“Now you’re being a flatterer.” She put her hand to her chest dramatically.
“Do not act as though you don’t enjoy my flattery.”
Rather than answer, she tossed him a coquettish smile. This was the woman he’d imagined she would become, one who drew pleasure from life and sparkled with a joie de vivre that made the world around her glow.
He stepped closer to her and spoke in a low, private tone, “I like that you enjoy it.”
She gazed up at him, her lids heavy with the intimacy blooming between them. Desire tugged at him with an insistence he did not want to ignore.
Especially when there were many shadows to melt into. In a single move, he gently pulled her toward him as he turned them both into a darkened bower. His mouth found hers, and her lips parted for his kiss.
She tasted of rich, velvety wine and sweet innocence, ambrosia he could not resist. A little hum of pleasure sounded in the back of her throat, and it was his undoing.
His hold on her tightened, so their bodies perfectly aligned against one another, his arousal apparent between them. She whimpered and arched against him.
The minx.
His blood turned molten in his veins. He ran his hands down the length of her back, gliding hot palms over cool silk until he reached the feminine curve of her bottom. Her kisses became more frenzied as her tongue stroked brazenly at his without the hesitation of their first kiss.
He shifted the focus of his mouth to the slender column of her throat, where the delicate scent of lilacs tormented him in the most delicious ways. With tongue and lips and teeth, he teased over her sensitive skin until she writhed in his hold, and her breathy moans were in danger of attracting the notice of passersby.
Her arms curled around the back of his neck, her fingers raking up through his hair as she leaned her head back to grant him greater access. And he had always been one to accept what a lady offered.
With a slight dip of his head, his tongue trailed along the edge of her bodice, playing over the swell of her bosom. How he wished to tug the modest neckline downward and reveal her breasts, imagining them generous and round in his palms with nipples sharp against his fingertips.
He wanted to unleash his ability to please her with abandon, to bask in her cries of pleasure and longing, until she was practically dripping with need...
Her legs parted over his as she rubbed against him, her thigh nudging his fully aroused cock. A groan dragged free from his chest.
He was too hard. Too eager. It had been too bloody long since his body had released its pent-up need. If he didn’t stop this now, they would both be in trouble.
Using every ounce of willpower in his arsenal, he pulled away. He dragged in a breath as did she, the bosom he’d licked only moments ago now heaving in the moonlight with the force of her lust.
“This is dangerous,” he said.
“In that case,” she replied. “I believe I like danger.” Her brow lifted in blatant suggestion. “Very much, in fact.”
He chuckled. “As do I, but I’ll not see you ruined over it.”
“An honest rake.”
He stroked her face, so temptingly soft that he had to ball his hand into a fist to keep from lowering his hand and drawing her to him once more. “A wild wallflower.”
She smiled, clearly liking the moniker. “You needn’t worry,” she teased. “I promise not to debauch you.”
“Ah, the vows of a lady…” He offered her his arm and led her from the shadows, lest he lose the war on lust.
A couple walked past them then, the man elderly and the young, blonde woman on his arm familiar. Too familiar.
Harriet Smithton, the debutante who had given Philip his first real introduction to how cruel and grasping a lady could be. She had gone on to wed Lord Venerton, a wealthy and exceptionally ancient man who was eager to dote upon her with every shilling to his name.
She hadn’t noticed Philip, but he had most definitely seen her. Her face had been set in a hard mask, her displeasure evident as the man prattled on. While she did not appear happy with the match she had chosen, Philip found himself grateful for the past heartache she had inflicted.
For without it, he would not have found such happiness with Cecelia.
6
While at Vauxhall Gardens, there was mention of an afternoon picnic. At the time, Cecelia had agreed, finding the idea of it greatly appealing. But that was before she had seen the way Philip looked at Lady Venerton as she’d passed.
