Chapter Five

The scent of alcohol hit her the moment Selena stepped into his bedchamber. Raw. Intense. Overpowering. Much like the man himself, at times. Her gaze fell on that man sprawled on the bed like a starfish, light snores indicating he was still in a deep sleep. Had he enjoyed his "peace of mind" this much?

"Well, this is a new sight . . ."

With Saville as a brother, she had come across all sorts of drunken scenes over the course of twenty years, each scene more pitiful than the next. Warrick, on the other hand, didn't look all that pitiful. Granted, this position did give off a dash of hopelessness, but for the most part, it rather highlighted the powerful contours of his body.

Her gaze drifted over the broad, bulky expanse of his bare chest. A set of symmetrical muscles sculpted his abdomen.

How did a man get muscles like that?

Selena would have appreciated the sight more if the entire room hadn't reeked of spirits. The smell must be coming straight from him. She tore her gaze away from his body and strode to the windows, whipping open the drapes and allowing sunlight to pour into the chamber.

A groan came from the bed.

She glanced over her shoulder and snorted. She'd waited all morning for this stinky man to respond to the three missive she had sent until her patience had run out. Theodosia had sent the name and address of a person with knowledge on curses and wrote that he expected their arrival today. And Selena wanted that note from the manufacturer. She'd thought perhaps Warrick had business which had prevented him from responding to her, but this...

Was this the scene you found when pulling back the proverbial curtain on a modern man?

How . . . eye-opening.

She could hardly blame him, she supposed. The earl had had a tough few weeks. Selena thought back to Warrick's predicament with the candelabras. Just what did those women have against him? What must a man do for woman to attack him with a candelabra? But then, he seemed just as baffled.

She approached the bed, tilting her head to the side to examine a half-dead Warrick. She had teased him when she said he had that sort of face. He didn't. Rogue locks fell over his brow, giving him a more rugged look than usual. Still handsome.

There must be more to his story than met the eye.

Lovers scorned or the consequence of the wagers on the pages they'd released?

I should have stuck it out and read through the betting book.

She stabbed the earl's cheek with a finger. "Warrick, wake up."

No response.

She tapped again, her finger grazing over light stubble that coated his face. Prickly. Her finger trailed upward to poke at his forehead.

Not as brainless as she'd first thought. Not that bright either, though, or she would have that note from the manufacturer in her hands by now. But he had stood up for her last night, and that had cleansed a margin of displeasure she had felt toward him since he had become her watchdog. She had felt protected for the first time.

She poked harder.

A hand snaked out to snatch her wrist and jerked. Selena catapulted forward, landing on a hard, solid chest. The same chest that was very, very naked. The smell of brandy ought to have burned her nostrils but was chased away by the shocking warmth of his skin.

"What are you doing?" Selena demanded.

"What are you doing?" He peered at her through small cracks in his eyelids. "Selena?"

"Are you expecting someone else?"

He wiped his eyes. "No. Is that really you?"

"If not me, then who else? My twin?"

"The dream you," he said in a gruff voice, blinking a few times. "Always bloody dreaming."

Her eyes widened. Always dreaming? What on earth did that mean? Had he dreamed about her too? How shocking would that be, especially if his dreams were as wild as hers?

Her cheeks heated. "Are these the ramblings of a man half-asleep?"

"You aren't real."

"I assure you, I am very real."

He stared at her. "If you are real, what are you doing in my bed?"

Good question. Selena stilled, her eyes widening as she considered the implications of his question. Wait a second. "If I am a dream, why am I in your arms?"

The shackles of his arms around her instantly disappeared, providing her an opportunity to scramble from the bed.

Warrick sat up. "Would you be there in reality? Christ, my temples are killing me." He glanced at her and seemed to take in his surroundings properly for the first time. "What are you doing here in my bedchamber?"

Selena took a moment to gather her wits. She inhaled focus and exhaled the feel of his body beneath hers before she returned her gaze to him. "You were supposed to meet me this morning. It's already past noon."

He grunted. "Who the hell let you into my chamber?"

"I let myself in," Selena said, trying hard not to stare at his chest. "Your servants did not stop me. They even pointed the way."

"I'll fire the lot of them."

"Don't be so hasty. Rather ask yourself why they had no problem lending me a hand to find you."

"Was it a footman with red hair?"

"How did you know?" Clarity came in a flash. "Is he one of your foot soldiers meant to keep an eye on me while you are"—her gaze roamed the bed—"out of commission?"

"He still shouldn't have sent you to my chamber," Warrick growled.

"Perhaps he was worried. You looked rather corpse-like when I entered."

"Nothing excuses your presence here, Selena."

"Oh, settle your feathers. I shan't be ruined over this minor thing."

"Strictly speaking, you are ruined right now."

"Strictly speaking, ruination follows discovery. Rest assured, even if your servants are not trustworthy, no one shall believe I entered your chamber of my own accord."

"What a flattering thing to say."

"Are you always such a grump when rising from a near-death experience?"

"A bottle of brandy is not enough to send one of my feet into a grave." He massaged his temples again. "Where are you dragging me off to again?"

"To gather information on curses. I cannot believe I'm saying this, but we should be able to find out how to break this family curse of yours today." She gave him an assessing look. "Given your state of being, I'm starting to believe this curse exists."

"Thank you for the compliment."

What a grump!

"I meant to ask you last night, but what did you do to that woman for her to keep attacking you with a candelabra?"

"Hell if I know. I've never met her before."

"That can't be right. Why would she attack you then?"

"I'd love to know the answer to that as well."

"You must have done something." Selena tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Either to her or someone she knows."

"I have never done anything to warrant such attacks."

"Then can it be the curse?"

"Lady Selena." He gave her a hard look. "Please wait for me in the drawing room while I wash up."

Selena sighed. "Very well, I shall go. But first tell me what this curse of yours is about." She was dying of curiosity.

"Will you leave if I tell you?"

She grinned at him. "Of course."

He let out a long-suffering breath. "If I don't marry by thirty, calamity will befall me."

Selena nodded her head slowly, digesting this newfound information of the Warrick family. As curses went, it was rather sensible. Marry or you shall be punished. Quite like it was for women, only their curse was called spinsterhood.

"You do realize you could marry and the curse would be broken."

"Would you surrender to a curse?"

Fair point. "Well, I would hardly call your recent bad luck a calamity," she tried to soothe. "This bad luck might be good luck in disguise."

"That's a theory I cannot support." He dragged a hand through his hair. "How is all this good luck?"

"Well, individually, each incident these past weeks might seem like bad luck, but if you consider the bigger picture, it might be a good thing they happened."

"And what is this bigger picture?"

She lifted her hands into the air. "How should I know? That's for you to discover, just like searching for meaning beyond my name and title is mine."

"There is nothing wrong with your name or title."

"I know there is not, and yet there is still meaning beyond them, don't you agree?"

"You win. I can't debate with you this early in the morning. Not while my head is threatening to split open. Just remember, some titles you can never rid yourself of no matter how much you try. As unfortunate as it may seem, you will forever be Saville's sister."

"I am aware," Selena said. "The significance of that title I both loathe and love at the same time."

"A lady's search for meaning." His lips inched upward. "You should write a book."

"Lord no, that sounds exhausting, and my penmanship is atrocious. Even I struggle to read what I've written after I've written it. You write one—an earl's search to break a curse. I'm sure it shall be a smashing success amongst the women of the ton."

Warrick rose from the bed and went to ring the servants' bell, and all thoughts of meaning fled from her brain.

Dear Lord, Lord, Lord.

The man's back was just as solid as his front.

She gave a small cough into her hand. "Anyhow, I shall take my leave and wait for you downstairs."

If she didn't leave soon, not even the cavalry would be able to pry her eyes from the earl's bare back. The man had a body that would have any woman salivating. He also seemed to possess no self-awareness. Wouldn't a normal gentleman have covered up by now?

She marched to the door.

"Selena." His strong voice stopped her escape just as her fingers folded over the doorknob.

She glanced over her shoulder and almost gasped at the heat dancing in his eyes.

"Don't ever enter my chamber alone again."

*

He must becrazy.

Why else would he agree to call on a stranger about a family curse he didn't fully believe in but couldn't deny because of all the peculiar incidents happening to him?

This morning was a prime example.

Selena Savage. Alone. In his bedchamber.

Bloody, bloody hell.

He could still remember her soft body sprawled over him. Even after that, her proximity in his bedchamber, two feet from his bed, was deuced unnerving. Had she not felt any nerves dancing over her own skin?

How could she be so cavalier and enter a gentleman's chamber?

Was it just him?

He had briefly escaped in drink, his wish to forget all his woes fulfilled, yet his biggest woe had returned tenfold the next day. He should never have overindulged. Without her, that momentary peace of mind always collapsed the instant he opened his eyes the next day. With her... his brain could not keep up with the speed of her wit. Otherwise, he might have questioned why he'd been dragged to the house of God knew who and was standing in a hall that smelled of vinegar and a copper undertone he couldn't entirely place.

The butler returned. "This way, please. Doctor White is expecting you."

Doctor?

Warrick scowled at the woman beside him as they followed the short, stocky man. They were shown into the study, and a tall, wiry, grey man rose from behind the desk when they entered.

Selena curtsied. "Doctor White, thank you for taking the time to see us."

"Of course. My niece said you have quite an interesting case." He motioned for them to take a seat.

Niece?

His brain wasn't ready to deal with this, whatever this was. Warrick stared at the man across from him as he lowered into a seat beside Selena. The action was so measured, it was almost painful. Why were they calling on a doctor? He wasn't sick. Or diseased. Or bloody rotting from the inside.

"What exactly is the problem?" Doctor White asked.

Warrick turned to glance at Selena.

"My companion..." she gave a light cough, "wishes to break a family curse. I was informed you might be of help in his matter."

"I see," Doctor White said, steepling his fingers.

Warrick's temples flared in pain. Did the doctor really see? He doubted that. And yet the man stared at him calmly, studying him.

"When did it start?" the doctor asked after a moment, directing the question to Selena. She, in turn, looked to him in question.

Warrick rubbed his forehead. "A few months ago."

"I see." The doctor reached for the quill and scribbled something into a notebook. "Has this curse affected anyone else in the patient's family?" Again, he directed the question at Selena.

What was the man's problem? And patient?

"Not that I'm aware of. Perhaps older ancestors."

The doctor nodded. "And how has it been affecting the patient's life?"

Annoyance stirred. "I'm not a bloody patient," Warrick snapped. "And how do you think it has been affecting me? It's a family curse—calamity will befall any man of my clan if we don't wed by thirty. I turned thirty a few months ago. Now bad luck follows me like a damn lost puppy I once tossed a scrap of meat. How do I get rid of that damn puppy?"

"You should have just wed," Selena muttered from beside him.

"I refuse to have my life dictated by a curse. I want to break it."

"You believe in this curse?" the doctor asked.

"No."

"Yet, you are here seeking help to break it," the doctor said, scribbling some more notes.

Put it that way, he sounded as if he belonged in Bedlam. Warrick clenched his fists, glaring at the man with his pen and paper.

"I see the problem," the doctor said, "but there is no easy treatment for your problem. We have to do some tests."

"Tests?" What bloody tests?

If anyone thought for one minute he would subject himself to the whims of this charlatan, they were sorely mistaken.

A small sigh came from beside him. "Theodosia, you really are too much."

Ah, so her source was Lady Theodosia, that mischievous wench. He should have asked for more clarity before he set out today.

The doctor looked over to Selena. "Are you his caretaker?"

His entire body jerked in reaction to that question. He glanced at her slowly. Their eyes met. A sudden sparkle lit her gaze, sending a shiver of warning down his spine.

She turned back to the doctor. "Why yes, he is my ward."

I am being punished, aren't I?

"I see." The doctor put his quill down. "His condition is quite sensitive. But it may soon become quite dangerous for you alone to manage. I suggest you consider sending your ward to a care facility in the future."

Warrick bristled. Wait a bloody minute.

Selena nodded thoughtfully. "The family curse..."

"I cannot be sure. He is suffering from some form of delusion. If you want help, we shall have to do further tests to get to the root of the cause."

"Oh?" That oh contained so much intrigue that Warrick wanted to throttle the woman. "Delusion? Is this treatable?"

Delusion my arse!Dear God, could this day get any worse? The only delusion he suffered was that Selena would be of any help. She was born to torment him. In person, and these days, in his dreams as well. He couldn't even tell the difference between what was real and what was not.

The doctor nodded. "Treatment will include—"

Warrick leaped from his chair. "No treatment is needed."

"Sir, I suggest you calm down."

"Do not tell me to calm down, you quack. I am calm. Extremely calm. What I'm not is delusional." God forbid this man strap him into a chair with needles poking into his head. Wasn't that what these sorts of charlatans called testing? Warrick sent a warning look to Selena. "We're leaving."

She nodded, rising from her chair. "Thank you for your time, doctor. I think it best if I escort my ward home for the time being."

A sound of disgust gurgled from the back of Warrick's throat. Thank you for your time? This was time wasted that he could never get back. Time he could have spent sleeping. In peace.

Warrick marched from the charlatan's house, his temper growing with every step. His belly growled, reminding him he hadn't had breakfast yet. He needed sustenance or he might just explode. His tempter never fared well on an empty belly.

The moment they entered the carriage, Warrick turned a heated look to Selena, "What the devil is the meaning of this, my dear, sweet guardian?"

"I can explain."

"I'm all ears."

She sighed, picking at the fabric of her skirt. "Firstly, I didn't know this would happen. Theodosia said she had someone who could help with information on curses."

"So you told your friend about my private matters?"

"This is no common quandary, Warrick, so I asked for her help. But do not worry. She won't breathe a word about it to anyone."

"But someone else—Doctor White—now knows and thinks I'm a lunatic."

"I give you my word, I was just as surprised by all that as you were."

Warrick ground his teeth. "It rather sounded as though you were enjoying yourself."

"Honestly, once I got over the shock of the situation, I could not help but see the humor in it." The corner of her lips turned up slightly.

"Humor, my arse."

"I admit, Theodosia did us wrong."

"If he charges us for the consultation, you are paying the bill."

"If there is a bill, rest assured, I shall pay it," she said serenely.

"Good."

"But do not think to use this as an excuse to weasel your way out of retrieving that note from the manufacturer," she continued.

He snorted. "I won't. I uphold my deals. One of my men should have already retrieved it while we were wasting our time at this quack's house."

He glanced away from her, silence settling over the carriage. Warrick had to admit that the quack had done one thing for him. Any lingering thoughts of Selena in his embrace this very morning had evaporated like smoke, along with the confusing feelings they'd produced. For a moment, he'd forgotten who he was dealing with—the princess of trouble. Well, no longer.

"Will you forgive me?"

He glanced back at her, meeting big, clear, imploring eyes.

"Just this once, please?"

"Fine," he muttered, not able to withstand that look. "You truly are a vexing creature."

"Of course. We vexing creatures live for vexing beasts like you."

"Remind me why I ever agreed to this nonsense?"

"If you are talking about our agreement, then you agreed because you are in dire need of peace."

"And what did I get today?"

One thin brow rose in question. "Did you not find your peace last night after we left the ball?"

"Well, what's the point of peace if you only shatter it the next day?"

"Come now, Warrick. Today was a failure, but all is not lost."

"That is a matter up for debate."

A smile upturned her lips. "If it's just a matter of wedding, you ought to break the curse by finding a wife. You have to find one eventually, anyway, don't you?"

He smirked. "Now that I think about it, you did agree to help me take break it."

Smart as a whip, she caught his meaning instantly and retorted, "Gathering information is hardly akin to marriage."

"Marriage could be a form of information gathering," he challenged.

"Not in this lifetime," she tossed back. "Though I must admit, it was a rather novel experience playing your guardian, even though it lasted only a minute."

He actually laughed. Of course the brazen minx with think that. He, on the other hand... "I can't bloody think on an empty stomach."

"You know, I can understand why you are rebelling. I wouldn't want to marry just to appease a family curse either. I'd stay a spinster all my life. Perhaps I shall anyway. I could raise an exotic animal or two. They are much less troublesome than a husband, I'm sure."

"Your mouth truly is a masterpiece," Warrick remarked.

"Are you telling me to keep it shut? What if I don't want to?" She grinned, a smile that hit him dead center in the chest.

Warrick dragged a hand through his hair. He thought he could remain calm in her presence, but he couldn't. The nerves all over his body were sparking with aggravation from her teasing.

Well, he wasn't the only one that could be on the receiving end...

He leaned toward her until their noses were almost touching and their breaths mingled. "Then I have no choice." I'll shut it for you.

"What are you doing?" she breathed.

"Hell if I know." Then his lips found hers, swallowing any and all words that might have followed his. Madness claimed a man many times over the course of his lifetime, but this was probably the maddest thing he had ever done. And this kiss... her lips molding beneath his, so much softer than he'd imagined...

Sharp teeth clamped down on his lower lip. The pain sent a jolt through him. Warrick pulled away to meet two stabbing eyes.

"I asked, what are you doing?"

Warrick brushed his lower lips with a finger. He tasted blood. "I'd have thought the answer was obvious."

"You cannot think on an empty stomach, but you can kiss on one?"

"Hunger can make a man lose his senses, so please forgive me." His lips pulled up in a smirk. "Just this once."