by Rebecca King
Predictably, her thoughts were locked on Marcus. It was wonderful to think he was a part of her life now. If only she could find a way of getting rid of the niggling worries that plagued her she knew she would be considerably happier. Given how open Marcus was with her she knew she should just ask him, but there never seemed to be the right time or opportunity.
Still hadn’t expected someone like Marcus to ever appear in her life in the first place. Now that he was there, for however long he was in the village, she would enjoy every single moment of being with him and damn the consequences.
It still amazed her that someone like him was interested in her. Marcus was a debonair, well spoken, well-travelled man about town. He had an air of sophistication about him that set him apart from everybody else. Together with his impeccable manners, and gentlemanly nature, he was the very epitome of everything she had ever wanted in a mate. It was as though every one of her childish fantasies had come to life.
It was wonderful. It was shocking. It was extremely worrying.
“Odd,” she murmured aloud. “It is odd. I live and work in the back of beyond. I have no qualities, and no discernible skills to earn myself a living. He, meantime, was assured, confident, mysterious, handsome, and urbane. His breeches alone must have cost an absolute fortune. It is odd that our lives have come together like this.”
It didn’t happen quickly. It was more of a slow, yet deliberate heightening of her awareness. But, as Jess ambled along the road to Smothey, the small hairs on the back of her neck began to stand on end.
The light dimmed at the same time that the countryside fell still and silent. She glanced up at the darkening skies and shuddered. Several minutes passed. She increased her pace as much as she could, but the disturbed, almost restless feeling she had didn’t diminish. In fact, it increased in severity until she was quite unnerved.
The only sound she could hear was her heartbeat thundering in her ears. There was no birdsong. No wind was rustling the leaves in the trees. Not even a rumble of thunder in the sky. Even her footsteps were muted. She could have been the only person in the world. But she knew she wasn’t. There was someone following her.
Warily glancing at the trees on either side of the road, she tried to judge just how far she had to go to get home. It was a good half a mile at least. It was not very far; but a lifetime away if someone jumped out of the bushes at her, or worse, chased her.
“Don’t be absurd,” she murmured only to gasp when a loud rumble of thunder rattled the skies directly overhead. “See? That’s all it is; a thunderstorm.”
She didn’t feel reassured, and let out a squeak of surprise when a jagged streak of lightning preceded another heavy clatter of the clouds.
“Oh, Lord,” she whispered.
In spite of her best attempts to thwart it, panic began to build. She kept her gaze locked on the road and lengthened her stride as far as she could, but still didn’t seem to be going fast enough.
Rain began to fall around her and swiftly increased to a steady deluge that soaked her from head to foot within minutes. But she didn’t pay it any attention. She was focused firmly on the distant thuds she could practically feel. It was ridiculous. Nobody could feel someone walking behind her, but some inner sense of preservation warned her that she was no longer alone.
Run, run, run, her mind screamed at her.
She couldn’t, though, because of the basket in her hand. It was full, and she couldn’t afford to drop her things. Still, she increased her pace as fast as she was able until she was half-running, half-trotting along. Her breath came out in harsh pants, but she refused to ease her hurried gait.
She wished Ben was there with her. He would be the voice of reason at a time like this. Heaven only knew where he was now. He probably wouldn’t even be back at the house. Not if he had his colleague to meet again.
“Ben, where are you?” she asked aloud. “Marcus?”
The skies darkened further until visibility became difficult.
Suddenly, the flurry of movement behind Jess captured her attention. Her gasp was loud as she caught sight of a cloaked figure leave the woods, and hurry across the road. The hood tugged up over the person’s head covered the features, and the long, billowing fabric protected their frame from identification. But she had seen enough of the sinister sight to last her a lifetime. She didn’t care who they were, or what they were doing out on an afternoon like this.
Everything was screaming at her to get out of there – and fast.
Horrified at the macabre sight the person crossing the road made, she spun around and ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Thoughts about the people Marcus was in the village to capture flickered through her mind, swiftly followed by the sinister threat of Carruthers and Lloyd. The very idea of running into any of them drew her thoughts to Mr Grant’s suspected demise.
Suddenly, her sodden boots and the pelting rain that brought goose bumps to her chilled skin paled into insignificance. Nothing mattered except being able to get inside where it was safe. Tears began to fall, and were swept along by the relentless fury of the rainwater, but she didn’t care. Not even her sobs reached her ears. She was blind to everything but the desperate need to reach home safely.
“What the Hell?” Marcus gasped when he caught sight of her running down the street toward home, her face twisted with fear.
He immediately bolted out of the store at the side of the house and raced toward her.
“What is it? What’s happened?” Marcus demanded. He grabbed her shoulders to steady her when she barrelled into him, and glared over her shoulder at the darkened road, but couldn’t see anything wrong.
“S-s-someone is f-following me,” she gasped tearfully.
Marcus released her and raced out onto the road just in time to catch sight of a hooded figure disappear back into the woods on the opposite side of the road. He contemplated going after them but suspected they would be long gone by the time he got there, or well hidden.
Cursing his stupidity for allowing her out on her own in the first place, Marcus returned to Jess. He slid a supportive arm around her. His gaze scoured her for visible signs of injury. The fear was evident in the visible shakes that wracked through her, but she was otherwise unharmed.
When the rain began to increase its pounding fury, Marcus swung her high into his arms and strode toward the house. Once inside, he kicked the door closed and locked it behind them before he strode up the stairs with her still in his arms.
“Ben?” He yelled.
Within seconds, Ben was at the bottom of the stairs. He gasped at the sight of Jess, but Marcus stopped him following them.
“Go and warm some milk for her. She is frozen. Keep an eye out of the window. There is someone lurking out there in a black cloak.”
“Have they hurt her?” Ben demanded with a dark scowl.
Marcus shook his head but couldn’t be sure until he had checked for himself. All sorts of things were running through his mind, but he forced his attention to staying calm. It was damned difficult, though. He had never stopped to think about just how much he needed Jess in his life. The mere prospect of her not being there had left him deeply tormented.
Inside what was now their bedroom, Marcus deposited her on her feet beside the bed. Yanking down the covers down, he began to undress her with brisk efficiency.
“Let’s get you warmed up,” he murmured even though she had yet to speak.
Jess didn’t protest when he hauled her sodden dress over her shoulders and stripped every ounce of clothing off her. She stood before him immodestly and clung to him when he tugged a blanket off the bed and wrapped it around her. When she continued to shiver, he chaffed her arms in an attempt to get some warmth back into them, but it was of little use.
“D-d-did you see them?” she asked, her eyes pleading him to confirm that someone had been following; that it hadn’t been her imagination running away with her.
“Yes, I saw the cloaked figure. I just didn’t see wh
o it was,” Marcus replied. “Try not to worry about it. A lot of people are hurrying home in weather like this. I expect Ben will be back soon. Until then, let me light this fire. You get into bed. It’s important we get you warm.”
He left her standing beside the bed staring at him, and knelt down to light the fire. Once it was roaring away heartily, he turned toward her.
“I will be back in a minute,” he murmured.
Jess watched him go and wondered what he was doing. Still, just being at home and knowing he was there was enough to ease her fear. She had never realised before just how much she had come to rely on him. It disturbed her because she had always considered herself to be someone who could cope with life by herself. To think that she had so instinctively turned to Marcus told her just how essential his presence in her life was.
It is love. She mulled that over. It has to be. You have never felt like this about anyone else before. No man has ever attracted you like this.
“I love him,” she whispered aloud. “I really do love him.”
She was shocked, horrified, appalled, amazed, worried, delighted, and nervous. More importantly, she was completely at a loss to know what to do about it. Marcus had invited questions, so she knew more about him. Unfortunately, there were so many more things she needed to ask him now that she could interrogate him every evening for the next six months and still not know enough.
Lost in her thoughts, she huddled under the covers and waited for him to return.
Marcus stood to one side of the window and studied the woods beside the house for signs of anyone lurking within, but it was too dark to see anything. Frustration was rife because of his inability to go out and search for whoever had scared her. However, Jess needed him, and she came first. She was considerably more important than any idiot who chose to be outside in the middle of a thunder storm.
By the time he got back to the room with a steaming cup of milk, Jess was huddled beneath the covers on the bed, staring blankly at the wall.
“Are you alright?” He asked.
Rather than wait for her to take the cup off him, he put it on the floor where she could reach it. Rather than put her damp clothes in front of the fire to dry out, he yanked his shirt over his head. Then slid into bed beside her and hauled her into his arms.
“What are you doing?” she gasped as she snuggled against him.
“Holding you,” he said with a smile. “Don’t you know that in circumstances like this it is best if we share warmth?”
“No, I didn’t know that,” she whispered, inwardly thrilled.
The atmosphere within the room turned soft and intimate. Marcus didn’t bother to light a candle, even though the sky outside had turned almost black.
“I need to get dinner ready soon,” she whispered reluctantly.
“Not until you have warmed up a little,” Marcus assured her. “I am sure the guests will understand. Besides, there are a good few hours yet before they are due back. There is plenty of time.”
As a companionable silence settled over them, Jess fell for Marcus just that little bit deeper. He had, once again and without question, come to her rescue. At a time when she needed it the most, he gave her a shoulder to cry on and had protected her from physical threat.
“Can you tell me what happened?” He tucked the blankets around her while he waited for her to talk.
“I just got this strange feeling that I wasn’t alone,” Jess explained. “It was so strong that I took a good look around. He then left the woods and crossed the road.”
“Did he approach you?”
“No, but he made no attempt to hide either.” Jess began to feel a little foolish. “Now that I come to think about it, he looked sinister but didn’t do anything wrong. He was just there. It was me who fell into a fit of hysterics.”
Marcus stroked her cold hair away from her warm face.
“I know he was cloaked, Jess. I saw him. Did anything untoward happen while you were in town? Did anyone bump into you, or speak to you, or look at you strangely?”
“No,” Jess replied instinctively. “It was just an ordinary trip to the village. Nothing happened. I got what I needed, and made my way back home. I didn’t feel anything until I reached the road that runs past the house. Then I got that horrible awareness, and just knew someone was in the trees watching me.”
Marcus nodded. “I know what feeling you mean.”
I know it all too well, Marcus mused silently.
“When you have to go back into town again, take Ben or me with you. Don’t go alone.” His order was clipped and discouraged argument.
“Who do you think it is?” she asked curiously.
“I don’t know. It could be the magistrate. Lloyd is looking for anything to use against anybody at the moment, but I don’t know why. I think he is feeling a little hopeless because this is a small village where hardly anything happens. If he can pin something on Ben, or you, then he will. But don’t let him frighten you. He didn’t accost you, or approach, so that is something positive. Whoever it was may just be trying to scare you, that’s all.”
“He chased me, Marcus,” she whispered, her anger rising now she was safe.
“I didn’t see that much,” he replied honestly. “It’s over now, so it is best to try to forget all about it. At some point, the locks on the doors need to be changed.”
“Oh, but we cannot afford that.” Her response was so instinctive that the words were out before she could stop them. She winced while she waited to see what his response would be. It was horrible to have him think she was destitute but, well, she was. There was no other way to put it.
“This is an expense that has to be met, Jess. The house is insecure without proper locks. Don’t put a spare key in the store room now either. Until the money can be found for the new locks, keep the doors locked and use the bolts on all of them. Use one of the side doors to get in and out of the house for now. I will arrange for the lock to be changed if I get the time.”
“How is your search of the guest’s rooms going?” She asked hastily.
She was eager to change the subject. Just thinking about door locks, and people getting into the house while she wasn’t there made her feel horribly vulnerable. Her home didn’t feel all that safe anymore.
Marcus told her what he had Ben and found.
“Can I see them?” she asked. Her face was alive with curiosity.
“Yes, but it will have to be tomorrow. It won’t be long before the lodgers return. I don’t want them to catch us red-handed as it were,” Marcus warned her.
Jess nodded. She was content now that she was back in his arms again, and wished she could stay there and shut the rest of the world out forever. If she didn’t move again for the next several days, she would be a happy person. As it was, she could positively feel Marcus struggling to contain the need to get up and do something.
“Thank you for coming to help me,” she said suddenly. “Oh! The shopping!”
Marcus grinned. “Ben is packing it away for you.”
Jess sat bolt upright in bed. “Ben’s in the house?” she whispered, her eyes wide with horror.
“Yes, but he does know what is going on, Jess. There is nothing to be ashamed of.”
“But – well,” Jess didn’t know what to say to him.
She could hardly remind him that they weren’t married. He could take that as a hint, and that was the last thing she wanted him to think.
“I know a good way of warming you up,” he murmured when he found himself plotting how to spend the next hour with her.
“What are you doing?” she whispered when he began to slide the sheet down.
She tried to grab it when it slid off the tips of her breasts, but he captured her hands and held them above her head.
“Checking to make sure you are warm enough,” Marcus murmured.
Confident that they were going to be left alone, Marcus began to blaze a trail of molten kisses down her slender neck. But he didn’t stop there.
This feeling he had for Jess was something considerably deeper than affection, and far more intense than anything he had ever felt before. It went beyond the raw sensual desire. The desperate need to take, to plunder, to claim, and not allow her to leave until he had taken everything she could offer, and more, was too strong to ignore. Yes, he wanted her – with a desperation that he had yet to vanquish completely. He rather felt that he could spend the rest of his life with her, and it still wouldn’t be enough because this connection he felt toward her encompassed everything. His mind, body, and soul, belonged to her.
Practically all day, every day, she was there in the recesses of his mind. When he was at the lodgings, he was thinking about her, or seeking her out to engage her in conversation. When he was out and about, he often wondered what she was doing and if she was safe. Time dragged until he could see her again.
I love her, he thought.
Before he could consider that more closely, Marcus moaned when Jess scraped her finger nails down his back.
“Jessica,” he growled.
When he looked down, she arched her back, silently pleading for more. Determined to see to her every need, he happily complied.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Jess felt terribly wanton as she rolled over in bed, and stretched languorously. The sheets felt soft against her naked skin and were wonderfully warm. Reaching an arm out, she touched the empty place beside her and frowned.
Earlier, Marcus had revealed a demanding, lustful side of her personality that had heightened the passion to almost desperation. In spite of this rather risqué waywardness, she didn’t regret her wanton demands. Indeed, she revelled in it, and Marcus’ loving reaction to it.
Her body was still thrumming from his sensual demand. It had been intoxicating. Now she felt as though she had a hangover; where everything was cloudy, and it was difficult to think about anything at all. Her mind just wouldn’t function properly, and she suspected it wouldn’t until she knew where he was, and why he had abandoned her.
Reluctantly, she left the bed, got dressed, and went in search of him.
