I will. It will be quite out of our hands.”
Danny didn’t even know this lady and she was beginning to seriously dislike her. “Go away, wench. You’ve given me a bleedin’ headache.”
Emily gasped in outrage. “Well, I never!”
Danny nodded in agreement. “Likely the first truth out of your mouth.”
Emily opened her mouth for a rejoinder, but changed her mind and quickly hurried off. Danny found out why when Jeremy said behind her, “Are you all right?”
She turned to give him a sour look. “That were tough work, mate, keeping all them h ’s and u ’s in line for that much talking. Give me a bleedin’ headache, she did.”
“Here, this will help,” he said, handing her one of the champagne glasses he was holding. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that. I’m amazed she had the nerve to approach you. She wasn’t spiteful, was she?”
“She was very believable, was what she was.”
“Your appearance with me at your side hasn’t made her change her mind a’tall?”
“Not a chance. I’d wager this has merely forced her hand. She’s likely to move up her time schedule now.”
“Bloody hell.”
“Buck up, mate,” Danny said cheekily. “You can always move to Africa.”
He burst out laughing, then wound down enough to say, “I rather like it here. And at least Reggie’
s plan was half successful. The tongues will be wagging in a different direction now. Shall we further that along and dance some more? Might as well enjoy the rest of the evening, as long as we’re here.”
She humphed, though she was grinning at him. “I’m onto you, mate. You just want an excuse to put yer hands on me again.”
“Never think so,” he protested, but his own grin said, Absolutely! She might have given him the idea, or he might have already had it, but they didn’t remain long on the dance floor. A few twirls around and then he was dancing her off to the side of the room where plants and potted trees had been arranged to resemble a small garden.
He was giving the impression of trying to be discreet, but he just couldn’t contain his ardor any longer. The foliage only concealed them from half the room. The other half got a full view of Jeremy being most indiscreet.
“This should do it,” he said, just before he kissed her.
Danny was taken by surprise. A man and a woman didn’t kiss in public unless a wedding date had been announced, and even then it wasn’t considered acceptable behavior. Only a scoundrel like Jeremy would ignore such rules. His remark meant this was part of the plan and she should go along with it. Danny might have argued the point, but she wasn’t given a chance and besides, she’d been too close to Jeremy all evening, had felt his hands on her, had been seduced by the sensual promise in his eyes.
Just a few moments, she told herself just a few …Oh, God, she didn’t want this kiss to end. Heat spread along every nerve of her body, steamed up between them so swiftly, if she’d been wearing spectacles they would have completely fogged over. The fluttering in her belly spread, too, lower to the juncture of her thighs when it throbbed deliciously.
She was at the point of wanting to rip his shirt off and press her mouth to his warm, muscular chest, to unbutton his trousers and feel his heated flesh, but she had just the tiniest measure of sense left. If she didn’t stop him now she never would.
She gasped out, “Stop!”
“Must I?”
He said it so simply. She was trembling with passion while he didn’t sound the least bit affected by what had just passed between them. But then she met his eyes, and it was there, the promise of what could have been, and what could be, if she’d just let it happen.
Chapter 30
IT WAS HANDS DOWN the nicest time Danny had ever had in her life. She’d never thought she would go to a ball, let alone the grandest one imaginable. She was still bubbling over with pleasure and champagne on the way home. She knew she’d drunk too much. She’d felt light-headed after two glasses, but then she’d gone on to have two more. It just wasn’t the same as that fine wine she’d had the other night. Champagne went down too easily and its potency snuck up on her.
But that was all right. She’d soon be in bed to sleep it off. And she was sure her intoxication hadn’t caused her to slip up on her performance tonight. Jeremy would have said something if she had, and after Emily Bascomb’s visit he hadn’t left her side for the rest of the night. Well, he had let her dance once with one other gentleman, though she wished he hadn’t. All other men he’d chased away, but this one he couldn’t.
She had not enjoyed dancing with James Malory. That fellow still scared the pants off her, though he did try to put her at ease with a few droll remarks designed to make her laugh. He hadn’t succeeded.
She pitied his wife, Georgina, whom she got to meet briefly. George they called her. Nice lady for an American, and very pretty.
Jeremy helped her out of the coach. His hand lingered on her waist as he led her into his house. She thought nothing of it. She was still floating in contentment, still savoring how much fun the evening had been. She vaguely noted that she was climbing the stairs. That was all right, she worked up there. No, actually…
She stopped in the upstairs corridor. “I’m thinking I made a wrong turn.”
“Not a’tall,” he disagreed, pointing out, “you’re going to need help getting out of that gown. It’s fastened rather tightly up your back.”
It was, too. She remembered Regina’s saying she’d have to get one of the servants to help her out of it. But they were all asleep at this hour.
“Would you lend me a ’and then, mate?”
“Certainly, as soon as I light a lamp so I can see what needs undoing. You’ll need one to get to your room as well.”
“One what?”
“Lamp, m’dear. Didn’t look like any had been left burning downstairs other than in the foyer.”
Danny nodded. Jeremy led her into his room. She waited while he lit a lamp, then turned her back to him so he could loosen her gown enough for her to slip out of it. She sighed dreamily while he worked at it and shivered in turns, as his fingers brushed against her skin.
“So you enjoyed yourself tonight?”
“Too much, I’m thinking,” she admitted with a grin. “I like dancing.”
“So do I—with you.”
She giggled. “Don’t be using any o’ those seducer lines on me, mate. Remember, I’m onto you.”
“That was no line, Danny. I can’t remember ever enjoying dancing so much as I did tonight.”
She wished she could believe him. It still warmed her to hear it.
Glancing over her shoulder at him, she said sincerely, “Thank you for teaching me.”
“It was my pleasure, but the lessons for the day aren’t over.”
The gown was loosened. He’d helped her out of it while they talked, so it didn’t occur to her yet that she shouldn’t be dropping it in his room, but hers. She was simply having trouble concentrating on two things at once, three, actually. He’d kept touching her as he’d worked the gown off her, and she’d managed to notice every single brush of his fingers against her bare skin.
But she shouldn’t have glanced back at him. She’d been doing fine until she met his eyes and got lost in the deep, pure blue of them. And in those eyes as well was his expression, everything he was feeling, passion so hot she felt the heat of it wash over her. Or was that her own heat that was swiftly rising?
He turned her toward him. He placed one hand on her neck, his thumb tilting her chin up. This breathless moment ended in an exquisitely tender kiss. One kiss. What could it hurt? And it felt so bleeding nice.
She didn’t notice his other hand on her back until it pressed her closer to him, and still closer, until she was so close she could barely breathe. Yet that felt exquisite, too. Deceptive, that tender kiss. He didn’t need to be overwhelming her with his passion when her own was doing a right handy job of it.
But now he kissed her again. By slow degrees this kiss became much more erotic, his tongue delving into her mouth, finding hers, capturing it, sucking it forward until she groaned into his mouth. She had to grip his shoulders, her knees turned so weak. And his hands moved, one sliding through her curls to cup the back of her head, keeping her mouth under his control, while the other slid down her back to caress her derriere. Then abruptly both his hands were on her bottom as he lifted her to his loins.
Oh, God, there was no help for it after that. Too much heat was escalating between them. And Danny was tired of trying to fight it. What he made her feel was so wonderful, she couldn’t recall why she wasn’t supposed to enjoy it.
Somehow he got them on the bed without breaking that kiss. Danny became a little more dizzy, lying down, but after a few moments, she no longer noticed. She noticed Jeremy’s hand on her breasts though, squeezing them gently, teasing her nipples, which had already hardened under his manipulation. She’d never paid much attention to her breasts, other than regretting when they got so plump, which made it harder to keep them flattened. She had no idea they could tingle at a touch or cause fascinating sensations elsewhere. And the kissing never stopped. It got so hot, there should have been smoke in the room.
Danny was approaching an erotic state of no return and she didn’t care anymore. She’d lost her chemise and petticoats. She had a vague memory of them sliding off
her to the floor soon after Jeremy had started kissing her, probably because he had unfastened them at the same time he’d done her gown. Something else she hadn’t noticed. Or that he’d taken his own coat and shirt off. She simply had no idea when or how he’d done that, but she became instantly aware of it when he hugged her closer at one point and she was scorched by the heat of his bare skin on hers.
He removed her drawers now, by slow, agonizing degrees. Was he afraid she’d stop him? Not a chance, when she had such an amazing urge to feel his naked body against hers. But that removal was one long caress, his hand hot on her thigh, her calf as he bent her knee, her ankle, the drawers merely hooked on the back of his wrist as he explored her long limbs.
She didn’t know what to do with her own hands other than to hold on to his hair, because she really didn’t want him to stop kissing her. The trouble was, she didn’t know what she wanted, but she wanted it now.
Jeremy must have known. He didn’t make her agonize much longer with the primitive urges that had been overwhelming her from the start.
He put her arms around his neck and told her, “Hold me tight, luv, tighter.”
She did just that, squeezing for all she was worth as he covered her body completely with his just as she’d been dying for him to do. And then she felt the sharpest pain.
Danny screamed, yanking his hair until he raised his head. “What in the bleedin’ ’ell did you do that for?”
Jeremy was staring down at her as if she’d lost her mind, but then he smiled gently. “Danny…luv,” he started to explain, but broke off to kiss her instead, deeply, with the same passion he’d bestowed on her earlier.
Did he think that would mollify her? Well, it did distract her.
“That wasn’t part of lovemaking, other than the first time,” he continued. “An initiation as it were. But it’s never going to hurt you again. Really it isn’t.” And then he sobered and demanded, “And how is it that you were still a virgin?”