After the Abduction (39 page)

“Your sister says you’re leaving in the morning. Why didn’t you tell me?”

She shrugged. “I didn’t think of it.”

“The devil you didn’t. We’re going to talk, and we’re going to do it
now,
” he said firmly. Beyond her he saw the footman motion to him that his carriage had arrived, and he nodded. “Come on, Juliet. I’m taking you home.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you, drat it!” she cried as he grabbed her elbow and propelled her toward the entrance door.

“If you don’t, I’ll carry you out, and this time we’ll run
off for good. It’ll be straight to Gretna Green for you, sweeting.”

The footman looked somewhat disturbed by Sebastian’s statement, but opened the door nonetheless, and Sebastian dragged her through it.

“Do you really think I’d run away with you
again
?” she protested. “I’m not the ninny I was two years ago—”

“You weren’t a ninny then; you’re not a ninny now.” He hurried her down the stairs. “However, I’m more of a scoundrel than I was then, and I’ll do anything to secure the woman I want.”

“Not ‘anything,’ Sebastian.” She dug in her heels at the open door to his carriage. “If you’d do ‘anything,’ we wouldn’t be at odds.”

He stared into her lovely face, feeling the blood pound in his ears. “I meant what I said,” he heard himself respond, as if through a fog. “I’ll do
anything.
Anything you want. So get in the coach. It’s high time we discussed our wedding.”

She searched his face for a long moment, then abruptly turned and climbed up into the carriage. And for the first time all night, Sebastian felt truly hopeful.

Chapter 23

They love too much that die for love.

English proverb written on a list once mounted in the Templemore schoolroom

T
he Duke of Montfort emerged from the shadows where he’d been watching Templemore dispatch Havering and then carry off Juliet. Following Templemore on his perambulations about Lady Brumley’s townhouse had certainly paid off.

So there really was a connection between Juliet and Templemore. He’d begun to wonder if the baron had been lying about it.

The footman came back inside, then jumped when he spotted Montfort. “Your Grace! I did not see you there.”

“It’s all right. I see that Lord Templemore and Lady Juliet just left together.”

“Yes, and to be honest, I am rather disturbed by it. I don’t generally pry into the affairs of her ladyship’s
guests, you understand, but I do fear…” He trailed off with an expression of great agitation.

Montfort stepped forward. “Yes? I’ll try to help if I can.”

“It sounded as if his lordship might have been…well…taking the young lady off in his carriage against her will.”

“Really? Why do you think so?”

The footman related the entirety of what Montfort had only heard in snatches. When the man finished, it was all Montfort could do to stifle his laughter. Instead, he nodded somberly. “You were right to speak. Never fear—I’ll notify her ladyship of your concerns right away. I’ll say I was the one who overheard Templemore and Lady Juliet. No one need know that
you
were behind it.” Especially since he didn’t plan to tell her ladyship a word. She tended to meddle. Besides, he had better plans for this information.

“Thank you, your grace!”

“I’ll tell Lady Juliet’s family as well. They’ll know if Lord Templemore might present a threat. The Knightons
are
still here, are they not?”

“Yes. Shall I fetch them?”

“No, don’t trouble yourself. Go on about your duties.” He handed the servant a couple of sovereigns. “This is for your silence. You may leave the entire matter to me.”

After the footman gushed his thanks again and hurried off, Montfort stood there chuckling. So Templemore had been Juliet’s despoiler two years ago? How very intriguing. It explained so much—why the stodgy baron insisted upon courting her, and why she’d seemed reluctant to go off with him in his carriage.

He could use this to his advantage. Knighton couldn’t possibly know about Templemore’s part in the elopement or he wouldn’t be allowing the man even to consort with Juliet. And if Knighton did happen to learn of it, he was just the hotheaded sort to take drastic action—like calling Templemore out.

That could be quite useful. No matter the outcome, it would leave Juliet free. If Templemore killed Knighton, Juliet would never forgive the man. Besides, Templemore would be forced to flee the country or stand trial.

And if Knighton killed Templemore, then the only person who stood between Montfort and Juliet would be eliminated. How very tidy.

Well, that left only one thing to do, didn’t it? He must find Knighton and reveal that the man’s precious sister-in-law had just gone off in a carriage alone with the scoundrel who’d carried her off two years ago.

This was proving a very entertaining evening. By morning, he intended to be the only man left standing who could marry Juliet.

Juliet watched warily as Sebastian settled into the carriage seat across from her.

“So what’s it to be?” he demanded. “Gretna Green or Knighton House?”

“Knighton House, of course.”

Thrusting his head out the window, he called the command up to the driver, then came back into the carriage. It was black and gloomy inside, yet the moonlight shone enough so she could see his eyes assessing her.

“You do understand that you’ve just agreed to marry me, don’t you?” he asked.

“If
you
understand that you’ve just agreed to tell my family everything at last. You did say you’d do anything.”

“Yes, I did.”

Joy blossomed in her heart. “You really mean it?”

He scowled at her. “Don’t I look as if I mean it?”

“Actually, you look rather peeved.”

“Well, what do you expect? I nearly challenged a man to a duel over you. And I don’t even
believe
in duels. They’re pointless violence that proves nothing.”

“I see.” She was trying hard not to smile, but he was making it very difficult.

“Is that all you have to say? ‘I see’?”

“To be honest, I’m still trying to take it all in. I’ve never won with you before, and I certainly didn’t expect you to give in so quickly.”

He looked exasperated. “You didn’t expect—By thunder, Juliet, you’ve spent nearly a week driving me insane, prancing about in fetching gowns and flirting with idiots like Havering, and sticking your dainty foot—your
foot,
for God’s sake!—where it doesn’t belong, and now you’re surprised I capitulated?”

She couldn’t stifle her laugh. “You put your foot where it didn’t belong first, you know.”

“Yes, and gave you ideas,” he grumbled. “Which you used to torture me.
And
try to embarrass me before an entire card room full of people.”

“Is that what I was trying to do?” she asked in mock innocence.

Taking her by surprise, he reached across the carriage and hauled her onto his lap. “You know it was. But you’ll pay for it, you naughty girl.”

“Now, Sebastian…mmfph—”

Whatever she’d planned to say was blotted out by his mouth taking hers. Oh, what a delicious kiss! It was so fierce and sweet that it jumbled up every thought in her head. How she’d missed this. How she’d missed him.

When he drew back, it was clear the feeling was mutual. “You were saying?”

“I don’t have the foggiest.”

With a grin, he closed the curtains, then kissed her once more. She flung her arms about his neck and kissed him back, wishing this moment would never end. But when his hand tugged her bodice down so he could caress her bare breast, she hesitated and drew back. In the darkness, she
could hardly see his gleaming eyes scant inches from hers.

“When do you plan to tell Griff and Rosalind?” she asked, still a little unsure of him. “About the kidnapping, I mean.”

“Whenever you want.” He thumbed her nipple with an expertise that made her mouth go dry. “I’ll do it now, if you prefer. I can turn the carriage around and we can be back at Lady Brumley’s in moments. Or we can wait for your sister and brother-in-law at Knighton House. It’s your choice.” He fondled her breast shamelessly, thrillingly.

She arched against his hand. “I’d prefer to wait.”

“Would you?” His knowing smile as he rolled her nipple between deft fingers made her blush. “How far is it to Knighton House, do you think?”

What he was doing felt so delightful she could hardly answer. “I-I don’t know…a few miles, I should imagine.”

“Perfect. That ought to give me enough time.” He began unfastening her gown.

“For what?” she choked out, though she already had a suspicion. It was impossible to ignore the part of him thickening beneath her bottom.

“For reminding you that you belong to
me
and no other.” Then he seized her mouth again, kissing her with a fervor that branded her as his.

If he hadn’t been kissing her so ardently, she might not have suffered his clever hands stripping her with alarming efficiency. But by the time he’d torn his lips from her mouth, leaving her intoxicated with need, he had her gown shoved off her. Her chemise hung open above her corset, and her drawers had vanished, along with her petticoats. She now sat on his lap wearing only her corset and scandalously untied chemise, and his tongue was tracing a path down the slope of her breast.

“What if your coachman hears us?” Juliet whispered,
both amazed and thrilled by the prospect of having him make love to her in his carriage.

“I’ll shoot him,” Sebastian growled before his mouth closed over her breast.

“Ohhhh,” she sighed as his tongue and teeth played havoc with her tender flesh. “You do that so well, Sebastian.”

She could almost feel him smiling against her nipple. “Do I?”

“Yes.”

He tongued the valley between her breasts. “I’ve been wanting to do this all night, every time you leaned forward over that blasted chess table. I wanted to reach over and pop them out of your gown and bury my face between them.”

She giggled. “Lady Brumley would not have approved.”

He lifted his head to grin at her. “I hate to tell you, sweeting, but she wouldn’t have approved of anything we were doing. Which reminds me…” Taking her by surprise, he lifted her off his lap and set her on the seat across from him. “I still haven’t finished what I started earlier.”

Deprived of his warmth, she shivered. “Oh? What’s that?”

“Making you burn.”

The seductive rumble of his disembodied voice in the darkness brought her to instant alert. She sat there, her inability to see making her all the more acutely aware of her own half nakedness—the plush softness of the seat beneath her thinly clad bottom, the wintry air drifting over her bared breasts, her nipples hardening to tiny points.

And the thrumming ache between her legs, too, shameful though it was. The dark amplified the sound of his clothes rustling as he tore loose his cravat, then peeled off his coat and waistcoat and tossed them aside.

Suddenly she felt rather than saw him crouch on the
floor in front of her. His hands slid her chemise up her thighs, then parted her legs.

Relief rushed through her. This, she knew. When his hands tugged on her hips, she slid forward on the seat immediately, preparing for him to insinuate his lower body between her legs. Instead, she was startled to feel his mouth brush a kiss to the inside of her thigh. Quite high up. Nearly to her…her secret place.

Feeling all at sea, she reached out in the darkness to find that his shoulders, still covered by his shirt, were now at the level of her knees. “What in heaven’s name are you doing, Sebastian?” she whispered as he pressed kisses higher and higher up the sensitive skin of her inner thigh.

“You’ll see. You’ll be invoking heaven’s name in earnest in a moment,” he rasped. “And God’s name, too, if I have anything to say about it.”

She shivered, but this time not from the cold. His whiskers rasped against her skin, sparking a little tendril of excitement to curl up along her thigh. It seemed to center itself right in her privates, making her squirm.

She sank her fingers into his lush, silky hair, meaning to urge his head away. And then his mouth kissed her right
there.
Right between the legs, where no man had ever kissed her, even him.

“My oh my…Sebastian, you wicked…awful…ohhhh…”

His tongue sank inside her, and she melted. She’d never guessed…never even thought…

“You taste wonderful.” He laved her tender parts with his tongue, darting it over a spot that throbbed and beat beneath his outrageous caresses. “I’ve been aching to taste you forever.”

Beneath his ravenous, clever mouth, Juliet lost all sense of where or who she was. A hundred footpads could have stormed the carriage, and she would have told them
to wait until he’d finished whatever insanity he’d embarked upon.

It must be insanity for her to feel this fabulous, this…this delicious…this…oh, she couldn’t even think of adjectives anymore. Her head was going to explode. Or her body.

He scraped his teeth ever so lightly against her engorged flesh, making her wild. Frantically she swiveled her hips against him. “Yes, Sebastian…do that, yes…”

Chuckling, he renewed his efforts with great enthusiasm. His tongue lapped and his teeth teased and tormented her until she felt herself tumbling over the edge into madness. Then somehow she was clutching his head and screaming, “Oh God, yes!” into the secret, erotic night.

She hung suspended in her pleasure for one brief, enchanting moment…then came the sinking back into the world. To the cool confines of the carriage. To Sebastian grasping her hips, kissing her thighs more leisurely now.

He lifted his head. “I told you that you’d be invoking God’s name.”

Not even his infernal insolence could dampen the melting aftermath of her enjoyment. “If that’s what it’s like when you make me burn, then set fire to me whenever you like.”

“Oh, I intend to, sweeting. As often as I can for the rest of our lives.” More rustling of clothing ensued. Still on his knees, he straightened until she felt something rigid and long and warm brush her thigh. “But first, it’s your turn to finish what
you
began earlier.”