“Why not?” she flung. “You have certainly made my life difficult.”
“We are not sharing that bed.” He stood, unbuttoning his shirt.
She had to watch, mesmerized by the swath of golden skin slowly but surely revealed. “That’s right, we’re not. This is pretense and I know it better than you.”
“Really?” He clearly did not believe her.
“Now you plan to undress?” she asked breathlessly as he tossed the shirt aside. She made sure not to inhale, but he was an Adonis, impossibly beautiful, his body hard and muscular, every sinew and tendon sculpted and defined.
Not looking at her, he blew out the candles. “I am sleeping in my britches, if that is any comfort to you.”
“It’s such a relief!” she mocked. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and with the moonlight streaming through the window, she saw him lying quietly on the white sheets, one arm flung above his head. A moment passed and she wondered if he were already asleep, as he did not move at all. “Devlin?”
Remaining motionless, he said, “Yes, Virginia?”
“Are you thinking about what I am thinking about…at all?”
“No,” he said calmly.
She stared at him suspiciously. “Yes, you are! How else would you know what I am thinking?”
“You are thinking about going home,” he returned smoothly. “Good night.” It was a warning.
She hugged her knees harder, her pulse racing, and finally, softly, she said, “I am not thinking about going home. I am thinking about that kiss in the library.”
“Good night,” he said very firmly.
She sighed with exasperation and frustration and flopped onto her back. Instantly images of his eyes, blazing with lust, filled her mind, followed by another image of how he had just looked, shirtless, and her body responded completely. She bit her lip hard. How would she ever fall asleep when he was right there on the floor, a temptation like no other? And why did she have to be so tempted? She had a plan now, one that frightened her, but one she intended to follow. Would it really matter if she was his mistress in fact as well as in fiction?
It would matter to her, she thought. It would matter a great deal, unless he gave her his love as well as his body. She sighed. She might as well resign herself to a very long and uphill battle, including the one against herself.
“Virginia,” he warned. “You are acting like a child.”
She sat up and moved to the end of the bed, where she could see him quite clearly. “How am I acting like a child? I simply cannot sleep with you there on the floor!”
He remained on his back, but he was looking at her. “You don’t want to sleep,” he muttered. “You want to argue…among other things.”
“What other things could I possibly want, Devlin?” she asked innocently, although she was smiling.
“Count sheep,” he said firmly. “Or leaves of tobacco. Good night.”
“I think I am a bit mad,” she said reflectively. “That must be it. I mean, six months ago I was on theAmericanaand we had never met. No, actually, I was still at that awful and horrid ladies’ school in Richmond. Since then you have abducted me, taken me to Askeaton, had your way with me, left me, handed me off to your brother, and here we are, man and mistress—almost.”
“Good God,” Devlin said. “Are you going to be this garrulous every night?”
“And after all of that, I still enjoyed that kiss. Of course, I refuse to ever entertain you in bed again.”
He sat up. The sheet dropped to his lap, revealing the hard slabs of his chest and his lean, flat abdomen. “You have an eerie mind, Virginia, and it seems to be on a single path. And, darling, I entertained you, not vice versa.”
That was it. She thought about his mouth and tongue against her sex and she could not breathe, not one drop of air.
He suddenly leapt to his feet. “I am going downstairs to read for a while.”
This was never going to work, she thought, staring at him. He was aroused, the rigid line impossible to miss in his snug, pale britches. “Too bad Fiona isn’t here,” she heard herself remark.
“Yes, it is,” he said, crossing the room and not looking at her.
“Devlin, this will not work. Our sharing a room, it’s simply impossible. You have to sleep somewhere else. To hell with the servants!”
