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Izzy couldn’t take her eyes off Edward as he checked the horses. He seemed to have an affinity with them. The bay mare tossed her head in the air at his approach but as he whispered something in her ear, the horse visibly relaxed. Izzy realized, as it was with her little mare at home, the animal needed to have confidence in her handlers and Edward was showing the horse she could trust him. Izzy’s heart flipped at the care he showed the animals, and she warmed to him even more.
She bit her lip. Should she stay? How could she say no? He had just saved her life. Everything the man did had her caring for him a little more. She bent her head. She couldn’t risk hurting him or his family by intruding on their lives, the lives that were already history to her. But every part of her screamed to get closer to him.
No man had ever had her so infatuated, no man had spurred the desire that overcame her body at his nearness, no man had ever made her want to give up her virginity so desperately, and she couldn’t give a hoot if it was before marriage or even in lieu of marriage.
She clasped her hands and stuck her fingernails into the flesh of her opposing hand to stop herself thinking about that last thought. Not even the pain provoked by her nails could stop her from thinking that she would forever grieve leaving the man now walking toward her.
He stopped and took her hand, bowing. He never took his near-black eyes off her as he gently turned her hand over and kissed the hammering pulse on her wrist. Even through the thickness of her travelling gloves, she could feel his hot breath. And she was certain he could feel and hear her throbbing pulse, not only in her wrist but vibrating through her chest.
As if answering her thoughts, his eyes darkened even more.
He pressed his lips harder against her hand then stood up. “I would be honored to escort you back to Chodstone Hall,” he said in a throaty voice.
All thought of going to London flew from her mind. “Thank you.” She was surprised her voice sounded as husky as it did. She didn’t do husky.
He helped her back into the carriage, spreading his hand low on her back. Her skin burned at his touch, but it was slow and sensuous rather than painful. She hurried to sit before her legs gave out under her. Where did the thought of a sensuous burn come from? She had never in her life thought the things she was thinking. The phrases she used must have been drawn from the very air of the early nineteenth century. The time and place must interfere with a human brain’s workings.
She turned her head to the opposite window to hide the heat that rose through her body, up her neck, and fanned out through her face.
***
Alice descended the stairs as the butler led Izzy and Edward into the front parlor.
“Ah, there you are, Edward.”
“Mother.”
“Yes, now don’t act surprised. After you disappeared, it was natural we would return to Chodstone Hall.” She looked at Izzy. “Where have you been?”
“I went for a ride,” Izzy replied.
Alice frowned. “A ‘ride?’”
“Yes...ah... in the carriage.”
Giving a small shake of her head and smiling, Alice said, “You Americans have some strange terminology. You are just in time for tea.”
“I’ll just go and freshen up first.”
As Izzy climbed the stairs, Alice’s voice floated up. “How could you leave us like that, Edward? Vera has been pining away for you all day.”
Izzy’s heart sank. What was she thinking? How could she have agreed to return? Then it sank a bit further. What will James say?
It didn’t take long for her to find out. Not two minutes after she arrived in her room the door flew open.
“Elizabeth.”
His cool brown eyes bored into her, so she tried to be cute. “Oh, hi James, long time no see.”
He shook his head and chuckled. “While I am slightly surprised to see you back, it is not wholly unexpected. And I must admit, I was already missing your pretty face. However, I must again warn you not to interfere in our time. It worries me greatly that your presence hasn’t already meddled with history.”
“Well, if it has, there’s nothing we can do about it now. Actually, I was thinking my presence might have done some good. No, wait and hear me out. For one thing, you and Edward are... maybe not chums, but definitely closer than you were before I arrived.” He raised his brows at that, but to stop him from saying anything, Izzy quickly added, “And another thing––I wonder if he would be so agreeable to your marrying his mother if I weren’t here.”
He raised his brows and stroked his chin while gazing at her. And just as Izzy couldn’t take the silence any longer, humor sprang into his eyes and he laughed.
“I am inclined to think you are right. We will have to see if your presence continues to be beneficial. Lucy will collect you for dinner.”
And with that he strode from the room.
***
That night after dinner, Izzy tried to keep her distance from Edward, but the forces of nature were against her. Thinking he was playing whist with James, Alice, and Vera, Izzy headed for the library. Maybe some research would keep her filthy mind off Edward and his sexy looks.
She’d only just begun to search for something interesting when the door opened. She turned; Edward’s form took up the entire doorway.
“It is a beautiful night. I was hoping you would consent to take a stroll in the garden with me.”
“I would love to, my lord.”
Oh, don’t be coy, Izzy. Goodness, she wanted to kiss him there and then.
Izzy wound her arm in his. They entered the garden through the library doors, and he hurried her down the steps onto the path out of sight of the house. Izzy hoped no one had seen them. As far as James knew, she had retired for the night with a book.
Edward stopped at a garden bench away from the lights but not so far away that they couldn’t see one another. The soft light and deep shadows made the whole place more romantic than she’d ever thought possible. Izzy started to sit but Edward said, “One moment.”
He took off his coat and spread it on the cold seat.
“Why, thank you, my lord.” She sat down, leaving enough room for him on the coat.
He eyed the seat for a moment, then paced in front of her, his expression switching from thoughtful to irritated to decisive. At the last, he stopped and turned to face her.
He raked his hand through his dark hair, piercing her with his black eyes. “I apologize for putting you in a position that would likely cause your ruin. I have no right to ask you to be alone with me. It isn’t right and if you go now, you will be safe.”
“I’m not going anywhere, and it would be much easier to talk if you sat down. You’re giving me a crick in the neck.”
He looked at her with sympathy. “You are a stranger to England and may not be aware of society’s rules of honor. Men are not to be alone with young innocents.”
“So, it would be okay if I weren’t an innocent?”
Surprise at her words washed over his face but he regained his dour look immediately. “No, but it is much worse for an innocent’s reputation than perhaps a widow.”
“Well, where I come from it’s quite acceptable, so please, sit.” She patted the cloak beside her.
He set his jaw in another decision. She didn’t know when she had begun to read his facial expressions so easily but guessed she had learned gradually from her constant perusal of his person.
He finally sat down, and she half turned to him. “I have an apology to make also. I never meant to come between you and Vera, and you shouldn’t do anything rash concerning her, because I have to go home, and you will still have your life to live here.”
“You still mean to return? Mayhap to your fiancé?”
She laughed. “No, no, that was over before it began.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You see, I thought I loved a man, and we were to be married but he decided he liked my friend more than me. It’s better this way anyway; he and I wouldn’t have suited.”
She gave him a wide smile. It was true; she and Rodney wouldn’t have suited.
“Chodstone could call me out for being here alone with you. He admires you greatly.”
His thigh brushed against hers, sending shivers running up the inside of her thigh. She stiffened. He frowned. Great, now he thinks I don’t like to be touched. To repair that notion, she twisted her body further, her leg pressing against his.
He didn’t move away but held her gaze, drawing her into him. She didn’t know how long she had been a prisoner to his eyes, but she blinked, and the chains were broken.
“And,” she said, her voice a little too husky to her own ears, “he worries about me too much. I like him but I can’t live with him forever. He has his own life and I’d just get in the way.”
Edward didn’t say anything, just kept looking at her with those deep, dark eyes of his that seemed to ask her if she was ready to take that leap into womanhood, that leap that before now she would have never thought remotely possible with any other man.
She had to keep talking or she would jump him, and that could be truly embarrassing if she had misconstrued his expressions in any way. “Anyway, are you not involved with Vera?”
“Involved?”
“Yes... um... aren’t you spoken for? Don’t you have an understanding with her that you will marry one day soon?”
He closed his eyes for a second. “I do not. My mother desperately wants a match, but neither Vera nor I have made a commitment to one another and I, for one, don’t intend doing so.”
“I think she may have different thoughts on that.”
“She is not part of this conversation. I want to learn more about you.”
“Me?” She couldn’t very well tell him what he wanted to know, so she held out her hands as if to show herself off and said, “What you see is what you get.”
He cocked his head to the side, raising an eyebrow at her turn of phrase. but thankfully he didn’t dwell on it. “I like what I see.”
Familiar heat crept into Izzy’s face and he smiled that bedroom smile of his. He ran his fingers along her jawline as if testing her reaction. She stayed still, absorbing his touch that had planted her in place as if she were a seed in the ground waiting to sprout. But sprout what? Devil horns or passion to at last be a true woman? More heat made the tips of her ears burn. Passion it was.
His hand slid around the back of her neck while his other tipped her chin up, and his gaze spiraled the burning heat down her torso. He slanted his head and brought his lips down on hers. Her mouth opened to him and without thought, her arms slipped around his back, her hands splaying over his hard-muscled shoulders.
Gently, he explored her mouth and sent her reeling into a place she never wanted to leave.
He backed off just enough to whisper, “Elizabeth, you must push me away for I cannot stop. I find I am ruining you. But I cannot stop. I want you. I must have you, this night and forever. I want to make you mine and love only you until the end of time.”
A question drilled through the cotton wool in her mind. Did he just say he loves me?
Pressing his mouth onto her already swollen lips, his tongue darted in, searching for hers. She didn’t want to push him away, she wanted to get closer. She pressed against his chest. She wanted to climb inside his skin.
She had kissed a few men, but never in her life had she had the urge to do such a thing. Her fuzzy brain wondered if she should stop. He didn’t hesitate. In fact, he seemed even more determined to keep kissing her.
James’s warning voice flitted through her mind. Sorry, James. Even if she had control over her body and mind at the moment, she wouldn’t want to be anywhere but in Edward’s arms, tasting Edward’s kisses, smelling Edward’s scent.
Those thoughts surprised and excited her. Hot blood flooded her body.
Izzy had never wanted to go further than necking with any other man, but her whole body cried out to be joined with Edward in every way possible. It ached for him, and she knew only he could ease the volcanic desire in her heart.
“I love you,” she whispered around his kiss.
He let out another sensual moan and pulled her more firmly into his warmth.
A cough sounded somewhere in the distance. Another floated to her ears. Edward snapped his head up, their lips separating noisily.
Izzy’s sight was blurred as she looked around for what had alarmed Edward. A human form stood on the path not far away. She blinked in an effort to focus.
Edward circled Izzy’s waist with his hands and, holding her weight, lifted her with him as he stood up, holding her close until she regained her balance and could stand on her own two slippered feet.
“Chodstone,” Edward said, his voice full of emotion. “I mean to wed Elizabeth, so you can stop scowling.”
Izzy gasped.
Vera appeared from behind James, her eyes ablaze with fury.