Rory (14 page)

“You will love Claymoore Hall, then,” Victor said, steady smile in place.“The land is prime for riding and archery….Though I must forewarn you, my brother is an ace with bow and arrow.”

“Indeed, I have seen his prowess with my own eyes,” Lillith remarked.

Rory sat up straighter in his chair. He always felt uncomfortable when others praised him.

“I am already impressed,” Lady Kinkade said, biting into her lower lip.

He knew that look, could see the desire in those brown eyes. In fact, if he excused himself for a moment, she would do likewise. He could have her bedded and back at the table before the second course had been served. But he didn’t want her. He wanted the mysterious servant with the haunted eyes.

“My family is too generous with their praise, Lady Kinkade,” Rory said.

Victor snorted. “And my brother is too modest.”

“A good trait,” Lady Kinkade replied, wiping her mouth with her napkin.

By the time the main course was served, Rory wanted nothing more than to disappear to his chamber and make love to Shannon, but his mother had other plans. After listening to Lady Kinkade sing and play the piano, he was coerced into playing cards.

“You look tired, Rory,” Lady Kinkade said with a concerned expression as she sat across from him at a small table. Everyone else conveniently found other activities to keep them occupied.

Rory glanced up at her. “Indeed, I am tired.”

“You poor thing. I do so hope I didn’t exhaust you too much,” she said, looking truly distressed at the thought.

“Of course not.”

She leaned in, exposing a good deal of creamy breast, no doubt her full intention. “I understand you were recently wounded in a duel,” she whispered, her eyes widening. “I want to hear every detail.”

His mother sat near the fire, knitting a sweater for her upcoming grandchild. She was too far away to hear the discussion, thank goodness. In her mind, if she didn’t think about the duel, then surely it didn’t happen.

“There is little to tell, Lady Kinkade.”

“Please, call me Georgiana.”

“Very well, Georgiana.”

“And you killed the other man?” Her lips quirked. “I met Lord Cordland on several occasions, and I must say, I believe you did the lady a favor.”

“I’m glad you approve.”

“Oh, I approve.” Given the throaty tone of her voice, he wondered what exactly they were speaking of.

“How are you doing, brother?” Lillith asked, coming up from behind him.

“I am well, Lillith.”

Lillith tilted her head to the side. “I don’t know. You look a bit piqued to me. Perhaps you should call it a night?”

Rory could have hugged her. “I think I might just do that, sister.”

“We will see you at breakfast … if you are feeling up to it,” she said, ignoring the frown that Georgiana threw her way.

“I shall see you tomorrow,” Rory said to the other woman, whose gaze lingered in the vicinity of his crotch.

Rory said good night to his mother and Victor before walking in long strides to his chambers. He wondered if Shannon was in her room, asleep, or if she would be waiting for him in his bed.

He took the steps two at a time and rushed down the hallway. He stopped at the door of his chamber and realized his heart was pounding in anticipation. Dear Lord, she had gotten under his skin.

He opened the door and disappointment ate at his insides. The room was empty.

Shrugging out of his jacket and waistcoat, he then jerked his shirt from his pants, and reaching behind his head, pulled the shirt off and let it slide to the floor. “Damn it.”

He raked his hands through his hair in frustration and sat on the end of the bed to remove his boots.

“Did you have a long night, my lord?”

His pulse skittered. Shannon stood at the doorway to the sitting room, her pale hair falling in long waves to her tiny waist. The chemise did little to hide the beautiful body beneath, and his body responded in kind.

“I didn’t think you were going to come,” he said, voicing his fears aloud.

“I thought it best to stay in the sitting room … just in case you brought someone else back with you.”

Was that jealousy he heard in her voice? His lips curved, pleased that she, too, felt jealousy.

“I don’t want Lady Kinkade, Shannon.”

“She’s beautiful.”

“Not as beautiful as you.”

Her brows furrowed and he could tell she didn’t believe him. “She’s wealthy.”

“Yes, but I don’t need money.”

“Your mother seems quite determined.”

“And my mother tried to convince my brothers to marry other women, but in the end, they married who they wanted, not who she wanted, and I shall do the same.”

He pulled her close and kissed her, and his heart leapt when she leaned into him. Her hands moved to his chest, splaying there, over the steady pounding of his heart.

Shannon sighed, content to be in his arms at long last.

“I want you, Shannon. No one else. Just you.”

She smiled against his lips, her arms tightening about his shoulders.

There was an insistent knock at the door, and Rory pulled back.

He frowned. “Bloody hell, it’s probably just Victor … or Mother. I’ll be just a second.”

“Should I go to the sitting room?” she asked, alarmed at the possibility of being caught.

Knowing his mother, she would no doubt read him like a book and drag Shannon from the sitting room. “Perhaps the wardrobe would be better,” he said, feeling horrible as he opened the door.

Shannon rushed toward the large cupboard across the room.

Rory took a deep breath, and sure that Shannon was clearly out of sight, he opened the door.

“Lady Kinkade.” He did not hide the shock he felt upon seeing the woman at his chamber door.

L
ady Kinkade’s gaze settled on Rory’s chest. “I was wondering if you could use some company tonight.”

Wishing he’d had the foresight to slip his shirt back on, he crossed his arms over his chest. “I fear I am not feeling at all that well.”

Her brows lifted high. “Come, Rory, your reputation precedes you. You never turn a woman away. If my friends find out, I shall be a laughingstock.”

“Lady Kinkade …”

“Call me Georgiana,” she insisted.

He forced a smile. “Georgiana, no one need know you were here.”

She tilted her head slightly and her brows narrowed. “You have a woman in your room already, don’t you?” she asked, her gaze scanning the room.

“Of course not.”

“But why else would you be acting so suspiciously, Rory?” She said his name like a caress.

“I am recuperating from a wound, Georgiana. I am tired, and I am alone so that I can rest.”

Her lips quirked. “And you, my lord, are a liar.”

Irritated, he opened the door all the way. “See, I am alone.”

To his surprise, she stepped past him into the room, and he cursed himself for his stupidity. She looked toward the sitting room, and with a saucy smile, rushed directly there and opened the door. Thank God Shannon had hidden elsewhere. He followed behind her, frustrated beyond all reason.

“Very curious,” she said, walking toward him, her gaze scanning the room once more.

Obviously appeased, she didn’t stop coming, and when she was in danger of stepping on his feet, he finally took a step back and his hip hit the mattress.

Her hands slid around his neck and she pressed her full breasts flush against him. “Come, Rory. I won’t be long. We can make love and then you can sleep. I’ll even rub your feet for you after.”

“Georgiana, I am in no mood for company. My wound aches, and I feel feverish.” He said the last on a whim, desperate for her to leave.

She pressed delicate fingers to the bandage. “Can I see the wound?” Her eyes lit up with excitement.

“No, my caregiver said it’s important to keep it covered.”

“Your caregiver is the pretty servant.” She didn’t phrase it as a question.

He nodded, wondering who had told her as much.

She bent down and kissed the bandage. “I will take care of you, Rory. If only you would allow me.”

Shannon nearly bolted from the wardrobe and told both the woman and Rory to go to hell, but she was forced instead to
bite her lip to keep from saying anything. Watching the man she was falling in love with being pawed by the beautiful blue-blood was a nightmare that she could not escape.

What must it be like to constantly have women throw themselves at you? she wondered, sweat beading on her forehead.

“Perhaps another time, Georgiana. My wound aches horribly tonight,” Rory said once again in an attempt to thwart the lady, but she ignored him yet again and kissed him.

“I know something else that probably aches,” she said, reaching for the band of his trousers.

He stilled her progress, his fingers wrapping around her wrist. His jaw clenched tight. “Georgiana, please.”

She pushed him back onto the bed and was straddling him before Shannon could blink. Her breath caught in her throat as the other woman rotated her hips. “You do have a large one, don’t you? Mmmm, I’m already wet.”

Shannon gasped, then covered her hand with her mouth when Georgiana glanced toward the wardrobe. “Did you hear something?”

“It is probably a servant stoking the fire next door. Chances are he’ll come here next,” Rory said, sliding out from underneath Georgiana. “You should probably go.”

Georgiana’s brows furrowed; then she looked as though she would laugh as he stood and extended a hand to help her up.

Lady Kinkade flushed. “Well, I will take you at your word that you are too tired tonight. Your mother has invited me to stay on, so perhaps I can visit you tomorrow?”

The woman was unbelievable! Shannon’s nails bit into her palms as she waited for Georgiana to leave. She just hoped she did so before Shannon passed out from heatstroke.

“Perhaps,” Rory said, with a smile that Shannon could tell was forced.

Lady Kinkade’s entire demeanor changed in the blink of an eye. “I must be a huge disappointment to you. Here I thought, given your reputation, you would want–”

Rory pulled the other woman close and kissed her.

Shannon bit her lip until she tasted blood. What was he doing? Did he forget she was in the wardrobe?

“That’s much better,” Georgiana all but purred against his lips.

“Until tomorrow,” Rory said, walking her toward the door. She paused for one more kiss before he shut the door behind her.

Shannon wished she could blink her eyes and be in her small attic room, far away from Rory and Georgiana kissing.

She knew he did so in order to get her to leave, and perhaps to steer suspicion away from them, but to see him kissing the other woman was beyond excruciating.

He opened the wardrobe and she bounded out, straight for the chamber door.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“To bed.”

“Shannon, stop,” he said, pulling her against him, keeping her captive there.

She could feel his heart pound against her back. “I have to go.”

“No, you don’t.”

“You kissed her.” She wished she could take back the words the second she said them. They sounded so desperate, so envious, so childish.

“I had to. She knows I want you. She sees the attraction between us.”

She turned in his arms, looked up into his intense blue eyes. “What are we doing, Rory?”

“I think it’s obvious what we’re doing,” he said, the tone of
his voice husky, and even more, she made the mistake of looking into those amazing eyes of his. The desire she saw there could not be misinterpreted. He lifted her chin with firm fingers, and his thumb brushed along her lower lip. “I want you. No one else. Just you, Shannon.”

How many women had he said those same words to?

His hand slid down her neck, over the swell of her breasts, before cupping a globe. Her breath caught in her throat when his thumb brushed over a rigid peak.

“You don’t want me, Shannon?” he asked, and she was stunned to see vulnerability in those blue depths.

Her gaze slid to the thick cords of his neck, to the fiercely beating pulse there, to the strong, wide chest. Without realizing it, she reached out and touched him, laying a hand flat against his heart. To her amazement, it raced, much like her own.

She licked her lips, looked up at him, and kissed him.

He let her take control, kissing her back, but waiting for her to set the pace. Excited, she ran her tongue along the seam of his lips and he opened to her.

Her tongue slid along his, tentatively at first. She cupped his face with her hands, deepened the kiss, and he groaned low in his throat, a primal sound that made the hair on her arms stand on end.

If he wanted her to take control, then so be it.

“Take off your pants,” she said, shocking herself.

His eyes were heavy-lidded, and so incredibly sexy she had a difficult time remembering her name.

“As you wish.” He unbuttoned his pants, shoved them past his hips, and followed with his drawers.

She swallowed past the sudden lump in her throat. How devastatingly beautiful he was, right down to his solid cock, jutting proudly from his body.

A shiver of excitement rushed through her, causing a throbbing at the juncture of her thighs.