Cinders and Ashes (Cavendish Mysteries 2)

“Take me back, for God’s sake. How dare you do this?” Her voice trembled with anger.

“You haven’t listened to a word I have said, have you?” Sebastian’s voice was so calm and unaffected, she wanted to kick him.

Amelia tried hard to ignore his masculine length lounging nonchalantly against the seat opposite. “I have listened, but I don’t agree. You have no right to override my wishes in such a high-handed way! Who do you think you are?” Amelia ranted, her voice rising to a near-shout.

“I am not your bloody servant you can order to do as you wish! I demand you turn this carriage around and take me home!” Her tones were clipped and cultured. Once again the speech she had slipped into, in her fury, was pure aristocracy.

It confirmed that there was much Sebastian had yet to discover about his future wife.

Sebastian shook his head slowly. “Sorry, darling, I can’t do it. Not only do I not consider it in your best interests to return you to that desolate hovel you call home. But the coachman has been instructed not to stop unless it is to change horses. We are to be taken directly to Tingdale.” He leaned back against the squabs nonchalantly. “I could bang on the roof for the next ten minutes, and he will ignore me as he has been instructed to.”

Closing his eyes, he pretended to settle back for a snooze, seemingly ignoring the soft thumps coming from the opposite side of the carriage as Amelia unravelled herself from the blankets.

“Take me back, Sebastian, now.” Amelia’s voice was harder than he had ever heard it, and it was enough to make him open his eyes and consider her warily.

Her stony glare glinted at him through the dimness of the carriage. Whether the moisture was from tears or temper, he wasn’t sure. Still, he couldn’t afford to cave in and let her have her way.

“Stop this carriage now, or I will jump out.”

He tensed, wondering if she was serious. Within moments he had his answer as she moved towards the door. He didn’t hesitate to drag her hand away from the handle, and tug her down onto the plush seat beside him with a thump. He lay over her to hold her still when she tried to squirm away from him.

“What the hell do you think you are doing?” His voice was incredulous as his own temper began to rise. “Do you not remember the state I was in when I jumped from a moving carriage?” he snapped. He couldn’t believe she would be that stupid, even when she was so upset.

“I told you to take me back.” Amelia's chest heaved with temper.

“No!” Sebastian replied, softly but firmly. He had not seen this side of her before, and it intrigued and worried him in equal measure.

A small part of him wanted to prod and provoke her a little just to see how she would react. How much could he get away with, before his spitting kitten revealed her claws and scratched him? He fe

lt his manhood begin to stir beneath his breeches, but knew this wasn’t the time. She would probably snap it off and beat him with it; if he showed her the effect having her angry at him was having upon his loins, he thought as he slowly eased away from her. Shaking his head when the tantalising mental image of her naked body in the firelight crept into his mind, Sebastian shifted his hips and kept a wary eye on her.

“Let me up, Sebastian. Now!” Amelia wanted to smack his arrogant face, she was so angry. “Damn you, I should have left you in the woods,” she bit out, wishing she had at least a foot free so she could kick his arrogant shin.

She didn’t mean it. Not if she was truly honest. Finding Sebastian was the most wondrous thing that had happened to her.

If only he wasn’t Ton, and so damned gorgeous.

“Now, now; you know you don’t mean that,” Sebastian murmured tenderly, easing a tendril of hair out of her eyes. He winced when she snatched her head back, and shot him a filthy glare.

“Keep your hands off me.” Her voice trembled with fury she did little to hide.

Pushing roughly at his shoulders, he eased back enough for her to wriggle out from beneath him and stumble to her feet. When he made to drag her back down, her small hands thumped at his shoulders, pushing him forcefully back against the squabs.

As her small fists rained down upon his shoulders, he wondered whether she was just trying to get him to listen to her. But when her tears began to flow and her small fists moved to his head and neck, Sebastian grew concerned. A sense of disquiet settled over him, and he wondered briefly if he had made the right decision in forcing her to come with him. What if she didn’t forgive him?

“Calm down, Amelia.” Sebastian cursed fluidly as a well-placed fist, although small, landed on his brow with surprising accuracy.

Capturing her frail wrist in his large palm, he pulled her against him, twisting around until she lay beneath him. When she continued to thump him with her free hand, he tugged that over her head too, and held them both down against the seat.

Rather than calming her, this seemed to enrage her further. She began to buck and writhe against him. His ears rang with her fluid curses as she struggled to free herself.

She was so frail beneath him that he easily held her wrists in one large palm. Her feminine strength was no match for his masculine bulk and he pinned her against the squabs far too easily. He was impressed that she cursed so fluidly, using language that caused Sebastian to grin widely. His mirth only seemed to fuel her temper.

He should be angry with her for abusing him in such a way. No woman had ever been so audaciously brazen as to call into question his parentage so boldly before. He should be offended. Instead found her language, and wrestling with her, more of a turn-on than a turn-off. God, he loved her for her free spirit. The feel of a feminine curves writhing and twisting against him made him so hard, he was certain he was going to burst out of his breeches.

“Amelia, stop,” he pleaded, as her hip came into close contact with his rigid shaft. She was still muttering dire imprecations when he cursed loudly, and slammed his lips down upon hers. It seemed the only effective way he could shut her up.

Her lips quivered under his and she fought to resist his sensual onslaught. She didn’t want the sensations he was creating inside her. Seducing her into submission wasn’t the answer. If she had any hope of returning to her little cottage, she had to stand firm against him.