Read If He's Dangerous Online

Authors: Hannah Howell

If He's Dangerous (14 page)

BOOK: If He's Dangerous
10.79Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads
The way she caressed him with her small soft hands had Argus fighting for control. He needed, and wanted, to go slowly, to not frighten her with the ferocity of his passion. He kissed her, caressed her, and discovered that her passion was as fierce as his own. Determined to make certain that her first time with a man was not a painful disaster, Argus worked to make her so wild with passion that she would welcome the loss of her maidenhead just so that she could have him deep inside her, which was exactly where he wanted to be.
 
A moan of protest escaped Lorelei when Argus slowly moved out of her reach as he kissed his way down her body. The occasional little nip he gave her, and soothed away with his tongue, had her shivering with delight. A tickle of awareness crept through the haze of passion clouding her mind when she felt him kiss the inside of her thighs, his silken hair brushing against her womanhood. Before she could utter a protest or move away, he kissed her there. Lorelei went rigid with shock, but its tight grip was shattered with only a few strokes of his tongue. She could hear herself panting, knew she was brazenly opening herself to him, but what he was doing was making her so wild with need and pleasure she did not care. It was as if every drop of desire in her was rushing down to her groin to welcome his intimate kiss.
When the ache there became almost more pain than pleasure, she called out his name, but he ignored her. And, abruptly, the ache became a shower of wondrous joy rushing through her body, a sensation that had her crying out his name again. She was still reeling from it when he loomed over her, settled himself between her legs, and thrust himself inside of her.
 
A quick, sharp pain made her gasp, but she clung to him. He was in her, all around her, kissing her as if she was a well he was desperate to drink from. As he thrust in and out of her, she continued to cling to him, wrapping her legs around his waist, and there was no fear in her when the ache began to build again. He slid his hand down between their bodies and touched her in a way that brought back the exquisite explosion of tingling fire that rushed through her veins. Still caught up in the gasping intensity of it, she was only vaguely aware of when he thrust into her with a renewed ferocity and then shuddered as he called out her name. There was a brief rush of warmth deep inside where he rested within her, and Lorelei realized that was his seed and held him even closer to her.
Argus roused enough from his sated stupor to realize he had collapsed on top of Lorelei and hastily shifted to the side. He eased his body free of hers and then held her close. His heart pounded and he actually felt a little weak, but pleasure still thrummed through his veins, warming him. He nuzzled her neck at the point where it met her shoulder and knew he would never regret this moment. He had never shared such pleasure with a woman before. Argus wished he were man enough to claim her so that he never had to give that pleasure up, but there was no ignoring the hard cold facts. A knight did not marry a duke's daughter. And, since the thought of marriage still sent an icy chill through his body, he could not really offer her that anyway. Marrying a Wherlocke never ended well.
He raised himself up on one elbow to look at her. “Lorelei, I am . . .” He frowned when she clapped one small hand over his mouth.
 
Lorelei could tell by the tone of his voice that he was about to offer gentlemanly regrets, or, even worse, call what they had just shared a mistake. “Do not tell me this was wrong.”
Argus pulled her hand away. “This was not wrong. This was perfection, utter bliss. I, however, am wrong. I am wrong for you. You deserve better than anything I have to offer.”
 
“Argus, you do not do yourself justice. Are you not a knight of the realm? Are you not of good blood? Have you not gained honor serving king and country? How can you say you are less than I deserve?”
He pressed his forehead against hers. “Wherlockes make poor husbands. Trust me in this. Our history is that of ruined marriages and deserted children.”
She sighed and idly stroked his back. A part of her wanted to poke and prod until he told her everything about that history, but she fought the urge. He at least felt he should be offering marriage, but, for reasons he did not feel inclined to tell her, believed he was a poor marriage prospect. Argus seemed to think some history of poor marriages was important, but he did not tell her why, and she could not understand why whatever happened in the past should matter to them now. That was something to deal with at another time. Right now she was in the arms of the man she had hungered for and she did not want to spoil it by talking about why he was wrong for her. If nothing else, she did not want such a beautiful interlude spoiled with talk of guilt and mistakes, and she was sure that such words would seep into a discussion if she allowed it.
The only solution she could think of was to relieve him of the problem. He thought he should have left her alone because he could not offer marriage. So, she had to make it clear that she had not and would not expect that of him. All she could do was hope he would believe her.
“We are lovers now,” she said, and caressed his back, enjoying the texture of his sun-warmed skin.
“Aye, we are.” He was not sure what she was trying to say, but he understood that she did not want any discussion of the right or wrong of what they had done.
“So, how do lovers who live amongst so many people meet, find some time alone?”
“Whenever and wherever they can.”
“Do you have a trysting place in mind?”
“Well, there is that big old oak in the garden at the gatehouse. Its trunk is as wide and thick as any wall.”
Lorelei laughed. “True.”
“It is probably not wise to play that game, however. Cornick has already tried to catch one of us. Who knows what trick he might try next. One of us would be vulnerable for a while as we slipped back and forth during the night.”
“Such practicality. I would think that one of us would find it easy enough to remain in the shadows, the night being a perfect shield.”
He laughed and kissed her on the nose. “We will work something out, for now that I have had you in my arms, I do not think I will be able to go long without wanting you there again.”
Lorelei decided that was as much of a declaration as she would get from him, and she kissed him. It was not long before they were making love again. She was astonished when the same joy rushed through her, not dimmed at all by her growing knowledge of what was happening between them.
Her shyness returned not long after the warmth of their lovemaking began to leave her body. Blushing so strongly that she suspected her face was as red as her hair she scrambled into her clothes. Even so, she managed to sneak many a look at him as he dressed. It was hard for her to believe that she had just been as intimate as a man and woman could be with such a beautiful man. She tucked the memory of his body away in her mind, assuring herself that now she could pull it out whenever she had need of it.
It was not until she was back home, slipping into her bedchamber intending to wash up, that Lorelei realized no plans had been made for another meeting. For a moment her heart clenched with sorrow, her mind declaring that she had already been cast aside. Lorelei took a deep breath to quell the panic rising inside of her. Argus had already chosen the spot where they could meet. She suspected it was his concern about his enemies that kept him from immediately choosing a time for her to meet him there. He simply wanted to plan the safest way for them to have a tryst.
It was not going to be easy to be his lover, she decided. The fact that they would have to be so secretive troubled her, as did the fact that he had spoken only words of desire, none of love or even the beginning of such an emotion. He had given her no hint that there was even a seed of love there that she could nurture. She would need a lot of patience if she were to hold fast to Sir Argus Wherlocke.
Argus stood in the little garden of the gatehouse and stared at the big old oak tree. It would be a perfect place to meet with Lorelei. The problem was, how to get together without putting her at any risk. Cornick and his men were somewhere in the area and had already attacked one of the family. He did not want his need for her to make him act foolishly.
As if he had not already, he thought and kicked at a stone in the path he stood on. He had bedded down with the virgin daughter of a duke, a man he liked and respected. A man who had opened his home to him and was ready to help him stay safe as he hunted down his enemies. If that was not the definition of an utter cad, he did not know what was.
Even disgusted with himself as he suddenly was, Argus found himself staring at the tree again. He could almost see him and Lorelei making love in the shelter of it, its huge trunk protecting them from prying eyes. Argus knew he would continue the affair he had begun tonight because the thought of never touching her again, never tasting her again, was more than he could endure.
 
“And mayhap you ought to give that fact some hard thought,” he muttered.
“Talking to yourself?”
Argus turned to look at his cousin Iago. “Trying to work out a few problems.”
“The first of which is a fair young maid with hair the color of a fine red wine?”
 
“I believe that might be my business,” he said, but the repressive tone he put into his voice only made Iago smile. His relatives were not easily intimidated.
“Since we are here on the sufferance of His Grace, her father, you might want to reconsider that opinion.” Iago patted him on the arm and started back into the house. “Just came to tell you that food is on the table. Mayhap a full, contented stomach will help you sort out your twisted thoughts.”
“My thoughts are not twisted,” Argus protested as he followed Iago.
“Nay? Beautiful woman who saves your life, looks at you as if you hung the very moon in the sky, and, I think, shares a passion with you that could set the woods afire, and you stand about and frown as if you have some great weight upon your shoulders.”
“I do. Its name is Cornick.”
 
“True, but you just try to distract me now. Very well, I will let it go.”
Argus sincerely doubted his cousin would let it go for long. What was it about family that made them think they had the right to stick their long noses into your business? he wondered, scowling at Iago's broad back. He had the sinking feeling that Iago was but the first one to try, however, and he had not heard the end of it, not by any means.
Chapter 12
“M'lady, there is someone here demanding to see Sir Argus Wherlocke.”
Lorelei looked up from the book she had been trying and failing to read. Coming into the morning room to read had not succeeded in making her stop wanting to rush over to the gatehouse and see Argus. Although she now knew how wonderful lovemaking could be and she needed more, she would not keep hurling herself at him until she got it. She wanted to show him that she was a mature woman who could be a lover without pressing him for more than he had to give. Lorelei was rather hoping that Argus would come to her or at least attempt to arrange some romantic tryst. It was difficult to be patient, however, and she frowned at Max, hoping whatever he was talking about would occupy her mind as reading had not done.
 
“Demanding?” she asked.
“Quite vigorously.”
“Surely Sir Argus's enemies would not come right up to the door of Sundunmoor and demand we show them where he is,” she muttered.
“Ah, no. These are not his enemies. They are two young lads.”
“How young?”
“About twelve, maybe a little more, or a little less. Quite hard to judge at that age.”
“No one else is with them? It is just the boys?”
“It appears so. Shall I bring them to you?”
“Yes, Max, I think you had best do so. We do not wish to send them straight to Sir Argus without knowing what they really want. It could be something he needs to be warned about. Perhaps some food and drink for them, too. I will attempt to discover what this is all about.”
 
She frowned when Max left. It had sounded very much as if he had said, “Do not think you will like it.” That made no sense. Why would she not like two young boys? Her home was filled with young boys and she was fond of them all. She also did not think there was anything two boys could do or say that would upset her. Talking to them before taking them to Sir Argus was merely taking a precaution, and, she ruefully admitted, satisfying her curiosity.
Lorelei had barely managed to set her book aside, stand up, and brush out her skirts when Max showed the two boys into the morning room. They looked as if they had endured a long, hard journey. A closer look made her certain the boys were related to the Wherlockes or Vaughns in some way. The family definitely had a distinctive appearance or, as her father liked to say, they bred true.
“What have you done with our father?” demanded the taller of the two boys.
“Here now,” said Max in his sternest tone of voice. “Gentlemen do not speak so to a lady. This is the Lady Lorelei, daughter of the Duke of Sundunmoor, and you will show her the proper respect. Now, bow and introduce yourselves.”
For a moment Lorelei feared the boys were going to make the mistake of arguing with Max. Her entire family could line up and attest to the fact that that was a waste of time. Max was the undisputed master of the stare that intimidated and the final word that made any further argument make one sound like an idiot. They glared at him, but then the taller boy elbowed the other in the side, and they both looked at her. Neither boy was looking particularly friendly, but they performed their bows with grace and no hint of insult.
 
“I am Darius Wherlocke,” said the taller boy, “and this is my brother Olwen. We are Sir Argus's sons and we want to know where he is.”
Shock held Lorelei silent for what seemed like hours, but she knew it could only have been a minute or two, for Max had not cleared his throat. Max had said exactly what she had thought he had as he had left the room to fetch the boys and, as always, he had been right. She did not like this. Various emotions were clawing at her heart and none of them were good ones.
We are Sir Argus's sons.
It was often said that words could hurt, but Lorelei had never fully believed that, thinking unkind remarks could easily be shrugged aside as the ignorance of the person saying them. She believed it now. Argus had two sons and had never told her. Was there a wife he had also neglected to mention? She groped for the training her governess had pounded into her, pulling the cloak of good manners around herself and letting it smother her confusion and pain.
“Come in and sit down, please,” she said, waving the boys toward seats at the small table set before the wide doors leading into the garden. “Max will bring us some refreshment and we will talk.” She heard Max leave as she sat down at the table, the boys revealing enough good manners to wait until she was seated before they, too, sat down. “Before I answer your demands”—she was pleased to see both boys had the grace to blush faintly—“I want you to tell me how you got here, and where is the adult who should be with you?”
“We came here by wagon,” replied Darius. “And coach. We stay at Radmoor with our cousin Penelope and her husband Ashton Pendellen Radmoor, the Viscount of Radmoor.”
“'Tis a huge place, like this,” said Olwen, “but as soon as our father finishes our home in London we will stay with him now and then.”
“Only now and then?”
“Well, we do not want to leave the others.”
“What of your mother?” she asked as Max returned to set out the food, including several thick slices of bread placed around a healthy supply of meat and cheese.
 
“Our mothers left us with Penelope. All the others were left by their mothers, too.”
Max straightened up and looked at the boys. “So you came here alone. You ran off like cowards because you knew you would not be given permission to make this journey.”
“We left a note for Pen,” said Darius. “And we had to come. We heard that something had happened to our father, but no one would tell us what, even when we asked. They said they would tell us when they knew for certain. Then we heard that he was here. Iago, Leopold, Bened, Wynn, Todd, and even Aunt Olympia were here, too. So we decided we needed to come here and see what was happening to him for ourselves.”
 
“Max, we need some writing materials, please,” said Lorelei.
 
“Immediately, m'lady,” he said and left to get them.
 
“But we left a note,” protested Olwen.
“Eat.” As soon as they began, she continued, “You are how old? Twelve?” They both nodded. “And yet you traveled here all alone. I think you are clever enough to know that was wrong. And clever enough to know that simply leaving a note to say where you were going does not correct your misjudgment. The viscount and the viscountess are undoubtedly worried, if they have not already begun to hunt for you.”
“They were not at Radmoor when we left.”
“Oh, this just gets better and better,” said Max as he set the writing materials down on the table.
“I would not try to stare Max down,” Lorelei said, and both boys stopped glaring at Max to look at her. “He has had many years of practice in outstaring wrongheaded children. As soon as you are done eating you will write a letter to Radmoor. You will explain where you are and apologize, profusely, for worrying them.” She took a piece of paper and dipped the quill into the pot of ink. “I will include a message of my own to assure them that you are safe here. Then you will explain what you have done when you see your father.”
“He
is
here!” declared Darius. “Where is he?” He glanced at a frowning Max and hastily added, “m'lady.”
“I will escort you to him once you have written to the Radmoors. Then you can assure yourself that he is safe as you try to explain your idiocy to him.” She glanced up from the message she was writing to find them both staring at her.
“You have brothers,” said Darius.
“Thirteen of them. Three older, ten younger.” She smiled to herself when Olwen choked slightly and Darius had to slap him on the back, especially when Max winced at the cloud of dust that rose from Olwen's coat.
Accompanied by the sounds of two young boys filling their obviously very empty stomachs under the stern gaze of Max, Lorelei wrote to the Radmoors. Concentrating on what to say was not enough to silence her thoughts, however, and it was a continuous struggle to maintain her composure. She feared she could easily make herself ill caging in such fierce emotions.
What she wanted to do was rush over to the gatehouse and demand some answers from Argus. Yet, a part of her did not wish to hear how Argus had come to have two sons so close in age by two different women. And why were his children living with the Radmoors? She quickly shook the thoughts from her head, for they threatened her tenuous control over her riotous emotions.
 
By the time she had finished her message, the boys were ready to write theirs. Lorelei sipped at the tea Max served her and watched him direct the boys in what needed to be said. When they were done, they watched Max carefully as he looked over their work and then slumped with relief when he nodded. It had always astonished her how children, especially the boys, all wanted to see that nod of approval from Max, including herself.
Max collected the letters. “I will see that these are sent out immediately, m'lady. I will also have Gregor Four ready to escort you to the gatehouse.”
“Thank you, Max.” She did not want a guard, but did not argue. After what had happened to Olympia, Lorelei doubted she could get two steps outside the door without a guard before Max dragged her back in.
 
“Why do you need someone to escort you to your own gatehouse?” asked Olwen.
“Your father will explain,” she replied, “after which you will be very fortunate if he does not banish you to the attics with naught but bread and water for being such complete idiots.”
“Do you talk to your brothers like that?”
“All the time. Come along then,” she said as she stood up and they hastily did the same. “Let us get you to your father.” Just saying the word
father
caused her pain and she sternly told herself not to be an idiot.
 
“This is a grand place,” said Olwen as they walked along the path to the gatehouse.
“Yes, it has been in the Sundun family for many, many years,” replied Lorelei.
“Is that house over there the one where our father, aunt, and cousins are staying?” asked Darius, pointing to the gatehouse that was just coming into view.
“It is. We keep it for guests, for some of the ones who come to visit do not really appreciate the freedom the children here are given. Papa knows which ones they are and always offers them the gatehouse, allowing them to graciously accept so everyone is happy and no insults are made.”
 
“Sneaky,” said Darius, but he grinned.
“I prefer the word clever. Mayhap even diplomatic.”
“Does sound nicer,” said Olwen.
“You do know that you should not have traveled here all on your own, do you not?” she asked them and almost smiled when they both sighed heavily.
“Aye, but no one would tell us what had happened to our father and Olwen was worried,” said Darius.
Lorelei shook her head. Olwen was obviously the one who got blamed for things, Darius being the stronger of the two. Glancing at Olwen, she suspected he had a sweeter nature. She realized, too, that the Wherlockes must have been raised in the country, for all the adults staying at the gatehouse occasionally said aye and nay. Her governess had made sure that she stopped even though they both knew she would never be spending much time amongst the London aristocracy.
When they reached the gatehouse door, Lorelei hesitated for a moment. She suddenly did not want to see Argus acknowledge the boys as his sons. It would all become so real then. Instead of thinking he had kept a very large secret from her, she would know it for a fact. Glancing at the boys, she shook free of the hold that uncertainty had on her. They were just boys worried about their father. She would not allow them to be caught up in some confrontation between her and Argus even if she did think a man should inform his new lover that he had children already.
Lorelei rapped on the door and waited. Iago answered and smiled at her. He glanced at the boys and that smile disappeared like dew beneath the morning sun. The next look he gave her was one of uncertainty with a touch of alarm. She had the answer to what small doubt she had still clung to. These boys were Argus's sons.
Before the man could say anything, Darius asked, “Where is our father?”
 
“Argus, best you get out here,” called Iago over his shoulder.
“What is it?” Argus said as he strode up to the door a moment later.
 
“You have guests.”
Argus looked at Lorelei and wondered why she was not smiling at him, and then a nudge from Iago had him look to her right. He tensed in shock as he stared into Olwen's face. A look to his left had him staring at his son Darius, who looked cross. This was not the way he would have wanted Lorelei to find out that he had two sons.
BOOK: If He's Dangerous
10.79Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

RedBone by Styles, T.
First Class Stamp by Aj Harmon
Fair Game by Alan Durant
Dark Hunger by Rita Herron
120 days... by Stratton, M.
A Little Too Hot by Lisa Desrochers
Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult
Oppose by Viola Grace
The Book of Fate by Parinoush Saniee