Fanning the Flame (43 page)

She had indulged herself on purpose, knowing tonight would be another late night. Colonel Wingate would be escorting them to an evening of gaming in Jermyn Street. Then tomorrow night she and her aunt would be attending the theater. Lee had lost track of her schedule after that, but she knew that at each event, her tireless pursuers would be present.

While other girls her age entered the Season in search of a husband, Vermillion searched for a protector—the man who would become her first lover.

An image of the arrogant groom popped into her head. Why, she couldn't imagine. It was a fleeting vision, instantly forgotten.

She didn't think of Tanner again until three days later, when she saw him in the stable. The late afternoon sun had begun to fade and the soft glow of evening settled over the landscape. Aunt Gabby was giving a house party, so the servants were busy inside. Though none of the guests had yet arrived, they were sure to appear very soon. Dressed in a low-cut turquoise silk gown trimmed in black lace in preparation for the festivities, Lee slipped away from the house and made her way out to the stable.

She was worried about her beautiful horses, still not confident of Jacob's replacement.

She didn't expect to see the man himself, Caleb Tanner, standing in the middle of the exercise ring. He faced away from her, his collarless, full-sleeved shirt damp with perspiration and clinging to the extraordinary width of his back. The shirt was tucked into simple brown breeches that showed a narrow waist, curved over a round behind, and outlined a pair of long, muscular legs.

When he turned, she could see a vee of darkly tanned skin at his throat where the neck of the shirt stood open. The man was impressive. There was no denying that. Lee knew men—dozens of them—but she couldn't name one more beautifully built than Caleb Tanner.

He was busily working, Noir circling at the end of Tanner's lead line, the Thoroughbred's shiny black coat glistening in the fading rays of sunlight. Tanner didn't see her approaching. Or if he did, he simply ignored her.

Vermillion wasn't used to being ignored.

"You're jerking the line too much," she said as she came up to the fence. "He works better with a gentler touch."

The corner of his mouth curved up in a mocking half smile. "I'll keep that in mind." His dark gaze said he knew she had just made that up, which of course, she had. The stallion was working beautifully, doing his new trainer's bidding without the slightest hesitation. The man hadn't lied. He definitely knew horses. Noir could be fussy, and the stallion had never really liked being exercised on a lead.

Now the horse seemed to be enjoying every lap he made round the practice ring. Lee watched them for a while, unable to take her eyes off man and horse working so perfectly together. Then Tanner tugged on the rope and the stallion began to slow. Noir nickered and trotted over to where the groom stood in the center of the ring. Tanner reached into his pocket, pulled out a treat, and fed it to Noir on the flat of his hand. Speaking to the horse in that soft way of his, he ran his fingers through the stallion's course black mane.

Tanner led the animal over to the fence and stopped in front of her, and Lee tried not to think what a magnificent pair they made.

"He's in excellent condition," Caleb Tanner said, patting the horse's neck. "Jacob's done a fine job with him."

"Then you think he's going to win."

"I think he has a very good chance. Who's riding him?"

"Mickey Warner."

"Warner's good, one of the best riders in the country." His eyes moved from her face down to the cleavage swelling up at the front of her turquoise gown. She rarely dressed this way when she came to the stable. Lee had forgotten that tonight she was Vermillion.

His smile held a trace of insolence and it was impossible to miss. "But then, I imagine you know a great deal about riding. . .wouldn't you say so, Miss Durant?"

Her cheeks went warm. She knew what he was implying. At least she understood he was referring to the act of making love. She'd been raised in the world of the demimonde. Her aunt, though wealthy and many years now with the same man, was once a notorious courtesan with a long string of lovers. All of London believed that Vermillion was a courtesan as well, as very soon she would be. Having accepted that future long ago, a subtle innuendo here and there, spoken by one of her admirers, had never upset her before.

But when Caleb Tanner looked at her the way he was now, as if she were less than the manure on his boots, her face flamed the same fiery color as her hair.

"Win the race," she said simply. "Or get a job somewhere else."  Turning, she forgot to walk with her usual provocative, hip-swaying gait, and stomped all the way back to the house.

Caleb cursed himself. Dammit, Colonel Cox had gone to a great deal of trouble to arrange for the trainer, Jacob Boswell, to relinquish his position at Parklands for the next few weeks so that Caleb could work in his stead. All he needed was for the little chit to fire him.

He had to start controlling his tongue, he knew, but somehow, whenever he looked at Vermillion's exotically beautiful face, her luscious breasts displayed like pale, ripe fruit, he couldn't seem to stop the words.

It bothered him that she was so young. Even with the rouge on her lips and cheeks, he guessed her not yet twenty. It bothered him that she had so willingly abandoned the chance for a respectable life in pursuit of power and greed.

It bothered him that his body wanted her just as much as every other man in London while his mind absolutely did not.

A shuffling sound alerted him to someone's arrival in the big stone barn.

"Ye want ta be keepin' yer job, ye young buck, ye'd best be keepin' a civil tongue in yer head when ye speak ta Miss Lee." Arlie Spooner, retired Parklands groom, tottered toward him, his few sparse strands of dull gray hair whipping in the breeze coming in through the open stable door. He had a wrinkled, liver-spotted face and a spine that looked painfully curved. The old man was no longer able to work in the stable, but still retained a position. At least the Durant women had conscience enough to take care of a man who had been loyal to them for so long.

"Who's Miss Lee?"

"Miss Vermillion." Arlie continued to shuffle past the stall where Caleb stood brushing Noir and continued on his way toward the small room he occupied at the far end of the barn. "Miss Lee won't tolerate yer disrespect. Ye weren't so blasted good with them horses a' hers, ye'd already be lookin' fer someplace else ta work."

The old man was loyal, all right. Caleb hadn't missed the affection in the old man's voice when he spoke his employer's name. Caleb wondered how much Arlie Spooner knew about Vermillion and her aunt and determined that as soon as he got the chance he would see what he could find out.

In the meantime, he would keep his eyes and ears open, as he was there to do. Caleb's superiors, including General Sir Arthur Wellesley, believed information was being leaked to the French. The casualties in Spain had been staggering—more than five thousand British troops. Wellesley was convinced the numbers at Oporto would have been far less if a person—or persons—hadn't provided information directly to Napoleon.

Colonel Richard Cox and Major Mark Sutton had been assigned to find the traitors responsible, and both Cox and Sutton were convinced the source could be found at Parklands. It was Caleb's knowledge of horses and racing that had brought him into the equation and home to England.

Caleb watched old Arlie disappear into his room and finished brushing the stallion, thinking of Vermillion and the dozens of men who frequented the house, many of them military officers and gentlemen highly placed in the government. Had one of them traded his soul for the chance to satisfy himself in Vermillion's tantalizing young body?

As Caleb stood in the shadows outside the house later that night, watching carriage after carriage roll up the circular drive, seeing its elegantly garbed occupants make their way up the steps to the entry, as he felt the pull of Vermillion's cool, smoky laughter coming from inside the house, he thought that it just might be true.

About the Author

Kat Martin is the New York Times bestselling author of over 65 historical and contemporary romantic suspense novels published in over a dozen languages in over two dozen countries.  She lives in Montana with her husband, L.J., also an author with over 40 to his credit.  The Martin's winter in California on the central coast.

Kat Martin Kindle Links  (these are only a few of the Kat Martin titles available on Amazon)

Hot Rain
 
Allie Parker knows her best friend's death was no accident, and her quest to find the truth soon puts her in the wrong place--at the worst possible time... 
An unwilling passenger on a boat carrying deadly cargo and dangerous men, her only ally is mysterious Jake Dawson, who warns her that she must play the role of his reluctant bedmate...if she wants to stay alive. 
Before long, the heat rising between Allie and Jake has drawn them into the heart of the steamy Carribean--and into something deeper than they ever imagined. Now as Allie places her trust--and herself--in the hands of a total stranger, she wonders if this desperate gamble will be her last...

Wounded in a drive-by shooting, L.A. advertising executive Kate Rollins has a near-death experience. In it, the grandmother she has never met, Nell Hart, struggles to communicate an urgent message. Haunted by the visitation, a failed marriage and a troubled son, Kate decides to escape to tiny Lost Peak, Mont. There she takes over the caf‚ she has recently inherited from Nell and attempts to unearth the truth that her late grandmother so desperately wished to convey. Kate's investigation suggests that Nell may have been murdered, and her suspicions are confirmed when she discovers that her grandmother was being bullied by Consolidated Metals, the same shrewd gold-mining company that has been threatening Kate in order to halt her environmental efforts. Kate's biggest dilemma, however, is her neighbor Chance McLain, a sexy rancher who thrills her body and soul but is promised to another. The novel's premise--of a successful businesswoman lured to the wild west by a family legacy--appears in a spate of recent romances, but the environmental theme strikes a nicely contemporary note amid a hymn to traditional rural life. Despite its familiar plot, Martin's (Perfect Sin, etc.) story is solidly written, deftly balancing intense emotion with satisfying intrigue. (Mar.)Forecast: The face of the contemporary romance has shifted in the past decade, favoring wholesome country values over high-rise city life. Although Martin has only recently begun writing contemporaries again, she has made a name for herself with her popular historical suspense novels. With this return to the heartland, she is certain to enjoy bestselling sales once more.

Lover's Gold
 
A passionate woman, an insatiable man. When a hired gunman comes to town, Elaina knows she can never love the insolent stranger. Ren masks his true feelings, until fate tears them apart. But she yearns for her roguish lover, and for the fire of their everlasting passion. Kat Martin at her western romantic best. "A lovely story--sweet and fiery...a captivating read." Affaire de Coeur

Captain's Bride
 
Captain Blackwell, devilishly handsome, a rake and rogue; Glory Summerfield, spoiled and pampered, breathtakingly beautiful. Marriage was the last thing on either of their minds...but still, the captain vowed he'd teach this insolent girl a lesson...a lesson in lovemaking she'd never forget. 
"Highly entertaining...a lively love story unfolding against a vivid backdrop of high seas adventure and passionate romance." RT Book Reviews

Dueling Hearts
 
She had her work cut out for her, to own and operate her late father's ranch, the Lady Jay. He carried a bitter grudge, this rugged blond giant who was her neighbor...but the more she saw him, the more she felt his power and the harder is was to keep her distance. Would she risk her future if she surrendered her heart?

The Dream
Some secrets haunt you forever....
Genny Austin, tormented by nightmares of a past life; Jack Brennan's nightmares are now...his business under seige, his life threatened. They meet one restless night on a Santa Barbara beach, Jack wanting nothing more than a one-night stand, but Genny isn't the type. Then they're drawn into a world of passion and deadly riddles. Jamaica holds the answers...if they can find them, and live.

The Silent Rose
 
A ghostly haunting disturbs dark secrets of the past.
A quaint bed and breakfast in Connecticut, or is the Stafford Inn something more? A frightening vision calls to her...something terrible happened at the Stafford Inn, and it will change her life forever. Nothing will keep her from the truth, not even seduction or the dark shadows of her own past.
"An enthralling tale of love, trust, and ghostly vengeance guaranteed to give you hours of reading pleasure." Romantic Times
Don't miss this thrilling volume of The Haunted Trilogy by New York Times bestselling romantic suspense author Kat Martin

Against the Wind
  They were known as the "no-account Raines boys" but they've grown into successful, honorable men and everything they have, they've fought for tooth and nail. Now each of the three brothers has one last obstacle to overcome to claim what's eluding them: love.

Secrets don't stay buried long in cattle country. Sarah Allen, the beautiful girl who humiliated Jackson Raines in high school, is back in town. Not so long ago, she couldn't wait to leave Wind Canyon, Wyoming, in her dust. But, recently widowed, she has nowhere else to go and finds herself on Jackson's ranch. And despite everything, Jackson's finding himself reluctant to get rid of her.

Sarah brings her own kind of trouble, and he can't resist trouble. Enemies of her dead husband show up making threats, thinking she has something they're owed. They're not taking no for an answer, but what they will take is the one thing she has left—her daughter. Jackson's the only one who might be able to save little Holly and bring her home.

Against the Fire
  
You can't fight what you can't see. And Gabriel Raines can't be sure just who's setting the fires in his new real-estate development. When two fires hit back-to-back, he knows it's personal, but any number of competitors or ex-employees could be the arsonist.

The police suspect Angel Ramirez, a local teen who's been in trouble before. But Mattie Baker, a volunteer at the Family Abuse center, just can't believe the kid she's been working with would go back to his delinquent ways.

Determined to convince Gabe that she's right, Mattie must get close to him and find out who's putting their neighborhood in jeopardy. And just as the arsonist's flames continue to burn, they find a heat developing between them. It might just turn into a full-fledged fire…if they can survive long enough.