Isobel ignored him, and he gritted his teeth to keep himself from snapping angrily.
“Miss – there is a killer whose sights are set on you. It is unwise to roam around so carelessly.”
“Just leave me be!”
Richard’s patience reached its limit, and he ran after her, quickly grabbing her arm and turning her to face him.
“What on earth were you thinking? How could you venture out alone so late? You are aware of the dire situation we are currently in! And you know that you are the one the killer is after! How could you be so reckless?” Richard snapped, glaring down at her.
“Do not raise your voice at me!” Isobel replied, matching his tone. “I only wanted to clear my head for a moment, and I would have been back inside by now, had you not followed me. Nothing happened. Why are you acting like this?”
Richard’s lips parted and he blurted out, “I was worried –”
He snapped his mouth shut before he could divulge more details about the unrest in his heart. But it seems the little he had said upset her anyway, because she let out an exasperated sigh.
“Stop this, Your Grace,” she told him sternly, the formal way she addressed him causing his heart to skip painfully. “I do not know why you insist on playing these games, on pretending there is more between us when… I am going to become a nun, and you will go on to marry on behalf of your title. Our paths are very different. We need to remember that.”
Isobel’s words were like a knife to his heart, cutting jagged lines across the organ until it was a bloody, disfigured mess. Richard knew she was right, of course. But it hurt too much to echo thesentiment, and he couldn’t bring himself to verbally agree with her.
It seemed she had more to say, because moments later, she spoke up again,
“Since those are the paths we are to traverse, I would like to ask a favor of you. Please give me one night. One more night in your presence, in your embrace. One last night, and then we go our separate ways, forgetting about each other afterwards.”
This was a bad idea. Somewhere in Richard’s mind, he knew as much. But that part of him held no power and was overwhelmed by the parts of himself that wanted more of Isobel from the first moment he had tasted her.
He stepped closer to her, barely able to keep himself from grabbing her and ravishing her there and then. It seems his response was quite clear on his face, because she took a step back and said with a coy smirk,
“You will have to catch me first, Your Grace.”
And then she turned and ran away.
Just like before, Richard did not think at all before he went after her.
He allowed her to take a few steps before he swept her up into his arms and kissed her passionately.
She tasted so sweet, felt so warm and soft in his embrace. He felt the shiver that ran through her body, excited by the effect he had on her. Richard had tried to rule himself with a list of restrictions for when he dealt with her, willing himself not to lose himself completely to the sensations she brought him.
But he could no longer hold himself back – not when she had asked for him so bluntly. He needed to feel more of her, needed to see her bare, away from the silk that enveloped her body. He wanted to worship and admire the beauty that she was.
She kissed him back feverishly, her hands running up his chest, sighing when he nibbled her lower lip, sounding so precious, he could not wait to adore her thoroughly.
“You must do a better job of hiding,” he told her, whispering the words over her lips. “If I find you again, you will be punished.”
He released her suddenly, smirking at the way she stumbled to regain her balance.
“What are you waiting for?” he teased, tilting his head to the side.
Isobel stared at him, wanting to be clear in her eyes.
Then she turned around and ran from him once more.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Isobel’s heartbeat was ringing loudly in her ears as she ran.
Her whole body felt heavy with need, so unwilling to flee from the man she craved like a thirsty creature in a desert. But she did not want to obtain what she wanted so easily. Not when her eventual defeat promised sweeter rewards.
She ran and ran, wondering where she could hide from him, hoping that she could make it a little tricky for him as well. In the distance, she could see a small house at the edge of the garden and quickly headed inside. Isobel closed the door behind her, but made no move to lock it, backing away slowly.
