Caroline (25 page)

Rose appeared, bearing a tray loaded with heavenly smelling food and a small decanter of red wine.

"There's roast beef here, ma'am, and fresh muffins, besides the rest. Perhaps you could eat while I arrange your bath?"

Caro was beaming.

"Thank you! How shall I manage without you?"

After setting the tray on the table near the window, Rose left the room. Caro quickly retrieved the crumpled gown and hung it up in the empty wardrobe. Then she turned her attention to the meal awaiting her, eating with more enjoyment than she had felt in days. A small glass of wine doused the nervousness which had been creeping up on her, and she had poured a bit more when Rose and another maid came in carrying the bathtub. In a matter of minutes, they had filled it with steaming water, and Rose added a sachet of jasmine.

"Thank you again," Caro said. "You have been a wonderful maid to me since the first day I arrived at Belle Maison. I only wish you could come with me tomorrow."

"So do I, ma'am. It's been a joy to serve you."

Impulsively, Caro hugged the girl before sending her on her way with, "I really shan't need any more help tonight. You go along now—you've been working hard doing all this packing and you deserve a rest."

"But—your hair—and the bathtub..."

"I shall dry my own hair—if only to prove to myself that I still can! And I will ring for whomever is about when I am finished with my bath. Are you satisfied?"

Rose looked doubtful, but finally Caro was alone, and she speedily shed the topaz velvet dress and peeled off her underclothes. The water was blissfully hot and soothing. She leaned back and rested her head against the high back. Then, while leisurely sipping the wine left in her glass, Caro resolved to formulate a plan for the rest of the evening.

But she found it impossible even to think of attempting to seduce Alec, knowing that she would be playing with fire. At last, she decided not to plan anything, for all she was really sure of was her need to see and talk to Alec. She could not leave things the way they were.

The bathtub was sitting in front of the fireplace, and Caro soon began to feel very warm and flushed. Suddenly, the connecting door behind her opened, and she looked back over her shoulder to see Alec standing on the threshold.

"Egad, Caro, life with you is full of pleasant surprises! I heard that you were dining in your room and feared you might be ill. I take it you are not...?"

Already uncomfortably warm, she felt her face flame before his bold gaze. She had no way of knowing how lovely she looked as Alec appreciatively took in her burnished curls and her pink, delicious-looking wet skin. All but the very tips of her breasts were revealed above the water. Her eyes met his, and Alec was surprised at the unconcealed warmth in their golden-brown depths, which even her disconcertion could not mask. Something in her expression made the blood pulse in his loins, and it took all the self-control he could muster to comment nonchalantly:

"I have a strong feeling that it is not at all proper for me to be standing here now. Our Mr. MacGowan would be appalled by my lack of respect."

His amused expression showed no sign of penitence, and he made no move to leave, but leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Alec," Caro exclaimed in a shaky voice, "how can I bathe with you standing there? Would you have my water grow cold?"

He laughed at this, white teeth gleaming in the shadows. "I cry pardon, cherie."

Turning, he disappeared, closing the door behind him. Caro was trembling so that she could barely finish her bath, and the skin that had been so warm moments before was now reduced to gooseflesh.

At last she emerged from the water and towel-dried herself before the fire until her body tingled. Removing the cloudy yellow gown from the wardrobe, Caro hesitantly slipped it over her head, tying the ivory ribbons below her breasts. As an afterthought, she fastened a ribbon of lace around her neck. The gown clung to every curve of her body, even revealing the pink tautness of her nipples as they strained against the bodice. Her skin glowed in the warm candlelight as she brushed her damp curls dry before the fire.

A full half hour passed before Caro gathered her courage and stood up. Her heart pounded as she went to the door and listened. There was no sound, and she wondered what she would do if he were not in his room. Opening the door a fraction, she peered into darkness and discovered that a small dressing room connected her bedchamber to Alec's.

As her eyes grew accustomed to the dim light, she saw the tawny brown coat he had worn that day slung across the back of a chair. A large, imposing wardrobe was opened on one side to reveal flawlessly tailored garments, and Caro inhaled the intoxicating aroma of Alec that clung to his clothes. Then she looked to the next door and saw the bar of light that shone beneath it. At that moment, the door opened, firelight from the room beyond framing Alec's tall, shadowy figure. She felt faint with fear, shock, and mortification. Shrinking back against the door to her own room, she could see the familiar flash of his grin.

"Caro, do not tell me that you are lost! Did you forget which door led to the hallway?"

The mocking note in his voice brought a rush of hot blood to her face. Before she could speak, Alec closed the distance between them.

"It really is you!" he murmured as he searched her face in the dim light. "I thought perhaps I was having a vision—that you might be an angel, sent to convince me to mend my evil ways!" One hand closed around her soft upper arm and he gave a low whistle of surprise. "What's this, fair angel? Bare flesh?"

He lost no time in pulling her out of the darkness and into his own large bedchamber. Caro saw his eyebrows fly up as he held her at arm's length.

"Good God, what have you got on?"

Her eyes flashed at the tone of his voice. "You should know, sir! Didn't you personally order all my clothes?"

"Let me rephrase my question then.
Why
have you got it on? If you were planning a secret rendezvous with young MacGowan, you certainly chose the wrong avenue of escape!"

He was laughing softly, and his eyes gleamed as he looked at her in a new way. Caro felt naked, and now wished she had never found the gown. There must have been another way! she thought wildly.

Alec caught her shoulders, pulling her firmly against him. When she looked up into his face, she found his eyes had darkened to a stormy sea-blue. His hands gripped her shoulders with a strength that made escape unthinkable and, when he spoke, there was a note in his voice that sent a shiver through Caro.

"Of course, my dear, there is always a possibility that you were not looking for the hall door, for why would you show yourself in that? And I must rule out the theory about MacGowan because I know that you sent him packing this afternoon. So, it seems I am left with only one conclusion." Lifting an ironic brow, he slid his hands down from her shoulders to encircle her back. Her eyes were wide with alarm, but he ignored them and her rigid body as his mouth closed over hers. His kiss was almost brutal and went on for so long that Caro was breathless. When at last she managed to struggle free, she gasped:

"Why are you acting this way?" She tried to blink back the tears that sprang to her eyes. His own face was void of sympathy, however, and his left arm pinned her against him like a band of steel as he tipped up her chin with his thumb and forefinger.

"Caro," he said in a low, hard voice, "I have long been weary of these schoolboy games. I am not accustomed to the role of the respectful callow youth and I find it does not agree with me. As long as you kept your distance, you were relatively safe, but now you leave me no choice. I have warned you of my rules repeatedly, and you have flouted them this night. The game is ended—I will play no more."

Caro watched in stunned silence as Alec put out the candles by snuffing the flames between his thumb and forefinger. She saw now that he was clad only in his breeches and linen shirt, ruffled cuffs falling across the backs of his brown hands. He wore no cravat, and the shirt was open halfway to his waist, revealing his broad hard chest.

He paused at the desk which stood in one corner of the spacious room, gathering up some papers he had evidently been working on when he heard her in the dressing room. His movements were unhurried, and Caro realized vaguely that she could run away if she wanted to. When the candles on the desk were extinguished, Alec observed her momentarily before walking back to her. In the warm glow of the fire, Caro's skin looked as soft as a ripe peach. She appeared strangely composed as she met his penetrating gaze.

Slowly he encircled her tiny waist with his hands, then moved them upward. Caro did not flinch when he pulled the ribbon that held her bodice secure and slid the straps from her shoulders. Her taut breasts were revealed, then the gown tumbled down to her feet in a lemony pool. Alec's eyes smoldered as he drank in her beauty.

"My dear," he murmured with a trace of a smile, "at the risk of sounding tedious, your body is magnificent!"

His tanned fingers traced a leisurely, burning trail up her slender thighs, over the curve of her hips, then paused to caress her breasts with teasing lightness. Caro thought that she might faint with pleasure. When they reached her neck, untying the lace that encircled it with one deft movement, he bent his head to press his lips against its fragrant softness. She dropped her head back, and Alec told her softly, "I had to take that damned ribbon off, my dear, because I don't intend to be deprived of one square inch of your body."

There was humor in his voice and she surprised them both by looking up and smiling irrepressibly. Her eyes twinkled and the barest suspicion of a dimple showed next to her mouth.

"Caro, is it possible that you actually smiled at me at a moment like this?"

Her lips curved even more, and Alec felt her relax against him.

"I have been drinking some wine," she whispered.

"Indeed? How much?"

"Perhaps... four glasses. Not all at once, though! Grandmere gave me some of it quite a while ago."

"Ah—well, I trust it was not enough to impair your judgment. I do not intend to feel guilty this time because you are intoxicated!" Her lush breasts were pressing against his bare chest. "You do know what you're doing, don't you?"

Her voice was clear as she answered, "Yes, I'm afraid I have to admit it. I know exactly what I'm doing—or I will, as soon as you tell me what it's called!"

He had never before seen a woman's eyes shine with an equal measure of desire and innocence. As he lifted her easily in his arms, his voice came huskily in her ear:

"I'll tell you later."

* * *

The moon was high in the clear, starry sky when Caro awoke with a start. Silvery, luminous beams of light arched through the tall windows, bathing the room in pools of moonlight. For a moment, she was confused, but then she felt Alec's muscled shoulder beneath her cheek, the hair on his chest faintly tickling her. She moved just enough to look at him as he lay with one arm curved over his head, the other encircling Caro. He slept with a faint smile on his lips and the sound of his even breathing and steady heartbeat warmed her as she lay with him.

The bed they shared was magnificent. A Hepplewhite four-poster with fretted testers, it was luxuriously comfortable. Caro could scarcely refrain from moving against the soft sheets, and in Alec's arms under the goose-down comforter, she felt cozy and warm in spite of her nakedness.

She wondered if he had really intended for her to spend the entire night in his bed. After what had seemed like hours of lovemaking, they had lain together in this same position, Alec softly teasing her breasts with the hand which now rested near her elbow. At the time, she had not thought she could ever sleep, but apparently they had...

Memories crowded into her mind in a kaleidoscope of pleasure. Alec had asked her to help him undress, but she could only manage the shirt. She had huddled beneath the covers, watching him peel off his breeches, slim-hipped and well muscled in the firelight. When he came to her, the pressure of his hard naked body had caused her to gasp aloud, and even now she remembered his soft chuckle. After that, they had both been beyond coherent thought or speech, and his lovemaking had aroused feelings within her that she had never imagined.

At first, he had gone so slowly, tantalizing her with his hands and mouth until she began to moan softly and move against him. Instinctively, she had opened her mouth with eagerness when he kissed her. She had shuddered with desire, her fingers playing in his glossy hair, when his lips and tongue skillfully teased her taut breasts. She had lain helplessly trembling with pleasure as his hands touched and caressed her, awakening every hidden sensuous nerve.

When at last he had moved above her, parting her thighs, Caro felt that she could stand no more. A tremendous, delicious pressure had built up inside her, increasing with Alec's every touch or kiss. Looking up, she saw him smiling down at her, then he covered her mouth with his at the same moment of his penetration. Caro felt a shock that soon grew into an almost unbearable pleasure as Alec moved rhythmically within her. Her body arched to meet his again and again while she grasped at his back, searching for something to hold on to and finding only hard, moving muscles. All at once, the pressure within her loins seemed to explode, dissolving into a delicious, tingling heat that spread up from between her thighs to sear her heart and her very soul.