“I don’t think so, my lady,” Daniel said. “I must stay at the ball. I am the host.”
“You weren’t worried about your hosting duties earlier.”
“I am now.” He shook his arm loose from her grasp.
“What has gotten into you, Daniel? An hour ago you couldn’t wait to debauch me on the side of the manor.”
“Lower your voice,” he commanded. “And stop using my Christian name.”
“You never mind me using it in the bedchamber.” She slid her hand inside his jacket and caressed his chest.
“For God’s sake, stop that!”
Amelia removed her hand abruptly, her face tense, but then she eased her lips into a smile. “Your Grace, I feel a bit of a headache coming on. I shall have to retire. And you know, my chamber has been so dusty. I could hardly breathe in there this afternoon. I’m afraid I just can’t abide the thought of sleeping there.”
“I’m sorry it doesn’t suit you. I’ll send a maid to give it an extra cleaning on the morrow.”
“But what shall I do tonight?” she asked with mock innocence. “I fear I shall have to find an alternative place to sleep. But don’t you worry a smidgeon about me. I’ll find a bed. Somewhere.” She winked and then slowly turned and walked toward the door of the ballroom.
Christ. Now he would have to find somewhere else to sleep. He turned his attention back to Polk and Lily. They left the dance floor and sat down at the table with Lord Jameson and the blond girl. Lily was laughing gaily, talking with her hands again. As she smiled up into Polk’s admiring gaze, another twinge of jealousy speared Daniel. Damn it.
Polk rose, walked to the refreshment table, and brought back two glasses of champagne for himself and Lily. They sat, talking, while Jameson and the blonde got up to dance. Daniel thought of joining them, but what would he say to her?
Polk was his oldest and closest friend, yet at the moment Daniel wanted to jam his aristocratic nose into the nearest wall and then carry Lily off like a pirate’s prize.
God, he wanted to kiss her again. Just thinking about it aroused him. He grew stiff, but the release he craved…
Amelia. No doubt she was naked, lying in his bed. Bloody hell, a bird in the hand and all. He turned and walked swiftly out of the ballroom.
He entered his bedchamber stealthily, removed his clothes, and slipped under the cool sheets where Amelia lay.
“What took you so long, darling?”
He didn’t answer. He wasn’t interested in the niceties this evening. Quickly he moved on top of her.
“Easy, lover. I can see you’re impatient. It has been a long time, after all. But I want to please you. Have you forgotten how good I am at the preliminaries?”
“Don’t talk.” He reached between her legs, parted her intimate folds, and plunged his fingers into her depths.
Amelia gasped. “I’m not quite ready for you, Daniel. Give me some time, and it will be better for both of us.”
“I said don’t talk.” The sound of her voice bothered him.
He removed his hand from between her legs and rolled away from her. It was Lily’s voice he wanted to hear. Lily’s body he wanted to feel under his. Never before had he thought of one woman while he was with another.
He breathed heavily, the ache between his legs pulsating in a blind heat. He was barely aware of Amelia moving on top of him. She wet her fingers with her tongue and slid them back and forth across her pussy, moistening herself to receive him. She grasped his cock with one hand and rubbed the tip back and forth against her opening, sighing softly. Slowly she began to ease herself onto him.
“No, Amelia.” He grabbed her around the waist and easily lifted her off. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to do this.”
“What is the matter, darling? Aren’t you feeling well?”
“It’s not that. It’s just…”
“Of course, whatever you like, my love,” she said. “Just hold me for a while.” She snuggled against his chest and laid her head in the crook of his arm.
He stiffened. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I…this is hard for me to say.”
“Go on, dearest. We have the whole night ahead of us.”