If He's Dangerous

by Hannah Howell

  “Or Cornick could be no more than a hired hunter.”

  “He seemed a little too interested, almost desperate, to gain hold of my skills. And, for a mere minion, he knew a little too much about my family.” That was something that still chilled Argus’s blood, for it was dangerous for people outside of their family to have such knowledge.

  “Your family and the many rumors that have swirled around them for generations have always stirred an interest. I have a great deal of information on the Wherlockes and Vaughns, although most of it is speculative or a simple recitation of some rumor or gossip. Yet, I understand your unease. Too many people showing too much interest could prove a grave threat to your whole family.

  “I also do not like the thought of such men working their evil so close to my family, the Dunns. Now they will be trying to follow you. However, Sundunmoor is far more secure than Dunn Manor. Yet, as long as you insist upon hiding here, it is a little difficult to offer you guards.”

  “Your Grace, if you feel I am a threat to your family, then I will most certainly leave,” said Argus.

  “And go where? No, stay here and wait for your family to come. They will help and they can be your guards. I will, of course, offer you any of my people you may need when the time comes. For now, it is wisest that you remain a secret, hidden away here like some mad aunt.” He briefly grinned. “Even if this Cornick fellow sniffs you out here, he will be hard-pressed to get to you. My lands are well guarded. Part of being a duke and all, as there has never really been any threat to the family. Father had guards. So I have them. Tradition, I suppose, but it will be of a help now.”

  “I thank you for your help.”

  “I have done little. Lorelei is the one due thanks. And, now, let us speak on her, shall we?”

  Argus silently cursed. He had hoped the man would not touch on the subject of his daughter. If the man found out how difficult Argus was finding it to keep his hands off his daughter, all offers of help would be rapidly withdrawn. And rightfully so. Worse, Argus did not really understand why he was finding the control of his lusts so difficult. He had learned such control a long time ago and easily resisted far more beautiful and experienced women.

  “I had not intended to draw her into this mess. . . .” Argus began, only to hastily swallow his words when the duke waved a hand to silence him.

  “I know that. You sought out your family. But, Lorelei is now involved. What I need to know is if you think this danger could pursue her as well.”

  “I cannot see why it would. She is not a Wherlocke or a Vaughn. These men seek the skills they have heard we possess. She is of no use to them.”

  “But she is the one who robbed them of their prisoner.”

  “They do not know that.”

  “True. Are you good with weaponry? Pistols? Swords?”

  “All of those things, but mine were taken from me when I was taken prisoner.”

  “Then I shall see that you are well armed.”

  “Why not just order her to stay away from the gate-house?”

  “Ah, no, that would not work. She is a good girl, but she has a mind of her own and a very strong will. Max has known of this from the beginning and he has seen no need to keep her away from here. I will follow his lead. And, I will trust you to be the gentleman you seem to be.”

  Argus could almost feel the weight of that trust settle heavily on his shoulders. He wanted to tell the man that he should not trust him with Lorelei, but, again, it was not something one could say to a father. A man simply did not tell a father that he lusted after his daughter but was not in the market for a wife. He realized that, now that her father knew about him, he had hoped that a little parental control would be exerted upon the woman. It seemed that had been a vain hope. Lorelei’s virtue rested solely upon his honor and ability to keep his lust chained. Argus was not sure anyone should count on either of those things at the moment.

  Lorelei entered with a tray of bread, cheese, and tankards of ale. Argus turned his attention to the food, shaking off his worry about his growing inability to resist temptation. The duke sat with them at the small wooden table, eating the plain fare with evident enjoyment and questioning Argus on his ability and some of the ones he had heard others in his family possessed. Something about the man prompted Argus to speak with a frankness that surprised him.

  It was late by the time the duke ended his visit. Lorelei was down in the kitchens again when the man suddenly wished Argus a good night and walked out of the room, a look of almost joyous anticipation on his face. A rather young face for a man who had seventeen children, Argus mused, curious as to how old Lorelei’s father was.

  “Where is Papa?”

  Argus stared at Lorelei as she brought in a tray with three cups of chocolate and set it down on the table. “He left. Why did you not know? Or go with him?”

  Lorelei sat down in the chair her father had vacated and picked up one of the cups of chocolate. “He forgot me.” She laughed softly and sipped at the rich drink. “You are to blame. His head is now bursting with new ideas and information.”

  “Perhaps too much,” Argus murmured as he helped himself to some of the chocolate. “I was reckless, speaking with too much freedom about matters my family would prefer were kept very secret.”

  “Do not worry. Papa really is not interested in the who, simply the what. He does not care which members of your family can do what, only that there is such a gift, that it truly exists and there are people who have it. I did not notice you giving him any names, either. Simply my cousin, or one woman of my family, and other such useless terms. But, truly, he will not be speaking of all you told him, only studying it and comparing it to the information he already has. You can trust him to understand that your family needs protecting.”

  “I must do already or I would not have answered all those questions he had for me.”

  “It can be difficult to resist Papa when he is interested in getting answers. His interest in what was going on here is what brought him here to begin with.” She hastily told him just why her father had learned about his presence in the gatehouse. “Once his curiosity is roused, there is no stopping Papa from getting what he needs to satisfy it. He saw something that stirred his curiosity and immediately sought answers.”

  Argus nodded and finished his drink. Seeing that she had done the same, he stood up and held out his hand. “And now you must leave.”

  Lorelei sighed but took his hand and let him tug her to her feet. “Papa will not come rushing back, if that is what you fear. You must have seen that somewhat glazed look in his eyes as he left. It means he is lost in his thoughts, his whole mind consumed by whatever interest has grabbed him or a theory he must now prove or disprove.”

  “It is not your father I am concerned about.” He pulled her toward the door. “It is your reputation.”

  “Sir, my reputation cannot be destroyed because I come to visit you. You are not here as far as most of the world knows, and this is but another place upon my father’s estate.”

  “You cannot be that naïve. The moment anyone learns that I am here, it will be recalled that you were flitting in and out of this house quite often, at all times of the day and night. The minute that is recalled the whispers will begin and your ruin will descend upon you like a summer cloudburst.”

  She stopped in the doorway and looked at him. “I never flit.”

  “Lorelei . . .”

  “I am a grown woman, sir. Many would consider me a spinster. I am also a duke’s daughter and, although such a position does not make me untouchable by scandal, it makes it a lot easier to escape one, no matter what is said about me. Why are you so reluctant to accept my company?”

  He grasped her by her shoulders, intending to scold her about foolishly risking her good name. Touching her immediately proved to be a mistake. The warmth of her beneath his hands rapidly entered his blood. The way her sweet face was turned up toward his, her soft mouth but a breath away, proved that he was right to thi
nk he had lost all control over his lusts. The lecture he had planned fled his head as rapidly as a buck did a hunter’s party. He lowered his mouth to hers, hungry to taste her again.

  The moment his lips touched hers, Lorelei flung her arms around his neck and held on tight. His kisses were intoxicating. When she was near him, kissing him was about all she could think of. The memory of his kisses haunted her for most of the time she was not with him as well. He tasted good, smelled delicious, and the hunger his first kiss had stirred within her just kept growing stronger.

  He pulled her hard up against his body and she nearly gasped. There was one particularly hard part of him that was pressing against her belly and it both enflamed and intrigued her. She shifted her body against him and a soft groan escaped him. His arms tightened around her and she reveled in the closeness of their bodies. When he slid his hands down her back to stroke her backside, she shuddered with surprised delight. She would never have thought such a caress could be such a dangerous pleasure.

  A curse escaped her when he abruptly set her aside yet again. This was growing tiresome, she thought crossly, as she scowled up at him. This time the fact that he was nearly panting and there was a slash of red color high on his cheekbones did not ease her annoyance. Those signs of desire did not soothe her, for his desire did not make him hold fast to her as she wanted him to.

  “I want you to leave now,” he said even as he pushed her out the door.

  “You, sir, do not seem to know what you want,” she snapped, a gnawing frustration firing up her temper as quickly and hotly as his kiss had fired up her desire. “One moment you cannot seem to stop kissing me and the next you act as though I have the pox.”

  “You think I do this because I do not know what I want? Foolish woman. I know exactly what I want. I want you naked and spread out beneath me in that bed. I want to be buried deep inside you, feel your skin against mine, and hear you cry out my name as I pleasure you. That is where such kisses lead and I will not behave the cad with you. Now go.”

  She went but not really because he had commanded her to. Lorelei was reeling from what he had said. The words had been crude, but his deep, husky voice had been pure seduction. The hot look in his eyes had made her insides curl with heat and need. She might be virginal, but she knew what that aching she suffered meant. It was pure lust. Now Argus’s words had given her an image it would be difficult to shake from her head and that was only going to add to the hunger she had for him.

  It struck her suddenly that she was running away like a terrified child, just as he wanted her to. Lorelei stopped and glared at the door he had shut. So, he thought he was the only one who wanted, did he? He thought it was he who was pulling the strings, perhaps even thought he was forcing his desires on a poor, deluded maiden. She might be innocent in body, sheltered from a great deal of the ugliness in life, for which she was heartily grateful, but she was far from ignorant. Perhaps it was past time that he knew that, that he knew she had her own wants and desires.

  “Do you know what, Sir Argus Wherlocke?” she yelled, the unladylike skill well honed growing up with sixteen brothers and sisters as well as a growing clutch of cousins. “Do you, who are so bloody determined to play the gentleman, think your wants will send me into hiding? Maybe, just maybe, I am not the coward you are and will start reaching out for what I want. Ever consider that? Maybe, just maybe, I have a few wants of my own! Maybe, just maybe, it will be I who see you lying naked beneath me!”

  The words were still echoing in the hall when Lorelei became fully cognizant of all she had just bellowed through the upper halls of the gatehouse. Her cheeks burned with the fierce blush that flooded her face, but she held her head up as she walked away. Inappropriate, even scandalous, as the words had been, they had been the utter truth and she would not run from them. Let Sir I Know What Is Best for You chew on them for a while. She intended to go home and, if luck was with her, sneak into her father’s library. There was a book there that would show her what to do if she ever actually got Sir Argus naked and beneath her. She was not sure if he saw what she had said as a threat or a promise, but if he ever called her on it, she intended to be ready to act upon it.

  Argus stared at the closed door and, realizing he was gaping, slowly shut his mouth. Her clear, pristine, and very loud voice had cut through the thick door without a problem. That was an astonishing skill for a wellborn lady of such high rank and more than enough to shock anyone. It was what she had said that left him reeling, however.

  She wanted to get him naked and beneath her? He groaned and threw himself down on the bed, only idly noting how his still-healing ribs protested that action. Argus was certain she was a maid, as pure as new fallen snow, but she certainly had not spoken like one. She could also be right in calling him a coward, as it was not only a sense of honor that held him back. Instinct told him that, once he had her in his bed, he would be loath to let her leave it. That would require marriage and, even if he was not far beneath her in rank, such unions did not work well for his family.

  Maybe, just maybe, I will get you naked and beneath me!

  If she had purposely plotted some revenge for the way he kept pushing her away, she could not have found a better one. Lorelei had not even had to bellow the words. Whispering them just loud enough for him to hear would have worked just as well. Honor demanded he not bed her unless he was going to marry her, and he had no intention of ever marrying. Honor, however, would not be enough to wipe his mind clean of the image she had just planted within it. Argus knew he was facing many a night of waking up hard, aching with need, and unsatisfied. The kisses they had shared had already caused him enough trouble.

  Maybe, just maybe, I have a few wants of my own.

  As his traitorous mind started to ponder on just what wants of hers he could try to sate, Argus cursed long and loud. He would be lucky if he ever slept peacefully again.

  Chapter 6

  “The Wherlockes are here.”

  “Uh?”

  Lorelei opened one eye and glared at Max. She had not slept well. Finding out just what she could do with Sir Argus Wherlocke’s fine body if she got him naked and beneath her had kept her from sleeping peacefully. She no longer saw it as lucky that she had been able to slip into her father’s library and look at the books he thought were so well hidden. She had woken up so often through the night, aching and asweat with a need she had never felt before, that she now wondered why she had even stayed in bed.

  Such dreams should have shocked and embarrassed her, but, instead, they had stirred her desire and her curiosity. Each time she had awakened she had cursed the fact that Sir Argus was not close at hand so that she could heartily satisfy both. That shocked her a little, but she decided it was all a result of knowing that Sir Argus was the man she wanted. And, now, here was Max, looming over her and telling her she had company when all she wanted to do was sleep. Then she frowned, for Max rarely entered her bedchamber to wake her, so something important had to be happening.

  “What did you say?”

  “I said the Wherlockes are here.”

  The words finally penetrated her exhaustion-clouded mind and she squeaked in alarm. “What time is it?”

  “Eleven. In the morning.”

  “That is rather early for a call by people we have never been formally introduced to.” Then Lorelei grimaced. “I sounded just like Old Miller, our last governess, right then. Foolishness. I wrote to the Wherlockes and asked them to come. They are here. I need to go and speak with them.” She nodded as the recitation of those hard, cold facts pushed aside the last dregs of sleep.

  “Send Vale here, if you will, and I will be down within the half hour.” She frowned at Max. “Do you think that is too long a wait for them? Mayhap I should just throw on . . .”

  “A half hour to respond to an unannounced visit is more than any would expect, even those whom you summoned. I will see to their comfort.”

  “Have you told Papa they are here?”

  “You
r father has taken some of the lads down to the pond to fish and, perhaps, learn a few things about whatever disgusting wildlife lurks in the mud there.”

  She silently cursed the fact that she could not look to her father for any help as Max left. Knowing the Wherlockes would be treated well as they waited for her, Lorelei leapt from her bed the moment the door closed behind Max. By the time Vale arrived, Lorelei had already washed up and was half dressed, much to her maid’s obvious dismay. Despite Vale’s protests, she had the woman put her hair up in a very simple style and then hurried down to the blue salon where all guests were placed, a little proud of the fact that she had done it all in only twenty minutes. Catching a glimpse of Max disappearing in the direction of the kitchens told her he had already served them some food and drink so she did not have to fret over that courtesy. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she opened the door and stepped in to meet Sir Argus’s family.

  They are a disgustingly handsome lot was the first thought that went through her head as she looked at the four Wherlockes gathered in the salon. One woman and three men. The woman was stunningly beautiful, and the men had the dark, somewhat dangerous look about them that could make women sigh. And they were all so tall, she mused, as they all stood up to greet her. And then she realized she should have waited for Max to announce her, but hastily shrugged that concern aside. Too late now.

  “Lady Lorelei Sundun?” When Lorelei nodded, the woman continued, “Allow me to perform the introductions,” said the woman in a voice Lorelei suspected made most men think of cool linen sheets and soft candlelight. “I am Lady Olympia Wherlocke, Baroness of Stryke Hall.” She gestured toward a tall, black-haired man. “That is the Lord Iago Vaughn, the Baron of Uppington.” She patted the strong arm of the tall, dark-haired man with the jade green eyes who stood by her side. “This is Lord Sir Leopold Wherlocke, the Baron of Starkly. And next to him is Sir Bened Vaughn.” She smiled at the large man with the odd silver eyes before fixing her gaze on Lorelei as one by one the men introduced stepped up to take Lorelei’s hand in theirs and kiss the back of it. “We have come in response to your letters. You know where my brother is?”