Page 7 of His By Sunrise (Disreputable Dukes of Club Damnation #3)

“Like hell it is. I’m courting her.” The viscount took a threatening step forward, menacing like a Greek statue.

Charlotte moved between them with a hand on William’s chest. She gazed up at him with a speaking glance. “Perhaps you should procure me a glass of punch. I’m sure that this conversation won’t take very long.”

“Yes, Danville, run and do her bidding like a good lap dog,” Edwin couldn’t help but goad him.

“You have overstepped, Nottingham,” the other man growled.

“Nothing more than what you’ve done,” he shot back.

“Go.” Charlotte gave the viscount’s shoulder a shove. When he finally vanished into the crowd, she transferred her gaze to him. “That was rude.”

“ He is rude.”

She huffed. “What do you want, Edwin?”

Such an interesting question. “For starters, I would like to see my daughter. Surely, she wonders what happened to her father.” The last time he’d seen Olivia, she was six years old.

Charlotte had taken the girl away when he’d been busy at a business meeting.

Though he’d always felt guilty for not being a good enough father in all the ways that mattered, and he had loads of sins on his conscience, that didn’t mean he should be cut from the girl’s life.

“She does ask about you occasionally.” Charlotte pressed her lips together, and his attention dropped to her mouth.

Damn, those lips still haunted his dreams. The bottom one was slightly fuller, and the cupid’s bow was quite pronounced, which always gave her a just kissed pucker.

“Olivia is at my father’s country estate just now with her governess and tutors as well as my mother.

She’ll be there through Christmastide. My father and I will join them in mid-November once parliament concludes for the season. ”

Well, damn.

The knowledge smacked him in the gut like a blow. “Ah. The place where you fled when you left me.” It was as if the scab had come off the old wound, and all the pain poured out all over again. “Keeping Olivia from me is not right.”

Anger flashed in her eyes. She dropped her voice. “Then you should have thought about that before you lied to me about the type of man you were throughout our marriage.”

Another round of pain went through him. “There were times when I was completely honest.”

“Few and far between. You were sneaky and shaky, kept company with questionable people.”

“According to your perspective. All the while, I was making money to take care of my family.”

“No.” She narrowed her eyes and shook her head as she moved a few steps away from him. “Too little, too late.”

“You certainly didn’t mind having me about in the other times, when we got up to scandalous things.” It wasn’t well done of him to mention that, but he couldn’t help it. His ego had been bruised.

Again.

“Oh, Edwin.” She huffed out an annoyed breath. “Carnal endeavors don’t make a marriage. I needed more. There were things we should have discussed.”

“You never said that, never mentioned it, and I’m not a damned mind reader.” Anger graveled his voice, but he didn’t care.

“I did, several times, but we were always distracted by said carnal things. It wasn’t healing, and you know it. Instead, it was a way to deflect our feelings.”

Was that true? Was the physical the only thing they had in common? “Nonsense.”

Charlotte shrugged. The light blue gown shimmered with her movement. “I had to leave, to protect myself from all angles.”

“Without giving me a chance.” It wasn’t a question.

Another country reel set up on the dance floor, but they both ignored the commotion.

“You had plenty of chances, but you chose poorly every time.” Sadness filled her expression. “You never chose me .”

As he mulled over those words, heated tension built between them.

It was both new and familiar at the same time, but now there were unhealed emotions underlying the heat, which made it somewhat forbidden.

“You are mine, Charlotte. I never consented to that divorce.” Embarrassed by the people around them who stared and knowing he wouldn’t win her back when she was so stubborn and “safe” in a ballroom full of people, he gave in to a bit of insanity.

Yanking her quickly into his arms, Edwin brought his lips crashing down on hers and gave her an intense kiss so she would have no choice but to think of him again.

And she fought him every second of that kiss. Finally, she shoved him away, drew back a hand, and then slapped his cheek. The sound of her kid glove hitting his flesh sounded overly loud in the silence. “Don’t you dare touch me again, Edwin.”

He covered his pain and confusion with anger. “It’s Nottingham and you know it.”

“Bah. A false title for a man given to pretending.” She shook her head as a blush raged in her cheeks. “You insist on spending time with questionable and disreputable men. For that alone, you and I have nothing more to say.”

What the devil? “They are my friends. You know nothing of them.” He ignored the sting of heat in his cheek.

“And I don’t want to. We are done, Edwin.” She shook her head. “Please understand that, and don’t bother me again else I’ll have my father step in.”

He snorted. “Hiding behind him like a coward. Again. So be it.” Clearly, he wouldn’t win this round, but there would be other times. When he turned about, he nearly crashed into William, who held two glasses of punch. “You haven’t won her yet, Danville. She is mine, and always will be.”

M uch later that night , in the wee hours of the morning, Edwin enacted his plan. He couldn’t woo and win his wife back when she was in London with her father and Danville about to hide her from him, so he needed to take more drastic measures.

Knowing that Charlotte would take a couple drops of laudanum before retiring after being so overwrought at the ball, he also knew she would seek her bed as soon as she returned home.

She’d always been like that. Worried and anxious at times of stress or embarrassment.

The opiate would ensure she’d sleep through the night without waking.

It had been one of the bones of contention in their marriage, for he maintained that relying on the drug was detrimental to her health.

But she’d not listened. Now that insistence would work in his favor.

In fact, since she would have probably gotten in late, she wouldn’t rise until at least noon, so her maid wouldn’t disturb her before that time.

It was far too easy to sneak into her father’s townhouse.

Clearly, the earl’s staff didn’t think anyone would dare to break in.

And because he was already familiar with the floorplan, having been there many times before in the past, it only took a bit of snooping before he found her in a guest bedroom.

And since the staff attended to their duties quite well, the door didn’t squeal when he opened it, and the floorboards didn’t squeak as he tiptoed to her bed.

In the dim illumination from the moon that filtered into the room through a crack in the draperies, he discerned the familiar brown bottle of laudanum on her bedside table.

Her even breathing indicated a deep sleeping state, and when he bundled her into his arms, picked her up, and took her directly from her bed, she didn’t stir.

With a soft chuckle of triumph, Edwin absconded with his prize, quickly pulling the door quietly closed behind him.

In a thrice, he was down the stairs and then out of the house.

Seconds later, he laid her on a bench in his closed carriage without anyone the wiser.

Having some experience in being a thief in his past did have advantages. After tapping on the roof of the conveyance, he settled into his own bench. He would show her that she was wrong about him—about them—and he’d damn well collect the wagers, for he would win her back.

He needed both.

And if it took days at his country manor in Farnham, Surrey and even more charges brought against his name from this kidnapping, so be it. Once he sorted his relationship with Charlotte, then he would go after Danville, and make certain society knew what he’d done.

As he glanced across the narrow aisle at her, he grinned. She was quite ethereal and wraith-like in the gloom while clad in a white nightdress trimmed with white satin ribbon as well as lace. So virginal, but he knew otherwise.

With a rapidly beating heart, as the carriage lurched into motion, he couldn’t help but lean over her and flick his tongue over one of her hardened nipples through the lawn of her night dress.

As he suckled it, she moaned in her sleep.

Doesn’t want anything else to do with me, my arse.

For the hell of it, he gave the other bud a quick pinch, for she used to adore the pain-tipped pleasure, and when she moaned again, he retreated to his bench with a shaft that was far too interested.

No, they were most certainly not done.