Chapter 15

George's eyes widened with desire as he ran his eyes all over Sophie's naked form.

This was clearly not what he was expecting to happen in the captain's library on the battleship, but in the depth of her mind she knew that her family were long gone, and she no longer wanted to hold back. Sophie was a woman that knew what she wanted, which was why she had slipped out of her dress, to show him everything.

"I want you," she murmured as she sashayed towards him. "And I get the feeling that you want me too."

"Oh, yes? And what gives you that impression?"

But Sophie did not care that George was teasing her. She was certain in her convictions.

"You almost kissed me," she whispered as she traced her finger down his cheek, the same way that he had done hers. "And I know you wanted to close the gap. It is probably you simply trying to be a gentleman that prevented you from taking further action. But I do not want you to be a gentleman."

Burning hot blood was pounding through her body.

Sophie had never felt this way before, and it was absolutely glorious.

As she moved closer to him, his hands lightly grazed her skin. He touched her in the same places he had at the ball, when his fingers had wandered ever so slightly.

But she wanted them to wander more.

She craved him, yearned for him, her whole body was throbbing with need.

But since she had not yet kissed him, she could not really imagine that moment. Even as she slept in the deepest, calmest rest of her whole life, her subconscious would not bring up images that did not come from reality. Sophie found it endlessly frustrating.

She wanted everything from this man, and since it had not happened in real life, she at least wanted it here.

But George continued to smirk at her with a knowing delight in his eyes. It was as if he enjoyed teasing her, he wanted her on the edge of desire like this, feeling like she was about to explode. The fizzing of excitement bursting through her body was about to consume her whole.

"What would it be like to actually kiss you?" she mused as she brushed her fingers lightly over his lips. "I have thought about that a lot."

"Maybe you will find out one day. Perhaps I will ask you to dance at the next ball and we can find out then."

"Oh, that is naughty, George," Sophie giggled as a heat rushed to her cheeks. "You know we cannot kiss in public. Can you imagine the scandal? The ton would love it."

"You might be right about that," he agreed. "But I still may ask you to dance, because I love the feeling of having you in my arms…"

There was no music playing, but they started to dance as if they were truly at a ball, and that was how they stayed through the rest of her dream. In one another's arms, where she loved to be…

***

The midnight blue of the gown was unlike anything Sophie had ever worn before. She did not usually go for darker colors because she was worried that it might not suit her skin tone, but as she glanced at her reflection in this dress, she was surprisingly happy.

"You are right, Mother. I do think that this gown will be perfect for the evening."

Of course, when Sophie thought about the night, she could only think about the dreams that had been haunting her ever since they had their tour of the battleship, when there was an almost kiss that she could not shake from her mind. Now, she knew precisely where her desire lay.

She had a spark only for George, and that was the man she wanted to focus on.

Tonight was going to be another night that she could get closer to him, and Sophie could not wait.

"You look absolutely beautiful," her mother declared as she kissed Sophie on the cheek. "You will be the belle of the ball once more."

Sophie blushed and giggled. "I am not too sure about that. But I am certain that we will have a good time."

"Well, we should get going, darling, because the carriage is already waiting for us."

Sophie's heart was racing, and it continued to do so the whole journey to the manor house which was housing this ball. Another fancy London home which screamed of opulence. This was one of the most thrilling things about this city and the Season for Sophie. Seeing how everyone else lived.

Immediately, Sophie could see Katherine and Victoria as they headed inside the building. She was relieved and excited. Not having her friends there in Hempstead park had left her talking to Gregory for a very long time, with no real way to escape. No one else to garner her attention.

At least if she had her friends here tonight, she would be able to gossip and have fun as well.

Excitedly, Sophie entered the glorious ballroom which looked equally as stunning as the last one she'd been in. High decorated ceilings, beautifully painted walls, a lovely oak floor which was going to be wonderful to dance upon. She could not wait to make at least some of her dreams to come true.

"Lady Sophie, you are here!" Katherine could not have looked more thrilled to see her friend. "Come and stand with us, we are going to head to the refreshments table because we can get a good view of the room there. We can see who is arriving."

That was absolutely perfect for Sophie because she wanted to get a glimpse of George the moment that he arrived. Since she had been dreaming about him so much, especially with the spiciness of the dreams, she wanted to adjust to seeing him in person first.

Then she would be more than happy to be in that man's arms once more.

"Have you seen Lady Smith's dress?" Victoria asked the group with a hint of judgment on her tone. "I do not think that color does her any favors."

"It is the same color that Lady Black was wearing at the last ball," Katherine observed. "I sense that the competitive element to their friendship is amping up another level."

Much as it was fun to gossip with her friends, Sophie could not engage in the conversation because she was too busy trying to seek him out. It was as if she had become obsessed with George, and she could hardly think about anything else. As an increasing number of people entered the ballroom, she could not stop her heart from sinking every time it was not George.

Why was he not here? What on earth was happening? It filled her with a sense of dread to imagine him already being on a ship back to Sweden.

It was hard for her to believe that he would leave without saying goodbye, but what would she do without him here? She would hate it.

"Oh, look, Lord Harrington is here to see you."

Sophie's heart skipped a beat.

Had she somehow missed him entering the room?

"Oh, I see." But of course it was Gregory. She knew that he was here, she just had not thought about the prospect of him approaching her which may well have been na?ve. "So he is."

"I think he is going to ask you to dance again. Me and Victoria will take a step back."

That was the last thing that Sophie wanted them to do, but she did not have a choice in the matter. If Gregory wanted to dance with her, then she would have to agree.

"Please," Gregory said as soon as he was in ear shot. "Lady Dashwood, do me the honor of dancing with me."

She smiled through gritted teeth and took his hand, allowing Gregory to lead her out on to the dance floor. Once they were in position, she could not help but wonder what on earth they were going to have to talk about now. Had they not covered everything possible when they were at the park?

"It is wonderful to see you again, Lady Dashwood. You have a rather ravishing gown on tonight."

Ravishing. There it was… the same compliment as always. Did he really not have anything else to say?

"This ball is quite lovely too, is it not?" he continued. "It is a shame that not everyone is here tonight."

Sophie furrowed her brows in confusion. "Who are you talking about?"

It seemed like Gregory delighted in answering this question. Almost as if this was the reason that he had asked her to dance at all. "My brother has not managed to make it tonight, because he is taking care of business again. Whatever that means. With my brother, business can mean all sorts."

Sophie's heart sunk.

She had spent such a long time getting dressed tonight, excitedly thinking about what it was going to be like to dance with him, just to be let down.

He had to know that she wanted to dance with him. She had been assuming that he wanted to dance with her, so this left her a little shell shocked.

"I suppose he has to keep working," Gregory continued with a laugh. A nasty sounding chuckle that made Sophie feel a little cold. "Seeing how he has been cut off from the family inheritance."

Shock radiated through Sophie.

Was that why he worked so hard to make a success of himself in Sweden?

Why would he have been cut off? That sort of thing only happened in the most extreme of circumstances, as far as Sophie knew, which meant George had to have done something to deserve it. If it was not gambling, then what was it? Was that why she had that strange feeling when talking to him? As if he was hiding something from her?

"But that work may well keep him too busy," Gregory said, like he could not sense Sophie's inner turmoil at all. Or maybe he could, and he was delighting in that a little. "Too busy to ever have a wife and a family. Too busy trying to earn enough money to keep them going, to actually give them any love. It is a real shame."

Concern floated through Sophie once more.

It made her realize that everything George had said about Gregory was the truth. He was cold and calculating. Most certainly not her friend.

Sophie continued to dance with Gregory, grateful that she had the muscle memory to do the steps even when distracted, because her mind was all over the place. Her thoughts had been scattered all over her brain and she did not know how to pick them back up again. She did not know how to put herself back together again.

Maybe she would not be able to. Maybe the heart break was already creeping up through her, and there was nothing that she could do to stop it. The damage had already been done.