Her hands glide up my chest and around my neck. I keep my hands on the table, afraid that if I touch her, I won’t stop. We barely stopped last night.
I lift my head. “Did I? Seems as though it was last night.”
She smiles and pulls me back to her. I start to lose myself in the kiss, but then there’s the sound of servants’ voices. I rip myself away from Rainey and plaster myself to the opposite wall. Panting, Rainey and I stare at one another. Two servants walk past the east wing hall, thankfully heading toward the servant’s stairwell. They’re too busy talking to notice two figures in the shadows. Once they’re out of earshot, I go back to Rainey. Our bodies and limbs take the same positions as before.
Possession rises in me. My tongue moves against hers urgently. Rainey is momentarily taken off guard but quickly matches my passion. She’s a quick learner, and all the time we’ve spent in her bedroom has made her so skilled in the art of kissing that she could teach me a thing or two.
A selection of men are here for her, yet she’s with me.
I’ve never been one to lack confidence, but at that moment, I need that reminder. I need to feel her in my arms. No one feels and fits as good against me like Rainey.
My lips move down her neck. Sucking and nipping a small path to the curve of her shoulder. Rainey tilts her head back and holds me close.
My hands curl around the lip of the table as Rainey’s body draws me in. I thrust my cock against her leg.
She stops, her breath hitched in her throat, and grips the lapels of my coat. I move against her a second and third time, and the moan that comes out of her is soft and filled with desire. Her left leg wraps around my waist, and if there wasn’t the barrier of clothes, I could slide right into her. The very thought causes a strangled groan to slip from my lips. She felt amazing last night, but today … it’s as though she’s made for me.
Abruptly, I pull away just enough so there’s an inch or two between our bodies. Panting, I try to gather my breath, and instead, I’m pulled back into Rainey’s web. “If I keep goin’ I’ll spill inside my pants like a schoolboy.”
Rainey smiles, her cheeks rosy, and reaches blindly behind her in search of my hands. She finds them almost immediately and links her fingers with mine. In this position, her breasts thrust out to me like an offering.
“You behavin’ like a schoolboy?” Rainey’s lips wickedly curve up. “Whatever would your loyal subjects say about their king now?”
“They would make me abdicate,” I say and kiss my way up her neck.
“Doubtful. You’d charm your way back to your position.”
Right now, the only position I’m interested in is being on top of Rainey, surging inside her. She would be wild, like she always is. I just know it. The very thought makes me thrust faster against Rainey. I capture her lips to mine so unexpectedly she breathes through her nose.
“Dites-moi que vous avez besoin de moi. S’il vous plaît,” I murmur.
Rainey’s eyes meet mine, and her mouth opens. Then something behind me catches her attention. “I think I hear your brother.”
I’m in such a daze, it takes me a moment to fully understand her words. But when I do, I stand straight. Rainey begins to smooth her clothes and fix her hair as best as she can. Before she can slip away, my hand meets the table, blocking her path. We stand hip to hip, and even though I’m supposed to be clearing my mind of Rainey, I can feel a fresh wave of desire coming through me. “I’ll see you tonight?”
“Absolutely,” Rainey replies without a second thought. My hand falls back to my side. She quickly walks away without giving me a second look.
I’ve seen business transactions take longer than our conversation, but I received the answer I wanted. What more should we speak of? Moreover, if we’re spotted having a cordial conversation that doesn’t have Rainey vowing to get even with me, people would become suspicious.
It’s difficult to walk away from her.
Rainey takes the first step, dipping her head slightly. “It was nice speakin’ with you, Mr. Lacroix,” she says loudly for anyone listening to hear.
I follow her movements, the corner of my mouth lifting upward. “You too, Miss Pleasonton.”
Swallowing, she gives me one last look before she walks away. I watch her, making sure I keep a lighthearted smile on my face.
Discreetly, I adjust myself, but my efforts are ineffective because the silhouette of Rainey is toward the end of the hall. Her hips sway with each step, and her heels echo on the marble floors. My fingers flex involuntarily to feel her hips.
Something that should never and can never happen. Remember?
Who am I trying to kid? I will go to Rainey tonight. I will go to her every night if I have to.
It’s almost a relief when she rounds the corner out of my sight. I start to walk down the hall toward the sound of the voices. By the time I reach everyone, no one should notice my … condition. At least that’s what I tell myself.
“That was quite a friendly interaction between the two of you.”
At the sound of my brother’s voice, I turn and see him round the corner. I forgot all about him. His hands are behind his back as though he’s taking a leisurely stroll down the driveway.
“My God, Étienne. When did voyeurism become a hobby of yours?”
“When you became so secretive.” He steps out of the doorway and moves closer. “I know you said earlier that you do not love Rainey, and I’m tryin’ hard to believe you, but it’s apparent the two of you have become less … bothersome to one another.”
I sigh and try my hardest not to look in the direction of Rainey. Is one of the bachelors speaking to her? My God, I’ve become unhinged. “Where are you goin’ with this, Étienne?” I ask impatiently.
My brother looks me in the eye. “You can run your hand through her and feel the warmth, but don’t hold still. Rainey will light you on fire. That girl will singe what’s left of your soul.”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you don’t care for Rainey.”
“Quite the contrary. I care very much for her. I’ve watched her grow up. And that’s why I can say confidently that the man for Rainey needs to be strong enough to stand by her.”
I’m not that man. I don’t want to be that man. But having someone, especially my own twin, place such little doubt in me makes me want to prove I could be that man.
“I’m not strong enough?”
“After the war?” Étienne pauses and shakes his head. “No. You’re not. You both need to be careful.”
All I can do is nod because it’s too late for that. I could’ve used his warning the day I kissed Rainey in the ballroom. But I’ve become a cautionary tale of what happens when you kiss your best friend’s sister, and for the first time in months, you start to feel alive.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Rainey
The lunch at Belgrave was intended to meet the bachelor’s families and better get to know them. And to a certain degree, that happened, but only on a surface level because everything that was said to me, I replied with a perfunctory smile. I can’t remember the conversations I had or who I laughed with, but I know where Livingston Lacroix was throughout the meal, who he spoke to, and each time he laughed. I remembered every moment my heart sped up, trying my best to remain indifferent to the man across the table from me.