Chapter Five #2
Julia nodded fervently as they stepped closer to the trees, ignoring the damp dewy grass. “I mean, they don’t know you, do they? All they see is tatty clothes—”
“Why thank you!”
“You know what I mean,” she said with a laugh. Lawrence was enchanted to see two little pink dots appear on her cheeks. “My point is, they have spoken nary a word to you and yet assume they know all about you. Why, for all we know, you’re a prince in disguise!”
Her tinkling laughter was not accompanied by his own. For a heartbeat, Lawrence was certain she was going to guess; worse, reveal she had known all along that he was a duke and she had merely been having a laugh at his expense.
But evidently, she saw it all as an amusing thing to consider…not the truth. Not quite.
Lawrence forced himself to smile. “Yes, I could be.”
Julia giggled as the noise of the crowds disappeared and the trees surrounded them. “Yet, if you were a prince or a gentleman at the very least, you would not have permitted yourself to be alone with me like this. Would you?”
He blinked. Alone?
He looked around hurriedly and saw to his genuine surprise that they were completely out of sight. One could just about hear the bustle of the crowd, if one paid attention, but the thickness of the trees, even in winter, had put them in a private world.
And the presence of Julia’s hand on his arm suddenly grew in intensity, heating his arm, heating his whole chest.
He was alone with her. A woman he found remarkably desirable, one he had thought about far too much…and here they were. And she thought him no gentleman…
“I suppose we are alone,” Lawrence said, his voice strangled. “But that is no reason why I cannot treat you like the lady you are.”
Julia slipped her hand from his arm, and he almost cried out at the sudden shock of the separation.
How had he become so dependent on her in just a few minutes? How was it possible his whole body ached for her presence, even though she was but a few feet from him?
“Lawrence, you may be good with your fists,” said Julia with a teasing smile, “but you wouldn’t know what to do with a lady.”
And a fire, one he had never known before but roared through him, consumed Lawrence from head to toe. Didn’t know what to do with a lady?
Oh, how little she knew. How she wished to tease him, to show him just who was in charge here. She was about to discover it…
“Wouldn’t know what to do with a lady?” Lawrence repeated.
He stepped forward, closing the gap between them.
Julia’s smile disappeared. She did not look frightened, upset, or offended.
No, quite to the contrary. With a groan, he just managed to keep in, he saw desire in her eyes.
Desire for what, she evidently did not quite know, but he raised it in her, something that matched the heat within him.
Oh, he should not permit himself to be challenged, Lawrence knew, or to be so easily teased into action.
But he had always been like that, hadn’t he? Encouraged to act, encouraged to go undercover as a boxer to find his brother’s killer.
Encouraged to do something to Julia he most certainly shouldn’t…
“Prove it,” Julia whispered, her eyes flashing. “Don’t give me words, Lawrence. Give me action.”
It was no use. Moaning as he pulled the willing woman into his arms, Lawrence crushed his lips on hers and tasted immediately that she wanted it, wanted him.
She had goaded him into this precisely because, as a lady of Society, she was not able to ask for what she wanted.
Julia responded immediately. As Lawrence’s hands clasped her waist, drawing her tight into him, her hands found their way to his neck, pulling him closer, closer, and Lawrence gloried in the way she felt.
Oh, he had not kissed a woman in months—but this was no haphazard kiss he would take now and forget about tomorrow.
Forget about Jules? Forget the warmth of her body, the ardor by which she returned his kiss, the passion pouring between them as they stood in the middle of Hyde Park—
And it was that thought which made Lawrence, regretfully, end this madness.
He let go of Julia and half stepped, half staggered back several paces.
Julia’s bonnet was crooked, and her eyes were wide as she stared. “Why did you stop?”
Lawrence tried to speak, but at first, he could only breathe a laugh. “Because…damn, Jules, you know full well—”
“I know nothing of the sort,” Julia said, a flirtatious air in her voice. “Did—did I not do it right?”
Closing his eyes for a moment in an attempt to get his balance, Lawrence wondered whether any woman had ever kissed so perfectly, so utterly, so innocently. With fire that promised such sweet pleasure if they continued. He would have to try desperately not to think of her tonight.
He opened his eyes and saw shame in her eyes.
“You were perfect,” Lawrence said quietly.
The shame disappeared, but she said quietly, “You’re just saying that.”
“No, I shouldn’t be saying that,” he admitted darkly, running a hand through his unruly hair.
Blast, this had suddenly got very complicated. Kissing women…well, most of the boxers who earned a little coin spent it on food, beer, and women, and sometimes not always in that order.
But he had stayed away, stayed focused on the task at hand. He was only in this dangerous position because he was attempting to catch an even more dangerous man.
A dangerous situation he was in because he chose to be, eyes wide open, knowing all the facts. Facts Julia did not know.
“This cannot happen again.”
The words had slipped from his mouth before he realized he had said them.
Lawrence watched as a dark cloud covered Julia’s expression.
“And why not?” she asked boldly.
How had no one married this woman, Lawrence found himself wondering. Beautiful, yes, clearly from a good family, but Miss Julia Dryden was far more than that. Bolder than any woman he had ever known, confident in a way that was highly desirable.
And yet unmarried?
It was difficult not to be impressed, but that did not mean he could entangle her in a web of lies, deceit, and danger that he would certainly not wish his own sister to become involved with.
That was why he had not even told his sister he was here.
“Because,” Lawrence said, trying not to notice just how eager his hands were to return to Julia’s waist, “you should not be kissing random men.”
It sounded foolish, obvious as he said it aloud, but evidently not to the woman standing before him.
Julia arched an eyebrow. “Oh, good. That’s easy enough, then.”
Despite himself, Lawrence was piqued. Was it truly that easy to forget him? To leave behind such an intense moment of pleasure when he had been certain they had both shared in it?
“I’ll just kiss you,” said Julia simply, mischief dancing in her eyes. “Shall we return to Rotten Row, or do you wish to kiss a little longer first?”
Lawrence nodded weakly. Perhaps this was the most dangerous part of his life. This woman. This maddening woman.