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“Another bouquet. You, my dear, are a success,” Aunt Susanna gushed.
“Yes, your suitors are showering you with an abundance of flowery mementos,” Selina quipped, rubbing the petals of the latest arrangement to arrive.
Abigail rolled her eyes at the displays. “They are truly in excess. Can we not donate them to the hospitals or churches?”
Susanna gasped. “That would be an affront. If any of the gentlemen learned of your ungratefulness, it will unravel any progress we have made.”
Abigail sighed. She didn’t care about the progress she had made or how she drew the infatuation of numerous gentlemen. She only cared about one gentleman in particular. One who had made himself scarce. Which was her fault because she hadn’t spoken with him when he paid a visit after he arrived in town. She had avoided him, pleading a headache.
Everyone thought she remained furious with him, but she had actually forgiven Lucas before she arrived in London. After she mulled over his reasons for deceiving her, she understood why he had continued with the deceit. She had read the letters he wrote, impersonating Lord Ross, over again. As she read between the lines, she saw what she had missed before.
The letters were full of their intimate thoughts. They had shared their fears and dreams with one another, just like they used to when they were friends. Deep inside those letters, Abigail rediscovered the man she fell in love with all those years ago. While she tried to run away, he tried to keep her close.
Selina winked, pulling the card out of the latest bouquet. “’To the loveliest beauty who has ever graced London. Your appearance is as bright as the sun after a summer shower. Refreshing and intoxicating to the senses. Your secret admirer.’”
Abigail pretended indifference. The gentleman had yet to introduce himself, and his daily card with a flower arrangement left her wondering when they would meet. A footman or carrier never delivered them. Whoever left them on the stoop went unnoticed. Aunt Susanna thought her entrance into society was a hit, but Abigail feared her admirer would never present himself.
“Would you mind if we stayed in this evening?” Abigail asked.
Selina and Susanna passed a glance between each other. Neither of them wished to pressure Abigail into the entertainments. But they knew Lucas’s plan to attend the Mitchel Musical this evening to pay court to Abigail. It was his way of apologizing for his behavior from last year’s musical, where he forced Abigail into attending with his harsh words.
Abigail noticed the look the two ladies shared and felt guilty for ruining their attempts to bring her out into society. “Never mind. It is only the Mitchel Musical. I enjoyed it last year and I am sure I will find delight in attending again.”
“If you are sure, dear. If not, I can send our excuses. Lady Mitchel will understand,” Aunt Susanna reassured Abigail.
“Nonsense. She is your good friend and has shown her kindness by including me in the festivities. Also, Evelyn and Charlie mentioned they were to attend too.”
“Then shall we choose your dress for the evening?” Selina asked.
Abigail smiled. “Lead the way.”
Abigail followed Selina upstairs. After they arrived in London, Selina took Abigail to her modiste and they designed a different wardrobe for Abigail. Abigail never favored the demure colors of a debutante but admired the bold fabrics that highlighted her red hair. From the attention she received, the gentleman admired them on her too.
However, she only wished for one gentleman to admire them, but he stayed absent from any entertainment she attended. She refused to question his whereabouts. She didn’t want to draw attention to her need to see him. It would only start everyone’s interference all over again. Perhaps tomorrow she would visit Colebourne for tea, as she had promised him. Then, if she bumped into Lucas, her visit would be even more wonderful.
Abigail nodded at all the right times as Selina helped her prepare for their evening. She couldn’t remember what her friend talked about because she was too busy planning her visit to Colebourne’s townhome on the morrow. A smile settled over Abigail’s face once she realized how she might see Lucas soon.
~~~~~
LUCAS ARRIVED AT THE musical late. He snuck into the back, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. A few candles were lit near the piano and the other musicians. He wanted to catch Abigail unaware, so she couldn’t flee once she saw him. His gaze searched the chairs for any sign of her.
He found her sitting between Selina and Aunt Susanna. She wore her hair pulled into a twist upon her head, with a few strands dangling along her neck. He wished he sat next to her, where he could brush them aside and press his lips against her creamy skin. Her sighs would blend in with the music. His fingers itched to caress her. The past few days had been sheer torture with her so close but still so far out of his reach.
Is she still upset with me?
His entire family had informed him of the warm greeting Abigail had received at the functions they attended. He had yet to hear any whispers proving otherwise, but he knew how the gossip mill operated. They would try to hide any slanderous words until it was too late for Abigail to act otherwise. If anything, they found enjoyment from her to liven up any entertainment. He hoped that wasn’t the case, which kept him on edge.
He paid no attention to the music, except for how the haunting melody echoed the longing in his soul. Lucas had never experienced such a sense of loss as he had since Abigail left. Even though he and his father had traveled to London a few days later, he felt adrift, lost in the inevitable destruction of his life without Abigail.
Abigail sensed the moment Lucas entered the musical. A ripple of awareness sent shivers tingling along her spine. She closed her eyes and let the melody invade her soul as she pictured the tips of Lucas’s fingers whispering against her skin. His warm breath caressing her neck right before his lips placed the softest of kisses below her ear.
“Come with me,” he whispered. Abigail imagined Lucas’s unspoken plea.
But the need to be alone with him wiped away every rational thought she held. If she rose and he followed, then any misgivings she had about them she had to bury in the past. It would signal her forgiveness and show Lucas he could pursue her if he so chose. If she remained in her seat, then she would never discover his intentions. It would show Lucas how she would never forgive him and there wasn’t any hope of a courtship between them.
“Please forgive me. I must use the ladies’ room,” Abigail whispered to Aunt Susanna.
Aunt Susanna patted Abigail’s hand in acknowledgement. “Do not be too long,” her chaperone whispered back.
Abigail nodded and slipped out of the room. She waited in the empty hallway for Lucas to join her. Once a door opened, she started walking along the hallway, heading deeper into the house. Soft footsteps followed behind her. She didn’t need to turn to know it was Lucas.
Lucas followed Abigail, keeping a respectable distance between them in case anyone lingered in the shadows to catch them unaware. When she left the musical, he had grasped at the chance to redeem himself. Selina and his aunt had shared a wink between each other, a sign they wouldn’t follow Abigail or search for her if she stayed away for any length of time. While his family promised not to interfere, he also knew they couldn’t help themselves if an opportunity presented itself to offer their support.
Abigail stopped at an open door. Her head turned slightly to look over her shoulder, but she paused. Waiting. He didn’t allow her another second of doubt and wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her inside the room. Lucas closed the door and pressed Abigail against the wooden panel. She melted in his arms and circled her hands around his neck.
Lucas groaned as she pressed her body into his. Every honorable intention he had diminished with her soft curves molding to his hard frame. He rested his forehead against hers, fighting the temptation she presented. He never imagined she would be so willing to fall into his embrace. Lucas thought he would have to coax a kiss from her lips. He was out of his element with the seductive siren in his arms.
“Kiss me,” Abigail whispered.
“There is so much I need to say to you. I need to seek your forgiveness.”
Abigail placed her finger against his lips. “Shh. No talking. No promises. No asking for forgiveness.”
Abigail asked Lucas for the impossible with her request. He wouldn’t understand how to react because of his need for control. He expected everyone to act properly. Lucas needed life explained before he ventured further. Abigail wanted Lucas to act spontaneous, wanted him to show her how they wouldn’t keep their love hidden in a box. She needed him to throw caution and decorum to the wind and become so captivated with her that nothing or no one else mattered but her.
What Abigail wanted most of all was for passion to rule Lucas’s actions.
Abigail’s declaration of not asking for forgiveness almost stopped him from kissing her. But the desire blazing in her eyes clouded any decency he clung to. Her fingers glided through his hair, guiding him toward her mouth. Abigail’s tongue darted out to wet her lips, and at that moment, he lost his ability to remain in control.
Lucas lowered his head and devoured Abigail’s mouth. With every sweep of his lips, stroke of his tongue, and groan of his need for her, he let Abigail understand how she affected him. He lost himself when she sighed into their kiss. As they got lost in the passion, their love intertwined them into an unbreakable bond. He would profess the speech he had prepared later. Now he only wanted to get lost in Abigail’s kisses. Each one was sweeter than the last.
Abigail clung to Lucas with a desperation she didn’t realize she was capable of. While she had made herself a promise to accept wherever their love took them, she realized she had lied. She could never accept if Lucas turned his back on their love. She needed him more than she needed to breathe. Without him, life would remain an empty vessel, unfulfilled.
When his lips kissed a path of fire along her neck, Abigail pressed her body closer. She ached for him to caress her flesh. To have him dip his hand inside her dress and ease her sensitive buds. To have him draw them into his mouth and moan his pleasure.
“Oh, my. Please touch me,” Abigail begged.
Lucas stared down at Abigail. The tempting sight of her undid him. Her lips were full and pouty from their kisses. Her gaze pleaded with him to fulfill her request.
“Here?” Lucas asked. His fingers trailed across the neckline of her dress that dipped low enough to tease him with the delights hidden inside.
Abigail whimpered at his touch.
“Or lower?” He teased her by sliding his fingers under the silken material and dipping between the valley of her breasts.
“Lower.” Abigail’s husky demand enflamed his senses.
His fingers dipped lower, brushing across a hardened nipple. When Abigail drew in a ragged breath, he slowly drifted across to the other nipple. His hand cupped her breasts as he gently twisted the bud between his fingers. Lucas glanced down and watched her nipples press against the fabric, straining for release. He bent his head and trailed his tongue in between her breasts.
“I cannot wait to suck your sweet buds between my lips again.”
Abigail’s whimpers increased. What Lucas desired was for her moans of pleasure echoing around them. But he would wait. He refused to draw scandal to Abigail’s good name, no matter how much he wanted her. However, he needed her scent wrapped around him until he could make her his again.
He hitched her leg around his hip. Abigail’s breathing grew more ragged. One more touch and then he would let her go.
“Nor can I wait for the day when my mouth captures your desires while you scream my name. For now, a touch will tide me over.” Lucas teased his hand over Abigail’s wetness. Her desire coated his fingers as he slid one inside her, and captured her moan with a kiss. He meant to stop with just one caress. But with each stroke, he lost himself to the passion that demanded its need fulfilled.
Abigail exploded around him, and he gathered her close, softly kissing her while she recovered. He was a scoundrel for seducing her. However, his gentlemanly intentions vanished at her first glance. While he had never apologized, his intention wasn’t forgotten.
Abigail nestled in Lucas’s embrace. She knew he fought with his conscience. Usually, guilt would overcome her for causing him distress, but all was fair in love and war. And until Lucas set all practical matters aside, then she would tempt him until the madness overtook him.
She embraced how deliciously wanton her behavior was. She, Abigail Cason, who walked the same line as Lucas Gray on proper decorum, had allowed herself a scandalous tryst. Now she understood why her friends had risked their reputations as they had. While she had always loved Lucas, it was a young girl’s infatuation. Now, she risked a woman’s heart for his love in return.
A soft knock sounded on the door, shocking Lucas into dropping his hold on Abigail and stepping away. Abigail wanted to giggle at his reaction. Instead, she regained her balance and smoothed out her dress. She straightened her neckline and patted her hair to make sure her coiffure remained in place. When she raised her head, Lucas was scowling at her breasts.
“Aunt Susanna allowed you out of the house in that dress? Your breasts are on full display for any gentleman to fantasize about,” Lucas growled.
And once again, he turned into a proper bore. But a jealous one, so Abigail would allow his rant.
She patted his cheek, amused by his stiff behavior. “The style of my dress did not stop your roving hands.”
“I . . . Ahh . . . That is . . .”
Before Lucas defended his actions, Duncan’s whisper reached them through the panel. “Abigail, if you are alone with Lucas in there, you must leave.”
“Bugger off,” Lucas hissed.
“Why is it I am always rescuing the members of this family from scandal?” Duncan muttered.
“Because you wish them to remain untainted by gossip,” Selina soothed him.
Abigail smiled at Selina’s need to reassure Duncan that he acted out of respect for all of them. She opened the door a crack, and Selina raised her brows in question. Abigail winked at her friend.
Selina giggled and slid her arm through her husband’s and drew him away. “We will wait down the hall. But please hurry, the musical is almost over.”
Abigail nodded. She closed the door and stepped over to Lucas. She smoothed down his hair from their act of passion, slid her hands down his suit coat, and adjusted his cravat. Then she reopened the door. Before she left, she needed Lucas to understand her own desires.
“And I long for the day when each of your kisses and caresses makes me yours again.”
With those parting words, Abigail sauntered down the hallway and joined Duncan and Selina, who escorted her outside of the doors that led into the musical. They each grabbed a glass of champagne and pretended they were deep in a conversation when the rest of the guests filed out of the musical. None of them were the wiser of her disappearance for a short but memorizing time with Lucas Gray. A marquess who left her speechless with the whisper of his kisses and his magical touch. A gentleman who captured her soul with his love.
Lucas gripped the doorknob, fighting against the new flood of desire racking his body. Abigail’s parting words tempted him into striding out and claiming her with a possessive kiss. However, when his father mentioned a grand gesture, it wasn’t one to bring scandal to her name. And his mindset at this moment was one of domination. He felt like a caged tiger at the restraint he must show to society.
Now, how was he to stroll amongst the guests and watch every gentleman undress Abigail with their eyes? What was his aunt thinking to allow her to leave in that dress? After he stood back to admire her attire, his body had had a mind of its own. He had wanted to press her against the wall and possess her in one thrust. No seduction, just pure animalistic need. What had he turned into? The love he once held for Abigail started as a simple act of friendship that slowly turned to love. Now he was a man whose love for a woman flowed through his veins with a need that would never find satisfaction. A love unlike anything he had ever known.
Lucas found a spot to seclude himself away as he watched a bevy of suitors surround Abigail. She smiled at them with polite interest, but her gaze kept straying toward him. No longer did she offer him a shy smile, but a teasing glint shone from her gaze. It wrapped him deeper under her spell. When a young pup placed a kiss on her gloved hand, he scowled his displeasure.
“I notice you admiring Abigail’s gown. We visited my modiste and created a new wardrobe for her. I am sure you will find pleasure when you see her dressed in them,” Selina commented.
Lucas snarled. “I should have known you were behind her dramatic makeover.”
Selina laughed. “Dramatic makeover? Why, even your description is dramatic.”
“There was no need to change her. She was perfect as she was.”
Selina took a sip of champagne. “Ah, Lucas. I cannot lay claim to her transformation. That all lies with you.”
Lucas’s brows drew together. “How so?”
“The result of your relationship with Abigail caused her to awaken from her cocoon and evolve into an amazing butterfly. Look at her, and I mean really take her in. She has grown confident of her place in this family. She never would have awakened if you hadn’t shown her your love,” Selina explained.
“But I only showed her my selfishness and caused her misery.”
Selina smiled at him. “But Abigail has the ability to see into the depths of someone to understand why they behave as they do. She is generous with her forgiveness and loves freely. When you stop blaming yourself and accept her unconditional love, then you will discover a world of happiness at your feet.”
Lucas returned her smile. “Our marriage would have been miserable. But you make a fine friend.”
“I agree. And you are not too bad yourself, except for when you hurt my friend.”
Lucas nodded in understanding. “Are you happy with Duncan, even with all the scandal surrounding your marriage?”
“Yes. We wouldn’t have chosen it any other way. Do you plan to set aside your stuffy behavior for the same happiness?”
Lucas winked. “Yes. But first I plan to offer Abigail a proper courtship. Then if you are favorable, I want to create a scandal, declaring my love at your ball next week.”
Selina’s expression brightened at his plans. “I am very favorable.”
“Perfect.”
“What do you have planned for the courtship?”
Lucas shook his head. “I refuse to divulge my plans to any of you. I will only ask if Abigail received my flowers?”
Selina frowned. “When did you send them?”
“Every day since I arrived in town. However, I always left them on the doorstep.”
Selina gasped, covering her mouth. “You sent the ones with the sappy sentiments.”
Lucas cringed. “Too over the top.”
Selina laughed. “No. They are perfect, now that I realize who sent them.”
Lucas frowned. “I had hoped she would recognize my manuscript.”
“You still have much to learn.” Selina patted his cheek before leaving.
Abigail watched Lucas’s dumbfounded expression after talking with Selina. At one time, jealousy had consumed Abigail when she watched them together. Only because Selina and Lucas had been promised to one another and Lucas had been forever out of her reach. But now, she only found amusement at their inner action. Selina kept Lucas always questioning himself. Abigail couldn’t have a better ally on her side.
When Lucas laid claim to her attention again, Abigail forgot about the other suitors vying for her attention and focused on him. When he raised his glass of champagne at her in a silent toast, Abigail’s smile lifted in acknowledgement. He silently congratulated her on her success and she answered him with praise of his acceptance.