Her eyes darkened but he doubted it was anger causing the change. Whether or not she wanted to admit it to herself, he knew she was attracted to him.
“What?” she sputtered.
Banning stood and leaned over the desk. “I am going to make love to you, Avis. I’m going to touch every inch of your body. Taste your skin with my lips. Fill you completely and then I will watch your face as you cry out in release. And then,” he paused, leaned closer and whispered, “then…”
“What?” She whispered with wide eyes.
“I’m going to do it again.”
Avis whimpered.
Banning sat back down into his seat and watched the play of emotions cross her face.
She gaped at him and finally blinked. As if realizing any more arguing would be futile, she cleared her throat and said, “Shall we get down to business, then?”
“That may be your first problem, Avis. An affair such as ours has nothing to do with business.”
She cocked her head and raised a tawny brow at him. “When blackmail is involved, I believe it becomes a business arrangement.”
Banning casually leaned back in his chair and laughed. “I hardly think what I did was blackmail.”
“And what would you call it?”
“Getting my way.”
“And what about my way?”
He glanced at her and almost laughed again. Her amber eyes glared at him. But even from his seat, he could smell the sweet fragrance of her jasmine perfume. The scent gave her a totally feminine air that was in direct contrast to her masculine study and stern clothing.
“I believe my solution lets us both get our way,” he finally replied.
“I chose Emory Billingsworth for a reason.”
“Are you in love with him?”
“No,” she mumbled.
“Then what reason?”
She looked away from him. “He’s a writer like myself. I believe he would be able to help me with more than passion.”
“Being a writer doesn’t qualify him as a lover,” Banning retorted.
“He can also help me with my characters…to make certain they have enough depth and—”
Banning’s chuckle cut her off. “Sounds like you want a reader, not a lover.”
“Well I don’t want you,” she retorted.
She had issued a challenge. He rose from his seat and rounded the desk. Avis scrambled out of her chair but couldn’t move fast enough to avoid him. Pulling her up against his chest, he smiled down at her.
“You do want me, Avis.”
She struggled against his grip. “I do not!”
He brought his lips to the outer shell of her ear and whispered, “Yes, you do.”
He moved his lips down her jaw until he reached her full mouth. She trembled slightly as he lowered his head to kiss her. Dear God, he wanted her. He deepened his kiss, letting his passion run free for a moment, imaging her naked against him. With only a slight hesitation, she kissed him back.
He kissed her until he moaned from the simple pleasure of his tongue caressing hers. Knowing she would be his was a heady aphrodisiac. He pressed her back until she was stuck between the desk and his chest. Slowly, he trailed hot kisses down her slender neck until the idea of making love on a desk in her study overwhelmed him. He could lift her up onto the desk, strip her of all those damned layers of clothes, and find her sweet warmth.
He wanted to forget her innocence, but could not. If he didn’t stop soon, he might not be able to stop until she surrendered to him.
He drew away from her, trying to catch his breath. “Seems we have a penchant for kissing in studies,” he said lightly.
She turned away from him, but not before he noticed her high color. “So we do,” she whispered.
“Still believe you don’t want me?”
She only shook her head.
“All right. Shall we finish our arrangements?”
This time she nodded.
He smiled, satisfied anew with this decision.
“Parliament should be done in a week, so I will be free to leave London then. I have a place near Southwold we can travel to and have some privacy. My family won’t think of going there because they don’t care for the place. Since I tend to take a holiday there every summer, it won’t seem odd to them.”
“You don’t wish to meet here, after the servants retire? Surely you could find a way to sneak in?”
“Too risky. Southwold is more secluded.”
Her eyes widened and color tracked across her cheeks. “Shall I meet you there?”
“Meet me at the Wayside Inn in Chelmsford next Tuesday. You can tell your servants you are meeting Lady Elizabeth and going away with her for a few weeks.”
“What if someone discovers the truth?”
“No one will. And who would suspect the two of us going away together?”
“Very well.” She glanced down at her desk before continuing, “Selby, just how many servants do you have at this estate?”
He smiled down at her. “Only two and they can be trusted to keep quiet about who I bring with me.”
“Only two?” she whispered with a frown.
“Would you prefer more?”
“No—no, I just assumed a large house would have many more servants,” she said in a quick odd tone.
“For the most part it will just be the two of us. Mr. and Mrs. Hathaway stay in a cottage on the estate.” Banning circled back around the desk and picked up his hat. “I must be off. I’ll see you in a week then.”
Avis slid into the leather chair as Selby closed the door behind him. One week to prepare herself for a fortnight with only him. She could not stop the shiver from enveloping her. What if he was like her father?
She knew she wasn’t like her mother and would never allow a man to strike her, but with no one there to protect her….
When she had planned this affair, she knew she would have to spend some time alone with a man. Only she had assumed it would be a night or two in her home and the man would leave during the day. She could always call up on her servants if she needed them. Selby’s arrangement meant two weeks with him, and him alone. All day and all night.
Perhaps she should bring a pistol with her. Not that she imagined she could shoot him, but at least she might threaten him with it. She laughed aloud at the image of her holding a gun to Selby’s head. He was several inches taller than she and outweighed her by several stone.
She was being ridiculous. He was Jennette’s brother. Selby wouldn’t do anything that might make Jennette angry with him.
Avis pushed aside all her negative thoughts and concentrated on positive things. Which brought her back to Selby’s kiss, definitely an optimistic thought. She had never imagined kissing could be so—so intense. Today, he could have taken her right here on her desk, and she might not have stopped him.
A light knock sounded on the door to her study.
“Yes?”
Grantham opened the door. “You have callers, ma’am. Your friends.”
“Show them into the salon, Grantham. And set out some tea and biscuits.”