Seducing the Rake (Mad, Bad and Dangerous Heroes) (43 page)

Chessy squeezed her eyes shut as pleasure burst hot and ripe as sun-warmed honey all through her body. “P-pleasant enough, I suppose. But there are so many things that separate us—and there is also my father to think of.”
And the Triads.

“I am attending to your father’s situation. Trust me, Cricket. I should have some information for you very soon, in fact.”

“Truly, Tony?”

“Surely you don’t think I would lie about such a thing.”

“No. No, I suppose not.” She sighed. “It’s just the uncertainty. The not knowing.”

Morland bent closer. Chessy closed her eyes, feeling the warm sweep of his breath against her neck. But she was in control, she told herself. She was explaining to him at last. After this everything would be safe and settled and sane again.

His thumbs grazed the junction of her thighs.

Her eyes flew open. Control fled out the window. “W-what are you—” Her breath caught as his rough fingers played through her tangled black curls. “
D-doing
?” she finished in a croak.

“Just a little experiment, my sweet. But don’t let me stop you. Pray continue with your explanation. I am finding it utterly, er, fascinating “

Chessy’s heart was beating double-time and her blood seemed to have been invaded by a sky full of chain lightning. But she caught her breath and forced herself to continue. She
had
to convince him, after all.

“It’s just that we—that you and I are so—”

Dense curls parted to reveal sleek, heated skin. “Yes? What is that we are, my sweet?”

“D-different.” Chessy’s voice was a squeak. “From two different worlds.”

“We seem close enough now, my love.”

Chessy caught back a moan as he inched deeper and found her love-slick secret. “But that’s because—it doesn’t mean—”

“What? What doesn’t it mean?”

“Oh, anything real and t-true. It’s just—oh, stop. Tony.
Please.”

“Not until you tell me what it does mean, my heart. Now, while I touch you.” His voice had a rough edge that spoke of his own growing need. “While I watch you shiver.”

Chessy trembled at the heat in his voice, matched by the velvet tug of his searching fingers.

“It’s like being hungry or th-thirsty too long. You envision it, dream about it. And then suddenly you can’t stop thinking about it.”

“Are you, Chessy? Hungry for me?” He was sheathed in her sweetness now, moving slow and potent inside her.

She wanted to deny it, but she couldn’t. How could she, when all she could think of was the fire he was stirring to life inside her?

“Tell me.”

Her body arched beneath him. “Y-yes, oh, yes.”

He touched her with his lips then, drinking in the pulse that throbbed at her neck. “And now I’ll tell you
why
you are, little fool. Because you love me. Though not nearly as much as I love you.”

“No!’ She tried to pull
free,
fighting waves of pleasure. Everything was going wrong, her explanations twisting back against her. “You don’t understand.”

“Then why do you shiver when I do this? Why does your breath catch when I touch you
here
?”

And she did shiver; her breath most certainly did catch when he coaxed a deeper entrance.

“I’ll never, never let you go.” He growled the words against her neck, her ear, her closed eyelids.

Chessy tried to swim up from the dark, rich abyss of pleasure where she’d fallen. “You m-must! I’ve brought you danger enough. One day you’ll wake up and you’ll be sorry you ever met me. And then you’ll start hating me, hating
us.
”

Tears pressed at her eyes. “I-I don’t think I could bear that, Tony. So please, just l-let me go. Now, before you—before we—”

The hard fingers froze, sheathed deep inside her.

Hating
her? What was the absurd creature talking about? Who had left her so scarred, so unsure of her own powers?

Morland’s face turned grim. At least now he had a clear enemy to fight. Now he knew just
why
she had been fighting him at every turn. Not because of her father, but because of her own lack of confidence.

And he knew exactly what to do to prove how wrong she was.

But at that very moment of revelation, a pounding came at the door.

“I know you’re in there, you young scoundrel, so open up! I’ll have no more of your rakehell antics, I warn you!”

Morland blinked. It could not be. It was utterly
impossible
!

The doorframe shook. A hard object cracked against the knob. “Open up, I say! Otherwise I’ll have the landlord force the door down. Do you hear me, Tony Morland?”

Chessy’s face went sheet-white. “Oh, no—it isn’t—”

Morland planted a hard kiss against her cheek. “We aren’t finished, hellion. Not
nearly
finished, I warn you.” His eyes blazed. He watched her face while he eased from her sweet, sheathing softness. “Beautiful,” he whispered.

A muscle flashed at his jaw as he pushed to his feet. “I’ll murder her. I’ll absolutely murder her.”

“No, Tony. It’s my fault. Let me g-go!”

“Never!” Quickly he tugged her stockings up, then smoothed her skirts, trying to restore her to some semblance of respectability. He had not yet finished when the door shook, then exploded open with a crash.

The Duchess of Cranford stood on the threshold, cane in hand, a liveried groom standing impassively beside her.

“Just as I thought. Whitby told me what you were up to and I had the carriage followed. Release the gel this instant, you cad! Have you no shred, no ounce of decency left?” She stared down at Morland’s hand, which was still curved over Chessy’s ankle. “Let the gel go, I say. She’s been through enough!”

Chessy bit her lip, feeling as if she’d been plunged into a nightmare. “Oh, no, please—it’s not his fault. He was only trying to—”

“I know perfectly well what the rogue was trying to do, my dear. And believe me, I mean to see that he doesn’t get away with it. Not while you are under
my
protection.” The duchess glared at Morland. “Release her.”

Morland’s body went rigid with anger. “You presume too much.”

The duchess’s eyes flashed. “On the contrary, jackanapes. It is you who—”

“Stop!” Chessy pushed to her feet, wincing as her weight fell onto her throbbing ankle. “Oh, please, I cannot bear to see you fighting this way.”

She swayed, her face very pale. “Not over me,” she whispered.

Morland’s face set in hard lines as he pulled her into his arms. “See what you’ve done. She shouldn’t even be up, not with that ankle as it is. It’s bloody well probably broken.” He glared at the duchess. “Are you satisfied now?”

The old woman’s hands clenched and unclenched upon her silver-handled cane. “Oh, Chessy—what have I done?”

Chessy tried vainly to scrub the silver tears from her cheeks. “You did nothing, Your Grace. It was I-It was all my fault that—”

Morland’s hands tensed on her waist. “Hush, Cricket.” He turned and glowered at the duchess. “I give you notice, Your Grace. There is a bleary-eyed cleric downstairs who is waiting to hear our vows. In ten minutes this woman will be my wife, and not anything or anyone is going to stop that ceremony from taking place.”

The old woman seemed to shudder. Then her shoulders rose, decisive as ever. “Over my dead body, Tony Morland. She deserves more than a makeshift ceremony in a hole-in-the-wall hostelry in the middle of nowhere.”

Behind her came an angry protest. “The White Hart? A hole in the wall? I must object—”

The duchess cut off the landlord with a sharp shake of her cane. “The gel deserves a lavish wedding at St. James’s, with all her friends and family about her. She should be dressed in white satin and carrying roses and fresh gardenias.” Her gnarled fingers shook. “Not like this, you fool. Why, she’s wearing shredded stockings and a dusty gown that looks like—” She snorted, unable to find words harsh enough.

“That looks like she had fallen from the roof?” Morland’s voice was low and hoarse. “I am desolate to tell you that that is precisely what she
has
done. After nearly dying at the hand of an assassin. But I aim to see that she never faces such danger again. And I shall start by making the hellion my wife!”

The duchess’s face took on an arrested look. “Assassin? But how—why—?”

“I shall explain it all later after I’ve looked at the body and spoken with the magistrate. Right now, I have a wedding to attend.” His face went very hard. “Do you mean to stand at our side and give us your blessing? If not, then I warn you that you will not be welcome, neither here nor at Sevenoaks. Will you fight me on this?”

Chessy tried to pull away from him. “No, please. Stop! No more fighting—”

“I’ll have your answer now, Your Grace.”

The duchess’s shoulders suddenly went slack, leaving her looking old and very frail. “I-I never knew. And that body out in the stable yard?”

Morland scowled when he felt Chessy stiffen in his arms. “Let us just say that the villain won’t be bothering Miss Cameron. Not ever again.”

The duchess seemed to shiver. Without a word the groom reached out to steady her.

But she raised her chin and pushed his hand away. “I-I am afraid I have been a great fool. But I only meant to help, you see. And I was so afraid that—”

Tony stared at her, his face stony. “Will you or won’t you?”

The duchess rose to her full five feet of fragile, imperious womanhood. “Of course I shall! What do you take me for, a fool?”

Morland’s tense grip on Chessy’s waist loosened slightly. His eyes took on a dark gleam.

The polished cane shook at him. “Don’t say it, you rascal. Don’t even
think
it!”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” the earl said smoothly. “Now I suggest we go. That cleric won’t wait forever.”

The duchess frowned, for the first time taking note of the earl’s bare and very bloodstained feet. “But—good lord, boy, what have you been doing—crawling about over broken glass? Just what has been going on here?”

Chessy stared up at Tony. Her eyes were very bright, her face swept with color. At that moment her husband-to-be looked down at her, and his expression took on an infinite softness. “You wouldn’t believe it if I told you. What do you think, my heart?”

Chessy couldn’t speak, robbed of breath by the dark tenderness that swept his face. “I don’t even believe it, and I was there.” She bit her lip. “Are you sure, Tony? Truly sure? There must be so many others who would suit you better. And I know nothing about sewing or sketching or presiding over a dinner table.”

“I would have it no other way, absurd creature.“

“But—the Triads. They’ve threatened to kill you if I see you again!”

Tony’s eyes darkened as another piece of the puzzle slid into place. “Did they now? Well, you can forget about the Triads. They’ll soon be where they can’t harm anyone. So now all you need to think about is getting married, my love. After that we’ll spend our time digging up Roman ruins and tramping across the Pennines. We’ll hike Hadrian’s Wall and sail the Aegean in summer. What need have I of a woman who sews or sketches or presides over a dinner table, when I have you—you, who preside over my heart?”

Chessy bit back a watery laugh. “You are mad. You could have so very much better than I. But if you are certain, truly certain, then I would like it very much if you—if we—”

She flushed a glorious crimson, unable to finish.

Her face turned into the crook of his arm.

“No stopping now, my beauty.
Say the words
.” Morland’s voice lowered to a dark plea. “Please, Chessy. Tell me. Just once.”

She raised beautiful, tear-streaked cheeks and swallowed. Her chin rose with determination. “I would be most honored to become your wife, my l-lord. Though why you should want to—”

Morland groaned and cut off her arguments with a kiss upon lips that trembled, then opened sleekly to him.

His hand rose to cradle her neck, curtained in a mass of blue-black curls. “Why? It’s very simple, you know. I love you, Cricket. I suppose I always have. Ever since I first saw you digging in the dirt for treasure. Ever since you swam naked in the tropical sea beneath a moon just made for lovers.”

A loud snort came from the doorway. “Well, are you going to get married or did I come all this way for nothing?” The duchess’s voice was suspiciously throaty. She made a furtive swipe at her cheek with a white handkerchief that appeared from the groom beside her as if by magic.

Morland looked up and gave her a brilliant smile. “The same question
I’ve been
asking for an hour now. Shall you precede us?”

But before they could turn, the landlord came puffing up the stairs. His hands twisted in his apron as he shook his head apologetically. “Couldn’t keep him, your lordship. Dashed if I didn’t try. And now if three bottles of my best claret aren’t wasted too!”

“What are you saying, man? Speak up.”

“The cleric. Said I was to thank you for the claret, but he couldn’t wait all day for you two to be making up your minds. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you—he left fifteen minutes ago.”