Page 86 of Unforeseen Affairs
“Perhaps it is as I said, and the entire episode was a planned contingency between them,” Charlotte replied, still searching the crowd with fading hope.
It was no use. Mr. Trenwith was well and gone, his purpose unknown.
Colin tightened his grip on her arm.
It had all been somewhat rushed, running out to the shops after ensconcing Charlotte in a reasonable suite of rooms at a nice, respectable hotel. He didn’t book one of the first-rate suites on the lower floors, with their polished walnut and oak furniture. Those tended to be occupied by gentry and grandees and filthy rich merchants, the type of people who might rub shoulders with a Sedley or two—or who might be eager to rub shoulders with a person of renown such as himself. Risking that would be inadvisable. On the other hand, Colin had no desire to hide away in the attic rooms, with their rubbish softwood chairs and rickety washstands.
Rather, the pair had presented themselves as Mr. and Mrs. Jutton, a respectable young married couple who’d the misfortune to be caught out in the morning storm, and they booked a tidy third-floor suite with an adequate mahogany bed and reasonably sized claw-foot tub. Once they were settled, Colin had left Charlotte to get cleaned up, promising to return as soon as possible with a clean change of clothing.
Now, as he returned—mounting the grand staircase with a stack of boxes that nearly reached his chin—he mused on how…enjoyablethis all was. Having a wife, even a fraudulent one, was providing him with companionship and purpose. Their conversation was smart—better than much of what could be had at the Rag, anyhow—and he felt ten feet tall whenever he did something that made her happy.
Colin drew in a breath as he made his way down the hall. He hadn’t made her happy earlier, in the rain, when he’d bungled his attempt at offering her his protection. On the run, fresh from a tumble in the bed, embracing for warmth as they escaped the storm, the pair of them alone against the world… it ought to have been ridiculously romantic.
But instead he’d made her feel an obligation, rather than someone he would have chosen for himself, no matter the circumstances.
He unlocked the door to the suite and paused, his hand upon the knob. Drawing himself up to his modest height, he turned it and entered.
Immediately he nearly toppled over, and dropped the entire stack of boxes as he stumbled.
The door to the bathroom was wide open, offering him a partial view of Charlotte’s nude form. Her shining wet hair was blacker than night, her shoulders and back slick, her arms elegant as they rested along the porcelain rim of the tub.
“Oh, good,” she said, inclining her head back so she might just spy him with the corner of her eye. “You’ve returned.”
“You’re bathing,” he said dumbly. Blood rushed to his cock.
“Yes,” she said casually, and turned back around.
Then, clearly knowing full well what she was about, she sat up straight, twisting her slim waist just enough that he could view the maddening line of one perfect breast—high upon her chest, hanging slightly with the most delicious weight to it. It had fit so perfectly in his hand just that morning, before the sun had risen.
Colin reached behind him to slam the door, suddenly worried for her privacy. He was fully erect already, his trousers bulging between his legs.
Christ, how he wanted to step over the parcels on the ground and march right in there, strip down, and climb in. He wanted to lick the warm droplets of bathwater from her tits and cupher sex under the water. He wanted her to lick him clean and then suck him dry, the air cold upon their wet skin before they collapsed together into the warm water, sending tidal waves of suds splashing onto the tiled floor.
No, he reminded himself.It was far too soon.
Charlotte had not complained once during their ride, but she surely must still be feeling sore. He would not risk harming her. And besides, there was a discussion they ought to finish first, before he once again risked either getting a bastard on her or losing his head with longing only for her to later cast him aside.
She must care for me, he thought with a frown as he picked up the strewn boxes and set them down atop the bed’s smooth coverlet.
He removed his hat and loosened his neckcloth, his heart hammering as she remained visible through the open door.
“Did you give the shopgirl my measurements?” she called from the tub.
“Yes. I did my best to select something that would suit your sensibilities.”
He shrugged out of his damp coat. Her clothing, he noted, had been discarded without a care, tossed in the general direction of a sizable armoire whose door was flung open, though only some undergarments had made it within and were now lying crumpled on the floor of the cabinet. Colin smiled. She might’ve been brought up in the theater, but she’d clearly gotten used to the luxuries of her current life, one with personal maids and a full staff. Why, his own mother boasted a handful, but the Sedleys must surely employ dozens of servants across several households.
Colin paused, coat in hand. He’d all that prize money sitting in a bank, doing nothing. His solicitor had begged him to review some suggestions for investments, but Colin had shrugged himoff, uncomfortable thinking of the massive trove of wealth as his. After all, he’d only been doing the duty he’d sworn to do.
Perhaps, though, it would not be the worst thing, to invest the money. To put it to use.
To buy his own house, far from the stern portraits of ginger-pated naval men. Far from Commodore Gearing. From the Pearces.
A place just for him. And for her—Charlotte Sedley, the remote, mysterious beauty who’d taken a liking to him. Enough so that he’d even managed to make her smile on occasion. And now, to make her moan. He glanced back toward the open door, listening to the sound of sloshing water.
He hung up his coat, his body electric with excitement.
After removing his damp shoes and peeling off his wet, miserable socks, he picked up a solid, heavy chair and carried it to the bathroom, where he rounded the tub and placed it alongside her.
