Page 20 of Five Ways to Bed a Duke

Chapter Twenty

“ R ichard, what in the bloody hell is wrong with you?” Catherine scolded. “You gave me a fright.”

She watched the annoying man laugh, her ire growing with each minute. But his laughter only seemed to grow louder, till he was slapping his thigh.

When he finally calmed down, he wiped a stray tear from his eye and gave her that annoying smile that did terrible things to her insides.

“I cannot believe you fell for my mother’s trick.” He laughed again.

“How was I to know that her fainting was just a trick?” she scoffed.

She was definitely going to give her mother a piece of her mind when she got home. But for now, she’d face the man she had been actively avoiding for weeks.

“They did play a good charade.” Richard laughed again, but seeing the scowl on her face, he stopped. “I am sorry, Catherine. We shouldn’t have played such a prank on you, but it was the only way they could get us to talk.”

“They couldn’t have just asked me?” she argued, even though she knew full well she would have disagreed vehemently.

“Would you have come?” he retorted with a raised eyebrow.

She turned away from him with a stubborn set of her jaw.

“Exactly,” he said. “I already know how stubbornly you would have refused. They all did. Well, except Lord Livingston, of course. I’m sure he’s cursing me furiously now.”

“Why are you doing this?” she asked angrily. “I was perfectly fine. I had adjusted to… not seeing you. What do you want from me?”

“Catherine, it’s?—”

“No, Richard.” She shook her head. “You told me to stay away from Emmy and you, and I did. I was finally happy. Lord Livingston was going to propose. This little stunt of yours could ruin that.”

“And it would be a good thing, too!” he yelled.

She flinched back in shock, her eyes wide with fear.

Shite.

She had the same look in her eyes as on the last night he’d seen her.

“Cathy, I’m sorry,” he started. “I shouldn’t have lost my temper with you like that, but you don’t know what that… I am sorry for yelling at you and for calling you a bad influence. You are none of those things. It was not fair to accuse you of something you had no part in…”

“Richard, it is fine. I forgave you long ago,” she said, trying to stop him.

She had not expected such a profuse apology from him, and even though she’d desired it, now that he was apologizing, she did not know how to feel. She had never seen him this way. Now that she was sitting so close to him, she could see the dark circles underneath his eyes—he had not been sleeping well either.

She did not deign to think she was the reason for his sleepless nights, but a tiny bit of her hoped that he had been as tortured as she was.

Her heart still hurt as she looked him over, taking in his rugged beauty, knowing that even if he did care somewhat for her, he would never be hers because he wouldn’t let himself be with her.

She could understand his reasons and respected them.

“No, Cathy. I need to say this.”

She nodded and let him continue, even though she’d already forgiven him. Even if she had wanted to hate him, she couldn’t bring herself to. It just was not possible where Richard was concerned.

He had somehow imprinted himself on her heart and mind so deeply that he haunted her waking and sleeping hours.

She had hoped that marrying Lord Livingston would distract her from her lingering feelings for Richard and that perhaps, with time, she may even grow to love him, but sitting with Richard now, breathing in his sandalwood cologne and watching his lips move as he spoke, she knew there was no helping it.

These feelings weren’t leaving her anytime soon.

“I shouldn’t have said those things to you. You weren’t to blame for Emmy’s decision, and even then, my anger was not directed at you but more at myself for being a coward who couldn’t face his past,” he told her, taking her hand in his. “You have been more than a friend to Emmy. You have been the sister she has always wanted. I should be thanking you for being so brave where I have been so afraid.”

His words were so beautiful that they left her speechless. How was anyone to respond to such a well-worded apology? It was obvious he had given serious thought to his actions, and she appreciated it.

“I have already forgiven you,” Catherine said once she found her voice.

He nodded, and they settled into an uncomfortable silence she wondered how to fill.

“I really don’t think you should marry Lord Livingston,” he declared suddenly.

“What?” she blurted out, turning to him.

“I don’t think you should marry Lord Livingston,” he repeated in a serious tone. “I don’t think he is right for you.”

“And you are the perfect judge of that for what reason?” she asked, folding her arms.

He really did know how to take her from happy to angry in less than a second, but he really did have audacity in abundance.

“I know men, and I know him,” he argued, a deep frown on his face. “He cannot make you happy.”

She sighed, exasperated at his insistence on telling her who she could and could not marry.

“You do not know that,” she protested. “He makes me very happy.”

“Oh, really?” he asked mockingly, folding his arms. “Enlighten me then.”

She frowned and looked away, trying to pull up the mental list she had made to rationalize how Lord Livingston was a much better choice than Richard.

“He is funny…”

“You’ll marry a man because he is funny?” Richard scoffed.

“Yes, I will,” she answered stubbornly. “People have married for less, mind you.”

He raised his hands in mock surrender. “I’ll concede that point.” He nodded. “Do go on with his list of charms.”

She stuck her tongue out at him for using her love for well-written lists against her. She was slightly flattered that he remembered, but she pushed the thought aside and continued.

“He and I share a common love of botany, so we’ll have a lot to discuss,” she added.

“Almost every young man in England is into botany these days. They literally have nothing else to do with their time except drink or visit brothels.”

She raised an eyebrow at his comment.

“Sorry. Do go on. I won’t interrupt again.”

“I surely hope so,” she bit out. “He is a good listener and doesn’t treat me like I cannot have opinions just because I am a woman.”

Richard nodded in understanding, and she knew he wanted to make a snide remark but refrained from doing so because he had already given her his word.

Annoying man.

“Best of all, he seems to really like me and isn’t one to delay letting a woman know his intentions towards her. He is not afraid to let me know of his feelings for me,” she added.

Catherine looked at him purposefully at that last point, feeling her anger rise again. Why did she have to defend her choice of spouse to this man, who cared nothing for her?

“Those are valid points, but trust me when I say he doesn’t care for you the way you think he does. He?—”

“You cannot possibly know that,” she argued, shaking her head.

“I do know it to be true,” he insisted. “He told me so himself. He is only marrying you to get back at me.”

She scoffed and gave a mocking laugh. He really was so full of himself.

“Not everything revolves around you, Your Grace ,” she spat. “How can you say something so mean? I know you don’t care for me, but for the sake of the short friendship we had, couldn’t you wish me happiness?”

“I’m trying to save you from a lifetime of sorrow, Catherine. And I…” He heaved a deep sigh, rubbing a hand over his face. “I do care for you. More than you could imagine. I?—”

“You cannot say you care for me now. You do not have that right. Not after you spent so long acting as though it was nothing more than a flu that would pass with time.”

“Catherine, I have never experienced anything as all-consuming as this.” He sighed, exasperated. “You have somehow rendered my fears of marriage baseless, and for the first time, I find myself hoping, wanting something. Wanting to make someone other than myself and my sister happy. I have no reason to lie to you, Cathy.”

Tears filled her eyes, turning her vision blurry. She wanted to believe him, wanted to throw herself into his arms now that he was finally admitting that he did have feelings for her, but she did not think that he would be confessing that if he did not see Lord Livingston as a threat.

“How am I supposed to believe you, Richard?” she asked in a small voice as a lone tear fell. “You waited until Lord Livingston was so close to proposing to decide. I cannot trust that your feelings are as you say they are.”

He took her hands in his, shocking her, his blue eyes glittering intensely.

“I do understand your reservations, but… I cannot do anything to prove my sincerity, but I do promise that these feelings aren’t based on jealousy,” he explained. “I have talked to my sister and mother, and they’ve helped me understand that the reason I cannot get you out of my head night and day is that I’m hopelessly in love with you.”

Catherine’s head snapped up to his, her eyes going wide at his confession. His face revealed his vulnerability in admitting that.

Not one to use people’s feelings against them, she shook her head. “I don’t understand. You… you love me?”

The words were too hard to believe even though they’d come from her mouth.

“Yes, Cathy mine.” He laughed. “I do love you. I spent so long trying to deny it, but with each glare you shot me and every challenging tilt of your chin, you gradually wormed your way into my heart. I have never wanted to be with anyone as much as I have wanted to be with you. These past two weeks have been one sleepless night after another. My dreams are plagued with memories of you lying on my desk, and I want to make those dreams come true for the rest of my life if you will have me.”

Catherine gasped just as the carriage came to a stop. She recognized they’d just stopped outside his townhouse.

“What are you asking, Richard?” she asked, even though she had understood him.

“I am asking you to marry me, Catherine.” He smiled, looking unsure for the first time ever. “If you wouldn’t mind the extra work of teaching me to love you the way you deserve every day.”

She laughed and flung herself into his arms as happy tears escaped her eyes and ran down her cheeks.

“Yes, I’ll marry you!” she cried. “I love you, too.”

He laughed and hugged her fiercely. When she finally calmed down, she realized she was all but straddling him.

“Oh. I…” she trailed off, trying to climb off him, but he just gave her a naughty smile and pulled her closer. “Richard, we can’t. We’re in the street. Anyone could see us.”

Any minute now, a helpful footman could open the door and catch them in a compromising position.

“Let them.” Richard smiled, leaning closer. “We’re getting married, after all. They will only help speed up the process.”

She giggled despite herself, surprising them both by placing a chaste kiss on his lip.

“We really are getting married?” she asked shyly.

He pulled her close and took her lips in a deep kiss that had her panting. It was one of those kisses that were full of dark promises, and she wondered if he’d fulfill them right then.

Her hands went into his hair, and she let out a moan when his hands pulled her even closer. Her groaned against her mouth, and she decided it was the best sound she had ever heard.

“Richard…” she begged, not knowing what for. “Please.”

Her words seemed to snap him into awareness. He opened the door, took her hand, and led through his house past gaping servants, and finally to his chambers.

Catherine did not have time to appreciate the decor because he was on her with his hands and lips, and she couldn’t complain.

He touched her purposefully, his hands undoing the stays of her dress and undergarments till she was fully naked before him. She lifted her hands to cover herself, but he stopped her.

“You are mine now, Catherine,” he told her, palming one of her breasts. “I have a right to see you as you are now. You would not deny your husband his rights, would you?”

She gave him a lopsided smile that visibly stunned him.

“You’re not my husband yet, Your Grace,” she pointed out, burying a hand in his hair. “And I believe marriage also means I have a right to your body. Would you deny your wife her pleasure?”

He groaned and pulled her to him, kissing her deeply.

“Have I said I love you yet?” he groaned against her lips. “You complement me beautifully.”

She smiled as she watched him undress, each piece of fabric falling off his body making her aware that she was about to embark on a journey with him that would make or break her, but she was not afraid. He had kept his word to her from the start, and she knew he would keep his promises to her.

When he led her to the bed and lay atop her, his eyes shone with admiration and what she now knew to be love.

“You are so beautiful, Catherine mine,” he murmured.

“You are too, Richard,” she told him, running a hand over his powerful shoulders and arms.

He kissed her deep and slow and made her see the stars with his tongue and fingers, climbing over her again once she came to herself.

“Are you afraid?” he asked her as he guided himself to her entrance.

She looked into his eyes, seeing their future clearly in the cerulean depths, and shook her head. “With you? Never.”

“This might hurt a bit,” he warned.

“I trust you,” she told him, and she meant it.

Richard had been a confidante from the beginning of their friendship and had kept his word to her at every turn.

He gave her a look acknowledging her trust in him and then claimed her in one thrust. Her body shook at the unfamiliar fullness, but he was right there with her, soothing her into pleasure with sweet words.

“I am well, Richard,” she whispered once the pain subsided. “Make me feel good.”

“God, you’re perfect,” he groaned, laughing into her hair.

She laughed with him, which then turned into a moan when he started moving.

“You’re absolutely perfect,” he told her, groaning as he thrust in and out of her, slowly at first and then picking up speed. “I love you, Cathy mine.”

“I love you too, Richard.”

Catherine was sure their cries could be heard by the entire household, but he seemed not to care, so she did not hold back either.

When Richard collapsed on top of her, she sighed, loving his weight atop her. But all too soon, he rolled onto his side, pulling her to lie on his chest. His heart was beating as fast as hers, his breathing still labored.

Catherine let her eyes roam over his chamber, admiring the masculinity of the decor.

“That is a really exquisite rug,” she noted, and he laughed so loudly that she could feel the vibrations in her chest.

“You are an extremely odd woman.”

“But you love me anyway?”

“I wouldn’t have you any other way.”