Adrian woke to cold sheets where Olivia should have been. For a moment he just stared at the empty space beside him, his chest tight. The early morning sun streaming through his windows suggested it wasn't yet time for breakfast. She couldn't have been gone long. Her scent still lingered on his pillow, and when he pressed his palm to her side of the bed, he could still feel the faintest trace of warmth.

Why had she not woken him up? Had she run again? Or simply done the sensible thing and returned to her room before the house stirred? The possibilities churned in his mind as he sat up, running a hand through his dishevelled hair.

He wanted to believe she'd just been prudent. It was the wise thing to do to ensure they didn't create a scandal. But the memory of finding his ship's cabin empty in New York haunted him. She had a habit of disappearing when things became too intense between them.

And last night had been... He closed his eyes as memories flooded back. Last night had definitely been intense. It had been amazing. The way she'd surrendered to him completely. The sounds she'd made. How she'd clung to him afterwards, keeping him close when he would have moved away to give her space. For once, there had been no barrier between them. No thoughts of Dash or revenge or games. Just need.

So much for maintaining control of the situation.

His carefully crafted walls, his game of revenge, had shattered completely the moment she'd sought him out in the library. No. If he was being honest with himself, it had been crumbling since that first kiss in the garden.

Every touch, every taste of her had only made him want more.

Who was he fooling with this pretence of revenge? She was everything he wanted. Everything he'd ever wanted. Had been since those weeks on his ship when she'd captured his heart so completely. He'd hidden behind revenge because it was safer than admitting how deeply she could still hurt him. How deeply he still loved her.

A dangerous notion where Olivia was concerned, and he feared he was setting himself up for another disappointment. But after last night... He couldn't keep playing these games, couldn't keep pretending this was just about revenge or desire. He had to speak to her. Find out where they stood after last night. And maybe, if she gave him any hope at all, finally tell her the truth of his feelings.

Damn if that thought wasn't terrifying.

A couple of hours later, he found her in the breakfast room, looking every bit the proper young lady she was. Which only made him remember how she'd looked in his bed last night. Hair undone, lips swollen from kissing, eyes hooded...

His heart kicked at the sight of her. Any protective wall against her was gone, any of the distance he'd tried to maintain. Now there was just this ache in his chest, this need to know if last night had meant as much to her as it had to him.

"Miss Newton." His voice emerged steadier than he felt as he approached her, ignoring the shrewd look from his brother across the room. "Might I have a word?"

She looked up, and the flush that crept up her neck made his pulse quicken. Her hands tightened on her teacup. "I..."

"Please." He kept his tone carefully neutral, aware of the other early risers in the room, though all he wanted was to pull her into his arms. "It won't take long."

After a moment's hesitation, she set down her cup and stood. He guided her to a quiet alcove off the main corridor, far enough from the breakfast room for privacy but still within sight of passing servants. Proper enough to avoid scandal, but private enough to talk. His hands itched to touch her, but he kept his distance. This conversation was too important for distractions.

"About last night," he began, studying her face for any sign of what she was thinking. "You were gone when I woke."

"I had to be." Her voice was soft, uncertain. "If anyone had found me in your room—"

"Is that the only reason?" The words emerged more roughly than he'd intended. All his carefully prepared speeches fled in the face of his fear. "Or were you running away again?"

Her eyes flew to his, something vulnerable in their depths. "Adrian, I—"

But before she could finish, her eyes focused on something over his shoulder and widened in shock.

"Dash?"

The shock in her voice hit him like a physical blow. When he turned, there in the doorway stood the very man who had started all of this. The man she'd crossed an ocean to follow.

Dash looked exactly as Adrian remembered him—carelessly handsome in a way that made women swoon, though perhaps there were new shadows under his eyes that hadn't been there the last time he saw him. His familiar lazy smile spread across his face as he spotted them.

"Olivia! I'd heard you were here." Dash strode towards them, apparently oblivious to the tension he'd interrupted. "And Warble! I didn't expect to find you in the country."

The casual use of her given name made Adrian's jaw clench. He knew he was being unreasonably jealous. The two had shared a friendship for years, but there was something intimate about using someone's name, and the fact that Dash so easily used Olivia's only reminded him of how close they were.

"When did you return from America?" Olivia asked, shaking her head slightly as if she couldn't quite believe he was there.

"Oh, been back a fortnight or so." Dash waved a hand carelessly. "Was planning to stay away from the social scene a while longer, but when I heard about old Ravenscroft's house party..." He grinned. "Couldn't very well miss that, could I? Especially when he's gathered such delightful company."

His eyes moved between them, and something in his expression suggested he wasn't quite as oblivious to the tension as he appeared. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything?"

"Interrupting?" Adrian's voice was carefully neutral, though his heart was racing. He'd been so close to telling her everything, to laying his heart bare. And now... "Not at all. Miss Newton and I were just..."

"Discussing shipping routes, no doubt. You have done business with her father, have you not?" Dash's smile was lazy, but something knowing glinted in his eyes. "Though I must say, this seems a rather intimate corner for business discussions."

Olivia's cheeks flushed darker. "I should return to my breakfast before it gets cold."

"Oh, don't leave on my account." Dash leaned against the wall with practised indolence, but Adrian didn't miss the shrewd way his gaze flicked between them. "Though perhaps we could all break our fast together? I'd love to hear about your... voyage to America, Olivia. Warble's ship proved comfortable, did it?"

The deliberate pause, the slight emphasis on 'comfortable'—Adrian's jaw clenched. Dash might play the careless rake, but he was obviously missing nothing of the tension crackling between them.

"I heard from Ravenscroft you'd made quite the adventure of it, crossing the Atlantic," Dash continued, his tone light but his eyes sharp. "Never would have expected our fetching Miss Newton to undertake such a journey. And on your ship, Warble, of all places..." He tilted his head, studying them both. "Quite the coincidence, that."

Adrian could feel Olivia tense beside him. If Dash only knew the real reason for her journey... But no, that knowledge would only make this moment even more unbearable.

"The Amelia was the only ship sailing when I needed passage," Olivia said quickly. Too quickly.

"Indeed?" Dash's brow rose slightly. "How fortunate. Though I must say, Warble, I'm surprised you took on passengers. Never seemed the type for ferrying society ladies across the ocean."

The knowing look in the other man's eyes suggested he sensed there was far more to the story, but Adrian had no compulsion to offer fuel for that particular fire.

"The arrangements were made through mutual acquaintances," he said, keeping his voice level despite the memory of the Duchess of Winterbourne's machinations. "Your brother's wife, in fact. It seemed... convenient at the time."

"Convenient." Dash's smile widened slightly. "Yes, I'm sure it was. Can't imagine where you put her—your cabins are hardly set up for lady passengers. Unless..." He paused deliberately. "But no, surely you didn't give up your own quarters?"

Adrian felt Olivia stiffen beside him. If Dash only knew how close to the truth he was wandering with his teasing speculation.

"I really must return to my breakfast." Olivia's voice was tight. "And I believe I hear Ivy calling for me."

"Do you?" Dash's eyes sparkled with barely suppressed amusement. "I don't hear anything. But then, my hearing isn't quite as sensitive as yours seems to be this morning."

Adrian watched as Olivia's cheeks flamed even darker. Was he imagining the slight tremor in her hands? Before he could intervene, she lifted her chin with that familiar stubborn tilt that always made his blood heat.

"You're right, Dash. My hearing must be playing tricks on me." Her voice was admirably steady. "Perhaps it's fatigue from my... eventful night."

Adrian nearly choked. Dash's eyebrows rose with delighted interest.

"Eventful? Do tell." He crossed his arms, settling more comfortably against the wall. "I find I'm suddenly fascinated by how one spends their evenings in the country."

"Reading," Olivia said quickly. "In the library."

"Ah yes, the library." Dash's smile turned positively wicked. "I thought I glimpsed someone leaving it rather hastily when I arrived last night. Though I was quite tired from my journey—could have been my imagination."

Adrian kept his expression carefully neutral, though his heart raced. Had Dash seen them leaving the library together to walk to his room?

"But speaking of late arrivals," Dash continued, his usual playful manner returning, "we simply must catch up properly later, Olivia. It's been far too long."

"Yes, I..." Her voice caught slightly as she reached out, touching Dash's arm in that familiar way she had. "There's much to tell you."

"Splendid! Perhaps this afternoon? I want to hear all about your American adventure and what brought you across the ocean."

She glanced down before looking back at Dash with something that looked suspiciously like yearning. Of course. Even after last night, she still reacted to Dash this way. Adrian clenched his fist. Why would he ever have thought otherwise?

"I should let you finish your breakfast," he said, making sure to keep his tone even. "I have some correspondence to attend to."

He needed to be away from this scene, from watching their easy familiarity, from remembering how she loved someone else. Loved Dash.

"Don't tell me you're becoming one of those dreary responsible types," Dash said, shaking his head. "Where's the Warble who used to drink me under the table at White's?"

"People change." The words emerged bitter with irony. Yes, people change. He'd gone from wanting revenge to being ready to confess his love, only to have his worst fears confirmed. What a fool he had been to hope Olivia might choose him, even knowing she'd crossed an ocean for another man.

"So they do." Something flickered in Dash's eyes before his usual lazy smile returned. "Well, perhaps we can talk later. I want to hear all about what our lovely friend was like as a passenger on your ship. Did she get seasick?"

Olivia tensed at the easy banter. Was she worried about what Adrian might reveal about their time together? Of course—she wouldn't want Dash to know about their intimate moments. About the times she'd spent in Adrian's bed, surrendering to his touch while waiting for the man she really wanted.

"If you'll both excuse me." He needed to get away before the pain in his chest became unbearable. Before he said something that revealed too much. "Miss Newton. Dash."

He forced himself to walk away at a measured pace, to not betray how much it cost him to leave them together. He couldn't do this again. Never should have returned to England. Definitely shouldn't have joined his brother when he heard he was attending a house party in Olivia's village.

Some games just weren't worth the cost of playing.

~~~~~~