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“I don’t,” Emily interjected with a huff. “There are nefarious thieves about, and sinister solicitors. I’ll not have you get hurt on my account.”
He looked over at her, her eyes shining with certainty. He liked naïve Emily. She always made him feel cleaner. But this woman with her chin up and set in firm lines, arguing for his safety, this woman began healing something inside him. Her words made him feel, important…cherished. “It’s my job to solve this for you.”
“No.” She shook her head. “None of it has been your job. But delivering me to a place where I remain safe…that alone is a greater favor then one person should ever ask.”
The words that rose to his lips surprised him. He wanted to tell her that she ought to ask for far more than just one quick journey north. She ought to ask him for everything a woman might ask him to give.
And if she did. He thought he just might say that he agreed…
CHAPTER TEN
The rest of the journey passed in haze of sleep and wakefulness until at the end of the next day, as the sun began to set, the home of the Duke and Duchess Wingate appeared.
Emily, who’d been watching out the window, gasped to see it, knowing, without being told, that this was the home of a duke. “It’s a palace,” she gushed as she reached for Jacob’s hand.
She’d remained next to him on the rear-facing bench, though she’d never say out loud that in addition to making her feel safe, he just made an excellent pillow.
How he could he so hard and yet so comfortable, she couldn’t say, but he’d leaned against the far side, allowing her to stretch out along his lean, muscular body, his arms around her to keep her tucked safe against him.
And while relief filled her to know they’d arrived safely at the home of a man who had an army of servants at his disposal, some part of her was disappointed.
She’d enjoyed this time with Jacob. Far more than she ought. With him she’d had some glimpse into what it might be like to be intimate with a man. She now had some bar to judge any future suitors, and she’d learned what desire felt like.
She gave him a sidelong glance, for a moment what it might be like to do more than just rest against him, more than kiss. She remembered his hand on her breast, the feel of his strength. Even the memories made her clothes feel overly tight and she tugged at her skirts, sincerely wishing she might shed a few layers.
What might it feel like to press her skin to Jacob’s?
An ache like nothing she’d ever known settled between her thighs, throbbing in her most intimate parts even as the carriage made its way up the drive.
Clara stretched. “Thank the lord. And just to be clear, part of my compensation for making this arduous journey should be that I get to stay here with Emily for a while and enjoy a duke’s hospitality.”
“I concur,” Emily said, leaning over Jacob to look out the other window at the massive estate. Her body pressed across his legs even as his hand settled on the small of her back.
“I’m glad you’re both in agreement,” Jacob rumbled. “I still intend to return to London post haste and speak with Mister Barrow.”
Emily sat up, looking at him, the worry clearly shining through her eyes. “I don’t like it.”
He cupped her cheek, not seeming to care that Clara sat across from them. “I made you promises, sweetheart. Ones I intend to keep.”
How could this man think of himself as anything other than wonderful?
Clara made a small noise in the back of her throat, a little like she was clearing it but much softer.
Emily knew how Jacob’s behavior must appear. He touched her with far more intimacy than he ought. But she also knew that he didn’t wish to marry and that his allegiance to her was through her brother…which made him think of her as a sister of sorts.
Then again, he had kissed her last night and there had been nothing “brotherly” about that. Her teeth dragged across her lower lip as she gave him a sidelong glance. Had he heard the noise Clara made? Was he thinking anything that she was thinking? That he’d like to feel her skin?
She flushed hot, color surely creeping up her neck and into her cheeks. Was there some part of him that wanted more from her, that thought of her as more than just Ash’s little sister? Certainly, his kisses conveyed more…
The carriage rolled to a stop, and they stepped out, the front door flying open as both Aubrey and her husband stepped out, flanked by an army of servants.
Heedless of the many eyes, Emily was swept up in a hug from her best friend, Aubrey’s clear blue eyes searching Emily’s as her face pinched in concern. “Your letter just arrived. We were preparing to leave. Emily…I’m speechless. I’m so very sorry.”
Those words unwound some tight knot inside her and her eyes filled with tears. “Jacob has held me together,” she managed to whisper as Aubrey’s gaze flicked to Jacob where he and Wingate shook hands and then gave each other a one-armed embrace.
The moment the greetings were done, Jacob came back to her side, not quite touching her but his heat helped her push back the tears.
He studied her profile for a moment before he turned back to Wingate. “It’s been a long and arduous journey, Nick. There is much you should know.”
