Without regrets.
It seemed like an eternity before she spoke. “Kiss me. Please, Harrison. Just kiss me.”
Triumph flooded him, causing his muscles to tighten in expectation, yet he didn’t move. “Take off his ring.”
A crease formed between her brows as she met his gaze. “Why?”
“Because tonight you belong to me.”
He held out his palm and waited. More thunder shook the sky, a portentous rumbling under their feet that made him crave her compliance—her acceptance—all the more.
With shaky fingers, she removed the large emerald and diamond ring from her finger and placed it in his hand. He slipped the ducal piece, the sign of another man’s ownership, into the pocket of his coat, which she still wore. Lifting his hands, he cradled her face, holding her like the most precious antique as he merely stared down at her. She wrapped her fingers around his wrists, holding on to him, linking them to each other.
“Just for tonight,” she breathed before pushing up on her toes and capturing his mouth with her own.
Distracted by the feel of her soft lips, he didn’t bother correcting her. He couldn’t stop, not even if every houseguest suddenly surrounded the gazebo to gawk at them. Because finally—finally—he had her pressed against him, their lips moving together, her soft sighs falling into his mouth as they kissed.
It started sweet, as they learned and explored, but the kiss quickly became something else entirely. The backs of his thighs sizzled, lust careening through his belly as their mouths worked hungrily. Her fingertips dug into his skin, and he deepened the kiss, his tongue slipping past the seam of her lips, inside the wet haven of her mouth. She stroked him with her own tongue, meeting him, driving him insane with swirls and flicks, making him contemplate laying her down on the gazebo floor so he could kiss every inch of her. Lick between her thighs. Feast on her until she begged for mercy.
Never had he felt so out of control, so wild to dive beneath a set of skirts. He knew it was the woman, this gorgeous and maddening creature he had loved for years. The one who had been a summertime playmate and friend, confidant and champion. He’d never felt lonely in those months. His family had treated him with disdain, but Maddie’s kindness and acceptance had mended his soul, even for a short amount of time.
And he was going to give her the world in return.
He’d been a fool to think he could ever forget her, that he could shed the memory of her from his blood. Nothing had worked, and the fever had only increased the instant he set eyes on her again.
Mine.
The word echoed through his skull like the toll of a bell. Chest heaving, he broke off from her mouth to run his lips over her jaw. He sank his teeth into her perfect skin, then soothed the sting with his tongue. A moan worked its way out of her throat, the most perfect sound he’d ever heard, and he kept going, down along the column of her neck, nipping and licking, until she yanked on his head, pulling him up to meet with her lips once again.
It wasn’t enough. He slid his hands to her hips, jerking her flush to his body as they kissed. She gasped and wrapped her arms around his neck, delicate fingers threading through his hair. If she was bothered by the erection digging into her stomach, she gave no sign of it. Instead, she wriggled closer, like she needed more contact, not less.
Just as he started to move them to the bench, the heavens opened up and water poured from the sky.
With a gasp, Maddie shoved away from Harrison, horrified. She was engaged and had kissed another man. Not only that, she had asked for it. Had enjoyed it. What did that say about her? Shame dulled the edges of her desire, much like the dark clouds that had rolled in with the storm.
Rain sluiced from the sky around them, an angry torrent of relentless water. She watched it fall outside the gazebo, half wishing to bathe herself in it, as if to somehow rid herself of this guilt. Pressing a hand to her mouth, she could still feel the delicious press of Harrison’s lips to her own.
My God, what had she done?
“Maddie,” he said gently, lifting her hand away from her face. “Stop berating yourself. You are not yet married.”
“That doesn’t matter, as we both know.” She took several steps back and his arm dropped to his side.
“You have broken no vow. We merely kissed.”
There was nothing mere about that kiss. It had shaken her to the core, with more passion and longing than she’d ever thought possible. Harrison’s kisses had been perfection, sin and salvation at once.
Still, it had been wrong. A betrayal. She had given a promise to marry Lockwood. She had been disloyal to the duke, dishonored him by kissing another man. If anyone found out, the scandal would ruin her.
Tears stung the backs of her lids. Engaged for not even two days and she’d failed. All her scheming and planning completely destroyed in a few short days. How could she ever face Lockwood again?
How could she ever face anyone again?
She wrapped her arms around her middle, her knees knocking in the cold. Or perhaps it was from the weight of her transgression. Harrison’s coat had fallen to the ground, pushed off her shoulders during their kiss, so he bent to retrieve it. When he tried to give her the coat again, she put up her hands. He frowned. “You’d rather freeze than accept my coat?”
“Yes.” His coat smelled like him, warm from where it had touched his body. Wearing it might drive her to kiss him again. Indeed, she deserved the misery.
He didn’t bother putting the garment on, merely held it in his hands. “You cannot marry him, Mads. Not after that kiss.”
Rubbing her temples, she tried to think clearly. Impossible, considering her lips still stung from the force of Harrison’s mouth, her fingers tingling from touching his soft hair. Blood coursed through her limbs, between her legs, in a demanding and distracting urge. She had to get away from him. Regain her equilibrium and decide how to handle this. “We should go in.”
Without waiting for a response, she stepped onto the lawn. Water hit her in fat drops, soaking her from head to toe within a few steps. She pushed onward, her shoes squelching in the mud.
Fingers wrapped around her wrist, pulling her to a halt. Harrison stood in the rain behind her, his white shirt quickly molding to his strong shoulders and arms in the downpour. His blue eyes blazed as he shouted over the storm. “Tell me you will break the engagement.”
“I . . .” She couldn’t bring herself to say the words. How could she act so selfishly? It wasn’t fair to Lockwood—or to her parents. They had enabled her tennis pursuits and shown remarkable patience during the last three years. A scandal would embarrass and horrify them, as well.
No, she needed to come up with a plan instead of rushing into a decision she might regret.
“I must have time,” she said.
The sharp angles of Harrison’s face twisted in displeasure. “Why? This is not a difficult decision.”
“I cannot beg off, not right now. This must be handled carefully and thoughtfully.”
“There is no reason to wait.” Water ran down his cheeks, his nose, over his gorgeous mouth. His wet hair lay in dark streaks of midnight against his forehead. “You are only prolonging the inevitable.”
Regret burned in her stomach. Watching all the scandals over the years, the girls who had been compromised or ruined, Maddie hadn’t understood. She’d played by the rules, had taken a chaperone everywhere in public after her debut. Charted her life so carefully. Temptation had seemed so absurd, so impossible.