Someone Irresistible (20 page)

alone. He could return to Tyne, visit indefinitely with family, but he would never stay there. It wasn’t his home anymore, and underneath his restlessness, Nathan realized this was the core of his longing. He needed a stable force in his life again. Living outside of quarry fields wasn’t it, roadside inns and the King’s Boarding House in London proper certainly held no special charm for him. He had to find his home again, and until he did, his restlessness would only get worse. New Year’s Eve couldn’t come fast enough.

Finally, at nearly seven in the evening, Nathan dressed in his finest suit, adjusted his frock coat over his shoulders, straightened his tie, and walked to the door. This would be one of his last visits with Mimi, and although that would be for the best, the thought saddened and frustrated him because he enjoyed her now more than anyone he knew.

But such feelings were irrelevant when they had nothing in common beyond the Megalosaurus sculpture.

Nathan descended the stairs to the parlor below, and, without a word to anyone, walked out into the cold, still night.

Mimi decided the bold approach would be necessary. After her meeting with Justin this morning, she knew she wanted Nathan more than ever. To be honest with herself, she hadn’t viewed their relationship as actually leading to marriage until she’d brought it up to their mutual friend. Now everything made sense to her. She wanted him because she couldn’t have him easily, yes. That had to be part of it, because it would be just like her nature to do so. But she also wanted to be with him intimately because she realized this morning, when she finally said it aloud, that she was falling in love with Nathan anew. Of course her feelings for him weren’t as simplistic and romantic as they had been three years ago, but perhaps that was a good thing. It was probably better that she’d aged a little, matured a lot, and understood herself so much more. Her approach to him would be realistic now. Not laced with that particular tenderness that came with virginity, as her magical kiss with him at the Palace opening had been. Tonight it would be hot, and spiked with awareness. She would see to it.

She’d been preparing all day for this encounter. She’d written Nathan a note yesterday afternoon, after feeling so uncomfortable at his untimely departure, informing him that she had an unexpected appointment this morning and wouldn’t be able to work with him today. She also requested that instead, he come to her home later in the evening, after dark, so that he could see the nearly finished product in lamplight, as it would be presented at the banquet. She’d asked for a reply if this arrangement was in any way unsatisfactory, and to her

complete delight she didn’t get one.

Now, at just a few minutes past seven, she awaited him in her studio, dressed more formally than usual in a satin gown that tightly delineated her waist and bosom, in the most becoming shade of lavender. She hadn’t worn this particular dress for its color, however, but for its large black buttons that went from the top of the neck to the floor for easy access. She didn’t want to have to ask him for help when she unfastened them before his eyes. At least, that was her plan.

At the sound of footsteps in the hall, Mimi turned from the counter where she’d been drying tools, and stared at the doorway, grave but determined, brimming with excitement and anticipation, trying not to express such optimism on her face.

Stella walked in first and introduced him with bland countenance, as she should, then turned and made her quick departure. When he entered the studio and stopped short, looking her up and down through narrowed, assessing eyes, Mimi’s knees nearly gave way, making her reach out to the counter for support.

He looked so wonderfully handsome by lamplight, so large, solid, and masculine, dressed in his dark olive suit that he’d worn so splendidly the day he’d come back into her life. Nathan Price might not have been born of good family, but he certainly conformed to it, as his formal attire and groomed appearance gave off a trace of distinction that she found not only acceptable on the surface, but deeply sensual beneath it as well. This perfection of form was what he wanted, what he’d strived to attain for so long, and he became it naturally and definitively.

“Good evening, Mimi,” he drawled.

“Good evening, Nathan,” she whispered huskily in reply.

For a quick moment his dark eyes captured hers and a hint of a smile lit his lips. Then he slowly strolled into the studio proper to stop at the table just facing the dinosaur sculpture.

It sat upon the wooden surface, nearly finished in form, a full Megalosaurus jawbone roughly two feet long, with two hollow eye sockets and sharp straight teeth top and bottom. She’d placed gas lamps on either side—near the front right and back left corners of the sculpture—to create a mood, offering a simple yet haunting look of a frightening past.

His fingers touched it lightly as he examined her creation.

Admiration, perhaps even the inner acknowledgment of dreams lost, caused his forehead to crease with his long sigh, his mouth to curve in a frown, as he skimmed the rough edges, drew his thumb down the

dinosaur’s flat, center brow ridge.

“Your talent surpasses even your father’s,” he conceded with an awe he couldn’t hide.

It was the loveliest compliment she’d ever received, and for a moment she couldn’t breathe. Then, with a smile full of pride, she sauntered toward him, hands behind her back.

“You flatter me, Professor,” she remarked, “though I do think it’s accurate, at least from the drawings you provided.”

“It’s perfect, Mimi.”

He said her name in a low and husky tone that made her fingertips tingle and her mouth go dry. He still hadn’t moved his gaze from the sculpture, but she knew he felt her presence beside him.

“Will you tell me of your intentions now?” she asked softly.

“Why do you live alone?”

That abrupt change in topic surprised her and she pulled back a little. “I’m not sure I understand the question.”

He squinted at her from the corner of his eye and drew his hands up, rubbing his jaw with his fingertips. “Why don’t you move back into your father’s house? What holds you here?” He glanced around the room.

“Certainly you can have a studio anywhere.”

She grasped his manner of thinking now. A widow alone with servants wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but she really should be living with a man to take care of her, regardless of her wealth or self-sufficiency. Gossip, however innocent and well meaning, could be damaging to one’s spotless reputation.

“I adore my studio, Nathan. It was made specifically for me,” she replied, watching him closely. “I’m comfortable here as well, and although my father would prefer that I live with him again, he has Mary to care for his needs as hostess. My home isn’t far from his, either, so I do visit frequently. The situation is reasonable for us all right now.” He didn’t appear to be impressed with that explanation, so she tried another by way of question. “Why are you suddenly curious about my living situation?”

He dropped his gaze, scrutinizing her figure again, slowly, caressing her breasts lingeringly before he locked it with hers again. “It’s not sudden, I assure you.”

Those words, or perhaps only the way he said them, inflamed her within. She took a step closer, so close the edges of her gown blanketed his lower legs. “Were you perhaps wondering if it had anything to do with my feelings for Carter?”

His smile faded almost imperceptibly. “No.”

That fast answer satisfied her immensely, because under all that solid masculinity she was certain he lied.

She’d had enough evasion and amiable talk. It was time to get to the heart of the confusion he felt. “I didn’t love him, Nathan.”

A stark silence followed that admission, enveloping them within its depths. For seconds he didn’t move, or speak. Then she noticed how he swallowed, how his nostrils flared. But he never looked away.

“What did you want me for this evening, Mimi?” he whispered gruffly, standing rigidly still, pulling her again from her intimate thoughts for the second time in as many minutes. “Why am I here?”

She refused to show her vulnerability, or her indecision.

Grasping him gently by the jaw, she steadied his face so that he couldn’t help but look directly at her only inches away. The touch surprised him, as his eyes widened minutely, but he didn’t jerk away or grab her hand.

“Tell me what you’re planning to do with the sculpture, with the head when it’s completed,” she enunciated in whisper.

His jaw tensed beneath her fingertips; his cheek twitched. “I did tell you, Mimi. I intend to show it to everybody.”

That’s what he’d said to her the first day in her studio, she remembered.

“Trust me, Nathan,” she murmured slowly, with a depth of feeling she couldn’t hide.

His hesitation to do so, to confess all, troubled her, and that’s when she knew his intentions without any remaining question.

He planned to unveil it and simply watch for reaction among his former peers. Logical, and it would be the only way for him to discover the thief, the person, or persons, responsible. Everyone innocent of his downfall would be amazed, or surprised, even doubtful. But the thief would be infuriated, and would question the authenticity, or at least show it in his eyes, his silence. That’s what Nathan intended to discover at the exact moment he revealed the sculpture of his stolen treasure. He might not be able to prove anything immediately, but after that night he would know, and the speculation would begin.

But Mimi was the only person alive who knew beyond question that his scheme wouldn’t work because she knew what had happened that night almost two and a half years ago. Nathan would be humiliated again, this time solidly and with castigation of the cruelest kind. She felt a chill seep into her bones, so icy and seizing that she shivered violently.

Nathan, still watching her, letting her touch him, felt her reaction.

He reached up and pulled her hand from his face, clasping her knuckles in his palm.

“Cold?”

Was this an opening? She didn’t know, but instantaneously, inside every feeling of anger and anguish over the unfairness surrounding him, she felt the desperate need to be with him, to comfort him always.

“Not exactly,” she whispered, peering directly into his eyes.

His brows rose, and his gaze swept her flushed face, but he never dropped her hand.

His was warm and large and strong. Just as he was. “Actually, I’m feeling so hot right now, Nathan, I think I might burst from the inside.”

He didn’t move a muscle at her dark, breathless confession. The stillness of the house pervaded the space between them; the light, from only the two gas lamps, created a soft, lingering glow that enhanced the harsh lines of his face and the strength of his hard, tightened jaw.

“What do you want, Mimi?” he asked huskily.

Her stomach fluttered with uncertainty, but she clung to his hand. “I think you know what I want.”

His lids narrowed and his lips thinned. “Here? Now?”

His boldness, his unspoken yet lascivious suggestions, cornered her and her nervousness grew. “I’ve given strict orders not to be disturbed for any reason while we are working. But of course I—I don’t want to move fast—”

“You don’t want to move
fast
? Move fast where?” He squeezed her fingers and jerked her against him, his face flushed with controlled anger and only an inch from hers.

“Why are you teasing me with something I can’t have?” he whispered thickly. “Why are you doing this? Do you want me, Mimi, the fallen son of a commoner? Or do you simply think to undermine my chances of success with the only thing that matters to me, the only thing I’ve ever achieved?”

She gasped and pushed against him, but he swiftly wrapped his free arm around her, pulling her even closer.

“Your professional disgrace means nothing to me!” she whispered harshly. “I would never hurt you, Nathan—”

“You already have,” he said gruffly through clenched teeth, “and I think you know it.”

Mimi went numb in his arms as exasperation flooded her. “How can

you say that? How could I have ever done anything—”

“You exist,” he breathed, face taut, lips tight. And then he slammed his mouth down on hers, knocking the breath from her lungs and stifling a cry from her throat, pulling her tightly into his rigid body.

Mimi resisted his carnal assault until his hand came forward and cupped her breast. Then she melted and went limp against him, welcoming his boldness as he squeezed her in his palm, flicked her nipple beneath satin, and searched for her tongue with his.

Nathan, Nathan, Nathan…

He grasped her with a hand to her bottom, massaging it, softly moaning once as she responded to the igniting heat within her. Then he lifted her briefly and shoved her against the large wooden door that led to the garden. She slumped against him, pinned on all sides, pushing her breasts into his waiting hands as he cupped them both, squirming with need, melding her lips with his.

He continued to demand the attention from her, in his touch, his light groan of pleasure. She felt his erection low on her stomach, thrilled her as she marveled in it, frightened a little by its bold insistence. But in the back of her mind she knew he wouldn’t last long. He wanted her as much as she wanted him.

“Nathan,” she gasped against his mouth. “Please—”

He didn’t hear her. Or didn’t want to.

His hunger grew and he tore a short cry from her lips as he lightly pinched her nipples over her gown. Then just as quickly as she reached for him, he grabbed her hands in one of his, and held them above her head while rubbing her breasts with the other.

She couldn’t help herself. She squirmed, whimpered from pure need, a primitive desire he unleashed in her.

He responded to it by dropping his hand from her breast to her skirt.

Quickly, he lifted it in bunches, teasing her tongue, exploring her mouth, their short breaths mingling. Her heart banged against her chest, but she was powerless to stop him.

She didn’t want him to stop. She pushed for more as he released her wrists at last and reached low for her gown with both hands, lifting it easily. She grabbed his frock coat at his shoulders, fisting the material in her palms, clinging as she continued to kiss him hungrily.