Dangerous (20 page)

“There is no call to laugh at me,” she said, hurt.

He came down onto the bed, pulled her close, and kissed the delicate skin behind her ear. “I am not laughing at you, Prue. And I assure you that in spite of appearances, we shall fit together with absolute perfection. Leave the logic of the situation in my hands.”

She smiled tremulously, more than willing to trust him in that moment. “Very well, Sebastian. If you are certain that you know what you are doing, let us get on with it. I vow I cannot wait much longer to feel what I felt the last time you took me in your arms.”

“You are the most incredible woman I have ever known,” he whispered.

He drew her gown and chemise off entirely and tossed both over the side of the bed. The garments landed in a small heap on the carpet. Sebastian ignored them as he studied Prudence’s nude body with an expression rendered stark by desire.

Prudence realized she was still wearing her stockings. For some reason the knowledge made her feel deliciously wicked. She felt her skin grow warm. “My stockings,” she mumbled.

“I think we will leave your stockings in place,” Sebastian said. “I find I rather like you in them.”

“Sebastian, really.”

“Yes, really.” He slid his hand slowly down the length of her in an act of possession that made her shiver. “You are lovely, Prudence. With or without the stockings.”

When his hand reached the triangle of soft hair between her thighs, Prudence cried out softly and turned her face into his chest. Shyness did battle with a growing sensual hunger deep within her. The hunger won. She curled closer against Sebastian, seeking more of his intimate touch.

“Silk and fire,” Sebastian muttered against her breast. “That’s what you are made of, my sweet. Silk and fire. And I cannot wait any longer to feel the flames.”

Sebastian settled himself on top of her. He reached down and parted her thighs. His fingers dipped into her, gently testing. The touch made Prudence dig her nails into his back and lift herself against his hand.

“You like that, don’t you?” Sebastian asked.

“You must know that I do.” Prudence threaded her fingers into his hair and pulled his mouth down to hers. She was enthralled, she thought, caught up in a shimmering spell of love and passion that had swept over her like a summer storm.

And Sebastian wanted her just as intensely, she thought with growing certainty. He must love her just as much as she loved him. He could not make love to her like this unless his feelings for her matched her own for him.

Sebastian accepted the invitation of her mouth with an eagerness that spoke for itself. His tongue surged between her lips, claiming her with an intimacy that foreshadowed what was to follow.

He pressed her thighs more widely apart, making a place
for himself near her heat. Then he reached down between their bodies and fitted himself to the opening of her feminine passage.

The feel of his broad shaft poised to enter her brought Prudence briefly back to a vague sense of reality. “Sebastian?”

“Tell me that you want me, Prue.”

She smiled dreamily. “I want you.”

“Then all will be well,” he whispered.

He thrust forward slowly.

Prudence gasped against his mouth. Her whole body stiffened in reaction to the invasion.

“Open for me,” Sebastian urged. He withdrew slightly and then pushed forward again. “Let me inside, my sweet.”

Prudence’s fingers clenched in his hair as she bravely braced herself. But Sebastian did not force the entrance. Instead he again withdrew a short distance.

“You are like a lock that must be carefully opened,” he said. There was perspiration on his forehead. His shoulders glistened in the candlelight.

“I told you this would not work.”

“And I told you to trust me. I am very good with locks, if you will recall.”

He moved his hand downward, dampened one finger in her moisture, and then found the firm little bud that seemed to be the center of her passions.

Prudence began to relax again as he caressed her with his wet finger. The delicious tension coiled within her. Her head tipped back over his arm as she arched herself upward.

“That’s it.” Sebastian’s voice held satisfaction. “Now you will open for me, won’t you, my clever little lock? Now you are ready to let me inside.”

All Prudence could think about was the excitement his fingers were creating. Soon, she thought, soon she would feel that wonderful sensation again.

And then the thrilling release was upon her.

“Yes,” Sebastian whispered. “The lock is open.”

Prudence went wild beneath the onslaught. Her whole body convulsed with pleasure.

“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, Sebastian. Dear God, yes.”

He guided himself into her once again and this time he did not hesitate or withdraw. He thrust deeply, relentlessly, into her snug channel.

“Beautiful,”
he said, his voice a dark, husky groan.

Prudence heard her own soft shriek of surprise muffled against his shoulder. Pain blended with the pleasure that was still rippling through her in tiny waves. She could not distinguish between the two sensations. She lightly bit Sebastian’s shoulder.

“My clever, beautiful lock has teeth,” Sebastian muttered.

But the small, passionate assault on his shoulder seemed to send him over some invisible edge. He gave a strangled shout and buried himself to the hilt. The muscles in his back were rigid beneath Prudence’s fingers.

Prudence held him tightly as he shuddered heavily and poured himself into her.

The candle had burned very low before Sebastian finally stirred on top of Prudence. He raised his head and looked down at her. His mouth curved faintly with lazy satisfaction. He leaned down to brush his lips across hers. Then he eased himself out of her and rolled to one side.

“Bloody hell. I’ve never felt anything that good before in my life.” He fell back against the pillows and pulled her down on top of him. “I told you I could open that particular lock.”

Prudence blushed, “So you did.”

He grinned and touched his finger to the tip of her nose. “It’ll get better with practice.”

“Are we going to practice a lot, my lord?”

“You may depend upon it.” He buried his fingers in her tousled hair and brought her mouth down to his for a quick,
hard kiss. “We shall practice at every opportunity. Which brings me to the topic I was attempting to discuss earlier.”

“Our false engagement?” A sudden sense of wariness drove out some of Prudence’s contentment.

“Precisely. I wish to end it.”

Prudence was vastly more shaken than she would have believed possible. Surely he had some feeling for her, she thought. After experiencing the intensity of his lovemaking, she could not believe he felt nothing.
He loved her. He had to love her
. She tried to keep her voice calm. “I see.”

“No, I don’t believe you do.” Sebastian smiled slightly, but his eyes were watchful. “I want us to be married immediately.”

“Married.”
Prudence was speechless.

Sebastian frowned. He appeared annoyed at her failure to grasp a concept that was apparently quite clear to him.

“Come, now, my dear,” he said persuasively. “How else are we to practice our lovemaking? I assure you, it would be extremely difficult to conduct an affair in Town. The other option is to accept every country house party invitation that comes along, and that would be a decided nuisance. We shall be forever on the road.”

“Yes, but marriage?” She had not expected this. She stared at him in shock, trying frantically to focus without the aid of her spectacles. “Sebastian, are you serious?”

“I assure you, I have never been more serious in my life.”

Joy leaped to life within her. It was instantly tempered with caution. She was well aware that she amused Sebastian. He found her interesting and obviously he felt some degree of passion for her. But thus far he had said nothing about being in love with her. He had not even said the words while in the act of making love to her.

“Do you truly believe we would suit, Sebastian?”

“I can think of no one who would suit me better,” he said.

“Yes, well.” She cast about for a way of eliciting the answer
she wanted. “I am, of course, extremely honored, my lord.”

“Good. Then the matter is settled,” Sebastian said brusquely. “I shall see about securing a special license in the morning. Lady Pembroke can be a witness.”

Panic seized Prudence. “As I said, I am deeply honored. And I can quite understand that it would be more efficient to conduct an affair within a marriage. But I am not certain that efficiency is a valid reason for such a permanent entanglement.”

“There are a number of other logical reasons for a marriage between us,” Sebastian said very coolly.

“There are?”

“Naturally. I would not have proposed the notion otherwise.”

Prudence reached for her spectacles and adjusted them on her nose. “Perhaps you would care to name a few of them?”

He gave her his most arrogant, most superior sort of smile. “As you wish, although I would have thought them obvious. You are a very passionate female, Prue. That is important to me, as I have certain physical desires which need to be addressed from time to time—”

Prudence could not bear to hear their mutual passion described in such a casual manner. “Go on with your list.”

“Yes, of course. In addition to a, uh, healthy approach to such matters, we have several mutual intellectual interests.”

“That is very true,” she admitted.

“In short, you will not bore me, my sweet.” He brushed his mouth lightly across hers. “And I shall endeavor not to bore you.”

“You could never do that,” she said quickly.

“I should also like to point out that living together as man and wife will greatly facilitate our investigations. We shall be able to advise each other and to study each other’s
methods much more efficiently if we are under the same roof.”

“Yes, I can see that.” But her sense of uneasiness grew stronger. She sought carefully for the right words. “Nevertheless, do you think mutual interests and a … a certain degree of warmth between us will form a sufficient foundation for marriage?”

He looked surprised at the question. “I cannot think of a better foundation.”

“Some might say that love would be a nice addition to the list,” she whispered tentatively.

“Love?” His eyes narrowed in disapproval, as if she had not only startled him but also disappointed him. “Come, now, Prue, surely you are not the victim of a romantic nature. I refuse to credit the notion that an intelligent, perceptive, very clever female such as yourself is foolish enough to believe in something as vague and illusory as love.”

She swallowed uneasily. “Well—”

“You and I rely on our intellects, not our emotions,” he continued ruthlessly. “We unravel mysteries and search for evidence. Our logical brains are not prey to the fevered fancies that excite the likes of Byron and his crowd.”

“Granted. Nevertheless—”

“Rest assured, my dear, I have far too much respect for you to allow myself to believe that you actually seek to fall in love before you marry. Love is for silly young girls fresh out of the schoolroom. A mature, responsible, intelligent woman such as yourself does not indulge in such fancies.”

Prudence nearly choked. “Yes, I know, but the thing is, Sebastian—”

“After all, there is much less evidence for the existence of love than there is for the existence of spectral phenomena.”

“I wouldn’t say that, my lord,” she argued earnestly. “Love has been the motivating force behind a great many historical occurrences. People commit crimes for love. They
are sometimes made ill by it. Surely there is ample evidence to suggest it exists.”

“Nonsense. The motivating force you refer to is passion. Or, to be perfectly blunt, lust.” He traced the outline of her lips with his finger.

Prudence’s spirits sank. “Do you feel some affection for me, Sebastian?”

“Naturally,” he said roughly. “That goes without saying.”

“It does?” Affection wasn’t love, but one might be able to turn it into love, she told herself optimistically.

“What about you?” he asked casually. “Do you feel some degree of affection for me? As distinct from that which you feel toward my hobby, that is?”

“Oh, yes,” she said. “Yes, definitely. I am really quite fond of you, Sebastian.”

“And I am rather fond of you. What more could either of us ask? We are two like-minded people who share mutual intellectual interests and mutual passion. We shall do very well together. Now, then, say that you will marry me as soon as I can make the arrangements.”

“Why must we hurry the thing along? Could we not wait and give our mutual affection a chance to mature?” Prudence asked weakly.

“I think that would not only be a waste of time, but also potentially awkward.”

“Awkward? How?”

“Surely you know the answer to that. Use your considerable intelligence, Prue. You might very well turn up pregnant after what just transpired between us.”

Prudence stared at him as the reality of what he had just said struck her. “Good heavens. I had not thought of that.”

“You may be certain I have,” Sebastian said flatly. “Having been called a bastard often enough myself, I am not about to have my son or daughter labeled as such.”

“No, of course not. I quite understand.” And she did, Prudence thought.

Sebastian’s cold pride and arrogance had caused him to fling the question of his own legitimacy into the very teeth of his family and of society. But that same arrogant pride would make him equally determined that no child of his carried the stigma.

Sebastian looked at her from beneath half-lowered lashes. “Well, then, Prue? Do we have another bargain? Will you marry me?”

Prudence took a deep breath and thrust aside her doubts and hesitations. The risk she was about to take was worth it, she assured herself. She was going to marry the man she loved.

“I will marry you, Sebastian.”

Something that might have been relief flared in his eyes. But his voice remained cool and even slightly amused, as usual. “An eminently logical, rational decision, my sweet. I expected no less from you, of course.”