Page 46 of Road Trip With a Rogue

She glanced at the clock on the mantel and blinked in surprise. It was barely nine o’clock! Her cheeks heated. They hadn’t even locked the door. Finch, or any of the servants, could have interrupted them.

Vaughan was a menace. He made her forget herself.

He pulled on his breeches, jacket, and boots with swift efficiency. Two years in the army had clearly negated hisneed for a valet. “I’m going down to order some dinner. Shall I ask for a bath too?”

Visions of soaping his body, of him doing the same to her, filled her brain, but Daisy shook her head. She could barely explain it, but to bathe together somehow seemed even more intimate than what they’d just done. Losing herself in a white-hot passion was one thing. Administering to one another in the bath suggested a tenderness, a playful affection, that would be dangerous to wish for. Or encourage.

They weren’t friends, merely lovers.

She had to remember that.

“I’m too tired to bathe. Just ask for some hot water so I can wash, please. And food. I’m famished.”

“Worked up an appetite?” he teased as he slipped out the door.

A maid carrying a bowl of hot water arrived a short while later, and Daisy washed, then pulled on her own shirt and breeches. Vaughan had probably shared countless meals with scantily clad women, but she would feel at a distinct disadvantage if he was dressed and she was only in her chemise. Equality was important.

He reappeared just as she was starting to get bored, trailed by a servant with a tray of food, and her stomach rumbled as their meal was set on the table. She slid into her seat and attacked the steak pie and mashed potatoes with genuine pleasure.

Vaughan rolled his eyes at her enthusiasm, but his lips curved as he watched her.

Was he regretting their liaison already? Wishing he’d asked for a second room so they didn’t have to share this one now that he’d sated his curiosity and lust? She couldn’t tell.

He settled in the seat opposite her and made a point oflifting his empty wineglass to the light to inspect it, and Daisy snorted when she realized what he was doing.

“Don’t worry, I haven’t tried to poison you tonight. I need you up bright and early tomorrow so we can catch Violet and Peregrine.”

He poured them each a glass of wine. “As if I could forget. Has anyone ever told you you’re relentless?”

“Many people,” Daisy grinned. “As well as stubborn, pigheaded, and far too independent.”

“You’re positively riddled with flaws.”

“Which is why I remain happily unwed.”

“Retaining your independence while taking a secret string of lovers to fulfil your physical needs?”

Daisy fought a flush. No need for him to know thathewas the only man who’d pleasured her in over two years. “Exactly.”

“I must say, you’ve been extremely discreet. Or lucky.”

“What do you mean?”

“I haven’t heard a whisper about any of your previous paramours, and it’s almost impossible for an unmarried woman to take a lover without someone finding out. You’re running the risk of being disgraced socially.”

“So sweet of you to be concerned for my reputation.”

He ignored the irony in her tone. “Even if you don’t want a husband to provide financial security, or to improve your social standing, have you considered marrying for physical satisfaction?”

Daisy raised her brows. “Giving someone complete control over my life for the sake of a few moments of pleasure—however delightful they might be—seems like a bad bargain. What happens when my husband loses interest and finds his pleasure elsewhere? As my father did to my mother.”

“I can’t imagine any man losing interest in you.”

She rolled her eyes. “How many women have you said that to? A dozen? A hundred?”

He held her gaze. “You’re the first.”

Her heart gave a twist, but she ignored it. He wasn’t being serious.