He scowled. “The fault lies with Orwell, not you. Don’t ever say this is your fault, for it is not.” His gaze was resolute.
Her eyes widened and she nodded. “I promise.”
“Do you trust me, Phillipa?”
A subtle tension swirled around them. Her heart stuttered. She wished only to be held in his arms. “Yes, more than I have ever trusted anyone.”
He nodded, and the coiled tension eased. “My brother and I, and the viscount, will deal with Orwell and the repercussion of the scandal. You and I shall leave London, I promise, Phillipa. However, we must stay for a little while first. For the sake of my sister Constance and for that of your family. The gossips will devastate our dear sisters, society will crush them, and their dreams will be shattered unless we stem the tide of condemnation before it takes them under.”
Phillipa’s throat tightened. “I am so sorry you and Constance will be judged by circumstances that do not measure your worth as the honorable man I know you are, or the wonderful lady that she is.”
“Thank you.”
“Your father, the late duke…” Questions twisted in her, but the flare of hurt in his eyes halted them. Her heart ached for him. “Why did he do this?”
Anthony hesitated. “I doubt I will ever know for sure. I suppose at the end he despised the very thought of me ever inheriting his estates. In any case, a large part of me is glad he was not my real father. He was never a true father to me. But pray, let us talk of anything but this.”
She wanted to throw herself into another kiss with him, yet hesitated at the slightly guarded look in his eyes.
“So…you adore me?” she murmured, dropping her voice to a husky whisper.
The guarded look was replaced by a slow, devastating smile. “With a depth you cannot comprehend.”
A thrill surged through her. She wanted to vanquish his hurt and pain, to soothe his turmoil. She moved her leg over his thighs to straddle his lap. Slanting him a coy look, she drew her skirts up her legs, as far as they would go.
A strangled groan escaped from his lips as she bared herself to his gaze. She had left her drawers off again, so she widened her legs lasciviously.
“I see you waste no time behaving scandalously,” he growled, his eyes glowing with lust and intense love.
She waggled her brows, and laughed as he drew her over himself. The emotions roiling in his eyes sent shivers through her. Need flowered in her and she grew moist from desire. With efficient movements he freed himself and notched the broad head of his erection at her entrance. There was no need for foreplay. His hands clasped her buttocks and with a powerful surge he embedded himself within her.
He captured her cry. “I love you, Miss Peppiwell. Scandal will follow us all our lives, I wager. But to experience your indomitable spirit, your passion, and sensuality, and the love I can see so clearly in your eyes, is more than enough to fill a lifetime without a single regret.”
She nodded as his hands on her buttocks tightened, lifted her, and with a forceful movement, which had her crying out urged her down on him to meet his upward thrust. “You will never be bored with me, either,” he vowed. “I will introduce you to sexual pleasures you could not have imagined. You will always be free and loved for your daring and your passion,” he promised, voice rough with emotions.
He captured her lips with a kiss so full of wild, aching hunger she felt it to her very soul. Bliss seared her and she returned his kiss with all the love and hunger within her.
“You fill my dreams, meet my needs, and soothe my fears. I love you, Anthony,” she whispered against his lips, shivering under the rush of exquisite pleasure.
Their pleasure burned bright into the carriage that jostled them toward their first adventure, to become husband and wife.
She pushed away her doubts and accepted the love he had to give, as they raced toward an uncertain but thrilling future.
Chapter Seventeen
The cold that penetrated the walls of Castle Kildern could not dampened Phillipa’s spirits. She was now married in truth to Anthony, and she had never been happier.
Their honeymoon thus far had been an exciting experience. Every night, over the past two weeks, Anthony had taken her to sexual heights that caused her even now to blush. Their days of talking and touring several ancient castles in the southwest of England drew her more and more into his life and his past. She’d come to realize how much of himself he had hidden behind the charming rogue he presented to the world. The pain in his eyes was deep when he spoke of the man he thought had been his father and the isolation and criticism he had endured at his hands. Thankfully, their blossoming relationship with his mother and his real father, Lord Radcliffe, more than made up for the past and brought joy to all their lives.