Captive Surrender (21 page)

When he had kissed her
before, she had responded with a passionate enthusiasm that had
encouraged him, but was it out of curiosity, or need for him in
particular? He had already decided that he wanted to remain at
Cragdale once his job was done, but would she let him? Would she
want him to stick around and be a permanent part of her life? Would
she want to share her life, and the responsibility of the family
with him? To him, living at Cragdale with the Freestone family
would not be a responsibility, it would be an honour. He just
needed to get Prudence to start to about the future: a future that
had him as a permanent, long-term fixture.

It started out as nothing
more than a kiss. He had no intention of taking matters any
further, that is, until her small hands clutched at the material of
his shirt and prevented him from trying to ease away. Small hands
slid higher and drew a groan from him that felt as though it came
from his very soul. He couldn’t have stopped her, even if he wanted
to, which he didn’t. He felt the reins of control slip out of his
grasp when those gentle, encouraging hands slid slowly up the
rippling muscles of his chest, along his broad shoulders before
coming to a stop in his hair.

How they got into her
room he couldn’t quite remember, but she made no sound at all other
than to gasp when he lay her down and hovered over her. He broke
the kiss and held back long enough to study her but could see
nothing in her lambent gaze except a passionate desire that echoed
his.

“
Be sure,
Prudence,” he whispered. He fervently hoped and prayed that she
wouldn’t ask him to stop.

Prudence had no idea what
he was asking her to be sure about but couldn’t summon the will to
consider the matter closely. Her thoughts were cloudy; lost in a
haze of wondrous sensation that he created within her. It felt
strangely sinful to lie so wantonly with him, on her own bed, but
she couldn’t bring herself to tell him to stop and leave. She
didn’t want to stop. He made her feel cared for; like a person, a
woman, rather than a big sister, a helper and housekeeper. He made
her feel safe, protected and cherished, and she didn’t want the
moment to end.

“
I’m sure,”
she whispered, and smiled at his answering groan. “I am
sure.”

They were the last words
either of them spoke for the rest of the afternoon.

CHAPTER
ELEVEN

Prudence knew that she
should feel at least faintly uncomfortable about what had just
happened. A small part of her was shocked that she had allowed such
intimacy between them, and especially allowed them with someone she
hardly knew. But, in the hazy glow of sensual warmth, she lay
wantonly in his arms and simply couldn’t find the will to move away
from him. His long arms were wrapped securely around her, and one
heavily muscled thigh lay in abandon across her hips. She should be
scandalised, or at least embarrassed, but wasn’t. It felt right;
intimate and protective at the same time.

She had spent the better
part of the afternoon engaged in activities with him that left her
speechless; unable to form word or thought to describe the sizzling
sensations he had teased out of her body. Their progress from the
spare room to her bed was still rather vague and hazy, but she
couldn’t regret what they had shared. She felt as though she had
committed some cardinal sin, but she wouldn’t acknowledge just how
reckless she had been for fear of breaking the wonderfully sensual
spell he had woven around her.

As the hour ticked by,
Stephen started to grow a little concerned at just how quiet she
was. Although she lay in his arms, relaxed and content, had he hurt
her? Did she regret what had happened? He didn’t regret any part of
the afternoon, and was now more convinced than ever that she was
the woman for him.

“
You are very
quiet,” he murmured gently, when he couldn’t stand the silence a
moment longer. One finger tipped her chin up until she looked into
his eyes. He studied the wonderful depths for a moment, but could
see nothing in the clear gaze that blinked lazily back at him. He
smiled in silent understanding as he recognised the sensual
contentment, and took advantage of her relaxed state to place a
tender kiss on her lips.

“
I am -” she
tried to find the words, failed, and sighed instead.

“
Happy?
Relaxed? Contented?” He smiled around the words, and knew exactly
how she felt because he felt all of those things right now, and a
few more besides.

“
Bemused?”
She replied hesitantly.

Stephen laughed and
glared down at her in mock outrage. “Bemused, woman? What? Did you
find that funny?” He began to tickle her with a mock growl,
relieved when she began to giggle and squirm against
him.

“
I am just
not quite sure what happened,” she replied weakly when he paused
and leaned over her to smile down at her.

“
Well, I sort
of went like this,” he explained gently and slid one large palm
down her thigh.

Prudence rolled her eyes
but made no move to stop him. It felt strange to share a joke with
him while they were both undressed and in bed. This was a playful
side of him that she had rarely seen before, mainly because
circumstances had never allowed such jocularity before, but she was
very glad to see the depth of humour in his eyes. It helped to
dispel the faint awkwardness that still lingered in the back of her
mind.

“
You know
what I mean.”

“
Don’t regret
it, Prudence. Please don’t ever regret it,” he pleaded softly. He
didn’t want to hear her raise objection, or doubt, about the
tenderness they had shared. He had made sure that there would not
be any repercussions from what they had spent the afternoon doing.
Not only because it wasn’t the right time, but he wanted to ensure
that they didn’t start their family until they were married, and
circumstances at Cragdale Manor were considerably more
settled.

“
I don’t
regret it,” she replied shakily when he lifted his head after
several long moments of sensual bliss.

“
Good, for
now –” He paused and frowned at the shutters. They hadn’t stopped
to close them and had instead left the afternoon sunlight to bathe
them in wonderful warmth. Unfortunately, the open shutters also
gave them a view of the driveway, and the carriage that was now
moving steadily toward them.

“
Are they
back already?” She read the answer in the bitter regret in his eyes
as he looked down at her. She gasped and began to push and shove at
him in order to get him to lift off her so that she could climb out
of bed. Unfortunately, once he began to move, she realised that she
would then be completely bare to his gaze. Desperate fingers held
him still while she frantically tried to grab at the sheets that
now lay in a discarded pile at the end of the bed. She gasped and
writhed but couldn’t quite reach them. Panic stricken, she began to
writhe even more.

“
God,
Prudence, don’t do that,” Stephen growled.

Despite the ache in his
loins, he knew that he couldn’t take matters further with her for a
second time. Not only would she be sore from her first encounter
with him, but the rest of the family would descend upon them any
moment now. Sucking in a breath, he willed his eager body to cool
and carefully moved to lie beside her while he dutifully drew the
sheet up to cover her nakedness.

He grinned when Prudence
immediately snatched the sheet off the bed, got up, and left him
completely naked. Rather than get off the bed himself, he tucked
his hands behind his head and watched her scurry about.

“
Relax, we
have time. Rufus will have to unload the carriage and I am sure
that everyone will pitch in to help.”

Although his words were
calm, Prudence was fuelled with desperation not to let her siblings
see how recklessly she had behaved. Although this was Stephen, the
man who made her feel things she had never experienced before, both
in bed and out of it, she had no intention of allowing her siblings
to see just how soundly she had fallen off the path of
righteousness. She felt fairly certain she had ‘harlot’ written
somewhere on her person and it was clear for everyone to
see.

She spun around as she
tried to find her clothes, while her fingers clutched tightly at
the sheet she had wrapped around her in an attempt to cover her
modesty. All the while, she listened for the sound of boots on the
stairs. She was about to start to poke around under the bed for her
boots when she realised what she had done. The sight of acres of
masculine muscle and flesh, stretched on out her bed left her
awestruck. She tried to keep her gaze off his masculine nakedness,
and failed miserably and couldn’t prevent the tell-tale blush that
stained her cheeks. It was slightly galling that she was barely
able to form coherent thought while he lay so unashamedly naked,
wearing nothing but a mischievous smile.

At the sound of the
rattle of the door, Stephen launched himself off the bed. In one
smooth motion, he quickly donned his breeches, boots and was
tucking his shirt in while he climbed onto the bed and walked
across it.

The speed in which he was
up, dressed and on his way to the door made her stare at him in
shock, and with a little touch of envy. He had just walked across
the bed as though he was walking through the garden. Her eyes
landed on the slight smattering of chest hair that disappeared
beneath the laces as he tied his shirt ends together. She suddenly,
desperately, wanted to climb back into the bed and spend the rest
of the afternoon with his arms around her. She felt a pang of
longing so deep that she suddenly wanted to cry.

Sensing her disquiet,
Stephen sighed and drew her into his arms just as Robbie called for
her from the hallway downstairs.

“
I will go
down and keep them busy, and tell them that you are asleep, so not
to disturb you,” he suggested quietly. He placed a kiss on her lips
and didn’t break away until she sighed and melted against
him.

Prudence snuggled against
his chest and rested her head on his shoulder. It was as though he
had read her mind and wanted to hold her as much as she wanted to
be held. They stood quietly for several moments and let the seconds
tick by while they savoured their last few precious minutes alone
together.

“
Take your
time, and come down when you are ready,” he whispered when Robbie
called again. He lingered long enough to place a tender kiss on her
lips before he eased quietly out of the room.

Prudence was stunned at
the ease in which he had taken over the rather desperate situation
and had provided her with a solution that had left her rather
stupefied. Although she had wanted him to stay and hold her, she
also wanted a few moments to herself to think about what had
happened. She winced at the soreness their loving had brought her
but couldn’t regret it. She continued to dress, although more
slowly this time, before she began to make the bed and tidy the
room. The scent of him lingered on the sheets and she wondered how
she was going to sleep in the room with him across the hallway from
now on. The temptation to go across the short space and into his
room at night was going to be difficult to ignore.

A small voice warned her
though that he spent most of his nights out and about, keeping
watch on the house and doing his work for the government. A small
part of her couldn’t help but wonder what kind of work he undertook
that required him to be nocturnal. He couldn’t exactly have
meetings with people in the middle of the night; shops were shut
and most decent people were tucked up in bed. Her mind quickly
turned to Levant, and she realised that he was by far the least
decent person she had ever met. If Stephen had to be out at night
to be able to bring an end to Levant’s behaviour, then she could
only be glad of it. If only she didn’t have to worry so much that
he would come home safe and sound.

Wait a
minute; when had Cragdale become Stephen’s home?
She froze as that thought blazed a trail across
her mind. She slowly placed the folded cover onto the end of the
bed as she contemplated the facts. The cold, hard reality was that
despite what they had shared that afternoon, she barely knew him.
How did she know that he wasn’t married, or have a family of his
own tucked away somewhere?

A wave of shame swept
through her at her own recklessness and she felt the warm haze of
contentment the afternoon had created suddenly diminish to a mere
whisper of a memory. She suddenly felt strangely sick and fought
down the worry that threatened to engulf her.

What would she do if he
was married? He was a grown man; one who lived life on the fringes
of society. He had undoubtedly had lovers before. Did he consider
her another lover? Did he intend to stay when he had finished his
work with the Star Elite? Confusion swamped the desire that
thrummed in her veins and, although she struggled with the doubts
and questions that were already beginning to form in her mind, she
simply refused to consider that Stephen would be so cold-hearted or
duplicitous to engage in an affair with her while he had a wife and
child somewhere.

Did she really know
enough about him to be able to form an opinion one way or another?
If she was honest with herself; no she didn’t.