“Let me see,” Adam demanded as, having dismissed the butler, he strode over, lit candle in hand, to join her beside the fire.
Emma straightened, giving a pained wince as tilting her head to one side pulled on the ragged edges of her gouged flesh.
“Bitch was far too mild a description of that she-cat.” Adam’s gaze grew flinty as he held up the candle to inspect the scratches. “An animal would be put down for less.”
Emma gave a nervous laugh. “I hardly think that applies to Lady Millbrook.”
“I disagree,” Adam rasped. “Alexander will be speaking to her this evening, but I do believe I may have to pay that lady a visit myself in the very near future.”
Emma took a step away from his gently probing fingers. “I would rather you did not.”
Adam placed the lit candle on a side table. “Why not?”
She shrugged. “It would give far too much importance to the incident if the Duke of Hawkwood were to take a personal interest in the matter.”
“Even if I do have a personal interest in the matter?”
Color warmed Emma’s cheeks. “I would really rather you did not draw further attention to this unpleasantness.”
Adam had no doubt this young woman was accustomed to remaining on the fringe of Society rather than being in the thick of it. Just as he was aware it was his own involvement with her, and therefore that of his brother, which had brought Emma this particular unwanted attention.
Adam respected Emma’s feelings on the matter of Juanita Millbrook, but at the same time, he knew this incident could not be allowed to go unchecked. The other woman was a vicious vixen who needed her claws clipped, and if neither Alexander nor Millbrook were capable of doing that, then Adam would, whether Emma liked it or not.
“Ah, thank you, Dilley.” Adam decided to abandon the subject of Juanita Millbrook now that his butler had returned with the cloths, water, and salve he had requested. “That will be all for this evening, thank you,” he dismissed the elderly man once the butler had placed the items on a small table beside one of the armchairs.
Adam had already noted that the decanter of brandy had been replenished since Alexander had downed most of its contents earlier today, and he now moved to pour some of that amber liquid into a glass. He held it out to Emma. He had some other distractions in mind for after he had cleansed her wound, but for the moment, she would need something to take the edge off the pain.
“Goodness!” Emma gasped after taking a tentative sip from the glass of brandy the duke had given her. She had never tasted the liquor before now, and she was uncertain as to whether or not she ever wished to taste it again as the heat of it burned its way down her throat and settled as a warm glow in her stomach. “Mm, perhaps it is not so bad.” She licked her lips, then took another sip, prepared for, even enjoying, the burning sensation this time.
“I think that might be enough of that for now.” Adam deftly removed the glass from her fingers and placed it back on the tray with the decanter, preventing Emma from taking a third sip. “I would rather you did not become completely inebriated,” he derided as she frowned her disappointment.
Was she even a little inebriated after partaking of only two sips of brandy?
Emma thought perhaps that might be the case when none of her earlier anger returned and she offered none of her usual resistance as Hawkwood guided her to sit in one of the spacious armchairs. She leaned her head back wearily on the upholstery. No doubt the residual rush of emotion left over from Juanita Millbrook’s attack was not helping to banish Emma’s feelings of exhaustion.
Adam went down on his knees beside the chair where Emma was seated so that he might more closely inspect the wounds through narrowed lids. The scratches were not particularly deep, but they were at least three inches in length, and the fact the skin was broken would cause the warm water to sting a little as he cleaned them. Hopefully, the salve he applied afterward would help to ease that discomfort.
He sat back on his haunches. “I will do my best not to hurt you.”
She roused herself enough to look at him, her eyes a dark green. “Will you?”
Adam’s breath caught in his throat at the feeling he had that Emma was not only referring to the cleansing of her wounds, making him question how deeply Alex’s words had hurt her this afternoon. “Yes,” he confirmed huskily.
“Good.” She nodded as she once again leaned her head back and closed her eyes.
Adam forced himself to deal quickly and efficiently with cleansing and treating Emma’s wounds, all the time aware of the conflicting emotions churning inside him.
On the one hand, he wanted to return immediately to the Harpers’ home to seek out Juanita Millbrook and administer a severe tongue lashing as to what he thought of that woman’s viciousness toward Emma.
On the other, he was aware of Emma’s anger toward him.
As he was also very aware of Emma’s close proximity.
Of the way in which her unique perfume once again invaded all of his senses.
The warmth of her body mere inches away from his own.
Of the upward and downward swell of her creamy breasts as she breathed.
The temptation of her slightly parted and moist lips.
Of how he was not going to be able to allow Emma to leave him tonight without giving in to the need he felt to once again taste that soft and delicious mouth.
Chapter 8
Emma felt herself being lulled into sleep by the warmth of the room, and there was only the sound of them both breathing as Adam first carefully cleaned the scratches on her throat before applying an ointment that instantly soothed away the sting.
It was so very pleasant to forget her anger and disappointment in Adam for a while. To merely sit here and allow herself to be pampered and cared for, and to know that gentle care was being given by Adam Stirling, the gentleman most of Society knew as the arrogant and austere Duke of Hawkwood.
There was no doubting Adam was arrogant—his reason for wishing to marry her was proof of that—and he could be austere when he chose to be, but there much more to him than that.
His impatient tolerance of his flirtatious brother spoke of his filial affection.
The gentleness he now showed toward her was indicative that Adam also had a compassionate side.
His lovemaking… Oh God, Adam’s lovemaking caused Emma’s knees to weaken and her body to once again long for, ache for the release he had promised her earlier today, and which his brother’s interruption had prevented from happening.
Her heart sped up, heat suffusing her body at the realization she and Adam were once again alone in his private sitting room. The warmth and candle glow, along with the caress of Adam’s fingers against her throat, all added to that intimacy.
The anger Emma had felt toward him after his brother’s revelation regarding their father’s will now seemed somewhat out of proportion to the crime. Adam had made her no false declaration of love. Nor had he deliberately tried to deceive her with a lie as to the reason for his offer of marriage. The latter mainly because he had not stated his reasons.
But many marriages of the ton were based on political or financial gain or social prestige, so why should she have thought Adam was any different? Not that an alliance with Emma would give him any of those three advantages, but marriage to her before his thirty-fifth birthday would ensure he kept the Hawkwood fortune.
Could she condemn him for that?
Adam’s lovemaking, both yesterday and today, implied he intended for her to enjoy the experience at least. She already knew from Felicia that a gentleman could enjoy lovemaking without the presence of love. It was not Adam’s fault that she was falling in love with him.
“Emma?” Adam had been watching the play of emotions across her face in the candlelight.
There was the discomfort from his tending her wounds, of course, but there were also other emotions.
Frowning concentration.
Self-mockery.
&
nbsp; Rueful acceptance.
And lastly, quiet resolve.
But resolve in regard to what?
Her eyes were once again that bright and entrancing green when she raised her lids, a smile curving the softness of her lips. “I will inform my father in the morning that I have decided to accept your offer of marriage.”
Adam sat back on his haunches so suddenly, he almost toppled over. He placed a hand on the armchair to steady himself. “You will?”
“Yes.” Her smile widened. “My reaction earlier to hearing the reason for your offer was extremely childish,” she dismissed with a self-derisive laugh.
Childish or not, it had at least been an honest reaction. Something Adam did not believe Emma’s air of false bravado was now giving him. “I do not recall agreeing with my brother’s assessment of the situation.”
She laughed softly. “That is because, beneath your façade of arrogance and haughtiness, you are a gentleman.”
Adam wasn’t sure he agreed with her assessment of his character. Although calling him arrogant, haughty, and a gentleman all in the same breath surely rendered the remark as much of an insult as it was a compliment. Which, he allowed ruefully, was typical of the feisty Emma he was coming to know.
“I am, of course”—a delicate blush now colored her cheeks, her lashes lowered—“agreeing to it being a true marriage, and—and all that entails. Whatever your plans for the future, I accept you will eventually have need of an heir.”
Adam eyed her beneath lowered lids, wondering if Emma was really saying what he thought she was. “My brother is currently my heir.”
“Of course. But you are a duke, and no doubt you would one day like a son of your own to inherit the title.” The color deepened in her cheeks. “If I become your duchess, I am not averse to taking every measure to provide that heir.”
She was saying what he thought she was.
Having been completely taken aback by her about-face in deciding to accept his offer of marriage, Adam was even more surprised that it now seemed that Emma was admitting, albeit obliquely, to enjoying their lovemaking.
“I would prefer that any—any liaisons formed outside of our marriage,” she continued determinedly, “do not become public knowledge.”
Adam could feel his own anger rising. “I will not tolerate any wife of mine becoming embroiled in liaisons outside of our marriage.”
Her eyes widened. “The remark was not made in reference to my own behavior!”
Which meant it had to have been directed toward his. A statement that implied a readiness on Emma’s part to accept Adam would be unfaithful, not that he might be. Something Adam found he disliked almost as much as he did the idea of Emma taking lovers.
He placed a hand on each of the arms of the chair, effectively trapping Emma. “I do not believe you to be in a position to state conditions for a marriage which does not yet exist.”
Emma blinked. “Is it too much to ask that I not be made to suffer the public humiliation many husbands of the ton cause their wives when it becomes known they have taken a mistress?”
It was not too much to ask at all. It was the assumption Adam would be taking a mistress outside his marriage which continued to rankle. Especially so when he desired Emma so much, he couldn’t even see other women, let alone want to bed any of them.
It was for him to now ensure she felt that same desire only for him.
Emma gave a gasp as Hawkwood’s hands moved to the bottom of her gown and slowly began to push the material upward over her stocking-covered calves and knees. “What are you doing?”
Hawkwood’s smile was predatory. “In the interest of the two of us becoming better acquainted, I am continuing where we left off earlier today.” He lowered his head, his lips warm against the bared flesh revealed at the top of her stockings held up by pretty white garters adorned with pink rosebuds.
Did he mean…? Was Adam intending to…?
“These drawers will have to come off.” His hands moved to untie the bow fastening at her waist. “Lift up your bottom,” he instructed huskily.
Oh God, he was!
Emma was too surprised by the suddenness of the intimacy to do anything else but obey. Color heated her cheeks as Adam pulled her drawers steadily downward, fully exposing the blonde curls covering her mound and releasing the sweet floral perfume of her arousal as she lifted higher still so that he could remove her drawers completely and discard them.
“Slide down a little and then part your legs as wide as they will go.”
The bodice of Emma’s gown suddenly felt so tight, she could barely breathe, her heart pounding, and between her thighs becoming hot and damp.
“Emma.”
She drew in a ragged breath, her gaze riveted on Adam’s bent head as he watched her slide her bottom to the edge of the seat and part her legs.
“Wider.” He placed both hands on her thighs to assist and adjust her posture, and then those hands slowly moved higher still, thumbs stroking lightly over her exposed flesh. “Hold your skirts so they do not get in the way.”
“Adam…”
“Do it, Emma,” he instructed, waiting for her compliance before his thumbs held her nether lips apart and he slowly lowered his head.
Emma threw back her head and gave a low and mewling groan as she felt the hot and rasping stroke of Adam’s tongue along her oversensitive flesh, from her moist opening to the throbbing nubbin above. The pleasure of that stroking tongue was almost painful, becoming all-consuming as Adam continued to lick that same sensual path over and over again until Emma felt herself poised on the edge of—
Of what?
How—
“Come for me,” Adam instructed gruffly, sucking that pulsing nubbin into his mouth and allowing his tongue to stroke and lash that sensitivity.
The pleasure that coursed through Emma’s body was so intense, she felt as if she might faint. Long and rolling waves of pleasure that caused her whole body to quake and tremble and the juices to gush from her slit, only to be lapped up by that marauding tongue.
Emma wanted more. More of Adam’s strong hands caressing her nether lips. More of Adam’s tongue licking the juices from her pussy. More of the heat of his mouth on her clit, claiming her, pleasuring her.
Adam gave her more, taking her to that edge of release again and again before his hands and mouth pushed her over into that maelstrom of pleasure.
Emma lay sprawled in the chair, legs lewdly apart, her pussy a pleasurable throb by the time Adam raised his head some time later and rested back on his haunches. His hair had fallen onto his forehead, his face was flushed, his lips and chin slick with her juices, his eyes a glittering silver between narrowed lids.
His mouth twisted. “I hope you will agree this is a good beginning to the two of us getting to know each other better.”
Emma felt the embarrassed color licking along her throat and spreading into her cheeks; Adam certainly knew her more intimately than anyone else, including herself.
Adam rose agilely to his feet, that tousled dark hair his only show of dishevelment. “It is late. I will leave you to put on your drawers. And adjust your clothing,” he added dryly as Emma quickly dropped her skirts to cover her nakedness below the waist, “while I go and arrange for my carriage to take you home.”
Emma felt frozen in place for several long seconds after Adam had left the room.
What had just happened?
Well, she knew what had happened. Adam had pleasured her with his hands and mouth, until her body sang in response to his every caress and touch and she had felt herself teetering on the edge of plummeting into madness if he attempted to give her one more release.
And then he had abruptly ended the encounter.
Had stood up, straightened the cuffs of his shirt beneath his jacket, and strode from the room looking every inch the composed and self-contained Duke of Hawkwood.
Chapter 9
“You are very quiet this afternoon.” Felicia raised a questioning
brow as the two ladies once again lingered over enjoying afternoon tea together. “Is that because, after observing you with both the Stirling brothers yesterday evening, I see you are as confused as I am as to which of them holds your affection?” she added teasingly.
Emma gave a pained wince. Pain which was not exclusive to her emotions but also included the aching of the rest of her body, as a pleasurable reminder of Adam’s lovemaking the previous night.
She had no doubt as to which of the Stirling brothers held her affections, had accepted during her lonely carriage ride home the previous night that she was not falling in love with Adam but had already fallen in love with him.
All while having absolutely no idea how he felt toward her.
His lovemaking last night had been beyond anything she might have imagined from Felicia’s previous revelations on the subject. Only for Adam to then send Emma home alone in his carriage.
Her emotions were still reeling as to the reason she had received such callous treatment.
Had Adam taken what he wanted from her and felt no further necessity to continue those explorations just then?
Or had he been so disgusted by her unladylike responses, he could not bear to be in her company a moment longer?
His silence today, on any subject, either by calling upon her or sending another letter, even one as dictatorial as the last one, was not helping Emma’s feelings of uncertainty.
Men, she had decided earlier as she changed her clothing to visit Felicia, were far more complicated than women, no matter what she may have previously heard to the contrary. Or, at the very least, Adam was too complicated for Emma to even begin to second-guess his motives for doing anything.
Perhaps she had given in too easily the night before.
Or her response had been too wanton for what he required in a wife.
Whatever the reason for Adam’s silence today, Emma had not thought it prudent, after all, to tell her father of her decision to accept the Duke of Hawkwood’s offer of marriage. She would look very foolish indeed if Adam had now decided to withdraw his offer.
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