“Most likely none stranger than you.” Nick nearly laughed aloud when Simone’s eyes narrowed. “Yea, I’ve heard the rumors—how could I have not?” He edged around the foot of the bed, causing Simone to retreat. “So, is it true?Areyou mad?” he asked, reaching for her.
She jerked away, but not quickly enough. He pulled her closer, trailed a finger along the ridge of her collarbone. The woman was irresistible. Already, his ire was fading. “Tell me, Lady Simone,” he whispered, “shall I be forced to restrain you?”
“I’m not mad,” she replied, and Nick could clearly see the gooseflesh his touch raised.
“Then let us both throw off this insanity that plagues us,” he said, allowing his fur to drop to the floor. He wrapped his arms around her lightly and dropped his mouth to her shoulder. “My desire for you led me to that balcony that fateful eve and, for all your innocent protests, I believe you desire me as well.”
He tasted her warm skin with his tongue, felt her shiver. “Deny it, then,” he dared. “Tell me you do not want me. Mayhap you now regret making me your prey, but it cannot be undone. Let us seek a little pleasure in each other.” His mouth moved to her neck. “I still find you very, very beautiful, Simone.”
He heard her sigh, felt her yielding to him, but only for a moment. A freezing chill raced up his spine, and Simone went stiff. Nick raised his head and peered down at her, confused.
“Simone?”
Chapter 6
“He certainly is hairy, is he not, Sister?”
Simone felt as if she had been languishing in a deep, warm pool under Nicholas’s damnable kisses, and Didier’s voice was like a bucket of icy water, tossed in just for spite.
Her eyes darted beyond the baron’s wide shoulders, searching the chamber’s darkened corners for the imp. Her view was hampered by the massive male body before her, prompting Simone to lean slightly to the side in his embrace.
Still, she did not spy Didier.
The baron’s arms tightened and he cocked his head, forcing Simone to look at him. She was surprised by the concern in his azure eyes.
“Did you hear something?” he asked.
Simone blinked. “Yea—hmmm…IthoughtI did.”
The sleepy grin returned to his face. “’Tis merely nerves, I’d wager. I hear naught.” He drew her close once more, and Simone could feel his heat even through the thick fur. He moved her closer to the bed. “Allow me to put you at ease.”
Nicholas sat on the edge of the mattress and pulled her to stand between his knees. Simone’s heart fluttered as her curiosity about Didier’s whereabouts warred with her awareness of the baron’s nude proximity. The man was impossibly arrogant, and still she ached for him to kiss her, to touch her again.
But ’twould not do to have one’s young ghost witnessing the act.Where was he?
Nicholas began nuzzling the edge of the fur covering her breasts, kissing her skin with his open mouth, and the warm silence of the room combined with his tender attentions convinced Simone that Didier had politely left. She placed her hands on the warm, smooth skin of Nicholas’s shoulders and breathed a delighted sigh at the contact. She had never been touched so intimately, and the baron was nudging her covering away…
“In truth, he has haireverywhere.” The awed statement came this time from somewhere over Simone’s head.
Simone squeaked and stepped away from Nicholas, hitching the fur around her. Her gaze flew upward and she spied Didier lounging on his stomach atop one of the canopy’s wide beams. His chin rested in both hands, and he peered down curiously.
Nicholas blew out a frustrated breath. “Simone, this cannot continue. I understand your—”
“Lord Nicholas, a moment, I pray,” she interrupted. “I have need of a bit of privacy.” His frown clearly displayed his annoyance, and Simone’s mind worked frantically to devise an excuse. She spied the chamber pot resting discreetly in one corner and glanced at it pointedly. “Please?”
Nicholas sighed. “Simone, we are married now. There is no need for—” Married or nay, he was mistaken if he thought to ever witness her using that base convenience. The horrified look on her face must have convinced him to humor her. “Very well. I shall wait just beyond the door.” He rose and moved around the bed, where he scooped his discarded chausses from the floor.
Simone looked away as he adjusted himself to put them on. He did not look happy in the least. “My thanks,” she called after him as the door slammed.
She spun to glare up at the boy now perched atop the canopy, his legs dangling below him. “Didier du Roche, get yourself down from there this instant!”
Didier reappeared in a blink, sitting cross-legged in the center of the rumpled bedclothes, his look of fascination making him wide eyed.
“Sister, mayhap the baron is half beast,” he ventured in an excited whisper. “There are such things, you know—half beast, half man. His staff looked to be as long as my—”
“Nay!” Simone held out a hand and shook her head, squeezing her eyes closed briefly. When she opened them again, Didier was looking at her with an offended frown. “You cannot be here at the moment,chéri.This night is proving difficult enough without your spying.”
“Where would you have me go?” the boy demanded, and then sat taller. “And you are upset. I want to stay and protect you in case the baron trulyishalf beast. What if he tries to eat you?”
