The Officer's Temptation | A Regency Romance

Chapter Seventeen: The Dueling Ground

When the first tinge of blue light filtered in through the window, Marlowe jolted awake. A rush of emotions swept over him, the dread of meeting Nicholas on the field melting into the tender elation that he felt looking at Kate, who was now asleep in his arms. He hadn't expected to sleep at all, only to hold her as long as he could, savoring each second that she was beside him. He shifted his arm gently out from underneath her delicate neck and sat up slowly, trying to rub the dry, heavy feeling out from his tired eyes.

He knew that he needed to make his way to the secluded wood outside of town where Nicholas had proposed to meet. He had only a few minutes to dress and saddle the horse if he were to arrive by first light, and yet... He watched the slight rise and fall of Kate's ribs, the breath escaping through her slightly parted lips. She was lying on her side, her black lashes resting against her fair cheeks. Her shoulders and back were naked, a sheet clutched to her chest. In the dim light, he could just see the small dots across her nose. He wished that he had the time to touch each one, brush his fingers against her skin and trace lines through them like constellations. She was so devastatingly beautiful... If only he didn't have to wake her.

He brushed a hand over her forehead, swiping his fingers gently down the curve of her cheek. "Kate," he whispered. She didn't stir.

Distantly, he heard the faraway creak of a board. The servants were rising upstairs. The house would soon be coming to life with the sun. "Kate," he said more urgently, lowering his lips to her ear. "Kate, you must wake up, darling."

Her eyelashes fluttered and she groaned. "Marlowe?"

He kissed her forehead. "You must get dressed."

Her eyes finally snapped open and she scrambled for the sheet, pulling it up around her chest. "Marlowe! What time is it?"

"You need to go back to your room," he said. "Before anyone finds you here. It's nearly dawn."

"That can't be so. I only closed my eyes for a moment." She pushed herself up on her elbows. The sheet slipped down, exposing the full curve of her breasts, the small buds of her nipples.

"Are you saying that it was the nightingale and not the lark that pierced the fearful hollow of mine ear?" he said wryly. He wished that it were so, desperately wished that it was not dawn that was beginning to streak the sky outside. The peak of her breast was so tempting. Would that it were the dead of night and he could make love to her again. 

She frowned at him. "Don't quote that dreadful play to me. You know they both die in the end?" She rubbed her eyes. "I never meant to fall asleep."

He wished that he could stay in bed, naked beside her, but he had to move urgently. "I didn't either, but you have to get back to your bed before anyone sees you in my room." With a last longing look at her breast, he rolled out of bed and began picking up clothes. His muscles protested. He and Kate had made the most of their time together... more than once that night.

She frowned at him and threw off the covers. "I'll only be a moment," she said. "Don't leave without me."

"Don't leave without you!" he sputtered, dropping her clothes on the bed. "You can't mean that you intend to come with me!"

She met his gaze squarely, jutting out her chin defiantly as she yanked her night rail over her head. "Of course I'm coming with you."

"Absolutely not." He tried to sound stern as he forced his legs through trousers and yanked them up around his waist. There was absolutely no way that he would allow Katherine to accompany him to the dueling ground. It was entirely out of the question, entirely improper, and entirely too dangerous.