Captive Pride (19 page)

“Angry?” Her aquamarine eyes were wide and questioning. “I don't understand. Angry about what?”

“I came here today to apologize for upsetting you the way I did….”

“Upsetting me?” Her puzzlement was real as she drank in the glorious sight of him. He was every bit as gorgeous as she'd remembered him to be…tall and broad-shouldered with black hair and the most extraordinary blue eyes she'd ever seen. Faith was having difficulty keeping her expression from reflecting her joy at seeing him again.

Matt had known this wasn't going to be easy, and it wasn't. “I shouldn't have taken advantage of you as I did.”

“How could you think you'd taken advantage of me? You were the one who saved me.”

“I shouldn't have kissed you, Faith. I should have realized how the whole ordeal had upset you. After all that had happened to you, it was outrageous of me to be so forward. I only hope you'll accept my apology and forgive me for my momentary indiscretion. It won't happen again,” he assured her.

Faith was torn between laughing and crying. He thought she had run from him because he had kissed her and she'd hated it! Inwardly she smiled. She hadn't run from him because she'd hated his kiss; she had run from him because she'd loved it. But then he was also saying, most seriously, that the kiss would never happen again, and her heart lurched at the thought. Faith knew realistically that there could be no future for them, but she also knew that she wanted to kiss Matthew Kincade. It had been the most exciting moment of her young life, and if she could, she wanted to repeat it. Her only problem was…how? If Matthew was not interested in kissing her again, then there was no hope. She certainly couldn't very well throw herself at him.

Faith understood with agonizing pain that it was wonderful that he'd come to apologize for something he had thought he'd done wrong, but in reality nothing had changed. Matthew Kincade was a titled aristocrat, and she was a lowly seamstress relying on her own handiwork to support herself.

“Lord Kincade…”

“Please, Faith.” His gaze darkened as he reached out to take her hand. “Call me Matthew.”

The touch of his hand on hers was electric. Startled by the sensations that flooded through her, she looked up, her eyes unexpectedly meeting his.

“Matthew, I…” She started to speak, but something in his expression stopped her and she held her breath in painful expectation as he bent slowly to her.

Matt was caught completely off guard by his reaction to the simple touch of her hand. Fiery excitement pulsed through his veins, and he was nearly overwhelmed by the need to take her in his arms. Faith was so lovely, every bit as beautiful as he remembered, and he longed to crush her to him, to keep her safe, forever. It was a new, powerful emotion for Matt, and he almost gave in to the desire to hold her. Only a sudden stroke of common sense stopped him from repeating his earlier mistake with her, and he drew back abruptly, shaking himself mentally as he released her hand.

The breathtaking moment of intimacy they'd shared was lost, shattered into jagged shards of disappointment, and Faith felt chilled by the change in him. Shifting slightly farther back on the sofa, she distanced herself from him. “Your apology is accepted, although there really was no need.”

Matt was relieved at her response, but he, too, sensed the change in the mood between them. Not knowing what else to say, he hurried to ask her about her dealings with the authorities.

“There is one other thing I need to ask you about.” In truth, there were a million things he wanted to know about her, but Matt knew he had to go slowly and win her trust before he could hope that anything else could develop between them. His gaze dropped to her lips, and he wondered if they had really been as soft and exciting as he'd remembered from the brief kiss they shared.

Faith could not imagine what he was leading up to. “Yes?”

“Did you follow through on the report to the authorities regarding the attack?” Matt directed his attention away from her loveliness and back to thoughts of his original purpose in coming here. He had to find out if the report of her assault had been dealt with fairly or if it had been disregarded as inconsequential.

“I did,” she told him, and then added tersely, “although it was really pointless.”

He frowned at her statement. “Why do you say that? You would have been able to identify your assailants, wouldn't you?”

“Possibly, but in the end it wouldn't have made any difference.” Her tone was flat in resignation.

“Now I'm the one who doesn't understand.” Matt scowled as he recognized that his worst fears about the soldiers' presence and the loyalists' attitudes were coming true.

“No matter if I could identify them or not, the two soldiers would never be brought to justice.” Faith unknowingly affirmed his suspicions and, as she spoke, was unable to keep the bitterness from her voice.

“Are you saying that even if you had been able to positively identify the men who attacked you, nothing would be done about it?”

Faith gave a curt nod as she met his piercing blue gaze. “Mother and I dealt with them once before….”

“Something like this has happened to you before?” Matt was astounded.

“Not to me,” she explained slowly, glancing down at her hands folded in her lap, “to my father. He was killed by a British regular several years ago.”

“What happened?”

“Have you heard anyone talk of what is commonly called the Boston Massacre?” Faith asked.

“No, I'm afraid I haven't,” he admitted.

“Well, several years ago there was a confrontation between a group of unarmed colonists and some British soldiers. The soldiers fired into the crowd and several men were killed. It was terrible….”

“Were the soldiers prosecuted?”

Faith sighed as she remembered all the pain and confusion of the time. “Oh yes, they were tried, but nothing happened. They were let go…and they had committed murder! Don't you see! I knew even as I was reporting it that those two soldiers would never be punished for what they did to me. I only did it because you had insisted.”

“And you've heard nothing?”

“No one cares.” She shook her head. “I'm only a simple colonial without influence. It's been this way for a long time, and I don't suppose things will ever get any better.” Faith sighed, “At least, not unless Sam Adams has his way.”

“Sam Adams?”

“He's one of the most outspoken colonists opposing British rule. He thinks the colonies deserve independence, and frankly, I'm to the point of agreeing with him.”

“You mean you support the rebels?”

Her eyes were flashing with an inner fire as she looked up at him. Faith knew he was a nobleman, but at this moment it didn't matter. “Yes, and sometimes I wish I was a man so I could join them.”

While it was true that Matt was astonished by her declaration, all that she'd related to him had only reinforced his own disgust with the way things were being handled here in the colonies. The discovery that her father had been killed in cold blood by the British soldiers only hastened his complete conversion from loyal British subject to supporter of the colonists' grievances.

“Parliament has been taxing us unfairly for ages,” Faith was saying. “The injustice of it all was one of the reasons why my father died. He'd been so infuriated by the abuses that he began attending the dissidents' rallies. One thing led to another….” Her voice faded off. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone into all of this. I'm certain as a member of the aristocracy, you're in complete disagreement with all I've said.” She felt a moment of uncertainty, wondering how he was going to react to her outburst.

“On the contrary, Faith,” Matt told her gently. “I admit when I arrived here in Boston a short time ago I was not aware of the injustices being perpetrated here, but since then I've become more involved. I find that I'm quite in agreement with you.”

“You are?” She was taken by surprise by his answer.

Matthew nodded. “The handling of your situation, for instance, is shameful, but from all I've learned, it seems that it's not uncommon for such matters to be ignored. This time, however, is going to be different, for I intend to do something about it!”

“Matthew! No! You can't!”

“What do you mean?”

“It will only make matters worse! Please, just let it go. For my sake, please…”

“But when I think of what might have happened to you if I hadn't come along when I did.” He was earnest.

“I know, and to this day I thank God for your help,” Faith told him with open honesty.

“Faith…I'm so glad I was there that night.”

“I am, too.”

Her eyes shone with a brilliance that mesmerized him and overruled his vows not to press her. Later he would remember this moment and wonder why she hadn't resisted. Now he only knew the need to hold her close and soothe away all her fears.

Faith was thrilled that he wanted to hold her, and she couldn't suppress a shiver of delight as she went into his arms. He was so strong and solid that she felt she would be safe as long as she was with him. It happened then…. Matthew kissed her. A sweet-soft exploration that was every bit as glorious as she'd remembered. This time, she didn't want it to ever end.

The willing surrender of her lips filled Matt with a driving need to deepen the kiss, and he possessed her mouth fully, his tongue searching out and dueling excitedly with hers. When she responded to his kiss and met him fully in that flaming exchange, he crushed her to his chest, relishing the feel of her breasts pressed tightly to him.

“Faith…” Matt was breathing heavily as he broke off the kiss and moved slightly apart from her to steady himself. Though not as worldly as his brother, Matt was not without experience. He knew better than to allow himself the ecstasy of having her in his arms. The way he was feeling, things could easily get out of hand too quickly.

Faith had been totally lost in the rapture of his embrace. She was hurt when he stopped kissing her, and she wondered if she had done something to offend him. Had she responded too fully? Had she acted the wanton? A dull flush of embarrassment stained her cheeks as she worried over her actions, and she looked up quickly when Matt gently reached out and cupped her cheek with a warm hand.

“There's no need to be ashamed, Faith. I feel it, too.” His voice was gruff as his gaze met hers.

“You do?” she whispered in surprise as she saw the flame of passion he was keeping carefully under control reflected in his eyes. A shiver of expectancy quivered through her as she tried to imagine what it would be like to be possessed by him. Faith wanted Matthew Kincade more than she'd wanted anything in her entire life.

“I do. I have from the first,” he admitted rather ruefully as he gave her a lopsided grin, “but I stayed away from you until now because I thought you hated me….”

“Hated you?” This stunned Faith. “I could never hate you, Matthew.”

“That's good to know now. When you ran from the inn that morning after I'd kissed you, it was the only conclusion I could come to.”

She suddenly wanted him to know the full truth. “I ran away that day because I was afraid.”

“I know. I frightened you. I never should have—”

“No!” she interrupted him sharply, and he glanced at her curiously. “I wasn't afraid of you.”

“I don't understand.”

“I was afraid of what I was feeling.” It was difficult for her to blurt out her innermost feelings, but she knew she had to explain. “You had been so kind, and then when you kissed me…” She sighed. “It was almost a dream come true.”

“So why did you run from me?” Matt was totally confused now.

“I ran because I knew there could be nothing between us. You're a titled gentleman and I'm—”

“You're the most beautiful woman I've ever met,” he finished ardently.

Without another word, Matt brought her back into his embrace. His very touch was her heaven, and she melted lovingly against the hard width of his chest. They both silently marveled at how right it felt to be wrapped in each other's arms.

The exquisite scent that was Faith, a delicate essence of roses and spice, surrounded Matt, stoking his already fiery desire, and he fought against surrendering to the mindless ecstasy that threatened. It would have been easy to give in to the power of his passion, but Matt knew he would have no peace if he actually made love to her now. If he abused this fragile closeness they'd established, he would be little better than the soldiers who'd so callously tried to abuse her. Slowly and with infinite care he set her from him, caressing the softness of her cheek with a tender touch.

“Faith, I've never had a woman complain about my title before,” he told her wryly.

“I wasn't complaining,” Faith said hastily. “It's just that we're from such different backgrounds. I couldn't believe that you really…”

“That I really cared for you?” At her nod, he answered huskily, “Well, believe it. You've haunted my thoughts since you disappeared from my room that morning. Faith…”

Their lips met in a soft, tentative kiss, but Matt hesitated to take her into his arms. When at last they drew apart, he stood taking her hand and pulling her up to him.

“I'd better leave now.” Matt smiled faintly down at her.

“Do you have to?” Faith wanted him to stay with her forever.

Logically he knew it was the only way, but his heart and body longed to stay with her, to hold her and love her.

“I'm afraid so.”

“Would you like to come to dinner one night? I know Mother would be happy to have you.”

“I'd love to, thank you.”

His acceptance brought a lighthearted smile to her face, and Matt realized then that he had never seen her happy before. It filled him with an unexpected warmth.