The Rake's Proposal. Sarah Elliott

at all.”

      “Well, can you tell me what happened when you left the party? Did you leave by yourself?”

      “Yes…there’s not much to it. I just left. There were a lot of carriages in the drive—it was dark. The only thing amiss was that when I reached the carriage Owens was very slow to help me in…I called to him not to bother and got in on my own. I never actually saw Owens.”

      “He wasn’t there.”

      “No. He wasn’t there. Oh, I do hope nothing awful has happened to him.”

      “My driver has gone back to the Bannisters’ to look for him. There’s a very good chance he’s there still.” They fell silent for a moment before Ben asked, “I assume you told your brother that you were leaving?”

      “Well, no, not exactly. I told Charlotte to tell him…she said her coachman would take him home when the party ended so I could leave early. I hadn’t seen Robert in a while—couldn’t locate him, really.” That was a lie. Kate had been patently avoiding her brother, too afraid that he would have heard of her embarrassment and would want to grill her on the particulars.

      “Hmm.” Ben mulled over her words for a moment, leaning back in his chair and stretching out his long legs.

      Despite her nervousness, Kate couldn’t help but notice how sinfully handsome he was, how perfectly formed. He wasn’t paying attention for the moment and she let her gaze travel up his body, admiring the perfect fit of his evening attire and imagining what was beneath it….

      She’d made it up to his chest when she felt the uncomfortable sensation of being watched. She quickly met Ben’s eyes and blushed when she realized that he was the watcher.

      He smiled but continued, not yet ready to drop the subject. “Did the driver say nothing to you out of the ordinary?”

      “He said nothing at all, but the incident was so strange itself…would you tell me, please, what you were doing while I waited here?”

      Ben smiled. “Of course. I went for a walk in the surrounding area to see if I saw anyone who looked suspicious…can’t say I got a very good look at our man before he dashed off, though.”

      “You didn’t find him.”

      “I hardly expected to. These things happen all the time and the culprits rarely get apprehended. I notified the authorities while I was out, however, and they’re also looking for Owens. I’m certain he’ll turn up soon.”

      Kate hoped so. It would be entirely her fault if Owens were injured. She was quiet for a moment, thinking of the potential consequences of her unwillingness to tell her brother her concerns about Andrew Hilton. “Do you reckon he was a highwayman? Perhaps he was just waiting to get me out of town so he could rob me in peace.”

      “I suppose it’s possible, although he was taking you in the wrong direction to do that. It also seems like an awfully big risk to take for a simple robbery, abducting you right in front of the Bannisters’. Any number of people could have witnessed it.”

      Kate nodded, unable to speak as her worst fear began to crystallize in her mind. Perhaps it wasn’t just a robbery…

      She rose to pour herself a drink from the side table, anxious to occupy her shaking hands.

      “So, it makes me wonder, Miss Sutcliff.”

      “Yes?”

      “Do you have any enemies?”

      Kate never felt herself hit the floor. All she knew was that she suddenly found herself lying on the sofa, her head propped up on a pile of soft pillows. She felt something warm by her side and lifted her head to look, only to find Ben, seated next to her, watching her revive.

      “How are you feeling, Sleeping Beauty?”

      Kate was feeling like she was no longer safe in London, and she was realizing for the first time that Andrew Hilton might be a real threat rather than just an annoyance. Although he could be unpleasant, she’d always considered him to be a bit of a coward. She never would have expected he’d try to hurt her. But what if he did?

      “Kate? How do you feel?”

      “Pretty dreadful. What happened?”

      “You fainted.”

      “Rubbish.”

      Ben smiled, giving the impression of infinite patience, although he was feeling anything but. Every muscle in his body was tense, and had been since the moment he’d pulled her from the carriage.

      “Of course you didn’t faint. How silly of me. I’m sorry if I frightened you…I was only jesting about the enemy bit. I was actually trying to lighten the mood. I’m sure it was just a highwayman—probably not a very clever one, but…”

      “Yes, I’m sure you’re right.”

      He could sense that she didn’t want to revisit the subject, so he changed it. “Are you ready to go home now?”

      “I think so.” She sat up a bit too quickly, and a wave of dizziness washed over her again.

      “Easy now. Take your time.” He put a steadying arm around her shoulders as he said these words, and she found that it actually helped. She took a deep, calming breath and carefully placed her feet on the floor.

      “I think I can make it on my own from here. Thank you.” She glanced up at his face to reassure him that she was fine, and for the second time that evening wished she hadn’t. His eyes had darkened once again, becoming that deep, smoldering brown that ignited every one of her senses and left a trail of heat as they roamed over her body.

      Kate knew that she’d already lost. As Ben leaned down to kiss her, she raised her hands to his chest, intending to push him away. But the second her hands reached him, all thoughts of protest vanished. She was powerless to say yes or no, and instead of pushing him away, she found herself pulling him closer, relishing the feel of his hardness, his heat. Her eyes closed, and as his lips settled over hers, she felt drunk with sensation.

      This second kiss differed from the first, which had been so fleeting, so abrupt. This kiss was softer, slower—painfully slow, and yet so pleasurable. Kate gasped for breath as Ben gently tugged at her lower lip with his teeth, urging her without words to open her mouth. She was more than happy to oblige, eager, in fact, to taste him more fully. When his tongue entered her mouth, she met it with her own, her inexperience overcome by passion and instinct. When Ben’s hands moved down her body, stopping at the firm, round peaks of her breasts, she didn’t even notice. He laid her down on the sofa, sliding between her legs and grabbing her buttocks to press her against his hardness. Kate didn’t think to object, and wouldn’t have had the will to do so anyway. All she knew was the burning need she felt, deep down inside, a sweet throbbing that she couldn’t begin to comprehend. She moaned.

      That moan was Ben’s undoing. He dragged himself off her, cursing as he looked down into her desire-clouded eyes and swollen lips. Damn. Where the bloody hell was his control? Here he was, seconds from making love to his best friend’s sister on a sofa in a gaming house, for God’s sake. After the girl had nearly been abducted, no less. Ben knew he was no saint, but it wasn’t like him to take such advantage of an innocent. She had been distraught, and he had enough experience to tamp down his desire, no matter how powerful it was.

      “Kate. We have to stop. I have to take you home.” He didn’t add that stopping was one of the hardest things that he’d ever had to do. He just waited, watching her violet eyes slowly focus and reason reenter her body.

      Kate only nodded, too embarrassed to speak. She sat up slowly, putting enough space between them so she could think. She knew that if Ben hadn’t pulled away, she wouldn’t have been the one to stop. When he held her in his arms, her common sense vanished, and her actions were ruled by pure sensation. What must he think of her, to have lost such control? She could only guess: a provincial miss, swooning every time he looked in her direction.