Page 10 of The Earl and the Vixen
The color drained from Nick’s face. She hadn’t married. How could that be? His father very clearly told him she had married. There was no mistaking that. He never cared to ask who she had wed and had no reason to believe his father would lie to him. He left for Italy the next day to join Ockham on his tour. Why would his father lie?
“Are you all right, Nick?” Onslow asked.
He shook off his thoughts. “Of course,” Nick replied, almost certain his tone wasn’t enough to convince his friend. “Are you one of the men hoping to win her hand?”
“Afraid not. I’m not ready for the leg shackle, but good luck to you if you intend to enter the melee. From the number of rejections she’s meted out, you’re going to need it,” Onslow said, laughing heartily before taking another large swig of his drink, then continued. “She could be a character in one of those Stormy Wells plays thetoncan’t seem to get enough of.”
“Stormy Wells?” Nick asked. What was the man talking about?
Hudson laughed. “You really should visit Town more often, Craven. I don’t fancy the balls, but exhibits at the museum and a trip to the theater are a nice break from solitary country living.”
“I’ll give it some thought,” Nick replied, not fully listening to the man.
Eliza laughed again, and the gentleman she spoke to leaned far closer to her than he should have. The intense urge he had to pummel the man wasn’t lost on Nick. If the man laid a single finger on her, he just might do so. He would get to the bottom of why his father lied to him about Eliza. He reminded himself that regardless, she still pushed him away. She abandoned him and refused to see him. And for some unknown reason, she appeared to hate him as much as he had hated her for doing so, which was laughable.
Chapter 5
Eliza closed and locked her door, securing herself inside her chamber, finally free from Nick’s presence. She couldn’t help but glance at him throughout dinner, and every time she did, he stared back at her. His presence drove her to distraction. Heat pooled between her thighs, and the dampness from her wet core caused her to shift in her chair throughout dinner.
She flirted with Viscount Irvine, who had been seated next to her during the meal. He was a notorious rake, but at least if she selected him to release the building tension with a bit of physical attention, he wouldn’t try to convince her to marry him. She had to be careful who she selected for such an endeavor because if the gentlemanwished to wed her badly enough, all he would have to do was threaten her reputation.
Digging through her trunk, she found Nick’s letter. She read it to herself and then read it again for good measure. She needed to remind herself why they would never be, and it was all his fault. He threw her away, lying and tricking her.
There was a soft knock at the door, and Eliza’s breath caught. She tucked the letter back into her trunk, too embarrassed to let anyone know that she carried it with her. That she still needed to read it, and often.
“My lady,” Dot said, from the other side of the door. “Shall I help you ready yourself for bed?”
She unlocked the door and allowed Dot to enter. Once Eliza was out of her gown and dressed in her night rail, Dot brushed and plaited her hair.
As soon as Dot took her leave for the evening, Eliza locked the door again. She wasn’t sure if she thought she was locking others out or attempting to lock herself in.
Nick was even more handsome, which she wouldn’t have thought possible. His skin was slightly more tan than she remembered and his shoulders were broader. She wondered if his muscles were still just as taut beneath his coats. They certainly appeared as if they had grown larger. She hated that she’d noticed andeven more so that her notice brought her wanton needs even closer to the surface.
She climbed into the bed and stared at the top of the canopy that covered the large four-poster. She closed her eyes and his naked chest flooded her thoughts again. Forgetting about the letter and the reminder of his cruelty, the throbbing between her legs became almost unbearable. She imagined him licking his full lips before he positioned himself to kneel between her legs.
Grasping the side of her night rail, she pulled it up so that her wet heat was exposed to the cool air of the room. Eliza ran her hands down her body until she reached the places where she imagined his tongue might explore. She used her fingers and imagined Nick’s tongue circling and flicking her pearl where she touched herself. She increased her pace and used her other hand to slip two fingers inside of herself, fantasizing that the fingers were Nick’s.
As she came closer to her release, she bit her bottom lip to keep from crying out and rocked her hips against her hands until she claimed every second of pleasure from her climax. She dropped her hands to her sides and worked to return her breathing to normal.
She had imagined similar scenes many times over the years. She told herself she fantasized about Nick every time because he was the only man she had made love to,fucked, sucked, licked, and everything in between. But the intensity of her orgasm outed her as a liar. None of that could happen again. Nick was cruel and never cared for her. He didn’t deserve her thoughts or her desire, even if he wasn’t aware that she desired him still. She could only imagine the haughty look he’d give her if he knew she allowed him to fuck her in her fantasies.
Perhaps she should consider a tryst with the handsome Lord Irvine in earnest. She needed her urges to be sated and soon if she had any hope of preventing Nick from consuming her every thought.
“What is this mood of yours?” Juliet asked the next morning, her eyes fixed on Eliza as she moved about her chamber. She attempted to appear as if she were looking for something, when in actuality she hoped to delay being in Nick’s presence again.
Eliza huffed. “I’m not in a mood. It is a perfectly delightful day.”
Juliet laughed at her, causing Eliza to roll her eyes in annoyance that her friend was far too accurate for her liking, but she didn’t wish to explain why sleep didn’t come easy for her the previous evening. Or why shewould suggest they took trays in her room if she thought her friend would agree to the notion.
“You could just tell me what is troubling you,” Juliet pressed.
“I didn’t sleep well. It’s nothing of import.” She glanced over at her friend and saw the look of disbelief spread across her face. “I am just looking for my hair clip, and we can depart.” Dot had already tended to Eliza’s hair, which she expected Juliet to quickly point out.
To her surprise, and gratitude, Juliet accepted the excuse and didn’t press her further. She used the quiet in the room to center her thoughts and prepare herself for seeing Nick again. It was an inconvenience they would both have to accept, and she could only hope it irked him even more than it had her.
Deciding she couldn’t prolong the inevitable any longer, she grabbed a hair clip from her vanity and pressed it into her hair.
“Very well. Let’s join the others downstairs.”
