Malia Martin (11 page)

Pru smiled and bit at her bottom lip. It seemed that the good captain had allowed himself to get a bit drunk. The viscount had been quite an entertaining dinner companion, and Pru had found herself talking with the man throughout much of their meal. The captain, on the other hand, had stayed very silent, and at some point had switched from drinking ale to a dark, earthy-smelling brandy.

Goodness, whatever was she to do with a drunk Captain Ashley? Prudence actually felt herself grin. “Shall we adjourn to our rooms, Captain?”

Dimples creased the captain’s stubbled cheeks, and he nodded, taking up his glass when he stood. He took a step toward the door, but wobbled a bit, so Pru quickly grabbed his coat and placed herself at his side. “Careful,” she cautioned.

James slugged down the rest of his brandy and tried to place the glass back on the table. It missed by a foot at least, thudding to the carpeted floor. “Whoops,” the captain said, and dipped as if to retrieve it.

Pru slipped her arm around his waist. “Ah, no, Captain, someone with better balance will pick it up, I’m sure.”

The man actually laughed again. If she had thought him handsome before, it was nothing compared to how he looked when he smiled and laughed. His gray eyes resembled sparkling raindrops rather than stormy rain clouds, and his entire face brightened.

Pru let the man use her for balance as they left the public room and started up the small staircase. At the top they ran into Leslie.

“Well, goodness,” Leslie said, startled.

Pru eyed the door her friend had just come through. “That wasn’t your room,” she said.

Leslie waggled her brows. “No, dear, while you were downstairs I have been hard at work driving dear Clifton mad.”

“Lord, what a frightful thought,” Captain Ashley said in mock horror. “Frightful” came out sounding more like “fiseful.”

Leslie blinked, and Pru giggled.

“The captain has imbibed, I’m afraid.”

“Well, lucky you,” Leslie said dryly. “But I’d suggest you hurry along, because your ever-committed butler would probably lock you alone in your room if he saw you now.”

“Come along, Captain,” Pru said, and started down the hall once more.

“Do be careful, Prudence,” Leslie called after them.

Pru just waved and kept walking, the thought of Clifton seeing her making her hurry her steps.

The captain fumbled for his key for a few moments while Pru said a little prayer that Clifton would stay tucked away in his room for at least another moment.

“Well, good night, Lady Farnsworth,” the captain said, shoving open his door. He tripped into the room and fell nicely right on top of the small bed, leaving his door wide-open, with the key still sticking out of the lock.

Leslie came up behind her then, and they both stood staring into the captain’s room. “Well, this is quite a dilemma, isn’t it?” Leslie asked with a low chuckle.

“It is,” Pru said. “You know, I feel rather bad. I mean, I don’t know the captain all that well, but I know that he will be very upset with himself in the morning. And he’ll be horrified if I allow him to do anything that he will really regret.”

She felt Leslie nod beside her. “Yes, he is quite a gentleman. I have to say, I was rather thrilled when he introduced me to the viscount as if I were some lady of the court.”

Prudence turned to glance at her friend over her shoulder. “It was lovely of him, wasn’t it?”

Leslie turned her mouth up in a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Yes, lovely.” She looked over at the now snoring Captain. “It made me sad, though, that we have to be at odds with the man. He makes me want him to succeed, but, of course, we can’t let him.”

Prudence followed her friend’s gaze to the captain. “Yes, I do know what you mean.”

“And now I worry for him as well as you with this new plan of yours.”

“Oh come, Leslie, this is the Most Delectable Man in England we’re speaking about. It’s not as if I am out to seduce an untried boy.”

“Yes, yes, I know. But, I must say, he doesn’t seem at all as I thought he would be.”

They both watched the captain silently for a moment. “Well, I certainly cannot let this opportunity slide by,” Pru said. “He’s relaxed and a bit tipsy, this is the perfect moment.”

“Perhaps a bit too relaxed,” Leslie commented.

The captain let out a snore that seemed to shake the windows. “Hmm, yes, I see what you mean.”

“But if you must try, you must try,” Leslie said. “Though I do feel as if I ought to protect one of you. I’m just not sure which.”

Pru laughed. “All right then, off with you. I will let you know how it went in the morning.”

Leslie gave Pru a hug. “Good luck, then,” she said, and turned on her heel. Pru watched her friend find her own room without once looking back, then turned to stare again at the sleeping captain. Voices on the stair made Pru jump into the room and close the door quickly.

It was dark, suddenly, but instead of lighting a candle, Prudence just stood inside the door and let her eyes get accustomed to the gloom.

She had no idea what she was going to do and had to curl her fingers into her skirt to keep them from shaking. One would think, after all the things she had done in her life, that she could seduce a man without becoming so scared she couldn’t move.

But here she was, feeling very much rooted to the spot.

The captain grunted and breathed deeply, his snores stopping for a moment. Well, there was no time to waste. The deeper into sleep he got, the harder it would be to rouse him.

Pru went and sat down on the side of the bed. “Captain?” she said softly, touching his shoulder. He didn’t move.

“Captain,” she said a bit louder.

He snuffled and lifted his head, then looked over at her. She could see that he blinked a few times in the dark, then he plunked his face back down in his pillow.

She sighed. It didn’t look like the captain was going to make this any easier for her. Not that he had made anything easy from the moment she had met him. Prudence stood and quietly started undressing.

When she had peeled off her outer layers and stood only in her chemise, she took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then clenched her hands and climbed onto the bed next to the captain.

She lay there for what seemed forever, waiting for the man to realize that there was a nearly naked woman next to him. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to register in his fogged head.

She had never had to seduce her husband, and she had absolutely no idea how one would go about such a thing. Prudence frowned and tried to remember something of her days as a wife that might help her now.

But the only thing that came to her mind was the lovely memory of James Ashley kissing her. Just the thought made her stomach flutter and her legs feel strangely weak.

Perhaps she just needed to kiss him again, the way they had kissed before. Prudence turned onto her side and stared at the back of James’s head. He was facedown on the bed, his arms straight down at his sides. This was going to be rather difficult. She sat up. First she was going to have to turn him over somehow.

Prudence knelt next to James’s body on the bed and, reaching across him, tried to pull him over. She groaned and pulled, but the man didn’t budge. Pru quit trying with an exhausted sigh. She was strong, but she didn’t have the right leverage to move someone so heavy.

Obviously, she needed a new plan. Pru sat staring down at the captain again. He wore his hair short, but it was lovely and thick. She tapped her finger against her knee, then touched the nape of his neck. He was warm, and it felt strangely good just to touch him.

Prudence swallowed against a funny lump in her throat and threaded her fingers in the captain’s hair. She heard a sound, and realized suddenly that it was the captain. He had groaned.

She blinked and flexed her fingers against his scalp.

“Mmmm.” He made the sound again.

Prudence had an idea. She leaned over and pressed her mouth against James’s neck. His skin was smooth and warm and held a scent that she had noticed on him before. It wasn’t anything she could think of, rather a mingling of musky soap and wind and man.

Pru slipped her tongue out and tasted him. She heard another sound and realized that it was her own. She moved down so that she lay against James’s side and continued her exploration of the back of his neck.

She had never realized that such an activity could be so intriguing. She nipped at his ear and nuzzled his nape. Then she pulled up the back of his shirt and slipped her hand beneath it.

The captain groaned again, and turned. She found her hand sliding around his side and finally coming to rest on his flat stomach. She trailed her fingers about, realizing that she rather wanted to kiss him there as well. She had never thought of kissing a man anywhere but his face, but that seemed so very limiting now.

Especially when she found a trail of wiry hair that started at the hollow of the Captain’s neck, whirled around his navel, and wisped down to the waistband of his pants.

James groaned again, and Pru glanced up at him. His eyes were still closed, but a smile played about his mouth.

“Captain?” she asked.

“Mmm, yes,” he murmured.

Well it seemed he was awake, at least. She had felt strange kissing and touching someone who was fast asleep.

“Um, Captain,” she said again, hooking her fingers under his waistband and feeling a bit light-headed. “I was thinking that, well, perhaps, I mean … that is to say.”

Prudence took a deep, calming breath. “I am, of course, not a maiden, being a widow. But in a town like Gravesly, I am rather restricted. I was wondering, though, if you wouldn’t mind …”

The man threaded his fingers in her hair, pulled her to him, and kissed her.

Her first thought was elation that her plan was most definitely going to work, and then all thought completely fled as he opened his mouth over hers and took her. Yes, this is what she wanted. She kissed him back with an abandon that made her giddy.

His hands moved around her and down her back to cup her buttocks, and he pulled her tightly against him. She could feel him hard against her stomach, and the light-headedness from before whirled into complete dizziness.

“Oh my,” she said, as he left her mouth and tongued his way down her throat, his large hands squeezing her buttocks.

“Mmmm,” he said again, nibbling along her collarbone. Every nerve ending in her body sang with anticipation. She could feel her nipples rigid against the cloth of her chemise. Prudence shivered, her heart beating like a drum against her chest.

Being a diversion to the captain was going to be quite thrilling.

“You smell divine,” he murmured, his mouth dipping to taste the skin just above her décolletage.

“Oh my,” she said on a sharp intake of breath, leaning her head on her neck to give the captain better access to her breasts. His tongue left a devastating trail of heat, and Prudence knew that she wanted the man to strip her down to nothing and slide his tongue all over her body.

She felt a bit shocked at her own thoughts, but quickly dismissed her prudishness. She could not be a prude and accomplish her goal.

Prudence wiggled her arms between them and fumbled at the buttons of the captain’s breeches. Lord, who knew it would be so hard to get a man out of his pants. She yanked and pulled, and then pushed back slightly to try and get his breeches undone.

“Goodness,” she said breathlessly. “I never imagined this could be so exciting. I’m shaking so.” She tore at one of the buttons but could make no headway.

And then she heard another strange noise from the Captain and glanced up at him. His eyes were still closed, his mouth slightly open.

“Captain?” she said.

He didn’t move at all. And then she heard the noise again and realized that it was a snore. James had fallen asleep, again.

Or he had never been truly awake.

Prudence placed her hands on his chest and shoved against him. “Captain!”

The man fell over on his back, snoring even louder.

This just wasn’t going to work. Prudence sighed loudly and lay for a while next to him. She would just have to try again when he was sober. A pity, really.

She pushed up from the captain’s bed, threw her clothes over her head, and stood watching the man sleep. It didn’t matter. She knew that he was attracted to her, and he knew now what she wanted of him. She was sure that later they could pick up where they’d left off.

With a nod, Prudence let herself out of the captain’s room and went to her own.