One Wicked Wish Page 6

  “No, you shouldn’t. Although you’ve made a number of assumptions about me, which I’m pleased to say have brought you here now.”

  Something in her refused to cower. “You’ve kidnapped me,” she said coldly. “Bravo. They’ll give you a medal.”

  Another of those low laughs. “That’s a rather theatrical interpretation of a short trip around some of the better areas of the capital. Especially when you climbed in of your own volition.”

  “You’re the one who mentioned spiders and flies and stepping into parlors.”

  Straight white teeth flashed in a smile. “You’re much too pretty to be called a fly, Miss Faulkner. Even in that inexecrable dress that’s the wrong shade for you.”

  Nearly all her clothes were the wrong shade for her. Her warm tawny coloring was so different from Imogen’s striking white skin and rich black hair.

  “If I’m shabby, I match this carriage,” she retorted. “Are you sure you’re not in Queer Street and looking for a rich heiress to marry?”

  “And after I took so much care to hire a vehicle that wouldn’t attract notice. I’m hurt that you don’t give my efforts to protect your good name the credit they deserve.” He paused. “Actually if I’m being strict with the truth, my coachman Terry found the vehicle. He took my instruction to locate a carriage that nobody would associate with the Earl of Halston a little too much to heart.”

  “Is your coachman to be trusted?” She was too angry with him to be nervous. “I assume that’s Terry up there and not the hackney’s usual driver.”

  “Yes, he’s my man. All my staff are to be trusted. They’re paid damn good wages to keep their mouths shut.”

  “Yet still your doings are discussed in every corner.”

  He shrugged. “My mistresses aren’t always as circumspect as my servants.”

  Her lips firmed in disapproval. “If you’re hoping for a Devonshire arrangement when you wed Imogen, my lord, I won’t play the third side of the triangle.”

  Last century, the Duke of Devonshire had maintained a famous ménage à trois with his wife and his mistress, his wife’s best friend.

  Halston tutted like a schoolmaster disappointed in a lazy pupil. “I would have thought a clever girl like you would be awake to my scheming.”

  “I am.” Her tone remained sharp. “You want a pretty, respectable wife. And a mistress within call as well.”

  “I want a mistress, at least. I told you before that I don’t want your cousin.”

  “Then why the attention to Imogen?”

  “Must I explain myself? It’s a devil of a bore.”

  The carriage slowed. Although the blinds prevented Stella from seeing outside, she guessed that they’d reached the main road and heavier traffic. “If my company no longer amuses you, my lord, I’m sure I’ll survive the disappointment when you take me home.” She paused. “Or to the circulating library which is where I planned to go.”

  A short laugh escaped him. “I’m not your deuced coachman, damn your impudence.”

  “No,” she said in a hard voice. “Right now you’re an abductor and a tormentor. And I hope that’s all. I’d hate to place more serious crimes on your doorstep.”

  “Come now.” Halston made a derisive gesture toward his injured arm. “A four-year-old child could best me. I’m not about to leap on you and have my wicked way.”

  Stella didn’t really think he would, bullet wound or not. If she did, she’d never have got into the carriage, no matter how she itched to box his ears. “I imagine you prefer a more luxurious setting for sin.”

  His chuckle filled her with alarm. Her hands gripped each other until they hurt. “My dear, I’m so desperate that I’ll take you wherever and whenever you give me the word. Which should tell you what you ought to know already. It’s you that I’m interested in.”

  The alarm deepened, but unfortunately so did the hunger. She’d wondered if the moonlight had sparked the storm of attraction she felt in the gazebo. But every time she saw him, she wanted him more. His admission that he wanted her, too, did nothing to dampen her lustful impulses. “Then I’m afraid you’ll have to tell me what you’re up to.”

  Only when his smile deepened did she realize what she’d revealed in that answer. The wise choice would be to tell him in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t going to have her at all. Now it seemed too coy to backtrack and claim a modesty she didn’t in truth possess.

  He sighed and settled back against the cracked leather of the seat. “Will you come and sit next to me?”

  “No.”

  “Pity. How’s your hand?”

  She was in such a flurry that she didn’t understand the question. “My hand?”

  “You hurt it yesterday.”

  “Oh. Yes. Yes. I did.” When he’d invited Imogen to Prestwick Place, and she realized that she’d have to go, too, to supervise the burgeoning courtship.

  “So how is it?”

  “I’ll live. I’ll launder your handkerchief and return it to you.”

  “Don’t bother. I have others.”

  To her mortification, she’d slept with that stained square of linen under her pillow. How he’d snigger if she told him that. For heaven’s sake, it was as if she was begging him to ruin her.

  The coach came to a complete stop. The street was a chaos of people and carts and horses, but inside the carriage, Stella and Halston shared a private haven that belonged in another universe.

  That thought was as dangerous as anything he’d done. Perhaps even more dangerous. Because if Stella really did live in a world where following her impulses had no unfortunate consequences, it might be her leaping on Lord Halston. She’d like to discover just what all that rakehellery had taught him about pleasing a mistress.

  “In the first place, one of my footmen made an assignation with Dolly. Your name wasn’t mentioned.”

  She sucked in a breath to calm her jumping nerves. “That’s how you knew where I’d be this morning.”

  “See what straits you put me to? A peer of the realm turning spy.”

  She should be annoyed, but nobody had taken this sort of trouble over her in years. Her anger, already shaky, shifted out of reach. She missed it. Its departure left her too defenseless against other more insidious feelings. “I imagine riding in this coach feels like more of a sacrifice than perpetrating a little subterfuge.”

  “Anything for you, my darling.”

  The sugary endearment provoked an unimpressed huff. “Only if it fits with your plans. I won’t have Dolly used and abandoned. If your man goes beyond a few kisses, he’ll have to wed the wench.”

  An exaggerated sigh. “Dolly shall be safe. You have my word on it.” He paused. “Although you mightn’t be.”

  The mortifying fact was that with every minute in Halston’s company, safety lost more of its appeal. “And Imogen?”

  Again she’d missed an opportunity to put him in his place with a decisive “no, thank you.” She feared that she moved beyond the chance to speak those words. At least in a way he’d believe.

  “Can you see me with the chit?”

  “Yes, I can. She’s not silly, and she’s very pretty, and while her father’s no prize, she’s wellborn enough to be your countess.”

  He frowned as if her response was a disagreeable surprise. “Are you trying to talk me into proposing to the girl?”

  She shook her head. “No. She deserves better than you.”

  “Ouch.”

  She didn’t smile. “She’s pure and she’s good, and I’d hate her to be disillusioned by the man she marries.”

  “Whereas you have no illusions at all.”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “You knew what I meant when I said you made me stiff.”

  Startled, she sat up straighter as the carriage jerked forward, bumping across the cobblestones. There was shouting from the street, but she paid it no heed. The squabble outside couldn’t compare to the war she fought in this private space. A war she seemed to be
losing.

  The problem was that she faced attack on two fronts. Lord Halston wanted her to succumb to him. So, to her disgust, did everything untamed and free that had lurked in her heart for the last ten years.

  “Did you think you pursued an unworldly spinster?”

  He gave a derisive huff of laughter. “Wide-eyed innocence isn’t my style.”

  “So why did you send flowers to Imogen?”

  “Haven’t you worked it out yet?” His hand sliced the air. “The lilies were for you. I assumed you’d guess. They’re not suitable for a young girl. The message should have told you, if nothing else.”

  Could that be true? Had she been so blinded with jealousy that she’d missed the most obvious answer? From the first, something had seemed off about those flowers and that message when she tried to match them up with Imogen.

  “Imogen was a stranger to you, too.”

  “Imogen is a means to an end. I told you in the gazebo that I’ve been trying to work out how to gain your attention.”

  “And the house party invitation?”

  With a speaking expression, Halston glanced around the coach’s dilapidated interior. “In the country, I’ll find it easier to arrange time alone with you.”

  Time alone with her? A naughty thrill that she didn’t want to acknowledge ripped through her. “You’re taking a lot of trouble to create an opportunity for fornication.”

  He shrugged. “I’m sure my labors will receive adequate reward.”

  Her laugh was wry. “Are you? I’m not.”

  Halston arched his eyebrows. “Miss Faulkner, I’m counted a fine judge of women. If I deem you worthy of notice, odds indicate that you are.”

  Stella studied him, profoundly perturbed. She’d started out convinced that the dangers of an affair with this decorative libertine outweighed all other considerations. Now she seemed to be contemplating how they might manage a liaison.

  “If my uncle ever learns that you and I were involved, I’d be out on the streets. You risk nothing in this game. I risk everything.”

  “I know.” For once, his tone held no challenge. The unexpected gentleness undermined her caution as nothing else could have. “Which is why I’m trying so hard to keep our affair a secret.”

  “We’re not having an affair,” she retorted, although if she heard fading resistance in her voice, so could he.

  God save her, could she do this shocking thing? The perils were enormous. Unthinkable. Yet something told Stella that if she went to Halston’s bed, the rewards would be even greater.

  She’d struggled to reconcile herself to surviving without excitement, physical pleasure, even any genuine purpose. Halston reminded her that she was a woman with feelings and desires. Life since she’d left Naples had done its best to suffocate her ardent nature. The grim reality was that the years to come would achieve that goal.

  This might be her last chance to revel in a man’s passion. It might be her last chance to reciprocate that passion. Whatever else Lord Halston was, she knew he’d prove to be a breathtaking lover. The future promised to be bleak and lonely. Memories of a rake’s touch might offer a little warmth to hold against the endless cold.

  Halston watched her with an unwavering stare. His voice was soft. “We’re not having an affair yet.”

  “Yet,” she echoed, peering at him through the dimness and wondering if she could trust him. Wondering if she’d gone past the point where she’d hesitate even if she couldn’t trust him.

  Stella waited for some sign of triumph, because they both knew that she teetered on the brink of consent. But the eyes that met hers were serious and conveyed a sincere concern that she feared relying on. “Will you come to me when we get to Prestwick Place, Miss Faulkner? I’m ravenous for you, and I have a suspicion that you might feel a slight yen toward me, too?”

  “A slight yen?” she repeated with a hint of mockery.

  That mobile mouth quirked. “Do I dare to suggest that I underestimate your interest?”

  “Devil take you, Halston.” She sighed as she gave up the fight. His victory had been ordained since she’d first seen him across a crowded ballroom and her starved heart had kicked into a frantic gallop of greedy desire. “You’ll dare more than that before you’re finished.”

  “By God, I hope so,” he said in a fervent voice as he seized her gloved hand.

  Stella didn’t try to pull free. After yesterday, the shock of contact shouldn’t catch her unawares. But her ungovernable heart slammed to a dizzying stop, and the breath crammed in her lungs.

  “What do you say, Miss Faulkner?” He paused. “Damn it, I can’t keep calling you Miss Faulkner.”

  Amusement turned down her lips. “No, I suppose not. Not if this really is going to happen. My name is Stella.”

  Silly, given she agreed to allow him all kinds of liberties, that inviting him to use her Christian name felt like she broke some taboo.

  He firmed his grip. “Stella.” Her name sounded beautiful on his lips. “So you agree to be mine?”

  Heaven help her, heaven help both of them, it seemed she did. “Yes,” she said on a shaky exhalation as delicious heat flowed up her arm. “We…we have to make a few things clear.”

  “Anything,” he said urgently.

  Her laugh cracked. “Careful. You don’t know what you’re promising.”

  “I don’t care. I’ll do anything to have you.”

  Astonished, she tried to make sense of this. He’d had so many women. Why should she be anything special? “You sound like you mean that.”

  “Don’t you know that I’m mad for you?”

  That should terrify her. Not least because she feared that when they came together, she’d prove a sad disappointment. But every word Halston spoke sent need pulsing through her blood.

  “You…you have to protect my good name. You know what all this can cost me.”

  “You have my word.”

  Perhaps she shouldn’t believe him, except that he’d already gone to extraordinary lengths to conceal his interest in her. In London, the world’s gaze followed his every move. In the country, they might find a chance to be alone and unobserved.

  “The affair ends when I say. It won’t extend past our time at Prestwick Place, in any case. Once I’m back in London, you and I go back to being strangers.”

  He frowned. “Will that be enough for you?”

  Stella already knew that it wouldn’t be, but what choice did she have? “If we come together in London, people will find out.” She paused. “I thought you’d like that condition. Your dalliances aren’t noted for their longevity.”

  His wince was theatrical. “I don’t know why I like you so much. I’ve never met a girl so candid about my failings.”

  She didn’t smile back. All this was so fraught for her. She might have consented to come to Halston’s bed, but she was wide awake to the dangers of her decision. Even if she was discreet, discovery was possible. Even likely.

  “I suspect that I’m only of interest because I’m a novelty. You, too, may stop the affair any time you like. I promise I won’t make a scene. That should make a nice change for you.”

  “I won’t call an end to things before I have to.”

  The certainty in his voice set her heartbeat leaping. “We’ll see.” Before he could argue, she went on. “I can’t risk a child. You must finish outside me.”

  She expected her frankness to disconcert him, but he merely nodded. “As you wish.”

  “Thank you.” She sucked in another breath. The realization seeped in that she’d committed to become Halston’s lover. Even worse, she couldn’t muster a moment’s regret about the decision. “Now I think you should take me home.”

  His devilish smile set her secret places clenching. By heaven, he was a beautiful man. How could she, how could any woman resist falling?

  “Not quite yet. We need to seal our deal.”

  A sudden attack of nerves made her disentangle their fingers. Her hand rose to the base
of her throat where her pulse raced fast enough to win the Derby. “You said you’d wait until…”

  “Until we get to Prestwick Place.” His smile intensified. “I did. But I’m sure that a woman who makes such a businesslike contract to come to my bed can spare me a kiss on account.”

  Chapter 5

  Halston watched her eyes darken. Stella Faulkner had such an expressive face, especially now that she stopped guarding every reaction. How difficult it must be for this passionate creature to restrain all her natural impulses when she was in her uncle’s house. Life had been ghastly unfair to this exceptional woman.

  The carriage began to move faster. An opening must have appeared in the traffic. With every second, the charged atmosphere inside the vehicle intensified. When they came together at last, the explosion would rock the world.

  “Kiss?” The slide of her tongue moistening her lips shuddered through him like gunfire.

  “Yes.” He made another wry gesture toward the sling. “If I were in full fighting order, I’d take you into my arms right now. As it is, I’ll have to ask you to come and sit beside me. Will you do that?”

  Her lips twisted. Self-deprecating humor was such an essential part of her. “It seems absurd to hesitate when you have my promise that I’ll come to your bed.”

  “But right now, it would be easier if I could sweep you into my embrace and make the world go away?”

  “Yes.”

  He held out his good hand. “Come kiss me, my darling. I hunger for you.”

  Her smile faded, and he caught a glimpse of the depth of her craving for him. She’d stopped pretending that she had any more choice in what happened between them than he had.

  He liked that. He liked that very much indeed.

  Halston couldn’t remember the last time he was in thrall to a woman, the way he was in thrall to this one. His craving made a mockery of propriety and caution and prudence. The idea that he might experience this volcanic yearning alone was unbearable.

  It turned out that he wasn’t alone.

  Stella trembled when she took his hand and shifted next to him. As she’d pointed out, the old carriage held traces of twenty years of former passengers. Unwashed humanity. Stale tobacco. Dust and dog hair. But she was so close now that something fresh and citrusy tinged his deep breath of relief. He caught a hint of something else, too. An alluring female warmth that must be the scent of her skin.