EscapeWithMe (18 page)

“Did you love Ryder’s mother?”

Webb froze. He had completely pulled a drawer from its
dresser and dumped the contents on the floor. The empty drawer was in his hands
when he turned to her. The pain in his expression was more of an answer than
anything he might’ve said.

He had known Ryder’s mother and had loved her. Was she
already married to Ryder’s father at the time? More importantly…

“Why did you say his father killed her?”

Feet stamped up the stairs and Mary appeared behind her with
some kind of fireplace implement. Webb came out of whatever memory he was
reliving and backed up a step. “Don’t you touch her!” Mary darted past Sam into
the room and brandished her makeshift weapon.

“Whoa there.” Sam stepped into the room and reached for the
poker. “It’s all right now. Mr. Webb is leaving.” Mary lowered her arms. Webb
blinked rapidly and looked about the room. He found his hat on the bed and
picked it up.

His voice was rough. “I’ll not torture myself further.” He
walked past them and Sam followed him to the front door. The relief that he
hadn’t found the ledgers nearly had her stumbling.

Outside, he turned at the bottom of the steps to look at
her, one foot still resting on the last step. “I have not given you any credit,
madam. It’s clearer to me now that you are a woman of worth and far more
intelligent than I had so unfairly assumed.” He reached out and brushed her
skirt. “You may think I have no good opinion of Ryder West, but having met you,
I think better of him.”

His admission shouldn’t have meant anything to her, but too
many men lately had made it clear that they thought women inferior. She managed
a small smile and nodded. With that, he fit his hat to his head and walked
away.

* * * * *

Ryder barely saw the passing homes as he mulled yet again
over the many tasks ahead of him in the next few days—the postal packet to Le
Havre, the rendezvous with the ship, the landing and transport to London. He
had a buyer for the last of the tea, and though not all the tubs of brandy had
been marked for buyers, it would be the easiest commodity in their inventory to
sell, especially after Kelter let it down and added caramel for color. The
profit margin would be especially good on those tubs.

His legs grew restless as the coach neared his apartment. He
would not see Samantha for several days and he was anxious to get her to bed.
Already his palms itched to fill his hands with her hair, and he knew she wore
her green stockings.

That very head of red hair caught his attention as the coach
slowed. Samantha was outside, her hair in disarray. Webb was in front of her.
Was he harassing her now that it was plain he would learn nothing from Oliver?
Her cold expression gave Ryder his answer. He saw Webb touch her skirt, his hat
over his heart as he spoke.

Samantha smiled.

What was this? Ryder nearly burst from the coach before the
horses were reined. He recalled with rancor the moment at Vauxhall when Webb
had spoken to Samantha and the bare need on the revenue officer’s face. She
admitted she had flirted with him. What had been the purpose of Webb’s visit?

Had it been planned?

The man was walking away when Ryder burst from the coach.
His feet met the street. He strained to keep hold of his temper and learn the
reason for Webb’s presence. With her eyes watching Webb’s leave-taking,
Samantha didn’t notice Ryder had returned until he was practically in front of
her. She gasped. On her face was shock. Panic.

Guilt.

She held up her hands in placation. “E-everything’s okay.”

Damn everything. He couldn’t speak past the ball of rage
choking him. He captured her wrist in his fist and pulled her into the
apartment. He saw the maid from the corner of his eye in the parlor. She held
two teacups in shaking hands. Had she known Webb would visit?

Had he visited before?

Samantha pulled against his grasp. “He wasn’t here long.
Calm down!”

The bedroom. Ryder dragged Samantha upstairs, praying that nothing
was amiss. She tripped halfway up the stairs and he pulled her to her feet. The
bedroom door was open and inside…

All he could see was the bed. The mattress was out of place,
the blankets tossed aside. They had used it.

“I didn’t know what to do,” she pleaded. His eyes went wide
and he sucked in a deep breath through his nose.

“What did he touch?”

“Just a couple of things—”

Ryder pulled her to the center of the room and forced her to
turn around. He pushed aside the back pleats.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

“Quiet.” It was but a moment until the fitted bodice was
loose enough that he could push the dress from her arms and past her legs. A
tug and her panniers dropped to the floor. He gripped her arm and pulled her
out of the pool of brocade at her feet. He noticed she still wore her shoes.

“I don’t understand why you’re doing this.” He heard a
tremor in her voice.

A growl rose from his throat. “He touched you and I cannot
abide that. I need to wash him from you.”

“He didn’t touch me.” Confusion was plain on her face but
surely it was a ruse.

His temper flared. “I saw you smiling at him. Your hair is
mussed and the bed…” He couldn’t say it. “Don’t play games with me. I know it
wasn’t your choice to lie with the duke, but—”

“Ryder—”

“You’ll not share yourself with another man.”

She twisted in his hold to capture his face between her
hands. “Ryder, listen to me! You’re the only man I’ve ever had sex with. I
didn’t sleep with Webb. He just showed up and I thought I could, I don’t know,
learn something to help you, maybe find out why he hates your father so much.”

He could barely follow her after she said “only man”. The
pressure on his heart eased just a little. “The duke?” The voice didn’t sound
like his. It was too hoarse and needful.

Samantha sighed. “God, I didn’t know you had found out about
him. I didn’t want to be in that room but they threatened me and…anyway, he was
about to—but before he could—he was impotent.”

The air in his lungs came out in a rush.

She released his face and her hands dropped to his shoulders.
“I even gave him advice on seducing his wife. He fell asleep before Mrs. Hayes
found us. I…I put laudanum in his wine.”

“The bed?”

“Webb thought he’d find something incriminating. It was my
fault. I whispered to Mary to hide the ledgers and he knew something was up. I
tried to stop him but he was so angry and throwing everything around.” It was
then Ryder recognized the obvious mess of underthings on the floor and the
empty drawers. “Mary, she was great. She ran up here with a poker.”

Ryder could barely contain the well of emotions. Such relief
and such shame and contrition. He had stripped her dress, had accused her of
sharing a bed with another.

She had not. She had sought to learn his adversary’s
motivations and protect their secret enterprise.

He was the only man with whom she had lain. He knew it
should not matter if she had ever taken another to her bed but he wished her
heart to be filled only with him, just as she alone filled his heart.

Her hand touched his cheek. “Ryder?”

If he put his hands on her now, he would not be able to stop
himself. He pulled away from her touch and went to the top of the stairs. Mary
and Oliver both waited in the downstairs hallway, their mouths round as they
stared up at him with concern.

“Go and get yourselves something to eat at the tavern. Now.”

Two heads nodded and they shut the front door behind them.
He returned to the bedroom.

And firmly shut the door.

Sam knew that look and damn, was it intense. She hated his
possessiveness and his jealousy but when she thought of Ryder with another
woman…

Well, you’d have to hold her back.

Strange, she had never felt so strongly even at her happiest
with Brian, a memory that seriously paled in comparison to the weeks she had
known Ryder.

He didn’t say a word as he shed his black coat, as he tugged
loose his cravat and unbuttoned his vest. His chest expanded and contracted
with his deep, heavy breaths as he dropped his vest and yanked the cravat from
his neck. His eyes traveled across her body while he kicked off his shoes. Realizing
she still wore hers, though the muddy pattens had stayed at the front door, she
leaned down to slip them off.

“No.” The word was hard and loud.

It was her turn to breathe hard. When had it become so warm
in here?

He whipped off his belt and then his shirt was on the floor
with the rest of the mess. The muscles of his broad chest rolled beneath smooth
skin as he tore open the front of his breeches and shoved them past his hips.
His hose were last and then he stood there naked. His erection proudly jutted
out.

Her vision glazed over as he approached, chin down and jaw
set. Her mind teased her with fantasies of what he was about to do. He pointed
at the floor and twirled his finger.

She turned around. Her heart raced. His hands went to the
laces of her corset and he was much faster at loosening them than Mary was at
tightening them. She wondered absently if he would be as adept when faced with
the modern version. Yeah, right. He’d probably be a master at bra removal.

Sam used the bedpost for balance to step out of the corset
and Ryder unceremoniously pulled her chemise over her head, leaving her in
nothing but stockings and shoes. She heard him make a noise, a low, breathy
groan.

When he still didn’t touch her, she looked over her shoulder
at him. Was he shaking?

She breathed his name and turned to grasp him to her. She
fit their mouths together and those thick arms held her close, trapping his
erection between them. Her shoes boosted her up a couple of inches, redundant
on an already tall woman, but Ryder was even taller and those precious inches
made it easier to put everything she had into kissing him.

Ryder made a rough, plaintive noise against her lips. His
hands went to her ass and squeezed. His kiss became frenzied and the pressure
of his mouth made her grip his shoulders to keep her balance. She tried to
soothe him, stroking his neck and attempting to slow the pace of their intense
make-out, but his body remained tight. He was frantic to taste her. His tongue
plunged into her mouth as though this kiss would be their last.

He lifted her and she gasped against his lips. One of his
arms crossed under her and his other hand went to the base of her neck. He
carried her onto the bed, walking across the mattress on his knees. She yelped
as he put those amazing muscles to use and lowered her to the pillows, still
kissing her. His large body settled over her, his hand caressing the curve of
her waist and hip. His mouth grew gentler, but his cock was rock hard against
her abdomen.

Her shoes were still on her feet. She reached to pull them
off but he lifted his mouth. “Leave them.” His expression was raw. His eyebrows
were turned up and he panted through a stiff jaw. She swallowed and licked her
swollen lips. He watched her tongue and seemed to contemplate another kiss.

He kissed her neck instead, but he didn’t stay there. He
moved down her body, pressing his lips to one shoulder, then the other, the dip
in her throat, the skin over her heart. His hands were greedy, fully palming
both her breasts and rolling the firm flesh. He brought her nipple to his mouth
and sealed his lips around it.

Her back arched. “Ryder.” His tongue rapidly flicked the
tip, swirled around it. He gently grazed it with his teeth and made her hiss at
the sizzle that shot straight to her clit. The way he moaned as he spent some
quality time tasting and fondling her breasts was just as arousing as how it
felt.

When he gave her a brief reprieve, she expected him to
return to her mouth and fit his hips between her thighs, but his mouth went
lower, pressing kisses across her abdomen.

Oh God.

She leaned up on one elbow and her hand went to his forehead
to push him away. “Y-you don’t have to…” Why the hell was she doing this? He
had made love to her so many times and now she was getting embarrassed?

He pulled her hand away from his head and didn’t let it go.
“No man has done this to you.” His expression turned desperate as though saying
it aloud increased the appeal. “I want to consume you.”

Her cheeks lit up and her head was swimming. Christ, she
wanted that too, all of a sudden. She couldn’t move, couldn’t look away from
the primal need in his face. He took her silence for permission and released
her hand, continuing down. He lifted her thighs and braced them on his
shoulders.

She was panting. “Oh Jesus.” He sucked the flesh over her
hips. He licked the bare skin above the ribbons holding up her stockings. She
felt especially sensitive and every kiss made her legs jerk. His breath blew
across the hairs over her vagina. His nose nuzzled the curls. She whimpered.

He gently parted her lips and she keened. She had never been
so wet in her life. He let out a needy sigh and then dove in.

“
Ah
Ryder!” She fell back and her fingers tangled in
his hair. Her lungs struggled for air as she tried to comprehend the sensation
of his tongue stroking and lapping and plunging. His shoulders flexed. His
hands slid to the inside of her thighs and parted her legs wide.

Then he found her clit and she nearly threw him off. She was
like a puppet and his tongue controlled the string. Her fist in his hair pulled
him closer and he hummed against her flesh. The vibration was amazing, and when
he sucked her clit between his lips and buffed it with his tongue, she thought
she went blind.

She braced the heels of her shoes and pushed against his
mouth, but he clamped her hips down with his hands. She didn’t know how much
time passed, if she endured his expert tongue for one minute or twenty. The
train was coming and she just watched it from her spot on the track. Her choked
moans grew louder. Spasms racked her body. Her skin was slick with sweat. Her
clit buzzed and her vagina was swollen.