Rescue Me Please (30 page)

Parker’s bright blue eyes pierced through her with a heated intensity as he watched her laugh.  “You should definitely
laugh
more often.” 

Persephone flushed as
she lowered her eyes. 

A grin split Parker’s handsome face, revealing the beautiful smile she loved so much and the distracting dimple on his right cheek.  His
fingers gently grasped her chin and tilted her head back, forcing her to look at him.  “It pleases me that you have begun to let down your guard.”
 

She
returned his
smile but her expression was cautious. 
There was still a part of her soul that was
afraid to truly believe in his goodness. 
That it was just a cruel trick on his part to lure her into his darkness that he had learned to hide so well.  Just as everyone else had. 

Parker’s fingers skimmed across her jaw.
  “Believe,” he said, surprising her.  Had he read her mind?  Her innermost fears, her innermost desires revealed to him somehow?
  His rough fingers left a heated trail of pleasure everywhere they touched.  She felt as if she had caught fire.  Every bone in her body melted
and longed for more
. 
“Did you know your freckles are more pronounced when you are outdoors?”

Persephone rolled her eyes in a most unladylike fashion.

Parker chuckled as he traced the tiny freckles that were sprinkled across her cheeks and nose.

“
Here.
”  She sighed, a frown forming across her face as she began to unbutton the pelisse.  “You are shivering.”

“If you believed that I would receive a set down from swimming in the middle of winter.”  He chuckled.  “Imagine what my aunt would do if I returned wearing your pelisse leaving you to suffer the cold unprotected.”  He shivered, but not from the cold.  “I have no desire to be on the receiving end of that ire.”

She tilted her head.  “I ha
ve yet to s
ee your aunt lose her patience
with you.”  Her wide green eyes searched his face.  “If anything she dotes on you to the point of
over
indulgence.” 

He reached out
and stroked a finger along the seam of her lip.
  “I
cannot deny that I
have been coddled by her since I was
just
a boy.”

Her breath caught
at the rasp of his fingertips over her lips
.
 
“What are you about, Parker?”
  Her skittishness returned with his feather light touches. 

He stared into her eyes.  “Are you going to scold me for allowing her indulgence to continue?”  He leaned towards her so close she could feel his warm breath against her cold cheek. 
“I don’t have the heart to ask her to stop.”

“What are you about?”  Her eyes widened in a combination of confusion and desire.

He was quiet, searching for the right words to say.  “I am…” 

“Persephone.” T
hey both heard Piper
’s voice as she
call
ed
out from a short distance
.

“Damn,” Parker cursed
mildly
and Persephone stiffened.
  “Meddling sisters will be the death of me.”
  He picked up his boots. 
He leaned closer, his lips a breath away from her
s
.  “It has been a pleasure, Persephone.”
  He closed his eyes briefly.  “One I hope to repeat in the n
ot so distant
future.”

Persephone sucked in a slow breath, afraid to end their obvious connection.  Afraid to lose th
e
moment.
He grasped her hand and pressed his li
ps to the inside of her wrist, then h
e tapped her nose with his finger. 
“
If you hurry, y
ou can cut her off on the path,” he whispered loudly
before
he sprinted
in the opposite direction into the shelter of the tall
trees. 

Persephone wiped at the droplets of water still sprinkled over her face and head
ed
back down the pa
th.  “Piper?” she called back, unable to lessen the smile that was still spread widely across her face. 
She prayed to God that there would indeed be a future
.  Was it too much to hope that d
reams could
come true?
  She had to believe that anything was truly possible and
that she would not have to pay with the rest of her life for sins that had been thrust upon her unasked for, undesired, and regretted. 

Piper was breathing hard when she stopped in front of Persephone.  “I thought I saw you heading this way.”  She linked their arms.  “Come to see the lake?”

Persephone smiled good-naturedly
unable to suppress the happy feeling that coursed through her body
.  “It’s as lovely as you described.”  She pulled her along
, lifting the basket swinging from her arm as they went
.  “Shall we feed the ducks?
”

“Delightful.” 
Piper walked next to Persephone and took a large handful of the stale bread, tossing pieces to the loud ducks
as they approached the lake
. 
“What plans have you for the day?”

“I’ve not made a
ny definitive plans for the day,
”
Persephone replied with a quizzical look in Piper’s direction.

“
Excellent.” 
Piper grinned.
  “
Then we will head to Ashford, I would love a new bonnet for Christmas.”  Seeing the worried look in Persephone’s eyes, Piper added, “I would love to gift you with something for Christmas, you cannot deny me that pleasure.”

“I have nothing to give in return.”

“You have added a true smile to my brother’s face.”  Piper patted her hand.  “That is gift enough.”

“I’ve done nothing…”

“Pooh,” Piper interrupted.  “You’ve done enough.”
  She dragged Persephone closer to the lake and the quacking ducks so they could toss the remainder of their stale bread before heading back to the house and a warm fire.

***

H
ugh Lucas, the Marquis of Manton
, shook his head.  “Do
no
t ask for trouble, Granville.”

“Are you challenging me?”  Granville demanded.  Anger pounded through him, and he didn’t care. 

“I’m advising that you need
to get control of the situation,
”
Manton growled.
“St. Claire made sure that I was
made
aware that you’ve lost the girl.”

“Fuck,” Granville swore furiously. 

Georgie
Porgie
pudding and pie,

Kissed the girls and made them cry

When the boys came out to play

Georgie
Porgie
ran away.

T
hat afternoon was a whirlwind of activity
.  The girls took
the afternoon to shop and spend an exorbitant amount of money in Ashf
ord while Parker and Rockwell rode
around his extensive property and talked of strategies.  Then t
hey
topped off the day with a delicious meal and another round of cards that ended with Parker walking Persephone to her room.   

When they reached her door, h
e
carried Persephone’s
hand to his lips and kissed the back
s
of h
er fingers.  “Sleep well, Persephone
.”  He was well aware that his nearness ruffled her senses; he felt the same in reverse, then he left her at her door
and made his way half-way down the hall before
his steps slowed and he finally stopped
. 

What was he thinking? 
The thought of walking away sent a pang of regret through him that nearly incapacitated him. 

There were still lingering
signs of fear.  He could see them
haunting
her eyes when she thought no one was looking.
S
he was s
till hesitant when he touched her, no matter how innocent his intentions. 

Innocent?  He went still. 
Hell, h
e knew his intentions weren’t innocent. 
It had moved
well past
that for him.  Like a slow fire burned.

He ached. 

His heart pounded when he heard her voice.

His palms sweat when he caught her
clean, fresh
scent floating through the air.

His speech left, when she smiled.

His fingers curled into his palms biting into his flesh
,
his hear
t pounded against his chest. 
He
should have kissed her.
  A real kiss.  Not some brotherly peck
on the back of her hand
.  He
should have kissed her like a man kisses a woman he desires. 
He
should have kissed her…

He
was
fifty times
—
no, one hundred times
a
fool.

He had always believed it would come upon him like a fast moving storm, not this slow, deep burn that built over time that finally overtook him. 

That felled him.

That b
rought
him to his knees without warning and definitely not with a woman battered and scarred.  Overcome with fear
. 
He scrubbed his hand over his face and
groaned as he ruffled his hair and suppressed a growl.

He could tell she thought more of him than a rescuer.  She was attracted to him as a man.  If only he co
uld break down her barriers.  His heart kicked into gear slamming into his chest.
  H
is desire for her
so immense he ached with the pain
. 

He should have kissed her.

The corner of his mouth turned up in a wry smile at his thoughts.

Persephone leaned back against the door her heart beati
ng fast.  Its erratic rhythm was
almost painful against her ribs. 
She wanted to feel what she felt with him always.  She
should run, but she couldn’t make herself run from
him. 

Every time the thought entered her mind to grab Tillie and sneak out in the
dark of
night
and not look back
,
she remembered his hand
s
on her face. 
She remembered the
gent
leness in his eyes when he looked at
her.  His patience.  His kindness.  His voice left her knees weak. 
Left her longing for the dreams she had as a little girl. 
He was the
k
night
who came
to her rescue when she was locked in the highest tower
.  It was
a
foolish,
girl’s
dream. 

He
looked at her and all speech fled; she tried to swallow past the lump closing up her throat. 
When he kissed her hand she couldn’t control her trembling. 
She rubbed her damp palms down her skirt as she listened to the echo of his steps fading down the hall
, thankful that she had a
dvised Lucy not to attend her that
night
.
 
She had no desire to explain her odd behavior.

Life was short and unpredictable.  Wha
t if she never saw him again?
Sh
e’d spent so much time hiding.

So much time running. 

So much time in fear. 

She was tired of being afraid.  Afraid that each time a
man reached out for her that it
was out of perversion and not out of kindness. 
She was a fool to even have those thoughts. 
He was nothing but kindness.  Perh
aps her feelings were magnified
because he wanted nothing from her.  But she had caught him looking at her with
the same
longing that she knew was mirrored in her own eyes.

She should have kissed him. 

She was no innocent.  What harm could there be in one kiss?  One kiss to warm the long winter nights when she was alone.  One perfect memory to fill the rest of
what was sure to be a
desolate
life.  He was her angel.