Dare To Love (6 page)

The Duke sat down on the edge of the chair
next to her. “What is not possible?”

“Hollinger?

“Yes.”

“Jordan?”

He shook his head, “No Gwendolyn, it is me,
Thomas, but you used to call me Tommy.”

What! She stood up immediately and began
backing away from him. “Bu—but, your dead. I saw him—the ocean
crept over the ship and took Tommy with the surge—” Gwendolyn
stopped short and held her hand over her mouth. It could not be…it
just could not be…this man…this disturbing man was Tommy?

Thomas continued to keep his distance. “I
survived Gwendolyn.” Within seconds, deep subdued emotions began to
stir and Thomas quickly governed his reaction from being so close
to his memories. “I cannot believe you are alive. It was understood
that Gwendolyn Drummond expired on the ship with the others.”

“And I believed Tommy Hollinger died in the
ocean.”

Thomas nodded his head, “Dear God, what
madness is this?”

Gwendolyn swung around and began to pace the
floor then eyed his body up and down, disbelieving his existence.
“You do not look the same; I thought you were your brother.”

Thomas pulled up from the chair and glided
towards the window. Looking through its pane, he watched his guests
slowly emerge the estate lawns. He contemplated the uncertainty of
it all. Right, wrong— wrong, right. He did know he resembled his
elder brother, hating his reflection each time he passed a mirror,
wishing to be an individual, settling for a shared
identicalness.

He turned back to Gwendolyn—she was not the
same either; grown into some curvy female. He brought his eyes
downward up her svelte frame. In her simple blue-black pelisse, she
was a little taller, her cheeks were flushed now, her neck, still
willowy, her bosoms…oh heaven help him, as he slightly turned
around…she was flawlessness enhanced. She was absolutely beautiful,
beautiful and pleased each one of his senses. Feeling a bit
besieged from so many moving attacks, Thomas cleared his throat and
continued to distance himself from her. Being in the same room with
her, adjacent to the girl he shared his first kiss, brought forth
buried sexual desire.

Gwendolyn watched him back away and lean
against a desk, crossing his boots in unison with his arms across
his chest. Confident and assured, this invader was another person
all together, she realized. Handsome in detail, the man was
delightfully put together in a sinful sort of way. Her heart began
to trip over as soon as she viewed him more clearly. His hair was
still an unruly mop of black curls, longer than she had remembered,
but the weights of it seem to tame the waves into precision. His
nose was still straight, but now had a proud stint to it resting on
his tempting mouth. Good Lord, his chiseled jawbone and thick
throat were text book besides. It was in his stare, in those light
green eyes of his, which caused her to believe it was really her
childhood friend. Those heavenly lashed eyes could always take over
her sense of certainty. His appearance was just an added bonus to
what she used to know of the boy. He was so inviting to look at
now; it was challenging for her to even look away. Her close
scrutiny of his physique however, caused the raider to offer her a
most sensuous grin.

“Do I attain your endorsement?”

Even his smugness surprised her! Gwendolyn
was simply amazed by the radical change from the quiet, reserved
boy she used to know. She stepped away from him, unexpectedly
feeling the urge to wrap her arms around his neck and never letting
go. “You,” she sighed heavily with the consideration, “Have
changed, that’s all.”

“So have you.”

“All these years Tommy—”

“It’s Thomas now,” he corrected her without a
beat.

Gwendolyn smiled, “Thomas, yes,” and beamed
again, “All these years and we never knew?” Persistent giggling on
her part suddenly turned into laughter as Gwendolyn clutched her
stomach in distress.

“I do not see the humor in this Gwendolyn, if
anything, I see a cruel joke.”

“Yes,” she agreed, erasing her smile, “It has
been most unpleasant.”

Thomas tilted his head and stared at her
again, “Where have you been?” He asked, agitated all of a sudden.
“That manor has been vacant for the past ten years. Last I heard
the sale of it was suspended in probate.”

“In Yorkshire, Kettlewell to be exact, with
my Great-Aunt,” Gwendolyn softly voiced, thinking about her
Great-Aunts demise.

“She is…she has passed on recently.”

Thomas’ mouth slowly opened, “I am sorry to
hear that, I had no idea you had other living relatives…In
Yorkshire, you say? I never thought—”

“She was estranged,” Gwendolyn cut in,
recognizing his vagueness, “My grandmother’s sister. My father’s
aunt, they never spoke…and you? You have been here all along? In
the home that you grew up?”

“I was in Bristol for awhile and then just
recently back.” Thomas then felt anxiety fully engulf him, “Did
you…did you remarry?”

Gwendolyn stared into his heartrending focus,
“No,” she pronounced walking backwards away from him again, “But I
am engaged to married. And you…are about to remarry as well?”

Thomas’ throat closed up, “Yes.” He was
taken-back; both twenty-six years of age now…and both waited ten
years to make that commitment again?

Gwendolyn roamed over to one of the windows
and looked out at the beautiful lawn she once ran races on.
Focusing on her reflection from within, she noticed the faces that
glared back down at her. Quickly turning her head, she eyed the
family portraits on the wall; individual paintings of his mother,
father, brothers, and then finally one of him. He was young; the
boy in an earlier period, her Tommy, not the stranger who stood
before her looking every bit identical to his senior brother, the
portrait at this moment she could not stop staring at. She turned
to look at the younger depiction yet again, oh why had not she seen
it before? He was eye-catching even at his young age! It was only a
matter of time he would turn into the charming gentleman he now
was.

“Thomas…” Gwendolyn asked seriously now,
“…How did we get to this position?”

Thomas directed his senses and cleared his
throat. “There was a bounty on my father’s life,” he confessed
quietly, recalling what he knew. “Unbeknownst to the family, the
Junia stole from a pirate ship and all who bore the name Hollinger
was supposed to die.”

“Supposed to die?”

“Haven’t you ever wondered what happened that
night?”

“Yes, of course, I have nightmares to this
day,” Gwendolyn pronounced without delay.

“Our entire family vanished.”

“Wh—What happened?”

His menacing gaze only fed her dread. “At
first light, one and all were instructed to get dressed, and then
forced up deck; everyone, half asleep when the murderers came
aboard. They were all tied up and gagged,” he voiced eerily,
staring into nowhere, “The storm simply a backdrop to a sadistic
offense.”

Gwendolyn was in shock and hesitantly sat
down on the sofa. “And we eluded them, how?”

“By some grace of God, the pirates left us
alone. They were not even aware we were in the Great Cabin,” Thomas
said matter-of-factly, closing his eyes with the haunting
realization. “Only our families…one by one, each of them, dropped
into the ocean…to their deaths.”

“H—how, do you know all this?”

“Captain Porter,” he voiced plainly. “On his
death bed, he confessed the pirate Red Retropé was
responsible.”

“Oh dear God…and the threat?”

“No longer valid.”

Gwendolyn crossed her arms under her bosom.
“Oh my mother, my brother, my poor family…and you? What happened to
you? How did you manage to survive?”

“I was pressed under the sea,” Thomas
jarringly recalled, “Brushed under the violent current to calm
water. I remembered thinking how peaceful it was there, dark, like
the night…I’m a good swimmer, you know that,” he stopped short and
met her stare. “I swam under the tide, then up towards the lighter
water. When I hit the surface, a crippling undercurrent threw my
body into something solid. I reached and grabbed for it, realizing
that I had been thrown into a crate. I climbed aboard and held on
for dear life…”

“…
I was so distraught,”
Gwendolyn recalled quietly, “…I ran to the edge of the sheer. I
could not see you…could not find you, and the wind pushed me
backwards. I began to cry in my lap when I felt someone grab me
from behind. Ralph, Captain Porter’s first mate, picked me up and
brought me to a lifeboat. We managed to outlast the continued waves
until a few hours later we happened upon a British ship who took us
aboard…Oh God, why did this happen?”

Gwendolyn rushed to the doorway and Thomas
caught her exit. Gently closing the door in front of her, his
significant body hovered over hers in a protective cocoon. “Calm
yourself Gwendolyn,” he whispered just outside her ear. “Let me
take care of this.” A whiff of lemon-zest from her hair
unexpectedly invaded his senses. Her skirt, brushing up against his
thighs, caused his arousal to awaken. Tantalizing deliberations ran
through his blood. With both arms on either side of her he could
have easily swung her around and properly received her…but he let
his arms descend and released his caged embrace.

Making matters worse, Gwendolyn turned around
and bore into his eyes. Her wistful expression weakened his
assuredness, he wanted to possess her…grab her…taste her…shake her
senseless. Doesn’t she realize he would have died for her? Inch, by
every dissatisfying inch, he backed away.

Thomas and Gwendolyn held each other’s
intent. Gwendolyn wanted nothing more than to run into his arms and
cry with relief; the feeling was so tremendous, her heart pounded
recklessly with the deliberation. Thomas swiftly encircled his eyes
across her lovely face; he wanted to buss his lips across her
throat, feel her quiver underneath him in contact, he wanted her so
much; his very breath was being sucked from his lungs.

Mary…she thought finally. She looked so much
like her father and he wasn’t even aware! Gwendolyn searched
Thomas’ eyes for further closeness and when she found it in
abundance, she voiced, “Thomas… there is something you should
know—”

“We simply cannot wait at port any longer
Thomas; we must know who the woman is,” Henry exclaimed, startling
the twosome out of further intimacy.

One by one, the huntsmen entered. Gwendolyn
was so overwhelmed from her entire surroundings, she found herself
alone by the window again, watching the amused group unaffected by
what just happened.

“I tried to keep them entertained, but all my
jokes were already familiar,” Devin quipped, meeting eyes with
Gwendolyn.

“Please introduce me to this exquisite
creature.”

Gwendolyn felt a rush of hesitancy; the man
was much too forward. Oh my, he is very good-looking, she thought,
suddenly staring at his exterior. On identical lines as Thomas, the
man was just as tall, wearing not black, but blue, of every tint,
extenuating his good looks. Uneven shades of blonde hair, azure
eyes and a long tapered nose, his mouth formed an avid grin and
Gwendolyn blushed instantly.

“I saw her first dear boy,” Henry retorted,
pushing aside Devin’s advance.

He too is fine looking, Gwendolyn thought,
examining his façade as well. Uniquely dressed in a coffee tone,
the handsome man possessed dark chestnut hair and hazel eyes. Oh
my, each and every man in the room, a prize indeed.

Thomas noted her lure to both wolves and
instantaneously, a sense of possessiveness impassioned him. Henry
was basically harmless, being shy and tongue-tied, but Thomas knew
Devin’s reputation, he was his cohort in pursuit. He further knew
that women flock to Devin, and this was one woman he wanted to keep
for himself…keep for himself? What the hell was he thinking? “Down
boys!” He exclaimed, overriding his emotions back to monopoly. “She
is not to be approached men, is that understood?”

Devin crossed his arms in front of him and
continued to stare at Gwendolyn. He shook his head and disagreed,
“My restraint has yet to be trifled with, but I will try.”

Thomas rolled his eyes and gazed at both his
friends. Seven winters full of closeness and laughter. He trusted
these men…trusted them with his very life. No one here would dare
betray him.

Then Katrina fell into view. Good God, was
she standing there all the time? Oh bloody hell…What was he going
to say to her? They were about to be married in two weeks time!
“What I am about to say goes no farther than this room.” Thomas
halted and eyed Katrina who gathered close. She entwined her gloved
hand within the crook of his elbow and squeezed his arm tight. He
gazed down at her and felt a rush of guilt.

Gwendolyn sat down and eyed the two of them
together. Biting down on her lower lip, she was envious of this
girl who had reign to touch him so freely. When she first
approached Gwendolyn in the field she stated that Thomas was her
betrothed…so this was going to be his new bride? It is nice to see
that he has fallen in love, she realized. She truly was an
attractive woman and the other, who was she? Brunette with hazel
eyes, equally as lovely, Gwendolyn felt so panic-stricken.