Page 146 of Her Beast

Malcolm told himself he could do it; he could keep away from her. After all, in only a few days she would be gone forever.

He’d received word from Joe that Brian had arrived in London, finally, although he’d showed no signs of coming to see Malcolm. But he would. Oh yes, he would.

Malcolm could only imagine the scene between Brian, Tommy, and Nadine Harlow, all huddled together in Harlow’s London home like spiders in a bowl, trying to find some way out of the trap that Malcolm had set for them.

It would only be a matter of days—a week at the most—before one of them acted.

Once that happened he could get Julia out of his house and himself way from temptation.

Although it wasn’t pleasant, he could tolerate a few more days with a relentless erection.

He’d become spoiled by too many whores and too much cock sucking and it had softened his brain. He’d become—

A timid knock on the door interrupted his internal rant.

“Come in!” he barked, unsurprised when Butkins opened the door and then hovered on the threshold.

“Come or go. But do not hover, Butkins.”

Butkins stepped inside and closed the door but did not advance into the room. “Miss Harlow is refusing dinner. Again.”

“Goddammit!” Malcolm roared. “How many meals has she missed?” He knew the answer, of course, but needed to buy time to think.

“Er, seven, sir.”

He let out a stream of curses that made Butkins’s face pale.

“Tell her to get herself to the dining room and eat or I shall have her strapped to her bed and force-fed.”

Butkins’s jaw sagged.

“Oh, for Christ’s sake, man! I’m not in earnest, but she won’t know that.”

Butkins nodded and swallowed. “And shall I tell her she’ll be dining alone?”

“No.” He barked. “Tell the manipulative little vixen that I shall join her.”

∞∞∞

Kemp, normally the most placid of creatures, flapped around Julia like an agitated hen while Julia sat at the dressing table, fussing with her already perfect hair.

Kemp looked at the watch pinned to her bodice. Again. “Oh, Miss Julia, you’re already fifteen minutes late.”

“My stepmother says that it is wise to keep a man waiting.”

“Not Mr. Barton, Miss Julia. He is thelastman you wish to make wait. He is—”

The door to Julia’s chambers swung open hard enough to smash against the wall. The man under discussion filled the doorway with his massive frame.

“Out,” he ordered in a low, menacing growl.

Kemp fled.

He shut the door ungently, his single eye raking her coldly. He snorted, his lips twisting into a sneer. “You don’t look like a woman fainting from hunger. Somebody has been feeding you.”

Julia shrugged with an insouciance she was far from feeling.

He took a step toward her and it took all her strength to hold her ground.

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