Notorious Rake, Innocent Lady

Fire lit her eyes and she replied, ‘I am not a silly chit rebelling against her parents’ choice for a husband because I fancy myself infatuated with another. I assure you, I have no desire to “rub along well” with this man. Mortimer Oswalt is a lecher of the worst sort and I refuse to be reduced to nothing more than his legal brood mare! Even if it means I shall not stand a chance of ever marrying.’

Paine felt his heated blood chill at the name. Mortimer Oswalt was well known to him. There was old animosity between them and a vengeance to be repaid over a woman. It would be fitting to ruin the man’s betrothed. He was no longer a stripling. This time, Mortimer Oswalt would not be able to manipulate him so easily. This time, an innocent would escape Oswalt’s clutches.

He studied the girl before him. Bedding her would be no act of charity. She was a divine beauty and his body clearly wanted her. She was more than beautiful, though. He wasn’t so fickle as to be aroused by appearance alone. Julia Prentiss had spirit and courage. Not every girl in England had the power to rebel against a chosen match and to take action on her own. Such passion boded well for what they could share in the bedroom. First, he would ascertain with actions the willingness she professed with her words.

‘Stand up, Julia, so that I may see what I am getting myself into.’ He held her eyes, noting that her gaze did not flinch from his scrutiny.

She rose, her skirts brushing his legs. The lemon scent of her soap filled his nostrils, conjuring up images of sunlit days in faraway places where trees grew exotic-scented fruits. Paine let his eyes roam the length of her, stopping to rest intently on her firm breasts shown to advantage beneath the aquamarine bodice. He stared long enough to know her cheeks were heating.

Paine stood up from his lounging position against the desk and closed the half-step gap between them. He fitted his hands at her slender waist appreciably. Still, she did not move. He ran a hand up her ribs to cup the underside of a full breast. ‘Very nice, very firm. I like that,’ he said huskily.

Without warning, a hand slapped him hard across the face. He took a step back, releasing his grip on her. ‘What the hell was that for?’ He massaged the stung cheek.

‘For trying to scare me off. I see your game and I won’t scare.’ The coldness of her words matched the coldness Paine saw in her eyes. He’d expected her to be stunned by his vulgar assessment.

Julia delivered a scathing set-down. ‘You can’t do anything more humiliating to me than what awaits me with Oswalt. At least when I am done here, I’ll have my freedom. However, I would still ask that you not treat me like prized cattle.’

Paine gave a sardonic laugh. ‘Who’s treating whom like prized cattle? You are the one who has marched in here and demanded I play the stud.’ He was gratified when she coloured a bit at that.

‘Enough. Will you do it?’

She was magnificent in her scolding, her colour rising, her eyes starting to thaw with her temper. He liked that better. He had no use for ice maidens. A wicked grin lit his face. He advanced again, his stung cheek forgotten. There was one final test. ‘Darling, have you heard the bedtime story about the princess and the pea?’ He whispered, catching her chin between his forefinger and thumb so that her lovely face was turned up to meet his.

‘Wh-what does that have to do with anything?’ she asked, startled, her eyes widening.

For an answer, Paine bent his head to capture her luscious mouth with his. He coaxed her mouth open with a light pressure from his lips, letting his tongue probe her mouth, running across the smooth surfaces of her teeth, tasting the fruity sweetness of evening champagne, feeling her compliance.

He opened his mouth wider and pulled back his tongue to offer her an opportunity to reciprocate. She did, tentatively letting her tongue explore him. Paine groaned as her teeth nipped at his bottom lip and she giggled at his response. Paine moved his hands to her waist and pulled her against him, letting her feel his hard member, letting her feel the power she had to summon such a response.

Paine grabbed her hand and held it between them, against the straining length of him. ‘Do you feel what you do to me?’ he murmured, tearing himself away from the kiss. This was meant to be his test. When had he lost control?

Instead of being embarrassed by the intimate nature of her touch, Julia looked exultant, her face flushed with more victory than apprehension. If she looked this beautiful now, Paine could hardly imagine how glorious it would be to see her after a thorough bedding and know he was the one responsible for such a satisfied glow. There were countless positions and tricks he could show a willing participant.

‘Does this mean you will do it?’ she pressed, breaking into his thoughts before they could start to vividly itemise the lessons he wanted to give her.

Paine gave her one last assessing glance, not wanting to appear too easily conquered for pride’s sake. Whatever rumour might say about him, whatever rumour might have led her here under the premise he was not discerning about his bed partners, Paine knew otherwise. He considered his bedmates carefully and with utmost discretion.

‘Yes. Yes, I will do it.’

Paine visibly saw the breath she’d been holding go out of her, so great was her relief. Looking past him, her eyes evaluated the room. He followed her gaze to where it rested on the narrow cot with its drab blanket shoved against the wall. She pursed her lips into a resolute line and nodded towards the bed with dogged determination. ‘Then we’d best get on with it.’

Paine thought he heard a note of sadness in her voice, perhaps regret, and he moved to eradicate it. She might be forced to surrender her virginity, but it didn’t have to be a degrading experience. His own considerable pride as a lover bristled at the notion. No woman should ever leave his bed feeling demeaned by the experience of his lovemaking. He made a quick decision.

‘I think you’ll find my rooms better suited for our needs.’ He nodded towards the cot. ‘I’ve spent enough nights on that to know it is not even passably comfortable for one, let alone two people engaged in intimacy.’

She blushed and Paine was struck afresh by her innocence. For all her forthright behaviour, she was young and pretty and apparently alone. The last resonated with him strongly. He knew what it was like to be alone and he felt a kinship with her that he had not felt for another person in ages. Something that slept deep within him was waking up.

‘My carriage is in the back. We should leave before someone comes poking around,’ Paine suggested, moving the interaction forwards. Now that the deal had been struck, Julia had fallen silent, her gaze pointedly fixed on her gloved hands.

He held out his hand. ‘It’s time to go unless you are rethinking your choices. Once you leave here, there’s no turning back.’ He gave a small chuckle meant to reassure her. ‘I am sure it has come to your attention that I want you.’

Her head shot up at the comment, her eyes blazing with fire. ‘First of all, how could you want me? You know nothing about me beyond my name and even that could be a fabrication on my part. Secondly, I haven’t had any choices to “rethink” since eleven o’clock this morning, when my uncle sealed my fate with his greed. Thirdly, there’s been no turning back since the moment I left the Moffat rout tonight. I don’t need your pity. I know exactly what I am doing, but I don’t have to like it.’

Paine tossed back his head and laughed, partly out of relief that his vixen had returned and partly at the pert speech. ‘You’re right. You don’t have to like it, but if your performance a few minutes ago is any indication, I bet you will.’ He would make sure of it.

Chapter Three

The carriage ride was accomplished in silence. On her side of the carriage Julia seethed inwardly over letting Ramsden goad her. Like it, indeed! She might be an innocent, but she was not utterly na?ve. She knew quite well ‘it’ referred to the sex act. Paine Ramsden was as handsome as purported with his midnight hair and riveting blue eyes and twice as conceited if he thought she’d find pleasure in what she was about to do. In his male arrogance, he’d quickly forgotten she’d been forced to these measures.

She hadn’t picked him for his skill. She had picked him for his willingness and she’d been right. He had acquiesced with very little persuasion. She had been prepared to beg, even pay for his services.

The carriage rolled to a halt. Julia sucked in her breath and steadied herself. Paine leaped down and turned back to hand her out. She’d expected to see Jermyn Street with its bachelor residences. Instead, she found herself in unfamiliar territory.

‘Where are we?’ she asked, casting her glance up and down the street, looking for a marker. A frisson of doubt travelled through her. It was the height of foolishness to go with a stranger in a closed carriage without telling anyone of her whereabouts. Should he will it, Paine Ramsden had her entirely at his mercy.

‘Brook Street. I just acquired a house here. I have hopes of turning the place into a luxury hotel that will appeal to an elite calibre of clientele.’ Paine gestured to the rest of the street where other hotels had recently sprung up. ‘The location seems ideal.’ Then he winked conspiratorially, ‘It’s ideal for us as well. We will be less likely to be disturbed here.’

Paine produced a key and proceeded to unlock the door. ‘You will have to excuse the absence of furniture. The place is quite bare except for the bedroom upstairs and a little office I cobbled together in the back. I imagine I’ll be making good use of the rooms once renovations begin and my presence will be required around the clock.’

Julia gave a forced smile, appreciating his effort to put her at ease. Now that she’d had the space of the carriage ride to review what she was doing, her nerves were doubly on edge. Still, she must go forwards, she’d come too far to back out now.

Julia stepped inside, unprepared for the opulence that met her gaze. As he’d warned, the place was empty of furnishings. But it was not devoid of decoration. The richness of the marbled tiled entry with its gilded mirrors did not resonate with her image of Paine Ramsden’s financial status. He was a gambler by trade, a man who ran a seedy gaming hell. Those were not the traits of a man with money to spare. Yet, this was a house only a wealthy man could afford to purchase. And it would take a large sum of money to renovate it as well.

They reached a curved staircase and halted.

‘Would you like to go straight upstairs or would you prefer to sit and talk in my office, makeshift as it is?’ Paine offered, gesturing to a room farther down the hall.

Julia lifted her skirts with resolution. ‘Straight upstairs, if you please. I am eager to see this business concluded.’

‘Do not be too eager, my sweet. There is much you might discover to be enjoyed if you take time and savour our interlude,’ he said in low tones at her elbow.

‘You are quite sure of yourself,’ Julia responded with disdain. ‘I am interested only in seeing the deed accomplished in an expedient manner.’

Paine laughed, a throaty, intimate chuckle that sent an unlooked-for thrill through Julia. She spared him a sidelong glance that lasted long enough to see that his blue eyes danced with smug merriment, giving her the distinct impression that he knew something beyond her comprehension.

She didn’t like being so far out of her depth. She was not fool enough to believe that she’d ever held the upper hand in their dealings. He held all the knowledge and all the power. Should he decide not to go through with her request, she had no way to coerce him back into compliance.

They ascended the stairs and she reflected wryly on her earlier thoughts to offer her earbobs as financial compensation, thinking they would appeal to him in his lowly circumstances if she needed leverage. In light of this elegant house, her earbobs seemed laughable. But her powerlessness was not. She had no leverage now if he suddenly found his long-forgotten conscience and backed out. Then again, he was a rogue of the first water. Gossip had it that he seldom slept alone and the line of women parading through his bedroom was endless. He was a man of intense physical appetites. He wouldn’t back out. He needed sex.

Paine stopped before a panelled oak door and opened it wide, allowing her to enter ahead of him. ‘My chambers,’ he said without flourish, but she could feel his hot eyes on her, watching her reaction.

She hid nothing in her response to the room. Indeed, she didn’t know how she could have schooled her features to remain impassive when faced with the seductive opulence that spread before her. The room was exotic and utterly unlike anything she’d seen before—not that she made a habit of frequenting male bedchambers. In reality, seeing one or a hundred bedchambers was immaterial. She knew instinctively she could view every bedroom in England and not find one like this.

Candlelight from candelabras placed about the room lit the place in a soft glow, casting shadows on gold damask-hung walls. Beneath the soles of her dancing slippers, Julia could feel the plushness of the carpet, the thick pile a marked contrast to the threadbare Axminster rugs that dotted the floors of her uncle’s home. This carpet was of soft wool dyed in rich crimson hues and accented with gold to match the walls. Julia doubted anyone else in England would have been so bold as to decorate a bedroom in deep crimson and burnished gold, but the differences didn’t stop there.

Her eye was drawn to the furniture; an ornate cabinet of ebony stood against one wall, inlaid with gold and ivory to create a design, perhaps a symbol of some sort. Low-slung chairs filled with pillows sat at angles to a low teak table, but what garnered her gaze unequivocally was the bed.

Unlike the high, pillared beds she was accustomed to seeing, this bed was framed low to the ground, piled with pillows and silken coverlets. Blankets seemed too ordinary of a word to describe the lush swathes of fabric that lay strewn about the bed, vibrant in their shades of scarlet, saffron and jade. Julia could not resist the temptation to touch the fabrics. She walked to the bed and ran her fingers across the surface of the closest covering, revelling in the smoothness of the silk as it shushed through her hands.