His Wicked Wish (19 page)

“And you haven't told anyone that you're planning to leave England for good at the end of the season?”

“Not a living soul beyond you, Madelyn. It's our little secret.”

His cavalier smile shouldn't bother her. Their eventual parting suited her plans, as well as his. With the generous stipend he'd promised her, she could move into her own house after he was gone. If she'd conceived his child by that time, she would have sufficient funds to hire a staff of servants and still fulfill her dream of opening a dress shop.

Yet one key part of her purpose in marrying him was already in jeopardy. All because of his grandmother's shocking decree.

As a figure of notoriety, you will not be invited to the best houses. You will not be invited to many parties. And you most certainly will not be meeting any dukes at all!

Anxiety twisted in Maddy. If she couldn't mingle with the aristocracy, then how was she to meet the Duke of Houghton? How was she to confront the haughty man who had shunned her mother for eloping with an actor?

Although Lady Gilmore had consented to teach her, the dowager believed that no matter how much Maddy studied and practiced, a common actress could never become a true lady and the ton would never accept her. No amount of cajoling from Maddy had swayed the old woman from that conviction.

Yet Maddy wasn't ready to give up.

As she and Nathan started down a flight of stairs, she glanced up at him. “We need to speak in private,” she said. “Someplace where no one else can overhear.”

“How intriguing. I'd never turn down a tryst with a beautiful woman.”

In the midst of her worries, she warmed to him. That was the second time today he'd complimented her. It was gallant of him, for she wore a shabby gown and felt frazzled from the long hours being poked and fitted by the dressmaker. She wondered how many women he'd charmed with such flattery, how many more he would seduce in the future, for once Nathan went abroad again she doubted he would honor their wedding vows.

The notion vaguely disturbed her. Surely vows made before God were not meant to be broken.

But at least her husband seemed in a better humor today. Most likely because he had won the battle with his father over the issue of annulling the marriage. Last night's consummation had ensured that.

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, they started down the long, empty corridor where the bedchambers were located. Her room might be a quiet place to talk. Unless Gertie and Mrs. Dobbs hadn't yet cleared away all the sewing supplies …

She swung toward Nathan. “Oh, I nearly forgot! Thank you for the bolts of silk. I can't tell you how very much I appreciate them.”

“If you can't tell me, then you may show me.”

His hand at the small of her back, he abruptly steered her to the first doorway, turned the latch, and escorted her inside, closing the door behind them. The spacious room appeared to be an unused bedchamber. The tall draperies were drawn, shutting out the mid-afternoon sun and rendering the space dim and shadowed. She had a glimpse of a four-poster bed and chairs shrouded in protective cloth.

Then Nathan pulled her into his arms and passionately kissed her. After an initial shyness, she succumbed to the clamoring sensations within her and returned the kiss. The hot pressure of his mouth felt heavenly and the excitement of his unexpected sensual assault awakened her desires. But when he slid his fingers inside her bodice to caress her bosom, she was brought to an awareness of his intentions.

She drew back, breathless, to push at his shoulders. “Do stop. I told you, I need to speak to you. It's very important!”

“Ah, but lovemaking is so much more fun than talking.”

He tried to nuzzle her throat, and she ducked, slipping out from the circle of his arms and backing away until her spine met one of the bedposts. She collected the unraveled threads of her thoughts. “You
will
hear me out, Nathan. Your grandmother told me today that I'm to be stuck in this house for the entire season. It doesn't matter if I transform myself into a fine lady. I still won't receive invitations to the best parties.”

He sauntered toward her. “Balls are hot and overcrowded affairs, full of preening snobs. You won't be missing much.”

Her heartbeat quickened at his rakish smile and she retreated farther into the bedchamber. “But that was part of our bargain,” she said, glancing back to avoid stumbling into the furniture. “We were to attend fancy parties, to mingle with the nobility. You promised that as your wife, I would enter society.”

He arched a dark eyebrow as he prowled after her. “Did I? I don't recall saying that.”

“It was implied, then. It was a big part of my reason for marrying you.”

“And here I was hoping it was your lust for my manly form.”

Nathan made a quick grab for her arm. His fingers brushed her sleeve, and with a gasp, she scrambled for refuge behind a chair. The faint smile on his face aroused her passion. He could easily overpower her, she knew he could, but he relished toying with her as a tiger stalks its prey.

How she yearned for him to catch her. She longed for his mouth on hers again, his touch on her body. But not yet. Not until she'd convinced him to help her.

As he came closer, she held up her hand. “
Please
stop chasing me, Nathan, and think for a moment. How am I to be an embarrassment to your father if I'm kept out of the public eye? It's to your advantage to make certain that I'm included in
all
the invitations. So that I'm seen everywhere, even at the most exclusive parties.”

Halting, he stared at her through the shadows of the bedchamber. From his hard, calculating expression, Maddy knew she'd finally reached him. “I'll take care of the matter,” he said after a moment. “You needn't fret about it.”

“But what will you do? How will you manage it? Your grandmother says that you have a terrible reputation. If you're not invited to parties, then I won't be, either—
Oh!
”

He lunged, and this time, he caught her by the waist and brought her flush against his hard form. His smile gleamed through the gloom, his dimples in attractive display. “I said I'll take care of it. You'll dance at as many parties as you like. Trust me.”

With that, he sank into an overstuffed chair and brought her down onto his lap. Maddy found herself sprawled over him, her bosom crushed to his chest. She looped her arms around his neck to steady herself. But Nathan wasn't done. He reached beneath her skirts and nudged her legs apart so that she straddled him. “Ah, that's better.”

His hard length pressed against her aching center, with only the cloth of his trousers and her lace-edged underdrawers as a barrier. “Nathan!” Scandalized, she glanced over her shoulder at the closed door across the dim-lit bedchamber. “What if someone walks in here?”

“Never mind that. Let's live dangerously.”

Their lips joined in a deep kiss, and a sense of wicked adventure enhanced her enjoyment. His hands were still beneath her skirts, stroking her bare thighs above her garters before delving between her legs. His fingers found the slit in her undergarments and caressed her with great delicacy, his thumb gliding through her wetness, stimulating exquisitely sensitive flesh. Craving release, she moaned into his mouth.

She almost wept when he took his hand away to open the buttons of his trousers. But the knowledge of his intention filled her with fire. Feverishly, she braced her hands on his shoulders and raised herself as he fitted himself into her. She sank down, sighing with pleasure as he filled her, shuddering with the perfection of their union.

Succumbing to an instinctive urge, she swiveled her hips and relished the ripples of heat that eddied through every part of her body. Nathan sucked in a breath through his teeth. Beneath her skirts, his hands gripped her thighs and she moved again, awash in the glory of pleasuring him as well as herself. It was her turn today to direct the action, and she embraced the role with great relish, sliding up and down his shaft until she could scarcely bear any more of the divine friction.

She pressed her forehead to his. “Nathan,
please
…”

Reaching between them, he stroked the place of their joining. At once, a bolt of hot bliss shot through her and she cried out from the onrush of ecstasy. Hazily she was aware of him giving a quick upward thrust of his hips as he, too, shuddered in the frenzy of release.

Utterly spent, she melted against him, her head resting on his shoulder until her heart slowed and she could catch a breath again. Never in her life had she felt so happy as this moment, cradled in his arms. How had she ever lived without this pleasure?

“That was heaven,” she said on a sigh, kissing his jaw. “No wonder you have such a bad reputation. It comes from carousing with women.”

His eyelashes half lowered, he regarded her. “Jealous?”

She was, just a little, but that defied logic. Whatever he'd done in the past shouldn't concern her. “Certainly not! It's only that I heard from your grandmother that you'd misbehaved quite a lot in your youth. I confess to speculating as to why.”

He idly caressed her bottom. “Misbehaving is fun. You should know that by now.”

“Mmm.” For a moment, she couldn't string two thoughts together. The languor of release had cast her mind adrift. “I wonder if that's all. I wonder if perhaps you were deliberately trying to rile your father, even back then.”

His hand ceased its delicious play. He leaned back to give her a sharp stare. “You will not mention him when we're together like this. Not ever. We will speak of nothing consequential at all. Is that clear?”

The hard flare in his eyes jolted her back to reality, as did his harsh tone. She had not meant to anger him. The comment had tumbled out in an unguarded moment. How foolish of her to reference the Earl of Gilmore at such a time.

Though his outburst stung, Maddy subdued her curiosity. She had no right to probe into Nathan's private past. They weren't devoted partners, building a long life together. They each had their own purposes, their own secrets.

It would be best to keep their relationship light and playful. After all, he'd be departing from her life in a few months' time. Until then, she might as well revel in sensual passion.

She curved her lips into a provocative smile, letting her fingers trace the hard angles of his jaw. “As you wish, my lord. There shall be nothing between us but pleasure.”

 

Chapter 14

The coach inched forward in the queue of fine vehicles. Maddy put her face close to the window. Looking ahead, she could see a throng of people gathered in the torchlight outside a town house. They appeared to be common folk, hoping to catch a glimpse of the luminaries descending from their carriages.

A frisson of anticipation capered over her skin. Her plan was about to be set in motion. Tonight, for the first time,
she
would be one of the favored few allowed to enter the rarefied realm of the nobility. She finally would have a chance to search for her grandfather …

“Madelyn!” the dowager groused. “Don't press your nose to the glass. That is most improper.”

She looked across the coach to see Lady Gilmore glaring in the pale light of the lanterns, her gloved hands grasping the gold knob of the cane, the ostrich feathers on her olive-hued hat wagging above her wrinkled features. A stern-faced Lord Gilmore sat beside her, then Lady Sophia in dark mulberry silk, the beauty of her dainty form spoiled by the haughty set of her chin.

The luxurious coach comfortably seated all six of them, with Maddy on Nathan's right and Emily on his left. Nathan said nothing in Maddy's defense; he merely looked aloof, although she knew him well enough by now to detect the faint twitch of amusement at the corners of his mouth. After two weeks of marriage, the rascal still enjoyed seeing how much she irritated his family.

Maddy sat back demurely and folded her kid-gloved hands in her lap. Let them all sneer. She was determined not to be a liability for Emily's sake. “Forgive me, Grandmamma. I quite forgot myself for a moment.”

“You must be on your best behavior tonight,” Lady Gilmore scolded. “I would not like to think that I've squandered the past fortnight instructing you in proper manners.”

“
I
think she'll do famously,” Emily piped up. “She's a very quick learner and the dancing master said she's his best pupil.”

“Pish-posh. A monkey can be taught to dance. It is how she behaves among her betters that concerns me. And at this party in particular! Lady Milford invites only the crème of the crème.”

“Indeed, she's the premier hostess of the ton,” Sophia said, turning her cool blue eyes on Maddy. “I cannot imagine that Lady Milford has ever before felt obliged to include a common actress on her guest list.”

Maddy hid her annoyance behind a regal manner. “Then I shall endeavor to be worthy of the honor.”

Nathan chuckled. “Since I am recently married, it would be peculiar for my bride
not
to attend.” He placed his hand over Maddy's in her lap. “And we can be thankful for the opportunity. An invitation from my godmother is guaranteed to make Madelyn acceptable to the ton.”

He was gazing at his father, no doubt savoring Gilmore's disapproving expression. Maddy had not quite grown accustomed to the tension between the two men. It loomed like a dark cloud over every meal, every family gathering in the drawing room, every chance encounter in the corridor.

Nevertheless, the firmness of Nathan's hand on hers stirred a melting warmth in her. He had come through on his promise to help her, after all. Somehow, he had persuaded Lady Milford to host a party to pave Maddy's entry into society. It was the perfect remedy to the dowager's poisonous decree that would have kept Maddy hidden away at Gilmore House.