Desperately Seeking Suzanna (20 page)

“No, they aren’t.”

“No…they aren’t.” She studied him for another moment before shaking her head. “Your nose isn’t even crooked, and I kicked you in the face.”

“That you did.” He began laughing.

“Do you have flaws, Holden? Is there any hidden, soiled part of you? It’s quite disconcerting for a lady, you know, to be around someone so…so…”

“I’m plenty soiled. My life is positively black with it.” But he didn’t want to speak of anything other than the two of them here in this forest. Nothing else mattered more than this afternoon with Sue. He grinned down at her. “And I rode here, so I’m fairly certain half the road to London is still in my hair.”

With one quick movement he dipped his head and shook his hair in her face, glancing his cheek off the exposed skin at her neck. She smelled of sweet bread baking in the kitchen. He tossed his head at her again, chuckling at her flailing complaints.

“No!” she mocked, leaning away from him in laughter.

To his surprise, a moment later her hand slipped into his hair, the strands falling around her fingers. He sucked in a breath as she brushed against his scalp, raising the hair on the back of his neck in the process. He began to straighten, enjoying the fact that Sue’s hand had to trail down his chest to fall back to her side. What had been laughter a moment ago lingered on her lips, full and rich with untold pleasures. “Filthy,” she stated.

He stood gazing down into her face. He was standing too close for friends, as he’d claimed they were only days ago. But now they were alone and he didn’t care about friendship. He’d chased her all summer, and now she was here. “I could teach you filth.”

“I’m guessing you could.”

And he planned upon it, but now was too soon. He tamped down the flames she’d stirred within him. First, he had some details to resolve, beginning with discussing their past together and then finding an apparently damn-well-hidden lake. He cleared his throat and looked down the trail. “Perhaps. But just now we should find that hidden lake and hope the person who named it lied.”

They walked in silence for a minute, keeping on the beaten path as it led out of the woods and into a sun-drenched clearing. The grass brushed against the sides of his boots, making a pleasant swishing sound, yet it was too quiet. And Sue was never quiet.

He took a breath and dove into the conversation they were both avoiding as if it were icy water on a cool summer morning. “I should have known it was you that night at the masquerade ball. I’m not sure what I was thinking. Sue, you have my sincerest apologies.”

“It’s all right. You were expecting…someone else. Someone like Evangeline, my cousins, your cousins…anyone but me.”

“I don’t know who I was expecting, but I know I would have been disappointed with anyone but you, Sue.”

“You don’t have to appease my vanity—I have none.”

He stopped, pulling her around to face him. “I’m not exaggerating or making up stories to make you feel better. What I did was wrong, and I must accept the consequences. But Sue, I tell you the truth when I say I’m glad it was you. No one else would do.”

“Do you mean that?”

“Did I not prove it when I kissed you in the garden?”

“What of your interest in my sister, then?” she asked in a rush of words and then looked away from him.

“What interest in your sister?” He pulled her around so she faced him. “I have none.”

“You’re escorting her in to dinner tonight. My mother is thrilled.”

“Unfortunately, I’m not quite so pleased.” He tried to catch her eye but she stared straight at his cravat. “Sue, I’m here with you. The invitation to your sister was a mistake.” How could he make her understand?

“Evangeline would be quite the match for any gentleman. And you could have any lady you desire.”

“Not anyone.” He bent his head to meet her gaze. “You.”

She shook her head. “I’ve heard the stories of your French sweethearts.”

“Right.” He cursed the day he’d thought it a brilliant idea to allow on-dits to link him to France. What once had hidden him from his father was now going to kill everything between them. “Many stories about me aren’t entirely factual. You should know that.”

“There’s a kernel of truth in every falsehood.”

“Not always.” He shook his head.

“You don’t have to lie to me. We’re friends, remember?”

Friends. He was beginning to hate that word. “I’m quite aware of our friendship, such that it is. Tell me, Sue. In your experience, do friends touch each other…like this?” He moved his hand, tracing a line up her neck with his fingers.

“I believe they do,” she murmured with a tilt of her head, inviting his touch.

“Do friends on occasion do this?” He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, pulling her closer. His lips met hers in a tide of heat and wanting. As she slipped her hands around his waist, he broke their kiss, gazing down into her upturned face. His fingers danced in small circles on the back of her neck. He didn’t want to let her go, yet if he didn’t stop now, they would be on the hard ground in minutes. Sue deserved more than that. He needed to at least find soft ground. He smiled at her dazed expression.

“I’ve never had a friend like you.”

“Nor I you.”

“Do you think we will remain friends?”

He dropped his hands from her and guided her ahead of him on the path, his hand lingering on her lower back. “Until we’re old and decrepit? Covered in wrinkles?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be a doddering old man with aching joints who complains of the weather. Will you want to kiss me then?”

She laughed. “Of course. As I said before, I have no vanity.”

“I suppose one day your husband will take issue with such behavior.”

She snorted. “That, Holden, is extremely unlikely.”

“You don’t plan to marry? Why do you attend the balls and such?”

“I’m told to attend balls and so I attend. I don’t expect anything to come of it. At this point, it would be folly to think I will marry. So I will continue to do what is expected of me.” She shook her head. “Whatever that may be.”

“You make it sound like a sentencing in a dungeon.”

“Sometimes it feels that way. You’re a gentleman so you wouldn’t understand. You have the freedom to live as you choose with no burdens.”

“Indeed. It’s nice not to have a single problem in my life.”

“One day I hope for similar circumstances.”

“As do I.”

They rounded a bend and came upon a grouping of boulders on the side of the path. The tall grass of the clearing became shorter, clearly maintained for picnics and so forth. They must be close to the lake. He grinned with a mischievous idea. “We have to stop here. I apologize but it must be done.”

“But we haven’t yet reached the hidden lake. Must we return so soon? You aren’t injured, are you?” Her eyes swept over him.

“No. We only need to stop a moment. Sit. There on that rock.” He indicated the boulder nearest her.

“All right. I suppose a rest would be nice.”

“Give me your foot.”

“
What?
”

“Your foot. Lift it up.”

She sat unmoving for a moment before complying. Catching the heel of her half boot in the palm of his hand, he began to remove it.

“What are you…” Her voice trailed off as he tossed her boot aside into the grass and reached for the other. “Barefoot. We can’t, Holden. What if someone sees us? I already don’t have a chaperone.”

“Shhh. No one will know.” He pulled his boots off and laid them beside hers, where he noticed she had laid her stockings as well while he was busy. The look of bliss covering her face made him chuckle. “I believe the hidden lake is just around the next bend. Not far a’tol.”

“How do you know?”

“Close your eyes and listen. Can you hear it?”

“No.”

“Neither can I.”

She laughed and wrapped her hand around his arm. He could listen to that laughter forever. Would they remain together until they were old and feeble as they’d teased earlier? He wanted to keep her in his life that long. What did she want? He would have to answer that question in time. Right now, he knew two things: she was with him and they were alone. Fate had indeed smiled on him today.

As they rounded a hill, Sue exclaimed, “It’s beautiful!”

He looked down the path as it wound to the edge of a small lake with foliage cascading to the edge of the water. “I knew it was this direction.”

“You knew no such thing.”

“Are you suggesting my sense of direction is based on luck?”

“Yes. That is precisely what I’m suggesting.” She laughed and went to the grassy bank overlooking the water.

The lake was indeed hidden from view of the house. As the destination for the nature path carved into the hillside, it was perfectly manicured and designed with boulders placed around to form seating. He stripped off his jacket and tossed it onto one of the large, flat rocks and began rolling up his sleeves.

“You aren’t going to go for a swim, are you?”

“I wasn’t planning on it, but I could be coerced into it if you wish.”

“Ladies don’t swim,” she stated with a rehearsed quality to her words.

“Another of your mother’s rules?”

“Yes, although I heard that one at finishing school as well, so it’s most likely true.”

“Do you ever wish you could break the rules?” He stepped into the cool water and turned back to her.

“I did. Once, if you recall.”

“Care to again?” He held his hand out to her and watched indecision flash through her eyes. “Take my hand. It’s slippery on the wet stones, and if I return you covered in mud, people will talk.”

“Indeed.” Her fingers slipped into his, sending a tremor up his arm. “You must promise not to look at my ankles, though.”

“Sue, I’ve already seen your ankles.”

“I suppose you have. How do I allow you to convince me to break so many rules?”

“I’m charming, remember?”

“Your charm doesn’t work on me, remember?” She hiked up her skirts and held them in one hand, giving him a view of one leg up to the knee.

“And yet I’m the lucky gentleman who is allowed to see your ankles.”

She shot him a dark look in response.

“I’ll be honorable. You have my word. They’re only ankles, Sue.”

“I forget you’ve spent so much time in France, becoming used to their customs. Ankles are nothing to you, are they?” She lifted her skirts up her legs and looked down at her wiggling toes.

Must she keep mentioning France? The country of France had nothing to do with his thoughts on ladies. He wanted to pull her skirts up higher.
Patience, Holden.
“I admit ankles aren’t my favorite part of a lady.” He couldn’t stand watching her prance on the embankment with bare legs and not touch her for much longer. He reached for her in one movement, his hands wrapping around her waist. “Are you ready?”

Before she could answer, he lifted her off her feet and set her before him in the cool water.

“Oh! It’s cold! I was imagining cool, and it certainly didn’t disappoint.”

“Am I to assume you don’t want to swim with me, then?”

“I’ll freeze! And what of my gown?”

“That can be remedied.” He dipped one finger into the capped sleeve of her gown, slipping it down one shoulder in invitation.

“Someone might see us. It would be the talk of the party. I would…”

“Today, there are only you, me, and our muddy toes. That is all.” He brushed a lock of fallen hair from her face. He waited, not wanting to rush into things any more than he already had.

With a small nod and a crooked smile, she lifted to her toes. His heart slammed into his chest beneath her small hands as she placed her full lips on his. He allowed her to kiss him with slow burning desire for a moment. It was a sweet kiss. One made by young girls behind the stables, not one for them.

When she pulled back with a dreamy look in her eyes, he leaned in with one reckless movement, pulling her close and slashing his mouth across hers. His tongue slipped past her teeth to tangle with hers. She tasted of strawberries plucked fresh from the vine, warm from the sun and moist from a sweet rain. He wanted more. He bit at her bottom lip, then soothed it with his tongue.

Her hands drifted up around his neck. Her breasts pressed into his chest. A small whimper escaped her mouth as she opened to him once more, mimicking his kisses as she tugged on the back of his shirt.

He picked her up and settled her against his chest, her feet dripping water down his shins. With careful steps he moved toward the grassy shore. Her arms were entwined around his neck, stroking small circles between his shoulder blades while he plundered her mouth. He broke their kiss to set her down in the shade of a tree. She pulled at the front of his shirt, tugging him back down over her.

“Patience, Sue,” he murmured against her lips before ripping his shirt off and tossing it on the ground. He needed to touch her, to be touched.

She hesitated beneath him, apparently not sure where to land her hands. Her pink lips parted to speak but no words were said. No words needed to be said. The question was clear in the concern in her eyes.

“You can touch me, Sue. I believe I’ve told you that before.”

“This isn’t like before.”

“Because you aren’t foxed?”

“Because you called me Sue.” Her eyes were wide on him as she placed her hands on his chest with a feather-light touch.

He leaned over her and rumbled into her ear, “I want you, Sue Green.”

Her resulting shiver ran up his spine and sank all the way to his bones.

Grazing the light stubble of his face against the soft skin of her neck, he found where her pulse beat like drums in some foreign land.
Bum-bum. Bum-bum.
Capturing that rhythm with his mouth, he met it and challenged it.

She arched into him as her hands wound around him, pulling at the cords of his muscles. He moved his lips down the exposed skin above her dress, breathing in the scent of her skin. With a flick of his fingers, he loosened the fastenings of her gown, releasing the yellow fabric’s hold on her body. Shifting over her to tug her dress down with his teeth, he pulled the rough lace trim across the hardened peaks of her breasts. He grinned against her skin as she gasped and tightened her hold on his back. He pulled her exposed breast into his mouth as he shifted her skirts higher on her hips.