Lord Cavendish Returns (24 page)

All of
his years of experience immediately lurched into life. The thump
that followed showered them both in droplets of blood as the man’s
nose exploded. Another swift kick to the back of the knee took his
assailant down completely. Harper heard Arrabella’s gasp but never
took his eyes off his opponent, who appeared dazed and a little
confused by what had just happened as he clambered to his feet.
However, Harper was a professional man who had learned not to stop
until his opponent was down and out for the count. He lifted his
foot and placed one heavy boot in the man’s stomach. The man
immediately bent over with one arm curled protectively around his
midriff.

“
Stop digging around in the past, it will only hurt you,” the
man growled.

“
The only person who is going to get hurt is going to be you.
What is the past to you anyway? My business is my business and,
unless we are related, it has absolutely nothing to do with you, so
keep out of it. You have stolen church property and that is
illegal. I will make sure that you are arrested for your crimes if
you don’t return it to its rightful owner.”

“
Go to hell,” the man growled belligerently.

He threw
a disinterested glance at Arrabella before he turned around and
stumbled into the darkness. Harper watched him go and turned toward
Arrabella. At any other time he would have chased the man down and
not stopped until his quarry was rendered useless, but he couldn’t
leave Arrabella alone in the middle of the lane. He threw a
disgusted glance in the direction the man had disappeared and shook
his head.

“
Come on,” he growled and grabbed her elbow in a grip that
left her with little choice but to follow him.

“
What is it? Where are we going?”

“
Sshh.”

“
Harper,” she whispered minutes later when she caught sight of
his quarry. They were following the attacker. “Are you mad? He has
just attacked you. Let him go.”

“
I need to see where he is staying.” Harper didn’t take his
eyes off his quarry.

They
followed a circuitous route through the town that was amateurish to
say the least. The man made no attempt to circle back and check to
see if he had been followed. It made him ludicrously easy to follow
and, within minutes, they stood outside the tavern on the far side
of town and watched him disappear inside.

“
Come on, let’s go,” he whispered and turned in the direction
of Hambley Wood. He glanced down at Arrabella and cursed fluidly at
what he saw. She had long since stopped shivering and now looked
completely miserable, and so bedraggled and forlorn that he longed
to sweep her into his arms and carry her all the way home. He drew
her as close to his side as possible and cursed himself for not
showing her more consideration.

“
Are you alright?” he demanded when they were half-way back to
Hambley Wood and he couldn’t stand the silence any more.

“
I will just be glad to get into my bed tonight.” She had no
idea what the time was but felt as though she had been up all
night.

“
We will be at the vicarage soon and then you can get that hot
chocolate.”

“
Are you not having some?” She glanced at him and was slightly
deflated when he shook his head. “I think that Mrs Able has gone
home for the night. If not, she will almost certainly have gone to
bed. I don’t think that it will do your reputation any good at all
to be alone with me in the vicarage.”

“
What about you? I thought you were going to stay for a few
days.” She tried desperately to think of something to do, or say,
that would keep him with her. It wasn’t that she was afraid for her
safety. She had just watched their attacker disappear into his own
lodgings above the tavern after all, but she felt incredibly safer
having Harper beside her.

He was
torn. He wanted to stay with her and would feel safer if he could,
but he doubted that Mrs Able had stayed at the vicarage to wait for
them to return.

“
I am going to head home. Given that the man has been watching
us, I need to make sure that my house hasn’t been ransacked in my
absence, and I need to get some sleep.”

“
You also need your head looking at,” Arrabella sighed as she
studied the large dark lump on his temple.

“
Is it bleeding again?”

“
No, but you gave your head a heavy smack when you fell over
earlier. You need to get it checked.”

“
I am not going to bother Angus now. I will go and see him
first thing in the morning.”

He had
to admit that it was rather nice to have her fuss over him, and her
attentions went some way toward confirming that she was the woman
he was meant to be with. It made him feel immensely grateful that
it was him who had entered her life and not some dissolute wastrel
who would selfishly take whatever he wanted without intention of
ever giving anything back.

However,
that said, now that he came to think about it what did he have to
offer her? She deserved a man who would help her raise the children
she deserved; someone who would provide her with a home of her own,
security, love and a pair of strong arms to hold her at night. Was
that him though? Did he have it in him to settle down and live the
life of a family man?

In all
fairness, if he didn’t have a clue if he could settle down to the
life she deserved, he couldn’t encourage her to have any
expectations of him and that meant that he had to tread very
carefully when it came to sampling the passion that shimmered
between them.

They
arrived at the vicarage in absolute silence. In contrast to
previous occasions, this time there was no slow amble up the garden
path; theirs was more of a determined stride toward warmth and
comfort.

“
I am going to head home,” Harper whispered once she had the
key in the lock.

She
paused with her hand on the knob while her mind raced frantically
to think of something she could say that would stretch the time out
before he left, but there wasn’t anything that sounded
plausible.

Harper
sensed her reluctance to be separated from him and echoed the
sentiment. There was nothing he would have liked more than to
follow her inside, lock the door and share the night with her. He
could see the unspoken question in her eyes but smiled gently at
her. He was fairly sure that she had no idea what she was asking
from him. However he couldn’t just walk away from her
either.

Their
eyes meet and held as he slowly drew her toward him. “Can I call by
to see you tomorrow?” His warm breath whispered gently over her
cheek.

“
I should like that,” she whispered back. She had a cane in
one hand and the door keys in the other and so couldn’t do anything
other than stand helplessly while his head lowered. The gentle
glide of his lips was now so achingly familiar that she returned
his sensual exploration without thinking. The heavy thud of the
keys and cane hitting the floor made her jump but she didn’t bother
to look at them. Instead, now that her hands were free, she wasted
no time in sliding them over his shoulders to clasp together at the
back of his neck.

“
Arrabella,” Harper growled warningly. He recognised the
passion that began to flicker into life between them and knew that
it wouldn’t take much from either of them to fan it into a raw
flame of desire that neither of them could extinguish. Her lips
glistened in the moonlight and were a siren’s call of temptation
that no man could resist. With his eyes firmly locked on the gentle
curve of her lower lip, Harper took what she offered.

The
sipping kisses were not enough and never could be, and soon
deepened into desperation to taste and enjoy the full flavour of
the woman who had held him captivated since the first moment he had
set eyes on her. He had no idea what this meant for either of their
futures, and he knew it would be foolish to allow matters to go any
further between them for now, especially when so many questions
still remained about his past, but he had to deepen their kiss,
just for a little while, and savour the delight that was
Arrabella.

Eventually, when his body hardened and raw need made his
hands tremble, he knew that he had to draw back, before they got to
the point of no return. At first she didn’t relinquish her hold on
him and he was only able to lift his head. With any other woman he
would have been annoyed that she was trying to confine him, but
Arrabella was no whingeing, demanding miss. She wanted something
she couldn’t put a name to and was trying to show him in the only
way she knew. It nearly unmanned him and he bit back a curse at the
temptation that was so brazenly before him.

“
I should like nothing more than to come inside with you,
Arrabella, but it is a step too far. I have only known you for a
few days and there are many things that I need to sort out before I
can even decide what to do about the future,” he whispered
cautiously.

Arrabella felt embarrassment sweep through her and realised
that yet again, she was draped around him in the most wanton
manner. Horrified, she immediately released her hold on him and
stepped back.

“
I hope that you don’t think I was asking you, to, well
-”

“
Of course not, but you know the passion that flares between
us. It won’t take much for either of us to get burned by it. I am
just saying that I need to settle issues with the past before I can
decide on the future and, until then, I am not in a position to
offer you anything.”

Shame
and humiliation swept through her with such force that she wished
that the ground would open up and swallow her. “I don’t believe
that I actually offered you anything. It was just a kiss,” she
replied defiantly.

Harper
felt his temper surge at her denial. The passion was there. He
wasn’t the only one who had felt it. The sensual bliss that had
shimmered in her eyes was evidence enough to assure him that she
would not object if he kissed her and backed her into the house,
all the way up the stairs to bed. Rather than argue with her, he
did the only thing he could think of. With one hand on either side
of her head he drew her toward him at the same time that he dipped
his head.

The
clash of his lips on hers was more of a sensual branding. She could
do nothing more than gasp as he plundered and took everything his
body and soul had yearned for. She had little choice but to cling
to the lapels of his jacket and allow him to plunder.

All
thought left her. Everything within her was tuned to the man who
opened her mouth with the sheer pressure of his. Some would have
considered the kiss to be an intrusion, but it was too gentle for
that. He didn’t tower over her threateningly and didn’t draw her
any closer. His hands remained on her face as his head slanted to
one side and deepened the kiss. She had little choice but to copy
his moments and did so with a raw innocence that made him
groan.

His body
roared to life and, this time, he was the one who was trembling by
the time he lifted his head and stared down into her slightly
stunned gaze. Rather than break the silence with words, he rested
his forehead against hers for a moment while he willed his body to
cool.

“
I have to go. I am going to see what I can do about finding
out about the attacker tonight. Meantime, keep your door locked
Arrabella. I think it is safe to say that the register is in the
pub with that man, whoever he is. Stay safe, darling. I will be
back sometime tomorrow.”

Before
Arrabella could nod or say anything, he released her and
disappeared into the darkness. The rattle of something rolling
across the step drew her attention and she bent down to pick up the
cane and keys before she closed the door and locked it. She didn’t
glance outside again. If she did, she would have seen the dark
shadow standing just beside the huge oak tree at the end of the
driveway.

As soon
as Harper was assured that she was inside, warm and safe, he broke
away from his hiding place and headed toward home. Not that he had
any intention of heading off to bed like any good citizen would. He
needed to get his gun, something to eat, a change of clothes. Then
he was going to get that register.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

When he
arrived at his house, he realised that he was not alone. He scowled
at the homely glow that lit the windows. Although the curtains had
been drawn and the shutters closed, he could hear the low rumble of
noise from inside. Whoever had invaded his home had made no attempt
to hide their presence, but he didn’t recognise the
voices.

Harper
frowned and made his way toward the side of the house and the
stables. As soon as he saw the three horses lined up side by side
he knew exactly had invaded his house, and why. With a curse, he
turned on his heel and stalked toward the back door.

“
Jesus, you lot don’t know when to stop, do you? First
kidnapping, now breaking and entering,” he growled as he stalked
into the kitchen and slammed the door closed behind him.

The
sight of three huge men gathered around his kitchen table didn’t
perturb him; it was the heavy weapons they were busy cleaning that
drew his attention. He studied them for several minutes before he
lifted his brows and turned to look at the men.