Lady Vivian Defies a Duke (16 page)

Luke savored her sweet kiss, admonishing himself to remain a gentleman. Perhaps he had rushed his courtship this evening, but he hadn’t wanted to reach Irvine Castle without having her bound to him. Nothing would be official until the marriage settlement was signed, but a promise between them eased his concerns about losing her. He would try to be what she deserved.

Guilt still plagued him when it came to his brother. Richard had given up his youth to work with their father. Luke knew it should have been him, but he’d been too much of a daredevil, too bored to be cooped up in the study all day going over ledgers. Only now with Vivian was he able to see how his desire to run from a life that had felt wrong led to an even greater sense of imprisonment.

A life devoid of a future or lasting connections.

A life of solitude.

A life without love.

When she shivered, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and helped her to her feet. “You’re cold. We should go back to the house.”

“No! I’m not.” She shrugged him off.

A shocked laugh burst from his lips. “I knew you were difficult from the start, but will this streak of defiance follow us into our marriage?”

Her impish chuckle carried on the night air. “Very likely. Do you want to retract your offer?”

“Never.” As Drew had noted, she was much like their mother in temperament and audacity. Luke had no worry that he could grow to love Vivian just as his father had adored his mother.

“Well, then. If I’m to be your wife”—she adopted a tone much like her brother’s when he had been discussing the terms of the marital contract—“you may kiss me as often as you like. I don’t want to wait for banns to be cried or a silly special license.”

“I see.” A ridiculous grin threatened to make an appearance, but he held it back. “I suppose you would appreciate a similar promise from me?”

“That does seem fair, Your Grace.”

“Yes, it does.” He hauled her into his arms again and kissed her like he’d wanted to from the moment she had arrived for dinner wearing that ridiculous headdress. He teased her lips apart with the tip of his tongue and slowly, sensually swept inside her mouth. He would never get enough of her taste or the softness of her lips. With a sigh, she wiggled even closer. Her breasts flattened against him. He wanted to taste her there, too.

He broke the kiss before he crossed a boundary then hugged her to him. “Is there anything else you would like to offer your future husband?” He tried to speak with humor, but his voice had grown hoarse.

She laid her head against his shoulder; her quick puffs of breath tickled his neck. Her fingers twined with the hair at his nape, creating pleasurable shivers along his spine. He was hard and ached for her.

“You may have all of me, Your Grace, although I cannot promise you will always like everything. What more do you have to offer me?”

Even though her question rang with playful innocence, it aroused him.

“I’m afraid you may not like everything about me either, but it’s yours as well.”

She lifted her head and met his gaze. Something in her posture indicated a shift. She had lost the lighthearted air she’d had. “I’ll try not to be a disappointment to you, Luke. I promise.”

“You could never disappoint me.”

***

“But—” Vivi’s protest was swallowed up by his kiss. When his mouth moved against hers, she forgot everything. Her awareness was only of him and his effect on her.

The sound of her heart in her ears.

His scent and heat surrounding her.

A faint trace of tart lemonade lingering on his lips.

Egads
. And something was digging into her belly again. She reached between them to adjust whatever object he kept in his pocket. A loud hiss slipped from his lips.

She froze with Luke in her hand. No wonder he had stopped her in the stable yard. Dear Lord, she wanted to bury her head in the sand.
Now
she had done the most humiliating thing of her life. Her fingers refused to work properly, and they tightened around him instead of letting him go.

“Careful,” he said, his breath coming out in heavy pants.

“Am I hurting you?”

“God, no.”

She tipped her head to the side and studied his expression in the scant moonlight. Touching him there seemed to be the opposite of painful. She tentatively tested her observation and squeezed. His body gave a small jerk against her palm.

“Vivian.” His tone held a note of warning.

Curiosity overrode her initial embarrassment. “What does it do to you when I touch your…your…?” She raised her eyebrows in question.

“Some ladies refer to it as my manhood.”

Manhood?
She giggled partly from nerves and definitely from discomfort with the thought of other ladies having held him this intimately. “I don’t want to call it what other ladies have. Supply me with another term.”

He leaned his forehead against hers and gulped. His breath feathered over her cheeks. “Call it my cock.”

She repeated the word in her head before she dared to speak it aloud. Her fingers curled tighter around him to gauge his size, and he groaned softly.

“Vivian.” He spoke her name, not as a warning this time, but with reverence.

“What does it do when I hold your cock?”

He slipped his hand into her wet hair, his finger splayed to cradle her head, and he kissed her until she forgot her question.
Almost
. Gently tugging her hair, he angled her neck to expose her throat and placed his lips on her sensitive skin. His tongue swept over the hollow of her collarbone then slowly licked up her neck and captured her earlobe. Chills raced through her body with searing heat following in its path.

This was the most daring and exhilarating game she had ever played, and like Luke, she played to win. “What…does it…do to you?” she repeated, uncertain if she would be able to focus on his answer even if he gave one.

“It drives me to madness.” He trailed kisses along her jawline and over her cheekbone. His moist lips touched her eyelid and lingered. “Your touch makes me want to behave in ungentlemanly ways. Unless you wish to learn the meaning of ungentlemanly, you should release me.”

She was certain Lana’s husband was ungentlemanly with her, and her friend never complained. Perhaps Vivian did want to know the meaning. She squeezed him again.

“Vivian Worth, if you continue down this path, I’ll have a hell of a time stopping.”

Her fingers kneaded him, and he closed his eyes on a sigh. “I don’t think I want to stop,” she murmured, “and neither do you.”

“No, I don’t.”

Covering her breast with his palm, he rubbed a circle over her nipple. His fingers closed on the peak and lightly pinched. A pleasing jolt raced through her and ended with a pulse between her legs.

She gasped.

“
That’s
what it feels like, minx.”

“And it is wonderful. You definitely don’t want me to stop.”

He chuckled. “Fine, you win, but I plan to touch you, too.”

Lowering to the ground, he coaxed her into straddling him and then kissed her deeply. He captured her breast again and tweaked it until her nipple stood taut. Luke ceased his ministrations long enough to slip the strap of her chemise off her shoulder and bare her breast. This time when he touched her, the sensation was intensified. Cupping both breasts, he rubbed his thumbs over the tips until she began to feel damp between her legs and the urge to squirm became harder to ignore.

She rocked her hips forward to ease the pressure building in her core. He grinned.

“What?” she asked breathlessly. “Did I…do something wrong?” The way he held her gaze and smiled like he knew some secret had her slowly withdrawing, but he wrapped one arm around her back and halted her retreat.

“You’re perfect, Vivian. Exactly as I imagined.” Hauling her closer, he nipped her bottom lip and gently sucked it into his mouth.

He had imagined touching her bare breast? And kissing her like this? The smoldering embers inside her burst into flame and filled her with a burning need she didn’t fully understand. She wanted to be closer. She wanted to feel his skin against hers, their arms and legs intertwined.

Cradling his head, she kissed him back, welcoming each sweep of his tongue. She became bolder as their kiss grew more passionate, first licking his lips before venturing farther when he parted them. He groaned into her mouth when she thrust her tongue into the recesses as he had done to her.

He broke their kiss and pulled back to stare at her, his chest rising and falling rapidly with each harsh breath. “I can’t take you like this.”

In her hazy state, he sounded far away. His scent surrounded her, and his body heat made her blood flow like lava through her veins.

“How?” she uttered.

He kissed her forehead. “It’s your first time. I won’t take your innocence in the dirt. And we should be married first.”

She blinked. He was making no sense. Her body was in a state of distress, and she could barely stand it another minute. Weeks would be torture. “I think I might die if I must wait.”

Luke laughed. “I thought only men felt that way.”

“Please, I—” She wiggled and flattened her breasts against his chest.

“Vivian, I can’t. I gave your brother my word I would see you safely to Irvine Castle.” Even as he argued with her, his hand skimmed her waist and found her breast again. “Deflowering you would be a breach of promise.”

He rolled her nipple between his fingers, giving no hint that he planned to stop, no matter what he said. Her head rolled back, a silent prayer of thanks on her lips.

“I won’t tell him. We barely speak anymore,” she said, only halfway teasing.

“Pity, that. But”—he trailed hot kisses down her neck and along her collarbone, speaking between pecks—“a promise is a promise.”

She swallowed her growl of frustration. He was right, of course. A promise should not be broken.

He bestowed a wicked smile. “Bringing you pleasure isn’t the same as deflowering you, however.”

When his mouth closed over her nipple, she gasped. His tongue teased it until it was hard like a pebble. A strong pulse beat between her legs with each draw from his lips.

She moaned.

Burying her fingers in his hair, she held him at her breast, never wanting the exquisite sensations to end.

She reveled in the novelty and could have easily forgotten about exploring his body, but now that she understood the true meaning of pleasure, she wanted to share it with him.

Vivi worked her hand into his drawers and ran her fingers up and down his flesh in amazement. “It’s soft!”

He released a strangled laugh. “That isn’t a compliment.”

“Why not? It’s true.” She had never felt anything like it. Neither velvet nor silk nor satin could adequately compare to the softness of his skin. She explored the ridge and rounded tip carefully.

He grabbed her hand to still her movements. “Someday soon I’ll show you how to please me. Tonight is just for you.”

Before she could debate the matter, he laid her down and stretched out beside her. He returned his attention to her breasts. His hand skated along her inner thigh, stopping every few inches to knead her flesh. She stirred restlessly, anticipating his touch between her legs. Part of her was horrified by her desire to have his fingers down there. But another, more lustful part had been awakened and demanded satisfaction.

The first pass of his fingers brought her hips off the ground. The sensation was intense and unfamiliar. By the third and fourth sweep, she began to melt beneath his touch.

His tongue flicked across her nipple before his lips closed over it. Each gentle tug on her breast and caress of her flesh filled her with affection until she thought she might burst from the warmth of it expanding in her chest.

She cupped his face and stroked his dark hair, wishing she had the words to express what stirred within her heart. Luke lifted his gaze to hers, his tongue still lovingly circling her bud.

“Kiss me,” she murmured.

He shifted his body to cover her mouth with his. His full lips were exquisite, soft and moist. They pulled even more from her, feelings she didn’t know how to handle, so she hugged them tightly inside.

A sensual fog surrounded her, making it hard to think.

To breathe.

To do anything except revel in the sensations created within her. A pressure built in her lower abdomen with every stroke of Luke’s fingers, growing until she was filled with nothing but the thought of him.

His scent. His heat. His taste.

She moaned softly, her back arching.

“Yes,” he whispered, his breath grazing her ear. “Surrender to it.”

The pleasure had no more room to expand, and it burst from her in a gasping cry again and again. She was carried on the moment, weightless and at Luke’s mercy, but he held her tenderly. Grounded her to the earth still. And even as she slowly came back, he held her and stroked the hair from her eyes. He kissed her cheeks and brushed his lips across hers.

“Has your curiosity been satisfied, my love?”

She sighed contentedly and stretched. “Partly.”

He laughed and nuzzled her neck. “That will have to be enough for now.”

“For tonight,” she agreed.

He rose to his elbow. “Until we have received the marriage contract. A man can only practice so much restraint.”

She smirked. “Good to know.”

“Behave yourself, Vivian.” He tried to look stern, but the corners of his lips kept curving up.

“I
am
behaving.” At least for the rest of the night. She wouldn’t promise anything for the future, because if she had another opportunity to be this close with him, she wasn’t going to let it pass her by.

Luke’s brother gently jostled his wife awake when the carriage passed through the gates of Irvine Castle. “We’ve arrived, Lana.”

The oppressive, graying walls cast the carriage in shadow. Luke didn’t look forward to a confrontation with his brother, but it was overdue.

Vivian clasped his hand and smiled reassuringly, righting his world once again. He squeezed her hand before climbing from the carriage then turned to assist her down the steps rather than entrusting a footman with the task.

Drew and Lana walked arm in arm to their carriage to retrieve the children. Servants were lining up outside, waiting to greet them. It wasn’t his entire staff, since many were still needed to tend to his mother’s guests.

He slanted a glance at Vivian on his arm. She was nibbling her bottom lip. “There are so many,” she whispered.

Compared to the small staff at Brighthurst, he supposed the prospect of becoming mistress of the castle could be daunting. Perhaps he could postpone his business with Richard for a few days until she had grown accustomed to life at the castle.

This would be her first encounter with the
ton
, also, which could intimidate even the bravest of hearts. Yet he couldn’t spend every moment with her. He could just picture his mother’s scandalized look when he followed the ladies into the parlor after dinner rather than staying behind to entertain the gentlemen.

Luke went through the motions of allowing his staff to be presented, introduced Vivian to the butler and head housekeeper, then escorted her inside where Drew and Lana stood in the foyer.

His younger sister, Liz, came barreling down the stairway with her twin, Katie, on her heels. “The babies are here!”

“I want one, too,” Katie called out as her sister reached the bottom step before her.

Drew laughed. “Not until you’re much older, Kitten.”

“Agreed,” Luke said. “You must be at least thirty first.”

Liz rolled her eyes at both of them. “That is much too old, and you know it.”

Mother followed the young girls down the stairs at a more dignified pace, a censorious frown in place. “Elizabeth and Katherine, do recall you are ladies and not a herd of cattle set loose in the castle.”

“Yes, Mama,” Katie responded dutifully, but neither girl slowed her pace as they dashed across the foyer to each claim one of Drew’s daughters.

At sixteen, Luke’s youngest sisters were still all arms and spindly legs. They likely couldn’t help clambering like cattle.

Cousin Johanna passed his mother on the curved staircase, her skirts lifted high enough to reveal a flash of ankle. “Your Grace, you have arrived at last.”

“Miss Truax,” he said, returning Johanna’s eager greeting. “I hope today finds you well.”

Mother swept past her with a broad grin. “And this must be Lady Vivian. How lovely she is.” Before Vivian could respond, his mother embraced her. “Welcome to Irvine, my dear. Luke’s letter was full of praise for you.”

Johanna glanced between his mother and him. He could guess at the questions running through her mind. What had happened to his plan to sever the agreement with Ashden?

Mother bestowed the same enthusiastic greeting on Lana, even though the two had been parted for a couple of weeks only. Tension drained from Luke’s shoulders as he watched her interactions. His mother was beginning to behave more like her old self. Of course, she would likely never fully recover from the loss of his father, but she was emerging from the cloud of sadness that had been surrounding her.

She kissed Drew’s children before Liz and Katie could whisk them away to the nursery then motioned for everyone else to follow her.

“Let’s retire to the drawing room.” She didn’t wait for a reply before turning on her heel and heading toward the stairs.

Vivian fell in step with Lana as his sister-in-law began to list the activities they would enjoy at the house party and the ladies Vivian must meet. Drew trailed behind them at a leisurely pace, allowing the women to enjoy their camaraderie.

Johanna, however, seemed frozen in the foyer. She stared at Luke with large, round eyes. Her lips parted then she pressed them tightly together, a white ring forming around them. She never questioned him now that he was the duke, no matter how freely they may have spoken in the past. Her deference made him too aware of his rank.

Vivian was the only woman who seemed to see him and not his title.

“Lady Vivian was different than I expected,” he said by way of explanation.

The wounded look in Johanna’s eyes before she lowered them caused him a stab of remorse. Before he had left for Brighthurst House, he had spoken at length with her about his plans. In the past few months, she’d proved a wise advisor in dealing with his family. Perhaps he should have written to Johanna, too, but he expected his mother would have informed her that he was arriving with his betrothed.

He offered his arm to his cousin. “Shall we join the others? I will explain everything later. It’s complicated.” Only it wasn’t really. Falling in love with Vivian had been easy.

Johanna’s mouth curved up slightly. “Of course, Your Grace.”

He returned her smile, and they climbed the stairs in silence. Outside the doorway of the drawing room, he drew her to a stop. “Miss Truax, may I ask a favor?”

“Anything.”

“This is Lady Vivian’s first time in society, and she may be a little anxious. You know how treacherous the waters can be.”

Her chin hitched up a notch. “Very treacherous, and I have managed to survive despite the odds stacked against me.”

The daughter of a baron, Johanna possessed the grace of a noble lady but no fortune or future prospects. Three years earlier, she had come to live with his family after being turned out by her father’s heir. Luke’s mother had been more than happy to take her kinswoman on as her companion, and Johanna’s sharp wit and genuine gratitude had endeared her to the family.

“You are a force to be reckoned with,” Luke agreed. “I have always admired your mettle.”

Her easy smile reappeared briefly.

“You and Lady Vivian are alike in that way,” he added, “but she lacks your experience. I wonder if you would watch out for her while I’m occupied this afternoon. I will rest easier knowing she has an ally. Perhaps the two of you could walk in the gardens and become better acquainted.”

A muscle at her jaw twitched beneath her pale skin. “You would like us to become better acquainted? Perhaps to become bosom friends and share confidences?”

Luke held his amusement in check. He had never seen his cousin appear so serious, as if the Crown were sending her on a mission rather than his suggesting a pleasant stroll. “I suppose I am. Do you mind?”

“Of course not. I will do whatever is necessary to assist you.”

He patted her shoulder. “You have my gratitude. Come, I’ll make introductions.”