Seduced at Midnight

'Why don'tcha just spit it out?'

Luther's question jerked back Gideon's thoughts. 'Spit what out?'

'The reason ye came here tonight. Ye can start with 'er name. And don't say Maggie, 'cause it ain't her who's got ye all tied up in knots.'

'What makes you think it's a woman?'

Luther looked toward the ceiling. 'Between ownin' this place and havin' been married nigh on twelve years, I know woman trouble when I see it.' He nodded toward Gideon's half-finished whiskey. 'Must be bad for ye to be swillin' that rotgut.'

'You said this was the finest whiskey in London.'

'Don't mean it won't rot yer guts. So who is she?'

'Maybe it's Maggie.'

Luther shook his bald head. 'If it were, ye'd have been out the door on yer way to Vauxhall as soon as I said she were there with another bloke.' He stroked his chin and gave Gideon a speculative look. 'Is she somebody accused of a crime ye know she didn't commit? Or worse-that she did commit? Well, split me windpipe! Have ye lost yer heart to a murderess?'

Gideon shot him a frown. 'She isn't a murderess, and I haven't lost my heart.' He dragged his hands down his face. 'Just my mind.'

Luther nodded sagely. 'Drive ye to the brink, a woman will. If I didn't care for my Rose the way I do, I'd've tossed her into the Thames long ago.'

Gideon's lips twitched at the mention of Luther's diminutive wife. Rose was small, but she was very handy with a cast-iron skillet. She didn't tolerate any nonsense from the Drunken Porcupine's clientele. Or from her husband.

'Toss her in the Thames?' Gideon scoffed. 'I'd like to see you try. She'd flatten you with that skillet of hers before you ever got her hefted over your shoulder.'

Luther rubbed the back of his head as if he'd been coshed. 'Yer right about that. Course once I hefted her over me shoulder, it wouldn't be to the Thames but to bed I'd be takin' her.' He blew out a gusty sigh. 'Ah, well, that's wot happens when ye let a woman get under yer skin and fall in love. As yer clearly findin' out.'

Gideon went perfectly still. Took a single careful breath. Then said slowly and distinctly, 'I haven't fallen in love.' Heavily in lust, but certainly not in love. He might be foolish, but he wasn't a complete idiot.

Luther nodded. 'Right. Yer just tied up in half hitches and miserable and so randy ye can barely think.'

Since that perfectly described what he was feeling, Gideon felt compelled to admit, 'Something like that. I suppose.'

Luther let out a bark of laughter then clapped Gideon on the shoulder with an enthusiasm that would have sent a lesser man to the floor. 'Well, wot do ye think love feels like, ye horse's arse? Best watch yerself, or next thing ye know, she'll be swattin' ye upside yer head with a skillet. And I can tell ye, thathurts like a bugger.'

Gideon tried to imagine stunning, aristocratic, ladylike Julianne wielding a skillet and simply couldn't.

Luther planted plate-sized fists on the bar and grinned. 'So who's the wench who's finally stolen yer cold heart? Anybody I know?'

Gideon stared into the remnants of his whiskey for several long seconds. Then he lifted his gaze to Luther's. 'My heart isn't stolen, but I can't deny I… want her. You don't know her, and I can't have her.'

The merriment leaked from Luther's eyes. 'Why can't ye have her?' A dumbfounded expression came over Luther's ruddy face. 'Don't tell me she's not wantin'you? Can hardly spit but find a woman that isn't givin' ye the eye.'

'She's getting married.' He tossed back the rest of his whiskey. 'In a fortnight. Then moving to Cornwall.'

Luther nodded slowly. 'That's a pickle, all right. But maybe if she cares for ye, she'll call off the weddin'.'

'Wouldn't matter.' He debated whether to go on, then figured what the hell. Even though he was still miserable, having someone to confide in made him feel just a bit less awful. 'She's an earl's daughter.'

Luther's eyes widened, then he gave a low whistle. 'Well, that's a right mess ye've got there, my friend.'

A bitter sound escaped Gideon. 'Yes, it is.'

'Wot the hell are ye doin' even lookin' at a bird like that?'

'Damned if I know. She's nothing but a spoiled, pampered princess.'

He said the words fiercely, wanting them to be true, but the instant they passed his lips, his insides cringed. Fancy gowns and parties are not important to me. Not nearly as much as other things. Love. Laughter. Companionship. Desire. Romance. Passion. They are what I long for. Yes, she was pampered, as everyone of her class was. But from the first instant he'd seen her, he'd suspected there was more to her. And after tonight he was very much afraid he was right. And he desperately didn't want to be. Didn't want her to be anything more than a spoiled princess.

'Wouldn't expect an earl's daughter to be anythin' else,' Luther said. 'Must be beautiful to have turned yer head like this.'

'Yes.' Beautiful and vulnerable and captivating. And completely unavailable. Hoping for some sage, coolheaded advice, something that would slap him out of the lust-induced fog that threatened to choke him, he asked, 'What do you do when temptation is about to eat you alive?'

'Temptation? Mostly I try to avoid it.' A wide grin split Luther's rough features. 'Unless I absolutely can't resist.' He grabbed the whiskey bottle and poured another round. 'Cheer up, mate. Look on the bright side. Ye've got an entire fortnight to tup her. That'll cure ye of what's ailin' ye. Then the best part is the fancy bird will fly the coop to Cornwall! She'll be out of yer sight and then out of yer mind. Especially after ye find yerself another beautiful bird.'

Gideon forced himself to nod, but he knew that even once Julianne was out of sight, it would take a very long time before he got her out of his mind. And he realized what a fool he'd been to think coming here tonight would in any way help him forget her.

Chapter 13

Julianne paced the blue guest room where she'd slept last night-or rather tossed and turned last night-her thoughts a jumbled mixture of vivid recollections of her interlude with Gideon and worries about what had transpired between her father and Gideon after she'd retired. Had her father guessed she and Gideon had shared intimacies? Had he dismissed Gideon-or worse, threatened him? Had he told Gideon about her engagement? Would she ever see Gideon again?

Those plaguing questions had been interspersed with reliving the incredible moments she'd spent in his arms. She'd read of such intimacies in the scandalous selections favored by the Ladies Literary Society, but reading about them and experiencing them were two completely different things. Never had she imagined that she could feel such passion. Incite such passion. Want or need another person so much. Care so profoundly. So that nothing else mattered. But now that she knew, now that she had been offered that intoxicating glimpse, she wanted to see it, feel it, again. She wanted those intimacies, and more.

Therefore it was now time to gather her courage and face her father. And discover