Lilac Temptress (51 page)

Drake touched his neckline, feeling
something slimy and peeled it away. “A blood worm,” he said simply,
tossing the critter to the ground.

“
A what?” Sierra glanced
down at her hands peering at the red and black spotted, sludgy
creatures. “Drake—” she managed to say before she
collapsed.

Drake reached out and caught her
before she hit the ground and quickly proceeded to undress
her—removing every article of clothing she wore. He lowered her in
his arms against the base of a huge Cypress tree, and sat with her,
inspecting every inch of her body carefully, making sure there was
nothing to be found that could harm her.

Nestling her as comfortably as
possible, he cradled her against his chest for a moment and then
proceeded to examine her soaked clothing. When he was sure they too
were free of the vampiric critters, he quickly redressed her and
gently laid her down next to the tree. Then he hurriedly checked
his own person and clothes.

With nothing amiss he lifted her once
again into his arms. He did not like that she was in and out of
consciousness. He lifted her onto Knight, mounting himself up
behind her, and then he summoned her horse with a whistle to follow
behind them as he began making his way back. Before long he came
across a patiently waiting Rosaline and Kyle, who had dismounted,
their horses secured nearby.

“
How is she?” Kyle called
out.

“
There was an accident in
the swamp. She’s fainted and has not regained full consciousness,”
Drake’s chest heaved with distress as he glimpsed the worry on Kyle
and Rosaline’s faces.

Kyle ran to Drake who had just halted
Knight. “Will she be well?” Kyle asked, concerned for Sierra’s well
being as he helped Drake lower her to the ground.

“
I don’t know,” Drake
answered honestly and descended Knight.

Kyle watched Drake effortlessly lift
Sierra up into his arms and they hurried toward Rosaline—who seemed
to mirror Kyle’s anxious feelings.

“
Please lead the horses
back to the stable. I will carry her to the house and don’t worry,
I’ll do everything I can to take care of her.” Drake scanned the
area. “Where is Isadora?”

“
She grew impatient waiting
on you, which set her into a fowl mood.” Rosaline replied. “She has
returned to the house to see to guests that have already started to
arrive. She expects you will see to her.”

“
I will, but not before
Sierra.” Drake headed back toward the mansion, cradling Sierra in
his arms and thinking about how antagonizing and selfishly Isadora
had behaved. He decided that there was not a single caring bone in
Isadora’s body.

* * *

Sierra had been quite comfortably
resting in her bed before she opened her eyes, startled to find
Drake intently watching her. He stared at her with suspicion that
was at odds with the longing in his eyes.

Sierra’s veranda doors stood partly
open, allowing a cool soft breeze into the room. The night outside
seemed to spill into the dim lit room. A shallow glow came from the
bronze bedside oil lamp. She peered closer at Drake. He was sitting
in a leather and amber chair beside her that he had apparently
dragged toward her bed.

As she regained
consciousness, the events that had transpired came into better
focus. She remembered the terror she felt when her horse broke away
into a gallop, and when she was flung from the steed. And then she
recalled her utter repulsion at the slimy, bulging bloodsuckers
that had affixed themselves to her hands. She spared a quick glance
to check if they were still there and then sighed in relief to no
longer see them. Her memories of the events following the incident
were a little fuzzy, but she had recollection of Drake carrying her
to Jeanette for a bath, and the kind older lady dressing her for
bed.
Could I have slept the entire day
away?

With his one leg perched over the
cushioned arm of the amber high-back chair, Drake watched her like
a hawk and coolly grinned at her.

“
How long have I slept?”
Sierra asked feeling touchy, somewhat uneasy at seeing Drake’s dark
trenchant eyes.

“
Very late into the night,”
Drake replied softly. “The doctor said you might wake around this
hour and he left something to help you sleep. The day’s excitement
was too much for you. You needed the rest.”

“
A physician was here?” She
hadn’t remembered being seen by a doctor.

“
You fainted after the
accident, and you have been in and out of consciousness. I didn’t
know if you had some injury I could not see. I had to be sure that
you were well,” Drake explained gently. “And you are.”

“
Thank you for looking
after me.” Sierra propped herself halfway up, adjusting her pillows
and pushing herself back against the headboard. She stared at the
way the light caught Drake’s eyes, breaking against his body,
casting his shadow against the darkness. He appeared almost
angelic, which made her want to rush into his arms. But his eyes
were unwelcoming and her desire was tempered by memories of how
harshly he had spoken to her after her fall. He had blamed her for
her horse riding accident, treating her as if she were a wayward
child.

“
So, you’ve waited this
long to scold me haven’t you?” Sierra accused Drake. “Can it all be
said and done with?”

Drake frowned at her. There was a hint
of agitation in his voice when he spoke. “I’m here to see how you
are recuperating. I am concerned about you.”

Sierra arched her brows in a gesture that said she wasn’t
convinced. “Then you should know that your very presence upsets me.
You are to be married the day after next and what will happen then?
Will you continue to sneak into my bedchamber late into the
night?”

“
So, you
have
noticed.” Drake
wondered if Sierra had known just how many times he had paid her
nightly visits while she slept. She may have thought he was
avoiding her, but in all truth, he could not stay away from her for
long, and his late night visits still had not come to an
end.

“
Sierra, let’s not do this.
Let’s not quarrel. I am not here for that. In fact I have been
holding onto this for quite some time, never really knowing the
right time to give it to you.” Drake retrieved a half-folded
envelope from the breast pocket of his vest and placed it into
Sierra’s hand.

“
What is this?” Sierra
asked, tentatively taking the envelope.

“
This is all you will ever
need to truly live the life you deserve,” Drake whispered, his
voice unsettled. It took every ounce of his strength to maintain
his composure and not tear the envelope away from her.

Sierra’s gaze questioned him. She
opened the envelope to see a bill of exchange written out to her in
a very high sum. Her mouth fell open in shock and offense at his
tremendous generosity.

“
I’ve recently restored my
home in Lafayette. You and Kyle can stay there for as long as you
need. I have already seen to it that you both will be well provided
for, with a small wait staff to assist you, and when you are ready,
work will be available for you both,” Drake said
earnestly.

Sierra covered her stomach with her
hand. Nauseated, she didn’t bother to suppress her disappointment
from him. “Drake—” Sierra solemnly whispered, diverting her eyes
away from the written offer.

“
We both know that you
cannot remain here after I am married. Rosaline must return to my
parent’s home, and Isadora will never allow you—and Kyle to
remain,” Drake said, hating that her stay with him was so
short-lived.

“
Don’t speak
of
her
to me,
don’t you speak another word! I won’t live stashed away in
Lafayette like some mistress of yours,” Sierra cried at Drake, and
then looked back at the draft in her hand. “I don’t want this. I
don’t want any of this from you!” She tore the paper into little
pieces and flung them at him.

Drake watched the fragments flutter
over the bed. “Sierra, just know that this is a very difficult
decision for me to make,” he said apologetically, hoping for her
understanding.

“
You make your difficult
decision sound all too simple,” Sierra stated
scornfully.

“
And what do you think will
happen after I am married?” Drake asked less than amused. “Do you
think we’ll all live together like one big happy family? I never
intended for...” Drake’s voice trailed off. He was uncertain as to
what he should say to her. He only knew that he never wanted this
to happen, but he also knew that there was no way he could convince
her of his sincerity. He wasn’t willing to say it out loud, but he
knew that he wanted her for as long as he could keep
her.

He wasn’t sure if he wanted her to
live happily ever after without him. And he knew that as soon as he
let her go into the city to continue her new life without him,
suitors would soon follow, and some gentleman would claim her for
himself.

Then he thought of Jason, and wondered
what it was that was exchanged between them last night. He wanted
to know if she still loved Jason, but then again if she did,
wouldn’t she have taken the money he’d just offered her, and ran
straight into Jason’s arms? Drake had become all too suspicious of
her since his meeting with Jason. Sierra had carried on as if Jason
had not even existed, leaving him to wonder if she ever really even
loved Jason at all.

Sierra stared at Drake while he sat quietly still. “Your
silence pains me. You never intended for what—to lure me away from
my home and prevent me from leaving your estate without your
permission? Do you think I like surviving off you? Do you think I
like watching Kyle forget about everything important that he should
be doing on account of his infatuation with Rosaline? He has done
nothing to hasten our departure.” Sierra sighed in
frustration.

Drake raised his brow in
consternation. “So there
is
something between them?”

“
Absolutely, Rosaline and
Kyle are... they are... they have a fondness of each other.” Sierra
watched for Drake’s reaction. She wanted to know what he thought of
her brother and Rosaline. Did he find the idea of them in a
relationship unsightly or improper? But Drake did not respond. He
only sat staring blankly at her.

“
Kyle will not act on his
love for Rosaline. He knows that he is just as unworthy of her as I
am of you!” Sierra said, with a hardened voice. Her unworthiness, a
thought that played over and over again in her subconscious mind,
finally came out as a confession to Drake—that the worlds they
inhabited were entirely too different to ever coexist. She
remembered telling him this once, and all her time spent with him
at Newhaven proved to her that she couldn’t be more
right.

Drake shifted uneasily in his chair,
bringing his propped leg forward.

Sierra stared at him silently for a
moment. If he were not going to speak to her, she would rouse words
from him, laying all her cards out on the table. In truth she
wanted him and as long as she had any fight left within her she
would not let him go easily. Her face softened and her eyes
moistened.

“
What is so wrong with me?
Why don’t you want me?” Sierra gazed downward at her hands,
gripping her bedspread. “You have no real intention of letting
Isadora go, do you?” She glanced up at him. “What is it that you
want from me? Do you want me to become your mistress and wait for
you, discretely tucked away, and willing to do your bidding when
you call on me?” she asked hopelessly.

Drake listened to her silently. He
wanted to know everything that was on her mind. He wanted to know
everything even if it meant he learned that she detested him. But
what he wanted to know most of all was, if Jason had any effect on
her. Anger still lingered inside of him. Did he even have a right
to feel angry when he was going to marry another woman?

“
You are used to acquiring
things, aren’t you? Am I just one of your possessions?”

Drake only watched her, and her
frustration increased with his continued silence.

“
Am I worthless to
you? And Isadora, is she your prize worth more than
her
weight in gold?”
Sierra whispered.

“
Please Sierra, stop now.
Don’t ask me such things,” Drake sighed. He couldn’t stand to hear
her carrying on like that, comparing herself to Isadora, making him
feel as if he should bear the burden of her suffering.

“
I am a foolish woman,”
Sierra cried tears down her cheeks that she tried to wipe away with
the back of her hand, but they seemed to sprout from a never-ending
well. She had meant to stay strong, to stay fearless, but while she
watched him—sitting there seemingly uncaring, her resolve
diminished.

Looking at him, she was reminded of
the first time she saw him in her small brothel bedroom, standing
confident and leaning against her bookshelf. She gazed her current
picturesque surroundings and suddenly felt immensely out of place,
as if she didn’t belong anywhere at all. “I should have never come
here. Do not worry, Drake. You will be rid of me at first
light.”