One Night with Prince Charming (Aristocratic Grooms #2)(29)
Author: Anna DePalo

They’d been forced to end their afternoon tryst yesterday when Lucy had arrived home. Otherwise, Hawk was sure that he and Pia would have spent all day in bed.

Instead, Pia had descended the stairs as if nothing untoward had happened—such as Lucy’s wedding planner having completely undone her brother—and had met with Lucy as if she’d arrived at the house only a little early and had been awaiting her.

Why was it so upsetting that their lovemaking left her so unaffected? He couldn’t fall into a too serious entanglement with her—not with all his responsibilities to his title.

Hawk noted belatedly that Sawyer was waiting for an answer, and even Colin looked intent.

“There’s no game,” he said, choosing his words with care.

Blast it, even he didn’t know what to make of his relationship with Pia. Not anymore. He had no compass.

Sawyer looked dubious. “Then you’re not practically eng—”

“There is no game,” he repeated.

Sawyer eyed him, his expression thoughtful. “You might want to make sure Pia doesn’t get hurt, either.”

Right. If anything, Hawk thought, he was the one in danger here.

Pia felt a quiver of anticipation when her doorman rang and announced that Hawk was downstairs.

“Tell him to come up,” she said before replacing her receiver and turning away from the phone.

She hugged herself and glanced at Mr. Darcy, who was eyeing her like a friend resigned to watching her make the same mistake twice.

She could sense the feline’s disapproval—almost read his thoughts, if that were possible.

Wickham. Him again. Have we learned nothing?

“Oh, don’t look at me that way,” Pia said. “His name is not Wickham, as you well know. And I’m sure he has a very good reason for being here.”

Right. And a cat has nine lives. I wish.

“You’re way too cynical for a feline. Why did I adopt you from the shelter?”

You know why. I’m the antidote to your trusting romantic nature.

I’m not as naive as I once was, Pia responded in her head.

Mr. Darcy turned and padded toward his basket, set against one wall of her living room space. He stepped in, made himself comfortable and closed his eyes.

Pia stood there and then blushed as she remembered her afternoon idyll with Hawk on Sunday.

It was shocking how easily she lost her inhibitions with him. She’d forgotten herself in the moment. But he’d seemed equally affected.

At least she hoped so.

She still couldn’t quite believe her daring—or fool-hardiness—in trying to play in Hawk’s league of seduction. She’d met him and upped the ante. And though she hadn’t been able to admit it to herself, perhaps she’d set out to prove that she could bind him, unlike their first time.

Careful, careful. She couldn’t and wouldn’t risk her heart again. She was beyond being the naive virgin who believed in fairy tales. Instead, she’d take what she wanted from Hawk for her pleasure and be prepared to say goodbye with no regrets when the time came.

She looked at the clock. It was just after five. He must have come directly uptown to see her after the close of the New York financial markets.

She hadn’t seen him since they’d wound up in bed together, but that was about to change.

Hawk stepped out of the elevator and immediately spotted Pia at her door—waiting for him.

“H-Hawk,” Pia said, her voice a touch breathless.

She was dressed in a casual, cinched blue dress, her hair loose and with just a touch of shine to her lips.

She looked good enough to eat.

Without hesitation, he strode to her, wrapped his arms around her and gave her a bone-melting kiss.

When he finally lifted his head, he searched her gaze. “Blast it, I get so aroused when I hear you stutter.”

She blushed. “I don’t know why. Th-that has to be one of the most unusual compliments a woman has ever received.”

He kissed her nose. “Do you know it’s the most erotic thing in bed when your adorable speech tick is on full display?”

“How embarrassing.”

“How perfect.”

“Oh.”

Over Pia’s shoulder, Hawk noticed Mr. Darcy lift his head from his cushioned basket and eye him.

Hawk got the sense that the pet’s opinion of him had soured since the first time he’d been in Pia’s apartment. Perhaps the cat had figured out who he was: The Duke Formerly Known as Mr. Wickham. Or rather, Mr. Fielding—wicked and wrong—as the case might be.

He held the feline’s stare, giving the cat a stern but reassuring look, until Mr. Darcy lowered his head, closed his eyes and went back to his nap.

“Is something wrong?” Pia asked, stepping back and letting him into the apartment.

He followed her in and waited while she shut the door behind him.

Then he slid an arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Nothing is wrong except that since Sunday I’ve been desperate to see you.”

He’d left work early to come here, hoping his appearance would be a welcome surprise. And judging from Pia’s reaction, he’d bet right.

Pia slid her arms around his neck. “Oh?”

“I had a storm of work this week, and by the time I flew back from Chicago last night, I knew phone calls were no longer enough to sustain me.”

“Mmm—really?”

He nuzzled her ear. “Nothing but your presence would do.”

“You know, Your Grace,” she responded playfully, “this is rather irregular. A client could arrive at any moment, or the phone could ring. We’re on work hours.”

He lifted his head to look into her eyes. “Are you expecting anyone this late in the day?”

“No,” she admitted.

“Then there’s no problem, as far as I see.”

“There is a problem,” she teased. “This has all the trappings of the lord of the manor cornering the backstairs maid.”

“Because you’re on my payroll?” he murmured, grazing her temple with his lips.

She nodded. “Exactly right. W-we had sexual relations in your bedroom right before I was to meet with your sister about wedding plans.”

He almost laughed at her mock prudish tone even as every part of him was coming to stimulating arousal. He was finding this interchange with Pia more erotic than any of the more blatant attempts at seduction he’d been the recipient of in the past. It appeared that, after all, Pia might be skilled at role-play…