Her Only Desire Read online

  He wore his glossy black hair gathered back in a queue that hung just below the gold-trimmed collar of his uniform coat. His shoulder-length hair and savage bronzed tan only added to the aura of wildness and exotic danger about him.

  Oh, dear, she thought with a sinking feeling in her heart and a flutter in the pit of her stomach. Staring at him, Lily deemed it useful to remind oneself that he was a younger son and a military man, to boot. Handsome as sin, but she couldn’t afford him.

  Mother would wring her neck if she brought home a half-pay officer, no matter how blue his eyes were and how charming his smile. Best to pretend that men like Derek Knight didn’t exist.

  By dint of will, she dragged her stare away from him, and moving stealthily, resumed her search for her earring. Of course, his presence nearby made her task even more difficult. She wondered briefly what he was doing out here in the garden, but judging by his lascivious reputation, it wasn’t too difficult to guess.

  There were rumors that he possessed a devilish expertise in the pagan arts of love practiced in the East. Every adventuress in the ton had been clamoring for a tryst with him, and tonight he had probably come out merely to accommodate the next feckless woman on his long, long list.

  Lily made a better effort to put the beast out of her mind. She knew she had to hurry. If Derek Knight had already left Edward to his own devices, then her beau was probably asking where she had gone—a question her chaperon would want to know the answer to, as well.

  Rising to her feet, she lifted the hem of her sequined skirts until they skimmed the grass, stole one final glance at the stark, brooding figure of Derek Knight by the water, and then turned, gliding away silently from the garden.

  Retracing her steps through the deepening twilight, Lily passed alongside the tall boxwood maze, scanning the ground before her for any hint of her diamond shining in the grass like a tiny fallen star.

  She was so intent on her purpose that she did not hear her pursuer stealing up behind her until suddenly, rock-hard arms snaked around her waist, and even as she gasped in shock, husky, roguish laughter bubbled warmly by her naked earlobe.

  “Leaving so soon?” a low voice murmured by her ear. “How naughty of you to waste my time, my little shepherdess. You’re the one who pestered me to meet you here, and now I find you sneaking away? What’s wrong? Lost your nerve?”

  Before she could respond, the strong hands that firmly held her waist turned Lily around; but she knew who her captor was even before she saw his face, indeed, even before she caught the fleeting whiff of sandalwood that clung to him.

  Her heart thumped like it would leap out of her chest. She tilted her head back, wide-eyed behind her mask, and still puzzling over his words. Shepherdess? I’m not a shepherdess, I’m the fairy queen—oh, no! She realized he had made a mistake—that she had best explain her costume—fast!—but when Derek Knight smiled at her, she melted and panicked simultaneously.

  She pushed against his chest to no avail. With a knowing little smile—giving her no time whatsoever to argue—he lowered his head and simply claimed her mouth.

  Lily let out a muffled cry against his mouth, but it came out sounding more like a moan. She wanted to shove him away, but instead, in spite of herself, she went very still.

  His right hand curved tenderly around her nape; his sword hand, probably. He had killed men with that hand, she thought, but his touch was so gentle, so reassuring it could have soothed away the defenses of the most reluctant maiden. His silken lips dragged across hers slowly, beguilingly, back and forth a second time with such skilled, patient coaxing that her own shaped a kiss in answer, and sought more from his. When she tilted her head back farther, it was all the permission he required.

  The battle-hardened stranger deepened his kiss and gathered her closer with a cozy pull on her elbows. She let him draw her nearer; let him part her lips with a velvet stroke of his tongue; she let him ravish her mouth in dazed delight, and she fell helplessly, naturally into his urgent rhythm.

  His desire was all-encompassing. If the philosophy of carpe deum could be said to have a taste, she thought, it would surely be the enticing flavor of his kiss. Lily pressed the back of his hand with which he caressed her, unsure herself if she was trying to stop him or urging him on. As his tongue glided against hers in warm, seductive expertise, heady intoxication bloomed inside her.

  Ah, God, she had forgotten what this wonderful feeling was like—arousal—the clamorous want, the throbbing confusion. He made her yearn to throw caution to the wind. For so long she had managed to ignore the lonely ache to be touched, caressed, held. Just like this.

  The warmth of his arms around her warded off the cool hint of autumn that had crept into the clear night air.

  This was madness, pure delicious madness. Yet her senses exalted in the masculine solidity of his broad chest pressed against her womanly softness. Madness. Good God, what am I doing?

  Her eyes shot open wide as the sudden remembrance of her duty snapped her back to her wits. Here she was, enjoying herself—on the brink of ruining her life! Dear heaven, did she not know what the consequences could be for this rash momentary indulgence? Complete and total ruin, the end of all her marriage prospects, and her family’s utter doom?

  If Society’s gossips caught wind of the fact that she had even been alone with him, she was finished. To say nothing of Edward. Edward! It was only a question of which of them he’d kill first if he ever found out about this.

  She pushed her tempter away abruptly and glared at him from behind her mask, cursing the charm in his smoldering eyes, the invitation in his knowing smile.

  “Don’t think I’m done with you yet,” he whispered, but she when he moved closer, she backed up, prepared to flee.

  Derek Knight might be every inch as delicious as those wicked rumors claimed, but she must not forget again, even for an instant, how much she stood to lose….

  PRAISE FOR GAELEN FOLEY

  His Wicked Kiss—

  a USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller!

  “Foley maintains the delicious tension between Jack and Eden throughout; that, along with the mystery of Jack’s past, propels the novel to an exciting conclusion.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “This is adventure romance at its best, a mix of Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Caribbean that stirs you and leaves you sighing with satisfaction.”

  —Romantic Times

  “Compelling, absorbing and a delicious smorgasbord of different settings and characters, His Wicked Kiss is another nimble writing adventure from Gaelen Foley.”

  —RomanceJunkies.com

  “Always fabulous.”

  —JULIA QUINN

  One Night of Sin

  “Delectably entertaining, lusciously sensual…an irresistible author skilled at blending passion and intrigue.”

  —Booklist

  “One Night of Sin is pure perfection.”

  —The Historical Romance Club

  “An absolutely fabulous romance! Don’t start this tale late in the day, or you’ll be up all night finishing it.”

  —FreshFiction.com

  “A compelling romance.”

  —TheBestReviews.com

  “One Night of Sin is a wonderful historical novel that takes readers on an adventure they will never forget…sure to be a favorite among readers.”

  —RomanceJunkies.com

  Devil Takes a Bride

  “With its wonderfully complicated, unforgettable characters, sharp wit, and a riveting plot rife with menacing danger and sizzling passion, Foley’s latest Knight Miscellany historical Regency is simply superb.”

  —Booklist

  “A truly sensual romance, possessing depth of plot and character.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Complex and engaging characters…Intense emotions and great depth of poignancy enthrall from beginning to end.”

  —Romantic Times Top Pick

  Also by Gaelen Foley

/>   Published by Ballantine Books

  The Pirate Prince

  Princess

  Prince Charming

  The Duke

  Lord of Fire

  Lord of Ice

  Lady of Desire

  Devil Takes a Bride

  One Night of Sin

  His Wicked Kiss

  Her Only Desire is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  A Ballantine Books Mass Market Original

  Copyright © 2007 by Gaelen Foley

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

  BALLANTINE and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  eISBN: 978-0-345-49728-4

  www.ballantinebooks.com

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