Price of Desire (15 page)

And Mr. Williams
,
from the village
.
He would be riding over tomorrow to join
the afternoon’s activities
.
If half the things Mrs. Huntley said were true
,
he might be just perfect, and there would be no
difficulty deciding
where they would make their principal residence.

That was something she should add to her list of desirable characteristics
.
Rose opened the drawer of her desk and drew out a paper and pencil
.
She noted that
,
while she would consider spending some time away at other estates
,
this was her home and she had no desire to abandon it
.
After some consideration
,
she added, “Must be interested in children.”

As if in response to her thought, a light rapping sounded on the door
.
She put her paper down and started to rise.

The rap
ping
grew louder.

She shut her eyes and drew one deep breath
.
She knew who it was and what he must want
.
The only question now was what was she to do about it?

She walked to the door.

“Let me in.
”
Wulf’s quiet voice sent a quiver down her spine.

“Go away
.
I am not going to see you now
.
It wouldn’t be proper
.
Certainly
,
not in here
.
Besides, I’ve prepared for bed
.
I am not decent.”

She laid
her face against the door, willing him to leave.

The tapping stopped for a moment, then the deep voice vibrated through the door.

“I am not
about
to argue your decency at present
.
But open up.”

“No.”

The rapping resumed and then grew louder.

“Let me in.”

“No.”

The knocking grew to a pounding.

Damn, blasted man
.
If she didn’t open the door he’d wake the house and then how would she explain
?
What questions would he raise
?
She remembered his cold determination
at
Burberry’s
funeral, h
e
’d
talk
ed
of a soldier’s legacy
.
He was not a man with whom one could trifle.

“Be quiet
.
Do you want to wake everybody?”

“I don’t particularly care.”

She tightened her lips in frustration.

“Stop long enough for me to get the key.”

“I’ll give you one minute.
”
The unspoken threat of his words was unmistakable.

She forced the key into the lock and gave a decisive twist
.
Before she had even finished, the doors thrust open, forcing her back towards the bed.

Wulf strode into the room, his gaze grabbing and holding her
.

“It’s time to talk
.
I’m tired of this pretense.”

Rose longed to look away, but could not escape his glare
.
With fumbling fingers, she drew her robe about her and forced herself to assume as much dignity as she could muster
.
She would not be cowed
.
She pulled her gaze from his and let her eyes roam over his body
.
God, he looked magnificent when he was in a temper!  He moved toward her, almost stalking, his eyes cold
.
She could see his muscles bunch and relax beneath his shirt.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Stop pretending
.
I saw her today
.
Any possibility of denial ended the moment I met her eyes.
”

“No.
”

He had no proof
.
Anna was hers and she would fight with any means at her disposal
.
She let her eyes roam over him again
–
yes, any means.

“Yes
.
She is mine and I want to meet her
.
Tomorrow.”

“No, that’s not possible.
”
She turned from him
.
She had not missed the way his eyes raked over her, the way they’d lingered over the translucent fabric of her night
rail where it pe
e
ked from beneath the robe, or the way his pupils had darkened as they paused on her lips
.
She loosened the tie of her robe
.
She fought to ignore her own response as her breath quickened and her heart pounded
,
fought to ignore the fear that flickered each time he mentioned Anna
.
She would be the one in control
.
Whatever flames he fanned, she would ignite them.

He strode forward until he stood before her
.
She could feel the heat seeping from his body.

“I will see her
.
It is my right as her father
.
Do not cross me.”

“She is Burberry’s
.
He claimed her and that takes away all claim you may have had
.
He was my lawful husband and he never denied my child
.
By every law of the land she was his.
”
She gasped for breath; she could not let him continue this train of disputation
.
He moved even closer
.
She let her wrap slip open.

“I will not be kept from my child
.
I will do whatever I must to gain her.
”
His eyes swept over her, his desire mixed with cold calculation.

Rose bit down on her lip, her mind striving to elude his questions
.
“I have just told you she is not yours.”

“Can you look at her eyes and then stare into mine and deny that I am her father?
”
He bent forward, forcing her to look deep into his emerald eyes, to stare at the fires flickering within.

“By law, Burberry was her father
.
That is all that matters now.
”
She dampened her lip, her tongue pausing, then darting, drawing his stare
.
His gaze moved and fastened
.
She licked more slowly
.
He swallowed
.
Her mouth grew dry.

“I sired her.”

“How can you be sure?
”
She backed away from him until her legs pressed against the bed
.
She let them part slightly.

“Do not play games with me
.
I was there
.
O
r have you forgotten
?
I certainly have not.”

He pressed forward until his breath brushed over her, every word raising unwanted yearnings that made her fingers clench
.
She turned her face away
.
She would play his game, their game, but she would not answer his questions.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He caught her head between his hands, bringing her gaze back to him again.

“You don’t remember coming to me in the barn
?
Oh, not the elegant Lady Rosalind Burberry, to be sure
–
but Rose the country maid, her hair loose about her shoulders
.
I’d waited anxiously for over an hour, afraid you would not come.
”

As he spoke
,
he ran his fingers through her hair, loosening the one pin that still held it up
.
It fell, cascading about her shoulders.

“I was enchanted by that hair
.
Even in the dim light of the barn it shone like pure English sunshine
.
I dreamed of that glow while camped in the muds of Belgium, and for that brief moment I got to hold it to me, wrap it around me.
”
He ran one hand the full length of the strands until it curled about her hips
.
“It’s even longer, more glorious now.”

Rose felt panic rise within her in equal measure to desire
.
His words were soft, but his eyes shone hard and bleak
.
She tried to draw breath, to find her balance, but he pressed forward until their bodies touched, her soft thighs cradling his strength.

She had not expected him to push so far
.

“Stop
.
We can’t do this
.
It will solve nothing.
”
She raised a hand to separate them, but somehow her fingers stroked down his chest instead.

“Can’t what
?
Remember what you deny?
”
His voice grew husky.

“Yes
.
I don’t know.
”
She swallowed, trying to quell the deep burn that flickered to life at his touch.

He pressed closer, forcing her to bend back over the bed
.
“Maybe I’d better remind you, then.
”
One hand locked about her, fastening her to him
.
The other dropped to play with the tie of her robe
.
With one swift pull he loose
ne
d it, and then pushed it back from her shoulders
.
His gaze lowered.

He ran his fingers down her neck, pausing at the hollow of her collarbone
.
“I remember just how sensitive you are . . . here
.
And here.”

He swirled a single finger about the hollow before dipping it beneath the edge of her gown
.
She could hear the edge of anger in his voice
.
“Do you remember how you begged me, just about undressed yourself, as soon as my hands touched you?”

Oh, she did remember, each touch, each stroke blending with those of that warm spring night
.
If she closed her eyes tight she could smell the hay, feel the heat of his gaze as he undressed her by the moonlight that shone through the half-open door
.
It was so easy to blur the line between dream and reality, to ignore the rage that now flashed between them.

But, the rage was there
.
She must not forget that
.
She was an experienced woman, not a young girl to be seduced with words
.
If she did this it would be by her own decision.

“You were so sweet, so soft
.
I’d forgotten what warmth was
until
I touched you
.
You were the most perfect thing I’d ever seen
.
You still are
.
I knew I should shut the barn door, bar it, but I needed to see you, to watch you,
know you
.”

His words were so sweet, but she could see the thoughts behind his eyes, see him hold himself back
.
She swayed forward, letting her breasts fall heavy in his hand
.
She could still say no, still send him on his way
.
He could open the doorway to heaven for her, but there’d be a h
eavy
price to pay.

“Ah, these remember me
.
Look how they pucker before I even touch
.
You shiver at my every breath
.
No matter what you say, your body remembers.
”

Rose could not help but follow his icy gaze to where her breasts rose and swelled
.
Her skin gleamed silver in the candlelight as he drew one tanned finger across the swollen tip
.
She could feel the insidious passion flowing from him, feel the dark desire, the want, the endless burn of attraction
.
She pressed her legs tight together, trying to
fight
the urge that grew between them
, to give herself time to consider
.
She turned her face, breaking the gaze, felt, for that one moment, strength, control.