Page 49 of Courting Claudia
“Derrick, even if you’re right about me not wanting to marry Richard and him not being an upstanding man, it doesn’t change the fact that my father has chosen him for me to marry. I must obey.”
“We’re never going to agree on that. I still think you could find a way out. If I could find proof of Richard’s guilt, then your father would release you from your obligation of marrying him.”
“But you have no proof, so this is a futile discussion.”
“Here you are, miss.” The butler was back from retrieving her cloak. “Miss?”
Derrick put his hand over her mouth and leaned into her, so that his body pressed against hers, and her body pressed into the wall. It was a gesture meant to keep them in hiding lest the servant discover them in this precarious position, but all it did was light her body on fire. Every nerve sparked to life and began stirring about her flesh.
Think about something else. Think about hair ribbons or paintbrushes or…ducks. Anything else. Anything but Derrick’s hard thigh pressed intimately between her legs. It was difficult to think of anything besides convincing herself not to push against him. Disgraceful thoughts. She really ought to be ashamed of herself, but instead she was exhilarated.
“Always changing their minds,” the servant muttered, “strange creatures.”
Derrick released a breath and removed his hand from her mouth. But he didn’t pull back from her body. “That was close,” he said.
“Indeed.” She should push him off her, but for reasons she dared not investigate, she stood still and simply stared into his eyes.
“I suppose I could ravish you under here. Not a lot of room, but I do believe we could manage.”
She realized her hands were grasping material at his sleeves. His glance dropped to her breasts. Touch them. She clenched her jaw to keep from saying it.
“You drive me crazy with desire.” His voice was ragged. “I’ve never wanted a woman the way I want you.”
It was all the encouragement she needed. She tilted her head and kissed him. She didn’t wait for the slow seduction he usually gave her lips. Instead she thrust her tongue into his mouth. Blood thrummed through her body, singing as it went from one body part to the next. She allowed her hands to release his jacket and move up to thread through his hair.
He kissed her back just as forcefully, their tongues rolling and caressing. He left her mouth and dropped kisses on her cleavage. She was ready to tear her dress off, so she could feel his warm mouth on her skin.
His hand crept beneath the hem of her dress; the fabric brushed against her ankle, then her calf, behind her knee, and then she felt his hand on her inner thigh—dear God, where was he going? He stopped at her most private spot.
“God, Claudia, I want you so badly.”
He didn’t move his fingers at first, just cupped her gently. She rocked against him. He found the slit in her drawers and moved one finger against her skin. She leaned into his shirt to muffle a cry. What was he doing to her? Slowly he moved his finger against her, back and forth, back and forth, until she thought she’d go mad.
Then suddenly his hand was gone as fast as it had appeared, and much too soon as she was certain something big had been about to happen. She almost asked, but then it became abundantly clear why he’d stopped.
She looked at his face, saw him mutter a curse, then he turned around to face the woman who had discovered their hiding place. How could she have been so stupid? She couldn’t even bear to think what the woman must have seen or heard. Was that why she’d come—had Claudia cried out? She’d been so engrossed in the feelings, she hadn’t even remembered where they were.
She was the worst sort of woman, a woman without a shred of self-control.
“I daresay, Mr. Middleton, I do hope there is an explanation for this,” Lady Oliver said, her voice tight.
Derrick put on his best smile. “Absolutely. I’m afraid it’s my fault. You see, Miss Prattley has just agreed to be my bride, and I am embarrassed to say I couldn’t hide my enthusiasm.”
He was lying. For her. Taking the blame in a situation that was certain to ruin her. She couldn’t allow him to do this, yet when she opened her mouth to argue, she found she had no words.
Lady Oliver, known for being a romantic, smiled and placed her hand on her heart. “How very wonderful for you two. And I do apologize for interrupting. It’s only that Benson, my butler, was concerned when Miss Prattley asked for her cloak and then disappeared. He came looking for her in the parlor, and when he couldn’t find her there, I told him I would go find her. Your secret is safe with me,” she whispered. “But you really ought to be more discreet.” She winked and swatted Derrick on the arm.
Derrick held on to Claudia’s hand as he pulled her out from the stairwell. “Let me get my coat, and we can be on our way. She wants to tell her father right away.”
“Of course,” Lady Oliver offered.
In the course of fifteen minutes Claudia’s entire life had changed. How or why wasn’t clear, but she knew nothing would ever be the same. She wouldn’t marry Derrick; he would never see it through, and her father certainly wouldn’t allow it. He’d clearly been disappointed that they were discovered and that he had to do the honorable thing, or he wouldn’t have cursed. He didn’t want to marry her, and she certainly wouldn’t require him to.
She was weak and obviously had no control over herself. Shame heated her entire body, and she wanted to scream. No matter what happened between them now, she’d always feel as if she’d trapped him. As if she’d given him no other choice. No one wanted to be a bride under those circumstances.
And now it no longer mattered if she did or didn’t want to marry Richard, or if he was or wasn’t all that Derrick claimed him to be. All that mattered was she had been compromised.
Her reputation was ruined. And her relationship with her father would never be the same.