Sinful Possession (4 page)

“This is ridiculous. I demand you take me home.” Lila
smoothed down her skirts and ran her fingers through her hair.

It had been so beautifully
done, she thought mournfully. But being attacked and then kidnapped hadn’t done
it any favours. She still recalled the excitement whirling in her belly at the
thought of her first ball. How long ago that seemed.

Now she was trapped in a
carriage with two men. Two identical men. Two devastatingly handsome, identical
brothers.

Harris flashed her a grin.
She narrowed her eyes at him.

“My family will have you
arrested.” While Ash ignored her, peering out of the carriage window, Harris’
grin widened. “Does the thought of being arrested for kidnap amuse you?” she
asked incredulously.

“We come from one of the
richest families in England, Miss Radley, and have had our fair share of
trouble. A little kidnapping is nothing.”

“A little kidna—!” She cut
herself off with her own annoyance as her voice shot impossibly high. These men
were utterly insane, and there was no reasoning with them.

“The fact is, Lila—” Ash
turned his gaze on her, those deep, dark depths drawing her in “—that someone
very powerful is trying to kill you. And frame me for it.”

“Why can’t we just go to the
police?” She folded her arms across her chest. “And I do not see how kidnapping
me will help.” An involuntary huff escaped her. “I was meant to be attending
Almacks in two days, and now I’ll miss it.”

Lila never intended to have
a pouty tone to her voice, but it was how she came across, like a petulant,
spoiled child. She knew it when Ash simply lifted a brow and Harris chuckled.
This wasn’t her. She was elegant and charming. Really, she should be able to
convince them to release her with ease. But her charms had fled, leaving her
feeling awkward and ridiculous.

“Is attending Almacks really
worth your life?” Ash asked her.

“Yes.”

Wonderful, now she sounded
even more ridiculous. She had not meant that either. But all this running away
seemed ridiculous. Someone would believe them surely? After all, the Cynfells
were rich and powerful as they had just stated. And her family were hardly
going to be ignored. They would simply finger the man who had tried to hurt her
and she could return to her lovely life.

Lila clamped her hands
around herself. This whole horrible, sickening event could be forgotten.

“I’ll admit it would be a
mighty shame for you to miss out on dancing with all the old stiffs at Almacks,
but you have us for company. Surely that more than makes up for it?” Harris
offered her a tilted grin.

She almost felt her lips
twitching into a smile. Though identical, she could tell them apart. There was
something innately charming about Harris, even though she knew he was doing it
deliberately. The very idea that being kidnapped by two—albeit handsome—men was
better than a ball was ludicrous, and yet she could not help wonder if there
were not many women who would happily reverse roles.

“Where are we going anyway?”

Ash tapped a finger on his
thigh as if debating how much to tell her. “To a place where you’ll be safe.”

“Which is?” She glared at
him until his jaw began to twitch. “I think it only fair you tell me
considering you have ruined everything for me.”

“Everything?” he snapped. “We
are saving your life and frankly, saving you from all those pompous fools who
were fawning over you yesterday.”

Lila darted her tongue over
her bottom lip, her mouth feeling suddenly dry. Those delicious eyes were
suddenly quite dangerous looking. Except she knew she was not in danger, did
she not? Why would he save her if he intended to harm her? And her knowledge of
the Cynfells told her that while they were the scandalous sort, they would
never harm a woman.

Even if they were holding her
against her will.

“T-they are not pompous. Nor
are they fools. But I do not see that it is any of your business.”

“They are all fools,” he
grumbled, “and you—” he thrust a finger at her “—became my business the moment
I rescued you.”

She thought of Lord Curly
Wurly and the Earl of Pomade. They probably were a little foolish, she
supposed. Before coming to London, she’d rather expected to be surrounded by
handsome young men much like...well, much like Ash and Harris. But most of the
men were ten years older than her, if not more. A lot more. Some of them were
the same age as her father.

Slowly, the second part of
his statement filtered in her mind. He’d turned his attention away from her
while Harris looked on in amusement. The fact that he wanted to protect her
struck some chord inside her. His fierce determination that he was responsible
for her somehow whirled deep inside and made her want to smile.

In spite of the ridiculous
circumstances.

Lord, it was all thanks to her
foolish notions. She’d spent too long dreaming and hoping for a man who would
sweep in and rescue her like some dashing knight. Ever since childhood, she’d
adored fairy tales.

But this was no bold,
dashing knight. He was a grumpy, implacable man in a rumpled shirt.

“I did not ask to become
your business,” she murmured, but he had closed his eyes and thrust his feet
out. “Is he asleep?”

Harris nodded. “Ash always
was good at sleeping. I’ve forever envied his ability to nap anywhere. Though I
do believe you’ll have to excuse him. After all, he was playing guard all
night.”

“You must see how ridiculous
this is.”

“Cynfells stick together.”

“Meaning you do see.”

Harris leaned back and
lifted a shoulder. “I suggest you get used to the idea that my brother, for
whatever reason, feels you are now his responsibility. And that also makes you
mine.”

“You do everything together,
do you? Even kidnapping innocent women?”

“Not everything.” He offered
her a wink.

She pretended to have no
idea what he meant and lifted her chin to perfect an entirely prim look.

“Lila, the fact is, you are
in danger and my brother is now involved. If the chief makes good on his
threats, I do believe he will get to you and frame Ash for your death. As chief
of police, he has the means and resources.”

A knot wedged in her throat
at his serious tone. For the first time since meeting him, he wasn’t smiling.

“How am I even to return
home? There shall be scandal.”

“Well, then you’ll just have
to marry one of us, will you not?” He grinned, and she knew he was joking though
it offered her no answer as to a real solution for her return.

And yet the idea of marrying
a near stranger rather than one of the pompous old sticks...no, no, no she didn’t
really mean that.

Did she?

Lila swung her attention to
the sleeping twin. With his dangerous eyes closed and his lashes fanning his
cheeks, he looked peaceful and almost...sweet? She nearly giggled at the idea
of how he’d react if she told him that. She glanced Harris’ way, and he watched
her with a knowing smile, as if he understood her thoughts. Oh deary dear, what
a pickle.

Harris leaned forward and
eyed her through dark eyes that did not seem to have nearly the same effect on
her as Ash’s did. How odd. “Lila, no one shall blame you. I promise all scandal
will be shouldered by us and rest assured we have weathered many scandals in
our time.”

“You’re really not concerned
what my family shall think? Kidnapping is a crime!”

She shook her head more to
herself than anything. Who were these men? How could they just take her and not
have one jot of worry what might happen to them? The police would catch up with
them soon. They had to, surely? Someone must have seen something and her family
would begin an investigation.

She pictured Uncle Bernard
blustering about, trying to organise a search party. A sigh escaped her. As
much as she loved them all, they were not the most practical of people. It
would probably take them several days to even notice she was gone, such was the
size of their family. It had always been quite easy to get lost amongst all the
cousins when they’d had their big family gatherings.

However, soon enough one of
her eager suitors would call or ask for her. Then there would be panic. She did
hope they weren’t too distressed. As much as she didn’t wish to be with these men,
she knew they presented no danger to her person.

“Will you tell me where we
are going?”

Harris shifted a sideways
look to his brother. Ash remained sleeping as though he had not a care in the
world. It was the first time she’d seen him look carefree. Throughout their
short acquaintance he had looked as though the weight of the world was upon
that severe brow of his. What could make a man who had no responsibilities,
plenty of wealth, and devastating good looks so angry? As far as she could see,
he had every reason to smile.

His brother offered her an
uneasy one.

“Harris?” she prompted.

“Stourbridge House in
Surrey.”

She let the name sink in. It
was familiar to her. Realisation dawned and snippets of words drifted through
her mind, words she’d picked up from the ladies’ columns. Words like
scandal,
affair, lewd behaviour
and many other unsavoury notions.

“Oh no,” she declared. “You
are not taking me there.” She stood in the confines of the carriage and rapped
the roof.

Ash jerked awake when the
vehicle rolled to an abrupt halt. Lila moved swiftly, diving for the door and
almost falling out because the steps weren’t down. The footman had already come
to her aid, unaware his masters had not asked them to stop. But warm fingers
curled over her wrist and prevented her from taking those few steps to freedom.
She turned her fiery gaze upon him.

“Release me.”

Ash shook his head.

“Release me. You cannot hold
me captive. You cannot take me there.”

Lila yanked against his hold
and her shoe slipped from the edge of the carriage. Were it not for the
diligence of the footman, she would have taken a tumble, but he gripped her arm
as she slipped and made an inelegant journey to the ground. Before she could
gather her wits and take in the surroundings of the narrow country road lined
with blackberry bushes, Ash was upon her, grasping her wrist once more.

Sense deserted her. “No.”

She would not be manhandled
or told what to do any longer. Everyone was forever telling her what to do. Her
whole life had been governed by other people’s expectations of her, and now
these men were going to ruin her one chance of freedom and finally fulfilling
what she’d been planning for her whole life.

They were going to ruin her.
The unfairness of it all made tears burn in her eyes. Why did she have to
witness that awful scene? Why could it not have been someone else? Other, silly,
selfish thoughts ran through her mind. Why couldn’t the killer have just been
some random attacker? Of all things to happen to her, she simply had to witness
the attack of a serial killer. How typically Lila of her.

She flailed. She scratched.
Pushed against the impenetrable wall of muscle that counted as Ash Cynfell’s
chest.

“No, no, no,” she cried. “You
will not take me there. You will return me home. I refuse to partake in this.
Return me home now, and we shall be saved from scandal.”

Ash gripped her other arm
and shook her lightly, drawing her attention to his face. Tears clouded her
gaze. Frustration burned in her chest. She wriggled again, but he held firm.

“I care little about
scandal. And surely a whiff of scandal is not worse than death at the hands of
a madman?”

“I think I’m in the hands of
a madman now.” Her voice had risen so high it cracked.

He winced. “I would rather
ruin you a hundred times over than see you dead.”

She stilled at this. There
was something dark and—dare she say it?—enticing about the way he’d said ruin.
It no longer sounded like the worst outcome in the world. She’d wager many a
woman would give anything to be ruined by one of the Cynfell men.

But not her. She struggled
again but to no avail. No, not her. She would not fall for his charms, whatever
those were. His piercing eyes and his firm chest or the lines in his brow. Yes,
those were his charms, somehow. She suspected her friends would think her
madder than the killer if she declared as much, but for some strange reason,
his darkness appealed.

What a fool she was.

“You need to release me,”
she said softly.

“No.” His eyes grew darker
when his pupils widened.

It was then that she realised
she—or perhaps he—had brought them chest to chest.

“I cannot go to...to that
place. I shall be ruined for certain. Take me home.”

“No.”

“Do you not care that you
are ruining me? Have you no heart?”