Page 109 of Storm of Bells
Crap.
I bloody can’t.
‘Nnnnnnnnng!’
‘Silence!’ came the icy order out of thedarkness. ‘You don’t want to attract the attention of all the newstaff you hired, do you?’
‘Nn nn…’
‘I thought as much.’ Fingers appeared at thetopmost button of my gown. ‘Ready for another lesson?’
Another lesson? At this point, I was readyfor anything as long as it meant I didn’t have to get out of thisbed in the foreseeable future. Real life was so boring. This was somuch better.
‘Well? Ready?’ he demanded, freeing my lipsfor just a moment. Even in complete and utter darkness, I couldfeelhis icy eyes burning into mine.
‘With you?’ I whispered. ‘I’m ready foranything.’
‘Adequate.’
Suddenly, his weight was gone. Startled, Iblinked up in the darkness.
‘Mr Ambrose?’
No answer.
‘Mr Ambrose? What is going on?’
Silence—until, a moment later, a heavy beltbuckle hit the floor with athud.
Oh.
Oh boy. So this was how he thought he could‘teach’ me?
Well…perhaps someone should teachhima lesson.
‘So that’s it?’ I asked, trying to make myvoice sound throaty. Alluring. For some reason, I didn’t have towork very hard. ‘You want to show me what I’m missing?’
‘Yes,’ came his voice out of the darknessabove me, and I took the opportunity to roll a little to the side.Just a little bit. Just enough.
‘Then come and get me.’
‘That, Miss Linton, is the plan.’ I heard himstep forward, and tried to keep from grinning—but then, what wasthe point? It was pitch black. A state which had certainadvantages, and as Mr Rikkard Ambrose was about to discover,certain disadvantages as well.
I heard him step forward and reach out totake hold of me. ‘Let me show you. I cannot wait to touch yoursof-mmmmpf!’
There was a soft thud as he face-planted inthe cushions beside me.
‘And?’ I enquired from beside him. Even inthe dark, I could make out the faint outline of his face sunken inthe pillows. ‘How do you like my soffmpf, Sir?’
‘You,’ he told me, voice ice-cold andslightly muffled, ‘will pay for that.’
‘Dear me. I seem to be accumulating quite adebt these days. Perhaps I should—’
His arm shot out. Squeaking, I leapt out ofthe way, scrambling away across the bed.
‘Come here!’
‘I’m sorry? Did I hear right?’ Cocking myhead, I smiled into the dark. ‘Was that a command, Mr Ambrose? Ithought, as per the terms of our compromise, you will no longergive me any of those.’
