He moved away, his mind rapidly disseminating his association with the notorious seductress. She was embroiled in something vastly unpleasant, seemingly against her will , yet she had not sought assistance. He was her lover, a wealthy one at that, and he would help her if she asked, but Maria was too accustomed to dealing with matters on her own.

Hardening his aching heart, Christopher refused to feel discarded or forgotten or to blame her for acting in self-preservation. She was an intel igent woman. She could learn, and he would teach her. Kindness. Tenderness. How much of either had she ever been shown in her life? He, perhaps,

was not the best man to approach for such things, but he was capable of learning, too. He would find a way to open himself to her, so that she could feel safe opening herself to him.

So he departed as swiftly as he had come. He returned to his carriage as a different man than the one who had left—somber stil , but now leaden with an introspective shroud that Philip was wise enough not to disturb.

Maria paced the length of her room with a swift, agitated stride, her dressing gown swirling around her legs.

“Where are you?” she grumbled, her gaze moving once again to the open window, waiting impatiently for her golden-haired paramour to appear.

She had been home for two days now and knew from her spy in the St. John household that Christopher was at home as Well, yet he did not come to her. She’d sent him a missive that morning to no avail. He had not replied, nor had he appeared.

Here she had rushed home and hurriedly bathed the dirt of travel away in preparation for his visit, only to cool her heels for days. Deep in her chest an ache blossomed and grew.

Christopher might have lost interest in her while she was away. While she had considered that possibility, the realization wounded her in a way she could not have prepared for.

She paused at the window, looking down, seeing no movement. Her eyes closed on a harshly indrawn breath. He owed her nothing, yet she was angered at the hurt he had inflicted. She was furious that he had not given her the courtesy of a simple fareWell. Even one written on paper, rather than spoken in person, would have been preferable to this silent dismissal.

Damned if she would all ow him to treat her like this! She had bared herself in that note, made it clear how she wished for his company. It pained her to think of it, how deeply attached to the man she had become. To seek him out, to beg his attentions.

To be discarded without a word.

Seething, Maria disrobed and then call ed for Sarah to assist her with re-dressing. She donned crimson silk and then took a moment to apply a heart-shaped patch just above the corner of her mouth. Slipping her dagger into the hidden sheath in her gown, she then ordered her carriage brought around. Every moment that passed intensified the burning in her blood. She was spoiling for a row, and by God, the pirate would indulge her whether he wished to or not.

Outriders surrounded her coach as they left the relative safety of Mayfair for the squalor of St. Giles, which served as home to beggars, thieves, prostitutes…and her lover. She sat in the unlit comfort of her carriage and felt her ire simmer dangerously. By the time she arrived at the pirate’s home, she was a menace waiting to be unleashed, a fact that must have been obvious. Her call ing card was accepted from her footman, and she was escorted from the carriage into the foyer without delay.

“Where is he?” she asked with ominous softness, ignoring the large group of both men and women who filtered from various rooms to watch her.

The butler swal owed hard. “I will inform him of your arrival, Lady Winter.”

One finely arched brow rose. “I can announce myself, thank you. Tel me where to go.”

The servant opened his mouth, shut it, opened it again, then final y said with a sigh, “follow me, my lady.”

Maria took the staircase like a queen, her head held high, her shoulders squared. She might be a lover scorned, but she refused to act the part.

A moment later she swept into the room opened by the butler and paused inside, her heart in her throat. A jerking wave of her hand to signal for the closing of the door was all she could manage.

Christopher lounged before the fire in a state of semiundress, his feet and throat bare, his torso free of both waistcoat and coat. His head was leaned back, his bril iant blue gaze hidden in repose. Such a beautiful yet deadly creature. Even now, furious as she was, he affected her as no other man ever had.

“Christopher,” Maria call ed quietly, her throat so tight at the sight of him that her voice came out as barely more than a whisper.

A slow smile curved his lips, but his eyes remained closed. “Maria,” he purred. “You came.”

“And you did not come. Although I asked for you and I waited.”

He final y looked at her, his gaze narrowed and considering. “Is it so terribly wrong for me to wish you to make the effort to reach out to me?”

“I no longer have time for your games, St. John. I came for what you owe me—a clean severance.”

She turned to depart, only to find that she had miscalculated. Christopher moved swiftly, pinning her to the door with his body.

“This is no game,” he rasped with his lips to her ear.

Maria made every attempt to ignore the longed-for feel of his hard, muscled frame. He towered over her, his heated breath gusting intimately against the crown of her head. When he rolled his hips against her, she col ected what he was tel ing her. It was impossible to feel him through the masses of underskirts and skirts, but there was no doubt he was aroused.

She fought off the flare of pleasure the knowledge gave her and said coldly, “Why then did you not come to me?”

Christopher moved, his hands leaving the paneled door to boldly cup the upper swel of her breasts. His powerful legs kept her pressed to the door as he fondled her. “I always come to you, Maria. I needed to know that you would seek me out in return.”

She sucked in a breath as desire, hot and insistent, flared at his words. But he had made a grave error in judgment by freeing her hands and a second later he knew it. She sank the veriest tip of her blade into his upper thigh.

He pushed away from her with a curse, and she spun to face him, her hand reaching behind her and thumbing the lock.

A tiny spot of blood spread around the hole in his breeches. “Do you draw weapons on Eddington, as well ?” he asked softly. “Or does his coin spare him?”

Maria paused with her blade held in front of her. “How does Eddington signify?”

“That is my enquiry.” He nonchalantly drew his shirt over his head, revealing the golden expanse of his rippling abdomen. His bare chest had healing cuts and his ribs bore yel owed bruises. Her throat tightened at the sight of his many injuries, her heart pained at her contribution to the marring of such masculine beauty. He tore at the linen, ripping a strip long enough to tie around his muscled leg. “Are we familiar enough yet to share such secrets?”

“Is Eddington the cause of your refusal?” she asked, her stomach churning at the knowledge that he was aware of her continuing association with the earl.

Christopher crossed his arms and shook his head. “No. I speak the truth to you, Maria, because that is what I want from you in return. I want to support you. Help you. If only you will all ow me that right.”

His tone was so low, his gaze so earnest that she was arrested by him and the feelings he was engendering. Her dagger fel from nerveless fingers to thud on the floor.

“And what rights will you grant me?” she asked, her chest lifting and fall ing rapidly.

“What rights would you prefer?” Christopher stepped close again, lowering his head to swipe his tongue across her parted lips. “You could have gone to Quinn or Eddington tonight. Instead you came to me despite your anger. I have something you want, Maria. Tel me what it is, so that I may give it to you.”

The last was said with a distant ache in his tone, which he quickly covered by taking her mouth in a deep, possessive kiss. His hands came up to cup her shoulders, pul ing her fractional y closer.

Yet even as Maria realized that she had the power to hurt him, she also understood that he had the power to wound her in return. And he was doing it so Well, weakening her with his kindness and seeming lack of guile.

“Perhaps all I want from you is sex,” she said coldly, her lips moving against his. “You have a body built for sin and a mind well -schooled on how to use it.”

His grip tightened, betraying a direct hit. It was deeply unpleasant to know that she had deliberately hurt him in order to protect herself, but she could think of no other way to act. This side of Christopher was far too dangerous. She could manage herself around the coarse pirate. She was not confident in her ability to survive the charms of the impassioned, gentle lover who was appearing more often. The rough seduction of their first sexual encounter had softened to these liaisons of sweet kisses, intimate recol ections, and admissions of yearning for the other’s company. If she trusted him, it would be a romance. Since his motives were suspect, it felt like a siege, and she could not afford to be conquered when the safety of Amelia was the prize.

“You want my cock,” he whispered, “so I shal service you with it. You have only to ask for what you need. I am prepared and more than will ing to provide it. In bed, or out.”

Her eyes closed, shielding her thoughts. She wished she had the strength to set aside her longing and focus solely on the task at hand, but the quivering in her limbs told her it was best to flee while she was stil able. The information Welton and Eddington wanted would have to be gleaned by other means. She would find a way, she always had.

“Undress me,” she whispered, firm in her intent.

“As you wish.” His tongue traced the shell of her ear, making her shiver. “Turn your back to me.”

Maria took a deep breath, and did as he asked.

Chapter 14

Christopher’s fists clenched tightly as Maria presented the row of tiny buttons that coursed down her spine. He fought with his hands, ordering them to cease their trembling. He ached for her tenderness, some sign that she cared for him beyond his sexual prowess.