Captive Pride (25 page)

“Why? So you can try to kill yourself again?”

Wondering why he should even care, she glanced at him, puzzled, and time hung suspended as their gazes met and locked. They studied each other warily in the softness of the night shadows, his eyes, smoke-gray now, challenging and questioning hers as each dared to probe the other's thoughts and emotions. Slowly, as if mesmerized by the gentle rocking and sweet privacy of the carriage, Noah leaned closer and, without touching her in any other way, let his lips meet hers. The moment was explosively enthralling as the gentlest of caresses sent shock waves of awareness through both of them. Noah moved back slightly to stare down at her in wonder, and he lifted one hand to tenderly touch her cheek.

“You're very beautiful, CC…very beautiful….” His voice was low and filled with husky male desire.

CC felt as if she were drifting. The rough velvet sound of his deep voice and the tingling caress of his hand left her breathless and weak. All thoughts of hatred and distrust were banished. Languidly, as if she'd known for all her life that this moment would happen, she went into his embrace, whispering only “Noah…”

Noah gloried in her seeming willingness, and he wrapped his arms about her in a fiercely possessive hold as his mouth moved to claim hers, tasting and testing the joy to be found in that passionate exchange. Feverishly they broke apart for an instant and then melded again, the impassioned kiss a mere imitation of the mating their bodies so longed for.

CC felt Noah's hands upon the buttons of her shirt, and she shivered in expectation. She remembered well the ecstasy of his hands upon her bare flesh, and a low moan of excitement escaped her.

Until that moment Noah had been holding a part of himself back, refusing with that one last shred of resistance to believe that she was coming to him without a fight, but the sound of her eager need cast the last of his doubts aside. Boldly he parted the soft material and slipped a hand within to push aside her bindings and cup the round fullness of one breast. Tantalizingly, he teased the nipple to hardness as his lips left hers to explore the sensitive cords of her throat.

CC clung to Noah desperately as his hands and lips worked their magic upon her silken flesh, and when he guided her down to lie upon the comfort of the leather seat, she did not protest. His caresses were intoxicating, and she was drugged with desire. There was nothing she wanted more than to be one with him, and she looped her arms about his neck and pulled him down to her.

“Please, Noah…”

“Ah, CC…” he groaned as his lips moved lower to seek out the taut crests of her breasts.

CC whimpered her need as Noah suckled there, the erotic drawing arousing her to a fever pitch. For the first time in her life, CC knew a desire to touch as well as to be touched. She reached out to Noah in her excitement, caressing his hard-muscled form with eager hands. His response to her aggressiveness was immediate and exhilarating and she found herself enjoying the feeling of power it gave her to know that she was able to please him.

With trembling fingers CC unbuttoned his shirt and then embraced him fully, exploring his chest and stomach with a restless, heated touch, coming near but never quite touching that most intimate part of him. Her teasing caresses were driving Noah to distraction. Desperate to feel the softness of her hand upon him, he finally grasped her wrist and forced her to touch the hardness of his need for her.

CC gasped at his slightly rough maneuver, but when she saw reflected on his face the sheer rapture her caress gave him, she no longer needed to be forced. She wanted to please him. She wanted him to experience the same ecstasy that she felt whenever he touched her. More brazenly now, she traced patterns of fire upon his body, and Noah groaned in passionate need.

“CC…ah, love…I need you so….”

“Yes, Noah…please, now…” she pleaded as he shifted his body away from hers to give him room to unfasten the breeches she wore.

“I've never made love to anyone wearing breeches before….” he murmured with just a touch of humor as he slipped the offensive garment down her sleek legs, baring her womanhood to his questing caress.

“I wish you'd never made love to anyone before me….” she told him almost fiercely as she felt jealousy surge within her at the thought of him with another woman.

He did not miss the possessiveness of her tone as he gathered her near, and he told her huskily, “More importantly, CC, there will be no one after you….”

The memory of Eve threatened the moment as she responded vaguely, “I wish I could believe that….”

Noah did not answer, kissing her instead as proof of his desire, and CC put it from her as she surrendered to his masterful expertise. There was no more time for talk then as he moved between her thighs, and after freeing himself from his own breeches, he fitted himself to her in love's most intimate caress. CC gasped as she felt the magnificence of him slide deep within her, and Noah shuddered in excitement as he felt the wet, satiny heat of her close around him and hold him tightly. Wanting her aroused and ready, he began to fondle her again, pressing kisses to her silken flesh as he began his rhythm. When she started to move with him, matching his thrusts, he reached down to cup her hips and press her more closely to him.

That single demanding action sent waves of throbbing pleasure pulsing through her, and she cried out his name in her ecstasy. Noah felt her peak as he continued his driving possession, branding her as his own for all time. As his own pinnacle of love neared, he clasped her to him, rocking powerfully against her in the age-old dance of delight that soon had him spiraling mindlessly out of control in the rapture of his release.

They came back to reality, not softly as lovers should, but quickly and harshly when the driver shouted down.

“Sir, I've been driving for ages now…. Do you know where you want to go yet?” He thought the whole situation odd and wondered what was going on in his carriage.

His loud, demanding call shattered what beauty there was of the moment and left them chilled and suddenly cautious of each other. A confusing tumble of emotions assailed them both. Neither found the strength to speak of their thoughts or to look the other in the eye as they quickly moved apart. Noah swiftly rearranged his own clothing and shifted away to the opposite side of the coach while CC scrambled to pull on her breeches.

“Head for the Common,” Noah ordered brusquely, buying them time.

“Yes, sir,” came the reply as the carriage turned a corner, changing directions.

Noah watched CC surreptitiously as she worked at fastening the buttons of her shirt. When she seemed to be making little progress, he leaned forward and brushed her hands aside to do it himself. CC submitted to his assistance only because she was too nervous to do it herself.

As he performed the task, his knuckles pressed ever so lightly against the still sensitive tips of her breasts, and her body responded wildly to that simple stimulation. Nervously, wishing he would finish so she would be free of her torment, she held herself stiffly and tried to control her breathing so he would not know, but Noah sensed the change in her. He looked up at her questioningly, girding himself as he expected to face her fury.

Her expression was unguarded in that moment, and what he saw reflected on her flushed features sent a surge of disquieting emotion through him. Her emerald eyes were wide and soft as she tried to deal with her passion, and as she met his gaze, her tongue darted out to wet her lips…inviting without inviting.

Ensnared by the haunting beauty of her gaze, Noah paused in his endeavor and let his regard drop from her face to the still-exposed loveliness of her breasts. The shirt was gaping open, revealing their swelling, hard-tipped perfection, and he knew a commanding desire to press heated, arousing kisses upon that, her most erotic, flesh. At just the thought of claiming her once more his loins came alive, throbbing with maddening intensity. It was only the lurching of the carriage as it rounded yet another corner that tore his thoughts away from his runaway desires and back to reality.

The reality was, he realized with a jolt, that this attraction between them had to be fought. His need for her was becoming almost an obsession, and he had to conquer it. He could not allow any woman to become that important to him. She was a female just like all the others; there was nothing different about CC.

The hidden thought taunted him that there was something special about CC, but he ignored it. He had come to Boston with only one goal, and he had almost accomplished that goal. He had no intention of allowing CC, a mere colonial chit, to interfere with his plans. He was going to reestablish the Kincade name in England. Nothing else mattered—not CC, not the damned revolutionary cause, not anything. Firmly he hardened himself against her, focusing on his goals.

As CC stared up at Noah, watching his expression turn aloof and slightly arrogant, her emotions were in a turmoil. She was aching with the need to be touched by him again, to feel the thrill of his lips upon her bosom and the strength of him buried deep within her, but her thoughts were at odds with her body, demanding that she control herself and deny her passion.

Logic was coldly dictating to her that she was a fool to have given herself to him. Noah was amoral, used people to his own benefit, and loved money above all else. If those reasons weren't enough to discourage her interest, he had every intention of leaving Boston and returning to England just as soon as he could.

Still, and this came as a devastating revelation, CC could not deny that she wanted him. She knew every bad thing about him, and yet, the moment he touched her, her body betrayed her and she could only surrender.

No one else had ever had the power to excite her as he did, and distraughtly, she wondered for a moment if she could possibly be in love with him. The thought frightened her and drained her desire as she fought to keep from even considering it. She could not, would not love Noah Kincade! Defiantly, in victory over her wayward emotions, she shuttered her own expression.

“I'll have the driver drop you near the Common,” he said coolly, his gaze resting impersonally upon her now.

CC didn't know what she'd expected him to say and she was glad it was something unrelated to what had passed between them. “Yes. That'll be good.”

“I think it's important that we make certain to avoid each other from now on.” Noah spoke first with cool purpose.

“I didn't exactly plan this ‘rendezvous,' you know!” Though CC logically agreed with his statement, her heart shattered in agony. She busied herself with fastening the rest of her buttons and cramming her hair back up under her hat.

He gave an exasperated sigh as he replied with disdain, “Please, there's no reason for us to belabor the point.”

“There's nothing to belabor, Kincade.” She girded herself against the need she had to go back into his arms and stay there as long as he would have her. “What happens between us defies sensibleness. I don't even like you….” Her expression reflected the loathing she felt for both her own weakness and for him.

“What a relief,” he remarked drolly, covering the odd hurt he felt at her declaration.

CC glared at him. “You just stay away from me, and I'll make every effort to avoid you.”

“I shall do my best,” he nodded.

The driver called down as he pulled the coach to a stop. “We're at the Common. Now what?”

Without another word CC opened the door and jumped out into the concealing Boston night, the sting of tears pressing her to hurry away before Noah could witness her upset. Noah found himself peering out the door after her, feeling suddenly as if he'd lost something very precious as he listened to the fading sound of her footfalls.

Geoffrey leaned his elbows on his desk as he stared at his servant in interest. “What you're telling me is that Kincade may have some connection with the dissidents, but that we can't prove it?”

“We can't prove it,
yet,
m'lord,” Bartley answered with reassurance and respect.

“So since your first report to me the day after the Demorest ball about his meeting at the Green Dragon with this Ryan Graves and Sam Adams, he's done nothing? He's had no contact with anyone?” Geoffrey demanded sarcastically.

“Well, sir…” he hedged.

“What is it, man? Tell me everything!” Geoffrey slammed a hand on the desktop.

“He did have an assignation….”

Geoffrey paled and then flushed with fury as he realized who the woman was. “With whom?”

“The Widow Woodham, sir,” he answered tentatively.

“When?” he snarled.

“Last evening. The man I hired to follow him said that he went there early in the evening and remained for several hours.”

“I see.” His tone was icy as his resolve to destroy Noah became more implacable. “What about his brother? Or the captain of his ship? Anything there?”

“The brother's activities show some promise….”

“Oh?”

“Yes, m'lord. Matthew Kincade has been paying frequent visits to the home of the Widow Ruth Hammond and her young daughter, Faith. Hammond's husband, as you will recall, was one of the colonists killed during that shooting some years ago,” Bartley offered helpfully.

“Hammond…” Geoffrey frowned. “No, I don't remember. I don't concern myself with that trivia.”

“Anyway,” the servant continued, “Hammond had been one of the troublemakers. We don't know for certain if his widow or his daughter is still involved with the rebels, but we have found out that they do keep company with Ben Hardwick.”

“And just who is this Ben Hardwick?”

“Well, according to my sources, he's one of the most ardent supporters of Adams and Hancock, m'lord.” He provided the information with a smile.

“Ah…the connection deepens…. Noah Kincade had a meeting with Sam Adams and Ryan Graves, and his brother is involved with one of Adams's staunchest supporters…to what purpose, I wonder.” His eyes narrowed as he considered all the possibilities.

“I have heard that a romance is developing between the Hammond girl and the younger Kincade.”

“Interesting, but hardly newsworthy,” he scoffed. “He may be dallying with the girl, but I doubt there will be any more to it than that.”

“I had thought the connection an odd one, too.” He agreed with his master's assessment. “Also, there is one other piece of information.”

“Yes?”

“Matthew Kincade attended the meeting about the tea shipments that was held at Faneuil Hall with Ben Hardwick.”

Geoffrey nodded and then directed, “We have to discover just what they're up to. Do you have anyone involved with Adams and his followers who might be able to give us a clue as to the Kincades' purpose?”

“Not yet, but I'm working on it.”

“Good. Pay whatever price is necessary, but find out. I need the information as quickly as possible.”

“Yes, m'lord.”

“You may go,” he dismissed. As the servant reached the door, he ordered, “Have my carriage brought around. I suddenly feel the need to visit the Widow Woodham.”

“Right away, sir.”

When Bartley had gone to do his bidding, Geoffrey sat back in his chair, deep in thought. He was furious that things were taking so long, but he knew that some things were worth waiting for. Somewhere in Noah Kincade's activities there had to be something he could use against him. When he found it, he was going to destroy him completely. Eve Woodham was his. He knew it, and as soon as the carriage was brought around and he made the trip to her home, she was going to know it.

 

Matt sat with Faith in the parlor of her home. Ruth had just stepped into the other room, and at last he found himself alone with her. He'd been trying to get up his courage to propose to Faith for several days now. Each time he'd thought he was ready, he'd hesitated and the moment had been lost. Now he decided it was time. He loved her with a love that grew more potent every day, and he didn't want to waste another moment of time being apart. He wanted them to be married as soon as they could.

“Faith…” Matt's tone was a bit choked, and she looked at him curiously, noticing his serious expression.

“Yes, Matthew? Is something wrong?” Faith knew a moment of terrible fear. She loved Matt with all her heart, and the joy she experienced when she was with him was unlike anything else she'd ever known in her short life. Matt had become her whole world, and his solemn manner frightened her.

“No, Faith. Nothing's wrong,” he answered, his blue eyes darkening to mirror the seriousness of his intent.

“Then what is it? You look so…I don't know…worried?” she ventured hesitantly.

Matt managed to flash her a grin that at once both thrilled her and relieved her as he reached out to take her hand. “I am worried….”

“But you just said that nothing was wrong….” He was confusing her.

“And I hope I still feel that way after I get through with what I have to say to you.”

“I don't understand.”

“Let me finish.” He lifted her hand to his lips, his eyes sparkling now as they met hers. “Faith, there's something I've wanted to say to you for a long time, and I think it's time I said it.”

“Yes? What?” she was totally mystified.

“Faith.” His tone was suddenly deep with meaning. “Faith, I love you.”

Matt was so pleased and relieved that he'd finally managed to say it that he smiled widely, quite proud of himself. His gaze searched Faith's as he said the words for some sign of her reaction, and what he saw reflected there sent his heart soaring.

“Matthew…do you really mean it?” Faith couldn't believe that he'd actually professed to love her. He was Matthew Kincade…nobleman…and yet he was claiming to love her! The thought filled her with rapture and she realized that maybe, sometimes in life, dreams really did come true.

“More than anything, Faith. I love you, darling. I have from the first moment I saw you, and I want you to do me the honor of being my wife.”

The last came as a total shock to Faith, and she looked away from him. For all that she had allowed herself to fantasize about having his love, she had never, ever, even in her most wild imaginings, thought that he would propose marriage! She was speechless.

“Faith?” Matt was suddenly very nervous. He had hoped that she would respond without pause, but she'd gone silent on him and he felt a terrible sinking feeling. What if she didn't love him? What if she didn't want to marry him? “Faith, I love you. I want to marry you.”

Her turquoise eyes, when they lifted to his, were luminous and filled with tears. Matt wasn't sure if they were tears of misery or tears of joy.

“Faith?” He put his arms around her and drew her close.

“Oh, Matthew…” she cried. “Can you really mean it? You love me and you want to marry me?”

“I mean it, love. I've never felt this way before, and I know I'll never feel this way again. I love you, darling. I will forever.” He murmured the last against the softness of her hair, and he felt the tension drain from him at her answer.

“I love you, too, Matthew, and there's nothing I'd like more than to be your wife.”

Matt held her slightly away from him to look down at her. Never in his life had anyone possessed his devotion more completely. Faith was the woman of his dreams…the woman some men would search their entire lives for and never find. Matt had found her, and he never intended to let her go.

They came together in a rush of passion, their mouths meeting and blending, their hearts beating as one. Only the sound of Ruth clearing her throat in the doorway forced them apart.

“Faith…Matthew…” Her tone was reprimanding, and Matt jumped to his feet, embarrassed at having forgotten in his joy where they were and what they were about.

“Mrs. Hammond, my apologies. “I…we…well, I have just proposed to Faith and she's accepted, and I suppose, in the moment, we forgot ourselves.”

“What?” Ruth was completely dumbstruck. She had hoped from the beginning that there might be a future for these two, but she had not planned on it. If there was anything she'd learned from life, it was to take what happiness you could while you could.

Faith came to her feet, too, and she took Matt's hand. “Yes, Mother, Matthew has proposed and I've accepted.”

Ruth looked from one to the other, reading the love and happiness in their faces, and she smiled, moving into the room to kiss her daughter and hug Matt. “That's wonderful.”

“I had hoped you would feel that way, Mrs. Hammond,” Matt told her as he looked down at his future bride, his eyes alight with the depth of love he felt for her.

“Why wouldn't I?” Ruth was glowing. “I think you're a wonderful man, and I also think you love my daughter very much.”

“Indeed I do, ma'am,” he replied.

“Have you discussed the wedding yet?”

“No, Mother. Matthew had only just proposed when you came in,” Faith answered, and then blushed as she remembered the kiss her mother had witnessed. “Matthew?”

“As soon as possible,” he told them enthusiastically.

“Will you be wanting a big wedding?” Ruth asked cautiously. She expected that Matt might be wanting a splendid wedding and reception befitting his status in life, and the thought troubled her. There was no way she could afford more than the simplest of celebrations.

“I think that's something we have to talk about. There are things I have to tell you that need to be discussed,” he told them seriously.

Again Faith was puzzled by his tone and she drew him back down on the sofa beside her. “What do you have to tell us, Matt? It sounds important.”

“I'm afraid it is, but it's not going to stop us.”

“What?” Both women were attentive.

“As you both know, I am here with my brother, Noah.”

“Yes, you told us about him….” Faith urged him on.

“Well, Noah and I have had a falling out, and I'm not completely sure what my status is right now.”

“I don't understand. What did you have a fight about?”

Matt sighed as his expression grew troubled. “It's a long story that began in England many months ago. You know that my father died recently.”

“Yes…”

“When he died he left enormous debts that had to be settled against the estate.”

“Oh no…” Faith was immediately sympathetic. “Did you lose everything?”

He smiled weakly. “Not everything, but almost. We still have two good vessels left and a small inheritance from our mother's estate.”

“Your mother is dead also?”

“Yes, she died some years ago. Anyway, Noah was more affected by the losses than I was. It devastated him to see our family's holdings stripped away.” He shook his head sadly. “Noah changed.”

“How so?”

“We got along marvelously until this happened. The loss of all he held dear seemed to destroy him, and he suddenly became almost obsessed with the need to reclaim our heritage.”

“I can understand his feelings,” Faith said with empathy.

“I can, too, but there comes a time when maybe it would be better to start anew, start over fresh—throw out the past and look to the future. That's what I want to do. I like the colonies, I like Boston. I can see how a man with drive and ambition can make a comfortable living for himself.”

“And Noah?”

“Noah wants to make as much money as he can, as quickly as he can, and then return to England.”

“Have you told him how you feel?”

“Yes, and that's when we argued. He doesn't want me to stay behind. He wants me to go back with him, but that's when I told him that his dreams were his, not mine.”

“I'm sorry.” Faith's eyes were upon him with love and understanding.

Matt tried to shrug, as if it meant nothing to him, but he wasn't convincing. The pain in his eyes was too evident. “I've tried to talk with him about staying here, but he refused to even consider it.”

“Matthew, why don't you invite him here to dinner for a small celebration?” Faith offered, looking to her mother for support for the invitation.

“We would love to meet him,” Ruth agreed, “and this is the perfect opportunity.”

“I would like that, and I think he would, too,” Matt responded.

“Then it's settled. Why don't we plan on next Sunday? That way Ben can join us, too.”

“It sounds wonderful…and the wedding?” Matt turned again to Faith.

“In two weeks?” she suggested eagerly, not wanting to delay their marriage any longer than necessary.

“Two weeks…” Matt agreed.

 

“Lord Radcliffe?” Knowing how her mistress felt about him, Peggy was surprised to see Geoffrey, and her voice reflected her reaction.

“May I come in?” Geoffrey asked in his most arrogant manner as he strode past the diminutive maid and glanced up the staircase in the direction of Eve's chamber. “Is Eve here?”

“Well…um…”

“Is she at home or isn't she?” he demanded, his gaze frosty upon her.

“If you'll wait in the sitting room, I'll get her for you.” Peggy directed him toward the parlor and then raced up the back steps to her mistress's room.

Eve was sitting at her dressing table brushing out her hair when Peggy knocked at the door. She found the intrusion annoying, for she had given orders earlier that she didn't want to be bothered so she could spend the day totally wrapped up in her thoughts of Noah and the future she believed they had together.