Lilac Temptress (49 page)

“
I heard the old
Creole man say the word
Newhaven
back in the city just before he took you away from
me. Shortly afterwards I read an article in a paper
which spoke of discord in the McCalister home and
I had to come for you, which let me say, is no easy feat. This
place is harder to get into and out of then a jailhouse. There must
be at least fifty men toting pistols around here, and dogs guarding
the front—nobody watching the swamp out back though. Bet they
didn’t think someone would wade through the bog to get in. But I
was well motivated,” he grinned.

“
I had no clue of how to
find you at first, but as luck would have it I saw you scaling down
a wall. I won’t even ask what you were doing.” He huffed with the
rolling of his eyes before continuing.

“
I wanted to immediately
approach you but I didn’t wanna to frighten you, and the watchmen
would’ve likely come running if you screamed, so I silently
followed you and stayed out of sight. I waited outside your bedroom
behind a corner in the darkness thinking about what I might say to
you. But before I could reach you, some bastard got to you first.
So, I waited some more until he left.”

“
Jason, are you even
listening to me?” Sierra realized she was not going to get any
straight answers out of him. “You cannot be here,” she said
desperately.

“
Why not, Sierra? Is it
because of a man? I didn’t know what to think when I saw that man
enter your room, but the woman I remembered you to be... ” Jason’s
voiced trailed off as he referred to her virtue.

Sierra hugged her covers around
herself even tighter. She would indeed scream if he tried to hurt
her. But Jason had never given her a reason to be afraid of him in
the past.

“
I have come to take you
away from here. I have a horse hidden outside the gates
and—”

“
Why did you ever leave
me?” Sierra growled at him, her voice low.

Jason knew she wasn’t going to give up
on getting the answer to that question, so he tried to explain.
“You see, William... it’s a long story. I cannot risk losing the
time in telling you now. You must get dressed and pack your things.
We have to take our leave immediately,” Jason insisted reaching for
her arm.

Sierra drew back farther away from him
on the bed, not allowing him to touch her.

“
Wil...” she whispered. She
shook her head from side-to-side and thought about how William
adamantly disliked Jason. “Why did you disguise your identity back
in New Orleans?”

“
I can’t explain that to
you now! Just come with me, Sierra, please. I promise I’ll tell you
everything once we’re away from here,” Jason said, desperately
afraid that Drake’s men might find his steed.

“
What makes you think I
would just up and set out into the sunset with you, Jason? You hurt
me, and I am not that same woman you abandoned over a year ago.
Besides, Kyle is here with me, and I have a responsibility to
him.”

Jason’s face contorted before he
blurted, “Sierra, I’ve never stopped loving you. Things were
complicated back in Jadesville, but if you depart with me now—”
Jason’s eyes were dire. “Listen, I will be waiting for you at the
Teche Manor in New Orleans. Remember the name—you may well change
your mind, and hell bring Kyle along, but know that I leave for
Baton Rouge in three days. I’ve grown weary of New Orleans.” Jason
rose to his feet and bent down.

Before Sierra could stop him, he
kissed her lips with brute force, devoid of finesse—stealing her
kiss and not sharing the experience, and then he pulled
away.

Sierra stared up at him in disgust.
She had never known Jason’s kiss to give her a feeling of
contempt—she experienced none of the tingling sensations she once
felt when he had dotingly kissed her in the past. “You should have
never left me. Whatever Wil was trying to do to keep us apart, we
could have handled together,” she voiced bitterly.

“
You never fully
comprehended William’s influence and power did you? You were always
so
innocent
. I
wonder if you still are.” His eyes roamed over her body blazing
with predatory lust.

“
This McCalister man—do you
love him? Is he why you won’t come with me? Is it true what the
paper said? Is there some sort of love triangle?”

“
I don’t see how it’s any
of your business. Especially when you left me behind, remember?”
Sierra said, her eyes frosty.

“
You are absolutely right.
I lost my claim on you when I left you didn’t I?” Jason walked
toward the veranda doors. He peered back at her. “Scaling the walls
as you did earlier, might make for a quicker getaway, don’t you
think?” Jason winked at her. “Remember, the Teche Manor. I will
wait for you there, should you change your mind, and decide to come
with me.” He slipped out the doors.

Sierra sat in bed, stunned momentarily
before she finally released her pent up frustration, and burst into
angry tears. Shameful emotions bubbled up inside of her. How could
she have ever loved such a selfish and dishonest bastard? Tears of
fury continued flowing down her cheeks when she realized just how
much time she had wasted being devastated by his desertion. She
knew with certainty that she would not run away to Baton Rouge with
him, and to spare herself the humiliation from having to explain
his presence at Newhaven, she found it in her best interest not
tell anyone that he’d snuck in to see her. He was nothing more than
a faded memory that belonged in the past, she told
herself.

* * *

As soon as Jason stepped onto the
ground a heavy blow collided with his jaw, sending him hurling and
crashing against the wet grass—landing on his backside. Jason, his
vision blurred, tasted blood on his lips as he thrashed about
wildly in the darkness only to find a brawny man standing over him,
so he backed away and scurried to a stance as quickly as he could.
As he tried to land a blow, the man sidestepped him skillfully,
sending him lunging forward—losing his balance, and nearly
stumbling to the ground again.

Drake pulled him straight by his
collar. “Who are you?” he voiced with deadly intent.

Jason struggled against Drake, trying
to strike him any way possible, only to take a hard hit to his
ribs. “Please don’t kill me,” Jason pleaded in a strangled whisper,
flinching in excruciating pain. He fell to his knees, hands folded
across his stomach gasping for air, reeling in agony.

“
Answer me quickly or lose
your life for trespassing.”

“
My name is—” Jason hacked
trying to catch his breath.

“
The truth! If I think that
you are lying, I will not hesitate to snap your neck,” Drake
vowed.

“
Jason... Jason Grant,” he
struggled to get the words out, unable to immediately stand as he
gritted his teeth in pain, and tried to assess the damage to his
ribs.

Drake’s eyes widened with astonishment
and then he began to laugh. Obviously, Kyle had been mistaken in
what he thought he had seen that night concerning Jason’s death.
And Drake was relieved to know that William was not the murderer
Kyle thought he was.

Jason stared, silently
petrified by the man, wondering why he laughed so
diabolically.
Does he plan to kill me
after all?

“
It is plain for me to see
that you came for the girl,” Drake said. “No matter your purpose,
I’ll have you know that she belongs to me and I will not have any
man try to take from me what is mine,” he made himself
clear.

McCalister
,
Jason realized before rebelliously speaking in a more coherent
voice. “Is she yours? Because she didn’t feel like she belonged to
you when we kissed just moments ago.” Jason’s devious grin matched
the look of defiance in his eyes. If he was about do die, he’d be
sure to infuriate this man first.

Drake’s lips curled into a wicked
grin. He was stunned at Jason’s will. At least the man had guts.
“Bold talk—sounds to me like a man who doesn’t value his life.”
Drake took a step toward him. He wanted Jason off his property,
even if he had to drag him off himself.

“
No, no, no—wait please
don’t kill me,” Jason stuttered still on the ground, inching
himself backwards, afraid to turn away and not see his death
coming.

“
I’ll give you a head
start,” Drake threatened coolly—his eyes ferociously
flashed.

Jason scurried to his feet and moved
as fast as his legs could carry him, though his body writhed in
pain.

Drake watched Jason disappear quickly
into the swamp, and then he exhaled into the star filled night sky.
The chill in the air was too cold and Drake decided it was high
time he returned to his room to get some sleep—thinking about
Sierra with Jason would have to wait.

But when his head hit his bed pillows
moments later, he found to his dismay that Jason and Sierra were
all he could think about.

He wondered if Sierra and Kyle had
concocted the story of Jason’s supposed demise to win his sympathy.
The timing was awfully convenient, he surmised. Were they both just
using him for his wealth? Is that why Kyle fabricated Jason’s
death? Jason’s appearance at his home was suspicious. Had Jason
come to further plot with Sierra? Drake didn’t know what to
think.

Kyle didn’t seem the type to go to
such great lengths to deceive him, and though he thought he should
approach Kyle on the matter, he decided that dealing with Sierra
was best. In truth, neither Sierra nor Kyle would be in residence
much longer anyway with the wedding approaching. Indeed he had
wanted to help Sierra escape an alleged murderer, but he had also
had his own reasons for coming to her rescue, as well.

Drake wasn’t the kind of man who could
turn his back on someone striving to better themselves, especially
after knowing how desperately Sierra had wanted to leave and how
trapped she had felt by William. And Drake knew that he had
feelings for her—they became even more evident as he stomached his
adverse, covetous rage toward Jason. If Sierra was deceiving him,
she was still no more than a victim of her own folly, and he was
certain that he would get the truth out of her.

* * *

Drake arrived at the stable early the
next morning. Isadora already awaited him as agreed. And it was not
unexpected to see Rosaline and Kyle there preparing to ride out as
well, but finding Sierra with them, properly dressed in her riding
habit no less, took him by surprise.

“
I’m glad that you have
finally arrived. I’ve already had your favorite horse—Knight
saddled. Shall we ride out now? It’s a beautiful afternoon for
riding,” Isadora said, waving Hayden away to go tend to his other
stable boy duties.

“
A very pleasant day
indeed,” he returned automatically, contemplating Sierra and the
events that had played out last night while Kyle was helping to
balance and steady Sierra on one of his steeds. He thought about
Sierra’s harsh characterization of him as a coward, and about the
revelations a defiant Jason insinuated regarding the nature of
their relationship. He wondered if he could have been that wrong in
his assessment of Sierra’s true nature.

Uptight with unanswered questions, he
wanted to grab her and shout at her, but he knew he could not come
within reach of her. He didn’t even know if they were on speaking
terms as of last night. And maybe he shouldn’t even approach her at
all. Maybe, all he could do was force himself to let it go—even if
it seemed impossible. But for now, he made himself put on his best
face, and not give a damn.

“
I
thought that you didn’t ride,” Drake called out over his shoulder
through a strained voice at Sierra. He eyed her while Kyle lured
her atop her stallion out into the open, and was relieved to see
that she wore equestrienne trousers underneath her skirt, rather
than a petticoat, and would not be riding in that awful contraption
called a sidesaddle, which would not be as comfortable for a
beginner riding through his land.

Sierra’s determined eyes
locked on Drake’s. She deliberately turned away from him, trying to
stay calm and not curse him with every tasteless word she could
imagine. “I
don’t
usually ride. Rosaline and Kyle thought it might be time that
I had some lessons. I don’t know how I let them convince me, but
the morning is perfect for riding I am told,” she stated resolutely
trying not to let her resentment toward Drake get the best of
her.

Rosaline, already sitting
outside on her thoroughbred, watched Drake and Isadora guide their
horses outside the stable and mount. She noticed something ominous
brewing between Drake, Sierra and Isadora, but she wouldn’t let it
keep her from asking Drake, “Will you ride with us? We are riding
the path along the far side of the estate.”

Isadora fiercely stared at
Rosaline. She was tired of Rosaline’s demands for Drake’s time.
“Drake and I will ride alone together as I wish for a leisurely
ride and only in his company. Besides were not here to train
her
,” Isadora bit off,
glaring at Sierra.

“
I am surprised you are up
for riding. Haven’t you been ill of late?” Sierra probed while
staring daggers at Isadora.