The Fighter and the Fallen Woman (17 page)

Chapter Eighteen

Lady kissed him back, opening her mouth under his and tasting the faint edge of salt on his lips. She reached up and hooked her hands over his wrists, needing to touch him, feel his skin against hers.

Three sharp raps on the door pierced the bubble of the room and Nessie called, “Ten minutes.” Lady slowly broke the kiss but kept her hands on him, leaned her forehead against his.

“This is crazy,” she whispered. “We’re acting like some normal couple, stealing kisses in the parlor, but we’re anything but. I’m risking my life by kissing you and I don’t know anything about you.”

He lifted her head enough so she could meet his eyes. “Peanuts make me cough, I like it best when it rains and I’ve never been able to drink rum since I got so drunk on it I was sick for days. And I know the risk of kissing you is worth it.”

If life was fair, she and King should have been that normal couple getting to know each other, not a whore about to entertain her protector and a fighter living in a whorehouse, two broken, mistrustful souls. “No, it’s not that easy. We can’t do this. We can’t
be
this.”

“Yes, we can. Trust me, Lady, we can,” he said and started to pull her in for another kiss.

“No,” she said, the sound a mere breath. Then she jumped up, leaving him reaching for her with the hands that had felt too warm, too secure. “King, I’ve been fucking men for money since I was fourteen. In a short time, I’m going to be fucking Mr. Adams for a necklace worth a king’s ransom. How can I expect you to deal with that when I was so jealous of Jenny yesterday that I lashed out at you? It’s not fair and nothing you say will convince me otherwise. It’s part of why I can’t be part of a couple, can’t be stealing kisses in the parlor. Whores don’t get happy endings.”

“And I’ve been fighting for money since I was sixteen.” King stood up to face her. “I’ve killed two men. I’ve maimed more, probably good men, certainly no worse than me, but that’s not who I am. Just because I’ve done what I’ve had to do to survive doesn’t mean I don’t get the same chance at love as every other person in the world. Let me judge what I feel for you and how far I’m willing to go. You’d be surprised, Lady. If you could see into my heart, I think you’d be surprised.”

“I told you, nothing you say will convince me otherwise,” she said as firmly as she could manage considering tears were now running down her cheeks. Then, before she could burrow back into his arms, she ran from the room.

As soon as she got upstairs to her bedroom, she choked back the wave of despair looming over her and was able to contain her tears to a few breathy sobs. If she started crying now, she didn’t think she could stop. Especially when she heard King leave, slamming the back door with enough force to shake the windows.

She used a damp cloth to wipe her face and held the cool linen over her eyes. When she finally lowered the cloth, Nessie was standing in the doorway.

“Give me a few minutes, Nessie. I need to collect myself before I entertain Mr. Adams.”

“Aye, love. I’ll put him in the parlor and serve him tea. It’ll do him well to keep him waiting for a bit.” She cackled softly.

“Nessie? Could you bring that little bird in a cage up? Mr. Adams doesn’t need to see a filthy little creature like that.”

“Of course. I’ll get it and make sure the parlor is cleaned all right and proper.”

Lady lay down on her bed and put the cloth back over her eyes. She had to get King out of her blood before she did something truly foolish.

Like fall in love.

* * *

The next thing Lady knew, Nessie was shaking her shoulder. “Time to get you dressed,” she said softly. “I’ve kept Mr. Adams waiting for a half hour and he must be in a good mood because he let me, but he’s starting to get tetched.”

Lady immediately focused on the task at hand and in five minutes was cinched, tied and bejeweled. She was slipping on the bracelet when she thought of the fairy tale King put in her head, that they could be together. Her defenses were cracking from the constant assault to her emotions and it let that thought in, take root. Have a voice. She stilled and turned to face Nessie.

“Nessie, if I truly decided I had to leave, would you—”

“You look lovely. Now put a smile on and you’ll be fine.” Nessie hurried out of the room, leaving no room for discussion. “I’ll call you in a few.”

Lady shivered as the little spark of her dream had the life smothered out of it. How could she leave and not bring Nessie with her? Nessie might think Mr. Adams caused the sun to rise and the moon to glow, but Lady knew if she escaped, Shade would be visiting Nessie before an hour had passed, and it wouldn’t be to drink tea. She couldn’t risk her friend’s life over a girlish infatuation, not when it was very likely she would have been dead years ago had Nessie not gotten her off the streets.

“Miss Lady, Mr. Adams is here to see you,” Nessie said loudly from the doorway. Lady took a deep breath and descended the stairs. Strangely, she was calm, even as she swept into the parlor and saw Mr. Adams. Without turning, she closed the doors behind her and kept eye contact with her protector. A little smile played over her lips because she knew enough to put it there, but her eyes needed to be forced not to look at the spot on the sofa where she’d just shared one kiss with the man she’d rather was here.

“Mr. Adams, I hope I haven’t kept you waiting long.”

“Never, pet. Never.” He rose from the wingback chair and approached her with his arms outstretched. Lady returned the gesture, taking his hands and letting him hold her at arm’s length to be admired.

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to take your sapphires back to the jeweler’s, pet.” He lowered their clasped hands so it pulled her closer. He peered at her earrings and made a soft clicking sound with his tongue.

“And why is that, Mr. Adams? They’re so pretty and I do promise I’ll show proper gratitude.” Lady lowered her eyes and gave a pretty pout.

“Because, my dear, I asked the jeweler to find me something to match the most extraordinary blue eyes, and where I thought the sapphires were pretty before, now that I see them next to your eyes, I know they’re not even close.”

Lady smiled. Now was the time for her to do what she did. She could manage what was expected of her tonight, get the necklace and maybe have a talk with Nessie tomorrow or the next day about the best future for them. She just needed more time to convince Nessie of options other than Mr. Adams, and to do that, she’d have to do this.

She kissed him on each cheek and said, “Thank you, Mr. Adams. Now whenever I wear these I will think of your lovely compliment and how much it meant to me.”

“And a little bit later, you’ll be thinking of how well I fucked you when you were wearing them.” He grinned and Lady knew he meant it with the same spirit and heartfelt emotion of his earlier compliment.

“That too,” she purred and crossed her hands behind his neck. She made a small biting motion and growled at him, and he put his hands on her hips and laughed. “Now, before we indulge those appetites, shall we indulge others? Mrs. Nesbitt has a lovely supper laid out in the dining room.”

She led him to the formal dining room at the back of the house, a private room that exited to the patio and gardens outside by a set of French doors. The room was papered in a harlequin design of matte and shiny burgundy, accented by gold fleur-de-lis. Brass-plated gas sconces lit the room and cast a mellow light on the cream-colored ceiling, plastered with vines in a circular pattern. The cedar floor was covered with a burgundy rug with floral designs in green and gold, and in the center of the room was a mahogany table set for two on the end nearest the patio. It was a lush room and set like this, the vase of roses on the table perfuming the air, it commanded seduction.

She led Mr. Adams to his chair at the head of the table, then seated herself directly to his left. Nessie was already serving the soup course and Lady was concentrating on being alluring. This night had to happen and happen well.

Through the entree of roast capon in a brandy sauce, Lady ate the last few bites with her fingers, licking them clean with a languorous air. She’d done this dance before, she could do it again, regardless of the last time.

The dessert, a dense, rich raspberry-and-chocolate torte, was eaten with as much gusto and seduction as possible without undressing. By the way Mr. Adams was squirming in his chair, Lady figured she had a moment or two left before he sprang. The good side of all this buildup was that the actual act was generally over quickly. The bad side was it was much more enthusiastic and messy. She’d be taking a bath later anyway, so she’d go for quickly tonight. She plucked a raspberry off her plate and bit into it, curling her lips around the plump fruit and sucking off the chocolate sauce.

Mr. Adams stood so fast he tipped his chair back and threw his napkin on the floor. Lady glanced down to the bulge in his breeches and allowed a wicked smile to show, but below the smile she felt a wash of weary relief it would soon be over.

Before he could grab her and rush her upstairs to the front bedroom, Lady walked to the balcony and threw the doors wide, stepping outside to get one last breath of clean air before submitting. She closed her eyes and braced her hands on the railing. She was locking part of herself away with each breath, a ritual Nessie had shown her. She’d never had to do it with her heart before, and it was harder than she’d thought.

On her third exhale, Mr. Adams came up behind her, kissing his way up to her neck as he started to unfasten her dress. Lady arched into his touch, opening her eyes and taking the one last breath that would protect her, when she saw
him
.

King.

Chapter Nineteen

It was King. He was standing in the shadows at the corner of her yard, framed in Lady’s vision by the foliage of her gardens and two spires of the wrought-iron fence. With Mr. Adams still kissing and undressing her, Lady lowered her head so she was meeting King’s gaze with an unflinching directness. His expression was openly naked, a blistering pain somehow held back behind closed lips and open eyes. As she looked at him, somehow able to see into his soul from so far away, Lady felt the ice around her heart crack and suddenly shatter. It was like he sheltered that fragile, exposed organ in his rough, strong hands and was coaxing it to life. Suddenly she could smell grass after a rain, taste fresh cream on new strawberries and see forever past the ocean with the touch of King’s hand in her own. And it was then, when warmth coursed through her chest instead of the cold blackness that had been her center, that she knew he was right. She could be more than a high-class whore and he would be more than a bruiser-for-hire, but they both needed to want it and they both had to fight for it, even if it meant risking death. It was worth it. And Lady was ready to fight.

“Mr. Adams,” she said in a low voice, her lips curved into a smile so her voice would follow. She was still holding the railing, still watching King, but her head was turned so it appeared her attention was on the man at her back.

“Oh, yes, pet. You smell so good, so fresh. I’ve got to have you now.” His breath scalded her skin where his mouth traced a path. He grabbed her hips and the blunt ridge of his erection pushed against her bottom. She released the railing and grabbed his hands, holding them in place while she turned just enough so he was rubbing against her hip instead.

“I have a wicked, wicked idea, Mr. Adams, and I think you’re the man to enjoy what I have to offer.”

“I always enjoy a spot of wicked.” He kept kissing her shoulder.

Lady turned, not wanting to look away from King now that she could see him in her future, but having to, because if not, she’d never look away again. She wrapped her arms around Mr. Adams’s head, holding it in place, and kissed him, pulling his bottom lip out with her teeth.

“You’re set to win this tournament, be the undisputed king of fighting from Australia to America and back again. No man will be as rich or as powerful as you without having royal blood in his veins.”

“Oh, God, yes. Yes, Lady, yes,” he said on a groan and grabbed her, burying his face in her breasts and biting and licking at them. Lady said a small prayer—her distraction was working. Mr. Adams loved to hear about him being more rich and powerful than any other man, and with this tournament, Lady knew his plan was to be to the London underworld what Her Majesty’s navy was to the water. If he would agree to what she was about to propose, she would finally be ahead in this little game.

She grabbed his head between her hands and held his eyes, licking across his lips without blinking. “Let’s wait,” she said, her voice at a fevered pitch.

He was reaching for her with his mouth when he stopped. “What? Wait?”

“Think about it. In four days you’ll have won the tournament and countless bets. That night, after you collect your winnings, you’ll fuck me, but it won’t be here, it’ll be in the warehouse. After your man wins the final fight, you’ll fuck me in the sweat and blood of that fight, every torch lit and showing all of those lickspittle fools thinking they could best you my body spread open for you, my legs wrapped around your hips. Strip me naked, slip that sapphire necklace on me and take all of that power and passion and fuck me again and again. Every man in that warehouse will watch you celebrating your win, and every man would kill the queen herself to be in your place. But they won’t be. It’ll be you in my body, your name I’m calling. And after having watched you win, the primal besting of man against man, I’ll be so ready for you I’ll be bucking and screaming the instant you slip into me. Isn’t that worth a few,” she said, slowing down and kissing his ear, “measly,” she whispered, walking around him and running her hand up his arm, “days,” she breathed in his other ear, pulling the lobe between her lips and giving it a little nip, “of waiting?” She slid the front of her body against the front of his with a moan.

She watched the idea take root and grow in his mind. She didn’t say anything more. This was now his to take and embrace, or to ignore and keep fucking her like he’d done before. She desperately wanted to look over her shoulder and see if King was still there, give him some signal that she had a plan, but she couldn’t.

“So we wait until after I win,” he said slowly, speaking to himself as much as talking to her. “And then...”

“You fuck me in the middle of the ring as many times as you’d like. Then, if you’d like, we can come here, lock ourselves up in my room with naught but a few silken ties and Nessie bringing food and drink as we need it.” She paused for a few seconds then leaned into him to whisper in his ear, “In celebration of your enormous, throbbing victory.”

“Yes, my victory,” he said, buying in to it. Lady could see the excitement on his face and choked back hysterical laughter. She pulled him close to hide her eyes and pushed that emotion back. She just needed to play this part for a little bit longer. She molded her face into a muted, yet sultry, expression and faced him.

“The only problem, pet, is you’ve got me so stoked for you now that I don’t know if I can wait. Why can’t we do both?” The dreamy tone to his voice was gone, replaced by something sharper, harder and she wondered if she’d pushed her idea too hard.

Lady smiled, thinking frantically of anything she could do to keep Mr. Adams from having her tonight. After feeling her heart beat for the first time in years, she couldn’t bear the thought of this sweaty, crass bastard pumping away at her. An idea came to mind—nothing palatable, but certainly better than the alternative. She took his arm and led him back into the dining room, hiding what she was about to do.

“Well, let’s have a little fun then, shall we?” She gently pushed him into a chair and lowered to her knees in front of him. She let her dress droop, baring her breasts as she unfastened his trousers.

“Oh, yes, pet. Oh, a little fun.” His words turned into a moan as she took his semi-flaccid member in her hand and squeezed. All she had to do now was finish him off and she would have bought herself a few Mr. Adams—free days. She started to stroke up and down, feeling him get harder, then started her tricks to help speed this along. Before she could, she felt his hand on the back of her head, pushing her toward him.

“Play with your tits while you suck on me,” he ordered in a low voice. She was going to have to take this game one step further. She opened her mouth and started to lean forward, but she heard a ruckus in the hallway that made her stop.

“What the bloody hell?” Mr. Adams growled. “What? What the hell is going on out there?”

“I’m sorry, sir,” came a man’s voice at the door. Nessie was screeching in the distance. “There’s a problem at the warehouse.”

Lady felt the proof of how serious this problem was in her hand. She looked up at Mr. Adams, trying for disappointment. “Don’t tell me that means you have to leave?”

“I’m sorry, pet.” He stood and stuffed himself back into his trousers, then fastened those. “This is probably going to take most of the night. Looks like I’m going to have to wait until the final fight after all.” He chuckled and Lady almost collapsed in relief. Instead she managed to rise to her feet, using her arms to restore the dress to her shoulders. She took his arm and led him through the house to the front door, where Shade and Nessie were waiting, the two of them exchanging fierce looks.

“Mrs. Nesbitt, please clean up the dining room,” Lady ordered, wanting to get her friend away from Shade. As Nessie left, Lady leaned down and whispered in her protector’s ear, “I promise to make that night very special for you, Mr. Adams. I’ve got a memorable dress I’ll be wearing for you, but I hope it’s not too cold, for this outfit has...well, let’s just say you’ll be able to tell I’m not wearing anything underneath it.” Lady opened the door but didn’t look away from Mr. Adams, promising him with her eyes everything she had said. Shade left to open the carriage door and she told herself,
A
few more seconds.

“No underthings, eh? I’m looking forward to it already.” He brushed a kiss across her knuckles and left, leaving her standing in the doorway with her heart beating too fast to take a proper breath. She’d done it. She’d gotten him out of here without having to fuck him first.

Relieved, she closed the door and threw the lock. Her heartbeat finally slowed enough so she could breathe again, and she concentrated on in and out. She didn’t know how long she had been standing there when a soft rapping sounded on the door and she jumped. “Who is it?” she called softly, guessing the answer but not willing to open the door on her poor instincts alone.

“It’s King.”

Nessie couldn’t know about this, not at least until Lady had a solid plan for getting them safely away. There was enough friction between Nessie and King that to keep them separated was the only thing she could do for now.

“Come around to the garden in an hour,” she said against the crack of the door and walked away briskly, making sure the sound of her footsteps would be heard by somebody standing on the front stoop.

Lady went to the dining room, and after having Nessie refasten the few hooks on her dress, they went to the kitchen and shared a cup of tea while she told Nessie of her plan to make Mr. Adams wait. She couldn’t say the real reason why, but her friend would simply recognize it as another whore’s trick. Nessie approved it, predicting it would pay off well.

Nessie’s good mood, either from Lady’s plan or the brandy with which Lady had heavily laced her tea, helped Lady in getting her friend upstairs and snoring with fifteen minutes to spare. She took a quick sponge bath, washing off as much of the lotion and the feel of Mr. Adams as she could without Nessie’s help undressing first. After, she walked out on the terrace and peered into the mist that had rolled in through the dense bushes lining the yard. She saw some movement, and soon she could see King—the skin of his face, neck and V of his chest shining like a dark star through the ghostly shrubbery. Even as tired and muddled as Lady was, the sight of him coming to her caused a fiery pulse to spread through her body.

As he came closer and closer, Lady could pick out his black trousers and boots, the deep gray of his shirt, and the stubble of his hair and whiskers. His eyes were only shadow, but she could feel them on her, holding her motionless as he ascended the three steps to the terrace.

“King, this is danger—” she started to say as he continued his determined walk, but she was cut off as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her like the world was ending at the stroke of midnight.

If the heat of King’s mouth on hers and the strength of his arms holding her close was the cost, Lady welcomed the end of the world. Hidden in the lush plants of the garden, the evening fog providing a cocoon of privacy, she reveled in the safety of King’s embrace. She returned his kiss, her mouth as hungry as his. Needing to be closer to his warmth, Lady wrapped one arm around his shoulders and the other around his side to grab on to his back.

He splayed his fingers along her neck and Lady tilted her head to allow him freer access. She dimly noticed him releasing her earrings and bracelet and letting the expensive jewels fall to the bricks, and was happy because it meant one more part of her that could be closer to him.

As though celebrating her bared lobes, King blazed a trail of sucking kisses to where the jewels had been. He licked and nipped the cord of muscle running from her ear to her collarbone and Lady trailed one hand around to his chest, clenching her fingers with each sensitive bite.

“Oh, God, King. We can’t, we can’t,” she moaned even as she twined one foot around his calf.

“Yes, we can.” He spoke against her skin, moving up to take her earlobe into his mouth and suck on it. “If anybody deserves it, we do,” he whispered in her ear. He stopped and Lady could hear him panting, feel the heat of his breath on her neck. The same heat spread through her body.

He rested his forehead against hers. Now that things had slowed down, she discovered she was breathless too. She closed her eyes and focused on the rough feel of his hand on her face, the corded muscles of his forearm on her lower back and the earthy scent of wood smoke and him that made her think
safe.
She opened her eyes and met his, looking at her future.

“You sent him away,” he said in a soft voice filled with a fierce awe.

“I sent him away.” She lifted her hand to brush against his jaw.

“You realize if he catches us, we’re dead.” King pressed his face into her hand.

“I was already.” Lady wrapped her arms around his middle, buried her face in the curve of his neck and held on for her life. She felt the pain of the past twelve years start to break free and wash away. A sob escaped and her hands fisted against his back.

“Shh.” He lifted her head up so he could look her in the eyes. “No more crying.” He kissed each tear that had fallen, slowly making his way down to her mouth. He brushed his lips over hers and she could taste the salt from her tears. Gently, she started to kiss him back—soft, closed kisses that were a balm to her soul.

“Come with me,” he said between kisses.

“Anywhere,” she answered.