A Duke's Wicked Kiss (Entangled Select) (13 page)

“Don’t saris spoil you, though? Ah, here’s Harry.”

Harry offered his arm and to Suri’s relief, they exited the crowded ballroom without delay. As they walked down the main corridor toward the bedroom wing, Suri spied more than a guard.

Ravenswood!

What the blazes was he up to leaning against the wall opposite the doors leading to the bedrooms? Shahira lounged on the floor beside him, her golden eyes watching them approach.

Harry gave Ravenswood a nod. “I suspect you can…ahem…take things from here. I’ll be off then, my wife…guests and all. Good evening, Suri.”

Ravenswood’s heavy-lidded gaze slowly wandered over her. “Not feeling well? You look pale.”

“It’s the heat. Even Marguerite said it’s exceptionally hot this evening.” An odd sense of panic crept through her. If only she could manage a few precious deep breaths. “I…I really must get to my room and cool off.”

“Before you go, I’d like to introduce you to the new guard,” Ravenswood said.

Suri gave the bearded sentry a once-over. He was taller than most, slender, yet wide-shouldered and muscular. He gave her a brief nod. Dark eyes, sharp and fierce, pierced hers, raising the hair on the back of her neck. She tried for a deep breath but failed.
This is no ordinary guard. And why would Ravenswood introduce me to him for heaven’s sake?

“This is Tanush,” Ravenswood offered. “He’ll be guarding the door at night. Should you need anything, call on him. And should you need me for any reason…
want
me for any reason, all you need do is inform Tanush.” His voice grew husky. “He can collect me—or better yet—he can bring you to me, if you so desire.”

Desire?
She tried not to stare at Ravenswood, at the lazy grace with which he leaned against the wall. At the center of his lower lip, the slight bow of that blasted sultry mouth. At the intensity in his eyes that said more than any spoken words.
Take me to you? The nerve.
Nonetheless, heat welled up in her and spread through her belly as though he’d placed his hand there.
Lust, that’s all.

She brought up her chin in defiance. “I doubt I would need your services.
Any
kind of services.”

He laughed quietly. “Well said.”

A bead of perspiration trickled between her breasts. Lord, but the need for air grew urgent. Truly, she’d wasted enough time on her way to getting out of the blasted corset. One question begged to be answered before she excused herself, however. “Why this guard? What’s so special about him, besides the fact he is obviously connected to you?”

“He’s trained in the art of
dhanurveda
. In other words, he is a warrior. The very best, I might add.”

Oh, God, it was so unbearably hot, and the walls closed in on her. Blood pounded in her head, throbbed in her lips and that odd panic ramped up. Suddenly, it was as though the light in the corridor dimmed.

“Suri?”

Ravenswood’s voice echoed, and then faded from her head. She fought to remain upright. Blinking, she tried to see him clearer while her arm flailed behind her, searching for the wall. Her breath. Gone.

“Suri!”

The next thing she knew, someone carried her down the hall. She came around enough to know it was Ravenswood. “Put me down,” she managed. Barely. “I…I can make my own way.”

He didn’t respond but stopped at her door and tapped on it with his booted foot.
How’d he know which was mine?

Ravenswood swept past a wide-eyed Munia.

“The corset,” Suri stammered to Munia. “Too…tight.”

“Loosen her clothing,’ Ravenswood ordered. “And get some water and a cloth.”

Gingerly, the maid sidestepped the cheetah following behind Ravenswood, its chain dragging along the floor. “I’ll send for Lady Marguerite, sahib. We can see to getting Miss Thurston out of her clothing.”

Ravenswood settled Suri on the bed. “Look at her. Do you think she can wait while you run a fool’s errand? Get her blasted corset loosened or I’ll do it myself!”

“Sahib, this is not proper. You must leave.”

“I don’t give a damn. Go away if that’s all the help you can be.” He turned Suri onto her side and reached for the buttons to her gown.

Munia rushed forward, unfastened Suri’s gown and loosened the corset strings.

Suri lay back, gulped in air and nearly wept with relief when her head cleared.

Ravenswood stood beside the bed, stark concern in his eyes. “Take a couple more deep breaths.”

She did. “Thank you, I’m fine now.” She lifted the counterpane over her, struggled to keep her voice even. “Next time I’ll see to it that the laces aren’t tied so tight.”

The maid set a pan of water on the bedside table and dipped in a small towel, all the while eyeing the cheetah who’d claimed a spot on the floor not far from them, her golden eyes fixed on Munia.

Ravenswood relieved her of the damp cloth and knelt beside the bed. With a tenderness that nearly stole what precious breath Suri had recovered, he sponged her forehead and murmured something she couldn’t grasp.

Why did his gentle ministrations make her want to weep?

As if he’d read her mind, he brushed the back of his fingers against her cheek, his eyes darting from hers to the base of her throat and back. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

“Yes, fine now. Thank you.” The heat of his breath fell against her mouth, he leaned so close. Flames licked at her insides as the color in his eyes deepened. She wanted to touch him back, to experience his flesh against hers.
Stop it!
It was idiotic to entertain such lascivious thoughts.

And it was a mistake to curl her fingers around his in order to remove them from her cheek. The spark that reverberated through her at the simple contact unraveled her. She closed her eyes against an overwhelming urge to kiss him, and struggled for control.

“A few more breaths?” he murmured.

She opened her eyes. Munia stood behind Ravenswood, glaring at him, her obsidian eyes spitting fire. If she possessed a knife would she use it on him?

Shahira made an odd noise in her throat, her large eyes still fixed on Munia.

The maid shot the cheetah a scathing glare and then edged around to the other side of the bed.

Suri sucked a ragged breath into her lungs. Good heavens, what if the cat attacked? “Perhaps you should leave, sir.”

“I’ll remain for a while.” He glanced at the maid and then over his shoulder at Shahira. “Steady, girl.” He turned back to Suri. “I’d like a word. In private.”

Munia’s lips drew into a dark, tight line.

“It’s all right, Munia. If you’ll gather my night rail, perhaps His Grace will turn his back for a moment.”

With one eye on Shahira, Munia turned toward the door. “I shall collect Lady Marguerite, memsahib.”

“No, she has guests. I’m perfectly fine now that I got some air. The corset was too tight this evening is all. If I could have my night rail, I’d feel more comfortable. Thank you.”

Ravenswood rose, made his way to where Shahira lay, and picked up the golden chain. “We’ll be in the garden.” Cat and master strolled through the open shutters and disappeared into the darkness.

With a clenched jaw, Munia discarded Suri’s clothing and slipped her into a soft, white night rail. That done, she placed a small pitcher of water beside a glass on the nightstand. And then, to Suri’s surprise, the maid set about pulling the mosquito netting around the bed.

“Munia, what’s got into you? You heard His Grace say he wished to speak to me in private. He’ll return as soon as you tell him I’m ready, so please don’t do that.”

The maid glanced to the darkened garden, her fingers working steadily on the netting.

“Stop this, Munia. Whatever you may be thinking, His Grace will not harm me.”

“Do as Miss Thurston instructs.” Ravenswood’s rich baritone preceded him into the room, the cat beside him.

Munia’s mouth grew even thinner. “He watched you,
mem
. Else how’d he know we’d finished?” She stomped to the end of the bed and folded her arms over her chest.

Suri sat with her back against a pile of pillows, a white cotton sheet tucked beneath her chin. She regarded Ravenswood through the mosquito netting—a primitive barrier for the vestal virgin? She giggled at Munia’s ridiculous maneuver. “If this doesn’t beat all.”

Ravenswood stepped forward and parted the netting. “Would it be fitting at this point to play a few games and drive the woman mad?”

Suri burst into laughter. In return, he offered her a boyish grin.
What a beautiful smile.

The light in his eyes shifted and his voice deepened. “You should laugh more often, madam. I doubt I’ve heard it before and it becomes you.”

Their gazes met.

Those tiny arrows of desire pierced her flesh again, lanced straight through her belly and breasts. “And you should smile more, sir. It becomes
you
.”

Shahira’s throat rattled a warning, her eyes fixed on the maid.

Munia scowled and murmured something unintelligible.

Ravenswood fanned the mosquito netting aside. “I’ll sit over here.” He drew a chair to within a few feet of the bedside and addressed the maid. “While you find your way to the garden where you may keep a proper eye on Miss Thurston. But far enough away so as not to eavesdrop.”

When it looked as if the maid was not going to budge, Suri spoke. “Do as he says.”

Munia stomped off.

Ravenswood sat in the chair and crossed a leg over his knee. “You ought to sack the trout.”

Suri laughed lightly. “I won’t be here that long.”

He rested an elbow on the chair’s arm, his head against his hand, and regarded her with an intensity that made her skin prickle. In the shadows, he was a god, dark and glorious, the fallen angel she’d seen that day in the stable. Her heart slammed a beat in her chest. How long could she keep away from him? If he touched her again could she refuse him? Did she even want to any longer?

“I wish to extract a promise from you, Suri.”

“Which is?”

“It’s important you rely on Tanush from tonight forward. Harry’s well aware of the guard’s function. Tanush will attend the wedding, and be close at hand, but you are not to acknowledge him, except in an emergency.”

For a heartbeat, she failed to react. “An emergency? Do you expect trouble?”

“You’ve agreed to spy, which is serious business. Tanush can be everywhere you are except in the women’s quarters. And he’ll give his life for you, if need be. That’s what he’s trained to do.”

This was grim business, indeed. Had her sister told Harry she sought her grandmother, after all? “He’ll do whatever I say?”

He nodded. “And whatever I say.” His words held a new huskiness.

Silence stretched between them as he openly studied her.

“Why don’t you come home with me for the night, Suri?”

His words shocked her out of her transient thoughts.
Because I’m afraid it will lead me straight into hell after you’ve got what you wanted.
“I don’t think things are quite as simple as all that.”

He arched a brow. “On the contrary. Things couldn’t be simpler than two people wanting each other.”

Confusion dizzied her. “I can’t just—”

He raised a hand. “Stop. There’s something rare between us. It would be a shame if you ignored it. Don’t squander what little time you have left in Delhi on shallow
cannots
.” His eyes darkened further, and she swore the energy emanating from his body swept over her.

His fingers brushed his lower lip as he studied her with an intensity that drew her in and nearly caused her to say, “Yes, carry me away!”
What I wouldn’t give to know how it feels to lie with you, to have you hold me. To have you deep inside of me. But I am afraid—afraid I will want you forever and we both know that can never be.

She opened her mouth and said something that shocked even her. “I am not a virgin, Ravenswood.”

His finger paused against his lip for a brief moment, the glimmer in his eyes pronounced. And then his finger went back to brushing against his mouth as one corner lifted. “Fancy that. Neither am I.”

A small smile made it through her huff of feigned disdain. For all her carefully controlled emotions, something deep inside her yearned to open her arms. To invite him in. For the second time in her life she became acutely aware of how lonely she’d been without a mate. What a disaster the first time had been. She’d taken a lover back then because she’d thought it would rid her of Ravenswood’s memory, but it had only made things worse.

“Come home with me, darling. I’ll have you returned in the morning.”

The simplicity of his words left her speechless. Everything Suri had denied herself these many years flooded her senses. Suddenly she wanted to experience him in every way possible and not concern herself with being sorry later.

Oh, she could barely think. Why shouldn’t she go with him? What did it matter? She was already ruined.

“Come to me. If not tonight, then before you go to that blasted wedding.”

Well, if that wasn’t a surprise. He wanted to lay claim to her before then? Because of Ravi-ji? “You’re intent on that, are you?”

He nodded. “I am.”

“You have your reasons, I suppose?”

He was quiet for a moment. “I do.”

“Will you tell me?”

“No.”

“I thought not.” She looked to her hands folded in her lap and bit the inside of her lip. Oh, Lord, he was making it difficult for her to reason with herself. The thought of going back to Bedfordshire—alone again—sent her heart in a downward spiral. Coming this close to him, to the affair he offered—how different was this deep-seated longing from her desire to meet her grandmother? Ironic. Here was an opportunity to get both of them out of her system. But what if…

“Thinking, darling?”

She lifted her gaze from her hands and regarded him. The pull toward him felt unbearable. She should ask him to leave immediately. She really should.

“Admit it, Suri, you’re as hungry for me as I am for you. Why don’t you do what your heart desires? After all, you did say you were of an independent mind.”