As he drew nearer, Adam saw the movement in her shoulders and recognized the sound echoing hollowly in the empty room and realized why she hadn't heard him. She was crying as if her heart would break. Or as if it had already broken.
Adam's stomach tightened and his heart seemed to catch in his throat. He stopped in his tracks, then silently retreated into the shadows, momentarily stunned, unsure of what to do. Her tears made him uncomfortable, anxious, and willing to do whatever he could to end them. Perhaps because they were unexpected and private. His sisters cried at the slightest provocation. They used their tears or the threat of them to wheedle gifts and favors from him. He was accustomed to those kinds of tears. This was something else.
Only last night George had informed him that people in her position did not cry. Do not be impractical, she had admonished. Everyone knows that pri—people in my position never cry.
But she was crying now. And the sight of it tore at Adam's heart. He wanted to sweep her up in his arms and hold her. He wanted to cuddle her close and promise her everything would be all right. He wanted to tell her that her secret was safe with him. He wanted ... He wanted ... her. The woman he had come to know and admire. George Langstrom, the chambermaid with the pale blond hair, fierce pride, and determined glint in her eyes.
Adam walked toward the bed.
Wagner growled, low in his throat, as he approached. Adam ignored him and closed the distance between them. He walked over to George's side of the bed and sat down. "George?"
"Go away." She didn't look up but kept her face buried in 1 he pillow.
He tried again and this time he called her by her name instead of the pet name he had given her. "Giana?" Adam placed his hand on her shoulder.
She shrugged it off. "You do not have permission to put your hand upon my person."
Adam snatched his hand back as if she had bitten it, taken aback by the rancor he heard in her voice. He wasn't sure if his shouting at her had brought it about or if there was another cause, but George was definitely in a fine fettle. Having four sisters had taught him to recognize the signs and to know when to advance and when to retreat and when to do both. But he was rapidly running out of options. "Are you crying?"
Giana scrubbed the tears from her cheeks with the heels of her hands, then rolled to her side and sat up. "Do not be absurd. We never cry in front of strangers."
"You give a good imitation of it," he said. "But since I'm no stranger, I think it's fair if you indulge."
"You think not?" she challenged.
"No," he answered gently. "I'm not." He smiled at her. "How can I be a stranger to you when I'm the man who gave you your first kiss?"
"When he had nothing better to do," she retorted. "When he would rather be kissing someone else."
"I don't know where you get your ridiculous notions or what kind of man you think I am. But I am not in the habit of kissing one woman when I would rather be kissing someone else." Adam was stunned by the way she looked at him. Tears glistened on the surface of her blue eyes—eyes that were red-rimmed and bloodshot. Her angry gaze flashed fire at him, and when she spoke, her voice was full of venom. He stood up and began to pace.
"We received our notions from you!"
"From me?" His surprise was rapidly giving way to anger.
Giana wanted him to go away so she could curl up in a tight ball of shame once again with only Wagner for company, but she could not take the coward's way out. "We heard you," she murmured. "We heard you talking to your manservant."
"When did we. hear that?" Adam demanded, stepping up to the challenge and issuing one of his own just to see how she would react. "And is that we you and Wagner or the royal one?"
"Wagner and I." Giana looked him in the eye, daring him to question her veracity. "We—I—returned to your bedchamber. I heard you speaking with your gentleman as I waited outside the door."
"I was waiting for you. Why didn't you make your presence known?" Adam asked.
"For what purpose? Having already assisted you with your toilette, your manservant was going about his duty, tidying the room as you spoke. My presence was not necessary."
Adam knew he was about to tread on thin ice, but he was willing to risk it. "Your presence was very necessary in order to continue what we started—"
"That is what you say now," she accused.
Adam raised an eyebrow in warning. "Twice you've implied I misled you regarding my intentions. Let me clarify things for you. I may not always speak my mind, but I'm not in the habit of misleading women in order to get them to share my pillow. I may not have said it at the time," he conceded, "but I don't believe you mistook my intentions." He glanced at her. I don't believe I left any room for doubt."
"Humph." She sniffed in disdain.
"Careful, George."
She ignored his warning. "You left no doubt that you wanted someone to share your kisses and your pillow. But I was not that someone. I heard O'Brien say that Brenna would he better for you. You agreed with him."
"Son of a—" Adam raked his fingers through his hair in a show of frustration. "Yes, I agreed with him," he told her. "And it's true."
Giana's heart and all of her lovely dreams of kissing and being kissed, of holding him and being held by him, shattered. His words inflicted so much pain she couldn't speak. She sucked in a breath and fought to keep the fresh onslaught of tears stinging her eyelids from sliding down her cheeks.
"It's true." He twisted the dagger in her heart. "Brenna would be a better choice for me."
"Then go to her!" Giana shouted at him. And the sound of it startled them both. But not for long. Once she found her voice, Giana discovered that shouting could be very invigorating. Very liberating. She tried it again, louder this time, "Find her! Kiss her! You have my permission. But go away and leave me alone!"
"Damn it, George!" he swore. "I don't want Brenna!"
"You said—"
"I know what I said," he snapped. "I agreed with O'Brien when he said that Brenna would be better for me. And do you know why I agreed?" He didn't wait for her to answer. "Because I knew this would happen! Because I knew there was no danger of me falling in love with your sister. She's the image of everything I ever thought I wanted in a woman, and I feel nothing for her. Nothing." He shook his head. "While you make me crazy! You turn me into a raving lunatic! You're shouting because I don't want you. I'm shouting because I do. Damn it, George, I don't dream about Brenna. I don't compromise my morals over Brenna. I don't have any trouble keeping my hands off Brenna." He pointed a finger at her. "And you should have known that. Have you seen me kissing Brenna? Have you seen me chasing after her?"
Giana shook her head.
"That's right. You haven't. And you know why? Because I don't want to take Brenna to bed. I don't want to make love to Brenna. I want to make love to you!" He turned and stalked toward the door. "But you do whatever you want. Run away. Hide. Cry. Feel sorry for yourself. I'm not apologizing for telling the truth. And I'm through explaining."
Giana snapped her fingers and pointed toward the door. "Wagner! En garde"
Before he knew what was happening, Wagner was sitting in front of the door. Adam found himself facing a hundred and fifty pounds of snarling wolfhound. And there was no doubt that the threat was real. If George snapped her fingers and ordered Wagner to attack, the dog could have Adam's bed and his boots all to himself.
"Call him off," Adam ordered.
"No." Giana climbed off the bed and crossed the room to stand beside the dog.
"This isn't funny, George," Adam gritted out.
"No," she agreed. "But I do not want you to leave."
"You told me to go away and leave you alone," he reminded her.
"I was mistaken," she said. "That is not what I want."
Adam eyed her warily. "Then, what do you want?"
"I want you to kiss me and see where it leads."
Her answer sucked the fight right out of him. But her blue eyes were smoldering with desire. "I know where it will
lead," he said. "The question is whether or not you'll want to go there."
"Kiss me," she ordered, moistening her lips with the tip of her tongue in preparation. "And I will follow wherever you lead."
"Will you follow if I lead you to bed?" he asked.
Giana moved closer and closer still, until she was able to loop her arms around Adam's neck and press her body to his.
"Kiss me and find out." She followed her invitation with action, pulling his head down so she could kiss him.
Adam returned the kiss. Kissing her thoroughly until one of them came up for air. "I'm not playing games, George. I want in make love to you." He shrugged out of his jacket and let it fall to the floor, then he untied his tie, removed his collar, and unfastened his watch chain, dropping them on top of his wool jacket.
I want you to do so." She licked the seam of his lips, hoping to encourage him to resume his soul-stealing kisses.
"Then put the dog out," he directed. He will not harm you," she told him. "He is simply guarding the door as he was taught to do. His presence ensures us that no one will interfere."
Hie's watching." Adam smiled. "His presence will interfere."
"Oh," she said.
Send him out," Adam said. "He can guard the outside of the door as well as the inside of it."
Giana snapped her fingers, and Adam opened the door as he issued the command, "Wagner. Outside. En garde."
Thank you," Adam breathed the words against her lips, before he covered them with his own and proceeded to show her just how thankful he was.
Desire arced between them like a flash of lightning.
Adam bent at the knees and lifted George into his arms, stepped over his garments, and carried her to her bed. Giana thrilled at the feeling. No one had carried her since she was twelve years old and had fallen from her horse and broken her leg. She thought that if it were possible to love him more, she loved Adam for that. She stood nearly six feet tall in her stocking led, and he carried her as if she were Brenna's size.
Adam placed her on her bed, then followed her down atop the coverlet. He reminded himself that she was a virgin. She deserved gentleness. She deserved tenderness. She deserved undivided attention, so Adam devoted himself to giving George everything she deserved. He nibbled at her lips, tracing the texture of them, before he touched the seam between her lips with the tip of his tongue, showering Giana with pleasure as he tasted the softness of her lips and absorbed the feel of her mouth; poring over every detail, every nuance of her lips and mouth and teeth and tongue, with the same single-minded determination that had taken him from the bowels of the Nevada silver mines, digging for ore, to Larchmont Lodge in Scotland and a bank account worth millions of dollars.
He leaned into her, pressing the lower part of his body against the cradle of hers and Giana opened her mouth and parted her legs to grant him access. Acknowledging her generous offering, Adam reached up, tangled one hand in her hair, and unpinned the twin coronets of braids, then pulled the ties from the bottom of the braids. He raked his fingers through them, loosening the plaits and breathing in the scent of her as he pulled her closer. He deepened his kiss, delving his tongue into the lush sweetness of her mouth.
Giana's tongue mated with his, mirroring his movements, as she plundered the depths of his mouth, retreating, then plundering again. She sank against him, shivering in delicious response as Adam left her lips and kissed a path over her eyelids, her cheeks, and the bridge of her nose. He brushed his lips lightly over hers once again before continuing his trail of kisses until he reached the pulse that beat at the base of her throat.
There were many times in her life when Giana despaired of the position to which she had been born, but now she was glad of it. Being a princess had taught her how to lead and how to follow, and she discovered that in Adam's arms, she was thrilled to do both. He had much to teach and she had a great deal to learn. And she was a little bewildered to learn that she enjoyed having someone else take the lead for a while. She enjoyed relinquishing her authority, finding incredible pleasure in letting go, becoming an enthusiastic slave to her desires.
Adam rubbed his nose into the hollow below her ear. He inhaled the fresh orange blossom scent of her as he laved the spot where her pulse throbbed with his tongue. He nibbled and teased and coaxed his way from her mouth to her throat, to the dainty pink shell of her ear and back again with a finesse he’d almost forgotten he possessed. A fierce longing flowed through him, making him shudder with the need to touch all of her, to taste all of her.
He remembered the way her breasts had looked beneath the fabric of her nightgown the first time he saw her, remembered the way their pink tips tightened beneath his gaze, and he ached to caress them.
Giana lay back on the bed, watching as he unpinned her apron. He tossed the pins on the night table and pushed the bibdown. Sliding one hand beneath her bottom, Adam untied In i apron strings and pulled the garment from around her waist. Her dress buttoned in the front, and once he dispensed with her white apron, Adam began unbuttoning the row of tiny |l i buttons that held her bodice closed.
Adam opened the bodice of her dress, then cupped her breast with his hand, pushing it up and out of the confines of her black lace corset so that only the fabric of her chemise and corset cover separated her breasts from him. Her chemise, he noticed, and her corset cover were also black. He swallowed hard. He had expected white undergarments and was surprised to find her wearing black.
He felt the tightening in his groin as his erection throbbed against the front of his trousers. Adam smiled. He had never cared much for black lingerie. It held no special attraction for him. He always looked at the woman first and then her undergarments, but this... He gritted his teeth. Her choice of lingerie had nothing to do with seduction and everything to do with life and death. Adam hadn't realized, until that moment, that the black dresses George habitually wore had nothing to do with her position as a housemaid. She was in mourning.
Adam ran his hand over the front of her, and all of his worst fears were confirmed. A dozen or more hard lumps and bumps marred the fabric of her corset and corset cover. Suddenly he realized that the black pearl ring wasn't the only family heirloom George kept hidden. And Adam knew that if the ring was anything to go by, she was wearing a fortune in family heirlooms while working as chambermaid in a hunting lodge.
He took a deep breath to help steady his racing pulse, then .lowly exhaled. As much as he wanted to undress her, as much as he wanted to caress her breasts, he wanted—no, needed-to allow her a few secrets.
Adam kissed the hollow of her throat, along her jaw, and back to her ear.
"Would you like to remove your corset and corset cover or shall I?" he whispered, his hot breath caressing the sensitive • lobe of her ear.
Giana squirmed against him, eagerly seeking his lips and the feel of his hands on her. She started as Adam rubbed the pad of his thumb over the tip of her breast until it hardened against the fabric, then moved lower, stroking a place to the right of it, a place where she had sewn a pair of diamond earrings....
"Oh!" She opened her eyes, and Adam knew the moment she realized what he was stroking. He smiled at her, then kissed his way from her ear to her lips.
"Be my Amazon," he urged in a deep husky voice that sent chills down her spine and hot liquid pooling between her thighs. "Bare your breasts for me." Adam covered her lips with his, kissing her hungrily, thoroughly, before pulling away and adding, "Show me your hidden charms."
She nodded and Adam gently tugged her into a sitting position.
Giana pulled her arms from the sleeves of her dress, then took hold of the hem of her corset cover, lifted her arms, and skimmed it over her head. She tossed the garment on the floor and reached for the back of her corset. It proved more difficult,; and Giana was forced to seek help.
"Hooks," Giana gasped as he took advantage of her open bodice and traced the tips of her breasts with the pads of his i ringers. "The hooks are hidden beneath the back flap."<
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"Hidden?" Adam muttered. "What's the point of hiding them? You know they're there. And it isn't as if you get to show all of this beauty off..." He didn't have to understand the fine points of ladies' fashion to unhook it, so Adam dutifully reached behind her and felt beneath the flap, groaning when he encountered a hundred or so tiny hook-and-eye closures. "Judas Priest!"
It took a few moments. Adam sighed with relief as he finally unhooked the contraption and freed her. Giana scrambled to her knees, then reached down and grabbed hold of the front of her corset and flung it into the air. It landed with a thud near the equally heavy jewel-laden garment she'd worn to cover it.
Her tight-fitting bodice was still buttoned at her waist, so Giana unbuttoned it and let it fall to the bed. Adam sat back on his heels and enjoyed the view as George tugged the hem of her chemise from the waistband of her skirts, pulling it up and over her head, leaving her gloriously naked above the waist.
She smiled at him.
Adam stared in awe. If he lived to be a thousand, he would never forget the sheer beauty of the sight of George's perfectly shaped breasts or the wonder of her smile when she looked into his eyes as she revealed them to him.
He pushed himself to his knees and reached for her, but George danced away. Guessing her game, Adam lay down on his back and waited for her to come to him. He didn't have to wait long.
Moments later Giana leaned over him. Adam raised his head and licked the rosy peak of her breast with his tongue.
Fire, like the fire of a glass of brandy on an empty stomach, .shot through her, only this fire was a thousand times better than anything alcohol induced. Giana gasped as the warmth of his breath against her breast made her nipple swell and harden until she ached in the dark mysterious recesses of her body.
"Again," she ordered. And Adam obliged.
"More?" he asked.
Giana nodded.
"Then come closer."
She responded, leaning over him, dangling her exquisite globes above his face, like forbidden fruit.
Adam licked one breast and then the other.
Giana arched her back and moaned.