Her Wicked Proposal novel Chapter 15

The coach came to a stop, and a footman dressed in the midnight blue and silver livery of the Duke of Essex opened the coach door on Cedric's side. Cedric took his cane, reached for the edges of the coach and felt for the step.

Anne noted that he was far more hesitant getting out than getting in. She couldn't help but wonder if he'd suffered a nasty fall from a coach recently. She could only image how painful that must have been, not to mention humiliating.

Anne's stomach twisted in unease. How often had he hurt himself since last December? The memory of finding him in his gardens, hands bloodied, was one that haunted her. Even as he tormented her with his kisses and caresses, she could not hold her usual indifference or fury at him like she could other men. Cedric had suffered like she had, and that fact bound them together now as kindred spirits.

"Are you coming?" Cedric called out, offering his hand.

She took it and let him help her down. Lifting her skirts, she walked with him toward the steps of the St. Laurent townhouse. To her dismay, he did not release her hand. It seemed he wished to embarrass her by such an obvious display of ownership of her person.

"My lord, you must release my hand," she whispered, tugging to free herself.

"Ashamed of me already, Anne?" Cedric replied rather loudly as the footman opened the door to the foyer for them. He did that so often, murmuring her name at the end of a question or a sentence, as though getting her used to the sound of him saying it. It had riled her before, but now she was growing accustomed to the honeyed way it rolled off his lips.

"You know I am not. A gentleman would let me take his elbow, and I could assist in guiding you to the door," she replied icily, but Cedric merely chuckled, as though her tone did not concern him at all.

"I'll not trip." He waved his cane in front of them, tapping the stones. "Relax, love. No one here tonight will judge us if we show outward affection for each other."

"Is that what you call this? I would call it enforced imprisonment of my hand," Anne hissed. But before she or Cedric could continue this line of conversation, Emily came out of the nearest room and hurried over with her husband, Godric, on her heels.

"Anne!" Emily hugged her tightly, her young face shining with excitement.

"It's so good to see you, Emily. Your Grace." Anne dipped into a slight curtsy in Godric's direction, even though one of her hands was still firmly clasped in Cedric's. Godric beamed at her and nodded in greeting.

"We are so glad that you could attend. Please, come this way." Godric took Emily's arm and proceeded with Anne and Cedric back into the room from which they'd come.

"I believe congratulations are in order," Lord Ashton said. He smiled at her and the rest of the room followed suit in offering their excitement over the upcoming marriage.

Anne's fears about being found wanting by Cedric's friends seemed to be ill-founded. She finally relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief. Cedric must have heard this and put his arm around the back of her chair, cupping the nape of her neck. She was about to protest when his thumb and forefinger began to rub up and down the sides, massaging the tense knot of muscles there. The sensation was divine, and it seemed to melt every bone in her body.

"All will be well," he said, continuing to stroke her neck. Anne blushed when she noticed Emily watching her and Cedric with avid interest.

Emily led the group in the sitting room through polite small talk until the dinner bell rang. Everyone rose and headed for the dining room. Cedric offered his arm to Anne and she took it. It never ceased to amaze her how often they touched now. It seemed his body and hers were dancing in a slow spin around each other, and someday soon they would collide and never again be fully separate in some mysterious and primal way.

Anne's breath hitched in her throat at the thought. Even blind, Cedric was still a powerful, masculine force that could easily dominate and possess her. She blushed deeply as she was reminded all that power and handsome perfection was hers now. But as much as the prospect thrilled her, it also frightened her out of her wits. What if he found her wanting? What if he found no pleasure in her bed and sought it in the arms of another?

How am I to keep him if I cannot trust myself to surrender to him?