Cinders and Ashes (14 page)

“
Don’t come any closer,” Amelia ordered with a glare, sinking
further down into the tub until the water almost touched her
ears.

“
You have nothing I haven’t already seen, Amelia.” Sebastian’s
voice was soft, his gaze chiding as it met hers.

“
When?” she rapped out. Most of the time they had shared a
bed, she had been fully clothed. She scowled at him.

“
When we were arguing that last morning at the cottage. You
were so angry with me, you left the bed. Naked. Splendidly naked.
Also, when we were making love and I tugged the sheets off us,”
Sebastian teased, taking a seat on the ottoman at the end of the
bed to hide the evidence of his eagerness for her. Casually he
dangled the towel between his feet, tempting her to come and fetch
it.

Amelia
felt her cheeks heat as the sensual tension rose within the room.
Despite the heat of the water, her wayward body began to respond
and her nipples tightened wantonly beneath her fingers.

“
Go away, Sebastian. Izzy will be here any minute. I don’t
want her to find you here.” Amelia knew she was pleading with him,
but he had to understand that there could be nothing more between
them.

Sebastian stood, locked the door and resumed his seat. “We
have to talk, Amelia.” Sebastian’s voice was low and measured as he
studied her.

She was
simply stunning. Her hair floated in the water, in a halo of silken
delight. His fingers practically tingled with the urge to slide
into the silken strands and….. He took a deep breath to steady his
wayward thoughts.

“
Please, Sebastian, you have to leave.” Amelia met his gaze,
pleading with her eyes. “I cannot, and will not sleep with you in
this house.”

“
Why?” Sebastian was nonplussed. “It’s my house,” he added,
trying to figure out her logic and failing miserably.

“
Because that will make me your whore, which I simply refuse
to be.” Amelia felt the sting of tears in her eyes and she blinked
them away quickly. He had blithely ignored her objections about
leaving her cottage, but this was something else. This involved her
pride and meagre self-esteem. She couldn’t allow him to ride
roughshod over those too.

“
Making love with me will not make you my whore, Amelia.”
Sebastian frowned. Was she still cross with him for making her
leave that hideous cottage?

“
Your whore. Your mistress. Same difference. Don’t think for a
moment I am not aware of the significance of the room you have put
me into.” She glared at him, as her temper began to rise at his
supreme arrogance. She shouldn’t be surprised that he clearly
intended to ignore her objections. But she couldn’t allow him to
think he could dominate her because of her lowly status. “The
connecting door, and the ease of access to me, should you get the
urge.”

“
The urge?” Sebastian felt his own temper rise.

“
Where is the key to the connecting door?” Amelia snapped,
wishing she had a robe or something to wrap around herself. She was
at a distinct disadvantage, arguing her point whilst naked in a
bath.

“
There is no key.” Sebastian raised an arrogant brow. “The
urge?”

“
I insist you move me to another room,” Amelia
snapped.

“
No. You are staying in the Countess suite. Not,” he raised a
hand when she took a breath to argue, “not, because I want to visit
you, should I get the, er, urge.” It was a lie but he knew she
wouldn’t appreciate the truth. “This is the suite you are the
safest in. If anyone should get into the house, then you are right
next door to me. Izzy is sleeping with Dominic. Peter and Edward
are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, and are armed.”
He tried to keep his voice matter-of-fact, and his eyes off the
lush mound of her delectable breasts barely covered by the
transparent water.

“
I don’t need you to take care of me. I can take care of
myself.” She purposely ignored his snort of disbelief, and
continued. “As soon as Ballantyne is dealt with, I shall be
leaving.”

“
Where will you go to, Amelia?” Disbelief coloured his voice.
He knew she had nowhere to go. No funds with which to return to
Glendowie. No job to go back to, and no likely chance of getting a
job in the small village.

“
While you are finding Ballantyne, I shall obtain a reference
from Sir Hubert and set about finding myself a suitable position as
a housekeeper, companion or nursemaid. With Sir Hubert’s reference,
it is possible.” Amelia’s voice was prim as she thought aloud.
“When Ballantyne no longer poses a threat, then I shall take up my
new position and be out of your hair.”

Sebastian wisely remained quiet for a few moments. If he had
any say in it, there was no way Amelia was going to be stuck living
as someone’s companion, or nursemaid. Instead she would take up the
most important position in his household. That of his wife. Somehow
though, he didn’t think the declaration would sit well with her at
the moment. He eyed the defiant tilt of her chin warily for several
moments, as the memory of her fury the night before
returned.

Despite
his desire for her and, he suspected, his deepening love, he
couldn’t in all conscience ask her to marry him until she trusted
him enough to tell him about her past. Whether he liked it or not,
he needed definite facts on her upbringing before he
proposed.

Wearily,
he ran a hand down his face and heaved a sigh. It seemed that
convincing Amelia to stay was going to be far more difficult than
he had ever expected.

“
There can be no further -,” Amelia paused, thinking of the
most discreet way of saying it, “-bed sharing between us. I am,
however reluctantly, a guest in this house and I will ask you to
respect that.”

Sebastian felt like punching a wall. His frustration at her
doubled. Did she really think she was going to be living in his
house, sleeping in the next room and he would treat her as a mere
acquaintance?

“
We can’t go back, Amelia. We have already slept together. I
cannot deny that I still want you.”
Always
will,
he added silently. “I make you no
promises.”

“
You are supposed to be a gentleman.” Amelia glared at him,
knowing she had just thrown down the mantle that he had rapidly
snatched up. “Are you saying you will force me in that
too?”

“
For God’s sake, Amelia, I have never forced you before, why
the hell should I do so now?” Sebastian’s voice rang across the
room as his temper let loose. “I could have any woman I chose
without the need for force.” He fought to keep his voice lowered
and failed miserably.

He knew
how pompous his last declaration sounded, but couldn’t help it. She
needed to know she wasn’t the only female in the country and, if he
chose, he could go and find a female who was willing. She wouldn’t
be as wonderful as Amelia. Or, have the control over his emotions
that Amelia had, but she would spread her legs and accept him
gladly, of that he was certain. Wisely he kept the last thought
quiet, instead contenting himself with a scowl.

“
You override everything else I want. You decided that I
should come with you, and ignored what I wanted.” Amelia slapped
the water in frustration, ignoring the spray of moisture that
covered her face as she continued, her voice rising. “You resorted
to kidnap to bring me here, but that’s alright because it is in my
best interests. You put me in the Countess suite ostensibly to keep
me safe, all the while knowing there is an unlocked connecting door
between us that can be used any time, day or night. But that’s
alright as long as you get what you want.”

Amelia
knew she was shouting now, but in her temper, couldn’t sit still.
She couldn’t sit there and let him tower over her any
longer.

Bristling with feminine fury, she rose like Aphrodite from
the tub, water cascading down her pink-tinged glory. She was a
stunning sight to behold as, splendidly naked; she stalked towards
him, dripping moisture and feminine fury onto the polished floor in
her wake.

Sebastian fought to keep his mouth closed. He had never in
his life seen such stunning beauty. It made him all the more
determined to keep her.

“
Understand this,” Amelia snapped, her hand shaking with
temper as she pointed at him. “I am a mere servant.” His eyes
snapped up to hers with a scowl. “I have spent the past two years
scraping, cleaning and cooking for my employer. I don’t belong in
this room, in this
house
.” She swept her arms out wide
to encompass the vast expanse of the luxurious room, her eyes
locked onto Sebastian’s. “By rights, I should be downstairs with
the serving staff but because of the way you have brought me into
this house, I don’t belong there either, now.”

Her
chest heaved with temper as she fought to control her roiling
emotions. “I have said to you before that I will not be your
mistress, or whore, and by allowing you to use that door and me
whenever you see fit, I may as well charge you for my
services.”

She
poked a finger into the hard muscles of his chest, aware that his
hungry gaze travelled over her curves. At that moment she didn’t
really care. “I will also remind you that, as I am a servant in
your house, the very last thing either of us needs is for you to
get me with child. We have hardly been careful now, have
we?”

A child
with him was something she ached to have, but the possibility of it
actually happening was nonexistent. If by some unfortunate
circumstance she was already with child, it would cause more
bittersweet regret than she could stand.

“
I cannot and will not destroy whatever future I can find for
myself, by getting myself with child by you.”

“
Amelia,” Sebastian groaned. The thought of her delectable
body, big and round with his child, rose tauntingly in his mind.
His already rigid manhood stirred excitedly in his breeches. He
wanted to tell her that any child she carried would be more than
welcome in his house, his life, but his mind wouldn’t form the
words. He raised his hands to place them on her shoulders, only for
her to slap them away.

“
Don’t, Sebastian. If you have any respect for me at all, just
don’t.” Amelia turned on her heel and disappeared behind the
retiring screen.

It was
only once she was there that she realised there was nothing with
which to cover herself. She didn’t possess a robe, and her only
dress had been taken by a maid earlier for cleaning.

Silence
descended in the room for several moments, before the towel
Sebastian had been holding was draped over the top of the retiring
screen, making her jump. Seconds later she heard the soft click of
the connecting door as it closed behind him.

They had
all seemingly accepted her into their circle without
question.

Dominic,
with his brooding good looks, was clearly besotted with his
gorgeous wife who had him wrapped around her little finger, and
knew it.

Peter,
Isobel’s brother, was so calm and laid back. His teasing good
humour and blatant flattery immediately put her at ease in the
grand opulence of the formal dining room.

Edward,
with his wry humour and acerbic wit, had teased Sebastian
mercilessly by regaling Amelia with childhood exploits that had
them all laughing out loud.

As the
evening meal came to an end, Amelia felt a ripple of disquiet at
Sebastian’s distant behaviour. His aloof, almost dismissive
attitude towards her was in stark contrast to the warm curiosity of
his family.

When she
had first arrived in the dining room, he had done little but stare
at her nonplussed, as though he had no idea who this strange
creature in his house might be, and throughout the meal made no
attempt to converse with her.

Despite
the little voice inside warning her it was for the best, his aloof
behaviour broke her heart. She was so confused with the conflicting
emotions that churned inside her, that she wasn’t sure what to
think. Inside, she knew this was the way things needed to be
between them. He was accommodating a guest until she was ready to
leave, and fulfilling his supposed obligation to repay her for
saving his life. She should be pleased that, although somewhat
offended, he had decided to accommodate her request with ease and
not push her to sleep with him.

But she
missed the closeness they had shared in her cottage, and right now,
being a stranger in this alien environment, she needed someone she
could confide in.

After
dinner they eschewed protocol and all retired to the study
together, where Sebastian recounted the events of the past few
weeks with crisp precision. He carefully missed out the intimacy
they had shared, but Amelia felt certain everyone in the room knew
what had happened between them. Sebastian was, after all, very much
a man. One who had been alone with a single female, unchaperoned,
for several nights.

“
We need to search Uncle Benedict’s and see what we can find,”
Dominic murmured into the silence.

“
Great, if we each take a room we can finish the job more
quickly,” Isobel added, clearly relishing the challenge.