16. David

16

David

I t was a relief to finally slide the key into the door of their cabin.

The ship was a swarm of activity—people frantically trying to find their rooms, crew members wheeling about trolleys stacked high with suitcases, children crying, dogs barking, couples fighting. Being the last two people aboard meant that David and Caroline were thrown right into the chaos.

If they’d never travelled on this ship before, the mayhem would have swallowed them whole.

Thankfully, they knew their way around. David dropped Caroline off in the ladies’ lounge and fought his way to collect their room key. The queue was a mile long, but it couldn’t be helped—and it was nothing in comparison to the queue for the third-class rooms.

David frowned when he finally received the room key. He’d stayed on the Berengaria enough to know which corridors hosted which rooms. State Suite, A Deck, A30 , the card on the keychain told him. He’d stayed on A Deck before, but other than the Imperial Suite they’d stayed in last time, he didn’t remember them having multiple bedrooms.

Either way, he collected Caroline from the ladies’ lounge and took the short elevator ride up to A Deck. The hallways were busy, but they were a breath of fresh air compared to the claustrophobic riot they’d left downstairs. Well-dressed ladies and gentlemen mulled around, keys in hand, clearly still searching for their own rooms.

Their cabin was down a narrow corridor, but he was pleasantly surprised to see that they were right up against the side of the ship. Hopefully that meant they’d get some natural light in through the portholes.

David pushed the door open, pleased to see beams of sunlight striding across the cabin, coming to rest on the bed’s lavish emerald fabric.

“Oh.” Caroline’s surprise was audible, her lips parting. “There’s only one bed.”

“I asked for another suite.” David searched the room. It was just as luxurious as the Imperial Suite they’d stayed in last time, but its rich wood panelling and opulent furnishings were confined to a single room—plus, thankfully, a bathroom.

She reclined on the overstuffed chaise, looking up at him with eyes of coquettish innocence. “I wasn’t complaining.”

Fuck. How was it she knew how to heat his blood with just three words. Or was it the way she looked at him? His feet moved of their own accord, drawn in by Caroline’s spell.

How did he ever think he could resist this?

He knew he should feel guilty. What kind of man steals his son’s wife? And yet…

“I didn’t think you were,” he purred, kneeling on the chaise to loom over her. Memories of last night came to the forefront of his mind, memories of swallowing her taste as she moaned. There was no stopping this now, even if he wanted to . His lips brushed against hers, devouring the whimper that left her. David deepened the kiss, feeling her legs parting beneath him. They locked at his hips, pulling him closer .

David licked into her mouth, sweeping his large hand up her thigh. He hummed out a laugh when he realised she was wearing the same type of underwear as last night. “I like these,” he admitted, a devious smirk curving his mouth. “They’re so very easy to take off.”

Her lips swollen with their kiss; Caroline was breathless. “I know.”

“Perhaps you should try wearing no underwear at all.”

The gasp of shock she let out was stuttered, her eyes widening at his suggestion. “I’d be…bare.”

“Mmm.” David bit at her neck. “But think of the benefits you’d gain.”

Caroline moaned when he kissed the teeth marks he’d left. “You’re so much naughtier than I thought you’d be.”

He laughed, closing the gap between them. A groan left him when he ground his hips against hers, his cock throbbing at finally getting to feel her beneath him. Pounding desire roared at him to take her, to make her his own. Thin scraps of fabric and the shreds of his decency were all that separated them; it wouldn’t take long to tear them aside.

He could be inside her in thirty seconds flat—but she was an innocent, and he wasn’t a cad.

A knock on the door made him look up.

With a soft huff, David pressed his lips against hers in a tender kiss before pushing himself off the chaise and approaching the door. Ensuring that Caroline had time to throw her skirts back into their proper place, he swung it open.

A porter outfitted in a blue-and-white striped livery stood there, his hand on a trolley packed high with luggage. “Your suitcases, m’lord.”

David stood aside to let him in. He caught Caroline’s eye as the porter worked, grinning at the charming blush covering her cheeks. She was so bashful he wanted to gather her up in his arms and protect her from the rest of the world for all eternity .

But there were things they needed to discuss—things that had come to light.

Passing the porter a tip when he was finished with the cases, David bade the man farewell. “Before you bewitch me again, there is something I wish to talk to you about. Two things, actually.”

Her eyes rounded. “Something bad?”

“Not necessarily,” he responded. “In the rush to the ship, I never had the chance to ask how you were. Discovering Oliver is alive after such a long time must have come as a shock.”

She raised her shoulders, as though she didn’t quite have an answer for him. “Half of me is elated, and the other half wants to go back there and finish shouting at him.” Her eyes widened suddenly, nerves lining her face. “When…how long were you listening to our conversation?”

“I arrived just in time to hear him threatening Harry,” he admitted, exhaling the rush of anger swelling in his chest. “Although I was extremely relieved when you turned down his offer.”

A huff of laughter left her, and she shook her head. “The fact that he even thought that was a solution after everything that happened with Emmeline makes me want to throttle him.” She opened her palm, easing it with her other hand. “I still can’t believe I slapped him. I didn’t expect it to hurt so much.”

It was David’s turn to laugh. “Helena said you had, but I didn’t truly believe her.” He approached her, cradling her small hand in his and pressing a kiss to her palm. “I’m sorry I didn’t arrive in time to see it, but maybe leave the aggression to me in the future.”

“Very well.” She gave an exaggerated, humorous sigh. “If I must.”

“But, other than that, you’re well? Truly?”

“I’m…shocked and angry and confused and relieved .” She let her other hand caress his cheek. “But then I remember I’m with you, and that everything will be okay.”

David pulled her into his embrace, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Always.”

“And the second thing you wanted to talk to me about?” Caroline asked, glancing up at him.

“Normally, I wouldn’t enquire into my son’s bedroom habits,” he hesitated, swallowing the revulsion the question inspired, “but I do feel it’s necessary here. I was under the impression that you and Harry consummated your marriage.”

Caroline recoiled in a blink. “But…you were there that night. He was consummating something, but it certainly wasn’t with me.”

“It was gone midnight when I arrived. I assumed you and Harry had…” David swallowed. “ Been together . But then afterwards you found him with that woman.”

Her curls shook vehemently. “Not at all. We wed, but we’d been travelling all day and went to bed early. Separately. In our own beds. Then I woke up in the middle of the night and discovered that he had…company.”

Relief burst from him in a short laugh. “Forgive me.” David sat on the chaise and took her hands. “But that’s excellent news. You don’t need a divorce. You can simply get an annulment.”

For whatever reason, Caroline didn’t agree. Movement on her cheek suggested she was gnawing away at the inside of her lip. “Do you remember me telling you I called him?”

A nod.

“Well, I told him I wanted an annulment, to which he said that he would lie. Harry said that he and Florence would both swear that our marriage had been consummated.” Her shoulders lifted in a shrug as she stared at her lap. “Who would they believe, me or him?”

For fuck’s sake, Harry .

David lifted her chin with a gentle touch. “Even if he does lie, you have me on your side now. Like it or not, my title comes with weight, and thus so do my words.”

Those blue eyes flickered with hope. “Really?”

“I promise. We’ll get the marriage annulled. You’ll have your freedom, Starling.”

And what then?

If she was no longer married to Harry, what then? The injured starling he’d found near Castell Du'r Arddu all those years ago had left him once she could fly again. Would her namesake do the same?

David could no more force Caroline to stay than he’d been able to force her predecessor. Keeping her at Castell Du'r Arddu against her will would be no better than caging her.

She deserved to spread her wings and fly.

Caroline kissed him, winding her arms around his neck and latching on tight. “Thank you,” she breathed against his lips. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

He could never refuse her anything.

David slanted his lips over hers, consuming her relief with a groan. She whimpered as he nibbled on her bottom lip, pressing their bodies closer together. The feel of her soft femininity against him only spurred him on.

Frantic, he pulled her closer, slipping his hand down to her thighs to encourage her to straddle him. “That’s it,” he whispered, pushing her hips down to meet the erection tenting his trousers. A sigh left him when her weight finally settled over his cock. “Do you feel that?”

She nodded, her eyes heavy-lidded and her lips reddened with passion .

“That’s what you do to me.” Arousal thundered inside him, powering a sick masculine urge to be the one to take her innocence. “I was born a gentleman but you’ve reduced me to a beast. All I think about is wanting to be inside you, wanting to fuck you, wanting to hear you moan, wanting you to come around my cock.” David cut himself off before he terrified the poor woman.

There was so much more he wanted. More primal urges. Primitive and possessive. Urges to impregnate her, to see her stomach rounded and full.

Caroline’s teeth grazed over her bottom lip. “Well, we are alone,” she said, her eyes well-stocked with suggestion.

“We are.” His response was hesitant.

A frown drew her brows together. “But…?”

“We’ve just clarified that your virginity remains in your possession, Caroline.”

“Technically, we ascertained that my marriage to Harry wasn’t consummated.” She waved a hand. “But go on.”

David blinked in surprise. “Have you been with a man already?” She’d been so…shocked at how her body responded last night.

“No.” The admittance was soft, a smile playing on her lips. “I’m just being obtuse.”

That little grin was contagious, he discovered. “If you want to go further than we already have, then we’re going to do it my way.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning that we’re going to do things properly .” Twenty years ago, he would have been champing at the bit to fuck her. Once she said she was willing, David wouldn’t have given it a second thought. His clothes would have been off in a trice—and hers too, most likely. But now he knew there was as much pleasure in sex itself as in the build-up, not to mention the fact that Caroline was young. She’d already had her heart stomped on by Harry. David wanted to make this special for her. He wanted to give her everything she’d been dreaming of. “You’re a lady, and you deserve to be treated accordingly.”