by SpursFanatic
Passionate was too mild a word for Tarin Worthington. She made quiet moans and heavy breathing more exciting than bedding the women he’d had. If he’d allowed it, she would’ve stripped him and explored to her leisure, just as easily as he could’ve stripped her and done the same.
Dammit, how would he do this? If he succeeded in getting her to marry him, how would he handle her rejection in their marriage bed? Would she go to other men? Would he spend every night alone, waiting and wondering if she was with someone else? Would he have to endure another man’s scent on her skin, his seed in her belly?
Rafe cursed under his breath, eliciting raised brows from the butler. What the hell was he doing here?
“Tarin, when word gets out about what has happened, your reputation with the Brahmin will be ruined. The women will oust you and no man will want you.”
Rafe wanted her. His body could attest to that.
Kitty was naïve to think no man would want Tarin. She had too many assets to ever be considered unmarriageable.
“Who is going to tell? You, my closest friend? Or Rafe, the man who’s trying to improve his family business, and whose own heroic reputation would be ruined?”
Rafe grinned at the butler. Damn, the woman was a pistol. If anything, life would not be dull with Tarin around.
He told the butler, “I assume your discretion goes without saying…” Rafe added a deep scowl for emphasis.
The butler gave him a brief nod. “Sir, I traveled with the Worthington family from the Motherland. If anyone should question loyalty, perhaps it is I who should question you.”
Rafe grinned. Apparently spunk ran rampant in the Worthington household. Rafe held out his hand for a shake. The butler stared at it as though it was covered with manure. “Sir, I do not - “
“What, you have something against the Brahmin, Mr…?” The butler’s rounded eyes were replaced with a brief shake of his head. “Hobbs, sir.”
Rafe nodded as they exchanged a handshake. “Hobbs. You’ll be seeing a lot of me around here.”
“I assumed as much, sir.”
“So, are you going to announce me or should I just surprise her?” Again.
Hobbs’s wide eyes and straight back alarmed Rafe. “Oh no, sir. Surprise her, please. I am under strict orders from Lady Worthington not to allow you in the house.”
Rafe chuckled to himself. He knew he was in for a battle today. “So, why did you let me in the front door?”
“Because Lord Worthington also told me, in no uncertain terms, that I was to allow you to see Lady Tarin any time you’d like.”
Rafe laughed aloud just as the butler opened the door and ran. Silence filled the parlor. If looks could kill, Hobbs would be lying in tiny pieces on the carpet.
Or was that deep frown on Tarin’s beet-red face intended for him?
She looked exceptionally beautiful today with her coppery hair trailing over her shoulders in thick curls. She wore a pink dress that made her skin look as smooth as cream. He couldn’t wait to touch her again.
“Lady Worthington,” he said with a brief nod. “Miss Hamilton.”
If the smile on Kitty’s face was any indication, she had forgiven him his sins from the previous evening. He wasn’t sure why, considering she had been ready to toss him out on his ear last night. But he was not one to question her change of heart. Rafe could use all of the allies he could get.
“Mr. Sutherland,” Kitty announced from where she stood in front of the wall tapestry, “it’s a pleasure to see you again.”
His eyes turned to Tarin. She glared at him from across the room.
“What are you doing here?” Tarin barked, her arms crossed over her chest.
Rafe started across the room. Tarin’s eyes widened. She took a step back then stood her ground. She glared at him beneath lowered brows.
Rafe laughed to himself. She must’ve realized how close she was to putting herself in the same predicament as the night before. “I told you I was going to call on you today.” He stopped in front of Tarin and took her hand in his. Before he could kiss it, she snatched it from his grasp.
“I was hoping we could picnic in the Commons today. My cook fixed a spread fit for a king.”
Kitty clapped her hands together. “Oh, how lovely.”
“I’m not hungry,” Tarin stated, tapping her foot.
She was being difficult as he’d expected. But Rafe was a patient man. “That‘s okay. It’s a beautiful day to spend in the park. Maybe your appetite will return once you’re out and about.”
“I doubt it.” She raised an impatient brow.
Kitty groaned under her breath.
Obviously, he needed to go to Plan B. One he hated to use but one he knew would be effective. While Rafe knew he had his work cut out for him on this courting issue, he needed to know just how far down in the quick sand he had sunk.
He turned to Kitty Hamilton. “Well, Miss Hamilton, Tarin is obviously not in a sociable mood. Perhaps you’d care to join me?”
Rafe saw Tarin’s eyes dart across the room. Her arms dropped to her sides as she waited for Kitty’s reply.
“That would be lovely,” Kitty replied, as she approached him. “We can discuss Tarin at our leisure.”Oh, he liked Kitty. A lot. “Splendid.” He held out his arm to her.
“You two think you are so clever,” Tarin said as they turned to go.
He and Kitty turned back around.
“I’d like to think so,” Kitty teased.
Hands fisted at her sides, Tarin stormed past them into the foyer. “Just let me get my parasol. I cannot afford to freckle.”
#####
Just look at him, the smug brute. Looking more handsome and appealing than a mere man should be allowed. He acted as though giving her a slice of heaven last evening was an everyday occurrence for him. Tarin gritted her teeth.
Rafe was right. It was a glorious day. The park was littered with families enjoying the June sunshine. The three of them sat in the shade of an old elm, with a feast of roasted chicken, cheese, fruit, and tarts spread out before them.
Tarin hadn’t eaten a bite.
Under normal circumstances, it would have been a treat to picnic with friends in the Commons. In this case, it was pure torture.
Rafe lounged before her, his arm propped on his bent knee, eating grapes and conversing with Kit as though they were long lost friends. All Tarin could think about was how much she wanted him to lie her back on this same blanket and resume what they had started last evening.
And tell him yes.
Tarin snatched a grape from the basket and rolled it between her fingers. It did not occur to her until she was lying in bed last night that he had asked to court her. Such an occasion would normally be forefront in a woman’s mind however, his seduction had overshadowed it so completely Tarin hadn’t comprehended Rafe’s meaning until he had left.
Tarin shook her head in disgust. Every time she thought about what she had allowed him to do, she wanted to hide under a rock and never come out. She was a lady and had never allowed a man such liberties. She didn’t want Rafe Sutherland in her life and most definitely didn’t want to question why she had allowed him access to such intimacies.
He represented a hurt that she wanted no part of. Tarin had learned at an early age that the closer she became to another human being, the more it would hurt when they left. What she had shared with Rafe had the potential to devastate her.
“Are you trying to make wine out of that grape?” Rafe’s dark brown eyes twinkled in the rays of sunshine peeking through the leaves above. The breeze lifted the hair from his collar, sending a whiff of his spicy soap to tease her nostrils.
“No, just imagining it was someone’s head.” She gave him a raised brow as she popped it in her mouth and deliberately bit down on it.
He laughed aloud as he grabbed another from the basket and handed it to her. “Here, I’ve got a pretty tough head. I can be damned stubborn - particularly when I want something.”
His meaning wasn’t lost on her. The question was, why?
“I, too, can be stubborn, Mr. Sutherland,” she retorted. “Particularly when I do not want something.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that, Tarin.” Kitty squinted her eyes, her stare filled with meaning. “You can be overly stubborn about anything.”
Rafe laughed again. Tarin was tired of acting the butt of their teasing.
“So, Mr. Sutherland,” Kitty announced, as she broke off a piece of bread and placed the loaf back in the basket, “Do you miss Texas?”
“Nooo.” Rafe shook his head adamantly. Tarin waited for his elaboration, but he offered none.
“What was life like back there?” Kitty asked. “Is it as savage and uncivilized as they say?”
Staring out into the park, Rafe’s face grew solemn. Gone was the teasing glint in his eyes, the lopsided smile. He appeared deep in thought, immersed in memories that troubled him. Always so confident and unshakeable, to see him so melancholy, bothered Tarin. She wanted to erase those thoughts forever.
“It’s a hard life,” he finally said, the hand cupping his knee white-knuckled. His eyes turned to Tarin and held. “Cities are fragile shells of Boston. It’s dirty, dangerous, and unstable.” He held his arm out wide to encompass the park and its inhabitants. “There is no peace like this. If you believe it exists, you’re a fool. Just a simple picnic like this is a gift, if you can get it.”
It took all Tarin had not to reach for him. Her heart felt as though someone squeezed it from within. To see his eyes downcast, the sides of his mouth turned down, was horribly distressing.
“As a matter of fact, the last time I did something like this was right before…”
He looked up at her. Tarin stilled. Pain creased the area between his brows. His scar shown white in the hollow cheekbones of his face.
Tarin clutched the blanket in her fists to keep from pulling him into her embrace. “Before?…”
“I was… injured.”
In that moment, Tarin knew that whatever had happened to Rafe back in Texas had been more monstrous than she could’ve ever imagined. For something to cause such grief in a man so strong and confident, it must have been horrific.
“What happened to you?” Leaning forward, she reached for his hand across the blanket.
Glancing at her hand, Rafe’s eyes met hers and held. His brows furrowed.
A shrill whistle pierced the air, causing the three of them to whip their heads around. Across the park, a police officer chased a young man wielding a gun. Screams snowballed as they crossed the crowded lawn, headed in their direction. The heavyset officer ran swiftly, but the dirty man was too fast. The officer would lose him if someone did not intervene.
Raising his pant leg, Rafe slipped a knife from its ankle holster. Tarin caught her breath. “What are you doing?”
She knew her eyes must have appeared as wide as china plates when he turned to her.
“Get behind the tree,” he ordered, his look brooking no argument. Scrambling to their feet, Kitty looked at Tarin before they nodded in unison and rounded the elm.
Peeking around the tree, Tarin watched Rafe‘s eyes follow the man as he raced across the park. When the gunman was a few feet away, Rafe drew back his arm and threw the knife. Her heart pounded as it spun through the air in a blur, stabbing into the man’s knee. Wailing aloud, the man tumbled to the ground, clutching his leg to his chest. The gun fell to the grass beside him. The gunman glared up at Rafe who bent to pick up the gun.
“Did you see that?” Kit whispered, peeking around the opposite side of the tree.
Tarin could not answer, her eyes glued to the man lying beneath Rafe. What if he tried to trip Rafe, or had another gun? Wincing inside, she sent a litany of prayer to the skies above.
The officer reached Rafe a second later. Heaving for breath, the officer’s smile was grateful. Hauling the man to his feet, Rafe held him as the officer chained the man’s hands behind his back. The man’s foul language echoed throughout the park, adding further ruin to the tranquility of the day. Rafe stood stoic, rigid as the man spat his abuse.
Without a touch of finesse, Rafe bent and yanked the knife from the man’s leg. Howling in pain, his dark, swirling eyes shot daggers at Rafe. The officer pocketed the gun Rafe handed him and dragged the man away. Onlookers frowned as he continued his tirade until they were out of sight.
Wiping his blade off in the grass, Rafe bent to place it back in the holster before returning to the blanket. “You can come back around now.”
She could not pull her eyes from him. Searching for some sign of distress, Tarin saw nothing but the same relaxed state he held prior to the incident.
“That was incredible.” Kitty’s eyes were fixed on Rafe as she took her seat.
Rafe shrugged, his eyes on Tarin. “That was nothing.”
Nothing? How could he say that? A part of Tarin was proud of Rafe for helping the officer. None of the other gentlemen in the park had taken it upon themselves to assist. Rafe had stepped up without a thought.
The other part of Tarin wondered at his lack of hesitation. She had no doubt Rafe could have protected them if the man had approached with the gun.
But, had Rafe been a Ranger, a defender, for so long that nothing frightened him any longer? Was he careless with his own life?
She had already lost someone dear to her - the pain was still brutally acute twelve years later. She didn’t want to go through that again. Ever.
“Are you well?” she asked, as he wiped his hands on one of the towelettes in the basket.
Lifting the corner of his mouth, he dropped the towel on the blanket. “Fine.” He held his hand out to her, palm up. “Walk with me?”
Tarin heard Kitty catch her breath as the blood rushed in her own ears. There was only one reason why Rafe wanted time alone with her. “Why?”
Kitty elbowed her in the side.
“There’s a matter I need to discuss with you in private.” His cocky grin was back.
No, no, no, no, no. Don’t make me face this.
Please let him change his mind. She can’t - she won’t - accept. Not now, not ever.
Tarin took a deep breath. “There is nothing you cannot say in front of Kitty.”
He stared at her a long moment, a thoughtful frown on his face. All of a sudden, he dropped down on one knee and took her hand in his. Tarin thought her heart would jump out of her chest and into the food basket. He kissed her fingers softly before blessing her with another grin that stole her breath.
Yes, was on the tip of her tongue. All the more reason to keep her mouth shut.
“Tarin, I owe you an apology.”
She frowned. If he apologized for what they had shared last night, she would hit him with one of the rocks holding down the blanket.
“I realize I didn’t make my intentions clear last night before things… got out of hand.”
Tarin felt heat bloom in her cheeks. Maybe she should have taken that walk. She tried to pull her hand from his grasp. He tightened his grip.
“Tarin, would you do me the honor of allowing me to court you?”
With the breeze in his hair, and a softness around his eyes she was sure no Indian ever saw, Rafe Sutherland was nearly impossible to resist. Soap had never smelled as good as it did on this man, and no voice had ever wooed her as his deep baritone did now.
He had awakened a woman in her that didn’t exist before his return to Boston. A woman that threatened all of her well-made plans. The two together were a force to reckon with.
“No, Rafe.” She winced internally as soon as the words left her mouth.
His shoulders slumped. Kitty groaned low.
“I thought you’d say that.” Sighing, he dropped her hand.
He did? “Well, then why did you ask me?”
“Because I had to start somewhere.”
Kitty chuckled. Tarin glared at her.
“Start? What do you mean, start?”
He gave her
that other grin, the arrogant one that infuriated her. “You didn’t think I’d take no for an answer, did you?”
Chapter 8
Tarin had gone to great lengths to make her story believable. Moaning and wincing, she told Hobbs first thing this morning that she had a horrible headache and did not want to be disturbed.
Sitting on the window seat in her bedroom, Tarin clutched a pillow in her lap as she stared down at the gardens. Today was the perfect day to feign an illness. Kitty tended her ill mother, and the next seminar was not scheduled until tomorrow. Now all she had to do was avoid Rafe Sutherland.
The man had to be the most stubborn person she had ever met. Even though she had told him she would not enter into a courtship, he still promised to call on her today.
Why? she wondered, plucking at the piping on the lavender pillow. Why didn’t he honor her wishes and accept her answer? Did he think he could change her mind?
A part of her hoped he would. She wanted the freedom to grab him by the hand and pull him into her embrace. She wanted the freedom to see where their intimacy would lead. She wanted to discuss politics, hear stories of his years out West, and care for his wounds.
But that would mean getting close to him. And she would never do that.
A knock came at the door. She jumped in her seat. “Yes?” she replied, her voice meek.
“Your father requests your presence in the library, Lady Worthington,” Hobbs said, through the door.
Tarin stilled. “Did you make him aware of my headache, Hobbs?”
“Yes, my lady. He insists that you come down.”
Rising from her seat, Tarin tossed the pillow on the floor and went to the door. “Is there a visitor?”
Hobbs nodded once. “Yes. Dr. Kent is in attendance, my lady.”
Tarin’s heart stopped. Was he here to announce her status with Dr. Gregory ruined? After the confrontation with Rafe two days ago, she had held the niggling worry at bay, telling herself Dr. Kent would never betray her like that. But now, the worry hit her full force. She clutched her skirts in a fist as she made her way downstairs.
