To Please A Lady (The Seduction Series) (15 page)

“I see.” He highly doubted Alex or his wife would approve. He stepped closer to the cart, attempting to ignore the woman at his side. Hell, he had enough problems to deal with. “Then you should return to your escort at once and pray no one has noticed you
here. In fact, I suggest you leave altogether. This is not a place for respectable people.”

“What about you?” She grinned up at him, the blasted tease. They both knew he was far from respectable. Instead of moving away, she only stepped closer. “Would you like me to set up a meeting with her?”

He didn’t dare look at the woman, worried she’d see the sudden interest in his gaze. Hell, it was like she offered him the forbidden fruit… a moment with Eleanor. “Who?” he asked, playing dumb.

“The woman you were staring at. You have feelings for her, don’t you?”

Heat shot to his face. He flushed, actually flushed for the first time in years. Good Lord, what had become of him? “No. Of course not.”

She seemed confused by his reluctance. “But you like her and this is your chance.”

“For the love of…” He spun around. “I highly suggest you keep your distance from me and Lady Lavender unless you want to be ruined for life, and forget about your little jewelry business. Now be a good girl and go to your escort.”

She folded her gloved hands demurely in front of her. “Very well.”

But the smirk upon her face did not bode well. He gave her a none-too-subtle glare as he turned to leave. He’d find another vendor selling drinks, as long as he could get the hell away from her. The world had gone utterly mad. Patience speaking publicly to him, Eleanor visiting the gardens without an escort in sight. Utterly mad. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder, had Ellie risked her reputation to see him, or merely to enjoy a bit of freedom?

He glanced around the garden, attempting to decipher familiar faces from the shadows. Damn it all, he couldn’t just leave her to wander around the garden alone. He paused halfway to Lady Lavender. First, he would make sure Patience, the blasted girl, had
returned to her escort. Then he would see to Eleanor. He started to turn when he felt the subtle brush of a hand against his arm. When he glanced down, he wasn’t in the least bit surprised to see Patience grinning up at him.

“She will meet you near the lilacs.”

Shocked, he merely stood there staring at her in confusion. She inclined her head to the left, that smirk still in place. Having flipped his world completely upside down once more, Patience turned and sauntered off toward her escort. James jerked his gaze toward the lilacs, his heart hammering wildly. Eleanor waited for him there. The realization made it difficult to breathe. She wanted to see him, but did he want to see her?

He glanced back at Lady Lavender. She was seated upon a stone bench, flirting with a man half her age. She still hadn’t noticed his absence. Business. He could always use the excuse that Eleanor was business, even if it was a lie. With the memory of their kiss outside the tea shop still vivid in his mind, James started toward the lilac bushes. His body had a mind of its own. Control had become an illusion.

He easily found a path through the lilacs and followed the trail into the darkness, blending into shadows that would provide them shelter from prying eyes. Where was she? He should have gone to her immediately. If something had happened…

“James,” a soft, feminine voice whispered temptingly upon the breeze. He spun around, his pulse pounding. A pale hand darted out between the branches, clasped onto his sleeve, and pulled him into the trees. James suddenly found himself pressed to a slim, warm body, hidden within a crop of sweet-smelling lilacs.

“And so I run into you again,” he whispered, studying her shadowed face. “Quite the coincidence.”

“Not really,” she replied, her breath warm across his lips. “You told me you’d be here the other day. Besides, the gossip columns make note of the infamous Lady Lavender’s plans and whereabouts every time she is in London.”

“I see.” But he didn’t see. She’d sought him out then. Had purposefully come here, potentially tarnished her reputation merely to see him. The ache that had established itself in the middle of his chest since meeting her spread like warm honey.

“I wanted to apologize,” she whispered, lifting the veil on her bonnet. “For interfering.”

“It’s all right.” Surely she hadn’t come all this way merely for an apology when she could have easily sent him a note. Which meant she either craved the excitement of the gardens, or she craved him. They were silent for a moment, the tension between them almost tangible. “Is that why you’re here?”

She lowered her gaze, staring at his neck. “I merely wanted to make sure you weren’t angry with me. I… I couldn’t stand knowing I had hurt you.”

“Of course not.” His heart lurched, his pulse fluttering with hope. He pressed his palm to her velvety smooth cheek, cupping the side of her face. “Eleanor…”

She lifted her head, her gaze luminous and desperate. But there, deep down, he could see the nervousness, the wariness. The vulnerability practically pulsed from her being. She didn’t want him to hurt her, and God help him, if she fell in love he would.

“In our business it is not uncommon for clients to become attached.”

The hazy lust in her eyes cleared instantly. She shoved his hand away and stepped back, as if he had slapped her. Or perhaps she wished to slap him. He’d offended her and he could see that wall she usually carried was being rebuilt brick by brick. Damn him.

“I don’t wish for you to get your heart broken,” he tried to explain. “I do enjoy your company, but I don’t want you hurt.”

She released a wry laugh. “James, please, you think too much of our relationship.”

A lesser man would have been surprised by her blunt comment. But he knew her too well, he had seen her open and vulnerable.
Besides, he knew enough about women to know that in some way he’d hurt her pride.

“It doesn’t matter.” She turned her back to him as if she meant to leave. “You don’t have to worry about me falling for you because I don’t believe in love.”

Neither did he, so why did her words pain him? “Ellie, you are young, beautiful. Surely—”

“Surely what?” She spun back around to face him. He’d made her angry, but he’d rather have her angry than hurting. “I’m married. The man is a demon. I don’t have room for a ridiculous and weak emotion like love. I thought to help you, nothing more. Obviously it was a mis—”

James latched onto her arm and jerked her forward. She didn’t have time to push away. His mouth found hers, capturing her gasp of surprise. It was a quick kiss, a passionate kiss. When he pulled back, they were both gasping for air.

“We can be friends, can’t we?” he whispered. He didn’t want to let her go, couldn’t seem to remove his hand from her narrow waist. He breathed in her rose scent, feeling as light-headed as a damn virgin on her wedding night.

“I don’t know, James.” She sounded sad, and he hated when she was sad. “I don’t see how there is any possible way we can have any sort of relationship.”

She was right, so why didn’t he let her go? Why didn’t he make his way back to Lady Lavender and forget Eleanor? Because he had become obsessed. Because somehow she had clawed her way deep within his soul. Damn his penchant for needing to save people. “I can’t let you go.”

“Why?” she whispered.

“Because, Eleanor, you never found what you were looking for.”

Her delicate brows furrowed. “I don’t understand.”

He cupped the sides of her face and brushed his lips to hers. “Pleasure, Eleanor. You never found pleasure.” She shivered against him, his words finding their target. He could seduce her so easily.
He’d had years and years of training. He knew where to touch, where to kiss, what words to say in order to bring a woman to the peak of pleasure.

“It’s better, perhaps. Because if I had, I would know what I was missing.” She pushed away from him, stepping back. She looked confused, uncertain. In a defensive gesture that wasn’t lost on him, she crossed her arms over her chest. “I suppose this might be the last time I see you.”

“If that’s true, then this sort of parting won’t do at all.” He gently brushed a curl over her shoulder. “You won’t leave yet. Not until…”

“Until what?” she whispered.

“Until you experience what you came for.”

“James, no!” She drew back until her shoulders pressed into a tall oak. “We can’t. Not here!”

“’Tis dark, the show is starting, no one will notice.”

She shook her head. “You can’t be serious.”

He stepped closer. “But I am.”

“James—”

When he kissed her, molding his mouth to hers, he left no room for argument. Blast it, but he just wanted to forget. Forget his past, his future. Thank God, she didn’t protest but fell willingly into him, her lush form pressing intimately to his chest. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. He coaxed her mouth open, and when her lips parted on a gasp he made quick work of sweeping his tongue inside. She wasn’t some virginal miss to shy away from passion. When the silky tip of her tongue brushed against his, James growled against her mouth. Their mouths mingled, the kiss so deep he could feel it to his soul.

Eleanor groaned, a truly erotic sound that sent blood pounding through his body and pooling into his groin. Dear Lord, he wanted her. Wanted her like he had never wanted a woman before. He tore his mouth from hers and pressed his lips to her fragile jawline, then lower to her elegant neck.

“I will show you what you’ve been missing. I swear it.” If they should never meet again, he was at least determined to do that for her.

“Yes,” she whispered, tilting her head back, her eyes closed. She leaned trustingly into his body, not afraid, completely and utterly open to him. Her hands slid up his chest, over the fine silk waistcoat under his jacket.

“You are stunning, you know that?” he whispered.

“Yes,” she repeated.

He grinned, knowing she hadn’t a clue what he had said. She was too far gone, her need too desperate. His flattery would get him nowhere. Besides, he couldn’t tell her how wonderful she was because she wouldn’t believe him, but he could show her. He found her skirts and bunched the material slowly up her legs. The crinkle of crinoline was lost in the sound of an orchestra playing a jaunty country jingle.

Her fingers bit into his shoulders, sliding farther up into the strands of hair at the base of his head. “Dear God, you are truly doing this now, here.”

He didn’t respond, merely slid his hand underneath her skirts. His fingers found her smooth, silky thighs. Startled, he almost drew back. It took a lot to shock him, but the fact that she wore no bloomers nearly brought him to his knees then and there.

“No undergarments?” he whispered near the shell of her ear.

“My husband established early on that I was to wear none,” she said, her fingers playing with the strands of hair at the base of his neck. “That way he could have me whenever, wherever he wanted.”

The thrilling sensation he felt fled. An anger he was finding it hard to control pulsed through his veins. The bastard. He gritted his teeth, ignoring the sudden desire to head to her town home and confront the man. James took in a deep, trembling breath. He could not do anything about her husband, but he could do something for her. He pushed Lord Beckett from his thoughts and focused on Eleanor.

“God, you smell good,” he said, nuzzling her neck. She trembled in his arms and he found he liked how she reacted to him. Never had a woman needed a more gentle touch than she. Never had a woman needed
him
more than she did at this moment. He slid his hand up her thigh, heading inward toward the intensely silky and sensitive area. Eleanor tightened, her breath coming out in harsh pants that stirred the hair at his temples.

“Relax, my sweet.” He shifted, sliding his knee between her legs and spreading her thighs. Burning lust surged through his body, hardening his groin so it strained uncomfortably against his trousers. “How badly I want to touch you.”

“Please, do.”

He needed no further encouragement. His fingers slid between her silky folds, into that pulsing heat. Eleanor whimpered, her teeth biting erotically into his shoulder. Briefly he wondered if she even knew what she did.

“I won’t hurt you,” he assured her. “Never.”

“I know,” she whispered, and he heard the truth in her breathless voice. A truth that humbled him.

“Hold your skirts.”

She frowned. “Why?”

“Hold them.”

She grabbed the handful of material, clutching it tightly to her chest and exposing long legs clad in white stockings that glowed under the moonlight. He let his hands slide down the soft curve of her thighs to where her garters met her stockings. Another time, another place, and he would have had her on her back as he drove deep within her.

“James?” she said with uncertainty.

He gave her a wicked grin, then dropped to his knees. “Part your thighs for me.”

“What are you doing?” she whispered, sounding slightly horrified. Instead of doing as he demanded, she pressed her legs
tightly together. She might be bold and determined young woman, but in the bedchamber she was as innocent as a virgin.

He didn’t respond, for he knew he’d only horrify her. Instead, he slid his hands between her silky thighs, parting her legs. She tried to squeeze them back together, but he wouldn’t allow it. “Relax, Eleanor.”

“No, you can’t!” she hissed.

“I can.” He lowered his head and pressed his mouth to the nest of curls, shielding her femininity. Eleanor sucked in a sharp breath. Dear God, she smelled good… like roses and soap. James closed his eyes as his erection throbbed mercilessly. He tightened his grip on her thighs, attempting to retain control of his own passion. When she sighed in pleasure, he slid his tongue between her damp folds. She tasted of honey, of woman, of desire.

Eleanor gasped, stiffening.

But he was far from done. With his tongue, James flicked the sensitive nub that he knew would set her afire. Eleanor groaned, slumping against the tree and grasping the material of her gown closely to her chest. The scent of lilacs, woman, and roses surrounded him, making him almost dizzy with desire. He wanted to stand, to free his erection and sink into her fully, but this wasn’t about him. Not now. He flicked the nub again before slipping his tongue inside her. It was enough for her tightly wound body.