Scent Of Danger (A Sinclair & Raven Novel Book 4)

by Wendy Vella

  “Good day to you. I shall return to my house.”

  “But why have you left it?”

  He stepped closer, and suddenly something dangerous hung in the air between them, more dangerous than that little charge of excitement she’d previously felt.

  “Perhaps you have come to accept my offer?”

  “No, I have not, and you very well know it is not the right thing for either of us. I want to go to Raven Castle, but at the moment, James is not allowing that to happen.” Emily blurted the words.

  “You would rather live in that ancient, freezing pile of stones and walk the halls filled with your ancestors’ ghosts than stay here with your family and marry me?”

  “I—yes” was all she could come up with. “But James will not let me,” she said again. Excellent, now she was rambling.

  “As he should not.”

  “Why... no, I have no wish to discuss that now. I will return to the house.”

  “Emily, I believe I have told you before that I am no fool. Something has you outside in these frigid conditions without a family member at your side. Something important enough to have you defying your brothers. I would like to know what that something is.”

  Would he help her? She shot him a look. He did enjoy Astronomy also, so perhaps for this brief moment they could put everything else aside and call a truce. Did she dare ask him?

  “I am waiting, Emily.”

  Emily swallowed her response to those arrogant words.

  “It’s cold and your nose is turning red, which is not flattering on anyone.”

  She refused to cup the appendage.

  “I need to ask a favor of you.” The words tumbled out before she could stop them.

  His smile was slow, but it eventually reached his eyes, making them come alive.

  “Oh, now this I cannot wait to hear.”

  “If there was another option I would take it.”

  “Of that I have no doubt.”

  “It is just that I don’t... have another option, that is.”

  “And this is important to you, whatever it is?”

  “Yes, very important.”

  “Well then, you better tell me what it is before we both turn into ice sculptures.”

  It was cold, Emily realized, now she’d stopped moving.

  “I received a note—”

  “The one I handed you?”

  “Yes, and I only read it today—”

  “Why did you leave it so long?”

  “Because I forgot it was in my coat pocket due to this other business.”

  “You being ruined, and me proposing?”

  She nodded. It was so like Cam to speak bluntly.

  “Well then, what did the note say?”

  “Here.” She pulled it from her pocket and thrust it at him. “It is simply better that you read it for yourself.”

  He held her eyes briefly before taking the paper. Emily stood in tense silence while he read the words.

  “How exciting for you.”

  “I thought so.”

  “You do realize this is today?”

  “Of course I realize that, hence I am now out here with a maid and footman standing before you!” Emily took a deep breath to calm down.

  “Ah, I begin to see now what has transpired,” Cam said. “James and his family are out, as are the Huntingtons and I suspect every member of my family also?”

  “Yes.”

  “You were that desperate you even approached my aunt and uncle?”

  “Your aunt likes astronomy,” Emily said in her defense. She absolutely would not shuffle her feet.

  “She does, and it shows your desperation that you left the house for this, when over the last few days you have not spoken to anyone... even your family, and absolutely not me.”

  “I have so spoken to people.”

  “No, you have not.”

  She reached for the note, intending to snatch it back and return to her house. She would find some other way to get there. He lifted it high, out of her reach.

  “But what of your poor head? Surely it is not faring well out in this cold? And your chill; should you not be in bed resting? And lastly, let us not forget your unsettled stomach.”

  He was mocking her now.

  “Would you rather I’d just said I had no wish to see you?”

  “I always prefer the truth to lies, Emily.”

  Emily wasn’t sure how to answer that so she huffed out a breath.

  “Do you wish for me to take you to see Fossett’s reflective telescope?”

  “I....” Emily swallowed down the resentment.

  “Say the words, Emily.”

  “I do, because if I took a hackney, my family would be most displeased.”

  “At least in this you displayed a modicum of sense.”

  “Give me my note!” Emily jumped in the air and tried to grab it; he simply lifted his arm higher.

  “Ask nicely and I will take you to see your charming Mr. Fossett.”

  His green eyes were now filled with wicked humor. Emily swallowed several times and forced a sickly smile onto her lips. She could do this to see through that telescope. A few hours, perhaps less, was all the time she would need to spend in his company.

  “Please take me to see Mr. Fossett’s telescope.”

  “That smile would scare children.”

  “Cam!”

  He laughed. “All right. Send your servants away, and accompany me inside my house, and I shall have my carriage brought around.”

  “Oh, but I should take my maid.”

  “For propriety’s sake?”

  He had a point, damn him. She was already ruined, it would not matter if she accompanied him.

  “We are not to discuss that other matter,” she said, unmoving. That must be cleared up before they entered his carriage.

  “I’m doing you a favor, so you don’t get to tell me what we can speak of, Emily.”

  Drat.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Cam bundled Emily into his carriage and took the seat opposite. Her eyes, of course, were focused out the window. To say he was surprised to see her on his uncle’s doorstep was an understatement, but it had been a pleasant one, as had the jolt of awareness.

  “Are you cold?”

  “No, I am fine, thank you.”

  He doubted she would be a demanding wife, but he also wasn’t entirely sure any of them knew who the real Emily Tolly was. Cam doubted she’d ever really shown her true self.

  He let the carriage travel out of their street and through London before he spoke again.

  “One thing James will never tell you, Emily, is that your disgrace will touch Samantha and Isabella.”

  “Pardon?”

  Her eyes were locked on his now; suddenly he had all her attention.

  “Your actions will affect your family.”

  “I am an illegitimate daughter of a duke, I’m sure that alone brings shame with it, and surely by the time Samantha and Isabella enter society they will have forgotten me.”

  “Perhaps.”

  “But perhaps not?”

  He could see his words had her worried.

  “Would you have them subjected to the whispers and snide comments I now suspect you have suffered?”

  “I have not been in society to suffer these supposed comments.”

  Those lovely lips were pursed in a tight circle now. She wore a deep sable gray coat today that came to her ankles and buttoned to her neck. Inside was tucked a cream scarf and on her head a matching gray bonnet with black trim. She looked like any lady he would see on any given day... and yet she was so much more to Cam.

  “You have been to several of those occasions with James or Max. Social events with industrialists and a few peers.”

  She nodded, wary now.

  “Have people insulted you at these functions, Emily?”

  “I don’t want to marry.”

  Not precisely an answer, but telling nonetheless.

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nbsp; “I don’t either, but at least if we marry each other, then we can live our lives as we choose.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Cam had given the matter of how to get her to agree to marry him a great deal of thought. His life need not change overly, other than he would be sharing a house with this woman, and perhaps she would have more freedom carrying his name.

  “You will be able to share the paper with me, Emily. As part owner you will have a say in its running.”

  “I— You would make me a part owner?”

  “Of course, you will be my wife.”

  “But....” Her words fell away.

  “Did you think I would be a controlling husband?”

  She didn’t answer, but her silence was confirmation enough.

  “I will not, and if you marry me it will go easier on them, your family. James will not say this, but your disgrace will always be there, even though you are completely innocent of any wrongdoing and your brother is a duke.” Cam wasn’t sure this was true, strictly speaking, but he was using it to strengthen his case anyway.

  “Plus, if you become my wife, you will have your own household to run, and will not be reliant on anyone for your care into your old age.”

  “Yes I will: you. I am not a fool, Cambridge, I know that a man often thinks of his wife as chattel. I know men can be cruel and get away with it, just as I know women are rarely able to fight back.”

  Who hurt her? He wanted to ask the question, but knew she would not give him an answer. One day she would. One day he hoped she would trust him enough to share some of herself.

  “Do you believe I would hurt you in any way?” That she could angered him. When had he led her to believe he would be a tyrant?

  “I don’t really know you.”

  At least she was being honest now.

  “You know enough about me to know I would never mistreat or starve you. I would never stop you from seeing your family, nor from pursuing this love you have of astronomy. With me you would not be forced to move away from your family. I would see you as my equal, Emily.”

  She thought about that for a few seconds. Her eyes running over his face, and he felt suddenly exposed. As if she could read his every thought and feeling.

  “I could never be your equal, my birth—”

  “I don’t care about your birth!”

  “Don’t yell at me.”

  “Forgive me,” Cam said, reining in his temper.

  “I don’t understand why you want to do this when we have rarely been comfortable in each other’s presence.”

  “I have explained why. I also have no wish to marry a woman who makes demands of me and wants me to be nice to her horrid mother.”

  Her smile was small. “Surely they are not all horrid.”

  “Most.”

  “But what happened will linger over me for the remainder of my life, surely?”

  “Perhaps we can do something about that, and our marriage will be a start.”

  “But what about him... Mr. J-Jackson?”

  “Leave him to us to deal with.”

  “What does that mean? I have no wish for you... any of you, to exact revenge on that man.”

  Cam remained silent. Emily huffed out a breath.

  “But, Cam, marrying me means you cannot wed another. What if you meet the woman of your heart?”

  “Em, Em, Em,” he sighed. “When will you realize that I do not have the ability to love that deeply? Shallow is what I am.”

  “No you’re not,” she defended him. “You love your family, and I have seen the great capacity for caring that you have.”

  “I do believe that was a compliment.”

  “Don’t let it go to your head.”

  He looked at her for long drawn out seconds, and she looked back.

  “One question?”

  She had never instigated it before, so Cam nodded to indicate she go first.

  “Do.... Have you ever raised your hand to a woman?”

  He held her eyes, willing her to believe him when he said, “No. I never have, nor will I. I would never hurt a woman by using my strength against her.”

  Her look was intent, trying to see if he spoke the truth. He exhaled when she nodded. Who had raised his hand to her? Who had caused her pain?

  “Who is your favorite Sinclair?” He’d said it to make her smile, anything to chase the darkness from her eyes. The questions he wanted to ask could wait. Those he would get to when she was his wife.

  “Warwick, of course... oh no, perhaps the twins, but then there are Eden and Essie, plus Dev. The decision is not an easy one.”

  “You left out a name,” he teased her.

  “Did I?” She smiled, but it soon fell away. “I’m scared, Cam, as you should be.”

  He reached across the carriage and took both her gloved hands in his.

  “I’m terrified, actually. For so long I’ve barely been able to look after myself, but now there may be another I need to consider. It is not easy for one as self-centered as I.”

  “I-I shall think about it.”

  “That is all I ask of you, Emily.” Cam then moved to the edge of the seat and hauled her closer.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Kissing you, because I quite enjoyed it last time.”

  “What? You can’t.”

  He took her mouth beneath his and tasted her. Kept it soft and light until her resistance eased; only then did he pull her closer and take her deeper. Kiss her as a man did a woman. His hand cupped her head and angled it perfectly, and then he lost himself in the wonder of Emily’s lips.

  Cam lost all thought but this woman as one kiss fell into another. His body grew hard, and his hands went to the buttons on her coat. Opening it, he slid a hand inside and stroked her back through the material of her dress.

  “Cam—”

  “I would never hurt you,” he breathed against her lips.

  The hand moved, touching her ribs and then higher. He could imagine the beautiful weight of one of her naked breasts cupped in his hand. Needed the reality with a desperation that shocked him.

  “Emily.” He said her name into the silken skin of her neck, and then his hand was there, touching the gentle curve restrained beneath her clothes. She tensed but did not pull away. “It would be like this between us.” He moved his hand in a circle and the breath hitched in her throat.

  Finally, when he felt his head start to lose reason and the only thought he could form was how it would feel to unwrap her so he could ravish her lush body right here in the carriage, he reluctantly pulled away.

  “Oh.”

  “Oh indeed,” he rasped, shocked at what had just occurred. He wanted her, Cam realized. Desperately, and that rocked him to his toes.

  “I-I cannot believe you did that.”

  “Did I hurt or force you?” Cam gritted out.

  She shook her head. At least in that she was being truthful.

  “But if we married, it would be convenience only.” She scuttled back on the seat, out of his reach. “Not a marriage in every sense. I don’t want that.”

  He didn’t smile because at that moment he didn’t have one readily available.

  “We will have a marriage in every sense of the word, Emily. I will not marry you and seek my pleasures in another. I will stay true to the woman I wed, and what we just shared proved we are at least compatible in that way.”

  He could tell she was shocked that he spoke so plainly.

  “I-I don’t want that.”

  “How very forward thinking of you to allow me permission to seek my pleasures elsewhere, however I must disagree. I will not be like so many others. We will stay true to our vows, Emily.”

  She huffed out a breath. “I have not agreed to a union with you, Mr. Sinclair. Pray do not forget that.”

  He felt more rational as they bickered. This, after all, was their usual way of communicating. Not with their mouths fused, and he holding the lush weight of her breast in his palm.
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  “You will, because I am hard to resist.”

  She actually spluttered. It turned into a cough that forced the conversation to suspend briefly.

  “I can resist you with ease, sir.”

  “And yet right at this moment you are at my mercy, so perhaps you should try to be nicer, so I will not turn the carriage around and you will not see your sainted Mr. Fossett, nor his reflective telescope.”

  Cam swallowed his smile as her top teeth sank into her bottom lip, and silence fell in the carriage. A surprisingly comfortable one for all that it was Emily who sat across from him, and he’d just kissed her soft, sweet lips.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Emily did not look at Cam again; how could she? That kiss had shocked her, as had the burst of need she’d felt when he’d touched her breast. She’d believed herself a cold woman. A woman who did not want a man’s touch. Yet when he touched her, she’d felt so much. His mouth had been gentle to start, his hands holding her like she was made of spun glass, and with each brush of his lips, each stroke of his hand, she had lost the ability to think of anything but the feelings that were building inside her.

  It would not happen again, she vowed silently. Fear had made her demand that. Stating she had no wish for intimacy.

  You are not marrying him, Emily reminded herself.

  “What are you thinking?”

  “Pardon?”

  Cam raised a brow, the Sinclair green eyes focused on her.

  “Your lips formed a straight line, and one can only assume that was because your thoughts were not pleasing.”

  “As they are my thoughts you will never know.”

  He chuckled low in his throat, and Emily decided it was best to ignore him and looked out the window.

  He’d touched her breast.

  Was Cam right, would Samantha and Isabella be tarnished because of her disgrace?

  “You’re frowning now.”

  “Can you not be quiet for even a minute?” Emily glared at him.

  The man made her feel so many emotions she found it hard to name them all.

  “Oh now I object. I have been quiet for at least fifteen minutes while you sit in the corner and seethe.”