“Yes.” Thea grinned. “You stood on the steps to the ballroom, found me, and waved.”
He dropped his face to his hands. “I’ll never live this down.”
“Come, dear,” Mama said, “it is not so terrible. You merely looked like a young man in love.”
Beside him, Thea’s blush almost matched the bright pink of the trim on her gown. “‘In love,’” he parroted. Yesterday, he’d come to the realization that he was in love with her. Thea stared at the tea service, and he knew he couldn’t disappoint her. Taking her hand, he brought it to his lips. “Yes, very much in love.”
She raised her head and the deep affection in her eyes shocked him.
“I as well,” she said quietly.
Perfect. He wanted to groan. Now all he had to do was to keep their love from destroying everything. This was a disaster.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Try as she might, Dotty could not fall asleep. It must have been the excitement of seeing her parents again and moving to a new house. Her new home.
Mama and Papa arrived as expected, but Mama was in pain, though she tried to hide it. Grandmamma, who deigned to dine with them, joined forces with Dom and called a doctor who had trained in the newest methods in Austria. He said the leg had not healed and prescribed a tea with comfrey as well as some other herbs. He also gave Mama laudanum for the pain, then lectured her about using it only when she had to.
Dotty rose and searched through her books. Unfortunately, she’d finished reading her newest novel. Grabbing her wrapper, she shoved her feet into her slippers. Taking up the candle on the bedside table to illuminate the way, she went downstairs to the library. After quickly finding the right section on the shelves—Dom had a wonderful library—she perused the books and was surprised to find a good selection of novels. She reached forMidnight Weddings,a novel she hadn’t yet read, when the silence was broken by a click.
Her heart leapt into her throat.Get a hold of yourself. There is no reason to be frightened. What, after all, could happen in the Merton library? Nevertheless, the boy that had been following her haunted Dotty. What if someone had broken into the house?
Hugging the book against her chest, she picked up the candlestick and swung it back and forth in the direction of the door to see what had made the noise. Well, she wasn’t going to cower behind the shelves. “Who is there?”
“Thea, it’s only me.” Dom’s deep voice reached her through the darkness on the other side of the room.
Thank the Lord. Her hand shook as she set the light back on a table. “Dom.”
In less time than it took for her to draw another breath, his arms folded around her. “Did I frighten you?” He kissed her forehead. “I didn’t mean to.”
“I’m all right. I did not think anyone else would be up.” Though she had stopped trembling with fear, her heart still pounded against her chest as he nudged her chin up and pressed soft kisses on her neck. Reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck, the book fell to the floor with a soft thump.
The palm of his hand moved down to cup her bottom, drawing her flush to him. “Thea, my darling Thea.”
This time Dotty shivered for an entirely different reason. He had never called her his darling before. While one hand kneaded her bottom, creating a heat in the pit of her stomach, the other lightly rubbed a breast. His lips reached hers, and she opened her mouth, eager to feel his tongue against hers. The thin linen of her nightgown rasped her already-sensitive flesh. She moved her hand over the rough embroidery of his dressing gown. It opened slightly to her touch, allowing her to tangle her fingers in the soft hair covering his chest.
Dom groaned, pulling her closer. Although they were doing nothing they hadn’t done before, somehow this was different. All the other times they’d been fully dressed. Now, only two fine layers of cloth stood between her and him. Did he have anything on under his dressing gown? A hard ridge rode against her stomach. The tingling that started when he’d touched her breasts and bottom met and coalesced before shooting down to the place between her legs. She needed him to take her. To make her his. If only she could be wanton enough, or brave enough to tell him.
His voice was a rough, anguished whisper. “Thea, please.”
Joy filled her soul. “Yes. Oh yes.”
Sweeping her up into his arms, he headed toward the fireplace, the opposite direction from the door. “Where are we going?”
“To my chambers. There’s a secret passage.”
He reached out and shifted one of the Greek maidens on the side of the mantel. A door swung open, revealing a narrow set of stairs.
Dotty giggled softly. “I’ve always wanted a house with secret passages.”
“Hang on.” Dom kissed her. “I’ll have to carry you up sideways.”
“I can walk.”
“Dotty, are you in here?”
Lady Merton.
