The Price of Pleasure (8 page)

Reed leapt from his chair. “They’re coming here? How do you know?”

“I went to the village this morning to purchase meat from the butcher when half a dozen soldiers entered the village. They were asking questions of everyone. They wanted to know about inhabitants of the village and outlying cottages. I lingered nearby while the villagers gave directions to several cottages in the vicinity. This cottage was one of them.”

Gaston had arrived in time to hear Antoine’s warning. “How soon will the soldiers arrive, Antoine?”

“Soon. There aren’t many homes in this area, for the countryside is not conducive to farming or raising livestock. You and
monsieur
must hide immediately, Countess,” Antoine urged.

Reed had many questions but decided to save them for later. He recognized panic when he saw it. “Shall we hide in the woods?” he asked.

“No,” Fleur said. “We’ve prepared a better place. Follow me.”

“We will hide all evidence that you and
monsieur
ever existed,” Lisette said, running from the room.

“This way,” Fleur said, leading the way down the hall. “We’ve planned well for this day, even though we hoped it would never arrive.”

“Your decision to go to Devil’s Chateau so soon after my rescue was ill-advised,” Reed chided.

At the end of the hallway they came to a nondescript wardrobe that Reed had paid scant heed to. When Fleur opened the door to the wardrobe, Reed balked.

“This is ridiculous. We can’t hide in there. The search will be a thorough one; we are certain to be found. Hiding in the woods would be better.”

“As I told you before, we are well prepared for this day.”

To Reed’s astonishment, Fleur pushed aside a few garments hanging inside and lifted a trapdoor in the floor of the wardrobe, revealing a gaping, dark hole.

“Come on,” Fleur urged as she stepped down into the dark void. “Be careful, there are four steps leading down to a small enclosure beneath the house where we can hide. Hunch over—you’re too tall to stand erect—and be sure to close the wardrobe door and pull the trapdoor down behind you.”

Reed had no choice but to obey. He shut the wardrobe door and groped his way down the steps. He reached up and pulled the trapdoor into place, enclosing them in total darkness.

“There is space for two to sit comfortably down here,” Fleur said.

Reed felt her hands on his arm, guiding him down. His breath seized, and he began to tremble. This small, damp enclosure reminded him too much of the unending days spent in solitary confinement at Devil’s Chateau, in a black hole just like this. It had been his punishment for failing to divulge the names of his fellow operatives in France.

“What’s wrong?” Fleur asked.

Reed could scarcely catch his breath. He felt as if a heavy weight were pressing down on his chest. Panic stuck its talons into him and refused to let go. He began sweating profusely.

“Reed, what is it? Are you ill?”

“I . . . don’t do well in tight, closed places. The memories . . . I’m sorry, I can’t stay here.” He started to rise.

Fleur caught his arm. Her hands followed his arm up to his shoulder, grazing his neck, until she found his cheek. Her other hand joined the first, cupping his face. Mesmerized, Reed felt his fears ease when she brought her mouth to his and kissed him.

Chapter Four

For a few wild moments of pure joy, Reed forgot where he was. Darkness receded; he was no longer in a black pit associated with pain and suffering. Fleur’s kiss became a lifeline to reality, pulling him toward the light, where his own instincts took over.

Tugging her against him, he deepened the kiss, exploring the sweetness of her mouth as if it were his only link to sanity. He cupped her breasts in his hands, dimly aware that today she wore no corset to hinder his exploration. She caught his groan in her mouth, squeezing his arm as if to warn him that even the tiniest noise could bring disaster down upon them.

Reed heeded her implied warning, though it was difficult. He wanted to do things with Fleur that were impossible in the limited space of the cramped hole. But that didn’t stop him from kissing her, touching her, caressing her sweet womanly curves. As long as he kept the darkness at bay, he could survive the terrifying memories.

And one day soon, Reed vowed, he would have Fleur naked beneath him, bringing them the pleasure they had both denied themselves. His once-dormant cock jerked and stiffened. Reed rejoiced at the knowledge that he was still capable of making love to a woman.

Suddenly Fleur went rigid against him. “Listen,” she whispered against his lips.

Reed went still, listening as Fleur directed. Muted voices, accompanied by the stomp of boots and the soft shuffle of leather slippers alerted him to imminent danger.

The boots stopped before the wardrobe. Reed could hear the voices clearly now.

“What is this?” a man asked in a commanding voice.

“A wardrobe,
monsieur
,” he heard Lisette answer.

“What is it doing out here?”

“My brothers moved it here. There was no room for it in the bedchamber.”

Reed clutched Fleur tightly when he heard the wardrobe door open and someone rummaging about directly above them. He scarcely dared to breathe; each tiny breath he took sounded like thunder in his ears. Their combined heartbeats pounded so loudly, he feared the sound would give them away.

With Fleur’s kisses no longer distracting him, reality intruded, making him aware once more of where they were. The dirt walls of the black pit in which they were hiding began to close in on him. His heartbeat accelerated; sweat drenched him. If he didn’t get out of here soon, he feared he would go mad. He should have taken his chances in the woods. Now Fleur would know what a coward he was, how being entombed in dark places roused him to panic.

“Does this cottage have a cellar?” Reed heard the soldier ask.

“
Non
,
monsieur
,” Lisette answered. “My parents built this house with their own two hands. My father did not dig a cellar.”

The soldier merely grunted.

The sound of receding footsteps did little to calm Reed’s ragged nerves. He needed to get out . . . now.

“I can’t do this, Fleur,” he whispered into her ear. “The soldiers are gone. I have to get out of here.”

Grasping his arm, Fleur prevented him from raising the trap door. “Not yet. Someone will come for us when it’s safe to leave. Please, Reed, you need to stay here with me.”

Reed began to shiver. “You don’t know. You can’t even imagine what it’s like for me. I spent days, weeks, in a pit barely large enough to turn around in, fighting off rats, deprived of light and companionship.”

“But you’re not alone this time,” Fleur soothed. “Kiss me, Reed.”

Reed barely heard her words. Panic sent his pulse soaring. Vividly he recalled being pulled from the pit, beaten, then returned to his private hell, broken and bruised, alone and forgotten. Though he couldn’t recall how long he had remained in the pit, he did remember praying for death. After what seemed like eons they had come for him, beaten him again and then placed him in a different kind of hell with other prisoners.

Fleur knew she wasn’t getting through to Reed. She could practically smell his fear. He was panting, and she could feel perspiration seeping through his clothing. If she couldn’t save him from his demons, there was no telling what he might do. She could still hear soldiers in the cottage and feared discovery. Fumbling for his hand, she grasped it and placed it on her breast.

“Reed, come back to me. Kiss me.”

Relief shuddered through her when she felt Reed’s hand tighten on her breast. His breathing, though still frantic, slowed. She smiled when his fingers searched for her nipple, rolling the sensitive bud between his thumb and forefinger. When he found her cheek with his other hand and turned her face into his kiss, she knew she had reached him in that dark place and that his demons were retreating.

Reed relaxed into the kiss like a drowning man seeking air. She melted against him, drawing him deeper into the kiss. She opened her mouth to his tongue, surprised by her own state of arousal. She was so lost in passion, she nearly failed to hear footsteps returning to the wardrobe.

Her lips moved against his. “Reed, stop! They’re coming back.”

Reed went still. Fleur strained to hear the murmur of voices.

“Are you satisfied,
monsieur?
” she heard Lisette ask. “If you tell me who or what you’re looking for, I might be of more help.”

A male voice rumbled in reply. “Since we didn’t find what we were looking for, there is no need for you to know.” A moment of silence and then he asked, “How long will your brothers be staying with you?”

Fleur realized he was asking about Antoine and Gaston. The plan was to introduce them as Lisette’s brothers should anyone ask.

“We will return to our wives and families soon,” Gaston answered. “We came to make sure our sister is well. She has recently been widowed and moved into our parents’ cottage.”

The soldier muttered something Fleur didn’t understand, followed by the sound of retreating footsteps.

“Are they gone?” Reed whispered.

“We can only hope.”

A few minutes later the trapdoor was raised. Fleur blinked in the sudden light as Gaston’s face came into view.

“Are you two all right, Countess?”

“We’re fine,” Fleur answered. “Is it safe to come out?”

“They’re gone. I don’t think they’ll return any time soon.”

“Thank God,” Fleur said, nearly collapsing in relief. She didn’t know if Reed could have held up much longer. She hadn’t been aware of the darkness inside him. Or that he was fighting demons from his time at Devil’s Chateau.

Gaston reached down. She grasped his hand and climbed out of the hole, ducking out of the wardrobe as the servant offered Reed his hand.

Until now, Fleur hadn’t been aware of Reed’s fear of closed-in places. She knew he’d been beaten and starved, but this was the first time she’d heard him mention a pit. None of the others had spoken of the kind of torture Reed had suffered. Perhaps it was something they wanted to forget. If she and Reed hadn’t been forced to hide, Fleur would have never known about the inhumane method of torture the prison guards used to extract information.

“Are you all right, Reed?” Fleur asked when Reed emerged from the darkness.

“I’ve been better,” he said from between clenched teeth. “You and your friends are very clever. That was an excellent hiding place. If it’s safe, I think I’ll go bask in the sunshine awhile.”

Gaston sent him a curious look. “The danger is over for now,
monsieur
.”

Reed nodded and headed toward the front door. Fleur hurried after him. He didn’t go far. He sank down on the ground beneath a tree and lifted his face to the sun. Fleur settled beside him.

“Thank you for saving my sanity,” Reed said without looking at her. “I never thought I’d react so strongly to being confined in a dark place. I feel wrung out, emotionally drained. I hope the soldiers never come back, because I don’t think I could face that confinement again.”

“I’m sorry; I didn’t know. It must have been terrifying for you.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” He gave a sheepish grin. “I liked the way you tried to distract me. You’re an astute woman, Fleur. I nearly lost my soul in that dark, frightening place I visit far too often in my dreams.”