What A Rogue Wants (15 page)

The force of her collision sent their
bodies swaying backwards toward the tree, and for a breath, she
thought they would fall in a tangle of arms and legs. Grey’s grunt
rumbled in her ear as his solid arms encircled her waist and pulled
her firm and tight against a wall of hard muscle. He righted them
but made no move to release her.

Embarrassment heated her as she stared
at his chest. “I’m sorry. I was overcome with excitement. Thank
you.” Too mortified by her impulsive actions to look at him, she
tried to pull away, but his arms tightened like bands of steel
around her waist.

She glanced up.

Amusement danced and flickered in his
gaze, and pleasure tipped up the corners of his mouth. “If you
don’t want me to have thoughts of seducing you, then you cannot go
throwing yourself into my arms. You’re quite simply
irresistible.”

The world around her grew quiet and
murky, and then one thought crystallized. He thought her
irresistible. She was the oddball. The lady who did not fit in. She
had to say something and cease staring like a simpleton. “You’re
irresistible too.” Gads! What a stupid silly thing to
say.

A strange glint filled Grey’s eyes. He
ran a finger down her cheek. “I want to kiss you very
badly.”

“
Go on then.” Her heart
hammered with her bold words. “Kiss me.”

He cupped her chin causing a tremor to
run through her body. Grey stroked her lips with a thumb, and deep
inside a pulsing need awoke. He leaned down until his lips almost
touched hers. “You’re sure?”

She’d never been surer of anything in
her life. “I’m certain.”

“
And you believe I want
more than to seduce you?”

Staring at his lips, she nodded. “I
believe you.”

He groaned as his mouth came down on
hers, hot and seeking. His thumb pressed against her chin, and she
opened her mouth to allow him in. His tongue stroked, swirled and
lit a fire within her that she feared could not be controlled. She
pressed harder against him, wanting more of this new consuming
feeling.

“
Grey!” Lady Elizabeth’s
voice cut like a clap of thunder through the silence.

He pulled away, but held Madelaine
firmly by the arm.

Her knees wobbled but that she could
get under control. It was her labored breathing she was unsure she
could slow down. His dark gaze bore into her as he scrubbed a hand
over his face. “I shouldn’t have done that, but I couldn’t resist.
Forgive me?”

“
How could I not? I
asked
you
to
kiss
me
.
Remember?”

He grinned. “I quite forgot. I’m not
used to being the one seduced. You muddled my wits.”

She’d muddled
his
wits? She’d just
been kissed for the first time in her life. And what a perfect
kiss. She wasn’t sure she’d think properly for days. With an
embarrassed laugh, she faced Elizabeth who strode toward them with
a dark scowl on her face. Madelaine ought to care that Elizabeth
was angry about something, but all she could do was smile. She’d
never felt so wonderful in all her life.

Grey had never liked masquerade balls
or any ball really. He could never seem to allow the wallflowers to
remain ignored. Their sad faces pained him, and he always ended up
dancing with one, which invariably led to his having to gently
divert their attention to someone else who was actually interested
in marriage, and besides that, taking pity on the wallflowers
hadn’t been good for his rake reputation.

Tonight was different. He was looking
forward to the ball and the chance to speak with Madelaine. And to
dance with her. Touch her. Twirl her around the floor. He didn’t
care if there were hoards of wallflowers, someone else would have
to rescue them tonight. Now, if only the damned dinner would end,
so the ball could start. He intended to begin a proper courtship of
Madelaine, as he’d earlier assured his sister, but this boring
dinner was dragging on.

Sandwiched between the queen and Lady
Grace, Grey stared across the space at Madelaine and Thorton, while
imagining the meat on his platter was Thorton’s head. Grey sliced
into the beef with his knife and started to chew. Thorton delved
his hand under the table, and Madelaine’s back went rigid. Grey
almost choked.

“
Are you all right, Lord
Grey?” Lady Grace asked.

He nodded while gulping in a greedy
breath of air. He was going to smash Thorton’s face, if the man
touched Madelaine again. Grey’s blood boiled the farther to the
bench’s edge Madelaine was forced to scoot in order to avoid
Thorton’s groping hands. Hell, she was in danger of tumbling to the
floor any second.

Grey had to rescue her. “Your Majesty,
might I be excused to go and talk to my sister. We’ve not had a
chance to speak today.” That was true enough. After Madelaine had
left to deliver the ring to the queen, Liz had shouted at him for a
good half-hour for kissing Madelaine.

“
You may be excused after
you tell me of your mother. What has she been doing this past year
and why have we not seen her at Court?”

“
I couldn’t say.” It
embarrassed him that he’d been too busy cavorting throughout London
and Essex with various women to bother seeing his mother much. And
when he had seen her, he’d been more interested in whether his
actions had ruffled his father than to ask after his mother’s
wellbeing.

The queen looked at him with knowing
eyes. “A wife will settle you down, Lord Grey, and I imagine that
will please your mother immensely. Then she will actually see you,
instead of reading about you in the gossip sheets.”

“
You’re wise as always,
Your Majesty.” He took a gulp of wine to avoid further conversation
and to wash down the shame threatening to choke him. He had much to
atone for, and as soon as he was finished with training he would go
see his parents and apologize to both of them. “If it’s acceptable,
I would like to make a fresh start at being a more attentive son
and brother by going to speak with Elizabeth now.”

Queen Charlotte nodded. “Of course you
may.”

He started to rise, but the queen
restrained him with a hand. “After you dance the first set with
Lady Grace.”

“
As you wish,” he said
through clenched teeth and a false smile.

A half hour later he was twirling Lady
Grace around the dance floor at the dictate of the queen while
watching Madelaine dance with Thorton. Lady Grace prattled
something in Grey’s ear. He could hear the annoying buzz of her
words, but he dismissed them for the nonsense they undoubtedly
were. Until she said Madelaine’s name. He snapped his eyes away
from Madelaine and Thorton, who was behaving for the most part, and
looked at Lady Grace. “What did you say?”

She lifted one eyebrow. “I said it
looks like you have competition.”

“
For what?”

“
In seducing
Madge.”

His hand clenched involuntarily over
Lady Grace’s fingers.

“
You’re hurting me.” Her
words held bite.

He loosened his grip and spoke. “I’m
not trying to seduce her. And her name is Madelaine.”

Lady Grace smirked as they twirled
until the song ended. “That’s a very clever ploy you’ve adopted. I
hope it works for you. I look forward to dancing again tomorrow
night and hearing about your progress.”

“
I won’t―”

“
Shh,” she interrupted his
effort to tell her he would not be dancing with her again. “The
queen is waving to me. Hold your thoughts until tomorrow night.”
She turned and slipped through the crowd. No point going after her.
The damnable woman would believe what she wanted, no matter what he
said.

He located Liz and Madelaine standing
off to one side by the terrace doors. When he reached them, his
breath caught. Madelaine was a vision from afar, but up close, her
beauty stole his senses. He wanted to devote all his attention to
her, but sticking to his goal to make up for being self-absorbed
for too many years to count, he smiled first at his sister. “You
two are the loveliest women at this ball. Liz, you make a perfect
Cleopatra, and Lady Madelaine―” He finally lowered his gaze down
her green, gossamer dress. His blood thickened in appreciation at
the curves barely covered by the delicate material. “Who thought of
your costumes?”

Madelaine’s gaze met his. “I came up
with mine, and your aunt thought of Lady Elizabeth’s. I daresay she
thought of your costume as well.”

“
Do you know who I am?” He
fingered the sheet wrapped around his body but then followed her
gaze to the necklace he wore. Did she know it was a replica of a
phallus? His aunt had a wicked sense of humor and love of Greek
history, and it amused him to play along.

“
You’re Eros. God of
lust.” Some sort of sparkling powder covered Madelaine’s natural
skin color, but her neck splotched red with
embarrassment.

“
Ha!” Liz snorted. “How
appropriate for you.”

“
It
was
appropriate,” Grey corrected. It
was on the tip of his tongue to ask them both if they wanted a
refreshment, but Gravenhurst’s fast approach distracted
Grey.

His friend bowed to both ladies then
nodded at Grey. “The king sent me to find you. He says your
training is to begin tonight.”

“
Tonight? I was supposed
to have the day to do as I wished.”

“
And you have. It is now
evening. Leisure time is over. Lord Pearson has arrived and the
king wishes you to learn the man’s preferences for his horses. I’m
to take you to the stables.” In no position to argue, he grasped
Madelaine’s gloved hand and kissed the top of it. Confounding
etiquette that required women to wear gloves. He wanted to feel her
soft heated skin against his lips as he had this afternoon. But it
was not to be anytime soon. Unsettled, he reluctantly released her.
“I’ll see you tomorrow night at dinner.”

“
Perhaps not,” Gravenhurst
interrupted Madelaine’s reply. “Equerry training can be long and
tedious, Lady Madelaine. Lord Grey may be too tired to come to
dinner.”

“
I won’t be,” Grey
corrected, trying to keep his annoyance with Gravenhurst’s suddenly
superior attitude in hand.

“
Don’t say I didn’t warn
you.”

“
If
I’m too tired to come to dinner, which I’ll
not be
, Liz you must
promise to keep an eye on Lady Madelaine during dinner. Make sure
to work out a signal with her in case she needs rescuing from
Thorton.”

Liz furrowed her brow. “Why would she
need rescuing from Lord Thorton?”

Madelaine’s wide gaze rested on
him.

“
Thorton has taken an
unhealthy liking to Lady Madelaine.”

Madelaine’s lips parted in surprise.
“However did you know?”

He loved that he’d finally surprised
her in a good way. Maybe this would be the start of really gaining
her trust. “It’s my duty as your protector.”

“
We should gut the man!”
Liz said.

He grinned. “That’s the Adlard spirit,
Liz. But let me handle Thorton. All I want you to do is work out a
signal with Lady Madelaine and intervene if you must. Spill your
wine. Burst into tears. Tear your dress. Whatever it
takes.”

“
I won’t fail,” Liz
promised.

“
I know you won’t.” He
chucked his sister on the chin then glanced at Madelaine. “I’ll
kill the man if he continues to fail to control his
hands.”

“
Come on, Romeo,”
Gravenhurst said. “You’ve a job to learn, and Lady Elizabeth has
assured you she won’t fail your command.”

As Grey was leaving, he paused and
glanced back at Madelaine. “Don’t go anywhere alone.”

She nodded.

“
Promise me.”

“
What a demanding
protector you are.” She laughed. “I promise.”

Satisfied that she would be safe in
his absence, he strode through the room behind Gravenhurst. It was
probably a good thing he hadn’t had the opportunity to get to know
Madelaine very well yet. He barely knew her now, and she was
already a distraction at a time when he didn’t have the slightest
doubt that he needed to have all his concentration focused on
becoming a superb spy. She was safe, so he would simply push her
from his mind, until he saw her again.