Only an Earl Will Do (17 page)

Chapter Sixteen

The following morning not a breath of wind sounded outdoors, and if the glow behind her green velvet drapes were any indication, the weather was faultless.

Elizabeth rose, pulling the curtains open and marveling at the beauty that was Newland Estate. Her room afforded her the most pleasing vista to wake up to, and an overwhelming urge to show Henry her home, to enjoy what little time his visit to Wiltshire would bring, filled her with excitement and expectation.

Ringing for her maid, she dressed quickly and ordered Samuel’s nanny to prepare her son for a picnic breakfast. She caught the cook and servant staff before they had laid out the breakfast room and instead had them pack a basket for an impromptu breakfast outdoors.

She found Henry walking into the breakfast room, which faced east to capture the morning sun and was always warm and welcoming, even on a cold winter’s day. “Good morning, Lord Muir,” she said, taking his arm. “We’re to breakfast outdoors this morning, so follow me.”

He looked down at his buckskin breeches and coat. “Should I change into something less formal?”

Elizabeth took the opportunity to run her gaze over his attire; his breeches were certainly cut well and optimized what Henry had to offer beneath all that cloth. A blush stole up her cheeks, but she didn’t relent. He was attractive, one who in turn found her to be also. She would take her fill as much as she could while he was here. “You’re dressed perfectly fine. Samuel will be down shortly. We can wait out front if you like.”

He ushered her toward the door, and they stepped into the morning sunlight, the air warm and fragrant with summer flowers.

“This is spontaneous, lass. Do ye have a special location we’ll be breaking our fast this mornin’?”

“I do, it’s only a short stroll away, and a place Samuel loves to play.” The sound of her son giggling as he came down the stairs with his nanny made her smile. He was such a happy little boy, had a love for life, and she was thankful his fever wasn’t as bad as she’d first thought. The unimaginable horrors she’d faced on the way back to Newland Estate thinking he may have been sick enough that she’d lose him had been too much to bear and not anything she wished to experience again.

Her son ran out between them and onto the gravel drive, his nanny following close on his heels. Elizabeth followed, watching him play with his nanny, squeals of laugher bursting from his little lungs.

“You adore him; it’s written all over ye features.” Henry smiled at her. “And Newland Estate makes ye happy.”

“I am, I must admit. Being here with Samuel always makes me so. When I return to town next week, I’ll be bringing him with me. The season is coming to an end, in any case, so he’ll not have to spend too much time in town.”

They walked toward a lake to where the servants had set up a small picnic for them. A large woolen blanket was spread out upon the grass with a large hamper and a bottle of wine beside it.

“Wine for breakfast, lass. Are ye Scottish?”

Elizabeth laughed. “An oversight, but if it’s supplied, one must not waste such an opportunity.” They sat as a kitchen servant served up their breakfast and, even with champagne instead of tea or coffee, it was delicious.

Samuel walked off toward the lake, and his nanny followed, both of them sitting beside the bank and watching the water flow over the shallow rocks along the edge.

“There is something that I wish to say, lass. Something I’ve wanted to say for quite some time.”

She turned and met his gaze. He was serious, and she hoped above hope that what he was about to say was what she wanted to hear, had wanted to hear from the first moment he’d walked into the ballroom at the beginning of the season.

…

Henry took her hand and kissed her palm. She shivered, and the urge to make her react to him so, to always be aware of him, urged on the declaration that had been burning in his gut for weeks. “I want this, lass. I want this kind of life with ye more than I want to draw breath, and that’s the truth.”

Her hand tightened around his. “I know you do, Henry.”

Her reply was not what he’d been expecting. He’d thought she’d want him to stop speaking, to stop the declaration of love he wanted to shout to the world.

“From the moment we met, I knew we were meant to be. I loved ye from the moment you called me a vexing, meddlesome Scot and I’ll love ye until the day I die.”

Tears pooled in her eyes, and she sniffed. He handed her his handkerchief, glad this time her tears were accompanied with a smile. “I want this too, Henry. So much it aches, but there is too much happening in our lives at present. I have Samuel. Riddledale is threatening me. I’m not sure if it’s the right time for this,”—she gestured between them—“to begin.”

“It’s already begun, lass.” He shuffled closer, moving the basket out of the way. “If I stay here with you until ye return to London, I’m not sure if I can keep my distance from ye any longer, even if I wanted to.”

She shook her head, grinning at his words. “We cannot do that,” she stated, adamant.

“We’re consenting adults. You’re a widow, not a debutante, as ye said yourself. What’s to stop us?”
Nothing that he could see.

“Henry, are you asking me to sleep with you?” Her eyes widened and her cheeks blushed a little.

“I’m in love with ye, Elizabeth. I want to marry ye, and if there is any way in which I can win your regard, win your heart, I’ll do it. I want ye, in every way a man can want a woman, and I’ll not give up on my plight just because it’s frowned upon by the English ton.”

An excited thrum ran through him when she didn’t dismiss him directly. He wanted to show her what they could be together, and over the next week he would prove to her he was determined to succeed.

He looked out toward Samuel and smiled at what the little boy and his nanny were doing. “I want to be the boy’s father, his guide in taking on Newland Estate when the time comes. I want to raise him, love him as he should be, just as you do, for I love ye, and all I care about is your happiness.”

Tears ran down her cheeks, and she bit her lip. She cast a glance at her boy, and he discerned the moment she’d made her decision. “Should we get the letter back from Riddledale, and his threat is removed, I will marry you, Henry.”

“Aye?” He clasped her chin, lifting her gaze to his. “Ye will marry your Scottish barbarian?”

“I will and gladly so.” She paused, clasping the lapels of his coat. “I love you, too, more than I ever imagined I could.”

He took her lips in a searing kiss, the giggles of the nanny and Samuel lost as he declared his love, his promise, through a kiss that left him as breathless as Elizabeth.

“We will best Riddledale, and then we will marry and return to Scotland. You’re everything to me, lass, and today ye’ve made me the happiest of men.” He kissed her again. “Come to my room tonight, promise me ye will.”

Elizabeth bit her lip, a coquettish look in her eyes that drove him to distraction as much as her reply did. “I promise.”

…

Blackness surrounded Elizabeth as she stepped from her bedroom door, looking out at the long passage to ensure no servants were about. The night held no moonlight, and the windows running the length of one side of the passage were inky black, the only image her reflection in candlelight, an eerie figure much like a ghoul.

She pulled her pelisse close about her, shivering a little at trepidation and expectation. At the end of the hall, only a few rooms away, Henry waited for her… She wondered what he was wearing, was he before the fire, lying on the bed, standing by the door in wait. She bit her lip, wondering if he was shirtless, naked…

Continuing on, she passed the staircase and came to the next set of suites that they kept for guests only. Candlelight flickered beneath the third door along the passage, and she paused before it, taking a deep, solidifying breath before opening it and stepping into the room.

He sat before the fire, a contemplative look on his face. He leaned on his knees, seemingly lost in thought as he watched the flames lick the wood in the grate. The smile he bestowed on her washed away all her nervousness. This was right; nothing ever in her life had felt so correct.

“Ye came, lass. I thought you may have changed ye mind.”

Elizabeth went and stood before him, stepping between his legs and laying her hands upon his shoulders. His muscles flexed under her grip, and she was reminded of his strength not just of mind, but of stature. “I said I would.” She grinned at him, leaning down and kissing him quickly before she lost her nerve. His eyes flared with heat, and her breath caught in her lungs.

His hands slid along the backs of her legs, and her knees shook. “Ye tempt me more than you ought. I want this to be the start of forever for us. I want ye to remember tonight with nothing but awe.”

“I already do.”

He pulled her down onto his lap, and Elizabeth straddled his legs. They touched, their most intimate of places rubbing with wanton desire that left her breathless. He kissed her cheeks, her lips, her chin, making his way down her throat, leaving her a shivering mess of desire in his arms.

He pulled back, looking at her with such love her heart gave a hard thump. A small lock of hair fell over his brow, and she pushed it back, wanting to see his beautiful soul that shone through his eyes.

“I love ye so much, Elizabeth, that sometimes I think I’ll go mad with it.”

His words warmed her heart, and she knew at that moment, to the center of her being, that what they were doing was right. She wiggled closer, wrapping her arms about his neck. “And I you, Henry. I missed you so much when you went away. I don’t ever want to be separated from you again.”

He placed a finger against her lips, shushing her words. “None of that. We’ll not speak of the past, only the future and all the wonderful things we’ll do together as a married couple and family.”

He cradled her face with his hands, her eyes smarting with tears. “I don’t remember you ever being so romantic, Henry. I could get used to you being this way.”

He laughed, waggling his brows. “Aye, I believe it stems from me mother’s side of the family. Father, on the other hand, had not one romantic bone in his body.” He paused, kissing her lightly and leaving her needy for more. “And I want to please ye, always.” His breath rippled across her skin like a sensual caress.

Elizabeth took the lead and kissed him, let him know with her touch, the slide of her tongue against his, that the time for talk was over. She wanted him, here, now, to be joined with him as she’d always wanted to be. How they always should have been.

Henry pulled her close, his hands delving into her shift and yanking it up to her waist, pulling it off and leaving the night air to kiss her skin. The scorching look he threw her body left her tingling, a feeling of power coming over her that she’d brought this Scottish laird to his knees.

“Touch me, Henry.”

“I’ll do more than that, lass.” He growled, his hands sliding up her waist to clasp her breasts. Henry dipped his head, kissing one puckered nipple; the feel of him caressing her in such an intimate spot was utterly delightful and all too addictive.

Elizabeth let her head fall back, wanting to enjoy what he could do to her. She ran her hands over the taut muscles along his spine, loving how his body felt beneath her hands, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted him as naked as she was, to see his delectable muscular frame that had haunted her dreams ever since, as a young woman, she’d become aware of him.

“I should move us to the bed, and yet, I cannot. I have to have ye, here, now.”

She clasped his face, making him look at her. “There will be many more opportunities for the bed, and I find myself quite comfortable where we are.”

A low growl resonated deep in his belly, and he pulled her close. “Do not tempt me, lass.”

She wrapped her arms about his neck, feeling through his clothes what her presence was doing to him. A wicked smiled quirked her lips. “Do I tempt you, Henry?” The fact she had such power over him, made this beautiful, strong Scottish man honey in her hands, was an exhilarating elixir.

“Ye always have.”

He went to kiss her, and she averted her lips. His gaze captured hers, and she knew his eyes were a mirror into her own soul, a soul that longed to be touched, to feel, to love again. She grabbed his hand and placed it between her legs, sighing at the rightness of his touch.

“I know it’s scandalous of me, and something that I should not do, but I want you more than anything in this world.” Elizabeth grinned as his gaze turned molten when she flicked open the top button of his waistcoat. “Make me yours. Please…”

…

Henry swallowed and strove for calm as each button down his waistcoat deftly popped open. The creamy white flesh of her breasts rose and fell with each breath. Her mons teased his cock and threatened his promise to not act the barbarian and take her without heed or care.

“Are ye sure? Once we start, I dinna think I’ll be able to stop.” She paused, and Henry read the determined glint in her eye. He dumbly watched her, having never imagined a woman could consume him fully. To have her in his arms once more, promised to him, was a dream he’d not thought possible when he’d first returned from America.

She leaned up and kissed him, the scent of jasmine lingering on her skin. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. We’re alone, and we’re to marry. What’s to stop us?”

He pulled her against him and kissed her hard. She gasped, and he made use of her acquiescence as he stroked her tongue with his, over and over, until she squirmed on his lap, her need for him as much as his for her.

It was easy to divest himself of his clothes, and Elizabeth was more than helpful in getting his waistcoat, shirt, and cravat off. She threw them to the floor with abandon, as he himself had thrown her shift. When her hands clasped his frontfalls, Henry had to fight not to lose control before he’d even taken her. Her determined touch, her light strokes against his flesh, incinerated him and made him burn.

He pulled back to watch her as her hand slipped beneath his trousers, and she stroked his hardened flesh.