One Night With You (The Derrings #3)(29)

Seth gazed at him now, shaking his head. "How did you know—"

"Colonel Manchester's sister?" Knightly prodded. "Is she as lovely as rumored?"

"Oh, Miss Manchester," he murmured. Of course.

He'd forgotten about Miss Manchester. Forgotten everything save the feel of Aurora in his arms—her taste, her body against his. She kissed him as no woman had, as if she couldn't get enough of him, as if his lips were opium itself.

"Yes," Knightly answered, looking at him strangely, "Miss Manchester."

"No, Miss Manchester did not meet my expectations."

How could she when his masked lady had been within twenty yards?

For some reason, his thoughts turned to Jane just then. The sweet taste of her throat beneath his mouth. True, she was no wild tigress like Aurora, but the tremble of her neck beneath his lips, soft as the flutter of a moth's wings, filled him with a different sort of hunger… but no less intoxicating.

Shaking off the unwelcome comparison and wondering if he were mad to still crave after Jane when he had been so thoroughly satisfied with Aurora, he vowed to put Jane from his thoughts and concentrate on finding his masked seductress again. A woman more suitable for him to pursue.

Aurora had come to him. He could only hope she would do so again. After tonight he would never get her out of his blood, much less his thoughts.

"Ah, then you must continue looking."

Seth's head snapped back in Gregory's direction. "Looking?" he echoed, wondering how Knightly had read his thoughts.

"For your bride."

"Oh." Realizing Knightly discussed Miss Manchester, he lowered himself to a chair and tugged off his boots.

"Forgive me, but you seem distracted tonight."

Removing his last boot, Seth fell back into the chair and looked Gregory steadily in the face. "I met someone."

"Did you? Who is she?"

The scent of her swirled around him. Closing his eyes, he inhaled, taking the scent of apples deep within himself.

"I don't know. She did not give her name." Just her body. Knightly's brows rose.

Seth stared broodingly across the room, thumping the arm of the chair lightly with his fist. "I will find her."

Knightly bent to collect his discarded boots. "Generally, people are only found when they wish to be."

"I must see her again."

"Perhaps you should focus on finding a bride you like half as much as this mystery woman. Or have you changed your mind about marrying?"

Seth considered that, wishing he could quit the whole notion of matrimony. But he couldn't. All he had to do was think of his cousin, and the risk he presented to Julianne. Seth had to wed, and hopefully, beget an heir or two to keep Harold well in his place.

"I'll find a bride," he asserted, simultaneously vowing that he would never cease looking for Aurora.

Recalling the way she had moved against him, the way he had felt buried deep inside her, he knew he would never be free of her.

He would have her again.

After departing Lucy's, Jane crept up the servant's staircase, holding her breath until she reached her bedroom door. Hand on the latch, the tension flowed from her shoulders as she pushed the door in and walked inside. A lamp burned low on the dresser, filling the room with dancing shadows.

"Late night, my dear?"

She spun around, her heart in her throat.

"D—Desmond."

"I warned you, Jane." He advanced on her slowly, the thud of his every step a stab to her heart.

"Where have you been?" He slapped his hand against the side of his thigh. "Sneaking off in the middle of the night—"

"I—I was at Lady Shillington's." Not strictly a lie.

"Hmm." He stopped before her, his voice, lowering. "Chloris is most displeased. She had to take a tonic to calm her nerves. Put her straight to sleep." She struggled to hold her ground and not shrink away as he brushed her collarbone above the stiff edge of her bodice. "She wouldn't hear a cavalry charge."

Her gaze flitted over her sparsely furnished chamber. "Then perhaps we should wait to discuss this in the morning."

Turning, she strode back to the door and grasped the latch in her hand again, determined to usher him from the room. He grabbed her wrist, squeezing the bones until they ached.

"Chloris thinks we should send you away."

She lifted her chin a notch and tried not to wince at his grip on her wrist. "Why don't you?"

"You would like that," he growled. "I told you there's only one way out of this house."

"Never will I accept your disgusting proposition."

His small eyes flashed in his gaunt face. "As I was reflecting upon your defiance this evening and trying to come up with a proper punishment, I realized taking your clothes and jewelry was merely a child's reprimand." He paused, his gaze crawling over her. "You're no child, Jane." The tiny hairs on the back of her neck began to prickle as he stepped nearer. She held her breath, waiting for his words to fall.

"Your maid," he began. "She has been with you some years now, correct?" Her chest suddenly grew tight, the ability to draw breath difficult. "Anna?" she asked warily.

"Precisely how long has the old bird been with you?" He stared at her, unblinking, waiting for her answer.