Beauty and the Earl Page 12

  She shivered and moved into the adjoining room to find her wrap. When she returned, Liam was standing against her now-shut bedroom door. She dropped the wrap and stared at him.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  He crooked a finger and beckoned her toward him. “Come and find out.”

  She didn’t hesitate, but flew to him, lifting her mouth to his. He spun her around as he kissed her and thrust her against the door as he began to lift her skirts.

  She found the buttons of his trousers even with her eyes closed and loosened them, letting his pants slip down just enough to free his erection. He lifted her with his good arm and she wrapped her legs around him as he slid deep within her shaking, ready body.

  She cried out as he began to thrust hard and fast. He hit that place deep inside of her that made her body shake, and after a few moments the well of pleasure began to overflow. She rotated her hips against him and cried out as her orgasm ricocheted through her. He didn’t slow his tempo as he drove into her, just pressed her to the door harder as his breath came short. Finally, with a guttural cry, he set her aside and spent as he leaned on the door with his arm and panted.

  Eventually he straightened up and looked at her with a grin that made her heart leap and her body clench.

  “We should have breakfast together more often,” he said, then kissed her on the mouth, pulled up his trousers and left her to stare after him as he exited the room.

  And as she smoothed her skirt down over herself, her body still twitching from release, she couldn’t help but laugh.

  Even though she knew breakfasts together, sex against walls and the connection they had formed were all things that couldn’t last.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Violet strolled through the streets of Bath, her arm linked with Olivia’s as they peeked into shop windows. Normally her mind would have been on the pretty hat there or the hint of a discount there, but not today.

  Today she could hardly enjoy the late spring air and the pleasurable company because her mind spun far too fast and hard about Liam.

  “You are terrible,” Olivia said, giving Violet’s arm a light, playful slap.

  Violet shook her thoughts away and turned toward her friend. “What have I done now?”

  Olivia arched a brow. “I have asked you three questions in the past few minutes. Would you care to tell me what they were?”

  Violet swallowed. “I—um—well—”

  Olivia rolled her eyes. “First I asked you if you thought that fabric might be pretty for a gown. You said three.”

  Violet bit her lip. “Oh dear.”

  “Then I asked you if you had recently been to France. You said Tuesday.”

  “I’m sorry,” Violet said with another shake of her head.

  “And finally,” her friend declared with a laugh, “I asked you if you would like sugar with your fish and you declared you liked nothing more.”

  Violet motioned toward a little garden that was in the square where they strolled. “There is a bench there. Perhaps we should sit and I will gather myself.”

  Olivia led her to the place she indicated and the two women sat together. Her friend folded her arms.

  “When you made this arrangement of yours and invited me to come here with you, I thought certain you would have gathered your information within a week and be finished. But the longer we stay here, the more I see you with Lord Windbury, the more concerned I become. Violet, you are not yourself.”

  Violet sighed. Perhaps what Olivia said was true, but she had never felt more like herself than when she was with Liam. There were times she forgot all her manipulations, her important goals, her seductive wiles and lost herself in the man and all he offered.

  In fact, that happened more often than not.

  “Are you woolgathering again?” Olivia asked with a put-upon sigh.

  “No, no,” Violet reassured her. “I am simply pondering what you have said.”

  “And what is your response?” her friend asked.

  Violet dipped her head. “I don’t know. The fact is that I thought Liam would be one thing and he is entirely another. When I am with him, there is nothing pretended about it. And I haven’t felt that way with a lover for years. So many years that I cannot even recall it.”

  Olivia’s cheeks grew pink.

  “I can understand that,” she whispered. Then she cleared her throat. “But what have you learned? Surely Windbury must have told you something worth writing to the Rothcastles about.”

  Violet hesitated. At any other time, with any other man, she would have told her friend everything. But with Liam, that seemed so very wrong.

  “I-I have written letters to Lady Rothcastle. In fact, I have written her a letter every other day, reporting to her what he is doing, how he is. And I have reported what I’ve learned.”

  Though she had hesitated greatly and even left a few facts out when she felt they were too raw and personal, even for a beloved sister.

  Olivia took her hand, her face gentle with understanding. “Then if you have completed your task, why do you stay?”

  Violet shifted. Perhaps Olivia was correct and she had done enough to make the Rothcastles happy. And perhaps it was time to abandon her part of the deal. And yet she couldn’t walk away.

  “You wish me to make some kind of confession,” she whispered, refusing to meet Olivia’s eyes.

  “No, I simply wish to understand,” Olivia said. “Though I think there must be a confession to be made judging from your demeanor.”

  “There is none, I assure you,” she said, perhaps too quickly and strenuously. But she had to make Olivia stop prying, if only to keep her own thoughts from roaming.

  Olivia touched her cheek. “If you don’t want to tell me anything, I won’t force a confidence. I only see you struggling and I hate to see that. Especially when this will all be over soon.”

  Violet stiffened. “Why do you say that? Did Malcolm tell you something?”

  “No,” Olivia responded slowly. “But it is a foregone conclusion. After all, Windbury will leave Bath in a short time, and then the affair will be over. Unless you have made some other arrangement.”

  Violet shook her head. “No.”

  “Would you if he asked?”

  Her body clenched. She already knew that answer, even though it stung.

  “I have made promises,” she whispered. “I must keep them. So even though I doubt Liam has any thought of keeping me, if he wished to, I would have no choice but to refuse him.”

  Olivia nodded, but there was a knowing expression in her eyes that made Violet flinch.

  “Well, then it is better it is almost over.” Her friend straightened up. “And there are Mal and Windbury now.”

  Violet stared in the direction her friend indicated and sure enough the two men stood together, Liam lean, Mal muscular. Liam lifted a hand to wave and Olivia returned the gesture.

  But Violet didn’t. Because suddenly the wave felt like it would be one of goodbye. And her heart broke when she considered that.

  Even though it had always been a certainty.

  Liam watched Violet from across the carriage as they made their way back to his estate after a day in town. There was something different about her at present. A distance in her eyes as she stared out the carriage window into the gathering darkness outside.

  Malcolm and Olivia seemed immune to her change in mood. They continued to talk and laugh with each other as Olivia showed his friend a hat she had bought earlier in the day.

  But Liam couldn’t contribute to their gaiety. Not until he understood what was troubling Violet. Now that he knew he would possibly become her protector, her comfort and ease was more important to him than ever.

  The carriage came to a stop at the house, and Malcolm stepped down and helped Olivia from the rig. Violet glanced toward the door and Liam repeated Malcolm’s action. Once they were standing on the drive, he leaned over to his friend.

  “Violet and I a
re going to go upstairs. I’m sure you and Olivia can find an amusement for yourselves.”

  Mal arched a brow in Olivia’s direction. “I’m sure.”

  Violet looked at him in surprise, but she didn’t resist when he placed her hand in the crook of his good arm and led her into the house and up the stairs. He took her into his room, then stepped out to speak to a servant in the hallway.

  “I would like the tub in my adjoining room filled,” he said, softly enough that Violet wouldn’t be able to hear.

  The footman bowed. “Of course. Right away.”

  The other man scurried off and Liam rejoined Violet, shutting the door behind him.

  “Have I done something to displease you?” she asked, shuffling with discomfort.

  He shook his head. “Not at all. Why would you think you had?”

  She shrugged. “Your expression is very grave.”

  “As was yours in the carriage.” He moved toward her and touched her arm. Her olive skin was soft, irresistible. “Violet, I’m actually worried about you.”

  Her brow furrowed. “About me?”

  The way she said it made his heart drop. Of course she didn’t expect anyone to worry about her.

  “Your whole life it seems you have been tasked to give to others.” He leaned down to press a gentle kiss against her smooth forehead. “And now you do not know what to expect when someone wants to tend to your needs.”

  She swallowed. “You tend to my needs just fine, my lord,” she whispered, twitching her hips in an attempt at seduction.

  His body reacted, but he refused to surrender to the call. She was trying to push him away through sex. Why hadn’t he ever recognized that before?

  Aside from the obvious reasons, of course.

  “I’m not talking about the needs of your flesh,” he said, moving away to pour her a glass of wine from the side bar by the fire. “I’m talking about your needs.”

  Her discomfort only seemed to increase as she took the wine he held out toward her. She downed half of it in one sip but refused to meet his eyes as she released a nervous laugh.

  “Oh Liam, you misunderstand. I don’t have any needs unfulfilled or—”

  “You have trusted me with part of your story,” he interrupted and tilted his head to try to find the stare she so skillfully withheld. “Can you not trust me with something more?”

  She didn’t speak for what seemed like forever.

  “I don’t know,” she finally whispered, and he realized that was the most honest statement she had ever made to him.

  He saw the fear in her stare, the longing, and a desperation that made him both sad and nervous.

  He drew her closer, holding her free hand between his.

  “What troubled you today in Bath?” he asked. “I left you a happy, laughing woman chattering about shopping with her friend. I returned and you were withdrawn.”

  He thought of the letter he had seen, the one to Peter. Could he be the cause of her concerns? But he didn’t ask. He feared the answer too deeply.

  “Liam,” she whispered, covering his hand with hers. “You really needn’t worry yourself.”

  He pressed his lips together. “Do you not wish to share the truth or just not share the truth with me?”

  Her eyes widened. “I have confided more in you than I have in any other person,” she said. “I promise it isn’t a lack of faith in you that keeps me silent. I had a great deal on my mind today. I have concerns about Olivia and Mal and the relationship they are developing, I have been thinking about London and I sometimes reflect upon what I’ve told you and wonder if I’ve gone too far.”

  “I wouldn’t betray you,” he promised swiftly.

  Her cheeks paled, and she pulled away slowly. “Yes. I’m certain you wouldn’t.”

  Liam frowned. “And this is truly all that troubles you?”

  She hesitated, but when she turned back, she nodded. “Yes.”

  He had his doubts, but he shoved them aside, determined not to withhold his faith after all she had revealed since she came to Bath.

  “I wish I could ease your troubles,” he said, smoothing a lock of hair away from her face with the back of his hand. Her eyes fluttered shut at the touch and she sighed almost imperceptibly.

  “You do,” she vowed. “Liam, you do. You make me—well, you make me forget everything else when I’m with you. Even though I shouldn’t.”

  “Why?” he pressed.

  “Because if I don’t take care of myself, no one else will,” she burst out. The moment she said the words, her eyes widened. “I didn’t mean that.”

  He let his fingers caress her face. “It has always been that way for you, I know. You had to be strong when your mother died, when your father passed you off to people who resented your presence and didn’t care for you. Even when he came back into your life and pretended to do something for you, it was another way to help himself. I cannot imagine what you felt after you were assaulted and he insisted you marry your attacker, nor how you have guarded your heart since becoming a mistress. But I am not any of the people who have mistreated you, Violet.”

  She blinked, tears welling in her eyes. “I know that. I wish you were.”

  He tilted his head at that surprising statement. “Why?”

  “Then this would be easier,” she gasped.

  He spread his fingers open on her cheek and gently kissed her. It wasn’t a kiss meant to inspire passion, but to bring her close. To comfort her. To give the tenderness that had been withheld from her for so long. He couldn’t yet offer his protection to her with words, but he hoped to offer that and more with his kiss.

  She sighed as they parted, and he drew her toward the connecting chamber where the bath he had ordered was likely waiting for them.

  As he opened the door and drew her inside, he said, “I want to make this easier.”

  She stared at the steaming tub, the candles that flickered all around it in a romantic scene. Slowly she turned toward him.

  “This is…this is for me?”

  He nodded. “It’s all for you. Not as a seduction, though I wouldn’t doubt we’ll end the night making love. But I do this because you need it. You need me. And I want to be there for you. Now.”

  She bent her head, and her face was all surrender. Almost against her will surrender. She nodded.

  “I need you, Liam. More than you will ever understand.”

  Then she stripped the front of her gown open and undressed for the bath they would share. And for the first time, Liam was more concerned with how to best tend to her heart than her body. He would do this tonight. And he would not regret it.

  Violet stroked her hand across Liam’s bare chest as the steaming water sloshed around them. They had been in the bath together a quarter of an hour and he hadn’t made any move to seduce her.

  She had no idea how to respond to that. To men, she had spent her life as nothing more than a body to own, to barter with, to take. She had adjusted to accept that fact and eventually even use it to her advantage.

  But now she felt lost. And more than lost, she felt exposed. She had made a confession to him in his bedroom that went far further than any other. She had made it without a thought to quid pro quo.

  She had talked to him because of his kindness and his gentleness and his promise to protect her that she longed to believe even though it couldn’t be true. It wouldn’t be true when and if the facts about why she was here were exposed.

  And yet here she still lay, his arms wrapped around her, cradling her as they shared the intimacy of silence.

  Her mind turned again and again back to Olivia’s earlier statement that all this would be over soon. It was true, and it left her with anxiety and concerns.

  She knew things about Liam, she knew thoughts that troubled her. Could she walk away without doing everything she could to address that?

  She rolled over in the water so that she lay on his chest facing him. He smiled at her and shook his head as she straddled his hips.
She felt his cock stir at the movement.

  “You do test a man,” he chuckled.

  She smiled in return, despite her troubling thoughts. “Oh come, Liam, you are strong.”

  His eyebrows lifted. “No man would be strong enough to resist you.”

  She laughed but found herself looking first at the scar that slashed down the length of his face and the one on his weaker shoulder. Slowly, she reached out to caress his arm. Despite the injury, she still felt muscle there beneath the skin. Her hand touched his other arm, though, and it was obviously much more powerful.

  “You compensated for your injury well,” she said, gliding a fingertip down his scar lightly.

  In the past, her intrusion on this subject had seemed to make him uncomfortable, but now he merely watched her touch him with an unreadable expression.

  “Since the accident, I have learned that the human body is an amazing thing. It does adjust itself.”

  “And you helped it,” she pressed.

  He nodded slowly. “I admit, once I was well enough to move freely, all I wanted to do was forget everything and anything. Part of that was working with my body. Soon I found myself capable of lifting something heavy with one arm rather than two. Now it is a habit.”

  “You can certainly lift me without any trouble,” she mused softly, thinking of how many times he had done just that while they were making love. “But do you think you will build up your injured arm at some point?”

  He hesitated. “I will work past the pain someday, I’m sure.”

  His voice was soft and she realized they were no longer talking about simple physical pain. The loss of the use of his left arm was tied to the loss of Matilda for him. And that led her very easily to her next point of inquiry.

  “I know the pain caused by your accident was great,” she said, treading carefully. “And I have been thinking a great deal about what you told me in regards to your reaction to that pain.”