Mine, All Mine

by Dayna Quince

  “Oh drat,” she said, turning to face him. “You caught me.”

  Dominic smiled wolfishly. “Not yet, Miss James, but soon.”

  For a moment, Lilly’s eyes widened in alarm. Could that statement have a double meaning? No, it could not—he was only being his wicked self.

  “Out of the kitchens to spy on the aristocracy, I see.” He leaned closer, forcing her to step back against the pillar.

  No good ever came when he got that close to her. “I only came out of the kitchens to see if any more pastries needed to be made. As high on those horses as you and your friends sit, you certainly eat like you were born in a pen.”

  He chuckled. “I think you forgot your place again, Miss James.” He took her arm in a vice-like grip and led her through the hidden door Lilly had used to sneak into the room. The hall on the other side was dark and deserted. Lilly’s body tensed, knowing she needed to be on guard with this sinful man. Was he going to reprimand her for the insulting comment? She hoped.

  “I should punish you for that insult to my guests. You just can’t seem to control that mouth of yours, can you?”

  The angry words caused Lilly to blush with shame. She looked down contritely and immediately noticed his calm, relaxed hands. Her head snapped up to meet his eyes, instantly noting their glowing hot blue that was easily seen in the dim corridor. He was backing her against the wall, his hands lightly stroking her arms as her back collided with the wood paneling.

  "My lord, I’m sorr—”

  “Tsk tsk,” he said mockingly. “That mouth, it’s always getting you into trouble.” He swooped down, taking her mouth in a punishing kiss.

  Her small hands clung to his forearms like anchors as her mind scattered into a million pieces.

  Lilly knew to resist would be useless. If it were not for his body holding her to the wall, her legs would have given out moments ago. She clung for dear life, clung to his arms, clung to his lips that pushed her senses to heights she did not know she could reach, from just kissing a man. She was addicted to the fire he created inside her and knew it was dangerous to let him get so close, but when it came to him, to this one man, she had no control. Not of him and not of herself. She had to stop it.

  He abruptly ended the kiss. “I believe that will be enough punishment for tonight. Back to the kitchens with you, wench.”

  Lilly narrowed her eyes angrily. She knew if she had not been leaning against the wall, those words would have been followed by a slap on the rump. Wench, was she? We will see about that!

  “Aye, guv’nor,” she said cheekily. Then she leaned in close to his ear. “I was right earlier. Pigs the lot of you, graceless, sloppy pigs.” Then she turned and walked back into the kitchen, using the regal walk of a duchess meant to put all lesser mortals in their place.

  Dominic stared after her with a puzzled frown. Did she just call him ungraceful and sloppy, when he was only moments ago kissing her senseless? And where the hell did she learn to walk like that? He turned and reentered the drawing room. Maybe that walk was ingrained in all women. He had seen more than a few try to pull it off and—with the exception of his mother, who could conquer a country with a single stare—no one ever came close. There was something different about this girl. If only he could put his finger on it.

  Her mouth was a sweet escape he could not get enough of, and in his deepest thoughts, that terrified him. Only the foulest of men debauched their servants, and yet here he was, kissing this woman like a dying man. She had looked up at him timidly that night, her eyes dreamy and warm. She was so damn beautiful, it nearly knocked him off his feet. He was a monster after all, and he felt like the devil for all the ways he wanted to use her body to seek the pleasure and happiness he did not deserve.

  It took all his effort just to keep from reaching out to her again. Low born though she might be, she was too good for him to taint with his dirty soul. I did the right thing, he told himself. Chance was right; he was a beast to have even kissed her, and now he was hunting her like prey. If by some miracle, he could purge this insatiable need for her, he would save them both from the sheer madness of the impossible attraction between them. It would take a miracle, and God did not grant miracles to men like him.

  Where was his conscience, his damn honor? Did the stain of war rid him of even the smallest moral guidance? He shook his head as if he could clear it of his insanity and returned to his guests.

  The following evening Dominic sat in his study, blindly flipping through his estate ledgers.

  “So I understand Lord Douglas has contacted you again.”

  Dominic looked up from his forgotten papers to see Chance idly stroll into his study. With a sigh, he sat back in his comfortably worn leather chair.

  “So it would seem, but how did you hear about it if the situation is as delicate as Lord Douglas implied?”

  “He thought you could use my help, although he didn’t tell me exactly why. Care to fill me in?”

  Dominic had no qualms about telling Chance about the investigation. In fact, he had been meaning to enlist his friend’s aid, but the enchanting Miss James had proven to be a considerable distraction. So distracting, that so far he had been completely ignoring most of his duties and responsibilities.

  A scary thought. Dominic had never put a woman before his patriotic duty, and he did not want to contemplate the reasons why. She was a challenge, which was all.

  “I’m looking for a duke’s daughter,” Dominic finally said. “She may know the whereabouts of her treasonous stepfather or of a necklace that was stolen in route from the King of Spain to the Prince Regent. It is worth a large fortune, and since you are acquainted with just about everyone in our society, I could definitely use your help to find her."

  “Miss St. James is the young lady you are looking for, I presume?

  “Yes, how did you know?”

  “I am very well acquainted with her, and her absence has been quite a sensation. However, I don’t know which distant family, if any, she could have run to after the scandal.” Chance took a seat in front of Dominic’s desk and casually crossed an ankle over his knee.

  There was a soft knock on the door before Fields entered and bowed. “A note has arrived for you, Lord Willowton.” He held out a silver platter carrying a small sheaf of paper.

  Chance took the note and opened it while Fields excused himself.

  Dominic watched a flush of red sweep his friend’s face. “Is something wrong, Chance?”

  “No,” Chance snapped. He was silent for a long moment before raising his gaze. “Made any conquests lately, Dom?”

  Bewildered, Dominic shook his head. He had never seen such restrained anger emanating from his usually calm and content friend and was even more confused as to why it was directed at him.

  “I haven’t touched a woman in weeks, Chance, you know that.”

  “What about the maid?”

  “What maid?”

  “The kitchen maid!” Chance bellowed.

  “What the hell are you talking about, Chance?” Dominic growled in rising anger.

  “The girl Dominic, the one you told me about. I told you to leave her alone. She was…too innocent, too—” Chance stood angrily and turned away.

  “Too what, Chance? And what does that damn note have to do with her?” Dominic watched him with a growing coldness in his chest.

  “Nothing.” Chance suddenly turned toward him, an unemotional mask in place.

  Dominic narrowed his eyes, rose from his seat, and prowled around the desk. “You don’t lie worth a damn, Chance. Now, what interests do you have in my kitchen staff after you called me a monster for even looking at her?” An odd emotion was spreading across Dominic’s insides, and it felt suspiciously like jealousy.

  “Christ, Dom, I don’t have any interest in her except for her welfare. She’s a sweet girl and I don’t want to see anything happen to her.”

  “Is the note from her? Let me see it.” Dominic snatched at it.

  Chanc
e smiled as he jerked it out of Dominic’s reach. “No.” He tucked it in his jacket and turned to leave. “The note is coincidental, that’s all, but I must be going, for it is urgent.”

  Dominic followed him. Amongst the maelstrom of emotions now rumbling inside him, some odd pieces were beginning to fit together. A cook’s assistant with impeccable speech, butter-soft skin, and the high-handedness of a duchess. Things his lust-clouded mind tried to instantly refuse, but his instincts were pricked and on alert.

  “Damn it, Chance, what is going on?” He followed him to the front door as Fields handed Chance his cloak and gloves.

  “Nothing is going on, Dom. Stop acting like a damn spy. You’ll have to learn to trust at some point, old man.”

  “Tell me or I’ll beat it out of you,” Dominic threatened. He felt on the brink of madness.

  Chance finally dropped his facade and looked Dominic in the eyes. “I can’t, Dom. Not yet, and that’s all I can say.”

  “But you will tell me?”

  “I hope that I can, but it’s not my secret to share.” Chance looked away guiltily.

  “I can’t stand secrets, Chance, you know that. It just isn’t in me. I have very few people to trust in this life, and I don’t want to lose one more.”

  “You can trust me, Dom, don’t ever doubt that,” Chance said beseechingly.

  “You’re lying to me, how can I trust you?” Dominic was breathing heavily; he felt like he was on the verge of something enormous, struggling in the dark of his emotions until someone would take pity on him and reveal the light.

  “I don’t want to lie, but I have to protect… Just trust me, trust our friendship. I have to go, Dom.”

  That was when it all fell into place. Dominic stared stonily at the door as it shut behind Chance. He would need more proof to confirm it, but it was just insane enough to probably be true. A duke’s daughter, in his house, and he’d had his hands all over her.

  Chapter 7

  Dominic watched the small argument that ensued between his best friend and the woman who haunted his thoughts and dreams with curiosity. It was obvious they knew each other beyond mere acquaintances. In fact, they acted like brother and sister. They certainly quarreled like it from Dominic’s point of view, about four yards away between the shadows of the house and a garden shed.

  “I need to go back tonight, Chance. Are you coming with me or not?”

  “Not. And you’re not going back either. It’s not safe, Lilly. He’s probably got henchmen crawling all over that house looking for the necklace and you. So why are you willing to walk right in there?”

  “I grew up in that house. I know it better than anyone. I can get in and out without being seen.”

  “Keep your voice down,” Chance hissed. “Do you want to wake up the entire household and explain to Dominic, the very man investigating your disappearance, why you are out here with me, screaming like a hoyden?”

  “He’s investigating me?” she whispered back.

  “Yes.”

  “That’s just one more reason I need to find the necklace and get out of London.”

  “No, Lilly, it’s too dangerous.”

  “What else can I do, Chance? I’m in danger no matter what I do.”

  “Just stay here. Go to bed and tomorrow I will come and get you.”

  “But Chance—”

  “No. Go to bed, Lilly.”

  Even from Dominic’s position, he could see the mutinous look on her face. She turned back into the house and closed the kitchen door before Chance could say another word. Cursing to himself, Chance strode back into the night. Dominic could hear the distant creaks and rumbles as a carriage exited the alley behind the house.

  Dominic didn’t have to wait long before the kitchen door opened once more and a cloaked figure emerged.

  “So predictable, my dear,” Dominic said to himself.

  The cloaked figure moved steadily from shadow to shadow, never knowing that Dominic trailed behind. While his prey clumsily snagged branches and scuffed her shoes on the pavement, Dominic never made a sound. His prey shivered in the cold night air, her thin cloak no real barrier against the chilly breeze. Dominic estimated they had traveled about four blocks from his house but still in the heart of fashionable London. His prey stopped and entered an alley dense with shadows and unknown dangers. Following quickly behind her, he could see the outline of a gate leading to the side gardens of a large house.

  Lilly winced as the creak of the gate echoed throughout the alley—or at least it sounded like it in her panicked mind. She was amazed that she could hear anything beyond the pounding of her own heart. As much as she tried to calm herself, she had to admit she was scared half out of her wits and regretting ever leaving the safety of Lord Redwick’s manor. Not wasting any more time, Lilly darted from shadow to shadow along the thankfully overgrown garden path. She crouched behind a large fern and looked up to what used to be the window of her old room. The climbing roses that once thrived below her window now hung limp and lifeless. Lilly hoped the wood lattice underneath still held tightly to the stone. She scanned the open area around her, looking for any movement or noise but found none.

  “Come on, coward,” she said to herself. “Your life is at stake and this is your only option.” With a final deep breath for courage, Lilly sped for the lattice, beginning to climb the instant her hands reached the wood. She was no stranger to climbing to her window in the dark of night, although it had been a few years. There had been many midnight excursions between her house and Olivia Brentton’s next door. However, the fear that pushed her on this night was not overlaid with excitement. Reaching her window, she tested the sill and nearly cried in relief as she slid the window up.

  Reaching the inside of her old room, Lilly took stock of her remaining nerves and waited for her eyes to adjust. Odd but familiar shapes began to take form, and the memories of her past began to form a layout—provided her room hadn’t been ransacked by Mr. Hollow’s ruffians. Everything looked as she had left it the day she escaped with the servants. Her bed was neatly made and her trinkets and ornaments collected over the years still neatly in place on her nightstand. How she wished she could erase the memories of servitude and crawl into bed as if it were all a bad dream. But no, it had all happened. Nightmare after nightmare, day after day, all as real as the very air she breathed.

  She neared her vanity table. Her silver brushes were still neatly in place, but her jewelry box had been dumped and picked through. Mourning the loss of her favorite pearl earrings, given to her by her Great Aunt Agatha, Lilly turned away and brushed the tears from her eyes. This was not the time to lose control of herself, let alone break down into the gut-wrenching sobs that were currently threatening. She turned to the armoire and opened the elaborately carved wooden doors. Fingering the soft silks and brocades of her now musty gowns, she felt another tear glide down her cheek.

  Reaching behind her gowns, she searched for the notch in the wood and slid the invisible panel open. Blindly, she felt around the small square compartment cleverly hidden inside the false backing of her armoire until her fingers found the softly worn fur of her stuffed bear. Pulling it free into the dim light, she softly fingered the small black beaded eyes and threadbare nose. She had been given the bear when she was five years old by Ellie, the only family she had left in the world, it seemed. She had held it close every night since then, especially when the weather raged, pelting the house with rain and shaking the earth with thunder. Holding it close to her chest, Lilly breathed in the musty but familiar smell and fought the tears that stung the back of her eyes.

  “If only you could get me through these troubled times, too.”

  Suddenly Lilly’s head snapped up. Her body seemed to be tingling with awareness, but before she could turn to face the presence she sensed behind her, a strong arm wrapped around her and a firm hand covered her mouth.

  “Don’t scream,” a familiar voice said. “They already know someone is up here. Promise me you w
on’t make a sound, and I will get us both out of here alive. Agreed?”

  Lilly nodded. She tried to turn her head and meet his gaze, but he was focused on the bedroom door. He released her from the cage of his arm and gently took her hand. Lilly indicated the window as their means of a way out, but Dominic only shook his head. Her eyes widened in fright. He pulled her silently to the door after showing her how to place her feet so she wouldn’t make any sound. Clutching the bear close to her side, she made no objection. She knew if she were caught by her stepfather’s thugs, it would be the end of her life. She would worry about Dominic after they escaped the house, since for the moment he seemed to be the lesser of the two evils.

  Silently opening the bedroom door, Dominic scanned the hall. Apparently finding no presence lurking in the darkness, he pulled Lilly into the hall and against the opposite wall.

  Keeping to the wall to blend with the shadows, they cautiously made their way to the back stairway primarily used by servants. Dominic’s goal seemed to be to get to the back kitchen door. Reaching the last step of the stairwell, Dominic and Lilly froze as they heard voices in the kitchen.

  “What’d ya find, Jake?”

  “Nothin’ in the dining room or the back parlor. I even tore up the carpet,” Jake answered.

  “I’m gonna strangle that bitch when I find her and make her give up the damn necklace. I shoulda taken her when I ’ad the chance."

  The familiar gruff voice was like a shower of terror over Lilly. With frightening clarity, she could remember the moment beside the stable when she was pinned against the wall having her very breath squeezed out of her.

  “Where’d the bloke say to look next, Dan?” Jake asked. He sounded much younger than Lilly’s attacker, who presumably was named Dan.

  “He said the chit’s room, then her ma’s room.”

  They could hear the crinkle of paper and Lilly felt Dominic tense.