“Nicholas! Let me in.” Sebastian lowered his voice. “What is it with you and Holland? The fop told Lady Brompton you’re rude to him for no apparent reason.”
Nicholas kept her pinned to the solid oak door, his eyes locked with hers, his finger moving ever so slightly across her lips. Perhaps he feared she might speak. Perhaps that was why he watched her mouth so intently.
Sebastian tried the door and found it locked. “I know you’re in there.” He rattled the knob as if he meant to barge his way inside. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I’ll be down in a moment,” Nicholas called. His gaze dipped to where he might find the key, his lips parting on a deep exhale. “I need time to calm my temper. I’ll meet you on the terrace shortly.”
A tense silence ensued.
Helen could sense her brother’s growing frustration. As a man who controlled every situation, Sebastian despised being told what to do. Heaven help the person who broke down his barriers and forced him to confront his feelings.
Backed into a corner, Sebastian had no choice but to surrender. “Then, I shall do as I’m told and wait for you downstairs.”
“Shh,” Nicholas mouthed again.
They stood silently, waiting for something to happen. Despite hearing the thud of retreating footsteps, neither moved nor spoke.
The air thrummed wildly around them. It wasn’t love that left her body aflame, but those wicked feelings she fantasised about in bed.
Nicholas stared at where his finger rested against her bottom lip.
Mischief danced in his eyes, his breath quickening as he drew his finger slowly down her chin, down the column of her throat, closer to the forbidden valley no man but her husband should touch.
“There is nothing repugnant about touching you, Miss Langley.” Leaving a scorching trail in its wake, his finger came to rest a mere inch from the rising swell of her breasts. He looked ready to set his mouth to her soft flesh, but shook his head and withdrew to a respectable distance. “I shall let you retrieve the key because I am a gentleman, not because I see you as kin.”
Not kin?
But that changed everything—and nothing.
Sebastian would not allow Nicholas to court her. No woman would ever come between the men. Besides, Nicholas St Clair was not of a mind to marry, and Sebastian would kill him at the mere hint of a dalliance.
“You should leave,” Nicholas said, the hunger in his gaze dying as quickly as paper on a bonfire.
“For fear of sounding like Sir Thomas’ silly parrot, I am not leaving until you tell me about your gripe with Mr Holland.” She found the courage to move away from the door and sidle towards the bed. “We have a crime to solve. You agreed to be my assistant, and you never break a vow.”
He gave a mocking snort. “Then, for the second time in as many minutes, I wish to God I was disloyal.”
What did that mean?
He was so perplexing.
Still, she had glimpsed the sensual man hiding behind the indifferent facade. He seemed torn, battling with an inner turmoil that had everything to do with her, not his situation. A woman seeking dominance might use it to her advantage. And something about the way he looked at her gave her the confidence to be bold.
She pushed the key further down into her bodice. Then, much to his horror, she climbed onto the bed and settled back against the mound of plump pillows.
“It seems we’ve reached a stalemate, Mr St Clair.” She fought to hold her nerve against the arousing scent of his cologne wafting off the pillow. “On which side will you sleep tonight? I prefer to be close to the window.”
“Madam, you’re trying my patience.”
“Then, come and get the key.”
He folded his arms across his broad chest. “I mistook you for an intelligent woman. Yet you would rather risk ruin than admit defeat.”
She offered a confident grin. “I ruined myself once for you, Nicholas. The second time might prove more rewarding.”
He remained perfectly still but for the slight wrinkling of his brow. “You’re speaking in riddles, Miss Langley.”
“It isn’t much of a riddle, really.” There was nothing puzzling about the actions of a woman in love. “I wasn’t seeking clean air at the Hamptons’ ball. I was looking for you.”