Page 90 of The Lord Next Door
“Be quiet!” Norton hissed.
“Is your wife inside?” David asked politely. “Perhaps we should awaken her.”
“All right, you’ve won,” Norton said between gritted teeth.
“You’ll leave the Perrys alone?”
“Yes.”
“If I hear you’ve threatened any of them—”
“What’s the point? He’ll have already turned over his shares to your company.”
“You’re a smart man, Norton.” David tossed the henchman through the door, and he groaned as he landed on the floor. “Do something about this, won’t you?”
The directors gathered around David, talking and laughing as they escorted him the few steps to the street. They clapped his back, they offered to take him out for a drink, but in the end, Victoria was waiting for him. He could just see her head through the open door of the carriage. The dispersal of the caravan took a few more minutes, and then he was finally able to climb up beside her, after telling the coachman to take them home. The door closed, the carriage pulled away from the curb, and they were alone.
“That was wonderful,” she said.
“So you like to see me bullying people?” He arched a brow.
“Only for a good cause. Do you think he’ll really leave the Perrys alone?”
“What else can he do? He wants to keep doing business in this city. He tried blackmail; it didn’t work. I think he’ll go onto his next little project.”
Victoria hesitated.
“Go ahead, ask,” he said.
“Did you mean what you said, that you’d go public with your part in the railway if Norton didn’t cease his pressure?”
“Yes. I’m not going to let innocent people get hurt because of my pride.” He softened his voice. “And it really wouldn’t have mattered. It only matters what you think, Victoria.”
He looked down at her with a very thorough gaze.
“You can’t stay in those wet clothes,” he said.
She stared at him. “Well of course I can. The journey home won’t take long.”
“It’s at least a half hour’s drive farther into the city. Now turn around.”
“I—”
“Victoria, when a husband wishes to remove his wife’s clothes, she usually lets him.”
She gave him her back. “Even in a carriage?”
“Especially in a carriage.”
He wanted to rip the peacock feathers from Victoria’s back. He couldn’t stand another item between him and his wife’s smooth body.
Finally the feathers were gone, and he could feel the cool skin on the back of her shoulders. He kissed her there, running his tongue along her neck, kissing behind her ear, all while his fingers finally managed to undo the tiny buttons down her back. The lantern behind them swayed, chasing shadows across her creamy skin. He peeled the sodden gown down her body, and had her stand hunched over, to get the skirt off.
When everything was gone but her chemise, he whispered against her mouth, “Your drawers, too.”
She released a little sigh that mingled with his own quick breaths.
“Hurry,” he urged. “I’m impatient for you.”
