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“None whatsoever.” He spoke with a seriousness that Sebastian had only heard during their meetings before a battle. “Come, what do you say, my friend?”
It took a little longer to convince him, but by the time he left Sebastian was convinced. He knew, in his heart, that he was fighting against his own inclinations by saying no. It might be insane, and yet . . . he found himself smiling as he walked away.
The first meeting took place at a friend’s house. He wasn’t sure how Richmond had wangled it, but the place was empty apart from a skeleton crew of servants who were near enough to invisible.
Sebastian had insisted he meet with Lavinia first. Patrick might tell him she was willing but he wanted to make absolutely certain of it before they took the next step. And perhaps, too, he wanted to test his theory about the Ice Maiden. Was she really so unmoved by taking another man to her bed? By taking him to her bed?
Sebastian was not inexperienced in the bedroom. He was thirty-three and a man of the world, but this wasn’t some casual encounter. Once he had Lavinia Richmond in his arms, there would be no going back, they could never undo what they had done. At least he couldn’t. Every time he looked at her he would think about their moments together.
She was waiting for him in a small, private sitting room, her dark hair swept up, a few unruly curls brushing her cheek. Looking at her it occurred to him that he’d been tempted to twine those curls about his fingers more than once. At dinner one evening, he had found himself admiring the pale cream of her skin, the way her dark lashes swept down as she smiled at something Patrick said. And then, as now, her eyes darted to his, briefly, as if she was fully aware of his scrutiny and wasn’t sure what to do about it.
She puzzled him and fascinated him, he admitted it.
Sebastian was eager to discover what lay beneath Lavinia Richmond’s serene and unruffled surface. Because there was something more than chilly ice, he was sure of that. His fingers itched to unpin her inky hair and allow it to fall in heavy waves about her shoulders, to twine his fingers in those silky strands as he lay above her and drove deep into her body.
Startled, he realised he was hard with desire. Already.
Her eyes had grown wide, seeing him standing there. Just for a moment her face was unguarded, her eyes open and full of emotion. And in that brief moment he saw it all. He saw her. The wariness and the doubt, the longing and the desire. Before her lashes swept down as if she needed to protect herself. He watched her fold her hands together in her lap, and then she was looking at him again and now there was nothing in her face but cool enquiry.
“Captain Longhurst.”
“Lavinia,” he said, deliberately using her first name, and came to a stop before her. She stood up, elegant and beautiful, and he took her hand and bowed over it. Her fingers trembled slightly in his and he tightened his grip on them, and then placed his lips against her skin, lingering.
Yes, she was trembling, and he was an oaf to make things more difficult.
“Captain,” she said, her voice as polite as ever. “I wish to thank you for agreeing . . . for your understanding.” She removed her hand from his, tucking it inside the other one at her waist.
“I need to ask you,” he said, choosing his words. “Is this really what you want?”
“Yes, it is.” Her mouth tilted in an amused smile. “Did you think Patrick had coerced me? You should know him better than that.”
“I suppose I do.”
She gave him an intent look. “Did Patrick tell you? He is physically incapable of fathering a child.”
This wasn’t exactly what Patrick had confessed to him but it made sense. “I see.”
“You were our first choice, but if you refuse then Patrick will find someone else.”
He looked away. It was an effort to speak. “I’m not refusing,” he said. The thought of this woman with another man made his heart pound and his throat dry. His reaction surprised him—he knew he was drawn to her but to this extent?
“Then we have a bargain,” she said, and when he looked at her again he found she was smiling. It was the sort of smile one might give to a stranger or a distant acquaintance.
Suddenly Sebastian knew he wanted more from her than politeness and chilly friendship. He wanted her to turn to molten fire in his arms, to hear her voice calling out his name, to feel her quiver and shake with passion. Was that wrong of him? He no longer cared. His friend was using him to make a child on his wife—why couldn’t he get something from this bargain too?
She was collecting her reticule from the sofa, and as she turned he took her in his arms. She stiffened in surprise, eyes widening as they met his, and he almost changed his mind. What if she took fright and told him she didn’t want to go through with it? But then he threw caution to the winds and kissed her.
Her lips were soft, slightly parted with surprise, and he ran the tip of his tongue along the gap, tasting her. She melted, that was the only word for it. Her fingers folded into his jacket, hanging on as if she needed his support to stay upright.
Desire gripped him and he knew how easy it would be to let himself do all the things he wanted to her. Right here and right now. And then she was struggling, pushing him away, and her face was flushed and her eyes glittering with anger.
Not so icy now.
“You forget yourself, Captain Longhurst,” she said in a voice that was slightly breathless. “There is to be no sentiment to this bargain of ours.”
Did she think she would lie in the bed in darkness and he would delicately lift her nightdress and do the deed and then walk away? He gave an angry laugh.
“I am not a manikin to perform for you. A man needs to desire the woman he is with, to feel passion for her and her for him. If you are expecting otherwise then perhaps you should choose someone else.”
