The Devil Rogue (8 page)

“I’m talking about your
condition
.
”

“What?”

“
Whose
bastard do you carry in your belly?”

Angela gasped.
“I-I beg your pardon
?”

“A woman in your condition – come, now, princess, surely you know what that means?”

“Y-you think I’m w-with child?”

“Yes, with child, as you so delicately
describe
it
,
” he
ground out
, advancing on her
.
He was beyond annoyed – he was livid
.
And she had the audacity to plead ignorance.

She’d flinched
at his outburst, t
aking a cautious step backward
, but h
e continued to move toward her, closing the distance until only
a few
inches of air separated them.

Angela could barely breathe. He was too close. Too large. Too male.

“What’s this?”
W
ithout warning,
he
rais
ed
his hand to
ward her face
.

S
he
recoiled
instinctively,
bringing her arm up to protect herself
.
But then s
he quickly lowered it
when she realized he wasn’t going to strike her
. She was
embarrassed by her cowardly action
.
All she could do now was stand
her ground, maintain eye contact with him.

“Where did you get this bruise?”
He ran his fingertips lightly over the faded purple ar
ea
around her eye
.
When he retracted them, he
rubbed them together,
examin
ing
the residue left behind
.
It was the
face
powder
she’d used to cover the bruising
.

His
proximity was setting
Angela’s
nerves on edge
.
He was standing so close to
her she could feel the warmth of his body
.
“I-I took a tumble down the stairs the other day,
tr-
trying to save a kitten,” she
said
, repeating Rosemary’s lie.

“
A
kitten, hmmm?”
He placed his warm hand against the side of her neck
.
With his thumb, he stroked her bottom lip
.
“I suppose your tumble down the stairs caused this, as well,”
he murmured low, referring to the tiny cut in the center.

“Y-yes, it did
.
I also have an impressive bruise on my lower back
.
”
S
he was having difficulty concentrating while his thumb moved sensuously over her lip, making it tingle.

“Maybe I should rub
a soothing ointment
on
your back . . .
make it feel better,” he suggested in a silky tone.

“No
!
I-I mean, Rosemary, er – my maid can help me with that, my lord
.
”
She was
n’t
usually this flustered around men
.
But then she’d never been this attracted to one before
.

My God
!
She
was
attracted to him, even though he seemed to
despise
her
.
Except that right now, he didn’t seem to despise her at all
.
It was very confusing.

“Are you sure?” he asked
huskily
.

“Yes, I’m sure,” she whispered, mesmerized by his golden gaze, hooded
and sensual and filled with promises
.

He leaned in, parting his lips
,
and
then
tilt
ed
his head as though he were going to kiss her
. She held her breath, waiting for the contact. Instead
,
at the very last minute,
he stepped back,
lowering
his hand
.
The skin where
he’d touched her
instantly cooled, causing her to shiver
. Her
lip still tingled as though his thumb continued to caress it.

“So
,
you’re not pregnant?”

She blinked.
“Not only am I not pregnant, but I’m still a virgin, my lord,”
she said
, her face
burning
.

Chuckling softly, he said,
“
Considering
the
shade
of your
complexion
at th
e
moment
, I’
d be inclined to believe you.”

“I’m telling you the truth.”

“Yet, you agreed to be my mistress
.
Why?”

“
I have my reasons.”

“You could save yourself for marriage.”

“It no longer matters to me,” Angela said flatly
.
Those dreams had been permanently crushed the moment she’d stepped foot in
his
house
.
Now a
ll she wished for was freedom from her father
. I
n three
short
months,
she would also be
free from her obligation to Blackridge
.
She had no desire to be under another man’s control
ever again.

“Wha
t do you know about pleasure?”
He brushed
a stray strand of silky hair away from her cheek, rubbing it between his fingers.

“P-pleasure?”

His huskily asked question, his
proximity
, and the way he was fondling her hair
,
sent her pulse racing
.
Her gaze was inexorably drawn to his mouth, and she couldn’t help wondering
what it would
be
like to kiss him.
Why was she so fascinated by him?

“
As
my mistress, I expect
you to have
a certain level of
experience
.
I need a woman who knows how to give pleasure
,
as well as receive it.”

Angela straightened her spine
.
“You know very well that I know less than nothing about such things, my lord
.
Maybe this was a m-mistake
.
”
S
he mov
ed
away from him until her back met the wall
.
The strand of hair, a golden tether
which had
momentarily
held
her bound to him, slipped through his fingers
.

“You gave your word, remember?”
he said softly,
following her
, stalking her
.

“And
of course
I intend to stand by it
.
I was merely allowing you the option to back out, based on my
lack of
experience.”

He gave a short bark of laughter.
“Ah, but there are ways to r
emedy that.
”
His eyes gleamed with wicked intent.
“
And
I
shall
be your teacher.”
He closed the distance between them, the full length of his body making contact with hers
.
P
lac
ing
his hands against the wall on either side of her head
,
he
lean
ed
his weight into her
.

“W
h
at are you doing?”
she
whispered, feeling alarmed and breathless at the same time.
The shock of
his
hard
body
pressing
against hers created a sensation unlike any other
Angela had
ever experienced
.
His size and strength
and scent engulfed her, surrounded her.

“
I’m b
eginning your first lesson,”
he
said
hoarsely, his mouth only a
feather’s width
away from hers
as he dipped his head
.

Everywhere their bodies touched, her skin burned beneath her clothes.
Her breasts began to feel heavy and full,
her
nipples erect, straining
.
When his lips finally met hers, s
he became l
ost in a
violent storm
of
tastes and textures
and sensations
.

5

Villarreal / The Devil Rogue
                                     

Chapter 5

THE KISS WAS
light at first, fleeting caresses that teased and tantalized, compelling her to want more
.
The intimacy of this man’s mouth on hers was
an experience completely foreign to her
.
She had never been kissed
like this
before
.
She’d had suitors
whose kisses were sweet
, but brief
, sometimes awkward and fumbling
.
Those kisses had been
nothing at all
like this one
.
Those kisses
hadn’t even come
close to
the all-encompassing,
blazing
contact of
Blackridge’s mouth on hers
.

When she
closed her eyes and
parted her lips on a soft sigh, he slipped his tongue
inside
, deepening the kiss
.
He made a low sound in his throat as he angled his head,
his lips tasting her
, his tongue penetrating and thrusting with
unmatched
skill
.

She was
focused entirely on him, on his mouth, his tongue, his body
.
T
he hard ridge of his sex
boldly press
ed
against her stomach,
and
suddenly she
knew he definitely had one of ‘those
things
,
’
just
like the Greek statues.

She instinctively captured his tongue, sucking it deeper into her mouth, savoring the sinful pleasure derived from
such intimate
contact
.
He growled low, bringing his hands down to her
sensitive
breasts
, cupping them firmly
.

Her own hands,
which
had been hanging useless
ly
at her sides until now, found their way up and over his shoulders
.
She caressed the back of his neck, and then raked her fingers through his hair
.

They were both
panting
as he continued to fondle her br
easts, rubbing his thumbs over the
hard
points of her
nipples
.
One of his hands
then
snaked around to her
bottom
, pressing her lower body firmly against his aroused member.
He groaned.

Ian was
hard, t
he burning need to thru
st himself into her so compelling he
could
barely
hold
himself
in check
.
Her response to him was
nothing short of
astonishing
,
shattering his self-control
.
This was only to be a quick lesson, an introduction to a simple kiss
.
But the way she had boldly engaged her mouth with such artless enthusiasm had him behaving like
an inexperienced boy with his first woman
.

He
may have
a
rake’s
reputation, but never
had he
deal
t
in deflowering virgins
.
Ian’s
tastes had always run to
the
more
experienced
wom
a
n,
a woman
knowledgeable in the art of
seduction and
pleasure
.

Was
Miss Hopkins
a virgin
just
as she claimed – or was she
an accomplished
deceiver, able to present the façade of maidenly innocence
?
He would have his answer
,
soon enough, when she came to his bed
.
Ian had to consciously recall the reason she was here – her role in the death of his friend.

He broke off the kiss and stepped back, but not far enough to release
her
from the circle of his arms
.
Her upturned face was fetchingly flushed, her lips plump and looking well and truly plundered
.
When she opened her eyes to look at him dazedly, they were as dark as the deepest part of the ocean, the pupils
hugely
dilated
.
If
he
were not careful, he would succumb to their depths like so many sailors of ancient lore.

“Oh, my goodness,”
she whispered.

Ian released her
then
, putting more space between them
.
He cleared his throat.
“Indeed
.
I think that will suffice for your first lesson
.
”
He
fe
lt
as though he were the one
who had
just
been given a lesson
.
“Are you sure you’re as innocent as you claim
?
”

“I assure you, my lord, I am as virginal as a nun
.
”

He
laughed softly
at this prickly little sprite
.
“You may be a virgin, princess, but you are certainly not convent material
.
I will find out the truth soon enough, and as my mistress, you will learn what pleases me.”
And he would discover what pleases
her
.

The reality of her situation hit
Angela
like a bag of
bricks
.
S
oon, she would be laying naked with this man, doing unspeakable things, nameless things, things that were completely unknown to her
.
Her mind drew a blank as she tried to conjure the mental picture of what he alluded to
.
Ignorance was bliss, she supposed, for if she knew what was in store for her, she may be inclined to run screaming from the house.

She drew herself up with false confidence
.
“I am prepared to fulfill my end of the bargain, my lord.”

“And I look forward to the
consummation of our bargain,
as well,
princess,” he drawled
.
“However, d
ue
to your
condition
, as it were, I will give you time to recover from your injuries
.
You have a few days reprieve, a week at
the
most, and then I expect you to perform your services as agreed.”

“You seem to be under the impression that I will back out, my lord, considering the number of times you feel the need to repeat the terms of our agreement
.
Rest assured, I am a woman of my word, and would not conceive of reneging.”

“Point taken, princess
.
Now, I believe you have some chores to finish?”

“Yes, my lord
.
May I ask you a question?”

“You may.”

“Y-you won’t punish the other servants
?
I-I mean, as I told you, it was really my fault they
’ve
behaved as they
have
.”

“I think you are lying, princess
.
I know my own servants, and I’m in no way fooled by your attempt to cover for them.”

Angela began to twist her hands together, unable to help herself
.
Fear and panic wedged its way into her heart.
“Please,” she implored
, not caring how pathetic she must appear
.
She could not allow others to suffer because of her.

“You don’t wish them punished?”

“Of course not
!
As I said earlier, if you would punish someone, punish me.”
Angela had to suppress a shiver of dread, wondering what kind of punishment he would deign to administer
.
Would he beat her
?
Would he lock her away without food
and
water
?

“Are you
going to cry
?
”

Angela thought she might have detected a flash of concern in his voice.

“No.”

“All right
, then. I’ll
punish
you
.
Tell me, princess
,
what would you consi
der an appropriate punishment?”

“
I-I don’t understand.”

“
You heard me.
”

“Y-you
. . .
you
. . .
you’re not going to
—
”
S
he couldn’t bear to speak the words
.
He wasn’t going to beat her?

“I’m not going to what
?
”

“Nothing
.
”

“No ideas
, then
?”

“No, my lord.”
Angela’s knees were quaking
.
Her father had never hesitated in delivering her punishment
.
This was much worse – the suspense of waiting for him to make his decision.

“
Well, since you can’t come up with anything, this is what you’ll do.
You will bathe
me every evening like a slave, let us say, for a week, during your recovery period.
”

“What?”

“Every evening you will
bathe me
. . .
wash my body.”

Angela was so relieved that he didn’t intend to beat her
,
she quickly agreed
.
“
Yes, my lord
.
Thank you
.”

He seemed rather
s
tartled
by her response
. Clearing his throat, he asked,
“Is there anything else you require, princess?”

“There is one other thing,” Angela asked tentatively
.
“My clothes
. . .
I have nothing else to wear while I’m here – Rosemary as well
.
I’d like to send for our things, if you would permit it.”

“Your personal belongings and your maid’s
will be
arriv
ing shortly
.
I took the
liberty to send for them myse
lf.
”

“Oh, thank you!”

“You may be excused from your duties
in order to unpack
.
I expect to see you in your full regalia at dinner this evening.”

“Dinner?”

“You may break your fast and lunch as you wish, but I must insist that you dine with me every evening.”

“So I’m to be a servant during the
day
and your mistress at night?”
she asked boldly
.
“I only inquire so as to
set myself a schedule
.”

“
You have no schedule, princess
.
You are my mistress around the
clock
and a servant when I say you’re a servant
.
My whims from one day to the next will dictate your schedule
.
I may wish to take you right here, in the study, in the middle of the day
, for example
.
”

“Take me
where
, my lord?”

He
r confusion made him
chuckle
for some reason
.
“Never mind, we’ll leave that lesson for another day
.
Now, off with you to your room and your beautiful gowns.
Make sure you choose something
elegant
for dinner this evening.”