Page 65 of The Villain
A dark shadow fell over them both, blotting out the moon. She went still, the shiver running down her spine putting her at ease instead of frightening her. Robert, fool that he was, only tightened his grip, narrowing his eyes at the intruder.
Adam’s voice washed over them like a frigid tide, turning her blood to ice in her veins. “Is there a problem here?”
“See here, Hartmoor—”
Daphne wrenched her arm from Robert’s hold and rushed toward Adam, seeing in his eyes what the fool behind her could not. Murder glimmered in the depths, turning his irises into cold, hard emeralds. He clenched and unclenched his hands at his sides, pulsing them as if imagining strangling the life from Robert.
“Everything is fine,” she said, hoping the softness of her tone would convince him. “Adam … we are fine. Robert simply wished to have a word with me in private.”
She pressed a hand to his chest, flinching when he growled, moving as if to take a step toward Robert. The hard muscles flexed and hardened against her palm, but her touched stilled him, though he never took his gaze away from Robert.
“If you are quite finished now, perhaps the two of you might come inside,” he snapped. “Mr. Stanley, I do believe your mother is wondering where you’ve gotten off to.”
Robert’s gaze burned into her back, and Daphne felt it sliding over her, watching the way she interacted with Adam … the way she touched him.
After a long moment of silence between the two men, she felt movement at her back.
“Of course,” Robert replied, his voice clipped and strained. “I shall go to her directly. I am certain we will depart shortly. We’ve a house party to attend not far from here. Daphne, it was lovely seeing you again.”
She avoided meeting his gaze as he brushed past them, storming back toward the cave and disappearing inside.
Lifting her eyes to meet Adam’s stare, she choked on a gasp, her breath hitching at the expression she found upon his face. Moonlight slashed across his features, illuminating the pure rage burning in his eyes. His mouth contorted into a sneer as he leaned down toward her, one hand shooting out to grasp her jaw.
Her pulse ramped up at his touch, the familiar fear curling low in her belly and spreading warmth between her legs.
“Did he touch you?” he growled, his fingers biting into her jaw. “Did youlet himput his hands on you?”
Knowing he had clearly seen her struggling in his hold, she knew not to lie to him. However, telling him Robert had kissed her would be a mistake.
“J-just when he grabbed my arm,” she managed between rushed breaths. “That is all.”
He narrowed his eyes at her, but then nodded as if accepting her word. “Then you aren’t hurt?”
She shook her head. “Of course not. Robert would never—”
“Come,” he snapped, taking hold of her arm and pulling her along the way Robert had gone.
The darkness swallowed them without the benefit of his candelabra, but he walked confidently, allowing her to relax at his side. For some reason, her heart thundered in her chest, her mind hardly put at ease by his easy acceptance of what he’d just seen.
The tension in Adam’s body did not abate, only seeming to increase as they drew closer to the castle, his long strides forcing her to trot to keep up with him.
She shivered at the silent promise his tight hold upon her arm made. He was angry, and she was sure to suffer his wrath once his guests had departed.
The insides of her thighs became smeared with arousal as she wondered just what he might do to her.
She almost laughed again at the absurdity of it all. When she’d told Robert she had been ruined, she had not meant it in the way he’d thought. Losing her maidenhead had not ruined her …Adamhad ruined her. He had made her want things she should not, things no proper lady should desire. And now, she could not stop craving him or the things he’d taught her body to enjoy.
She was ruined … perhaps even beyond repair.
An hour later, with the party guests gone, Daphne followed Adam into his bedchamber. The tension that had been present during the encounter on the shore had not left his body. In fact, it had seemed to grow worse with each passing minute, his scathing glares settling on Robert several times throughout what had remained of the evening. Then, he would settle that stare upon her, his eyes promising retribution.
The guilt and fear she had experienced upon being caught alone with Robert melted away, indignation taking its place. He had no right to be angry with her when he had orchestrated this entire evening. She had gone along with it all, smiling and putting on a brave face just as he’d told her to. Was it not enough that he had destroyed what remained of her reputation? Had he not been satisfied with her performance, even after all the insults and slights she’d suffered throughout the evening?
By the time the last of the guests departed, she had begun returning his angry glares with a few of her own. The long evening had frazzled her nerves, and she was short on patience, as well as exhausted.
So, when she pushed the bedroom door closed behind her, it was with the intent to undress and fall immediately into bed.
Adam, it would seem, had other ideas.
