Chapter Thirteen
The next morning
Selena clutchedAStarry Night in a death grip as she flung open the door of that earl’s bedchamber. His absence over these past days irked her in a way not even her brother had managed over the years. So now she refused to sit idly by and wait for this jackal to come to his senses.
What senses?
Now seeing Warrick sprawled in the center of the bed in nothing but his breeches had all but robbed her of her own. He on the other hand... not even the door slamming against the wall of his chamber had woken him!
Things had taken an unexpected turn this last week. The duel. A rekindled infatuation. And Warrick finally cutting the cord that had tied them together on her brother’s request.
But looking at him there, she could no longer deny or pretend. She found this rascal earl attractive, and she wanted to hunt down the meaning of the attraction between them. But she couldn’t do that if he kept her at a distance.
Selena’s eyes drifted over the length of his body.
All strength.
Her gaze narrowed. Even the soft vibration of his snores mocked her, indicating a man in the grip of a peaceful slumber.
Honestly!
The book flew from her fingers, an impulsive toss aimed at his mighty chest. She didn’t even stop to admire the sight, anger once again flaring at this restful picture. The book, however, had other ideas, and landed just south of where she aimed.
The earl shot up with a grunt-like oath, cupping his nether regions. “Hell and damnation! Who courts death?”
“’Tis I, Selena Savage.”
“Selena?” Her name spat like a curse from his lips. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask the same of you. Has drinking become a new hobby of yours?”
He fell back onto the bed, curling into a ball. “Get out.”
“Why? Have I disturbed your peace?”
“I’m not joking, Selena.” He managed a glare through a face contorted in pain. “Your brother already wants to hitch us together. You should have known better than to ever enter my chamber alone in the first place. There is no excuse for entering it a second time unless you came here deliberately looking for trouble.”
“If that is what it takes to make you stop avoiding me, then yes, I’m here to look for trouble.”
“And what about the consequences? Are they not clear enough for you?”
“I shall accept them all.”
“Even when it’s marriage.” His gaze bore into hers. “To me.”
“You and my brother really are entirely too preoccupied with the topic.”
“You are not preoccupied enough,” he shot back.
“Why all this harping on the matter? It’s not like Saville is going to the papers with the news that we kissed. Between us, as long as no word gets out, my reputation remains intact. Also, he will never know I came to your house if you don’t admit to it again.”
“Do you think all servants are tight lipped?”
“You don’t trust your own servants?”
“It’s that I don’t trust human nature. We got lucky once. We might not get lucky again.”
“I thought luck deserted you when you acquired your family curse.” She strode over to the bed, a pinch of sympathy gathering in her breast at the pain he was clearly still feeling. “Does it hurt that much?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry.” At his grunt, Selena continued. “You created a list.”
His gaze darkened as it met hers, confirming her suspicion that he would never have told her on his own. “Who told you about that?”
“My brother.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Why? Was not the whole point of it for me to find out?”
“No.” He unfurled from his position and finally uncupped his hands from that place to wipe his eyes. “I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking all that much when I created it.”
“But you were thinking of me.”
Silence.
Selena wanted to punch him. “Were you also thinking of me while you were avoiding me this past week? Or were you just thinking about yourself and all the peace of mind my absence would bring you?”
A grumble. “Both.”
“Really? Then why does it feel like you are not telling the whole truth?”
“I won’t say it again,” Warrick said with a deeper edge to his voice. “Leave. Now.”
“Why should I leave?” A clear challenge meant to provoke.
“Because I’m not feeling like a gentleman at the moment, Selena. I’m feeling more beast than man.”
“Oh? Should I be scared then?”
“Yes, because even I am terrified, damn it.”
Oh?“I have never seen you terrified to face a challenge before.”
“Do not test me, Selena. I’m hanging on by a thread even as we speak.”
“Why not test you? Lord knows, I have been tested time and time again since that list was pasted into the betting book.”
He shoved a hand through his hair. “You are going to make me bald at this rate.”
“Always going on about your precious locks and so-called receding hairline. It’s all in your head, you know.” Receding hairline or not, the man was still handsome as sin. He’d be handsome even if he had no hair on his head at all.
“I have a mirror.”
Selena scoffed. “Tell me something, Phineas. Have you found the peace you sought this past week? If not, just act the beast. What have you to lose by it?”
“You do not know what you are saying.”
“You are done acting the gentleman, and I’m done acting the lady.”
“You don’t have to act the lady, you are a lady.”
“Well, I don’t want to be one anymore.”
“Stop acting so stubborn. You will be ruined if you stay.” That burning gaze dropped to her shirt, then he growled, “Did I not tell you never to wear those damn trousers again?”
Selena smirked. “Are you provoked? Good. My mission has been accomplished.”
“I will ruin you.”
“Is that what you meant by being more beast than gentleman?” Her heart sped up, and she inched a step closer. “You say ruin, I say explore.”
“What has gotten into you?” he demanded.
“Perhaps I have turned into a beast as well.” She paused. “Though I did call on you for a reason.” She had intended to provoke him and then inform him about the note. But honestly, she could always tell him about the summons later.
“Out with it and then leave.”
“But now I’m enjoying myself too much to leave.”
“Selena, I’ve no patience for games today. Go before I do something we both regret.”
Both regret? Selena was rather sure they had already sunk far into a bog of regrets. She wanted to free herself from it, which was why she’d suddenly changed her mind about telling him about the real reason she’d sought him out today.
A familiar rush of excitement washed over her.
Ah, yes, she’d often felt this thrill years ago whenever he’d spoken to her or even shared the same space with her. Only it was no longer the innocent kind of excitement that shot up her spine, but rather something much more tempting. Irresistible. An urge she no longer wanted to hold at bay.
“I may have come for one reason, but now I’m staying for a different reason.”
“Selena.” A low growl, one that brought a smile to her lips.
“Phineas, I am no longer a girl. I am a woman capable of making her own choices.”
“I don’t see you as a girl,” he denied.
“Yes, of course. I am Saville’s sister, a lady. If I carried any other title than that of innocent lady, you would not be shooing me away like a naughty child.”
“I’m not shooing you away.”
“You clearly are. I am nothing but a diamond that must be handled with care. A jewel that cannot be tarnished. Well I am rather sick of being a diamond. Why can’t I be a stone or a rock? Even a pretty shell you pick up on the beach will be fine.”
“Jewel, diamond, rock, stone. When you are in my bedchamber, I don’t see you as any of those things. That is the bloody problem.”
He paused, letting the full weight of those words—those splendid words—settle over her.
“But,” he said, and she stilled, a breathless pause that filled with tightness. “I cannot ignore the possible consequences.”
“Would it have been a problem if I were a widow?”
“A widow? Don’t be absurd.”
“No, answer me. If I, a widow, stood before you in your chamber tempting you to act the beast, would you hold back?”
He paused.
Hah! “I knew it.”
“Fine.” He scratched his chest. “I cannot argue against such logic. But the fact remains that you are not a widow.”
Selena followed the movement of his hand, wanting to be the one to trail her fingers across his chest. “Pretend that I am.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“What would you do right now if I were a widow? Or a courtesan? Or whomever you wish me to be.”
He stared at her, his gaze intense. “Whomever I wish you to be?”
The lowered timbre of his voice sent a new wave of shivers down her spine. Selena swallowed and nodded. “What would you do?”
His lips arched in a smile she had never glimpsed from him before. He motioned with his finger for her to come closer. Selena inhaled deeply, taking one small step that brought her slippers up to the bed. “I would punish you.”
Startled, she replied, “Punish me? Why? Didn’t you say you are not the sort of man that punishes?”
“I’m feeling rather contrary at the moment.” He pointed at his lower region. “For almost robbing me of the ability to sire children.”
Selena blinked, half intrigued and half terrified, her smile slow in coming. “What punishment shall the beastly earl dish out then?”
His hand snaked out to snatch her wrist, and Selena found herself pulled onto the bed to lay next to him, shackled within his warm, strong arms. “Let me show you.”
*
Control had neverfelt this good snapping. He had held onto it for far too long, and by Christ, her body was heaven against his.
Whateveryou want me to be.
What those words did to him, she would never understand. Never had such a simple sentence jolted him to such an extreme that Warrick had to keep from pouncing on a woman. A lion who had caught sight of his gazelle.
Whatever he wanted her to be.
What did he want her to be?
He knew.
He just couldn’t admit the words out loud. Nor could he bring himself to acknowledge the truth. Because the answer would leave him even more helpless, powerless than her entering his bedchamber alone after all they’d shared.
Yet she had given him permission to reveal, no, to act on his desire. And her smile... how had he only noticed this about her now? She was like rays of sunshine that pierced through the blackened sky. Then when she disappeared as clouds set in, all he could do, all that was left for him to do, was chase her. The light.
What would he do if he didn’t have to hold back?
Everything.
His lips found hers in sweet desperation. If heaven had a taste, it would be Selena Savage. Unlike the first two kisses, he took his time with this one. No anger drove him to silence or to prove a point. This moment was all about savoring, and Warrick savored all the warmth his lips sought. The warmth that his dreams lacked.
He could never have imagined that the dream he’d been having before she brutally awoke him would come true.
His hand smoothed over her waist to press her close to him, as close as she could possibly get. “I hate these damn trousers. They drive me crazy.” His hands tugged at her shirt, pulling it free from its tucked-in state.
“What are you doing?” she breathed against his lips.
Then his hands were on her skin. “What any beast would do when a beautiful, headstrong woman enters its lair.”
She let out a small gasp, then laughed. “Oh no, what’s a woman to do?”
“Surrender.” A predator-like glint gleamed in his eyes. “Just surrender.”
“I guess I have no choice.”
“Not if you stay here. You have one last chance to escape, Selena.” His heart pounded in his chest like a swordsmith hammering at a piece of metal, waiting for her answer.
“You asked me if I wished to be ruined.” She smiled at him, and his breath stalled.
Did that smile mean...? Don’t get ahead of yourself, little Phineas, that smile might mean a thousand things.
“The answer is...” she paused, and he paused along with her. He didn’t even blink, as if the fate of his future would be secured in her next breath. “The answer is yes.”
God help him.
He should not feel as relieved as he did. Any last noble intentions vanished like a puff of smoke, making him question whether they’d even existed in the first place.
She’d said nothing about what would happen after, but he would not push. What mattered was this moment. And at this moment, she was in his bed. His lips curved slowly, his smile reaching his eyes.
“What are you waiting for?” she breathed.
He didn’t know either. He lowered his head to scrape the swell of her breast through the material of her shirt with his teeth, drawing a small gasp from her. “I won’t let you go anymore.”
“You couldn’t chase me away even if you brandished a candelabra.”
“If you were the one chasing, I wouldn’t run away.” His eyes locked on hers. “Then you know what happens next?”
“You ruin me.”
“No.” He lowered his head to the arch of her neck and inhaled deeply. “I ravish you. But first, these damn clothes...”
Hands tugged at her shirt. “What are you even wearing? Or not wearing?”
“I was in a hurry, so this is my own brand of fashion.”
That reminded him. “What made you rush over this early in the morning that you decided to fashion this style? Or was it purely to provoke me?” He suspected the latter. She would have remembered his warning. Minx.
She pressed a finger against his lips. “That’s a conversation for later. But I must admit, I do enjoy wearing shirts and trousers much more than I do dresses.”
“Seems to me like you had plans to ruin me, Selena.”
“Perhaps I did.” She pushed at him lightly. “Let me remove the shirt.”
“Not very ladylike of you.” He rubbed his cheek against hers, his gaze traveling to the buttons of her attire. Too many buttons.
“I’m not feeling like a lady at the moment, Phineas.”
“Christ, I hate it when you say my name.”
A soft, fair brow arched. “Hate? Truly?”
He smiled against her skin. “Too many shivers down my spine for my liking.”
Teeth flashed, and Warrick could only watch in awe as she shrugged out of her coat and her shirt. She tossed the clothing aside, leaving only her corset and trousers. He cursed, his whole body tightening at the sight.
So beautiful.
His gaze flicked to the disregarded garments, his heart beating in his throat. “They fit you perfectly.”
“I had them commissioned alongside the other items for our grand reveal of the betting book. Remember that?”
How could he forget. The shock had taken years off his life. Back then, it had overshadowed even his guilt about losing the list. The combination of that outfit along with the Turkish trouble...
“I’m going to cut these trousers up and toss them in the fire.”
Her fingers moved to tug at the laces of her corset. As if sensing his anticipation, she paused, a slow smile forming on her face. “Aren’t you going to remove your breeches?”
“You are doing such a smashing job of removing your clothes, I’m hoping you could remove mine as well.”
She laughed. “That would take the joy out of watching you remove them.”
He stared at her.
She reached out to trail a finger over his jaw. “I’m enjoying that look on your face more than I ought, Phineas.”
Hell. Damnation. And everything in between.
“You are driving me mad, here,” Warrick half growled, half groaned.
“I quite like that, too.”
“Minx. What books have you been reading?” They should be outlawed. “Where did you learn to tease like this?”
“Have you forgotten? I don’t read.”
Of course. “Well then?”
The grin that lit her face stole his breath. “We women have a base instinct, too.”
God save humanity. “A damn lethal one if you ask me.” Warrick crawled over her, eyes burning into hers as he yanked those Turkish trousers down. “You are taking too long.”
Soft laughter provoked goose flesh all over his skin. But that wasn’t half of it. She did away with her corset, and the sight of her... he couldn’t breathe. She was so damn alluring.
He cupped her breasts gently, testing their fullness in his palm before he captured their peak between his lips. She gasped beneath him, and the sound was like magic in his ears.
Ah, hell. “I want to take my time, do so many things to you.”
Her eyes blazed. “Then do them.”
“I can’t.” He lowered his head to hers, their noses touching. “I can’t hold back.”
“Then don’t do that either. We are both beasts, remember.”
Beasts . . .
I want to be so much more than a beast for you.
But this was not the moment. Not the time. This was all about them, naked, skin against skin, together. She shimmied fully out of the trousers he’d already tugged down with impatience. And dear Christ, the gentleman inside him vanished.
Who was he to disobey?
His fingers circled the folds of her sex before pushing inside. He captured her gasp with his lips but let out a groan of his own, their breath entwining like their bodies. She clawed the tips of her fingers into his back and dragged them down.
Neither of them held back. Neither of them wanted to.
“Hell, Selena.” His body was on fire.
“You still have your trousers on,” she accused. “I removed mine, it’s about time we remove yours.”
“If my trousers go, it’s over.”
A skeptical look crossed her features. “What’s over?”
“Me. You. This moment.” He licked her neck. “I’ll enter you. Claim you. Possess you.”
“Is that the sum of lovemaking?” Her eyes sparkled with mischief. “You enter me? Claim me? Possess me?”
This damn woman. “Today, it is.”
“Then enter, claim, and possess me, Phineas.”
Warrick rose to his knees, his eyes refusing to release hers as he pushed his trousers down his waist. He wanted to own each look, each caress, each whimper that belonged to her. It might even become his life’s purpose to collect them all.
Might?
No.
It had already been decided.
His purpose, his life—they belonged to her.
He fell back over her, shrugging his trousers from his legs. He lifted her chin with a single finger, male satisfaction filling every pore at the expression she gave his cock.
“Look at me, princess.”
“Princess,” she breathed as his hand cupped her core. “I’m not a princess.”
“No, you are not.”
You are everything.