by Bobbi Smith
“So I’m picking your pockets, am I?” the sea captain challenged with mock outrage.
“I wish it were true,” Noah grumbled easily. “I’ve known for years that I was no match for you at the tables, but I’d hoped that my luck had changed.”
“It’s not luck, it’s talent,” Lyle explained pridefully with a wide smile as he counted the money before him. “What’ll it be, Matthew?”
“I think I’ll pass on the game,” Matt wisely declined, and he smiled at their disappointment.
“Then I’ll have to find some other pockets to pilfer,” the captain jested, and took his leave of the brothers.
After a pause, Noah turned to Matthew. “Was there something you wanted to see me about?” he prompted.
Though he and Matt had worked closely together on board the Lorelei the day before, they’d had little to say to each other. Noah had known that it was unusual for him to be so quiet, but he had assumed that Matt was just having trouble accepting that he had laid the law down about their returning to England. Now, since Matt had made the first move in initiating conversation between them again, he felt it was time to work at drawing him out.
“By the way, where’ve you been? We were looking for you earlier,” Noah asked.
“That’s all a part of what I wanted to speak with you about,” he replied, moving to stand by Noah’s window. Parting the drapes and glancing out across the darkened city in the direction of Faith’s house, he hesitated in what he was about to say.
“Yes, what is it?” Noah sensed that what Matt had to tell him was of some import and turned his full attention to him.
“I’ve made my decision, Noah.” Firm in his resolve, Matt turned away from the window to face his brother.
“Decision?” He was instantly tense as he recognized more than a little of the legendary Kincade determination reflected in Matt’s unyielding expression.
Unconsciously, Matt squared his shoulders as he prepared for what he knew was about to come. “Yes, about returning to England…I’m not going, Noah. My future is here, in Boston, and this is where I want to stay.”
“What?” Noah exploded. He had thought the matter settled, and now…“How can you even conceive of such an idiotic idea?” he demanded in his most imperious tone.
No longer an impressionable youth to be cowed by such a display from his big brother, Matt gave no ground. “I can conceive of such an ‘idiotic’ idea because the woman I love is here.”
“The woman you love?” Noah was incredulous.
“Yes. I love Faith Hammond and I intend to marry her; if she’ll have me, that is.”
“You what?”
“You heard me, Noah. I don’t think it’s necessary to repeat myself. As to where I’ve been today, I’ve been at the Hammond home dining with Faith and her mother, Ruth.”
“How can you even think of marrying Faith Hammond? She’s the chit you rescued off the streets….”
“I resent your implication.” Matt stiffened.
“Have you proposed to her yet?” he challenged quickly.
“No, not yet, but—”
“No ‘buts’ about it. You can just forget any plans you had for marriage, young man. You won’t be marrying any wench from the colonies. I’ll see to that!” He was almost bellowing as he came to his feet, nearly upsetting the card table he was sitting at.
“Like hell you will!” Matt countered, not about to allow Noah to bully him.
“What did you say?” Noah’s eyes narrowed in anger and his fury was barely leashed as he regarded him.
With cold precision, he answered, “I am going to marry Faith Hammond, and there is nothing you or anyone else can do to stop me. I had hoped you would understand, but…”
Noah felt the breach between them widening, and he suddenly feared losing his brother altogether. Matt was the only person he had left in the world. They were family. He’d had their future planned…. They were going to work together to reclaim the family fortunes…and now…
“Matt, what about our plans? What about Kincade Hall? Don’t you want to go back home and set things to rights?” He changed his tactics, knowing that to argue further would only serve to make him more stubborn and resentful.
“I know that it’s important to you, Noah, and I respect your desire to do it, but I’ve found that there are other things more essential to my happiness than money or possessions.”
“You won’t be able to live long without them, little boy,” he snapped, but Matt was unfazed.
“I’ve told you before how I felt about the colonies…. Everything is so fresh and new here. We still own two ships. We could make a decent living from the Lorelei and the Pride. Let’s rebuild our heritage, but let’s do it here in the Americas. The opportunities for growth and development are endless.”
Noah scowled, not wanting to listen to anything he was saying. “We will rebuild our heritage where it belongs! At Kincade Hall.”
“If you choose to do so, that’s your decision and not mine. I’ve made my choice—it’s Boston,” he answered grimly as he strode to the door.
“You know I control the purse strings until you’re twenty-one,” It was Noah’s last hope for controlling his unruly, defiant sibling, and one he had not wanted to use.
Drawing himself up to his full height, Matt replied with dignity, “Blackmail will not work. If the money means so much to you, then keep it. I want no part of it.”
“The wench means that much to you?”
“Faith is her name, and yes, she does mean that much to me. Now, if you will excuse me? I believe I’ll retire for the night.” Abruptly he quit the room, his happy mood dampened by his brother’s response.
Alone, Noah stood in silent confusion, trying to understand the changes in Matthew and trying to make some sense out of all that had happened. He had thought that he’d had their future planned out. They were going to work together to rebuild all that had been lost, to reclaim their lands and reestablish their name as one to be respected among the peerage. Now it seemed that Matt wanted no part of it. He had even refused his rightful share of what money they did have, if it meant giving up his own plan to remain in the colonies and marry the young woman he loved.
Love. The word hammered through Noah and brought a cynical twist to his lips. It was an emotion that had eluded him through the years, and one he seriously doubted truly existed. There was lust and greed, and that was it. Probably, he thought cynically, since the Hammond girl knew of Matt’s title, she thought she was latching on to a rich aristocrat. He gave a sharp, sarcastic laugh that echoed painfully in the silent room. A year ago that would have been true, but no longer.
Frustrated, Noah moved to the bed to lie down. Folding his arms beneath his head, he stared up at the ceiling with unseeing eyes. Unbidden memories of the ugliness of Radcliffe’s insult and the resulting duel came screeching through his thoughts, disturbing him deeply. In a rare moment of weariness, he considered how easy it would be to turn his back on the past and never go back. As quickly as it entered his mind, he pushed the thought from him, disturbed that he could even think of such a thing. He had to go back to England…. He had to restore the Kincade family’s place and honor in society.
Yet even as Noah reaffirmed to himself what he had to do, he couldn’t help but wonder as to the purpose of it all if Matthew wasn’t going to be there to share it with him. Feeling betrayed and very alone, he lay awake long into the night.
Chapter Fourteen
“I’m so pleased you agreed to come to dinner,” Eve cooed as she sat opposite Noah at her dining room table.
“I was delighted with your invitation, Eve,” he replied, and at that moment he meant it.
Noah had passed the last few days trying to decide how to deal with Matthew. He had approached his brother several times in an effort to discuss his plans with him further. However, Matt had been adamant about his decision, even though he had not yet proposed to Faith or been accepted. Despite his threat to the contrar
y, Noah had no intention of forbidding Matt his funds and so, finally, had let the matter drop. It pained him greatly that they had come to this, and yet he knew of no other way to reconcile their differences. Matt was as firmly determined to stay in the colonies as Noah was to return to England.
It was the need for distraction from his concern for Matt that had finally led him to accept Eve’s invitation to dinner. He needed someone uncomplicated, someone who would help him forget all the conflict in his life, and he felt certain Eve was the one. He understood her. He knew that she wanted him, and if he found that she could be content with a strictly pleasure-giving relationship, he would be more than willing to oblige.
There had been a time after he’d received Eve’s invitation when he had thought briefly of seeking out CC again. The memory of her heated kiss and the excitement of her sweet young body had continued to plague him. Several times he’d been in the midst of business discussions when the thought of her had entered his mind, momentarily diverting his attention from the important matters at hand. Even so, despite the mutual physical attraction they seemed to share, Noah had discarded the idea. CC had made it quite plain every time they’d been together that she hated him, and because he had no reason to believe that any future meetings between them would be any different from those of the past, he had pursued it no further. He was in no mood for a battle of wills with her, for he had had enough of irrational obstinance in dealing with Matt’s defiance. He wanted a woman who was willing and who wanted him in return, not a woman he had to force to admit her passion.
“How have your business dealings been going?” Eve asked just to make conversation. She had no real interest in his business affairs. All she cared about was getting Noah into her bed. With any other man, she would have dispensed with the small talk, but Noah’s reaction to her advances when he’d accompanied her home after the ball had tempered her aggressiveness. She knew she would have to bide her time, play the hostess and allow him to make the first move.
“Everything’s been going quite well,” Noah answered easily. “The Lorelei will be leaving Boston soon for a run to the islands.”
“You aren’t planning on sailing with the Lorelei, are you?” Eve asked quickly.
“No. I have another ship due in port soon, and I have to be here to handle the business transactions,” he informed her casually.
“I’m glad,” she told him in a sultry voice as she took a sip of her wine, her eyes meeting his over the rim of the crystal glass.
Noah’s smile was sensual as he read the open hunger in her gaze. “I’ll be staying in Boston until the spring.”
“Good. That gives us plenty of time to become better acquainted.” Her meaning was clear, yet she did not press.
“Indeed it does,” he responded, lifting his glass in a silent toast as his eyes raked over her. She was a beautiful woman. Her curves were alluring, her eyes upon him were heated in invitation, and her mouth, full and pouting, promised untold delights. Noah knew that Eve Woodham would not fight off his advances; if anything, she would welcome them. Eve would make a very sensual mistress.
Eve saw the flame of desire in his gaze, and she began to tremble in excitement. Never before in her life had she wanted a man so badly. Lord Noah Kincade was her dream. She stared at him in the flickering of the candlelight, admiring his devilish good looks. His dark hair was unpowdered, and his refusal to follow the style only convinced her all the more that he was a man of his own convictions. He was not like Geoffrey, who constantly strove to stay abreast of the most current fads. Noah Kincade needed no artifice to prove his manhood. His shoulders beneath his perfectly tailored coat looked broad and strong, and she longed to caress his hard-muscled chest. The crisp whiteness of his shirt and artfully arranged cravat enhanced the darkness of his tanned, lean features. Eve knew a desperate longing to touch him and kiss him and take him deep within her.
Noah smiled at her then, and the slightly mocking smile sent Eve’s pulses racing as she imagined that he’d read her thoughts.
“Shall we go into the parlor?” she suggested, still not confident enough to be more forward with him and hoping the more comfortable setting of the sitting room would encourage him to be more bold.
“As you wish.” Noah maintained his aloofness as he followed her lead into the fashionably furnished parlor.
“Please, sit down. Would you care for a brandy?” Eve gestured toward the comfortable-looking sofa as she moved to a small liquor cabinet. At his nod, she poured him a generous amount in a snifter.
“Thank you.” He accepted the glass as she sat down beside him.
“My pleasure,” she purred, leaning comfortably back as she savored her own drink.
Noah’s eyes were dark upon Eve as he raised the snifter to his lips to drink of the potent liquor, but as he tasted of the brandy he was reminded of the last time he’d partaken of it…and of the woman he’d met that night…CC.
Annoyance grew within him as the auburn-haired beauty drifted through his thoughts, and he wondered why he was thinking of CC when he wanted nothing more than to relax and enjoy the evening with Eve. As deceitful as he knew CC to be, he felt certain that she was probably out somewhere with John right now using her body to further their revolutionary cause. The thought of her sharing the secrets of her lovely body with another man enraged him, and Noah silently cursed himself for having agreed to Ryan Graves’s terms so quickly. Perhaps if he’d played his cards right, he might have had CC at his beck and call—willingly—until the Pride finally arrived. As it was, now that he had come to an understanding with the rebels, there would be no real reason for him to have any contact with CC again. He found the prospect unsettling but didn’t have time to dwell on it as Eve interrupted his thoughts.
“Is something wrong?” Eve was asking as she noticed the sudden, unexplained fierceness in his expression.
“No,” he denied, not even wanting to consider that memories of CC’s lovemaking might have the power to ruin a night of carnal desire in Eve’s arms. “Nothing is wrong. Absolutely nothing.”
Taking her glass, he placed it along with his on a nearby table and then wasted no time in pulling her into his arms. Eve was elated. He wanted her! Surrendering to his demanding kiss, she met him in that passionate exchange, forbidding him nothing as his lips parted hers and his tongue delved within her mouth to tangle erotically with her own.
Sensually she pressed herself against him, and her hands were never still as they took the opportunity to explore the width and strength of his shoulders. The solid, taut feel of his hard, masculine body beneath her hands thrilled her, and she could hardly control her need to be free of her clothing and naked in his arms.
Noah had thought he would be able to lose himself in Eve’s embrace, that a night of wild, undemanding passion was what he needed, but he realized now as he felt Eve’s hands boldly exploring him that she was not what he wanted…not what he needed.
The realization that he really did not want to make love to Eve came as quite a shock to him. A short time ago in England any woman would have done as long as she was comely and clean, but now all that had changed, and he was confused. Even the sweet Polly at the inn, who was as eager for his favors as the aggressive Eve, had not appealed to him since the night of the ball. He wondered what had happened in that brief, yet enthralling interlude with CC in the summerhouse that could have affected him so deeply.
As Eve melted against him, her body alive and throbbing with barely leashed passion, she was totally unaware that another woman—a woman she thought little of—held Noah’s thoughts. Hungrily she kissed him, moaning his name in a desire-drugged voice.
“Noah…I want you….”
The sound of her voice jerked him completely back to reality, and he took her by her upper arms and tightened his grip to hold her away from him. Eve was stunned by his halting of their embrace, and she stared at him in bewilderment for a moment before speaking.
“Noah?” Her voice was throaty and su
ggestive. “Don’t you want me?”
The answer was obvious to Noah, but he knew he could hardly tell her the truth—that he didn’t want her…that there seemed to be only one woman who could satisfy him right now, and that woman was CC Demorest.
“You’re a beautiful woman, Eve, and I find you very desirable….”
“Yes…” She was hopeful.
“But I am not in a position to make any commitments at this time, and I feel you deserve more than I can give you right now.” The lie was a smooth one, and he felt certain that by his telling it, Eve would be left feeling good about herself.
“Noah…” Her heart swelled with even more love for him. He respected her! It was more than she’d ever hoped for, and she firmly believed that there was a very real chance for a marriage between them now. “You are such a wonderful man….”
She leaned forward to kiss him tenderly. It was a kiss that Noah accepted without active participation.
“But I understand…”
“You do?”
“Yes, and it doesn’t matter. The way I feel about you is so special…. I want you very much, Noah.” Her meaning was clear.
“I don’t want to use you, Eve,” he said firmly as he got to his feet. “It would be best if I left now.”
Eve reluctantly admitted that the night was lost. “All right, but Noah…?” When he glanced down at her, she continued, “I’ll be here, should you change your mind.”
Noah bent to her then and kissed her one last time before letting himself out of the room.
The immense crowd assembled at Faneuil Hall was a noisy, vocal one, and Matthew stood at Ben’s side listening with avid interest to all that was being discussed. When they had first arrived some time before, he’d been surprised by the size of the gathering. Though he had known from all he had heard that the revolutionary theory was growing in popularity, he’d had no idea that there were this many of them willing to stand up and be counted in their discontent.