Page 53 of Lord Ramsey's Red-Headed Ruin
Amber reached acrossthe bed to tug at Ram. When she came up with only the sheets, she opened her eyes.
Early and gone again. She smiled. Although she preferred when he slept late with her and took her in his arms, she knew him well enough now to know he was disturbed by Luc and Inès discovering her yesterday.
At once, her delight in the day died to her own worry about Vaillancourt. The man was her nemesis. How could one man not give up his obsession with a woman who had been married to another and who clearly did not care for him?
She flung back the covers and marched off to the alcove to do her ablutions. She scrubbed her face and her hands, lost in the labyrinth of her poor choices to deal with Vaillancourt. She had to get hold of her reason. It was the only way to foil the man.
She had questions she must answer. Had Vaillancourt told Aunt Cecily that he planned to find her? Did he truly have a list of people to harass to find her whereabouts? Who was onthat so-called list? Her friends, innocent and not? Her allies? Complicit or casual? Her supervisor?
No, that last he could not have. That person was too good, too secretive. Nor did anyone know the one who had reported to Amber. No one knew Gus reported to her. Or had done.
That was one reason Gus had induced Lord Ashley to go away with her. Their friendship was the other. But under the guise of having an affair, Gus had searched for her. Otherwise, she’d had no reason to go to Reims.
Did Amber’s superior know that Gus and Ashley had searched for her? She shut her eyes. Of course he would. He knew so much, seemingly everything and everyone of any importance.
“And what of my superior? Are you still active? What has happened to you, dear sir, since I’ve been gone? How have your operated? With such a hole in the reporting system, is the whole team disabled, or worse, defeated?”
Amber ran two hands through her hair. Gazing at herself in the full cheval mirror, she took in the woman in the sheer muslin negligee.
“It’s time to tell the man you adore your plan. He won’t agree.”
But she would do it anyway—and he knew her well enough to know that was a certainty.
He would not like her plan, but he would let her go.
He loved her that much and more.
*
“Good morning.” Ambersailed into the library. Ram sat at the desk, his blue-velvet banyan gaping open to his naked waist. “Are you studying here so early in the morning?”
“I am.” He stood and opened his arms to her. In a pale pink morning gown with a matching robe, her long red hair billowing around her shoulders, she came to him, fresh-faced and kissing him. “You smell wonderful.”
“You feel wonderful,” she whispered, and squeezed his torso. “I missed you this morning in bed. You have spoiled me by awakening me with kisses.”
“Can I make up for the lack now?” He teased her lips with little touches of his own. He never tired of kissing her.
“Always,” she cooed, and stood breathless, her eyes closed, as he spread little kisses across her cheeks and nose.
“Mmm. If we continue with this, we’ll have to scandalize Gaspard and return to bed.”
“Why not?” she teased him with a wicked smile. “Let’s.”
“I wish I could, darling.” He brushed tendrils of her hair from her plump cheeks. “You are ripe temptation. But no, I have a few things to do.”
She nestled closer to him. His banyan opened wider, and she, in her thin gown and robe, was nearly naked against him. “I want to do again what we did last night.”
“Oh?” He looked at the ceiling, innocent and dumb. “What was that?”
“You know very well.”
“I do.” He outlined her lips with the tip of his forefinger. “I like how you cry my name when I have made you come.”
Her cheeks blushed bright pink, and he gave a chuckle. “You had me, sir, body and soul.”
With my tongue on your most sensitive spot and my fingers inside you, you came with a force that shook me.“I loved it.”
“I loved it,” she said too with a broad smile, wrapping one of her legs around his, placing her most intimate part to his rigid cock. “You are such an inventive lover, my darling, that I wonder how some lady has not made you her own before now.”
