Ecstasy (Notorious 4)

Her, for arousing the most savage lust he’d ever known. And Sean, for inciting this damnable situation.

Chapter Four

Fighting free of murky unconsciousness, Raven opened her eyes to find herself staring at a warm, crackling fire. She lay still for a moment, letting her gaze drift around the unfamiliar bedchamber. While tastefully rich, there was nothing remotely feminine about the gleaming mahogany furnishings or the burgundy and gold appointments. This was a man’s room. Sweet heaven.

Disoriented, she raised a hand to her aching temple as wicked memories of her pirate lover danced in her muddled brain. Where in God’s name was she?

“Good, you’re awake,” a pleasant female voice murmured.

Turning her head sharply, Raven winced at the pain, then froze as she recognized the elegant, golden-haired woman who had risen from a chair and was moving to stand beside the bed.

This woman had tried her help her, she remembered-Dear God, had her nightmare been real?

“I wasn’t dreaming, was I?” she managed to ask, her voice a thin rasp.

“No, I am afraid not.”

Raven blanched to have her fears c

onfirmed.

“How do you feel?”

She felt miserable. Her groggy head was pounding like carriage wheels on cobblestone, and her mouth tasted as if she had swallowed sawdust… Gingerly Raven felt her scalp and discovered a lump above her left temple. Moreover, her wrists were bruised and scraped from her bonds, and there was a raw tenderness between her legs-

Shying away from that appalling realization, she regarded the woman. “Where…am I? How long…?”

“A gaming club on St. James Street. The Golden Fleece. I am Emma Walsh, the hostess here. And you were brought here yesterday.”

Memory came flooding back in a vivid rush, making Raven shudder. She had been abducted on her wedding day by a former unwanted suitor who’d struck her viciously. When she regained consciousness to find herself trussed to a bed, Sean Lasseter had forced a vile concoction down her throat. Everything afterward was a blur, but her dreams had been steamy and erotic, filled with exquisite lovemaking by her pirate lover…

Raven squeezed her eyes shut, desperately hoping she was mistaken about the brazen events of last night. Had those too been real? The passion, the warmth, the tender caresses…Aghast, she shook her head in denial.

“You’re safe now,” Emma said reassuringly.

Raven forced herself to open her eyes. “I remember you,” she finally said. “You tried to stop him…”

“Yes. But I fear I wasn’t very successful.” The hostess set her jaw grimly, as if in remembrance. “I had to call Kell.”

“Kell?”

“Kell Lasseter. Sean’s older brother. He owns the club. He knows how to handle Sean when he gets in one of his dark moods.”

“Kell…that was who…He was with me last night?”

“Yes. If not for him, Sean might have hurt you even more seriously.”

Raven looked away, heat searing her cheeks as she recalled the lover who’d shared her bed last night. The wicked things he’d done to her, the liberties he’d taken with her body. And her own wanton response. She had thought he was her pirate… Dear God.

She tried to thrust those memories aside as another realization struck her. “My family…do they even know where I am?”

“I don’t expect so.”

“They must be frantic with worry. My grandfather has a weak heart…” Raven drew a sharp breath. “God, what will I tell him?”

“Perhaps you shouldn’t fret about that just now. I have brought you some breakfast. Do you think you can eat a bit now? You were in no condition to manage food yesterday.”

Forcibly shifting her attention, Raven glanced at the tray on the table, surprised to find herself hungry. “Yes…thank you.”