Melody Anne - Scorched

Tonight was going to be good.

As he reached her door, he raised his hand, knowing she wasn’t going to admit him easily. But part of her appeal was that he enjoyed chasing her so much. He hoped she didn’t lose that appeal once he finally captured her, but he suspected that wouldn’t happen.

Still, he enjoyed her fiery temper and the lashing from her tongue, at least on occasion. It would definitely make for an interesting life.

Once he threw the full arsenal of his charm her way, he’d win her over with no problems. He pasted an arrogant yet seductive smile across his lips when he knocked. After several moments, when there was no answer, he knocked again, his smile faltering just the slightest bit.

He didn’t expect her to be so rude as to ignore him entirely.

“My little wildcat, I’m not leaving until we speak this evening,” he said, his voice low and sexy.

Still no answer.

“I won’t leave, Rachel. I can wait at your door all night long. I can last until morning and then some. You should know that well, since I did a lot more than just stand outside and serenade you during that week in Florida,” he said loudly. “Yes, I made you come over and over and over…” He knew he’d get some sort of reaction. Hell, he hoped she came to the door in a stormy, fiery mood.

Dangerous, of course. He’d have a hell of a time restraining himself, and not shocking the servants by simply pushing her against the solid wood of her door and thrusting inside her. Her temper really fueled his lust.

“I plan on proving my abilities later by stripping off your clothes, spreading your thighs and—”

Before he could finish the sentence, the door was thrown open and a furious Rachel stood before him, sporting an appealingly short silk robe, hair that was mussed, and a scowl on her lips.

She must have been in bed, and he’d gladly escort her back to it.

Rachel looked up and down the hallway to see if anyone else was out there.

“What in the hell are you doing, Adriane? I don’t need your staff to hear this sort of talk and think I’m a complete tramp,” she hissed, blocking the entrance into her room.

Adriane had to fight back a giant grin. He’d gotten her to open the door. That was the first part of the battle. Now, he just needed to charm her into letting him through, and they could come together and then sleep until morning. He needed both release and a good night’s rest, and he was sure she wanted and needed the same.

“I needed you to open the door. It seemed my knock wasn’t doing it,” he said easily, leaning against the doorjamb, making her take a step back. She still didn’t let go of the door, however; nor did she invite him inside.

But he wasn’t worried. He had her right where he wanted her.

“Maybe I wasn’t answering because I was in bed and didn’t want to talk to you tonight,” Rachel said tightly. “We can talk tomorrow, in the morning.” She tried to push the door closed.

Adriane easily blocked her move.

“I think tonight is better. I’ve missed you, Rachel. Why don’t you invite me inside, so we can talk privately and then…um…rest?” he asked, careful with his choice of words.

“Rest? Really, Adriane? That’s the best you can come up with? I don’t think so. But knowing you, you probably spent hours working up this brilliant attempt at seduction. Am I right?”

“You wound me, Rachel.”

“Don’t tempt me,” she said, deliberately taking his words literally. “We will wait until tomorrow, when you haven’t had so much wine, and then we will talk. I could have left your charming little country, but I chose to stay to get to know you. If you are going to give me these cheesy pickup lines and try tempting me with your…charm—” Rachel broke off for a second to chortle at the idea, “—then you will simply annoy me and I’ll hop on the first flight out of Corythia. I’m trying here — for the sake of my children — but don’t push me beyond what I will tolerate.” Rachel spoke with a sweet smile, but also with steel in her voice.

Adriane was taken aback by the fire in his little minx.

Damn, he wanted her even more now.

Still, his plans for seduction were going right down the drain, and that hadn’t entered into his plans as he’d paced for hours. He wouldn’t force her. No, that wasn’t his style. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t willing to do a bit of cajoling.

Looking down, he noticed her bright red toenails, sparkles included. Never before had he been turned on by toenails, but tonight was yet another exception in a long line of them brought on by Rachel Palazzo.

Everything about her, it seemed, got his blood racing and his manhood pulsing.

Yep, permanent damage. He now expected it.

“Why not just invite me in? We’ll have a drink by the fire. I can rub your feet,” he said. He suddenly wanted to do nothing but that. No, that was something else he’d never had a desire to do before. Damn!

Her expression softened as she considered his words. Ha! He’d found a weakness in her armor. Who would have known?

Adriane smiled with renewed confidence as he held up the flowers he’d so thoughtfully picked up for her. Of course she’d let him in, and then he’d get her in bed easily.

His arousal pulsed at the thought.

“I’ll take a rain check on the foot rub,” she said as she pointedly looked at the flowers but said nothing.

But he sensed reluctance in her voice and eyes.

“Come on, Rachel. You were wearing heels all day today. A good foot rub is just what you need,” he said, slinking forward another inch.

He really wanted to get his hands on her delicate feet. He wasn’t sure whether it was more for her or for him. No, that wasn’t true. It was certainly more for him.

“Go away, Adriane, before I change my mind about our talk tomorrow. I need to sleep,” she said, pushing at the door again.

Double damn!

“You are contradicting yourself, Rachel,” he said, some of his charm fading as he stared at her. She confused him and he didn’t know how to deal with it. “I am only trying to know you more, which is what you say that you want, yet you keep pushing me away. What do I need to do to get you to talk with me? I even brought you flowers,” he added as if he wanted a pat on the back.

“Oh, how sweet! You so thoughtfully grabbed some flowers from a vase that your staff picked and brought in,” she said with unmistakable sarcasm.

“I was thinking of you when I grabbed them,” he defended.

“Think bigger,” she said.

“I’m trying here. Do you want a small island, diamonds, gold? What else can I do so we can…talk?”

She hesitated before speaking. “I don’t want material things, Adriane. Don’t be so dense. You only want me lying beneath your body again. At least I know how much you’re willing to sacrifice to get what you want,” she said, her eyes narrowing.

“If you want to be on top, I’m fine with that, too,” he said, thinking it was a good compromise.

And that’s where he lost the battle.

“Move now!”

Adriane took a step back at the fury in her voice.

Then the door slammed in his face, barely missing his nose with the violence of her thrust. She was quite strong in her anger.

Adriane stood there for several moments, trying to decide whether or not to barge through the door and teach her a lesson on how to speak to a king, how to speak to her future husband.

But he was trying to win a war, not every battle. Maybe he had approached this all wrong. As he turned away, he noticed the flowers still clutched in his hands. With a sigh, he laid them in front of her door and turned away.

Tomorrow was a new day. He’d have to come up with a better battle plan if he wanted to take her to his bed. One way or the other, it would happen soon. It was either that, or… There really wasn’t another option. He just had to get her into his bed.

Rachel would learn that he never, ever gave up! Not once in his life had he given up on something he’d decided to go after. If it was something he wanted in the first place, it was worth fighting for.

Still, this was by far the hardest he’d fought for something — or someone, he should say. Never before had he needed to chase a woman. And he didn’t appreciate having to do it now. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. He was quite enjoying himself, even if he was also frustrated and dealing with a permanent erection.

Rachel was his. She just needed to realize that.

Tomorrow she would be his — body and soul, in his bed.

Poor fellow. It never crossed his mind that this wasn’t the first time he’d made this vow. When would tomorrow actually come?

Another day, another squabble. Rachel had a raging headache the next morning, and Adriane was in a less than perfect mood. She’d ended up storming from the room and slamming the door of her suite in his face…again.

When was this going to get easier?

Maybe she should just leave with her parents.

Today was their last day in Corythia and she was almost in tears. Maybe leaving would actually help the situation between her and Adriane. But she didn’t expect him to be thrilled about it, and if she and Adriane entered into a full-scale battle, her protective parents would join in. She definitely didn’t want them to get caught in the cross fire.

Lying down on the couch, she held a cold compress to her forehead and waited for the Tylenol to kick in. Someday soon, this pregnancy had to become more manageable.

A slight smile crossed her lips as she lifted her shirt and rubbed along her belly. The bump was more noticeable now. Not enough that you could see it when she had her clothes on, but when she looked in the mirror and turned to one side, she could see the signs of life growing within her.