by Jaimey Grant
He approached her, ignoring the request made of him by Gwen, not caring anymore that he should fetch her something to drink no matter the reason for her entreaty. All he could think about was Jenny, standing isolated in her little corner, already a little bit shunned by the Society she loved…sort of.
“Jenny-love.”
Her head lifted from her contemplation of the leafy green plant, blue eyes startled and bewildered. Dare couldn’t blame her. He was just as surprised. The endearment had just slipped out. He had meant to be calm, collected, and completely withdrawn in his interrogation of her. Emotions would not aid them in the pickle he’d landed them in.
Ever one to plunge into trouble with both feet, he found himself saying in a near whisper, “You cannot possibly want to marry him, Jenny.”
“Why not?” she asked, her tone nonchalant but approaching flippant. “He is as good as any man, I suppose.”
“Ha! He is better than most and that’s why you can’t want him. He would berate you until you either killed him or yourself. Why did you accept him? Surely your father would have given you a choice.”
“He did, Dare. I accepted Miles because he cared enough to try to help even though it was not his problem. And part of me hoped…” She paused, swallowing with difficulty. “Part of me hoped that something would happen to change everything.”
Like his return.
It was an unspoken thought between them, something they both knew and were equally unwilling to voice.
It stunned him that she’d commit herself to another man, his brother, no less, just to make him come back.
He took another step closer. They were now a mere six inches or so away. He wanted very much to drag her forward, into his arms, but the scandal would surpass anything they’d done to date. Embracing in a public forum? The two gossips just on the other side of the vast room would eat out on that for weeks.
“Jenny, you can’t do this. To yourself or Miles. He’s so bloody noble. He won’t back out so you have to.”
She gazed up at him, blue eyes guileless but pensive. “What are you saying, Dare?”
Another step closer. He was almost touching her with the leaves of the plant still between them. “If you marry him, you’ll be miserable. Break the betrothal, Jenny-love.”
Jenny inwardly sighed. He wanted her to jilt his brother but he said nothing about taking his place. As much as she would love to tell Miles it was over, she had come to realize that her life and the baby’s would be much easier with a husband and father.
“I can’t break the engagement, Dare. I’ve caused my family too much pain already.”
“A broken betrothal is tame in comparison.”
“Yes, but added to the rest of my sins, it just makes everything worse.”
“Were you ever going to tell me?” he asked suddenly, his voice uncolored, bored even.
She sensed the hurt, deep down, and knew he referred to the precious child she carried beneath her heart. It was not an appropriate time to discuss it, but she had seen how her brother made sure they were never alone and supposed it was probably going to be the only time to talk about it.
“It is a waltz. Dance with me, Dare. We can speak more freely there.”
“And your brother? Will he murder me for daring to speak to you?”
“He is tired of scandal. He will not cause a scene.” She sounded more confident than she felt. Con hated scandal, true, but he was obsessively protective when it came to his sisters so she couldn’t actually be sure that he’d do nothing.
Dare offered his arm. Jenny placed her fingertips on the dark cloth of his jacket, trying not to notice the firmly muscled flesh beneath.
Memories of their lovemaking assailed her and she wanted nothing more than to drag him off to some deserted room and show him just how much she had missed him.
The force of her desire shocked her. For several seconds, she couldn’t move. Dare glanced down at her, dark brows furrowed in concern.
“All you all right? You look a little flushed.”
Forcing a smile to her lips, she nodded. “I am quite all right. Just a little overheated.” She almost laughed at her little private jest.
He gave her a look that said he doubted that and firmly led her back to the ballroom.
Taking her hand in his and placing his other at her waist, he pulled her closer than was strictly proper. He didn’t care. As he moved them around the floor, he gazed down at her, stunned at the feelings coursing through his body.
She was as he remembered and yet completely different. His memories were pale in comparison. Her scent, wildflowers and jasmine, was even more subtly alluring than before. Her face was classically beautiful as always but her body had filled out a bit, her breasts straining against the fabric of her gown. He had little doubt it was due to her pregnancy.
Her eyes lifted to meet his and he knew she could plainly see his desire in his eyes. Her own flashed and darkened. He was only mildly surprised when she pulled them even closer. His body tightened in response to her blatant hunger.
This was wrong. No matter how much he viewed her as his, she was engaged to his brother. If they did anything to further the scandal surrounding them, it would bring more shame to Miles, something that man did not deserve.
Striving for sanity when all he really wanted was to do strip her of her clothing and make love to her right there, he brought to mind the subject that upset him most.
“Were you going to tell me? Or were you going to make me wait and count the months after your wedding?”
Jenny blinked up at him, confused in the face of his sudden anger. Her own ignited when she realized exactly what he was accusing her of.
“How dare you? You left me right after…you left me!” she snapped, not bothering to hide her annoyance behind a social smile. “You told no one where you were bound or how to contact you. I’d have told you right away were you here to be told, you insensitive clod. Ooooh!” With that, she turned her head away from his intense scrutiny and emitted what he was quite sure was a growl.
Dare almost grinned. He probably would have if he hadn’t at that moment noticed Lord Connor making a beeline for his sister. It was apparent that he would risk scandal to see her kept from distress.
“You were wrong,” he remarked casually, moving them adroitly away from Lord Connor and between more dancing couples. He then danced right out of the room and out onto a long terrace where he promptly released her.
Jenny was shocked almost speechless to find herself suddenly outside and standing alone. She gave Dare a look of indignation. “I was wrong?” she asked quietly, too quietly.
He pointed back into the ballroom. “About your brother. He was coming to take you from the floor.”
She glanced behind her and stretched up on her toes to see over the heads blocking her vision. Sure enough, a brief parting in the swirling dancers showed Connor gazing around with singular purpose.
“Maybe he searches for Gwen.” Her tone did not indicate that she believed her own suggestion.
“Perhaps,” Dare allowed. “She is off with my brother somewhere, after all.”
Jenny’s astonished eyes returned to her companion. “What?” Her hands clenched and unclenched at her sides, testament of her continued irritation.
Dare leaned back against the stone balustrade, crossing his arms over his chest. “I saw them leave as we began to waltz. Perhaps they hoped everyone would believe we were them and not realize that it was the good couple who went off to…talk.”
“Are you implying that they are… What are you implying?”
Dare moved from his relaxed pose and leaned forward, brushing her cheek playfully. “Come, Jenny-love, you are not so innocent anymore. What do you think I imply?”
“You are no gentleman to bring that so plainly to my attention,” she complained.
He smiled and resumed his pose. “What? The implication that my brother is making love to your sister? Or that you are no longer innocent?”
>
“Either. Neither. Both. Oh, I don’t know!”
Jenny turned abruptly away. She was fast approaching that point where she reacted without thought. If they continued to talk this way she just might strike him.
Or kiss him. Which would be worse?
Placing her hands on the balustrade, she took several deep breaths, trying desperately to calm herself.
She wasn’t aware of Dare’s having moved until he stood right behind her. His arms came around her to rest on the stone next to hers, effectively pressing his front all along her back. A shiver wracked her suddenly and she couldn’t stop herself from pressing back into him, relishing the warmth and hardness of his body.
“Does it bother you so much then?” he asked, breathing the words softly in her ear. He lightly nipped her lobe. She shivered again and closed her eyes, feeling his erotic caress throughout her entire frame.
“What?” she asked, aware of a strange huskiness in her voice.
“Miles,” he told her, pressing his lips to that sensitive spot just below her ear. A soft moan escaped her. “And Gwen.”
Is that what he thought? That she would be upset about her betrothed and her sister, two people who’d had feelings for each other since the first moment they’d met?
“No. I wish them well,” she managed to murmur as his lips moved down her neck and around her throat. “I wish them”—pausing on a moan as his tongue ran over the smooth skin of her shoulder—“all the pleasure”—another moan as he turned her in his arms—“they can steal.”
Finally, finally, Dare kissed her. It was not a sweet meeting of mouths but rather something far more primitive. An explosion of hunger erupted between them, making them lose sense of place and time. All their pent-up emotions, the anger, betrayal, desolation, and loss was communicated in their embrace. It was as if they were trying to store up whatever memories they could before their inevitable parting.
Her hands found their way into his hair, removing the riband securing the long black strands. A sensual shiver raced down her spine at the feel of the silky locks slipping through her fingers. She loved his hair. It was the first thing that attracted her during their first meeting.
He was trailing kisses all along the swell of her breasts when she heard the unmistakable sound of a throat being cleared. Her head shot up, nearly colliding with Dare’s.
It was her father.
She groaned and tried to step away from her lover. Dare’s arms tightened, however, preventing her retreat. She looked at him, her eyes wide and pleading. He looked obstinately back at her.
“As much as I hate to interrupt this…ah, touching moment,” the duke drawled with deceptive calm, “I’m afraid I must ask you to release my daughter.”
“And if I don’t?” Dare had the temerity to inquire, meeting Lord Denbigh’s gaze steadily. They both knew he wasn’t merely speaking of that particular moment in time.
The duke stared sedately at him. “I am too old to make threats, young man. I will allow that this incident was a bout of moon-madness and pretend nothing happened. Should it occur again, however, I will have to kill you.”
The last was said with such calm finality that Dare felt Jenny shiver and just barely restrained a shiver of his own. With more regret than he could fully hide, he dropped his arms.
Jenny took one step away from him but, to her credit, did not cower before her father. She lifted her chin, a tiny, secretive smile playing about her kiss-swollen lips.
“Come, Jenny. We must leave. Gwen departed some time ago under Miles’s escort due to a headache. We should not tarry too long in our own departure.”
“Yes, Father,” she murmured dutifully.
As she moved past Dare, Jenny met his dark eyes, her own laughing mischievously. There was something she wasn’t telling him. And he was very worried that whatever it was would probably plunge them all into far more scandal than he ever could have dreamed.
Dare was right.
The following morning Adam entered his wife’s drawing room and bluntly announced:
“Gwen has eloped. With Miles.”
Chapter Fourteen
“Miles would never do such a thing,” stated that young man’s twin with rigid finality.
Adam shrugged helplessly. “And yet he has. Denbigh and Con are breathing fire and for some reason, their animosity is directed at you.”
Dare snorted. “As is ever the function of the black sheep.”
“Unfortunately, that is often the case.” The older man sat down and leaned back in his chair, studying his cousin intently. “You realize, of course, that this leaves Jenny with a huge problem and no husband to show for it.”
Dare started. It was true. And more than he could comfortably take in at the moment.
“I think it would be in everyone’s best interest if you were to offer for the girl.”
Dare looked up from his clenched fists. “Would she have me?”
“I very much doubt her father will give her a choice. Who would have her now, nearly three months gone with another man’s child?”
“Blunt, but true,” Dare drawled. “And as I am the father, one would assume I have at least half a chance of securing her hand.” He shrugged.
Adam watched him impassively. Bri was unaccountably silent. Dare glanced over at her to see her smiling. His heart stopped. She wore the same expression Jenny had worn the night before, mischievous and secretive.
Adam noticed the direction of Dare’s gaze and looked at his wife as well. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What have you done, madam?”
Bri started guiltily. Then, as usual, her natural—or perhaps unnatural—defiance reared up. “Nothing that didn’t need to be done, Adam Prestwich. And don’t you dare give me that look. I don’t deserve to be punished. I have done nothing—!”
Her excuses ended on an indignant squeal as Adam lifted her from her chair. “What—have—you—done?” he bit out harshly.
Dare leapt to his feet, knowing it was unwise to get in the middle of a domestic argument, but reconciling his interference with the irrefutable truth that this particular argument stemmed from something that directly concerned himself and so was partially his fault.
Grabbing his cousin’s arm, he urged, “Adam, she’s carrying your child. Release her before you do damage to it.”
His words were instantly heeded. Adam had not actually done anything more than grip her hard, just enough to let her know he was in earnest. He stepped away now, his irritation a palpable entity in the room.
Dare sighed in relief. He knew Adam would never hurt Bri but with all the tension over all the stupid actions being committed left and right in this farce, Dare wasn’t sure Adam had a very good hold on his roiling displeasure.
Helping Bri back to her seat, he warned in an undertone, “I am not above letting him shake you, Bri, so please do not anger either one of us further. What have you and Jenny done and who helped you do it?”
She remained mulishly silent for a moment, her gaze locked on her husband’s rigid back. Then, as Dare’s words penetrated, she glanced quickly up at him, her eyes revealing her shock at how perceptive he was.
Dare straightened, throwing a sharp look at Adam. He was not naïve enough to believe Adam had not heard every word he’d uttered to his lady wife. He was also quite aware that he couldn’t stop Adam a second time should the older man decide to punish his willful wife.
“Talk,” Adam commanded, his back still turned to them.
Bri released a feral sound from deep in her throat. “Gwen asked for my help. She knew Jenny would be miserable with Miles so she wanted to break the engagement.”
“How did you get Miles to agree?” Adam asked.
Dare answered, his gaze glued to Bri’s obstinately beautiful face. “They didn’t.”
Bri’s face revealed the truth of Dare’s statement.
Adam’s face suffused with color. “What the bloody hell does that mean?”
Dare turned laughing eyes to his
cousin. “Miles has not eloped, Adam. He’s been kidnapped.”
Adam’s face reflected astonishment for a moment before he and Dare burst into uncontrollable laughter. Bri turned shocked eyes from one man to the other.
Dare wiped tears from his eyes and slumped down onto the settee beside Lady Prestwich. He slouched down, covering his eyes with one hand, his body still shaking with silent laughter.
Adam was not faring much better. He still stood, but barely. He leaned heavily on the mantle, his shoulders shaking. Every once in a while, a snort escaped him, making Bri stare in wonder.
It wasn’t long before she got very annoyed. “Are the two of you quite through?”
Dare nodded, his face wet with tears, his body still rhythmically shaking. Adam waved a hand in her direction but did not look at her or say a word.
Both gentlemen made every effort to compose themselves. It was a few moments later that they finally succeeded.
Lady Prestwich sat, arms folded over her chest, glaring at one man and then the other, over and over. Dare apologized prettily, winning a reluctant smile from her. Adam snorted at his cousin’s gesture and merely bowed to his wife, a chuckle or two escaping.
“Would one of you mind explaining that.”
Adam chose to answer. “Darling, you know Miles. Can you imagine his outrage and horror when he was informed of their destination? Not the stuff of a young maiden’s dreams, I assure you.”
Bri chuckled a bit then, her imagination allowing her to conjure the picture Adam painted. “Ah, yes. It was cruel to do that to him, was it not?”
Adam’s jocularity abruptly dissipated. “Do you realize just what it is you’ve done, woman?”
She bristled. “I have cleared the way for Dare and Jenny.”
Dare’s eyes threatened to pop out of his head. He sat up, staring at her in utter shock. “You have cleared the way for me and Jenny?” he asked numbly. “What right did you have to meddle?”
