by Wendy Vella
“Here now, there’s no call for that!”
“Why are you following me?”
His eyes shot left and right.
“Come, the game is up, and I know you have been dogging my footsteps, just not why. Is it my cousin, Hebert Abernethy? Did he put you up to this?” Rose swung the blade from left to right, and the man swallowed, looking nervous.
He shook his head, seeming cornered now.
“I can think of no one else who would wish me followed, unless it was to pro....” Rose’s words fell away as she realized just who had employed this man. “Captain Sinclair paid you to follow me, didn’t he?”
The red started at his neck and crept upward.
“I have my answer. Good day to you, sir.”
Rose carefully returned the knife to her boot, happy that at least it had intimidated the man. She then stormed back to the park, but when she got there, all Sinclairs had left. Rose did not stop to think; she made for Captain Sinclair’s house, knowing which one it was because the twins had told her. Once she stood outside the black front door, she lifted the heavy brass knocker and rapped hard three times.
He’d had her followed, and yes, the rational side of her told her this was a gentlemanly act on his behalf, but the irrational side wanted to yell at him for his high-handed methods. Especially considering what had just transpired between them.
“Good day.”
“I wish to speak with Captain Sinclair, please.”
“He is not available for visitors at the moment, madam. And it is not acceptable for you to be calling at a gentleman’s residence alone.”
“He’ll see me,” Rose gave the door a push as the butler tried to close it, “and I care nothing for your rules. I need to speak to him at once.”
His shock had him stumbling backward and allowed her to enter.
“Stop, you cannot enter a gentleman’s residence!”
Ignoring the butler, she ran inside and looked into the first room she found. It was empty.
“Come now, miss, this is no way to carry on.”
The butler just about had her, but she nipped around him and glanced in the other rooms. They were empty too. She decided to take the stairs up. Running, she arrived at the top breathless, and found him in the second room she came to.
Chapter 25
Wolf had been sitting, staring into the empty fire grate, wondering what his next step should be. His cousins had lectured him about what Rose had told them all the way from the park back to his house, where he had shut the door in their faces. Yes, he understood their concern, but right at that moment he’d needed to be alone. Needed peace to think.
The loud noise had taken him back to the war, but it had been Rose who had dragged him from the pits of the hell he’d fallen into.
She believed he wanted her as his mistress, and yet how could she believe otherwise when he’d offered nothing else.
As if just thinking about her had conjured her up, Wolf looked to the doorway and suddenly there she was.
“Rose? Why are you in my house, and where is Milton?”
“Here, Captain, I’ll take her from the house at once.”
“No.” Wolf raised a hand as he got out of his chair. “I will speak with her. Please leave us, thank you.”
“If you’re sure.” His butler glared at Rose, and she returned the look. Wolf wanted to laugh at the defiance in her face, but knew it would only increase her anger.
“I am, thank you. Close the door please, Milton.”
“I will not be here long. I simply want you to call off the man following me.”
Her words were clipped and cold; gone was the warm, caring woman who’d held him and the passionate one who had followed.
She stood by the now closed door, hands clasped together, looking determined. He had to admire her backbone.
“How did you find out I had someone following you?”
“I saw him running down the road. Obviously when I ducked into those trees to follow Hep, he lost me. I confronted him with my knife, and the guilt was written all over his face. I then guessed it was you.”
“You carry a knife?”
“I do, and it keeps me safe when lowlife scoundrels attack me.”
Wolf had the feeling he fell into that category at the moment.
“How very astute you are to realize I had someone following you.”
“Don’t mock me.”
“I was not mocking you, I was complimenting.”
She was glaring at him, and all he could think about was grabbing her. He wanted to taste her anger and rekindle the fire she’d lit inside him.
Today’s dress was simple, with nothing pretty about it, but on her it looked like the finest silk. Her bonnet was missing, as were her gloves, and her hair was in a loose bun at the base of her neck.
“I think we’ve established that we are not suitable company for each other, Captain Sinclair, so I believe the best course from here forward is to avoid all contact.”
“And if I don’t want to avoid all contact?”
She’d held him, stroked his hair and whispered gentle words, and in those moments Wolf had found peace. So much of it, he’d then kissed her senseless... and himself. He’d woken from the trance the loud noises had placed him in and found Rose in his arms.
He’d held her lush breasts in his hands, and just the thought had him hard.
“I insist you stop that man following me. I understand this was a gentlemanly act in your eyes, and I should be grateful—”
“But you’re not?”
Her sigh was loud.
“I know what you did was to ensure my safety, but I struggle to understand why you would do that for me.”
Wolf found himself moving closer as the bite left her words. She now sounded bewildered.
“I don’t want you hurt.”
Her eyes stayed on his as he kept walking.
“But don’t you see, it is not right for you to do so. I can give you nothing in return, and I will definitely not do—”
“I never once mentioned the word mistress, Rose.”
“You alluded to it.”
Wolf watched as she braced herself, and he wondered if it was because she wanted to grab him, or stop him from grabbing her. He did not like to think that this woman feared him in any way.
“I had just suffered a shock. How did you expect me to articulate anything that would come out making sense?” Wolf said, hoping she’d believe what he was trying to sell her.
“You asked to look after me, and said you wanted me in your life.”
Of course she would have an excellent memory, damn her.
“Did I?” Wolf lied. “I cannot remember much.”
She looked suspicious.
“That seems convenient.”
“Surely you can allow that I was not myself?”
She waved a hand. “I am willing to forget what took place in the park, Captain, if it was due to your state of mind, however, I want an explanation for setting that man on me.”
“Setting him on you? Come now, surely that is being dramatic. I believe we’ve already established I was being a gentleman, and merely wished to ensure you were safe, which was why I went to the Watch House.”
“What?”
Perhaps he should have kept that to himself.
“I wanted to speak with those two men who attacked you in the marketplace.”
She pinched the bridge of her nose, and as he’d seen his eldest cousin do this many times, he understood it was born of confusion, frustration, and any number of other emotions.
“I can look after myself and will continue to do so long after you have left my life.”
No.
The denial was instantaneous. He did not want her out of his life.
“So call him off, and then we shall spend no further time with each other and things will return to normal.”
She was agitated, even though her words did not betray that. Wolf knew because he was a watcher and h
ad spent time watching Rose. She wriggled her shoulders when she was off balance, which clearly he made her. This seemed only fair, as he felt the same way.
“He is not a dog, Rose, and I will call him off when you are safe.”
“I doubt he’ll want to follow me now, after I threatened him with my knife.”
“A knife is only marginally better than a gun. Tell me you actually know how to use this weapon?”
“That is not your concern, but to appease you I will be cautious, and promise not to step out again without company.”
“That’s a lie, and you know it.”
“I am not your concern!”
Wolf held his smile as she stamped a foot. Rose Abernethy had a temper, she just kept it well leashed.
“Would you rather I let someone abduct you and do what they wish to you?”
Her eyes widened briefly, but she did not back down.
“They could have been random incidents.”
“Perhaps, but it’s a hell of a coincidence when you add into the mix that man who approached you in the tea shop.”
“How do you know about that?”
He simply smiled, not wanting to get Miss Dodds into trouble for telling him about it.
Silence stretched between them, taut and filled with tension.
“I-I need to go. I should not have come here, especially as you will not behave rationally about this.”
“I’m being entirely rational, it is you who are not.”
“Me! I am nothing to you, a nobody who lives in a cold, drafty hovel, with no money and no prospects. You are the exact opposite. I am nothing to you,” she added again, this time slowly. “So stop this foolishness and put the correct distance between us again.”
“One thing you should know about me, Miss Abernethy, is that I’m notoriously bad at following orders.”
“I-I don’t believe that. You were in the army.”
“And spent a great deal of my time alone.”
“Why were you alone?”
Her words were softly spoken, eyes curious.
“I was a sniper sometimes.”
Her mouth opened into a circle.
“I killed people, and they didn’t know the bullet was even coming.”
Wolf wasn’t sure why those words left his mouth, but they had. He’d never been ashamed of the things he’d been forced to do for his country, and yet the memory of those men he’d killed, he’d never quite managed to shut out.
“Dear Lord, how you suffered.”
“Do you understand what I’m saying to you, Rose? I was asked to shoot people as I was the most accurate.”
“I understand, and am sorry for what you endured.”
“I don’t want your sympathy; I did what many have done.” His voice was brisk.
How had the situation turned? He’d been in control just minutes ago, and then he’d told her what he’d done and suddenly he was the vulnerable one. This woman was dangerous to him; she turned him into a different man. One who felt and spoke his thoughts without caution. A man like he used to be.
“Yes, and like many you suffer.”
“For pity’s sake, woman, you came here to yell at me, and now suddenly you forgive me. You are an exhausting person to be with.” Wolf attempted to reestablish himself on a firmer footing once more.
She tried to step back, but he wrapped his fingers around both her arms and held her in place.
“I need to go. I should not have come here.”
“But you did so you could yell at me for setting that man on you.”
All fight left her, and the muscles beneath his hands relaxed.
“I don’t understand any of this, Captain Sinclair.”
“Wolf; you called me that when you held me.”
“What is Wolf short for?”
“My name is Christian, but I have been Wolf since I was a child.”
“Why is this happening between us?” Her words were whispered, and Wolf heard the confusion in her voice.
“What don’t you understand?” Wolf eased her closer still, so close he could see that her darker eye was in fact ringed in gray.
“This. You and me. Those men wanting to harm me, and you being the one to rescue me. Why was it Lady Samantha I tutored, when surely there are so many others I could teach? It is like our lives are deliberately entwined, and I don’t understand why.”
“Most things to do with my family are incomprehensible.”
“This is not a laughing matter. Now please release me at once. I will leave London; only then will this madness be done with.”
“I don’t want you to leave London.” His denial was instant.
“Let me go, Captain.”
“Wolf.”
She made no move to pull out of his arms, instead allowing him to kiss her again. It was a mere brush of his lips over hers, but her sigh made his body harden.
“Rose,” he whispered before moving to her neck, where he tasted the warm, sweet-smelling flesh. Her shudder had him moving lower.
“Oh dear.”
Lifting his head, he looked at her.
“Oh dear?”
“Oh dear, I should stop you.” Her words held no strength.
“I will never hurt you, Rose. I hope you know that.”
She looked at him, really looked, as if she could read every secret and thought inside his head.
“I know that.” Her fingers went to his hair, and he answered the tug and kissed her again.
Wolf was soon lost in this woman. Lost in the taste and smell of her. The feel of her lush curves beneath his hands. Stroking the neckline of her dress, he touched the soft swells beneath, and her breath hitched. He craved to explore every inch of her.
Pushing the sleeve of her dress off one shoulder, he kissed the soft pale curve and was rewarded with a moan.
Gripping her waist, Wolf lifted her high and walked backward, lowering her onto the table against the wall.
“Wh-what are you doing?”
“Ravishing you,” he rasped. Kissing her, he eased the hem of her dress higher and stepped between her legs. His head was filled with her, and every rational thought had left but one. He had to have this woman or lose his sanity.
Chapter 26
His lips on her shoulder felt like a brand, the heat searing her skin. Rose couldn’t think, she could barely breathe.
She touched his chest, feeling the strength leashed beneath her palm through the soft material of his shirt.
“Yes, touch me, Rose.”
The buttons beckoned her. Touching the first, she slid it through the hole and exposed some of his chest. Releasing the second allowed Rose to slide her hand inside. So warm and hard. She’d never touched a man before, not intimately, and was not foolish enough to believe any man would feel as this one did.
“God that’s good.”
Her eyes sought his, caught and held.
“More.” His words were harsh.
Those green eyes were like the brightest gems now, fired to life with passion. She opened two more buttons and slid the other hand inside, roaming the muscles and planes of his chest. Each ridge of muscle and edge of a rib had his body twitching.
Rose held her breath as she moved lower, aware that he watched as she explored him. His hand moved from her shoulder to her neck, and then lower.
“You are so beautiful, Rose.”
“And you,” she whispered as his long fingers slipped inside the bodice of her dress and touched her breast again. She was flooded with wonderful heat once more. An almost savage need began to build inside her as he stroked her body back to life.
His lips took hers, urging her to respond, asking more from Rose.
She felt her bodice give again, and then suddenly both his hands were cupping her breasts, teasing the peaks.
“You feel like heaven in my arms.” His words brushed her lips before he moved lower, his lips on her chest. Then lower still until she felt his mouth on her breast.
“Wolf!” Ro
se cried as he licked her nipple, the sensation chorusing through her. He continued the sensual torment until she was breathless and aching. One hand then moved lower, easing beneath her skirts.
“More,” she breathed. “Much more.” She mimicked his words.
The hand trailed up the inside of her thigh and then inward, brushing the curls that hid her secrets, the curls that only she had touched, to explore deeper. The first slide of his finger over the sensitive nub between her thighs caused her to jerk violently. Wolf held her in place with a hand on her thighs, spreading her wider for his pleasure... and hers.
“Wolf,” she sighed as he continued to torment her and her passions rose to an almost unbearable point.
“Let go for me, Rose.”
She did as he slid a finger deep inside her. A feeling of exquisite pain and pleasure washed over her, had her shuddering in his arms.
“So beautiful.”
She opened her eyes and found him standing once more before her, his eyes running over her disheveled state. He gave her no time to adjust, simply took her mouth again, his hands still there, teasing, tormenting her damp flesh until she was writhing beneath his fingers.
“Touch me, Rose.”
Untutored, she moved by instinct. She reached for his breeches, opening the buttons, then slid her hand inside.
“Dear God, what you do to me!”
He felt hard and warm, and Rose wanted to create in him the delicious torment Wolf had given her. She’d long ago lost reason; there was only the two of them, nothing else mattered.
“Stroke me.”
He hissed as she tentatively slid her hand up and down his hard length.
“Do you want more, Rose?”
Looking at the rigid line of his jaw, Rose realized she did. Just this once, she wanted to feel what could be between a man and a woman, and she wanted it only with him... Wolf Sinclair, a man she could never have.
“Yes.”
He took her hand from his and stepped between her thighs.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Rose, but it is inevitable.”
“I know.”
Her aunt had told her what happened between a man and woman; Rose had just not believed it would ever feel like it did with this man.