Nicole Jordan (24 page)

When she hesitated, he called up softly. “Craven. What harm can there be in going for a spin? I can hardly ravish you in an open carriage.”

What harm, indeed? Aurora thought wryly. She would be mad to put herself at the mercy of a reckless and charming rogue.

But as usual Nicholas would not take no for an answer. “Come down, love, before I have to climb up there and fetch you. I will meet you at the back entrance.”

He turned and disappeared into the shadows, giving her no further chance to protest. Short of shouting after him, she was helpless to try to make him see reason.

With a sigh of exasperation, Aurora stepped back from the window. She could scarcely believe she was actually considering going for a midnight drive in the dark with Nicholas Sabine. And yet she couldn’t deny the forbidden appeal of it. What in heaven’s name was happening to her? Before meeting Nicholas she’d always been sedate and proper, a model of decorum. But now she was behaving like a wanton.

And what is so wrong about that?
a voice in her head prodded.
You have been sensible and proper all your life. You can be a little risqué for once.

Feeling very much like the Frenchwoman in the journal who had been seduced into sin by her captivating prince, Aurora dressed quickly and drew on a hooded cloak. The house was dark and silent as she crept downstairs and let herself out of the servants’ entrance.

Nicholas was waiting for her outside as he’d promised. When he saw her, his smile turned quite brilliant. Aurora drew a sharp breath, suddenly filled with the dizzying pleasure of being near him.

A curricle was waiting at the end of the short drive, and just as he’d claimed, a youth held the pair of horses. Nicholas handed her up into the seat and climbed up after her.

“Wait here, if you please,” he said to the boy. “We shall return shortly.” With a flick of the reins, he sent the team off at a brisk trot.

Aurora held on to the seat rail while sending him an incredulous look, scarcely believing his audacity.

“I should have known better than to trust you,” she said darkly when they were out of earshot. “You led me to believe your tiger would accompany us.”

“Only because you would not have come with me otherwise.”

“Where are you taking me?”

“Not far. Look around you, siren. Is this not better than being captive in your chaste bedchamber?”

It was a magnificent night, Aurora thought unwillingly. The cool June breeze on her face was exhilarating, the moonlight stirring as it bathed the silent streets. Yet her vexation at Nicholas prevented her full enjoyment. “You cannot make me believe you were thinking only of me when you lured me out here.”

“Perhaps I wasn’t, but can you fault me for wanting to be alone with a beautiful woman on a moonlit night?”

“Then you don’t deny you are bent on seduction.”

“There are no laws against seducing my own wife.”

She raised her eyes to the sky. “Haven’t you anything better to do than drive me to distraction?”

“I can think of nothing better, except for making love to you.”

“Nicholas!”

“Actually,” he added casually before she could finish, “Clune did invite me to join his Hellfire colleagues on a tour of the demimonde this evening, but I declined.”

Aurora fell silent, disturbed by the image of Nicholas dallying with courtesans in an elegant London brothel. The thought of him making love to any other woman was distinctly troubling—which was absurd, since she had told him he was free to find his pleasures elsewhere.

She glanced up at him, at his strong profile that was chiseled by moonlight. He would have absolutely no trouble finding feminine companionship. He was devastatingly attractive, more sensual and exciting than any man she had ever known. He was also a rake and adventurer, accustomed to living dangerously and breaking hearts. She should know better than to make herself vulnerable this way, being alone with him.

“Why did you decline?” she murmured, not really wanting to hear the answer.

“Because the only woman I wanted was my wife.”

She wouldn’t dignify his provocative remark with an answer.

“What?” he teased softly when she remained mute. “No sharp rejoinder?”

She gave him a stern look. “I cannot credit that you would prefer me to an accomplished Cyprian.”

“Ah, but I do, siren.”

“Merely because, like Clune, you only want what you cannot have.”

“That isn’t why I want you so badly.”

“Then why?” Aurora asked, curious in spite of herself.

“I wish I knew,” Nicholas replied with surprising seriousness. “I’ve never been this attracted to any other woman before.”

“What you are feeling is simple male…”

Nicholas supplied the word she was searching for. “Lust?” His mouth quirked wryly. “It is hardly
simple
, sweetheart. And it is far more than mere lust. It’s more like a fierce craving.”

“Well, you will just have to control it.”

“I am trying my utmost, but I cannot control my imagination. I frequently have fantasies of you naked in my arms, did you know that?”

“Nicholas!”

“Please,” he chided, “remember that my name is Brandon.”

“If you don’t behave,” she declared in a fierce undertone, “I will demand that you turn this carriage around and take me home.”

His amused expression sobered slightly. “Believe it or not, I do intend to behave this evening. I give you my word, my motives are completely altruistic for once. I only want you to have a moment of freedom.”

She didn’t know if she could trust him, but when he turned his head to look at her, his gaze was entirely serious. “Raven is worried for you. She thinks you’re lonely and in need of company.”

“Raven is mistaken. And even if I were in need of company, I would hardly choose you—a bold rogue who’s determined to incite a scandal.”

“I should think that as a duke’s daughter you would find boldness appealing after being accustomed to servility all your life. Surely you don’t want me fawning over you and treating you like fragile crystal?”

“I would like you to respect my wishes,” she said coolly, “instead of trying to ride roughshod over me. You said I saved your life. For that I think I might be entitled to some measure of consideration.”

“I am considering you, love. I’m thinking of your welfare. Admit it, you feel more alive when you’re sparring with me, matching wits. My very presence stirs your blood.”

“I do not
want
my blood stirred, Nicholas.”

“Come now, can you honestly claim you don’t enjoy being with me? Or that you would rather be safe in bed than here on a night like tonight?”

It was indeed magical. Aurora tilted her face up to the moon, soothed by its serene spell.

As if by mute agreement, they remained silent for a time, the only sound the clop-rattle of hooves and wheels on cobblestone. When they came to the entrance to Hyde Park, Nicholas turned off the street onto the gravel carriage path.

“I suppose you have a purpose for bringing me here?” Aurora said skeptically.

“You’ll see,” he replied.

They drove a short distance until the Serpentine came into view. Aurora caught her breath at the stunning beauty of the lake, which resembled a brilliant mirror.

Wordlessly Nicholas pulled off the path onto the lawn and negotiated past a grove of chestnut trees. With a tug on the reins, he drew the curricle to a halt.

Aurora sat speechless for a long moment. “I have never seen the park so peaceful and lovely,” she said finally.

“You have never seen a lot of things. Would you care to sit by the water?”

When she nodded, he climbed down and tied the reins to a tree branch, then went around the rig and reached up to grasp her waist. As he lifted her down, Aurora felt his touch like a hot brand, while Nicholas suddenly froze, as if burned by the same scorching heat radiating through her.

“You aren’t wearing a corset,” he murmured, his voice suddenly husky.

“I had no time to put one on,” she replied, flushing.

“I’m going to pretend I never discovered that.”

Retrieving a blanket from the boot, he took her by the hand and drew her down past a copse of willows to the water’s edge. He spread the blanket on the grassy bank, and when Aurora was seated, settled beside her.

For a long moment she simply sat there, staring in awe at the lovely, shining lake. “It’s beautiful.”

“Yes.”

He wasn’t looking at the water, but at her; she felt his scrutiny like a caress.

She wrapped her arms around her knees, looking up at the moon. A silver ring of mist surrounded the rim. Aurora drew a slow, deep breath, drinking in the serene beauty. The night air smelled of damp earth and sweet grass. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

“My pleasure.” He paused. “I did have an ulterior motive. I wanted to show you how much you’re missing by locking yourself away in your prison.”

“Indeed?” she murmured, less vexed than usual by his presumption.

“I would bet half my fortune that once you have a taste of freedom, you’ll find it hard to return to your dull, proper existence.”

She couldn’t help but smile at his persistence. “You are still laboring under the misguided apprehension that I am discontent with my life.”

“I don’t believe it’s a misapprehension. I think you are far lonelier than you will let yourself admit.”

Aurora winced inwardly at the truth of his charge. No matter how she tried to convince herself otherwise, she couldn’t deny the deep ache of loneliness inside her.

Nicholas was still watching her. She could feel his penetrating gaze, probing her secrets.

“You would be happier if you opened yourself up to risks now and then,” he said gently. “If you dared to take chances and damn the consequences.”

Aurora stirred uncomfortably, wishing she could change the subject. “Like you do? Risking your life simply by being in the country?”

“Even that.”

“I hardly think courting danger is the key to happiness.”

Nicholas shrugged. “For me it is. Danger makes you feel alive, makes you appreciate living. You should celebrate it, not fear it.”

She rested her cheek on her knees and studied him in turn. She already was risking danger simply by letting him near. Nicholas
was
danger. He was excitement. He was intensely alive. It was what set him apart from other men, she realized: his keen lust for life.

“Have you always been this way? This reckless and daring?”

“I’m afraid so. I was the bane of my father’s existence.”

“I can well imagine.”

“I was rather wild in my youth,” Nicholas admitted.

“Far beyond your youth, if the tales are true. Raven says you were the black sheep of your family until only a few years ago.”

“Have you been talking to her about me?”

Aurora felt herself flush. “I asked her to tell me more about the stranger I married. It was a way to honor you in death, I suppose.”

His smile was charmingly sensual. “I’m gratified.”

“So what caused your transformation?”

“My father’s death.”

Nicholas stretched out on his side, facing her, and propped himself on one elbow. His handsome features looked thoughtful in the moonlight. “I always knew I would inherit the Sabine shipping empire one day. Almost from my cradle my father groomed me to take over his holdings, and I spent much of my youth crewing his ships and learning to sail anything that floated. I relished that part of the business, but I resented being controlled and having my entire future planned out for me in infinite detail. When I was twenty, I finally rebelled and went in search of my own destiny.”

Aurora had no trouble imagining a young, restless Nicholas straining to break free of his father’s dictates. Fettering him that way would have been like trying to cage a wild tiger.

Nicholas paused, gazing out over the shimmering water. “I rarely saw my father after that, until he lay dying. It was only on his deathbed that I came to realize how much I hurt him by leaving.”

She heard the regret in his voice, the sadness, and wanted to offer solace. “It must have been a sacrifice for you to return home to take over the family business.”

“Somewhat, but I owed it to my father. I never fully appreciated the sacrifice he made to keep his family intact. He was passionately in love with Raven’s mother, and he could have left his wife and children, but he didn’t. Besides, it was time I lived up to my responsibilities. I swore to him I would care for my mother and sisters and keep his legacy intact. The line has done well enough under my hand…at least until the war started. But even with that, we’ve fared better than most shipping concerns.”

Aurora wasn’t certain she wanted to see this admirable, appealing side of Nicholas—the quiet, thoughtful man revealing his innermost feelings, opening himself to her. Yet it helped her understand what drove him. “That was why you were so determined to see Raven settled, even to the extent of wedding a stranger.”

“Yes.” He smiled. “Nothing else could have forced me to the altar.”

She, on the other hand, had known her whole life long that the altar was waiting for her. Aurora fell silent, contemplating how different their lives had been. Nicholas had rebelled and set off on a wild life of adventure, while she had remained dutifully complacent, obeying her father’s every wish—except his last. Until her marriage to Nicholas, she had always conducted herself precisely as expected of her. And until now, she had never allowed herself to admit how much she resented it.

“What are you thinking?” Nicholas asked, watching her.

“That wedding you was the first time I ever defied my father.”

“That isn’t what Raven says,” he said quietly. “She claims you were forced to defy him regularly to protect your servants.”

Aurora looked away. She didn’t like to think about her father’s violent rages. It was too disturbing, too humiliating.

“Raven saw your father threaten you, Aurora. I gather he struck you often.”

“Not often,” she said reluctantly, wanting to be fair. “And it was a small price to pay. I was the only one who could stand up to him, and he would…” She shut her eyes, remembering her father’s physical assaults on his defenseless servants.