“Caro . . .” No, she was his wife, and had enjoyed the last time he’d kissed her. He would not ask permission to kiss her. As gently as he could, he pressed his lips against hers. When she responded, he ran the tip of his tongue along her lips until she opened them, allowing him to take possession of her mouth.
She gasped in surprise but then returned the strokes of his tongue with hers. His blood thickened with desire for her and only her as he reveled in her hot, moist cavern. Running his tongue over her teeth and tangling with her tongue, he tasted the honey she’d had with her tea.
One of her small hands clutched his neck. A breathy moan escaped her and drove him on. If he didn’t stop soon, he’d regret it. Slowly, he eased out of the kiss and gazed down at her. “Are you all right?”
Desire-glazed turquoise eyes returned his look. “I think so. What was that?”
“The kiss?”
Her brow wrinkled. “That time it seemed so much more than a kiss.”
Cautioning himself to probe slowly, he said, “It was our kiss. One that belongs only to us. Did you like it?”
“Yes. It was just so different. I wasn’t prepared for it.” Her brow smoothed and a small smile tugged at her beautiful lips. “I did like it.”
He nuzzled her neck. “Then we shall add that to our répertoire of kisses you enjoy.”
“Yes,” Caro said more to herself as he tucked her close to Huntley.
I do like kissing him
. She breathed in his musky scent. The surge of energy that had accompanied his kiss receded, and she struggled to stay awake. “Did you like it as well?”
“More than you know,” he murmured.
Nugent was right. With his arms around her and the way he gently stroked her, she began to settle. A man’s touch had never had that effect before. Mostly it brought terror. When she was better and didn’t need him all the time, she’d have to figure out how it was he was able to comfort her so. Tired and warm in his arms, she refused to allow herself to think about the future.
Hands grabbed at her and wet lips tried to capture hers.
Caro tried to get away.
“Caro, Caro. My love. Wake up. I’m here. I won’t allow him to hurt you.”
Her eyes flew open to see Huntley’s worried gaze. Thank God. She was safe. For the first time in five years, she hadn’t had to live through the attack again. Lying half on him already, Caro threw her arms around him and buried her face in his neck.
He held her tightly against him until her trembling slowly faded. “Do you want to tell me about it?”
“No.” She didn’t want to talk about it or think about it. What she wanted was his firm, hard lips on hers to erase the memory of the others. “I want you to kiss me like you did the last time. I want our kiss.”
Thank the Lord he didn’t ask why but just did as she wished. Relief flooded through her as his tongue probed her mouth, and she returned the caress. A strange stirring started to spread through her. Little tingles and more. A deeper need to feel more of him grew.
Caro rubbed her hands over his back, pressing her fingers into his hard muscles. She couldn’t imagine how she’d ever thought he wasn’t a strong man. His back tightened as she pushed into him and tried to possess his mouth as he possessed hers. Her skin was so sensitive, it seemed to be alive. Every movement abraded her senses, heating her and making her heart flutter. When he stroked her hair and back and then down over her bottom, she shivered with delight. Yet, as before, he slowly drew back from the kiss.
When Huntley’s lips left hers she was bereft. “Why did you stop?”
His eyes sparkled blue with gold flecks. “If we continue, more will happen than you’re ready for.”
Warmth of another kind rose from her neck to her cheeks as she blushed. “I—I didn’t think.”
He kissed her lightly as the pad of his thumb stroked her cheek. “You just don’t know. Despite what happened to you, you are still an innocent and have no idea how quickly this could spin out of control.”
His eyes smiled, but his body was hard and tense. Huntley really did want her.
“Why?” she asked.
“Why what?” His brows rose.
She shifted in his arms. “Why do you want me and why are you afraid to—to . . .”
Dipping his head, he placed light kisses on her jaw. “I don’t quite know the answer to your first question. As for the second, you are still not well.”
Her head dropped to one side, giving him better access to her neck. Something had awakened within her. Something that wanted to encourage him to kiss and touch her.
When he reached her lips, he asked, “Will you allow me to set the pace?”
Right now, she’d allow him to do almost anything, if he’d just kiss her again. “Yes.”
Caro got her wish and his lips and tongue teased her mouth open. As they explored each other, frissons of pleasure shot through her and her nipples started to ache. All too soon, the kiss ended, and he moved her around so that she was next to him again.
“My love,” he whispered, “you need to rest.”
A few minutes later, she listened to Huntley’s soft snore and sank into his warmth. She wanted so much to be a normal woman again.
Huntley watched as Caro’s breathing deepened and a smile played on her lips. He’d been terrified she’d reject him after her dream. Instead, inexplicably, his kiss had helped her. Not for the first time, he wondered exactly what the blackguard had done and who he was. Was it possible that Huntley making love to her would heal her completely and enable Caro to exorcise her memories?
His engorged shaft throbbed as he held his sleeping wife to him. She’d responded with more fervor than he imagined she would, and his hunger to make her his became his most important quest. Yet her first question brought him up short. Why did he want her? She was a beautiful and desirable woman, and she was his wife. For most men, that would be enough. Yet he was sufficiently wise when it came to women to know that if he wanted a chance at a good marriage, he’d better have a completely different response to offer her. One that was not limited to her appearance and his physical needs.
Caro’s soft breathing distracted him, and the protectiveness that’d been growing in him increased. Fate had thrown them together, and she was his; yet, unless he could give her what she needed, she would never be his wife in truth.
He slipped out of the bed, tucking pillows around her to keep her warm, and went in search of Nugent. He found her and Maufe down the corridor in a small parlor, having a comfortable coze. She was seated on a small sofa, mending, and Maufe was at the table, blacking boots.
“Nugent, it’s time we talked. Her ladyship had another nightmare.”
Nugent rose but Huntley stayed her. “Her ladyship is fine and sleeping peacefully. I need to know what happened.”
Caro’s maid lowered herself back to the chair. “I agree, my lord. This should not be kept from you any longer.” She stared at him. “I promised her I would keep it to myself, but I can’t stand by and see her ladyship continue to suffer. She needs help to move on with her life.”
“I’ll do anything I can to make her whole again.”
Nugent nodded.
Maufe stood and picked up the boots.
“You may stay, Mr. Maufe,” Nugent said.
Huntley took a seat at the table, drumming his fingers impatiently while Nugent gathered her thoughts.
“My lady fell in love with the son of a neighboring peer, whom she’d known most of her life,” Nugent began. “Her ladyship was not but sixteen, but passions at that age run high. He was a few years older, and I do think he returned her ladyship’s affections. Yet he needed to marry money. Not just the respectable portion her ladyship had, but a large fortune. After he went on the Town, he found a lady who was the only daughter of a banker and wed her before a month was out.”
Huntley stopped breathing for a moment before asking, “Did anything occur between her ladyship and the gentleman?”
Nugent slowly shook her head before glancing at him. “A few stolen kisses in the garden, if that. Her ladyship’s mother, Lady Broadhurst, knew about the attachment and made certain they were properly chaperoned. He was an honorable young man. If he could have married her, I believe he would have done so, but his father made it impossible.”
The young man would not be the first to have been put in that position by intemperate relations. Nodding, Huntley motioned Nugent to continue.
“Her ladyship’s father wanted an advantageous marriage for her. After the young gentleman married, her father arranged a marriage to another man. My lady’s heart was broken, and at the time, she didn’t care who she married. Still, Lady Broadhurst insisted my lady have a full Season. A few months later, my lady discovered she couldn’t abide marrying her betrothed. I didn’t find out what made her change her mind until after we left England.”
“Which was?” Huntley asked.
“A friend of my lady’s told her the man had taken advantage of a young serving girl.” Nugent picked up the tea-cup and took a sip. “We were still in London. My lady decided to speak to her betrothed alone and tell him she didn’t want the marriage. I tried to go with her, but she smiled and said there was no reason to make such a to do. I never should have let her go by herself, and I’ll never forgive myself for allowing it.” Nugent stopped, her hands shook. Maufe poured her a glass of water and handed it to her. Taking a drink, she calmed herself. “Lady Caro was gone too long for my liking. I went to look for her and heard her scream. When I opened the door to the front parlor, the man pushed past me, and I found my lady on the floor, sobbing. Her bodice was torn and a bruise was starting on her face.” Nugent stopped again. “My lady’s skirt was hitched up around her hips and there was blood.”
Rage coursed through Huntley as every muscle in his body clenched. “Go on.”
“I told the butler to clear the hall and corridors, and I got her up to her room, then called for Lady Broadhurst. Lord Broadhurst was in the country taking care of some business, so Lady Broadhurst, my lady, and I traveled that evening to a small estate in Suffolk near the coast. Lady Broadhurst made arrangements for us—my lady, Dalle, and me—to leave. We ended up traveling through the Netherlands because when we tried to board the merchant ship, my lady panicked at all the men on board.”
Nugent took another sip of water and a grim smile appeared on her face. “I guess the gentleman who raped my lady didn’t count on his lordship being out of Town. The man thought he’d be able to force the marriage. By the time his lordship returned, we were already on the Continent, and Lady Broadhurst had told Lord Broadhurst what happened. He agreed with her ladyship that my lady should remain in Italy until she wanted to return.”
Silent tears slid down Nugent’s cheeks. Maufe pressed his handkerchief into her hand.
Huntley’s throat closed. “Who—who was it?”
Shaking her head, she said, “That’s not my place to say.”
He’d find out and kill him, if someone else hadn’t already. “The bad dreams, how often does her ladyship have them?”
“For the first year or two, she had them a few times a week. Until recently, she hadn’t had one for several months.” Nugent raised her gaze to his. “She relives the attack.”
Huntley’s heart constricted, and he swore under this breath. That filthy bugger, whoever he was, would pay for hurting Caro. For each year she suffered and for every bad dream. When Huntley found the scoundrel, he’d tear him apart. No wonder she didn’t wanted to be touched. He’d keep her safe now. No one would ever hurt her again. Somehow, he’d find a way to heal her, make her whole again.
He glanced at Maufe, who was holding Nugent’s hand, before rising. “I’m going back to her ladyship now.”
Shunning his parlor and the bottle of brandy in it, he went straight to Caro. After shedding his clothes, he removed the pillows he’d propped up around her and climbed in the bed. Wrapping his arms around her, he gave in to his need to hold her close to him. The fluttering of her dark brown eyelashes was the only sign she knew he was with her again. After what she’d been through, it was a miracle she’d wanted him to kiss her. Would she ever tell him, or was it too horrific a memory? His mind wandered back to the maid who’d been raped. At least Caro was alive and with him. He’d just have to keep her there.
The next morning, Huntley gathered his wife and their servants and traveled down the mountain into Innsbruck. Caro had dozed off and on while he divided his time between looking at her and admiring the changing landscape. Towering mountains still surrounded them as they made their way to the Inn River valley. The forest gave way to fields showing signs of a recent harvest.
Innsbruck was an elegant town with tall painted houses. Their hotel was a few blocks from the river and right in the middle of the main shopping area. They were shown the most luxurious quarters they’d had thus far on their journey. Tall ceilings were decorated with carved, brightly painted beams. A large bed with royal blue and gold hangings stood against one wall. From the windows, he glimpsed the Inn River and the snow-covered mountains beyond.
They’d arrived in time for luncheon, which Huntley had ordered served in the parlor adjoining their bedchamber.
“What do you think?” he asked as he set down his serviette.
Caro wiped her lips and smiled. “I like all of it. Shall we try for a short walk?”
She did look better. Her cheeks had a little more color, and she’d rested most of the journey.
“Why not?” He rose and tugged the bell-pull. Maufe and Nugent both answered. “Maufe, I commend your choice of hotel. Her ladyship and I are going to take a short stroll.”
“Thank you, my lord. I shall get your coat.”
Once Caro had donned a pelisse and cloak, and he his greatcoat, they walked down Maria Theresien Strasse, the main street. With her hand tucked in his arm, she glanced into the shops. “I’m going to need some warmer clothes.”