“Cincinnati is quite a distance away from London, Taylor.”
“Yes, of course it is. Victoria, what would you do?”
Her friend didn't have a ready answer. “What does Lucas suggest?”
“I haven't told him about Malcolm.”
“I realize that,” she countered. “But what about the Borders? Doesn't he think they should be punished?”
Taylor straightened in her chair and dropped her brush into her lap. “Lucas and Hunter went back to the tenement,” she whispered.
“Why?”
“To wait for the Border brothers,” Taylor said. “Dear God, there's bound to be trouble.”
“Lucas can take care of himself. And so can Hunter. It's out of your hands now. Those two will surely drag the brothers off to the authorities.”
Taylor wasn't so certain either her husband or his friend would involve the police. They might want to deal with the brothers themselves. She had seen the looks on their faces.
“There's always a chance the brothers won't go home tonight,” Victoria remarked. “You could be worrying for no purpose.”
“We should leave Cincinnati the day after tomorrow. We'll only allow one day to purchase the things we'll need.”
The switch in topics took Victoria by surprise. “Yes,” she agreed after a moment's pause. “I purchased all the items you'd written down.”
“The children need shoes.”
“We'll get them tomorrow. Taylor, what in heaven's name are you going to tell Lucas?”
“His duty is done,” she replied. “He'll probably leave tomorrow. I shall suggest that very thing.”
Victoria rolled her eyes heavenward. “Do you honestly believe he would leave you with three children stranded in this city? I think not. You're fooling yourself if you believe that nonsense.”
Taylor's shoulders slumped. “Poor Mr. Ross,” she whispered. “He didn't ask for any of this. He doesn't even want to be married.”
“He may not like being married, but he's certainly beginning to like you. Don't look so surprised, Taylor. Haven't you noticed the way he stares at you?”
“Do you mean the if-it-wasn't-against-the-law-I'd-throttle-you look he gives me all the time?”
Victoria smiled. “I must admit I have seen that look several times. What about hired help? You mentioned you wanted to employ a cook and a nanny and a maid. Is there time to interview?”
Taylor shook her head. “I would have to run an advertisement first. No, there isn't time. I'm afraid we'll be on our own for a time. Perhaps we'll find suitable help in Redemption.”
It was a false hope. How many cooks could there be in a two-block town?
Victoria was thinking along the same lines. “I have taken the liberty of purchasing a book full of recipes,” she told Taylor. “They don't look too difficult.”
They continued to talk about the problems they might encounter and worked on their list of things to be purchased in Cincinnati. It was almost midnight when Victoria went back to her room. Her friend offered to help take the children to breakfast the following morning.
Taylor was too keyed up to sleep. Her mind kept turning back to the Border brothers. She wasn't the vengeful sort, but she felt it was her duty to see that their business was stopped. There would be other children at risk unless something was done.
She finally came up with what she believed was a suitable plan.
Lucas came back to their room a few minutes later. He spotted Taylor sitting at the desk, diligently writing something down on paper. She was so engrossed in what she was doing, she barely spared him a glance.
It was safe to stare at her because she wasn't paying him any attention, and Lucas did just that. She made him feel clean. The realization made him smile. He knew he wasn't being reasonable. He didn't care. He'd just come back from the filth in the city. Hell. The area he'd been in was surely what hell would be like. And looking at the Border brothers in their seedy quarters was very like staring at a couple of demons.
Now Lucas felt as though he'd made it all the way to heaven. Taylor. With her golden curls and wonderful blue eyes. God, he even liked her frowns.
He wanted her so much he was shaking with his need. He took a bath instead. When he returned to the main room, she was still laboring over her task.
And he still wanted her. He listed at least ten sound reasons why he should leave her alone tonight. The last was the least substantial. It was after midnight. She was exhausted. She needed her sleep.
It didn't matter. By the time he'd crossed the room, he knew what was going to happen. Gaining his wife's cooperation was all that mattered to him now.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
She put her pen down and looked up at him. “I've just finished writing out an advertisement. I'm offering five thousand dollars for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Billy and Cyrus Border. Do you think I should offer more?”
He shook his head. “Their friends would sell them out for a whole lot less.”
“That's what I thought,” she told him. “I'm going to deposit the money in one of the banks here and put an officer in charge of the disbursement. My hope is that the reward will force the brothers to run for the rest of their lives.”
“They aren't going to bother anyone ever again.”
She jumped to her feet. “What happened?”
He shrugged. Billy and Cyrus were both dead, but he didn't tell her that. The truth might upset her. She was such a gentle woman, she wouldn't understand. It had been a fair fight. Lucas made certain of that. In the end, Cyrus tried to shoot Hunter in the back. Lucas had taken him out, and Hunter had taken care of Billy. He could have killed him in cold blood. He didn't though. He waited until Billy drew on him. Then he shot the son of a bitch through the center of his black heart.
He didn't want to talk about or think about the vermin any longer.
“They're gone,” he told her.
“Do you mean to say they left the city?”
He had to think about the question a long minute. He guessed they had left. Their souls were probably already in hell, and their bodies were already starting to decay wherever Hunter had buried them.
“I guess you could say they have.”
She put her hands on her hips. “Tell me exactly what happened tonight,” she demanded.
“Hunter and I took care of the matter. That's all you need to know, Taylor. Are you tired?”
“No, butâ”
“Good. Come to bed now.”
He caught hold of her hand and dragged her into the alcove. He was barefoot and shirtless.
His back was broad, unblemished, deeply tanned. She knew his skin would be warm to her touch. She tried to block the thought. She started feeling breathless. He-stopped and turned around to look at her when they reached the side of the bed. His pants were unbuttoned. She could see the dark, curly hair in the opening.
She started blushing. She said the first thing that came into her mind. “You shouldn't walk around like that. You'll catch a chill. Aren't you cold?”
He reached for the tie to her robe. “No. Fact is, I'm hot.”
She let him take her robe off. The way he was looking at her made her feel warm inside.
“You must be exhausted,” she blurted out.
He shook his head. “I'm not at all tired.”
She frowned up at him. “If I'm not tired, and you aren't either, why are we going to bed?”
He let her figure out the answer to that question. He walked over to close the drapes. When he was finished, the room had turned into a cozy cocoon.
Taylor sat down on the side of the bed. She removed her slippers and then stood up again.
She wanted to check on the children. He caught her when she tried to walk past him. “I already looked in on them,” he assured her. “The babies got in bed with the boy. They're sound asleep.”
She nodded, turned around, and got into bed. She fluffed her pillow behind her head, pulled the covers up, and then smiled at him.
He got into bed beside her. “You forgot to douse the light,” she told him in a whisper.
He rolled to his side, propped himself up on his elbow, and stared down at her.
“I didn't forget.”
He wanted to see her passion. He wanted to look into her eyes when she found fulfillment. He didn't think it would be a good idea to tell her the truth, however. She was skittish enough. The way she was gripping her hands together told him how nervous she was.
He leaned down to kiss her. She turned her head away. “Do you remember that first night in London at the ball?”
The question caught him off guard. He leaned back. “Yes, I remember. We were married that day.”
“At the party your half brother told you he had been intimate with me. Do you recall his boast?”
Lucas frowned. He couldn't imagine why she would bring up that topic now. He guessed he'd have to wait to find out where she was leading him. “Yes, I remember,” he told her.
She turned to look up at him. “It wasn't true,” she whispered. “He never touched me. No man has. I just thought you should know.”
His smile was filled with tenderness. She was trying to tell him she was a virgin and blushing enough to make him think she considered the topic horribly embarrassing. “I already knew,” he whispered back.
“Oh.” She said the word with a long-drawn-out sigh.
Lucas draped his arm around her waist and leaned down to nibble on her earlobe.
“What are you doing, Mr. Ross?”
“Complicating things.”
He started to laugh. He moved lower to place wet kisses along the column of her throat. She could barely catch her breath. She moved her head to the side so he'd have better access even as she embraced the thought that he should stop this nonsense immediately. He shouldn't be amused either. If he made love to her, it really would complicate things. She certainly couldn't get an annulment, could she? Did she even want one? What about a divorce? Did she want one of those? Oh, God, it was already complicated.
The truth all but smacked her in the face. She was the one complicating things, not Lucas, and all because she was falling in love with him.
She was thoroughly disgusted with herself. Hadn't she learned her lesson yet? Was it going to take another heartbreak before she finally figured it all out? Men weren't to be trusted.
Except Lucas,
a voice whispered deep inside her. She could trust him. But what did it matter? And how in God's name could she love a man who looked ready to gag every time she reminded him he was married to her?
Taylor rolled over to face Lucas. She was going to tell him to keep his hands at his sides and leave her alone. She neither wanted nor needed him. If she said the words with enough authority and feeling, she might even believe they were true.
“Mr. Ross?”
He cupped her chin with one hand and nudged her face up. His mouth hovered directly over hers. “Yes?” he asked in a voice as rough as sandpaper.
She suddenly wanted him to kiss her.
Just one kiss,
she told herself. Then she'd tell him to leave her alone.
“Just one,” she whispered.
His mouth brushed over hers. “One what?”
She forgot. It was his fault because he had such beautiful eyes. He robbed her every thought when he stared at her with such intensity, such passion. She was powerless to do anything more than stare back.
She wished he'd kiss her. That realization made her remember. “Just one kiss,” she blurted out before she forgot.
He nudged her onto her back. Then he covered her with his body. He braced himself on his elbows so he wouldn't crush her and stared down into her eyes.
“And then?” he asked.
“And then what?”
She was having trouble concentrating. He thought that was a nice reaction. He knew he was rattling her. She was blushing enough to make him think she could feel his hardness pressed against her. He rested between her thighs. Her nightgown had gotten bunched up around her hips. Taylor was trying to push the gown down and stay perfectly still at the same time. Oh, yes, she felt him all right. God knew he could feel her heat. It made him harder, until desire mixed with pain and he was throbbing with his need to plant himself solidly inside her.
“Just one kiss,” she whispered. “And then you . . .”
His mouth silenced her explanation. He took complete possession. His mouth was hard and hot, as hard and hot as the rest of his body. His tongue swept inside. She groaned low in her throat and wrapped her arms around his waist. Her nails dug into his waistband. He grunted in response. She thought it was the most arousing sound she'd ever heard.
She loved everything about him, his scent, his taste, the feel of his hot skin under her fingertips. He was so strong he could easily crush her, and yet he was incredibly gentle whenever he touched her. He kept his strength contained. His power surrounded her, comforted her.
He wooed her with his mouth, his tongue, and his hands. He stroked her wild and made her feel as though she was the most precious thing in the world. He made her feel wanton and desirable. And powerful. He reacted to her every touch. She could make him groan by simply brushing her fingertips across his shoulders. When she moved against him, he deepened his kiss and pulled her tight against him.
She couldn't seem to get enough of him. He pulled her hands away from his back but only for a second or two. He tugged on the sleeves of her gown, and then demanded in a rough whisper that she hold onto him again. His mouth left hers. Before she could protest, he was kissing her again. She wished he wouldn't tease her. She never wanted the kiss to end, and when at last he did pull away from her, she was panting for breath and clinging to him.