Bonds of Matrimony (14 page)

           
She
hurried down the hall to the door numbered 217.
 
This was Marcus’s room.
 
Chase rapped quickly on the door when she heard another set
of men’s voices approach.
 
She
wasn’t quite sure what she would say if Marcus opened the door, but racking her
brain wasn’t helping.
 
She couldn’t
think of a single excuse.
 
Fortunately, she didn’t have to.

           
Webb
opened the door.
 
He had his shirt
untucked and unbuttoned.
 
He looked
her over for a moment before saying, “Your brother isn’t here.”

           
Three
men entered the hallway, moving quickly toward her.
  

           
“I’m
here to talk to you.”

           
He
looked mildly surprised.
 
His blond
hair was mussed and begged to be touched.
 
“So talk,” he responded after a moment of silence.

           
The
three men passed behind her, and when she turned to meet their eyes, all three
of them were looking over her body.

           
Webb
scowled at the men and then pulled her into his room once they’d passed.
 
“You shouldn’t be wandering around the
hotel by yourself.
 
Too many men
around here take advantage of women walking alone at night.”

           
“I
know.
 
But I had to talk to
you.
 
I want to apologize for being
so rude to you.
 
I thought that…” she
trailed off, suddenly not sure how to continue.
 
She wasn’t sure she wanted to continue.
 
He was grinning at her arrogantly with
his tanned, muscular chest exposed.
 
In the gap of his shirt, Chase could see the pale hair on his chest, and
her stomach began to flutter.
 
Her
fury these past two days had dampened the fire she felt coursing through her
body every time she saw him.
 
Now
that she understood what he’d done for Elisabeth, the fury was gone, and the
fire was back.

           
“You
thought that…” he interrupted her thoughts and encouraged her to finish her
apology.

           
“You
gave me that ridiculous speech about women, and I was so furious with your
ignorance.
 
And then I overheard
you tell Elisabeth to leave you alone.
 
I thought you were toying with her.
 
I felt bad for her, and I…well…I’ve been unspeakably rude to
you these past two days.
 
She just
told me what you’ve done to help her.
 
She an amazing woman.
 
She’s
so courageous.
 
And it’s very kind
of you to help her get her life back together,” Chase hurriedly spit out.
 
She tore her gaze away from his chest
and met his eyes.

           
They
were warm and full of laughter.
 
“You were spying on me,” he accused lightly.
 

           
“I
wanted to make sure you were treating Elisabeth like a lady.
 
I knew she had been through enough in
London,” she answered.
 
It sounded
like a noble enough reason.
 
It wasn’t
entirely a lie, and it sounded better than to admit to spying on him.
 
“I am truly sorry for jumping to
conclusions.”

           
“I
accept your apology.”

           
“Thank
you.”
 
They stood for a few moments
and endured an awkward silence.
 
Chase
allowed her gaze to drop to his exposed chest again before catching herself and
quickly raising her gaze to his face.
 
He hadn’t noticed her attention.
 
Actually, he was guilty of doing the same thing, his eyes grazing the
front of her shirtwaist.

           
“I
kind of miss you, Cochrane,” he finally drawled, breaking the silence.
 
“I missed your naïve comments at the
poker table this evening.
 
It
didn’t seem right playing without you there slamming down whiskey and ale and
smoking your cigars.”
 
He laughed
then, and she wasn’t sure if he was mocking her or not.
 
“It just doesn’t seem appropriate to
ask you to join me now, does it?”

           
She
imagined her eyes lit up.
 
“Perhaps
if you had a deck of cards, I could get Reese and Marcus.
 
We could all play in here,” she
suggested.

           
He
laughed again and shook his head.
 
“I don’t have any cards.
 
Perhaps I’ll have to get a deck.”
 
He studied her face for a moment.
 
“So everything these past two days, that was all misdirected anger on
Elisabeth’s behalf?”

           
“I’m
afraid so,” she answered with an apologetic smile.

           
“And
now that you know why she’s with me and why I wanted her to keep her distance
from me on the ship, now you aren’t angry anymore?”

           
“No.
 
I’m not angry anymore.”

           
“So…I
can expect that since you are no longer angry with me, you won’t subject me to
that treatment again?”

           
“Correct,”
she grinned.

           
“Not
even the kiss?”

           
Even
with the playful grin he’d been displaying, she was shocked with the change of
direction in the conversation.
 
She
wasn’t quite sure how to respond.
 
Chase
most certainly
did
want to kiss him
again.
 
She wanted to kiss him
right now.
 
She wanted to brush her
fingers lightly over the soft hair on his chest.
 
She wanted to press her lips gently against his.

           
“Not
even the kiss,” she lied.

           
He
moved suddenly and stood over her, bending his head and bringing his face
within inches of her own.
 
“You’re
an awful liar, Chase,” he scolded gruffly.
 
He wrapped one arm around her waist and hauled her body up
against his own as he shoved his free hand into her hair.
 
He brought his mouth down on top of hers.
 
She recovered from the shock of his
nearness only the moment before he kissed her.
 
She gasped in surprise, and he took advantage of the
opportunity.
 
His tongue slipped
lightly between her lips, touching the tip of her own.
 
She moaned softly and wrapped her arms
around his neck, bringing their bodies closer.
 
More than anything, she needed his strength to support her
weight, as her knees suddenly seemed shaky.
 

His tongue rubbed against hers
silkily, and she enjoyed the sensation for a moment before boldly returning the
favor.
 
His mouth was cool and
tasted of whiskey.
 
When her tongue
entered his mouth, he closed his lips around it and gently sucked, sending
chills down her spine as a warmth spread in the pit of her stomach and then
settled lower.
 
His grip tightened
around her waist, and she could feel the hardness of his body pressed against her.
 
She moved against him and felt
satisfaction when he groaned in response.

He pulled his mouth from hers
and looked into her eyes for only a moment.
 
“Dammit, woman,” he muttered.
 
He kissed her mouth again for a brief moment and then pulled
back abruptly.
 
“You need to get
back to your room,” he ordered gruffly, gently pushing her away from him.

“Why?
 
What’s wrong?” she asked, too rattled
to think clearly.

“Your brother has gone for a
shave.
 
He’ll be back from the
barber soon.”
 

She looked to the door and
looked back at his passion-filled eyes.
 
She longed to reach out and place her palms on his abdomen, to feel his
hard muscles.
 
She imagined moving her
hands slowly up his chest, fanning out and pushing his shirt open.
 
He was beautiful.
 
Taking her eyes off of his chest, Chase
looked up and found him studying her with narrowed eyes.
 
He reached for her again and rubbed her
arms lightly before circling around her back again.

“Soon,” he answered simply.

Unable to resist any longer,
she gently placed her hands on his chest and pushed them up around his
neck.
 
She smiled when he shuddered.
 
“I’ll leave…if you give me a kiss
goodnight,” she suggested boldly.

He laughed with surprise and
shook his head, gently nudging her away from him.
 
“Your brother will come through that door any minute.”

“And if Marcus walked in
right now, what is the worst he could do to us?”

He opened his eyes and
looked down at her.
 
“He could
shoot me,” he said seriously, taking another step away from her and buttoning
his shirt up.
 
“He
should
shoot me,” he continued.
 
“I would if I were him.
 
You need to go back to your room,
Chase.
 
You’re a lady, and it
wouldn’t hurt you to remember that.”

She thought she had heard
that reminder for the last time when she left England.
 
Put off, Chase moved away from him and
folded her arms beneath her breasts.
 
“Contrary to popular opinion, I know exactly who and what I am.
 
And I don’t need constant reminders to
behave like a lady,” she remarked with a frown of disappointment and even
slight anger.

He looked at her for a
moment with confusion, and then looked down and shook his head at the
floor.
 
“Chase…” he began.

“I’m going,” she
interrupted.
 
She walked quickly to
his door, wanting to get out of the room before she started crying.
 
It hadn’t occurred to her that Colton
would think she was acting like a harlot.
 
She was humiliated and shocked at her own weakness.
 
She was supposed to be strong and
independent and intelligent.
 
Instead, she had gotten caught up in the kiss, and he’d had to remind her
that her behavior was unacceptable.
 
For the first time, Chase experienced the disappointment she was sure her
parents had felt about her.
 
She
expected more from herself.
 
And
for a moment in room 217, Colton Webb had made her forget that.

***

           
She
deserved more.
 
She deserved to be
treated like Lady Chase Fairfax.
 

           
She
was just so beautiful and irresistible.
 
Webb didn’t know what had come over himself.
 
When she stood there before him, apologizing for defending a
woman who had experienced enough pain and humiliation for ten lifetimes, he
suddenly realized how strong she was.
 
She had pretended—quite successfully—to be a man in order to
protect her grandmother and sister.
 
He smiled, remembering the swell of her breasts pressing against her
shirtwaist, wondering how he’d missed those before.
 
She had acted brazenly and kissed him when she probably
would have rather shot him, all because of some revenge on Elisabeth’s
behalf.
 

           
He
suddenly was more curious about her plan for revenge.
 
The kiss was supposed to be the beginning.
 
He wondered what other magnificent
forms of torture she had devised.

           
He
grinned to himself, still tasting her on my lips.
 
Her scent lingered in the air, a combination of sweet fruit
and spice.
 
Sugar and spice.
 
It seemed appropriate for Chase
Fairfax.
 
She was the most
intriguing woman he’d ever met.
 
And as Marcus Fairfax’s sister, she was most definitely off limits.

CHAPTER 7

           
Chase
had spent more than half of the night tossing restlessly about in the bed she
shared with Elisabeth.
 
She woke her
early the next morning, after what seemed like only minutes of restful
sleep.