Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Her hands smoothed down his back, short nails digging into his skin as she tugged him closer. She arched her hips, taking him in deeper.

More.

He craved more of her. More of the moans. Groans. Mewls. Begging. Panting. Sweat. The way her slit clamped on his cock while he thrust deep inside her heat.

Dipping his head, he feathered kisses along her cheek until he could once again capture her mouth. Her flavor burst over his tongue as he drove it into her at the same pace as his hips delivered his shaft.

Silvered moonlight surrounded them, making her skin gleam with a softness that could have taken his heart if it hadn’t already been given. To her.

Legs high up around his waist, she undulated and rolled her hips, taking him deep and keeping up with every powerful stroke. He flexed the hand buried in her hair, holding her head where he could plunder her mouth as he wanted.

Fast, slow, deep, shallow. He couldn’t contain his movement.

Sweat ran down his skin, dropping onto the woman beneath him. Her eyes were nearly closed, but she watched him. He knew this because she made his blood burn when she watched him.

He dragged the hand that wasn’t sunk into her thick hair down her side, over the swell of one soft breast, moving along after pinching her nipple—an act that had another sharp gasp leaving her throat as her internal muscles gripped him harder.

Need hummed in his veins, popping and sizzling like lightning in a storm, and he knew he hovered along the edge of losing his control. He dipped his head and nipped at her lower lip after pulling back to stare down at her.

It wasn’t fair—her flawless skin, thick lashes. Full, pillowy lips that had enticed him from the moment he’d first met her. Watching them widen as he slid his length between her legs only served to increase the pain of holding his orgasm at bay.

“Phillip!” Her cry came on the heels of her tossing her head back, exposing her delicate throat to his view.

He skimmed his fingers along her hips before pushing between them and finding the little swollen nub there. Phillip flicked it, loving the response she gave. Everything went tighter, and for a woman who was tight anyway, this was another level of torture for him.

He took a little bite of her neck, then kissed away the sting as she bucked beneath him.

“More. Oh God, I need… Phillip…”

“Give it to me.” He pinched her bundle of nerves and held on as she squirmed.

Her short fingernails tore into his skin, body arching as a cry exploded from her mouth, filling the night sky. The moment she crested he let go of her clit and she cried out once more, coming hard again.

Slamming his mouth over hers, he ate the remainder of her screams as he thrust once more, gripping her hip, and released deep inside her. He stayed deep, filling her with his seed, and for the first time in his life hoping he got a woman with child. Not just any woman. Her.

He longed to see her swollen with his seed. Carrying their child.

Phillip’s eyes shot open as he lay in his huge bed. Alone. Except for the hard length of his cock, throbbing and demanding relief. His heart pounded and he struggled to breathe.

“My lord.”

It wasn’t easy to ignore his thickness but he did, sitting up and making sure the length stayed covered.

“What?”

The servant who had walked in went by the name of Lloyd, but more than that didn’t come to mind because all his thoughts were still focused on the erection between his legs and the dream he’d been having.

“You have a visitor, my lord.”

Phillip exhaled sharply and pinched the bridge of his nose. He’d not even had his first meal.

“Who is here, Lloyd?”

The man pulled back almost like he’d been struck at the use of his name. But, Phillip had to admit, he recovered quickly.

“Fyre. She states the two of you have an appointment this morning.”

His blood burst with pops of pleasure. The struggle to keep his smile contained was a serious battle.

“She is correct. Tell her I will be there momentarily. Put her in my office, bring some food and drink.”

“Very good, my lord.” A bow and he walked out, as quietly as he’d entered.

Phillip exhaled on a moan and fell back on the bed. He hadn’t known that she would show up in the morning. Honestly, he’d figured she would be by later in the day, after completing whatever other work she had to complete.

Then again, I did insist on morning and having breakfast with her.

He thought about how long she had to walk to get to his place. Anger simmered as he imagined her walking without any protection.

With a groan of capitulation, he wrapped his hand around his cock and fisted it. Slowly, he stroked. Up and down, squeezing and pinching to try to prolong his self-inflicted torture.

Then he remembered she was waiting for him. After that, it didn’t take long before he shot his seed into the sheet around his waist. After regaining his breath, he cleaned up and dressed in record time. By the time he hit the stairs, he’d found a bit more decorum.

Not completely honest, but he was hoping it didn’t look like he was a youth on his first trip to a brothel.

Handing out morning greetings to the staff as he passed them, he strode to his office, heart picking up in speed the closer he got.

He didn’t know what it was about this woman that made him crazy. If Lucien were not so far away, he would have asked him if this had happened to him with Ciara. However, his best friend was over in England.

Stepping into the room, Phillip scanned it and breathed a bit easier the moment he spied her. She stood by the far couch, hands clasped before her.

Lust knocked him hard, like he’d not just found release less than ten minutes ago.

“Good morning, Fyre.”

She didn’t jump but turned her head toward him, calm and collected. He hid another smile. She would be running the other way if she knew the thoughts that circled his mind when it came to her.

Her curtsey brought shafts of morning’s early light to glance along the purple of her dress.

“Good morning, my lord. I hope this was not too early for you.”

He smiled. “Of course not. I was just thinking about you.”

She stiffened and swallowed.

He moved closer to her. “Want to know what I was thinking?”

Fyre didn’t meet his gaze. “I am sure you will tell me if you feel it important, my lord.”

A quick glance around made him aware they were still alone. “It is, very.” She finally lifted her gaze to his. “I was thinking of—”

“Excuse me, my lord.” The footman held the door as one of the maids carried in food.

“Put the food down on the table and leave us. We can serve ourselves as we work.”

“Yes, my lord.”

The maid and footman did as he’d ordered and he barely took his eyes off Fyre, even though he walked to his desk and unlocked it to pull out the ledgers they had to finish going over.

The staff were efficient at their jobs and soon enough it was just the two of them once more. The door was not shut all the way, so anyone passing by could see or hear them.

“Help yourself.” He lifted the three ledgers and walked back to the sitting area. He was tempted to return to what he’d been telling her before the interruption but held back. It wouldn’t do to scare her away.

Fyre hadn’t moved.

“Do I need to repeat myself?”

“No, my lord.”

He put the books down and fixed himself a plate of finger food, then sat in a single chair on the end. He knew if he were next to her on the couch, there would be a different kind of lesson going on.

“Would you feel more comfortable with a maid in here?”

Her features morphed into shock as her eyebrows rose. “My reputation is of little value. I am not concerned.”

Phillip didn’t like the sound of that. “What about me?”

She poured some tea and looked up at him with a smile that would have taken out his knees had he been standing.

“If you feel safer with a maid to protect your virtue, by all means, call one in.”

Fyre blinked a few times and swallowed back his laughter. He greatly approved of this teasing side of her and he had the feeling it wasn’t a side that she chose to share with many. That she would with him was a prize he would never forget.

It also let him know that she, despite some outward appearances, felt comfortable enough to joke with him.

“Just so you know, Fyre. If you wanted my virtue, I would hand it over to you without an argument.”

Her chest rose and fell in sharp succession with his admission. “We should get to work.”

“Of course, milady, anything you want.” Her eyes flew back to him. “Yes, you heard me, anything you want.”

Fyre took a deep breath and turned the page on her current ledger. She’d been working for close to an hour. This one had pretty much only her writing in it. A tiny smile crossed her face. She loved the entire process that revolved around keeping books such as these, even the details, which some considered mundane. She enjoyed all of it.

It didn’t matter that she did this for people who thought less of her. All she wanted to do was numbers. Pulling her thoughts from anything but what she needed to be focusing on, she sighed.

This man, however, he wasn’t easy to forget. Nor were his words.

She didn’t understand a lot about men, didn’t flirt much, if at all, and didn’t exactly need her brother to beat off suitors. Sure, there was Albie Caulfield, but in all honesty she believed he was after her because of the magic she could create with numbers and how organized she was.

The man himself was handsome enough, if she could get past the instinctive aversion she had to him, but she’d not cared about the attention a man paid to her until she’d met this new owner of Hawk’s Cove. Lord Edais had quickly made a name for himself, having come here and purchased the plantation after the scandal of a colonel who’d kidnapped a woman in his twisted effort to try to force someone’s hand while bringing back slavery to this island.

It had been a lot of ugliness.

She’d not had a part in that but had heard a lot about it from the people around. Slavery wasn’t allowed on this island anymore, and while most had accepted it, there were times that issues still cropped up.

It was a legitimate reason her brother wasn’t a fan of her doing a lot of what she did. Yet she couldn’t do field work and this way, at least, she was helping with the money for the house. Or rather, she had been.

Her lips twitched as she thought about finally being on her own. Out from under their rule. Already she had plans on how to decorate to make the small space hers.

“What are you smiling about?”

That deep voice wove around her and made her think about things she shouldn’t. She allowed herself a few breaths before she transferred her gaze from the ledger to the English lord.

“How much I enjoy numbers.”

His eyes heated and she fought the need to squirm on her seat. How one man’s look could be so powerful she wasn’t sure. But it was with this one.

He nodded and stared at her for a moment. “Have you eaten enough?”

The question was odd, and she didn’t quite follow his inquiry. What was enough? She’d partaken in some food, but she wasn’t going to eat all of it. Had he expected her to? With a small frown, she glanced at the food before her then back to him.

“Fyre?”

It wasn’t fair, the way his voice flowed over her and stroked places she wouldn’t have given a second thought to before he’d ridden into her life.

“I am fine, my lord.” She forced herself to meet his stare, regardless of how brief the glance was. “Thank you.”

He grunted and rose. She gulped back her desire, which was making her foolish and not focused. Before she could make sense of what was happening, he had shoved the food to one end of the low-slung table and dropped the books he’d had by her pile. Did it stop there? No, of course not. Then, then, he sat beside her, his strong thigh pressing hard into hers.

“Teach me.”

She wanted to say the same to him. However, she wouldn’t mean anything about work. Curving her fingers into the underside of the leather cover on the book she held, she angled her head toward him.

She wasn’t here for anything but showing him her bookkeeping. This was what she did, and this was what she excelled at.

His head, tipped toward her, made it so those gray eyes were directly upon her face. She saw mischief in them along with heat. It was the heat that scared her. So she locked her fear down and took a deep breath.

Mistake.

How this man managed to smell so delicious on a sweltering island, she couldn’t say. But he did.

A firm mental reprimand and she took a look down at the stacked books before them. “Was there something specific you were”—she paused, not willing to risk upsetting a rich English lord—“unable to translate from my writing? Or are you inquiring about everything?”

“You are very apt at making me believe you are taking the blame for this.”

She lowered her gaze.

He clucked his tongue. “Head up, Fyre, or I will think you’re not as strong as I believe you are.”

She listened. His lips lifted slightly but it was his eyes and the warmth in them that caught her most.

“To answer your question, I would prefer to know your system, all of it. I am confident I will be able to follow along if you show me what things mean. I want to catch the ones who have been snooping around but I feel a need to protect myself while that is in motion.”

Disappointment filled her. It was only work, regardless of the flirting. And this would be a sizeable account she was losing the money from. The hit would hurt but she could do it and survive. After all, that’s what she did. Survive.

Yet he did share a bit more personal information with me about looking into the people digging around his place.

Her smile never slipped. She rose and walked over to the small bag she always carried. His eyes were on her but he didn’t try to stop her. Fyre crouched by the bag and opened it, then rifled through the things she had in there.

When she’d located the sheet she wanted, she rose and walked back to the seat and retook hers, this time making sure there was a bit more space between her and Phillip.

“I need to make a copy of this first. I apologize I did not have it ready prior to this meeting.”

A slow smile turned up the corners of his mouth. Damn it, it was a sexy, impish grin. And the results impacted low in her gut.

He stretched his legs out and laced his hands behind his head. “Take all the time you need. I will just sit here. Watching you. Imagining things.”

He was a dangerous man. She knew this and wouldn’t try to dispute it just to make herself feel better.

Instead, she chose to ignore him. Not an easy feat, especially with a man like him. Even if he were being silent, there was this presence about him that made her mind and heart do crazy things.

Taking a back page of his ledger, a blank one, she began to copy the sheet she had in her possession.

“Are you not curious as to what I will be imagining?”

I am. I certainly am.

“Not at all, my lord.” She didn’t slow in her pencil strokes.

His leg pressed more tightly to hers and she could have sworn there wasn’t a single article of clothing between them because of the heat that shot through her. When he’d moved closer, she couldn’t even say.

“How did you get into this?”

The abrupt change in the subject threw her for a moment. Flicking her tongue over her lips, she made a few more scratches on her current page before angling her head to gaze at him.

Phillip wasn’t doing anything but waiting for her to look at him. Those sharp eyes of his saw far more than she wanted to admit she liked. It wasn’t easy to remove her gaze from his. One, she didn’t want to. Two, she knew—from somewhere deep inside—she had to. Staring at this English lord wasn’t going to do anything but put her in danger.

Gaze averted, she began finishing up the final few line items that she needed to copy.

“Matter of necessity.”

His long, lean body shifted on the seat beside her. The rasp of his finer clothing against hers stirred something inside her. Fyre bit down on the inside of her cheek.

I do not need to think this way. Just do my job and leave. Find another way to get money.

“You say those three words, Fyre, like that will appease my interest.” Another subtle shift of his leg against hers as he leaned forward toward the book she wasn’t currently using. “Quite the opposite. I find myself even more intrigued.”

She was in big trouble.