A Duke's Wicked Kiss (Entangled Select) (18 page)

Her body sang with pleasure. “You do little to tame me. Were I an animal, I’d likely be a lioness. One more time and then I need to go.”

“Why leave?”

“I…”

He blocked her words with a deep kiss. “Don’t go to the wedding, darling.” His voice was rough. vibrating through her.

“I must.”

His lips touched her ear. “Why, when we can have the time before you’re off to Bombay all to ourselves?”

“Not now,” she murmured and slid down his body, swept her tongue over his erection, and heard him moan. She was making certain he would never forget her. Damn it, she wouldn’t be the only one with memories, not if she had anything to do about it.

She lifted her mouth from him, smiled, and ran the point of her tongue along his hardened length.

“Christ, Suri.”

Giddy with power, she fitted her mouth over him again and worked the magic she’d learned only hours before, until he moaned something about being dangerously close.

Releasing her mouth, she eased her way up his body, settled a deep kiss on his beautiful lips and then fitted herself over him, guided him into her with subtle movements of her hips. Oh, she was going to go insane again, wasn’t she? Going to ride him like he’d taught her until she could stand it no longer and…

He groaned. “Oh, you are feisty.”

She lifted her upper body, pressed her hands to his shoulders, and rolled her hips against his in a timeless, easy rhythm. Until she saw the look in his eye that told her he was going over the edge. “Yes,” she whispered and rode harder until he groaned, slipped out of her, and came.

She collapsed onto him, their bodies slick with sweat.

“I didn’t think you had anything left in you,” he said, stroking her hair. “You’re far lustier than I gave you credit for.”

“No inkling when you kissed my ungloved hand ten years ago?”

“An inkling, yes. But one can never know entirely. One can only hope.”

“Now I truly must take my leave.”

His arms tightened around her. “Ah, but first we need to finish our little discussion which got interrupted in my office last night.”

She stiffened and made to rise.

He pulled her tight to him. “There are things you should know, Suri.”

She relaxed against the heat of his skin and listened to his account of what had transpired between Ravi Maurya and the Resident, of how John had subdued the guard, and the contents of the terrible note. All the while, he rubbed her back in soothing, gentle strokes. His words rumbling in her ear sickened her, yet she could not bear to tell him Ravi-ji was her cousin, or she might be prevented from meeting her grandmother. She’d tell him upon her return, when she had nothing to lose.

“Now then, tell me how you connected with Maurya and you’re free to go,” he murmured.

Dear God!
“A solicitor I hired in London made the connection, but I don’t know how he went about it.” That much was true. “I’ll send along the man’s name with Tanush when I get back to Marguerite’s.”

His fingers paused on her spine as if he were trying to
sense
the truth of her words. After a moment, the gentle stroking resumed. She ran her hand down his arm, caressed him in return. God, being with him left her so contented. “I truly might be of help by attending the wedding, John. I’ll be exceedingly careful. When I’m not eavesdropping in the women’s quarters, I’ll make myself aware of Mr. Vámbéry’s whereabouts at all times.”

A resigned sigh left John’s lips. “You make sense, but I don’t have to like it much.”

She played with a strand of his hair and kissed the tip of his nose. “Thank you. I’m going to the wedding no matter what your preference, but having your blessing gives me peace.”

“I’m sure as hell not passing along any blessing. You’re stubborn is what you are.” He curled a finger under her chin and lifted it. “Whatever occurs, don’t let on that you understand a word of Urdu. Practice keeping a blank face whenever those around you speak. Got it?”

“Got it.”

He planted a quick kiss on her mouth. “Yes, Miss Repeater. Tanush will move back and forth between here and your location to keep me apprised. If you sense danger, get out immediately. Do I have your word?”

“Yes,” she whispered into his skin and gave it a lick.

“And when you return, you’ll go to Bombay the next day. Understood?”

Her heart did a little flip at the idea of not seeing him again after Tuesday. “Understood.”

“In the meantime, I’ll see to obtaining a special license before you leave.”

Her mind spun. She paused to unscramble the words knocking around in her head. “Special license?”

A corner of his mouth curled. He stroked her hair again, tucked a lock behind her ear. “You do have a rather conspicuous habit of repeating things bearing any significance.”

“But—”

He pressed his fingers to her lips, stifling her. “I can’t very well see you off to England knowing you might be carrying my child, now can I?”

“Stop.” A fog of confusion shrouded her. “We’ve had a night of it, John, that’s all.” She sat up, straddling him, her hands on his chest, her fingers trembling. “A rather incredible night, I might add, but I told you, I’ll not marry. Nor will I—”

“Bear children?” He stilled and the air around him retreated. “You may be too late on that account. If you recall, I lost control our first time. And coitus interruptus thereafter is hardly a foolproof measure.”

It didn’t take much to tilt one’s world on its axis, did it?
A child—his child
? Her brain made another stupid flip in her head. “Then we’ve both been rather foolish, haven’t we?”

“Have we?” He held her immobile while a myriad of emotions rolled through his eyes, ending with a layer of something she hadn’t recalled seeing before.

Slow panic curled in the pit of her stomach. Marriage? Hadn’t he loved his wife and been content? He’d admitted as much. Yet he’d willingly enter into a loveless marriage with Suri, an illegitimate half-caste, in order to prevent a possible bastard from being born? Suddenly, she perceived something far worse than her bringing a child into the world out of wedlock. She swung her leg over him in an attempt to scramble off the bed.

He gave her a little shake. “Are you actually saying no?”

“Obviously.”

“Damn it, Suri, be sensible. I’ve lost one child, and I’ve no intention of bringing an illegitimate into the world. Oblige me.”

Her heart stuttered. She gave a toss of her head. “One night of it isn’t likely to produce anything of consequence. Now release me.”

“For God’s sake, woman. Who knows when I’ll make my way back to England? After what you’ve endured all your life, I’d assumed you’d be more responsible.”

Suri’s brain threatened to quit on her altogether. “In case you’ve forgotten, you’re a duke,
your grace
. And I’m a…”

Rueful laughter rolled through his belly. “As if your birth status matters to me, my dear.”

Oh, she could not bear this. “You laugh at me.”

“I laugh at the world.”

“Don’t trifle with me, John.”

“I don’t trifle.”

“You act as though marrying me is a private little joke. You know full well I would never be accepted in society. I would abhor such a life.”

He studied her for a moment and then offered a brief smile. “You’d like Ravenswood Park. We could raise a family there, and you’d never have to leave the area. Any business in Town I could manage on my own.”

Oh, her mind needed a rest, not to mention her frayed nerves required mending. The last thing she’d ever thought to hear was a marriage proposal based on the possibility of her bearing a passel of children. She swallowed and gathered her pride cloak-like around her. “Excuse me, but I do have a say in the matter.”

He shook his head. “Don’t think so.”

“You can’t just—”

“Yes, I can,” he said with a casual air and a half grin.

“You’re being rather high-handed.”

His moods were like a bead of mercury rolling about in her hand—they shifted again. “You don’t seem to comprehend that while I am a duke, you are a duke’s daughter. We have the power to make things right, Suri. As my wife, no one would dare utter a word against you. I would see to it.”

Oh Lord, if the knot in her chest wound any tighter she’d not be able to breathe. “You are arrogance personified.”

“Indeed. Which means everything is settled. I’ll see to the license.” He rolled her off him, swatted her behind, and rose. “I’m famished. What of you?”

What? That was it? He’d given a command and she was to trail after him in meek acquiescence? He thought to sweep aside a life she’d planned for years merely by
him
deciding? A bolt of anger shot through her. “Why, you self-serving bastard.”

He stopped in his tracks, his back to her. “What did you call me?”

Suri snatched her
lehenga
off the floor and fastened it around her hips. “You think because we had an…an
interlude
that I would want you for the rest of my life? Hear this, John—I only wanted you for a night, not a lifetime.”

He said nothing as he pulled a banyan from his wardrobe and slipped it on, but his movements were powerful and measured. He kept his back to her.

She located her choli beneath John’s discarded clothing and struggled into it. “Whatever gave you the idea I would find delight in being shoved off in some corner of England while you gad about Town as the great Duke of Ravenswood? What would you do, John, keep a townhouse for your exclusive use and without my knowledge? Like so many of your peers? Like my father did? Oh, and how soon before you saw to one for your mistress so you could trot over on a whim and wile away your afternoons? Perfectly respectable, aren’t you?”

He turned to her, his face expressionless. “Say that again.” His voice was ice in the room. “The part about using me for a single night’s pleasure.”

Panic chewed at the edges of her nerves. Her fingers trembled while she tangled with the buttons on her choli. “Did you not hear me? I won’t have you under any circumstances. If I am with child, which I very much doubt after one night, then I can well raise it alone.”

“I forbid—”

“You forbid?” A fire ignited in her soul. “You forbid
me
?” She grabbed up one of her sandals and scouted the room for the other. “We need to end this folly right now. It’s impossible to have a discussion when you assume we’re both in agreement on your point. Especially when there’s been no prior discussion regarding said point—not even an intimation of one. Aren’t you the imperious one, though?”

“Choose your next words very carefully, Suri.” His voice rumbled low with warning.

She turned away from him, searching for her blasted sandal. He wasn’t about to intimidate her—she wouldn’t allow it. She wheeled around and faced him, her eyes narrowing. “Or what, John?”

He stood a few paces from her, his demeanor harsh enough to have made the best of men cringe.

Which only fueled her resolve not to turn on her heel and run. “Tell me, do you control everyone in this same manner? Such contemptible methods may be of use in war and politics, but let me be the first to inform you, if no one else has—your methods do not work on women. At least not one with any starch in her.”

When he failed to respond, she stuck her nose in the air. “And as for a weak lady, even she would rebel in her own way. Perhaps it would be little more than spitting in his lordship’s soup when he was unaware. Or something greater, like bedding a gamekeeper on the sly. The laws of the land may limit us women severely, your grace, but our hearts do not.”

A strange look crossed his features. She did not know how long he stared at her. Minutes? An eternity? And then a remoteness set into his eyes as though he’d withdrawn from the world.

The fine hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

He stepped past her without a glance. The air shuddered with his passing. “Your other shoe is in a flowerpot in the courtyard, madam. I’ll collect it and your sari from my office. Tanush will see you home.”

…

As Tanush drove her back to Marguerite’s in an open carriage, rude irony struck Suri. “Do you expect they think I’m a bloody princess dressed in such finery?”

Tanush, his back to her, cracked his whip over the horse’s rump, his only response. The carriage picked up speed.

It felt rather good cursing in front of him, actually. Had he overheard her and John arguing? How much did Tanush know? Oh, she’d been perfectly aware there’d be a price to pay going into the affair, but in no way had she anticipated
this
debacle. Whatever possessed her to say all those awful things to John? She should’ve simply departed with dignity intact and then sent him a proper note declining his offer. Too late now.

As she gave in to the fantasy of what it would be like having the freedom to marry whomever one wanted, her stomach gave a twist.
The freedom to actually marry John.
Her pulse beat a high rhythm, and tears pricked the backs of her eyes as a pall of loneliness descended upon her once again. She was falling in love with a man she could never have in the way she’d want. His arrogant pronouncement that they wed hadn’t been out of love for her but from a sense of duty. Then what? Leave her to rot in the countryside while he went about his life in London? Perhaps collecting a mistress or two along the way?

She sniffed back the threatening tears and sat up straighter, shoving her fanciful thoughts aside. She’d had a night of it that had left her slightly drunk from all the passion. That would be the extent of her time with the man who’d haunted her dreams for years. It would have to be enough. A small band of chattering macaque monkeys scurried up a shade tree, scolding the horse, and throwing leaves at the carriage as it passed beneath them. Suri grabbed a handful of the green stuff, and with an angry flip of her wrist tossed it to the ground. Damn it, she was a half-caste illegitimate, something that wasn’t about to change no matter her wedded status. Marrying a duke would mean facing far worse scrutiny than she’d endured growing up under a duke’s protection, which had been bad enough. Think of all the eligible ladies who would never let her forget she’d stolen their rightful chance at being a duchess. No, being alone and lonely far outweighed being wed and lonely. At least if she carried John’s child, she’d have it and the children in the school to care for.