Desire Me Now

by Tiffany Clare

  Her brother laughed, the sound sinister and dark. She’d known that would be his response, but she still had to try to get through to him. “Take your platitudes with you. You owe me, Amelia. Make no mistake—you will pay your debts.” He ended with a ragged, hacking cough.

  “She has no debts to you, Berwick,” Nick said.

  Amelia knew her brother better than anyone. If he wanted to play dirty, she could expose him for the man he really was—expose his debts to their fullest. Expose him for the terrible things he’d done to good people. She almost wanted to dare him to try but bit her tongue.

  Instead, she turned into Nick’s arms and looked up at him, searching his eyes, which were still focused on her brother.

  “Can we go home?” she asked.

  Nick simply lifted her in his arms and carried her back home.

  “I am sorry about everything that happened,” Amelia said.

  Nick cupped the side of Amelia’s face with his bloodied hand. He hadn’t left her, not even to wash or to look after bandaging his knuckles. When they’d entered the house, every single person of the staff was waiting for them. Nick had instructed Devlin to fetch the doctor and Huxley to follow her brother to see where he went. Marney had promised to bring supplies to them so they could wash any cuts and tend to any other damages. Then Nick had brought her into the parlor and sat next to her on the sofa, as though afraid to let Amelia out of his sight again.

  Nick clasped her hand. “You could not have known he was waiting for an opportunity to kidnap you from the steps of your home.”

  She shook her head. He was wrong. She should have at least guessed at the danger of leaving the house alone. “I cannot make excuses for acting stupid. You and Huxley knew what kind of threat he was. That was why you made sure someone was always home with me.” She closed her eyes, hating the trouble she’d caused, hating what Nick had done to defend her.

  “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Amelia. I know my words cannot mean much when I have promised to protect you and failed. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe from this moment forward.” He pulled her into his arms, tucking her head between his shoulder and neck.

  “You didn’t fail me. I failed myself by not being more vigilant. You were there to stop him.”

  “We will track your brother’s movements. He will not catch any of us unaware again.”

  “Jeremy will not stay away. I know my brother better than anyone. Once he’s made up his mind on something, he will pursue it like a rabid animal.”

  Nick’s hand caressed her back, soothing away her stresses. Her head hurt, her lip was sore and tender, and her body felt like it had been used as a punching bag. But she didn’t want to be anywhere else but in Nick’s arms. When she was with him, she felt safe. She felt loved.

  There was that word again. Did he feel for her what she felt for him?

  “Everyone saw what you did, how you treated me. How will we carry on?” she asked.

  “I don’t care what anyone saw, Amelia. The thought of almost losing you today broke something inside me. I have wanted you from the first moment we met. And that might make me a cad of the worst sort, but it’s the truth. And since our first kiss, I knew that our finding each other was meant to be. I do not question the insanity of such a statement; I just embrace it. I will fight for you. And if that means hurting your brother for trying to take away what belongs to me, than that is what I will do.”

  Her breath caught and a thin trail of tears washed down her cheeks. It wasn’t a promise of forever, but it was a declaration that for now, she belonged to him. Even after everything that had happened. And she had been afraid he’d ask her to leave after the trouble she’d caused.

  “There are so many secrets between us. So many things that seem to continually come at us.” She wasn’t sure what else to say to him. While she’d been forthcoming about her past, there were details she’d left out, sparing him from the brutality her brother had delivered.

  “If there is one thing we have, it is time.” Nick traced his hand down the side of her face as he lifted her. “I have been forthcoming with you from the start, Amelia. I don’t intend to shut myself off from you now.”

  A heavy knock came at the parlor door. Amelia hated to share Nick with anyone right now. She wished they could lock themselves in here, but the household was in a bit of a panic after the events of the afternoon.

  “Can we not leave it?” she asked, wanting selfishly to spend more time with him.

  Nick chuckled and called out, “Come.”

  Amelia sighed and pulled herself away from Nick.

  How had her life changed so drastically in the course of a week? She barely recognized the woman she’d become, barely knew the woman she thought she’d always been. That Amelia seemed like some other woman. Someone who was weak and afraid. She was neither of those things now.

  Mrs. Coleman came into the room carrying a bowl and pitcher, as well as some linens and ointments. She set up her items on the table in front of Nick.

  “Clean up Amelia first,” he said when Mrs. Coleman reached for his knuckles. Nick stood up to pour the heated water into the basin.

  “Poor child,” Mrs. Coleman said, clucking as she dunked a few of the linen strips and then dabbed away at the blood on Amelia’s face. She winced when Mrs. Coleman blotted the wet cloth against her lip but held still for her ministrations, just wanting them to be over. “I expect the doctor will be here soon. He will have to look at that goose egg on your temple.”

  Tentatively, Amelia ran her fingers over the bump at the side of her head where her brother had given her a good wallop. She hissed in a breath when she touched it, not expecting it to hurt as much as it did. “That explains the headache pounding behind my eyes.”

  Mrs. Coleman studied Amelia carefully. “The dress is ruined, don’t think it can be mended much either.”

  Amelia looked at herself. Blood and dirt covered her. Her dress was torn along both shoulders and down the arms. The front was full of runs and holes. She hadn’t realized just how awful she looked, hadn’t realized how bad the tumble really was, until she saw the damage of her clothes and the scrapes on her arms where the material was torn away.

  “I suppose not,” she said as she stood. The motion made her dizzy. Nick grasped her arm and held her steady. “I was not expecting that.”

  “You took quite a blow. We’ll have to watch you for the rest of the night, make sure you really are unharmed.” There was a deep thread of worry in Nick’s voice.

  “Mrs. Coleman, can you see to his hands?” Amelia asked.

  The housekeeper pulled Nick down beside her and had him dunk his hands in the bowl of water. It turned pink, and then Mrs. Coleman dried them off and spread an ointment on them.

  Amelia walked over to the window and cranked it open to let in some fresh air. She took in a few deep breaths, fearing that she would lose consciousness at any moment. The last thing she needed was to give Nick another fright. She held on to the frame of the window until Mrs. Coleman finished attending to Nick and packed up the supplies she’d brought to the parlor.

  The sky had turned a deep scarlet with a lilac line streaked through it. The light in the darkness, she thought ironically.

  Nick’s past was likely as complicated as hers, maybe more so when she thought about the scars that covered his back. If they could get through today without destroying what was between them, then she felt they could conquer anything that stood in the way of their relationship and their future.

  If the events of the day had taught her anything, it was that she was thoroughly in love with Nick Riley. Irrevocably, head over heels in love.

  Alone again, Nick stood behind her, his arms circling her waist under her arms. His chin rested lightly on top of her head. “What has you deep in contemplation?”

  “Us.”

  “If anyone in the household has guessed what you mean to me, they will not say anything.” He thought she was worried about what
everyone thought.

  A ghost of a smile played on her lips. She wanted to turn in his arms and tell him that was the farthest thing from her mind. “It is a conflict to be both your secretary and your lover.”

  “I don’t give a damn, Amelia.” She heard the frustration in his comment and didn’t want him to think she doubted what was between them.

  She turned in his arms and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. The spattering of blood had been wiped away. “Well, I do not give a damn either.”

  Nick kissed the side of her mouth, her cheek, her forehead. “Good.”

  “Nick?”

  He pulled away so he could look at her, a question in his eyes.

  “I want you to know something.”

  “What is it?”

  “I don’t want you to feel obligated to return any sentiments, but I think you should know that I love you. I know it’s sudden, that it does not seem possible—”

  Nick kissed her full on the mouth. He nibbled at her upper lip, and pressed light kisses on the lower, where it hurt too much for her to reciprocate. Releasing her with a growl, he pulled her tightly into his arms. Her head rested against his chest, and she could hear the heavy pounding of his heart.

  “Nick?” She tried to lift her head but he held her close, almost as if he were afraid to let her go.

  Very quietly, he said, “You are my world, Amelia. If there is one thing I can promise to prove my devotion to you, it is that we will sort out your brother and make sure you’re free of him.”

  Amelia didn’t care about her sore lip anymore. She turned her head and pressed a kiss against his heart. “We will do it together.”

  For the first time in her life, Amelia felt like she was home. But it wasn’t home without Nick. And she would do everything in her power to keep him in her life. Because that was all that mattered to her now.

  Keep reading for a sneak peek at

  DESIRE ME MORE

  available August 2015

  from Avon Impulse!

  An Excerpt from

  DESIRE ME MORE

  London, 1881

  Amelia Somerset stretched out her arms, only to find the immoveable force that was Nick lying next to her. Stifling a yawn, she spread her hands over his chest, molding every dip and plane of his body. What a deliciously wicked way to wake up in the morning.

  Amelia rolled over and grabbed Nick’s pocket watch that had been set on her bedside table last night. Flipping it open, she was pleased to see that it was still early enough that she didn’t need to get ready for the day, yet late enough to rouse Nick from his slumber. A grin tilted up her lips.

  And then she wondered if it was wrong to want to wake up in his arms like this every day.

  Fundamentally, she knew that what they did wasn’t something polite society would welcome with open arms. It didn’t matter how she felt about him, that she was in love with Nick, that the thought of him not in her life would have made the past few weeks unbearable. None of that would matter to anyone looking in from the outside.

  The man lying next to her had opened her eyes to an entirely new way of life and love. Shown her things she never thought to see. He’d given her things that she never thought she could have. And made her feel things for which she had never dared to hope.

  But when she really looked at the situation they were in, she knew that she was essentially his mistress.

  His mistress . . . and his secretary. Though she hoped no one yet guessed about the former.

  She trailed her hand over his warm body, skimming his right bicep with just the tips of her fingers, making sure to trace every line of muscle as she explored him more thoroughly than she’d ever had the chance to do.

  She could do this all day and night and rather wished she could. But they only had an hour before he’d have to sneak back into his room and pretend they hadn’t spent the night in delicious sin.

  As she grew more daring, her hand lowered to his navel, her fingers circling his toned stomach. Should she play this safe? Wake him up and get started on the one hundred and one duties that awaited them, or . . .

  Or trail her fingers lower.

  Curiosity decided her next course.

  With a quick flick of her hand, she tossed the blanket off his chest and stared in awe at the perfection of his body.

  That he was naked shouldn’t catch her off guard; there hadn’t been a night they’d been together that he hadn’t slept au naturel. That he crawled into bed next to her last night without a stitch of clothing had wetness slicking between her thighs. She moved her legs, wishing his hand was buried there to ease the need building fast.

  She brushed her fingers against his long, firm manhood. She could make out the dark vein running down the center of his shaft. The skin around the head was pulled back and the plum-colored head of his cock pointed right at her. Almost begging her to take it in her mouth.

  His cock moved, growing impossibly thicker as a bead of semen formed at the slit. The sight fascinated her. Drew her closer. She had a sudden desire to touch that creamy drop of fluid . . . feel him like he often felt her. Taste him. She’d had the head of his penis in her mouth before, but she hadn’t really known how to pleasure him.

  Could she do so now?

  Perhaps she could just lick him, as he’d licked through the folds of her sex. Would that draw more fluid out of the tip? Would that give him the same pleasure it had given her?

  Glancing up at Nick, she saw that his eyes were closed, his breathing even. She turned her focus back to his penis, lowering her hand enough to touch the wetness that had gathered at the tip. Her breath caught in her throat when it jerked and throbbed. She brushed her fingers against it again. Feeling more daring, she curled her hand around the soft head and squeezed it in her hold. Doing this excited her so much that she thought her heartbeat might be loud enough to wake him.

  Nick wrapped his hand around hers before she even processed that he was awake. Her face burned with shame at being caught touching him while he was unaware. But under that shame, there was only desire.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Deciding that life had far more to offer than a nine-to-five job, bickering children, and housework of any kind (unless she’s on a deadline when everything is magically spotless), TIFFANY CLARE opened up her laptop to write stories she could get lost in. Tiffany writes sexy historical romances set in the Victorian era. She lives in Toronto with her husband, two kids, and two dogs. You can find out more about her and her books at www.tiffanyclare.com.

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  Give in to your impulses . . .

  Read on for a sneak peek at four brand-new

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  BAD FOR ME

  A ROCK CANYON, IDAHO NOVEL

  By Codi Gary

  WILD WITH YOU

  INDEPENDENCE FALLS BOOK FOUR

  By Sara Jane Stone

  THE DEVILISH MR. DANVERS

  THE RAKES OF FALLOW HALL SERIES

  By Vivienne Lorret

  NEED ME

  A BROKE AND BEAUTIFUL NOVEL

  By Tessa Bailey

  An Excerpt from

  BAD FOR ME

  A Rock Canyon, Idaho Novel

  by Codi Gary

  Not so very long ago, trusting someone changed Callie Jacobsen’s life forever—and not in a fun way. So when former Marine Everett Silverton takes an interest in her, Callie’s more than a little wary. No matter how charming he is, men are a bad idea. In fact, she’s got the scars to prove it. Everett will do whatever it takes to show her she’s safe with him—all she has to do is take a chance, take a step . . . and take his hand.

  Callie was bundled up in jeans and a puffy jacket, but her blonde curls had flown behind her in a mix of gold and crystal, flashing like streaks of lightning in the moonlight. Everett’s hands had itched to get tangled up in that mass of cur
ls as he imagined pulling her against him, kissing those sweet lips until she relaxed, breathing in her sweet scent and holding her. Forgetting all about why she was bad for him and why things could never work between them.

  But before he could think better of it, he’d opened his mouth and told her she was beautiful.

  Only instead of jumping into his arms at his compliment, she was now staring at him like he was a Peeping Tom.

  Callie hopped off the swing like it was on fire. “Sorry. I just needed a minute alone.”

  “You do that a lot,” he said, taking a step toward her.

  “What?”

  “Want to be alone.”

  “So?” she said irritably. “What’s wrong with wanting a little privacy?”

  “Nothing. It’s just . . . when you spend so much time on your own, you start to get lonely.”

  “Why do you care if I get lonely? You want nothing to do with me, right?”

  He kept getting closer to her. “I did say that, didn’t I?”

  “Yeah, you did, and I’m sorry to have bothered you—”

  “Do you know why I holed up in my house with a book I’ve read at least a dozen times instead of having fun with my family and the rest of my hometown?” He had her nearly backed up against the tree and wanted to press himself into her and feel her soft curves.

  “Because hayrides and haunted mazes creep you out?” she asked quietly.

  “Hmm, no, I actually like Halloween,” Everett said.

  He was a foot away now, close enough to touch her.

  “Then what?”

  Everett leaned over her, his arm against the tree. He ignored the bark biting into the flesh of his arm and the warmth of her body calling him closer and said, “Because I was afraid if I saw you, I’d forget everything I know and everything I’ve been telling myself about you.”

  “Like what?” Her small, pink tongue darted out to lick her lips, and his cock grew heavy with need.