Conspiring with a Rogue (29 page)

He ignored her breathless command, pulled down her drawers and parted her thighs to reveal the most private part of her body. She beckoned to every primal urge he possessed. He wanted nothing more in this moment than to pleasure her, and when she quivered underneath his palms, triumph soared through his hard body. She was his for the taking. He found the fastener of his trousers without pausing in his attention to her pleasure, and just as he undid the bindings, her fingers curled into his hair and she jerked his head back. “Get up!”

“
What? Now
?” He could hardly believe she had mustered resistance to him. He rose from between her thighs and pressed his head to her chest. Her heart beat heavily and steady in his ear. “Whitney.” The one word was all he could manage between his labored breaths.

His need was so great, he considered pleading for her to relent, but he had
some
pride.
Granted damn little, but he needed to hold on to the bit he had left
.
He forced his head up and looked at her face. Her wig sat lopsided on her head, her face paint smeared, her lips swollen and rosy red. It was her eyes, slumberous with her own desire, that made him realize how much she really did want him. “Why should we stop now?”

She shoved him away, put herself to rights and motioned at the window. “
We’re here
.”

“
The devil you say!” He fastened his trousers as he rose to the carriage seat and peered out the window. She was absolutely correct. Moonlight shone above the red-brick home and glittered off the water of the Chelsea embankment that faced the house. Two large, black iron gates peeped out over a tall ivy-covered terrace wall, and the sounds of voices, laughter and music filled the silent night. “I didn’t even hear the carriage stop,” he murmured, wincing at the amazement in his voice.

A grin broke out on Whitney’s face, followed by a fierce frown. “Neither did I. I just happened to open my eyes and look out the carriage window.” They took one look at each other and burst out laughing just as the door to the carriage swung open.

Cadogan stuck his head in the door and Drake immediately moved closer to Whitney. He didn’t like the way the man was staring at Whitney. This had been a bad idea letting her come here. He didn’t know how she had talked him into allowing her to enter into a situation that might put her in danger, but he was positive he was going to regret agreeing to her being here.

“
My, my, my,” Cadogan said. “Pray tell, what do we have here?”

The man did not need to utter another word. Drake knew from Cadogan’s tone he would be some sort of trouble tonight.

“
What you have are visitors,” Whitney purred, feeling Drake tense beside her. After a quick jerk to straighten her wig, she offered her hand to Lord Cadogan and prayed Drake kept his composure. Lord Cadogan’s cold fingers grasped hers, a sharp contrast from the searing heat that had radiated off Drake’s body seconds ago. She stepped down from the carriage into the cool night air and took a deep breath, allowing the fragrance of jasmine to wrap around her and soothe her jangled nerves. Drake’s demanding questions, then his sudden seduction had sent her mind and her body reeling. She’d meant to allow him a single kiss.
But dear heaven above
… She licked her lips self-consciously and tried to control the trembling of her body. If she was lucky, Lord Cadogan would not notice.

He clasped her shoulders, and he rubbed his palms up and down her arms. “You’re shivering, Jezebel. Here, take my coat.” He had his coat over her shoulders before she could protest. Drake alighted from the carriage and glowered at them both. She sent him a pleading stare to behave, but the gaping front of his trousers caught her eye.
Dear Lord
. She coughed and stared pointedly down at his private parts, but by the time Drake looked down so had Cadogan.

“
I see you enjoyed some sport with Jezebel again tonight,” Cadogan said.

Drake reached down and reworked the fasteners of his trousers without taking his dark gaze off Cadogan. “I’ve no idea what you mean.” With a quick swipe, he removed Lord Cadogan’s coat from Whitney’s shoulders and held it toward the man. “If she’s cold, I’ll warm her.”

“
Nonsense.” The man threw his coat over her shoulders. She was beginning to feel like a ball being bandied between two players. Lord Cadogan gave Drake a narrow-eyed look. “I always see to the comfort of all my guests.” By the way he was staring hungrily at her, she had a pretty good idea
how
he wanted to see to her comfort.

“
You’re an eager pup,” Drake snarled. “Were you waiting out here for us to arrive?”

“
Certainly not. I gave my footman that duty. Though, when you sent the note saying you were bringing Jezebel, I must admit I would have wagged my tail if I had one.”

“
The lady is with me.” Drake grasped her arm and pulled her toward him.

“
You must not have read your invitation for tonight’s soiree,” Cadogan chided. “Each man was to bring a lady as a gift to
me
, so I could choose the lady I wished to honor with my attentions.”

Whitney tensed at the news. How could Drake have missed that important factor? She wanted to find Lillian more than anything, but she was not about to sleep with Lord Cadogan to do it. Just the thought made her shudder. She slanted a look at Drake, certain he would protect her. As the thought fell from her mind, Drake’s hand fell from her arm, surprising her.

A tight smile pulled at his mouth, the vein on the right side of his neck pulsing rapidly with his effort. “My mistake. Next time I’ll read more carefully.”

What in the world? Drake didn’t plan to leave her with Cadogan, did he? Reacting on instinct, she reached for his arm, but a discreet shake of his head made her pull her hand back quickly.

“
I’ll just see myself inside,” he said rather smoothly.
He’s abandoning me
. Surely he had a plan.

“
See yourself anywhere you like,” Cadogan replied. “Just see yourself away from Jezebel.”

Drake’s dark gaze settled intently on her before he turned and walked away. As he strode toward the mansion, she longed to run after him, but her good sense, what precious little there was of that, kept her rooted to her spot.

“
Let him go,” Lord Cadogan whispered, squeezing her hand in his before he slid it through his arm and held her against his side. “It’s not good for a man to be bound to one woman, especially when the man is a ninny like Saint Thomas More.”

“
You named Mr. Sutherland after a man beheaded for treason.” She nodded toward Drake’s departing figure.

“
My, my. You’re an educated demirep.”

Ha! If he only knew
. “My papa educated me, sir. Does this bother you?”

“
No, Jezebel, it pleases me.” Lord Cadogan raised her chin up and brushed a kiss that took her completely by surprise across her lips. After he drew away, she licked her lips, tasted the strong whiskey he had been consuming, and resisted the urge to wipe her hand across her mouth.

A door slammed with such force in the distance that she jerked in reaction. She hoped Drake had seen the kiss. It served him right for leaving her to fend for herself, even if he really had no other choice. Charity was not high on her list at the moment.

Searching for a way to continue the conversation, she seized on the topic of Drake’s saintly name. “So why did you name Mr. Sutherland after Sir Thomas More?”

Lord Cadogan pulled her forward as he began to walk toward the front of the house. “It seemed fitting.”

She paused in her step, suddenly afraid for Drake. “You think him some sort of a traitor?”

“
I did not say that,” Lord Cadogan said with a wink.

He had not said it. That was true. But he had not denied it either. A sense of unease pulled at her, but she was left with little choice if she wanted to find Lillian. Whitney allowed Lord Cadogan to lead her into the noisy house and down a hall crowded with women and men. As he wound her around couples standing here and there, she caught sight of a man dressed as King Henry VIII and a woman dressed as Anne Boleyn in her finest.

Another Anne Boleyn with a ring of blood around her neck and blood spattered on her white gown was languishing on the bottom step of a grand, swirling wrought-iron staircase. What a morbid sense of humor the lady had. On closer inspection, Whitney amended her thoughts. The woman was not a lady in the true sense of the word. A lady certainly would not allow a man to fondle her breasts as this woman was doing. The situation made her tense further. What would tonight bring? As they entered the drawing room, the throng of people crowded into the space did not help her peace of mind.

What if she saw someone she knew? She smoothed her costume down, pressed a hand over her wig and prayed her face paint still obscured her features sufficiently. It was too bad she had not had time to put her veil on before the carriage door was flung open. Her veil offered a level of comfort the face paint alone could not.

She felt a gaze on her, and with a quick glance around the room, she found Drake leaned up against a large window frame, drink raised to his lips and a woman who appeared to be dressed as Cleopatra standing just to the side of him, batting her long lashes. Jealousy streaked through her, followed by a rather pleasant warmth when she realized he was watching her. The woman was talking animatedly to Drake, but he stared surreptitiously past her at Whitney. Her breath caught in her chest at the way his dark gaze held her and moved with her every step. Suddenly, a bit of her tension eased away. Drake would not let any harm come to her.

Lord Cadogan guided her by the elbow toward the terrace doors. She hesitated in her step until she saw people milling about outside. Lord Cadogan did not strike her as the kind of man who would wish to make a scene. Surely he would not try to ravish her with other guests in earshot. She would go with him into the garden, if he asked, but not too far. A bit of privacy might be just the thing to loosen his tongue. Oh, and spirits, she considered, quickly pulling back from him.

“
I’m parched. Why don’t you see if you can obtain some wine to quench my thirst and relax me for later?”

He looked at her directly, then spoke softly. “Beautiful and smart. A potent combination. Wine is just the thing we need to begin our night together. Give me a moment.” Cadogan glanced around the room, then beckoned a short, slight man dressed as a knight over. The man’s armor clanked as he walked, causing several people to stop and stare. He clunked up to them and halted with a huff, giving her a slight bow and a nod for Lord Cadogan. Lord Cadogan clapped the man on the shoulder, his open palm smacking against the armor as he did so.

“
Saint Augustine, do you mind keeping my special lady friend company while I retrieve some wine from the cellar?”

“
Not at all.” Saint Augustine regarded her with open admiration that she hoped she could use to her advantage.

“
Excellent. I’ll be back in few moments.” With a wink at her, Lord Cadogan ambled away.

Perfect
. Perhaps with a little flirtation, she could obtain a bit of information from Saint Augustine. The man stared at her for an unaccountably long moment. “You’re beautiful,” he whispered, glancing over his shoulder, then back at her.

“
Thank you.” This was going to be easier than she had thought. She licked her lips slowly and inhaled a deep breath, aware of how it made her attributes swell above the deep plunge of the costume she wore. Saint Augustine did not disappoint, his widening eyes fixated on her breasts for several seconds before coming back to her face.

“
Who are you?” he asked.

Sometimes she had to ask herself the same thing when she awoke in the morning. Dislike for her life left a sour taste in her mouth. She swallowed and answered. “I’m Jezebel. We met the other night at the Sainted Order.”