Page 36 of What A Rogue Wants (Lords Of Deception #1)

Twenty-Two

Once Grey secured another horse for Madelaine, they set out toward Lancashire.

Their relentless pace made conversation impossible, a reprieve Madelaine welcomed.

She had no idea what to say. The idea of lying to Grey after he had said he still wanted to marry her, and was risking his life to help her, made her sick to her stomach.

She wanted nothing more than to be able to tell him the truth, but she couldn’t betray her father that way nor endanger Grey’s future.

Besides, what if Grey was horrified when he learned what her father had done, and he took the paper to prove her father’s guilt?

The possibility wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities, given his brother was so close with the king.

Grey would feel loyalty to his brother and the king, and rightly so.

Madelaine’s own tug of loyalty to the king filled her with conflict and uncertainty.

She wasn’t sure she agreed with what her father was doing, but he did what he thought best for the country, and he was counting on her to save him. He had told her exactly what to do, and for once in her life she was going to be obedient. She owed her father this much and so much more.

By the time they stopped at daybreak to water, feed, and rest the horses, tiredness seeped into her bones, making her eyes flinty and her limbs heavy.

She eagerly slid from her horse toward Grey’s outstretched hands and didn’t pull away when her body pressed down the length of his.

The courtyard of the inn was deserted, and no one came to take their horses as she expected.

Once she felt steady, she pushed away from Grey and glanced at the inn.

Layer upon layer of white paint peeled from the wood, and broken shutters framed the dilapidated windows.

Discarded paper and glass littered the ground, and the smell of rotten fish filled the air.

Madelaine sniffed. The stench of years of garbage filled her nose, gagging her.

Her head pounded from lack of sleep and food.

She swallowed, her tongue thick with thirst, her throat dry as kindling. “Where are we?”

“The Navigation Inn. It’s not fit for a proper lady, which is exactly why we’re here. We won’t run into anyone we know, so your reputation will be safe.” Grey stared at her, unblinking.

She nearly laughed. He was utterly serious.

“I hardly think my reputation will matter in a few days.” If she was successful at retrieving her father’s paper and getting it to the prince, her father would live.

But either way, success or failure, his betrayal of the king would become public, and whatever slim chance she’d ever had at making a successful marriage would disappear.

Yet she didn’t care about that. The only man she would ever want was the man standing in front of her, and she could never have him now.

Once he knew what she had done, he would hate her.

He scowled. “As my wife your reputation will matter to me , Madelaine.”

The fact he still wanted to marry her, even though he thought her father was about to hang for treason, filled her with an aching, longing love. She’d never betray her father, but she could take one thing for herself. She grasped Grey’s hand. “Let’s get a room.”

His eyebrows raised at her suggestion. He grasped her hand. “One room?”

“One,” she confirmed.

He smiled. “Does this mean you’re agreeing to marry me?”

“Really, Grey.” She batted her eyes flirtatiously, hoping to move his thoughts from marriage. “For a man who is supposed to be a notorious rake, I’d think you’d jump at the chance to share my bed.”

He brushed his hand slowly down her cheek, his eyes darkening to a deep blue. “My love, I tremor in anticipation of sharing your bed, yet I find myself in the strange position of wanting to make sure you will be mine forever.”

His hard thighs and center pressed against her hips and belly as his gaze locked with hers.

She brushed back a lock of hair that had fallen over his forehead.

“I will be yours forever. I vow this to you.” And it wasn’t a lie, so she didn’t even stutter.

In her heart she would be Grey’s wife, though it could never be so on paper.

He flashed a wicked grin. “Then by all means, let’s secure a room immediately.”

Strangely enough, as she followed him, her knees did not shake with fear at the innocence she was about to freely give away.

Once she lay with Grey, it was doubtful another lord would want her.

Her heart pounded in anticipation, not anxiety.

Her only regret was that her father would be disappointed.

Then again, she doubted her father now held any expectations or hopes of her making a decent match, so maybe she would not be disappointing him on that count.

She followed Grey through the door of the tavern. Ale and sweat swirled in the air, and haggard faces glanced their way, dismissing them in the same breath. Grey had been right. This place was disgusting and a perfect place to go unnoticed.

As Grey spoke with the innkeeper and secured them a room, Madelaine stood silently in a corner of the shabby lobby, if you could call the small room outside of the tavern a lobby.

Once Grey was finished, he held out his hand.

She slipped her hand into his as he led her up a narrow set of stairs.

They did not speak, which was a good thing because she did not think she could find any words to say besides I want you .

At the top of the stairs, he took a right, passed two doors then stopped in front of the third. “This is us.”

She nodded and smiled. She didn’t want him to think she was nervous, but suddenly she was. Her mother had never spoken to her about the marriage act. She wished they’d been closer, and she had an inkling of what to expect.

Grey led her into the small room, dismal with its faded green coverlet, threadbare carpet and dented dresser.

The surroundings mattered little to her, as long as Grey was with her, but the room smelled of mold, and that she couldn’t stand.

She strode to the small window, but could not get it open.

Behind her, she smelled a burning wick and light flickered against the wall creating dancing shadows.

Grey came up behind her, his arms sliding beside hers, his hands covering her smaller ones. “Together?”

She nodded, her heart beat increasing with each breath. The window lock snapped open and Grey pushed open the shutters, a cool breeze hitting her face. She inhaled deeply of the fresh air heavy with moisture of an oncoming rain.

“Madelaine,” Grey whispered against her neck as he stroked her hair. She pressed her back against his length. She savored the strength of the man behind her and the warmth of his arms as they circled her waist and turned her toward him.

He raised her chin until she stared into his eyes. “Tell me you want me.”

“I want you.” There was no need to play coy or hesitate.

Tonight would represent the thousands of moments they would never share again.

There was no time for fear or anything else.

She pressed her mouth to his, willing her problems to the darkest recesses of her mind.

Their tongues intertwined and touched gently, then greedily.

He roamed his hands up and down her back in a rhythmic, almost frenzied pattern. Then he delved his fingers beneath the material of her dress, pulling the cotton gently off one shoulder. The warmth of his fingers against her bare skin sent a shudder through her body.

The material slid lower until her breast was exposed, and he licked and teased the peak.

Sensations exploded through her and caused her to gasp.

She curled her fingers into his arms, afraid her legs would simply give out.

He tugged her dress over her shoulder, her hips and down her legs, somehow expertly managing to find access to the juncture between her thighs.

She pressed her hands against his back to draw him closer, while he pulled her tighter, suckling harder as his fingertips found the place throbbing between her legs.

A sob escaped her as she gave up any fight and gloried in the movement of his fingers.

They massaged her, her need building until she was sure she would die.

“Please,” she cried, not at all sure what she was begging for.

His fingers moved at a more rapid pace. “Let yourself go.”

Hadn’t she already? Yet even as she questioned it, a crescendo built within her, her pulse pounding a fierce beat through her veins as a hot, searing liquid exploded within her.

She sank into his arms, panting with the release of the throbbing in her loins and buried her face against his chest as she ran her fingers over coiled, warm arms.

How would it feel to have Grey inside of her? New longing sprang within her.

“Madelaine,” he whispered into her ear as he gently tilted her head back.

Raw need filled his voice, but when she looked into his eyes, she gasped.

His eyes shimmered with longing. It was hard to believe she had thought at one time that he needed nothing and no one.

She could not deny what she saw. Tonight, she’d give him what he desired, and she would try to forget that soon she would betray his trust.

Cupping his face with her hands, she kissed his neck, the stubble of his chin, and his lips. A craving to touch every part of him filled her. She twined her fingers through his hair as he lifted her off the ground and carried her to the bed. He settled her and stood over her looking down at her.

Outside, a storm brewed which matched the tempest within her. Rain beat against the inn and gusts of wind smacked against the wooden shutters making them rattle. “A storm’s coming,” she said.

Grey kneeled before her and took her hand in his. “In here too.”

She nodded.

“This will be different than moments ago.”