His Mistress (21 page)

More than an hour later, Tobias’ muscles knotted with awareness as Jane quietly appeared at his side while he was talking with the Viscount Camden. She didn’t speak, but Tobias instinctively knew she was ready for the evening to be over with. With an unexpected gesture, she tucked her arm through his as he and the viscount continued their discussion.

Outrage had darkened the features of the older gentleman as he expressed the same contempt Tobias had for the recent practice of slumming now fashionable among the wealthy. Camden shook his head with disgust as he condemned those who ventured into the poorest sections of the East End simply to observe the plight of the poor. As Camden finished speaking, he bowed slightly in Jane’s direction.

“Forgive me, Lady Jane. I have a tendency to forget not everyone wishes to hear my opinions on social issues.”

“It’s quite all right, my lord,” Jane said with a smile. “I happen to agree with you, and I’m certain Tobias does as well.”

“Indeed. I must commend you on having chosen to marry such a likeable and intelligent young man.” The viscount’s tone was jovial as he smiled at Jane.

“Thank you, my lord,” Jane said with a small laugh.

Tobias doubted it would be noticeable to the viscount, but he heard the small hitch in Jane’s voice. The nearly inaudible sound reflected her knowledge that she’d had no choice in the decision at all. He brushed his fingers over the top of the hand tucked inside his arm.

“I consider myself quite fortunate that Jane would agree to marry me,” he said with deep sincerity as he met the vivid blue of her gaze.

An indefinable emotion flickered in her eyes before she jerked her gaze away from him. Vaguely aware of her conversing with Lord Camden, Tobias stared at the delicate lobe of her ear. The thought of nibbling on the plump piece of flesh made his gut tighten. Despite his best efforts, it was becoming almost impossible to control his attraction for Jane.

Did she have any idea how lovely she was? What had possessed her to hide her strength and lovely features behind the severe appearance she’d maintained before they’d sealed their marriage agreement? Jane’s new wardrobe was nothing like the brightly-colored, sometimes excessively lavish, gowns Lady Hounslow favored. Instead, she’d chosen a wardrobe of muted, jeweled tones. The change was remarkable. The nondescript woman he’d barely noticed a month ago had risen from gray ashes to reveal a graceful woman with a seductive smile and classical features. Every bit of her strength was revealed in her captivating features, and as he studied her, desire snarled through him.

Quick on its heels was the knowledge that his instincts had been right where Jane was concerned. She would test his ability to hide his dark side, especially when she opened her bedroom door to him. Tobias bit down on the inside of his cheek to keep from grimacing. He should never have added that condition to their agreement. The lilting tone of Jane’s voice broke through his thoughts.

“If you don’t mind, Lord Camden, I’d like a few words with Tobias.”

“Of course, my dear,” Camden said with a jovial smile as he clapped Tobias on the back and left them alone together. Jane waited until the older man was out of ear shot before she turned her head toward him.

“I have something I want to give you,” she said with a smile.

A secretive look swept across her face as she glanced over her shoulder before she tugged him toward the salon door and out into the hall. Jane led the way into the study that adjoined the Earl’s smaller office. Tobias had been in the study only once, but he hadn’t forgotten the room’s polished wood or its mixed scent of leather and paper.

Jane drew him into the room and shut the door behind them. There was an air of anticipation about her that made him smile as she hurried across the room to a large library table. He followed her and watched as she reached for a wrapped package sitting on the well-polished tabletop. Excitement made her blue eyes sparkle, and something fired in the back of his mind at the way she was looking at him. The thought vanished as she handed the parcel to him.

“I’ve been saving this until we announced our engagement. I knew I would receive a ring, and I wanted you to have something to mark the occasion as well,” she said. “I found it at Hatchard’s Booksellers.”

The coarse twine bow in the center of the package gave way easily beneath his fingers as he slowly removed the brown wrapping paper from what he knew was a book. He dropped the wrapper onto the desk as he stared down at the leather bound tome in his hand.

“It’s a biography of William Wilberforce,” Jane said with excitement. “He was an abolitionist and lawyer who fought for the rights of others just like you do.”

Admiration echoed in her voice as he stared down at the book. In the evening hours, he enjoyed reading by the fireside, and biographies were his favorite type of book. His fingers slid across the gold lettering of the volume. When was the last time a woman had given him a present specifically suited to his tastes? Jane knew him far better than he’d realized.

Slowly, he raised his head to meet her gaze. When he didn’t speak, the excitement flaring in her eyes was snuffed out like a candle flame. Like a window shutter, her expression became closed off to him. He immediately set the book down on the library table and reached out to take her hand into his.

“It’s a splendid gift, Jane,” he said quietly and carried her hand to his lips to caress her fingertips with his mouth. “Thank you.”

“So you really like it?” The tentative note in her voice made him gently squeeze her hand.

“Very much. I’ve never received a finer gift.”

“I’m so glad,” she said huskily. “I selected it because Wilberforce was like you in many ways.”

“Oh?” he murmured while his senses drank in her soft floral scent as he watched a rosy hue crest in her cheeks. She really was lovely. His mouth caressed the top of her knuckles again, and he saw a flash of emotion spark in her dark blue eyes.

“You believe
everyone
deserves justice, just as Wilberforce did,” she said with a smile as she pulled her hand from his. “Your work in the East End exemplifies that.”

“The comparison is flattering, but my efforts affect only a few, while Wilberforce changed the lives of many.”

“One life or many is not the point,” she chastised. “You have made a difference in the lives of others.”

“I am hardly the romantic figure of good deeds you seem to think I am,” Tobias said with a scowl as an image of
La Maison des Plaisirs Sombres
filled his head.

“Make light of your work if you wish, but I have great respect for you and your efforts to help those less fortunate. As your wife, it will be gratifying to help you in your labors.”

“
No
,” he growled and eyed her sternly. “My work in the East End is far too dangerous. In fact, I’ve been meaning to warn you to always be on your guard. I’ve made a number of enemies over the years. Some of them wouldn’t hesitate to use you to get to me.”

“And what about you?” she snapped with an expression of outrage. “Should I prepare myself for the possibility of a visit from a policeman in the future to inform me of your demise?”

“Not if I can help it,” he said with a chuckle. His attempt at levity only seemed to increase her displeasure as a frown furrowed her brow.

“Do not dismiss my concern for you, Tobias. I told you earlier that you have a responsibility to take better care of yourself.” Jane’s voice resounded in the air between them like of crack of a whip.

“Forgive me.” Tobias nodded his head in a placating manner. “The world I live in is far darker than most people imagine. I often make light of it to maintain my sanity.”

“I might not have experienced the plight of those you help, but I am far from oblivious to their dismal situation.” She glared at him for a second longer before her expression softened. “I am
not
most people, Tobias.

Regret nipped at him as he met her injured gaze. He’d misjudged her when he knew not to do so. While they’d not known each other for a great length of time, he was well aware of her thoughtful and generous nature. Tobias caught her hand in his and lifted it to his lips.

“No, I don’t think you are,” he said. “In fact, I think you are quite remarkable.”

“If you think flattery will suffice for an apology then you are forgiven.” Her quiet laugh made Tobias grin.

“I shall interpret that to mean I shall be forgiven any future insults simply with a compliment.”

“Are you always this incorrigible?” she asked with a wry twist of her lips.

“Always,” he murmured as he watched a delicate pink color flood her cheeks.

There was an unexpected vulnerability about her that stirred his protective instincts. Culverstone might not appreciate his daughter or her strengths, but he did. The earl’s indifference wounded her, but Tobias knew something else had made her wary of trusting him or any other man. It was a vulnerability she hid quite well except in moments such as this.

“Then your reform is unlikely.” There was a breathless note in her voice that signaled a change in her. An awareness he was experiencing as well.

“It is always a possibility.”

“And why do I think you would fight that reformation every step of the way?” Her question made every muscle in Tobias’ body tighten with a need for her to recognize the potential she had within her.

“You should never underestimate the strength and power within you, Jane.”

A voice deep inside him challenged him to help her acknowledge her latent abilities. Tobias tried to ignore the provocative notion, but failed as an image of Jane hovering over him swept through his mind. It wasn’t the first time he’d visualized the erotic picture, and without thinking, he pulled one of her slender fingers into his mouth.

She gasped softly, but didn’t retreat from him. Pleased by her lack of trepidation, Tobias swirled his tongue around the soft flesh of her finger as his gaze met hers. Something flashed in her dark blue eyes, and a vague memory nagged at him. The thought continued to hound him as Jane tilted her head slightly to study him carefully. Damn, what woman had looked at him like that before? The memory was just on the edge of his consciousness when it vanished in a split second.

“Kiss me again, Tobias.” She issued the command in a calm, serene manner. Stunned, he jerked his head away from her hand.

“What?”

He stared down at her in amazement as he struggled to grasp her change in demeanor. Gone was her expression of bemusement. In its place was a confident stare and even a bit of laughter in her sapphire eyes. Eyes that reminded him of someone else. He swallowed hard as he dismissed the ludicrous possibility.

“I said kiss me again.” A sultry smile curved her lips. “Would that be such a difficult task to perform?”

Christ almighty, she wanted him to kiss her again. And she was ordering him to do so. She was a seductress demanding she be pleasured. Temptation threatened to overrule every sane thought he possessed. With one simple request, she’d awoken the beast inside him. A dragon that would devour her in one fiery breath. His gaze didn’t wander from her face as he struggled to devise a reason not to obey her command. In the back of his mind, a realization roared out at him, but it subsided into the background as he shook his head as if doing so would clear it.

“I don’t think that would be appropriate,” he choked out. “As you said earlier, a more private setting is called for.”

“Very well,” she murmured as she turned away and walked toward the door.

Relief lashed through him at the realization she’d spared them both from the darkness that flowed through his veins the moment she’d uttered her command. Disappointment followed a brief moment later. Bloody hell, he was mad to even consider the possibility of exposing her to his demons. Tobias took a step forward to follow her then froze in his tracks as Jane locked the door. Disbelief made his muscles draw up taut as she turned to face him and held up the key for a moment before slowly tucking it down into her bodice.

“There, I think we have all the privacy we could want. Wouldn’t you agree?”

There was a mischievous look on her face, but it was the determination in her voice that said he was in trouble. With a shake of his head, Tobias fought back the urge to give in to her demands. Suddenly remembering the door into the earl’s study, he allowed himself a smile.

“I think my best course of action is to take my leave through your father’s office.”

He turned away with great effort as his mind flashed images of the dark, luscious valley the door key was nestled against. Even more dangerous than the image was the voice in the back of his head that said she needed to be kissed thoroughly. Kissed hard until she understood she was playing with fire. Tobias crossed the floor to the door of the earl’s office and turned the knob. Locked. For a moment, he simply stared down at what should have been his salvation before he looked over his shoulder at Jane. Her lovely mouth curved in a slight smile, she rolled her shoulders in a small shrug.

“Father always locks his office when there are guests in the house.” The amusement he heard in her voice made him growl with frustration. In several long strides he was mere inches from her and returning her satisfied expression with a glare.

“You’ve no idea what you’re asking of me, Jane.”

“Oh, I think I do,” she murmured. “The problem is, you simply don’t want to do as I ask.”

“Ask?” bit out between clenched teeth. “I’d call it more of a command.”

“And would it be so difficult to surrender to my…command?” The softly whispered question was like a velvet-covered iron fist to his stomach. He ignored the question.

“If one plays with fire, one should be prepared to burn, Jane.”

“You say that as if I’m in danger from you.”

“Maybe you are,” Tobias growled as the scent of her invaded his nostrils. God almighty, he wanted to bury his face in her neck just to savor her like one did the fragrance of a fine bottle of wine.

“Then I would like to experience that danger.” She reached out to brush her fingers across his unmarred cheek. “Now kiss me. I’ll not produce the key until you do as I say.”