Sinful Possession (13 page)

She gave herself up then,
moving with abandon as her body dictated. The warm sensation inside her grew
more acute. She couldn’t help but utter his name between cries of disbelief at the
pleasure two people could create. He answered her with his own grunts of ecstasy
and the occasional utterance of her name.

Ash put his hand between her
legs and worked her nub while she continued to ride him. It didn’t take much.
Her body was already sensitive and just waiting for something to push her over.

His touch did it. Convulsing
around him, she fell apart and collapsed forward. Her blood heated and her peak
flowed through her like warm wine. Ash smoothed his hands up and down her back
while speaking encouraging words. Then he began to move with vigour.

Her tender body accepted it.
Lila lay against him, basking in the warmth and strength of his chest while
listening for his building orgasm. She would let him spill in her. If they were
to be married, there was no reason for him not to. She lifted her head when his
movements became jerky and watched his pleasure play out through his face. He
gripped her tight, murmured her name and closed his eyes tight.

Ash spilled into her. Their
hearts hammered together. Never had Lila felt so content.

“I love you, Lila.”

She absorbed the words and
the reality of them before replying, “I love you too.”

Slivers of moonlight caressed the room. Ash opened and
closed his eyes several times before gaining his bearings. He looked over to
where his arm was pinned, wrapped around a beautiful sleeping woman. The night
had turned cool. She wore her chemise, but he could feel her bare legs tangled
between his. It had ridden up so that he could easily slip a hand down to
stroke her bear rear.

He watched her face as she
slept. She showed no signs of being in pain, but he suspected the after-effects
of the brandy and their love-making were responsible for her sleeping heavily. Unfortunately,
the jellyfish sting would likely still hurt in the morning. A smile eased
across his face in spite of that knowledge. How much longer they’d be here, he
didn’t know, but as soon as it was safe to do so he was taking her back to
London and marrying her.

He stiffened. The air had
changed or there was something different. A floorboard creaked. His heart was
heavy in his ears. The room was dark, but there was enough light from the moon
to see the furniture and Lila lying peacefully next to him. He forced his
breaths to still and listened intently. An animal perhaps.

But his gut said danger, and
he always trusted his gut.

Ash eased his arm out from
beneath Lila. He didn’t wish to wake her if it was nothing. Slipping on his
drawers, he sucked in a breath when his feet met the cold wood floor. He moved
stealthily. If there was an intruder, he’d like to have the element of surprise
on his side. But could Newton really have found them? Few people knew of their
home in Kent, but he supposed one of his mother’s friends could have said
something.

He eased around the bed and
out of the door that he’d left slightly ajar in his rush to get her to bed. The
hallway was darker. Only a narrow window at the end let in any light, and shadows
haunted each corner. The stairs were to the left of him, and when he peered
over the bannister, all he saw was gloom. Ash curled a fist and inched across
the plush carpet, grateful for how it cushioned his footsteps.

There was a bang. Then a
flash. The brief vision of Newton’s face lingered in his dazed eyesight. Then
searing pain. He fell to the floor as agony tore through his thigh. Hot liquid
poured down it, and it was only when he tried to push himself up that he
realised it was his blood. Dots danced in front of his vision and the remembrance
of the pain his brother had endured struck him. He’d been shot.

With a groan, he pushed
himself up, only to find a foot pressing down on his shoulder. He peered up at
the barrel of a gun. The pain racked him, but it wasn’t any worse than the
agony in his chest.

He’d failed Lila.

When he peered past the
barrel, he saw the face he’d expected and dreaded.

“You found us then,” he
croaked.

The chief grinned, his teeth
flashing white in the dark. Ash couldn’t see his eyes properly, but he knew
what they’d be filled with—darkness, anger, hatred, sickness.

“You seem to forget that I
am an officer of the law. You were not the easiest to track down but you left a
nice little trail of breadcrumbs.” He glanced around. “Where’s the girl?”

Ash said nothing.

“Where is she?” Newton lifted
his boot from Ash’s shoulder and moved it to the wound on his leg. He pushed
down with his boot heel, and Ash bit back a howl of pain. Bile rose in his
throat. He feared he’d pass out.

But he’d suffer eternal
agony rather than give Lila up to him. He prayed she’d found a hiding spot or
something—anything. Anything to stop her from being harmed. It mattered little
what happened to him as long as she remained safe.

The chief flicked his gaze dismissively
over him. “You won’t be going anywhere. What is the likelihood that she was
sharing your bed? Could not resist the little virgin, eh?”

Ash went for the man’s ankle,
gripping it tight as he moved toward the bedroom. But he kicked him off with
ease and stalked into the room. He couldn’t sit and wait for him to kill Lila. He
swallowed the knot in his throat and forced himself up to sitting while expecting
the sound of a gunshot at any moment. A crash of furniture sounded. Then
something breaking. But no shot.

Gripping the stair bannister,
Ash dragged himself up. A fresh trickle of warmth ran down his leg, and the
pain had turned into a throbbing, burning sensation. No less tolerable but he
found himself able to almost ignore it while he focused on saving Lila.

Sweat dripped across his
forehead while he dragged his useless leg to the bedroom door. There was no
subtlety to his movement this time. If Newton wanted to shoot him, so be it.

When he reached the open
doorway, he found the man tossing the furniture about. But no sign of Lila. Ash
grinned to himself.

The chief turned to him, his
eyes wild, pointing the gun at his gut. “Where is she?”

Ash lifted a shoulder as he
propped himself against the doorway. “Not here.”

The chief shook his head. “Fine.
I’ll find her. It was you I was after anyway.”

He scowled. “You tried to
kill her.”

“Because she saw me. But it
had always been you. If you had been where you were meant to be that night,
none of this would have happened. Westerling was a waste of time and effort. He
gave up within moments.” He laughed. “No, I really wanted you. There’s nothing
quite like spilling the blood of a healthy, virile man like you.”

The way he said
virile
had an edge to it. A sort of sadistic tinge that hinted at some sort of
pleasure he took from that. Ash’s stomach rolled with disgust. He strongly
suspected the man was aroused by the idea of killing men like himself. How many
other men had he killed that they didn’t even know about?

He edged forward, the gun
still aimed at Ash’s stomach. “Then I would have gone for your brother. Unfortunately,
I mistook him for you the first time and never did get my chance to finish him
off.” Newton shrugged. “Oh well, I still will. Once I’ve informed everyone the
serial killer threw himself off the cliff edge, I can get to him. Thanks to
your brothers, there’s been a few suspicious fingers turned on me, and I’ll
admit it’s caused quite a bit of inconvenience.”

Ash almost laughed. His
brothers were clearly close to exposing him, and whatever happened, he knew
they’d get him for what he’d done.

“Does that amuse you?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

The chief cocked his head. “Why?”

“Because you have no idea
how determined my brothers are.” A flash of movement behind Newton caught Ash’s
eye. His heart jolted. He laughed again, loud and deliberately. The chief eyed
him as though he’d lost his mind.

Ash twisted himself to the
side, flattening himself to the wall when Lila swung down with the poker. He
didn’t see the effect, but he heard it—a dull thud and a howl from Newton. The
gun didn’t go off as feared, but it dropped to the floor.

The chief half-sagged, moaning
and clutching the back of his head. Ash briefly glanced at Lila who held the
poker aloft, ready to do more damage. Wherever she’d been hiding, she’d done a
fine job of it.

He ducked to grab the gun,
but he was side-swiped by Newton. The pain in his leg tore through him again as
they crashed against the bannister. Lila screamed something, but he didn’t know
what. Newton’s hands latched around his neck. He fought them, clawing at his
hands while fighting for breaths.

Ash moved back on unsteady
feet and swung at him. His fist connected with flesh and there was a crunch. Blood
spurted from Newton’s nose. The hold on his neck released, and he went in again
for another punch. They both fell back to the bannister and a creaking sound
sent the hairs on the back of his neck on end. Wood gave way slowly, but
neither of them were steady enough on their feet to move.

Suddenly the wooden struts
ripped from the floor. Locked in battle, they both tilted as the bannister gave
way. Ash had a brief image of what it would be like to meet the floor. They
were three storeys up. He wouldn’t survive.

Another ripping sound and splinters
spat up around him. Newton’s scream rang in his head. The bannister fell away
and a thud sounded as it hit the floor. Newton spilled back, groping at Ash’s
chest for purchase. He wavered there for a moment while Ash dug his fingers
into the bannister at his side. Splinters cut into his palm and his balance was
off. Their gazes met briefly before Newton fell. The chief was lost to the
shadows, but he heard the thud of his body connecting with the floor.

He tried to right himself,
but it was no good. His weak leg wouldn’t save him and the rest of the
bannister was about to give way. Lila screamed. He hated his back was to her.
If only he could see her face once...

Something tugged him back.
He gripped the shredded bannister tighter. Lila, damn her. He’d take her with
him. He forced all the strength he had into that one arm and ignored the
movement of the wood as it began to buckle under his weight. Lila yanked him
back and his feet slipped from beneath him. He fell to the floor, half of his
body hanging over the precipice. He scrambled back with the help of Lila
frantically tearing him toward her.

Rolling onto his back, he
blew out a breath and stared up at Lila. She’d saved him.

“Oh God, your leg.” Her
hands were all over him. He could hardly fathom where, they were just running
up and down and then to his leg then all over his chest again. “Are you hurt
anywhere else?”

His entire body hurt, but he
just shook his head.

“Lila—” he hissed when she
touched his leg “—I may need a surgeon.”

 Her eyes were wide in the
gloom. “Where will I find one?”

“You’ll have to go to the
village.”

“I cannot leave you.”

“We need help, Lila.”

She tugged her bottom lip
beneath her teeth and nodded. “I’ll find one.” She glanced at his leg. “Should
we tie it up?”

He peered down at the blood coating
his leg and nodded. “I think so.”

She moved into the bedroom
and came back with his shirt. Twisting it into one long length, she wound it
around his leg and pulled it tight. He couldn’t hold back a groan of pain.

“Forgive me.” She came over
and kissed him on the forehead. “Don’t leave me, Ash,” she told him with only
the slightest tremor to her voice. “I will be back soon.”

He nodded, his throat
suddenly tight and dry. Lila hurried away and down the stairs. He considered
the sight she’d be confronted with and wished she didn’t have to do this. But
he’d used any strength he had left fighting Newton. Now all he could do was lie
here and wait and pray he didn’t lose much more blood.

He stared at the ceiling,
just able to make out the patterns sculpted onto it. The hallway began to grow
lighter and his eyes kept threatening to droop. Though the pain in his leg
remained, he distracted himself with thoughts of Lila and their lovemaking.
Besides, he’d suffered pain many times before. This was easy to bear. Staying
awake, however, was not, but he feared if he let himself, he might never wake
again.

Eventually, the heaviness in
his eyelids grew too much. He closed them, even knowing Lila would hate him for
doing so.

“Ash!”

Behind the welcome darkness
of his eyelids, a flicker of irritation ran through him. Couldn’t they see he
was resting?

“Ash, you damned fool, open
your eyes.”

Scowling, he dragged them
open to find several faces hovering above him. He took his time in figuring out
who they were. Jasper, Julian, Dante, Pierce. No Harris, though. Even Gideon
had turned up for the occasion. He frowned at his youngest brother, more annoyed
by his appearance somehow. He didn’t need his damned whelp of a brother
interfering in his business.

Then he saw her. She pushed
through his brothers as though they weren’t five strong, fully-grown men.

“Don’t you dare close your
eyes, Ash Cynfell. The doctor is here.” She knelt beside him and peered up at
the men. “Let him through then!”

If he’d have had enough
energy he’d have been amused at her commanding his brothers, but relief at
seeing Lila again made his body weary. The doctor came to his side, and Lila
gave his hand a quick squeeze. She didn’t say anything, and he didn’t blame her
with his brothers crowding around them. But he saw what she wanted to say in
her eyes. She loved him. For her, he would have to live through this damned gunshot
wound because he had a whole life of loving her ahead of him.