Read Online Lady Whistledown Strikes Back by Julia Quinn - Free Book Online Page B

bottom. He cupped her, then pressed her
against him, hard and tight, branding her through thick clothing.
    “Peter!” she gasped, but he silenced her with
another kiss. She squirmed in his arms, her body responding to his
onslaught. With every motion, her body rubbed against his, and his
desire grew harder, hotter, more intense, until he was quite certain he
would explode.
    He should stop. He had to stop. And yet he couldn’t.
    Somewhere within him, he knew that this might be
his only chance, the one kiss he’d ever play across her lips. And he
wasn’t ready to end it. Not yet, not until he’d had more. Not until she
knew more of his touch.
    “I want you,” he said, his voice husky with need.
“Never doubt that, Tillie. I want you like I want water, like I want
air. I want you more than all that, and …”
    His voice failed him. There were no words left. All
he could do was look at her, stare deeply into her eyes and shudder
when he saw the echo of his own desire. Her breath was passing over her
lips in short gasps, and then she touched one finger to his lips and
whispered, “What have you done?”
    He felt his brows rise up in question.
    “To me,” she clarified. “What have you done to me?”
    He couldn’t answer. To do so would be to give voice
to all of his frustrated dreams. ‘Tillie,” he managed to say, but that
was all.
    “Don’t tell me this shouldn’t have happened,” she whispered.
    He didn’t. He couldn’t. He knew it was true, but he
couldn’t bring himself to regret the kiss. He might later, when he was
lying in bed, burning with unfulfilled need, but not now, not when she
was so close, her scent on the wind, her heat pulling him near.
    “Tillie,” he said again, since it seemed to be the only word his lips could form.
    She opened her mouth to speak, but then they both
heard the sound of someone else approaching, and they realized they
were no longer alone on the patio. Peter’s protective instincts took
over, and he pulled her farther behind the pillar, pressing one finger
to his lips to signal for quiet.
    It was Lord Easterly, he realized, arguing in
hushed voices with his wife, whom, if Peter had the story correctly,
he’d abandoned under mysterious circumstances some twelve years
earlier. They were quite involved in their own drama, and Peter was
optimistic that they would never notice they had company. He stepped
back, trying to cloak himself more deeply in the shadows, but then—
“Ow!” Tillie’s foot. Damn.
    The viscount and viscountess turned sharply, their eyes widening when they realized they were not alone.
    “Good evening,” Peter said gamely, since he seemed
to have no other choice but to brazen it out. “Er, fine weather,”
Easterly said.
    “Indeed,” Peter replied, at much the same time as Tillie’s chirpy, “Oh, yes!”
    “Lady Mathilda,” Easterly’s wife said. She was a
tall, blond woman, the sort who looked always elegant, but tonight she
appeared nervous.
    “Lady Easterly”.Tillie returned. “How are you?”
    “Very well, thank you. And you?”
    “Just fine, thank you. I was just, er, a little
overheated.” Tillie waved her hand about as if to indicate the cool
night air. “I thought a spot of fresh air might revive me.”
    “Quite,” Lady Easterly said. “We felt the exact same way.”
    Her husband grunted his agreement. “Er, Easterly,”
Peter said, finally sparing the two ladies their uncomfortable small
talk, “I should warn you of something.”
    Easterly inclined his head in question. “Lady Neeley has been publicly accusing you of the theft.”
    “What?” Lady Easterly demanded. “Publicly?” Lord Easterly queried, cutting off any further exclamations from his wife.
    Peter nodded curtly. “In no uncertain terms, I’m afraid.”
    “Mr. Thompson defended you,” Tillie put in, her eyes alight. “He was magnificent.”
    “Tillie,” Peter muttered, trying to get her to be
quiet. “Thank you for your defense,” Lord