TemptedByHisKiss (19 page)

Blowing out a pair of candles, Meg padded on slippered feet into her bedchamber and across to the waiting comfort of her feather mattress and soft linen sheets. She was just leaning over to pull the covers down a few inches farther when she caught sight of a large, shadow-draped figure seated in a chair on the far side of the room, the gold buckles on his black leather shoes winking at her like a pair of cat’s eyes.

She whirled on a harsh gasp, her heart pounding so hard it sounded like thunder in her ears. Instinctively, she grabbed for the nearest weapon, her fingers curving around the heavy silver candlestick on her night table. Lifting it high, she prepared to defend herself, then the light from the still burning taper revealed what she hadn’t seen before—or rather,
who
she hadn’t seen.

“Cade! Lord have mercy, is that you?” A full-body tremor ran through her. “You nearly scared the life out of me.”

“Did I? My apologies for terrifying you,” he drawled
in a quiet voice that didn’t sound all that sorry. “I wasn’t sure how best to announce myself.”

“A simple hello might have sufficed,” she said, careful to keep her voice low. Fingers trembling, she returned the candlestick to her night table, relieved when she didn’t send the lighted beeswax taper toppling to the floor.

As she straightened, she noticed Cade’s appearance as he sprawled in the chair. His dark hair was tousled, as if he’d been dragging his fingers through it. And he’d taken off his cravat, leaving his neck bare, his scar just barely visible. He reminded her of a sleekly muscled panther that had been patiently lying in wait for its prey.

Placing a fist between her breasts, she strove for calm. “What are you doing here? For that matter, how did you get in? Surely my maid didn’t let you inside?”

“No indeed. She would have been most shocked, I suspect. Actually, I came through the hidden panel on the other side of the highboy.”

Her brow wrinkled in surprise. “What hidden panel? I’ve never noticed one.”

“You aren’t supposed to. That’s why it’s hidden. One of my less trusting ancestors had them put in nearly all of the rooms when the town house was built. My brothers and I spent our childhood locating the passages and pass-throughs, though I believe only Edward and I know them all.”

“But where do they lead?”

“Back along the servants’ staircases, for the most part, and a couple run down into the cellar. Fortunately, the one in here is accessed through the family dining room, and no one uses that room at night. At least not
this
late at night.”

Her pulse finally slowing, the tension slid out of the taut muscles in her shoulders. “And why are you here so late?”

“I want to talk. Remember, I told you that this morning.”

“Yes, but surely it can wait a few hours more? I…I’m tired.”

Actually, she wasn’t tired, at least not anymore. The fright of discovering him in her bedroom had driven away all earlier feelings of sleepiness. Even so, she didn’t think this was a good time to talk. For one thing, Cade wasn’t acting like himself tonight. For another, she was standing there in her nightgown. Becoming suddenly aware of her state of undress, she drew the edges of her robe closer together, her pulse speeding up again, but not out of fear this time.

“Tired or not, I refuse to wait any longer,” he stated. “I’ve been waiting all damned day and my patience is worn thin.”

“Is it your leg?”

“No, it isn’t my bloody leg!” he snapped. “Now, I want answers, and I expect the truth. How long have you been meeting him?”

“What?” She blinked, taken aback by the sudden change of subject.

“Has he recruited you or is it something else?”

“
Recruited me?
I don’t understand.”

Moving faster than she’d imagined he could, Cade shot out of his chair and took three large steps toward her, instantly covering the distance separating them.

“Are you working for him? Are you feeding him information when you ride out for your little early morning tête-à-têtes? What are you telling him?”

Abruptly, everything came clear.
He’s found out about Everett! Oh, mercy, he knows!
Her heart leapt into yet another crazy rhythm.

His gaze bored into hers. “That’s right, I’ve found out about your clandestine association,” he said, having apparently read the truth in her eyes. “So tell me, Miss Amberley, just how deep have you gone? Who have you betrayed? Besides me, that is.”

His accusations shook her out of her momentary paralysis. “I’ve betrayed no one!” she declared. “Most assuredly not you.”

He laughed, the sound hollow and harsh. “Please give me some credit. Men like Everett don’t waste their time conducting secret rendezvouses unless they believe there is something to be gained. So what is he getting?”

“Nothing!”

Cade’s expression turned cold.
“What is he getting?”
he demanded as he enunciated each word, the question all the more chilling for his quiet, careful tone.

“Well, it isn’t information. All we’ve done is ride. And talk.”

“About what?”

“A great deal of inconsequential nonsense, for the most part. It’s been sadly disappointing.”

Cade scowled. “What in the blazes is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that he isn’t the one trying to get information out of
me
. I’ve been trying to get information out of
him
. Do you really think I would be so foolish as to consort with a man of his stamp unless I had my own motivation? He’s a snake. Anyone with two eyes can see that.”

“Then a great many people in the ton are blind.”

“You’ll get no argument on that score from me.”

He paused to consider her words. “So you aren’t in league with him?”

“No. No more than you are insane. And I think you owe me an apology, my lord. I may be many things, but a traitor is not one of them.” She drew a deep breath. “I heard what you said about him that night, and I believe you. I am merely trying to help.”

He gave her a long stare. “What do you mean, ‘help’? Surely you aren’t saying that you have been
deliberately
inviting that scoundrel’s attentions in some ill-conceived attempt to prove his guilt?”

“And your veracity,” she replied, warming to the topic with a nod of her head. “It’s an excellent plan. After all, he doesn’t know me, so why would he suspect me of ulterior motives?”

He tapped a set of knuckles against his pantaloon-clad thigh, his scowl as fierce as ever. “Why, indeed? Mayhap because he’s heard
we are engaged
?”

She made a dismissive noise. “That’s of no matter. I’ve confided in him—with great distress, mind you—that I think you’re loose a few screws on the subject of your war service, and that he’s very forbearing about the whole thing considering how you tried to murder him and all. A flattering comment here, an awestruck question about his heroics there, and he preens like a peacock. I’ve rarely met such a self-absorbed narcissist.”

A muscle flexed in Cade’s jaw. “That self-absorbed narcissist is a master strategist and not to be underestimated, whatever facade you imagine he projects. He’s dangerous,
extremely
dangerous, and you are to stay away from him, starting now!”

“But I’m making progress. It may not look like it on
the surface, but I am convinced I’m on the brink of uncovering a vital clue.”

Cade’s eyes flashed. “The only
clue
you’ll be uncovering is how to navigate your way in and out of the ballroom at the next party you attend. You will leave this alone, Meg, do you hear?”

She glanced away, brushing her fingertips over the turned back sheets. “Perhaps.”

Abruptly, he caught hold of her shoulders and gave her a little shake. Her gaze flew up to meet his. “There is no ‘perhaps’ about it. You are done playing this game with him. From now on you will have no further contact with Everett.”

“But he’ll know something is amiss if I suddenly stop meeting him. What shall I say?”

“Nothing. You are to cease speaking to him completely. If he approaches you, tell him the Mad Major found out and won’t let you see him anymore.”

“But Cade—”

He shook his head. “But Cade nothing. This is not negotiable. You are out of the espionage business.”

She raised her chin. “I don’t believe that is for you to decide. Besides, a couple minutes ago you were accusing me of passing information to him.”

“A couple minutes ago I didn’t realize just how foolhardy you could be. And stubborn.”

“No more than you.” She paused, unable to help but notice his towering height and lean strength as he stood with barely an inch separating them. He continued to hold her inside his grasp, his fingers around her arms, with no more than the sheer material of her night attire between his flesh and hers. All at once her breath grew shallow, her body growing warm beneath his touch.

“That’s different,” he defended.

“I don’t see how,” she said. “I know what he is.”

His fingers flexed against her arms. “You have no idea what he is, or the barbarous depths to which he will sink in order to gain his own ends. I once had no choice but to stand by and watch him torment and kill a young woman.”

Calida, she realized, seeing the anguish in his expression. Had he loved her so much? Did he love her still?

“I won’t stand by and let him do the same again,” he continued in a gruff, implacable tone.

“To me, you mean?” she asked, shocked by the notion. “He wouldn’t. He
couldn’t
, not here in London. There are people everywhere. I am perfectly safe.”

He gazed steadily into her eyes, his own burning with a glittering intensity. “Crowds do not ensure protection. But you
will
be safe because you’re going to stay away from him. I want your promise.”

He inched closer, near enough for her to catch the scent of his skin; an appealing mix of clean, male sweat and the lingering fragrance of the sandalwood soap he preferred. She drew a breath and found more—a subtle quality that was Cade himself. The discovery made her quiver deep inside, then again, as she fought the urge to lean forward and press her nose against the side of his neck.

Her nightgown and robe whispered around her legs as she moved backward, her calves coming to rest against the satin-covered mattress behind her. “I…I won’t go riding with him anymore. I promise that he and I will not be alone together again.”

His thumbs stroked the upper curve of her arms. “It makes me ill to think you’ve been alone with him at all. How could you put yourself in his power?”

“I didn’t…I…” But even as she spoke she realized that in a way she had done that very thing by agreeing to meet Everett in the park at such an early hour, when very few people were around. And lately she had gone there without a groom. Perhaps she’d been overconfident and unwise. Yet still, nothing untoward had occurred.

As if he were once more reading her mind, he gave her a light, scolding shake. “To think what might have happened. He could have done anything he wanted with no one there to stop him. The very idea makes my blood run cold.”

Releasing his grip on one of her shoulders, he slid his palm up and around the side of her neck. “I don’t know what I’d like to do more…” he said, drawing the edge of his thumb along the underside of her jaw.

Her pulse resumed its earlier crazy dance, her heart hammering in such swift, hard strokes that she knew he must surely feel the heavy beat of it throbbing under her skin.

“…throttle you,” he murmured, his fingers playing over her throat, “or…”

A dizzy wave swept over her. “Or what?”

He stared into her eyes, the seconds stretching one into the next. Slowly, his gaze roved lower, gliding over her nose and cheeks, then downward to linger like a whispered sigh against her mouth.

Her lips parted on a breathless inhale.

“Or this,” he answered.

And then he showed her, bending his head to capture her mouth in a kiss that was half reprimand, half seduction. She made no demurral, as his lips pressed demandingly against hers, accepting his touch as though it were the most natural thing in the world. As if he came to
her bedchamber every night and stood just so, kissing her with a ravenous passion and the promise of more to come.

Tipping his head to one side, he changed the angle of the kiss and urged her to follow his lead. His other palm came up to cup her face and hold her steady for his delectation, pressing her lips open to accept an even deeper embrace. Her head swam, her muscles turning waxen as his tongue glided inside to tease and tempt her.

And tempt her he did, driving away the remnants of her earlier caution and sense of propriety, to replace both with hot, heedless pleasure. Needing to touch him, she curved her arms around him and slipped one palm beneath his silk waistcoat to find his thin cotton shirt and the warm, muscular strength of his back underneath.

Cade shivered, the simple touch of her small hands against him enough to turn him stiff and aching with arousal. From the instant his lips touched hers, he’d known it was a mistake and that he was in too deep before he’d even begun. He wanted her, had been wanting her for an interminable span of days…weeks…months now.

He hadn’t come here this evening with seduction in mind, but rather, with condemnation and contempt. When he’d learned of her clandestine meetings with Everett, he’d been consumed with rage and, yes, betrayal—her apparent deceit enough to drive out every honest belief he had ever held about her. What else could it be? he’d asked himself. Either she was a traitor beguiling him with her wiles, as she worked some plan against him. Or worse, she was a fool who’d allowed Everett to manipulate her and draw her into his web. The thought that she might even have let Everett touch her had driven
him wild, so that he’d been pacing like a caged beast tonight while waiting for her to return home.

But she had shattered all his assumptions, turning the tables on him in such a way that he’d had no choice but to accept the truth. He felt ashamed now to have doubted her, especially knowing she’d accepted his word against Everett with no proof at all. She believed him. How he reveled to hear her swear her trust in him. How he quaked to realize the danger in which she had placed herself for him.