Stolen Kisses (30 page)

They traveled well south of Mayfair, apparently heading for the Thames, and Lilith wondered what in the world would bring the Duke of Wenford into this part of London. She looked about uneasily. There were no peers around to wonder what she was doing alone on the streets, but then again, there was no one to help her in case something should happen. And there was no sign of Jack at all.

Dolph stopped again, and she ducked into the doorway of a cobbler’s shop. Flexing her tired toes in her thin shoes, she counted to ten and then leaned out again. The duke had vanished. “Blast.” Lilith scowled, leaving her shelter and hurrying forward. She glanced into the shop windows as she passed, making certain he hadn’t stopped to make a purchase somewhere.

She passed a narrow alley between two shops and immediately sensed someone there. Before she could do more than turn her head, the duke had wrapped one arm about her waist and arms, and the other across her mouth.

“Good day, my dear. And what are you doing here alone, so far from home?” he whispered in her ear, and dragged her backward into the alley.

Lilith tried to shriek, but only a strangled whimper came from her muffled mouth. She kicked as hard as she could, and was rewarded by the sound of Dolph’s grunt. He tightened his grip and jerked her roughly sideways, making her flail about to keep her balance. She wrenched one of her hands free, and frantically reached back and yanked at his hair.

The hand across her mouth let go. Before she could
scream, he slapped her hard across the face. “Stop fighting, or I’ll break your neck,” he growled, replacing his hand.

Lilith blinked, dazed by the blow. Suddenly it made sense. Dolph hadn’t been wandering about aimlessly while she followed him. He’d known she was there and had been leading her away from assistance. Which meant he had to know that Jack was after him, as well.

His tight grip was cutting off her air, and she stopped struggling to conserve what little breath she had. At the far end of the alley he yanked open the back door of what looked like two stories of clerk’s offices. Dolph shoved her against the foot of the stairs, then turned and locked the door behind him. Lilith scrambled to her feet and ran toward the front of the building. Immediately the duke was after her, grabbing her shoulder before she could dodge out of the way. He pushed her into the wall, and she stumbled and fell.

“Leave me alone!” she shrieked, kicking him again.

Dolph hauled her back to her feet and yanked her toward the stairs. “You were the one following me,” he said calmly, half-dragging her up the stairs behind him. “What sort of gentleman would I be if I let you wander these dangerous streets alone?”

“You’re no gentleman,” she gasped, grabbing for the bannister. “You’re a monster!”

They reached the top of the stairs, and Dolph pushed Lilith through one of the two doorways there. She stumbled into a large loft, half-filled with old desks and chairs and cabinets, faded from weather and covered in dust. Pale sunlight glinted through both of the dirty windows on either side of the near corner. With a shudder she watched him lock the door behind them and pocket the key.

Dolph crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back
against the door. “
I’m
a monster? Do you mean to tell me that it was merely a coincidence that I noticed Dansbury following me earlier, and that ten minutes after I evaded him, you began trailing me? Not very subtle, my dear. And not very wise. You don’t want to make me angry, you know. I have a rather black temper.”

Lilith looked at him, another shiver running through her. The risks she had taken that morning had been unwise in the extreme, but for perhaps the first time in her life, she hadn’t thought about the consequences of her actions. Jack had needed assistance, and she’d done her best to render it.

“Where are we?” she asked, swallowing her distress and her anger. At the moment, she needed all of her wits.

He pursed his lips, then shoved away from the door and came forward a few steps. “The office of my late uncle’s solicitor. I didn’t like him, so I turned him away. In a happy circumstance, the Duke of Wenford owns the building. And I am the Duke of Wenford.”

Lilith did not like the predatory look in his eyes. She pressed herself closer into the corner between the windows. “Was the solicitor cheating you?” she asked, to keep him distracted. She glanced sideways. Both windows were latched tight.

Dolph shrugged and advanced another step. “I didn’t like him,” he repeated. “You are lovely, stupid or not.” He reached out and touched her cheek with his fingers.

Lilith flinched at the caress and edged away toward the door. “Don’t.”

The duke turned to keep her in sight, a slight smile on his face, reminding Lilith of a cat stalking a mouse. “Why not? We are to be married, after all.”

“You can’t be serious,” she protested. “You still think to marry me?”

He shrugged, following her again. “Why not? Dansbury is certainly in no position to wed you. And if a scandal breaks over your attachment to him, which will happen if you refuse me, no one else will have you.”

The duke strode forward and grabbed her by the shoulders. Before Lilith could do more than gasp, he lowered his head to force a hard, wet kiss on her. He held them together, shoving her arms down to her sides when she began to struggle, and mauled her for a long, dreadful moment. Finally he lifted his mouth away from hers and thrust out his tongue to slickly lick her cheek.

Revolted, Lilith shoved herself backward away from him. She grabbed for the door handle, but it didn’t budge under her frantic flailing. Desperate, she looked around, and for a heartbeat, froze. Jack looked at her through the dirty window, then ducked sideways out of sight again. For a fleeting moment Lilith wondered if she’d gone mad, and then Jack leaned into view again. A pistol in his hand, his lips stretched in a thin, angry line, he motioned her to move away from Dolph.

If she moved, he would kill Wenford. And then Jack would hang for certain. There had to be another way. “If you insist that we must marry,” she said to Dolph, stopping her retreat so suddenly he nearly ran into her, “then why do you make it so impossible for me to care for you?”

“Dear Lilith, you are the object of affection of the Marquis of Dansbury. And from your foolish activities of this morning, you bear him considerable affection as well. What sort of bride consorts with her husband’s worst enemy?”

The urge to look toward the window again was nearly overpowering. “The marquis is ruining my brother,” she said. “I do what is necessary to prevent that.”

Dolph cocked his head, his expression skeptical.
“You say your loyalty to Dansbury is in truth only loyalty to your brother and your family?”

At least he had stopped mauling her. “Yes, Your Grace. William’s ruination would be more than my father could bear. Once the marquis realized how much trouble you had him in, he insisted that I use my connection with you to assist him, or he would destroy my brother.”

The disbelief on his face didn’t lessen in the slightest. “And did you not consider that I would see him arrested, so that he would not be able to threaten you any longer?”

Lilith ducked her head, feigning shame and embarrassment. “No, I did not.” She looked up at him again, thankful he thought her an idiot. “I was frightened. I hadn’t realized that you were more than a match for him.”

“Flattery, sweet Lilith?” Dolph approached again, and this time she closed her eyes and didn’t protest when he kissed her. He tried to tease her mouth open, but she pretended not to understand what he was attempting and kept her lips locked together.

“I can’t like the way you’ve treated me,” she said, wanting to wipe his foul taste from her mouth, “but I suppose what he did was even worse. At least you promise me a title. All he did was threaten me.” Lilith wondered how bold she dared to be. Dolph was self-centered and arrogant, but he wasn’t stupid. “So I suppose that, ungentlemanly as you are, I owe you a debt of thanks.”

With a smile, Dolph reached up to run his hands over her breasts through her green muslin. “If you truly want to thank me for rescuing you from Dansbury, I can think of a way.” He leaned forward again, licking the base of her throat and the line of her jaw.

Jack could touch her like that, but no one else. She
was supposed to be maidenly and pure, so she flinched wildly and backed toward the door again. “Your Grace, we are not yet married!” she protested.

“But what of the debt you owe me?” he pursued, grabbing her wrists and jerking her up against him.

“That is hardly reason enough to anticipate our vows, Your Grace!”

She could feel his growing arousal through her skirt, and fought down an expression of loathing. She glanced toward the window again, but there was no sign of Jack. With all her heart she hoped he was listening, and that she could get him the confession he needed.

Pretending to be swayed by his rough embrace, Lilith said breathlessly, “But I certainly prefer you to your uncle—I couldn’t stand to be touched by that old man.”

Dolph nuzzled her neck wetly, his hands roaming down her back to her buttocks. “Then you owe me an even larger debt, my dear—I did save you from being mauled by him.” Dolph lifted his head to look her in the eye. “But don’t think you’ll be able to do anything with that,” he growled, his expression going ugly for a moment. “You’re about to be ruined. If you say anything before our marriage, I’ll make certain the entire
ton
knows what a whore you are.”

He shoved her backward, shifting his leg so that she tripped over it. Flailing, Lilith lost her balance and fell to the floor. The duke knelt between her legs and licked his lips wetly.

Glass shattered into the loft, and Dolph barely had time to turn his head as Jack burst into the room and threw himself on the duke. Lilith shrieked and scrambled out of the way as the two men slammed into the floor beside her.

Jack struck Dolph hard in the face with his closed fist. “Does that hurt?” he snarled.

The duke shoved him away and scrambled to his feet. Blood welled at one corner of his mouth, and he wiped at it with his hand. “Dansbury! What in God’s name—” He stopped, turning to look at Lilith. Fury touched his light blue eyes. “You harlot! You whore! You think you can—”

Jack hit him again. “I was going to shoot you,” he said in a black, angry voice Lilith had never heard from him before, “but I decided that beating you to death would be more satisfying.”

With a snarl Dolph swung at him, but Jack dodged out of the way and landed another blow. The duke staggered backward and hit the floor hard. Jack advanced on him again, and Dolph dug into his greatcoat pocket. He pulled free a pistol and pointed it at the marquis.

Lilith screamed.

Jack skidded to a halt, his eyes not on the pistol, but on the face of the man holding it. “Very gentlemanly of you, Wenford.”

Dolph smiled nastily, blood turning his teeth red. “I told you I wouldn’t kill you,” he returned. “Perhaps I was in error about that.” He glanced over at Lilith and turned the pistol in her direction. “I do mean to ruin you first, though. I know you’re armed, Dansbury,” he said, his gaze staying steadily on Lilith as she crouched against the wall. “Put your weapons on the floor.”

“No, Jack,” Lilith sobbed, terrified for the marquis. “He confessed. There’s nothing he can do.”

“And who’s going to believe a whore and a killer?” Dolph wiped at his mouth again, glancing down at the blood on his fingers. “Especially one who’s just tried to murder me. You’re going to hang, Dansbury. Drop your weapons!”

Lilith looked at Jack, to find his gaze on her. Slowly he reached into his pocket and removed his pistol, bend
ing to set it down on the floor. A second pistol followed.

“Jack, no,” she whispered.

“I’ll not make the wrong choice this time,” he returned quietly. “All right, Wenford. Now leave her be.”

“Move away,” the duke instructed, and Jack slowly stepped back from his pistols.

“I’m your prisoner, Wenford,” Jack said in a more forceful voice. “Leave her be.”

“My prisoner,” Dolph repeated, finally returning his full attention, and the pistol, to Jack. “My prisoner. You know, I do hope they wait to hang you until after my wedding.”

“I’d kill you myself before I’d marry you,” Lilith snapped. She edged closer to Dolph, her eyes on the pistol. If she could wrench it away from him, Jack would have a chance.

“You’ll not be fit to marry anyone else,” he retorted, glancing at her. “I’ll have you, and I want him to know it. I’d thought to take care of that here, but I suppose I’ll have to wait until I get him to Old Bailey. Perhaps this evening, dear.”

Lilith moved closer still and took a deep breath. Then she screamed at the top of her lungs, and in the same second, hefted a three-legged chair as hard as she could sideways into Dolph’s chest. He jumped at the sound, then stumbled as the chair thudded heavily into his sternum. Jack swung in to grab Dolph’s hand and wrenched the pistol free.

“I don’t think you’re going to be doing anything this evening,” the marquis snarled, tossing the pistol into the corner.

Dolph launched himself at Jack. The two men crashed into one of the old desks, knocking it over and breaking one of the legs off. Lilith scrambled out of the way, kicking the duke hard as he rolled past her. He grunted
and turned on her. Jack hurled himself into Dolph’s shoulders, knocking him back to the floor. Grabbing a handful of the duke’s perfect blond hair, Jack slammed his head into the wooden planks. Then he did it again. And again.

It didn’t look as though he intended to stop. “Jack, that’s enough.” Lilith climbed to her feet, alarmed at the black fury in the marquis’s eyes.

“Not if he’s still breathing.” Again Dolph’s head smacked into the floor, and he groaned.

The door handle behind them rattled, and she started. Something heavy thudded against the door. It creaked loudly, but didn’t budge.

“Oh, no,” she hissed. Either Dolph wasn’t alone, or Lord Hutton had found Jack. “Jack, stop! Stop!” She stumbled over and grabbed Jack’s arm, trying to pull him off the duke. “Don’t kill him! Please!” With only her and Jack to speak against Dolph, it would be almost impossible to convince the law. If Dolph was dead, Jack was done for.