After a day of leisure and enjoyment, the sun had begun to set and cast an assortment of vivid colors across the sky.
“Shall we return to the inn ?” he asked.
Sophia tilted her head in consideration beneath her veil as they walked down a street of shops with glass-front windows displaying their wares within. “I’m not quite ready to yet. This day has been so delightful.”
It honestly had been. And yet, he was eager to return to the inn with her, where they could be alone, where his touches did not have to be so discreet. Where he could see her expression without that bloody veil.
Where his true seduction of her could begin.
He had attempted to be cavalier that morning, masking his urgency to return to London with feigned ease. In truth, every passing moment that they delayed their departure weighed on his thoughts.
Mongerton was notoriously impatient and with just a bit of pressure, he might very well force Gullsville to start sharing secrets with the ton that could never be retracted. Secrets about Marguerite.
Kendal’s chest tightened. He need only convince Sophia to marry him, to propose an arrangement that offered them both the freedom from a union neither ever wanted. While he was not one to fall back on the skill of seduction, he knew himself more than capable.
It was in his blood.
He cast Sophia a charming look through the corner of his eye, knowing she could see him through the veil that blocked her from him. “Let us watch the sunset, then take a hack back to the inn afterward.” Intentionally avoiding areas he knew fishermen congregated, he guided her toward the River Clyde. It certainly would not suit his purposes for a lover’s sunset to be interrupted by odiferous reminders of the daily catch.
“That sounds delightful.” Her forefinger delicately stroked the inside of his elbow where she held onto him.
Ah, yes, his tactics were working quite well. He led her across the road to where the sun’s descent had streaked the sky with red and orange in a glorious display. A soft breeze played over them, rippling her veil and caressing Kendal’s face with the chilly sea air. It carried with it the sweet orange-water scent that made him recall too keenly the shadows that had played out over the backlit silk screen when she’d bathed with him in the room the day before.
His cock twitched in appreciation of the memory.
Damn.
“It’s stunning,” Sophia whispered. “How the sun is glowing red-orange and the sea is reflecting it like a million gems.”
But he couldn’t concentrate on the view or see any of those things she mentioned. Not when his mind was locked entirely on the most beautiful image he had ever beheld in his life. The night before. Those silhouttes.
He let his finger skim the dip of her waist where his body blocked the action from the view of others. “Shall we return?” There was an intimate note to his voice, put there by the force of his lust.
Her straight back quivered lightly, and he bit back a smile at her reaction. “Yes.”
The seeds had been sown. He need only encourage her to want him, to agree to the marriage.
They turned from the colorful sky and hailed a hackney for the journey back to the inn. He sat across from her as manners dictated, but that was as far he took decorum.
His hands folded around hers. “Are you chilled?”
“Just slightly,” she replied.
He curled his fingers over hers, embracing them in his warmth. “I enjoyed my time with you today.”
Her thumb ran over his knuckles, a reciprocal caress. Blood thundered through his veins, making all of him too hot. Too damn hard.
“I’m looking forward to being alone with you,” he replied. “To enjoy our time together.”
She drew in a soft, shaky breath.
There, in that innocent, breathy inhale, he knew he had her.
The carriage stopped and the door snapped open, revealing the inn before them. Kendal led Sophia into the building and up the stairs. This time, she did not hesitate as she climbed upward alongside him.
This time, his heartbeat was pounding as erratically as hers.
He’d spent too bloody long running from his desires. Why not give into the lust hammering through him?
His hand nearly shook with need as he unlocked the door to their room and opened it. Sophia went in and spun about to face him as soon as they entered, her breath coming fast.
“Kendal,” she said in a low voice that stoked his arousal further.
“Sophia,” he groaned tightly.
She pulled her veil off as he closed the distance between them in one short stride, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her thoroughly, more deeply than intended.
After all, he needed to pace himself.
This was only the beginning.
Sophia’s body hummed with longing, its flame simmering throughout the day with every touch, every look Kendal passed her way. She melted into his embrace now, the feeling as natural as breathing, and parted her mouth to accept his hungry kisses as his tongue tangled with hers.
If he thought he was fooling her with his charming display, he was quite mistaken. She was well aware of what he was attempting to do: seduce her into marriage.
It wasn’t a disagreeable plan. In fact, it was a far better alternative to being offered to Mongerton to settle gambling debts. Certainly, it soothed her ruffled feathers from the prior evening’s rejection.
Kendal caught her waist and gave a possessive growl that sent delight rippling through her. His thumbs skimmed up her ribs, close to her breasts. They crept higher as his thorough kisses made her head spin with delight.
Need coursed through her veins like fire. She’d harbored this curiosity of what transpired between a man and a woman for so long. And now…
His touch brushed the underside of her bosom, then swept against her nipples.
A jolt of pleasure shot through her. She sucked in a breath, and his lips smiled against hers.
“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” he murmured. His thumb repeated the action once more, sending another thrill racketing over her senses. “You don’t wear stays, you naughty minx.”
Lust crowded her mind so thoroughly that she could scarcely think. And yet, she was not in such a haze as to not question his knowledge. She had assumed the thick bombazine would have masked the absence of boning in her stays.
She drew back and regarded him. “How would you know I’m not wearing stays?”
He narrowed his eyes in a sly way that was far from unappealing. “Your silk gown last night was far too tight across your bosom. Stays would have likely made it fit properly. That and…” His mouth lifted in a little smile.
“And?” she exaggerated the word, needing to know.
The shrewdness left his eyes and was replaced with an intimate softness. “That and I could detect your nipples through your gown last night. Every time they became hard…”
Sophia exclaimed in horrified humiliation and fought the urge to cover her breasts. “And in my bombazine?” she gasped.
God help her if she’d gone about all over England and Scotland with her nipples jutting out through her clothing.
He scowled. “That veil covers everything.”
“You seem disappointed.”
He lifted a brow in that stately “I’m an earl” affectation he had about him. “You know how I feel about those weeds.”