The sound of his name coming from her lips made a great shiver work through his entire body. There were very few times when a man was called by his given name in Society. It had been a long time since he heard a lady use it.
His voice was rough as he said, “Why don’t you let me speak to Huxley? Let him know I’m not a threat to you as he clearly fears.”
She shook her head swiftly. “I don’t know—” she began.
He leaned in and let his fingers trace the soft curve of her cheek. Her breath caught at the motion and her words ceased instantly.
“I can be…persuasive,” he insisted.
She held his gaze for a long moment and then nodded. “Very well. You seem the kind of man who could not be deterred, at any rate.”
“Not when I want something,” he conceded. “I will prove that to you. Very soon.” He stepped away with great difficulty. “Why don’t you return to your chamber and I'll send for you when it is done?”
She still seemed ill at ease with the idea, but she sighed as she walked to his door. “Very well.”
When she was gone, Richard smoothed his jacket and looked toward his bed. Soon enough he would have what he wanted. At least partly. And now it was time to make sure he got everything he desired…and perhaps a little more.
CHAPTER5
Hux
Hux stood at the window at one of Fitzroy’s many parlors, staring down at the garden below as he flexed his hands in and out of fists at his sides. His heart and mind were racing and he could not stop the tide of his wild reactions.
He thought of Zara. Thought of the desperation on her face a short time ago. He’d spent the last few years working hard to keep that look from her face. Now it was there because of him. Because he’d been reckless, played a game…lost for both of them.
The door behind him opened and he looked over his shoulder to watch Fitzroy entering the room. He leaned back against the door after he shut it and just looked at Hux for a long, charged moment. Hux wasn’t certain if he wanted to punch the man in the face…or do something far more pleasurable. Perhaps both.
“You want to protect her,” Fitzroy said at last.
Hux shook his head. “What would you know about it.”
“I’m not blind,” Fitzroy said. “And my offer is something that troubles you.”
“I don’t want her cheapened,” Hux said, turning back to the window even though he was very aware of every move the other man made. Hefelthim come closer and Hux’s breath hitched.
And then it ceased as Fitzroy’s arms came around him on either side. He rested his hands on Hux’s stomach, fingers bunching there against the muscle. His pelvis brushed Hux’s backside and Hux felt the hard length of him there, pressing in the most intoxicating way. He couldn’t help himself…he leaned into the other man’s broad chest with a sharp exhalation.
“I promise you,” Fitzroy said, breath hot against his neck, arousing beyond measure, “that my request wasn’t about cheapening her.”
Hux let out a long breath. “You aren’t blackmailing her into fucking you?”
“No. Never.” There was something so certain about his words and his tones. Something that made Hux want to…believehim. “It’s about pleasure, Huxley. I want her.” There was a pause that seemed to last a lifetime and then Fitzroy added, “And I wantyou.”
Hux’s knees felt weak. He gripped his hands against the windowsill as if he could gain purchase there. But there was nothing solid about the world anymore. He was washing out on erotic seas, and the man behind him was the siren drawing him farther from shore.
“Join us,” Fitzroy continued, his mouth hot on Hux’s ear now, his tongue darting out to trace the shape of it. “To protect her if you feel you need to. And for our mutual pleasure.”
Hux didn’t answer as he continued to stare out the window. If he did this, he would get to feel even more of this man’s touch. And he would also be on guard, perhaps in a way Zara wouldn’t, if Fitzroy suddenly decided to turn his “offer” against them.
Hux finally got up the strength to turn around, turn to the man who had him pinned against the glass. He dragged his fingers into Fitzroy’s hair and then their mouths met. There was nothing gentle about the kiss, nothing exploratory. It was all heat, all sloppy, reckless passion. Fitzroy drove his tongue, mimicking some rhythm he wanted to make with his cock, and Hux found his hips jolting forward with each thrust like he was already being taken.
At last he broke away, his gaze locked with the other man’s. “I think you know my answer,” he panted, and watched as Fitzroy’s lips quirked in a small, cocksure smile. “But she has to agree. Do you agree, Zara?”
He asked the question without looking at the door. He already knew she was there. He always knew when she was there, no matter what he was doing or with whom.
Fitzroy turned, and finally Hux found the ability to stop focusing on him. They both looked at the door. Zara was standing just inside, beautiful as always. God, she was beautiful. It always shocked Hux, no matter how many times he looked at her. Right now her face was flushed and her hands trembled at her sides.
“You know me too well not to know what I want, Hux,” she said, her voice shaking like her body. “And I know you just as well. I knew from the moment you looked at Richard how much you want to touch him. Touch us.”
