The Sweetest Kiss (Brothers of Worthington Series) (20 page)

Her mouth turned dry as if cotton had taken up residence in her throat. Try as she might to divert her eyes, she gazed over his body in a slow inspection. Black, wet hair slicked back from his forehead. Wide shoulders and chest emphasized his muscular waist. Even with the small amount of light, she detected a sprinkle of hairs on his chest. His legs weren’t as she’d imagined, either, as his calves practically bulged with strength.

He stopped suddenly, his eyes wide as he looked upon her. Heat consumed her face, as well as her body, yet she still couldn’t turn away. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

His attention moved over her, and every inch of her burned with awareness. Within seconds, his smile widened.

“What a pleasant surprise.” His voice dripped with sensual charm.

“I—I—” She cleared her throat. “I didn’t know you were here.”

One of his brows arched. “Indeed? Do you usually come in my room when I’m not occupying it?”

Embarrassment washed over her, and she could have died. Obviously, he enjoyed making her nervous. “What I meant was—” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I was looking for you, but I doubted you were here.”

“Ah.” He nodded and folded his arms over his chest. “Good to know. So tell me, my sweet, how may I assist you?”

She licked her parched lips. “We need to talk.” Her focus dipped to his towel, before she quickly lifted it back to his face. “If you don’t mind, I would like you to change and meet me downstairs—”

“Why can we not talk here?”

She gasped. “Are you addled?”

Chuckling, he walked toward her, but turned and headed to the door first. “I believe you have asked me this question before.” He shut the solid oak barrier. “And I refused to answer, for fear it would ruin my reputation.”

Shivers started inside her, so she clasped her hands against her middle. Dear heavens!
 
They were in his bedroom alone with the door closed, not to mention, he was wearing a towel!
 
This was not a good thing.

Slowly, he walked toward her. Each step made her heart hammer faster. When he stopped, he took a lock of her hair with his finger and thumb, and rubbed.

“Judith? Why is your hair down? Are you aware how much I like it this way?”

She scolded herself for not thinking before she left her room. Now she regretted her most hasty decision. “I—I—” She swallowed hard. “I thought to retire for bed, but I really needed to talk to you first.”

He stroked her cheek. “Which brought you looking for me in my room, I see. Whatever was on your mind must be extremely important for you to seek me out here.”

“Please, forgive me for intruding upon your bath.”

His manly scent of soap drifted all around her. The urge to lean into him and rub her face in the crook of his neck became overwhelming, but she shook the incredible, desire-stirring thoughts away. She must remain in control.

“You didn’t intrude, my sweet. In fact, your presence has made my evening much better.”

“Trey, would you please put on a robe? This is improper, and you know it.”

He shrugged. “Nobody knows but us. I have dismissed my servants. We will not be disturbed.”

Oh, dear… Why did he tell her that? Regardless, she needed to say what was on her mind and leave. Although telling her legs to move was a different story, entirely.

“It matters not. I would feel more comfortable if you put on a robe.”

“As you wish.”
He picked up a robe lying on the foot of the bed and wrapped it loosely around him, tying it at his waist, before coming to stand in front of her.

Using both hands, he cupped her face and stepped even closer. Automatically, she placed her palms on his chest to stop him. Her fingertips connected with the exposed skin and nearly seared her, sending a different kind of heat pumping in her body. His muscles were so hard, yet his skin so soft to the touch. She gasped and pulled her hands away as if he were made of hot coals. Touching him this way was detrimental to her health.

“What is it you want, Judith?”

Her mind fought an endless battle with her body. Yet giving in was not an option. Her heart would be hurt, and she couldn’t bear it.

“Trey, stop it.” She forced herself to take another step away from him. “I didn’t come here for this.”

“For what?”

“You really must get dressed. I cannot think with you like this. There’s no way we can communicate while you are in this state of… of…” She swished her hand through the air.

He chuckled and moved closer. He grasped her hand and lifted it to his mouth before lightly kissing her fingertips. “Oh, I think differently, my sweet. I can think of a very enjoyable way to communicate while I’m in this state.”

He placed her palm on his chest, and once again, it was like hot coals burning her flesh, except this time she couldn’t pull away. His dark eyes entranced her, and heaven help her, she anticipated his next move.

“Judith, I don’t mind if you touch me.” His voice was deep, seductive. “In fact, I encourage it.”

She licked her dry lips. “It’s not proper,” she whispered.

The corner of his mouth lifted in a lopsided grin. “Oh, but it is, my sweet. We shall say
it’s
part of your learning. This is a very good way to communicate.
It’s
intimate lesson number one; how to touch a man and make him melt.”

Melt?
He was certainly accomplishing that very thing with her. Yet he was going to teach her how to achieve making him melt. Although she should really protest, curiosity struck a chord in her, and she indeed wanted to be taught.

Staring at the exposed skin at the middle of his chest, she shook her head. Words had been lost in her head somewhere because she couldn’t think of anything to say—or any kind of refusal.

“A man enjoys a woman’s touch,” he said deeply. Desire sparked in his eyes. “A man also enjoys a woman’s curiosity. We… I don’t want you to be shy with me.”

Her heart tripped crazily. No longer was he discussing women in general. He talked right to her, telling her what he wanted. What he enjoyed. She enjoyed knowing this more than she should. What was happening to her? Self-control was within reach, yet she wanted to give it up for just a moment.

Then what?

His gaze dropped to her mouth. Kissing him would be very nice right now, but the way flames of desire licked through her body, she feared more would happen. She could not do this with a man who was not her husband—and more than likely would never be considered.

Trey made the first move, closing the space between them as he leaned forward, his mouth descending quickly. When his lips met hers, he brushed them in a gentle sweep over her mouth before moving down her cheek to her neck.

Warnings screamed in her mind, reminding her he didn’t want a wife. He wanted what all rakes were after. And then he’d leave her to suffer the scandal and embarrassment as she searched for a worthy husband who would overlook her costly mistake. She couldn’t let that happen.

“Trey, please stop.” She pushed him away and walked backward toward the door, keeping her shaky hands clasped tightly against her stomach.

She stopped in front of the door and tried to regulate her breathing. Turning, she met his heated stare. “I didn’t come here for this. I came to ask about Alex. I need to know if you have heard from your solicitor. I have given you ample time to try and locate my fiancé. If your solicitor has not found anything, then I shall look for Alex myself.”

The pleasurable expression on Trey’s face quickly disappeared as ragged breaths still shook his body. Silence stretched between them as he raked his fingers through his hair, then he took a deep breath and tightened the sash around his waist.

Folding his arms, he gave her a nod.
“Very well.
I suppose I can tell you what I have learned so far.”

She lifted her chin and squared her shoulders, ready to hear what he had to say. “I would appreciate it.”

“What my solicitor has discovered so far is not good at all.”

Holding her breath, she waited.

“I fear your fiancé, has not been very honest with you.”

Slowly, she released the air from between her teeth as her heart knocked in a completely different rhythm this time.

“Apparently, Alexander Cutler is not a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy.”

She gasped. “What? How absurd. Of course he is.”

“No, Judith. He has never been an officer. My solicitor checked this out thoroughly.”

“But…but…. That cannot be.”

“Tell me, Judith. Did you ever see him wearing a uniform?”

“Yes. It was the last time I had seen him before my parents died. Our meeting was very brief because he was leaving, but he was definitely wearing the uniform of a Lieutenant.”

Trey shook his head. “Then he must have stolen it, because there’s no Alexander Cutler listed in the Royal Navy.”

Anger shot through her and she fisted her hands by her side. “Alex did not steal anything, and he most assuredly did not lie to me.”

“Then explain to me how my solicitor could not find him in the Navy? Does Mr. Cutler have a different name, perhaps?”

“No.”

“So then why is he not listed?”

Confusion pounded in her head. None of this made sense. Why would Alex lie to her about being a Lieutenant? He wouldn’t. Didn’t he know she could find out easily enough? “I don’t know,” she whispered.

Trey moved closer, standing in front of her. “Judith, I hesitated to tell you before I had more information.” He laid his hand on her shoulder.

She slapped at his hand, knocking away his touch. “I think you have the wrong information. I don’t know how, but I cannot believe he’d lie to me about that. We were planning on getting married.”

Tears pricked her eyes, so she turned sharply and opened the door to leave. He grabbed her arm and swung her around to face him. Blinking, she hoped to get rid of the moisture before he noticed, but she failed miserably.

“Judith, my solicitor is still looking into this. We will find the truth, I promise.”

“I appreciate all you have done, but something is not right.” Her voice choked, so she cleared her throat.

He caressed her face then gently pulled her closer as his arms slid around her shoulders. With her palms against his chest, she tried to hold back, but he was stronger and her weak body fell against him.

Her cheek rested against his chest as she fought the tears still building. Although emotion tightened her bosom, she relaxed in his embrace as his hands stroked her back while soothing words whispered from his lips.

Curse him for doing this to her.

She should be thinking about Alex and why he hadn’t come forth. At this point, she should be wondering if her dreams of being Mrs. Cutler were ever going to come true. Instead, all she could think about was how comfortable she felt in Trey’s arms. Beneath her palm, his heartbeat thudded against her in a quick rhythm. She realized how quickly passion flared between them. She had to leave before her mind became weak.

Forcing herself to pull away was the hardest thing she’d ever had to do, but she stepped out of his embrace. He watched her with tenderness in his gaze, and she wanted to cry. She wouldn’t. Not in front of him. “I must return to my room now. Good night, Trey.”

She hurried out the door, not hearing what he’d muttered. It didn’t matter anyway. Nothing he could say to her could stop the confusion swimming in her heart. Little by little, her life sifted away, and there wasn’t anything she could do to stop it.

~*~*~*~

Trey leaned against the white column of the porch as he gazed across the estate. Hawthorne had invited Judith to go riding this morning. And once again, they had ridden out of Trey’s view. It was all he could do not to saddle his horse and follow.

Was
Nic
touching her right now? Wooing her with words of love?

Trey bunched his hands into fists, grinding his teeth. Why was
Nic
calling on Judith in the first place? Had his latest mistress become uneventful? That could be the only explanation. Besides,
Nic
didn’t like women who spoke their mind as Judith did, so why was he even with her?

Trey had been on edge for two days since he’d caught Judith in his bedroom. Letting her leave his side that night was the hardest thing he’d ever done. Even while he watched her walk out the door, he wanted to pull her back into his arms and smother her with kisses until she agreed to stay.

He’d wanted her so much it hurt.
Literally.
The ache in his chest that night stayed quite a while. Her sweet smell of flowers had been in his room afterwards, and he’d lain awake all night in torture as he thought about her.

Plain and simple, the night had been pure agony. He’d wanted her, yet was relieved he hadn’t compromised her. Judith needed a husband who would stay faithful to her as they had babies and lived happy, long lives.

He couldn’t give her that, even if the idea tempted him. His father’s blood ran deep, and inevitably, Trey would become tired of her and seek another companion, just as he’d done with all the women who’d been in his life thus far. Women had been nothing but objects, and when Tristan died, this idea was branded into Trey’s mind deeper. He didn’t ever want to love a woman so much he’d risk his life, as his brother had done.