What the Earl Desires (10 page)

“Good morning, ladies,” he commented, heading for the sideboard and the large amounts of food there.

“Mr. Faulkner,” Jo said.

Lady Adrys added her greeting but it was the voice after hers which was a surprise. Lord Adrys’ not the timbre he’d expected.

He faced them. “Apologies, Adrys, I had no idea you were here.”

The man’s eyes sparkled with good health and humor. He looked much better, color had returned to his skin banishing the pallor. Still a bit slight, but he had the feeling Lord Adrys would be fine in no time.

“Well, I have been abed most of the time. I feel much better and thought being up and moving around would be good for me.”

Made sense. Colin joined them at the table, accepting the cup of coffee set before him. As he ate he listened to the family talk. He also noticed how Jo would begin to rise only to sink back down at a subtle glare from her father.

What was going on? Why wasn’t Najja at the table? Was she ill? Did she need him?

Where did that thought come from?

Before he could ask where she was, Lord Adrys spoke again. “I was going to ride to see the progress on Kittle Manor, do you have time to ride along, Colin?”

“Papa, might I come too?” Jo questioned immediately.

He nodded to Adrys then watched the man turn his attention to his daughter. Colin’s heart seized a bit at witnessing the interaction. He had no sisters but if he did, he couldn’t imagine his heartless sire doing it anyway. He’d not acted kindly toward him or his brothers. Then, his brothers had not acted nice to him either so there you had it. Blue eyes met his and Jo winked at him. Adrys didn’t say anything and it appeared his wife never noticed. Cheeky chit.

When the three of them, Lady Adrys stayed behind, had dressed to ward off the cold and were mounted he struggled to yet again refrain from asking about Najja. The silence was broken up by the clopping of horses hooves. He noticed their mounts were nice but nothing like Najja’s stallion.

“Where did Najja acquire her horse?” The question slid out before he could stop it.

Adrys stared at him, his cheeks ruddy from the chill in the air. “Not able to say. She brought it back after a trip and he has been with her ever since.”

“She had Fineas upon her return from Egypt. About five years ago. Fineas loves her. And she him. He is so fast. I swear I have never seen another horse able to match him for speed.” Jo told him.

Colin believed it. He’d seen a pair of matched Arabians go for a hefty price at Tattersall’s. How did she get one? And why had she been in Egypt?

“Josephine.”

Colin watched her face compose in a polite mask.
Okay, so Najja is a sensitive subject.
And one the family intended to protect. Lord Adrys filled him in on how things had been living over in Western Africa. For his part, he made appropriate comments yet his thoughts continually streamed to Najja and her mysterious past.

Why she affected him so he had not a clue. However, she did. When Kittle Manor came into view Jo’s gasp of surprise drew his attention. She stared about, eyes wide with wonder.

“Papa, it is beautiful.”

He had to agree, Kittle Manor was a very attractive house.

“So you think we can stay for a while and not head back to Africa immediately?” Adrys asked his daughter, his voice teasing.

Whatever Jo’s response, Colin didn’t hear it for from the back of the house strolled none other than the woman he’d kissed last night. The woman he craved in his bed, on top of him, beneath him, pressed against him in every manner possible. Najja.

Her mind apparently had been on something else for she seemed almost startled to see them. Or was it just him? She wore a simple, unadorned blue dress with a black tie around her waist, acting as a belt. One end hung down to at least her knees, the pull accentuated the curvature of her body. On the other hip three silver links dangled. A kerchief covered her hair, keeping it from her face.

He reined in Salvage while Jo dismounted and ran toward her friend. Apparently her action didn’t surprise her father for he leaned over with an indulgent chuckle and grabbed the reins while muttering something about Jo needing to learn a bit more decorum before her Season. Personally, he liked Jo just the way she was, her bluntness and natural charm made him smile. He would hate to see her subdued by some heavy-handed husband who didn’t approve of her, it would kill her spirit and heart.

The women laughed and his gaze was drawn to Najja. The smile on her face would have taken his legs out from under him had he not been seated already. A footman came to hold their horses while a groom headed up to take them to the stable.

Jo drug Najja with her over to them, they spoke in the language he couldn’t understand. Apparently Lord Adrys could for he responded. Then her brown eyes found him.

“Good morning, Miss Najja,” he said ignoring the pounding of his heart and the blood which pooled in his loins.

“Mr. Faulkner,” she replied with a small curtsey.

He stared into her eyes, and became more than a bit worked up, as there was nothing in her gaze aside from the emotionless look which had been there the night they met. Shouldn’t there be some sort of desire, lust, longing for another toe curling kiss like they’d shared? Something that showed him he wasn’t the only one who had been affected by it?

“Show me around, Papa.” Jo’s voice didn’t register until it occurred to him she had just managed to slip away and leave him alone with Najja.

Have I said how much I really like that chit?

“I missed you at breakfast, luv,” he said a smile tilting up the corners of his mouth when Jo and her father left them alone.

A slight twinkle filled her gaze before it faded into nothing. The tip of her tongue snuck out and skimmed her lips, his entire body seized with longing.

“Wilkes told me I may be of assistance to you.”

The man had said the same thing to him but it galled him beyond anything he imagined to hear the words from her mouth. Just another reminder that she and Wilkes had met prior.

“Did he now?” He couldn’t keep the bitterness from his tone.

He knew she could tell he wasn’t pleased but all she did was shrug. “You know where I am if you wish it.”

“I wish you in my bed,” he said.

Her smile while slight had hunger and sadness in it. He realized then she wanted him as well but was ignoring that fact.

“Excuse me, Mr. Faulkner. I have some things to attend to.”

“Colin,” he growled. “Damn you, call me Colin.”

But she said nothing, merely turned and walked away leaving him alone to stare at the seductive and mesmerizing sway of her hips. Swallowing his roar of anger he set off after her. He noticed things were falling into place. The workers hired had done an amazing job at the repairs. His belly knotted at the thought of her soon being out of his house.

Increasing his pace, he caught up to her and followed her into the back of the house. Servant’s entrance. A few women scrubbed the final residue of smoke from the walls, they barely looked up as they passed. He followed Najja up the stairs and spent the time memorizing her figure. The fall of her skirt as she moved was hard to look away from. One step however made him cock his head to the side and study her closer. When the fabric settled along leg an odd shape appeared.

Did she have something around her legs?

He tore his gaze away and shoved his lust to the back. At the top of the third floor, she made her way to the first room near them in the long hallway. She entered and he did as well. A large room, he took stock of the antechamber, empty but would be very nice once belongings were back in it.

Stepping around her, he made his way to the bedroom and saw the huge bed taking up the majority of the space. Six adult men could lay in it without touching easily. The room was done in shades of greens, browns, and blues. The rugs were thick and plush. It held a vibe of danger, of wildness.

“Ouch!”

Najja’s voice jerked his head around and he hurried back into the antechamber to see her shaking her hand, a scowl upon her face.

He hurried to her side and grabbed her wrist to inspect her hand. Blood welled up along a cut along her palm.

“What did you do, luv?” he asked reaching for his handkerchief and pressing it to the wound.

She tugged on her hand but he refused to release her.

“Najja. What did you do?”

“Cut myself,” she stated with bluntness.

He smiled at her candor. “I see that. How did you cut yourself?” Lifting the white linen he grunted and pressed the material back down.

“Hitting something sharp.”

His gaze snapped to hers and he saw her anger at her action in the depths of her eyes. She tried again to retrieve her hand and again, he refused.

“You enjoyed my touch enough last night, luv. Why are you pulling away now?” He moved his thumb along the back of her hand, reveling in the softness of her skin beneath his once again.

She ground her jaw and jerked her hand free. Before he could react, she’d wrapped the cloth around her hand and tied it off. “I have things to do, Mr.-- Colin.”

Pleased she’d used his Christian name he nodded. “Let me help.”

Their eyes met and he could see her deciding. When she dipped her head, he released a breath, until then he wasn’t aware he’d been holding.

“Do you have a fear of small spaces?”

What an odd question. “No.”

“Scared of the dark?”

He narrowed his gaze. Did she take him for a little boy still needing a woman’s tit? “No.”

Her smile banished all other thoughts aside from how gorgeous she looked with an honest to goodness smile on her face. She winked and pushed him back toward the wall. Then darkness shrouded him. He couldn’t see anything, hell if not for the warmth of her hand on his chest, he would never know she was there with him.

“What the hell?”

“Secret passage. I have found a few in this place. Trying to find out where they all lead and connect.”

He captured her hand and intertwined their fingers, pleased when she allowed the contact to remain.

“Are you here to kill someone?” he asked as she led the way through the inky blackness. The air stale and musty made him want to sneeze.

“Only if it is necessary to keep the family safe.” The answer was detached and almost resigned.

“So, Wilkes spoke the truth about you?”

“What did he say?”

She stopped. A pop and a sliver of light permeated the dark. She peered through and he leaned over her head to do the same. Another antechamber like before, this one however sat fully furnished.

“That people died around you. You were an assassin.”

He glanced down at her in the faint light to find her still peering through the opening. She closed it, took his hand, and began to move again.

“I am many things.”

Colin stopped and pulled her back to him, trapping her between his body and the cold stone wall. He lowered his face to hers, led by instinct. His palms pressed hard into the stone, he wedged a leg between hers, rubbing it tight against her core. Where he wished to be buried so much it ached. He ached.

“Stop with the cryptic talk. I want a simple yes or no.”

Her hips rolled her along his thigh and he bit back a growl of pure pleasure. It was almost too much. The rich smell of her skin chased away the dankness which had surrounded him before. He knew how she tasted and Lord help him all he wanted to do was lift her skirts and…

“No. Lord Adrys asked for me to come along and protect his daughter.” Her breath hitched a bit when he pressed closer. “So Father sent me.”

Father. That was the second time she’d said it like that. He nuzzled behind her ear feeling empowered by the rush her scent gave him. “Why were you in Egypt and what did you do to get Fineas?”

Her head tilted to the side, an unconscious move he was sure, and gave him better access. His tongue swiped along the shell of her ear and she shuddered.

“A sheik gave him to me.”

He knew the Egyptians prized their horses more than their women, so what had she done in order to be given one? One hand moved to settle upon her waist, his fingers curling around the soft material of her dress.

“What did you do to earn that distinction?”

“I killed a rival of his.”

He should be disgusted. He should be a lot of things but all he was could be summed up in a single word. Aroused.

“Do you always kill when you go places?”

“Only if Father has instructed me to. Or the situation calls for it.”

His mind raced with all of what Wilkes had told him about this vixen in his arms. An houri he’d called her only to shake his head and say that wasn’t right, for she had been rumored to use sex to obtain her goals at times. The thought of another’s touch on her made him furious.

Najja was his.

And for the moment they were in a darkened secret passage. Why was he thinking of her past when he should be focused on the woman before him? The here and now.