He's No Prince Charming (Ever After) (11 page)

Never.

He stiffened as bitter memories rushed forth. A breathy sigh escaped Danni, drawing his mind from the past. Her face was pale and the dark lashes caressed her cheek, which seemed to glow in the sun’s rays. Her exhaled breath rushed through the small gap in her lips, creating a soft snore. He smiled. Unbelievably, she looked as if being next to him was exactly where she wanted to be.

He wondered how she’d ended up here, in his arms. Could she have wished to comfort him? Obviously she had attempted to care for him. What secrets had he exposed? What had convinced her to stay with him in that state, rather than run through the night for help? She was a miracle indeed.

An unfamiliar feeling of tenderness washed over him. Biting back a moan from the stiffness in his movements, he dared to brush a length of hair from her jaw, enjoying the softness of her skin. She sleepily pressed her hips against his, and a slow simmer seeped through the depths of his abdomen. He gritted his teeth, determined to remain the gentleman. Sharing this moment with Danni was more than he ever thought possible. He would not push his luck.

Her hips shifted again, rubbing against his length. His instinct to return the movement roared. Desires he’d forgotten existed screamed to life. The physical aches in his joints and muscles were defeated by the agonizing need for her body.

His hand settled at her waist, his fingers pressed her lower, pulling her pliant body impossibly closer. Her head angled sleepily towards him as if sensing his intent. The beast inside him screamed to take her, but the gentleman he was fought back.

At Danni’s sigh of contentment, the beast won. He’d take only one kiss. Just one. He deserved as much for having to put up with her. His eyes slipped closed. His mind surged with the countless faces of women who’d rejected him, and he envisioned Danni’s horror if he woke her. But he could not stop himself. Fantasies of Danni writhing in passion beneath him flooded his mind. His imagination traced the outline of her ribs, felt her mouth moving hotly over him.

Another mewl passed her lips. Just a kiss. Just one and he’d never touch her again. Dipping his head, he brushed his mouth over hers. The first contact stunned him. His lips tingled with the smooth, soft sensation. His tongue slipped over them, savoring their warmth, pressing against them, deepening his kiss, tenderly. He drew away, knowing he must be content with that one stolen touch.

Suddenly, Danni’s caramel eyes snapped open, searing into his. He froze, millimeters from her face. He’d been caught.
Bloody hell.
Marcus braced himself for the screams, the curses, even—God forbid—the fainting. But he should have known better. This was
Danni
. She never did the expected.

“Marcus… ,” she breathed, the air caressing his still tingling lips. For the barest moment she peered into his eyes, frozen with indecision, and then her gaze moved to stare at his lower lip, and with a curious hesitance she gently lifted her head and fused their mouths together. Shocked, he held still, his mind blank.

She was kissing him.
Him.

Blood pounded in his ears as his mouth merged roughly with hers. Her arms linked around his neck, frantically fisting in his shirt, pulling him closer. Marcus didn’t have the strength to pull away, nor did he want to. With stunned disbelief, he cupped her neck, lacing his fingers through the tresses there, and held her head in place, terrified she would break free and run in terror at any second.

She continued to fascinate him the more time he spent with her. She was a puzzle he would gladly spend a lifetime trying to solve. She valued a marriage filled with love over the kind of status marriage that was so common in their times. She earned her living through trade, but often reminded him of a gentlewoman bred by the
ton.
Never afraid to share her opinion and outrage, she was vexing and downright stubborn. She also made him laugh and was a balm for his past. To her, he wasn’t the Beast, but a simple human being. He could not believe his luck at having found her.

A sigh of pleasure slipped between them. He deepened the kiss, lost in Danni’s sweetness. His tongue rasped over her mouth, smoothing the little wrinkles of her lips before dipping inside. The scent of roses filled his head, maddening him with desire. He ran his hands over her supple curves. She was made for pleasure, for sinking deep inside. The thought nearly undid him.

His hand dipped lower, kneading her bottom as she massaged his shoulders and stole her fingers through his curls, her nails gently biting into his scalp. He groaned and slid his mouth down her neck, over her collarbone, lavishing the sensitive skin. In his mind, an image emerged, of Danni soaked to the skin and stunning in the rain. His hand sought and seized her full breast through the thin fabric in which she was wrapped.

Danni stilled beneath him, breaking the kiss with a gasp of surprise. Had he gone too far? Quickly, Marcus rolled away, forcing space between them. His body raged with the need to continue. He panted, struggling to bring himself under control.

He sat up to find Danni staring at him with wide eyes, fingers pressed to her lips. Her thin shift gathered tantalizingly around her shapely legs, one strap hanging off her shoulder, revealing the tempting swell of her bosom. Her mass of hair hung wildly about her, gently curling around her shoulders. Flushed cheeks and the rapid rise and fall of her bosom made him clench his fists. He dared not breathe. Waiting…almost pleading…for her to tell him that everything was all right so that he could kiss her again.

“Why did you kiss me?” she whispered through her fingers.

The statement confused him. Why wouldn’t he? She was beautiful, vivacious, and caring. But why would she kiss him, a horrid beast inside and out?

“That should be my question.”

Her golden brown eyes clouded with so many flickering emotions he couldn’t name them. “I don’t know.” Her voice was soft, distant, and full of distress, “I-I can’t, Marcus. I can’t do this.”

The heartbreaking rejection in her voice cut him deeply. “Danni, I—”

He shifted to make himself comfortable, fighting exhaustion, weakness, and confusion. His headache returned with a pounding rage. He had no idea what to say, could find no words to express his desire for her without insulting her. She had seemed willing, but how could she really be attracted to a man like him?

Bitterly, he wondered if she’d kissed him out of pity. He always ended the fool. Marcus needed to stop deluding himself into thinking others could possibly care for him. Bitter memories flooded back. If only he’d had a different father, one who’d actually loved him and had not left him scarred, would she still reject him?

In his anger, he lashed out. Asking the one question that started it all. “You’re the one who woke up and kissed me. Why? Why did you kiss me?”

Why?
The question echoed in her mind as she ran from the shelter.
Why?

She had no idea.

Her skin stung from the slap of the short underbrush and wet tree limbs, but still she ran. Her lungs ached for air. The rain-soaked greenery drenched her shift, grabbing at her bare feet and tripping her. Danni stumbled over a branch, stubbing her naked toe. Biting back a cry, she kept going.

No, that was a lie. She knew exactly why she’d kissed him. When she’d opened her eyes after feeling that soft, hesitant brush of contact, she’d been able to focus only on those beguiling green eyes. In the instant before she reached for him, his soul had been laid bare.

And what a beautiful one it was.

Her heart had ached with the longing and tenderness displayed in those depths. She’d felt heavy with emotion and relaxed from the gentle warmth swathing her. She had forgotten about her promise to find Ginny and return posthaste to her father, her future fiancé, and her future life among proper society. Everything had felt so incredibly right in that single moment, she’d acted on instinct. Nothing but Marcus had mattered to her, just for that moment.

At the first contact, she’d felt a spark—like static electricity—along the seam of her lips. Then softness maddened the nerves, drowning her in the scent of cool rainwater clinging to his skin. Delicious heat pooled at her core, tensing her thighs and curling her toes. His fingers danced over the thin lawn of her chemise, sending shivers through her. His lower lip brushed hers and she could feel the subtle indent, immediately loving the friction the difference caused. It was tantalizing and uniquely him. Blood roared in her ears, drowning out all reason. She had never experienced such a sense of overwhelming pleasure.

She’d never dreamed she could feel so strongly. She’d heard the acts of love between a man and a woman could be joyful, but she’d imagined it wouldn’t be more than…pleasant. This passion was all fire and need. She’d certainly never felt anything like that in the company of the Earl of Hemsworth during their short courtship.

Danni slowed her frantic run, trying to steady her emotions. Fingers pressed to her swollen lips. They were warm and plump, and still tingled from Marcus’s kiss. Everything about her still thrummed, the imprints of Marcus’s palms were burned into her skin forever. If Marcus had not surprised her by touching her breasts, she shuddered to think how long she may have been willingly drugged by his gentle ministrations. He was utterly maddening.

Danni recognized Marcus was much more than a bitter, devilish, fortune hunter. From his fevered murmurings last night, she knew something was driving him to commit heinous deeds, and perhaps if she understood those forces, she could excuse his actions, but it still changed nothing. He was a haunted man, angry and defensive. He was not someone she could, should, become involved with. Not husband material at all. Especially in light of the careful plans her father and the earl had arranged for her future. Rationally, she agreed theirs was the best course for her. Emotionally, she had never been so confused.

She had to regain her focus on the goal of getting Ginny safely back to her family. Unmarried. Then Danni would go home, accept the Earl of Hemsworth’s proposal, and finally make her father happy again. He had been so sad since her mother’s death. She remembered his vibrant smiles and rapt attention to his family back then, and she knew her compliance to his wishes would do much to close the distance that had grown between them.

What had just happened with Marcus could not change anything.

But she knew, in reality, it had changed
everything
.

Tears of frustration stung her eyes. Marcus’s crushed, bitter expression haunted her every step forward. How could she face him? He was hurt, and rightfully so. She was embarrassed by her behavior and furious with herself. Hadn’t she decided to steer clear of him just before falling asleep?

A sapling drew a hiss of pain as it struck against her bare leg, clutching tightly to the damp shift. Her naked feet landed particularly hard on a rock, the sting a sharp contrast from Marcus’s gentle, heated touch. She groaned in irritation. Would everything serve as a comparison to him? She’s been so frantic to escape, she’d left behind her clothing and sack. She was being foolish, she’d have to go back. To face him.

Crashing underbrush startled Danni to attention. It could be anything, but it was most likely Marcus. Panic spiked inside her chest, emotions roiled. She wasn’t ready. She couldn’t face him yet. Releasing a burst of speed, she dashed through the brush, trying to outrun him. She just needed a little more time to gather her thoughts. But she could hear him getting closer. His long legs had the advantage.

Danni broke through the forest, stumbling as she ran. Her feet flew out from under her when she stepped into a slick of mud. Shifting in the air to protect herself, she tumbled down a hidden decline. She landed hard on compacted dirt, her body rolling and finally halting with her limbs spread out before her. A groan slipped through her clamped lips, suddenly aware that the woods had become momentarily silent. Clutching the back of her head, which had thunked solidly to the ground, she sat up, her body scraped and aching all over. Even the palms of her hands stung. A muffled shout sounding suspiciously like her name echoed from the woods. Gingerly she turned to look, afraid she would be able to see Marcus approaching. Disoriented, she slowly realized she sat in the middle of a narrow road. Unsteadily climbing to her feet, blinking at the muddy ground, she stumbled into a run again.

The pound of hooves shaking the ground made her pause.

She lifted her head, only to freeze in terror. Baring down on her was the largest horse she’d ever seen. Its rider pushed the animal hard and fast around the bend, its broad chest covered in sheen. They approached at an alarming rate, apparently unaware of her. The horse let out a squeal of alarm as it drew closer, but impending doom made her limbs immobile. She wanted to move, everything in her screamed to move, but she couldn’t. At the last minute, the rider finally noticed her person blocking the road. He yelled something inaudible over the pounding in her ears.

She was going to die.

Something hard slammed into her side, knocking her to the ground again. Arms caged her as they rolled, absorbing most of the shock. She heard grunts of pain over the hysterical beating of her heart. They stopped, arms and legs tangled together, amid the brambles growing wild along the side of the lane. She rapidly blinked her eyes and scrambled to her feet, disengaging from her savior in a panicked flurry. The rider was rapidly disappearing into the distance. The man didn’t even slow to see if she had survived.

She crumbled weakly to the ground, panting in relief. She had braced for pain that had never come. Danni turned her head to see Marcus still lying on his back in the brambles. His hand covered his eyes, and his chest was heaving with exertion as well. He snapped, “Don’t you ever do that again!”

She sniffed. “It is not as if I planned to be trampled today!”

He lifted his head, pinning her with his fierce green gaze. “Is that why you ran from me? You couldn’t miss your appointment with your maker?”

Rolling her eyes skyward, trying to ignore the worry etched in his emerald eyes, she rose unsteadily to her feet. With shaking hands she quickly adjusted her thin clothing. Fighting for calm, she bit out, “Stop being so childish, Marcus. I did not intend for this to happen.”