Chapter Twenty-One
M alcolm paced away from the door. Christ. He shouldn’t be listening. Turning on his heel, he strode back to the wooden door—a door that did nothing to block the sounds coming from inside the bathing chamber. Sounds that couldn’t be what he thought they were. No, it must be his own lust-fueled imagination that made it sound like Adeline was inside the bathtub pleasuring herself. Another moan, followed by an audible sigh of pleasure, came through the keyhole.
Malcolm adjusted his pants as his cock began to fill and harden. Damnation. He glanced down the corridor before stepping closer to the door. Leaning against the jamb with one shoulder, he imagined Adeline in the bath, water lapping at her naked body. Where were her hands? What sort of touches did she enjoy? Soft and gentle, or did she like rough, desperate hands. More importantly, what did she think of as she touched herself? He stifled a groan in response to a soft yes, that’s it that drifted out. Did she have her fingers buried in the dark curls of her mons?
Sounds of splashing water came through the door, and then, Malcolm heard his own name on the wings of a soft moan. Christ , had she come with his name on her lips? He silently beat his head against the doorjamb and then let out a long exhalation. His lips turned up into a grin. Perhaps Adeline Amberley was as enamored with him as he was with her. Perhaps all her talk of being mad was a bluff. This he could work with.
He took several deep breaths in and willed his cock to stand down. From inside, he could hear her step out of the bath, the water sloshing as she rose. He took a few steps backward and leaned against the wall. Five minutes later, the door swung open, and Adeline exited looking so pretty in a sunny yellow dress. Her eyes shone brightly, and dark tendrils of damp hair framed her face. Her cheeks and chest were flushed pink. Malcolm felt his own cheeks heat as he thought about how they got to be so. “All done?” he managed to rasp.
She nodded but would not meet his eyes. Take it slow, you idiot . She clearly isn’t ready to tell you how she feels . But God, he could not be this close to her, so beautiful and fresh from thinking about him in the bath, without kissing her. He grasped her arms and lifted her up off her feet high enough he could feel her hot breath as she gasped. Then he crushed his mouth to hers, kissing her with all the pent-up lust he’d harbored for this petite siren since he first held her in his arms to dance. She tasted so sweet as he licked into her mouth. The kiss was fierce and hot. But before he entirely lost his head, he set her down.
Both breathing hard, they stared at each other for a long moment. He had to get away from her before he went and ravished her right here in the hallway. “I’ll go order us some dinner,” he said. Then headed down the corridor.
“Malcolm,” Adeline called out.
He stopped but didn’t turn around. Her soft footsteps came up behind him. Then her hand slipped into his and tugged, urging him to face her. When he did, her whiskey eyes didn’t shy away like before.
“I don’t want dinner.” Again, she tugged his hand, leading him to her room. Unlocking the door, she pulled him inside.
Malcolm shut the door behind them. “What do you want?”
“I want you.” Then her hands were on his chest, and she shoved him, surprising him enough that he stumbled back against the door. Up on her toes, her lips attacked his. Her hands slid from his chest to his nape to tug him down. He willingly sank into her kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist to lift her against him. She was his fantasy come to life, but hell, something felt off. Since when had this quiet wallflower become a seductress? She broke off the kiss and pushed against his chest. He immediately released her.
Her brow furrowed as she paced back and forth between the fireplace and the bed. “What are you doing? You are a good girl,” she muttered. She turned on her heel and walked past him in the other direction. “But it doesn’t matter anymore. Take what you want.” Her hands lifted to cover her face. “What would Mother say?”
Malcolm caught her as she turned once again, grasping her wrists gently and slowly pulling her hands down. “I can’t help but see that you are feeling conflicted. About kissing me? Because I never want my kisses to make this furrow appear.” He tapped the spot between her eyebrows.
She sighed. “It’s not your kisses. It’s everything else I wish to do.”
He brought her wrist to his lips and kissed the tender skin on the inside. “And what do you wish to do, darling?”
“I want to see you without your clothes. I want you to touch me, to feel your hands on my skin. I want things that I shouldn’t want.”
Malcolm went hard as a rock. The things she did to him with her straightforward declarations. And here he thought he would need to woo her when all along she seduced him time and again.
She sucked her bottom lip, her teeth abrading the delicate flesh. “But also, why can’t I want those things? Why am I saving myself for a match that will never happen? Why am I saving myself for someone like Lord Bellamy?”
Malcolm couldn’t stop the growl that erupted from deep in his chest. “You will not marry Lord Bellamy.”
“I hope not. But I cannot be sure what my father will force me to do.” She frowned, the furrow returning.
“He won’t get his hands on you as long as I am around. I promise you that. I told Admiral Daniels about Bellamy and your father’s plans to sell the artifacts. I overheard them speaking about it at the Jansons’ ball the night your brother was beaten.”
“What will happen to them? To George?”
“I don’t know the answer to that. Because of their status they may be able to slip out of any charges if they assert they didn’t know the items were contraband. But Daniels is no fool, and the foreign office has also been involved in tracking this shipment. Plus, Bellamy has been making a big fuss about the missing items down at Whitehall. Daniels isn’t likely to let him off the hook after all his false blustering.” Malcolm ran a hand through his hair. “As for George, I gave him an opportunity to hand the items to me to return discreetly. I hoped to keep him—and you—out of it. But George refused to admit that they had them.”
“Foolish.” Adeline shook her head and walked over to the window. She gazed outside for a long moment. “It’s not just my concern for my idiot brother. I recently found out that I am not my father’s daughter. That I am, in fact, the product of an affair.”
Malcolm couldn’t see her expression, but he could see her shoulders droop.
She turned suddenly to face him. “I don’t know who I am anymore. Only that I have had this black mark against me for my whole life and never knew why. I feel like a fish out of water, unable to take in a proper breath. If I am not the Earl of Rawlings’s daughter, who am I?”
He moved to her and brushed away a tear that slid down her cheek. “You are Adeline Amberley. Daughter to a woman who loves alliteration, reader of Greek tragedies, astronomer, secret romantic, and a thief.”
Her eyes widened. “A thief? I-I am not.”
“Yes, you are. You have quite stolen my heart.”
Her expression softened as he had hoped. She batted him on the shoulder, but he grabbed her hand and kissed her fingers. She looked adorable with her brows lowered like she was puzzling out his statement.
“Your compliments confuse me,” she said.
“They are the truth. The truth is that you have me thoroughly seduced.” He bent to kiss her lightly. “I too, want to touch you. To run my hands over the curves of your body. To bring you pleasure and to hear my name from your lips as you come all over my face.”
Her small gasp bled into a sigh as he ran his tongue over the delicate shell of her ear. “But perhaps we should start slowly,” he said softly. “I plan to pepper you with compliments until they all make perfect sense. Then I will make you mine, Adeline Amberley.” He gave her earlobe a slow suck before pulling away. “Rest. Today was an adventure. I will go down and order us dinner for six o’clock. Does that sound good?”
Adeline nodded.
Malcolm left and headed downstairs, whistling his favorite sea shanty. As adventures went, Adeline was going to be his best one yet.