“It’s all right, Lord Thomas,” she murmured, wishing he would just be quiet. “He isn’t what’s upset me. I can certainly fend for myself when it comes to men like Mr. Thixton.”
“Please, I’ve asked you to call me Charles.” He moved closer, sliding his arm over the back of the smooth leather carriage seat until his hand rested on her bare shoulder.
She realized then that, in her haste, she had forgotten her gown’s matching white silk wrap. She must have left it in the ladies’ parlor.
“I was hoping you might allow me to call you by your given name.” He lowered his head and leaned over her, his voice deeper than usual.
She could feel his hot breath on her bare skin.
“In private, of course,” he said.
Annoyed that Charles couldn’t tell that she was obviously upset about something, she laid her hand on his chest to make him stop. He must have misinterpreted her gesture because, before she realized what he was doing, he’d pushed her down on the bench and was climbing on top of her.
“My lord!”
He pressed his mouth between her breasts, dragging his wet tongue over her hot skin.
“My lord, you’re hurting me!” Sapphire cried out, trying to push him away. “Please…Charles, no!”
“Enough games, you thankless chit. We’ve been playing this for weeks,” he said angrily, grasping the shoulder of her gown and pulling it down. “We both know what I want. I’ll give you whatever you want in return—money, wedding vows if I must—but I will not be turned away. Not any longer. Not tonight.”
The carriage turned the corner, swaying, and Sapphire was thrown against the back of the seat. As the conveyance came back around, she used the momentum to shove Charles away from her. “Charles, please!” she demanded, barely able to see him in the dim light.
Charles’s knees hit the floor, but he still managed to keep his arms around her, pinning her to the seat. With a growl of rage, he climbed back on top of her, shoving his knee between her legs, grabbing her wrists and forcing them over her head.
“No—”
He crushed her mouth with his, silencing her, and though he was no rougher than Blake Thixton had been with his kisses, there was something about Charles that she found repulsive.
He thrust his tongue into her mouth and she gagged. His mouth was sloppy with saliva and he tasted of cheap whiskey and smoked fish.
No, this cannot be happening, she screamed inside her head. I won’t let this man take the one thing I have to give freely.
Charles released one of her wrists and dragged his hand down over her bare shoulder. Grasping the bodice of her beautiful silk gown, he jerked the fabric, and she heard it rip.
“Please,” she begged. “Charles, please don’t do this.”
“It’s what you’ve wanted from the beginning, isn’t it?” he said as he violently squeezed her half-bared breast. “A rich cock to keep you in your coop?”
Her anger spurned her on even more than the pain he was inflicting. With her free hand, she slapped his face, then grabbed a section of his hair and yanked as hard as she could.
“Ouch!” he cried, jerking back in shock. “You little bitch!” He slapped her hard across her cheek.
Just then, the carriage turned again, this time in the opposite direction, and when it swayed, she threw her entire weight against Charles, knocking him onto the floor. She landed on top of him, her cheek still stinging where he had struck her, and scrambled to get up.
“Let me out! Stop the carriage!” she screamed as she grasped one of the leather loops that hung from the ceiling in order to keep herself from falling on top of him again. The coach slowed and she thought she heard the driver call out.
Sapphire grabbed the doorknob.
“Oh no, you don’t!” Charles shouted. “I’ll have what’s rightfully mine!” U
p on his knees, he lunged for her, tearing her skirt before closing his fingers around her ankle.
The door flew open.
Giving her leg a hard kick backward, she struck Charles in the shoulder, freeing herself from his grasp, then leaped out the open carriage door.
14