* * *
Almost an hourafter leaving Theodosia alone, Sebastian opened the door to their chamber to find her reclining atop the well-padded bed, her lovely hair covered by a lace cap, and laying on her side with her knees drawn up. She looked so fresh faced and young he wondered at her age. The lady seemed too young to be a widow and a woman of the world. To his mind, she barely looked older than his sister in the way she curled into herself to sleep.
An odd rush of affection went through him, and with a frown he glanced away, sat on the armchair by the fire and tugged off his wet boots. Earlier a wild feeling of being trapped had risen up inside to wrap its ugly arms around him. The last time he’d felt that well of sensations he hardly knew how to process had been when his father died. It had been imperative to escape into the falling rain.
Seb felt soaked to the bones, and the two glass of brandy he had in the inn’s dining area had done little to warm him. Unexpectedly he felt weary, another damned feeling to add to the constant worry and pain hooked like a barb inside his chest. Dropping his boot with a tug, he froze when Theodosia murmured something sleepily, and shifted her position, turning her back to him.
Sharing a room with her might prove to be inconvenient for he would not allow his valet inside to assist him. Seb really should have procured a private room for her, instead of allowing any shade to be cast on her reputation if they were found to be travelling together.
Staring at her, he wondered if the witty lady he’d kissed senseless could be deceiving him still about his sister’s whereabouts? He made the mental note that going forward, they would not share a room. That way, the stirring inside might be unlikely to manifest its irritating head.
The nightgown she wore hid her shape but that only served to fuel his wayward thoughts. It drew taut across her backside and tangled around her legs. What did she look like underneath the voluminous material? He itched to part the gown so he could learn the shape and weight of her full breasts, the softness of her belly and move down to the delightfully rounding of her hips, and then to the heated valley of her sex. Sebastian could imagine the flavor of her sweet little quim when he tasted her and her wild response. It would be like when he’d sucked her tongue into his mouth. That hot little purr she’d made, that eager arch into his embrace already told him she’d be the most delightful lover.
With a scoff of irritation, he stood and made his way behind the screen and undressed. He quickly undressed and tugged on night leggings and a banyan to protect her modesty. Lying on the bed, the mattress dipped and she muttered again. The lady was not a serene sleeper at all, and he smiled, thinking even in sleep she could be thorny. This would be an experience for him, sleeping with a woman in his bed for the full night. Even with his past lovers, Seb had always been concerned about going home before dawn. His family had been the most important thing in his world view. Whenever he visited town for Parliament, he did not linger once the sessions were over but often returned to Maidstone to be with his sister and mother. A few times he would paint the town with his friends, indulging in some wicked and carnal pursuits but he’d never allowed himself to be consumed with trivialities like some of his counterparts.
Theodosia shifted, and to his shock, she rolled twice coming up to his side and snuggling close. His chest lifted on a surprised breath.What the hell?He took his time in glancing down at her laced cap head.Was this how you slept with your husband?Curling into his side as if you are hiding from the world and seeking shelter?
He doubted it, the old viscount had been a great orator on the floor of Parliament and they normally stood on the same side when it came to passing bills and fighting for more rights for the poor and disenfranchised. The man had however been addicted to vice—frequenting several gambling houses in the underbelly of London, and also rumored to have kept several mistresses. It was a wonder he had gotten married to this lady, though her beauty might have been the thing to reel him to her side.
Temptation beat at Seb to drag Theodosia across his body and seduce her with ruthless kisses and filthy promises of the ways he would make her release. He knew his skill as a lover, and it would only take a few minutes to have her squirming with burning lust. Seb gripped the pillow above his head, breathing easily to soothe the pounding ache in his heart and cock.
She rolled from his side, kicking at the tangled sheets around her feet. Inexplicably he knew the moment she came awake. The rhythm of her breathing changed, and a fine tension entered her body. The lady also faltered into stillness. That alone would have alerted him to her wakefulness.
He slid his hand across the sheets, the motion evident. Her breath hitched, a sultry sigh— a brush of a butterfly wing whispered over his skin and settled in the room.
She too waited….
Then the lady turned, and he peered down. She stared at him, and something inside his chest cracked open at the sleepy invitation in her gaze. He swallowed back a groan.
I’d be using her.
And that was the bloody truth. He felt knotted with fear and anxiety for his sister and wantedanythingto distract his mind from visions of her hurting and alone. Burying his cock over and over into a tight welcoming quim would be a heady distraction that would do for the night. And the next night and the next until he found his sister. He recalled Theodosia’s provocative defiance that she knew her worth. And that wasn’t for him to slake the raw emotions pummeling him into her body. Even if in her eyes he spied a wary kind of desire.
If it was a body he needed to ride for the night, the serving girl had given him several hints earlier that she was available to serve all of his needs. Seb pushed from the bed, grabbing the clothes he set to dry by the grate and headed behind the screen. With economic motions he dressed himself, leaving off the cravat, and the shirt open at the neck. No doubt he looked disreputable, but he still prowled from the room, closing it gently behind him.
“Sebastian.”
Theodosia’s voice had him pausing in the hallway and turning around. The wall lantern shone over her lovely features and set his heart to pounding. She presented a picture that would take any man’s breath away. The dark blue night gown clung to her frame, and her heavy mass of golden hair tumbled over her shoulders to settle against her hips. Her figure was sensual and elegant, her ankles dainty and well-turned.
“It is sleeting outside. Do you wish to catch a feverish cold? Are you not afraid you will catch your death to go into the rain once more?”
“I am not going outside.”
Her eyes widened, and her lips parted on a silent gasp. She clutched the front of her nightgown and looked beyond his shoulder as if she would see someone there. Even with the distance between them, he saw the understanding dawning on her face.
“Is it necessary?”
That question froze him entirely. And in her expression she perfectly understood he was going to find a lady to tup for the night, quieting the fears causing his sleeplessness. Except no arousal filled him at the thought of taking the serving maid to his bed. It was only Theodosia he wanted, no one else. The thought sent a feeling of shock through Seb’s body. It hit him then that Theodosia was unlike other women he knew, so different in her manners and candor that he had no comparison.
“Are you offering?” Seb demanded gruffly.
She held his gaze, her eyes huge and heart-stoppingly delicate. Yet there was nothing fragile about this woman. Eyeing him with speechless astonishment she shook her head, and then murmured, “No.”
A pity, she was so very lovely and wickedly appealing to his senses. “Then I bid you goodnight, Theodosia. Sleep well. I shall see you in the morning.”
Her toes curled onto the carpet. “Good night, Sebastian.”
Was that disappointment he heard in her voice?