One Wicked Wish Read online

  She turned toward him, and her gaze found his as she took off her plain bonnet. For a long moment, they studied each other. The hubbub of London, the seedy surroundings, the threat of discovery, all dissolved to nothing. The world shrank to this woman and his compulsion to claim her.

  This close, he could see the pupils dilate in her golden-brown eyes. Her lips parted as her breath rushed out, and her breasts swelled against the unbecoming gown. By God, if she was his mistress in truth, he’d dress her to match her leonine beauty.

  But he already knew that this affair would be brief and intense, and a matter of secret assignations. He’d never get the chance to set Stella Faulkner up with a house and a carriage and a bed that he had a right to share while he paid her bills. She wasn’t one of his pretty light-skirts, contracted to stay as long as he was interested in pumping them.

  Perhaps Halston should be grateful for that. He wouldn’t have to watch this initial enchantment fizzle away into boredom and bitterness. It must be the force of his current desire that had him convinced that this time his interest wouldn’t fade, that this time the fascination would only grow.

  To his surprise, his hand was unsteady, too, as he cupped the delicate line of her jaw. The shock of his skin on hers slammed through him, the way it had when he’d taken her arm yesterday afternoon.

  Stella gasped when he made contact, and her eyes widened. She felt it, too.

  The day was cold, but her skin was warm and smooth. He rubbed his thumb against her cheek and leaned in closer. He was near enough to taste her breath. It carried a hint of tooth powder, because it was still so early in the morning. Most people he knew would still be sleeping off last night’s excesses.

  With a gentleness in opposition to the storm raging through him, he tilted her face up to position her for his kiss.

  “Halston…” she whispered, and the longing in the sound had him quaking. He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had made him shake. Stella made him shake without even trying.

  “Yes, sweetheart?”

  She curled her gloved hand behind his neck to bring him closer. “Stop teasing me, curse you.”

  “I’m savoring the anticipation.”

  Her eyes sparked. “You devil.”

  His hold firmed, and he closed the distance between them. When his lips met hers, the world flared into blinding heat. There was no hesitation, no seeking for the best way to proceed. Her mouth opened, and she welcomed the thrust of his tongue.

  On a choked sound of surrender, she curved closer. Pleasure flooded him and a sense of rightness that he’d never known before. His tongue flicked against hers, encouraging her to join in the play of lips and teeth. She needed no second invitation.

  He groaned and released her face to curve his good arm around her. His head was swimming, as his body readied itself to go beyond mere kissing. Although mere kissing didn’t begin to describe this experience.

  She speared her fingers through his hair and tugged. The faint discomfort built his need. He leaned forward, pressing her against the side of the coach. She followed his lead as sweetly as honey drizzled on fresh bread. Her murmurs against his lips indicated approval.

  By all that was holy, he had to have her now. They had privacy. A woman who devoured him with her kisses wouldn’t deny him. He twisted on the worn seat and reached out with his other arm to shift her so she could take him.

  Red-hot pain sliced through Halston, and his groan this time wasn’t a reaction to pleasure. He wrenched away from Stella and pressed a shaking hand to his shoulder. “Damn it, I forgot my injury.”

  She slumped against the faded pattern on the wall. The unabashed desire in her expression did nothing to quell his pounding urge to possess her. Her thick honey-brown eyelashes drooped over heavy eyes, and her mouth was full and damp after his kisses.

  “Are you all right?” she asked, her voice husky.

  The pain started to recede. “You make me forget everything else.”

  “It’s the same for me.” Her hand moved in a helpless gesture. “Practice has made you a wonderful kisser. It leaves me wondering what else you can do to me.”

  Arousal thundered through him with a force that vied with the ache in his arm. “You’re not coy.”

  “Do you mind?”

  “No, I like it. I always imagined that beneath the prim exterior, there was a woman who matched me in desire. I’m delighted to discover I was right.”

  Stella didn’t pretend affront at his statement. With every second, he fell further under her spell. She’d kissed him with a voraciousness that made him mad for her.

  Taking care with his arm, he kissed her again. She met him with a lack of shyness that had him hard and throbbing. How in Hades could he contain himself until they reached Prestwick Place?

  When she pushed at his chest and tugged her lips free, it was almost as painful as jarring his arm.

  “I have to get back.” Her voice shook. So did she. “We can’t come together here.”

  “I know that.” Halston heard his furious regret. “Although for a moment there, I forgot. You took me to a new world.”

  Her smile made his heart lurch. She looked as captivated as he felt, damn it. It seemed a sin against nature that he couldn’t steal her away this instant.

  “I want you now.” He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had obsessed him like this. “I’ve hardly had a thought that doesn’t involve you since the day I first saw you. Now I’ve kissed you, I won’t be fit for anything else until I can hold you in my arms again.”

  Her features softened, and she stroked his face with a tenderness that made his heart squeeze tight as a walnut. Even through the thin leather glove, her touch sent heat roaring through him. “You shouldn’t say such things.”

  He lifted his good hand to press her palm against his cheek. “Why not? They’re true. Can I see you again before we go to the country?”

  She was drifting back from the realms of sensual pleasure. As the dreamy light faded from her eyes, she became alert to the risks they ran. To confirm those risks, someone swore just beyond the window, the curse so loud that the man could be inside the carriage with them. Halston and Stella might pretend the city outside didn’t exist, but if he pulled up the blinds, they’d be in full view of the busy street.

  “You’ll see me tonight at the Wetherby musicale, if you intend to come.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  Her smile basked in his desperation. He liked to see her accepting his need for her as her due. When they’d met in the garden, she hadn’t trusted his interest. “I do.”

  “Well?”

  She withdrew her hand. The cessation of contact felt like the fall of an ax.

  By George, she had him in a spin. The power of this desire threw a stark light on how his recent affairs had just seen him going through the motions.

  “I think it’s too dangerous.”

  With a moody sigh, he sat back and scowled at her. “You have no pity for me.”

  “You know there will be more inconveniences than you’re used to.”

  “I know you’re going to drive me to lunacy with wanting you.”

  “You promised to preserve my good name.”

  “Yes, I did. But that was before I kissed you. How in Hades do you expect me to act as if we’re strangers now?”

  Her expression turned stern. “Lord Halston, if you won’t abide by my conditions, we can’t continue.”

  Aghast, he stared at her. “You’d turn your back on an attraction as powerful as ours?”

  Stella shifted back to the other seat, and she spoke with an implacable tone that he had to believe. “If I’m exposed as your lover, I’ll lose any security I have. At worst, you’ll suffer a bit of gossip. The world will shrug its shoulders and say the notorious earl has made another conquest. I didn’t lay down my conditions lightly, my lord. Tell me now if they don’t suit you, and we’ll shake hands and part, with no rancor on either side.”

  Astonish
ed, annoyed, offended, he surveyed her. She spoke as if it wouldn’t hurt her to forsake him, whereas the thought of letting her go devastated him. Already. When he hadn’t yet taken her.

  What state would he be in by the time he bedded her?

  He didn’t like the shift in power. When he’d decided to seduce this improbable chaperone, he’d imagined that he held all the cards. It turned out that Stella Faulkner had a power of her own. More, it was a power she intended to exercise.

  “You know the lengths I’m taking to protect you.”

  “I know that you’ll need to double your care for me. Are you sure I’m worth the inconvenience?”

  “By God, yes,” he groaned, picking up her hand. Damn it, he couldn’t even take off her glove because of his gunshot wound. Francene’s theatrical gesture was turning out to be a blasted nuisance.

  Stella lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it. She was more demonstrative than he’d expected. He liked that. In particular, he liked the idea of her devoting that boldness to him when he got her to himself in Buckinghamshire. The problem was that he needed to last until then without shattering in frustration.

  “Then we have an agreement, my lord.” She inspected him. He saw that his fears of her coolness were unfounded. Those caramel eyes were smoky with hunger. “Let me help you with your sling. It’s coming off.”

  “Thank you.” He rapped his fist on the roof of the carriage to tell Terry to retrace his route to Lorimer Square. Or a discreet alley around the corner from it.

  Halston sat vibrating with desire as she moved next to him to fix his sling and straighten his clothes. Every touch thundered through him and reminded him that in this affair, he was vulnerable in a way he’d never been before.

  When she’d finished tidying him up, she raised unsteady hands to her hair. “Do I look like I’ve been kissing a disreputable gentleman?”

  He smiled, almost reconciled to letting her go. After all, he’d never intended to seduce Stella in this ramshackle vehicle. She was so perfect in his arms that he’d got ahead of himself. Which was a surprise in itself. Lord Halston never approached a liaison without making all the calculations. “A little.”

  It was more the languorous glow in those brilliant eyes than anything obvious like disordered clothing. He’d got bloody excited, considering he hadn’t undone a single button on that severe frock.

  She looked dismayed and started to smooth her hair. Halston watched her with intense pleasure. He couldn’t remember being this interested in a conquest since…

  Well, since never.

  “Come and kiss me,” he murmured. “So I have something to keep me going until we reach Prestwick Place.”

  The gaze she leveled on him was hot enough to get him all het up again. “Is that a good idea?”

  “Do you care?”

  She looked troubled. “I fear you’re a rash devil, and you’re going to cause me a lot of bother.”

  “I hope so. Even if just in a private capacity.”

  A reluctant laugh escaped as she slid closer. “I wish it was Saturday and I was at Prestwick Place.”

  “So do I.” He curled his good arm around her and drew her unresisting body against his.

  Stella placed her hands on either side of his head. “Kiss me, Halston.”

  Their lips met, and once again everything beyond their embrace disappeared. He took his time, tantalizing her until she sighed with pleasure. Then he lost himself in a passionate exploration that threatened to turn his blood to steam.

  When he raised his head, she’d collapsed against the seat. She looked as overcome as he felt. Her hands curled over his shoulders. “I wish I didn’t have to leave you.”

  He’d wanted confirmation that what they did affected her as deeply as it affected him. He’d wanted to regain his power over her. Now he did. Yet there was no triumph, just pleasure in knowing that whatever this glorious insanity was, they suffered together.

  “Then don’t. Come home with me now and let’s feed on each other until we’re sated. If ever a woman was born to rule a sensual kingdom, it’s you. It’s an offence to nature for you to be a dried-up stick of a governess.”

  For one resonant moment, he wondered whether she’d throw away everything that trapped her in her uncle’s house. He found himself praying that she’d agree. Together, they could handle any disaster that followed.

  Then, as part of him knew she must, she pushed herself up to sit apart. “Tempting as that offer is, Halston, we live in the real world.”

  “I haven’t felt like I lived in the real world since I first kissed you.”

  Stella dismissed his ardent comment with a laugh. “Then it’s a good thing that one of us is trying to be practical.” She paused. “The carriage has stopped.”

  “Has it?” Halston couldn’t look away from her face, soft and rosy after those tempestuous kisses.

  “Does that mean we’re back in Lorimer Square? I’m not game to show myself.”

  He didn’t move straightaway. “If it does, you’ll leave me.”

  Her lips turned down. “I must.” With a shaky laugh, she once again smoothed her fiercely restrained hair. “What you do to me.”

  With great reluctance, he lifted the blind far enough to confirm that they were on a side street off Lorimer Square. Blast it all, he felt like he’d only been with her for five minutes.

  Halston sent Stella a hopeful look, even as he knew it wasn’t fair to ask her to stay. “I hate sending you back to servitude.”

  She shrugged. “It’s not so bad. At least Imogen isn’t a little tyrant. Don’t imagine I’ve suffered this last ten years.”

  Except that he already knew she had. He’d caught a glimpse of the vivid creature who lurked under the controlled exterior. He hated to think of Stella spending years concealing her true self beneath that prim manner. And while she seemed to accept her life, it couldn’t have been easy to humble that proud spirit.

  “One more kiss?”

  She shook her head, but the longing in her eyes told him that she didn’t want to go. Hell, sometimes – often – he loathed society with its curiosity and its judgement and its endless rules. But never did he hate it so much as now. What harm would it do to the world if he took Stella Faulkner away with him now?

  “One more kiss will turn into two, then three.”

  And after that, more than kisses. Passion like this wouldn’t long be content with kisses. Sucking in a shuddering breath, Halston tried to console himself with a reminder that they’d have their chance in a few days.

  It wasn’t enough.

  He began to doubt if anything he did with this woman would be enough. Although that thought must stem from the unusual restrictions placed around this particular affair. He never pursued respectable women. In particular, respectable women with as much to lose as Stella. In general, he despised those unprincipled swine who took advantage of servants in no position to say no.

  That wasn’t Stella, thank God. But they were both aware of her precarious situation. Not even a whisper must escape that buttoned-up Miss Faulkner had fallen prey to a rake’s advances.

  Right now, letting her go felt like someone sliced at him with a razor, but he was in the throes of wanting without possessing. Once she’d surrendered, surely he’d grow bored, surely whatever power she wielded would fade. He’d solve her mysteries and when he did, as always happened, she’d lose her allure.

  But as Halston stared into those golden-brown eyes, it didn’t feel like that would ever happen. When he stared into those golden-brown eyes, he couldn’t help but wonder if this was the one woman whose appeal would last.

  Romantic nonsense. After all his experience, he should know better.

  The scoffing voice lacked conviction. Because if this was the woman whose appeal never palled, where did that leave him?

  Chapter 6

  “My goodness, Stella, it’s magnificent!”

  Stella raised her head. She’d been pretending to read a book for most of th
e trip from London. She hadn’t taken much of it in because her thoughts dwelled on Lord Halston’s kisses.

  Beside her, Imogen’s maid snorted awake, but when she saw they were still traveling, she closed her eyes again. Nancy was a good-hearted girl, but inclined to laziness when she could get away with it.

  Imogen leaned out the carriage window, one hand holding her stylish chip straw bonnet in place as she drank in the scenery.

  “Sit down, Imogen, unless you want to look like a wild hoyden when we arrive at the house. You’ll have plenty of time to see the estate over the next few days.”

  “But look, Stella.”

  Feeling as if she gave into sinful temptation, she put aside her novel. “You’ll have to shift away from the window before I can see, you ridiculous girl. One would think you’ve never seen a country house before.”

  As she settled back in her seat, Imogen gave a self-conscious laugh. “I know I’m being frightfully gauche, but Prestwick Place is more impressive than our house. I’m looking forward to touring the grounds. They’re supposed to be among Capability Brown’s best work.”

  Stella rolled her eyes. When she was alone with Imogen, she didn’t need to conceal the saltier parts of her personality. “So you’ve told me about five hundred times. If I hear one more word about follies or terraces or the placement of oak groves, I swear I’ll throw myself out of this carriage.”

  Imogen smiled without a trace of remorse. “I fear I’m a dreadful trial to you.”

  Stella smiled back. “Perhaps not a dreadful trial.”

  “You’re too good to me. But I’ve wanted to see Prestwick Place for years. I’ve been trying to achieve some of the same effects at Hamble Park, but Papa is proving uncooperative.”

  “He didn’t let you dig three new lakes. I remember that. I can’t imagine your suffering, you poor deprived creature.”