Page 63 of The Earl’s Forbidden Temptation

“There is another matter,” he said, his satisfaction fading beneath a more immediate concern. “You might be with child.”

She jerked, her eyes widening. “What did you say?”

“The first time we came together, I spent inside you. We shall have to wait and see whether your monthly courses come. If they do not…” He held her gaze. “There is a possibility I got you with child.”

Relief flickered across her face. “I…I have had my courses since.”

It was damned peculiar that relief was not his only response. A pang of disappointment struck him, fleeting but unmistakable, and he knew he would later be forced to examine what it revealed about him.

She caught her lower lip between her teeth. “Are you able to ensure that I do not fall with child?”

“I can greatly lessen the danger. Earlier, I withdrew before releasing my seed, and hereafter I shall use a sheath.”

She touched the corner of his mouth, her eyes somber. He wished he could see their true color clearly and imprint it upon his memory. The black-and-red silk mask, together with the shifting light, always seemed to alter them.

“Thank you for attending to a danger of which I was ignorant. It would have been the most terrible thing if I had fallen with child. In truth, the notion so terrifies me, I daresay I shall never take another lover unless I have first married him.”

Sebastian smiled at the stubborn earnestness on her face. “Is it that you do not wish for children?”

She stilled. “I do, but I want them born within the bonds of matrimony. I will not condemn my children to the horrid stain society places upon bastards.”

His heart wrenched at the passion in her tone. Something in the natural rise of her voice struck a familiar chord before vanishing. Red always kept her pitch deliberately low, but just then… she had forgotten herself. Sebastian narrowed his gaze. “Do we know each other outside of Aphrodite?”

Her teeth caught nervously at her lower lip, drawing his attention to the fullness of her soft mouth.

“We do,” he said slowly. “How very interesting.”

“We are barely acquainted.”

That, he could believe. Sebastian did not cultivate the company of unmarried ladies, especially debutantes. He had no wish to marry anytime soon, and the danger of scandal forcing him into a match not of his choosing had always kept his manner toward them to the barest civility. It was entirely possible that he had exchanged no more than a bow with Red at some crowded assembly. Damn it to hell. Even with that reasoning, he wanted to see all of her. Still, he would not pressure her.

Sebastian cupped her jaw and lifted her anxious gaze to his. “I will not pry into your affairs if you do not wish to tell me.”

Red’s chin trembled slightly, and only then did he see how hard she labored to appear brave. She searched his face before the tension slowly left her. “You mean that.”

“Of course I do.”

A knock sounded upon the door. Sebastian rose from the bed with a quiet exhale, reaching for his banyan and shrugging it over his shoulders before crossing the room. The air still held the warmth of what had passed between them, a lingering trace that followed him even as he turned the handle and opened the door. Rebecca stood there, composed as ever, her gaze sweeping over him with a knowing look.

“I trust I am not intruding overmuch,” she said lightly.

“You rarely do anything without purpose,” he returned. “What is it?”

“I am planning the next scene,” she said. “An orgy, one that will rival the grandest compositions. Several ladies have already expressed a preference for you, my lord. I would be pleased if you would participate.”

Sebastian frowned. “Why should I take part in an org⁠—”

“Why does it matter?” came Red’s voice from behind him, soft but firm.

He turned slightly, enough to see her where she lay upon the bed, propped against the pillows, the lamplight tracing the lines of her form beneath the covers.

“You will not be a part of it,” she continued, her gaze fixed upon him, “so long as I am your lover.”

A slow smile curved his mouth as quiet satisfaction settled within him at her claim. Color climbed Red’s slender throat and warmed the slivers of cheek left exposed by her mask.

Rebecca’s eyes narrowed fractionally as she studied him. “I trust I shall not lose you to this… curious notion of love and domesticity that has already claimed Basil, Ambrose, Bainbridge, and Radbourne.”

Sebastian gave a soft huff of amusement. “I am in no danger of domesticity,” he said. “But while Red and I are lovers, I have no desire to seek another woman.”