Regency Rogues Omnibus (81 page)

“I will stop this now,” Drummond interceded. “I’ve already made my decision and it will involve none of the couples here.”

Brynmore felt the urge to sag with some relief.

Drummond continued, “There are many issues involved. We will not argue the point whether any of the couples here should be chosen to go and why not. One thing we learned from Yojo was the entrance fee into The Order always involved the person seeking inclusion needed to offer something of enough value that they could themselves be blackmailed with. Quite clever actually, and it shows the determination of the members to satisfy their individual depravities.”

This was news to Brynmore, but he was grateful for whatever kept his friends and their lass’ away from this particular venture. He did wonder what in the world Drummond could have in mind. Just as he knew Drummond did have something in mind.

“All of us are too visible. Our titles and our prominent places in society make it unbelievable to attempt blackmail against those of us noteworthy enough to gain entrance to The Order,” Drummond said. “Now, listen closely, dear friends. I believe that a wealthy married woman, foreign and not well known on our shores, along with her adulterous lover might do it.”

“And I will be a ring-tailed polecat!” the voice of Kit Montoya pierced the room. “Because I have two of those three.” Brynmore jerked, turning to see Kit walking through the open entrance to the library, continuing to say, “Now, compadres, I only need the third...
an
adulterous lover.”

Chapter Four

Brynmore paced outside the closed door to Drummond’s study. He rarely got irritated enough to pace and the fact that he was pacing fueled the anger thrumming inside him. Kit Montoya had just waltzed into their group like a bloody damned angel of vengeance, all cocky as if she had the right to be there.

“Bloody hell,” Brynmore swore out loud. He’d seen instantly that she had Drummond’s full backing. He’d never felt himself go from nothing to explosive anger so quickly before. It had taken him inhuman amounts of effort not to bellow the word, “no,” over and over. His upheaval had left him mute and straining.

That had been over an hour ago, and then Kit had been introduced, eyeing him with challenge, but saying nothing. Then he learned how the hell she’d gotten there and insinuated herself into Drummond’s plan so swiftly and so thoroughly. Damn, she was amazing. He had to give her that. She’d done the one thing that he’d never thought to do. She’d looked in the chateaus’ graveyard and found enough to fill a trunk with bones and personal effects of those murdered by The Order. That evidence had gained her entrance right back into the thick of the Archangels mission. Kit knew her brother was dead now. She had the proof, but instead of returning home in grief she was out for revenge.

“Fuck.” Brynmore slapped the wall and halted his pacing, bowing his head. He tried to tell himself that she could not possibly understand what she was getting herself into.

“If it were your brother or sister, Bry, think what you would do.” Saxon’s voice came from behind Brynmore. “Women are not so different from us in that.”

Brynmore nodded, he did not trust himself to speak. Saxon’s hand clamped on his shoulder in comfort. “I find myself having to put a brave face on it also, Bry. Once you think it through you will know that you do not have the right to ask her to stay out of harm’s way in this. As much as you want to, the best you can hope for is to be beside her and deflect harm as best as you can.”

“Bloody hell, Saxon.”

“I know, Bry, but she will surprise you. She is stronger than you believe.”

Saxon squeezed Brynmore’s shoulder, then he turned to go back down the hall. Brynmore took a few more minutes before he entered the study where Drummond and Kit waited for him. It was hard to agree with what Saxon said, but he knew Saxon was right. Kit Montoya was going to destroy her life with or without him, while searching for revenge. He understood as a man, he would do the same and not think twice, but women were so much more deeply affected. Damn it!

Roughly, Brynmore ran his hand through his unruly auburn hair. “Start out as you intend to go on,” he muttered. It was something his Ma used to say. It seemed to him that he needed an angle to all this. “What?” he groused. “Try to be professional, rise above it?” Oh yes, let us just waltz into a den of sexual depravity side by side and he would remain unaffected and professional. “Bloody balls, at least I’ll get to fuck her,” he growled.

That was the inevitability. It had to be. He could not deny that he did not want to either, only not like that. Not like it was going to happen. It was too much to think about. Too much to plan and try to find some perspective on. He did not have the time now. Now, he just had to get through this next part to gain time to decide how to go on.

“The most bloody important thing now,” he muttered to himself. “Is to keep it close to the cuff.” Brynmore took a few deep breaths. Yes, restraint and hold it in, then think later.

Brynmore turned, and then he reached for the door handle.

Kit was listening to Lord Kittridge — still all her senses were tuned to the study door opening and the man she knew entering from behind her. It was more than awareness that ignited her; it was the humming of female interest too. She’d been rather busy in Paris to acknowledge it, perhaps denying it. Earlier though it had attacked her with full force upon seeing Brynmore again. Something about Lord Brynmore Duneagan attracted her and it appeared she was not going to be able to shrug that off easily.

“I’m bloody well against this, Drummond. I’ll have you know that from the start,” Brynmore announced with no preamble. His voice sounded deep and strained as Kit stiffened with challenge, catching sight of Brynmore standing to the side of the chair, beside the one she sat in. So much for wayward attraction, Kit thought. That quickly, Brynmore had provoked her unbending determination!

“It is
not
your choice,” Kit expelled tightly, not turning her head to look at him.

“I dinna like being backed into a corner,” he replied, his voice holding the edge of his obviously suppressed anger. “You canna, possibly understand what this involves!”

Kit, whose voice was tinged with reflected anger, announced, “I’m not naive! I can fully imagine what is involved.” She turned her gaze to him. “I assure you now that I will
do
anything that it takes to destroy this evil Order and the man or men who murdered my brother!”

“Like being a naked sex slave to your master! Copulating with beasts!” Brynmore recited tightly, with defiance glowing deeply in his green eyes. “Having sex with women or being tied and whipped! Are these some of the things you considered? There are many more!”

“And together you will
both
have to choose one sexual fetish that you could not receive full completion of anywhere else, but within The Orders secret hospice,” Drummond said slowly, and with emphasis.

Kit was shocked as the breath of any of her retorts released sharply and she sat with her gaze transfixed on Drummond trying to take it all in. She heard Brynmore make a similar sound to hers. All she could think was that at least she’d not crumbled and made a weak feminine display of dismay, when she heard Brynmore’s asserting, “Aye!”

Kit knew Brynmore was agreeing with Drummond’s conclusion and further showing his strength above hers by readily agreeing to the lewd depravities. Quickly, she forced herself to follow. “Yes,” she said, surprised that her voice sounded as strong as it did.

“Your responsibilities are to protect each other’s sensibilities as much as you can, as well as gathering information and moving as close to Hellion as you can,” Drummond said. “Remember that. I know you will do what you must, however cleverness and clear thinking can sometimes help to elude the worst.”

Kit could only nod. The fact that she was going to do this was not in doubt. She simply had to wrap her mind around the implications.

“Tis more dangerous going undercover with an inexperienced agent than just allowing me to infiltrate on my own. I know I can do it,” Brynmore said, while Kit was thinking he was stubborn to the end.

“You will never gain entrance without her,” Drummond stated simply.

“As the lover to her, a married woman,” Brynmore retorted, with disgust shadowing his tone. Then, he asked, “What happens, Kit, when your husband does find out about this? And he will. What then?”

“I’m divorcing him.” Kit felt embarrassed to say it and admit her failure, however she also felt satisfied to rebut Brynmore’s objections so thoroughly.

“And as to the inexperience, I am sending, Miss Montoya, to Radford for a quick course in undercover spying methods and I believe, Nia, will be of some help also, advising her through her own experience.”

Brynmore held his tongue. He’d already shown more than he cared to about his feelings. He knew Drummond sensed it. Not much got passed Drummond. However, he thought Kit’s ire was raised too much for her to discern what he was revealing that he damn well wished he was not.

He also knew that he could hardly argue against the profit of sending Kit to learn the fundamentals from Radford. Oh, he could argue that it was basically worthless, giving the instruction in such a short amount of time, coupled with complete inexperience. He would be right, but he would also be arguing against Radford’s worth. He was boxed in a corner all right. Tied up tighter than the belt holding up his kilt. He did not like it either. It was going to put his hide in more danger and he would have to work on the edge, trying to quick-step both himself and Kit out of the worst depravities.

If he could...

Chapter Five

Kit paced her bedchamber, bracketing forearm over forearm in front of her, as the long blue chiffon nightgown she wore swished around her bare feet. Earlier today, in Drummond’s study it had been decided that she should move into Brynmore’s townhouse where she was now, still awake at midnight in one of the three bed chambers. The one right next to Brynmore’s master bedchamber suite.

Well, Drummond had decided, while both she and Brynmore had remained mute on the subject. What was there to say? They were going to portray that they were involved in an adulterous affair with each other. A kinky affair. Lord, but she still could not stop thinking about the fetishes that Brynmore had so bluntly stated earlier today. She stopped her pacing when she reached the window and she slid the drape aside slightly, gazing out into the foggy darkness. Her eyes were immediately drawn to a patch of light reflecting against the misty fog. At first she thought it was light from her curtained window, then she realized her curtain would dispel that and her gaze turned. It was from Brynmore’s bedchamber beside hers. He was still awake.

“Am I surprised?” she asked.

After his first outbursts in the study Brynmore had closed inward and became the typical stoic male. His demeanor seemed to be that he could care less what sexual indecencies he might have to perform. He was more concerned with life and death issues.

While she agreed that staying alive was of the utmost importance, she also wondered if he could remain aloof about the sexual side of this without piercing his masculine armor. She wanted to believe that men were also sensitive about their sexual intimacies and inclinations. Oh, she knew men from working on a large ranch with rough and tumble frontier’s men, men who could be gregarious and outspoken about sex and women, the type of bravado only men seemed to acquire. She’d always hoped it was just ego around other boasting males and not fact. Nonetheless, men were thicker-skinned about this and she had to admit it to herself and deal with it. What she was going to have to do was find large amounts of bravado herself, pretend that she did not care. It was either that or be the most consummate actress ever.

“I can do that.” She’d expelled the words sharply, letting the curtain drop as she returned to her pacing. “To start with, I had better stop examining it right now and stop caring what my feelings are one way or the other.” She knew that she needed to care about results and maneuvering with intelligence and slyness, not care about what might happen to her personally and how she felt about it. What she needed to do was to try to remain numb to it.

“All right,” Kit nodded, agreeing with herself, as she continued to pace. “I will make a private deal, here and now. I will not let any of the difficult things affect me. I will force myself to brush them off and I will not allow myself to deal with it until this is over.”

Then you can pick up the pieces
, rang in her mind, however, she refused to acknowledge that thought. She was beginning from this moment forward and that meant she must shove those thoughts behind her and move forward to her next dilemma.

“No dilemma,” she chided. “No, this is just intelligent planning.”

She understood that she probably did not have an inkling about what type of things ... sexual things, she made herself add the difficult word. Kit gritted her teeth, but continued her thoughts. She probably had no real understanding of what sexual deeds she might have to perform to become part of The Order. Even so, she did know that she was going to portray Brynmore’s lover, while entering a sexual hive with him by her side posing as her favored partner. She would have to act as if she were overly attracted and intimate with him. Not that she could see too much trouble with that. However, the whole of it dictated an intimacy and comfortable awareness of each other that she and Brynmore did not have.