Seduce Me If You Can (The Ashbrook Legacy Book 1)

by Tonya Brooks

  Not having a lot of time to waste in pursuit of the fairer sex, he had always preferred the uncomplicated relationship that a mistress provided. That's not to say that he had limited himself solely to the pleasure of his mistresses. Nicholas had never liked the idea of poaching on another man’s private reserve, mainly because he for damn sure would not tolerate such behavior from his own wife, but if a married woman pursued him, he had no qualms about taking mutual advantage of the situation, discreetly, of course.

  However, he drew the line at innocents. He had no desire whatsoever to toy with a young woman who would invariably wind up ruined or broken hearted when the affair ended. Ending a relationship with a mistress could be difficult enough. He had discovered early on that mistresses had a foolish tendency to try to make a business transaction into something more meaningful, and it inevitably led to them being hurt when the relationship ended. Thank God, he didn't have to bother with such things any more.

  So, that evening, Nicholas entered a house he owned in a quiet little neighborhood and made himself comfortable in the drawing room. He was sitting there sipping a fine, aged brandy when the lovely young widow joined him.

  Rising to his feet, he said cordially, “Good evening, Lettice. It looks like you're dressed to go out, so I'll make it brief. As we agreed, the house is yours for ninety days unless you find a new protector before then. I'm willing to extend that if need be, but after ninety days I will be putting the property up for sale, so you may have to deal with prospective buyers traipsing through on occasion.”

  The color had drained from her face when he began, but it rushed back into her cheeks with a vengeance. “So, you're giving me my conge and throwing me out on the street without a second thought,” she accused peevishly. “I should have known you'd do this when I had to find out about your engagement in the paper.”

  One of the reasons that he had chosen this particular woman as his mistress was because of her cold, calculating nature. Lettice was not given to emotional outbursts, but she did have a sharp, vindictive tongue when crossed. Nicholas had no intentions of standing around and letting her use it.

  “I'm not in the habit of discussing my personal business with you,” he reminded her coolly and placed the glass on the table, preparing to leave.

  ~~~~~

  It was impossible for Lettice to believe that Ryder was casting a woman of her experience aside for some innocent virgin fresh out of a schoolroom. The girl could never hope to please a man like Nicholas, nor could she possibly hold his attention in bed for long.

  “You're getting rid of your mistress and selling the house,” she mused cynically. “Don't tell me you're becoming respectable... Nicky.”

  ~~~~~

  “My name is Nicholas,” he corrected her dryly instead of answering as he walked toward the door. In an effort to remind his mistresses that they might share his body, but never anything more, Nicholas had never allowed them to address him in a less formal manner or use terms of endearment.

  “You don't bother to correct that simpering chit,” she shot back angrily.

  The duke halted in his tracks and turned to face her. The obsidian eyes flashing a dark warning, he informed her coldly, “As my future duchess, Baroness Montvale can call me any damn thing she pleases,”

  ~~~~~

  That irritated the hell out of Lettice. He had never allowed her or any of his other mistresses to address him as informally as that child did. “She called you that before your engagement,” Lettice snapped jealously, even more infuriated by his attempt to defend the chit. “You never allowed me to do so, and I'm twice the woman she is.”

  ~~~~~

  His unfathomable gaze was as mocking as his tone when he replied, “If you were half the woman that Lady Scarlett is, I'd still insist you call me Nicholas.” At her shocked gasp, he added in a tone she knew not to argue with, “And don't ever make the mistake of insulting my fiancé again, Lettice. You won't like the consequences.”

  Chapter Twenty Three

  Langford House, London, England, 1812

  Later that evening, in an effort to escape the stifling heat of the ballroom, and find out what had her so on edge; Nicholas took his fiancé for a stroll through the garden. They stepped inside the gazebo, and Scarlett didn't even give him a chance to ask what was wrong before she informed him that they simply could not marry. Hoping that they had gotten past all of that rot this afternoon, he could have groaned in frustration at having it start all over again.

  ~~~~~

  Juliette had palavered on the entire day about all the things that Scarlett was going to have to learn, and all the official duties she'd have to perform as a duchess, and now she was a nervous wreck. “I'd be a bloody awful duchess,” she confessed as she stared up at the handsome man before her in dismay.

  He shrugged those elegantly attired shoulders indifferently. “Can't see Duchy letting that happen. She'll see to it that you're up to snuff.”

  Which did nothing to appease her fears. “Devil take it, Nicky. I don't want to be Grand’Mere.”

  That rakish smile touched his lips as he tried to tease her out of the mood by saying, “Since we actually have to produce children first, you've probably got a good twenty years before you're a grandmother, love.”

  In no mood to be humored, Scarlett muttered a string of obscenities and complained, “You're not taking me seriously.”

  “Au contraire, I take you very seriously, Scarlett,” Nicholas countered. “Which is why I know you'll make an excellent duchess.”

  “Damnation. I don't want to be a duchess. Not to mention that you're in line for the throne of Moldavia. If you inherit that would make me a bloody queen! Just the thought of it is enough to make me cast up my accounts,” Scarlett confessed wretchedly as she stared up into his midnight eyes.

  She'd always known about his connection to the throne, but had never given it much consideration until her grandmother had brought it up that afternoon. Now the thought of having to fill all those duties quite simply scared the hell out of her.

  ~~~~~

  “First of all, Uncle Jean is in excellent health and will probably reign for years to come. And if something should happen to him, my cousin Philippe is more than likely to live to a ripe old age himself,” he explained patiently. “The chances of the throne passing to me are minimal at best, although it could pass to one of our children unless Philippe produces an heir.”

  She moaned as if he had dealt her a mortal blow. “I'd be the mother of a king,” Scarlett said in sheer horror.

  Scarlett was so intelligent that he sometimes forgot just how young she really was. Not to mention she'd been raised without the benefit of a woman’s guidance for the most part. It was only natural that she'd feel overwhelmed at the thought of marriage, as well as taking on the vast responsibilities of a duchess.

  “You're the most intelligent woman I know, Scarlett. There's absolutely no reason to think you wouldn't make an exceptional duchess.”

  She gave an inelegant snort, placed her hands on her hips and began to list all the qualifications a duchess should have that she didn't. “I am neither regal nor gracious, I don't have a charitable bone in my body, and I'd rather be horsewhipped than spend my time planning balls and benefits.”

  “Then don't.”

  She stared at him as if he were daft. “Don't?” She repeated blankly.

  “You can hire a secretary to plan all those tedious affairs. Hell, you don't even have to host them unless you want to,” Nicholas pointed out reasonably. “As to the rest, just be yourself.”

  Scarlett actually stamped her foot in vexation. “Grand’Mere says a duchess...”

  Ah, hell. He'd heard enough.

  Intent on making her forget all her fears, Nicholas lightly grasped her shoulders and backed Scarlett against the column behind her. “Kitten, I want you to forget everything Duchy said and listen to me,” he commanded gently but firmly as his hands slid sensuously down her arms. “A duchesses first priori
ty is to please her husband, correct?”

  ~~~~~

  “I... I suppose,” was hesitantly agreed as a tingle of awareness zinged up her spine.

  “Then my opinion is the only one you need concern yourself with,” he assured her arrogantly, his hands gliding feather light back up her arms. “Now, have I ever voiced a complaint about your behavior?”

  “Only when I asked you to seduce me,” Scarlett admitted without having to think about it, which was just as well because his tender caresses were wreaking havoc with her thought process.

  The smile became wolfish. “After we're married, I won't complain,” he assured her wickedly as one arm slid around her waist and pulled her body against his, while the other cupped her breast. “And you won't have to ask.”

  A soft gasp escaped her parted lips and warmth flooded her abdomen at the contact as well as the thought of him seducing her. “I don't know what you expect from me, Nicky,” she admitted breathlessly and stared up at him with wide emerald eyes dark with desire.

  ~~~~~

  Ah, God, how he'd love to show her. Hell, they were engaged. Scarlett was going to be his wife. Maybe he should show her. His hand slid over the curve of her hip, down her thigh where he grasped a handful of satin and lifted it up as he said silkily, “The same thing any man expects of his wife, kitten. Loyalty. Fidelity. Love.”

  “Love?” She croaked hoarsely.

  “Mmm,” Nicholas murmured as he lowered his head to nuzzle his cheek against hers, his fingertips trailing up the silken skin of her thigh. “Do you think you could come to love me, Scarlett?”

  ~~~~~

  “I...” Scarlett had no idea how to respond, even if she could think straight. Hell's teeth, she couldn't admit that she already loved him so much it hurt.

  “Is it such an impossibility?” He queried between kisses as his lips blazed a trail of fire down her exposed neck, his fingertips gently exploring the curls at the apex of her thighs.

  “N...No,” she barely breathed as her knees turned to mush and the heat in her belly swirled down between her thighs. Scarlett had to hold onto his shoulders to remain upright. Damnation. How did he do that so easily? She was about to melt into a puddle at his feet.

  ~~~~~

  A surge of pure triumph shot through his veins as his lips reached her bare shoulder and started back up again. “Then nothing else matters, does it?” Nicholas breathed huskily against her skin as his fingertips glided over the entrance to her damp heat. Ah, God. She was so wet and ready for him. His body ached with the need to take his fill of her and damn the consequences.

  Scarlett gasped and shivered at his skillful touch against her tender flesh. “I... I just wish...”

  “What do you wish, love?” Nicholas asked huskily, his lips hovering a breath above her own, his thumb slowly circling the sensitive nubbin hidden in her curls. “Anything you want, and it’s yours.”

  ~~~~~

  Forcing her muddled brain to work through the haze of desire, Scarlett told him exactly what she wanted. “I wish we could just live in the country and breed horses.”

  His lips curved in an indulgent smile. “Then that's what we'll do.” And then he kissed her, oh, so tenderly and sweetly, savoring the taste and texture of her lips like a connoisseur.

  Scarlett moaned helplessly, her hips instinctively moving to the rhythm he had set as pressure began building in her abdomen. Bemused by his kiss, his touch, the feel of his body so warm and strong, Scarlett stared up at her fiancé in wonder. “You'd do that?” She closed her eyes in ecstasy and moaned again, her hands clenching convulsively on his shoulders. “For me?”

  ~~~~~

  “I'd do anything to make you happy, kitten,” he vowed huskily, mesmerized by the rapt expression on her beautiful face. “Besides, the country is the best place to raise horses. And children.”

  “Children,” she sighed longingly.

  “This is a small taste of the pleasure you'll experience when we create them,” he assured her before lowering his mouth to hers and easing one finger inside her silken heat to begin tormenting her body in earnest.

  Nicholas swallowed the cry that escaped her lips as the climax consumed her. His arm around her waist was the only thing that held Scarlett upright as her entire body became boneless and she leaned weakly against him, trembling uncontrollably from head to toe.

  Sweet mother of God. He'd known she would be passionate, but watching the expression of sheer rapture on Scarlett's face while she climaxed in his arms was almost more than he could bear. If he didn't have her soon, he'd die. This was going to be the shortest engagement in history.

  Nicholas placed a kiss on the wildly throbbing pulse in her neck, more than pleased to see that the storm clouds were no longer in those beautiful emerald eyes. “Now, love, if you're quite finished coming up with excuses why we shouldn't be married, I hope I've given you a few as to why we should,” he said softly.

  ~~~~~

  “That depends,” she panted just to bedevil him. “How many children are we talking about?”

  Nicholas laughed in genuine amusement as he hugged her tightly and vowed, “As many as you like.”

  She placed her hand on his arm to steady her wobbly legs as they began walking down the path and back toward the house. “I'm still not comfortable with the prospect of being a duchess,” Scarlett pointed out in a much better frame of mind. “But being your duchess might not be so bad after all.”

  “Because I indulge your every whim?” He teased.

  “Because you know how to seduce a woman to the point of madness,” Scarlett corrected brazenly.

  Nicholas laughed wickedly, delighted by her boldness and confessed, “Kitten, never doubt that you are the perfect duchess for me.”

  ~~~~~

  Unfortunately, her newly discovered hope for the future was short lived. When they reentered the ballroom, Scarlett went to the ladies retiring room and overheard a particularly nasty bit of gossip that destroyed what little confidence she had gained.

  “I've been his mistress for over a year, so I know him well enough to tell you that Ryder would never willingly leg shackle himself to that mewling child,” Lettice said cattily. “She forced him into it.”

  “You mean Langford did,” a second woman tittered.

  Scarlett froze in the doorway when she realized who they were talking about. Oh, God. She didn't know which was worse, the fact that she was about to come face to face with Nicholas's mistress, or that the woman knew the truth about their engagement.

  “The chit has absolutely no sophistication. It's positively disgraceful the way she addresses a duke of the realm as Nicky. I vow she'll embarrass him to death,” Lettice tsked as if that were a cardinal sin. “There's no way that simpering child can hope to keep the attention of a man with his experience.”

  “You should know, Lettice,” a third woman laughed.

  “What I know is that little miss innocent is going to get a rude awakening,” Lettice shot back in frustration. “I guarantee you he's going to dump her in the country to produce his heirs and forget about her.”

  At that announcement, Scarlett felt as if the breath was being squeezed out of her lungs and she couldn't seem to drag more into them. How could the woman possibly know what they had just discussed... unless Nicholas had already told her what he planned to do. She dragged in a shuddering breath and barely managed to remain upright as a bolt of pain slashed through her heart at the betrayal. Nicholas had discussed her with his mistress!

  “I can't help feeling sorry for the girl. The poor thing probably fancies herself in love and has no idea she's nothing more than a brood mare,” the second woman chimed in sounding anything but sympathetic.

  “It’s high time I settled down and raised a house full of horse mad little rakes and hellions,” she could hear his voice saying. “Besides, the country is the best place to raise horses. And Children.”

  Oh, God! Nicky didn’t want a wife, but he did want a brood mare to produc
e his heirs! The painful truth was utterly humiliating, and fury such as she had never known consumed her. That fiery Ashbrook temper exploded as Scarlett stepped into the room and glared sheer venom at them.

  All three women gasped in shock, but the one that she recognized suffused an unbecoming shade of red, so she focused on her. Peering down her nose at Nicholas's mistress in a regal manner that would have rivaled her formidable grandmother, she looked the other woman over in obvious disdain. The petite blonde with frightened blue eyes that really was her enemy now.

  “A duke of the realm may stoop to a lower level to amuse himself, but he'd never marry beneath his station. Mores the pity. Perhaps if you had been acceptable, Ryder wouldn't have been chasing me for years,” she snarled the most outrageous thing she could think of. That said, she turned and swept out of the room as imperious as royalty.

  Scarlett made her way down the hallway to a darkened sitting room, closed the door behind her and leaned back against it. She had never felt so hurt and betrayed in her entire life. To think that Nicholas would discuss her with his mistress was inconceivable.

  He had always treated her with kindness, spoiled her rotten with lavish gifts and doted on her. He'd been her faithful playmate as a child, her dearest friend and confidant as she'd grown older. He had always loved and protected her like she was precious to him, like he would a beloved... little sister.

  She swallowed hard and bit back a sob of pure anguish at the realization. Now she understood why Nicholas was handling their forced engagement so well. The proposal, the carriage ride, even the tryst in the garden tonight had all been deliberate attempts to reassure her. This was just his way of protecting her, of being the big brother he had always tried to be.

  Hot tears rolled down her cheeks unnoticed.

  She didn't want him to be her brother, dammit. Scarlett wanted him to see her as a woman. She wanted to be the woman he desired and not that... that viperous bitch. And now she knew that each and every time he shared her bed, it would be nothing more than just another obligation to him. That even though she might love him with her whole heart, Nicholas would never share the sentiment.