Rescued By A Devil

by Vella, Wendy

  “Is Lucas very cross at me?”

  “Of course he is, but that will pass. He wanted to come and look for you, but Lord Raine said he was best served staying here watching over me. He was not pleased.”

  “I’m sure he will let me know of his displeasure when next I see him,” Beth said around a yawn.

  Her mother left with the tray, and Beth drifted to sleep, but soon her dreams turned to memories of what she’d experienced. The terror of running. Trying to escape him before he killed her. Before he hurt her. Running, running.

  “Beth, wake up now, sweetheart.”

  “Nathan?” She looked for him.

  “I’m here. It’s just a dream, love. I won’t let anyone hurt you again.”

  “I don’t want it to change me,” she whispered to the face now above her. “I don’t want to always remember this night.”

  “It will take time, but those memories will fade as we make new ones.”

  “You should be resting also.” She stroked his cheek.

  “How could I knowing you were in my house?” He smiled, that gentle one he used to give her. “You make a sound when you sleep, like Walter.” His finger traced her cheek.

  “I do not.” Her voice felt raspy.

  “You do. It’s adorable actually.” He leaned in to kiss her softly. “How do you feel?”

  “Not as bad as I thought. My mother put some salve on me your cook gave her. It helped.”

  “I wondered what that vile smell was,” he teased.

  “Tonight there will be riots, and the king’s life is in danger,” she whispered.

  “And it will be handled, I promise.”

  There was still so much left unsaid between them, but she didn’t know how to start, so instead she said, “Kiss me, Nathan. Make me forget.”

  “You are hurting, love.”

  “Please.” She arched toward him.

  “Only kisses.”

  Her arms reached for him. Grabbed his hair and pulled. He lowered his head willingly and took her mouth.

  This was what she needed, Beth thought as he proceeded to soothe her with his kisses. So gentle and yet so much more.

  “Touch me, Nathan. Like you did in the shed.”

  “No.” He kissed her jaw, then down her neck. “You are hurting.”

  She felt his hardness pressed to her thigh. He wanted her, and she desperately wanted him. Needed to lose herself in him.

  “I’ve only ever wanted you,” she whispered. “When I thought that man may do that to me, be the first, all I could think was that I wanted it to be you.”

  He loomed over her.

  “It will be me as it was always meant to be, sweetheart. Just not now. Not today, with your body bruised and battered.”

  “Make me forget, Nathan.”

  “I don’t want to cause you more pain, love.” She heard the conflict in his words. He wanted her as she did him. Damn his noble side. He didn’t want to hurt her, so he was determined not to make love to her. But she was equally determined he would.

  She could have died tonight and never known what it felt like to lie with him. She would not go another day without it. Before she could stop him, he’d rolled and was off the bed. She followed, careful not to groan as pain shot through her abused body.

  “What are you doing? Get back to bed,” he said as she walked toward him.

  “I’m no longer that sweet innocent you once knew, Nathan. I won’t follow your every edict anymore.”

  “I’ve worked that out for myself.” He took a step back as she stepped closer, his eyes running over her body in the thin chemise that she knew hid nothing. The drapes were drawn, but there was light from the fire.

  Beth swallowed her smile. She then reached down and grabbed the hem.

  “Stop,” he hissed. “What are you doing?”

  She didn’t speak, simply lifted it up and off her body.

  “Christ.” The word exploded from him. “Beth,” he sounded tortured.

  “Nathan,” she replied, moving closer. So close that she was soon pressed to his fully clothed body.

  “I want you now, Nathan.”

  “I—we can’t.”

  Easing back, Beth reached for his shirt and slowly opened the buttons and then eased it up and over his head.

  “We can.” Her fingers shook as they trailed down the skin she’d exposed. His body was warm and hard. Muscles clenching as she touched. Leaning forward she pressed a kiss to his chest, he twitched.

  “I need to meet this Bess,” he said, his voice sounding tight.

  “You will not meet her,” Beth said in a heavily accented voice.

  He snorted. “Had I known that was you, I would have thrown you over my shoulder and taken you to a room with a sturdy lock. Dear god,” he moaned as she licked him.

  He cupped the back of her head, as she continued to stroke his chest. Instinct told her what to do, and the need to touch and taste this man she loved.

  He lifted her into his arms when her fingers reached his waistband.

  “Nathan, I want this.”

  “I know.” He took several strides away from the bed to the fire, then dropped to his knees with her. Lowering her slowly to the floor, he regained his feet.

  His eyes trailed over her as he pushed off his breeches, exposing his need for her. She wasn’t frightened; after tonight, she doubted anything would scare her again.

  “I’ve never seen a naked man before.”

  “I should hope not.”

  “You are beautiful,” she whispered. Long, lean legs, and a flat torso sculpted with muscle. His chest was sprinkled with hair, she saw the strength in his broad shoulders. Burnished as he was by the firelight, her fingers itched to touch all that warm flesh.

  “If you continue to look at me like that, there will be no fun in this for you. And it is you who are beautiful, even bruised.” His voice was deep as he dropped to his knees again before her. “Do you understand how much I want you, Beth? How long I’ve waited for this?”

  “Your words mirror my thoughts.” She wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “I won’t hurt you, sweetheart, when you have already suffered so much this night.”

  “A few bruises. I won’t break, Nathan. You walking away from me would do that.”

  He pressed a hand to her shoulder when she tried to rise. “This will be my way or not at all, my sweet.”

  Beth pouted, which was entirely natural with her swollen lips.

  “And a siren is born,” he muttered, bracing himself over her.

  He kissed her gently, then moved his lips to her neck and kissed his way to her breasts. Once there, he tortured her with exquisite touches and long licks until she was writhing beneath him.

  “Let me.” She tried to rise as his mouth moved lower.

  “My way,” he said gently, holding her down.

  “I want to touch you.”

  He ignored her and licked his way across her ribs. Her body felt tight with the tension that was slowly climbing inside her.

  Before their kisses had heated her, but nothing like this.

  She heard a soft growl and looked down her body. He was staring at a dark bruise on her thigh.

  “I’m all right.”

  His eyes were filled with passion and still the anger smoldered beneath. Nathan did not speak, simply lowered his head and kissed the curls that hid her secrets.

  “Wh-What are you doing?”

  “Bess didn’t educate you completely then.” He gave her a roguish smile. “Allow me to fill in the gaps.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  His body was aroused to the point of pain. Need pulled at Nathan as he inhaled Beth’s scent. Looking at his woman, he relished in the savage force of his love for her. Her eyes were closed, hair tangled around her head, and she was lush and writhing as he stroked her with his fingers. She was exquisite. Every soft round curve and pale inch of skin made him want to howl, such was the power Bethany Carlow had always had over him.


  The deep bruise on her thigh caught his eye again. Someone would pay for that and the rest of what she’d suffered. That payment would come today, he reminded himself.

  “Let go for me, Beth.” Nathan bent his head and gave her the most intimate kiss of all.

  “You can’t!” She tried to sit up. “Oh…” She fell back to the rug. “You can,” she panted.

  He pushed a finger inside her and licked the hard, tight nub, and she fell apart.

  He gave her a final lick as the last tremor eased, and climbed back up her body, bracing himself above her.

  “I had no idea,” she whispered, dazed.

  “There’s more,” he gritted out, leaning down to kiss her. “A great deal more, and I will make it my life’s work to show you each and every part of that more in detail… when you are not hurting.”

  Her arms went around his neck as he pressed his arousal at her damp entrance. Even that, the mere feeling of being so close, nearly drove him over the edge.

  “I will try not to hurt you, love.” He eased slowly inside her. “But I fear it is inevitable.”

  “My mother told me about this part.” She pressed her face into his neck.

  He could only imagine what she’d been told. Sliding a hand under her hips, he lifted her as he slid farther inside. Tight, wet, and so good—he’d never made love to a woman he loved. Everything seemed heightened.

  “Beth?”

  “Don’t stop.”

  “Never.” He pushed the rest of the way inside her, until he was sheathed deep. “Christ, you feel good.”

  She didn’t speak, just pressed her lips to his neck and held him in a fierce hug.

  “I love you.” He eased out and back in.

  “And I you.” She looked up at him. “So much.”

  No more words were needed. Nathan kept his thrusts gentle, fighting the need to take her harder. She was an innocent and hurting; he would be a brute to give in to the desperation inside him.

  “I won’t break, Nathan.”

  “I want you so much, but I will not hurt you,” he rasped as he continued to thrust slowly into her. The pressure built to an almost a painful degree, and then he felt her tremors.

  “That’s it, sweetheart. Feel me inside you.”

  She made that little sound again, deep in her throat, and it was his undoing. He thrust harder, and she came apart, with Nathan following, the sensation unlike anything he’d experienced before.

  He slumped down beside her, taking her with him, holding her pressed to his side. His breathing was rapid, as was hers.

  Finally able to open his eyes, he studied her. Her eyes were focused on him.

  “That was quite the most wonderful thing I’ve ever experienced.” She sighed. “And to do so with you when I believed it would never be so, made it more so.”

  He smiled. “I believe I said that was only the beginning.”

  Her smile lit her entire face. She’d not smiled like that since returning to London.

  “Come, you need to go back to bed. I’m sure I just set back your recovery several days.” Nathan stood, then bent to helped her up. “You will be sore everywhere tomorrow… today.”

  “I know, but I could never regret what we did.”

  “No, there will be no regrets.” He collected a cloth and cleaned her.

  “I can do that.”

  “So can I.” He threw it back into the tub when he had finished, then picked up the chemise that showed every enticing curve on her body. “Lift your arms.”

  She winced, and he cursed silently that he’d just made things worse for her. He then picked her up once more and carried her back to the bed, lowering her gently onto the mattress. He then dressed quickly.

  “I have no wish to sleep again now. In fact, I wish to rise and discuss what must be discussed, Nathan. My father and I, what we have done will result—”

  “There is time to discuss that soon.” He sat beside her, bracing his hand beside her head on the pillows. No matter how hard she denied it, she was exhausted. Nathan could take this time with her until she slept once more. Then he and his brothers had work to do.

  “You should have told me, Beth. I would have helped you. We were in love; I would have done anything for you.”

  “I did what I believed was right. If our roles were reversed, would you have told me?”

  He traced the dark bruise on her cheek. The impact needed to create something like this would have knocked her down.

  “Our roles were not reversed, so that question has no bearing on this conversation. I could have helped you.”

  He continued to trace his fingers over her face, and she fought the slumber that tugged at her.

  “I did not know you were part of this Alexius, Nathan. Logan is a dangerous man; I would not have you in his sights.”

  “We will talk more later. Sleep now.”

  “I need to tell you things, Nathan. About him and his men. Westminster Bridge,” she whispered.

  “The riots I know about, and also that today he will attempt to assassinate our king.”

  “But you must not confront him. I know what he is capable of, Nathan. He is a very bad man. I must come with you simply to identify him, to alert you when he is near.”

  “There is absolutely no way you will ever be near that man again, Beth, and you cannot expect me to let you.”

  “But you must!” She grabbed his shirt.

  “There is no need to worry about this now. Rest for a while, and soon we will talk and deal with Logan,” Nathan said rather than lying outright.

  He would not let her near that animal again. She would not leave this house. Her part in all this was done. He would protect her now. She was his and always would be.

  He climbed over her and lay down beside her. “Stop talking now and sleep, my love. You are safe.” He stroked her hair.

  “And you.” Her fingers clutched a handful of his shirt. “Promise me you will not leave the house without me today, Nathan? I will stay hidden, but I want to be there when you go after Logan as I know you will. I can help identify him.”

  “Sssh, everything will be all right.”

  He watched her until she was breathing the deep, even breaths of someone who would not wake for some time. He kissed a bruised cheek, then climbed off the bed. He stoked the fire, then left the room. Walter waited outside.

  “What do you want, boy?”

  The dog stood with his nose pressed to the door.

  “If I let you in, don’t wake her. And watch over her until I return.”

  He made that sound in his throat that Nathan took for agreement. He then added another rumble, which suggested he was annoyed he’d had to ask.

  Nathan opened the door, and the dog padded in softly. He went to the rug at the foot of the bed and turned three circles, then slumped down with a dog-sized sigh. Nathan closed the door with a smile.

  Reaching his rooms, he pulled on boots and his damp cloak. Arming himself, he went to the study. His brothers were there, Gabe drinking coffee and the others tea.

  “We have just received word from Geraint. We are to meet now, and a plan will be set in place as there is no time to lose,” Gabe added.

  “Is Miss Carlow all right, Nathan?” Zach asked as they left the room.

  “She is bruised and sore but all right. I have asked Fairfax to call for the doctor as soon as she wakes.”

  “Sleep is the best cure for her now,” Michael soothed. “She is safe, and what she went through will in time fade.”

  “I don’t see how it can.” Nathan’s tone was clipped. “She was beaten, threatened, and I have no doubt the man who took her down there would have done more had she not escaped. Plus, there is the fear she and her father will be imprisoned.”

  “We will ensure that does not happen, and because of her father’s illness and the fact that she has confessed to everything, I am sure she will be safe,” Gabe said.

  They moved silently through the house and then down to the fron
t door.

  “She wanted to come with us. Said she knew what Logan and his cohorts looked like. That there were things she needed to say to us. As if I’d let her walk into danger again,” Nathan muttered as they left the house. “Walter is watching over her.”

  “That dog.” Zach shook his head. “He’s either bloody annoying or bloody amazing.”

  “Tonight, he was the latter,” Nathan said.

  “Watch over Miss Carlow until my return, Fairfax,” Nathan said to the butler who held open the front door.

  “You have my word, Mr. Deville.”

  They were soon in the carriage and on their way to the church.

  “We owe your Miss Carlow an apology,” Gabe said, taking Valentine’s book out of his pocket and flicking through the pages.

  “Speak for yourself,” Michael said. “I was nice to her.”

  “We were all wrong,” Nathan said.

  “There is rage in your eyes, brother. Can I suggest you harness that for the greater good and not retribution?” Gabe said.

  “I can do both.”

  His brothers sent each other silent looks, which Nathan knew meant he would be watched. It mattered not to him; he’d find a way to get to Logan and make him pay.

  “I have found where the king will be today.” Gabe put the book back in his pocket. “It seems Valentine was very excited about arriving on the royal boat to Vauxhall.”

  Their boots rang out on the stones as they trod the path to the front door of the church. Gabe knocked on the wood four times. The Deville brothers pulled their hoods forward.

  “It’s not like they’d know if I knocked,” Zach muttered.

  “And yet Gabe does it,” Michael said.

  They entered, then Gabe stopped. The brothers moved to his side to see why.

  Six men were in the room besides Geraint. All wore cloaks, hoods raised to hide their faces. Three were seated at the table, hands crossed, rings showing.

  “I serve bene tibi erit,” Geraint said.

  “I serve bene tibi erit,” Nathan and his brothers replied.

  Gabe took his seat, Nathan at his back, Zach his left, Michael right.

  “I have called you all here because this situation is grave,” Geraint said. “Lord Raine has alerted me that there is to be an attempted assassination of our king.”