by Connie Mason
At that moment Alexa felt as if she had never really known Charles although they had been friends for years. Can it be he had a completely different personality he kept hidden from her? She gagged when he forced his tongue between her lips and managed a hoarse scream when his fingers invaded her secret place that until now had been sacrosanct. Charles mistook her scream and writhing for rising passion.
“That’s it, honey, move,” he grunted as he prepared to mount her. “I knew you’d like it. Soon we’ll be man and wife and can do this as often as we like.”
The thought sobered Alexa as she prepared herself for his violation. Surely this isn’t the way it’s meant to be, she silently lamented. So much for romance! Cringing inwardly she felt something moist and hard probing between her thighs. Then suddenly the weight was gone from her body and she drew in a long, shuddering breath.
“Are you all right. Lady Alexa?” a deep voice asked.
Abruptly Alexa sat up, squinting in the moonlight as she tried to identify the figure framed in the doorway. There was no mistaking those broad shoulders and muscular thighs encased in dull silver. Although they hadn’t been properly introduced she spoke his name easily.
“Lord Penwell! What … what are you doing here?”
“Saving a damsel in distress,” he quipped arrogantly. “Or did I make a mistake?”
“No … no mistake. I’m … I’m afraid Charles has had too much to drink and … and … well … how embarrassing,” she stammered, blushing in the darkness.
“No need to explain, milady. I have two good eyes, as well as two good ears. I knew what your fiance was doing and I can’t say I blame him.”
Eyes like two shards of ice reflected in the moonglow, fixed on Alexa’s full breasts almost completely exposed, and then fell to her slim legs and shapely thighs. Immediately Alexa’s hands flew to set her clothing right and she turned her back on Adam as she covered her breasts as best she could with the torn edges of her bodice and smoothed her skirts down over her hips and thighs.
Suddenly a loud groan drew both their attention as Charles picked himself rather painfully off the floor where Adam had unceremoniously tossed him.
“Wha … what happened?” he asked, dazed. For the first time he saw Adam and grew indignant when he realized what had happened. “How dare you interfere!” he snapped peevishly. “My fiancée and I were having a private conversation. You owe us an apology, Lord Penwell.”
“From where I stood it looked as if you were attempting more than mere conversation,” said Adam suggestively. “When the lady protested I felt obliged to step in.”
“You Colonials presume too much,” Charles protested violently. “You don’t belong in polite society, you’re no better than savages!”
A taut smile twisted Adam’s mouth as Alexa watched the two men warily. She felt certain something dreadful would happen if she did not intervene. But what could she do?
“Charles, please,” Alexa pleaded, “I don’t want any trouble. Lord Penwell did what he thought best under the circumstances. I’m certain you’ll feel differently in the morning.”
With the mention of morning Charles grew livid with rage. “Perhaps you’ve forgotten that I’ll be gone in the morning, Alexa, and this was our last chance to … er … talk privately before I sailed. I am your fiance, after all. What business has this Colonial to butt in where he’s not wanted. I have a good notion to teach him a lesson.”
Heedless of his drunken state, or perhaps due to it. Charles launched himself full tilt at the unsuspecting Adam, only to be neatly sidestepped by the quick-thinking new lord. Not to be thwarted. Charles roused himself for another attack, but this time he met the solid front of a doubled fist as Adam’s natural reflexes required that he defend himself. Charles hit the floor like a sack of potatoes as Adam rubbed his knuckles thoughtfully.
Alexa was stunned. From the moment she walked out the French doors with Charles things had happened so swiftly that she could do little more than stand and gape at the inert form of her fiance.
“You’ve killed him!” she gasped, finally finding her voice.
“No such luck,” sneered Adam scathingly. “Your young popinjay will recover to take to the sea tomorrow.”
“You didn’t have to hit him so hard,” she accused.
“I could have just gone away and let him assault you,” Adam challenged cynically.
“I’d better go back to the house and get some help,” Alexa said, ignoring Adam’s gibe.
“Looking like that?” Adam asked, cocking one well-shaped brow suggestively. “That ought to cause quite a stir.”
Glancing down at her tattered and rumpled gown, Alexa realized that Adam spoke the truth. Somehow she’d have to sneak up to her room and send word down to her father that she’d developed a sudden headache.
“I can sneak up to my room through the back entrance, but what about Charles?” Alexa asked. “We just can’t leave him lying there.”
Had Alexa looked into Adam’s eyes at that exact moment she would have run for her life. An unnatural light glowed from those silver orbs and he smiled as if destiny was about to be fulfilled. “I’ll have my friend see him safely to his ship. By tomorrow he’ll be so busy looking for the Fox that he’ll forget everything that happened tonight. I’ve a good notion he’s too drunk to remember anyway.”
“I … I don’t know,” hedged Alexa, sitting on the horns of dilemma. “Shouldn’t we tell someone?”
“Do you want it bandied about by the scandalmongers that your fiance got drunk and assaulted you? That he was knocked cold by an earl of little account? It’s entirely up to you, milady.”
“No … no,” protested Alexa, picturing in her mind the embarrassment she would endure by returning to the ballroom practically naked. “Your way is much more discreet. I’ll … I’ll make it up to Charles when he returns. He would have never acted so rashly had he not been in his cups.”
“You show good sense, milady,” mocked Adam. “Wait here while I summon my friend. Then I’ll see you to the back entrance.” He slipped out the door so silently Alexa had to look twice to make sure he was gone.
Sighly heavily, Alexa sat down, trying to puzzle out just where the evening went awry. One moment she was laughing and dancing with her dashing fiance and the next she was fighting off a drunken rapist she barely knew. And how did it happen that Lord Penwell should show up at so crucial a moment? It wasn’t as if the summerhouse was in a likely place for a stranger to be casually strolling by. That’s why Charles chose it. Something here didn’t quite mesh but for the life of her Alexa couldn’t figure it out.
In a surprisingly short time Adam returned with the redheaded man she had seen him conversing with in the ballroom. “Lady Alexa, may I present my friend, Logan MacHugh? Everyone calls him Mac. He graciously agreed to take your … uh … fiance safely back to his ship.”
Alexa thought Mac looked slightly dubious but put it down to the unusual circumstances. Embarrassed by her dishevelled appearance, Alexa said, “I’m pleased to meet you, Mac, and I’m grateful for your help.”
Mac shot Adam a scathing glance before replying. “Anything to help a damsel in distress, milady. I only hope you won’t come to hate me for this.”
Misunderstanding his meaning, Alexa smiled gratefully. “How could I? You’ve but come to the aid of a friend and in so doing helped solve my dilemma. My fiance has imbibed too freely and it is best for all concerned that he is returned to his ship before his actions cause a scandal.”
“I’ll look after him well, milady,” promised Mac. “He’ll soon be safely in his bunk sleeping it off.”
With surprising ease Mac hefted Charles’s limp body over his shoulder and left the summerhouse, soon disappearing into the dark shadows. Now all Alexa had to think about was getting up to her room without being seen and sending a maid to inform her father of her indisposition. She looked to Adam expectantly.
“I think we’d better leave,” she suggested, peering anxiou
sly into the darkness. “Someone might take a notion to come out here.”
For the first time since he had unexpectedly shown up inside the summerhouse, Adam slowly approached Alexa until he stood within inches of her slim form, his warm breath caressing her cheek. Against his better judgment he drew her close until their bodies touched, her ripe breasts pressed intimately against his gray jacket, their lips inches apart. Mesmerized, Alexa felt certain he would kiss her and for some unexplained reason her heart beat faster in anticipation.
But when she dared to look up at him his silver eyes regarded her with barely concealed contempt and she instinctively drew back, breaking the spell. Her own violet eyes regarded him with confusion. For a brief moment his gaze softened to a caress but just as swiftly disappeared to be replaced by an expression of cool amusement tinged with something she could not decipher.
“Come along, Lady Alexa,” Adam said, grasping her firmly by the elbow. “You’re right, of course, we’d best leave.”
Silently they left the summerhouse with Adam guiding her in a circular path to the back of the mansion where darkness enveloped them like a shroud. So engrossed was Alexa on entering the house without being seen that she did not notice the closed carriage standing close by the back door.
The noise from the party was muted back here and the revelry only remotely apparent. Evidently the servants were occupied at the front of the house seeing to the many guests. Alexa heaved a sigh of relief as she made unerringly toward the door. For some unexplained reason she felt tense and ill at ease. Though attracted to the handsome Lord Penwell, Alexa did not trust him Those compelling gray eyes did strange things to her, things she could not explain, but feared.
“Thank you, my lord,” Alexa said, turning to Adam. “I’ll be fine now. Don’t let me detain you.”
The grip on her elbow tightened and Alexa knew a moment of panic. It grew and magnified when Adam’s hand fell to her waist, dragging her backwards, away from the door and safety.
“What’s the meaning of this, sir?” she cried out in dismay. “Let me go this minute!”
“I’m sorry, milady, but you’re coming with me. Your family owes me a debt and I’ve come to collect.”
“Then see my father,” Alexa retorted. “I’m sure he’ll be glad to pay you.”
“Oh, he’ll pay, all right. With something dearer than money,” insisted Adam cryptically. “Come along quietly and you won’t be hurt.”
Alexa’s first thought was that she was being kidnapped for ransom. But she quickly discarded the idea when Lord Penwell said he wanted more than money. What could he want? Alexa wondered fearfully. Some favor? He said he wouldn’t hurt her, could she believe him? For want of a better idea she decided to scream, but Adam anticipated her and clapped a restraining hand over her mouth.
“I told you to come along quietly,” he reprimanded, annoyed. “I’m afraid you’re forcing me to become rough.”
Without warning a cloth was jammed into her mouth and she was slung over one of Adam’s broad shoulders, her head dangling helplessly down his back. Her arms and legs beat ceaselessly against his well-muscled body but he paid it little heed. When he reached the carriage Alexa had failed to notice, he flung her inside and flopped down beside her. Almost immediately the carriage jerked forward and Alexa cast one frantic look back at her home slowly disappearing as the carriage gathered speed.
Alexa had no way of knowing, but from that moment on her life would never be the same.
2
Finding her hands free Alexa pulled the cloth from her mouth, gasping and sputtering in an effort to catch her breath. Fear and anger knotted inside her and she began to shake as fearful images built in her fertile mind.
That Lord Penwell was a dangerous man she never doubted. He exuded strength and authority from every pore. His very presence commanded respect and attention. Alexa held little doubt that the man could be brutal when crossed. But what did he want with her? she asked herself, puzzled. From the few words he spoke she gathered her abduction had something to do with her father. And her mother, even though that poor woman had been dead and buried these fifteen years.
Beside her. Adam was tense, his eyes and body alert for any sign of pursuit. He doubted if Alexa had even been missed yet, especially since she was last seen with her fiancé. And if Mac had done his job, Charles should be safely in his bunk sleeping off his hangover. If luck was with him The Gallant would sail off in search of the elusive Fox without Charles ever knowing Alexa had mysteriously disappeared.
When they reached the deserted docks Adam heaved a sigh of relief and turned to face an enraged Alexa. “We’re nearly there, milady,” he coldly informed her.
“Nearly where?” shot back Alexa, peering into the darkness. Though the tangy odor of the sea assaulted her senses she would not give him the satisfaction of admitting she knew where they were.
“You’ll know soon enough,” replied Adam as the carriage skidded to a halt.
Grasping Alexa by the wrist Adam hauled her from the conveyance and pulled her toward a long wharf at the end of which a shadowy ship rode quietly at anchor. The moment she realized their destination Alexa balked, digging her heels into the rotted wood of the quay.
“No!” she gasped, panting in terror. “I won’t go! Why are you doing this to me, Lord Penwell?”
“You may as well become accustomed to using my name,” Adam replied, ignoring her outburst. “It’s Adam. Adam Foxworth. Lord Penwell is too new and sits uncomfortably upon my shoulders. In America a title means nothing.”
“Please. Lord Penwell … Adam,” anything to placate him, she thought, “if you release me now I won’t tell anyone what happened. I’ll return quietly to my room and you can go about your business.”
“You are my business, milady.” Adam smiled tightly. “I’ve waited too many years for my revenge.” So saying he scooped up her resisting body in his brawny arms and hastened to the end of the dock, closing his ears against Alexa’s loud protests and cries of distress, telling himself that one insignificant woman mattered little in his scheme of things. Using the daughter was his one chance to avenge himself on a man he had despised for almost half his life.
Nearly to the end of the dock, Alexa saw that the gangplank of the ghostly ship had been let down and that Adam, impervious to her pleas, was heading directly for it. Panic like she’d never known before welled up in her throat. It seemed impossible that this could be happening to her. Wasn’t she the daughter of Sir John Ashley, a powerful man at court? Just what was Adam Foxworth going to do with her? That quick and disturbing thought tore at her insides.
Up the gangplank of the seemingly deserted ship, across the deck and down the ladder to a dark passageway. Then a door opened and Alexa found herself inside a small, damp cabin with little to commend it. A langern hung from a hook on the ceiling swinging slowly too and fro as gentle swells lapped against the dark hull of the mystery ship that was to be her prison. Once inside Adam set her on her feet. Gazing at him, Alexa could read nothing in his expression for it had become a mask constructed of stone.
“Your castle, milady,” he mocked, affecting an exaggerated bow.
Forgetting everything she had ever learned about how ladies should act. Alexa flew into a rage. “Damn you!” she cursed. “You’ll pay for this! My father won’t rest until you’re caught and punished for this cowardly act!”
“He’ll have to catch me first.” Adam smiled grimly, his dark face set in a vicious expression. With trepidation Alexa noted his tightly clamped mouth and glazed eyes and her heart sank. Instinctively she realized none of her wiles, or even her anger, would have the slightest effect on a man of Adam Foxworth’s calibre.
“Why do you hate my father?” she asked in a burst a resentment. “I’m sure he doesn’t even know you exist.”
“He’ll know, all right, after tonight. And he’ll remember, more than you know,” Adam assured her confidently. “Now I’ll bid you goodnight, milady. I hope you’ll be co
mfortable.” His tone suggested he cared little for her comfort.
“You’re leaving?” asked Alexa, dismayed. “Where are you going? You’re not going to leave me alone, are you?” As if to emphasize her words she clutched convulsively at his satin-clad arm.
“I thought you’d be pleased to see me go.” Adam quipped. “Don’t worry, you’ll be well taken care of in my absence. No one will harm you.”
When she continued to cling to him, her wide violet eyes dark with fear, Adam nearly lost his resolve as her nearness began to affect him in a strange way. She seemed so helpless, so lost that he felt an urge to protect her, to keep her safe, even from himself, which was impossible. For some unknown reason he wanted no other man to touch her, not even the estimable Charles, particularly not Charles, he thought grimly. He wanted to be the one to initiate her to love, to awaken her desires, to hear her cry out his name in passion.
Frozen in the grip of his storm-gray eyes, Alexa could neither move nor breathe. Her mouth was dry, her breath a hard knot in her throat. His face wore the smile of a wolf just before it closed hungry jaws on the rabbit. There was a hard arrogant strength in his expression, a repressed violence about him that called forth feelings she had never experienced before.
Then suddenly, in heated, vibrant and explosive need, his mouth caught hers in a kiss so deep that she was filled with wonder. Never had she been kissed in such a manner. Not even by Charles. When his tongue plundered the moist cavern of her mouth, she felt shock … and something else. A yearning in the secret recesses of her young body. Almost like an awakening.
When Adam slid his lips against the soft skin of her neck, slowly stroking it with his tongue. Alexa gasped aloud, tossed on the waves of her near-surrender. The sound served to clear her head. It also alerted Adam to the passage of time and he reluctantly pushed Alexa’s limp form away from his own hardening body. Now was not the time to dally with his enemy’s daughter, he thought ruefully. Plenty of time for that when they were safely away from London.