Page 15 of Lady Farah Creates a Scandal (The Season of Secrets #2)

T hey sat in silence on the carriage ride back to the village. It wasn’t until they reached the inn and were sitting before a wholesome dinner in the private dining room that Farah let go. And once she started crying, she couldn’t stop.

She was crying for all that had been lost due to his injury.

Lucien was alive, but he wasn’t the Lucien they knew and loved.

Lauren and Madeline would be so happy that their brother was alive.

It almost meant their financial situation could be helped if Lucien married well.

And Courtney? She couldn’t stop thinking about what this would do to her friend—to all of them.

Rockwell gathered her close. “Don’t cry.” Although he sounded like he wanted to cry, too.

“He’s Lucien, but not Lucien, and he never will be again.”

Rockwell uttered as if in denial, “We don’t know that. Maybe once he’s home and sees family and friends, something will trigger his memories to come back.”

She clung to his coat, not caring that her tears were wetting his clothes.

“Courtney will be caught between heaven and hell. She’ll have him back, but not really.

What will it be like to see him every day, the man you love and who once loved you, but he doesn’t remember that love or that life? ” And she cried harder.

She let Rockwell simply hold her and gently rock her against his muscular frame.

She felt safe, so safe. When she got home, would she ever feel safe again?

She lifted her head and gazed into eyes that were as filled with loss as hers were.

Rockwell must be feeling everything that Courtney would feel.

To have his friend alive, but not the same, not the friend he remembered.

Perhaps there was only the here and now. No one knew what would happen in the future, so it was important to live in the present.

On impulse, she kissed him. She wanted to ease the pain they both felt. But Rockwell captured the kiss. Captured and deepened her na?ve attempt to offer comfort. However, she’d miscalculated his need.

Farah felt his hunger as his strong hands pulled her even closer.

It was as if he wanted pleasure to take away the pain he felt.

She didn’t even try to resist. With a need to match his own, she wanted to block out the image of Lucien’s pain and Courtney’s coming disappointment.

She melted against his warmth, kissing Rockwell back with ruthless abandon.

She reveled in his growing need, evidenced by the thick length of him pressing into her stomach. Their kiss became wild, delicious, and as she expected with him, sensual. Farah gave a whimper at the sheer power of her need for him—only him.

Her heart was hammering and her breath came in ragged pants when Rockwell slowly drew back to stare at her, his chest heaving. Desire coursed through the air, accompanied by a deep ache between her thighs.

The shock and the pleasure battled within her. Rockwell’s eyes told her he wanted to make love to her. They were at a crossroads.

“I want you, Farah,” he stated, his voice a low, husky rasp. “And you want me too. This is desire. But giving in to our desires has consequences.”

“I know. I’m not sure I’m ready to face those consequences.

” She never imagined creating this scandal would have such high implications.

She was falling for Rockwell. Who wouldn’t?

He was handsome, kind, wealthy, confident and he really listened to her.

But his life was not one she wanted to be a part of.

If she lost herself to him…if she fell in love, what would happen when she walked away?

Worse, what would happen if he demanded marriage?

She couldn’t see it being a happy one, with him away all the time.

She would be alone once more but with a broken heart.

“I like your honesty.” He cupped her face and gently pressed a kiss to her lips. “Tonight I’ll come to your bed. But we will go only as far as you’re ready to go. There are ways of sharing pleasure without ruining you.”

She stilled, which was difficult given the excitement skittering over her skin. “And if we share this pleasure, you won’t force me into a marriage I may not want?” She wasn’t stupid. Rockwell had to promise that he wouldn’t try to be a hero and save her from scandal.

“At this moment, with you in my arms, I’d promise you anything.” When she raised an eyebrow, he added, “I promise.”

The half-eaten food was forgotten. She stepped back and held out her hand. “I need comfort of a different kind.” He slipped his hand in hers and needed no persuasion to follow her upstairs.

She chose her room. It would be easier in the morning for Rockwell to slip away than her. He kicked the door closed behind them and locked it.

She stood trembling in the middle of the room, wondering where her sudden bout of bravery was disappearing to. Rockwell filled the room with his size.

“Don’t turn back into the timid mouse. You wanted this as much as I.”

Want was such a tame word—need, was more appropriate. She needed him more than her next breath.

She swallowed as he slid one hand around her nape and stroked the base of her neck in a light, tantalizing massage before gently tugging at her coiled hair. “I want to see it loose.”

She helped him unpin it, the pins scattering on the floor. She’d need to find them in the morning. He ran his fingers through her hair until it hung in waves over her shoulders.

Then his hands slid over her body, exploring every curve with enthralling seductiveness, making her breath hitch.

“Turn around.” His soft command made her shiver.

When she presented her back to him, he slowly began undoing each catch, pressing his lips to the skin he was baring.

The gown fell to her feet, and he unlaced her corset, throwing it aside to lift her chemise over her head.

Slowly, he knelt and rolled her stockings down her legs until she stood gloriously naked before him.

The erratic rhythm of her heartbeat grew stronger as he slowly walked around to face her.

She stood proud and tall, not letting the timid mouse ruin this moment for her.

His expression was almost reverent as his eyes traveled up and down the length of her.

“I’ve been wanting to gaze upon your beauty ever since you stood in my bedchamber with my Hessian halfway up your leg.

And you do not disappoint.” He reached out and cupped one breast. “You are exquisite.”

She didn’t feel shy standing under his heated gaze. She felt powerful and womanly and totally in control. She stepped forward and began removing Rockwell’s clothes. Impatiently, he helped. Soon she was giggling as they both raced to get him naked as fast as possible.

But she wasn’t laughing when finally he stood before her in all his masculine glory.

Her breath caught in her throat, and she just had to reach out and touch him.

Her enthralled gaze wandered freely this time, over his magnificent shoulders, his chiseled chest, his narrow waist and hips, his long powerful legs.

He took her hand in his and lifted it to his lips. Muscles rippled and played beneath the satiny skin and his arousal thrust out thick and swollen from the juncture of his thighs.

With a chuckle, Rockwell put a finger under her chin, lifting her gaze to his. “Looking at me like that is likely to end this far too soon.” She found herself drowning in the need and desire she saw on his face.

Her impatience to touch him grew when he took both her hands in his and urged her back upon the bed. He gently pushed her back and followed her down, stretching out his full length on top of her, making the muscles in her stomach clench in anticipation.

“I’m going to need all the willpower I have not to sink deep within you, but a promise is a promise. No ruining tonight.”

The naked flesh above her made her blood warm. Warm, smooth, and hard muscles made her senses come alive. The softness mixed with heat and steel. And his loins… His erection pulsed and strained against her abdomen. She wanted to touch more than she wanted to take her next breath.

Stirring restlessly, she tried to snake her hand down between their bodies, but he captured her hands and raised them above her head. “Let me teach you about pleasure. Then see if you can live your life as a spinster.”

On those words, he stroked her, his hand tracing over her skin as if she were soft fur to pet.

Her nipples pebbled into hardened nubs and when his palms brushed over them, a spark lit inside and flowed downward to her womanly core.

Her body fell under the pure sensuality of the feelings. The moonlight pouring through the window added to the heavenly experience. His magical touch swept her away into another world. She finally understood why men and women risked ruination.

His hands tangled in her hair as his mouth found hers, and her sanity fled.

His feathery kisses were a tantalizing caress on the underside of her throat before moving upward over her jaw to her cheekbone.

But it was when those lips trailed down her neck and latched firmly onto a turgid nipple that a moan escaped her lips, and she squirmed restlessly beneath him.

He moved across to the other nipple and she was enraptured…

held spellbound by the pull deep within her.

Farah dragged in a shuddering breath as melting heat consumed her.

She sank her hands into his hair and anchored his mouth to her breast.

“Easy, my pixie.” He shook free of her grip and trailed his mouth lower. She burned where his lips caressed her skin, but it was too much when those lips nuzzled her nest of curls at the vee of her thighs.

She tried to hold her thighs together, but it took only one large hand to push them apart. She closed her eyes and concentrated on breathing. He would show her a new world tonight, and she couldn’t wait.