Page 22 of The Notorious Lord Sin
A small, ridiculous part of her liked it. Wanted him to be the sweet, courteous man he once had been. While another would take all of these looks and feelings she evoked and throw them back at his face.
Just as he had done to her.
"Yes, damn it, Paris." His cock strained more in her hand, and she felt his manhood pulsing as he spent over his chest, the pearl-colored liquid spilling against him.
She sat before him, watching as he caught his breath. He reached for her, touching her cheek and meeting her eyes.
"Thank you," he breathed. "But you know it only makes me want you more," he admitted, leaning forward. "Give yourself to me, Paris. We can be as we once were. Forgive the wrongs and be happy."
If only they could, but the wrongs were too great. She wanted to rail at him that he had left her before even finding out if their one night together had resulted in a child.
How could he have done that to her? To this day, she could not fathom it.
She supposed it could have been his youth, his family pressing him to do better, but he was already the viscount. He could have chosen for himself and be damned what his family thought.
Paris pushed away from the settee and pulled the handkerchief from Dominic's waistcoat, dropping it onto his stomach. "You best clean yourself off and go before too much time has passed. I do not need my servants talking about the goings on in this room."
He clasped the handkerchief and did as she asked. Without another word, he pulled down his shirt, securing it in his breeches before buttoning up his waistcoat. "Will I see you at Lady Hirch's rout this evening?"
"Yes," she said, sitting beside the fire and thankful for the space between them. She would not succumb to his charm, nor his desperate words of reconciliation.
She could not be so weak as to fall for such sweet, meaningless words yet again.
"But you really ought to court a young woman who is seeking a husband, as you are a wife. I'm not that lady, Dominic. I will never be that lady again," she stated, trying to force him to see sense. To not look in her direction for something she would not give him.
He had his chance, and he had thrown her to the curb. She would not allow him to hold all the power ever again.
He chuckled, but she could hear the uncertainty in his tone. Hopefully, with any fortune, he was starting to understand what she would and would not give.
"I shall see you this evening," he said, bowing and walking from the room.
Paris sighed and slumped back onto the chair, thankful to be alone. If only to gain her equilibrium. She could not think straight when he was around and needed to be strong. Perhaps her plan to hurt him should stop, especially when she feared that he would not be the only one in pain at the end of their affair.
Dominic stood in the upstairs parlor of Lady Hirch's rout. The rooms were all a crush, people mingling, talking, drinking, and yet he felt as though no one was saying anything at all.
He spied Lord Lupton-Gage and made his way over to him, bowing over her ladyship's hand in greeting. "So good to see you both. With this crowd, it is hard to find anyone's acquaintances."
Lady Lupton-Gage chuckled and sidled up closer to her husband. "We are off to the Jenkin's rout after this one. Who would have thought so many people were in London at this time of year?" she said.
"Very true," Dominic agreed.
"How is your friendship with Lady Hervey? Have you settled matters with her?" Gage asked him.
Dominic glanced at her ladyship, and Gage waved his concerns aside. "Do not concern yourself with the marchioness. There is nothing that I keep from her," he said, his lips twitching in an attempt to hide his grin.
Dominic sighed and turned to watch everyone else who walked the halls and rooms of the town house. "I do not know what is happening between us, in all honesty. I feel as though I'm at sixes and sevens. I have made my feelings known, and there are times where I feel as though she reciprocates those emotions, but then other times ..." He let his words trail off, fighting to find the right phrases to say aloud. Expressions that would not offend or give away too much of what they had done together.
"What happens at those other times?" Gage queried, the concern in his tone giving him the strength to speak what he feared deep within him.
"That she is there, but she is not, if that makes any sense at all. I do not know what she wants, and sometimes I question if she even likes me, and then other times there is nothing that will keep us apart."
"Have you asked her?" Gage asked him.
"I have tried, and I have been honest. I have apologized for my treatment of her. I was young and a fool, listening to the wrong people, and I've admitted that to her, but I feel it's not enough. I feel she does not believe me and that I will not win her." He shrugged, frowning at his explanation. "I feel as if I have already lost her or that I never really had the chance of winning her at all."
"Being young is hardly an excuse, my lord," Lady Lupton-Gage quipped. "You broke her heart, and while I'm sorry for you, I must side with Lady Hervey on this. I do not think several days into the Season you could expect her to be compliant and do everything that you wish." She chuckled, but the sound was mocking. "A woman's heart does not heal so quickly, and I think you will need to grovel much more than you have already before you receive forgiveness in earnest." She leaned toward her husband and whispered something in his ear before she said, "If you'll excuse me. I see my friend Julia."
Dominic looked at Gage and noted his friend's thoughtful expression. "It seems the marchioness is angry with me also. I cannot win this Season. I'm doomed for failure."
