“It’s something to read,” she muttered as she shut the cover with a determined snap and set it aside. At long last she lifted her green gaze and met his look of amusement. “Fine.” She rolled her eyes. “I hardly entertained a word. Is that what you wanted me to admit?”
“Not at all,” he returned smoothly. As he lifted a brow, he added, “I was rather hoping you might admit that last night wasn’t a mistake.”
She blinked. “How did you come to the conclusion I was thinking that at all?”
He shrugged. “You are innocent, and not in a position where you might rely on your own money for survival. Without the bonds of marriage, you don’t have any other prospects except to continue the life of a weaver, assumably at your parent’s behest?”
She opened her lovely mouth, but nothing emerged, because it was the truth and she couldn’t deny it.
“Just as I thought,” he nodded. While Elwood hated what he was about to say, he had to know where he stood with her, and sometimes brutal honesty was the only approach he knew. “Other than trying to make a life for yourself as a writer, which you are hoping I shall provide enough information you might do so, I bet you consider intimacy as another form of bondage, like poverty, rather than mutual, physical pleasure. Naturally, you would consider last evening to be a horrific and detrimental experience that shouldn’t be replicated. I’m sure you consider me to be the worse scoundrel you’ve ever had themisfortune to meet and shall relish the opportunity to weep into a handkerchief and express what a sordid time you’ve had at the hands of the rake of the month when you return to London.” He tilted his head to the side, his gaze sharp and direct. “Am I very far off the mark?”
For a moment,Meliah could do nothing but stare at him. At first, she was almost too shocked to allow her brain to work properly. She had thought he might be a bit more considerate of his words and her feelings rather than speak so plainly, but then, at least she knew where she stood with him.
But then, perhaps that was the point. Could it be that he’d spoken so crass in an effort to contradict himself?
Curious, she decided to put her theory to the test. She wasn’t about to let him browbeat her into breaking down into hysterics or some other such nonsense, and she didn’t want to ruin her life by acting inappropriately and throwing away any chance at marriage and a family, but she currently had nothing else to look forward to other than the long, toiling days of weaving.
She might as well take a chance while she had it.
Calmly folding her hands in her lap, a perfect mirror to his pose, she offered a tight smile. “I have never been one to ‘weep into a handkerchief’ as you so eloquently suggested. But you are correct in believing that I shall do whatever I can to make my own way in society by becoming a respected writer. While you seem determined to prove ‘The Belle’ right about you, you can be assured last night went far toward giving me more than a glimpse into your true nature. You could have taken advantage of me, but you didn’t.” When he lifted a brow, her smile widened, and she continued. “And speaking of last night…” She glancedtoward the door then back at him. “Are any of the servants in residence? I know someone was here earlier because there was a breakfast tray in my room.”
“Alas, I have already sent them home for the rest of the afternoon. The cook will not return until this evening.”
“That might be regrettable—but for one thing.” She got to her feet and for the first time, the earl looked a bit wary. However, she refused to break character. She had witnessed Samantha coerce her footman with a seductive, side glance, so surely she could emulate her actions?
She slowly walked toward Lord Belmont with the same seductive glance. When she proceeded to lift up her dress to her thighs, exposing the skin above her stockings, she was assured that he was taking notice. His mouth had fallen partially open and he had yet to swallow. Tossing a leg on either side of the chair, she straddled him. Putting her hands on his chest, she leaned down and whispered in his ear, “That gives us plenty of time to be… alone.” She leaned back enough to look at him.
He actually looked ill. “Pardon?”
Meliah wanted to laugh aloud when his voice cracked slightly. She looked at him in wide eyed innocence. “Come now, my lord. Don’t be coy. Last night made me realize what you can offer me.” She dared to run a finger down the center of his chest. “I find that I’mquitetaken with your attentions.”
She started to lean forward for a kiss, but he set his hands on her hips, not to bring her closer, but to halt her movements. “Miss Newton. Shouldn’t you be…ah…reasonable about this? Consider the ramifications of your actions should we embark on an affair.”
“Oh, trust me, I have,” she purred. “And I want more.”
She batted her lashes, but his hesitation had been enough to tell her what she’d wanted to know.
He stared at her in blatant amazement, and then it was as if he finally understood what she was trying to do. Immediately, that lazy grin was back in place and the grasp on her hips abruptly brought her closer to his groin, as if he had to prove he was the libertine. She instantly felt the hardness beneath her core and while she ought to be frightened or unsure, she found herself… intrigued. “I will gladly oblige, Miss Newton. It shall relieve me of my extreme boredom while we are here.”
“Wonderful.” This time when she moved down to kiss him, he didn’t stop her. Instead, he reciprocated with a fiery temptation that her had almost squirming on his lap by the time he released her.
He gave a sigh, as if one of regret. “I forgot that I have an appointment this afternoon with the land steward that I can’t afford to cancel. It has to do with the future of this very house.”
She tried to adopt a pout and hoped that it appeared convincing. “That is a terrible shame. Shall you be gone long?”
He smirked. “I will make every attempt to rush back into your waiting arms.”
Disentangling herself from him, Meliah shook her skirts back into place. The earl rose as well, and when he started to walk away, he paused and lightly grasped her chin. “That was very well done, Miss Newton. You nearly had me convinced, but I can sense the unease that still pulses through your veins.” His nostrils flared. “And that is not all I sense.”
As he walked away, Meliah clenched her fists at her sides. She thought she was being the perfect seductress, but unfortunately, her ploy had failed miserably. The man was entirely too perceptive for his own good. And perhaps, the real gentleman he tried so hard to ignore.
Elwood closedthe door of the study with a fist set upon the wood. His cock was pounding furiously, eager to finish what his little vixen had started. Who would have thought that such a sweet woman might be able to bring a reputed scoundrel like himself to his knees in such a fashion? Whoever had been teaching her the art of flirtation had done a superb job of it. It was all he could do to leave without embarrassing himself. It had been years since he was a randy young man traversing the brothels of London, years since he’d been that shocked by such brazen behavior.
He froze. Could it be that she was ‘The Belle’ in disguise?
He was surprised he’d never considered it before. It would, of course, be the perfect way to hide in plain sight. Although he’d already been targeted as the victim for October, perhaps she had found a way to further bedevil her chosen rakes after the article was released? Was it to be his fate to suffer all month by desiring someone that he shouldn’t be dallying with? The entirety of London might believe him to be the spawn of Satan, but truth be told, he wasn’t completely without scruples. And he’d nearly proven that to Miss Newton just now.
He shoved a hand through his hair and decided that he would have to get to the bottom of this, although he had no idea how he might do so. Until now, ‘The Belle’ had been perfectly anonymous, without anyone able to discover her identity. However, he would exhaust all of the resources at his disposal if necessary to prove her identity.
