Page 40 of Marriage Most Scandalous
Sebastian was stretched out on the chaise longue, a fancy piece in soft blue and green quilted silk. It was designed for someone to sit on with her back against the high end and her legs stretched out comfortably, as she enjoyed a good book. It was designed for a woman to do that. She doubted Sebastian’s legs would fit even if he weren’t now almost lying prone on it, his calves off the end, his feet on the floor.
Both his arms were crossed behind his head. He looked entirely too much “at home,” with no intention of leaving. She was determined to put a dent in his current satisfied expression.
She marched over to the chaise, crossed her arms over her chest, and said matter-of-factly, “Did I mention this isn’t going to work? Your spending the night here? Don’t interrupt me,” she snapped when he opened his mouth. “We are pretending a marriage. We can bloody well pretend you’ve spent the night in here as well.”
He actually appeared to give that some thought, but then he shook his head. “That won’t wash, m’dear. Too many servants passing along the corridor out there. One’s bound to see me sneaking in and out.”
“Rubbish. That is the impression you are striving for, that you have access here at any hour.”
“Yes, but not if I’m leaving at night and entering in the morning. Besides, if I’m known to be sleeping here, I won’t be given a separate bedroom, will I? So where would you suggest I sleep?”
“Do you really need to ask?” she asked with a tight little smile.
He gave a short bark of laughter. “Sorry, but stables and kennels don’t agree with me.”
“You aren’t being reasonable, Sebastian.”
He came off the chaise quickly in one fluid movement. She wasn’t sure how he did it, but he was suddenly standing there, towering over her, much, much too close. Nor did he let her get out of his way. He put both his hands on her shoulders, pinning her to the spot.
“Let me put this another way,” he said, his tone turned husky. “If you continue to stand here arguing with me, which I believe I mentioned before I find quite stimulating, I’ll be sharing that bed with you. I’d wager after a few moments of my persuasion you’d stop arguing about the sleeping arrangements and be involved in something much more pleasurable. So I would suggest that you take this opportunity, while I still have some meager control over the lust you inspire in me, to get your delectable body under those covers over there and out of my sight.”
He let go of her so she could do just that. She didn’t hesitate, she raced to the bed. But she did pause there to glare back at him.
“You’ve lost all semblance of sanity,” she began, only to be cut off.
“Maggie, don’t tempt me,” he growled.
She dove under the covers, pulled them up to her chin. Her heart was racing again, her arms and legs trembling. It took nearly ten minutes and the silence that followed for her finally to calm down.
He had possibly waited for just that before he said all too casually, “I’ll sleep here on the chaise tonight, but if I wake up in the morning with a stiff neck, we’ll be taking turns here.”
Margaret shot out of the bed, yanked off the thick bedspread, and tossed it on the floor across the room. It landed rather neatly spread out, she noticed, before she dove back under the sheets she had left to her.
“There,” she said huffily, pointing out, “I believe John mentioned to me, when we were discussing the accommodations on the ship, that you both frequently had to sleep on the ground during your travels.”
“Not on the floor of a bedroom,” he corrected. “But—you’re quite right, that will probably do much better. A pillow?”
“Certainly,” she replied primly and tossed one in the direction of the spread. “Anything else?”
“Good God, don’t ask such a leading question!” he barked at her.
She blushed and refused to watch him cross over to his new bed on the floor. He said no more. And sometime in the middle of the night, before she finally succumbed to sleep, she realized that he’d managed to end their argument about his sharing her room rather abruptly with his threat of lovemaking. Odious man. She had no doubt that had been his exact intention.
He’d be hearing what she thought about that—but tomorrow. Tonight, she was just thankful he wasn’t saying anything else that flayed her senses with more excitement than she could handle.
Chapter 22
MARGARET STRETCHED, YAWNED, and sat up on the edge of her bed. She started to get up, then sat back down and didn’t move another muscle as her eyes fell on the man lying on the floor not ten feet away from her.
Sebastian had rolled himself up in the thick bedspread she’d sacrificed for his use. She’d have to tell Edna to find some extra bedding for him—no, what was she thinking? He couldn’t stay in her room another night. They were going to have that conversation again, and this time she would have the last word on the subject of sleeping arrangements.
He was lying on his side, still sleeping, one arm outside the cover. Her eyes followed that arm up to his shoulder before she realized both were bare. He’d removed his coat and shirt! She noticed them on the seat of the chair nearest him, quite rumpled now, as if he’d just tossed them there. And what was that with them? Oh, good God, he’d removed his britches too! This was intolerable. It was bad enough he was even in the room, but without his clothes on?!
Margaret shot across the room to her bureau, snatched undergarments and stockings out of the drawers with barely a glance, grabbed a morning dress from her wardrobe, and ran straight to the bathroom. With the door closed behind her, she took a few moments to regain her composure, then quickly dressed for the day.
Well, that didn’t work very well. She couldn’t reach all the bloody buttons on the back of her dress and she was wearing two stockings that didn’t match. She poked her head outside the door to make sure Sebastian was still sleeping, then rushed to grab a shawl and her shoes. She’d have to wait until later when Sebastian was gone to change her stockings.
She’d just reached the bedroom door to make her escape when she heard, “Open it and I guarantee you will be scandalized when I make the effort to stop you.”
