Dauntless (Gentlemen of the Order 1)

The urge to add a threat of her own bubbled in Eva’s chest. She charged forward. “And if I discover you sent the blackmail note to intimidate me, I shall pass the evidence to the magistrate at Bow Street. Do you hear?”

Mr Ashwood slipped his arm around her waist and said, “Come, we have wasted enough time here. Let us away.”

As always, Eva could not get out of the office quick enough.

They moved towards the door, but Mr Ashwood turned on his heel. “Perhaps you should have your clerk write your obituary, Hemming. I have a strange suspicion you’re going to need it.”

Chapter 7

What the devil was wrong with him?

Noah was a logical man, a sensible man, not a boy with uncontrollable urges. A violent threat would have been enough to silence Hemming. And yet the need to taste Miss Dunn’s lips, the need to stake his claim, had burned fiercely in his chest.

Damnation!

Even as they rattled along in the carriage—when he should have been planning which problem to tackle next—he thought about pulling her into his lap and ravaging her senseless.

And why in blazes had he spoken of marriage?

Dangle the bait, he’d said, not offer himself up as the sacrificial lamb.

Noah relaxed back in the seat and considered the lady sitting opposite. Her lips were pulled as tight as a miser’s purse strings. She had barely spoken since leaving her publisher’s office. Numerous times he had caught her studying him intently. Now, sitting with her hands clasped in her lap, she struggled to meet his gaze.

He should say something, something to banish the tension.

“You played the role well,” he said, frustration giving way to a sinful smile. Indeed, she had played the role too damn well. Miss Dunn tasted divine. Sweet like nectar. “Forgive me for overstepping the bounds of propriety, but your publisher is a little more than misguided.”

There. Did

that not sound like a reasonable explanation?

Miss Dunn looked at him. “You might have warned me that acting amounted to more than telling a few lies.”

He could not argue. He had taken a shocking liberty. Made it impossible for her to say no and still maintain their story. Did that not make him as wicked as Hemming?

“Please accept my sincere apology. I never meant to cause you distress. You have my word it won’t happen again.”

Disappointment sank like a brick to the pit of his stomach. Cole was right. Miss Dunn had worked her way under his skin. Putting distance between them was the only solution to this inexplicable attraction.

Her gaze softened. “Thank you, but I must apologise, too. I—I doubt you’ve had to kiss a woman so lacking in experience.” Obvious embarrassment had her nibbling her lip. “Though I suppose Mr Hemming was convinced.”

It was her lack of experience, her purity of mind and soul, that made it a kiss to remember. How could he explain that one small sip of her sweetness had fired a passion in him that had barely reached a simmer in recent years? Oh, he could have had her panting and writhing, had her stripping off his clothes in a mad frenzy. Had her begging for his touch.

“Freeing you from that pompous letch is all that matters. It took effort not to force my fist down his arrogant throat.”

Miss Dunn smiled. “I would have offered no objection. Though I’d rather you didn’t exert yourself on my account. Besides, your threats seemed to do the trick.”

Had they? Time would tell.

A slight sense of trepidation surfaced. “Hemming thinks he’s in love with you, but he’s mistaken. If he truly loved you, he would not have abused you in such a cruel fashion.”

Perhaps he should wait for the publisher to leave his office tonight and remind him how to treat a lady. All in the name of reform, of course.

“No,” she mused. “I suspect love requires an element of sacrifice.” Her expression changed abruptly from contentment to shock. “You don’t think Mr Hemming will retaliate? Cause problems to prevent us from marrying?”

Marrying? She made the ruse sound plausible.

“It’s a possibility.” Noah could not lie, and she should be prepared for any eventuality. “If Hemming sent the blackmail note, he might seek to manipulate you. We’ve set the trap. Now we must wait and see if he nibbles the bait. I shall have a man keep track of his movements. Have another watch your house in case Hemming should call.”