“Can you have a carriage brought around?I will escort Lady Sommerset home.”
“Right away, Mr.Seaton.”
“Thank you,” Violet said after Townson left.“I’m sorry to be troubling you again.”
“What do you mean?”Rhys asked.
“Well, last night you made it clear that our partnership was over.I’m just sorry that you are forced to take care of me again.”She couldn’t meet his gaze, not after the fool she had made of herself earlier, racing into his arms.But the minute she had seen him standing there, she hadn’t thought past seeking safety in his arms, even if it had only been refuge from her own panicked thoughts.The strength in his embrace and the tangy scent of the tobacco he smoked clinging to his skin had calmed her immediately.
Rhys lifted her head with one finger under her chin.“I will always take care of you.Do you hear me?Always.”His eyes blazed with the truth of it.
Then his mouth was on hers in a kiss that was far from soft.His lips were demanding, desperate.Violet responded immediately with desperation of her own.The avalanche of emotion from this normally reserved man was intoxicating, like draining a glass of wine all at once.She gripped his lapels and kissed him back with all the longing she had discovered was inside her.She burned for his touch.
“Violet, we shouldn’t…” he murmured.
She raised a finger to his lips with a shake of her head.Then she replaced it with her mouth and kissed him.This time, she explored his lips.The plush softness of them was such a surprise from this hard man.She nibbled at the bottom lip and enjoyed the growl that reverberated against her hand on his chest.He cupped the back of her head and tipped it to the side, running his thumb across her lips before returning to plunder her mouth.Good Lord, his kisses were incendiary.
Then he pulled back, resting his forehead against hers.His breath sawed out, his chest rising and falling.She exulted in the proof that he was as affected as she.
“Sugar, it’s late, and Townson will be back any minute to tell us the carriage is ready.”
“I don’t care.”She could hear the pout in her voice.“Your kisses make me feel reckless, unmoored.”
“It is the same for me.”Rhys’s eyes flicked down, and he groaned.“This dress is not helping.You must be a witch, the way you have enthralled me.”
Violet’s cheeks heated.“I know it’s indecent, but I have very few options until my new clothes are ready.”His stare did not leave her breasts.She giggled, not at all sorry that she hadn’t thought to get a fichu to cover her cleavage in the rush to get Lucy home earlier.
Rhys dragged one finger along the edge of her neckline, eliciting a tremor of pure lust that surged through her.She gripped his shirt as she sucked in a breath.
“Violet, the truth is, it has been a long time since I have wanted someone like I want you.”He pulled back to look into her eyes.“I have been celibate for eight years.”
“You have?”
“It was a choice I made when my mother died.I didn’t want to be casual or indiscriminate with my affairs.I didn’t want to spread diseases like the one that killed her.”He cupped her cheek.“But there is nothing casual about the way I feel about you.”
Violet stared up into the clear blue of his eyes, and she saw the truth of his statement.It warmed her through.But did she have the courage to take what she thought he was offering?Did he really want her like this, belly round with another man’s child?Her fears and insecurities flared in her chest.But it was there in his heated gaze that she found her courage.He wanted her.And Lord, she wanted him.A miracle of sorts because she hadn’t thought she would ever experience passion like she felt for this man.
Violet rubbed her cheek against his hand.“Take me home, and stay?”
“Are you sure?”Rhys’s brow furrowed.“I am beneath you.I’m the bad guy.”
Did he really think that he was the bad guy?How ridiculous.“Rhys, I have known plenty of gentlemen and never felt as safe and cared for with them as I do with you.Trust me, I know all too well how people hide cruelty behind pretty masks.Titles don’t say much about the character of a man.Actions do.I want you.Is that clear enough?”
He chuckled.“Yes.”His kiss was soft, and she sighed against his mouth at the sweetness of the caress.
“Pardon me, but the carriage is ready, sir.”Townson’s voice came from the doorway, breaking them apart.
“Thank you, Townson.”Rhys slid his arm around her waist and led her out of the room.In the hall, he took her wrap from the footman and placed it around her shoulders, tying the cords.“Where is your muff?”
“I must have left it at home in the flurry of leaving to bring Lucy home.”
She accepted her velvet-lined bonnet from the footman, but again Rhys took charge, tying the ribbons under her chin.Once they were settled in the carriage with a warm brick at her feet, she flagged, barely able to keep her eyes open.Rhys’s arm circled her shoulder and pulled her close to lean against him.The roll of the carriage and the dark of the interior lulled her closer to sleep.When they arrived at her house, Rhys helped her out of the carriage and into the house.He kissed her forehead.“Go to sleep.”
“No, come upstairs,” Violet protested.But she couldn’t stop a yawn that rose in her chest.
He chuckled and leaned down to speak against her ear.“When I make love to you, I want you to be fully awake.Sleep, sugar.”
*
