Winter's Warrior (The Wicked Winters Book 13)
Page 18
Namely, the twins who had once more escaped from their shared room to wander about unattended.
The door burst open, and Lady Octavia crossed the threshold, elegant, beautiful, and maddening as hell. Her vividly blue eyes settled upon him first, and how he despised the bolt of lust that hit him. So, too, the memories of the frantic kisses they had shared, her tongue in his mouth.
The minx.
Christ, she was delicious.
And infuriating.
And delicious.
Damnation.
“You are not welcome here, Lady Octavia,” he told her, just as he had on numerous occasions in the past. “I will have one of my men escort you back to the safety of your sister’s home.”
“Children, Sutton?” she asked, her gaze flitting from his daughters, to him, then back again.
“Aye,” he ground out. “Children. Mine.”
She had not trespassed at The Sinner’s Palace in three weeks. Not that he had been counting. And not that he had missed her irritating intrusions. Because he most certainly had not.
Her mouth dropped open. Pretty, pink, lush mouth. Not a spinster’s mouth at all, and that bothered him for reasons he didn’t care to examine. Lady Octavia Alexander had no desire to marry. All she wanted was to be at the helm of a gossip journal. Hers, of course. When she had initially approached him with the idea, he had laughed. And then he had kissed her senseless. And then she had been the one laughing.
The bloody nuisance.
“Your children,” she repeated at last.
“Mine,” he said again, willing her to go away.
To go far, far away.
To the continent, in fact.
Or mayhap the Americas.
Out of his reach, wherever that took her.
Was the moon a possibility?
“You are a father.”
“Aye,” he gritted, frowning at her. “Are you daft, woman? I’ve just said so.”
He was being rude, and he knew it. Also, he did not care.
“Don’t say daft,” he added as an afterthought, addressing his wide-eyed daughters.
“I would never,” Anne breathed. “It would be unkind, Papa.”
Papa. His cold, dead heart never failed to warm at the title, and curse him if he knew why. He’d certainly not wanted spawn. Still didn’t want them. Not particularly. They were trouble, these two.
Hence his need for a wife.
Yesterday.
A plain, appreciative woman without expectations who was willing to guide his children and turn a blind eye to whatever the hell he wished to do that did not involve her.
Lady Octavia was grinning at him like the cat who’d got into the cream. “Yes, Papa. It is most unkind to call a lady who has only ever been polite to you daft.”
“Do not call me Papa,” he growled at her, stalking forward.
Toward her.
Pulled.
Always, always pulled. This woman was vexing and she was intoxicating, and he wanted more of her, and he wanted her to go away and never to return.
But mostly, he wanted more of her.
“Papa?” asked one of his daughters, and he was ashamed to admit that with them at his back, he could not distinguish one voice from the next.
He paused, stopping just short of Lady Octavia. “What is it now, daughter?” he asked, casting a glance over his shoulder.
“I want a cat,” Anne said.
“I want a dog,” Elizabeth announced.
“Then you shall have both,” Lady Octavia proclaimed, her voice cheerful, benevolent.
Annoying.
He turned back to her, pinning her with a glare. “Hold your tongue, Lady Octavia.”
She winked, the outrageous baggage. “Force me to if you dare.”
Challenge accepted, milady.
He would have great fun with her tongue. Later. Not with his children as an audience. Kisses could wait. Anne and Elizabeth needed to get to bed…
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Complete Book List
HISTORICAL ROMANCE
Heart’s Temptation
A Mad Passion (Book One)
Rebel Love (Book Two)
Reckless Need (Book Three)
Sweet Scandal (Book Four)
Restless Rake (Book Five)
Darling Duke (Book Six)
The Night Before Scandal (Book Seven)
Wicked Husbands
Her Errant Earl (Book One)
Her Lovestruck Lord (Book Two)
Her Reformed Rake (Book Three)
Her Deceptive Duke (Book Four)
Her Missing Marquess (Book Five)
Her Virtuous Viscount (Book Six)
League of Dukes
Nobody’s Duke (Book One)
Heartless Duke (Book Two)
Dangerous Duke (Book Three)
Shameless Duke (Book Four)
Scandalous Duke (Book Five)
Fearless Duke (Book Six)
Notorious Ladies of London
Lady Ruthless (Book One)
Lady Wallflower (Book Two)
Lady Reckless (Book Three)
Lady Wicked (Book Four)
Lady Lawless (Book Five)
The Wicked Winters
Wicked in Winter (Book One)
Wedded in Winter (Book Two)
Wanton in Winter (Book Three)
Wishes in Winter (Book 3.5)
Willful in Winter (Book Four)
Wagered in Winter (Book Five)
Wild in Winter (Book Six)
Wooed in Winter (Book Seven)
Winter’s Wallflower (Book Eight)
Winter’s Woman (Book Nine)
Winter’s Whispers (Book Ten)
Winter’s Waltz (Book Eleven)
Winter’s Widow (Book Twelve)
Winter’s Warrior (Book Thirteen)
The Sinful Suttons
Sutton’s Spinster (Book One)
Stand-alone Novella
Lord of Pirates
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Love’s Second Chance
Reprieve (Book One)
Perfect Persuasion (Book Two)
Win My Love (Book Three)
Coastal Heat
Loved Up (Book One)
About the Author
USA Today and Amazon bestselling author Scarlett Scott writes steamy Victorian and Regency romance with strong, intelligent heroines and sexy alpha heroes. She lives in Pennsylvania and Maryland with her Canadian husband, adorable identical twins, and one TV-loving dog.
A self-professed literary junkie and nerd, she loves reading anything, but especially romance novels, poetry, and Middle English verse. Catch up with her on her website http://www.scarlettscottauthor.com/. Hearing from readers never fails to make her day.
Scarlett’s complete book list and information about upcoming releases can be found at http://www.scarlettscottauthor.com/.
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