Chapter Eleven
Evie leaned her head back against the cushions on the chaise lounge in the library and watched the candle flames chasing the shadows around the room. Steady drops of rain pinged against the window, the sound soothing to her senses. Dinner had been a lovely, boisterous affair with rousing, albeit noisy, conversations with the children. There had been Julia and Juliette, the nine-year-old spirited twins, Clara and her older brother James—who acted as if he trusted no one. Evie had spied the knife he kept in the sleeve of his shirt. The somber and protective Jack, who only seemed to smile when Emily laughed and had eyes older and wiser beyond his ten years of age. And the eldest children at twelve were Thomas and Henrietta. Richard cared deeply for them all, and he was openly delighted by his daughter. In all, her visit proved to be a most enchanting day.
They all had been so delightful, and it did not escape Evie that her mother would never invite them to her table. They were too common, too vulgar, their connections too dubious for them to be accepted by her society. Her mother was not a woman of strong understanding.
I will, in turn, expect you to cross the social divide and use your wit and influence to fight for those less fortunate, to love my daughter and the children I’ve adopted as your own.
The door to the library opened and in strolled Richard. He closed the door with a soft snick and sauntered over to the sofa opposite her, where he lowered his graceful frame. “It is late, almost ten.”
She lifted her head and placed the book she had abandoned reading over an hour ago beside her. “I know.”
“It is dangerous for you to be here.”
She wetted her lips, a nervous reaction to her seduction plans. “The rain shows no promise of lessening.”
His golden gaze flickered to the windows where the raindrops slapped steadily against it. Several seconds passed before his regard once more returned to her. It glowed with cool caution…and hunger.
Absently, she smoothed a stray wisp of a curl from her temple. “They are wonderful children, Richard. Where are their parents?”
“Dead, missing, or indifferent.”
“Why did you take them to live with you?”
His lips curved into a cold sneer.
Evie sobered. “You deride me for not understanding your world. I think you hate me for it,” she admitted softly. “I assure you I am not judging your decision, I only want to understand.”
Shock flared in his eyes. “I do not hate you. I could never hate you.”
Relief bit deep into her heart at his vehement denial. “There is a caution in your eyes when you peer at me. There is judgment…and I think it is because I do not understand as you do.”
A piercing scream rent the air, and Evie gasped. With a rough curse, Richard launched to his feet, bolted from the library, and bounded up the stairs two at a time. She followed as fast as she could, and when she reached the landing, she raced down the hallway until she came to an ajar door. He was sitting on a bed, cradling a child in his arms. Emily? Evie moved closer without making a sound, not wanting to disturb their private moment but drawn to this side of Richard that she had never seen. He was murmuring soothing nonsense, stroking the girl’s hair.
“Hush now, I’m here.”
An ache bloomed in Evie’s heart to see such tenderness from him. He laid his cheek against her dark curls and held her, rocking gently, and the child quieted, snuggling into his chest as if she wanted to be a part of him.
“I dreamt again, Papa, the rats were bitin’ me,” she hiccupped. “The bad man locked me in the room with them, and he beat me with the straps when I was ’feared.”
He murmured something too low for Evie to decipher, but his daughter nodded.
“Will ye sing to me, Papa?”
He gathered her even closer into his arms and started singing softly.
“Fear not, little princess, you are brave and strong. The monsters are long gone, we have slayed them all. I’ll be here, so the monsters will dare not return.”
Evie smiled. He sounded atrociously unmusical, but his daughter’s shoulders relaxed, and her eyelashes fluttered against her lids. “I love you, Papa,” she said on a whispery sigh. “You always make the bad men go away.”
“I love you most,” he returned, brushing his lips against her forehead.
Then they said together, “We love each other the same.”
After giggling sweetly, Emily softened with absolute trust, and within seconds her breathing deepened. She appeared so small, frailer than the child of seven Evie knew her to be. Richard continued humming, and she moved away, careful to not make any sounds.
She headed downstairs to the music room, questions rioting in her mind and anger churning in her blood. How could there be people in the world who would harm innocent children? She thought of her younger sisters, the comfort and secure haven they lived within. Little Emily never had that, and instead of society empathizing, they cruelly criticized Richard for wanting to protect her and give her a home.
How could they have gotten it so wrong? She hurried down the hall, eager to feel the keys of the piano beneath her fingertips, to hear music, to soothe the confusion and disgust twisting within her soul. Evie entered the music room, delighted with the grand piano that dominated the far-left corner of the room. Her feet sank into the plush dark green carpet as she glided over to the instrument. She allowed her fingers to dance over the keys with soft pings, her thoughts forever frozen on the haunting look of regret and pain that had settled on Richard’s features.
It baffled her to realize there was still so much about him she did not know.
A sound had her spinning around, her hand fluttering to her chest. “Oh, you gave me a fright!”
A smile tipped Richard’s lips, and he moved into the room, closing the door. “I’ve ordered the carriage to be readied for you.”
“Yes, of course, it is frightfully late, and Adel must be wondering what has kept me.”
He thrust his fingers deep into his pocket, his gaze hooded as he observed her. Evie worried at her bottom lip, decidedly uncomfortable at the piercing way he regarded her person. She fought the desire to fidget. “Is…is Emily well?”
“As well as can be.”
“I…I followed after you when she screamed. I overheard her mentioning monsters.”
An unnamed emotion smoldered in his eyes. “Did you now?” A thread of menace colored his tone.
“I love how protective you are of her, but I would never do anything to harm her, Richard. She is…she is precious,” Evie ended softly.
Cynicism twisted his lips into a cold sneer.
She dropped her fingers from the keyboard and linked her hands tightly together to conceal their unsteadiness. How had she been so ignorant of his mistrust of her? “If you have no wish to speak of it, I understand, but if you need a shoulder…I am here.”
A disquieting silence lingered in the room, the crackle of the fireplace the only discordant note.
“At times her eyes are haunted by her past, and I want to slay the world,” he said gruffly. “When I found her, she was half starved, covered with old and fresh bruises, blisters on her feet. All the children here with me now had been residing with Emily in hell. The older ones had been hurt far worse, beaten and broken in ways I am grateful my daughter had been spared. The first time I roused her from a nightmare, her eyes held such hopelessness and rank fear I wept.”
“I’m so sorry,” she said hoarsely. She realized then that tears wet her cheeks. “Oh, Richard…”
“I killed them,” he murmured, his voice echoing with a terrible softness.
Her breath strangled in her throat. “Who?”
“The men responsible for hurting her. I hunted them, one by one, and I ensured their demise…painfully. Men of our society were party to their pain, and I ruined their finances and reputations without remorse.”
There was a peculiar watchfulness in his gaze as if he anticipated her condemnation. He had taken lives of others, a right she believed no man had, but she could not stir censure in her heart toward him. “I hope they suffered.”
He prowled over to her and tucked a wisp of loose hair from her chignon behind her ear. “They did. Each man understood the crime they paid for.”
“How terrible of me to be glad…but I am.”
This close, the heat from his body was a comfort from the chill shivering through her heart. He smelled of tobacco, brandy, and soap. The combination was most appealing to her senses.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered as he lowered his head and brushed his lips tenderly against hers.
Her pulse quickened.
He lightly touched her cheek. “Play something for me,” he said roughly, and it was not a request.
A familiar ache settled low in her stomach. She should protest and depart his residence at once. She understood so little of seduction, and she could not comprehend the dangerous need glowing in his tawny eyes. Instead, she swiveled to the pianoforte and allowed her fingers to glide over the keys, light and graceful, creating a hauntingly lovely piece. She was not sure why she chose to play music filled with such volatile emotions when the situation called for a light and jaunty piece to defuse the tension. Evie sensed when he moved closer. She could feel the warmth of his powerful body, raw with tension, mere inches from her as he bent over her.
Richard pressed his nose into the curve of her neck and inhaled. Her fingers trembled, briefly creating a discordant note.
He nuzzled her neck. “I want you.”
Breathing was nearly impossible as she waited for his touch. “I want you, too.”
His rough, strained, and masculine chuckle caressed her senses with wicked allure. “Ah, Evie…if you knew what I hungered to do with your body, you would run.”
He seemed to be on the brink of tipping them over into sheer madness. She was terrified of what to expect and yet remarkably breathless. “Tell me.”
The only sound in the room was the crackle of the fireplace and the soft pings of music from where her still trembling fingers hovered above the keys. “I dream of you,” she said on a whispering sigh.
His fingers splayed beneath the curve of her hips, urging her to stand and pulling her back onto the unmistakable thrust of his erection. Unexpected heat crawled through her veins, and anticipation skittered along her nerves and settled into the deep heart of her. He turned her to face him, and without releasing her gaze, he pushed his leg between her thighs and urged her to open. She did…and he lowered one of his hands and cupped her aching core through her gown. Evie clasped his shoulder for purchase as her knees weakened.
“I want to taste you,” he whispered, a dark flush accentuating the harsh sensuality of his face.
There was no doubt in her mind where he wanted his mouth, and Evie took a moment to catch her breath.
He moved his fingers away, held her palm and curled her fingers around his hardness. Oh! “I want these lips…” His thumb raked against her bottom lip with sensual force. “I want them pleasuring me, to suck me with their soft, tight pull.”
She moaned, an unbearable need twisting through her body. “I want that, too.”
A flush covered his stunning cheekbones and regret curled in his eyes. “Ah, Evie…what I wouldn’t give to indulge just once. You’ve captured my dreams and thoughts so effortlessly.” Then after doing his customary friendly chuck under her chin, he stepped back, the loss of his heat creating a hollowness in her heart.
“Let’s get you to Rosette Park.”
Oh no, you don’t. She moved with him, not allowing his retreat. “I’ll send back a note to Adel. It is not wise to travel this late in the inclement weather.”
“Evie—”
Unable to deny the desire clawing through her, she tipped to her toes and pressed her lips to his. It was like coming home. Except…he was frozen. She lightly touched the strong lines of his jaw, and a shudder worked itself through his powerful body. Her heart refused to stop its wild thudding, as she waited in agony for him to say something…or do anything. He remained still, and instead of withdrawing, Evie parted her lips and licked the seam of his closed lips.
A rough, low, and hungry sound spilled from him. “You are my weakness,” he growled, almost as if he was angered, against her lips.
A long silence ensued. “I’m always relieved when our feelings are mutual,” she murmured and repeated her action in a slow glide.
His hand slid beneath her hair, cupped the side of her neck, and he deepened their kiss. Richard nibbled, he stroked, and he licked, kissing her senseless. She couldn’t think, she didn’t want to think, only to feel.
He removed the pins from her hair, tumbling the heavy coil to her lower back. His fingers caressed down her throat and across to her collarbone. His fingers tugged at the fastenings of her gown, and the burning flames of desire swept through her.
He gripped the edges of her dress and pulled them down with her shift, baring her to his gaze. His mouth closed over her sensitive nipple, his teeth rasping, tongue licking. He gripped her hips and lifted her with an easy strength that had her arousal climbing. Richard bore her down gently onto the carpeted floor, grabbing several cushions from the chaise to tumble around them in disarray. He grabbed one and placed it beneath her hips, before splaying her legs wide.
“So pretty and pink.” His dark voice stroked over her senses. “I could eat you alive.” His expression was tight and heavy with sensuality. He lowered his mouth to her wet, aching core and licked.
The violence of her response tore a groan from Evie.
“Richard!” Her nub was a swollen knot of burning need that he teased and devoured in equal measure. His wicked, delightful tongue stroked the fire hotter, and her hips writhed in helpless wantonness. She was coming apart from the pleasure and couldn’t stop the cries spilling from her throat.
He rose above her. Suddenly he was there, where the ache was terrible. Evie couldn’t restrain her scream of pleasure as he fisted his length and rubbed his hardness through her alarming wetness. All her senses were centered between her thighs.
“Hold on to me.” His voice was low, rough, and vibrating with arousal.
She glanced down, aroused shock hazing her mind at the thick length jutting so proudly toward her.
“Look at me.” He held her gaze as he slowly inched forward, allowing her to wrap her arms around his neck. “There will be a slight pain, and then it will be over.”
Vulnerability sliced through her. He must have sensed it for he lowered his forehead to hers, releasing one of her hips to cradle the back of her head, urging her to meet his eyes.
The blunt tip of him parted her flesh. He kissed her, and she sought his tongue and tangled her own with it. Then he thrust, parting her in one hard stroke. She arched into him, a scream exploding from her and into his mouth. Shock buffeted Evie’s senses at the pain that flared where they were connected. She tried to squirm, and it only grew, dousing her passion as if he had dumped her in a lake at winter.
He tried to kiss her, and she bit his lips. “This is not slight,” she whispered furiously, tears smarting her eyes.
“It will soon pass,” he whispered, pressing the gentlest of kisses at the corner of her lips.
He inserted one hand between them, skimming his knuckles down over her taut stomach to her aching center.
“Don’t look away from me. I want to see these beautiful eyes as they darken with pleasure for me.”
She obeyed him helplessly, ensnared by the provocative need glowing in his eyes. He slid his fingers over her nub and rubbed, hard, then soft and slow, striking pleasure through her like lightning. Within seconds her arousal grew so intense her thighs shook.
He gripped her head, his fingers tangling in her hair, kissing her with ravenous greed, and stroking inside her powerfully…over and over. She felt impaled, his deep penetrations lashing her with ecstasy tinged with erotic pain. Evie whimpered under the onslaught of such acute pleasure. She felt out of control, taken over…claimed. Their moans mingled in the dark confines of the music room. She coasted her hand over his back, delighting in his powerful muscles.
Sweat dampened their bodies as they clung to each other, ecstasy gathering inside Evie like a storm. Her release ripped through her like fire, melting everything inside. Her wail of satisfaction joined his harsh groan of pleasure as he emptied deep inside her.
He rolled with her, so she lay atop him. She felt replete with satiation and not even an alert of the house being on fire would have induced her to move.