Counting on a Countess: The most outrageous Regency romance of 2019 that fans of Vanity Fair and Poldark will adore. Eva Leigh

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ be mine tonight. That hair would spread upon a pillow, and he’d feel her arms around him. He’d learn the delicious secrets of her body and show her how much pleasure two lovers could create together.

      He could barely restrain his eagerness.

      “May I have a word with my wife, Lady Daleford?” he asked, feeling the strange shape and sound of the words my wife on his lips.

      The older woman fixed him with a sharp glare. “You both have walked into a horrendous mistake,” she snapped before storming off toward the punch bowl.

      Tamsyn rolled her eyes. “Lady Daleford’s candor was one of the qualities my parents admired.” She looked rueful. “I wouldn’t mind a little dissembling right now.”

      “I would have liked to have met your parents,” he said.

      “I would have liked the same,” she answered.

      They both seemed to realize at the same moment that, had her parents been alive, there would have been no need for this wedding.

      “Please excuse me for a moment,” Tamsyn said, and slipped out into the corridor.

      Langdon, Greyland, and Greyland’s wife approached him. Kit couldn’t help but notice the way the duke and duchess kept close to each other, with Greyland’s hand possessively on her lower back as if he needed to touch her at all times.

      “Best wishes on your marriage,” the Duchess of Greyland said cheerfully, raising her glass of wine. “She’s a lovely woman.”

      “Felicitations,” Greyland added heartily.

      Langdon also lifted his glass. “Blessings on you both. Though,” he added with a furrowed brow, “I fear for my own unattached state, given that my two closest friends have fallen prey to matrimony.”

      “A duke’s heir must marry,” Greyland pointed out, ever practical.

      “But at the time of my choosing,” Langdon replied. “With my father as hale as ever, I pray that time is long in coming.”

      “Besides,” Lady Greyland noted pertly, “whoever she may be, your choice of bride is entirely at your own discretion. Even someone as entirely unsuitable as me.”

      “Love, there’s nothing unsuitable about you.” Warmth shone from Greyland’s eyes as he gazed at his duchess, and she gave him a private smile that radiated devotion.

      Though Kit and Langdon glanced at each other with exasperation, Kit admitted to himself that it was a rare luxury to have someone with whom you shared that kind of connection. Would he and Tamsyn ever grow as close? Unlikely. They’d sealed their bond on the basis of practicality. So long as they tolerated each other, they ought to do well enough. He knew with certainty that they would enjoy their physical connection, and when that paled—for desire always cooled—they could seek pleasure elsewhere.

      Something odd and hot jabbed Kit in his belly. He frowned at the unfamiliar sensation. Perhaps the wine had spoiled. Or was it—no. He couldn’t be jealous at the thought of Tamsyn taking someone else to her bed. He never felt jealousy when his past paramours found new lovers, and besides, he barely knew Tamsyn. How could he possibly feel that strange emotion for her?

      Yet it was there, just the same. Smoldering like the edges of paper moments before bursting into flame.

      Out of the corner of his eye, Kit saw Tamsyn slip back into the chamber.

      Before anyone could speak, he announced cheerfully to his family, “Your carriages are waiting.”

      His father scowled. “I didn’t order my carriage to be made ready.”

      “But I did.” Kit smiled, relying on the charm that had gotten him out of many a childhood scrape, including the time he painted a very detailed illustration of a dairymaid on the wall of the drawing room.

      “How gracious of you,” Tamsyn said enthusiastically. She gave Kit a discreet wink, and when he winked back, she coughed into her hand, barely concealing a laugh.

      “Lady Daleford,” Kit said, turning to her with as much charisma as he could muster, “your vehicle also awaits.”

      Tamsyn managed to suppress her laughter enough to press a fast kiss on the elderly lady’s cheek. “Thank you so much for being here. And my sincere gratitude for your hospitality. I’ll have the remainder of my things brought to me tomorrow.”

      “Where are you staying?” Lady Daleford demanded. “You cannot mean to make a home in his bachelor lodgings.”

      “I’ve rented a house on Bruton Street,” Kit said. “Until we are settled in more permanent accommodations, it should suit us well. The house comes complete with a full staff,” he added for Tamsyn’s benefit. For the gathered crowd, he continued, “Lady Blakemere and I will spend tonight in a hotel, and then tomorrow we shall move into our new home.”

      Nothing truly has to change, he told himself. I’m not going to alter all of my life simply because I’m married.

      “But that’s all on the morrow,” he said cheerfully. “For now, I bid you all a very heartfelt good night.” He held out his hand, ushering his family and Lady Daleford toward the door.

      As everyone began to file out, grumbling, Tamsyn stepped close to whisper in his ear, “They think your behavior to be scandalous.”

      He sent her a lopsided grin. “What’s one more scandal?”

      “Indeed,” she said with a mischievous smile.

       Ah, damn, I think I truly like this woman.

      Finally, after receiving one last affronted glare from his father, they were gone.

      “There’s always the possibility that we’ve disappointed them,” Tamsyn said wryly.

      His smile didn’t waver. “A third son is always a disappointment, even if he becomes an earl.” He ran a placating finger down her cheek, and the softness of her skin roused him.

       Soon.

      Coming back to himself, he continued brightly, “Now that we’ve liberated ourselves from our oppressive guests, the celebration can happen in earnest.”

      “Truly, though,” she said, laying a hand on his arm, “you didn’t have to send your family away on my account.”

      The spontaneous touch of her hand upon his sleeve sent a jolt through him. Their kiss formalizing their union had been quick, chaste—a far cry from the heat that had risen up between them so quickly days earlier—yet the feel of her now stoked the furnace of his growing desire.

      “They’ll recover from the indignity,” Kit said optimistically. “In time, when I’m generating more wealth than my father, everyone will come to an accord.”

      “Nonetheless,” she said, smiling, “your gallantry on my behalf is appreciated.”

      He pressed a hand to his chest and executed СКАЧАТЬ