“I can’t see your lovely wife with you today. Where is she?”
A just-returned Georgina gasped behind them, and even Maurice looked uncomfortable as Montgomery kept smiling at him.
“She passed away three years ago.” Logan spoke the words through clenched teeth, and Montgomery made a big show of putting his hand over his heart.
“I am so sorry. I had no idea. Did you piss someone else off, Festher?” The inherent threat made Logan see red, but before he could react, the butler announced Lady Honoraria’s arrival and his anger fled.
Dressed entirely in white, the long, flowing empire-style gown showed off her fantastic cleavage. With her hair piled up high on her head, a few loose tendrils framed her face and fell into her bosom, drawing everyone’s attention away from her face. With only minimal make up, the scarring was all too noticeable, however, and folks stared as she slowly made her way toward their little group.
Their gazes briefly connected before she dropped her eyes to the floor, and Logan tried his best to convey his admiration of her courage in that flash of connection.
Next to him, Montgomery puffed out his chest and, smirking, pulled a trembling Lindsey next to him.
“Finally. I was beginning to think you were hiding from me. When are we announcing the engagement, Maurice?”
A strangled groan escaped Lindsey, and Logan wanted to punch the man’s lights out. Seeing his fingers curl around Lindsey’s hip in a far-too-possessive gesture, and the way she tried her utmost to keep her distance told him all he needed to know. His little bird didn’t want this.
“Surely there is no rush?” Logan said, and Lindsey looked up at him. He didn’t miss the desperate hope in her eyes, and it made him rush on, ignoring the scowl on Montgomery’s face. “After all, you promised me a dance.”
Chapter Five
Lindsey was in hell. That was the only way to describe it, as overdramatic as it sounded. This evening would have been impossible to get through as it was, and that was without Logan here to witness her being whored off to man she despised. She had hoped against hope that he wouldn’t show up tonight, but of course, she should have known better. Her mother had been astonished when Lindsey had made it back to the house, and, tired and overwrought, Lindsey had blurted out everything to her beloved mum. Her job at the club, the auction, her secret obsession with Logan—everything. Much to Lindsey’s surprise, her mother had simply smiled at her.
“I’m glad you finally told me, sweetheart. I’m just sorry you didn’t come to me sooner. I can see why work would appeal to you, but I do wish it wasn’t at a club like that, and what were you thinking taking part in an auction like that? Surely, that’s illegal.”
A shudder had gone through her mother’s frame, and Lindsey had been quick to reassure her that is was all perfectly safe. Her mother had not been convinced, but like she always did when something unpleasant came along, she changed the subject.
“As for Logan…well, I always knew you liked him much more than you ought to. You had stars in your eyes for that man from knee high, and he’s a free man now, you know…” Lindsey had choked back a sob and Mama had hugged her.
“He might be free technically, but he still loves his wife. He’d never…Besides, it’s useless. Papa wants me to marry Montgomery, and that’s that.”
Mama had sighed and hugged her closer.
“Your father just wants you to get married, dear child.”
“He wants to get his hands on my inheritance, you mean, and I get it. I need to get married to do that, thanks to that stupid old family trust thing, and I know we need the money, but…”
Lindsey had burst into tears and Mama had simply held her.
“I know, sweetheart. I wish there was another way, too.”
Lindsey wished there was with all her might, too, as Montgomery heaved her around the dance floor as though she was a sack of spuds. While he was a passable dancer—for which she was silently grateful, as it meant her toes were safe—he held her far too close, and his cologne made her feel sick. He seemed to have swam in the stuff, and still she could smell a far-from-pleasant body odor.
It was hot in this room, and Montgomery’s sweaty hands weren’t the only part of him covered in perspiration. His harsh breathing in her ear conjured up unwelcome images of his hands on her in other much more intimate settings and she missed a step. His hand dug cruelly into her ass cheek as he yanked her up to him, and she flinched at the disdain in his grey eyes. Like unyielding steel, they bored into her, and his lips curled in seeming disgust when he looked at her scarred side.
“You could at least pretend to enjoy yourself. I’m quite the catch, you know.” His smile didn’t reach his cold eyes, and Lindsey’s stomach rebelled. “I said pretend, bitch. People are watching, and you need this little arrangement to work just as much as I do.” He sneered at her sharp intake of breath. “Don’t worry, once we’re married—”
“Allow me to cut in.” Logan’s deep drawl accompanied his welcome fresh scent as he tapped Montgomery on the shoulder and stopped the dance. His eyes narrowed as he took in Lindsey’s expression, and he inclined his head toward her nemesis.
“It is customary to release one’s dance partner once you’ve been challenged to do so, Montgomery, and Lindsey did promise me a dance.”
“Well, far be it from me to go against Lady Honoraria’s wishes.” He pulled her closer still and, before she could even grasp his intention, kissed her. She managed to turn her head sideways and his sloppy lips connected with her jaw instead. Montgomery pulled back as though she’d slapped him and her gut twisted in on itself at the silent fury in his grey eyes as he all but shoved her at Logan.
“Have at her, by all means, Festher.”
She would pay for this later, she knew it, but all thoughts of Montgomery fled her brain when Logan expertly led her into the next piece of music—a Tango, and one of her favorite dances.
“Say the word, little bird, and I’ll beat that fucker to a pulp for you.”
For the second time that night, she missed a step, but Logan simply pulled her closer, covering her mistake, and she lost herself in the fiery intensity of his blue eyes. The rest of the ball room faded away as she followed his lead, too caught up in his presence to notice that folks had stopped around them. Her body swayed to the music, following where he led, their dance in perfect harmony as the tension ratcheted up between them.
Logan bent her backward over his arm, his lips so near to her breasts she could feel his breathing. Her nipples puckered in response, and she shut her eyes as he yanked her back up and closed the distance between them until their bodies might as well have been one. Surrounded by him, lost in the moment, Lindsey couldn’t form any replies, too caught up in the slide of his large hands over her sensitized flesh. By the time the music finally stopped, they were both breathing heavily, and Lindsey startled at the smattering of applause that broke out around them. Much to her horror, they were surrounded in a semi-circle by their fellow dancers, and thus the center of attention.
Logan grasped her hand and squeezed.
“Breathe, little bird.”
She dutifully pulled a much-needed breath into her lungs, and Logan smiled as he guided her away from the stares and toward the open door to the gardens.
“Sir, we can’t. He won’t like it.” Logan either didn’t hear her or chose to ignore her protests, because he stopped briefly at the refreshment table and snared a flute of champagne, which he handed to her before he picked one up for himself, and then addressed the flustered-looking young woman, who was part of the hired catering staff.
“Lady Honoraria needs some fresh air. Please reassure his lordship that I’m going to take care of his daughter and will return her to his care in due course.”
“Err, yes, certainly, sir.”
With a smile to charm the knickers off any old lady, let alone this young woman, Logan gave a little bow, and tugged her along behind him. She had to almost run to keep up with him, and
once they were away from the main house, Logan spun her around and up against the summer house that graced this area next to the pond. He downed his champagne in one go, and put the flute down on the banister with such careful movement that she grew nervous. She followed suit and gulped her own. With a grim smile, he took the empty vessel off her and deposited it next to his.
She gasped when he grasped her chin to make her look at him.
“Now, that I’ve got you alone, tell me what the fuck is going on, and why you’re marrying this asshole.”
* * * *
Lindsey went so pale he was half expecting her to pass out on him, and he gentled his hold on her chin and brought his other hand up on her bare shoulder. It was a mistake, this touching her, just like dancing with her had backfired spectacularly on him. Fuck him if her body didn’t fit next to his as though she belonged there, and once she’d surrendered to his will, they danced as though they were one. It hadn’t come as a surprise to him to see they’d drawn a crowd. If they looked anything like the connection between them had felt…
He slammed the proverbial lid down on those dangerous thoughts and forced himself to let go of her. Crossing his arms over his chest, he spread his legs, raised an eyebrow, and gave her his best fess up or else look, which never ceased to work on any unruly little subbie. Sure enough, it took mere seconds for Lindsey to crumble and he had to lean in to hear her whispered apology.
“I’m sorry, Sir. I don’t know what you want from me.”
Tears clung to her eyelashes when he growled his frustration.
“I don’t want your apology, girl. I want answers. Under the terms of the auction, I’m still your Dom, for another couple of hours, anyway.”
That brought a weak smile to her lips.
“So I want answers, and I meant what I said in there. If you want me to beat him up for you, I fucking will. How dare he talk to you like that?”
The most endearing blush spread across her cheekbones, and Logan pulled in a sharp breath when she smiled up at him from under her lashes. With her scarred side in shadow and only the soft lights of the lanterns lighting the path illuminating the area, she looked beautiful, vulnerable, and so damn young. Far too young and innocent for the likes of Montgomery, and him, for that matter. He couldn’t afford to forget that, no matter how much his cock pressed against his zip, reminding him all too forcefully of his re-awakened libido.
“It’s okay, really, and besides, you wouldn’t want to risk your surgeon’s hands on someone like him.”
Logan shook his head and growled again. It made Lindsey gasp, and the pulse point in her neck went crazy. Her breasts rose and fell with her increased breathing and even in the dim light the hard nubs of her nipples caught his attention. They acted like a live wire straight to that caveman part of him that made him respond to her in grunts, and made him want to fling her over his shoulder and carry her off.
“Maybe not, but that slime ball…You can’t want to marry him.” She flinched at his harsh words, and he breathed a sigh of relief when she shook her head.
“Of course not, but I don’t have a choice.”
Logan swallowed the answering grunt he wanted to make to that. Yes, twenty-first-century caveman, that was him in her presence, it seemed, and he shook his head and took several deep breaths to clear his mind.
“There is always a choice, little bird.”
Fresh tears appeared in her eyes, and a rush of affection swamped him.
“Not this time. I need to marry to come into my inheritance and I’ll be twenty-five next month. I’m out of time, and if I don’t get married, the whole lot will be entailed to charity, and Papa needs the money. It would be different I was a boy, but I’m not, and…” She stopped speaking, pulled away from the gazebo and started pacing. “I need to get married. That’s that.”
“You don’t have to marry him.”
Lindsey’s rapid pacing came to an abrupt stop, and arms hugged around herself in a defensive gesture, she looked up at him. “It’s not as though I have a line of suitors to choose from. This”—she raised her chin and presented her left side—“tends to put most men off, you know, and Papa is right. The only men who ever showed an interest were only after the money and would blow my inheritance in an instant. I can’t do that to Mama. She needs that money, because—”
“So, you’re going to allow yourself to be sold off to man you can’t stand, just to appease your parents and save your father’s skin? I can’t let you do that, especially not when I know you love another.”
Lindsey’s head came up so fast it was a minor miracle she didn’t give herself whiplash. Eyes as wide as saucers, she stared up at him.
“What do you mean?”
“Your mother told me. It’s okay.”
“Told you what? She can’t have. I mean…No.” Her voice had risen to a shrill shriek in her seeming agitation, and she bit her lip so hard she was drawing blood. Stepping up to her, Logan pulled her to him by her nape, and all the fight went out of her when he ran his thumb over her lips to pull the abused flesh away from danger.
“Don’t do that, little bird. You’ll hurt yourself.” He frowned at the spot of blood on his thumb, and a strangled groan came from his girl when he licked that mark away. The very essence of Lindsey exploded on his taste buds as he did so, and he pulled her closer still, until the soft weight of her breasts crushed against his chest.
He knew the minute she noticed his erection, because another gasp escaped her lips. Her pupils dilated and her mouth opened in a silent invitation that he couldn’t resist. Giving her plenty of time to pull away—and surely, if she truly loved another, she would do so—he closed the distance between them, until his mouth hovered scant millimeters over hers. Her eyes drifted shut and their breaths mingled. The sweet scent of her fragrance wrapped itself around his senses, urged him to taste those succulent lips.
Instead of closing the distance, however, he pulled back slightly.
“What about him?” he asked.
A crease appeared between Lindsey’s eyes as she opened her eyes, and he almost drowned in the deep pool of her darkened eyes. Desire had clouded her orbs to the deepest, darkest chocolate, and Logan swallowed hard when she seemed to come to her senses and pulled back a little.
“Him?”
“The man you love. Surely, you ought to marry him.”
Lindsey put her hands on his chest to push him away, and he reluctantly let her go, as she shook her head.
“He doesn’t look at me like that. Besides, he’s still in love with someone else. It would never work.” She didn’t look at him when she said that, and the depths of misery in her voice made him feel a right heel for bringing this up now, but he had to be sure. They’d exhausted all the options.
“Then he’s a fool.”
A sob escaped Lindsey, and she fled past him straight into the arms of Montgomery, who seemingly had come looking for them. A stern faced Maurice was by his side, and a misty eyed Georgina smiled at him. For the second time that evening Logan got the distinct impression that he was missing a big piece of the puzzle here, but that all paled into insignificance when Montgomery bellowed.
“What the fuck is going on here, and what gives you the right to put your hands on my fiancée?”
Lindsey flinched and she tried to get away, but Montgomery fisted his hand in her hair, and she yelped in pain. It made Logan see red, and, not thinking of the consequences, he punched the asshole in an uppercut that his boxing-mad father would have been proud of. Blood spurted through the air as Montgomery’s teeth cut through his tongue and lips, and his head vaulted backward with the force Logan had used.
Unfortunately, the iron grip the American had on Lindsey’s hair meant she went with him in the momentum. Her yelp of pain, coupled with the agony that shot up his own arm, brought Logan back to his senses, as did the spray of blood which marred Lindsey’s white ball dress. Not hers, thank god, but Montgomery’s, who spat a mouthful of the crimson fluid onto the
floor.
“You’ll pay for that, Festher. What is it with you and her? Anyone would think you want her for yourself.” Lindsey whimpered as he spun her around to study her.
“Kevin, don’t be absurd. You know she’s yours. I don’t know what got into Logan tonight, but I can assure you he hasn’t been around in ages, and he’s leaving right now.”
Maurice tried his best to glare at him, but when Logan didn’t budge, and simply stared him down, his former friend took a step back.
“Are you really going to let Lindsey marry a man who’ll treat her like this? Let the girl go, Montgomery. You’re hurting her.”
Lindsey’s mother added her fervent plea to Logan’s quietly spoken words, and Montgomery yanked harder until Lindsey was forced to stand on her tiptoes. One of his beefy hands wrapped around her throat, as he whispered something to her that made her shudder and try to shake her head. Every pore in Logan’s body yearned to take that fucker down, but he would only hurt Lindsey more by that action, as the weasel had his hands all over her, and her earlier cry of pain still haunted him.
“You heard her father. She’s mine, so be a good boy, and run along now.”
Logan fisted his hands by his side, helpless rage consuming him as Lindsey’s terrified brown eyes connected with his. What hurt the most though was the resignation he read in her orbs. She was giving up, and that would never do.
“Maurice, for heaven’s sake, do something. You can’t let him treat like her that. What is wrong with you? Let go of my daughter, you oaf.” Georgina tried her best to pull Montgomery’s hand off Lindsey’s throat, but he shook her off and Logan caught her before she’d have fallen. Still, Maurice simply stood there like some form of gormless idiot, and Logan wondered how deep he’d gotten into this shit with the American that even the sight of his wife’s distress couldn’t motivate him to intervene.
Auctioned to the Gentle Dom [The Spectrum Auctions 5] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 6
