Ecstasy (Notorious 4)

Impulsively she grasped his hand to draw him out of the salon, and Kell was stunned when his body reacted at her merest touch; without warning he felt hot desire pulsing to life within him-unexpected, unwelcome, but undeniable.

He voiced a silent oath and allowed Miss Kendrick to lead him from the room and along the corridor to the adjacent dining room.

Releasing his hand then, she shut the door behind them and began to pace the Aubusson carpet, her eyes glittering with some wild, reckless emotion. Kell watched her curiously, but she seemed to have forgotten his presence.

Finally she recalled herself and sent him a disapproving glance. “Given your wound, you should sit down.”

“It would hardly be the act of a gentleman to sit while you stand.”

“Now you are claiming to be a gentleman?” she asked tartly.

He found it hard to repress a smile. “I know your dander is up from doing battle with the dragon, but there is no reason to flay me with your tongue.”

She took a calming breath, obviously trying to gain control of her emotions. “Yes, you are right. Forgive me. I should not have allowed her to goad me.”

It gave him some measure of satisfaction that she had actually offered an apology, and he felt less resentment about what he was obliged to do.

“I have a question for you, vixen,” he said. “Why did you lie about your abduction? Why didn’t you give up my brother?”

She hesitated before exhaling in a sigh. “Because I realized that I owed you a debt. You saved me from your brother’s revenge, possibly even rape. Moreover, I wasn’t certain what my grandfather would do to you if he knew the role you played. At the time, I feared he might call you out. With his heart condition, he is much too frail to duel-or he might have been wounded or killed. And then there was the matter of justice. As you said, your brother had suffered a great deal already.” She shrugged. “So now we are even.”

His mouth curled at the corner. “We’re hardly even. You seem to be forgetting that you shot me.”

“But you held me prisoner.” Her blue eyes held a renewed spark of defiance.

Deciding to retreat rather than fight that battle once more, Kell changed the subject. “I assume it is beyond question that your duke will still have you?”

Suddenly reluctant to meet his gaze, she looked away. “Entirely. You heard my aunt…Halford has washed his hands of me. And I cannot really blame him. Several hundred people saw me jilt him at the altar.”

“You don’t believe he could be persuaded to change his mind?”

“I am certain of it. The Duke of Halford is a stickler for propriety, and his pride is legendary. I came to know him well enough over the course of our betrothal. He would have been enraged by so public an humiliation. Besides, he would never accept a bride who had spent the night in another man’s bed. Even if I could somehow manage to conceal…what happened last night”-her face flushed-“I couldn’t lie to him on so important a matter.”

“I don’t suppose so,” Kell said broodingly.

“So what did you wish to discuss with me?” she asked.

He drew a slow breath, steeling himself. “I am prepared to offer for your hand in marriage, Miss Kendrick.”

Her sharp intake of breath proclaimed her shock. She stared at him a long moment before finally speaking. “You have no desire to marry me, I’m certain. Why ever would you make me such an offer?”

Kell raked a hand roughly through his hair, torn by the instincts that were warring inside him. He’d known from the first moment he found Raven Kendrick in his bed that her abduction could have disastrous consequences. He just hadn’t wanted to face the possibilities. Nor did he want to be forced into matrimony with the heartbreaker who had made his brother’s life such a misery.

But his conscience was smiting him now. And he felt honor bound to make amends for what Sean had done to her. He had to at least give Miss Kendrick the option of marrying him, even if he fervently hoped she would refuse his proposal.

“Because marriage would salvage your reputation to some extent. And I am interested in keeping my brother out of prison. I am willing to wed you if you will agree not to press charges.”

She raised a hand to her temple as if dazed. Moving to the dining room table, she pulled out a chair and sank into it. “I presume you are proposing a marriage of convenience?”

“Yes. Afterward we can go our separate ways. Something could be arranged so that we needn’t see much of each other.”

She remained silent, looking down at her hands.

“Before you answer, Miss Kendrick,” Kell commented, “you should be fully aware of my reputation. You think me an ill-mannered blackguard, and I won’t dispute it. And society does not exactly hold me in high esteem. I own a gaming hell. And my Irish blood ensures that any number of doors are closed to me. Not to mention that I lack a title of any kind.”

She winced as if that realization pained her. “I know,” she said in a low voice. To his surprise he saw tears spring to her eyes, but she brushed them away furiously. Eventually she glanced up at him, as if a new thought had struck her. “What did my aunt mean when she said it was common knowledge that you murdered your uncle?”

All the muscles in his body went stiff. Finally Kell said, “There have long been rumors that I killed my uncle in a fit of rage.”