The Devil Rogue (14 page)

Ian
had
followed a trail le
a
d
ing
to two
other wealthy young gentlem
e
n who had courted
Miss
Hopkins
.
He discovered
they had
also
been accused of trying to ruin the
b
aron’s daughter
and, subsequently, blackmailed to ensure his
continued
silence
.

Ian
sat in a comfortable chair by the cold hearth, swirling the amber liquid in his glass
.
Staring at his outstretched le
gs, his vision blurred
as his thoughts turned inward
.
A memory, long forgotten, flashed in his mind, sending him backward in time to his days at
Eton
.

He and John had used their finely honed skills in the art of stealth and mischief – skills that any self-respecting t
welve
year
old boy should possess – to sneak from their rooms after curfew
.
They were about to embark on the greatest adventure of their young lives
.

They were going to steal a horse
.

Well, maybe not actually
steal
the horse, just borrow it for awhile
.
And
this wasn’t just any horse
. I
t belonged to that snotty-nosed brat, Chad
Bingley
.
Bingl
e
y’s father, the Earl of Chedwick,
had
g
iven
him the
thoroughbred
for his
thirtee
n
th birthday, which happened to be today, or earlier in the day, rather.

Ian had eyed the regal, chestnut stallion with the covetous longing only a young boy with a passion for horses could feel
.
After much cajoling and bribery he was able to convince John to come along with him
.
He
only
wanted to take it for a quick ride around the
stable
yard
, he’d assured his best friend.

It was a clear
, full-mooned
night, the c
risp
air making the stars seem closer and brighter as the two of them crept silently toward the stable
.
Their breaths came quickly in their excitement,
puffing
out
in little white clouds in front of their faces whenever they exhaled.

They made it to the stables without incident, and creeping on hands and knees, found the stall containing the prize
.
Everything had gone according to plan, until Ian had tried to saddle the skittish, high-strung stallion
.
It reared on its hind legs, catching Ian in the forehead with one of its front hooves
.

When he awoke, Ian was in the infirmary, and John, he discovered
,
was to be punished for instigating the whole escapade
.
His friend had
accepted full blame
for their misdeed, knowing that since he wasn’t
of
an aristocratic
background
, his family’s
non-existent repu
tation would live through the scandal
.
Ian had been furious,
but John
had
just flashed his wide smile, saying, “
You can take credit for the next one, Moreland
.”

It was so like John to shrug something like that off
.
And in return, Ian made sure that everyone knew if they had a problem with John, they’d be dealing with him
.
On more than one occasion, Ian had bloodied the nose of some boy who
was stupid enough to pick on John
.
It was mostly because John was not of the nobility, but that didn’t matter to Ian
.
John had always been the best and most loyal of friends.

Ian blinked his eyes, forcing away the moisture building in them
.
He would find his friend’s killer
.
Checking the clock on the mantel, he saw it was
two
a.m
.
Time to pay a quiet visit to
Miss
Hopkins’ room
.

5

Villarreal / The Devil Rogue
                                     

Chapter 8

ANGELA HAD BEEN
having the most wonderful dream when it was interrupted by someone shaking her. She’d been dreaming of him
.
Blackridge. His hands had been skimming over her naked skin. He’d put his mouth on her breast, suckling it, licking her nipples. Then his mouth had covered hers and he was kissing her, the weight of his body pressing her down, that rigid male part of him pushing between her legs . . .

“Wake up, princess
.
”

“Go away
. . .
so nice
. . .
feels so nice,” Angela mu
rmured
.

He
said something in her ear she didn’t understand.
Then his
knee
was
resting on the mattress
, h
is weight caus
ing
her to roll into his thigh
.
H
er hand came up to caress the back of his leg, then up to his tightened buttock.

“Mmmm
. . .
”
S
he arch
ed
her back, thrusting her breasts upward.

“
I said wake up
.
”
He
grabb
ed
her by the arm and pull
ed
her into a sitting position
.

Angela screeched in
pain
,
jerk
ing
her
injured
arm from his grasp
.
Then she was
swinging at him with both fists
,
scrambl
ing
for the edge of the bed.

He
jumped
fully
onto the bed, diving for her, struggling
to capture her
flailing arms and legs
. F
inally
, he
pinned her down with the weight of his body
.

“
Hush.
Stop fighting me
.
”

She was gasping for breath, her
heart beating like a terrified rabbit’s
.
When she realized it wasn’t who she
’d
thought it was,
Angela
relaxed her body
.
“I-I’m sorry,” she rasped
.
“I thought you were
–
never mind
.
”
She pushed away the hated image of
T
he
B
aron.

“You thought I was what – trying to rape you?
”
he
asked,
completely
misunderstanding
.
“
You should know I prefer my women willing.”

Now that she was fully awake, Angela had to wonder what
Blackridge
was doing in her room in the middle of the night
.
Their position at the moment was too
reminiscent of
her dream, the sensations
much
too vivid to think clearly
.
The heaviness of his body pushing her into the soft mattress made her heart pick up its rhythm
again, only this time it was from something other than fear.

T
he
thick ridge of his manhood was cradled
between her thighs
,
ignit
ing
a strange and wicked fire in her core
.
“No, I
–
what are you doing here?”

Ian’s blood raced hotly through his veins, flowing straight to his
cock
as he became aware of
the
soft
, feminine
curves beneath him
.
All that separated him and her delectable body was a
thin
layer of material
.
He
wanted to
tear it off and
take
her
like a rutting animal
.

God
.
No other woman had ever affected him this way, and she was
supposed to be
his enemy, for Christ sake
.
Cursing himself for his lack of control,
he
sat up, bringing her with him
.

Holding her upper arms, he schooled his features
.
“Why
did you lie about the gowns?”

“I didn’t lie
. T
hey’re ruined, like I said.”

“They’re ruined, yes, but not by mold
.
I looked in the trunk, princess
.
Everything has been torn to shreds.
Did you do it?”

“No
!
Why would I ruin my own gowns, for heaven sake?”

“I don’t know, maybe because you’re a spoiled little brat and you wanted new ones?”

She sputtered like a kitten. “I’m not a spoiled brat.
”

A sexy kitten.

“
I can buy all the new gowns I wish when this is all over
.
And since we’re on the subject, I want you to keep track of any costs I incur, such as material for dresses, so that I can pay you back.”

Now, that surprised him, keeping him sil
ent for a moment.
“You wish to pay me back?”

“Yes.”

“Well, you don’t have to
.
As my mistress, you are entitled to certain
perks.”

“I think twenty thousand pounds is enough of a perk, wouldn’t you agree, my lord?”

Frowning at her flippant remark, he snapped,
“A few gowns will not break me.”
Why was he arguing with her about this
?
He should go ahead and let her pay him back
.
But h
is pride
just
would
n’t
allow it
.
“I insist.”

She
lifted her chin
.
“But I
don’t want you to
.
”

Ian shook her gently
.
“You will accept them as a gift and not another word about it
.
”

An uneasy thought crept into his mind – had she just manipulated him into giving her the gowns
?
No, she was the one who had brought it up in the first place
.
She was the one who insisted on paying him back
.
But then maybe that was her tactic
.
He had no way of knowing if she was being sincere, or working her tricks on him
.
Either way, she was taking those blasted gowns
.

“
T
ell me – if you didn’t destroy the contents of that trunk, then who did?”

“I don’t know
.”

“You’re lying, princess.
”

For the first time
,
he noticed her hair was unbound and tussled
.
It fell to her waist like a golden waterfall
.
She looked like she’d just been tupped by her lover.
His nostrils flared, taking in her fragrance, subtle and intoxicating, the soft flesh beneath hi
s hands heating from his touch.

She licked her lips
, making his cock twitch.
“
Honestly,
I don’t know who did it, my lord
.
”

Ian stared at her mouth while her small pink tongue slid over her lips
again
, wetting them
until they glistened provocatively
.
“You
’re sure you
don’t have an
y
idea?”
he asked huskily.

He could see the swell of her breasts, the dark shadows of her nipples visible through
the
filmy covering
of her nightdress
.
His cock throbbed painfully in his breeches, forcing him to shift position.

“I may have a suspicion, but
it
does
n’t
mean I
’
m correct
.
It wouldn’t be fair to name a person
who
might very well be innocent.”

“Nevertheless, I want a name
.
”

“
And yet,
I cannot give you one
.
”

Damn,
she
was a
stubborn
woman
.

As they talked, h
is thumbs
had been
working in circles
on the soft flesh of her arms.
Then his hands were on her breasts, cupping them, stroking them,
his
thumbs
working on
her nipples
.

Her breath hitched
.

T
hinking
that
maybe he could seduce the truth out of her
, Ian m
ov
ed
one hand under the hem of her nightgown, slid
ing
it up along her smooth
leg
.
The sound of her gasp encouraged him to continue.

“W-what are you doing?”

“Tell me the truth, princess,” he whispered as his hand trailed to the inside of her thigh
.
Leaning in he fastened his mouth on one breast, sucking the nipple to a hard bud right through
the material
.
“Who destroyed those gowns
, hmmm
?”

He blew lightly against the
wet material,
her nipple turning hard as a diamond.

“Ohhh
!
I-I don’t know.”

“Yes, you do, angel,” Ian rasped, his
voice
thick with desire
.
“Tell me.”
He kissed her mouth
then, and at the same time found her opening with his fingers
.
She jerked, but he held her still,
spread
ing
her heat and moisture around
her nether lips
.
“God, angel
,
you’re so hot and wet and ready for me.”

“What are you doing to me
?
” She was panting. “
It feels so
. . .
so
. . .”

“
Do you like it
?”
he
asked, pleased
by
her passionate response.

“Y-yes
–
ohhh, my go
o
dness!”

All thoughts of getting a name from her flew from
Ian’s
head as h
e gently laid her back on the mattress
.
He
part
ed
her legs with his knee
and
kissed her deeply, thrusting his tongue into her mouth
.
When he
insert
ed
his
finger
s
he instinctively lifted her hips against his hand, moaning into his mouth
.
“Op
en your legs for me, sweetheart,
”
he commanded hoarsely, h
is own arousal so powerful it made his temples pound.

He continued to kiss her, sliding his finger in and out
,
again and again, increasing the rhythm until she was
writhing beneath him
.
She matched him stroke for stroke, raising her hips completely off the mattress.

Angela had never felt anything so wild and intense and
pleasurable
.
Who was this man
–
this stranger
who’d entered
into her life by
some odd twist of
fate
?
He was such a contradiction
.
One moment he seemed to despise her, and then there were moments like
these
when he gift
ed
her with his magical touch
.
Her body hummed and throbbed, a
force building inside her as he kissed her
and touched her so
intimately
.