Page 21 of The Tantalizing of a Scandalous Rake

Rosie had been right but Adam would never admit it. He’d overdone it.

Rising from bed, he peered into the darkness and rubbed a hand over his face with a grimace. A dull pain stabbed his side—a frustrating reminder he was not quite the fit man he usually was.

Still, he supposed he had not been wrong in wishing to stay a little longer. The journey home would be unpleasant indeed in such a state so Harriet could keep her smug glances after all.

Adam twisted slowly and eased his feet to the cold wooden floor. Slowly the shapes of the furnishing grew apparent and he fumbled for the flint to light the candle near his bedside. He’d already tossed and turned for too many hours. He needed to put his mind to work on anything other than the frustrating ache and...well...Rosie.

The blasted woman did like to occupy a rather large chunk of his mind in his waking hours too. It didn’t help he wanted to repeat that kiss over and over. Aching body be damned, he wanted more too.

He shook his head. Precisely why he needed to come up with some way to engage his busy mind. If he could not best people at cards or mull over new investments, he could at least do something useful surely for Rosie’s business? This called for a quill and some paper and a perusal at her accounts perhaps.

He snatched his robe from the back of a chair, grateful his brothers had thought to send clothes. Though most likely it had been the kind thoughts of his new sisters. Neither Alex nor Leo could be counted on being the most brotherly of men though that had changed somewhat since their time here in the lakes.

Another branch to his mother’s plans no doubt. Life had ensured they were too busy to spend much time together as adults and though they enjoyed one another’s company, they had not been particularly involved in one another’s lives.

Adam didn’t regret they had all come to know each other again but he sure as hell wouldn’t be saying as much to his mother.

Candle in hand, he eased open the latch on the door and winced when it squeaked. They had several guests at present and Rosie would not be impressed if he woke them, though mercifully she had put them in the far end of the inn, away from her private lodgings, so he doubted it would be possible to wake them. He slipped out of the room and eased the door shut. The latch thudded back into place, the noise ricocheting about the dark and empty hallway. He held his breath and waited a moment.

All seemed quiet. Excellent now he would just—

“Adam.”

He twisted, a hand to his heart. “Good God, woman, are you trying to kill me?”

“We established this before. If I wanted you dead, I would have left you to die.” Rosie’s lips slanted.

Once the pounding of his heart slowed, the realization struck. Standing in her doorway, lit by only the glow of his candle, was about the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. No, that was a lie. Shewasthe most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

Something about the tousled perfection of the braid curled over one shoulder but releasing little strands of hair about her face and neck made his gut clench. The way the soft, golden light caressed the smooth curve of her cheek forced his fingers to flex with the need to touch her skin. And the heavy-lidded expression she wore reminded one of a recently pleasured woman.

Adam gritted his teeth so hard he was surprised they did not shatter upon impact.

“Why are you awake?” he managed to ask.

“I would ask you the same.”

He shrugged, forcing his expression to remain nonchalant. “I could not sleep.”

“Something to do with being a little too active today?”

“You should not tease a man so.”

Her brows rose and she inched the door open further, revealing a white shift that clung to curves. The garment offered nothing exceptional but that it was worn upon Rosie’s body. The woman could likely wear a flour sack and be lusted after by half the population of England. His mouth dried and he flexed his fists—a feeble attempt at doing nothing considering that whilst he did not reach for her, he still took a step closer.

“I do not see how I tease.” A crease appeared between her brows.

He almost laughed. Rosie knew full well the affect she had on men and yet she also did not. Whilst she used it to her advantage to gain patronage at the inn, she had little idea how to truly wield it. That unusual concoction of natural feminine wiles combined with a strange sort of innocence lured him to take another step.

“You tease because you make a man wish to prove just how active he can be.”

Silence governed the next few moments, making him aware of how heavy his breaths were.

And how damned close to snapping his control was.

Hell, who was he kidding? He’d lost control the moment she had straddled him. Something that never, ever occurred. In business, in cards and even in affairs, he had control. Not with Rosie, though. Never with her.

Her gaze flittered over him then met his own. Her lips were slightly parted, her chest rising and falling in what seemed to be a mirror of his struggle to breathe. The air thickened. Her tongue darted out briefly to lick her bottom lip and she inched open the door marginally.

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