Page 28 of My Secret Duke

I vo thought her question funny. He threw back his head and laughed in delight, the sound disturbing some birds in a nearby tree so that they flew up into the sky, squawking irritably. Puzzled, Olivia smiled too. Now the surge of excitement was fading, she was feeling shaky. Her hands trembled, her heart was thudding, and she wondered if she would be able to stand up if she climbed down from Arrow. She might fall in a heap on the ground.

Her disguise, which had felt so daring as they set off this morning, was now uncomfortable and poking in places it had no right to. Her hair had come down from the pins she had used to keep it up, and the cap was making her scalp itch. But apart from those mundane matters, the race had been unlike anything else she had ever taken part in before. She didn’t even know how to describe it, or the look on Ivo’s face just now, and the ache of response from her body. Her skin tingled. It was as if he was calling to her and she was answering.

Ivo was still holding Arrow’s reins. Olivia wondered if she should ask for them back, but she preferred not to. She wasn’t sure she would ever want to ride a beast like this again—Mable was a different matter though. She had grown quite fond of Mable.

She turned to look back down Rotten Row, but there was no sign of Roberta. There was no sign of anyone else either, although she was aware that this might change at any moment. Only yesterday, she and Roberta had been here practicing, although if she had known how little skill it took to race Arrow, then she may not have bothered.

Roberta had been right when she’d said that all Olivia needed to do was to hang on tight.

Ivo swung himself down from his horse, running his hands through his windblown hair with another laugh, and led the horses from the track and into the park proper. The mist was finally beginning to disperse, and the tired animals dropped their heads and began to graze on the succulent grass. Ivo reached up to clasp Olivia about the waist and help her down. She slid off Arrow, thankful for the support because, as she had feared, her legs felt so boneless they threatened to crumple. With a gasp, she fell against him. He steadied her, and she was suddenly very conscious that her hair had come out of her cap and was all over the place, while the tight breeches and man’s shirt clung to her very feminine figure.

Ivo was holding her closer than she thought strictly necessary, but she didn’t complain. It was good to be in his arms again. And then he pulled her even closer, pressing his face to her hair so that his voice was muffled. “You rode like the wind. I’ll never forget it.”

“So I did win?” She tilted her head back to peer up at him.

His cheeks were flushed, his green eyes sparkling, and she couldn’t mistake his expression. She had seen that look before. Her heart, which had begun to slow down, speeded up again.

“I think we both won,” he murmured. Then his lips brushed hers, softly, teasingly. That wasn’t enough though, and she flung her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a more substantial kiss. Every inch of them seemed to be pressed together, and when he ran his tongue along the seam of her lips, she gasped.

He gave them an inch of space. “God, you’re amazing,” he said, just as they heard the pounding of hooves coming toward them from the track.

Olivia stepped back, and Ivo moved in front of her to shield her. Whoever was approaching cursed loudly as he pulled his horse to a halt. Peeping over Ivo’s shoulder, Olivia could see it was a gentleman in a green riding coat. A stranger, to her at least.

But not, it seemed, to Ivo. “Northam! You’re out early.”

“Seemed a shame to waste the morning lying in bed,” Ivo said easily, as if there was nothing unusual happening.

The man tried to see past him, and then pointed with his riding crop. “Who do you have with you? Your groom, is it?”

Olivia had used the distraction of the conversation to tuck her hair into the back of her coat, and now she dragged the garment about her, digging her hands into the pockets and staring at the ground. “Mornin’, sir,” she mumbled, trying to sound like one of the Ashton grooms.

“He’s from the stables over there,” Ivo said, pointing. “Looking for a lost horse. You haven’t seen the beast, have you?”

The gentleman snorted a laugh. “Saw an ancient mare shuffling along. But no, nothing else.”

“Ne’er mind, guv,” Olivia lowered her voice in what she hoped was a manly growl. “He’ll find ’is way ’ome.”

Ivo shrugged. The rider said something about getting home himself, and then he was gone. They waited a moment until he was entirely out of sight, and then Ivo turned to her and pulled her into his arms once more.

He was shaking with laughter, and so was she as they clung together. And then they were kissing again, passionately, desire sending shivers throughout her body. She could feel his hard muscles locked against her softer curves, and when he slid his arms beneath the coat and shirt, his palms felt warm against her cooling flesh.

Olivia tangled her hands in his hair, tugging him even closer, her lips clinging to his. This was what she wanted. What she needed . Him and her, together.

She could pretend it was the excitement of the race, but in truth, it was Ivo. It had always been Ivo. The more she had tried to distance herself from him the more out of sorts she had felt. How could she even think of marrying another man, of giving herself to him intimately, when he was not Ivo?

He kissed her again, deeply now, his tongue sweeping in to claim her mouth until her head was spinning. He groaned softly against her, then nuzzled into the flesh at her throat. It felt as if he couldn’t get enough of her, and she certainly couldn’t get enough of him. When his hand closed around the soft warmth of her breast, her nipple peaked, painfully hard. She whimpered, and his thumb rubbed back and forth over the aching nub.

“Beautiful,” he whispered. “I want to see you naked. I want to kiss every inch of you. I want you…”

He did want her—she could feel the hard ridge of him against her belly. She ached to have him between her thighs, soothing that fierce heat. Desire overcame whatever common sense she had left. In a moment, her back would be against a tree, and she would have her thighs wrapped around him. And she needed that. So much.

The sound of a throat being cleared came from close by.

Olivia jumped back with a cry. Too late, she remembered they were in a public place. The gentleman from earlier might have returned. What would he think of the flushed cheeks and swollen lips of someone who was obviously not a groom? Ivo looked equally flushed and distracted, as they turned wildly to see who had come upon them.

It was Roberta. She was seated on Mable, watching them with a grin. “Sorry to interrupt, but there is a riding party on their way here.”

Olivia tried to find some composure, but her body was still fizzing from Ivo’s kisses and his touch. Her breast was aching for his hand, but she tightened her coat about herself and ignored it. “We need to get home,” she said in a subdued voice. “I don’t want to be missed.”

Roberta slid off Mable, her eyes alight with curiosity as she led the old mare over to them. “Who won?”

Ivo smiled. “It was a draw.”

“At least you didn’t fall off.” Roberta was clearly relieved. “If it was a draw, are you planning on another race to settle the question?”

“Certainly not,” Olivia said airily. “Next time, I will drive a curricle.”

“I believe you would too.” Ivo laughed in that delighted way that made her smile back. As if everything she said was enchanting. They might have kept smiling at each other indefinitely, but Roberta broke the moment with a reminder of what the rest of the day held.

“It’s Justina’s coming-out ball tonight. She will be in a flap, and there’s still lots to do.”

The day would be a busy one, but suddenly, all Olivia wanted to do was curl up and sleep. Curl up with Ivo. If Roberta hadn’t interrupted them, she wondered what would have happened. Not a great deal, probably, but if they had been alone… What would it be like to sleep in his bed, in his arms? To be his in every way?

She glanced at him from under her lashes. “I shall see you tonight then,” she said. “You are coming?”

He smiled, green eyes gleaming wickedly. “Wild horses wouldn’t keep me away,” he assured her.

Olivia needed assistance to mount the mare, but when Ivo helped her up, his hands didn’t linger. He was suddenly the perfect gentleman, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Roberta didn’t need his help but leaped up onto Arrow, flaunting her prowess. Then the two of them set off at a leisurely pace across the park in the direction of home.

“Are you sure you are all right?” Roberta asked, when Olivia groaned softly for the tenth time.

“My muscles are sore. My legs feel like jelly and custard. I never want to do that again, no matter how much I enjoyed it.”

“ Did you enjoy it?” her sister asked curiously. “You were shaking like a leaf before the race.”

“I was afraid, but once it started, there wasn’t time to be afraid.”

“Northam thought you very brave,” Roberta said slyly. “The expression on his face!” She sniggered. “He couldn’t keep his eyes off you in those breeches.”

Olivia gave her a glare, but she secretly agreed. Ivo had seemed very appreciative of her male attire. Perhaps, if they were alone one day, she could…

But Roberta was speaking again. “What was it like, kissing Northam?”

Instead of telling her to mind her own business, Olivia pondered the question. What had it been like kissing Ivo, and being in his arms? Pleasurable, certainly, but she suspected being kissed and held by any attractive man might be pleasurable. Ivo was different, and being kissed by him lifted the act above mere pleasure. It was…

“Heavenly,” she said. “When we are together, it feels right. As if it was meant to be. All the reasons I told myself I couldn’t get close to him suddenly seemed silly. Well, not all of them.” She frowned. “He was never good for my reputation, and because of him, my Season was cut short.”

“Grandmama is always afraid of the gossips and fears upsetting the old biddies in the ton. I think she worries too much. We could be perfectly behaved and still be miserable, so what’s the point? Why not be happy instead? If you are in love with Ivo, then I think you should follow your heart.”

Startled, Olivia stared at her sister. “In love with him? I’m not in love with him.”

Roberta rolled her eyes. “If you say so.”

“Why do you think I am?”

Roberta didn’t even have to give it any thought. “The way you light up when he enters a room, the way you look at each other as if there’s no one else. The way you tease each other—it’s as if you have a secret language the rest of us can’t understand. The air fizzes around you both, Olivia, until I wonder if you are going to start shouting at each other… or kiss.”

Olivia swallowed. She suspected she had been falling in love with Ivo from the first moment they danced together at her coming-out ball. But she had put a stop to that, hadn’t she? And yet she did seem to think about him an awful lot. He was her friend, but today, she admitted it was more than that. Today, he had felt like her other half.

“That’s easy for you to say,” she said grumpily.

But her sister wasn’t finished. “You have been simply awful these past months. Cross and miserable, and making us miserable too. I think you’ve been unhappy because you’re trying to be someone you’re not, Olivia.”

Olivia closed her eyes a moment, as a wave of emotion washed over her. “I was determined to marry well, but not just for myself. I wanted to help all of you, and I thought that my marrying someone rich would give me a better chance of finding you rich husbands.”

Roberta gave her a long look and then shook her head. “It wouldn’t have worked. Even if you did find someone who you thought was everything we needed, it doesn’t mean we would marry him. We Ashtons like to make up our own minds about things like that. We’re not like other young ladies, Olivia.”

Despite not wanting to admit Roberta was right, Olivia thought she was. It was what Justina had said to her at the picnic, and surely both of her sisters could not be wrong.

Roberta looked away, her newfound maturity deserting her as she stumbled over her next question. “So, is it over? Between you and Prince Nikolai?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I know he was enamored with you. You just had to send him one of your come-hither looks, and he was at your side. But I’m sure if you were in love with the prince, you wouldn’t be kissing Northam.”

Roberta’s gaze was direct. As if Olivia’s answer genuinely mattered to her.

“Even if I wanted him to, he’s not going to marry me after everything that happened at Grantham. And you didn’t help when you stole his horse.”

Roberta tried not to smile. “Stallion, Olivia.”

They turned into the mews behind Ashton House, and Olivia’s voice was thoughtful. “Marrying the prince would be like trying to fit into a box that is completely the wrong shape. Ivo told me that once, but I didn’t want to believe him. Now I know it’s true.”

“What about the others Grandmama has paraded in front of you? That old man with the caterpillar eyebrows? Will you marry him?”

“No. I thought I might, but… No.”

“You know Grandmama will keep trying to marry you off to someone suitable until you tell her not to?”

Olivia frowned. “I suppose you’re right.”

“You’ll just have to marry Ivo instead, and then she’ll wash her hands of you,” Roberta said, and yawned. “I hope we don’t have to work too hard today, or I’ll never stay awake for the ball.”

Olivia was silent. Marry Ivo? As if it was that simple. And did she want to marry him? That was a question she couldn’t answer. But one thing she did know was that she wanted to spend a night with him. She wanted to be his and for him to be hers. Was that wrong? Probably. Grandmama would say it was. But Olivia knew if she had to marry a sensible sort of man, a wealthy man, as the dowager wanted her to, then first she was going to experience what it was like to be with the man of her dreams.

One night together. Something to remember.

Would he agree to it? Could she persuade him? Or had he become too much of a gentleman? There was only one way to find out.