JORDAN Nicole (45 page)

His body surged upward with his powerful climax just as her breathy scream exploded in the hushed room. She fell forward, sinking her teeth into his shoulder as the convulsive waves of passion crashed over them both. The sweet pain of her lover’s bite only added to Drew’s joyful pleasure.

It was indeed joyful, making love to the woman he loved. His feelings for Roslyn made his passion more intense, more precious, more incredible.

As the feverish urgency ebbed, they lay there exhausted and panting, her cheek resting on the sweat-dampened skin of his shoulder. It wasn’t long, though, before Drew’s blissful contentment faded and his tension returned.

When the rise and fall of her breathing finally gentled, he repeated his earlier question in a low voice. “What is this all about, Roslyn? Why are you so set on pretending to be my mistress?”

Her eyelids fluttered open, and she shifted her head to look up at him solemnly, with that same vulnerable, uncertain expression as before. “Because gentlemen love their mistresses, Drew, and I want you to love me.”

Just like that, his heart began pounding violently again. His voice was uneven when he managed to rasp, “God, Roslyn, I do love you. More than I ever thought possible.”

Her blue eyes riveted on him. Her face was rapt, tense, her eyes wide with uncertainty. “You do?”

“Yes. I’ve loved you for weeks now.”

Shakily, she pushed herself up on one elbow. “You have not.”

“I have,” Drew insisted. “I just couldn’t admit it to myself.”

When her mouth parted in awe, he reached up to run his thumb over her lower lip. “Do you remember what you told me about heart love? I know now that is what I feel for you, sweet Roslyn. My passion for you is far more than physical. I want you, yes. My body trembles when I touch you and aches when I can’t. But my heart aches more. I miss you when you aren’t with me. I long for your smile. And I cannot bear the thought of losing you.”

When she continued to stare at him in stunned silence, Drew lowered his voice even further. “These past few days have been utter hell for me. Yet being without you made me realize just how much you mean to me. How much I need you. I need you to fill the emptiness inside me, Roslyn. To banish the loneliness. It’s a need that comes from here….” He took her hand, placing her palm over his heart. “Deep inside me.”

“Youdo love me,” she said wonderingly, searching his face.

“Yes, I do. And I want to marry you.” A ghost of a smile touched his mouth. “Until recently, the thought of spending a lifetime shackled in matrimony to one woman seemed a prison sentence. But now the thought of not spending the rest of my days with you is terrifying.” His thumb stroked her cheek. “I hope to God you will have me as your husband. I’ll grovel if necessary. I will do anything to have you back. I know I have to earn your love, but I want the chance, Roslyn. Please give me that chance.”

Her gaze softened and warmed. “You don’t have to earn my love, Drew. It is already yours.”

Drew squeezed his eyes shut in relief and gratitude; the emotion that rolled through him was so powerful, so deep, he felt weak with it.

“You truly love me?” he asked in that same awed tone.

“Yes, Drew. I tried so hard to resist loving you—because I thought my love would only be one-sided. I feared you would never be able to give me your heart. Even yesterday, when Lord Haviland said he was certain you loved me, I wouldn’t dare let myself believe him.”

Arching an eyebrow, Drew stared at her. “Haviland said that?”

“Yes, because you were determined to put my happiness before your own.”

“I do want your happiness, Roslyn.”

She smiled softly. “That is fortunate, because I want it, too. But my happiness lies only with you, Drew. I realized that when you sent Haviland to propose. And I knew that even if you didn’t love me, I couldn’t let you go without a fight.”

Roslyn smiled faintly. “Thatis why I invited you here tonight. I vowed I would try to make you love me. I thought that if there was any chance that my theory was right—that passion can lead to love—I had to try. So Fanny helped me formulate a plan to become your mistress for the evening.” Her blue eyes turned vulnerable again. “I am willing to settle for your passion if that is all I can have. I will be your mistress, Drew. But I would far rather be your wife.”

His sense of humor returning with the dissolution of his terror, Drew was able to flash her a rakish smile. “Your offer is tempting, sweetheart. I’ve never had a mistress as enticing and satisfying as you. But I must refuse. I don’t want you for my mistress, my lovely, precious Roslyn. I want you for my wife, and I won’t settle for less.”

“Are you certain?” she asked cautiously. “I don’t want you to feel as if I entrapped you.”

“I’m certain, Roslyn. You are my only happiness as well.” His expression sobered. “I can’t believe how barren my life was before I met you.”

He’d suffered a cold emotionless existence until Roslyn had come along to warm him. She had touched a part of him no one had ever touched, a part he’d denied existed.

He had wasted so much of his life without love, Drew reflected. Roslyn had taught him that life wasn’t worth very much without passion, without emotion, without love.

Emotion welled inside him as he captured her hand, his long fingers twining with her slender ones. “So this means we are resuming our betrothal?”

Holding his gaze, Roslyn shook her head slowly. “No, Drew. I won’t hold you to our former betrothal. If you want to wed me, you will have to offer for me again. And this time it cannot be merely to save my reputation but solely because you love me. Because you want to spend the rest of your life with me.”

“Very well, love, will you please,please do me the incalculable honor of becoming my wife?”

Her warm smile made him ache with a sweetly intolerable pain. “Yes, my dearest love. I will, and gladly.”

Drew slipped his hand behind her head, capturing her nape. “Thank God….”

Bringing her lips down to his, he kissed her fervently, which sent fresh desire coursing through Roslyn’s blood. She knew Drew was feeling the same urgency when, with one deft and powerful twist of his body, he rolled her beneath him.

Cradling her thighs in his own, making her feel his swelling hardness, he stared down at her. Roslyn drank in his expression…his dark, passion-hazed glance, the blazing possession in his eyes. She saw love there. Hot, possessive, protective, arousing.

“Drew, I love you so much,” she whispered in reply, returning his look measure for measure.

“I won’t ever tire of hearing those words….”

He rasped her name, then took her mouth again. With the same passionate fire Roslyn opened to him and breathed him in.

Their ardor built as he worshiped her with hands and tongue. It seemed to Roslyn that she could never want more…Drew’s melting kisses, his hands cherishing her body. But then he fit himself to her, entering her with fierce strong tenderness, thrusting in hard and deep as his lips murmured words of love.

The rapture swelled, mounting, thundering. His wild kisses kept coming, interspersed with fervent declarations of love as he took her body. He wooed her to madness, then healed her again as he poured himself into her, body and heart and soul.

When their passion was finally spent, Drew cradled her in his arms lovingly, his face nestled in her hair, his fingers absently playing with her pale locks.

It was a long while before he spoke, though. “I was terrified that you loved Haviland.”

Deliciously sated and weary, Roslyn found the strength to press a kiss against his bare shoulder. “You had nothing to fear, Drew. I couldn’t fall in love with him because I was already falling in love with you. There was no reason for you to be jealous.”

“Of course there was. You had set your sights on marrying that bastard.”

She laughed softly. “You cannot keep calling a belted earl that disparaging word, Drew.”

“Very well, he isn’t a bastard. But can you blame me if I was insanely jealous? I think you should feel flattered.”

“Perhaps so, but you should never have threatened to kill him. I believe you owe Haviland a sincere apology.”

“I might give him one, now that I know you don’t love him. But if he ever dares look at you again with lust in his eyes….”

Her laughter was exasperated and satisfied at the same time. “He won’t look at me that way. He has too much honor. And hopefully, he will soon be occupied with his own romance. I mean to help Lord Haviland find a bride. In fact, he asked for my help.”

Raising his head, Drew gazed at her a long moment before finally chuckling. “I knew he wasn’t a total imbecile.”

“Drew!”

“All right…I will become his bosom friend, if it will make you happy. But if I might use him to make a point…” Drew gazed deeply into her eyes. “The next time you and I argue—which undoubtedly will happen again—you needn’t run and hide in the library. I’ll never stop loving you, Roslyn, even if I sometimes lose my temper and you want to throttle me for it.”

She winced. “We were not merely arguing. We were shouting at each other, fighting bitterly.”

“Even so, that doesn’t mean I don’t love you with every fiber of my being. And in the future if we fight, we can have the pleasure of making up.”

Her mouth slowly quirked. “That is what Fanny said.”

“Fanny can be very wise sometimes.”

“I know.” Roslyn shook her head in amusement.

“What is it, love?”

“I was just thinking that I am not very wise sometimes. It was terribly naive of me to try and decree my own fate. I thought I could arrange my future to my specifications, to avoid the pain and heartache my parents endured. But I was wrong. You cannot apply scientific methods or rules of logic to matters of the heart. You cannot dictate love, any more than you can control fate.”

“But I am very glad you tried.”

“I, as well,” Roslyn said softly.

Drew brought her fingers to his lips for a tender kiss. “I want to have our wedding right away. I’m not letting you change your mind again.”

“I won’t change my mind.”

“I still plan to obtain a special license.”

Roslyn frowned a little at that. “Drew…Arabella and Marcus are still away on their wedding trip. I want my sisters at our wedding, and Tess and Winifred also. Winifred would be heartbroken if we were to exclude her. And I’m certain my mother will want to return from France to attend. I will write her at once, but it will still take time to arrange her travel. I should think you would want your friends there, too.”

“I do. And I suppose we don’t want our union to look rushed.” Letting his head fall back onto the pillows, Drew sighed. “I generally loathe weddings, but in this instance I suppose it would be best if we call the banns and hold the ceremony at St. George’s. Three weeks should give ample time for all your family to return. Is your younger sister still in Hampshire?”

Roslyn hesitated, not liking to lie. “Lily is…somewhere else.”

“Somewhere else? Do you know where?”

“Honestly? Yes. But she made me promise to keep her location a secret, for fear of Winifred’s hounding her to find a husband.”

It was Drew’s turn to sound amused. “Your sister’s secret is safe with me. I’m not about to get mixed up in Winifred’s matchmaking for any price.”

“I wish Winifred could understand that her efforts are not appreciated. Lily has a severe distaste for matrimony—even stronger than yours. Indeed, I doubt she’ll be overly delighted that I am marrying you. But at least I know Arabella and Tess and Winifred will be thrilled for me.” Roslyn lifted her head from Drew’s shoulder. “Your mother will be disappointed, won’t she?”

“What of it? Pleasing my mother is my very last concern.”

“I wonder if she will refuse to attend the ceremony.”

“Oh, she will attend, I have no doubt. She won’t want to be left out and have it said that her son severed all connection with her. She couldn’t bear to suffer the social consequences.”

Roslyn felt a little sad for the duchess. “I think your mother must be terribly lonely.”

“Somehow I can’t feel any pity for her. She brought her loneliness on herself—” Drew stopped and slipped his hand behind Roslyn’s nape again. “Thank God you saved me from a life like hers.”

Smiling, Roslyn traced a finger over his lips. “Drew…” she said, returning to the subject of their nuptials, “I know you have your consequence to uphold, but I want Fanny to attend our wedding.”

“Of course she should attend. I owe her an enormous debt of gratitude for bringing you to the Cyprians’ ball. Otherwise I would have stayed as far away from you as possible.”

Her look turned arch. “I think I deservesome credit, my lord duke.”

“Perhaps you do. You demanded that I teach you how to seduce another man, but my tutoring backfired on me. I fell in love with my pupil instead.”

Roslyn brought her face closer to his. “I think I need another lesson in seduction, your grace.”

A devilish light of pure happiness glimmered in his eyes. “It will be my sincere pleasure, love.”

Capturing her mouth, Drew smothered her laughter against his lips as he obliged.

To Bed a Beautyis a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

A Ballantine Books Mass Market Original

Copyright Š 2008 by Anne Bushyhead

Excerpt fromTo Seduce a Bride copyright Š 2008 by Nicole Jordan

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

BALLANTINEand colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

This book contains an excerpt from the forthcoming bookTo Seduce a Bride by Nicole Jordan. This excerpt has been set for this edition only and may not reflect the final content of the forthcoming edition.

eISBN: 978-0-345-50473-9

www.ballantinebooks.com

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To my oh so wonderful partners in crime:

Sandra Anglain Chastain, Ann Howard White, and