Callie Hutton (15 page)

His engorged flesh
prodded the area where his fingers had just been.
She tensed as he edged into her channel.
Surprisingly, it didn’t hurt, only
gave her
a sense of fullness.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but it won’t hurt for long.”

Not sure what he meant, she jerked as he
thrust
into her body
, burying
himself
deep inside her.
Two tears leaked from the corners of her eyes
at the intense sting
.

“Shh, love.
I hate causing you
pain. L
ie still for a moment
and it will ease
.” He fingered the tears away.

As the
tenderness
eased, she drew in a deep breath. “It doesn’t hurt anymore,” she said in wonder.

Penrose
with
drew his
shaft
almost all the way out, and then pushed back in again.
He quickly
set up a rhythm she picked up, meeting him thrust for thrust, flesh to flesh.

Merry moaned and licked her dry lips, unable to control her body’s reaction
to the wonder of their joining.
Yet again
the area between her legs tightened, and the sense of something wonderful await
ing
her swept from her pounding heart to her very core.

He grasped her right hand with his left, keeping his weight off her with one elbow.

She tossed her hear
d back and forth, straining, whimpering .

“What is it, sweetheart?”

“I need something. Please, help me.”

Penrose released her hand and reached between them to once again fondle the part of her that brought a
sigh to her lips. Her
labored
breathing matched his as he worked his finger
s
and pounded into her.

All of a sudden Merry exploded in
to a thousand pieces,
a downpour of fiery sensations. Her entire body throbbed as pleasure washed over her with each and every wave.
Surely these feelings were not human, but mystical.

Within seconds, Penrose gave one final thrust and threw his head back with a groan,
his magnificent body
trembling
before he
collapsed o
ver
her.

Merry ran her fingers through his damp hair
, reluctant to let him go.
She savored the feeling of satisfaction, of having the weight of his body pressing hers into the mattress. Too quickly, h
e kissed her cheek
, shifted his body, and then drew
her into the pocket of his shoulder.

She closed her eyes, her breathing beginning to return to normal as a disturbing thought flitted through her mind like an epiphany.

Dear God,
I’m in love with him.

Chapter Nine

“Miss Merry
,
are you even listening to me?” Charlotte
stared at
Merry with a petulant look. Merry smiled
. H
er former charge was growing into a young lady, with all the foils and foibles of that tumultuous age.
In a few short years she would make he
r debut and be
cast
upon the Marriage M
art.

             
“I’m sorry, dear, I was woolgathering.” Merry smoothed the young girl’s hair away from her forehead. “What did you say?”

             
“I asked if you thought the
duke
would allow me to attend the Christmas ball?
”

             
“Oh, sweetheart, I don’t believe so. You are much too young.”

“Could you ask him? He likes you.”

             
Merry felt the heat spread from her middle to her face.
All morning s
he hadn’t stopped thinking about last night, and
what they’d done
. After a brief kiss on her forehead, Penrose
had
crept from her bed in the middle of the night, leaving her bereft and hugging the pillow that still held his scent.

             
She had no idea how she would face him today.
Would he regard her as a wanton who gave her favors freely? Nonsense. He’d been fully aware of her innocent state. She sighed. So many feelings and thoughts kept her tied in knots. As much as she wished to see him to assure herself he didn’t hold her in contempt, the fear of seeing derision on his face
ate at
her.

Fortunately she’d been granted a reprieve since he had not appeared at breakfast.
Lord Brandon
informed her Penrose had
left early to settle a dispute at
one of his tenant’s homes that had turned dangerous.

“I will ask him,
darling,
but don’t count on it. I’m sure he will agree you are much too young for such activities.”

Charlotte’s face fell.

“Come, let’s enjoy the freedom from you
r
studies, and help with the decorating of the ballroom.”

Miss Jennings had allowed both girls the afternoon off to join in the preparati
ons for the ball and Christmas D
ay. Despite Merry’s invitation to the governess to join them, she’d declined and murmured something about servants being available to do that type of work.

“It looks like Christmas in here.” The
duke
’s rumbling voice
, along with a gust of cold air,
carried from the front door to where Merry stood in the ballroom
.
She immediately lost interest in
directing the placement of greenery and other festive decorations.

Her stomach clenched and her heart sped up. With shaky hands, she smoothed back the hair from her forehead and took a deep breath.

“So here is where you’ve all gathered.”
Penrose entered the room in a whirlwind. He kissed his mother on her cheek and glanced over at Merry, his face impassive. “Miss Chambers
.” H
e nodded.

The clenching in her stomach grew into slight nausea. Where was the warm
and
tender
man from last night? The lover who whispered to her in the dark, who brought her to heights she’d never imagined? Sadly, the stiff and formal
duke
had taken his place. Then she chided herself. What did she expect him to do? Rush across the room and sweep her into his arms in front of everyone?

Yes.

“Ladies, you are doing a wonderful job. The ball tomorrow night will be a huge success thanks to all your efforts.” He smiled broadly at Charlotte and Clare who tied ribbons onto greenery.

Their young faces flushed in pleasure. Did he have that effect on every female
−
young and old?

“My, Penrose, you are certainly in high spirits today.” Kitty regarded him with amusement.

“I’m afraid I’ve
caught your enthusiasm.”

A footman entered the ballroom. “Your Grace, Miss Jennings awaits you in the library as you requested.”

“A
h, yes. Miss Jennings. Thank you.” He turned to the women. “I will see you all at dinner. I have several things to catch up on this afternoon.” Bowing slightly, he left the room, his departure seeming to suck all the air out of the room.

“Well, I wonder what that was all about.” Kitty remarked.

Yes, indeed. Why would he request to see Miss Jennings?

The relief she’d hoped to feel at confronting Penrose fled. He’d treated her with the same  reserve he had when she’d first arrived. Instead of the warmth from a lover, it was as if he hadn’t even remembered their
time together.

The beginnings of a major headache tickled the back of her neck. As soon as the work in the ballroom was finished, she’d lie down with a lavender cloth.

****

Several hours later,
Penrose strode into the drawing room as
Brandon
poured
brandy
into a crystal tumbler. He
glanced at
Penrose over his shoulder. “Can I pour you one, brother?”

“Yes. Please.” Penrose walked further into the room and took the glass. “I’m glad you are the only one here. I wanted to speak with you before dinner.”

His brother
raised his eyebrows. “Sounds serious.”

Penrose drank from his glass and motioned to the two chairs in front of the fireplace. He settled into one, and leaned forward, his elbows braced on his legs, the glass dangling from his fingers. He studied his brother. “I have decided to take a wife.”

Brandon
made a choking sound, then coughed and wheezed for a few minutes. Once he had hi
mself
under control, he put his glass down, and took in a deep breath. “I thought you said you would never marry.”

“I’ve changed my mind.”

“So it seems.”
Brandon
shifted in chair. “Miss Chambers?”

Penrose smiled. “Is it so obvious?”

“
Only t
o everyone
who has observed the two of you pretending to ignore each other
.”
His brother
raised his glass in a salute.

*

Merry closed the door to her bedroom and headed to the stairs. Her headache had diminished somewhat, but she’d sp
ent the time lying in the dark
ened room
,
remember
ing
.
Perhaps it wouldn’t have been so easy to do if
Penrose’s
scent still didn’t linger on the pillow where he’d slept. She had quickly changed her own sheet that the morning, horrified to see the evidence of her
in
discretion
staring her in the face
.

Her confusion at his reaction this afternoon remained. Hopefully sometime tonight they would have a few minutes alone, and she could talk to him, determine his feelings.

What feelings? You allowed him to take you to bed. You are certainly old enough to know what men think of those kind
s
of women.

She reached the partially open
drawing room
door to hear Penrose and
Lord Brandon
speaking. Knowing she
shouldn’t,
nevertheless she halted and listened.

“I will announce our
betrothal
at the ball tomorrow night.” Penrose’s voice reached her ears, causing her to take in a sharp breath.

Betrothal
?

“You’re seriously considering marrying a governess?”

Miss Jennings?
Everything inside Merry dissolved into pain. The woman had been right. With her
English
background, the
duke
would select Miss Jennings
if he ever decided to marry
.

Oh, how stupid she’d been. She’d given herself to a man who had no regard for her, who probably thought since she was an American, she had no morals.
Was he right?

“Why not? She’s everything a duchess should be
.
”
The heat in Penrose’s voice didn’t soothe her as it did the last time she’d heard that deep voice.

Merry brought her hand to her throat, the tears so close she had to swallow convulsively to keep them in.

“Hardly, old man. She’s barely above a servant.”

“You’ve spent weeks in her company. She’s a true lady, and can handle herself in any situation.
My wards will thrive under her hand. As will our future children.”

Merry’s knees went weak. He hadn’t lied. Marriage was merely a business arrangement for him. He wanted the perfect governess to be the perfect duchess. She shook her head and fought down the
bile
that rose to the back of her throat.

“What about the other one?”

“She will have to go. I don’t want any complications her presence would cause in my marriage. I’ll give her a token of my appreciation and send her on her way.”

“Won’t she expect more than that? I’ve always felt the woman was smitten with you.”

“No matter. Her false assumptions will be dealt with.
”

Smitten?
  Had the entire household noticed her attraction to the
despicable
man? Oh, if only the floor could open and she could drop through.