Free Badcock by Debra Glass

memory of him making love to her rose and quickly became her undoing. His stare dropped to her lips and instinctively, she wet them with the tip of her tongue.
    “Sophia,” he growled huskily as his head descended.
    Her heart soared as his mouth came down on hers, hard and hungry, inflamed by the long weeks of absence and yearning.
    Sophia tried to remember that he was a rake, that he’d mistaken her for that hateful Lady Huntingdon, but when he nipped her bottom lip, coaxing her response, all lucid thought eroded.
    Her fingers threaded into the hair at his nape. She arched into him as his hand splayed wide across her back. His other hand cupped her bottom and dragged her desperately closer. Sophia opened her mouth, admitting his tongue as his arousal hardened between their bodies.
    Here. Now.
    Mindless, she cleaved to him as his kisses drifted from her mouth to her cheeks, to her sensitive neck. What was it about this man that drove her beyond the edge of reason?
    Her eyes snapped open when he suddenly seized her shoulders. He stared at her, hard. “Do you want to marry the duke?”
    She gaped.
    “Do you?” he asked, giving her a little shake.
    No. I loathe him. “I must.”
    Something bleak shone in his eyes and he released her. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I’ve no right to speak to you that way.”
    “You’ve no right to do anything to me,” she blurted.
    “You’re correct,” he said and inclined his head respectfully before he brushed past her.
    Sophia stood, stunned. When she finally managed to move, she brushed her fingers across her lips. She could still taste his mouth. The masculine scent of his skin and hair lingered in her senses.
    She swallowed as realization sank to the toes of her jeweled pumps. She’d missed the opportunity to tell him she didn’t want to marry Ralph and she may have missed the opportunity to spend the rest of her life with the only man who had ever made her feel alive.
    “Wait,” she called but he was already gone.
    “Here she is, out here in the garden!” Lady Huntingdon’s voice rang out.
    Sophia quickly smoothed down her dress. She hoped the rouge on her lips wasn’t smeared. There was no time to repair it, though, because Lady Huntingdon was headed straight for her with Ralph on her arm. Hatred for the woman welled.
    She’d planned this party just to watch Jack’s reaction when he realized he’d been with the wrong woman. Lady Huntingdon was downright diabolical.
    “Are you unwell?” Ralph asked. The way his eyes lingered on her mouth made Sophia want to hide.
    “I-I’m fine,” she said. “I just needed some air.”
    Lady Huntingdon’s gaze flitted around the garden and Sophia knew she was looking for Jack. “Whatever were you doing out here in the garden?”
    Sophia cleared her throat. “Admiring it, Lady Huntingdon,” she said sweetly. “Your gardener must be a treasure.”
    Lady Huntingdon flashed a knowing smile. “Indeed, he is.”
    “Shall we go back indoors?” Sophia asked, desperate to find a mirror.
    Lady Huntingdon ignored her plea. “I thought I heard Lord Stafford’s voice out here?”
    “I last saw him dancing with one of your guests,” Ralph said.
    Sophia resisted the compulsion to smile. Ralph had rescued her but Sophia could only hope he’d done so unwittingly.
    The hard look in his eyes, however, bespoke the contrary.
    Lady Huntingdon snickered. “Lord Stafford’s trysts will soon come to an end,” she said pointedly. One delicate eyebrow arched wickedly. “You do know that he’s engaged to the most delightful German countess, don’t you?”

Chapter Five
     
    Sophia sat across the coach from Ralph with her hands folded in her lap. They hadn’t spoken since leaving Lord Huntingdon’s country home.
    Her parents had left the party even earlier but apparently, Ralph had found Lady Huntingdon most entertaining. Sophia had been obligated to sit and listen to the woman drone on and on about Jack and his