Too Dangerous to Desire (9 page)

The panic, the fright in her speech were hard to miss. He relaxed his brutal hold, gathered the woman into his arms.

A heat filled him at the firm body in his em
brace, so round and feminine—and scantily at
tired. He stroked her bare arms. She was in a shift: a light and fluffy and meager shift.

Voice strangled, he said, “It’s all right.”

“I’m so sorry, Adam.”

“Don’t be.”

“But I could have killed you!”

He shushed her, stroked the long locks of her hair in comfort. “I’m proud of you.”

“For what?”

“For taking care of yourself.”

“But I made a miserable mistake!”

“You didn’t know it was me.” He inhaled the tangy scent of lemon soap, let it fill his senses. “You
can
protect yourself, don’t you see?”

“Did I hurt you?”

“It’s just a scratch.”

“Oh, Adam.” She reached for his face, cupped his cheeks. Her fingers trembled as she brushed them across his rough skin, wiping away the blood. “Forgive me.”

He was rapt by her tender touch. “There’s noth
ing to forgive. I was a reckless fool to storm back here and startle you. I apologize.”

She pressed her thumb to his cheek to stave off the light flow of blood. Her other hand whisked across his other cheek, searching, exploring.

“Why
did
you storm back here?” she said. “What happened?”

He could feel her timidity as she caressed him, her curiosity, too. She moved her fingers down the side of his face—and he let her do it.

He closed his eyes, took in the rich waft of citrus fragrance. His heart throbbed at the supple way she rubbed against him, her soft breasts brushing his chest as she stroked his jaw in avid appraisal.

“I failed,” he said, his voice a rasp. “I failed to fulfill my vow.”

“I don’t understand.”

How he ached for a woman’s touch! It rumbled deep inside him, the forgotten need. And Evelyn’s feminine fingertips ignited that burning desire in the very depths of his lonely soul.

“I can’t explain, Evie.”

In a feather stroke, she swept her fingers across his lips.

It was more than Adam could bear. He dropped his head with a groan and took her sweet mouth into his own.

*

Evelyn was overwhelmed. A blast of sensation coursed through her blood, her bones, stunning her. She stilled in Adam’s hot and hard embrace, let his mouth move over hers in fervid strokes.

The muscles in her breast tightened. A pulse thumped loud in her ears, drowning out the stormy swell of the sea, the chirping night critters.

So lonely for so long, she felt the intimate touch and taste of him fill her with strength and heat, and she greedily devoured the balm he offered with a kiss.

A kiss.

It was not the gruesome experience her sister had talked about in her letters . . . It was thrill
ing. Invigorating. She opened her mouth for more, gasped when he slipped his moist tongue across her upper lip, licking her, caressing her.

Again his mouth moved hard across hers. Tendrils of warmth wrapped around her loins, a pulsing heat—a wetness—invading her nether region in the most sensuous way. It alarmed her . . . excited her.

Evelyn hugged him, afraid to lose the wonder
ful closeness she shared with him. He didn’t pro
test. He slipped his hand into the thick tresses of her hair to direct the tempo of the kiss, to keep it spirited and strong.

Evelyn pinched his shoulder, his neck in a return embrace. She was lost in the zeal of the fiery kiss. The heady passion was like a spell, charming her.

“Oh, Evie.”

Adam’s hand moved across the curve of her spine, making her shiver—and ache. She ached in the most wondrous way at his artful touch, his rugged words.

His hand slipped down her arching back, lower and lower. She quivered at the feel of stalwart fin
gers against her backside, kneading the supple flesh of her posterior.

But when he pressed her closer to his midriff, and she sensed the hard prick of his manhood, she tensed.

The spell broke.

Her hesitation, her resistance must have been palpable. Adam quickly let go of her lips, removed his hands from her flesh as if she had burned him.

Bemused, Evelyn blinked a few times, search
ing for clarity, her wits.

But all she could hear was Adam’s rough breath, a sensuous reminder of the scorching kiss they had shared—and that she had craved.

“Go back inside the cottage, Evie.”

Sound advice.

Evelyn didn’t quarrel with the man. He was still a formidable figure in the shadows, one with a magical touch. She might find herself in his em
brace once more.

She didn’t mind the thought.

She
should
.

Evelyn lifted the hem of her shift and skirted away. Once inside the shelter of the cottage, she curled under the comforting covers of the bed and willed her wild heart to beat at a steadier pace.

She was so confused. The kiss, so delightful, had offered her a moment of bliss. A moment to forget her troubles and connect with another soul in a way she had never connected before.

But Adam was a man. If she found herself tan
gled together with him in a sinful way, he would hurt her. The way
he
had hurt her sister.

Evelyn still remembered the frightful letters Ella had written, warning her about the marriage bed and what transpired between the sexes. She didn’t want to have
that
kind of an experience.

But the kiss?

Evelyn touched her swollen lips in memory. She would cherish the kiss.

Always.

She closed her eyes and tried to sleep . . . but a nagging thought intruded upon her dreamy re
flections.
Why
had Adam kissed her?

He had offered to protect her. But was it all a scheme? Did he secretly want to abuse and take advantage of her like all the others?

Evelyn had struggled hard to escape the tyr
anny of her father, the wickedness of Vadik. Was she now under another man’s autocratic hold? Adam did have a tantalizing pull over her—more so after the kiss!

Evelyn lifted her fist to her lips in quiet distress.

How was she going to learn the truth?

nm

dam couldn’t sleep. He walked along the beach, listening to the soft and lyrical swell of the tide. He stroked his ring finger, searching for the wedding band.

But it was not there.

He looked down at his empty hand. He had lost the gold band at sea—on the night Tess had perished.

Adam stopped rubbing his finger and closed his eyes. He reflected upon his wedding six years ago: a majestic occasion. It’d been the hap
piest day of his life. Even his scandalous brother, the Duke of Wembury, had arrived sober to the ceremony. With his family, the
ton
at large in attendance, he had vowed to forever honor his beloved Teresa.

But tonight he had broken his promise to be faithful to Tess; he had kissed another woman.

Evelyn.

Adam opened his eyes and blinked to clear the
watery image of Evelyn from his mind. She had touched a lonely place in his soul, stirring him. A carnal place, too, for the memory of her plump lips and tender touch scorched his blood even now.

And the guilt was overwhelming.

Adam bowed his head in shame. He had en
joyed the kiss, so much so that he ached deep inside to taste Evelyn again. And that she’d of
fered him her lips without protest, that she had kissed him with an equally frantic desire, revived him from his ascetic existence. Even the thrill of chasing Black Hawk did not match the balmy sweetness of Evelyn’s mouth against his.

He had betrayed Tess.

There was an odd odor in the air.

Adam sniffed the sea breeze. It smelled like . . . smoke.

He swiftly sprinted across the beach, scaled the grassy knoll—and chilled.

The cottage was on
fire
!

“Evie!
”

Adam bounded toward the abode, pounding across the grass in long and desperate strides.

Thick smoke curled and wafted through the humid night air as the fire quickly spread, the wood structure an inferno.

Adam rounded the front of the blazing cottage. As he neared the door, he heard the scuffle, the choking cries.

A devil had Evelyn in a tangle of limbs. He was dragging her through the smoke, his meaty fore
arm pinned under her chin.

Adam snapped.

He grabbed the brute with savage energy, and cracked him right between the eyes. The oaf slumped to the ground unconscious.

A weak Evelyn dropped to the dirt, too. Adam knelt beside her, cradled her in his arms.

“Evie!”

She sputtered and coughed wildly, and he let out a shout of relief to hear her muddled cries.

She was still alive!

The woman’s tears stained his wrist; her lips parted in a silent wail. After a few strangled gasps, she let out a wretched sob, so heartfelt, it pierced Adam’s soul.

But Adam had no time to comfort a distraught Evelyn further. Two more devils moved through the smoke just then, wicked apparitions aglow in the firelight.

Filled with a rabid desire to protect the woman in his arms, Adam reached for the pistol still tucked behind his back. He aimed. But the villain pounced, knocked the gun clear out of his grip.

The other fiend snatched Evelyn.

She screamed, “Adam!”

Adam roared amid the chaos, struggled with the zealous scoundrel keeping him from Evelyn.

The man was a formidable brute. He pinched Adam’s elbows behind his back, forcing the arms to dislocate at the shoulders.

Adam girded against the pain, thrust all his strength, his power forward to counterbalance the devil’s debilitating hold.

He had to get to Evie!

Sweat burned in Adam’s eyes, the heat from the flaming cottage intense. He couldn’t see Evelyn anymore, but he could hear her hollers. They ripped him in two, her frantic cries.

“Evie!” Adam shouted. “Fight him!”

One
more
villain approached. Outnumbered, Adam was crushed beneath the load of two bodies, his breath scarce, his arms weak and numb. A hard stab of knuckles to the lower back sparked in Adam a devastating spasm, crippling him for a moment, making him faint.

The gun.

Adam could see the pistol, the metal luminous under the raging glow of fire. Trapped under a heap of bodies, the confusion great, he managed to maneuver an arm and recover the weapon.

A shot rang out.

One fiend yelped and rolled backward, clutch
ing the bleeding wound at his shoulder.

Adam aimed for the other villain, but he missed, the pistol knocked from his hand again. Still, the interruption afforded Adam an oppor
tunity to gather his wits and strike at the rogue sitting on top of him.

A solid jab to the nose cracked the devil’s bone. He sputtered, the blood oozing from his nostrils.

Adam shoved the brute away. Unfettered from the clinging devils, he dashed into the darkness, away from the suffocating smoke, and toward the spot he had last seen Evelyn being dragged away.

“Evie!”

But she was gone.

Frenzied, Adam shouted her name once more.

But only the splinter of wood and the lash of flames as the cottage crumbled were heard.

“Adam!
”

Adam whirled around and spotted a group of spooked and tethered horses.

And then he saw Evelyn.

A henchman was struggling to haul her across one of the mounts.

Adam rushed toward the grappling couple. Dizzy, his body cramped, he didn’t care that he was in poor condition to engage in fisticuffs. He grabbed the villain and dragged him from the horse. Evelyn tumbled, too, shrieking.

But a swift punch to the jaw didn’t even daze the fiend. He in turn knocked Adam to the ground and straddled him before he reached for Adam’s throat. The devil squeezed, sucking the breath from Adam’s lungs.

Adam could feel the blackness encroaching.

At the sound of Evelyn’s cries and rasping cough, Adam gathered his remaining strength and aimed for the one part of the villain exposed to him.

He shot his fist right at the man’s cock.

The scoundrel seized.

One more knock across the head with his fist, and Adam had rendered the devil insensible.

“Evie.” Adam gasped and massaged his tender throat. “Are you all right?”

She was wheezing.

Bright spots dotted Adam’s eyes, for he, too, was gasping for air. He crawled over to Evelyn, reached out for her . . .

Adam opened his eyes and peered into the darkness, the shadows in the room taking shape.

Where was he?

He lifted his head to better explore his sur
roundings, but the spasms in his skull pressed him to keep still.

He was dizzy and weak. Blood dripped from the wound at his temple into his eye, blinding him for a moment. He blinked to brush away the moisture.

What had happened?

He was drained of energy. He tried to move, but something cold and heavy prevented him . . .

Adam was stripped to his trousers, chained— and hanging.

He clenched his teeth to gird against the in
tolerable abuse. He was suspended from a beam, wrists bound in shackles. His toes touched the ground, but the sharp stinging in his shoulders had him gasping for air.

His memories a blur, Adam concentrated on the ghostly sights and sounds storming his weary brain. Flashes of light, screams filled his head. Heat scorched his skin.

There had been a fire . . . at the cottage . . . and a fight . . . Evie!

“Evie.”

Adam rasped the name, his smoke-stained lungs burned and dry. Fresh torment pumped through his blood, making him restless, eager to find Evelyn.

“Evie is not here.”

The rough voice came from the shadows.

Once more Adam lifted his head, dismissed the spastic pulsing to explore the blackness. “Who are you?”

“I am Dmitri.”

The shadow shifted.

Adam focused his watery gaze on the moving darkness, but his vision was a blur; he could not make out the villain’s face in the dim light.

“Where is Evelyn?”

Another bout of vertigo brushed over Adam, and he lowered his head to release some of the biting pressure. He had to stay awake. He had to find out what had happened to Evie.

“Evelyn is with my master,” said Dmitri.

The nausea in Adam’s belly churned. Evie was with
him
!

Brutal images raged through Adam’s already tortured mind: images of Vadik ravishing, then killing Evelyn.

The grief in Adam’s heart ballooned . . . the rabid fury, too. He flexed his muscles and thrashed de
spite the pounding pulses in his head, hoping to break free of the beam.

“Do you wish to leave?” said Dmitri, his voice heavy with an unfamiliar accent. “Are you dis
satisfied with my hospitality? Let me see if I can make you more comfortable.”

Adam stilled.

The shadow moved across the room. A low-burning fire dwindled in the hearth . . . or was it a forge? Adam’s vision was still a blur.

“You caused us a considerable amount of trou
ble tonight,” said Dmitri.

Us? The henchmen?

“Not nearly enough,” gritted Adam.

The shadow laughed. He pumped the bellows, feeding the hungry flames now bursting with life.

Dmitri approached again, a radiant red iron poker in his grip. “My master is a curious man. He would like to know what transpired between you and his fiancée.”

Adam could better see the villain’s face as his eyes adjusted to the faint light—and he recog
nized the devil as the henchman who had stran
gled Evelyn.

Adam spit in the fiend’s face.

The villain was unperturbed. He wiped his brow and resumed his narrative with cool com
posure. “You are a violent man, Adam.” He lifted his eyes, resplendent under the glow of the steam
ing iron poker. “It is your name, is it not? It is what she called you?”

Adam recollected Evelyn’s panicked screams for help. Sweat poured down his back, the burn
ing desire to reach her—save her—consuming him.

The hot iron poker hovered a short distance from Adam’s moist chest. So close, he could feel the heat radiate and blister his skin.

“I have three comrades nursing wounds,” said Dmitri.

Adam noted the bruise swelling between the villain’s eyes, the spot where he’d cracked him. “Pity I didn’t do you more damage.”

The devil rolled the iron poker across the ex
panse of Adam’s breast. The fiery metal never touched his flesh—but it came perilously near.

“I’m afraid I might have to do you more damage if you do not cooperate,” said Dmitri.

“Then I suppose I have you to thank for this gash in my head?”

“No, that was my comrade’s doing . . . but you do have me to thank for this.”

Adam roared at the sweltering contact between his flesh and the burning iron.

The scoundrel whispered, “That was just a tap.”

Nausea and dizziness overwhelmed Adam. For a moment, he believed he would black out. But after a few steady breaths, he regained his wits and maintained his senses.

Teeth gnashing, Adam growled, “I thought you were supposed to make me more comfortable?”

“Did I say that?” The villain moved the poker steadily across Adam’s chest, a hairbreadth away. “Forgive me. I intended to make
myself
more com
fortable . . . and it gives me great comfort to cause you pain.”

Adam didn’t doubt the man’s words. His thoughts returned to Evelyn. What horrors she must be suffering! Grief filled him, suffocating him even more. His desire to save the woman was thwarted by chains and a pusillanimous devil!