A Virgin for the Rakish Marquess (In War and Love #3)

Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

Rose Petals

T he moment James stepped into his carriage, no amount of self-reproach could change that simple, irrefutable fact. He was impatient to see her.

Sure, this was another chance to feel the thrill of another lesson, the excitement of finding a way to keep her away from prying eyes. To have her all to himself, her lips, her body, her sighs. Yes, the pleasure was exquisite, even though he had yet to reap anything for himself. But he would be lying.

He also longed and craved for the sharpness of her mind, the fire in her eyes when she snapped at him, the breathless laugh she barely let escape when he pushed her too far.

He arrived at Westall Estate and was shown to the drawing room. He could barely hold back from brushing past the butler to get in and finally see her, bathed in the sun. He was considering a thousand things he could say to greet her, to vex and tease her only for her to whip him back with some clever retort.

He entered the drawing room with a mischievous smile on his lips.

“Welcome, Lord Crawford.”

He was greeted not by Diana, but by her eldest brother.

Stephen Wilkins was waiting for him with the ease of a brilliant strategist setting a trap. Only, James was not some innocent prey.

“So nice of you to personally welcome me in your house, Your Grace.”

“I figured that since you’ll soon stop coming around, I should at least welcome you once.” Stephen smiled coldly.

The Duke wasn’t even trying to be subtle—after the fifth promenade, James would no longer be welcome in Westall Estate.

Stephen stood by the fireplace, his stance deceptively relaxed. But James wasn’t fooled. Everything about him was controlled, measured. The kind of man who never needed to raise his voice to remind you who had the power.

“How ominous, Your Grace.” James smirked. “You can’t possibly mean that after the fifth promenade, the doors of Westall Estate will be forever closed to me.”

Stephen smiled a hard smile. “Not at all. I merely figured that there would not be any more reason for you to visit. I am sure your schedule is quite busy.”

You will shift your attention to another prey, James translated.

“That is totally up to Lady Diana.”

“Ah, then my decision to greet you was right.” Stephen’s voice turned cold. “I am sure my sister will be glad that this silly prank Selina set up will soon be over.”

There was a pang in James’s heart. That was the deal. Five promenades and nothing more. They had two more promenades. After that…

“We shall see, won’t we?” James said in that smug way that was sure to make the whole of ton want to smack him. “I trust that Lady Diana is more than capable of making the right decision for herself.”

Stephen narrowed his eyes at him.

Twice now in a matter of minutes, James had given Diana the one thing that all the ladies of the ton craved—choice. Both men looked at each other and forfeited. No matter their silly manly games, Diana would do exactly what she wanted. And they both respected her for that.

“My sister will, in fact, make the best decision for herself and see that this unpleasant situation should be nothing but a prank to laugh about.”

James was furious to hear him reduce what he and Diana shared to a prank . He would very much like to throw in Stephen’s face the way his little sister came undone by his mouth. Instead, he exhaled sharply through his nose, shaking his head with something dangerously close to amusement.

“How fascinating,” he murmured, adjusting his cuffs, “that you speak with such certainty about what Lady Diana will find amusing.”

Stephen’s jaw tightened.

James smirked and went for the kill. “I am sure you know as well as I do that Lady Diana has a mind of her own.”

Before Stephen could reply, the door flew open with a sharp crack.

“Is there a particular reason my name is being tossed around like a piece of evening gossip?”

Diana walked in, bathed in sunlight and utterly magnificent, her gaze darting between the two men with a mix of suspicion and irritation.

James instantly forgot about Stephen. All that mattered at that moment was how bright her eyes were as she looked at him, making his heart ache to bask in that light. How cute her lips, which he could not wait to see form sharp remarks or let out sighs of pleasure.

“My Lady.” He bowed to her, eyeing her with a wicked look.

He went to her, took her hand, and bowed to kiss it, earning himself a sharp cough from Stephen. But he paid no mind to the Duke. He was truly excited to see her, and somehow she seemed to be even more lovely than he remembered. And the small smile she gave him said that she, too, was happy to see him.

“Diana,” Stephen said warmly.

James heard all he needed to hear in that simple address. The man was not trying to protect the family’s honor and all that. He was genuinely worried about his little sister. James could respect that.

“Tea, My Lord?” Diana asked.

“I think the day is splendid, My Lady!” James smiled a genuine smile. “How about we visit the Chelsea Physic Garden? I am sure Mrs. Bremford would appreciate it, as well.”

Diana’s eyes widened at his open implication. Many distractions there for the impressionable chaperone and many hidden corners for intimate lessons.

She shook her head in that reprimanding way of hers that wasn’t the least bit convincing. “Lead the way, My Lord.”

Gravel crunched beneath their feet as they strolled deeper into the lush, fragrant haven of the Chelsea Physic Garden. Sunlight filtered through the trees, casting dappled patterns over the stone pathways, and the air hummed with the scent of blooming lavender and warm earth.

It was a perfect day, and James was determined to make it even more so.

“This is splendid!” Diana was genuinely excited.

James felt proud. He had made her eyes shine so bright and her lips curl into a sincere smile.

What was this strange satisfaction of making her happy? It had nothing to do with physical attraction. Somehow, this simple act made him feel a sense of fulfillment that no other achievement had managed to do.

He looked down at Diana, her delicate arm wrapped around his. His body was on fire—he desperately wanted to touch her. Or teach her how to touch him. The thought hit him hard, and he bit his lip to hold back a deep moan.

“I am glad you enjoy it, My Lady,” he said in that deep voice that he knew made the small hair on the nape of her neck rise. “Though with all these winding paths, I am afraid you will stray away from me.”

Diana smiled, and her fingers brushed the petals of a flower. James followed that gesture and longed to feel that touch on his skin.

“I have yet to determine whether escape is necessary, My Lord.”

James smirked, stepping closer. Not close enough to touch, but close enough that she would feel him there.

“I do enjoy a chase,” he murmured.

Diana turned to him, her eyes gleaming with something deep. But it was not the lustful look James was hoping to see. It was something unreadable.

“What if I don’t want to run?” Diana retorted. “Would it bore you, My Lord? I hate to think that I have to resort to such physical exertion on such a hot day.”

James pulled her even closer while glancing at the chaperone, who was too far back down the path.

“I do have some other kind of physical exertion in mind that you might find more pleasurable.”

Taking one last look at Mrs. Bremford, who was leaning over some rare rose shrubs, James grabbed Diana’s hand. He led her off the path, his grip firm but gentle, and guided her between two towering hedges. And Diana let herself be carried away.

He pulled aside the cascading wisteria to hide them. The moment they were away from inquisitive eyes, he didn’t even hesitate. He was starving for her, and he wasn’t going to deny himself the nourishment he needed.

He cupped her face, and his body folded to reach her lips. He knew that it wasn’t going to be slow, but this kind of whirlwind caught him by surprise. His tongue found its way to hers in a wet, hard kiss that made him growl. His hands dropped to her waist, and he pulled her flush against him, not even air separating them.

“James,” she gasped as she felt his hardness.

His lips fell on her neck, to that spot he memorized, that spot that made her whimper and tremble in his arms. His fingers fluttered over the neckline of her dress, and he bit her lower lip softly.

“Oh, I feel like I am unwrapping a present, Diana,” he whispered in her ear.

Her fingers curled into his coat, gripping it hard. How responsive she was to his touch, as if she were made the way he liked. His fingers brushed the edge of her sleeve, his thumb pressing into the fabric, ready to pull?—

“I bet you were spoiled as a child,” Diana said between sighs.

James froze. There was something in the way she said it. It wasn’t just a jab. He leaned back and looked at her. Her lips were swollen, and her cheeks were flushed. Her chest rose and fell with deep breaths, and he could see how her breasts ached for his touch.

She wanted this, wanted him. But her eyes…

“Diana,” he murmured, slow and careful. “What are you doing?”

She blinked up at him, all wide-eyed innocence.

Diana did a lot of things, from being blatantly honest to downright hurling insults, but feigning innocence? Never.

“Just making conversation, My Lord.”

James studied her. His instincts, the ones that never failed him, the ones that had kept him alive in every game of wit and power he had ever played, were whispering now.

Something wasn’t right.

He straightened on purpose to intimidate her. And it worked. Diana swallowed.

Oh, there is something she is not telling me .

“Just conversation, My Lady?” he asked pointedly. “And what would you like to know?”

“Just… I was… You know that I am an orphan too, and it just hit me that you?—”

“Now? While I was kissing you, that thought crossed your mind?” James taunted. “I think I should be offended.”

Diana looked away for a second. For her to back away from a battle meant that she was mustering her courage for a serious attack.

“I was thinking that this loss connected us. And then I thought that you at least have your father.”

James felt a cold shiver crawl up his spine. Why was she mentioning his father?

He tilted his head and looked into her eyes. Diana avoided his gaze.

For the first time since they met, Diana was lying to him. A sharp pain gripped him.

“Diana!” he pressed.

She had the decency to respect him enough and stop playing around. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and looked him right in the eyes.

That is my Diana.

The fire inside him died down.

“I met your father.”

James took a step back, and his hands slipped from her waist. “You did what?”

“Your father sent me an invitation for tea. I couldn’t refuse. James, I just?—”

“You went behind my back?” James heard how hurt he sounded.

Diana heard it, too, under the rage in his eyes.

“James, I assumed you knew. I expected you to be there, but then I realized…”

“And yet you didn’t tell me.”

“Because I knew you’d react this way,” Diana countered.

“So, you thought to what? Ease me into it when I was too crazed to realize? It seems that the student has surpassed the master,” James spat. “You quickly learned to use your charms for your own gain.”

“James! I was trying to help.”

“Help?” James snarled.

“You don’t understand.” Her voice rose, her frustration flaring. “James, I sat across from a man who has spent years grieving for his wife, who has spent years regretting the distance with his only son. I know what it feels like to lose a parent. I know what it does to a person. I wanted to spare you?—”

“How dare you!”

Diana’s breath caught.

James stepped closer. His voice was lower now, sharper, lethal. “How dare you insert yourself into my family, into my pain, as if you had any right to interfere?”

“I only?—”

“So, we had some fun, a mutually entertaining agreement, and you thought that you had a claim on me?”

Diana’s chest rose and fell too quickly. His words landed like blows. He looked menacing like this, unhinged. As if he was utterly appalled that she dared more than a simple carnal exchange.

“I see,” she said flatly.

She stiffened, her hands shaking.

James saw it. The way her chin trembled, the way she blinked too quickly, fighting whatever storm raged behind her eyes.

But he was too furious to tamp down the rage inside him. He didn’t even know what he was angry at. His father abandoning him for years, him coming back, Diana betraying him, allowing her to come so close, foolishly believing that?—

“I think it’s best that I take you home.” James turned his back on her.

She said nothing on the way back, her hands fisting into the skirt of her dress. James was torn between his uncontrollable wrath and the undeniable need to comfort her. But he didn’t. It was better like that. She got too close.

He helped her out of the carriage, looking away as she took his hands. “Have a great day, Lady Diana.”

He turned to climb back into the carriage.

“My Lord,” she called. “We have one last promenade, do we not?”

James clenched his jaw. Then, without another word, without looking at her again, he stepped into the carriage and rode away.