His face shuttered. “If you would be gracious enough to accept mine.”
“I…what?”
“I insulted you. There was no cause for it, nor did I make amends when it was evident you were grievously injured,” he said gruffly. “Forgive me.”
Her mouth opened, but no words came forth. He’d rendered her speechless. Never had she expected him to offer any apology.
She smiled tentatively. “Thank you. So are we to be friends?”
“Good God, no. I am sure we will be back to crossing swords tomorrow. The sooner the better.”
A pang went through her heart. “I will fetch the pail.”
He frowned, taking a few steps away from her. “It’s best you return to your chambers. The servants will sort it out in the morning.”
“Are you certain, my lord?”
“Yes.”
“But where will you sleep?”
“The bed is big enough for me and my slimy friends.”
It certainly was. The large four-poster bed dominated the earl’s chamber. But what if they migrated onto him through the night? “My lord, I—”
“Go! Before…” He lowered his lids and hissed between his teeth.
Before what? “My lord, I—”
“Go,” he snapped again, low and dangerous, and once more awareness of their seclusion slithered through her.
“Of course,” she muttered hastily, and hurried from the room. Livvie all but ran down the hallway and the winding staircase, feeling her way in the dark, confident of her steps after memorizing all the fine details of the house before she painted its interiors.
Her heart was a beating mess inside her chest. She had been childish enough to place slugs into the earl’s bed and he had apologized.
For a few moments no animosity had existed…and…and…it had been wonderful.
Chapter Five
Tobias jogged toward the cliff’s edge abutting his estate, his three great boarhounds rollicking along at his side. They bounded up the hill, and he laughed, enjoying the invigorating run. They crested the peak, and he slowed to a walk, picking up a few twigs and sticks and throwing them. His dogs ignored his antics and instead bounced against his side, urging him to play. Sinking to his knees he tousled with the massive animals, laughing as they slobbered over his face, one even going as far as to nip him on the collarbone.
“You were always the rebel weren’t you, Hera,” he murmured, gripping her by the scruff and rolling with her. He hated that he had to return to London soon. The peace and tranquility he felt at Grangeville Park, he’d never found elsewhere. But there were problems to solve, meetings to be had, influential lords to convince to his way of thinking, or to blackmail if his gentler methods of persuasion failed. There was so much to do to alleviate the poverty he found in the city.
There was another reason he needed to depart for Town with haste.
Lady Olivia Sherwood.
Hot, urgent desire stirred inside at the mere thought of her and the realization touched a raw nerve. Surging to his feet, ignoring his dogs’ howls for him to continue playing with them, he walked to the edge of the incline overlooking the rolling hills and ravine of his lands. There he stood, the wind at his back, tugging at the simple white shirt he had donned with his breeches and top boots this morning.
He tilted his head to the heavens, breathing in the crisp fresh air, trying to clear the vexing woman from his thoughts. Then he felt it. Eyes were on him, piercing and intent. He held himself still, absorbing the sensation of being watched and instinctively knowing such a bold regard belonged to Lady Olivia. Without glancing about, Tobias could tell she was studying him…avidly. Her stare strolled and kissed over his skin like a silken caress. A grim smile curled Tobias’s lips. The knowledge that she was just as attracted to him was unaccountably appealing. Why?
He turned his head left and spied her sitting under his favorite cypress tree, her light pink dress billowing across her ankles. She had a sketchpad gripped in her hands, her cheeks and chin were smudged with paint, and her glorious hair tumbled in loose waves around her shoulders. He suddenly wished his hands were buried in her tangled, silken mess. At that realization, he returned her regard, causing her eyes to widen and a flush to work its way up to her cheeks. There was something charming about her when she was flustered.
Temptation tugged at him with relentless force. Clenching his teeth until they ached, he urged himself to look away without acknowledging her presence. He’d left their guests playing charades in the parlor; he should have known Lady Olivia would flee such merriment to bury herself deeper in the countryside. His mother complained incessantly that Lady Olivia was fast and scandalous, despite possessing a comely figure and keen intellect. It was a great pity, according to his mother, that she was not more docile. An assessment he had instinctively rejected. This morning, Lady Olivia had fenced and had soundly thrashed Lord Muir, who had not realized his opponent was a woman until she tugged off the mask. The gasps and outraged whispers were multiple—they had spread through the house at alarming speed. Yet instead of being annoyed…Tobias had been amused at her mettle and had admired her skill, perhaps he had even felt some admiration for the lady herself.
Anger snapped though him at that very unwelcome thought. It was only last week that she had been outrageous enough to dare place slugs between his sheets. Since then, every damn night he had dreamed about drawing the minx underneath him, parting her legs and feasting on her wetness, then sinking his cock deep and thrusting into her repeatedly for hours on end.
He needed to escape the estate and her tempting presence. God’s blood, he didn’t even like her. His desire for her had made him curt to the point of shocking churlishness. Olivia, instead of quivering like many who had experienced a whiff of his displeasure, had traded with him blow for blow. It was unusual for him to appreciate her fieriness. Though it could have been because Lady Willa was underfoot, since that young lady seemed to agree with everything he said. It was as if she had no original thoughts of her own, despite the keen, devious intelligence he could see in her gaze at times.
He had to leave before he did something stupid like stroll over to Olivia now and sit beside her. Then take her lips between his teeth, letting his tongue tease her into opening her mouth. She had the most intriguing mouth he’d ever seen and never had he wanted to kiss a lady as much as he did Olivia. With a soft growl under his breath, and with a sharp command to his dogs, he spun and retreated in desperation back to the main house.
He would leave tonight. There was not a moment to delay. He must go before he went insane.
…
Tobias recognized it was time to admit defeat. Lady Arabella’s inviting stares held no appeal. His thoughts were miles away. She had been trying to entice him upstairs to her bed for the past few hours to no avail. They had been lovers for almost two years, and his desire for her had been waning for some time now.
No….it had been waning since I first met Lady Olivia.
He had ridden from Grangeville Park and headed straight to Arabella…and even at such a distance, the infuriating female was preventing him from indulging in his pleasures. He’d truly believed a night with his mistress would cure him of this unrelenting ache he had for the hoyden. How woefully wrong he had been. He’d been unable to even kiss Arabella.