Seducing the Ruthless Rogue (12 page)

“No, no, no!” Cassie stood and began pacing the room.
 
“This is supposed to be a mystery, a question of will she survive or die, not if she will fall in love with her would-be killer.”
 
She tunneled her fingers into her hair and let her head fall in her hands.
 
“I can rise above this,” she announced to the empty room. “I will make it what I want it to be.”
 
She walked purposefully to the bookshelf and took her portfolio from its location.
 
Once she sat at her desk, she pulled empty papers to her and began to write, attempting to recreate the scene in her mind.
 

When she wrote the part where he saved her from certain death, that is where everything began to go wrong.
 
Her heroine kept turning to her betrothed and melting instead of writhing in fear.
 
She should be clawing at his face in an attempt to escape, not helplessly staring at his rugged handsomeness.
 
Cassie put her pen to paper, but every time she began writing, the tone went from fear to longing.
 
Bearing down overly hard, she broke the nib on the quill pushing her anger to the boiling point.

“Bloody, bloody, hell,” she yelled, throwing the broken writing instrument across the room.

“Now, now, now, that’s not any way to greet a guest.”

Cassie looked at the door to the study in shock.
 
Now Cassie knew how her poor heroine must feel, for before her stood Director McKenzie as if her mere thoughts had conjured him.

***

Mack heard her before he saw her.
 
Despite her shabby dress, she looked like a fiery-eyed vixen, ready to do battle at the least provocation.
 
He really shouldn’t, but he could not help seeing how far he could push her before she broke.
 
He clucked a few times before he spoke, “Now, now, now, that’s not any way to greet a guest.”
 
Mack tried not to smirk at the look on her face but could not help it.
 
He leaned negligently against the doorframe.
 
“Let’s try it again, shall we?”
 
Silence.
 
He noticed her hands, covered in black spots, were steadily clenching and unclenching at her side.
 
“Come now, Miss Graham, repeat after me—Why, good evening, Director McKenzie.
 
What brings you by?
 
May I offer you any refreshments?”

“Get out,” she ordered.

“I think not,” his burr echoed off the walls.

“I said, ‘Get out,’” she repeated.

“Oh, I heard you,” he reassured her, “but I am not going anywhere.
 
You see, Miss Graham, I put my reputation on the line for you and Lady Thompson today, and I think I deserve some answers, don’t you?” he cajoled.

“You deserve nothing.
 
Not when all of this is your fault in the first place,” she ground out.

“My fault?
 
Just how do you figure that, Miss Graham?”

“Are you or are you not the one that ordered my father to be placed in hiding?” she demanded.

“I’m afraid I don’t have a clue as to what you’re talking about.”

“Excuse me?
 
Have you forgotten what we saw yesterday?
 
Do you think I am dimwitted?
 
My father did not treat me as if I were a ninny that had no business knowing anything about his life and his work.
 
He did not pat my head and tell me to run along, that I wouldn’t understand his work.
 
In fact, he almost always included me in his designs and asked my opinions.
 
I know almost as much about his weapon designs as he does.”

“How many people know this?” he asked, all joking disappearing in a matter of seconds.

“Myself and Chang.”

“Are you certain that is all?”

“I believe so.
 
Why are you so concerned all of a sudden?”

“Tell me, Miss Graham, how are your drawing abilities?”

“I don’t have time for this nonsense,” she informed him as she tried to sweep past him.

“You have time for whatever I say you do, ken?” he inquired, falling into using Scottish terms he thought long lost from his vocabulary.

“And would you like to end up on your back again, Director McKenzie?” she taunted.

Mack’s mind automatically drifted to an image of him lying nude on the floor with her straddling him.
 
Her head would be thrown back in ecstasy as her long blonde tresses would caress his thighs.
 

“Did you hear me?” she demanded, jerking her arm free of his grasp.

“I heard,” he answered hoarsely, straightening from the doorway and releasing her arm.
 
“Stay inside this house.
 
Do not answer the door for anyone except myself or the Duke of Hawkescliffe.”

“Why should I?” she prodded, not content to leave the issue alone and take his word at face value.

“Because, Miss Graham, though you might not realize it, your life could be in grave danger.
 
It is only a matter of time until someone realizes the way to your father is through you.
 
You have been living on borrowed time since he has been missing, and for a while before that.
 
That is if you truly have the knowledge you say you do.”
 
He turned and walked towards the door.

“You jest,” she scoffed.

“Two things I do not joke about Miss Graham are human lives and government secrets, both of which are categories that your father and you currently fall under.”
 
He left her standing there, staring at him in disbelief.
 
“Mr. Chang!”

“Yes, Director McKenzie,” the little man shuffled in, bowing profusely.
 

“Mr. Chang, your charge…”

“I am no one’s charge.
 
I can and do take care of myself.”

“As you exhibited your prowess at that very thing yesterday, I would appreciate it if you stayed out of this conversation.”
 
He turned back to Mr. Chang, doing everything in his power to ignore the beautiful woman standing behind him.
 
“Now, as I was saying, Mr. Chang, I believe Miss Graham’s life is in danger.
 
I set up watch outside of your house as a promise to her father.
 
I would hesitate to guess you have never noticed their presence, nor will you, but you will have to watch over her inside.”

“I take care of Missy Cassie,” the man announced proudly, puffing out his chest.

“I know you will.”

“Are you saying that my house has been under surveillance, and I have not even been aware of it?”

“I told you my men are excellent at what they do.”

“I want them gone!
 
Now!”

“They will stay as long as I believe you are in danger.
 
Now that I know you are cognizant of your father’s secrets as well, that concerns me a great deal.
 
So, as to your
request
, I am currently going to ignore it.
 
The guards stay.
 
I will return tomorrow.
 
In the meantime, stay put and listen to Mr. Chang.”

“Get out!” she yelled and grabbed a heavy tome from the shelf, throwing it at him, clipping him on the shoulder.
 

“You need a little more practice if you are planning to hurt someone with that,” he waved, encompassing the book collection.

“I hate you,” she gutturally whispered.

“That’s the spirit.
 
Now pretend like anyone walking through this door is me, and you should be perfectly safe.”
 
He ducked as another book went flying past his head.
 
“That one could have done real damage if I hadn’t seen it coming.”
 
Mack dodged right as one grazed his left arm.
 
He stalked towards her, reaching her just before she was able to grab another book from the shelf.
 
Mack firmly held her upper arms, making certain he had her attention.

“What do you think you are doing?
 
Unhand me, you Scottish brute!”

Mack could not stand there anymore listening to her rant without doing something about it.
 
He bent slightly and brushed a kiss on her lips.
 
When she gasped he took the advantage presented to him and deepened the kiss.
 
Cassie was everything he imagined, sweet but fiery as at first she seemed startled but then she followed his lead.
 
He pulled away, breaking their contact.

 
“Goodnight,” he bowed before closing the door.
 
The warm evening air caressed his heated skin.
 
He walked stiffly down the walk to the street, cursing his body’s reaction to the beau…to Miss Graham.
 
“Get yourself under control,” he ordered himself.

***

Cassie stared unseeingly at the space that Director McKenzie had just occupied.
 
Had he really just kissed her?
 
Had she really kissed him back?
 
And the most irritating part was that she had enjoyed every moment of it.
 
In fact, she longed to have him back in her arms sharing another kiss.
 

“Are you out of your mind?
 
You have no time for him.
 
He is overbearing and controlling.
 
Oh, just admit you’re attracted to him,” she quarreled with herself.

“Missy Cassie, why you so upset?
 
Director McKenzie try to keep you safe.”

“Where did you go?
 
Why did you leave me alone with that…that…”

“Director McKenzie is nice man.”

“No, Chang, the man is irritating and quickly becoming the bane of my existence.
 
There is no reason he would want to help me.”
 
She brushed the back of her hand against her lips, attempting to erase the memory of his lips and mouth on hers then stormed over to the desk.
 
The words she wrote leapt at her, accusingly, mockingly.
 
Cassie jerked the piece of paper up and ripped it into tiny little pieces.
 
“I’m going to change.
 
Meet me in the garden.”

“No, Missy Cassie.”

“What?”

“You not in right mind.
 
Anger not good for practice.
 
You need to calm yourself.”

“I see how it is.
 
A man comes in here and mentions the word danger, and you fall in line with his way of thinking.
 
I cannot believe you would do this to me, Chang.”

“Missy Cassie, I worry about you.
 
What if Director McKenzie is right?
 
What if someone want to hurt you?
 
What if someone takes you because you know about your papa’s gadgets?”

“Chang, they don’t want me, and they have no idea how much I know about Papa’s work.”

“I think we should follow his advice just the same.”

“I’ve had enough of this,” she declared as she stuffed papers in her portfolio and wound the leather strap jerkily around it.
 

“Where you go?”

“To my bed,
if
that meets your satisfaction,
Mr. Chang
.”

“Missy Cassie, don’t be mad.
 
I worry about you.
 
You like daughter I never had.
 
I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”

Cassie stopped in the doorway and took a deep calming breath.
 
Why am I taking my anger towards McKenzie out on Chang?
she questioned herself.
 
She slowly turned and walked back to her friend.
 
“I apologize, Chang.
 
I am taking out my anger on the wrong person.
 
Forgive me?”

“Missy Cassie, I could never be angry at you.
 
Don’t be quick to anger towards the director.
 
He is only doing his job.”

“I’m going to bed.
 
Sleep well, Chang.”

“You, too, Missy Cassie.”

Cassie walked down the hall, up the stairs, and let herself into her room.
 
The first thing she noticed was the breeze that caressed her heated skin.
 
She closed the door firmly behind her and studied her room.
 
The window stood open and the curtains fluttered on the breeze.
 
She hesitantly turned and studied every corner of her room, even under the bed.
 
No one was there.
 

“You are letting your imagination run away with you,” she remonstrated herself as she crossed the room and pushed the window shut and locked it.
 
Just then lightning illuminated the sky and fat rain drops splattered on the window.
 
Thunder rumbled not very long after, heralding the storm.
 
Cassie picked up the portfolio she had quickly tossed onto the bed and placed it on the table beside her bed.
 
An hourglass with a piece of paper beneath it was also on the table, neither of which she had seen before.