Page 24 of An Affair with a Notorious Heiress
Gina’s eyes widened. “Would you pose in the nude for an artist, my lord?”
“Gina, do not ask such personal questions,” Tillie chastised. She did not want images of Rexton in the buff filling her head. She did not. She did not. She did not. “You are going to cause his Lordship to reconsider his courting you.”
“Lord Andrew told me men enjoy a bit of the naughty.”
“Not in a wife!” She glared at Rexton. “You should not have left your brother alone with her.”
“I doubt he did any real harm.”
“No harm at all,” Gina piped up. “We only talked.”
Thank God for small favors although what they’d talked about was apparently inappropriate. Rexton seemed to be enjoying this exchange far too much. They needed to leave before Gina said anything else untoward. “I believe the crowd has dispersed sufficiently. We should be off.”
Rexton stepped back, indicating Gina should precede him. Her sister headed for the draped doorway. Tillie had taken only a step when he placed his hand on her arm, stilling her actions. She glanced back at him.
“For any woman who asked, I would pose in the nude, artist or no.”
And there were those damned images she didn’t want crowding into her mind. She glared at him. “You’re incorrigible. Hardly the sort of gentleman I want for my sister.”
That salvo sobered him and he bowed his head slightly in acquiescence. “You’re right to take me to task.”
“She truly is innocent, my lord, and we should both be glad of it.” Gathering her skirts, she marched into the hallway. Gina was waiting. When Rexton joined them, he offered only Gina his arm. Thank goodness as Tillie would have refused it, no doubt embarrassing him and herself. But she didn’t want to feel that firm arm because it made her think of other firm things. She trudged ahead. As they were descending the stairs, she heard Gina say, “I did feel rather sorry for your brother, my lord. If not for us, he would have been forced to watch the play alone. That’s rather sad.”
“I assure you, Miss Hammersley, he would not have minded.”
When they reached the lobby, Tillie said, “He’s probably involved with an actress, Gina.”
“Truly?”
Waiting until her sister caught up and fell into step beside her, she said, “You’re a bit more innocent than you realize, Gina.”
“Imagine the stories she could tell.”
Yes, Tillie was rather certain the Greystone spare was with the woman for the stories. Over Gina’s head, Rexton met Tillie’s gaze, his eyes dancing with mirth. While it might be funny in one way, in another it worried her to distraction.
Take care with her heart, my lord.
He grew somber, as though he’d read her plea in her eyes. She should have taken satisfaction in the fact he was so attuned to her. Instead it made her realize that never before had she been able to communicate so effectively with a man. And here, she could do it with the last man she cared to.
Damnation but he needed a woman. After delivering the ladies to their residence, he’d been able to stay in his retreating coach for all of five minutes before banging on the ceiling to signal to the driver to stop the conveyance. As soon as it halted, he leaped out. “I’ll be walking, Mick. Carry on home.”
“Yes, my lord.”
He’d had two women in his coach, yet the fragrance of only one tormented him. Lavender and orchids assailed his nostrils, stirred his desires, made him as hard as a rock. He inhaled deeply a breath of London air that didn’t seem to help clear his lungs. It was as though her scent had woven itself into the very fabric of his clothing, the essence of his skin, and made its home there.
Allowing his long strides to lead him toward he knew not where, he soundly cursed Lady Landsdowne. Tillie. He longed to catch glimpses of the girl she might have been. Tonight her defenses had been up. He’d wager half his fortune that if pressed she would be unable to describe the story that had taken place upon the stage. Although she could bluff her way through by telling him anything at all—the tale of a princess and a pirate falling in love—and he wouldn’t be able to call her on it as he’d never taken his attention from her.
Which was the reason his body was thrumming and aching with need. Need that would go unsatisfied, because as he slowed his steps he admitted he didn’t want just any woman, he wanted her.
The very last thing he should desire because she wasn’t the one who would give him access to the stallion. She wasn’t the one upon whom he was supposed to shower his attentions. She was a woman with no morals, no honor, no decency. No discreetness.
He damned his cock to hell for not giving a bloody damn.
I need a man.
She couldn’t recall ever having that particular thought before, but as she sat in her nightgown in the plush chair in the sitting area of her darkened bedchamber the litany echoed through her mind.
I need a man.
