Page 63 of Lord of Fortune
Tightening the tie of her dressing gown, Amelia ventured farther into his room. There wasn’t a chair for her to sit in, unless she wanted to pull the desk chair over to the hearth. Which she might,ifhe gave her any indication he wanted her to stay. Right now, she assumed he was moments from banishing her.
She took up a position near the corner of his bed, less than a couple of dozen inches from his bare feet. He wore only his breeches that stretched just past his knees and a shirt that had been pulled from the waistband and was, of course, open at the neck absent a cravat. She was seeing far more of Penn Bowen than she ever had before, and her body was well aware of it, reacting with heat and desire. She shoved it aside. Now was not the time for such distractions. “Your mother told me about the Earl of Stratton.”
His gaze, still dark and tormented, lifted to hers. “You mean me?”
“No, I meant the prior earl.”
“But the issue is me, isn’t it?” He tipped the cup back into his mouth, draining whatever was inside. Then he set the empty tumbler down onto the hearth to his left.
“Yes. I can imagine—”
“Can you?” he snapped. “Can you really imagine how this feels? My entire life has been upended. Hell, my entire life is a bloody lie.” He jumped to his feet and prowled past her.
She turned as he walked by, her body tense and on edge as she witnessed this new side of him. He’d always been genial and unflappable—even when they’d been tied up by brigands. But this was something wholly different, and she knew it.
“I know,” she said quietly. “That’s why I can only imagine how this feels. And what I imagine is that you’re devastated.”
He paced on the opposite side of the bed but said nothing. Just when she was about to move toward him, he came around the bed in a flash, stopping right in front of her. “Devastated is a good word. Also furious. And heartbroken. My parents knew all this time and never told me.”
Heartbroken.Hearing him say that twisted her heart too.
“I’m sure they had a good reason.”
He let out a derisive snort. “Can you think of one?”
She could but wasn’t sure he really wanted her to answer. “They wished to keep it a secret from Stratton? He doesn’t sound like a very nice person.”
“Yes, that’s their reasoning. But why not trust me with this life-altering, future-changing secret?” His eyes blazed with anger as he leaned toward her. “Why let me create a life as a scholar and an adventurer knowing I was going to have to cast it all aside to become a fucking earl?”
His crude language jabbed at her, but she didn’t blame him. It only made her want to soothe him even more. Before she could say a word, however, he continued his ranting. “I don’t want that life. I want the life I already have. Ilikethat life. Especially since you came into it.”
His fury melted into something else—a heat she felt into her bones as he stared at her with desperation. She touched his face, feeling the scrape of his beard emerging along his jaw. “Penn—”
“That’s not even my name.” His voice was rough and sad. “It’s William. My mother changed it to some place we visited—Pennard. I’d forgotten that until today.”
“You shall always be Penn to me,” she said softly, caressing his cheek.
“Penn, your partner?” he asked huskily.
She dragged her hand along his jaw and brushed the pad of her thumb over his lips. “My partner. My friend. My lover.” She infused the last with a bit of a question, holding her breath as she waited for his response.
His gaze speared into hers before he drew her thumb into his mouth, licking her flesh with his tongue. Then his hands came around her waist, and he pulled her to his chest. He released her thumb from his lips. “You’re certain? Because I am on the edge of so many emotions right now. Rejection is not something I want to contemplate.”
She brought her other hand up between them and cupped his face. “I’ve never been more certain of anything.” And it was true. She wanted him with the ferocity she saw reflected in his gaze. “I don’t think I could handle rejection either—if you recall, you’re the one who pulled away last night.I’mthe one who opened my door to hopefully persuade you to change your mind.”
“Bloody hell, I mangled that,” he whispered. “Not tonight. Tonight, I’m yours. Completely.”
“Then I shall take you.”
