Bound by Love (28 page)

“Stefan, no,” she said huskily. “I must speak with you.”

Denied her lips, Stefan nibbled a path down the tender curve of her neck, careful to avoid the ribbon that hid her wound.

“Later,” he murmured against the rapid pulse beating at the base of her throat.

“You must halt.”

“Why?”

“Do you want to be discovered?”

Stefan smiled. In this moment he was indifferent to
who might come across them. Or what the consequences might be.

He needed her. Now.

“What I want is you.” He pulled back, his gaze sweeping greedily over her beautiful face. “Come with me, Leonida. There must be privacy to be found in this vast monstrosity.”

She jutted her chin, but Stefan did not miss the blush staining her cheek.

“The palace is not a vast monstrosity,” she inanely argued. “Most visitors claim it is even more beautiful than Versailles.”

Stefan snorted. “Yet another monstrosity, but at the moment I have little interest in discussing architecture.”

“Neither do I.”

Heat blazed through his body. “Then let us find someplace where we can be assured we will not be interrupted.”

She trembled as he pressed her against his hard arousal, but with a sudden motion she was pushing her way out of his arms.

“No, this is not why I came here tonight.”

Stefan gritted his teeth. His overwhelming impulse was to sweep her off her feet and lay her on the nearby divan. Whatever Leonida’s protests, he sensed her yearning. He did not doubt he could overcome her ridiculous barriers and seduce her.

Instead he planted his hands on his hips and fought back his male instincts.

Ridiculously, he did not want to compel her capitulation. He wanted her to admit she desired him with a force that equaled his own.

Pride? Or something more dangerous?

Impossible to know.

“I do not care why you came, only that you are here,” he growled. “I knew you could not hide forever.”

“I have not been hiding.”

He deliberately lowered his gaze to the mouth still swollen from his kisses.

“How could such beautiful lips utter such dreadful lies?”

She brushed her hands over the shimmering folds of her gold gown. A certain indication she was not as composed as she wished him to believe.

“Not wishing to receive you in my home is not hiding. My mother has been ill.”

“Predictable.” Stefan shook his head in frustration. “You were nearly killed because of her selfish refusal to admit the truth and she is the one to seek sympathy.”

She stiffened at his harsh words, her expression settling into mulish lines that he recognized all too easily. She would protect her mother to the gates of hell. No matter how unworthy the Countess might be.

It was a loyalty he grudgingly admired even as he wanted to shake some sense into her.

“You know nothing of my mother and it most certainly is not your place to judge her,” she snapped.

“And what is my place, Leonida?” he countered. “I am allowed in your bed, but not allowed to protect you from those who take advantage of your overly generous heart?”

Heat flooded her cheeks. “You have no place. What happened between us is over.”

With a hiss of anger, Stefan prowled forward, backing her against the wall.

“It is far from over,” he warned, planting a hand on either side of her head to glare down at her stubborn expression. “I am not a fool. I feel you tremble when I touch you. I taste your pleasure when our lips meet. You still desire me.”

Her eyes darkened with an awareness she could not hide. “No. I cannot.”

“Cannot?” His voice thickened, his gaze mesmerized as her tongue peeked out to wet her lips. “You already have.”

“A mistake I do not intend to repeat.”

“Dammit, this is not a mistake.” He leaned down,
brushing her lips with a lingering kiss. “This is a miracle. Why do you deny your need?”

“Because I will not be your mistress,” she said, her voice low, as if the words were wrenched from her. “Not ever.”

He flinched. “Leonida…”

“No.” She turned her head, refusing to meet his frustrated glare. “I came here to speak with you. Nothing else.”

Stefan abruptly stepped back. Damn the woman. Why did she have to complicate what should be a simple affair?

She had come to his bed willingly enough. Hell, she had been nothing less than eager.

Now she behaved as if his only purpose was to ruin her life.

“And why, after three days of ignoring me, would you have a sudden urge to speak?” he snarled.

“Because I need to know what you intend to say to Alexander Pavlovich.”

“What…”

He bit off his words, his hands clenching as he realized the implication of her words. It was not mere chance that she was at the palace. Or because of some furtive desire to cross his path.

She was here because she feared that he might reveal the ugly truth of her trip to England to her father.

Why the devil had he not considered such a possibility?

His sharp, humorless laugh echoed through the room. “Of course. I have always considered myself to be quite an intelligent gentleman, but when it comes to you, my dove, I seem to be no more than a half-wit.”

She frowned warily, as if trying to judge his reaction to her accusation.

“You have not answered my question.”

Stefan turned to pace toward a lacquered table that held a priceless collection of Chinese vases, his mind churning. Whatever his annoyance at the realization Leonida was
eager to believe the worse of him, he was not above using her assumption to his advantage.

“How did you know I was invited to dine with the Emperor tonight?” he demanded.

Leonida paused, clearly reluctant to reveal her source of information.

“Our cook has three daughters,” she at last admitted. “The youngest is a chambermaid to Vanya Petrova.”

“And she thought it necessary to share my plans?”

“There are few secrets in St. Petersburg.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

She made a sound of impatience. “Why are you here, Stefan?”

Slowly he turned, meeting her fretful gaze. “Not even I can ignore a summons from Alexander Pavlovich.”

“And when he demands to know why you have traveled to Russia?”

His gaze drifted down her slender body, lingering on the ribbon tied about her neck to disguise her injury. His own bullet wound was nearly healed, but the memory of how near he had come to losing this woman would be forever seared into his mind.

How the hell did she expect him to simply walk away?

“That depends entirely upon you, Leonida.”

“What do you mean?”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “I possess no particular inducement to deceive the Czar Alexander. Indeed, it would be the height of foolishness to risk such a powerful man’s displeasure.”

Her expression hardened. “You did not mind risking his displeasure when you threatened to kidnap me.”

“Ah, but the reward would have been worth the cost,” he drawled. “Now I have no reason to lie.”

“It is not lying to avoid revealing my purpose in coming to England.”

“A fine distinction.”

She stepped from the wall, her curls shimmering like liquid gold in the candlelight and her eyes the pale blue of the finest sapphires.

Stefan swallowed a groan as his body clenched with an impatient surge of lust.

“There is no reason for him to suspect that my visit was more than a desire to become acquainted with England,” she said, seemingly impervious to the torture she was inflicting on him.

“You are not so innocent as to think the Emperor will not demand to know what occurred during your time at Meadowland and why I chose to follow you back to St. Petersburg.”

“Which only proves that you should never have come here.”

“Why should I not?” Stefan shrugged. “I have nothing to hide.”

“This is absurd.” She glared at his mocking expression. “If you reveal the truth you will only cause Alexander Pavlovich further distress.”

“He has endured both scandal and disappointment before.”

“And he still carries the wounds,” she retorted. “Why burden him with more?”

He stepped toward her rigid body, unable to deny a smug satisfaction at the fluttering pulse visible at the base of her throat.

He did not believe for a moment that it was fear making her heart race.

“So you only desire to protect the Czar Alexander?”

“Of course.”

“And your mother?”

She shifted restlessly, easily sensing his derision toward the Countess Karkoff.

“Yes.”

“And what of me?”

She faltered, a hint of uncertainty flaring through her eyes.

“I do not understand.”

“Thus far the only reason you have given me to hold my tongue is for the benefit of the Czar Alexander and your mother,” he said smoothly. “Why should I hazard Alexander Pavlovich’s anger should he discover that I hid the truth from him?”

She waved a hand in a dismissive motion. “There is no danger of him discovering the truth.”

“Then you have the letters?”

“No, but…”

“But?” he prompted as her words faded.

“Herrick Gerhardt is confident that he will be capable of tracking them down.”

He took another step forward, drawn to her with an irresistible compulsion. He was well and properly bewitched, he acknowledged, brushing a finger down the length of her stubborn jaw.

“And in the meantime they might be used to once again blackmail the Countess, or worse, sold to those willing to make your mother’s confessions a source of public humiliation for the Emperor,” he insisted. “If that were to occur, Alexander Pavlovich is bound to hold me at least partially responsible for not warning him of the potential threat.”

She shivered, making no effort to pull away from his lingering touch. “You intend to tell him?”

“Unless you can convince me it is in my interest not to.”

Frustration rippled over her beautiful features. “Do you have no concern for Russia at all?”

“Why should I?”

“It was the homeland of your mother. You did say that she remained loyal to the crown.”

Stefan narrowed his gaze, reminded of the numerous risks that Edmond had taken in the name of Alexander Pavlovich.

“My family has done its duty to the Russian Empire,” he said, his voice edged with warning. “You are going to have to find some means beyond guilt to keep my lips closed.”

“And what would those means be?”

A wicked smile curved his mouth. “I think they should be fairly obvious.”

“Why you…”

Her hand lifted to slap his face, but with a smooth motion Stefan captured her wrist and brought her fingers to his lips.

“Careful, Leonida.”

She glared at him with impotent anger. “If you think for a moment you can threaten me into sharing your bed then you must have lost your wits, along with any claim to chivalry.”

“Gentlemen with chivalry are inevitably a tedious bore,” he murmured against her palm.

“It is not surprising
you
would think so.”

He chuckled, indifferent to her insult. “Has it occurred to you that such a paragon of virtue would never be capable of understanding how a proper young maiden could manipulate her way into a man’s home and then seduce him so she could escape with his property?”

He heard her breath catch. “I did not seduce you.”

“What a poor memory you possess, my dove.” He shifted her hand to kiss the sensitive skin of her inner wrist. “Perhaps you need to be reminded of your power over a hapless gentleman.”

She groaned softly before wrenching her arm away and rubbing it against her skirt. As if she could wipe away the feel of his touch. And her violent reaction.

“You are merely attempting to distract me.”

He lifted his brows, allowing her to escape. They both knew she was vulnerable to his touch. “I thought we were negotiating.”

“I do not negotiate with my body,” she hissed.

“A pity,” he countered, not entirely teasing. “But you were the one to assume that I intended to demand your presence in my bed in exchange for my silence.”

“You…” She muttered something beneath her breath,
no doubt damning him to the netherworld. “What do you want, Stefan?”

“Nothing more nefarious than your companionship.”

“My companionship?”

His smile faded as he reached to grasp her chin. He wanted to ensure there would be no confusion.

She would not be allowed to avoid him.

“You will no longer turn me away when I call upon you at your home,” he said, his tone uncompromising. “And if I issue you an invitation I will expect you to accept without complaint.”