Bronwyn Scott's Sexy Regency Bundle (167 page)

Julia shook her head, finding his closeness intoxicating as always. 'Please don't try to seduce me out of this.'

She sounded

she was begging and she was. She had

no idea what she would do in London, if her uncle would even listen to her and believe her claims, if he would protect her from Oswalt.

eyes were intent on hers; her resolve all but collapsed at what she saw in them. 'Paine. . . '

His mouth took hers softly. The kiss was slow, kindling a heat in her that would not be rushed. This would not be a frantic, desperate coupling. Nor was it a farewell. Nothing in his demeanour suggested he felt it would be the last time for them. This was a lover's seduction of a beloved partner and she revelled in it.

Paine unhooked the buttons at the back of her dress, pushing the gown off her shoulders to the floor, his mouth intent on hers. He guided her back to the bed, sweeping away the piles of new gowns with his He

eased her back, leaving her only long enough to strip out of his clothes. Then he joined her on the bed, lowering himself over her, fitting himself between her thighs. His slow thrusts were as powerful as any of the

194

Notorious Rake, Innocent Lady

more heated couplings they'd shared. Julia found herself powerless to resist the call to pleasure he offered. She fought his temptation valiantly. She knew why he did this.

'Paine, I can't allow this,' she tried to argue between languorous kisses.

'This is not about rules and contracts, Julia.' Paine stared down at her. 'This is an

When

you came to me, you became mine to care for.' His phallus, rigid and warm and deep inside her, could not have been a more potent reminder.

Paine was gone from her side in the morning as usual.

Julia took it as a good sign from the fates. It would be far easier to leave without having to face him. Facing him would mean a quarrel and she'd learned last night that Paine didn't fight fairly. Still, she was exceedingly grateful to have one last night with him. What Paine did not understand was that her feelings for him were nearly as hazardous to her as the situation with Oswalt.

Julia rang for a maid and laid out clothes for travel.

She would send the maid for a footman to carry her trunk and to see to the coach.

Although it was early, a maid appeared promptly and hurried off to carry out her orders. That made Julia suspicious. The earl's cousin ran an efficient household, but Julia had expected some resistance since it had been plain that her solution was not welcomed by the stubborn

brothers. Perhaps the maid had gone

to inform Paine instead.

Scott

195

Julia dressed hurriedly, pushing aside her qualms.

She didn't have time to create conspiracies out of whole cloth-not when she had a very real conspiracy to unravel back in London. When the maid returned with a footman, Julia half-expected to see Paine follow her into the room. She experienced a twinge of disappointment when he didn't.

Without questions, the footman shouldered the trunk and politely inquired if that was all. He and the maid left the room and Julia swallowed hard. All she needed to do was walk downstairs to the coach. No one was going to stop her. She should be exuberant. She held her head high, although there was no one to see her this time of day except the servants, and swept down the stairs.

Outside, the sun was just up, heralding a good day for travel. The horses stamped in the crisp air. The coachman, dressed in Dursley livery, touched the brim of his hat when he saw her. Julia nodded. She took one last look at the house and stepped inside the coach.

Paine would thank her later for this.

'Beautiful day for a drive.' The object of her ruminations was sprawled on the seat of the roomy coach, impeccably turned out in riding gear, Hessians and a well-tied cravat, the clean smell of his morning
toilette
subtly filling the carriage.

Smiling would definitely hurt her position. It would be hard to convince Paine she was angry with him, but she found herself smiling nevertheless.

'Happy to see me?'

196

Notorious Rake, Innocent Lady

Julia settled on the front-facing seat. 'I asked for a loan of a travelling coach and driver so that I could leave this morning.'

'And my brother has graciously supplied all that you asked.'

'That's an understatement. I didn't ask for company.'

'Aha, but you didn't not

Paine countered smoothly.

Julia frowned. 'How is that? I don't think that's even a grammatically correct sentence.'

Paine's eyes were dancing in jest. He warmed to his game. 'You didn't not ask,' he repeated. 'You merely said you would be returning to London. You never stated we couldn't come along, or specifically that I couldn't come along.'

Julia grimaced. 'I said you were relieved of obligation.'

'But that doesn't mean I can't come. It only assumes that I am not obliged to come or that I was obliged to do anything in the first place, which I've already pointed out that I was not.'

'You're being obtuse. It was implied that I wished to return alone,' Julia snapped.

'And I
implied
that I disagreed with that choice.'

Paine smugly rapped on the coach. 'Let's be off!'

'You're insufferable,' Julia huffed, although inwardly she wasn't nearly as upset as she appeared because, at that moment, the carriage door opened and a smiling Cousin Beth poked her head in. 'Good morning. Be a dear, Julia, and move over.'

'What is this, Beth?' Paine protested, his surprise at her appearance evident.