Page 33 of Winning the Wallflower's Heart
“I’m yours.” Georgiana tugged at the nape of his neck until his forehead met with hers.
I always have been,she added to herself.
CHAPTER 9
Georgiana rolled over,opening her eyes as the late morning sun poured in through the window. Her hand was draped across Ellis’s chest, and she turned and grinned into the mattress.
Last evening was... well, it was everything.
She sighed, happy and content, trying her best to remain calm. The doubts were already starting to creep in, and she just wanted to stay in this one blissful moment a little longer. She couldn’t get the smile off her face, and she loved his warm skin against hers—loved the smell of his cologne on her, her lips bruised from kissing, and that tender ache between her legs reminding her just what had happened between them last evening.
When they’d left the library and the ball, they returned home, but Georgiana didn’t return to her room. Ellis had pushed her up against the wall in the stairwell and kissed her, then lifted her, and playfully brought her into his room.
This time, their passion was shared and slow, their movements careful—no longer afraid of someone banging on the library door or others catching wind of what they were up to.
“Good morning,” he whispered, his voice rough from lack of sleep.
She pressed her fingers into his ribs and grinned up at him, even as she carefully assessed his face, waiting for him to pull away. She couldn’t stand to think of her heart being broken after last evening. She had hoped things were well on their way to a new beginning between them.
“Hello,” she said.
He pressed a soft kiss to her temple and then her forehead as his arm snaked around her and pulled her on top of him. She giggled, tugging a sheet to drape in front of her, even as he shook his head and reached up to kiss her neck.
There was a knock at the door, and she dove underneath the sheets with a squeak.
Ellis grumbled before shouting, “What is it?”
“There’s a problem, Linny,” Shaw called from the other side of the door. “You need to come now.”
He bent down to lift the sheets, his eyes still burning for her. “I’m not done yet, and I have the morning off. I’ll be back.”
He draped the sheet back over her but playfully patted her bum before throwing on a pair of pants.
She peeked out from beneath the sheets to watch him as he slipped out the door to follow Shaw.
Georgiana stretched, reached for a robe, and pulled it around herself. Then she heard a familiar voice that sent a chill up her spine, and she found herself frozen at the foot of Ellis’s bed.
Her brother.
“Where is she?” Sam demanded.
She heard a vase shatter against the wall, and she quickly found some slippers, threw them on her feet, pulled the robe tightly around her, and raced downstairs.
Ellis stood before her brother, his hands outstretched, pleading with him to leave.
“There you are.”
“What do you want, Sam?” she asked, crossing her arms. She remained on the stairs, trying her best to keep some distance between them, remembering the last time they were together, and the feel of his hand gripping her arm.
She hated the wildness in his eyes. She no longer recognized the man who stood before her. She had never been close with her brother, but this man might as well have been a stranger, long lost to his vices.
“Go back upstairs, Georgie,” Ellis snapped.
What was the point of that? She knew she’d thrown on slippers before she had come downstairs, but her feet were suddenly cold as were her fingers, and a shiver traced over her as her brother turned his attention toward her.
“Look at the prize you’ve got,” he said. “Happy, are you?”
Her ears began to ring, blocking out the rest of his insults. It was familiar enough for him to barrage her with cruel words until the walls around her closed in, and she made herself as small as possible and shrank away, hoping he would leave her alone. But today, his anger was nearly palpable. He reeked of alcohol. His clothes were ripped, torn, and stained.
