Blackthorne's Bride

by Shana Galen

  Jack could tell the man was enjoying the argument. Maddie, however, was not. She was shooting daggers with her eyes. Her hands were on her hips, fists balled.

  "You don't know the first thing about my work, Jack. And if you don't want to know, that's fine, but don't tell me what to do. You don't have the right."

  "The hell I don't. I'm your husband. I swore to protect you, and I'm bloody well going to do it." From Bleven, from cutthroats ... from herself, if need be.

  "By locking me up and taking everything I care about away from me?" She shook her head vehemently. "I knew I shouldn't have married you. You're worse than he is." She pointed to her father.

  "I only wanted to do what was best for you, Madeleine," her father said.

  "And I just want to keep you safe," Jack added, trying to keep his voice reasonable.

  But Maddie was well past reasonable. "You're trying to protect me? Jack, the day I met you, I was chased, shot at, and held at gunpoint by three thugs. I don't think you're one to protect me." She rounded on her father. "And, Daddy, I'm tired of you always thinking you know what's best for me. I'm a grown woman." With her skirts swishing, she marched toward the door. "I know what's best for me, and it's neither of you."

  The door slammed behind her, and Jack slumped in his chair. Across from him, Castleigh offered to refill his glass. Jack accepted the brandy, downed it, and held the snifter out for more. Outside, he heard a suspiciously bearlike noise, followed by a maid's bloodcurdling scream, then Maddie's soothing voice.

  "If you're going to shoot me," Jack told his new father-in-law, "now would be a good time."

  * * * * *

  Maddie couldn't believe how many of Jack's servants were afraid of sweet, little Blackjack. Not that Blackjack was all that little. He was about two feet taller than she was when he stood on hind legs and probably weighed more than three of her put together.

  But he was much tamer than she first thought. He didn't even growl. When he was afraid, he made a blowing sound. And with all the screaming going on, who wouldn't be scared? She'd intended to house him in Jack's mews until an enclosure was built, but the groom argued that a bear would frighten the horses. Being new to the household, she was in no position to argue, so she decided to keep Blackjack in a guest room—safely behind lock and key, of course.

  Once she had Blackjack settled and fed, Maddie asked the housekeeper to show her to her quarters. She had thought Jack would be the one to show her to her room, but he was still ensconced in his library with her father. And she was happy for both of them to stay there.

  Lord, anyone would think she was an infant, the way those two tried to protect her. Did they truly think she didn't know the dangers associated with her work? That was why she'd never argued with her father when he insisted that she take a footman with her at all times. Not only that, she'd encouraged her father to hire the biggest, burliest footmen she could find.

  Most were retired pirates and smugglers she met through her work, but she hadn't told her father that.

  Maddie opened the door and surveyed her room. It had obviously been cleaned recently and hastily readied for her, but other than that, she could see that no special preparations had been made.

  She glanced at the bed with its pretty yellow counterpane, then wandered over to the dressing table. Laid out on the tulipwood surface were a silver brush, comb, and mirror. The antique set was tarnished with age, though it had been well cared for and kept free of dust.

  Maddie touched the set and wondered who they had belonged to. Jack's mother? It was difficult to imagine Jack as a child with parents. He was so serious, so capable. Had he ever been a rosy-cheeked boy who climbed trees and played pranks?

  She yawned and wandered back to the bed. Her muscles exhausted, she ached to crawl under the counterpane. Once there, she found the bed soft and the sheets silky. She took a deep breath and her eyes drifted closed.

  "Bloody hell!"

  Maddie awoke with a start and blinked in confusion at the dark, unfamiliar surroundings. She was warm and comfortable, but now Jack was hauling her out of her little nest and tugging her into his arms.

  "Jack, what's wrong?" she murmured, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

  "What's wrong?" he barked, dragging her toward the door linking their two rooms. "I leave you alone for a couple of hours and you endanger my entire household."

  Maddie dug her heels in before he could pull her into his room. "What are you talking about?"

  Jack lifted the candle from the dresser. "There's a bear in my house. A maid tried to clean the guest room where you hid him and was scared to death. She just resigned her post."

  Maddie winced. "I tried to put him in the mews, but the groom said he made the horses nervous."

  "We're getting rid of him in the morning," Jack announced, walking through the door to his room.

  "What?" Maddie stomped after him, fury making her heart pound. "What has Blackjack done? He can't help it that the maid was scared."

  "I'm not going to wait around for him to hurt my staff or you, Maddie. I've made up my mind. He's gone."

  Jack tore off his tailcoat and dropped it on the burgundy Aubusson rug. The room was done in dark mahogany wood, offset by deep burgundy and navy. In the center there was a mammoth bed, much bigger than the one in her room. The headboard was ornately carved and highly polished, as was all the furniture.

  It was a beautiful room, but Maddie wasn't impressed. Not with this room or with Jack. Why did he have to be so difficult? Why did he have to be so controlling? By jiminy, she was not going to put up with it.

  Anger surged through her. The back of her neck was hot, and she felt her face flush. In a rage, she slammed the adjoining door as hard as she could, making the room shake.

  "What the—" Jack spun to face her.

  "So, you've made up your mind, have you, Jack?" She stalked toward him, hands on hips.

  His eyes narrowed. "That's right."

  "The bear is gone." She stomped closer, was almost on top of him.

  He didn't back down, but she saw a muscle in his jaw tense. "That's right."

  "I've made up my mind, too," she said, voice vibrating with fury. "If Blackjack leaves, so do I."

  Chapter Eighteen

  Maddie turned on her heel, prepared to march back to her room and slam the door, sealing her grand exit, but Jack was too quick. He caught her around the waist and hauled her up against his broad chest. "You're not leaving," he growled in her ear.

  "Don't tell me what to do."

  She struggled against him, but his grip was like a steel clamp, and the longer she was pressed against him, the less she wanted to escape. The scent of pine and leather and Jack enveloped her as completely as his strong arms. She looked down and saw his powerful bronze hand spread out on her belly. His touch was warm, the heat radiating from his hand all the way to her toes.

  "Then say you won't leave."

  "Say Blackjack can stay."

  "Damn it, Maddie. It's not safe to have a dangerous bear so close."

  "We'll build him an enclosure."

  "Not good enough. I want him gone."

  "Let me go." She shoved at him again, but he pulled her tighter.

  "I can't, sweetheart," he whispered, and she was surprised at the need and the vulnerability she heard in his voice. Or had she simply imagined it? His steel grip hadn't lessened. "I can't let you go. I won't."

  "And I won't be a prisoner, kept under lock and key and your ridiculous mandates."

  "You'd like my mandates." His lips tickled her ear, his wicked innuendo making her shiver.

  "I might."

  His hand slid lower, sending small swirls of pleasure into her belly and between her thighs. She was wet for him, and yet she refused to give in.

  She turned her head so she could look into his dark eyes. "But I'm not another one of your servants, Jack. I won't be ordered about. I want to be your partner, your equal—in all things. I have my own mandates."

  Jack raised
a brow, a sinful gleam in his eyes. "Oh, really? Such as?"

  She turned in his arms. "Such as, Blackjack stays."

  Jack scowled and began to pull away, but she ran a finger down his throat, touching him lightly, opening the placket of his shirt. Jack stood immobile as she parted the material, revealing the bonze skin of his chest. On tiptoes, she kissed the stubble under his chin, then his throat, where she felt his pulse throb steadily.

  His hands came back around her, pressing her flush against him. Maddie smiled and kissed him again, trailing her lips down his flesh and then tracing her earlier path with her tongue.

  "I like how you taste, Jack."

  "I love how you taste. Take this dress off."

  Maddie pulled back and held up a chiding finger. "Oh, no. Tonight I'm the one with the mandates."

  He spread his hands. "Very well. What are your orders?"

  She ran her hands over his shirt, dipping them into his waistband and pulling the white tails free. "Take off your shirt," she whispered.

  Unusually obedient, Jack lifted the tails and began to pull the material over his head. As his bronze flesh was revealed, Maddie bent to kiss him, touching lips and tongue to his hard abdomen, then to the smattering of hair on his chest, and ending once again at the pounding pulse point at his throat. She noticed his blood was throbbing even harder now.

  "Do you want me, Jack?" she whispered, punctuating her soft words with a quick nip at his flesh.

  "God, yes." His hands were on her hips, and he pulled her against his hard erection. Maddie trailed her hand along his shoulders, down his chest, pressed against the muscles of his abdomen. His flesh quivered, and then she dipped into his trousers.

  She could feel his velvet tip, and it moved at her first touch. Jack groaned, and Maddie, as aroused as he was now, flicked open his trousers, sliding them over his slim hips. He was bare underneath the material, and his manhood sprung free. Sliding her hands around to squeeze his buttocks, she cradled him close to her woman's heat.

  "I need you, Maddie."

  "Show me."

  His hands were immediately on her, ruching her skirt up, searching for the source of that heat she knew he craved. As soon as he touched her, her knees buckled and he was the strong one again. He went down with her, kneeling on the plush rug before her, kissing her, touching her oh so intimately in the ways he knew she liked best.

  She felt as though it had been years since he'd last been inside her. Her body had missed his touch, the ecstasy he could give, and before she knew what was happening, she was clutching his shoulders and crying out as pleasure shook her.

  When she opened her eyes again, Jack was rising. "The bed," he said, breathing labored. "I want you on the bed."

  Maddie reached up and touched his erection, circled it with her hand. Jack sank down beside her again. "And I want you here," she told him. "Lie down."

  "Maddie—"

  "Do it, Jack." He obliged her, and she crawled on top of him, her legs straddling him, her knees cushioned by the luxurious rug. "I have a proposal for you."

  Jack's eyes were dark with desire. "A proposal?"

  "Mmm-hmm." She loosened the bodice of her gown, tugged it down, then went to work on her stays and chemise. Jack's eyes were riveted. "You want Blackjack gone. I want him to stay."

  "Not the bear again."

  Maddie finally freed her breasts from the stays, and she tugged the chemise down. Jack's hand automatically reached up to finger her nipple. "I propose—mmm, that feels good. I propose a game."

  "I don't have the patience for games," Jack said, gripping her hips so his erection brushed against her core.

  "Then you'll surely lose. The object of the game is to have the most patience. Whoever finds fulfillment first, loses."

  Jack was watching her now, his expression arrogant. "You'll lose."

  "And if I do, then I grant you one wish. Whatever you desire. And if I win—"

  "You won't."

  "If I win, you grant me one wish."

  "Whatever you want, sweetheart," he groaned, moving against her. Maddie readjusted, allowing the tip of his erection to enter her. But she rose up so that when he tried to plunge deeper, he couldn't.

  "Do you promise, Jack? Whatever I want?"

  "Yes, yes. God, you're hot. Maddie ..."

  She lowered herself a fraction of an inch, taking more of him inside. Now her mind was swirling, the feel of him inside her undeniably erotic. The urge to take all of him, to lower herself and ride him, was almost overwhelming.

  "Prepare to lose, Jack," she managed before he thrust inside her and all coherent thought fled.

  "Bloody, goddamn bear," Jack said some time later. He was sprawled on the soft carpet, a sated Maddie draped over him.

  Unfortunately, she hadn't been sated soon enough. He'd lost her bloody proposal.

  "Profanity won't help you," she murmured, her breath light and warm on his shoulder. "It was a fair fight."

  "Fair? How was it fair? You were one climax ahead of me before we even began."

  She rose on one elbow and smiled at him. Her blue eyes were dark with the pleasure he'd given her, her mouth swollen from his kisses. "And yet, you were confident you would win."

  "I should have." He touched her rosy lips.

  "You lost, Jack. My wish is that we keep Blackjack. Are you going to go back on your word? I thought you were a gentleman."

  He laughed at that. "Hardly, sweetheart. But I do honor my bets. We keep the bear, but he's moving outside. And I'm keeping you nearby. You're sleeping in here, with me."

  And, devil take him, one of these days he was going to have her in a bed. He glanced up at his bed, the clawed feet of which were near his head. He'd been so close.

  Maddie yawned. "Sleep sounds good."

  Jack agreed, and he rose, pulling her to her feet. Naked, she leaned against the bedpost while he pulled back the lavish sheets and coverlet.

  "I hope that bed is as comfortable as it looks," she said. "I have a busy day tomorrow."

  Jack's hand, wrapped around the soft sheets, clenched. "Doing what?"

  She waved a hand and yawned again. "Visiting my charities. You heard my father. I've been terribly remiss in my duties."

  "I told you that's done. Give money, host an event, but I won't have you risking yourself, running all about Town." Running right into one of Bleven's traps.

  Maddie paused mid-yawn and glared at him. "And I thought I told you not to give me orders. I'm not one of your servants."

  Jesus Christ. Jack felt like banging his skull on the headboard. The woman was going to drive him into Bedlam. She was going on again about orders and equality, and he knew it could continue all night.

  So he did the only thing he could think of. He pushed her against the bedpost and kissed her.

  She was less than receptive, so he kissed her again, then nuzzled her neck. Her arms came around him, pulling him closer. He bent to kiss her throat, his hands coming up to cup her breasts. "Sweetheart, I have another proposal for you."

  Her breathing quickened, and Jack had a feeling she wouldn't be able to refuse.

  * * * * *

  Maddie frowned as she watched Jack's valet help him into his coat. "I don't see how I'm going to choose just one charity, Lord Blackthorne," she complained. "It's not possible."

  Jack brushed at the sleeve of the coat and nodded to the valet, dismissing the man. "It's only for a few months. And you agreed to the proposal."

  She pursed her lips. "You tricked me."

  Jack laughed. "You're damn right I did. Ready for breakfast?"

  The door closed behind the valet, and Maddie leaned back on the bed. "How can I think about food when I have so many other, much more important items on my mind?"

  Jack shrugged. "Don't think. Just eat." He moved toward the door. "And you need have only one thing on your mind. Me."

  Maddie sighed and fell back on the soft mattress. Why had she agreed to Jack's stupid proposal? How could she possibly choose
between the Widow's Benevolent Society and the Orphan's Munificent Society? Widows and orphans alike needed her.

  And what about the war veterans and the animal societies? Who would help if she didn't?

  "Madeleine, I'm not going to change my mind. You actively participate in only one society for the time being."

  She looked up to see Jack towering triumphantly over her. All her life she'd fought her father for the right to pursue her charitable interests, and then in a moment of blind lust she'd lost all she'd worked so hard for. Or perhaps she'd lost it long before—the first moment Jack jumped into her carriage.

  "You really have no heart, do you?" she said, raising herself on her elbows. "How can you be so callous? How can you stand there, looking so smug, as though winning a wager with me is more important than helping children?"

  "Because my first priority is protecting you. You want to help children? Fine, we'll give all the societies in the country a donation." He took her roughly by the shoulders. "But I won't risk you."

  "And I won't be locked up like a pretty bird, all show and no value. That's not a life."

  Jack's dark eyes turned stormy, his eyebrows coming together in a black slash. "It's better than the alternative. You think you're invincible, that nothing can touch you." He was shaking now, shaking her shoulders and shaking with fury. "But you're not invincible. You're not safe. And I'll be damned if I lose you the same way I lost—"

  With a growl, he released her, pushing her back and turning away. Maddie sat stunned for a long moment and then bounded off the bed, darting under Jack's arm and blocking the door before he could open it. "Wait, Jack. Finish your sentence. Who did you lose?"

  "No one." He tried to push her aside, but she wedged her shoulder against the door tightly and reached out to place her hand on his chest.

  "Tell me."

  She saw his jaw clench, and for a moment she was certain he would sweep past her, shutting her out once again. Forever.

  And then his eyes softened and his features relaxed. The pain she saw in his face sliced through her, and she put her arms around him. "Oh, Jack," she whispered.

  "You say I have no heart." His voice was raspy, but the deep bass rumbled through her. "Do you know how many times I've heard that whispered about me?"