How much is she going to cost me?"

It took a moment for Vincent to realize that Jonathan Hale wasn't talking about the painting he'd hired Vincent to find for him, which lie had been known to refer to as "she," because ol its t.i.tle, La Nymph. But only a moment, since he did happen to have Keen thinking about the same "she" when Jonathan entered his study.

He suit asked, "Who?"

"That dazzling wench you've lert to dine alone across the hall."

Vincent stiffened. "She isn't for sale."

"Nonsense, everyone has a price,"

Trust Jonathan to think so. Vincent had known the viscount long before Jon came to him to find La Nymph lor him. It was common knowledge among the Ton that Hale was obscenely rich, which had heretofore made it a simple matter for him to be able to obtain anything his heart desired.

If he was used to naming a price and getting what he wanted. That he'd finally found something that he couldn't have was not a matter of the item being unavailable; it had merely not been found as yet. Which was why he had approached Vincent and offered him a ridiculous sum of money merely to locate the painting for him. Jonathan would then negotiate with the current owner himself to buy it.

It was one of the harder commissions that Vincent had accepted. He was more in the habit of barter, of give and get, of finding out what was needed to obtain something, and supplying it. But what he was doing for Jonathan Hale was more or less searching for a rumor.

The actual existence of a painting called La Nymph was confirmed, but not the notoriety about it. It was reputed to be of a beautiful young woman so erotically depicted that it had an aphrodisiac effect on anyone gazing upon it, male or female. It was reputed to have kept one of its previous owners, an earl in his seventies, in a constant state of s.e.xual readiness. It had caused marriages to be ruined. It had caused one man to go insane. It had sent another to the poorhouse.

Hearing of all this, Jonathan had decided he had to have it in his collection. Whether the paintir.g did what it was reputed to do erotically didn't matter to him, he wanted it because it was so notorious.

Some said La Nymph had been commissioned by one of the kings by the name of Henry, that it was of his favorite mistress, but with so many kings of that name, no one had ever figured out which one. Some said it had been created in revenge by the artist, that the young woman in the painting had been his love and had spurned him. Most people who heard about the painting simply didn't believe in its existence. It was a joke. A hoax t.i.tillating dinner conversation.

Vincent would have been inclined to believe the latter if his search hadn't produced some valid information about the last known owner of the painting. He had been a gambler by the name of Peter Markson who had won a painting called La Nymph in a card game several years ago. A lucky stroke for him, since he was apparently not very good at gambling, and in fact had had to leave the country to escape debtor's prison. He'd used the painting to pay for his pa.s.sage, then was taken ill at sea and died aboard ship.

The captain of that vessel held possession of it next, his name unconfirmed. He didn't keep it hung, though, turned it over to the owner of his ship, because after he took it home with him, his wife then threatened to leave him if he didn't get it out of her house This was information picked up on the docks, so not really dependable. It made a good tale for seamen to pa.s.s about once they heard of the erotic nature of the painting, but was suspect because the names of the ship, its captain, and its owner were never the same twice. Apparently each old salt who wanted to tell the tale made sure it was about a captain or ship he knew or had sailed on.

Yet it was the closest Vincent had come to finding out anything about La Nymph. And Peter Markson really did leave the country in disgrace, having lost everything he owned on the turn of a card. That was the only fact that Vincent was inclined to depend on.

As for Jonathan's sudden keen interest in Larissa, that was understandable. She'd had the same effect on Vincent when he'd first seen her, of wanting her at any cost. But with Jonathan, he couldn't take it seriously, because he knew the man's preferences where women were concerned.

So he gave him a thoughtful look and said, "I suppose her price would be marriage."

He had thought that would put Jonathan off, since he was a confirmed bachelor who preferred not to dabble with innocents, when there were so many well-experienced ladies more than willing to entertain him for a pretty bauble or two. And Jon didn't look too happy with the "price."

"Hmmm, hadn't planned to marry," Jonathan complained. "What need when I've all the women I could ask for, and a few carts full of b.a.s.t.a.r.ds as well to pick an heir from? Marriage never struck me as being a fun thing to do. But I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try it."

That gave Vincent pause. "You aren't serious."

"Why not?"

"For the very reasons you've stated. You've become accustomed to variety in your women. A wife doesn't provide that."

"Mistresses do."

"Then why marry?"

"To have her."

"Then why have mistresses?"

Jonathan frowned. "For the variety-and why are you trying to talk me out of it?"

"Because you merely want to possess her. You have no intention of devoting yourself fully to her. Having come to know her since she has been staying here, I think she deserves better than that in a marriage."

"Or you planned to marry her yourself," Jonathan all but accused.

"No."

Jonathan raised a skeptical brow. "Then you can't object to my courting her. I'll even make my intentions clear, if you insist, that I have no desire to give up my present way of life, merely want to add her to it. All up and up. The truth. Sounds challenging, don't it?"

"You think to sway her with your wealth?"

Jonathan grinned. "Of course."

It was amazing, how strong the urge was to wipe that smile from the viscount's lips with his fist Emotion again. It was sneaking up on Vincent too much lately, and in fact his emotional outburst today in the hall when Larissa had returned from her errands had quite shocked him later when he had time to reflect on it.

He should have made love to her this afternoon. She'd been willing-at least, she hadn't been objecting. Then this conversation with Hale wouldn't have bothered him very much. he would have been done with her himself, would have accomplished his goal. What matter, then, if Hale courted her or even married her?

The thought still didn't sit well with him. Before, after, it made no difference, he did not like the thought of her marrying Jonathan and being merely another acquisition in his vast collection. And she was vulnerable right now. Thinking her father wasn't coming back, that she and her brother were soon going to be without an income, the few valuables she meant to sell unable to support them indefinitely, she just might jump at the chance to marry one of the most wealthy men in the realm, no matter the reasons offered. Vincent had intended to use that same vulnerability to get her into his own bed.

This b.l.o.o.d.y revenge thing was turning him into someone he didn't much like. A cad, no doubt about it. At least Hale's intentions toward the girl were honorable, if unsavory, while Vincent's were just the opposite.

In a moment of conscience, he said, "Court her by all means, and good luck."

He actually meant it, was thinking only of Larissa's best interests in that moment. He even hoped that she'd had enough time to realize how foolhardy it would be to leave her door unlocked to him tonight, because conscience or not, that was one temptation he knew d.a.m.n well he wouldn't be able to resist, wouldn't even try.

CHAPTER 15.

Lord Hale kept him longer than expected, chatting about inconsequential things that nearly brought Vincent to rudely show him the door. He restrained himself, just barely, and only because Jonathan was a client. But when Vincent finally got to his room, he was in a state of frustrated impatience that he couldn't seem to control.

He dismissed his valet, tore off his clothes, and donned a robe. Then did nothing. He stood in the middle of his room and stared at the bathroom door, and didn't take a single step toward it.

It was going to be locked, he knew it was, and he didn't want to find that out for certain. And if it was, he knew he'd be up all night, trying it again and again, in hope that she just hadn't got around to opening it yet, when if it wasn't open by now, it probably wasn't going to get opened at all. Either way, it was going to be a long night.

Everything in him insisted he open that door immediately, yet he was so loath to face the disappointment of it being locked that it was an actual fear. Another emotion she was making him feel. ..

How in the b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l had this become so important to him? She was just a lovely conquest, wasn't she? She would be an hour or two of pleasure, no more. She would also be another notch in his campaign of revenge, though that was a point that didn't seem to matter much now, was no more than a sop for his conscience.

He didn't like this hold she had on him, when he didn't understand what it was. The seducer had become the seduced. He wanted her now at any cost and that frightened him. He should leave her be. He should get her out of his house even, put her back in her own if necessary, anything to get her beyond his manipulation. With her here and so accessible, she actually had more control over him than he did her. That had been proven today when she had held his emotions, his every thought, his body, all at her whim. Thank G.o.d she was too innocent to know how to use that against him.

Larissa stood there in the bathroom for nearly an hour, staring at the lock on the connecting door. She wasn't going to turn it. Rational thought had prevailed, even though it was making her miserable. She'd marry Vincent, yes, but she must have his proposal first. That was the proper order to go about these things.

But the promised "pleasure unimagined" wouldn't leave her thoughts either, which was why she was still standing there, abject over her decision, and unaware that she was trying to find a way to get around it. Her pulse was racing as she imag-inined him on the other side of that door, waiting.

Surely he had realized himself by now that a proposal was required before they indulge in any more pleasure of any sort, let alone the kind she was sure he had in mind. He could have intended to ask her tonight, though. She could be denying them both for no good reason.

She unlocked the door. Vincent proved that he'd been waiting for the sound of it when it opened only seconds later They stared at each other. Like liquid gold, his eyes were so hot they seared, malting away any last trace of indecision she'd been feeling.

He shrugged out of his robe, left it on the floor there. She was still fully dressed, now uncomfortably so. Yet. she was so mesmerized by his golden eyes that she didn't even think to look at him, at all of him, nor was the option there for long, when his hand slipped behind her neck and drew her close to his body.

Their lips met and melded. It was a ravenous kiss, echoing hunger long denied in them both. Her knees buckled, they became so weak, but there was no danger of falling, she was held so tightly to him.

She was so new to this sort of sensual kissing- this was only her second experience of it-yet he was so skillful at it himself, guiding her, prompting when needed, that her inexperience wasn't given any opportunity to interfere. Not that any hesitancy or inadequacies stood a chance of being noticed amidst the pleasure of tasting each other so fully, they became lost in that kiss.

A groan finally broke it-his. She barely noticed, she was so enthralled by what she was feeling. And swiftly she was carried to his bed. Not hers. She didn't notice that yet either. But it wasn't long before she was noticing something quite extraordinary . . .

Had she really thought all pleasure would derive merely from being held and kissed by him, just because it was so nice by itself? But then how could she have known otherwise? His "pleasure unimagined" had been una.s.sociated with anything specific in her mind, because she had no specifics to draw from other than loose generalities. But it became very a.s.sociated with his hand on her breast.

Spontaneous reactions went off in numerous parts of her body from that simple placement of his palm. Gooseflesh, b.u.t.terflies, wet heat, and that was only the beginning. He continued to kiss her and catch each little gasp of pleasure that escaped her, and many did as he began the next lesson in sensual touching.

Even the removal of her clothes was an erotic experience, he did it so slowly, with such thorough caressing of each limb and curve exposed. Amazing that if she touched the underside of her knee, she'd feel nothing, yet his fingers there made her shiver. That it was Vincent touching her made all the difference, and such a difference, such a wealth of new sensations to marvel at.

He had her mind and body so consumed with him and the pleasure he was introducing her to that she wasn't sure what made her realize she'd reached the point of no return without hearing what she needed to hear from him. Not that she had the will, or, certainly, the desire, to stop what was happening either way. It would make her pleasure complete, though, to have confirmed what she already took for granted.

The words came out between the gasps, and not very coherently at that. "I thought . . . Shouldn't you . . . There is the question of . . ."

He must have understood what she was trying to say, because he replied, 'This isn't the time for important questions that could tie up the tongue."

So misleading, that remark, and yet so rea.s.suring. She a.s.sumed that he was talking of asking her to marry him. And she had to agree, after her own garbled speech, that it was rather impossible to put two thoughts together at the moment. Besides, there was no opportunity to say more, when he was distracting her with his kisses again.

His large body covered her gradually, carefully, so as not to alarm her. She was beyond that, comforted instead by his weight, even as the pressure heightened her arousal. He grasped her hands, held on either side of her head. He kissed her deeply as he took possession of her. The pain was so swift, it was there and gone before she really felt it or had time to stiffen against it, and was as soon, forgotten in the onslaught of pure sensual delight that followed, of feeling him buried deep within her.

Briefly she thought that was the end of it that nothing could be better. How naive. Even his "pleasure unimagined" didn't do justice to the incredible bliss that steadily grow as he began moving in her, then burst, and spread through her body in unrelenting waves.

In those few moments of utter ecstasy, nothing else mattered. They would work out the marriage arrangements later she was sure. For now, she savored the knowledge that Vincent Everett belonged to her.

CHAPTER 16.

The proposal of marriage didn't come after the lovemaking as expected. Not surprising, though, when Vincent removed his weight from Larissa, pulled her close to his side, and promptly fell asleep. And she lay there too, long savoring the whole experience, the happiness she was feeling, and the unexpected comfort of being held by him even in sleep to consider waking him now when she finally realized that part of the evening's agenda hadn't been finished.

She wasn't worried about it, though. Taking things for granted had a way of removing doubts and leaving room only for positive thoughts. She knew she couldn't stay there in his room to sleep the night with him, much as she would have liked to, but had that to look forward to when they married. And before the comfort of his closeness put her to sleep as well, she carefully got out of bed, gathered up her clothes so she'd leave no trace of herself there for any servants to find, and tiptoed back to her room.

She didn't lock the doors between their rooms, didn't even think to. Nor was there a need to now. Making love with Vincent changed so many things, not just her outlook or her future, which was now secure. She was changed, and she felt confident in the intimate knowledge she had gained. And she eventually fell asleep with a smile on her lips.

It annoyed Vincent that Larissa wasn't in his bed when he awoke the next morning. He knew it shouldn't, knew she'd been right to leave, would have taken her back to her room himself if he hadn't fallen asleep. Thus his annoyance made no b.l.o.o.d.y sense in his mind.

And his mood only got worse. Every little thing annoyed him that morning as he dealt with his secretary and his staff. He found himself snapping at the lot of them, and for no good reason.

Unfortunately, that mood didn't leave him before luncheon, and when he joined Larissa in the dining room, he ended up snapping at her as well, before he could stop himself. "My cook is threatening to quit if your cook does not stay out of his kitchen!"

He'd all but shouted it, and managed to shock them both. That was certainly not how he'd meant to greet her, and definitely not how he should have greeted her, when this was the first time he was seeing her after stealing her virginity last night. It didn't matter that one thing after another this morning had conspired to cause him boundless frustration-and that was just another excuse.

He knew why he was a fuse already lit he just hadn't owned up to it yet. And he was furious with himself for cowardly refusing to examine the root of his annoyance, and instead taking it out on others-even her.

He was feeling an incredible amount of guilt over what he'd done last night. He'd never in his life enjoyed anything so much, yet now was overcome with regret for it. Because he had no intention of marrying her, when he knew that was what she was expecting from him now.

The original motive of revenge wasn't helping to ease his conscience at all in the matter of his becoming her lover, when he had counted on it doing so. The only thing that might help now was to not let it ruin her reputation as he'd planned to. As long as it didn't become public knowledge, she could still find a good marriage.

He didn't doubt that Hale would marry her either way. He was smitten by her beauty, could care less whether she was a virgin. But could he stomach watching another man pursue her, when just speaking of it last night, he'd wanted to punch the man in the face?

Larissa recovered first from his outburst, explained calmly, ''I'm sorry. When I told Mary this morning that we would be living here permanently now, she no doubt decided she could make herself more at home here, and she feels most at home in a kitchen."

Vincent flushed. And he couldn't correct her about living there permanently-not yet. His silence on the matter would confirm it in her mind, but that couldn't be helped. He still expected her father to show up, even if she didn't And when Ascot did, then Vincent could be done with this b.l.o.o.d.y business of revenge, deliver the final blow to the man, and then get on with his own life.

He mumbled something about their both keeping their servants in line, and hoped she'd leave it go at that. She did. She even smiled at him, which had the effect of making it worse. He couldn't leave it go himself now. She was such a sweet, gullible chit, and he'd been an absolute b.a.s.t.a.r.d in his dealings with her from the start- and was still going to be. 1 he least he could do was make her happy in the meantime, and keep his foul moods to himself.

He moved around the table io her side. He would have kissed her it they were alone, but there were servants entering and leaving, so he merely bent down and whispered to her, "Forgive me for that boorish greeting. And thank you tor the most wonderful gift I've ever received."

"What gift?"

"You."

He could feel the heat of her blush, though he was standing behind her and couldn't see it. Her cheeks were still pink when he took his seat across from her and gazed at her. But he detected the barest trace of a smile, proving it wasn't embarra.s.sment making her cheeks glow.

The meal progressed. She chatted aimlessly merely to fill the silence, nothing of import, merely relaxed conversation that he found himself enjoying. She could be amusing when she wasn't nervous, and she wasn't the least bit nervous with him at the moment.

But then she mentioned the Christmas decorations again. He'd already had them fetched. He could just tell her that and nothing more. But this was too ideal an opportunity to mention that the rest of her stored valuables were gone, not when she was requesting them, but while she a.s.sumed she wouldn't have to sell them now, so the loss wouldn't hit her so hard. They'd be "found," of course, after her father returned. Vincent had no intention of stealing anything from the Ascots, other than their good reputation.

He didn't consider dispensing with the theft story. He'd already seduced her, yes, but now he had to worry that she would ask him directly about marriage, and if she did, he wasn't going to lie about it. Which would put her back to thinking she had to leave, which he still wasn't willing to let her do. When her father returned would be soon enough to give her up. So having her think she had no means to leave would still be beneficial- for him.

To that end, he managed a suitably grave expression before saying, "Speaking of those Christmas decorations, they arrived here this morning, but I'm afraid some bad news was delivered with them."

"They've been damaged?" she asked in alarm.

"Not that I'm aware of," he quickly a.s.sured her. "But apparently there was a robbery late last night at the warehouse where your belongings were stored. The report from the attendant who keeps a watch on the place was that it was a selective robbery, which isn't uncommon, since it can be accomplished in the least amount of time."

"I've been robbed?" she said incredulously.

"We have been robbed," he clarified. 'I had a few valuables stored there myself. But most of your possessions are still there. As I said, the thieves were selective. They took only what they considered valuable and easily movable, paintings, vases, and other small pieces of art. They were in and gone in under ten minutes, which was the amount of time the attendant was indisposed."

"I had plans for those paintings," she said in a forlorn whisper.

He hadn't counted on her stricken look. He now knew exactly how his secretary had felt that night when she'd turned this look on him. Vincent didn't have the luxury of resigning from what he'd started, however, without admitting he was a despicable liar.