“Then perhaps it would be advisable to refrain from trying to remember,” Nicholas said as his gaze narrowed on her to study her intently.
The assessment in his green eyes set her on edge, and she tried not to blink beneath his penetrating gaze. What in God’s name was it about this man that had her on the verge of screaming with frustration or aching to be in his arms again? Unsettled by his gaze, she looked down to where her fingers were stroking the bedspread’s silken material.
“Dr. Bertram is of the opinion that the injury to your head is the reason for your amnesia.”
“Is that what you’re calling my delusionary behavior now? Amnesia?” she asked in a defensive tone. “Is that why the doctor wants to bring in an expert to poke at me? Someone to see whether or not I’m crazy?”
“I gave my word not to betray your confidence, Victoria.” The air between them was brittle with tension as she saw anger darken his face.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured. Nicholas accepted her apology with a brusque nod. His sharp gaze still fixed on her face, he arched his eyebrows. She immediately tensed as she recognized the suspicion in his eyes.
“I’ve been wondering why you came to Brentwood Park, Victoria.”
“What?” Victoria tilted her head at him in puzzlement.
“Why would you come back here? You’ve never cared for Brentwood Park.” Nicholas’ gaze was hard as he studied her carefully. “Why not go to London? Why here?”
“How many times do I have to tell you I don’t
know
how I got here?” Victoria scowled at him. The man was as hardheaded as they came.
Nicholas glared back at her then reached into his coat and withdrew a letter. He stared at it for a brief second then handed it to her. Puzzled she accepted the letter and looked at him in bewilderment.
“What’s this for?”
“It’s addressed to you.” His voice was flat and emotionless. Victoria was certain that wasn’t a good sign. She glanced down at the front of the envelope then jerked her gaze back to him.
“I can’t open this. It’s addressed to the Countess of Guildford.” She handed the letter back to him but he refused to take it. An unreadable expression on his face, Nicholas folded his arms across his chest.
“I agreed to listen to your story, Victoria, with the understanding I would not divulge what you shared with me. I did
not
agree to believe.” Uncomfortable beneath his cold, hard gaze, Victoria struggled not to flinch.
“As far as I’m concerned, nothing’s changed. You are still my wife. Now
open
the letter.”
This time Victoria did flinch at the harsh command. She flipped the letter over, broke the wax seal, and pulled the letter out of its envelope.
My dearest darling, Vicki.
I cannot express my relief and joy that you are safe, my heart of hearts. I have thought the worst since that terrible night. I have missed you unbearably, my darling, and I cannot wait to hold you in my arms again. Come to me as quickly as you can, my beloved.
Yours forever,
Terrence, Viscount Darby
“Oh my God. She’s cheating on you.” At her revelation she saw humiliation flash in Nicholas’ green eyes before his features became hard as granite and just as unreadable.
“So you are, madam wife.”
“
No.
I’m not
. Because, I’m not your wife. I’ll be damned if you’re going to punish me because your wife is sleeping around.”
“You’re actually going to deny having an affair with Darby?” Bitterness made each and every one of his words brittle.
“You’re damn straight I’m denying it,” she snapped as she flung the letter into his lap. “The more I learn about your wife the less I like her. I seem to recall telling you that your wife must be a real bitch for you to hate her so much. Well this letter explains a lot, doesn’t it?”
The muscles in his face remained inflexible as she glared at him. No wonder he was so ticked off. His wife wasn’t just cheating on him. The woman was doing it for the whole world to see. Nicholas remained silent, his penetrating gaze never straying from her face. She was certain he was trying to figure out a reason not to believe her, and Victoria shook her head in a pessimistic manner.
“You don’t hold the market on truth and honor, Nicholas,” she said with a sigh. “I’m not a liar, and I think your wife is a fool.”
The moment she uttered the words, her mouth went dry with embarrassment. Oh God, what the hell was she thinking? She might think the countess was crazy for playing outside the sandbox, but she damn well needed to keep her mouth shut. Just the thought of his kiss and those few blissful moments in the dark, here in her bed, told her she was in over her head.
Her gaze flitted to the firm line of his mouth, and a knot formed in her throat making it hard to breathe. She needed to stop thinking about how much she’d enjoyed being in his arms. Nicholas frowned as if aware she was nervous, and he tilted his head slightly as he studied her. She could almost see the wheels spinning in his head, and she prepared herself for him to dismiss her with icy disdain. Suddenly his hands were on either side of her as he leaned forward until the heat of his body pressed erotically into hers.
“Why is it you sound so damned convincing,” he murmured as his gaze bored into hers. “I know I shouldn’t believe you, and yet those soft, pink lips of yours bewitch me with your truths.”
Dark and seductive, his voice sent a frisson dancing across her skin. Instinctively, she pushed her body deeper into the pillows to put distance between them. Her reaction made him study her like a hawk. Victoria’s heart pounded in her chest as she stared up into his green eyes. A strange, undefinable emotion swirled in the moss-colored depths.
Despite the way he unnerved her, it was impossible to avoid noting how wonderful he smelled. It was a spicy, potently male scent. Deep inside her, a voice cried out for her to press her fingers against his beautiful mouth. The thought made Victoria suck in a quick, sharp breath of air. Nicholas’ eyes darkened with an emotion she didn’t even want to consider defining.
Slowly, he lowered his head until his mouth lightly touched hers. Fire streaked across her skin, its warmth sinking into her pores until it heated her blood like molten lava. She sighed then parted her mouth to lace his lips with the tip of her tongue. A dark sound rumbled in his chest as his tongue swept its way into her mouth and imitated an act her body suddenly craved as if she were starving.
Pleasure swept its way through her. The fiery sensation of it settled into every inch of her body. He said she’d bewitched him, but she was the one under his spell. His lips teased and seduced hers until her body screamed for more.
She wanted him to touch her. Needed him. She arched her hips upward in a silent plea for his touch, and a dark growl vibrated on her lips as he tugged the covers off her. His tongue swirled around hers, teasing and taunting her with each tantalizing stoke. The hot taste of him made her nipples grow hard until they ached with a pleasurable, tantalizing sensitivity. Eager to assuage the need for his touch, she caught his hand and pressed it to her breasts. A growl rumbled out of him as he rubbed his thumb over the rigid peak. The sensation of soft linen between her skin and his hand made her moan softly as his mouth worked its way across her cheek to her neck where he gently nipped at her skin.
Need spun through her, and as he lifted his head to stare down at her, she saw desire darkening his green eyes. A knot of anticipation tightened in her lower body as his hand left her breast and slid downward to her stomach where the heel of his hand pressed into the sensitive spot at the apex of her thighs. The simple pressure made her suck in a sharp breath, and a small smile curved his lips.
“I want to watch you as I make you shatter from my touch, Victoria.” His words whispered across her senses as his hand pulled the hem of her nightgown upward to expose her completely.
She tried to gulp back a gasp of surprise, but failed. Satisfaction swept across his face as he met her gaze for a brief moment. Slowly, he lowered his head and kissed the inside of her leg, and she released a small cry of delight. With a gentle, but consistent pressure, he nipped at her thigh then used his tongue to circle the small area then nip at her again. Every time he lifted his mouth, she thought he’d tend to a different spot, but he didn’t. He seemed to enjoy teasing her with his mouth.
The throbbing ache between her thighs had become almost excruciating, and a sob escaped her as she pleaded with him. The moment she begged, his hand shifted from her thigh and his thumb rubbed against the tender nub of flesh between her slick folds. She jerked from the delicious sensation, and with a moan she shifted her hips to push upward. As he applied a persistent pressure to the plump flesh he slid a finger inside her.
Instantly her body convulsed as one sensation after another made her buck against his intimate caress. Slowly and deliberately, he pressed a second finger into her and then a third. As his fingers pressed deep inside her then retreated, his thumb continued its pleasurable assault on the sensitive nub of flesh inside her folds. She moaned as the raging sensations clutched every inch of her body.
“Look at me, Victoria,” he ordered as his fingers continued to stroke her. A feverish heat spread its way through her as she stared into Nicholas’ smoldering gaze. Engulfed in a fiery heat, a small shudder rippled through her, and she moaned as her eyelids fluttered shut.
“Look at me.” The command forced her to look up at him. “Now, come.”
She gasped as his fingers applied a sudden, hard pressure on a sensitive spot inside her. Instantly, her body responded as the most exquisite sensation shook her body. Her back arching upward, her fingers clutched at the sheets, and her hips writhed against his hand as she sobbed at the shattering release her orgasm gave her. Slowly, the tremors rocking her body eased, and she opened her eyes to stare up at him.
The desire she saw in his gaze sent a tremor racing through her. God, this man was potent enough to make her forget who she was and where she came from. A knot formed in her throat at the revealing thought. She quickly swallowed the lump in order to keep breathing. Regret crossed his face followed by a look of what she could only describe as disgust.
“
Christ Jesus
, what am I doing?” he muttered as he jerked away from her. The harsh rejection sent mortification speeding through her. Cheeks hot with embarrassment, she quickly adjusted her nightgown and scrambled to the other side of the mattress to stand on the chilly floor.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Getting out of bed,” she snapped. Victoria heard the humiliation behind her anger. She could only pray he didn’t. The last thing she wanted was pity after the way he’d just made her explode in a million pieces. In a quick, sharp movement, she leaned forward and snatched her robe off the covers at the foot of the bed.
“Damn it, Victoria,” he growled as he stood up and scowled at her from across the bed. “It’s too soon for you to be up.”
“But
not
too soon for sex,” she said in a resentful tone. She shrugged into her robe, pulling the sash tightly around her waist.
“That was a mistake. I wasn’t think—”
“Stop while you’re ahead, Lord Guildford.” Her voice brittle, she eyed him with disdain. “I don’t appreciate being manipulated.”
No matter how fantastic the sex was.
“I wasn’t manipulating you,” he said in a stiff, angry voice. Frustration darkened his face with a frown. “You made me lose my head.”
“Oh, so now it’s
my
fault.” She glared at him wishing she could humiliate him the same way he was her.
“God damn it, that’s not what I meant,” he said in a voice that echoed with a low rumble of thunder.
“Then exactly what
did
you mean?”
“You are a conundrum, Victoria. A riddle I don’t have an answer for.” He rubbed the back of his neck in an obvious state of irritable confusion. “This new personality of yours makes it difficult to despise you.”
“Well,
that’s
comforting,” she murmured sarcastically. His mouth thinned to a narrow line of proud anger.
“I am not trying to insult you, Victoria. I’m trying to explain my position where you’re concerned. The changes in you contradict everything I’ve come to expect from you. It is not easy for me to take you at your word.”
“And what about what just happened?” She bobbed her head toward the bed as heat burned her cheeks again.
She understood his confusion, but she was just as confused by the power of her attraction to him. What she really wanted to know was if he felt that same gravitational pull. Deep inside she was praying that’s what his caresses were all about. She didn’t think she could bear knowing it was something other than desire on his part.
“I regret taking advantage of you.” His expression was like a stone statue, hard and unmoving. She looked away from him for a moment then returned her gaze to his face.
“I don’t recall protesting,” she said softly. A tic twitched in Nicholas’ cheek as he met her gaze. Hunger darkened his green eyes, and her heart skipped a beat. He studied her for a long moment before he cleared his throat.
“I’ll send Dr. Bertram back in to ensure you’re well enough to be out of bed.”
Before he could move, a sharp rap on the bedroom door made both of them start. Nicholas commanded the person to enter. Dr. Bertram and Anna entered the room followed by Molly and a man she’d not seen before. The entire left side of the man’s face was covered with scars from what she was certain were the results of a fire. Her heart went out to him at the pain he must have suffered. Dr. Bertram looked at first Victoria and then Nicholas.
“Forgive the intrusion, my lord,” Dr. Bertram said in a crisp voice. “I just received word that Mrs. Gower in the village is about to give birth, and I must leave. I’ve taken the liberty of asking Roberts to assist you back to your room, my lord. You’re to rest that leg until tomorrow morning or suffer the consequences.”