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“I didn’t ask either of you to enter my room. He forced his way in,” Georgiana shouted. She looked at Simeon in contempt before she turned her furious gaze on Will. “Neither of you are welcome. Neither of you should consider me interested in you. If you want to stand out here and behave like fighting cocks then get on with it, but don’t blame me for your stupidity.” She threw them both an exasperated glare. “If we have drawn the attention of the hotel’s guests it is purely because you are two oafs fighting like children!”
Now that she had started to rant the words flowed unchecked. She pierced Will with a glare that made him blink and take a wary step back.
“I have said all of this to you before until I am blue in the face. We are not betrothed, nor are we related. You are also not my guardian. So, you are in no position to tell me what to do! The only person who has poured scorn upon me is you. I am sorry if you consider me such a scandal. I am sorry if you consider everything I do unbecoming of a lady, but I cannot ever remember asking you for our opinion.” She snorted contemptuously and threw him a glare that was nothing short of scornful. “I may–and I repeat ‘may’–have made a foolish mistake tonight, but I did so out of innocence and not with any sense of purpose. I wasn’t asking anyone for anything or making offers either before you insult me further by daring to suggest it. In fact, you are the only one making a scandal out of nothing. You are the only one who has ruined my entire life! I am sorry, but I don’t see why I should apologise to you because I have done nothing to you.”
“You were kissing him,” Will shouted, pointing at the now smirking man still leaning against the wall. “That bastard had his hands all over you.”
The memory of seeing her in another man’s arms was enough to make his blood boil. He physically trembled with rage. His temper wasn’t helped by the stunning realisation that he had come so close to losing everything that mattered to him.
She mattered to him. Georgiana was more important to him more than anything else in his world.
“Stop it,” she screeched. “Just stop it. I was there, remember? But I didn’t ask him. Do you think I enjoyed it? Do you? Do you think I wanted someone like that to kiss me?”
“Did you arrange an assignation with him?” Will demanded.
“No, I did not,” she replied swiping at the tears on her cheeks.
“Did you ask him to your room?”
“No, I did not,” she said honestly.
He heaved a sigh. She was telling the truth. His anger began to wane. In its wake left a tense uncertainty neither of them understood. He hauled her against him and slammed his lips on hers. It was a kiss that spoke of possession rather than brutal force, and began to heal the hurt and worry in both of them.
Georgiana clung to him, too needy to resist the force of the raw desire that swept through her.
Oblivious to the startled gasps of the people in the hallway, Will continued to kiss her the way he had wanted to for a long time now. The kiss was a possession, a command to which he would accept nothing less than her total compliance. She belonged to him in just the same way that he belonged to her, and he wanted her to understand that. If he was honest, it had always been the case. He just hadn’t known it before now.
Neither of them had any idea how long they stood wrapped in each other’s arms. The rest of the world faded into insignificance while their mouths mated with rapturous abandon. It was only when the particularly loud slam of a door nearby rattled the walls that Will finally lifted his head. Rather than move away as propriety demanded, he rested his forehead against hers briefly while he willed her to understand.
“It’s going to be alright, Georgiana,” he assured her.
“It can’t be,” she cried miserably. “It can’t ever be alright again.”
Will leaned back to study her. “Let’s go inside,” he whispered as he nudged her into her room beside them. There was no sign of Simeon now, but Will wasn’t prepared to lower his guard yet, and wanted to get Georgiana to safety before he reappeared.
Georgiana entered the room before him and waited until Will had closed the door and secured it. Once they were alone, she turned toward him.
“Did he hurt you?” he began.
Georgiana shook her head but made no objection when he caught one of her hands in his and studied the red finger-marks visible on her wrists.
“He hurt you,” he whispered.
“I didn’t invite him here. He followed me,” she re-iterated.
Will nodded. Now that he had calmed down a little, logic had resurfaced. He knew Georgiana. In spite of her recent behaviour with the brandy and skinny dipping, she wouldn’t be foolhardy enough
to invite a new acquaintance to her room, especially a man.
“I am sorry I doubted you,” he said.
“I have been foolish,” she conceded.
She knew that in spite of his overbearing manner, Will only wanted what was best for her. Given Simeon’s behaviour tonight, Will had been right to caution her. She didn’t want to consider what might have happened had he not been around.
Will didn’t correct her. He still hadn’t completely forgiven her, mostly because he couldn’t quite get the image of her kissing Simeon out of his mind. Each time he relived the nightmare a jealous rage surged through him that eradicated every ounce of self-control he had ever possessed.
“Don’t do it again,” he warned. “I can’t stand you kissing another man.”
