Dueling With the Duke (Brotherhood of the Sword) (12 page)

He’d never had a large number of close friends, but he had people he could count on. His life had always provided that, but for her she’d considered only the stars her friends. Perhaps that had been her draw to him originally—she’d seen him as a possible ally, a nonthreatening man who could make no legitimate claim to her hand. Perhaps instead of blaming her for so long for his brother’s death, he should have considered life from her perspective. She’d quite obviously needed a friend during her years with Thornton. When help was as far away as the closest stars.

“Quite right,” he said.

Half an hour later Lilith and Gabe had checked into the only available room at the Crow & the Thistle, the only inn in the tiny village of Brinbonnet. Gabe had called for dinner to be brought up and currently the food sat on the small writing desk in the corner. The one bed in the room took up the majority of the space. The enormous carved mahogany bed boasted four posters and gauzy curtains that surrounded it. It should have caused her alarm, based on their courtship fantasy on their walk here, but she’d already shared too much of herself for one evening. What was it about Gabe that seemed to penetrate her walls and elicit words and feelings she normally kept buried within herself? Regardless, there was much more at stake than her revealing more of herself than was customary; Isabel was in danger.

Lilith tried to comprehend all of the information they’d gathered, tried to somehow make sense of it. Sweet Isabel was the lost princess of Saldania. It seemed unlikely that whoever was after her wanted to return her to her rightful place on the Saldanian throne, especially since the country’s government had changed so drastically in the last two decades. Gabe was right. Whoever was after Isabel now was English, but for what purpose, to what end? They already had a queen, and it seemed unlikely that anyone would want to replace Victoria with an even younger woman, especially one who hadn’t been raised to rule.

She paced the length of the room.

“Ellis will keep her safe,” Gabe said as if he’d heard her thoughts.

“You said that before.”

He nodded. “I did, but Ellis will know soon what sort of threat we’re dealing with. Once he receives my letter, he will be more prepared. He won’t allow anyone else to take her. I can promise you that.”

She wanted to believe him. Desperately. She also wanted him to pull her close, to hold her and erase some of her fears the way he had the other night. The passion-filled time she’d spent in his bed hadn’t made her forget the danger Isabel was in, but it had given her something else to think about for a short while.

Again as if he’d read her thoughts, he pulled her to him, holding her against his chest. She gave herself to the embrace and relaxed into him. Everything about this moment was precisely what she needed: the strength of his arms wrapped around her, the broad firmness of his chest against her, the scent of his sandalwood enveloping her.

His hungry kiss tore through her, pleading for everything she had to give. Did it matter to her if he wanted her, truly wanted her, or if he just needed the touch of another person the way she did him? Lilith told herself no, that she was a woman of the world. She’d survived a cruel marriage. He continued kissing her, his mouth at times angry as he pressed into her. She fed off his urgency, clung to him, as desire shook through her.

His mouth left hers and began smothering kisses down her throat, across her collarbone and onto the gentle swell of her breasts. With her right hand, she ran her fingers against his chest hair, its prickly texture tickling her palm. She outlined his stomach muscles. They contracted under her touch. He groaned and leaned further into her throat. She wanted to touch him everywhere, memorize every hard line of his body.

He tugged on the back of her dress, and she heard the buttons pop, the fabric giving way as seams tore and the material fell open. Gently, he pushed the sleeves off her shoulders.

“I’ll buy you another.” His voice came out ragged. “I need to see your body again.”

She removed the rest of the dress and slipped out of her shoes so she stood before him in her shift and stockings. He knelt before her and picked up her right foot. With a satin-soft touch, he rolled the stocking down her thigh and over her calf, and then slid it off her foot. He did the same with her other leg.

Wet desire trickled between her legs in response.

A day’s growth had settled onto his face, darkening the shadow on his cheeks, making him look dangerous and so handsome her knees went weak. The makings of his beard scraped against her sensitive flesh.

Again he stood before her. Nuzzling into his neck, she inhaled deeply, trying to impress his scent of sandalwood soap and what she knew as only Gabriel forever in her memory. Gently she kissed the skin there, loving the taste of him and the feel of his skin against her lips. He groaned softly and ran his hands down her arms. Gooseflesh followed his touch, and her nipples hardened.

With one hand, he slid the straps of her shift down her arms until the flimsy material pooled at her feet. He placed his hands on her waist, then slowly caressed his way to her breasts. His warm hands kneaded the sensitive flesh, his touch only fueling her desire. Soon she lay on the bed, bare and unashamed. He stood at the side of the bed, merely looking at her. His muddy green eyes combed the length of her, and a shiver danced across her waiting skin. She wanted to beg him to touch her. Anywhere. The anticipation of his lovemaking caught her breath in a tight grip. She bit down on her lip.

“Do you trust me?” he asked.

It was an odd question considering their current positions. She suspected he only meant the question in reference to the current activities. She answered, “I do.” In that moment she realized it was completely true. She hadn’t trusted anyone save herself in so long, she’d forgotten the freedom in that one simple act. “I do trust you,” she said again.

He untied his cravat and walked around the bed to where her head pressed against the mattress. He slid the silk cravat down her shoulder and between her breasts—the cool fabric as tender as a caress. He climbed onto the bed, straddled her, though he remained fully clothed, except for that cravat.

He leaned down and caught her mouth in a kiss. Passion, fire, heat—he left her breathless, as he had the other night. She’d never known that sex could be this way. In her experience, everything had been fast, guttural, and painful. Of course Thornton had never bothered to try to prepare her body, he’d merely tossed up her skirts and taken what he deemed his “husband rights.” Everything about Gabe was different.

His kiss ended, and he grabbed her hands, pulling them up above her head, held them firmly in place. His eyes met hers, and she lost every thought save how seductive his gaze was.

Still gripping her hands, he whispered, “Trust me.” He wrapped the silk cravat around her wrists and tied them. Her heart pounded, nearly tripping within her chest.

“Why?” she managed.

“I want you to let go.” He kissed his way down her throat, across her collarbone, and down to her breasts. He licked and nipped and teased, and she tried to reach for his hair, to run her fingers through the brown locks, but her hands remained tied in place. It was a heady feeling, being restrained for pleasure.

With one swift movement he found her center with his mouth. Oh sweet heaven, she never knew there were such things. Sensations sparked through her body like gunfire as his tongue made its great exploration.

It was hard to determine precisely where his tongue was; the pleasure was too intense and spreading through her so quickly. She bucked against him, and even went so far as to raise one of her legs to brace on his shoulder. The pleasure grew and grew until she was unable to contain her moans, and soon the room echoed with her pants and cries. As his tongue laved across that little nub, his finger slid back inside her, and she felt a jolt shiver through her abdomen.

The feelings were intensifying, and she knew her release was coming. Could feel it rising and building until she was certain she would explode into tiny pieces at any moment.

It crashed over her quickly. Waves and waves of pleasure rocketed through her, and she clutched at his hair. He kissed her tenderly on the thigh, then slid back up her body.

“You are exquisitely beautiful,” he whispered against her hair.

She’d been flattered before, but coming from him, the words seemed to actually hit their mark, as if she were being told for the first time that she was pretty.

He reached up and untied her hands. “I want you to be able to touch me now. Did you enjoy that?”

She wasn’t normally prone to blushing. For one, she rarely got embarrassed, and for another her complexion was darker than most. “I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t.”

He grabbed both her arms and held her to him, then he slammed his mouth down on hers. The sudden kiss alarmed her. Gabe devoured her. His lips were hot and hard against her own, and when his tongue invaded her mouth, she gasped.

He took with this kiss, demanded, and her body seemed to react by itself, as if her skin had taken breath. That was the last coherent thought Lilith had as Gabe continued his seduction. He continued to kiss her, his hard body melding against hers, and she forgot everything else. She was no longer cold; the gooseflesh had long since disappeared, and in its place heat and fire skimmed across her skin.

When Gabe’s hands left her arms to stroke down her back and across her abdomen, flames followed in his wake. One hand moved up to cup her breasts, and she involuntarily cried out. Her whole body felt alive and full of energy and sensations.

Gabe removed his clothes and climbed atop her. The hairs along his legs and torso tickled her flesh every time he moved over her. His kisses continued. Desire hummed through her body. Lilith reveled in every sensation, every touch, every breath, and every kiss.

He moved his hand between them, ran his fingers up her thigh; she opened her legs, willing him to enter her. Thrills shimmied through her stomach when she felt him, hard and warm, settle between her thighs. She moved her legs, pulling them up and then wrapping them around his waist.

He groaned, then thrust inside of her. It took a minute for her to accept the full length of him, but as he began to move, the delicious sensations started to build. He nibbled at her neck and her collarbone as he moved within her, and she kept her legs where they were, tightened around his waist. Over and over, he pushed in and out, and the pleasure crescendoed until she thought she would go mad from it. Again he slipped his finger in between them, but this time he found the nub hidden between her folds. She sucked in a breath as he ran his finger against her, all the while thrusting.
Oh. Oh. Yes.
Her breathing was labored, and perspiration slid between her breasts and down her neck. His finger flicked one more time, and pleasure exploded within her.

Oh yes!

Then she felt Gabe’s release as he fell onto her. Their labored breathing was the only sound. Tonight they would lie in this cocoon, isolated from their normal lives; it was pure bliss. Even if tomorrow met her with another of his unromantic proposals, tonight had been worth it.

Chapter Eleven

Gabe woke several hours later. He could see enough through the gauzy fabric surrounding the bed to know it was nearing morning. Lilith slept, deeply, her body curled next to his. The heat from her flesh seemed to be branded onto his skin, perhaps even his soul. The lush curve of her breast rested against his hand, and he pulled her closer still, her back molding to his chest.

She had said she would not marry him, but he knew it would take time to convince her. Remind her, as he’d done in bed, that not all men were like Thornton. She would come around, change her mind, and agree to be his wife.

It was not the future he’d planned. Lilith was a far greater risk to him and his title. For one thing, she was rife with scandal: the widow of a murdered earl who had tried to assassinate the queen. For another, and perhaps the more bothersome, she elicited a lust in him he could not control, a far cry from the sweet, though boring, Clara Salisbury who inspired neither scandal nor passion. But Lilith would be the wife he’d want to come home to. The one he could not wait to bring to his bed. She was, quite simply, the woman he’d always wanted. Until now, he’d dared not think, even for a moment, that he could ever have her. But here she was, nestled in his embrace, the musky scent of their lovemaking still clinging to her skin. Light penetrated the thin gauzy curtains, casting shadows onto the floor and about the room. Lilith stirred, but did not waken.

A rustling came from the door. Gabe sat upright and reached over to retrieve his pistol that he’d stashed on the table next to the bed. The intruder had entered the room, though, before Gabe could reach it. Damned but he wish he had time to slip from the bed and put some clothes on.

The bed curtains peeled open. “Well, I’ll be damned.” Thornton stood next to the bed looking very much alive, though a little worse for wear, with a gash on the right side of his head. His lips curved in a nasty but cruel approximation of a smile. “I don’t suppose I can be too surprised by this outcome. A duke…my wife always was an overachiever, and a whore.”

Lilith sat bolt upright, clutching the bedcovers to her. “Thornton!”

“I knew you were resourceful enough to uncover everything needed about that brat.” He nodded to Gabe. As he spoke, he wrapped the filmy curtain material around his hand again and again. The motion belied the calmness in his voice. “I didn’t know Lynford would be helpful in the process, but you have always been excellent at ferreting out information from people.”

Gabe did not move as he tried to ascertain the situation. The man was teetering on the edge, and he didn’t know what would push him over. Thornton seemed to be suggesting that Lilith had been digging up the information about Isabel on his instruction. But Gabe was no fool.

“But you’re dead! They said you were murdered,” Lilith said; her tone did not suggest she was anything but surprised to find her husband standing before them. She shook her head in confusion. “And what do you mean? Certainly you’ve known about Isabel all along?”

Thornton grimaced. “Actually, no. I had my suspicions, but no proof. All I’ve known is that someone had use of the girl.” His head twitched. “But now that I know who she is, I can change things on them. They think they can sit back and command me to do things.”

“But that was you in the park. You’re the one who tried to kill the queen,” Gabe said.

“Yes. Damn shot knocked me out cold. When I came to, I was on that table in that damn room. It occurred to me that being dead might be beneficial.”

“And the man you replaced yourself with?” Gabe asked.

Sweat beads marred his forehead and dripped down his cheeks. The gouge on the side of his head looked infected. So in addition to Thornton’s usual temper, they might be dealing with an infection-inducing fever. “Some unfortunate bloke I found outside.” Again his head twitched, and he squeezed his eyes shut for a brief moment. “And you, thank you for taking such good care of my wife while I was indisposed,” Thornton said. Then with one great tug he ripped the bed curtains right off the frame. The bed jolted.

Lilith shrieked. She hadn’t really said much of anything. So either she was truly stunned at Thornton’s arrival, or this had been planned all along. That latter thought made Gabe sick in his stomach. Naked or not, he had to apprehend Thornton and bring him in. Gabe shifted in the bed, trying to inch himself upright

Thornton stepped closer, retrieving a gun from the back of his trousers. “You’re coming with me.” He aimed the pistol at the bed and grabbed Lilith’s elbow to pull her up.

“I won’t argue, just let me get dressed,” Lilith said. He loosened his hold enough for her to grab her shift and toss it over her head.

“I’m not talking to you,” Thornton said. He walked closer to the bed, then he shoved the pistol under Gabe’s chin. “I’m talking to him.” He pushed the gun up farther.

“No!” Lilith shrieked. “Don’t hurt him. You have me. Just leave him be.”

Gabe tried to ascertain the situation. Did he have time to kick his right leg hard into Thornton’s gut, thus knocking the man off-center? With Lilith close by, she could get injured. Especially with Thornton jamming the pistol in Gabe’s throat.

“He knows nothing,” Lilith said. “I have everything you need about Isabel.”

Thornton turned his head to watch her as she sidled closer to him.

He was distracted; it was the perfect time for Gabe to make his move. And then Thornton turned the gun on Lilith, and Gabe froze.

She didn’t even flinch with the pistol pointed at her. Perhaps to one who wasn’t watching her so closely, or someone who didn’t know her so intimately, she might have appeared the perfectly composed and confident woman, but Gabe saw the flicker of panic cross her eyes. Then she schooled her features, composed her body, and slid over to Thornton. “Trust me, love, I’ve had all of this planned.” Her chin tilted downward, and her gaze heated with a sultriness that would have stopped any many in his tracks. “I knew you’d be coming back for me.”

Thornton eyed her, then looked at Gabe and shifted the gun once again into his direction.

She stepped between the gun and Gabe so she was facing Thornton. She glanced briefly at Gabe. Then she ran one hand up Thornton’s chest. “I’ve missed you.”

“Be quiet!” Thornton barked at her. He swatted her hand away. “I can’t think when you touch me, you know that. No, I’m taking him with me. He’s the one I need. He can get me to the queen,” Thornton said, the pistol wavering. “Stand up and get some clothes on!”

“He only knows what I told him,” Lilith said. “He’ll be useless to you. Take me. I’m the one you want, you know that.” Again she touched him, this time rubbing his left biceps.

“She’s lying,” Gabe said. He couldn’t let her leave with Thornton, even if she had been planning this all along. She might be the betrayer, but Thornton was a would-be killer. He leaned forward, set one foot on the ground, and tried to feel around with his toes for the fallen gun. “She can’t help you.” He stood and reached for his trousers.

“This is truly tender. The two of you fighting to protect each other,” Thornton said. “Do you think me a fool?”

“Of course not,” Lilith said. “I don’t want you to waste your time with him. I know Isabel is the lost princess,” Lilith said. “Certainly you’ve recognized that with her, you have an opportunity to rise to new heights within the government. You’ll need someone by your side for that.” She put her hand on his arm. “You know I can be that someone. I can charm anyone you need me to charm, you need only ask.”

Gabe wanted to turn away. He didn’t want to see her touch him, hear her make vile promises. She was trying to protect him, and most certainly herself and Isabel as well. Still, her tactics were difficult to play party to.

“Remember that dinner party at Lord Flynn’s? I smoothed over that entire situation for you, and you came out looking the hero,” she said.

Thornton met her gaze, nodded almost imperceptibly.

If she could keep Thornton distracted a moment longer, Gabe might be able to reach for the gun. But Lilith was between them, and a stray shot might injure her.

Gabe stepped toward them. “She can’t help you. I am the one with the power. Leave her be.”

“Let me help you take your rightful place in Society,” Lilith said.

Thornton grabbed Lilith’s arm and pulled her to his side. “Very well. I don’t suppose we need him,” Thornton said, and then he shot Gabe.

Lilith screamed. “What did you do?”

Thornton grabbed her by the arm and pulled her upright. “Come. You shall make good on all of your promises. You are still my wife, after all.” He grabbed her to him and slanted his mouth onto hers. She winced, but made no move to push him away. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her out of the room with her wearing nothing but her shift.

Pain burned through Gabe’s shoulder, and he knew he wouldn’t be coherent for much longer. Blood pooled on his shoulder and dripped down his chest and neck.

He would fail if he tried to go after Lilith, and likely he’d die in the process. Instead he rang for a hotel staff member. They came quickly, and he was able to give them instructions of who to send for. Thankfully the Brotherhood had contingents hidden in every part of the country. Hopefully they’d reach him in time. He had to get to London and meet with Potterfield. It was time to go after Thornton.

Then the world turned to black.

…

Lilith held her breath and sent up a prayer that Gabe would be all right, that he wouldn’t lose too much blood and die alone in that inn room. Why hadn’t she fought Thornton? It might not have mattered, but certainly she could have tried. Perhaps then she would have been the one bleeding and left to die.

She’d try to escape now, risk the jump from the moving carriage, except that Thornton hadn’t allowed her the time to dress or find her shoes. So she sat in the carriage shivering in nothing save her shift. If she survived a jump unscathed, she’d certainly freeze to death before she reached the inn—that was supposing she could find it. Even in the first breath of morning light, she knew not where they were or which direction they’d gone.

“You didn’t have to shoot him,” she said.

“What’s that, my dear? Standing up for your lover…how brave of you.”

“You’re a bastard!” There was no use in pretending anymore. She’d said those things only to convince him to take her and not Gabe. She’d had no notion he’d shoot anyone. He was crazier than she thought.

“And you, my dear wife, are a whore.”

His words did not even bruise her. His opinion meant nothing.

She’d been free for only a short while. Yet in that time she’d found a passion and camaraderie with Gabe that she hadn’t known was possible. Even as a girl, when she’d foolishly dreamed of a handsome man coming to save her from her life, she’d never even thought to fantasize about a man who could make her feel such fire, both in the bed and out. She wasn’t afraid to tell Gabe precisely how she felt. There was a freedom in that she hadn’t known existed.

Hopefully Gabe would survive his injury. The only way she could help was to send some of his fellow Brotherhood members to his aid. She doubted Thornton would leave her alone long enough to send any messages, though. She’d have to come up with another solution. She certainly couldn’t leave Gabe to die alone, not when she’d only just realized how much she cared for him. Nay, she loved him. The kind of love she’d thought lived only in fairy tales. She’d found it, and now it might well be too late to capture it.

…

Gabe woke to find he was dressed and in a carriage. Pain radiated from his shoulder; his arm hung in a tight sling, constricting his movement. His eyes registered a man sitting across from him.

“You’re awake. The name is Franklin,” the man said. He was older than Gabe, but likely not by much. Judging by his clothes, he was not a man of the realm, but rather one of the few hand-selected members of the Brotherhood who came from the commoner folk. Generally, they came highly recommended by a current member. While they didn’t go through the extensive training that full members endured, they served other purposes, namely to assist any time a member was injured or stranded.

“From where do you hail?” Gabe asked. This brief exchange would determine if this Franklin was, in fact, a member of the Brotherhood as he claimed.

“Gibraltar,” Franklin said.

That was the correct answer, but without knowing how far Thornton’s accomplices reached, Gabe was still uneasy. “For what purpose?” The second question was an additional safeguard.

“Merely passing through.”

Gabe nodded. “Where are we going?”

“London. To headquarters,” Franklin said. “The bullet went clean through your shoulder. I stitched you up as best I could and put salve on it. It’ll be sore, but you should live.”

“Thank you,” Gabe said. “How long have you served?”

“Fifteen years, Your Grace.”

“Titles are unnecessary. We are colleagues,” Gabe said.

Franklin eyed him for a moment, then nodded.

“Did you happen to see anyone else at the inn when you came to retrieve me?”

“No, but the innkeeper told me the man who shot you had the woman you were with, and they left. They were going in the direction of London.”

So Thornton had not harmed Lilith, at least not yet. The man had acted as though Lilith was in on the plan all along. That she’d worked with Gabe merely to achieve some end game that Thornton had approved. Lilith had seemed genuinely surprised at her husband’s appearance, and she’d been afraid. The fear had rolled off her in palpable waves.

Still, this was Lilith. Time and again had shown her to be a manipulator; he’d seen her in action with Mr. Hazelton. Not to mention she’d attempted to use her wiles on him to get information out of him. Doubt wiggled through his gut, but he shoved it away. Right now the only thing that mattered was getting to headquarters and informing Potterfield of everything he’d discovered.

There were holes in the investigation, namely whom Thornton was working with. Still, Gabe had discovered some information that perhaps would prove useful. Isabel was the lost princess of Saldania and Thornton had needed proof of that. Someone had already kidnapped the girl once. How did it all fit together? Certainly whomever was behind all of this did not intend to murder Victoria to then replace her with Isabel, a girl who knew virtually nothing about being a monarch. There had to be another plan at play.