Her arms went up around his neck as his hands bunched her skirts and raised them, allowing his fingers to seek and find her sex. Heat swept over her, followed by the sensual chills of her arousal. She thrust herself into his hand without even realizing it.
“God, Max. We’re in a cupboard, for heaven’s sake…” She moaned again as he found his way to the exact spot that always drove her wild. “Oh…sweet lord…”
He drove her up and over without pity, drawing her release from her as easily as he had kissed her, breathing in her cries and holding her upright. It might have been the excitement of the day, or the erotic nature of their location, but Kitty’s orgasm exploded rapidly and rocked her from her upswept hair to her elegant slippers. All from the touch of his hand.
She sagged against him, breathing hard, amazed at what they had just done. “God. Just…oh, hell.”
“Well that covers the religious portion of the evening.”
She poked him with her fingers. “If you’re going to make me feel foolish…”
“On the contrary, love. I want you thinking about this moment until we get home tonight. Because it was just the first course…”
She groaned and straightened her gown. “I might not survive to try dessert.”
“You will. I’ll make sure of it.”
~~~~*
He waited patiently outside the ladies’ withdrawing room, while Kitty tidied herself.
He hoped he wasn’t smiling too much, but the thought of what they’d just done, and where, was amusing, to say the least. He was hard, of course. He was always hard around Kitty, but he could wait. Tonight was for them as a married couple.
Unfortunately, he sensed that Kitty would want to talk about their future as well, which—since he hadn’t got that far with his plan yet—was a bit vague. His mind turned to the matter of Dancey Miller-James. Why would he think that Max had one of his carriages? Were they that similar?
In truth, Max would have been hard pressed to identify the manufacturer of any particular carriage, but then again, it wasn’t his business. Nor was it Dancey’s, although the man liked to dabble in it, was as competitive as they come, and didn’t worry about things like morals or ethics when it came to business practices.
No, he had been convinced Max owned a Kanehall carriage. And that assumption suddenly led Max to an almost unthinkable notion.
“Come on,” he said to Kitty as soon as she appeared in the hallway. “We have a stop to make.”
They were given their cloaks and handed into the coach before Kitty had chance to say more than “What?” but once they were seated and on their way, she let loose. “Max, you do realize we have just insulted the Chorleys. We left before dinner, too. A bit much, don’t you think?”
He waved her protest away. “The Chorleys, and by that I mean Lady Chorley, will be quite pleased with us, I have no doubt.”
She clutched his arm. “The Prince Regent…” Horrified, she stared at him. “If he arrived and we left…”
“I don’t believe he’s attending this evening.” Max looked uninterested.
“But…” Kitty struggled with her words. “But Max, you said…”
“We’re here.”
She looked out the window and saw a grand house lit up to the roof, with carriages everywhere. “And that would be where?”
“Back where it all began. Steenmere House, and the evening of the DuClos masquerade.”
Sure enough, Kitty recognized some of the statuary. “What on earth are we doing here?” The coach moved slowly, in stops and starts.
“I’m going to ask you to wait here for a minute or two, Kitty. There’s someone I’d like to find, and if I can do it quickly, so much the better. All right?” He glanced at her. “Trust me.”
“Of course.” Her answer was immediate.
“Good girl.” He dropped a quick kiss on her lips and then opened the door of the coach, waiting until it stopped once more. Then he jumped down, with a brief word to the driver.
Kitty leaned over and pulled the door shut, tugging a blanket around her and trying not to worry.
She was tired, she knew. Getting married unexpectedly, going to a ball, questioning a bereft lover and now getting a mystery ride in a coach…well it was all a bit wearing. Leaning back against the soft squabs, she closed her eyes for a few moments.
Not one for introspection, she found it hard to ask herself the important questions she knew she must answer. Was her marriage a fake? A convenience to get them into one of the biggest balls of the Season? But if so, why had Max gone to such trouble to set it all up?
She looked back to the first time she’d met him. Cold, distant, eyes like icicles looking her over. He’d been oppressively superior, in her opinion, and had raised her hackles at their first encounter.
But was it her hackles, or might it have been something else?
She’d become aware of him so quickly, knowing when he walked into a room, or was heading her way at a ball. Certainly he was tall, and that made him more noticeable, but what she experienced was on a different level. It was a certain sensation, inside her, that lit up when Max was around.
Maybe, just maybe, it was the awakening of desire.
Or maybe, again just maybe, it was the awakening of an even deeper passion. One she dared not name, lest it vanish. One she wasn’t even sure she believed in.
Looking ahead, she tried to imagine her life without Max. Going back to Ridlington, perhaps and doing…what? There was little there for her. Family of course, but they had their own lives to live now. Edmund and Rosaline with baby Hugh, Simon and Tabby setting up at the Vicarage, and Letitia at FitzArden Hall.
Getting together with them all was a joy. But living with them? She would be the odd penny. Hecate…well, she was well cared for. What lay ahead for her was anyone’s guess.
No, Kitty realized that if she had her preference, she would remain Mrs. Seton-Mowbray.
Forever.
Because, she admitted to herself, she could not imagine letting another man as close to her as Max had become. He’d broached her carefully created defenses, spanked her bottom and made her scream his name in her ecstasy. He’d insinuated himself into her life and become a part of it, even recreating her life for her so they would both fit nicely together.
He’d done an excellent job.
So excellent in fact, she was now afraid the impossible might have happened.
She’d fallen head over heels in love with Max Seton-Mowbray.
Chapter Twenty-Six
It had taken him nearly an hour, but he’d found out what he wanted. He’d finally solved the mystery of what had happened to his carriage that fateful night.
He hoped Kitty was all right—he hadn’t expected to be gone that long. But she and the coach were surrounded by other coaches, and at this point, after the loss of Dancey Miller-James, many people had added a footmen or two to their retinue. He doubted there would be any risk, other than to her temper.
But even that was negated, since when he quietly opened the door, it was to find his new wife sound asleep.