Lord Rogue

by Tiffany Green

  Her perfectly arched brows shot up. “A wedding? Whose?”

  Jeremy had figured something out earlier. Her outer beauty had caught his eye, but it was her courage and inner strength that kept him intrigued. More intrigued than he really wanted to admit, and now it was up to him to keep her safe. From the moment he learned she wanted to be a part of the Guardians, he fought against it. Not only would she be a constant reminder of what he had done to her, he could at least try and keep her from complete ruin. She should not be forced to sleep with Montague to gain information for the Guardians, even if it was for a righteous cause. She couldn’t be a part of that. His good and strong Evie would be lost forever. So, he had tried to talk her out of such a foolish plan. When that didn’t work, he kissed her. That didn’t work either. Instead, her kisses haunted his thoughts by day, his dreams by night, and made him hunger for more. But none of that mattered. He had to keep her safe, and there was only one thing left to do.

  He reached out and tucked the curl behind her ear. “We are going to our wedding,” he answered softly, withdrawing his hand.

  She jerked her head back, then turned away. The wind pulled the curl out once again, making it bob and bounce around her face. Another slipped out to join the first then stuck to her lips for several seconds before she snatched it away.

  Jeremy didn’t know what to make of her silence. He supposed she was stunned, angry even, and he really couldn’t blame her. He’d fought the marriage mart for so long, it was still a bit frightening to think about. Yet, as he stared at Evie’s profile, he knew he was making the right decision. She had to be kept safe. He’d ruined her life once and wouldn’t sit idly by and watch it happen a second time.

  Still, this prolonged silence grated on his nerves. He glanced around, just to make certain they weren’t being followed, then back to Evie’s straight, silent face. Just as he was about to speak, she turned back to him.

  Her narrowed eyes glittered and she crossed her arms. “I have an assignment to finish, then I will be moving to France with Belle. I am a Guardian now.” She raised her chin. “You and I are not getting married.” Then she pulled the reins from his hands and urged her horse forward.

  Jeremy watched her for several seconds in complete disbelief. Surely, he just misunderstood. Of course, she wanted to marry him. She’d wanted to marry him for years. He knew she watched him in the shadows, yearning for him to reconsider their broken betrothal.

  Shaking his head, he went after her. This time, he not only pulled the reins from her grip, he pulled her onto his lap. In an affronted huff, she wiggled and twisted, trying to get free. The feel of her tight, rounded bottom on his groin only added a dangerous level of fuel to the fire. He growled low in his throat. “Be still and listen to me, my wild little bird, else I will take you under the next tree and pleasure you for three straight days.”

  With a gasp, she went still. Then she snapped her jaw shut and turned away.

  “Good. Now, if Montague believes we are married and that I have ravished you as a good husband would, he will have no further need of you.”

  Evie turned to him with wide eyes, her lips, just a fraction of an inch from his, parting as his words sank in. How he wanted to kiss her and touch her and take her under the next tree and ravish the fool out of her for three straight days.

  “So, your offer is just a ruse? A plan to keep Montague from coming after me?”

  He returned that errant lock of hair back around her ear and smiled. “Of course.” Hell, no, it wasn’t just a ruse. But he would allow her to believe it. For now.

  “And we won’t really be married?”

  “No.” Like hell.

  Laughter lit her eyes just before a wide smile sprang to her lips. Then she threw her arms around his neck. “That is actually an excellent plan!”

  As his arms folded around her body, he took a deep breath, relieved for the moment. Later, he would have to explain the truth. But for now, he would let her believe whatever the deuce she wanted.

  Then she drew back and Jeremy released her with reluctance. Her cheeks glowed pink and her eyes wouldn’t meet his. “I shouldn’t have done that. Sorry.”

  “Never apologize for something so enjoyable, pet,” he said softly, raising her chin so she was forced to look at him.

  She drew back and straightened in the saddle. Starring off at something in the distance, she spoke evenly and without a trace of emotion. “Your plan is sound, Rogue, with one exception.”

  Jeremy narrowed his eyes on her board straight profile. He didn’t like the sound of that. “Which is?”

  When she turned, he no longer saw the mischievous twinkle in her eyes or the smile playing at the corners of her lips. She arched a brow. “No one will believe it, of course.”

  He crossed his arms. “No one will believe what, exactly?”

  A humorless laugh tumbled out. “You running off to Gretna Green to get married.” She shook her head. “That part of your plan simply will not work. You would never so obediently submit to an elopement.”

  As he opened his mouth to argue the soundness of his idea, she scrambled to the ground and headed for her horse. “Lord Bentwood will be better suited for this mission.” After a third attempt, she finally managed to climb back into her own saddle. “Go after him before he gets too far away. Tell him I will be waiting right here.”

  Chapter 13

  For one brief moment, Evie had allowed herself to dream the impossible. Even though she knew it wasn’t real, just the thought of pretending to be married to Jeremy had her excited to the point of euphoric.

  How terribly pathetic.

  She held on tight to the reins while she waited for Jeremy to dash off after Ghost. Surely, not having to go through such a public spectacle would be a relief. People never ogled and snickered at Jeremy, nor had they joked about him being cast to the shelf at the ripe old age of seventeen. Nor had they shunned him from balls and galas for years, only to finally make a few invitations with conditions ranging from staying in shadowy corners to leaving before all the ‘important’ people got there.

  No, she didn’t wish that on anyone.

  Not even Jeremy.

  Blinking out of thought, Evie realized Jeremy hadn’t moved. She turned and found him staring intently at her. Not only did she find such close examination disturbing to her strained senses, she found herself nearly saying she had changed her mind. That marriage to him, even a false marriage, would be something she’d gladly take. Would revel in, actually.

  He started to speak when the sound of thundering hooves sounded behind them. Evie glanced over her shoulder and in the distance, she saw half a dozen horses hurtling for them. That bulky frame leading the charge had to be Montague, but they were too far away to know for sure.

  However, she couldn’t take any chances. Swiveling around in her saddle, Evie’s eyes met Jeremy’s. She could not let Montague or his men learn who was with her. If they knew, they would certainly fit pieces together and link him to the Guardians. How else would he know where to find Evie? They had already suspected her to be a member, having questioned Blade and Dragon in the caves. She bit her lip. Too bad Jeremy had already given her the black robe. His honey-wheat hair needed to be covered before it was too late.

  Obviously coming to the same conclusion, Jeremy nodded toward her horse. “How fast can you ride?”

  She raised her chin. “Although she would never admit it, I have nearly beaten Megan on more than one occasion. I won’t fall behind.”

  The gleam of admiration in Jeremy’s hazel green eyes made her heart skip the next two beats. Then he flashed a brilliant smile and spun his horse around. “Then follow me, little bird, and let’s see how fast you can fly.”

  Setting her jaw, Evie tapped her horse’s side and raced after Jeremy. She refused to look back. That would only slow her down. Instead, she leaned down low and recalled every bit of instruction Megan had taught her, silently thanking her dear friend for insisting on such lessons. The e
ntire time their other friend, Torie, now the Countess of Ravenwood, had been missing, Megan insisted she would instruct Evie on how to properly ride and race a horse. Jeremy had been a part of rescuing Torie and had even been taken captive himself. The weeks she worried over Torie and Jeremy, Evie found that if she threw herself into learning a grueling task, her thoughts couldn’t center so much on the impossible life she would never have. She’d even silently wondered if Jeremy had fallen in love with Torie and worried herself into knots over the possibility. There had even been whispers of an upcoming engagement between the two, just before Torie’s abduction. It wasn’t until Evie learned Jeremy was a Guardian that the full reason for his helping Torie became clear, and it had nothing to do with love.

  Evie drew in a deep breath of cold, clean air, still annoyed with herself for feeling so relieved.

  The ground blurred streaks of brown and green as Evie followed Jeremy down a long grassy field, heading toward a forest on the north-western side of Montague’s vast property. In about a mile, they should reach the forest where Evie hoped they would lose them in the dense foliage. She listened for signs of Montague and his men closing in on them, but could hear nothing above her horse pounding the ground. Or was that her pulse beating in her ears?

  The black robe Jeremy had given her came loose from around her leg and exposed her skin to cold morning air. The corner of the fabric rose up and flapped at her side. She hoped it helped to conceal Jeremy’s identity from the men following them. With that thought, she left the robe alone and concentrated on keeping up with Jeremy, who had grown another horse’s length ahead.

  Perhaps she had exaggerated her abilities on a horse, but she couldn’t let Jeremy know that. Not now. Leaning even lower over the horse’s neck, until his mane tickled her cheek, Evie encouraged the gelding to catch up to the horse ahead. Both sides of the robe had come loose and were now billowing out and flapping behind her, the straps pulling tight at her throat. She would not slow her horse, though, no matter how much it choked her.

  Wind plastered her hair back and stung her eyes, and each ragged breath brought the faint smell of wood smoke mingled with rich, damp earth. Up ahead, Jeremy launched his horse between the trunks of two sprawling oaks at the periphery of the forest. Many of the low branches, covered in slick green lichen, rose up and then arched low to the ground, where a smattering of spiky green leaves sprang out from fallen acorns and brown leaves below.

  Evie hoped they would find a much denser patch of trees and shrubs to keep from being seen as she slowed her horse and neared the very spot Jeremy had disappeared just two minutes prior. She chanced a quick peek over her shoulder and gasped. The men were much closer now, and Montague was indeed charging out in front of the pack. Evie encouraged the gelding to move between the oaks and glanced around for Jeremy. A hand reached out and grabbed her horse’s bridle, bringing him to a halt.

  Outraged, Evie was about to scream out when she noticed Jeremy standing there with a finger to his lips. He reached for her and helped her to the ground, then slapped her horse on the rear to get him moving farther into the trees.

  “What are you doing?” she whispered and glanced over her shoulder toward the oncoming men.

  “Come with me,” he said and pulled her to one of the oak trees deeper in the forest, opposite of where her horse had gone. Moving to the other side of the trunk, he slipped sideways into a large crack in the very center of the tree. As the sound of approach horses thundered louder, Evie followed Jeremy into the hollowed center and halted at his side, where the bottom of the tree was more even. She marveled at the spacious, dark interior, then realized part of the long, black cloak rested outside the tree. Quietly, she reached down and pulled the heavy wool all the way inside the trunk, trying not to think of what would happen if those men found them. She straightened and grimaced. Nor would she think of centipedes, spiders, and all manner of nasty insects that surely habited the tree they currently occupied. Never mind the vermin.

  Evie shifted closer to Jeremy’s side and he glanced down, raising an eyebrow. Even in such dim light, she could see the question in his eyes. Then he must have read the meaning behind her discomfort and the left corner of his lips sprang up. But the scrunch of horse hooves had him glancing sharply back toward the opening. Slowly, he removed the long, sharp blade he carried and held it ready.

  Holding her breath, Evie wished she had a weapon of her own. All she had was the vial Amelia had given her, still tied around her waist in the small silk purse. She didn’t dare check it, not wishing to distract Jeremy. The tight straps she had tied earlier still bit into her skin, so she knew the purse had not come loose. Nor did she hear the tinkering of shattered glass when she moved.

  “Do you see them?”

  Montague’s voice. Evie bit her lip, trying to force back images of him in the cave wearing a similar black cloak, sporting that horrid pentagram. She couldn’t help but remembering the evil gleam in his eyes when he spoke of sacrificing her.

  “No. Sorry.”

  “Damn!” Montague let out a hissing sigh. “Did you recognize the man with her? I couldn’t see him clear enough.”

  Evie glanced to Jeremy, relieved to learn they hadn’t recognized him.

  “He was too far away for a good look, my lord. I believe he had fair hair, though, if that helps.”

  “I need a name, Mr. Morris, and I need you to find out now. Today.”

  “Understood, Lord Montague. I will visit the local inns and anywhere else I can think of. I will learn who he is.”

  “Be quick about it. Viper isn’t going to like this. Strangers, most likely Guardians, sneaking around my estate. I am to pen a message tomorr—”

  “A horse. This way!” another man shouted in the distance.

  “Go to the inns, Mr. Morris, and let me know what you find.”

  “Yes, my lord.”

  The horses thundered away and Evie still found herself staring at Jeremy. She could tell he shared her thoughts. Viper isn’t going to like this? That meant Lord Montague was not head of that awful organization. Then who was? Before she could ask all the questions about to spill from her lips, Jeremy took her hand and pulled her out of the tree. “This way,” he said softly, taking a quick glance in the direction the men had gone, and led her deeper into the forest. They came to a small, clear stream that trickled over round gray rocks. A brown hare stopped and sniffed the air, then dashed into the shrubbery behind him.

  “Prinny,” he called out softly. Evie was about to ask the man what he was doing, but the answering nicker to her right told her all she needed to know.

  “Prinny?” she repeated softly, trying unsuccessfully to bite back a smile.

  Jeremy shrugged as they reached his horse, and Evie had to slap a hand over her mouth to keep the laughter firmly in check. The white stockings and rounded brown rump held a certain similarity, but when the horse turned and rolled his bulging round eyes at them, she couldn’t keep the giggle from escaping.

  Swallowing back her amusement, she allowed Jeremy to assist her into the saddle. And when he settled up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, all other thoughts fled. She shivered, although it had nothing to do with the cold. Being this close to this man wreaked havoc on her senses. She wanted to close her eyes and sink back into his warm embrace. She wanted to forget the past. No, not forget the past, she wanted it altered. She wanted what she always wanted. For things to have been different. For Jeremy to have never broken their betrothal. To be his wife.

  Damn him!

  The horse started to move and Evie opened her eyes. Her nose stung from holding back tears and she swallowed several times, grateful Jeremy couldn’t see her. He moved the reins and the horse turned to the right. She heard the splash and glanced down to see them entering the shallow water. “What are we doing?”

  “They won’t be able to track us so easily.”

  Evie nodded, her eyes growing heavy. She started to yawn, but stopped and straightened her spine.
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  Jeremy’s low voice tickled her right ear. “Why don’t you lean back against me, pet. You must be so tired.”

  One minute, Evie was shaking her head no, the next, Jeremy was rousing her awake. She was having the most delicious dream. About him. About them getting married. With a gasp, Evie raised up on an elbow, nearly knocking Jeremy to the ground. He stepped back as she pushed the mass of unruly curls out of her face and squinted up at him. “What time is it?” she asked, scraping the tongue from the roof of her mouth.

  He merely smiled and placed a plate of ham, buttered eggs, thick slices of toast with apricot jam, along with a nice cup of steaming chocolate on the table near where she lay. Evie’s stomach growled when the delicious smells hit her nose and all questions fled for the moment.

  With a chuckle, he headed for the door. “I won’t be long.”

  She tore her eyes from the food and reached out. “Wait!”

  When he turned with raised brows, she glanced around the strange bedroom. “Where are we?”

  His smile tipped up. “Safe.” Then he nodded to the plate. “Eat. I will be back soon.”

  The fresh toast was entirely too distracting, but Evie forced another question out. “Where are you going?”

  He turned fully around and lifted a brow. “You need clothes and we cannot stay here very long.” As she started to ask another question, he lifted a hand. “I promise to answer all your question when I get back. In no longer than an hour,” he added when she opened her mouth to ask that very question.

  “All right, then.” She turned to her plate and waved him away. “You may leave.”

  Honestly, she didn’t want to notice just how good he looked after probably no sleep whatsoever. The man had just ridden his horse for hours, splashing through a stream and mud, with her lying against his chest for God knew how long, and he didn’t have a wrinkle or a speck of dirt on him. His hair fell perfectly to his collar and his snow-white cravat had the most fashionable arrangement.