You again?
CHAPTERSIX
At Rafe’s entrance, she turned to face him, removing her wet bonnet. The blue eyes of the woman from the ball greeted him, that red hair dampened and stuck to her neck in the most tantalizing of ways.
The memory of their kiss flashed in his mind, and he was suddenly so aroused, he didn’t know what to do.
What is she doing here?
He said nothing at first and walked around her, placing his candle down on the mantelpiece above another roaring fire. He kept his face half turned toward those flames, hoping that if he flushed from his arousal to her, she would just think it was the heat of the fire.
“Well, this is unusual,” he said, nodding toward her. “A lady visiting me here of all places.”
“From what I understand of your reputation, Your Grace, such things are not that unusual.” She didn’t look at him but dropped a curtsy.
She has wit. I noticed that at the ball.
“Good God, is that why you are here?” he asked in a sudden panic, stepping away from the fire.
“What? No! No.” She said the word the second time with more determination and carefully placed her bonnet down on the table beside him. “I have come to speak with you, Your Grace. I’d like to emphasize the wordspeak.”
“Noted.” He nodded at her, fully aware of the way her eyes darted over him. He stood taller, realizing he was not completely dressed. He wore his trousers and his boots, but his waistcoat was half undone, the neck of his shirt loose too. He hated a messy cravat, so he had left that discarded in his study completely, and now the skin of his chest was on show. “Well, if you are going to come and visit a man like me in my own home at this hour, did you expect me to be dressed in any other way?”
She said nothing, returning to that silence he had noticed so much at the ball. She fidgeted with a reticule in her hands, then placed it down with her bonnet.
“Let us start again, ma’am. You clearly know my identity, yet I do not know yours.” He bowed to her, though he never once took his eyes off her. “Come, tell me your name at least.”
“I am Miss Evelyn Voss.”
His eyes widened as he stood straight, realizing he had heard her name from Simon.
“You are Miss Hester Gulliver’s cousin?”
“Yes, I am.” She looked down, breaking the connection of their gazes.
Should I not have mentioned her cousin?
He was just glad to have a name for her at last. As she continued to fidget, now adjusting her wet gown, Rafe had to back further up, closer to the fire. There was something in the way that she touched the wet skirt which was driving him mad. He had errant ideas in his head of helping her out of that gown, tossing the wet cloth to the side, and warming her up so she no longer shivered in the chill.
“Curious, indeed,” he whispered, raising his eyebrows as he stared at her. “We bump into each other once in Hyde Park, yet you seek me out here in Sussex. How come?”
“I wish to make a deal. As I understand it, you are a man who assists many women with obtaining what they…”
“Desire?” He offered up a word to her.
She frowned at once.
“Perhaps that is the wrong word,” he chuckled, wishing she would smile at him again, or press her lips to his.
Oh, for another of those kisses, Miss Voss. I would go a long way.
“What theywant,” she corrected.
“Let us face facts, I help them with their desires.” He kicked one of the logs into the fire, watching as it spat and shot flames higher. “Yet, that is a thing of the past.”
No matter what urges he had for the soaking Miss Voss in this room, the images she was conjuring in his mind, he had vowed to be on his best behavior from now on. He was not permitted to think of throwing her over the chaise longue in the corner of the room and entering her from behind, listening to her moan as she dug her nails into the chair out of pleasure.
Stop it, you fool!
