An older broker with graying hair and a matching-color beard eyed Victoria curiously before standing so that she could sit.
Uneasy with the crowd, Victoria eyed Spencer nervously. She normally loved the Exchange, loved the excitement humming within its walls, but not on a busy day like today. And it was not the type of arena where she desired to attract male attention.
“This shouldn’t take long,” she told Spencer. “I have a list of stocks I want to buy that I can hand to Mr. MacDonald. Then we can be on our way.”
“Are you sure the stocks are winners?” Spencer asked.
“I’m certain.”
Spencer hesitated a moment before realization crossed his features. “Ah, they’re Ravenspear’s picks.”
Victoria hated to admit that she hadn’t chosen the stocks herself, and that she had stolen the tips from Blake. She had always taken great pride in researching and selecting her own investments, unlike her father and Jacob Hobbs, who sunk their money in the current hot pick, whatever that might be.
“You said you needed money fast, that Slayer’s men were hounding you,” she snapped. “I did it for you.”
“I apologize, Vicki. I do need money quickly.”
Just then, Victoria spotted Mr. MacDonald approaching. So nervous was she to hand the elder broker the list and depart the overpopulated building, it took her longer than it should have to register that Blake Mallorey himself had approached the broker and was engaging him in conversation.
Mr. MacDonald smiled up at Blake, revealing they were on familiar terms.
Blake laughed at something the broker said, then looked up to meet Victoria’s stunned gaze. Blake’s lips curved into an all-knowing smile.
Sheer black fright swept through her. With pulse-pounding certainty she knew he had discovered all. The impulse to turn and flee the building like a madwoman from an asylum was overwhelming.
Blake’s hard eyes never left hers as he spoke with Mr. MacDonald and the pair wove through the crowd toward her. The confident smirk on Blake’s face and the gleam of warning in his gaze spoke as loudly as a blast from a trumpet.
He knows everything and is going to make me pay.
“We have to leave, Spencer. Now.”
“What are you talking about, Vicki?”
Spencer had yet to see Blake approaching. “It’s Ravenspear,” she said breathlessly. “He’s here…with Mr. MacDonald.”
All hint of color drained from Spencer’s thin face, making him appear like an ancient mummy in a museum.
Too late. Blake was before them, a smiling Mr. MacDonald by his side.
“Miss Ashton, how wonderful to see you again,” Mr. MacDonald said, taking her hand. “Mr. Ashton,” he said, and nodded toward Spencer, who stood unblinking. “I’ve had the immense pleasure of meeting Lord Ravenspear. When I told him I had an appointment to meet with you this morning to handle your sick uncle’s affairs, Ravenspear told me he was a close acquaintance of Uncle Sheldon. Imagine that! In all the time we have been meeting, I have never met anyone who has known your uncle.”
Victoria blinked rapidly. Spencer and I are going to prison for fraud!
Her brother said nothing, just stood completely still, as if frozen to the spot. She glanced at Blake, and the fierce anger that lit his eyes made her stomach clench tight.
“I explained that dear Uncle Sheldon’s health has been improving,” Blake said, “and that soon he may visit the Exchange and conduct his own affairs.”
Blake’s voice was absolutely emotionless, and it chilled her. Only the cold gleam in his blue gaze directed at her revealed his wrath.
Victoria swallowed hard, feeling a pang of loss as Blake destroyed her indispensable alias. Of course, Blake knew very well that without the imaginary Uncle Sheldon, Victoria’s investment career was over. She shook herself mentally. No, it had nothing to do with that, really, for as soon as Blake Mallorey had discovered her secret all had been lost. It mattered naught whether the broker thought her “uncle” had recovered.
Mr. MacDonald stood patiently, awaiting Victoria’s response to Blake’s “wonderful” news.
She opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it as thoughts flitted through her mind. Feeling like a fish on a fisherman’s hook, she looked to Spencer for help.
Stiff as a corpse, her brother looked worse off than she felt. No help from him, she thought.
“I…I had heard Uncle Sheldon had traveled to Bath and that the springs had helped his chronic cough.” Looking at Blake, Victoria continued, “But one never knows if my uncle will feel well enough to return to London for business.”
Mr. MacDonald patted Victoria’s hand. “We can only hope, Miss Ashton. What can I help you with today?”
Again Victoria glanced at Blake’s stern features, and then lowered her eyes.
How could she hand the broker the list of stocks she had stolen from Blake when he was standing before her?
“I uh…I seem to have misplaced my uncle’s instructions,” Victoria said. “I fear I must leave and will have to reschedule our appointment. I do apologize.”
Mr. MacDonald’s bushy eyebrows met as he frowned. “Another time, then?”
“Please excuse us,” Victoria said, already turning to flee the building and Blake Mallorey’s overwhelming presence.
Not waiting for the broker’s response, Victoria wove her way through the crowd in a mad rush for the street. Pushing through the doors, not waiting for the doorman to open them, she ran into Capel Court. She hesitated long enough to make sure Spencer was behind her.
“He would not dare confront us publicly, Spencer.”
“Wrong again, my dear,” said a familiar, deep-timbered voice beside her.
Victoria stiffened in shock and whirled around to find Blake at her right side. “How did you follow so quickly?”
“I can move fast when I need to.” Blake stepped forward and his fingers clamped around her wrist.
Victoria looked around nervously. Businessmen mingled in Capel Court, and the doorman opened and closed the door to the Exchange for a steady stream of patrons. No one paid her and Ravenspear any attention.
“Don’t touch her!” Spencer stalked forward. “You’re the worst type of defiler, Ravenspear,” he hissed. “You’re foul and immoral and don’t deserve her.”
Spencer stood, feet braced apart, fists clenched at his sides.
Victoria feared her brother would attack Blake. Without a doubt, she knew Spencer would get hurt if he acted rashly.
“Spencer, no.” She tried to go to Spencer’s side, but Blake refused to release his grip on her wrist.
“And you, a reckless gambler, deserve her?” Blake asked, his voice heavy with sarcasm.
“Whoreson!” Spencer yelled, attracting a few raised eyebrows in the court. “My sister is coming home with me.” Spencer reached for Victoria.
Blake’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he pulled Victoria behind him, and his broad shoulders blocked her from her brother.
“She’s not going anywhere with you because she is leaving with me,” Blake said. His voice, though quiet, had an ominous quality.
Spencer’s face reddened, mottled with rage. “With me she’d be safe from your lust.”
“Safe with you? When Slayer’s men are lurking about to break a leg or two to get you to pay your debts? That vicious moneylender would not hesitate to hurt you or anyone you cared for to get his money. I suspect you are all too aware of Slayer’s barbaric tactics. That’s why you used Victoria to steal confidential stock information and risk herself by coming to the Exchange just to bail you out of debt. It’s time you stopped taking advantage of your sister.”
Victoria’s eyes widened at Blake’s knowledge.
How on earth did he find out about Spencer borrowing from the unscrupulous Slayer?
“Perhaps I’m no better than you, Ravenspear,” Spencer spat. “You’re using Vicki for revenge against our father, and I need her to help me. But at least I don’t seek to destr
oy her reputation, her future.”
“No? Shall we call the magistrate and see? Breaking locks to steal private papers and fraudulently investing in the London Stock Exchange could get one thrown into Newgate for twenty years. But prison wouldn’t damage her reputation any, would it?”
Spencer’s shoulders slumped slightly. He could not rebuff Blake’s logic. He had put Victoria in grave danger. He had manipulated her with his desperate plea for help, knowing she would risk herself to aid him as she had always done in the past.
“I do not trust you, Ravenspear,” Spencer said.
“It doesn’t matter. She goes with me.” Blake pulled Victoria with him as he turned to leave.
Victoria allowed Blake to lead her away. She glanced back once to see Spencer standing still, looking defeated and miserable.
They reached Blake’s coach. He helped her inside, then sat across from her, his long legs brushing her skirts. His nearness in the confines of the coach was overwhelming.
Feeling the need to explain her actions before his wrath was unleashed, Victoria blurted out, “I agreed to come with you only because I don’t want Spencer hurt.”
“You would come with me nonetheless.”
She looked up, and his fierce blue eyes made his face look stark. He wasn’t just angry, she realized, but furious. She shivered.
“You have learned everything, then?” she asked, fearful of his expected response.
Blake leaned forward until they were almost nose to nose. Pressing her head back against the padded leather bench, she was trapped.
“You want to hear what I know? From my lips? I know that you snuck into my office, broke my locks and gave confidential information about my subsidiary to your father. I know that my hated nemesis used that knowledge to hurt a company I am heavily invested in. But you didn’t stop there, did you? You kept stealing from me to help your brother, and, most astonishing of all, you have been using a false identity to illegally and fraudulently invest in the London Stock Exchange for years without official membership.”
She swallowed hard. “When did you find out?”
“Oh, I’ve known for quite some time.”
“You’ve been watching me? Why didn’t you confront me after you learned what I had done for my father? You must have been furious.”
He sighed, then leaned back in his seat. “I was furious, but after my initial rage wore off, I was in wonder at what you had accomplished. Without help, you made sense of highly complicated financial statements, purchase orders and legal documents, and accurately reported only the most critical, the most damaging facts. Further, it took genius to invent sick old Uncle Sheldon in order to penetrate that male-dominated Exchange, and it took brains to successfully invest in an unpredictable market. Quite simply, I’m impressed with your intelligence, guts and investing savvy.”
Victoria sat back, speechless at his words. All her adult years, she had desired a man who would appreciate her for her mind. And here was a man she had hurt, cost thousands of pounds, and yet he could look past her treasonous deeds to admire her “investing savvy.”
“I’m sorry for what I did,” she whispered. “If it is any consolation, I felt horrible doing it. I regret any loss of money you have suffered and don’t blame you for your anger.”
“Foolish girl! You think I’m angry over money lost? I already told you I got over that. I would have done the same if our situations were reversed. No, I’m furious over your putting yourself at risk. I wasn’t jesting when I said if you were discovered, you could spend twenty years in Newgate.”
“But I have to help Spencer,” she explained.
“You enable him.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but he held up his hand. “Because I fear your brother is in over his head, that Slayer’s men are a real threat to him and you, I paid the blackguard off.”
Shock flew through her. “You did that? For Spencer?”
“No, for you.”
Reaching over, he plucked her from her seat and placed her on his lap.
Victoria gasped, and her arms went around his neck to steady herself. She was immediately conscious of the heat from his muscular thighs through their clothing, and her body tingled from the contact.
His solid arms encircled her, one hand at the small of her back. His breath fanned her neck; his gaze traveled over her face and searched her eyes before dropping to her mouth.
He looks like he’s going to ravish me. Even though Victoria couldn’t deny the spark of excitement at the prospect, she pressed her palm against his chest.
“You swore not to force me into your bed.”
Blake allowed her to push him back only as far as it took to meet her stare with his own. Desire had darkened his cobalt eyes to near black.
“All promises became null and void the moment you broke my locks and turned into a thief. Make no mistake, you will be mine tonight, Victoria.”
Chapter 22
Blake’s powerful words crashed down upon her, and with the age-old wisdom of Eve, Victoria knew she would lie with him tonight.
She felt no fear, no outrage at his boldness. But instead, the smoldering flame she saw in his eyes, and the knowledge that he desired her, sent her spirits soaring.
All too quickly her resistance toward him drained from her body. Unable to deny the truth any longer, she realized she was falling in love with him. It was not the adolescent infatuation of her youth but instead the fully blossomed love of a grown woman. Here was the type of man she had been searching for—a man confident enough in his own masculinity not to be intimidated by her intelligence and independence.
Hadn’t she always known there was something special about Blake Mallorey from the beginning?
Victoria was no longer willing to deny herself his touch. Every moment in life was precious, and she refused to always wonder what it would have felt like to be loved by Blake.
Cocking her head to one side, she traced his hard jaw with a finger. “No words of seduction, my lord? No promises of pleasure? Have you lost your touch?”
Blake’s pupils dilated, and he looked at her in utter disbelief. It was clear that he was taken aback at her response, her acceptance of him.
“Are you challenging me? I’d perish before I’d disappoint you,” he said, a teasing light in his eyes.
He captured her hand in his larger one, peeled back her satin glove and placed a hot kiss on the center of her palm.
A tingling of excitement raced through her fingers at the grazing of his moist lips. She lowered her eyes, suddenly shy.
“I have no experience, so I may pose a greater challenge than you believe.”
He raised her chin, his handsome face fierce, and gazed into her eyes. “The knowledge that there has been no other pleases me greatly, Victoria. You are a treasure, a woman to be worshiped and initiated into the act of lovemaking with great attention.”
It was her turn to be surprised, and her jade eyes widened with astonishment.
“I want you, Victoria,” he said huskily. “I want to make love to you.”
“I’d like that very much,” she whispered.
Blake’s eyes gleamed with victory. His lips took possession of her mouth in a fiery kiss that sent shivers of desire racing through her. She rested a trembling hand against his solid chest and felt his heart pound. When he sucked on her bottom lip, she moaned and pressed closer.
He raised his dark head to look into her eyes, letting her see the raw need that burned inside him. “I’ve imagined this for so long. Despite what I said, I would never force you. Are you sure, sweetheart?”
When she nodded, he grinned and banged on the coach door with a fist, signaling the driver to begin the journey home.
The coach began to sway a steady rhythm, and she rocked gently on his lap.
Blake traced her swollen lips with the rough pad of his thumb. “My only fear is that we will not arrive home fast enough. I don’t want to make love to you inside a coach for your first time.”
>
“Our second time, then?” she taunted.
“You’ll drive me mad.” He cupped her face with both hands and reclaimed her lips.
Their mouths became greedy and the kiss more intimate. When his tongue touched hers, her breath caught, and she eagerly responded—touching, tasting, nibbling until her flesh quivered from arousal.
Her fingers inched their way up to bury in his dark hair and hold him close. She squirmed in his lap, and the heat from their bodies scorched her buttocks and thighs. It was as if by granting herself permission to be with him, her defenses crumbled, and she was free to respond with all the pent-up passion that had risen inside her.
Blake’s hand slid up from her waist to cover her breast. His fingers circled a sensitive nipple through the fine silk gown, and it hardened instantly beneath his touch. Pleasure radiated outward, and she panted between parted lips. Arching toward his palm, she wondered what it would feel like for him to touch her naked flesh.
As if he heard her thoughts, he unfastened her gown. Deft fingers untied her chemise and he slid both garments off her shoulders, down her arms, baring her full breasts to his hungry eyes. He reached out to reverently cup the globes with his large hands.
“Do you know how long I’ve wanted to touch you like this?” Lowering his head, he sucked the tip of a breast into his mouth and swirled his tongue around a diamond-hard nipple.
The wet, rough texture of his tongue sent liquid tremors shooting between her thighs. Her body erupted to life, and she clawed at his shirt and kneaded the slabs of muscle beneath.
She stiffened as he raised the hem of her gown and his hand slid up her stockinged leg. When his fingers traced the smooth skin above her garter, she shivered. He caressed the insides of her thighs, inching higher, until he barely brushed the nest of curls covering her woman’s center.
She felt her face grow hot from his brazenness, yet at the same time, her blood soared, and she writhed against his hand.
“Easy, my little tigress,” he murmured against her lips. “We’re almost home. I promise to touch you like this and more once you are in my bed.”
Lady of Scandal Page 18