The Secrets of Shadows

by Waite, Tabetha

  She opened her mouth to speak, but not a single sound came out.

  “Where the hell do you think you’re going, Cosette?”

  She closed her eyes. Oh, did she know that voice. It haunted her almost as much as Lilin’s had, but for entirely different reasons. “Scotland,” she said dully.

  “No, you’re not,” Davien returned firmly. “You’re coming back to London. With me.”

  With that, he bent down and lifted her into his arms. It wasn’t until she spied his dark, unmarked coach with Quinn atop the driver’s box did she begin to struggle. “I’m going to Scotland!” she insisted.

  He tossed her inside his coach rather unceremoniously, and climbed in behind her. He shoved the dripping hair out of his face and glowered at her. “What is so important to you on that godforsaken island?”

  “Nothing,” she snapped.

  “Then why are you so eager to go?” he persisted.

  She turned her head, a clear dismissal.

  He sighed heavily. “Why are you being so unreasonable?”

  She whipped back to him so quickly that her hair scattered rain droplets on him. “I’m being unreasonable?”

  He calmly crossed his hands over his firm midsection. “Yes.”

  “No.” She held up a finger. “What I’m trying to do is save you, and you refuse to cooperate.”

  He dared to chuckle. “Do I look like a damsel in distress?”

  Cosette grit her teeth. “No.”

  “Then what makes you think that you need to run away?”

  “I’m not running. But just in case you missed the small detail regarding my parentage,” she said with a sneer. “Not only am I the daughter of an evil succubus, but I’m also the offspring of your sworn enemy.”

  He rubbed his chin and seemed to consider this for a moment. “That will make the holidays rather awkward, I agree.”

  She glared at him. “Can’t you be serious?”

  All amusement vanished from his expression. “Only if you will do me the same courtesy.”

  She clenched her fists at her sides. “Haven’t I just explained—?”

  He waved a hand. “I am quite familiar with all of that. I was there when it was all revealed, remember?” Davien tilted his head to the side, watching, waiting. “What I don’t know is how you truly feel about me.”

  Cosette stilled. She knew that he wouldn’t accept anything less than the truth, so she offered a partial one. “I care a great deal for you.”

  He lifted a dark brow. “And?”

  “And what?”

  “Is there nothing else you wish to say?” he prodded.

  She kept her lips tightly closed.

  “Hmm. I see. In that case . . .” He reached out with his walking stick and lifted the latch of the coach, pushing open the door. They hadn’t moved. “Farewell, my dear.”

  Cosette stared at the pouring rain beyond, then turned back to Davien, who wore a bland expression on his face. “You letting me go?”

  He shrugged. “Isn’t that what you want?”

  She frowned. “Well, yes, but . . . is that all?”

  “What do you mean?” He looked down and inspected his nails, appearing completely bored with the conversation.

  She stared at him in disbelief. “You’re not even going to try and . . . demand that I stay?”

  He straightened the lapels of his jacket beneath the greatcoat. “Now why would I do something as asinine as that? What good should it do for me to beg and plead except to lower my dignity when your mind is already set on this course?” He waved a hand at the door without even bothering to glance her direction. “So goodbye, with my best wishes, of course.”

  She shook her head, a laugh of incredulity breaking free. “I can’t believe your audacity, you stupid man!” she cried.

  He finally deigned to look at her, his dark eyes glittering. “How does letting you go make me ignorant?” He flicked an invisible piece of lint from his trousers. “Isn’t that what you are doing for me?”

  ~ ~ ~

  Davien wanted to smile. He was slowly luring Cosette in. He knew, before he’d even set out to find her, that it would take a king’s ransom in patience in order to convince her to return with him. He had to make her believe that together, they could surmount the toughest obstacles, and lay her insecurities to rest.

  “That’s . . . different,” she countered.

  “Oh? How so?” He could see the frustration in every line of her face.

  “We’ve already been through this!”

  He appeared to ponder her argument. “Have we? Because I don’t recall . . .”

  “Dammit, Davien!” she cried. “Surely you can understand that I couldn’t live with myself if I hurt you again! The day I marked you—” She shook her head, as if the very mention of it was too difficult. “It’s true that the locket is destroyed, but because of the blood that flows through my veins, who is to say that dark power won’t return to control me someday?”

  He shrugged. “And what if my beast is only laying dormant, and not completely expelled?”

  She blinked, as if she had only now considered the possibility. “Do you think so?”

  “I don’t feel its presence any longer, but that doesn’t mean we were fully successful.” He tilted his head to regard her, hoping that the reassurance in his words would be portrayed through his gaze. “The point is that we can’t live our lives worrying about what might happen. If so, we could very well miss what is happening. If I’ve learned anything from this curse, it’s that we must live each day as if it’s our last. We don’t know when the clock of life will cease ticking. Mine already did once, and I don’t intend to waste my second chance on anything less than true contentment.”

  Her chin wobbled, her frustration and anger melting away. “Is that even possible?” she whispered.

  “I’d like to think so,” he returned softly. “I know that the only way I can achieve happiness is with you by my side.” He laid a hand over his heart. “You are the only thing that makes my heart continue to beat. I love you, Cosette. Without you, I would cease to exist. Marry me, and let me prove to you how much I do.”

  She reached out and covered his hand with both of hers. Her dark eyes were sparkling with hope—and love.

  “Are those words really coming from you? They’ve only ever been spoken in my dreams.”

  He grinned. “I’ll be glad to prove that I’m only too real.”

  “Rogue,” she teased.

  “Does that mean yes?” he asked with a devilish gleam in his eyes.

  She reached out and touched her lips to his. “It’s a million times yes. I love you, Davien Elswood. And while I hope we’ve seen the last of the beast, I will be honored to be your wife. I’m sorry for being such a coward.”

  He tapped the tip of her nose with a finger. “You are many things, my love, but not that. Caring for someone means doing irrational things sometimes.”

  “Does that mean you forgive me?”

  “There was never anything to forgive. You just had to be reminded about which path you needed to take.”

  She smiled, and it caused his cock to twitch in his trousers. “Kiss me?”

  He grinned widely. “As if you even needed to ask.”

  He slammed the door shut with his cane and tapped on the roof.

  As they set out, with the storm crashing all around them, Davien’s mouth descended on hers.

  ~ ~ ~

  They were thoroughly disheveled by the time they made it back to London, sometime in the early morning hours. The coach stopped in front of a fashionable townhouse with two, large white columns in the front. The rain had finally lessened to a gentle sprinkle as Davien took her hand and led her to the front door.

 
“Where are we?” Cosette whispered as he used a key to get inside.

  He put a finger to his mouth, as he led her into the foyer, to indicate that they should be quiet. Cosette bit her lip, wondering whose house they were in. Surely they weren’t trespassing?

  With a wink, Davien led her up a set of gleaming, white marble stairs. Their clothes were still damp from earlier, although the sight of her dirty dress caused her to cringe. It didn’t look any better than a soiled rag clinging to her body. If any servants awoke and happened to notice them, they would surely think she was a common whore from the streets, here only to satisfy Davien’s needs.

  He pulled her down a hallway and finally paused before a door to their right. He indicated that she should precede him. She walked inside and he softly shut the door behind them. The first thing she noticed was the welcome sight of a fire in the grate. She was chilled, and her body appreciated the warmth.

  Davien came up behind her and encircled her in his arms. “Let’s get this dress off of you, shall we?”

  Cosette sighed, the teasing torment that they had given each other in the carriage about to boil over into heated desire. But since she had a small portion of her wits about her, she asked, “Don’t you think you should tell me where we are?”

  “It’s a townhouse that I own, one that I rent out.” He turned her around and began working on the fastenings of her clothes, his fingers deft and sure, as he quickly began to disrobe her.

  “It’s yours?” Her breath caught as his thumbs brushed the tips of her nipples through her shift.

  “You seem to forget that I’m a duke, my dear.” His dark eyes glimmered in the firelight. “Surely you didn’t think Shadowlawn was my only residence?”

  As he kissed his way down her throat, she realized that’s exactly what she thought. “How many other houses do you have?” she asked on a sigh.

  “At last count, there were five.” She felt him grin against her exposed clavicle. “So if you are still intent on going to Scotland, or Ireland, or Italy, or . . .”

  She pushed him far enough away that she could look into his eyes. “Anywhere is home as long as I’m with you.”

  He growled deep in his throat as he led her over to the bed, clad only in her shift. It wasn’t the massive, four poster that Cosette had come to know as theirs in his chamber at Shadowlawn, but as she watched him remove his clothes, she realized that none of it mattered. They had confronted one of the worst possible experiences that anyone could face and survived. And in that moment, she realized that was the key to it all.

  At the beginning of their journey, they were lost, broken, searching for a way to end this hell on earth that had been constructed around them. It wasn’t until they had to work toward a common goal could they surmount the odds stacked up against them.

  Whatever opposition might come their way, whatever resistance, they would endure it. Together they were strong enough to defeat any foe.

  It finally all made sense.

  And as the last of Davien’s clothes fell to the floor, she grinned.

  “I hope that smile is because of me.”

  Cosette allowed her gaze to roam over his naked body, lingering momentarily on his impressive manhood that pulsed with need. For her. “Of course.”

  His eyes took on the feral appearance of the beast, only that unholy light was gone, shattered, sent back to where it came from.

  Davien grasped the edges of her shift and, with one firm tug, split it right down the middle, exposing her nudity to his hungry gaze.

  She clutched the counterpane on either side of her, desire soaring through her every nerve ending. “You seem eager to mate this evening, Your Grace.”

  He put his fists on the bed near her legs and slowly crawled up her body, his naked back rippling and bunching as he crawled closer to her, stalking her. “You will regret that, madam.”

  “Promise?” she purred seductively.

  His grin was pure evil. “Oh, yes.”

  Chapter 30

  Cosette arched her back on a moan as he bent down and took the tip of her breast into his mouth. He sucked and laved the sensitive peak until she was moving her legs restlessly beneath him. “Davien . . .”

  “Not yet, my dear,” he whispered near her ear. “This is a night meant to savor.” He nipped her delicate lobe, before he began to kiss and lick every inch of her exposed skin.

  When he finally reached the apex of her thighs, Cosette was on fire, bursting with energy. At the first swipe of his tongue, she was on the edge of ecstasy, but after a few more sensuous licks, she was in the clutch of a spasm so powerful that spots swam before her eyes. Davien didn’t even give her a chance to drift back to earth before he was slamming into her core.

  She wrapped her legs around his hips and rocked with him, meeting his every thrust. When he suddenly left her, she nearly cried out at the loss, until he flipped her over onto her stomach. She thought of the day he’d pinned her against the wardrobe, and how glorious it had been, but even that didn’t prepare her for how deep his penetration would be now. She gasped in pure, unadulterated pleasure as his every movement touching something deep inside of her until she was bursting apart at the seams.

  But Davien was relentless.

  He denied himself a release as he continued to love her until she was so sated and replete that she was quite sure every muscle in her body had been thoroughly used, and her bones had turned to liquid.

  She loved every minute of it.

  When he finally allowed his pleasure to take hold, he groaned, calling out her name over and over, until he collapsed on the bed beside her.

  She moved to curl up next to him, and he drew her into the crook of his arm. It was almost more satisfying than what had just transpired between them.

  Almost.

  Cosette smiled against Davien’s chest. She could hardly move, she was so tired, but then the small patch of hair on his chest just beckoned for her fingers. As she slowly ran her fingers through the crisp, dark patch, Davien chuckled, his voice rumbling against her cheek and reassuring her, even further, that things were going to be fine.

  “You do realize that when you do that, it only entices me?”

  “Really?” she murmured with a slight smile. “I had no idea.”

  “Indeed?”

  “Um, hmm,” she returned, although she felt her eyelids growing heavy, Davien’s warmth encircling her and causing the weariness to seep in.

  He was silent for a moment, and then he said, “I love you, Cosette.”

  She sighed. “I love you too, Davien.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Cosette reached out an arm in search of Davien, but she only found an empty bed, cold from his absence. She cracked open an eye and nearly hissed at the bright light shining through the curtains. It was becoming quite commonplace for her to sleep late, but then, after passing such a vigorous night, it was no wonder she was turning into such a slugabed.

  She stretched her sore muscles and smiled. She hoped that wherever Davien was, he wasn’t far away. She might like a repeat of last night.

  A knock came at the door, causing her to sit up and wrap the sheet around her. “Come in?” she said slowly, not sure whom she might expect to walk in the door. If Davien hadn’t had a chance to tell the servants about her appearance, the housemaid would likely be in for quite a shock.

  Instead, she was the one who was stunned when a familiar red head walked in. “Charlotte!” she exclaimed.

  “Aye, it’s me.” She walked in, carrying a silver breakfast tray. She wore the simple attire of a bedgown, but unlike what she normally wore, the material was crisp and clean. “Th’ duke said as how ye might be hungry this mornin’ so I had th’ cook whip up some kippers an’ eggs fer ye.” She sat her bundle down on the table near the bed with a wink. “Eat up now. Ye
need t’ keep up yer strength if ye plan on givin’ Blackburn any bairns.”

  Cosette felt her face heat considerably as she poured herself a cup of tea. “Charlotte, really! Haven’t you learned the art of subtlety yet?”

  Her friend didn’t even hesitate. “Wot’s that?” Although the wink she shot Cosette told her she knew exactly what it was. “Well, ye better get used t’ me bossin’ an’ th’ like, fer I’m yer new ladies’ maid.”

  Cosette nearly spat her tea all over the bed. “What?”

  “Dinna look so horrified.” Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Dinna ye think I can handle it? Trust me, I’ve had worse customers than ye t’ deal with at th’ tavern.”

  “I don’t doubt it,” Cosette quickly clarified. “Only that I’m surprised you are here.”

  “It was Blackburn’s idea.” She nodded. “He told me t’ come here when he took off after ye yesterday.”

  Cosette felt her lips twitch. “He was rather confident of himself, wasn’t he?”

  Charlotte’s green eyes were firm as they regarded her. “Now dinna be gettin’ all upset fer no good reason. I shouldna hate t’ have t’ quit on my first day here.”

  “You and I both know that you’re not going anywhere.” Cosette laughed.

  “Aye, probably not,” Charlotte agreed with a grin. “Now I’ll just go down an’ see that a bath is made ready fer ye an’ get ye a change o’ clothes.” She gathered up the discarded items on the floor. She lifted a brow at the ruined shift, causing Cosette’s face to burn once more, before she headed for the door.

  It was only when she was about to leave did Cosette find her voice. “Wait. I don’t have any extra clothes. Everything I had was at Shadowlawn.”

  “That was before th’ duke ordered ye a new trousseau.” Cosette couldn’t help but think that the duke was almost arrogant at this point. Charlotte must have read her thoughts, for her parting words were, “Dinna even say it.”