Cupid's Arrow Book Two Capturing The Duke Read online

Killian once more leaned close and crooned the words in her ear. “Now why would I do that when we were enjoying ourselves so much? You, my little bride kiss divinely. I could become quite addicted to the taste of you.” He smiled knowingly when she trembled.

  Desperate not to lose her head again, she struggled determined not to let the strange feelings overpower her. “You… you probably say that to all the women you take to bed.”

  With a sigh of irritating disappointment, he let her go, rolled over onto his back and turned his head to look at her. “Your habit of ruining the moment is becoming annoying. What harm was there in us sharing a kiss or two. We are married after all and besides you were taking pleasure in it.”

  Unable to deny the truth, she huffed out a breath. “But I don’t want to like it.” She muttered unhappily.

  It took a tremendous effort, but he managed to swallow down his laughter, he rolled back on his side and wrapped an arm around her waist. Kissing the tip of her nose, he smiled tenderly as he met confused gaze. “Well, I’m more than pleased that you did. Because, my little love, I more than liked it and I intend for us to do it often. Now though, I think it’s time you were up. While you have been sleeping I’ve been a very busy man. I have informed your father of our marriage and collected your aunt. Who at the moment is settling into her room and the announcement has been sent to the papers. The rest of your things should be arriving sometime today.”

  “Oh, you’ve done all that. Ah… how did my father take the news? I doubt he was pleasant about it.” As she spoke, she dropped her gaze to his mouth and inwardly sighed. It was foolish, but oh Lord, she wanted him to kiss her again. It was insane since she didn’t even like him, yet she had enjoyed all the emotions he awakened inside her. She shook her head to clear away her irrational thoughts when he spoke.

  With a knowing gleam in his eyes, he ignored his own hunger for the moment when he saw the longing in her gaze. “Hardly pleasant. The man was in a rage. Demanded I hand over your dowry since I refuse to return you. He then threatened to find a way to either dissolve our marriage or destroy it. I want you to avoid him, but if you can’t be very careful around him. He’ll use any means to tear us apart.”

  Not in the least surprised her father would act so vindictively, but the threat made her shiver in dread knowing how ruthless he could be when he couldn’t have his own way. “I’ll be careful.”

  “Good. I’ll leave you to dress.” He gave a quick brush of his lips against hers before he rolled away and stood up. Over his shoulder he gave her a cheeky wink before he strolled into his own chamber and closed the door.

  From beneath her lashes, she watched his graceful exit; the man was too potent for his own good — and hers. It was very doubtful she would be able to resist him now that she’d experienced such spectacular kisses. She scowled wondering if all the other women he’d taken to bed felt the same. For some strange reason the idea irritated her more than it should.

  From now on, he wouldn’t be kissing any other female, but her. If he so much as looked at another lady with a glimmer of interest in his eyes she’d blind him. Becoming more annoyed, she tossed back the covers and slipped off the mattress.

  At least, Killian had kept his word and brought her aunt home. Her father wouldn’t be able to use the innocent, soft-hearted woman as a weapon again. As she saw to her ablutions and dressed, she did wonder though what methods he would use to try to destroy her marriage. She also knew that the despicable rat would also cause trouble.

  The man was desperate to better his station and as she had recently discovered by any means available to him. He probably wouldn’t take it well that his plans and his hunger for power had been foiled.

  No, he would be more likely infuriated and that could possibly mean he also would be seeking some type of revenge. After brushing her hair, she decided to leave it loose, she wanted to see aunt Lucy and make certain she was alright. The older woman would have been beside herself when discovering she was missing.

  She should have left a note, but she hadn’t wanted her father to discover it and try to stop the wedding. For many years she had accepted all his faults, but this went beyond anything she could have ever imagined he would do. Desperate or not his conduct was shameful and not surprising self-centered as usual.

  Even knowing that he never loved or cared for her what he planned to do was outright vile even for him. Thank goodness her poor mother had never known what a truly cold-hearted monster she had married. Aunt Lucy had told her many stories about her mother and though she never loved the man she’d been forced to wed, she had tried her best to win some affection from her callous husband but failed.

  The woman had found only joy in the child she was expecting, but fate had been cruel and had taken her life before she could find any happiness. Sadly, shaking her head, she threw off her depressing thoughts. It was all so long ago and pointless living in the past. It was the future that concerned her now and more imperative was how to deal with her husband.

  Finding him lying on her bed when she woke and after kissing her there was no doubt in her mind that he was out to seduce her. Really, she should be absolutely furious, but for the life of her, she was unable to dredge up an ounce of anger. Dismissing the problem for now, with a bright smile she left her room, skipped down the staircase greeted the butler before she hurried down the passage to the morning room.

  Chapter Five

  Wearing a wide grin, Killian shrugged into his jacket and glanced in the mirror, seeing his hair mussed, he picked up the brush to restore order. He was more than satisfied with the brief intimacy; his little bride wasn’t as indifferent to him as she believed herself to be. It also thrilled him to learn that she’d never been properly kissed either. Closing his eyes, he licked his lips and still tasted her exotic essence, he shuddered. The flavor of seduction, with a heavy dose of innocence. Her reaction when he thrust his tongue in her mouth had been a thrilling experience and it definitely hadn’t been faked.

  When she stopped being wary and let herself go, she had enjoyed it immensely. Though he could have taken things further, he’d decided that he didn’t want to push her too far or too fast. The last thing he wanted was to frighten her or to guard her response. Slow and easy was the way to go.

  If he kept her on the edge she would start to crave more intimacy and when they returned home tonight, he would begin tempting her. Opening his eyes, he noticed he was wearing a dopey grin and could only shake his head over his own foolishness. It was a relief he silently admitted that he had been wrong about his bride, she was most definitely not modest by nature.

  In fact, she was a passionate little arm full. He could barely wait to help her uncover her own lustful spirit, he sensed she would blossom into an ardent, eager lover. He suspected that when making love she would give everything of herself and not hold anything back.

  This sudden marriage, he decided might not be so horrendous after all, if the small taste of her passion was anything to go by, he most assuredly would be an extremely sated man for a very long time to come. He made a scoffing sound in the back of his throat when he recalled her comment about other lovers.

  It more than annoyed him that she assumed he had made love to numerous women, when in reality there had been very few. He supposed discovering lady Applebee in his bedchamber hadn’t helped matters, but surely after listening she knew there was nothing between him and that scheming chit. Over the years he knew exactly how Modesty felt about unfaithful spouses, it was why he had always been discreet — well he thought he had.

  Obviously, he hadn’t been careful enough, he scowled no, he made absolutely certain he was. The very last thing he had ever wanted was for Modesty to learn of his occasional discretion and besides it had been sometime since he’d been tempted to take a woman to bed. Be damned if he wasn’t going to discover who was spreading gossip about him?

  His jaw clenched in fury, whoever the bloody miscreant was, the moment he learnt who was trying to besmirch his reputatio
n they would pay dearly for it. He tried to think of anyone he’d offended, but for the life of him he couldn’t recall ever doing so, well perhaps the scheming chit, lady Applebee. But by the sounds of things the rumors had been going on for some time so it probably wasn’t her.

  Who else he wondered would gain by destroying his good name? His eyes narrowed in suspicion, could it be the cit who had tried to force Modesty to marry him? The longer he considered it he believed it could be a possibility. A man craving to elevate himself would be desperate enough to try anything, even taking a woman to pay a gambling debt.

  Over the next few days he would start making enquiries about the despicable rogue. He would learn everything he could about the man and then he would know how to deal with the lowlife scum. His head jerked up when he heard mumbling coming from the chamber beside his and grinned, he presumed his little bride was cursing over something.

  It was surprising that he was discovering just how delightful she really was, yes it had been a terrible mistake ignoring her all these years, but though it dissatisfied him there wasn’t anything he could do about it now except make it up to her. With a dismissive shrug of his shoulders, he turned from the mirror and whistling a lively tune strolled out of his chamber.

  Once downstairs, he requested a tea tray from his butler and when he entered the morning room, he found aunt Lucy already seated and looking a little apprehensive. He smiled warmly as he sat down and lazed in the sofa. “Modesty will be down shortly to join us for tea.”

  “Thank you, Killian for inviting me to live with you both. I know how inconvenient it is for newlyweds to have such a doddering, old fool underfoot.” Lucy nervously twisted her hands in her lap and as she met his kind, understanding gaze, she gave a trembling smile.

  Before he could reply the butler arrived with the tea tray and he waved for aunt Lucy to pour, after accepting the drink, he smiled in reassurance. “Dear Aunt Lucy. Do you think I or Modesty would let you remain under the roof of your despicable brother-in-law? Your home is with us and always will be, so please, no more gratitude or argument.” The words had no sooner left his mouth when his bride came flying into the room; Killian placed his cup and saucer on the table and rose to his feet. He ambled over to her side, bent at the waist and kissed her cheek. “Just in time, aunt Lucy and I were about to have tea.” Taking her hand, he led her over to the sofa and sat down beside her.

  Flustered and embarrassed, Modesty dragged up a weak smile. “Will you pour please, Auntie?” She asked.

  Still clasping his bride’s hand, he ran his thumb across her knuckles, he grinned when both women jumped at the sound of someone knocking on the front door. There was no doubt they were nervous about who might be calling or visiting. “No need to fret, Ladies. I told, Turner that we are not receiving anyone today.”

  “That’s a relief. I’d like a little more time before I have to face my father or a horde of busybodies.” Relieved, Modesty relaxed.

  Killian sensed that she most assuredly wasn’t going to like what he was about to say, but it had to happen sometime and it was foolish to put it off. “Tonight, will be soon enough. We’ll be attending the Kidwell’s ball this evening. Nearly all the ton will be invited and it’s the perfect opportunity to have the whole speculation and gossip put to rest.”

  Eyes wide in horror, Modesty ignored her aunt’s groan. “Are you mad? Don’t you realize that everyone will be wondering why we suddenly married and won’t leave us alone until they either find out the truth or made up some outrageous lie?”

  “Of course, I know exactly what will happen and that’s why it’s best to have it all over and done with. If we don’t, as you said they’ll make up some horrendous story and they won’t stop calling. We’ll be continuously invaded by nosy parkers and I for one detest being pestered by gossipy fools.” And wasn’t that the truth, he could see that both women though resigned weren’t happy about the coming evening.

  Well, too bad, he’d learnt very early in life with the ton that it was better to out maneuver them than be on the defense. After reading the notice in the paper, everyone would be making assumptions and no doubt creating their own scenarios over the hasty marriage. He could well imagine the more contemptible ones and they would be far from flattering.

  No doubt, the scandalmongers would be vicious and nasty, it was why it was imperative to strike before the ugly rumors could spread and become poisonous. His aim was to show them all that the marriage was what they both wanted and they were happy together. It was vital that Modesty and her aunt play their part as well. He had already thought of a reasonable explanation, one that would be believable. Most of them would also think it was romantic.

  The very last thing he wanted was for anyone to discover the true reason for the hasty marriage. Not that he was bothered by it, but he knew it would upset his bride if it was discovered her father intended to use her to pay off his gambling debt.

  Rage swelled through him just thinking about what the man tried to do to his own daughter. If duels weren’t becoming illegal he’d call the man out, but as things stood the cur would suffer greatly and any friends the man had would quickly jump ship leaving him to flounder in his disgrace and deprivation.

  As for his accomplice, tonight he was going to start his destruction of the vile creature. He had nothing against a man bettering himself, but to set out to destroy the innocent to pave the way for a better life was contemptible. The fiend was going to rue the day he chose Modesty to climb his way up to respectability.

  A few words here and whispers there, it wouldn’t take long for the rumors to spread and the doors would be closing on the cit. It wouldn’t take Stokes long to realize his mistake and especially when it was discovered his deceitful dealings at the gaming tables.

  Oh yes, he was looking forward to having his retribution. A week or two at the most what reputation the odious blighter had would be ruined. He’d be shunned and wouldn’t be able to show his face anywhere. The man would probably slink back to the hole he crawled out of or then again he could end up behind bars.

  Either one, he didn’t care which, just as long as the jackal was out of their lives and caused them no more problems. As for Modesty’s father, he gave a dismissive shrug, the man dug his own grave and would no doubt be buried in it.

  ***

  After the loathsome, nere-do-well the duke left, Allen’s stomach had been tied up in a tight knot of trepidation as he waited for his guest to arrive. Extremely agitated he wondered how he was going to explain that his daughter had defied him, that she fled and married her betrothed in the middle of the night? It was neither going to be pleasant nor easy. The man was sure to be in a rage and that would only mean there was probably no way he could save himself. It would be humiliating and degrading but now he wouldn’t have any other choice, he would have to lower himself and plead for time.

  Fifteen minutes before noon his butler announced the cit, trying desperately to keep his panic under control he waited for the man to be seated before he started to explain and beg for time to pay his debt. “Sir Ronald it is with great regret I must inform you that my selfish daughter ran away during the night and married that fornicating rogue she was betrothed to. I know I gave you my word that she would be your wife and I intended to keep my promise, but unfortunately, I cannot. I’m hoping you will give me more time to come up with the money I owe you.”

  “Be quiet. I must think.” Eyes narrowed in fury, Ronald mouth twisted vindictively realizing his carefully laid plans had been ruined. From the moment he’d been introduced to lady Modesty, he was determined to have her. Not only because she was lovely, but because of the continuous distain she always treated him with. It infuriated him that she’d managed to escape and worse to have married that despicable, egotistical duke.

  The man was contemptible, a haughty narcissistic snob. The few times he and the duke had crossed paths, the cad had treated him with nothing but chilling contempt, as if he was nothing but slime beneath the almight
y lord’s expensive Hessian boots. When he had discovered the betrothal between him and lady Modesty it was then he started to spread the false rumors about the duke having affairs and set out to ruin the man’s reputation.

  Obviously, it hadn’t done any good because now the fiend had stolen the two things he’d craved, the woman he wanted to possess and a chance to elevate his status and gain respectability. For years, he had made plans to enter the upper-crust of society and have one of the most beautiful and virtuous women as his wife.

  Just when he was about to gain everything he wanted it had been snatched away from him. It was unforgivable, but be damned if he was just going to let it all slip through his fingers. There had to be something he could do to regain it all back.

  Thoughtfully he eyed the man standing before him who stood trembling in fear. Just another pathetic creature who thought because he had a title was better than everyone else. For a moment he considered his options. He could ruin the girl’s father send him to the poorhouse where his rank would be of little value.

  Yet money wasn’t what he’d been interested in when he had set out to ruin Anderson and have him under his power. The more he stared at the man, he was considering what to do with him, suddenly he straightened in his chair and an evil grin twisted his mouth. “I believe your new son in-law has quite a reputation with the… ah, so called ladies. Perhaps we can use it to our advantage. If we act quickly we could have their marriage annulled. I’m still willing to take your daughter even if she’s soiled goods.”

  Heart pounding in apprehension, Allen could only nod his head and he eagerly, desperately asked. “What do you have in mind?”

  Thoughtfully, Ronald stroked his long chin. “Mmm, if your daughter finds her husband in a delicate situation with another woman she’ll leave him.”

  “Perhaps most would, but Modesty’s a very strong-willed woman and she’s probably aware of the gossip about him, but I don’t know if she believes it. She most likely wouldn’t care if it was true. Knowing how tenacious she is, finding him with a woman in his arms she’d probably give him hell for it, but I doubt she would leave him.” Allen had little hope the plan would succeed.