"You plan on doing what!?"
"I plan on accepting his proposal," Alyssa said defiantly, staring up at him, her naked body seeming so fragile in the dark of the room.
"The man is a bounder and a cad. He's a womanizer," Jamie paced the room, visibly agitated.
"Yes and just what does that make you?"
"Ouch, love, that hurt." He rubbed his chest as if it was a physical thrust she'd made, instead of just words.
"But true, though, isn't it, Jamie? At least he has offered marriage and not crept illicitly into my room at night and taken me the way you have. Now, you have had your fun. Please, Jamie, for me, just go." She walked over to the balcony, unaware of the view she was presenting him.
He watched as her heart-shaped bottom moved enticingly towards the doorway, pausing as she fumbled with the knob and finally opened the door.
She turned, giving him a wonderful cameo view of her profile, her long silky hair hanging in ringlet curls down her back. "Go," she said quietly.
"I'll go, love. But I'll be back."
"No," she said quietly, but he could hear the conviction in her voice. "You won't. If you do, I promise, I will scream next time."
He walked toward her, watching her, seeing her eyes drop as he got closer, as if she couldn't stand to see him anymore. He stopped in front of her, his knuckles brushing her cheek, lifting her chin. He kissed her then, slowly, softly, sweetly, seducing her mouth the way he seduced her body the first time.
Then he lifted his head, hearing her sob, seeing the tears that shone like tiny diamonds upon her cheeks. Jamie wiped them away with the tips of his fingers, dropping one more kiss upon her lips and then he was gone, pulling the door closed behind him.
* * *
"This was left for you, Lady Alyssa," the navy and gold attired footman said, holding a wide silver tray out to her. Upon it, nestled against a tiny square of paper, was a spray of beautiful orchids, their petals creamy white deepening to a dark pink inside.
Alyssa lifted the beautiful flowers, bringing them to her nose before picking up the small square of paper that held her name on the front. "Thank you," she said simply to the footman before continuing her way into the breakfast room.
It was late, but Alyssa had slept poorly, tossing and turning as her heart had broken and tears she was helpless to stop had flooded her pillow. And it infuriated her that she was crying over someone of Jamie's ilk, someone who cared little for who he hurt as he sought his own pleasures.
She toyed with the stem of the flower while she contemplated what she'd do if he came back, only then realizing she was still carrying the note. Unfolding it carefully, she stared at the two words it contained, feeling her fury rising.
The two words, "I'm sorry," were followed by a capital J done in a flourishing scrolling script.
Slowly crumpling the paper in her hand, she turned, to head back up the stairs. She'd change and get her horse from the stables. She had to get away from the house and from him. Jamie, he was here somewhere, one of the guests. How else had he been able to get her the note?
With her mind on that tangent, she wasn't paying attention to where she was heading. It was as if a wall was suddenly in her way, and as she ran into it, it sprouted arms, reaching out to grab her as she stumbled back.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, dropping the note and the flowers to grab onto a dark blue coat.
"Whoa, slow down," the wall said in a deep voice.
Alyssa looked up in shock, meeting Jason's blue eyes, which sparkled with just a hint of mischief. He really was too good looking, she thought. His black brows slashed across a wide forehead, his eyes with their vivid blue irises, full but masculine lips, and the high cheekbones wrapped him up into a package that devastated ladies young and old alike.
"Are you all right, Alyssa? I hope I didn't hurt you with my clumsiness."
"No, no that was my fault," she quickly asserted, feeling strangely out of breath with him staring down at her so. "I wasn't watching where I was going."
"You looked deep in thought," he said, smiling when her head tipped up at the words.
"So you stepped in front of me on purpose?"
"Well, it was one way to find out if you'd received my note and the flowers, Alyssa," he said, bending to pick up both from where she'd dropped them. He held the crumpled note in his hand, staring at it with a puzzled frown. "Does this mean my apology wasn't accepted?"
"They were from you?"
Jason stared into her surprised face and almost chuckled. He hadn't thought when he'd left the note that she might think they were from Jamie and not him. "Yes, were you expecting an apology from someone else? I certainly hope I shan't be called to rescue your honor again so soon. I'm hardly healed from the last gentleman who needed to be taught a lesson." He chucked her lightly on the chin as she paled. "That was a joke, vixen. No need to be upset about this." His hand waved at the bandage on his forehead. "I'm made from hardy stock."
"B...but what have you to apologize for, Jason?" she asked, confusion apparent on her pale face.
"I upset you last night, Alyssa. It was the last thing in the world I wanted to do. I was rather heavy handed, announcing my intentions the way that I did." He ducked his head, only missing the shuffling foot from appearing to be an overgrown school boy called to the carpet. "I hope you'll accept my apology and my wish to call upon you?" He held out the orchids.
Alyssa couldn't help but laugh. "I'm thinking you were a hellion as a little boy. How many scrapes did you get into, than brought your mother flowers to get out of?"
"It's that apparent?" he asked, chuckling. He bent his head closer to whisper in her ear. "I had my mother wrapped around my little finger, but don't tell her I said that. She thinks I didn't know."
Alyssa was lost in his scent, the spicy aroma of man, mixed with outdoors and leather and a faint hint of cigar tobacco. She laughed at his words, accepting the flower from his hand. "I can imagine she loves you dearly."
"Probably more than I deserve," he chuckled, taking her arm and turning her back toward the breakfast room. "You haven't eaten today?"
"No, and actually, I'm famished," she said, feeling lighter now than she had when she'd left her rooms.
"Good, I like a woman with a hearty appetite," he said, chuckling when her face flushed. "And I'd love the chance to get to know you better without hordes of your admirers wanting to come and shoot me in the skull."
"Perhaps, when I come to know you better, I'll be the one to wish to shoot
you in the skull."
"You shoot and ride? Remind me to make a note to myself to lock up the guns in my house after we are married."
"You seem pretty sure of yourself, Your Grace. You are so certain of my answer to your unasked question?" She raised a finely curved eyebrow up at him, sitting in the chair he pulled out for her.
"Oh, I have it on good authority that I am hard to resist when I want to be." He sat down himself, choosing the chair next to hers and turning slightly in his seat even as plates of food were sat in front of them. "You could say a little birdie told me."
Alyssa dug into her food, enjoying the taste with a relish that was unusual for her. She enjoyed the Duke's company as much if not more than the food, finding him open to any topic. He listened to her, as her father had always done; not treating her as if she were only a female and as such, not equipped with a brain.
"All right, I'll concede, the Americans have done a fine job of self government since they won that bloody war. But you must allow that it wasn't very sportsmanlike of them to fight the way they did. Jumping from the bushes and such to waylay our poor unsuspecting troops. Deuced ungentlemanly of them."
"It's a new type of world, Jason," she laughed, waving her fork at him. "We must acclimate ourselves or become extinct to the new order."
"Next you'll say that women deserve the same rights as a man," he said, laughing when she opened her mouth. He quickly stuck a forkful of his eggs in it to keep her from speaking, laughing even harder at the glare she gave him. "Only kidding, love. I'd never, ever joke about the rights of women." He placed his hand on his chest and gave her his most honest expression, laughing when she scoffed at him.
"And you say the Americans were unsportsmanlike," she grumbled after swallowing the food he'd shoved in her mouth.
"Well, I could have kissed you, but I thought you'd prefer privacy for that."
"And who says that I want you to kiss me?" she asked him, her eyebrows raised.
"You do, love. It's apparent in your eyes and in the manner you keep glancing at my lips as we talk. You want to know if my kiss will be the same as it was last night in your garden, or if that were perhaps a fluke. A bit of faerie magic mixed with the moonlight and champagne to befuddle your wits." He leaned closer, watching as her face tilted up, her smoky eyes staring into his. "I think kisses should be such, enchanted, magical and with a bit of mystique. They should capture the imagination and not just the lips, don't you think?"
Alyssa jerked slightly, as if suddenly waking from a spell. She reached for her glass of juice to take a sip and settle the heavy beating of her heart. He was seducing her, not with touches and kisses but with sweet words and gestures. And it was working. She could feel her pulse beat between her thighs, a throbbing caused by the sound of his voice. Clearing her throat, she sipped her juice again before turning to answer him.
"Your Grace has a glib tongue that dances just like those faeries you speak of."
