An Undeniable Passion Ch. 05

Just then they heard a carriage approaching. Drake twisted and looking out the window he muttered a curse below his breath. Sure enough his driver was just arriving with the other cab. He had brought one of the stable boys with him and a spare wheel. The lad would fix the wheel and then drive it back. He quickly exited the carriage to save Virginia the embarrassment of the driver finding her in such a compromised position.

The other carriage pulled up near them. After a quick discussion with his driver, Drake stuck his head back in and said to her, "It's very muddy and slippery out here. It's best if I carry you to the other carriage."

Virginia looked at him warily. "I'm sure I can manage," she said. She stepped to the edge of the cab and looked down at the thick mud still being heavily spattered by rain. She could see how deeply Drake's boots sank into the muck and realized that he was right. She would probably lose her shoes entirely and ruin the hem of her gown.

"I guess you're right," she said. She was nervous about once again being so close to him, but with the driver and the stable boy there she was surely safe from his advances. He lifted her easily and holding her tightly to his chest he carried her around to the other carriage. The door was already open so he stepped right into the cab with her still in his arms. Without releasing her he sat down on the bench, with her in his lap.

"Please release me," she said trying to stand.

"But it was so pleasant in the other carriage I thought we could continue in this one," he said.

Struggling to get to her feet, she said, "We will not continue anything from the other carriage."

"I could have sworn you were enjoying yourself," he said softly.

"Let me go!" she demanded.

He unexpectedly complied, causing her to tumble to the floor at his feet. Trying to restrain from laughing he extended his hand to help her up. Using the bench to steady herself, she ignored his offer of assistance. She sat on the bench opposite, glaring at him.

"Why are you glaring at me? You demanded that I release you and I did so," he said with a wicked smile. He could see the fury sparking in her eyes and was once again dazzled by how beautiful she was when angry. Her cheeks were flushed and her green eyes sparkled.

She ignored him and refused to speak to him until they reached her home, where she left him with a curt goodbye before sweeping inside. He sat back and chuckled, wondering how to manage seeing her again.

Virginia went straight up to her room and sat before her dressing table seething with anger. Not only at Drake but also at herself. How could she have let him kiss her? Why didn't she tell him about Charles? He would most probably not have been so forward. But she didn't tell him, and she grudgingly had to admit that she thrilled at the way he made her feel. She touched her neck where he had kissed her, where he had trailed his tongue. A shiver ran down her spine. Charles was the only other man who had ever kissed her and he never elicited that sort of response from her. Picking up her hairbrush, she shook her head trying to rid herself of the memory. She vowed not to think of it again. Although she knew that would be impossible.

As she began to work through the mass of tangles in her long mane, she suddenly noticed the open buttons on her dress. Her hands froze, the brush above her head as she stared at them. When had that happened, she wondered. She slowly lowered her arms, staring at the opening at the base of her throat. Could Drake have opened them? Her mind had been in such a whirl that he might have been able to.

Frantically she clutched at the fabric, pulling the buttons through their small openings. How could she have let things get so out of hand? How could she have behaved so brazenly? She stared back at herself in the mirror, looking down at the newly fastened buttons. Gently, she tugged them open again, wondering how much had been revealed.

Glancing down at the small amount of exposed flesh, she realized it really wasn't that much. Her ball gowns showed more. She undid a few more buttons until her corset came into view. Pulling the fabric apart she wondered how Drake would have reacted to seeing her thus. She felt a shiver race down her spine, and suddenly realized how silly she was being.

Once again shaking her head, she chastised herself for fantasizing about him. She should be dreaming of what it would be like for Charles to see her like this. But when she spread the fabric again and thought about her fiancé looking at her, she felt nothing.

Again that night, she awoke breathless from a dream. And once again all she could remember where a pair of smoldering hazel eyes. Recalling that she had seen those eyes in the carriage earlier that day, this time she had an idea of what she had been dreaming about.

When Drake arrived back at his home, he went to inspect the broken carriage. He crouched down to look at the wheel. The axle wasn't broken so a minor repair was all that was needed. As he stood, something in the carriage caught his eye. He opened the door and lifted Virginia's wet cloak off the seat. He smiled as he carried it into the house. He had a reason to see her again.

The next morning, Violet came by to visit. As Lucy served them a late breakfast, she chattered on excitedly about the wedding plans and the upcoming ball.

Her father came in to announce that he was going into town. "Can I pick you anything up, dear?"

"No, thank you, Father," she replied.

As soon as he left, Violet turned to her. "What happened? You've been distracted and fidgety ever since I arrived."

Virginia had to admit that she had never been able to keep anything from Violet. Yet this time she tried. "I guess I'm just getting nervous about the wedding. It's coming up so soon. I won't live in this house anymore, I won't see Father at the breakfast table ever again. I probably won't even see you as much. Everything will change and all I want is for everything to be the way it was."

"But everything will be better. You can't live here with your father forever. You knew that someday you would marry and move into your husband's home," she said reassuringly.

"I know. I just thought I would be happier about it."

At that moment the butler entered the room and announced that she had a visitor.

"Who is it, Geoffrey?"

"Mr. Drake Stratford, miss."

Virginia sat stock still, while Violet's eyes widened.

"What does he want?" she whispered to the butler.

"He declined to say, miss."

She just stared at Geoffrey, her mind awhirl. Why was he here? What could he possibly want?

"Miss?" the butler inquired when she didn't give any instructions.

"Show him in, please," she murmured.

Violet stared at Virginia wide eyed. "Why is he here? How does he know where you live? What's going on?" she urgently whispered.

"Mr. Stratford," Geoffrey announced.

"Thank you, Geoffrey," she whispered.

Memories of the previous day flooded her mind and unconsciously she blushed. Drake stood in the doorway of the parlor smiling at her.

"Good morning, Miss Templeton."

Recovering from her shock and collecting herself she rose to greet him and in doing so, hid her left hand and engagement ring in the folds of her skirt. "Good morning Mr. Stratford. You remember Miss Adams."

Turning to Violet and nodding his head he smiled at her and said, "Yes, of course. Good morning, Miss Adams."

Violet rose and approached Drake, extending her hand. "Good morning Mr. Stratford," she said batting her lashes at him.

Drake took her extended hand and bowing slightly he placed a kiss on it. She giggled and retreated back to her seat on the couch. Drake approached Virginia and held out his hand in an invitation to her to extend her own. Looking at him with suspicious eyes she warily raised her right hand and placed it in his. Touching him set the butterflies in her belly back into motion. Without taking his eyes off hers he raised her hand to his lips and placed a lingering kiss upon it. Drake saw the spark in her eyes and stood with a smile.

She took several steps away from him and drew in a deep breath to steady herself. "What brings you here this morning?" she asked when she felt she could trust her voice.

He held up her cloak and said, "You left this in my carriage yesterday. I thought I had best return it."

Horrified that she had forgotten it, she took the cloak from him and said, "Thank you, that was very kind of you to return it."

"You left so quickly yesterday that I didn't have the chance to thank you for your lovely company."

Icily she said, "I greatly appreciated your assistance and did not wish to detain you any longer," she said by way of explanation, although they both knew the reason she had left so hastily.

Violet sat on the couch watching this exchange with great interest. No wonder she was acting so strangely today! She would get the whole story out of Virginia later.

"And I do not wish to detain you any longer this morning," she continued.

Before she could call for the butler to show him out, Violet piped up, "Would you care to stay for awhile Mr. Stratford? We were just about to enjoy a late breakfast. You're more than welcome to join us."

Virginia shot her a look of pure venom, but Violet ignored her. Drake, however, saw the exchange and although he wanted to stay, he felt he shouldn't push his luck and he politely declined. "Thank you for the invitation Miss Adams, but I just stopped by to return Miss Templeton's cloak. I really must be going." Looking at Virginia he asked, "Could you be so kind as to show me out?"

As she brushed past him to show him to the door, Drake tipped his hat to Violet and with a smile said to her, "Enjoy the rest of your day, Miss Adams." Violet giggled and blushed.

He turned and followed Virginia. She turned to him at the door and not trusting herself to look at him she coolly said, "Thank you again for returning my cloak."

He reached out and placing a finger under her chin he tipped her head up so that she had to look at him. He looked over her shoulder down the passage and seeing that it was clear he slid his arm around her waist, pulling her close. Alarmed, Virginia pushed at his arm. "Mr. Stratford!" she hissed.

Drake quickly pushed her hair back and kissed her neck right where he had the day before. Pulling back but not releasing her he stared into her eyes. He saw a quick flash of passion and said softly, "I just wanted one more of those. And another of these." He bent his head and quickly placed a kiss on her lips.

She was too shocked to resist or to chastise him. He released her, touched the brim of his hat and departed. She stood in the open doorway staring at him as he climbed into his carriage. He waved to her through the window as it drove away.

She slowly closed the door and touching her lips she leaned back against it. She was tingling all over and felt weak in the knees. She waited a moment until she felt she could walk and went back into the parlor on unsteady legs. She sank slowly onto the sofa, still holding her fingers to her lips.

Violet was about to burst. "You were in his carriage yesterday? Why didn't you tell me? What happened?" Noticing her friend's utter distraction, she said, "Virginia? What's wrong? What's going on?"

"Hm?" she said, looking slightly dazed. She hadn't heard a word Violet had said.

Grabbing Virginia's arms she shook her lightly. "Virginia!"

Seeming to snap out of her haze she looked into Violet's eager and excited face. "Tell me everything!" she demanded with a large smile.

"Really, Violet there's nothing to tell. I had to go to the dressmaker's yesterday. Can you believe it? They ran out of the fabric I had chosen for my ball gown, so I had to go and choose another. Father had a meeting in town so I went with him with the intention of hiring a cab to come home in. Well, the storm got so bad that I was unable to hire one so I tried to walk the three blocks to where Father's meeting was. However, the storm was much worse than I thought. I became lost and was struggling down the street when Mr. Stratford so very kindly rescued me and brought me home," she said quickly, without looking Violet in the eye.

Knowing that she was leaving something out, Violet asked, "Why was your cloak in his carriage?"

"I was soaked right through and I began to shiver so I took it off in an attempt to dry off faster. And Mr. Stratford was kind enough to offer me a blanket to ease my shivering." She still was unable to look at Violet.

"And...? There's more, I can tell."

"Really, Vi, your imagination runs away with you sometimes," she said nervously.

"Alright, enough about yesterday. Why were you touching your lips when you came back in here? Why were you so dazed? Why were you so unsteady on your feet?"

Nothing gets past her, Virginia thought. "I...I...was just so surprised to see him here, is all," she stammered.

"Uh huh," she replied skeptically. Seizing upon a thought, she said eagerly, "He kissed you didn't he? That's why you had your hand to your lips!"

Seeing Virginia's sudden, deep blush, she laughed and clapped her hands. "This is just too wickedly delicious!" she declared.

"It is not at all delicious," she declared with distress. "I'm engaged Violet! And yes, he just kissed me. If Charles finds out he could refuse to marry me. I would be disgraced and then what shall I do? Must I remind you of why I have to marry Charles?"

"No, you do not, and he's not going to find out. I certainly won't tell him. It was just one kiss and I'm sure you didn't ask him for it. You are not to blame," she replied, suddenly sympathetic.

Unable to keep up the pretence any longer, she suddenly confessed all to Violet. "Oh Vi, that's not all!" she wailed. "Much more happened in the carriage yesterday. It's too disgraceful to describe."

Titillated by this outburst Violet eagerly said, "Go ahead and try."

"Well, the carriage wheel broke, so Mr. Stratford sent the driver back to fetch another carriage. The one we were in was small and had only had two wheels so it was on quite an angle. My drenched cloak was on one seat and as that bench was soaked, we both had to sit on the same bench except that the pitch was so steep. I was on the high end and was having great difficulty sitting there. Mr. Stratford promised not to tell anyone and to try to behave himself if I wished to rest against him. I don't know what I was thinking, I was tired from my struggle in the storm I guess, but I turned and lay back against him." She said the last part quietly, staring at her hands in her lap. Her engagement ring flashed as she twisted her hands.

"The rain was drumming on the roof of the carriage and he was so warm, before I knew it, I had fallen asleep. Then lightening and thunder woke me. You know how frightened I am of lightening and thunder. He had his arms around me but I didn't care I was so scared. He then began stroking my hair and whispering in my ear, telling me that I'm so beautiful and before I knew it he was...he was...," she was so embarrassed she couldn't continue.

Violet urged her, "He was what? What?"

Taking a deep, shaky breath she said, "He was kissing my neck."

Violet fell back against the couch with a deep sigh.

Closing her eyes, she continued, "And licking it..."

Violet bolted upright. "Licking? He licked your neck? Virginia!" she exclaimed with delight. "What did you do?"

With a wince, she admitted, "Closed my eyes and moaned a little."

With a gasp Violet said, "You didn't! What happened next?"

She nervously licked her lips and said, "He kissed me."

"Kissed you?" she asked incredulous. "Then what?"

"Well, I came to my senses and pulled back. It was then that the other carriage arrived."

"Ooh," Violet said, upset that someone had interrupted them.

"It was so muddy out that he had to carry me to the other carriage. He lifted me up and carried me right inside and sat down with me still in his arms. I had to struggle to get free. And then he dumped me right on the floor! Can you believe it?"

Violet stifled a giggle. "Maybe he wanted more of what was happening in the other carriage," she suggested.

"That's exactly what he wanted! He even said so!"

Violet couldn't help herself, she burst out laughing.

"It's not funny, Vi," she admonished but was beginning to see the humor in the situation. "You cannot tell a soul about this," she said sternly.

"My lips are sealed," she replied still laughing. Struck with a thought she sat up. "Did you not tell him that you're engaged?"

When Virginia just looked down at her hands and didn't reply, Violet said in an awed whisper, "You didn't tell him! Why didn't you tell him?"

"I don't know. I kept telling myself that I should, but for some reason I didn't."

"I knew it! You're in love with him!" Violet said triumphantly.

Virginia sighed and fell back on the couch "I suppose I am. I can't stop thinking about him, Vi. Ever since that first time we met him, when he stopped me from falling. I find myself suddenly thinking about him, I dream about him, I don't know how to get him out of my head."

Softly Violet said, "I don't think he's in your head Virginia. He's in your heart."

Virginia closed her eyes and groaned with dismay.

Drake couldn't help chuckling to himself as he drove away from Virginia's. He knew his behavior had been utterly disgraceful but when he was around her he just couldn't help himself. He was drawn to her like a moth to a flame. He would have loved to have stayed for breakfast but he knew she was furious with him and he didn't want to test her any further. Plus he had no idea how long her father would be gone. He had waited outside hoping for a chance to catch her alone. He had seen Violet go in earlier and he figured that that would be his best option. Getting her alone by the door was a stroke of luck and an opportunity he could not pass up. He hadn't meant to kiss her on the mouth but when he had looked into her eyes after kissing her neck, the spark of passion that he had seen there spurred him on. He had no idea how to get this intoxicating woman out of his system, or how he was going to see her again.