One Rogue Too Many (22 page)

At one point, she even inched toward him and glanced up in expectation. Suddenly his napkin flew off his lap, landed on his head, and rendered him unable to see. Of course, that led to more silly antics, because how was one to eat when one couldn’t see properly?

Her belly laughs were the sweetest sound he’d ever heard and filled him with expanding warmth and the insane desire to giggle too. Instead, he grinned until his jaws began to ache.

Miss Teague sighed happily as she patted Annabelle’s back. “A few more meals such as this and I’m certain she will be putty in your hands, milord. Perhaps you would like to break your fast with us tomorrow?”

His merriment faded. How could it be that he was on the verge of breaking through Annabelle’s walls only moments before he was to leave? He cleared his throat. “I’m afraid I will not be available tomorrow.”

A pink blush infused Miss Teague’s cheeks. “Of course, milord. Forgive me for being presumptuous.”

“Not at all, Miss Teague. If I didn’t have pressing matters, I would be honored to breakfast with Annabelle. This is partly my reason for coming tonight. I’m leaving town for several days, and I wanted to inform you of my absence and reassure you and Annabelle that you will be safe here.”

Her smile returned. “I’m not worried, Lord Ellis. Even if my brother knew where we were, he doesn’t have the means to travel to London.”

Anthony had suspected as much, but he appreciated having his beliefs validated. “And I should probably inform you that when I return, I’ll have a wife.”

***

Gabby’s sisters gushed over her newest ball gown as she checked her reflection in the looking glass. Her mother slowly nodded her agreement. “You look lovely, darling.”

The muted red and the off-the-shoulder style were bolder than her mother typically allowed, but Mama had reluctantly agreed. After all, Gabby was to be a married woman soon.

She wished the prospect didn’t make her want to cry.

As if sensing her sadness, Mama grew misty-eyed. “I know I must let you go, but it’s harder than I expected.”

“Oh, Mama.” Gabby went into her open arms and allowed her mother to hold her. For a moment, she surrendered to the security of her mother’s embrace like she had when she was a child. She didn’t want to leave her family either, but this was her fate. Once she spoke her vows, she would belong to Sebastian’s family.

Fear squeezed her heart. He had promised to let her visit Mama and her sisters any time she wanted. He seemed honest and kind, but what if she’d misjudged him?

Gabby clung to her mother and tried to catch her breath. Her sisters crowded around them, their arms circling her and their mother.

“Everything is going to be fine,” Katie whispered in her ear. “You will see.”

Her sister’s sensitivity nearly broke her, but she managed to quash her tears. She’d been hiding her sorrow from everyone and she intended to keep it hidden.

She eased from their embrace with a breathy laugh. “I had best gather my wrap. Lord Thorne’s carriage will be here any moment.”

Her mother pursed her lips. “Perhaps I should accompany you.”

Katie hugged Mama’s arm and tugged her away. “Now, Mama. This is Gabby’s chance to become better acquainted with Lady Thorne. Besides, you promised to play whist with Lizzie and me tonight.”

Mama sighed and smoothed a hand over Katie’s hair. “I suppose you’re right. It won’t be long until I must say good-bye to all of my daughters. I shouldn’t allow the time to go to waste.”

She gave Gabby one more hug and allowed Katie to draw her from the bedchamber.

Lizzie lifted an eyebrow as she ran her gaze up and down Gabby. “You should take a heavier wrap.”

“It’s plenty warm enough for this one,” she said as she draped the thin material around her shoulders.

Lizzie marched to the wardrobe and grabbed a wool shawl. “I sense the weather changing. You won’t be warm enough.”

“I’ll be fine.” She refused her sister’s offering and left her chambers. Lizzie followed to press her argument.

“But what if you aren’t? What if you are wishing later you had listened to me?”

Gabby was willing to take that chance.

Her sister scrambled to keep up. “Wait a moment.”

The front door creaked open as Gabby descended the stairs. “Thank heavens,” she muttered.

Sebastian’s footman stood just outside of the door, waiting to escort her to the carriage. “I must go, Lizzie.”

“Please, take it just in case.” Her sister dogged her heels outside, trying to force the wrap on her.

“Really, Elizabeth. You are being a pest.”

Grateful to escape her sister, she accepted the footman’s assistance and clambered into the carriage. The inside was blanketed in darkness when the door closed, and she hadn’t even sat down before the coach jerked, tossing her back against a hard body. A large hand clamped over her mouth as she drew in a breath to scream.

Twenty-three

“You’re safe, Lady Bug.”

Anthony tightened his hold on Gabby as she flailed on his lap. If she broke free, he would have a hell of a time keeping her safe.

The coach careened around a corner and threw them to the left. Anthony’s shoulder banged against the wall, and an explosion of pain sent shock waves down to his elbow. Righting them on the bench, he planted his feet in preparation for the next sudden turn. Gabby continued to thrash, making his task more difficult than it needed to be.

“It’s me, Anthony. Be still before we become injured.”

Her reply was muffled, but he didn’t need to understand her words to know what she thought of his surprise. Her heel connected with his shin and he dropped his hand from her mouth with an incredulous yelp.

“Anthony, what do you think you’re doing? I’m expected at Drury Lane.”

“You are missing tonight’s performance.” He loosened his grip enough for her to swivel on his lap, but he refused to release her until there was no more danger. A wheel hit a rut in the road and she slammed against his chest.

Her fingers dug into his shoulders as she clung to him. “Egads! Is your driver trying to kill us?”

“Once we have cleared London, there won’t be sharp turns, but we really must press on if we don’t want to be caught.”

“Where are you?” She groped his face and her finger rammed into his eye.

He jerked and almost unseated her. “Blast! What is it with you and your kin trying to blind me?”

“I can’t see a thing. At least open the curtain so we have a little light.”

She grasped the curtain’s edge, admitting a sliver of light from the carriage lamp. He slapped her hand away before she could fling it open.

“Not until we’re out of town.”

She huffed and dropped the curtain back into place. “Where in God’s name are we going, and why must we remain in the dark?”

He managed to capture her chin and pressed his mouth to hers, partly to stop her questions, but more so because he had missed her beyond words. She held herself rigid, her lips unyielding.

“I love you, sweetheart,” he whispered.

She laid her hand against his cheek and sighed. “Oh, Anthony.” The wistfulness in her voice called to a part of him that longed to protect her.

“I love you,” he repeated. Tenderly, he kissed the corners of her mouth, her chin, the tip of her nose, each eyelid. Her breath quickened as her hand splayed on his chest, and she leaned into his kiss. She wanted him as much as he wanted her, but something kept her from surrendering.

“Please, love me back, Gabrielle.”

She whimpered softly and placed her divine mouth against his. Her sweet taste flooded his senses as her lips parted and allowed him access. Warm tingles raced over his skin. She twined her arms around his neck, and her tongue brushed against his lips.

His heart was lighter and larger with her wrapped in his embrace. Thank God, taking her had been the right thing to do. Doubt had hounded him all evening.

Gabby’s ample bottom nestled into his crotch and her lush breasts pressed against his chest as she wiggled closer. She was the perfect amount of plump in all the right places. He covered her breast and marveled at how well it fit his hand. His thumb circled her nipple until it stood erect and ready for his mouth if not for the clothes in his way. Her heart drummed against his fingertips.

She moaned into his mouth. Blood raced through his veins, causing a low rumble in his ears and a throb in his cock.

He wanted her. Badly.
Painfully.

But he had promised to make her his wife before he took her to bed.

Curse
oaths, honor, and friendship.

Ignoring his body’s demands for satisfaction—or trying, at least—he broke the kiss, but he couldn’t resist nibbling a trail down her neck, across her bare shoulder, and over the tempting mounds spilling from the neckline of her gown.

She inhaled sharply, and he nearly ignored his good sense and laid her out on the bench beneath him. The cut of her gown made for an irresistible display of her charms. Realization doused him like a bucket of cold water, and he set her away. The coach was moving at a steady pace now. They had cleared the city.

“What the hell are you wearing?” He jerked the curtains aside to allow a shaft of light from the carriage lamps to thrust inside. Her ivory skin glowed in the lamplight. And there was too much showing. He hooked a finger inside her dress and tried to hike it up to cover her better. “Did you dress this way for Thorne?”

The very idea made him shake with anger. Had the blackguard touched her like this?

She tensed, the atmosphere chilly once again. “I am marrying him. Why shouldn’t I dress to please him?”

How could she burn so hotly with Anthony’s touch and dare to speak of marrying another man? He grabbed her shoulders so she couldn’t turn away. If she wanted to lie, let her lie to his face.

“In case you haven’t noticed,” he said through clenched teeth, “you are here in
my
arms. Not Thorne’s. And the way you were responding to my kisses says this is where you want to be. I think it’s fair to assume the wedding is off.”

Her eyes gleamed in the scant light. “It most certainly is not, because you are signaling your driver to turn this coach around and take me home.”

He scoffed and captured her chin. She didn’t pull away, but met his gaze boldly as if daring him to kiss her again.

“There’s nothing on this earth that will make me take you back, Gabby. You belong with me.”

She jerked from his hold. “You’re incapable of reason.”

She had to know he spoke the truth. She belonged to him and him to her. Nevertheless, she wouldn’t like him pointing it out again. He released her so she could retreat to the opposite bench and sulk a moment.

“When you are ready to rest, I brought a blanket,” he said. “It’s a long drive to the border.”

An outraged sputter came from her side of the coach, but since she seemed incapable of words, he decided the discussion had run its course.

He smiled, partly to irritate her, but mostly because he was genuinely happy to see her.

“I’m only doing this because I love you, Lady Bug.”

“Oh, sod off!”

***

Gabby crossed her arms and fumed over Anthony’s deception. He had bested her again, and blast if she knew how he had managed it. Yet, in spite of her anger, a small thrill passed through her. He was taking her to Scotland to marry her. She would become his wife, something she had desired since she was a girl.

The implications of eloping with Anthony quickly crushed her excitement. It would be the biggest scandal of the Season, and there would be no way to cover it up. Sebastian and his family would be humiliated. Her family would be ashamed.

Oh, dear heavens. No!
Her sisters’ prospects next Season would be ruined. She couldn’t do this to them.

“Have you considered the consequences of what you’re doing?”

Anthony opened the curtains fully now that they had left the city. Lamplight bathed one side of his face in a golden glow. His eyes appeared as if they were black jewels, his lips set in a thin line. “I am betraying your family’s trust, a family that has welcomed me as one of their own. I’m aware of what this means.”

She hadn’t thought about how her brothers would react to Anthony abducting her. This was even worse than she’d first imagined. Her throat squeezed and she gulped in deep breaths to fight the feeling of suffocating. If they would challenge Sebastian for stealing a kiss, what would they do to Anthony for ruining her?

Switching back to his side of the carriage, she grabbed his hands. “It’s not too late. There’s time to turn back. My brothers will forgive you.”

He wrapped his larger hands around hers, the warmth of his touch coaxing her toward him. Meeting her halfway, his lips grazed her forehead. His kiss was tender and she closed her eyes to savor it.

“We can’t turn back,” he murmured. “This has been our destiny all along.”

This
is
our
destiny?
This path would only lead to heartbreak. Her sisters’ futures destroyed. Gabby an outcast to her own family. And most distressing of all, Anthony could be lying in a field bleeding to death. What would become of his daughter if he were to die? He clearly hadn’t thought this through.

“How does Annabelle fit into this destiny you think exists?”

His fingers tensed, then he released her hands. When he didn’t answer, she wanted to shake him. Anything to unravel this ridiculous fantasy he had weaved. He had to see how valuable his life was. How could he even think to risk it for her?

“I asked you how Annabelle—”

“I heard you.” He leaned across her to snatch a blanket from the bench and plopped it on her lap. “Rest.”

His abruptly barked command made her jump. He moved to the opposite bench, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes.

She stared at him, slack-jawed. His actions could ruin the lives of everyone they cared about and he was refusing to talk about it?

With a huff, she unfolded the blanket to spread it over her lap.

“You stubborn mule,” she spat.