The Perfect Temptation (44 page)

was in trade. There are others
who argue that I'm an Untouchable

simply because I'm British and
Christian. There's

absolutely no reason for anyone
to envy me anything."

He had no choice but to playa
high card. Mohan could just

be
angry
about the betrayal. "Perhaps someone thinks you

might someday be the raja's wife
or one of his royal consorts."

Her smile disappeared in a heartbeat.
''There are strict

rules about
relationships-especially intimate ones-outside

one's caste. Violating them isn't
done without great personal

and social risk."

"Mohan says
differently."

She arched a brow. "Mohan
has been saying a great deal

lately, hasn't he?"

"Change of subject, darling.
It's not going to work. Mohan

thinks you'll marry his
father."

Her jaw dropped. And for some
insane reason his spirits

soared.

"I don't know why he'd tell
you such a thing, Aiden. He

knows full good and well that would
never happen." She

pursed her lips for a second,
then took a deep breath. "What

I'm going to tell you must remain
between us, Aiden. It goes

no further. Promise me."

He nodded and she went on.
"If
Mohan's
father had been

willing to take an English woman
as either a wife or a mistress,

he and my mother would not have
had to maintain the

clandestine nature of their
affair for all the years they did.

But the price of openly admitting
it would have been too

great for Kedar."

"Kedar?"

"Mohan's father. His name is
Kedar."

"What would have been the
consequences?"

Alex sighed, knowing that only a
Briton would have to ask

the question. "Congress with
a woman some consider an Untouchable?

Those that want the throne for
themselves would

have been delighted
to
have that
weapon
to
use
against him."

"So why would he risk even a
secret affair?"

''They loved each other,
Aiden," she said, squeezing his

hands. ''They
dared
as much as
they could. Kedar had to outwardly

pretend otherwise, but he was
devastated when

Mother suddenly fell
ill
and
died."

"Who wants the throne? Who
opposes Kedar's rule?"

"It's India," she
replied with a quiet snort. ''The easier

question
to
answer
would be who doesn't want his throne?"

"A related truth.
If
you had to
come up with a short list of

likely plotters, who would be on
it?"

There was no point in trying to
divert him. He was going

to persist until he simply
couldn't go any further. "At the top

of it would be his cousin Kalin
and his younger brother

Hanuman."

"Do you have any idea of
where they might be?"

''When I left India, they were at
court. I assume they're

still there.
Kedar
doesn't
dare let them out of his sight."

"Are they wealthy men in
their own right?"

''I
can see the lines along which you're thinking, Aiden.

Yes, they have the resources
necessary to reach
all
the way to

England. But it's Kedar's and
Mohan's deaths that would benefit

them, not mine. I'm of no
consequence to them whatsoever."

He frowned and stared down at
their hands. "So, we're

back to the original question,
Alex. Who wants
to
harm
you?"

''No one, Aiden. Absolutely no
one."

"What about those who resent
a British presence in the

court on general principle?"

She groaned and slumped back
against the seat. He could

be so relentless, so exhausting.
"In the first place," she began

with all the patience she could
muster, "their protests are

largely hollow. As much as they
dislike being under British

rule, they're realistic enough to
know that there's an advantage

in understanding the ways of the
rulers. And in the second

place, they lack the power and
wherewithal to do

anything more than verbally rail.
As long as Mohan's father

remains firm in his commitment to
working with the British,

the worst they can do is be
unpleasant."

''Alex,'' he instantly countered,
his gaze coming up to meet

hers, "I have never believed
that those two thugs came into the

Blue Elephant to steal the
silver. That might have been the

pretense or the second thought,
but it wasn't the primary reason.

I think they were sent in with
instructions to either take

you to someone-our shadow
warrior-or to simply take you

out and kill you. There has to be
a reason why."

"If
there is, I have no idea what it might be, unless it's
to

make getting to Mohan
easier."

"If
that's what they wanted, then I'd be the prey. And I'm

not. It's
you."

Heaven forbid that he ground
supposition on reality. She

studied him as he stared out the
window. He was so determined

to see. So very worried that he
couldn't. Her heart

swelled and her irritation melted
away.

"I understand," she
said, shifting on the seat so that she

reclined against his chest again,
"that rugby uniforms are really

quite form-fitting.
Inspirationally so." His arms slipped

around her and she added,
"Not that you need the assistance

of clothing to do that, of
course."

"You're flirting dangerously
close to the edge, darling.

You have been
all
afternoon."

"I know," she replied,
reveling in the warmth of his body

against hers, the rich rumble of
his voice as it passed into

her.

''At some point I'm going to draw
the line and dare you to

cross it."

"I know that, too."

He nibbled the edge of her ear,
whispering, "Ask me not

to play."

"No," she replied, a
lusciously warm shiver cascading

through her. "You promised
Hawkins you'd be there."

"Which
I
 
sincerely regret."

''All
things happen when they're meant to. And not a moment

before."

Moaning quietly, he gently pushed
aside the hair at her

nape. "Patience," he
said, brushing his lips over her skin,

"isn't my long suit."

Savoring another delightful
shiver, Alex tilted her head to

afford him better access, certain
that, despite his claims, he

was the most remarkably, gently
patient man she would ever

know.

Aiden stepped out of the carriage
acutely aware that James

Crumb was a considerably slighter
man. The only possible

salvation lay in the condition of
the field. After the first slide

or two through the mud and muck,
the fabric might give

enough to allow him to breathe.

"Oh, my."

He looked over his shoulder. Alex
stood by the front

wheel, her brow arched as she
slowly looked him up and

down. Jesus. What she could do to
him with a wicked little

smile. Add in the devilish
twinkle in her eye ... "Darling,"

he said, turning away before she
could do any further damage

to his self-control. ''These
breeches are entirely too snug

for you to be looking at me like
that."

Suppressed laughter rippled
brightly through her voice.

"I'm sorry. Have fun, but do
be careful out there.
If
you tear

something, you're going to reveal
what precious little you've

left to my imagination."

Walking onto the field was both
an act of supreme denial

and desperate self-defense. At
the edge of his vision, he saw

movement and the colors of the
Blackthorn team. He fixed

his vision on the knot of his
teammates and kept going.

"How on earth did you manage
to find yourself such a

pretty little half-caste?"

He knew the voice, the son of a
bitch who went with it,

and that he was talking about
Alex. Being half. English and

half something else didn't matter
to Aiden in the least. Purity

of ancestry did matter to other
people, though, and

clearly Geoffrey Walker-Hines was
one of them. His teeth

clenched, Aiden ignored him and
kept walking, hoping he'd

go away.

"Did you bring her out of
India yourself?" Walker-Hines

persisted, falling in beside him.
"Is that where you've been

these past two years?"

Damnation. He'd been in such a
good mood. And now,

just one narrow-minded bastard
later ... Deciding to put an

end to it, Aiden stopped and
faced the other squarely. "Not

that it makes any
difference," he began, "but for the record,

Geoff, my mother's American
Irish. Strictly speaking, I'm

the half-caste mongrel. Alex's
parents were both British."

"And you believe that
story?" the other snorted, smirking.

"I spent my entire two-year enlistment
garrisoned in India.

She looks British, but the way
she carries herself is Indian.