4. Chapter 4
Louis
The guilt was going to eat him alive. But it wasn’t enough to make him stop. Three days. He'd been sleeping with Max's sister for three days, and he couldn’t get enough.
Louis stared at Max's letter on the writing desk while his valet finished with his cravat. The man smirked when he saw the bite marks on Louis’s shoulder, but thankfully didn’t make a comment. Georgie was spirited and wild and everything else he’d never expected her to be.
The letter caught his attention again. He'd left it there on purpose, staring back at him as a constant reminder that sleeping with Georgie was wrong.
As if a piece of parchment could make him finally come to his senses.
It reminded him of the promise he was breaking every time he fell into bed with the sister of his closest friend.
He was a terrible friend. The worst. Max would beat him senseless and then see him at the other end of a pistol if he ever found out.
And Louis would let him, because he deserved it.
But that knowledge didn't stop him from replaying the sound she'd made when she came apart around him, and it wasn't going to stop him tonight either.
Louis made it downstairs just as the guests were lining up to make their way to the dining room.
He’d done his best to keep his distance from Georgie earlier that day to dissuade any talk that they were forming an attachment.
They were, but not the kind acceptable to the rest of society. Or, more importantly, to her brother.
He immediately found Georgie among the guests.
She was on the arm of some baron. Her dress was a shade of green that made her eyes sparkle when she smiled.
She caught his gaze for half a breath. Everything stood still and it was just the two of them.
Then she focused her attention back on that blasted man.
She had shown that she was good at this. Far too good. And knowing that he wasn’t Georgie’s first dalliance stung unexpectedly. She wouldn’t give him any specifics about losing her virginity, and it irked him in a way that he knew it shouldn’t.
This should be simple. She'd set the terms and he'd agreed. He'd done this before with Maddie, and that had worked for years before she had married. While Louis knew that love wasn’t in the cards for him, dalliances were another matter entirely.
Then why did he want to pummel the man who was currently speaking to Georgie? His hands fisted at his side, fighting the urge not to do just that.
“I find myself in need of an escort.”
Louis glanced to his left, and Lady Hurst stood at his side. The double meaning in her tone wasn’t lost on him.
He extended his arm to her, as good manners dictated.
Lady Hurst was an attractive woman. Two weeks ago he would have allowed this flirtation to progress to its natural conclusion without a second thought.
But now, with Georgie on the arm of some baron who might still receive a fist to the face, the widow's hand on his arm did nothing for him.
That was a problem. A significant one.
He escorted Lady Hurst into the dining room and pulled out her chair.
Across the table, Georgie was seated between the baron and John, and she was laughing at something John had said.
Louis tried not to stare. He failed. She glanced at him once, and the corner of her mouth twitched before she returned her attention to her plate.
“You seem distracted this evening, my lord.” Lady Hurst touched his sleeve.
“Do I? My apologies. I was thinking about the cards tonight.” He gave her his most charming smile.
It was an excellent smile. It had worked on dozens of women over the years.
But it gained him exactly nothing right now because all he could think about was the way Georgie bit her lip when she was trying not to laugh.
Dinner passed. Port with the men was an exercise in patience. Wes asked him about a horse he was considering purchasing. Louis gave an answer he couldn't remember thirty seconds later, because he was already thinking about his evening entertainment.
When the men joined the ladies in the drawing room for cards, Thea had set the tables up as usual. Louis took his seat, and Georgie settled into the chair across from him.
“Five to four.” She arranged her hand without looking up. “You will note that I am currently in the lead.”
“One game. It’s not exactly a commanding lead.”
“And yet here you are, looking nervous.” Her mouth curved. “What happened to never losing?”
“I don't lose. I am allowing you a sense of false confidence before I destroy you.”
“That's generous. I'll remember your generosity when I'm deciding what to dare you.” She looked up and the candlelight caught her eyes. He forgot what cards he was holding. “I do hope you'll be a gracious loser. I'd hate for you to embarrass yourself in front of Wes and Thea’s guests.”
“The only thing I'm in danger of is facing the devastating look on your face when you see what dare I have in store.”
He only remembered that other people existed when John cleared his throat from the adjacent table. Louis dropped his gaze to his hand. It was a terrible hand. Not the best start to gain the lead in their little wager.
The evening wore on. Wes and Thea retired first. Thea squeezed Wes's arm as they stood, in the kind of casual, intimate gesture that made Louis look away.
Other guests filtered out in pairs and groups.
Georgie's mother was deep in conversation with a countess near the fire, showing no signs of retiring, which was both a relief and a complication.
Louis watched the room thin and told himself to wait. Let Georgie leave first. Count to a hundred. Go to his own room. Lock the door. Do not think about the sounds she makes when she . . .
Georgie stood from the table, exchanged a few words with Lady Hurst, and moved toward the corridor. She didn't look at him. She didn't need to.
He lasted only ninety seconds before he followed. Where she was concerned, his self-control was abysmal.
She was waiting in the alcove past the staircase landing, half hidden by the heavy curtain. She grabbed his cravat and pulled him in.
“You took too long.” Her voice was low, her fingers still twisted in his cravat.
“I was attempting discretion.”
“You were attempting to talk yourself out of continuing this. I have seen it in your eyes all day.” Her mouth was close enough that he could feel her breath on his lips. “Did it work?”
“Clearly not, since I'm standing here like a fool.”
“You could leave.” But her fingers tightened on his cravat, and the dare in her voice told him she knew damn well he wouldn't.
“I could.” He pressed her against the wall.
His mouth found her throat, and the sound she made went straight through him.
Her fingers worked into his hair, and he could feel her pulse hammering against his lips.
She wanted this as much as he did. The composure she wore during the day was as much of an act as his, and knowing that made everything worse. Made him want her more.
He kissed her. Deep and thorough and with none of the restraint he'd been clinging to all day. She arched into him and her hips pressed against his. The groan that escaped him was going to get them both caught if he couldn’t control of himself.
“We need to go upstairs,” he said against her mouth. “Now. Before someone—”
“Georgiana? Is that you, darling?”
His blood went cold.
Georgie's eyes flew wide open. Her hands dropped from his hair.
Louis stepped back so fast he hit the opposite wall of the alcove to hide himself in the dark.
Georgie was already moving—smoothing her hair, adjusting her dress.
She stepped out from behind the curtain with a composure that shouldn't have been possible, given that his mouth had been on her neck two seconds ago.
“Mama.” Her voice was steady. Impossibly steady. Louis would have been impressed if he wasn’t busy trying not to die. “I was just getting some air. The drawing room was so warm this evening.”
“In the dark? By yourself? You looked as if you were hiding from someone.” Her mother didn’t seem to be convinced.
“Hiding? Don't be absurd.” Georgie linked her arm through her mother's and turned her away from the alcove where Louis was pressed flat against the wall, not breathing. “Are you ready to retire?”
“Indeed. I could use the rest. The country air does not agree with me.” Their voices faded, but Louis could still hear them. “You should not be wandering about alone at this hour, Georgiana. Anyone might see you, and the last thing we need is more whispers about your behavior . . .”
Louis stayed in the alcove until the sound of their voices disappeared. His pulse pounded in his ears. His hands shook. His cock was still half-hard while the rest of him was terrified, and that was a combination he never wanted to experience again.
That had been close. Seconds. If her mother had come around the corner instead of calling from the staircase, she would have found her unmarried daughter pressed against a wall with a viscount's hands up her skirts.
Well, not quite. But close enough that no amount of charm would have helped him talk his way out of it.
He ran both hands through his hair and took the stairs to his corridor. He was going to his room. He would lock the door. Whatever this was, it needed to stop before it destroyed them both.
He was halfway to his chamber when Maddie stepped out of hers.
She was still dressed. Either she hadn't undressed for bed yet, or she had been waiting for him.
Knowing Maddie, she'd been waiting. She leaned against the doorframe with her arms folded and an expression that told him everything he needed to know about how the rest of this conversation was going to go.
“Don't,” he said before she could open her mouth.
“Even John has noticed that something is going on with you, and that man doesn't notice when I've changed my hair.”
“That's because John is focused on other attributes of yours.”