The Devil Rogue (27 page)

They
both seemed to be overcome
by a force of nature beyond their control, a storm of carnal sensations and intense emotions
.

Ian groaned
,
h
is body tens
ing
as her muscles contracted around him, rippling along his
length
as she climaxed.
She cried out his name into his ear as though it was a benediction. Miraculously, h
e pulled out at the last second, spilling
his
seed on her thigh
.

Afterward, they lay spent, thei
r bodies entwined, neither one of them
ready to relinquish the moment
,
it seemed
.
Slowly
but surely
the world intruded once more, and they moved apart, wordlessly putting themselves
–
their clothes – and their emotions – back to rights.

They stood facing each other
.
Ian brushed his knuckles across one side of her flushed face
.
“You’re beautiful,” he said, his voice still husky from the force of their recent union.

Angela placed a hand over his, holding it there
.
“You are a man of many mysteries
and talents
,
my lord
.”
She smiled warmly
, gazing into the depths of his golden eyes
.
Her heart still beat in an erratic pattern, her limbs weak and trembling.

Turning his lips into the palm of her hand,
he kissed it tenderly.
With a hint of regret in his voice, he said,
“As much as I’d like
to make you my prisoner in this room forever, I have work to do
.
But I shall seek you out the first chance I get.”

“You know where to find me
.”

Angela
left the study more confused then ever.
She had thought Wardley’s offer was very dear,
but she knew without a doubt that no other man would suit her
–
no other except Ian.
He’d been considerate enough about her concerns about pregnancy to release himself outside her body. It warmed her heart that he
’d
respected her
wishes.
She would stay with him for the remainder of her time here, and cherish those mem
ories until the end of her days.

5

Villarreal / The Devil Rogue
                                     

Chapter
1
5

“
MY MOTHER IS
here
?
Now?
” Ian groan
ed audibly
.
Phillips stood in uncomfortable silence waiting for his
lordship’s
reply to the announcement that
the Viscountess Blackridge
had arrived
.
Expelling an exasperated breath at his mother’s uncanny
sense of
timing,
Ian
said with resignation, “Have her things
taken
up to
her usual quarters, and tell her I’ll join her in the parlor shortly.”

“Yes, my lord.”

This was most definitely not a favorable turn of events
.
His mother, however open-minded she
could be
on certain matters, was
more than
likely here to assess the situation based on the spread of gossip about Miss Hopkins – gossip
he’d
instigated
,
to
Ian’s
everlasting shame
.
His mother
would surely disapprove of
hi
s most recent spectacle in a long line of notorious spectacles perpetrated by
The Devil Rogue
.
It was beyond scandalous to have one’s mistress reside in one’s family home
, if only to avoid the occasion of, say, one’s mother meeting up with one’s mistress
.

The burden of trying to convince h
is mother
that Miss Hopkins was innocent of any wrong
-
doing or lack of morals
which may have
led to her downfall
, landed squarely
on his shoulders like a great pressing weight
.
His dilemma became
multifaceted
in that he not only had to persuade Miss Hopkins
. . .
Angela
, to marry him,
he had to brin
g his mother around to the idea,
find a way to absolve Angela
in the eyes of society
–
to
somehow undo the damage
–
and to find a murderer
.
At the moment, those hurdles seemed insurmountable
, his goals unobtainable, the mystery unsolvable.

There was only one way to see success, and that was to take each problem one at a time
.
He’d already begun with his seduction of Angela, now he would work on
swaying
his mother
.
He had private detectives watching every move the baron made,
ever since he’d assaulted Angela,
and was
regularly
kept apprised of his activities
.

With a renewed strength of resolve, Ian inhaled a fortifying breath, straightened his shoulders, and reached for the door
handle
. He
open
ed
it with determination
, ready to face his mother
.
To his delighted surprise, a warm, soft, deliciously curved bundle stumbled into his arms
.
A flash of Angela on the floor of this room, receiving his passionate thrusts into her heat
,
only hours ago, invaded his mind while the gentle scent of her perfume lingered in the air
between them
, teasing his senses
.

“Oh
!
”
She cried, and
went on to
explain in a breathless r
ush,
“
I was just about to
knock when you opened the door.”

Still holding her within the circle of h
is
arms, Ian braced himself to give her the news of his mother’s arrival
.
Looking down at her, into the deep blue of her eyes, he cleared his throat
.
“We have a guest, princess.”

“A guest
?
But who
—
”

“Don’t be alarmed, but my mother is here
for a visit
–
a very short visit if I have anything to say about it
.
”
He
gritt
ed
his teeth in preparation for her reaction.

“Your mother!” she
practically screeched
,
taking the news
just as he’d predicted. She
tr
ied
to extract herself from his firm embrace
.
“What am I going to do
?
I can
not
stay
in this house while she’s here!
”
Still
struggling
,
she
finally g
ave
up with an exasperated huff.

“Now, princess
,” Ian said softly, hiding an amused smile at her show of spunk
.
He was enjoying the way her luscious body rubbed enticingly against his own
.
He leaned in close, next to her ear, and whispered, “I will take care of my mother, and when she is gone on the morrow, I will take care of
you
.”

He felt her shiver.
“Why aren’t you taking this seriously?” she demanded
.
“And, please, have the decency not to mention your mother, and
taking care of me
in the same sentence
.
It is much too wicked
–
and disrespectful,” she finished primly.

Ian flashed a wide grin
.
“I can’t help it
. Y
ou’re just so delectable when you’re
so
serious and proper.”

Angela could only stare in mute surprise at the transformation
that came over him with a simple smile
.
His usual grim and intimidating countenance was replaced by a disarmingly handsome man
.
Oh, he was quite pleasing to look upon
,
regardless of his expression, but in that moment, he looked younger, less burdened
.
She could see why he was such an attraction to women, could envision him at a ball, dressed in his black finery, charming every female within visual range with that devastating smile
.
And she was not immune to it
–
oh,
far from it
.
It captivated her, sen
ding
tiny little thrilling
sen
sations directly to her belly,
scatter
ing
her thoughts like a flock of starlings taking flight.

Finding her tongue once more, she said, “Well
,
one of us has to be serious, and don’t you dare badger your mother into leaving tomorrow
.
I’ll just make mysel
f scarce on the servants
’
floor.
I wouldn’t want my presence
here
to insult her.”

Ian scowled at her
.
“For one thing, no one is capable of badgering my mother into doing anything she doesn’t
wish
to do, and secondly, I don’t want you to ever feel like your presence is an insult.”

“You know what I meant
. S
he has surely heard the gossip
about
—” She couldn’
t stop herself from blushing.
“—
my
status here.”
It
remind
ed
Angela that her status could be easily changed
to that of wife, if she would just accept his proposal, but
she
didn’t want to
think about that now
.

“
I’ll
handle my mother
.
All you need do is be yourself.”

“Be myself
?
What exactly is that supposed to mean
?
You know very well it would be unacceptable for me to associate with your mother.”

“You are still the daughter of a baron
.
You have rank, you’re a gently-bred woman, not to mention you’re beautiful and charming
.
”
He gave her that smile again, only this time
he’d
added a wicked twist
to his lips
.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” Angela asked with suspicion
.
“When I first arrived here, it was as though you could hardly stand the sight of me
.
Now, you seem
. . .
well, different
.
Is it because we
. . .
we
. . .
y
ou know
?
”

“It’s just that I’ve come to realize there’s more to you than was at first readily apparent, but I won’t deny the desire I feel for you
.
”
H
is voice
had
grow
n
husky
.

Angela
blushed at the reminder of
his desires
. . .
and hers
.
Feeling a little over-warm from her errant thoughts,
she
decid
ed
it w
ould be
prudent to change the subject before they ended up on the floor right there in the hall
.
“I think you’ve kept your mother waiting long enough
, so if you’ll unhand me, I’ll go
. . .
dust something.”

Isabella Moreland,
T
he Viscountess Blackridge, and mother to one scandalously notorious son,
watched the scene before her with a great deal of interest
.
She concealed her presence quite successfully behind a particularly large and leafy potted plant, the name of which she had no idea, nor did she care
.
W
hat she’d just witnessed was obviously a private moment
, so her m
ain concern
was
to stay out of sight
.
Never in her life had she ever seen her son look at a woman the way he was looking at Miss Hopkins
, which
Isabella
found
most distressing
.
It would not bode well for her son to fall in love with his mistress.

Isabella
knew the young woman was Miss Angela Hopkins, daughter to Baron Eberly, and current mistress of her rake of a son
.
She also knew the girl had
in her possession
a pristine reputation
, that is,
until
her tragic downfall into the
world of scandal and ruination
.
Isabella’s
knowledge of the situation came by way of an intricate network of confidential informants, otherwise known
, of course,
as gossip
.

It had not taken long for word of her son’s escapades to reach her ears, and upon hearing the news,
had
decided to verify it in person
.
Isabella
held no illusions that her son was
not
at the heart of the matter
, was determined to find out just how far it has gone
, and b
y the intimate way they embraced
–
it was very far indeed
.
Very carefully, she backed away from her hiding place behind the plant, and returned to the parlor to await her son.

While he still had Angela in his arms, Ian took advantage and covered her mouth with his in a hot and deeply sensuous kiss
.
He did not want her to forget, even for a short time, the attraction and the passion they shared
.
Heart pounding and cock rigid, he reluctantly released her, wishing he could carry her up to his bedroom
rather than
face his mother
.
Angela
swayed slightly, her eyes dazed with desire as he turned her in the direction of the stairs
.
C
huckling
, he said,
“Go on, my sweet little princess
. . .
dust to your heart’s content.”