Page 75 of Broken

She stroked him until he groaned again and he teased until she whimpered.

Giles pressed his head to Lilly’s. “Together?”

Lilly’s world exploded and hot liquid splattered over her belly. She struggled to catch her breath, but Giles soothed her until their breaths held steady again.

Giles’ lips brushed her cheek. “My god, you’ll be the death of me.”

She could not remember ever hearing Giles speak to his lovers after sex before. But knowing she had the power to change him made her smile.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Lilly opened her eyes in the dimly lit room and was instantly awake. The sheets were tight against her neck and she wriggled out from under them, content and wonderfully relaxed.

She was still in Giles’ bed, and when she turned her head, she could see that he was sleeping beside her, tangled in the edges of the blankets, his torso half bared to her eyes. His face was beneath a pillow and she looked her fill of the smooth lines of his chest and the light ginger hair that covered the parts of his chest she could see.

She wanted to touch him.

Last night had been so amazingly tender and as she thought about holding the length of him in her hand again, a throb began between her legs. She loved touching him.

Looking about the room, she spied a covered tray near the fire and a still-full bathtub. She could remember parts of yesterday. Unpleasant parts. She remembered casting up her accounts now and wrinkled her nose in embarrassment.

Poor Giles. She was a burden to him. Not one of his other lovers would have caused him this much trouble.

Lilly paused and thought about being counted among Giles’ many lovers, and decided she did not like to be included with them. If he had not entered her body, did that still make her one of his lovers? She thought so. She loved what he did to her. He made her body sing as she had never thought possible.

Feeling the urgent need for the convenience, she carefully extracted herself from the soft sheets. Giles grumbled, but she managed to ease out of bed without waking him to stand on wobbly legs.

Unfortunately, Lilly did not know where a chamber pot might be. She looked around and spied a doorway, but no screened corner to the room. Lilly decided to investigate the doorway and found Giles’ dressing room.

Row upon row of clothing graced one wall of a fair-sized room, and a low screen covered a far corner. She headed there first and happily found what she needed.

When she was comfortable again, she examined Giles’ clothing, trailing her fingers along the sleeves of expensive jackets in silk, wool, and brocade. There were rows of somber waistcoats, and quite a few gaudy ones she hoped Giles did not actually wear. The sight would be hideous.

Gleaming Hessians and evening slippers marched together in a neat row and she marveled at the luxury of having so many clothes to choose from. Her own wardrobe consisted of unflattering nightgowns and a heavy cloak. All the clothes she had worn in the past weeks had been borrowed from the forbidding Katarina.

Lilly prowled around Giles’ private rooms, fascinated by the small curios she found. The distinctly masculine chamber was filled to overflowing with items of a kind she had never noticed before. Little girls, for instance, should have nothing to do with pipes.

Giles’ collection graced one small curio cabinet attached to the wall. Some of them were ornate and some were very crude and old. She wondered why there were spaces, and then she remembered the half-finished butterfly collection in the nursery from years ago. Did Giles never finish a collection?

She moved to the tray and uncovered a meal of bread, fruit, and cheese. She picked up a bread roll and took a bite, strolling around the room and peeking at everything Giles owned.

He had several nice landscape paintings and Lilly liked the look of them. She knew nothing about art or important painters, but she liked what she saw as these places looked peaceful.

She found Giles’ discarded clothes strewn over one chair and, noticing her skin had chilled, she slipped on his shirt. It fell below her knees, swamping her in linen. Holding the bread roll between her teeth, she fought to get her hands free. She tried rolling the sleeves up and out of the way but made a messy job of it. Obviously, she was not meant to escape their soft clutches.

She read the spines of Giles’ small collection of books. Udulpho, The Monk, and Dangers Through Life. Lilly had never heard of them and wondered what they might be about.

There was one small book set to the side. She picked it up and opened the cover.

A gasp escaped her as she recognized her own handwriting. It was her book. The one she had started before the accident and forgotten. She stroked her finger over her writing in fondness. She had always kept a journal up until her accident.

Mama had disapproved of many things Lilly had enjoyed doing, often taking her pleasures away as a means to get her way.

Lilly held the book close to her chest, suddenly light-headed. Needing to sit down, she sank into a window seat thick with cushions. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms about them.

Mama was not safe to be around. Regardless of what Barty suggested, she would never agree to go back to Dumas. She would refuse. She would run away and find somewhere else to live.

Lilly flipped the book open, reading over the words of her younger self, whose only pleasure in life was pleasing her papa. It seemed such a long time ago and now she was older she’d begun to doubt whether he really had her best interests at heart. She did not agree with his suggestion that she marry. It wouldn’t be fair to the man.