What A Rogue Wants (10 page)

By the time he reached the main floor,
he’d worked himself up into the foulest mood he could recall in
years. Not since his sixteenth birthday, when his father had
promised to take him hunting, just the two of them, had Grey been
so irate. And that day had been a black one, for certain. When his
father had shown up near midnight with Edward, Grey had not been
merely upset that his father had broken yet another promise to him
without explanation and seemingly in favor of spending time with
Grey’s older brother. Grey had been furious and vowed that night he
would get his father’s attention, even if he had to do it by being
the old bastard’s worst nightmare.

He laughed at what a foolish notion
that had been. His father would have had to care first. The bastard
didn’t. He didn’t blink an eye when Grey was thrown from Eton, or
accrued a king’s ransom worth of gambling debt, or drank himself
into a month-long stupor. The only time he’d batted an eye was when
Grey had bedded one of the lady’s maids employed to care for Liz.
That’s when he’d realized how to get under his father’s
skin.

Grey rounded the last turn to the
dining hall. When had he realized his actions weren’t changing a
damn thing? He felt certain his little epiphany had occurred this
past year. Yet he liked women. So he seduced the ones that were
willing. But he would never get married. Let his father stew for
the rest of his life on how he’d failed.

Grey pushed open the door to the
dining hall. At this hour it would be empty, except for the
servants preparing for breakfast. Good thing too. He was not in the
mood for pleasant conversation, and the servants would be too busy
to talk. The servants nodded toward him as he strode into the hall,
but as he expected, they continued in their preparations for
breakfast.

He ambled over to the far wall, where
a different assortment of breads and cheeses should be laid out,
but none was there yet. His stomach growled again. A servant came
through the door with a large tray lifted above his head. The
pleasant scent of warm bread wafted on the air. Grey smiled and was
just about to call out to the man when the dining hall door swung
wide again, and Lady Madelaine flew through the door, in a flurry
of pale green silk which contrasted quite nicely with her honey
hair that tumbled around her shoulders.

The exquisite picture she presented
would have stirred his lust, but her dark eyes were round with fear
and her hands grasped spasmodically in front of her.

From across the room, he raised his
hand to get her notice, but the door swung wide again and hard
footsteps rang in the otherwise quiet room. Grey narrowed his eyes
as Thorton strode toward Madelaine. What the hell was that man
doing up so early? Thorton was a liar, a cheat, and a lazy
ass.

Lady Madelaine shot a glance behind
her, and then swung toward Thorton, her gaze darting all over the
room. What was this? If the lady was secretly meeting with Thorton,
Grey would toss up his breakfast. Oh hell, he’d not eaten
breakfast.

Lady Madelaine backed behind a table,
and lifted her skirt. Bile filled Grey’s mouth. He’d not watch the
woman he’d fantasized about being plundered by another. He turned
on his heel to go, but a long flash of metal caught his eye. His
jaw dropped at the gleaming dagger Lady Madelaine held in front of
her. He’d seen stranger games between a man and a woman, but this
had to be the strangest.

“
Lady Madelaine, you wound
me,” Lord Thorton said, coming to stand on the opposite side of the
table from her. Grey stood still and silent, not sure whether to
excuse himself or hide and save her the embarrassment of knowing
he’d witnessed her and Thorton.

She squared her shoulders. “I’ve not
wounded you yet, you swine, but I swear if you grab me again, I’ll
use my dagger.” Now that was definitely an interesting choice of
words to elicit a man’s desire. Maybe they played at prey and
hunter.

“
Come, Lady Madelaine.
Don’t make me use force. This could be pleasant for both of
us.”

Grey’s heartbeat sped up a notch.
Something wasn’t right.

Lady Madelaine raised the dagger
higher. “If your hands are on me, I vow it will not be
pleasant.”

Thorton lunged across the table, and
true to her word, Lady Madelaine plunged the dagger straight down
toward the man’s leg. “You bitch,” Thorton cursed loudly, causing
the only servant remaining in the room to flee.

Red covered Grey’s vision. He kicked
the chair blocking his path out of the way. The wood splintered as
it hit the table with the force of his anger. He was beside Lady
Madelaine in four long strides. Her eyes smoldered, but her body
shook. Grey pushed her gently behind him and faced
Thorton.

Thorton jerked the dagger out of the
wood and material of his trousers. The material ripped as the
dagger let loose. “You saw it, Adlard. The bloody bitch tried to
stab me. You’re my witness.”

“
I did not
try
to stab you,” Lady
Madelaine spat. “I gave you a reprieve with my generous warning. If
I intended to stab you, believe me, the dagger would have pierced
flesh.”

Grey snatched the dagger from Thorton
while studying Lady Madelaine’s grim face. Her words as well as her
aim impressed him. “I saw you try to accost her.”

“
The hell you say. She
wants me.”

Grey glanced back at Lady Madelaine.
“Do you want this man?”

She shook her head. “Unless you count
wanting him dead.”

He smothered his laugh as he turned
back to Thorton. “It’s too bad she decided to be generous, Thorton.
In my opinion, you deserved a dagger in your leg, at the least.”
Grey wanted to kill the man for trying to force himself on her.
Grey curled his fingers into fists. “If you ever touch her again,
I’ll not be near as generous as the lady. But take heart, I know
just where to strike with a dagger to make your death quick.” He
touched the pulsing vein on Thorton’s neck. “My father considered
teaching his sons all means of self-defense of the utmost
importance.”

Thorton shoved Grey’s hand away. “I
won’t forget this,” the man snarled.

“
Neither will I,” Grey
promised.

Thorton opened his mouth as if to say
something else, and Grey raised the dagger challengingly. “Shall we
test my lessons?”

Thorton spat on the floor and slammed
out of the room. Grey gripped the dagger, trying to calm himself
and slow the blood roaring in his ears and his painful
heartbeat.

Lady Madelaine rested a hand on his
arm. “You can release my dagger now, Lord Grey. He’s
gone.”

Grey relaxed his hold and handed the
dagger over. A witty reply laced with sexual innuendo was on the
tip of his tongue, but when he looked into her warm, anxious eyes
his witty reply was gone. “Were you afraid?”

“
Yes. Were
you?”

The honest admission and question
surprised him. Honesty at Court was so novel. “I wasn’t afraid for
myself.”

“
For me?”

“
Yes.” With a start he
realized he was telling the truth not merely trying to seduce her.
“What if I hadn’t been in the dining hall? What if Thorton had
ravished you? I’d hate to think anyone had you against your
will.”

Her cheeks redden. “I do try to avoid
him.”

“
You need to tell the
queen.”

She shook her head.

Damnation. He understood. The queen
disliked her. She could very well use the information against Lady
Madelaine. And the other ladies-in-waiting definitely would. “Do
you have a brother?”

“
No.” She seemed amused by
his questions. He ran a hand through his hair, wild thoughts
careening in his head.

“
What of your
father?”

“
I cannot disappoint him.”
Grey nodded in understanding. She wouldn’t be the first lady
abandoned at Court with the silent or sometimes explicit orders to
not fail in finding a husband. “You need a protector.”

“
Lord Grey, are you
offering to protect me?” A look of disbelief crossed her delicate
features.

“
Certainly not.” He
couldn’t seduce her if he vowed to protect her. But he couldn’t
very well leave her to the likes of Thorton. He scratched at his
head, trying to bring some semblance to his thoughts, but it was a
lost cause. “I must admit I was surprised and gladdened to find you
at Court.”

“
Were you?”

The way her blush deepened like a
cherry ready to be picked made him hard as stone. So deceptively
innocent yet complex. He loved the puzzle she presented. “I was.”
He moved closer and brushed a hand across her collarbone. She
jerked in response. For a seductress, that was an odd response.
Maybe this was the game she played? “You made an appearance in my
dreams more nights than I should admit.”

Her lips parted as if his statement
surprised her. Her acting abilities were superb. He ran a finger up
her arm, gliding over fine silk and a gentle curve of muscle she
must have developed from the sports she spoke of loving. His blood
pounded thickly in his ears. “That was very naughty of you not to
return to meet me in Golden Square as you promised, but I’ll
forgive you since I realize you must have slipped away without
asking. Is that true?”

She nodded, her pulse hammering at the
base of her neck. Good. She was just as excited as he
was.

“
Will you keep my secret?”
Her tongue wet her upper then lower lip causing him to harden
further. This state had to be dangerous to his health. He needed
release. Where could they possibly meet. Perhaps the stables? He
could pay off the stable boys to disappear for a while. They would
simply have to think of an excuse for her to slip away.

“
I’ll keep your secret,
for a price.” He pressed closer and reached to grasp her, but she
skittered away and went around to the other side of the table. Her
hands splayed against the dark grain as she stared at
him.

“
How disappointing, Lord
Grey. For a moment, I thought you to be different from all the
tedious men I’ve met at Court, but I see you are exactly the
same.”

“
Bite your tongue. I’m the
same as no man. Meet me in the stable and I’ll prove
it.”

Her eyebrows knitted together. “I’m
afraid you have the wrong impression of me.”

“
You don’t like the
stables?” Blazes, he was having more fun bantering with her than
he’d ever had talking to any woman. “I assumed since you loved
sports you wouldn’t mind a tumble in the hay.”

“
You assume wrong on many
counts, Lord Grey.”

Her words held an iciness that doused
a chill over his desire. There was a critical piece to her puzzle
he was missing. “I beg your pardon, Lady Madelaine, if I was crass.
I was simply bantering with you.”

Her eyebrows arched high. “So you
didn’t just invite me to a tumble in the hay?”

“
Oh, I did. Rather poorly
done of me. I assumed a lady such as yourself who loved sports and
adventure would like the idea of a tumble in the stables. But I
understand now. You prefer a bed over the stables. I can
accommodate you, but you’ll have to give me time to figure out
where we can meet privately and how to get you there.”

She slapped her palms against the
wood, her frown turning beautifully thunderous. “Lord Grey, you’ve
misunderstood every word I’ve said. I don’t wish to be pursued or
tumbled.”

“
You don’t? But at Golden
Square―”

She held up a palm. “You were correct
in assuming I slipped away without permission. Which I had never
done before that day. I knew I was to be deposited at Court the
next day. A situation that didn’t please me. I wanted one last
adventure to see things I’d never seen. The adventure never
included bed sport.”

“
That’s not much of an
adventure.”

“
I seek a husband, Lord
Grey. The adventure of marriage will be quite enough for me.” Her
blush burned bright on her face.

Blazes. He’d misjudged her character
by leaps and bounds. It was strange he didn’t feel as surly as he
should about his mistake, considering his state of arousal. Rather,
he was glad to have finally met a woman who was a true surprise in
a good way. Under the circumstances, his honor now demanded he
offer his services as protector, even if his loins wanted
otherwise. “I suppose, given this enlightening conversation, I’ve
no choice but to protect you from Thorton.”

Lady Madelaine walked to the side
table and picked up a roll. “And here I was certain the tales about
you were true.” She took a bite of the roll and chewed but the
corners of her mouth tugged upward into a smile.

“
What tales?” He came to
stand beside her and get a hunk of bread for himself.

“
Well.” She swallowed.
“The other ladies-in-waiting likened you to Casanova, but if this
is you at your most charming, I’m afraid you fall short.” She
grinned.

“
I’m glad I can amuse you.
But I vow I can be extremely charming.”

“
In that case, I’m happy
you understand turning your immense charms on me is pointless for
what you are after.”