Page 46 of A Translation of Desire
His lips quirked up in a smirk at her formal tone. She wanted to throw something at him, but she would be civil and unaffected, no matter how firm his thighs looked in his pants.Do not look at his thighs, she told herself.
“I don’t expect such formality from you,” Augustus drawled.
Rose tilted her chin up. “It is probably best for us to keep our conversations formal.”
He stepped towards her, and she took a few steps back. He rolled his eyes. “I know you are mad.”
She walked to the desk, where her missive for him lay, and picked it up. Rose would hand him the note and be done with the meeting. They could talk further at Seely House. She extended her hand, dangling the paper before him. “I’m not mad at all. I was actually just in the middle of writing you a message. Please read this and then schedule a time to meet with me and the rest of the board.”
He took the letter from her and opened it. Augustus read the document and then sighed while he folded it back up. “Yes, I believe I can still be of assistance, but that’s not why I’m here. Talk to me. I know you are upset.”
She pressed her lips together. Augustus was wrong. She wasn’t upset but furious. The man had made her want things from him in an uncontrollable way, but clearly, his own feelings were not as strong. For some reason, that thought made her furious. Rose didn’t want him if he didn’t desire her as strongly, even if she was being absurd.
“I’m not upset.”
His eyes flashed, and he frowned at her. “Rose, I wanted to give you time to think through this. To decide if you want to give me something so special.”
“It isn’t special to me. I don’t hold my chastity as some prize,” she snapped.
“You say that, but you haven’t been intimate with someone.”
“You are such a dolt, Your Grace. Yes, I want my first time to be with someone I respect and hold in high regard, but please know that this has nothing to do with the antiquated views of wanting to stay chaste for any union.
He looked down, and Rose suspected that the man was laughing. Her fury bubbled even more fiercely. “Perhaps I will pursue a liaison elsewhere.”
His head jerked up, and his eyes simmered with annoyance. “Why would you do that?”
“Because I will not be laughed at.”
Augustus strode to her, causing her heart to flutter. He grasped her chin. “I hold you in the highest regard, Rose. Never doubt that. My amusement comes from your shockingly modern views of women being chaste. It isn’t because I think your thoughts are ridiculous. In truth, I find them quite refreshing.”
His eyes were filled with admiration, and Rose knew he wasn’t lying. He respected her. She saw that from him. Softly, she asked, “Why have I not heard from you?”
He dropped his hand. “I almost took you in the middle of my friend’s library. I wanted space for both of us to rationally think through if we wanted to pursue an interlude.”
“I’m not one to change my mind once I’ve made a decision. I want you,” she said.
Desire flared in his eyes. “Good, because there hasn’t been a moment since I’ve returned that I haven’t thought about us.”
A longing to lean into him and place her lips to his shot through Rose, but she knew Lisbeth could return any moment. “So, how do we begin?”
“I actually came here for two reasons. The first was because I couldn’t wait any longer to see you.”
His words shot warmth through her body. She did lean into him then. He nuzzled her cheek and neck. “And the other?”
“Devons’s investigators believe they have identified Mr. Abbas’s location.”
Rose jerked back. “Why didn’t you tell me that? We must go see him.”
Augustus shook his head. “Men are watching the inn where he is staying. It is south of London. We could travel there together. Perhaps afterward, we could spend time at my apartment at my warehouse. How seriously does Lisbeth take chaperoning you?”
“She plans to leave in three days to visit her children in the country.”
A current of desire bounced between them. Rose wanted this. She wanted Augustus to be her first. The front door opened, and Rose heard Lisbeth greet Morrison. Augustus placed a quick kiss on her lips. “I will collect you the first night she departs.”
Rose nodded as Lisbeth burst into the drawing room. “Sinclair, do you have news?”
He nodded. “I believe we have located the whereabouts of the mysterious Mr. Abbas. Rose and I will speak with him.”
