He growled softly as her teeth nibbled the lobe, gripped her hands and shifted position so he could do exactly the same back to her. “And I’m not entirely comfortable relinquishing all control. Or any of it, if I’m honest.” By the deep furrow between his brows, it was obvious that admitting this cost him.
She kissed it to smooth it. “Then how am I going to prise out all those deep, dark secrets that you’ve never told a soul? The sort of secrets a true soulmate should know.”
“I like the idea of us being soulmates…” His mouth found hers. Did wonderfully sinful things to it. “So how about I play you for them?”
“You want to play cards? Now?”
“It’s something I’ve thought about often.” Those golden brows wiggled mischievously. “It’s a fantasy that keeps me awake at night. I’d be happy to share some secrets to turn that dream into a reality.” His fingertip toyed with the trim on her bodice. “So what do you say? Play me for them and each time you win, I’ll answer a question.”
“Thoroughly and honestly?”
“There’s your proof that I’m honest.” He pointed to the discarded queen on the mattress and then took his sweet time raking her body with his eyes. “And I promise I’ll be thorough.” Yanking the blanket out from under her, he stood, wrapped it around him, and padded to where she’d left her outside clothes. He held her beaded velvet reticule aloft, then shook his head at it as if it was the most ridiculous of fripperies before he removed the deck of cards she had confiscated. “You in?”
“Of course. It suits me to play for deep, dark secrets because I only had the one left, and I’ve just told it to you.” Shame at that secret made her intended bravado fall flat. “If it’s any consolation, there was only one man and I’ve bitterly regretted my stupidity with Argyll ever since, but I thought we were getting married and…” He pressed a finger to her lips.
“You grew up in Clerkenwell and I survived the mean streets of Five Points, so we both know that life can be ugly and some people uglier. We all make mistakes while navigating the gutter, Venus. All have regrets, and we all get hoodwinked at some time or another by someone whose motives aren’t good.” He traced the shape of her mouth then kissed it reverently. “I’m glad he was a no-good, worthless fool—because now I get to be the one you choose to spend forever with.”
“Sometimes, Galahad Sinclair, you say the loveliest things.”
“I’m feeling all sentimental after all your soulmate talk.” He cut the cards and dovetailed the pack together again without his adoring gaze once leaving hers. “But don’t let my romantic notions and blatant affection for you fool you into thinking I’m going to let you beat me at cards again, missy, for I can assure you that I intend to be ruthless.” Instead of dealing them, he laid the cards out facedown in neat rows on the mattress. “Let’s see exactly how good that big ol’ brain of yours is at remembering cards once and for all. I take it you know the complicated rules of pairs?”
“Pairs?As in the children’s parlor game?”
His serious nod made her giggle. “It only needs two players and frankly, it wouldn’t be proper for anyone else to witness you losing.”Once all the cards were laid out, he sat back and folded his arms tightly across his delicious bare chest.
“For each pair that you find, Venus, you get one deep, dark secret, and because, apparently, you don’t have any secrets worth winning and I’ve been planning this game for a while in my dreams, for each I find,youremove an item of clothing. The overall winner gets to be the one in complete control when we have our wicked way with each other afterward.” A fresh bolt of arousal ricocheted through her body at the prospect. “Are those terms acceptable to you?”
“More than acceptable.” Any more and she would combust.
“Good. Ladies first.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
After a period of reflection in the wallflower chairs, I have concluded that an older gentleman might make a more suitable mate for me. Not someone so decrepit as to require a knee blanket, pipe, and slippers, but one who is mature enough that he is naturally calmer around the opposite sex. In the way in which a gelded horse is calmer than a hot, young stallion who is prone to foam uncontrollably whenever a fertile mare is close by. And most important, someone who does not hold any power whatsoever to break my foolish heart again…
—from the diary of Miss Venus Merriwell, aged 22
It was the third time his fingers had flipped the three of spades. “You should probably know that I’ve been dreaming incessantly about this since our waltz. You losin’ then slowly stripping has caused me to wake up achin’ more mornings than I care to count.” Galahad had been undressing her with his eyes for the last five minutes, seductively distracting her as they took turns flipping the cards while they memorized them. As the wretch had clearly worked out that his accent had a profound effect on her body, he was exaggerating it in a velvety whisper almost as potent as his touch.
“You haven’t won a single pair yet, so…”
He smiled cockily as he flipped another three and waved. “Bye-bye, dress.”
“I am a stickler for rules, and I think you’ll find that as there was no initial caveat in the agreed parameters for this game that you got to choose the item of clothing, the dress remains.” But to tease him, she inched up her skirt to reveal her silk-clad leg and slowly peeled her stocking off. She dropped it in front of him, enjoying the way his eyes darkened. “One item of clothing. As agreed.”
“And thank you for being the prim schoolteacher, too. I’ve always enjoyed that…” His fingers caressed the exposed skin from her ankle to her thigh while his expression made no attempt to disguise how much he liked what he saw. “Surely, seeing as stockings come in pairs, they both should come off?”
She flicked his hand from her thigh, enjoying herself immensely even though she was torturing them both. “I would refer you again to the aforementioned lack of specific caveats.” She turned a new card—the five of hearts—and grinned in triumph as they both simultaneously remembered where the five of spades was. “What secret to prise first?” She tapped her lip. “What happened to The Four Leafed Clover?”
“Ouch!” He winced. “Go for the jugular first, why don’t you?”
She shrugged. “You failed to stipulate at the start that I should ease you in gently.”
“I told you already. It got demolished.”
Vee folded her arms, obviously unimpressed with that answer. “You promised to be thorough, so start at the beginning.” In case he was in any doubt where the beginning was, she helped him. “Your grandfather died when you were twelve, and…”
He blew out a resigned breath. “And within a few weeks of his funeral, Gervais turned up again. I say again with regard to my mother’s life, as I’d not yet had the pleasure of meeting him. I suspect he knew that we were both floundering without Grandpa. I was too young to take over the business and my ma didn’t have the first clue about how to run it, so when Gervais returned, seemingly oblivious of our recent tragedyand so keen to convince us all he was a changed man, we believed him. He stepped into the breach—or so we thought—and for a while things were better. My ma needed the help and I… well…” He glanced down to pick at some imaginary lint on his blanket. “I guess I really needed a father.”
