Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Phillip reclined in his chair, making damn sure he kept his eyes on the ledger before him. It worked.

He was most certainly not staring at and ogling the woman on the other side of the desk—a large expanse of solid wood that could handle him laying her across it and allowing himself the indulgence of her body.

Shifting in his chair, he subtly adjusted his hardness. He’d not been this attracted to anyone in a long while. Had he been a monk?

Certainly not, but he wasn’t often close to forgetting his sense because of a woman being near to him. And the shit part about this, she was only here because he’d insisted. Not because she wanted to be, or was attracted to him.

The drink on his left wasn’t going to be enough to quench the thirst that Fyre had aroused within him.

Thank God his determination to not look at her was working.

She sat there in utter silence. Not fidgeting or moving in any way to make him think she wasn’t comfortable or had to get somewhere else. She was, well, a statue.

Truthfully, he didn’t need to have her here for the moment—she had been crisp and clear in her breakdown of his money and her notations. He just lingered, not wanting to be apart from her.

“Do you have a copy of the books from when you first took over?”

Without a sound, she rose and walked across the room to a closed cupboard. He bit his lower lip as she opened it only to push up on her toes, reaching over her head. The thrust of her breasts against the thin material of her dress wasn’t helping the rod in his breeches.

Eyes locked on her figure, lingering over the swell of her ass that made his hands itch to grab it as he sank between her legs, he rubbed the heel of one hand over his erection, a low moan slipping from his lips.

He could not look later.

If she heard him, she didn’t take any notice of it. Just carried the book back to him and turned it so the pages would be the correct way once she placed it down. The moment it was on the desktop she retreated to her chair.

“Thank you.”

“Of course, my lord.”

The door was open and many staff members moved around, occasionally peeking in to see if they needed anything.

He wasn’t a fool, well aware that part of the reason for their constant visits was they looked for gossip to spread, but more was they looked out for Fyre. He saw the affection many of those on his staff had for the young woman.

Because he wanted to keep her around, he ground down on the feverish sensations she created in him and made sure all behavior was above board. No matter how much he wanted to brush his lips along her skin. Stroke those curves. Sweep her hair away from her neck, exposing the small space where it met her shoulder and kiss it, push his tongue there and taste her.

He longed for her to tremble in his arms as he whispered what he was going to do to her after she came for him, around his fingers, which would be deep in her wetness.

Phillip coughed and reached for his drink, needing something because he was about to burst free of his breeches. She looked up from the book she’d been going through and making notations in.

“Everything okay, my lord?”

“Phillip.”

She lifted her eyebrows. Not one but both of them.

“Call me Phillip.”

“I cannot, my lord. That would not be proper.” She dropped her gaze back to the pages before her.

You can and you will. Maybe not tonight, but you will scream my name, Fyre.

His housekeeper walked in, a tray of food in hand. Fyre turned her head to see who it was, then went back to the book and—because he’d not been able to pull his gaze from her yet—he saw some scarred skin along her neck ever so briefly before her hair covered it once more. He blinked and took another look at the ledger before him.

“Your meal, my lord.” The tray was set beside him.

He grunted as he tried to make sense of the numbers from before she’d taken over. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he looked over to the items waiting for him and scowled.

“What is this?”

“The food you had requested be brought to you this evening, my lord.”

Lifting his head, he stared at the woman. Her blue eyes held his but only for a tick of time.

“Where is food for her?” He stabbed a finger in Fyre’s direction.

The woman bumbled and blinked a few times before squaring her shoulders. “You did not say you wished to eat with your guest.”

Phillip bit back, barely, the snarl that shot from his throat as fast as his own horse had unseated him the first time he’d met Ciara and her big cat.

“I should not have to say it. We are in here working and for you to bring me food but nothing for her does not make me happy.”

The housekeeper turned her eyes to Fyre. “What can I bring you?”

Fyre closed the book she’d been working in and rose. “Nothing, thank you. I have to get heading home.” She gave the housekeeper a small nod, one he noticed wasn’t returned, before she glanced back to him. “I can be by in two days, my lord, if you would still like me to be of assistance.”

“Do you not typically do the books daily?”

“No, my lord. If you would like that to change, I can do them daily, starting in two days.”

There was a bite to her words, like she dared him to defy her. He longed to nibble on that plump lower lip, tug it and suck it into his mouth.

He laced his fingers and took his time in looking over her. “Two days then.” The moment she nodded, he added, “In the morning. I will feed you breakfast so be here early. There will be a lot to cover.”

He watched it, in her eyes, the desire to snip back at him. She wasn’t a fan of being told what to do. God, she was magnificent.

“Very good, my lord. I will see you in two days.” She curtsied and walked out.

The housekeeper stood there, watching their interaction.

“You can leave,” he said without looking at her again. He wanted to get up and go after Fyre, take her home.

Shit, it was dark out. He couldn’t have her walk.

Shooting to his feet, he was striding to the door before the housekeeper even made it from the room. He called for a footman and sent them after Fyre, to detain her while the carriage was readied.

She was off to the side when he was able to lay eyes on her once more, as he stepped outside. Phillip didn’t appreciate her expression, which he saw in the flickering torchlight.

He knew she saw him and he didn’t bother calling out her name, just held his hand out in her direction. Fyre hesitated for a moment before walking toward him.

The carriage rumbled up and the footman got the door. Phillip walked her up and pointed for her to get in.

“I told you I would see you got home. Did you think I would allow you to walk at night?”

“I walk all the time at night.”

He took her hand, not giving her the chance to refuse him. She stepped into the carriage and brushed against him, showering him with a scent he’d not smelled before being around this woman. What it was, he didn’t know, but he did know he longed for more of it. On him. Everywhere.

At the last moment he remembered to have a maid come along. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin her reputation.

I mean, I want it ruined so she will be mine but I will not do it this way.

The coach rocked as he climbed in after the maid and sat across from the women, his back to the horses.

The maid was confused but she didn’t say a word. Fyre, however, watched him with suspicion. He didn’t blame her, for his wants for this woman were definitely not anything for the faint of heart.

He was a lot of things, but a right bastard wasn’t one of them. So he would wait. Bide his time. And wear her down, one tantalizing touch after another.

Then he would be sated from his irrational need for this woman he’d just met today.

God, if his friends could see him now. Rafe and Lucien wouldn’t believe this. He’d been the reckless one. The bastard who didn’t think of anyone else’s needs but his own. Hell, he’d nearly ruined Lucien’s happiness because he’d been an ass.

He was lucky they were still speaking to him.

However, as he got older and watched their families grow, it only emphasized how alone he was. Usually he would just find a mistress and slake his hunger. But the second he’d laid eyes on Fyre, something else had taken over. His craving for her had been much deeper than simplistic lust. He wanted to be hers. Have her be his. Make his the only touch she craved. The only one she experienced. He wanted to hover over her as she arched into his touch and gasped his name in pleasure. Fuck, he longed to see her swell with his child.

I am in so much trouble.

A fact that was only illustrated further when the driver stuck his head in to ask where they were going.

* * * *

“What happened?”

Fyre groaned and rolled over as her brother repeated his insistent question.

“Elonne, this is my one day to sleep past dawn and you are in here squawking like a chicken. Leave me alone.”

“I have a bucket of cold water and I will use it.”

Coming from her brother, it wasn’t an idle threat. With an exaggerated groan, she sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes.

“What is so important that it can’t wait until I have coffee?”

The rich, heady scent filled her nostrils and her mouth watered in response. This was a delicacy that she’d become addicted to and she jealously guarded what beans she was able to get her hands on.

“I did not state I only had cold water.”

She still didn’t open her eyes for her brother, just accepted the warm, chipped cup and inhaled the fragrance once more. It curled around her like the warmth of the sea around their home. At first sip, she purred and finally opened her eyes.

Elonne watched her, shaking his head with amusement. Yet she could see the concern in his gaze.

“Everything is fine, Elonne. I explained the system to him. I go back tomorrow and will see if I have lost that account. If so, I am sorry. I never meant for that to happen.”

He sat beside her on the narrow bed and nudged her with his shoulder. “It is my fault, Fyre. I should have taken better care in regards to the new owner of Hawk’s Cove. It would be a large account to lose, but I can find more work.”

She drank in silence for a while before digging her toes into the thick rug by her bed, made by Elonne’s wife.

“Albie would be a thought if needed.” While she wasn’t a fan of working for him more, she would do it.

“No.” Her brother’s single-word refusal said it all. “Stay away from him, Fyre. He is no good.”

“I have no interest in him in such a way, Elonne. I only mentioned it because he has asked me a few times to work on his books.” Her brother wasn’t going to be happy to learn she already had the man on her schedule.

“He is not thinking books when he looks at you, Fyre. And before you argue with me, the next time he offers, tell him I can fit him in. He will back off and say something about waiting for you.”

“Just a thought.” Her words were barely above a whisper.

He draped an arm around her and hugged her tight. “I know you are just trying to help, but I worry. We worry about you.”

“And I tell you all that I am fine. I cannot work the fields like you do, but I can do this.”

He tugged on her hair that peeked below the wrap around her head. “You always had a penchant for numbers.”

“I hate you feel that you have to take care of me.”

Elonne growled. “Listen to me, little sister. I will always take care of you. It is not a chore.”

She finished her coffee. “It is. You have your wife and children. All I am is another mouth to feed.” She ignored that she lied to him, she knew the real reason.

“Not up for discussion. You are not a bother.”

But she was and she could see it on his wife’s face. No, she never said anything in front of Elonne, but the looks were there.

“I want a place of my own. Something small.”

“No.”

“Elonne, listen, I am three and twenty. I want to move out and I have money to do so. I also found a place.” She got off the bed and left the room, her clothes in hand to change into.

Her brother remained in her room when she came back dressed for the day. Braiding her hair, she didn’t look at him until she held on to the tip of her braid as she tied a red bow around it. She draped it forward over the left side of her neck, hiding what the collar of her dress could not.

Cup in hand, she left the room again, and this time he was on her heels, arguing with her.

Elonne’s wife Cara was in the small kitchen and she looked up, the expression on her features smoothing out when she spied Elonne.

“Morning, Gwen.”

Cara refused to call her Fyre.

“Good morning. Maybe you can help me convince Elonne my idea is the right one.”

“My wife sides with me, Fyre. She will agree with me, not you.”

Her dark eyes moving between the siblings, Cara waited.

“I think,” Fyre began.

“She thinks she should move out to her own place,” Elonne snapped.

Cara’s eyes grew wide. Fyre took advantage and pressed on. “It would be a small place, not too far away, and I would still be able to help out with the children, but they are growing and my room could be better used for one of them.”

She very deliberately did not mention assisting them with money anymore. Despite how Cara acted, Fyre more than earned her keep staying in this place with them.

“Tell her she is not going, Cara.”

Fyre watched her sister-in-law. For about a minute, she didn’t say anything. After she stirred whatever was on the stove, she sighed.

“I think we should support Gwen in this.”

As she’d expected, Elonne lost it. Her brother was a large man and could be extremely menacing, but she wasn’t going to back down.

Swallowing before she tried to get him to see it her way, Cara waited a moment then spoke again. Where her brother was large and loud, Cara never had to raise her voice to get her point made.

“She is a grown woman, Elonne. Why would she want to live with a married couple and their children?”

“Because we are family, and it is dangerous out there for her.”

“I am not leaving the town, Elonne. Just this house. I have never lived alone and you two have never been married without me in the house. At least let me give this a try. If it does not work, then I will come back.”

She had no intention of returning to this house.

She watched him think it over, then when his broad shoulders slumped when he looked at his wife, she knew he was caving.

“Fine.” He stomped off.

Fyre moved up beside Cara, who had returned her attention to her food.

“I know you did not do that for me, Cara, but thank you anyway.”

“Just make sure it works and you never have to come back here again to live.”

“Like I want to keep living with you.” Irritation rose, as was often the case when she dealt with this woman.

Cara narrowed her beady eyes. “You should be thanking me for letting you stay this long.”

“You should be grateful I contributed money to the coffers, given how much you like to spend. You will have to slow that down when I leave.”

Fyre walked back to her room and packed her meager belongings. She had somewhere to be and a place to rent.

Not long after, she walked along the dirt road, waving at the occasional passer-by. It was still far too early for most people to be up, well, the people who had servants to take care of things for them. The people she saw were the servants.

Stopping off at the baker’s, she knocked and smiled when Georges answered.

“Morning, Fyre.”

“Georges. I know it is early but I wanted to see if you were still willing to rent out that small place?”

“I am. Are you sure you want to take it?”

“I am positive.”

He smiled at her, the aged wrinkles in his face making her want to hug him. The man never failed to set her at ease.

“Marta was hoping you would be interested. She was not comfortable with having a man rent it as she is alone much of the time.”

“I would be happy to keep an eye on her.”

He opened the door and gestured. “Come in and we will eat fresh bread while we work out the details.”