Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
“Are you awake, sweetheart?”
Evie surfaced on a disorienting wave of pleasure.
Blinking at the strange room, it took her a moment to recognize the inn where she and James had spent the night.
She was lying on her side, and James was behind her.
If the stiff rod wedged against her bottom was any indication, he’d been up for some time.
He’d pulled her top leg over his hip, and his hand was busy between her thighs.
She didn’t know how long he’d been at it, but she felt how wet she was.
Her desire was simmering and nearing a boil.
His husky words heated her ear. “I have been thinking.”
“Is that the name for what you are doing?”
“Vixen.” He nipped her earlobe. “You know full well this is called frigging. After all, we did it to each other—and ourselves—throughout the night.”
She blushed at the reminder of their wickedness.
They’d been insatiable for one another. While she’d never doubted James’s virility, his appetite had stunned her because he’d never been one for overindulgence.
He was moderate in his drinking habits and rarely had a second helping at meals.
Yet he’d spent himself numerous times in the past few hours—and made her come even more than that.
Thinking of his potency sent a fresh wave of heat through her.
Although a part of her regretted her rash actions at Lady Vernon’s, she couldn’t regret the outcome.
She and James had finally connected…in a way that felt both familiar and new.
They’d navigated the pitfalls of misunderstanding and explored new territory—intimacy that was both physical and emotional.
“Moreover, I am capable of doing two things at once.” Amusement entered his voice. “I can think whilst petting your sweet pussy.”
She squirmed, inflamed by his words and his jutting hardness.
In the past, he had occasionally said naughty things during moments of passion, but never as casually as this.
Come to think of it, the way he was touching her, in that lazy yet proprietary manner, was new too.
She had the sudden insight that this was the reward for honesty.
James was lowering his guard and showing her more of his true self.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked.
“That I like waking up next to you.”
When he nuzzled her neck, she sighed.
“Especially when there is nothing between us.”
Even as he brushed his lips against her shoulder, her heart stumbled.
Their incendiary passion had allowed her to forget, for a few precious hours, the terrible thing she’d done.
Yet her sin could never be erased—would always be there between them.
For an instant, she contemplated confessing everything to him…
“What’s the matter, sunflower?”
His endearment heated her eyes, made her tremble with yearning.
If only I could be that bright and beautiful. If only I could seek the light rather than hide in darkness. If only I weren’t so…so afraid.
“Nothing.” The word abraded her throat. “Nothing is the matter.”
James turned her onto her back so swiftly that her breath whooshed from her lungs. She was pinned by him, body and gaze.
“I felt you stiffen,” he insisted. “Tell me what went through your head just now.”
She couldn’t bear to see the suspicion clouding his vibrant eyes.
“I was just thinking…” She searched for an innocuous excuse. “About Lady Vernon.”
It wasn’t a total lie. Her thoughts had wandered in that direction. Admittedly, some of them had been petty in nature, but she’d also worried about the damage she might have done to James’s career.
He furrowed his brow. “I thought we settled this last night. Upon my honor, there is nothing going on between—”
“I trust you.”
While she didn’t trust Morgana Vernon, she did have faith in her husband. And she wanted to support his dreams the way he’d always supported hers.
“I was thinking…” She drew a breath. “I could ask Gigi to invite Lady Vernon to the ball.”
Surprising James was no easy feat, but his stupefied expression indicated that she’d managed it.
“Forgive my slow-wittedness,” he said. “I was under the impression that you had no particular fondness for the lady.”
“I don’t,” she said candidly. “But she is important to your campaign, and I know how much winning the seat means to you. I will support you, James, in every way I can. Even if it means making amends with her. I will add a personal note of apology to the invitation.”
While humble pie was not Evie’s favorite dish, she would force it down, for his sake.
“You are too good to me, love.”
He brushed his lips over her forehead, nose, and mouth. When he smiled, his eyes crinkled at the corners, his mien so tender that her heart sang.
“While you are in a charitable mood,” he said, “I have a favor to ask.”
She looped her arms around his neck. “What is it?”
“It concerns a certain comparison you have made.”
When she gave him a blank look, he prompted, “To Apollo?”
“Oh. Right.” She arched her brows. “What of it?”
“Could I persuade you to compare me to a less callow fellow?”
When she realized he was serious, her lips twitched. “He’s a deity, for blossom’s sake. The epitome of light, reason, and moral balance, not to mention masculine grace. Why, he’s perfection itself. Surely that should satisfy your vanity?”
“He’s as hairless as a cherub and looks as if he might be blown away by his own sneeze.” James was clearly disgruntled. “And Ethan is the one with the musical talent, not me. What the blazes would I do with a lyre?”
“Fine.” Laughing, she framed her husband’s hard, bristly jaw in her hands. “If it makes you happy, I shan’t compare you with a god.”
“I didn’t say that. Just not that god.”
“Do you have another in mind?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.”
At his smug look, she rolled her eyes.
“Well, don’t keep me in suspense.”
“I shall give you a hint. He and I share a lot in common. He often sports a thunderbolt—and lo and behold, so do I.”
Her giggles melted into moans when James thrust his staff against her mound. Pleasure sizzled, lightning-hot, as he teased her sensitive bud with his hardness. He swiveled his hips, sliding against her until she was panting.
“What do you think? Aren’t I more like Zeus?”
“You just want to be king of the gods.”
His smile was slow and suggestive. “I would settle for being your king.”
Quick as a flash, he rolled her atop him.
Even as she planted her palms on his chest for balance, he grasped her hip in one hand, lining up his cock with the other.
In a single motion, he impaled her, thrusting up while pulling her down.
She gasped at the decadent stretch. There was nothing but him: the way he filled her, the way she held him.
Gazing down into his brilliant eyes, she felt. ..complete.
“Aren’t you a pretty sight sitting on my throne?” he murmured. “Ride me, Evie. Show me what a good queen you are.”
By all that blossoms.
And she did.
“You should have taken me with you.”
Seeing Harkness’s sulky features, Evie sighed.
The return to Bottoms House had marked the end of her and James’s blissful interlude.
The manor was a flurry of activity; with the ball only days away, every corridor hummed with preparations.
Lord Dunsmuir arrived to whisk James away on some critical errand.
Her husband barely had time to kiss her before he left.
Once she was alone, she managed to dash off a note to Gigi about Lady Vernon’s invitation before her companion cornered her.
“I was not in a clear state of mind. But it was for the best,” Evie said brightly. “The time alone was good for Manderly and me. We worked out our differences.”
Harkness’s brows shot up. “Did you tell him? About Wilmington?”
Fear nipped at Evie. Even though they were alone behind closed doors, she glanced around to ensure they had privacy.
“No,” she said. “But we cleared the air, and I think things will be better from now on. He believed that I thought he was unworthy…can you fathom that?”
Harkness harrumphed.
“Anyway, I shall endeavor to be clearer in my feelings. I want to be a good wife. To show him that Morgana Vernon isn’t the only one who can help him with his campaign.”
“That tart is interested in more than his campaign,” Harkness said with a snort. “He’s either blind as a bat or doesn’t want to see her intentions.”
The comment gave Evie pause. “Manderly is honorable. It’s difficult for him to fathom that others might be less so. At any rate, I trust him.”
“Does he return the sentiment? Should he?”
The pointed question felt like a jab.
“What do you mean by that?” Evie asked.
“This came for you earlier.”
Reaching into her bombazine skirts, Harkness removed a note. Evie snatched it, her heart racing when she saw her name written in the blackmailer’s hand. The seal was broken.
“You opened it.” Her voice shook as badly as her hand. “You had no right.”
“It is my job to protect you. How long has this extortion been going on? How could you keep such a thing from me?”
Evie felt herself falling, slipping into the shadows.
“It happened one other time.”
“Do you know who the dastard is?” Harkness demanded.
“No. I thought…I thought maybe after I paid him, he would go away.”
“My poor, innocent lamb.” Pity replaced the hurt in Harkness’s dark eyes. “Blackmailers never go away, not until they bleed you dry.”
Her heart hammering, Evie forced herself to read the note.
Silence is a rare commodity, and the price for mine has gone up.
Deliver your mama’s pearls to the stone gate on the northern side of the estate this Saturday at midnight.
You will see a rock unlike the rest, white and free of moss: deposit the necklace in the gap beneath.
Come alone…or your husband and the well-heeled guests at the ball will be amongst the first to learn of your sin.
“He knows about Mama’s pearls,” she said through numb lips. “And about the ball. How does he know so much?”
“You’ve worn Beatrix’s necklace to many affairs. If he has seen it, he has been close to you at some point. He could be a servant…or a lord,” Harkness said darkly. “Either could learn of the ball as well. But the true question is, how does the blackguard know about your past?”
“I don’t know.” Coldness seeped through Evie. “What am I going to do?”
“You will start by telling me everything.” Harkness’s face was set in severe lines. “Then we will do what we’ve always done: work out a plan to survive.”