Dare to be Mine (9 page)

Exhausted, she fell into bed, the tears
fresh on her face and Elyssa settled into a numbness of her own making.
Difficult as it would be, she must face what life had cruelly dealt her and
simply make the most of it. Any hopes of romanticism or thoughts of a happy
marriage must be done away with. Finally, her eyes drifted shut and Elyssa fell
into a restless sleep.

________________

It was roughly midnight, Daniel guessed,
still reclining in the far recesses of the stables, where he'd been since
before ten o'clock. She told him she could not see him again, but Daniel still
hoped Revee would come. He could not explain this fierce obsession with the
young woman, only knew that his every thought revolved about her.

At that moment, he heard a sound at the
other end of the stables. Having long since gone to sleep after more than a few
drinks, the stable hand would not be up and about. Daniel knew that for a fact,
for he'd seen to it himself that the man had imbibed his share of whiskey
during their card game before finally retiring to his humble loft over the
stable. Daniel hadn't wished to be disturbed should Revee decide to come, hence
his generosity with the man's favorite bottle of spirits.

Fleet of foot, Daniel was at the other
end the hint of a smile e we of the stables in mere seconds. Stray strands of hair came to rest in front
of Daniel's eyes as he skidded to a halt, not wishing to appear as desperate as
he felt at the hope it might be her. His lips curved upward when he spotted the
lovely sight standing in the doorway staring back at him. She had come after
all.

Barely able to contain his pleasure,
Daniel felt like a schoolboy elated at the chance his feelings might be
returned by the prettiest girl in town. He ran his fingers through his dark
locks, removing the hair from in front of his eyes, for Daniel wanted nothing to
impede his view of the enchantress.

Elyssa wore an informal riding outfit
she'd had for years. The snug brown pants and jacket covering a pale gray
blouse were considered quite unladylike and Elyssa rarely wore it. She donned
the outfit at the last second before unexpectedly leaving the solace of her
bedroom in the dead of night. Her eyes wary, Elyssa appeared almost on the
verge of bolting, and Daniel wanted to say nothing to prompt her to do so.

"I knew you would come," his
low voice caressed. Elyssa trembled at the sound of his voice, smooth as silk
and too seductive by far. It had been a mistake to come, she admonished
herself, for the man held some sort of power over her, and she'd been a fool to
forget that.

It was obvious by merely looking at him
that he was no man to be put off by anyone, male or female. His chest,
partially bared to view, tempted Elyssa to flex her fingers across its width.
His shirt was halfway unbuttoned and untucked, his dark pants still inside his
black boots. His raven
hair,
left long and loose, gave
him the look of a rogue.
A beautiful, tempting rogue.

He was a blackguard, pure and
simple––making her blush simply by staring at her so. Elyssa had told herself
he would be long gone by this time. She’d convinced herself she was merely
going for a late night walk to rid her mind of the cobwebs put there by Percy.

In truth, Elyssa was surprised to see
him still there, over two hours later than he'd asked her to meet him. And even
after all the time he had waited, his reaction to her late appearance prompted
not words of aggravation, but a purely male look of admiration and a husky
I
knew you would come.

Breath
indrawn at his alluring voice and the hand outstretched toward her beckoning to
join him, Elyssa's mouth spoke of its own accord. "Only to tell you we
must never the hint of a smile e we see each other again."

The half smile on Daniel's face
disappeared at her words. Hearing the stable hand's restless moving about in
his bed of hay, Daniel gently grabbed Elyssa by the hand and pulled her back
toward the direction in which he'd been waiting.

It was only a matter of seconds that her
fingers were entwined with his, but long enough for Elyssa to fall victim to
his easy charm, his utter allure. She glanced down at the sight of their
clasped hands as they began to walk the length of the stables, relished the
warmth of his fingers holding hers captive. And before she could fully
comprehend the incredible connection she felt with the stranger, he loosened
his hold.

Her gaze followed his, her eyes widening
at the sight that met her. Elyssa was shocked to see not only a lone lantern
dimly lit and hanging on the wall, but a soft blanket laid invitingly in the
corner, a bottle of wine resting comfortably within its folds. If she'd doubted
it before, Elyssa could certainly harbor no misgivings any longer, for the
scene was blatantly meant for seduction.
Her seduction.
And although that tantalizing thought brought a wave of enticement rushing over
her, Elyssa was likewise appalled that the man thought her so easy and willing
a bed partner.

Daniel was unable to read the expression
on her face as she stared at the scene before them. The dim light cast a shadow
of her perfect profile against the wall. Daniel was momentarily speechless, for
it seemed every time he saw Revee, she was even
more lovely
than before. He was a man smitten, and the thought startled Daniel. He'd had
countless women over the years, but he failed to recall even one female that
had ever kept him spellbound for more than a night or two.

Looking at Daniel abruptly, Elyssa said,
"This was a mistake. I must leave." She managed to rush past Daniel
before he even realized she meant to desert him. Running to catch up with her,
Daniel reached the door just before Elyssa, blocking her escape
..

"Do not leave," he said
urgently. "I have been waiting over two hours for you."

"Why?" she cried desperately,
wringing her hands and wishing she was anywhere else in the world but there.

"I told you I have to leave
tomorrow on business."

CHAPTER ">
"I believe your offer was for a
late night ride, not a romp in the hay." Even as she spoke the blunt
words, Elyssa felt her face grow red in embarrassment. "It seems a bit
late for
a ride now, don't
you agree?" Daniel had
the devilish urge to tell Elyssa it was never too late for a ride, but he
doubted she would appreciate the comment. And he would have been shocked to
know Elyssa naively wouldn’t have understood the innuendo anyway.

Tentatively lowering his arms, Daniel
took a step toward Elyssa. As if speaking softly to a skittish colt, he sought
to put her mind at ease. Now that she was here, Daniel refused to let her flee
again. "I understand your hesitancy, Revee. A woman needs to be romanced
and shown that she is appreciated." His lips curved up into a seductive
smile, for although she was presently acting offended at the conjecture he was
out to ravish her, Daniel needed only to recall their first encounter in the
thunderstorm to remember that this lady was no stranger to the art of
seduction.

"I beg your pardon?" she replied
shakily.

"I would not pressure you into
anything you are not ready for. After all, the fact shockingly comes to mind
that you don't even know my name." Bowing from the waist, he humorously
but gallantly introduced himself. "My name is Daniel, and I am most
pleased to make your lovely acquaintance."

Daniel
. The name
echoed dreamily in her mind, and Elyssa feared the name would be forever etched
across her heart, the sound of it to haunt her dreams. She gave no reply, only
continued staring at him with an unreadable expression. Reaching out for her
hand, Daniel pulled her fingers up to his mouth, softly kissing the end of each
one as he stared into her eyes. The air was charged with barely reined
recklessness and Elyssa watched hypnotically as his lips gave expert attention
to each and every finger.

Daniel turned her hand over, looking
pointedly at the bandage covering her stitches. He slowly glanced up into
Elyssa's eyes, and she knew exactly what he was thinking. His hooded gaze dared
her to remember their earlier encounter. And remember it she did.

Never would she forget the feel of his
hand against hers that day, the wickedness of his actions that had stirred
their blood together, binding them for all eternity, if his seductive words
were to be believed.

Why did she have to feel this sinful
attraction toward a man she could not have? In that moment Elyssa faced the
astounding certainty, for it was true, she did want him. How breath drew in sharplythi could her morals
and conscience threaten to desert her so easily! For Elyssa's battle against
her temptation for the man was slowly being defeated.

When he stared so longingly at her,
holding her hand the way he was, it took every ounce of willpower not to crush
herself
against him and kiss him with the sweet urgency she
was near bursting with. As the struggle continued within
herself
,
Elyssa failed to note the change in Daniel's expression. His eyes narrowed and
he reached out to cup her chin. Turning her face just so, the faint light from
the moon displayed the dark bruise against her cheek.
Daniel's
jaw clenched in barely suppressed anger.

"You were struck," he stated
in shock. Having forgotten about her cheek, Elyssa realized it must be showing
a bruise by this time, and she felt humiliated at his knowledge of it.

"No," she denied, turning her
face to block the sight of her cheek, "I...I hurt myself when I fell
today."

"Who the bloody hell did this to
you?" Daniel demanded. "I will kill him."

Stunned at the utter fury in his voice,
Elyssa attempted to divert his anger, for it would not do to have Daniel
confront her husband over something she herself had caused in a moment of
rebellion and frustration. His angry steps took him away from the stable hand's
range of hearing should he awaken. Elyssa followed Daniel down the corridor.

"You will not murder anyone,"
Elyssa cried, "for no one struck me." She turned away from Daniel,
bracing her hands against the wall as if to gain strength from its solidity.
Returning her gaze to him a moment later, Elyssa forced a smile as she fibbed.

"I clumsily hit myself on an open
door."

"I thought you said you fell."

"I fell after I ran into the
door," she amended.

"Liar,"
came
his soft rebuttal. His eyes softened and he gently grazed the back of his hand
over her bruised cheek. Perhaps she was unaware of the purple and black bruise
so prominent against her skinmso-style-priority:9g">CHAPTER , for in the dimness of the stables it was not
very apparent without the aid of the lantern. Not believing her story one bit,
Daniel determined to find out the truth before he allowed her to leave.

"Does it hurt very badly?" he
questioned, his fingers still soft upon her cheek. Raising her hand up, hoping
her skin was not marred as badly as she feared, Elyssa unthinkingly placed her
fingers atop Daniel's, the contact against his skin forcing her indrawn breath.
He took note of the wide band of silver about her third finger, his eyes
narrowing in confusion.

"You are married?" Daniel
asked point blank. Her gaze following his to her wedding ring, Elyssa had no
option but to admit what she thought he'd already known.

"Yes, but surely you knew
that,"
came
the bleak answer.

"He did this to you," Daniel
stated with surety. "Admit it."

"It was my fault," Elyssa
finally said.

"How can you say that? No woman
deserves to be backhanded by a cowardly bastard, husband or not!"

Tears clouded her vision at Daniel's
words. What he said was completely true. Mortified at such intimate details of
her marriage being spoken aloud made Elyssa wish she’d never wandered out so
late at night. She quickly wiped at her moist eyes, turning to leave. Daniel
reached out and spun Elyssa around to face him. His expression one of confusion
and anger, he asked something he'd never cared about or concerned himself with
over any woman.

"Do you love him?" his
anguished voice choked out.

Looking at him in utter surprise, Elyssa
was shocked at his heartfelt question, was stunned that he still seemed to want
her anywhere near him. Indeed, that he seemed completely agonized at the
thought she might actually love her husband.

Nothing but chilled, numbing thoughts of
Percy came to mind and Elyssa slowly shook her head as her raspy voice
confessed, "No, I do not." Elyssa nearly cried aloud at the soft
admission, for although she had fought the realization for what seemed an
eternity, she could no longer deny the harsh truth. She felt nothing for Percy
but breath drew in sharplythibitterness and cold indifference. And although her husband was mostly to
blame for their loveless marriage, Elyssa felt adulterous simply telling
another man she did not love Percy.

Sliding his fingers to
the back of her neck, Daniel's other hand cradled Elyssa's face in reverence as
his mouth covered hers in sweet hunger.
His heart beat
rampantly as Daniel's tongue scorched the inside of Elyssa's mouth, totally and
completely conquering her will. The knowledge that she was a married woman
caused
a tightness
about his heart, for although
Daniel had never given a second thought to a woman's marital status, it was a
bitter sting to find that the one woman he was becoming more and more obsessed
with already belonged to another man.