The Langley Sisters Trilogy Boxed Set (86 page)

“I would never hurt you, Isabella.”

He walked towards her as her eyes looked at him, savoring every inch of his beautiful body.

“You’re prefect.”

His laugh was strained. “Far from that.”
“To me, you’re perfect,” Bella said, lifting one hand to touch the long length of his arousal. His teeth snapped together as she ran her finger over it, stroking the hot flesh.

“I have thought of you touching me again, love, dreamed of your hands on my body,” he rasped.

But not enough to tell me what is wrong.

Bella pushed the thought aside and instead explored him, tracing the muscles in his thighs, and back up to his flat, taut stomach. He captured her wrists and pushed them to her sides.

“I have no restraint with you, Bella. How could I when I have wanted you for so many years? Let me love you as I have always longed to.”

She nodded and he kissed her softly, passionately. His hand cupped her breasts, stroking and then rolling her nipples in his fingers, and Bella cried out as he lowered his head to replace his hands with his mouth. Fierce desire swamped her; liquid pooled between her thighs as the hunger inside her grew with each lick and touch.
 

Easing her back on the bed, he covered her with his body, and Bella thought she knew now why woman dared to be called loose. Having Luke on top of her, his big warm body covering hers, was heaven. He kissed her as his hands traveled over her skin, touching, teasing, until he parted her thighs and settled between them. His hand caressed her there, stroking the damp folds. Bella arched off the bed as he pushed his fingers inside her, stroking her, as the most wonderful sensations began to build. She reached for him as he moved down to place his lips on the curls above her thighs, and then he moved lower and she could think no more as the delicious feelings inside her began to escalate. She called to him as the tension built inside her; then his body was on top of her again and she felt the pressure of his arousal pushing against her.

“I have always protected you, Isabella, never caused you pain, and yet now, just this once I must do so.”
 

“I know you would never hurt me, Luke. Please, just make me yours.”

He pushed inside her, stretched her until he breeched her innocence. The pain was sharp and fierce and then it eased. She cupped his face, making him look into her eyes.

“I love you.”

He didn’t answer her as Bella had known he wouldn’t, couldn’t allow himself to, kissing her instead as he began to move, slowly at first and then faster. She felt the delicious tension once again build inside her with each thrust, until she cried out as sensation after sensation caught and held her. Above her, Luke’s body stiffened and then he, too, found his release.

“Bella, did I hurt you?” He rolled to the side, his breathing harsh, and Bella immediately missed his weight.

“No,” she replied. Turning to her side, she looked at him, the sweep of his lashes on his cheeks, the chest that rose and fell as he breathed. The most beautiful man she had ever known.
 

“Will you tell me what is wrong, Luke?”

“I cannot.”

“And this is what keeps us apart?”
“I-I may have to go away, Bella. Leave London.”

His body had tensed as he spoke.

“For how long?”

“I don’t know, but it may be for some time.”

“I will wait.”

“I cannot ask that of you.”

She turned to face him. “What are you saying?”

“Something has happened, and I cannot be with you or the family for a while, until it is sorted out.”

“I will never love another, nor marry another if I cannot have you.”
 

The devastation on his face made her hold him tight. She stroked his hair until she felt his body begin to relax.

“Sleep now, my love, and know I have you.” This time, it was she who protected him, and she who held him when he needed it. Slowly, she felt his body go soft and, finally, his breathing became deep and even as he slipped into slumber.
 

Bella rose a while later and took a last look at him. Blowing him a kiss, she then left and walked out of his house knowing that she had to do something for him, but to do that she would have to enlist the help of the one man who cared for him almost as much as she.
 

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Luke woke with a start. Sitting upright, he looked to the empty space beside him, and then to the window. The sun was high, telling him he had been asleep for some time. His body chilled as he realized that Bella had left him to find her own way home. Dear Christ, had she found a hackney? Or had she found danger?

Pulling his breeches on, he reached for his shirt and then ran down the stairs. Wrenching open the front door he found Will on his front step.
 

“I want to talk to you about Bella.”

“Is she—?”

“Healthy, as of thirty minutes ago when she left my office.”

Relief nearly dropped Luke to his knees. “What about her?”
 

“Let me in and I’ll tell you.”

Stepping to one side, he followed Will into his parlor that had no furniture, so the men were forced to stand.

“She came to my office this morning early, to tell me that it was you she loved and only you she would marry.”

Luke couldn’t stop the feeling of relief that swept through him. He could not have her; his life was a mess, but knowing she still wanted him made him sag against the wall.
 

“She said she believes you are in some kind of trouble and that you are contemplating leaving London because of it.”

“No, that is not the case,” Luke lied. He did not want Will involved in this, whatever it was. He would be in danger also, and then there was Livvy and Henry. No, he could not allow harm to come to any of them.

“Then she lied to me?” Will stood still, hands clasped in front of him, legs braced. He was angry; Luke had known him long enough to see the signs.

“Leave it, Will.”

“I will not bloody leave it! You have been avoiding me and the family, just as you have her. What the hell is going on?”

Luke felt frustration boil up inside him at Will’s words. He couldn’t tell him the truth so he tried to push him away instead. “I don’t account to you for my actions, Ryder.”

“You are supposedly my man of affairs, yet I have seen nothing of you in weeks. No word, or note, you simply disappeared. What the hell am I supposed to think?”

“That I am busy becoming my own person, doing what you have prodded and pushed me to do for years.” Luke stalked round the room, moving from side to side, while Will stood in the same spot.

“And you could not have come to me with this knowledge, asked me for advice and help?”

He had hurt him, his oldest and dearest friend, the one man he respected above all others.

“I did not need it.” Luke knew how much his words would hurt Will, but he said them anyway. He needed to push him away, if only for a while, because unlike Bella who had no knowledge of the business world, Will did. And if he heard the rumors about him, which he probably soon would, then he would do everything in his power to find the culprit and clear Luke’s name, and he could not allow that; it was too dangerous.

“Why are you pushing us away from you? What has happened? I know you well enough to know your actions are as a result of something threatening you.”

“For the love of God, Ryder, I am not a child. I no longer need you to hold my hand. And as for Bella, I-I do not know that my love for her is as strong as it once was.”

“You lie.” The words were cold.
 

“I do not.” Luke tried to stay calm, tried to say the words in a voice that was cold and unemotional. Will would never believe him otherwise.

“You do, and for reasons you choose to keep hidden from me, supposedly your best friend.”

The pain inside him was so fierce that he wanted to drop to his knees, but Luke held himself upright, keeping his eyes steady on the man before him.

“You are one of the strongest, most intelligent men I know, Luke Fletcher, and I have always believed that you and Bella were made for each other. She has suffered and risen above that suffering; she has made herself stronger and has entered society when there were those who believed she would not, and you have stood at my side through more than most men could handle, and become a man I respect above all others.”

“Is there a point to this conversation?” Luke folded his arms in an attempt to look bored.

“I don’t know what is driving you to behave this way, Fletcher, but know this: I will not stand around and watch the man I respect battle his demons alone. I will give you a day, Luke, one day and then you will tell me what is behind your behavior. Until then, I bid you good day.”

“I have no wish to meet with you tomorrow.”

“You are behaving like a fool, Fletcher.” Anger darkened the gray eyes of William Ryder.

“Get out of my house, Ryder!” Luke roared, needing to get Will out of his house before he broke down and confessed his troubles. “Go back to your pampered life and leave me alone. I want nothing more to do with any of you.”

Luke lowered his eyes at the look of hurt in Will’s.

“If that is truly your wish, then I will.”
 

In seconds he was gone, the door closing softly behind him. Luke stared at it, stunned at what he had done. He’d pushed away the one man who understood him, the man who meant more to him than any other. Suddenly, the walls of his house closed in around him and he had to get outside. Running upstairs he found a jacket and shoved his arms into it, then ran back down and out the door, slamming it behind him.
 

He walked for hours, unaware of what direction he took, only that he needed to keep moving. He heard Bella in his head and then Will. The two people he cared for and respected most. Doing what he had was the only way he knew how to keep them safe, he understood that, but it hurt to think he would see them no more, hurt worse than any pain he had suffered before.

He found himself in the Rookeries of St. Giles as darkness fell. No one approached him, and Luke guessed that was due to the dangerous look on his face.
 

“Looking for a flutter?’

The man who approached him looked like he’d crawled straight from the gutter but Luke didn’t care. His heart hurt and his body felt numb. Nodding, he then turned and followed the man down into the bowels of hell.

***

“Have you found him?” Bella stood in front of Will’s desk, her hands braced on the wood as she looked down into the tired and worried face of her brother-in-law.

“I have not. He has vanished.”

She felt ill; her insides hurt, and her head ached. Since the day Will had returned angry and hurting, Luke had disappeared without a word.

“I should not have spoken to him as I did. I knew something was wrong, and that he was lashing out at me because of it, yet I let him anger me.” Will ran a hand over his face, worry etched in every line.
 

“Have you found out anything?” Bella pulled her chair closer and rested her head in her hands. She was exhausted; she couldn’t sleep or eat. She sighed as Will’s hand rested on her head. He always did this to comfort people and the weight and warmth was wonderful, even it if did not reach the cold places inside her.

“He is under attack. I found Dillinger, and we talked. He told me someone tried to run Luke down in a carriage.”

“I saw that happen, Will.” Lifting her head, she looked at him. “I was there, and he told me it was an accident, but at the time I remember thinking it was deliberate.”

“Dillinger has uncovered another attack, and that happened the night before I went to visit Luke.”

The night she had gone to him and they had made love.

“Supposedly, every investment he’s attempted to make has been blocked by whispers of bad dealings and reneging on promises. Someone has deliberately set out to sully his name.” Will snapped out the last word, his anger tangible in the small room.
 

 
“But why? And where has he gone?” Desperation made her words loud. She wouldn’t cry because had done enough of that over the last few nights to soak her pillows before she fell asleep.
 

“I don’t know, but I will.” Bella saw the look in his eyes and thought that whoever had dared to hurt Luke was going to be in trouble when Will caught them.

“Now I have to go out and meet with some men, and I believe my sister has arrived.”

“Hello, brother, Bella.” Thea walked into the room, with Eddie on her heels. “Shall we take this creature to the park?”

She was about to refuse when Will rounded his desk and lifted her out of the seat. “You will go and it will make you feel better,” he said, giving her a hug. “I will find him and we will sort this mess, I promise.” She nodded, and then Will kissed Thea and left the room.
 

Collecting her things, Bella joined Thea and hoped that Will had some success, because if he did not then she would be forced to start looking for Luke herself.