“No,” he interrupted.
His voice, like his gaze, was frigid. There was not a hint of amusement lingering in his visage or his tone.
“Please, Lord Shelbourne. What I am about to offer you is—”
“A jest, surely.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “The only offer I want from you involves you on your knees, sucking my cock.”
Scalding heat washed over her, and not all of it was embarrassment, much to her mortification. Some of it was desire, too. Because all the parts of her that could not be controlled still longed for this man. She always had, from the first moment she had seen him—her dear friend Lady Helena Davenport’s forbidden older brother. And she suspected it was likely she always would.
Damn him.
“If that is the offer you await, I am afraid to inform you that you are doomed to disappointment,” she told him, priding herself for her ability to remain where she stood, near enough to smell the familiar scent of him, mingled with wine and leather, and neither touching, kissing, nor slapping him.
All actions she wanted to take.
“Then I am afraid you are doomed to get the fuck out of my house,” he bit out, before turning away from her and striding to the door. “Wentworth! Where the hell is my wine? And an escort for my unwanted guest?”
His beleaguered butler appeared, bottle of wine in hand. “Here you are, my lord.”
The domestic was unflappable. And Shelbourne’s behavior unpardonable.
Moreover, more wine was the last thing the viscount needed. Julianna found herself hoping his current dissolute state was not a regular event. She had waited hours for him to arrive home, and it was likely three o’clock in the morning by now. But instead of going to bed, he was calling for more poison.
Shelbourne took the uncorked bottle from his butler, holding it by the neck, and raised it to his lips. Rudely, he wiped the back of his hand over his mouth when he had finished taking a draught. “Get her out of here, Wentworth.”
The butler’s expression looked, for a fleeting moment, troubled. But then he did his duty and erased all emotion from his countenance. “Of course, my lord.”
Oh no he would not.
Julianna refused to leave until she was ready. Until she had said everything she needed to say. Her future depended upon it. Most importantly, Emily’s future depended upon it.
She pinned the butler with her frostiest glare. “You will have to forcibly remove me, sir. Is that what you want?”
The butler faltered, his gaze traveling between his employer and Julianna. It was clearly not what he wanted. Nor was it every day—indeed she suspected any day—that a butler was required to remove a female guest from the household by force.
“Christ, woman,” Shelbourne spat. “I will not hesitate to throw you over my shoulder.”
He would have to catch her first. And in his current state, he would not be nearly as nimble.
“I have been waiting for hours,” she said primly instead of airing her innermost thoughts. “Surely my time deserves a reward.”
He raised a brow. “Only one reward I have for you.”
She compressed her lips. She knew what reward he referred to, the miserable scoundrel. Once upon a time, she would have welcomed that reward.Heavens, shehadwelcomed that reward. But then, she had discovered it was a reward he was offering to his mistress as well.
She was sure nothing had changed.
“No, thank you,” she told him. “A quarter hour of your time shall suffice.” To his butler, who was growing more uncomfortable by the moment if his face was any indication, she said, “Unless you wish to have your ears boxed, you will not attempt to extricate me from this room.”
“Sodding hell,” Shelbourne said. “Get out, Wentworth. If you will not do your job, then I will do it for you.”
“My lord, I am sure there is a reasonable means of—”
“Reasonable does not apply to this witch,” Shelbourne interrupted his butler. “Go to bed. Keep a footman about, if you please. I may need another bottle.”
Another bottle?Good Lord.She would have flinched at his calling her a witch, but all she could think about was how he could possibly survive another bottle after this one and Lord knew how many had come before.
The butler, however, did not give voice to any concern he may have had at such a request. Instead, he bowed, appearing relieved, and took his leave.
