Lilac Temptress (45 page)

Isadora, with many of her senses
restored, shivered in fear for Drake. The only thing she could
think of was that if he died she would become a victim to these
miscreants.

The ringleader grinned at Drake’s
side. “Well, isn’t that sweet? Your woman wants to save you,” he
laughed stridently, drawing the laughter out of his comrades as
well. “If you follow my instructions, I promise that I will take it
easy on her. So—we can do this the hard way or easy way. Which do
you choose?”

“
Tell me what to do,” Drake
complied, his voice a steady and low growl.

“
Lower your holster real
slow, and get me that key or else you will find my bullet in your
skull,” the ringleader instructed.

“
Drake, if you hand over
that key to him, they will murder us all!” Isadora screamed in raw
panic.

“
We will not murder you,
fair lady. Not until we, at least, have had our fun,” the grimy
thief standing nearest her replied.

Drake shot Isadora a stern glance to
silence her. These blasted women with their quick tongues were
going to get them all killed. Drake peered at Ben who glanced back
at him for a brief moment.

Sierra noticed a silent exchange
between Drake and Ben—known or understood only a by them. She must
have faith in Drake. He’d ask her to have faith in him, she
reminded herself. She closed her eyes for a moment, breathing in a
silent prayer. When she opened them, the last thing she saw was
Drake bending to his knees, crouching slowly while placing his
holster on the ground. Then there was nothing else but
mayhem—everything around her becoming a sudden blur.

Drake drew a blade from his boot,
swiftly coming to his feet. He drove the blade upward into the
ringleader’s chest, just missing a major artery. In a split second
Drake grabbed the revolver, still in the ringleader’s hand. In one
full swinging motion, he positioned the ringleader’s gun arm toward
the other assailant’s legs, standing in the box. His finger pressed
over the man’s hand, against the trigger. Shot in the leg by the
ringleader, the second thief in the box seat fell to the ground,
yelling out in agony.

Ben unsheathed a thin dagger attached
to the underside of his coat sleeve and perfectly launched it
through the air, landing it in the distracted bandit’s torso before
he could pull his pistol’s trigger.

The man clutched at the knife stuck
under his rib before staggering to the ground, hollering in
pain.

Sierra stood wide-eyed, in shock.
Drake was a fast shooter and Ben’s throwing arm was almost as
swift. All the thieves were on the ground, suffering but still
breathing.

“
Kyle—quickly gather their
firearms and then get the rope from the treasure box and tie the
men up securely. Bandage them with whatever you find inside; gag
them too. I don’t want to hear any more filth from any of them.”
Drake tossed Kyle the key.

“
Ben, help me get him
down.” Drake motioned. “We have to get this bullet out of Thomas
now. You women get back into the coach.”

“
But Drake,” Rosaline
cried.

“
Now!” Drake emphasized,
with his voice loud and clear.

Isadora was all too willing to follow
Drake’s instruction and hurried to safety inside the
stagecoach.

Everyone did as Drake commanded,
except Sierra who gazed around in awe at the assailants.

Kyle moved fast. The assailants were
already securely tied up, haphazardly bandaged, with their mouths
covered.

Drake was already in the box seat. He
and Ben quickly lowered Thomas to the ground. “The bullet is lunged
too deep,” Drake said, taking a closer inspection of Thomas after
he lowered him to the ground—Thomas breathed too
faintly.

Drake’s distress increased when he
realized that he had no conceivable way to stop the blood loss. He
took off his frock coat and tied it tightly around Thomas’ back,
covering the wound and trying to slow the bleeding as much as
possible.

“
Help us get him on that
horse,” Drake motioned for Kyle to bring an assailant’s robust
steed closer. While Kyle steadied the well-tempered horse, Drake
and Ben lifted Thomas onto the saddle. Drake mounted, using his
body to balance Thomas behind him while Ben did his best to strap
Thomas against Drake, so that he could not fall.

Drake briefly exchanged a worried look
with Sierra before rearing the horse in the direction of the city.
“Don’t worry Sierra, those men will live, we did not wound them
with the intention of killing them. I’ll also alert the authorities
in the city, but Thomas comes first.”

Silently blinking, Sierra nodded at
Drake’s reassuring smile, and then she watched him from a proper
distance as he steered the horse into the right
direction.

“
Now, I’m counting on you
men to get the women home safely. Tell no one of what has happened
at the house when you arrive.” Drake further instructed, “I will
not have a single person worried over Thomas and me. Now go!” After
his last order, Drake rode off, as speedily as he could manage,
into the darkness.

“
Come, we must leave
quickly, lest we are prey to the wolves again,” Ben motioned.
“Kyle, you ride up front with me and keep a look out.”

* * *

Though Sierra was safe back at
Newhaven, she remained awake late into the night worried about
Drake and Thomas who had not yet returned. Kyle and Rosaline sat
with her in the drawing room. Isadora had already disappeared to
her quarters, stating that staying awake all night would not bring
them news any sooner, and would needlessly impede her beauty rest.
But Sierra didn’t budge when Isadora strutted away, appearing eager
to rid herself of the clothing she wore.

“
Don’t distress, Sierra.
They are both resilient. They will both be well. I’m sure of it,”
Rosaline promised, though sounding less convincing than she had
managed to in earlier iterations. But she eventually fell asleep
against Kyle’s shoulder early into the morning hours, while Sierra
and Kyle waited up.

“
What is it between you and
Rosaline?” Sierra asked in a whisper. “You two have been so
preoccupied with each other that we barely even speak anymore. You
are supposed to be looking for work, and you have not gone out
since that first day and—dear Lord, Kyle, you must be on your
guard. You cannot be reckless and share intimacies with her as you
did with the girls in Jadesville.”

“
Do you think that I would
dishonor her?” Kyle raised his eyebrows. “I won’t be persuaded by
her, though she has tried.” He slightly grinned, glancing downward
at Rosaline who rested against him snugly. “Besides, Jeanette
caught on to us long before you, and she has every servant on the
estate watching after us like hawks. We are rarely alone together,
and Jeanette sees to it that Hayden rides with us on our morning
runs, and if we dispute her, she swears she will have Drake send
Rosaline back home to her father.”

“
But Kyle, perhaps you
should keep your distance—”

“
I think I’m in love with
her, Sierra.” Kyle abruptly interrupted his sister.

Sierra considered Kyle for a moment,
amazed. She never thought she might see her brother in love, but
she knew he was telling the truth by the seriousness of his tone.
“In love with her?”

Kyle sighed. “Her parents will never
allow us to be together.”

“
I knew you both had been
spending time together, but—” Sierra gasped, no longer knowing what
she should say.

“
You and Drake have been
too caught up in your own affairs to notice.”

Rosaline stirred against Kyle before
settling again into deep slumber.

“
Rosaline wants us to
run away together. She thinks we can earn a living off of my skill
of sketching and she says each of us could teach children to ride.”
Kyle chuckled a little at the thought of it. “Only I won’t agree to
do it—it’s a ridiculous idea of course. She deserves someone who
can take care of her and I cannot. I’ve never known such a
good girl
. I won’t let
her become jaded because of me,” Kyle confided in a
whisper.

Sierra started to say something before
Kyle placed his finger over his lips, motioning for silence. “I’m
carrying her to her bedroom,” Kyle said lifting Rosaline’s petite
frame into his arms and standing. “Don’t fret over Rosaline and me
and try not to wait up all night.” Kyle paused in his speech for a
moment. “Be careful. The games that you play with Drake might leave
you heartbroken.” Kyle stood and carried Rosaline, still quite
asleep, out of the drawing room. He could feel Sierra’s eyes
piercing his back.

Sierra sat there angry, thinking it
foolish on her part that it had taken her so long to own up to her
own feelings. Surely, if she had followed her instincts as she
always had she would have realized her love for Drake sooner. But
she had been so consumed with a desire to win Drake for her own
ego’s sake or leave Newhaven, that she had never taken the time to
figure out exactly what she was feeling was for him. And Kyle was
right to warn her. There was no time left for childish antics.
Drake was going to marry Isadora in a few days. And Sierra knew
that she had to tell Drake that she loved him, without any
expectations from him. She just wanted him to know that he had her
love if he wanted it. She didn’t wish to continue on as they
were—either arguing or making up only to resume their platonic
friendship. No, she would bare her soul just as soon as the
opportune time presented itself.

* * *

Near dawn, Drake returned to Newhaven,
only to find Sierra sitting on the stairway, leaning against the
banister as he walked into the foyer. Her head rested firmly in her
arms, which were folded against her bent knees.

Sierra groggily glanced up at him.
“Drake...” she barely whispered, “Thomas... where is he?

“
He is in the Garden
District of the city, safe and well at my physician’s home. He will
live to see many more days,” Drake assured her and she gave him a
weary smile in return.

“
I will send Ben out to
fetch Thomas after a few weeks when he has regained most of his
strength. The bullet was very deep, but there should be little
permanent damage. He needs time to recover from his surgery and the
doctor wants to keep his eye on him.” Drake spoke soothingly while
helping Sierra rise to her feet. She leaned her fatigued body
against his for support as they made their way up the spiraling
staircase.

“
I am glad he is still
alive. I was so frightened.” Sierra softly smiled up at
Drake.

“
I know, but you have
nothing to fear now. I am here,” Drake breathed.

“
But you won’t always be,
will you?” This was the second time Drake had saved her life. What
would she do once he was out of her life, sharing his life with
Isadora?

Drake didn’t respond. He was too tired
to think of losing Sierra.

“
What happened to the
thieves?” Sierra asked hoping that they were detained.

“
The proper authorities
picked them up.”

“
How did you and Ben know
what to do?” she asked trying to still make sense of what had
happened.

“
We’ve hunted together for
years. We’ve developed a sort of... sixth sense pertaining to each
other’s thoughts and actions.” Drake opened the door to her
bedroom. He guided her inside and helped her toward her bed. He lit
the oil lamp and rolled back her covers. When she sunk into the
bed, he helped her remove her shoes.

Sierra was barely audible when she
asked, “Drake... have you ever killed a man?”

He chuckled lightly before answering,
“No, but as you have seen, I am capable of inflicting severe
pain... Now, will you be all right alone?” Drake asked, the
expression on his face full of concern.

In reply, Sierra reached out to him.
She pulled him closer by his shirt collar, and pressed her lips to
his before she could convince herself that she shouldn’t be kissing
him. Despite the chill on his clothes, his lips were warm and soft
on hers.

Drake willingly gave into her brazen
and unpredictable kiss. Her show of affection was exactly like
her—direct and honest, and he couldn’t stop himself from indulging
in the taste of her hungry lips. He slowly took control of her, but
quickly became wild with pent-up passion. His arms wrapped around
her back and his hands slid up her neck, his fingertips threading
through her hair. Before he could stop himself, he was hovering
over her. Her lustful jade eyes peered back up at him as he pinned
her down against the bed. Her full round breasts heaved rapidly up
and down in the low-cut bodice of her dress, and her skin flushed
with red. His body was hot and hard with need. He noticed his own
erratic breathing while momentarily watching her. And forcing
himself to come to his senses, he hesitated.

Sierra watched him watching her. His
doubtful eyes gave away his second thoughts.

“
Sierra... I...” Drake
heard himself stuttering as he withdrew. He didn’t know why he
couldn’t articulate a single word. He only wanted to keep kissing
her, but he knew he could not give in because he was certain that
he would make love to her if he did.