Gone with the Rake (Inglorious Scoundrels #1)

Wakefield Manor

Eleven Years Ago…

T horn lit a few candles around the library, arranged blankets by the hearth, and placed several books upon them. Everything was ready.

His pulse danced in his veins, elation rising to the surface.

The past few weeks had been the happiest of his life. He’d read countless books about love, but none had prepared him for the reality of it. For it had to be love—there was no other explanation.

He couldn’t take his eyes off Lily the entire day. He was supposed to be spending his time studying, helping his father, looking after his sister. And he did all those things, but his mind was always with Lily.

He ran to sneak a peek at her any chance he got. And if she were alone in a room, he always managed to steal a couple of kisses.

The kitchen help cast suspicious glances his way any time he appeared beside Lily, but he didn’t care. He loved her. That was all that mattered.

At night, they didn’t need to hide. Every gossiping servant was in bed, and his father was too, which meant he and Lily could finally be together.

They’d been meeting under the veil of moonlight for a few weeks now, reading, talking, kissing… And he’d never felt happier than during those moments.

The door to the library creaked open, and Thorn shot up to greet Lily. She peeked inside tentatively, as if not certain she should enter. She always did that—afraid that someone was inside. Someone else.

Her smile lit her entire face as she saw Thorn coming toward her, and the next moment, she was in his arms. Thorn kissed her soundly, exploring every corner of her mouth.

“Mmm…” Thorn moaned as they broke the kiss. Neither wanted to be far from the other, so they stood toe to toe, nose to nose, their lips only a hair’s breadth apart. “You taste so sweet.”

Lily let out a sigh, the sound reverberating through his lips and settling down inside his soul. A shiver passed through his body as the blood collected in his groin.

He took her by the hand and led her to the pile of blankets. They settled down, his back leaning against the armchair, Lily in his arms, his nose in her hair. “What do you want to read today?”

“Hmm…” Lily ran a finger over Thorn’s knuckles, down his fingers, lingering on the signet ring he wore on his middle finger. “Perhaps we can take a break from reading today.”

Thorn froze. “Are you tired then? Have they been working you too hard? Tell me, and I will—”

“No.” Lily chuckled. “No, and please, do not be my savior. I don’t want any special treatment.”

“But you are special.”

Lily heaved a sigh. She took a breath as if to speak, but the words never left her lips.

“Tell me,” Thorn prompted.

Lily turned in his lap and placed a hand against his cheek. “I’d rather you kissed me.”

Thorn smiled and pressed his lips against hers. She instantly opened to him, enveloping his lips in the heat of her mouth. Her tongue searched his, and when they touched, a jolt of desire ran through him.

Lily shifted in his lap, her bum rubbing against his erect length, her kisses urgent, her hands weaving around his neck and drawing him closer.

Lily broke the kiss, their heavy breathing the only sound in the room.

“Lily,” he whispered, caressing her soft cheek with his thumb. “How I wish we could stay in this room like this forever.”

“But we can’t…” Her voice was small, almost inaudible.

Thorn’s arms tightened around her. He’d been trying not to think about it, about the long days ahead without seeing her smile, without hearing her laugh. “I know that I am leaving for Cambridge in a few days, but it doesn’t have to change anything.”

“How could it not?” She raised her vulnerable gaze to his. “Everything will be different.”

He took her hand and cradled it between his palms. “My feelings won’t be.”

“Can you truly promise me that?”

He pressed his lips to her temple. “I can. I do.”

Lily’s fingers played with the hem of his sleeve. “You say that now, but once you’re there—”

“No.” Thorn shifted, guiding her to face him fully. “Look at me, Lily.” When she raised her liquid eyes to his, he continued, “I have never been more certain of anything in my life.” His heart racing, he plunged his hand into his pocket and pulled out a ruby ring. He swallowed. “And to prove to you just how certain I am, I want to give you this.”

“Art!” Her eyes widened, Lily alternated from staring at him to the ring and back again, shock evident on her face.

“This is a Thornton betrothal ring. I don’t know how long it’s been in our family, but it’s given to the first son in hopes that he gives it to his intended bride.” He licked his incredibly dry lips. “I want you to have it. If you—” He faltered, heat climbing up his face, a stutter on his lips. “If y-you agree to marry me.”

Lily stared at him as if he’d gone mad. And he might as well have. He was mad. Madly in love with her.

She shook her head, and the pain he felt was as if a spear pierced his heart.

“You can’t be serious,” she finally breathed out. “Your father would never allow—”

“I don’t need his permission.” Thorn’s voice was fierce with conviction. “In two years, just as I’ll have finished at Cambridge, I’ll be one and twenty. I will be able to marry whoever I want. We only need to wait until then.”

“Two years is a long time,” she whispered, but he could see hope beginning to shine in her golden eyes.

“Not when you’re certain of the outcome.” He brushed his thumb across her knuckles. “I love you, Lily. I want to spend my life with you. Will you wait for me?”

She stared at the ring, then at his face. “You’re truly serious about this?”

“Entirely.”

His certainty seemed to flow into her, straightening her spine and brightening her eyes. “Then yes,” she breathed, a smile spreading across her face. “I’ll marry you.”

Relief spread along his limbs, then happiness, elation, and joy.

Thorn slipped the ring onto her finger, his heart threatening to burst from excitement. Then Lily was in his arms, her lips on his, and he could taste the salt of happy tears as they kissed.

When they finally broke apart, she pressed her forehead to his. “I won’t be able to wear this ring in public,” she whispered.

Thorn let out a chuckle and produced a silver chain from his pocket. “I’ve thought about that. But you can wear it around your neck. Close to your heart.”

He dropped the chain onto her palm, and she closed her fingers around it. “Two years,” she murmured.

He nodded. “Two years. We might be physically apart, but we can still keep in touch. I’ll write to you every day. And we will meet for every break.”

“How can you?” Lily shook her head. “If anyone discovers you write to a servant—”

“No one will know a thing. I will disguise my letters as addressed to my father. All you’ll have to do is reach the letters before he sees them and extract the ones I wrote to you. It will be easy. He doesn’t check the letters until late in the evening. And he doesn’t enter his study until after breakfast. You will have plenty of time to snatch them!”

Lily let out a giggle. “That is risky.”

Thorn tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. “I am willing to take that risk, aren’t you?”

She met his eyes, her gaze searching—for what? Resolve? Reassurance? He could not decipher it. Whatever it was, she must have found it, for she gave him a confident nod.

He kissed her then, and she responded with fervor. They had kissed many times before, but this kiss was entirely different. It was free of all insecurities and inhibitions; it was raw, scorching Thorn to the tips of his fingers.

Suddenly, Lydia was undressing him. Her hands were roaming his wide shoulders, her fingertips leaving a hot trail in their path. Thorn weaved his fingers through her hair and tugged, turning her face to the firelight.

Her eyes were dark with passion, her lips puffy from their kisses. She was the loveliest creature in the world and the most wicked at the same time. The feelings mixed and warred inside him: tenderness and desire, love and passion. He wanted to slowly kiss every inch of her body, and at the same time, he wanted to toss up her skirts and enter her in one swift motion.

She trailed her hand down his bare chest, and the cold metal of the ring mixed with the warmth of her palm sent shivers down his spine. The ruby caught in the firelight, somehow igniting the carnal need in his veins.

Mine . She is now and forever mine.

He tried to rein in his desire, but the next moment, she lowered her head and kissed his chest, her tongue dancing against his skin, and that was the last straw.

Thorn wrapped his arms around her and tumbled them onto the floor. Lydia shrieked and then giggled, drawing him closer to her.

He loomed over her, his breaths frantic, a silent question on his lips. Do you want this, too?

He didn’t ask, but she seemed to read his mind, because she tugged him closer and whispered against his lips, “I love you.”

Then everything happened in a frenzy. Their clothes got pushed aside, their bodies tangled in a heap of limbs. Their kisses grew more intense, their touches more sensual, bolder, closer, until they were one, locked in a passionate embrace.

The entire world stopped, and it was just the two of them in the dark library, loving each other by the glow of the firelight.