Wolf of Arundale Hall (17 page)

His hand slid over her shoulder, covered now by her gown, where he knew his teeth had marked her. “No.”

Her gaze held his steadily. “Then take me.”

He blinked, only seconds from doing just that—taking her against the library wall. “Imp,” he said.

When she grinned he jerked her closer and bent her over his arm to kiss the smile away.

“You’ll have to change,” he commented when he finally lifted his mouth from hers.

She blinked rapidly. “Into what?” she asked.

“Trust me.” He turned her toward the door. “I have a gift for you.”

Her brow furrowed. “A gift? When did you have time to get me a gift?”

“When I was in London, before I arrived at Arundale. I thought I needed to bring my wife a present.” He gently led her out of the library. “But when I arrived…”

“You found me cold and unforgiving,” she said in a low voice.

When she said the words, he heard her regret. “You have every reason to be angry with me, Elizabeth, and I did not lessen it when I came home.” He slipped his hand behind the nape of her neck and reveled in her trembling. “It was not the time for my gift.”

“I know what gift I would prefer,” she mumbled.

They had reached the top of the stairs when her words reached his ears. They electrified him. He tightened his grip on the back of her neck and turned her toward him. “You’re making me insatiable,” he said, and growled deep in his throat when she molded her body to his.

“Am I?” Her voice shook a little and he held her close.

How had he got so fortunate? He kissed the top of her head, his insides shaking, his mind reeling. He didn’t deserve her at all. But he was going to keep her.

They reached her bedchamber but he diverted her to the room next door. To his room.

While in London, he’d prepared for his homecoming by purchasing a gown for his wife. It hadn’t been easy, since the dressmaker hadn’t seen Lady Arundale in two years. He could only hope her measurements hadn’t changed much.

In fact, seeing her now, he realized she’d lost weight since she’d last been to Madame Travino’s. But the dress would still fit her.

Elizabeth hesitated at the door but he pulled her in. “Come and see my present for you.”

Her lips lifted. “I thought we were going out.”

He chuckled and opened his traveling trunk. Lying on top was the evening gown he’d got for Elizabeth. Now he wondered if he’d done a good job choosing. The dress was sea green, a color he remembered seeing her in when they were young. It had a daring neckline that had made Madame’s eyebrows rise, but Joshua had been firm. The waist was high and the material clingy, but he loved the soft look of the gown.

Her eyes were wide. “You want me to wear that?”

“You don’t like it?”

“Not like it?” Her fingers touched the soft folds. “It’s beautiful.”

“Put it on, Elizabeth,” he ordered. Then, he softened his tone. “Please.”

“Joshua—”

He began to unbutton her dress, helping her out of the simple blue gown she wore. “Now, little flower.”

She stripped off her dress and slipped the new gown over her head. It draped over her just as he’d hoped it would, clinging to her sweet curves and presenting him with a delectable vision of her cleavage.

“Stunning,” he said and ran a possessive finger along her neckline.

Her nipples hardened and he saw them through the material. It made him hunger for her, yearn to crush her to him. Instead he reached up and yanked out the pins that held her hair up. “I hate your hair up. Wear it down.”

Her lashes dropped to her cheeks. “Yes, my lord.”

God, he loved her hair. Elizabeth had curly brown tresses that fell to the middle of her back and curled around her face in thick waves. “Let me help you to brush it.”

“I can do it,” she said in a low voice.

“I wasn’t asking, Elizabeth.”

She glanced up at him and the heat in her brown eyes made his cock jump. She sat in the velvet-covered chair at the desk and he retrieved a new brush he’d bought for her. He held it out for her to see. “I brought this from Jamaica.” The handle was made of ivory and the delicate designs had reminded him of the girl he’d married. Imported from France, the brush came with a comb and a case inlaid with ivory.

He laid the bristles along her scalp and ran the brush through her hair. With his fingers, he lifted the heavy strands and paid close attention to each curl. He loved the way her hair danced in his hands, electricity sparking and tingling. Her hips shifted and he twisted his hand in her hair to pull her head back. She met his gaze and he brushed the hair away from her face while he pressed his lips to hers.

When he broke the kiss, he used the stiff bristles to stroke the exposed flesh above her breasts. He traced the daring neckline he’d presumed to buy her. He loved the way her skin reddened under his ministrations.

“I believe Melinda will be no more trouble,” he began.

“She came to Arundale with an agenda, I’m afraid,” Elizabeth said, her shoulders tight.

“Most people have a hidden agenda, my love.”

“I don’t,” she said bluntly.

“No? Then why didn’t you tell me what you’d read? Why did you keep our correspondence about business?”

She stiffened. “I told you. You didn’t want anything personal that might be read by others. What was I supposed to do?”

He slid his fingers across her neck and she shivered. “Trust me to read between the lines?”

“I couldn’t, Joshua. I thought—”

“You thought I’d run from you and sought love elsewhere.”

Her silence was answer enough. The tension between them stretched and tightened.

“Do you understand everything you read in those diaries?” he asked her, trying to distract them both.

She blinked, her gaze clouded. “I understand that you need…pain to keep the Beast at bay.” She glanced at him, licked her lips, then stared down.

“But you don’t understand Perry.”

Elizabeth’s chest rose and fell as she took a deep breath. “He… Every time I’ve found him, he’s been tied up and whipped. Not like— I mean, he wasn’t dominating.”

“He was tied up like you were tied up.”

Finally she raised her gaze to meet his. “Yes.”

Joshua had a strong feeling he knew why his brother sought a different kind of release. “The doctor, the one who helped me, explained something to me.” He remembered how difficult that decision had been. He’d had to trust someone, reach out to someone for help. “When the Beast is close, exertion of a certain kind is the only thing that works to satisfy its craving.”

“Sexual exertion,” she guessed.

He nodded. “Yes. And pain. I exorcised my Beast by fighting, taking thrashings or dishing them out. But my brother is using sex to reach the same goal. Once he finds his mate, he won’t have to do that.”

“Why didn’t you stop him?”

“Because he wasn’t ready to hear it.” Joshua brushed her hair slowly. “You don’t believe that I won’t leave you even though I tell you I won’t. Perry doesn’t believe he can be helped even though Lord Everret has tried.”

His wife glanced away. “I wronged Lord Everret.”

Joshua gripped her chin. “Your willingness to show submission in his presence erases that wrong.”

“How can we help Perry?”

“By bringing out his dominant side. You can help me with that. He respects you, fights for you.”

Her eyes widened. “He does?”

One side of Joshua’s mouth rose. “One disrespectful word from Lord Everret and Perry had broken his bindings to fight him.”

“I wish I could be appalled by that, but…”

“It comforts you,” Joshua finished for her with a smile. “You should know that I would not allow Perry to fight for your honor.”

She swallowed and dropped her stare to the floor. “Oh.”

He sighed. How the hell was he going to convince her that he loved her, would die for her? “No.
I
fought for you.”

Her gaze jerked back to his face. “You did?”

God, she was so desirable, so beautiful without even trying as some women did. He tossed the brush on the writing desk and hauled her into his arms. “You belong to me, Elizabeth. You’re mine.” He yanked her head back by the hair and exposed her neck so he could scrape his teeth along the spot where her pulse pounded. “I would fight for you, die for you. Someday, you’ll believe me.”

Her breath quickened and he kissed his way up her slender neck to her straight jaw and her luscious lips. When his lips claimed hers, she moaned, her hands clenching in his hair as if she would fall. Thoroughly, he kissed her, devoured her, reminded her that she was his heart and soul.

When he finally took a breath, he lost it again when he looked at her. Her half-closed eyes shone with lust. Her nipples were hardened peaks through the thin material of the dress he’d chosen for her. An erotic flush had spread over her chest and neck up to her cheeks. Her lips were full and wet from his kiss.

How was he going to make it to Lord Everret’s without fucking her? “My God, Elizabeth. You would tempt the very devil,” he said, his Beast growling and clawing within him.

“Then let him loose,” she dared him.

“Elizabeth,” he warned.

Her arms circled around his neck and she stood on tiptoe. She nipped his ear and he almost knocked her to the floor to possess her. His Beast howled and roared for release, for satisfaction.

“Joshua,” she whispered.

But he was in control. He gripped her shoulders and pressed her away from him. “In due time, little flower. Not now.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Because you’re in control.”

“Yes.”

Then, her nostrils flared. “I’d like to break that control.”

God, she was close to breaking it at that moment. Anger suited his little wife. The Beast liked a fight and he hoped Elizabeth was going to give it to him. “Perhaps. But I’d like to preserve that pretty dress.”

She tipped her chin and straightened her hair. “Then perhaps we should go.”

He studied her from her long, flowing hair to the low neckline of her gown to the dainty slippers on her feet. “Yes. Much as I like this dress, I want you naked.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Oh? I just offered that and you turned it down. I don’t think you know what you want.”

He grinned. “I want you naked at Lord Everret’s. Some men take their wives to a ball to show their status. I want you there, naked, mine.” The smile dropped away and he cupped her face. “No one else will have you, no matter how much you beg. If you want release, you’ll have to beg me.”

She jerked her chin away and her lips were pursed, but she said nothing. He took her arm and walked with her to the door. “This way, my lady.”

When he opened the door, he found Sarah standing outside it. Joshua had clearly startled her and she dropped a clumsy curtsy. “Lord Everret has sent a message, sir.”

Her eyes widened at the sight of her employer’s dress.

“Thank you,” he said, and took the envelope from the small silver platter Sarah held. As expected, Marcus held Perry isolated. It was time to show Perry how to control his Beast.

There was something in Sarah’s demeanor that told Joshua she knew much more than she let on. “Why did you take this job, Sarah?”

The woman shot Elizabeth a glance and licked her lips. “Lady Arundale rescued me from an orphanage school—”

“That’s a lie,” Joshua snapped and Elizabeth gasped. “You manipulated Elizabeth. Why did you want to be employed at Arundale Hall?”

A sullen, stubborn expression twisted Sarah’s features. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Don’t you?” he snapped. “All right, if you won’t explain that, perhaps you can explain what happened with my brother?”

Her lips trembled. “I don’t know what you mean, my lord.”

“You keep repeating that, but I don’t believe you,” he said in a hard tone. “What did he ask you to do? And don’t tell me he assaulted you, because that would be a lie.”

“Please, my lord,” she said, and tears gathered in her eyes.

“You see, Elizabeth? An agenda. Even Sarah has one. She wanted a position here. She’s very loyal to you, but she needed something from the Arundales.”

Suddenly, Sarah’s eyes blazed. “No. I don’t need anything from you,” she snapped.

“Then what happened?”

“He asked me to—” She stopped and bit her lip.

“He asked you to whip him?”

She nodded. “And…I did it, but…”

“But you didn’t want to. You wanted to receive the lashes, not give them.”

Her face flooded with color and her gaze lowered. “Yes,” she said in a whisper.

“Right. Get your cloak.”

Elizabeth protested. “Joshua, no.”

“Yes. She came here and she knew, Elizabeth,” he said, his stare never leaving the little maid’s face. “I don’t know how or why, but she knew.”

“I would never betray Lady Arundale,” Sarah said in a ringing voice.

“But me? Would you betray me? Or Perry?” He shook his head. “Get your cloak, Sarah. You’re coming with us.”

“Where?” the maid whispered.

“That, my dear, is not for you to know. Get your cloak or I will toss you in the carriage without it.”

Sarah fled.

Elizabeth glared at Joshua. “What do you have planned?”

He gripped her arm and hustled her down the stairs. “I hope to reveal more truths.” He gave a low snort of derision. “But we shall see, won’t we?”

Chapter Ten

The carriage ride was odd and Elizabeth kept her gaze on the cushion across from her. Joshua ignored her wishes and pressed his body against hers, his warmth seeping through her.

Sarah stared at Joshua, her face white and her lips colorless. The woman was terrified of Joshua. Which only proved her husband was correct. Sarah had known about the men of Arundale.

One more person who had lied to Elizabeth. She couldn’t even look at her maid without feeling betrayed by everyone around her.

“My lady,” Sarah began.

“You will not speak unless I give you leave,” Joshua snapped. “Is that understood?”

Sarah glared at him. “Or what?”

Joshua smiled. “Or you’ll receive punishment.”

Elizabeth shuddered. Punishment. From Joshua, she was sure punishment would be both pleasure and pain. She pursed her lips. She didn’t need words to communicate her displeasure, her frustration.