Page 56 of Cocky August Rake
She slipped her arms in the sleeves and pulled the fabric around her front.
Then she met his eyes. “You wished to please me, my lord,” she said softly. “You have very much. Thank you.”
His gaze dropped to her mouth.
Rose smiled, though her heart was still beating far too hard.
“Next time,” she said, “I shall please you.”
He shook his head. “I was Reginald a moment ago.”
“But you are my lord, are you not?” Rose asked.
For one moment, he did not answer.
He only looked at her.
Then his expression changed, the tenderness she’d seen, and what she’d thought might be affection… It drained away.
“This changes nothing.” His voice suddenly sounded loud in the small room.
Rose drew the robe more securely around herself.
“You may tell yourself that,” she said, ignoring the stinging in her eyes.
Because she knew men. She knew wanting.
Passion, Rose knew, could change everything.
“I want you. More than I have ever wanted anyone. But this will not happen again.” His jaw tightened. “I am going to close The Domus.”
It surprised her. His honesty.
Rose lifted her chin.
“Then you still don’t understand it.”
His eyes came back to hers.
“No,” he said quietly. “And I never will.”
A DANGEROUS WOMAN
Reginald did not return to The Domus that night.
Instead, he took lodgings near the docks, in a cramped room overlooking the dry dock where the Phantom Gale rested on her supports.
He could have gone to Harry’s townhouse on Regent Street, but his brother was newly married, with a wife and infant son. Reginald had no place carrying his particular turmoil into their home.
He had expected the salty air, the hammering from the yard, and the familiar sight of his ship to clear his head.
Instead, the river reminded him of the slick heat of Rose beneath his mouth.
Every groan of timber became the catch in her breath.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her looking down at him. Felt the stinging where her fingers tugged at his hair. Heard his name whispered over and over as her composure broke apart.
Reginald.
