Her Errant Earl Read Online Free Page B

He caught her chin and forced her to meet his
gaze. “You’re afraid, aren’t you?”
    “Don’t be preposterous,” she snapped, irritated that he had
chosen now of all times to become observant for the first time in their union.
It was too late for him to be the husband she’d yearned for. Wasn’t it?
    “I don’t think I am being preposterous,” he said slowly, his
fingers still lingering on her face. His eyes searched hers. He leaned into
her, bending his head so that she was certain he would kiss her. “Not at all.”
    And then as if suddenly losing interest, he released her and
stepped away, leaving Victoria bereft and disappointed on the path. Had she
imagined the heat in his gaze, the suggestion in his touch? She didn’t know.
    “I understand you have taken our gardens here under your
care,” he said, surprising her with his change of subject. “I must say, the
changes you’ve wrought are incredible.”
    She hadn’t expected that he would care enough to ask the
servants about her. She certainly hadn’t expected that he would praise her
efforts. Warmth unfurled within her belly. “Thank you.”
    “I have it from the Head Gardener himself that you put an
admirable amount of effort into restoring the grounds to their former
splendor.” His back was to her as he sniffed a luscious red bloom. “I expect
the gardens hadn’t been properly looked after since the times of the Tudors at
least.” He turned to face her once more, a teasing grin on his lips, a rose in
his hand. She wondered how he’d picked it without being pricked by a thorn.
    “Not the Tudors, I’m sure,” she murmured, unaccountably
nervous to be at the center of his attention and compliments.
    “Perhaps I exaggerate.” He winked and closed the distance
between them, holding the rose for her to smell.
    She inhaled deeply of its glorious scent, never removing her
gaze from his. “Roses possess the loveliest aroma, do you not think?”
    “Not the loveliest.” His expression sobered. “I prefer your
scent.”
    Her heart took up a gallop. He had noticed her scent? Or was
he merely trying to woo her? She decided to put him to the test. “What is my scent?”
    “Orris root,” he answered without hesitation. He dragged the
silken petals of the rose down her bare throat. “I never realized before just
how desirable I find it.”
    He’d known. She licked her suddenly dry lips. He was doing
wicked things to her senses, making her want what she’d be better off not
wanting. “Desirable?”
    He nodded. “Almost as desirable as you.”
    When his mouth brushed hers ever so softly, her knees
threatened to buckle. She sighed and the kiss deepened, his tongue slipping
inside to tease hers. He smelled like rich shaving soap. She locked her arms
around his neck, leaning into his hard frame. It didn’t seem fair that he could
undo all her resolve with a few kind words and a kiss, but that didn’t make it
any less true. She wanted him.
    Pembroke tore his lips from hers. “I don’t want you to
leave, Victoria,” he murmured.
    “I didn’t want you to leave either,” she reminded him, her
voice breathless. “But you did.”
    “I’m here now.” He gave her another slow, maddening kiss.
“Come, let’s go for a walk and enjoy the fruits of your labor.”
    She accepted the arm he proffered, and they began a
leisurely stroll. It occurred to her that he was leading her farther away from
the main house, out of sight of prying eyes. Pembroke hadn’t walked with her
like this since the days of their courtship, and it sent a warm wave of
nostalgia over her.
    She cast him a sidelong glance. “I haven’t been on a stroll
about the gardens with a man in quite some time.”
    “I daresay.” He cleared his throat, looking pensive. “I must
thank you for the work you’ve done here in my absence, Victoria. I understand
you’ve done a great deal more than just oversee the gardens. I’m afraid I’ve
often been remiss in my duties.”
    She