Royall stepped outside, a shaft of sunlight capturing her in its golden rays and lighting her hair to spun gold. It was long, hanging down around her shoulders, and Sebastian remembered that first night in Rio when he had thought of little else besides pulling the pins from her hair and running his fingers through it.
She wore a scarlet dressing gown that was form-fitted, tiny jeweled buttons running down the front to the hem. It was partially opened at the wide, open neck, and from the hem to mid-thigh. When she walked, it revealed a silky expanse of a well-turned leg that set his pulses racing.
She stood before him, tapered fingers lightly touching her throat, golden-flecked eyes penetrating into his. She was beautiful, this golden girl, and he needed her. More for himself than even for Alicia.
“What’s wrong? Why are you here?”
“Just shut up and get on this damn horse,” Sebastian ordered briskly as he suddenly remembered why he was waiting for her.
“Why?” Royall demanded. “I’m not even dressed.”
“I’ve seen you in a lot less,” Sebastian leered and almost fell off the horse. “Come over here. I hate to admit this, but I need your help and what you’re wearing won’t make any difference.”
Royall advanced a little closer. “How do I know you’re telling me the truth. And why should I do you any favors after the way you’ve treated me? You’re drunk!” she all but shouted, and then immediately clapped her hands over her mouth.
Sebastian tried for a sweeping bow from his saddle. His head reeled as he straightened, his back stiff, his face haughty and cold. Carefully, he brought his index finger to his lips. “Shhh. I don’t want anyone but you to know. Now, get on this damn horse before I fall off and make problems for both of us.”
She felt deliciously wicked as she reached up for him to help her. She seated herself as comfortably as she could, feeling the hardness of his chest against her body. Clenching her teeth, she refused to think of the other times the same feeling swept over her. Sebastian’s arms circled her, holding her firmly against him. He liked the feel of her softness next to him.
“It’s not necessary to hold me so close, Senor Rivera. I realize that the only reason you’re doing so is so that you won’t fall off this horse, so please spare us both the indignity of me helping you once you fall. I’ll leave you in the middle of the road.”
“Testy this morning, aren’t we?” Sebastian grinned drunkenly. “Don’t worry, Royall, with two L’s, I’ll not mark you in any way. I’ve seen chickens with more meat on their bones. You’re skinny,” he said slowly and distinctly.
Royall seethed and fumed. “And Senor Sebastian, as in bastard, I’ve seen roosters who have been done in by chickens, so watch that tongue of yours.”
Sebastian threw back his head and laughed uproariously. “I never thought of myself as a rooster somehow.”
“What a pity. You should recognize the smell, though. You smell quite gamey to me,” Royall said viciously.
“I’ve been drinking, that’s why. I was in such a hurry to fetch you that I didn’t bother to ... It’s none of your damn business, Royall with two L’s, why I smell like I do.”
Royall suppressed a smile. She must be insane to go riding with him at the crack of dawn, dressed in her dressing gown. What could possibly be wrong at his townhouse to make him come for her as he had? She tried again. “Why did you come for me? Tell me what’s wrong. I demand to know, or I’m getting off this horse right now and pulling you with me. You’re so drunk you’ll never be able to get back on. Now tell me!”
“All in good time. I thought I told you to shut up. I hate to hear women whine. It’s so ... so ... annoying.”
“I wasn’t whining,” Royall sputtered. “You know, you really are an insufferable—”
“Bastard,” he finished for her. “I never denied it. I even told you I was a bastard myself. Honesty has always been my motto,” he said piously.
“You’re disgusting. Aren’t we there yet? Why is this animal going so slow?”
“Because my head is pounding, for one reason. The second reason is that this animal is carrying two people. And the animal had just recently been castrated. Is there anything else you want to know?”
Royall clamped her mouth shut, swearing to herself that she wouldn’t say a word, never ask another question. He always told her much more than she wanted to know!
She felt his hands around her waist through the scarlet silk of her dressing gown and became increasingly aware of the fact that she hadn’t a stitch on underneath. Her long bare legs were stretched out, the wind lifting the skirt and exposing her skin to his greedy eyes. His hand clutched her tighter, so tight she thought she’d never draw another breath. His face was in her hair, his lips nuzzling the back of her neck. And she loved it.
“We’re here,” he said at last. “Now, was that so bad? Get off and go in the house. My housekeeper will find something for you to wear. I wouldn’t want her to get any wrong ideas about this little ride.”
Royall slipped to the ground, her face suffused with rage. “I don’t believe what I’m hearing. You care about what your housekeeper thinks, but you rode me through town in my dressing gown. You are ...” Words failed her completely.
“You’re giving me a headache,” Sebastian said coolly. “Go in the house. I’ll be in shortly, after I see to the animal.”
The kitchen area was dim and cool in the early hours of the morning. Royall looked around, conscious of her bedroom attire and hating the position in which Sebastian had placed her. She must be out of her mind to follow him so blindly. All she had to do was turn her back on him the way he had turned his back on her aboard ship. Refusing to follow him would have been simple. Where was the housekeeper? Advancing farther into the kitchen, Royall cleared her throat. Everything was neat and clean. A long, sharp knife rested alongside a bowl of ripe papayas, and mangos sat on a rough table ready to be prepared for the first meal of the day. She felt ridiculous as she called out, “Yoohoo,” using Rosalie Quince’s favorite yodel. There was no reply. Well, what had she expected? Sebastian was drunk as a lord, and probably didn’t know if he even had a housekeeper. For all she knew he could have abducted her with some devious plot in mind. What a fool she was. There was nothing to do but wait and see if someone answered her call or go in search of Sebastian.
“May I help you?” a light, musical voice inquired. Royall swung about to see its origin. Beautiful almond eyes stared into Royall’s startled gaze. At first glance she thought she was looking at the perfection of a China doll. Waist-long hair, resembling a length of ebony satin, graced a small head that was in direct proportion to the rest of the tiny body. The only words that came to Royall’s flustered mind were exquisite miniature. She felt dowdy and overgrown.
Uncomfortably aware of her appearance, Royall found her tongue sharp. “Fetch me some suitable clothing,” she ordered imperiously. In all her young years she had never known a housekeeper who looked like this porcelain decoration.
The rosebud mouth on the miniature doll tightened imperceptibly. Her voice, when she spoke, was disdainful as was her gaze. “I hardly think my clothing will fit you. I suggest you fetch it yourself. Perhaps the housekeeper has something . . . suitable.”
Royall stared at the China doll, not fully comprehending her words. If she wasn’t the housekeeper, who was she? Oh, no. Sebastian wouldn’t humiliate her like this. Surely, he wouldn’t dare bring her to his house while his . . . his . . . whatever she was was in residence. He dared! He would! He did!
Just then, with both women’s eyes shooting sparks, a plump, jolly-looking Indian woman entered the kitchen. Royall’s blood boiled as she recalled the tiny girl’s words, “Perhaps the housekeeper has something . . . suitable.” Goddamn Sebastian to hell. He truly was a bastard to subject her to this confrontation. “You come with me, missy, Senor Rivera tell me you coming early this morning. I take you to other lady now and bring breakfast for both of you. Other lady wait upstairs.”
<
br /> Royall’s blood continued to boil. “Now just a damn minute here!” she exploded. What did that bastard think he was doing? “I’m not going anywhere, not until I know what is going on around here. You,” she said pointing a long finger at the carved doll, “don’t open your mouth again until Sebastian gets here. I’m surprised at you that you would . . . that you could . . . Why, you’re nothing but a child, a baby actually. Make me some coffee,” she ordered the housekeeper. “Now!”
Two pairs of eyes stared at Royall. Hastily, the housekeeper set about making coffee, while the girl in her flawless white silk wrapper gazed at her with eyes that clearly did not belong to a child. She seemed amused and annoyed at the same time. Royall was infuriated.
Royall was tapping her foot angrily on the brick floor of the kitchen. The housekeeper was busily clanking pots and pans while the tiny girl drummed on the door frame with two-inch-long fingernails. Sebastian picked that moment to enter the kitchen. His black eyes took in the scene at one glance. A grin stretched across his lips and was banished instantly when Royall leaped from the chair. “What are you doing sitting here?” he demanded arrogantly.
“I’m sitting here because I feel like it. And I feel like having a cup of coffee. When I finish the coffee, I want a carriage that will take me back to my own house. I hope I make myself clear.” While her comments were addressed to Sebastian, her eyes were on the girl in the silk wrapper. “If you think for one minute that I’m going to be a party to your ... your lascivious pastimes, you have another thought coming. How dare you bring me here with ... with . . . her!” Royall shouted.
Sebastian grinned widely. The plump housekeeper wore a decided smirk. The tiny girl grimaced, marring her perfect features.
“You talk more than any female I ever came across,” Sebastian muttered disgustedly. His gaze shifted to Aloni. “Go to your room,” he said coolly.
At first Royall thought the girl would defy Sebastian. Instead she favored him with a level look, turned, and left, but not before Royall saw the hatred leap from her eyes. As if she cared.
“That’s it, order everyone around. Arrogant bastard,” Royall hissed.
“I can almost imagine what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong. Believe me. I brought you here for a reason. Upstairs in one of the bedrooms Carl’s bride-to-be is waiting. She needs someone to talk to, another woman. I thought you might be able to help her; after all, you are a worldly woman and that’s what she needs right now.”
Royall backed off a step and then advanced until she was standing inches from Sebastian. “That has got to be the most insulting thing you have ever said to me. I wouldn’t do anything for you if you were the last person on this earth. Who,” she hissed through clenched teeth, “is more worldly than that ... that . . . decadent child who was just here? How dare you call me worldly.” Unmindful of the housekeeper’s sharp ears, Royall rushed on. “You’re nothing but a ... a perverted, decadent, miserable . . .”
“Charming, dashing, handsome bounder,” Sebastian finished for her. All signs of drunkenness were gone. His movements were sure and steady, his gaze cold and mocking as he stared down at her, enjoying her anger. She was quite the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, even when she was in the throes of rage.
“Ha. That just shows how stupid you really are. I, for one, never heard anyone say such things about you. It’s solely your opinion,” Royall shot back.
“But that’s the only one that counts. Enough of this nonsense. Personally, I don’t give a good goddamn how you feel or what you think. I brought you here for a very real reason. Believe me, if there had been anyone, I repeat, anyone else I would have gone to them. Since there wasn’t you were the only choice. Listen to me carefully because I won’t repeat myself.” Quickly, he recounted Alicia’s story, deliberately leaving out the Baron’s name. That he would deal with in his own way, in his own good time.
Royall was thunderstruck at Sebastian’s words. She could only stare at him with wide eyes, begging him to tell her it was all a poor joke. When he returned her cold-eyed stare, she knew that Sebastian would never jest about something so important as the dear childhood playmate who was like a sister to him. Rage, hate, pity, every emotion known to her flooded through her being. “You see,” she squawked hoarsely, “men can’t be trusted. I never heard of anything so vile . . . so degradingly inhuman. I demand that you tell me who the man is who made Alicia do this! I demand to know. I’ll kill him myself before he gets a chance to practice his wicked ways on some other poor female. Sebastian Rivera,” she stomped her foot, “I demand that you tell me now.”
“Shut up, Royall. I will handle the matter. You would only botch the job, and I want to be the one to make the bastard suffer as Alicia has suffered. All you have to do is talk to Alicia and help her in any way you can. Woman to woman. I’ll say one thing for you, you do have a glib tongue . . . among other things.”
Royall ignored what she thought were his compliments. “Then I want your promise to at least allow me to be in attendance when you do the fiend in. Give me your promise or I’m going home.”
“I thought I told you to shut up.” Wearily, he brought his hand to his forehead. “Why is it you women feel you have to screech and squawk at every comment a man makes? You should talk softly, caressingly to a man. You should be gentle and compassionate.”
“You can just stop telling me to shut up, Sebastian. God gave me a mouth and I intend to use it. If there was a man around, perhaps I would take your advice. You,” she said piercing him with a speculative eye, “don’t count. And don’t tell me what to do again. Do you understand? I’m not deaf, dumb, and blind. I know where my duty lies and I’ll do it. And,” she said triumphantly, “the only reason you have a headache is because you were drunk. A drunken headache, they’re the worst kind. For shame, Sebastian Rivera,” she said disgustedly.
“If you don’t shut up, I swear I’ll ...”
“You’ll what?” Royall shouted. “You’re in no condition to do anything. You’re fortunate you can stand erect. I find your behavior insulting and degrading. I don’t even want to be in your company. What do you think of that?”
“I think you need to be taught a lesson, and I’m just the one to teach you. Like that night aboard ship. I did teach you a thing or two, if memory serves me correctly. You certainly were an apt pupil.” Sebastian leered at her, his intentions clear. She watched him with narrowed eyes as he advanced a step and then another.
“Now look, Sebastian. Perhaps I was a little hasty in my tirade. You’re suffering from your headache, and I wouldn’t want to add to the pounding in your temples.” Royall backed off, her eyes trapped, her heart pounding. “You wouldn’t take advantage of me in my position. You said Alicia needed me and I’m ready to ... to help her. I know exactly what you’re thinking and you aren’t going . . . ever again . . . I told you I hate you . . . you hate me . . . you even walked out on me and made a fool of me ... Get away from me, you . . . you . . .” She babbled on as she backed deeper into the kitchen.
Chapter Fifteen
Royall retreated into the kitchen, watching him advance after her. There was intent in his eyes; she could see the muscles bunching beneath his white cambric shirt, saw his arms reaching out to her, to capture her, to bring her hard against him in an angry, malevolent embrace.
“Don’t, Sebastian. No. I don’t . . .” Roughly, he seized her, demonstrating his strength, holding her fast, making her his prisoner. At his touch Royall felt herself stiffen. What was the look in his eyes? “Take your hands off me, Sebastian!” she cried, her voice tinged with fear. “Let me be!” she insisted, wrestling loose.
No sooner had she gained her freedom than she was running for the door. She knew defeat when Sebastian’s fierce hold imprisoned her again.
“And what is this?” he mocked. “The golden girl afraid of me? A mere man?” he smiled churlishly.
“Let me go, Sebastian! I hate you this way!” she cried defiantly.
“This
way, is it? And how is it you like me, Royall with two L’s?” His voice was controlled fury, his eyes glittered like fragments of glass.
“God help me, but I wonder what I ever liked about you!” Her tone matched his for venom.
“Would you like me to remind you?” he smiled crookedly, wickedly. His hands on her shoulders burned through the scarlet silk of her dressing gown, searing her flesh as he pulled her against him again.
“Sebastian! Leave me alone! Don’t touch me!”
“Make me,” he taunted, his lips so near hers, his breath fanning her cheek.
“Don’t do this, Sebastian. Let go of me!”
“Do what, little cat, mi poca leona? Take you in my arms, hold you this way? You love the things I do to you, to your body.”
“You’re a pig!”
“No, love, a man. A man whose mouth and hands can stir you, can leave you panting, purring like the cat you are.” His grip became stronger, pressing her against him, making her aware of the lean hardness of his thighs, the flatness of his belly, holding her until she thought it would be impossible to draw another breath. His voice was smooth, yet his tone harbored a vengeance.
“Tell me, Royall, should I press my lips to that most secret place where your passions flare and your body turns to liquid fire?” He needed no answer, refused one. He wrapped his arms around her, grabbing hold of the long tumble of gold that fell below her shoulders and yanked her head backwards, lifting her face, baring her mouth to his hungry kiss.
Royall struggled, feeling him tug at her hair, clamping her lips shut, refusing his kiss, feeling his teeth biting against her mouth, his tongue demanding entrance.
“Tell me how you love the things I do to you, Royall,” he taunted, pressing her downward, knocking her legs out from under her, holding her against the rough brick floor, his face only inches away.
She brought her arms up in defense, wedging them between herself and Sebastian. Her struggles were useless, she was defenseless as a child. He seized her wrist, pulling her arms upward over her head, keeping them there.
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