A Rogues Proposal

He held her wide eyes for an instant longer, then turned to the door. 'I'll be back shortly.'

Opening the door, he stepped out, shut it-and locked it.

Flick heard the bolt click home. Lips parting, arms falling to her sides, she stared at the closed door.

Her temper soared.

Just like that! Put into her room and locked in, while he-!

Clenching her fists, she closed her eyes and gave vent to a frustrated scream.

Demon returned to the dim first-floor corridor at the front of the inn two hours later.

To find two young sprigs, decidedly the worse for the inn's ale, serenading outside Flick's door. His footfalls muffled by the corridor runner, he was upon them before they realized, materializing menacingly beside them.

They jumped like scalded cats.

'Ooh!'

'Aaah!'

Then they blinked and grinned inanely.

'There's a delightful widow behind the door.'

'We're attempting to entice her to come out and play, don't y'know.'

The first blinked again and stared myopically up at him. 'Have you come to join us?'

With satisfying abruptness, Demon disabused them of that notion. He sent them fleeing, stumbling on their way, their egos shredded, their ears burning, their rears bruised courtesy of his rather large shoes. He saw them back to the stairs before returning to Flick's door. In the dimness, it took a few tries to get the key in the lock- eventually, he managed it. Straightening, he turned the key, lifted the latch and stepped inside.

Only lightning-quick reflexes allowed him to catch and hold back the heavy earthenware jug that came swinging down from his left.

Stretched on her toes, her hands clamped about the jug, Flick met his gaze. Darkly.

'Oh. It's you.'

Leaving the jug in his hands, she swung away and stalked back across the room. She stopped before the fireplace, before the cheery flames, and swung to face him as she folded her arms.

Demon took in her belligerent stance and mutinous expression, then shut the door. She held her fire while he locked it and set the jug down on a nearby side table.

Then she let loose.

'You locked me in here and left me at the mercy of those!…' she gestured eloquently. Her eyes flashed. 'I've had to endure two hours of nonstop caterwauling-no, no-I mustn't forget the poems. How could I forget the poems?' She flung her arms to the skies. 'They were hideous! They didn't even rhyme.'

She was unrestrainedly furious. Demon considered the sight.

'Anyway.' Abruptly deserting fury, she fixed him with a narrow gaze. 'Where did Bletchley go?'

Despite her ordeal with badly phrased poems, she was obviously all right.

'The tap, then to his room.' Dropping his gloves on the side table, he pointed upward. 'In the attics.' Shrugging out of his greatcoat, he dropped it on a chair, noting as he did the large number of lighted candles set about the room. Flick had obviously felt in need of light-and reassurance.

She refolded her arms and frowned at him. 'He didn't speak to anyone?'

Glancing around, Demon noted that the chamber was large and commodious, and well-appointed with decent furniture. The bed was long and wide, and made up with pristine linen. 'No one of the ilk we're looking for. He didn't speak to anyone beyond the usual taproom chat.'

'Hmm.' Frowning, Flick watched him as he strolled unhurriedly toward her. 'Maybe he did just come here for the prizefight.'

'So it appears.' His gaze returning to her face, he stopped directly in front of her, trapping her before the hearth. She frowned at him-more with her eyes than her expression. He considered her.

After a moment, she asked, 'What are you thinking?'

How much I'd like to undress you, lay you on the bed and… 'I was wondering,' he said, 'what it will take to instill into your stubborn head that it is not acceptable for you to go hying off about the countryside chasing villains. Regardless of where I, or anyone else, might or might not be.'

She humphed and tilted her chin at him. Lifting one hand, Demon closed his fingers firmly about her tapering jaw.

Her eyes widened, then spat sparks. 'There's nothing you can say or do that will convince me I don't have as much right as you to go hying after villains.'

He raised one brow; his gaze fell to her lips. 'Is that so?'

'Yes!'

His lips curved-not with humor but with satisfaction at her challenge-a challenge he was only too willing to meet. Tipping her chin up a fraction more, he lowered his head. 'Perhaps we should put that to the test.'

He murmured the words against her lips, hesitated for a heartbeat to let his warm breath bring her lips alive-then covered them with his.

She held tight for an instant, then surrendered. Her stiffness eased; her lips softened under his. Although still new to this-to kissing, to giving her lips, her mouth, to him-she was eager; her responses flowed instinctively. She had none of the guile of a more experienced woman-she had a fresh enthusiasm, an innocent ardency that delighted him, enthralled him.

He knew precisely what he was doing-distracting her from villains, from Bletchley and the syndicate, by giving her something else to think about. Something more exciting, more intriguing. He would bring her to life, and pique her curiosity so that she spent her time thinking about him, and this, rather than any villain. Sliding one arm about her waist, he drew her against him.

And deliberately deepened the kiss.

She responded sweetly, tipping her head back, parting her lips, welcoming him in. When his arm tightened in response, locking her to him, she eased against him readily, pert breasts pressing tight to his chest, hips sinking against his thighs. He caught his mental breath, locked an iron fist about his demons' reins, and parted her lips further, so he could artfully, skillfully ravish her soft mouth and take what she offered so freely.

The heady taste of her-so light and fresh, so teasingly alluring-went straight to his head, wreathed his senses, and set his demons straining. Wielding expertise like a whip, he held them back and set himself to enjoy the simple pleasure of her even more.

It wasn't anger that drove him, not even the wish to exercise his will over her and insist she stay out of danger. The compulsion steadily rising in his blood was simple desire-nothing more.

During the hours he'd spent watching Bletchley, speaking with Gillies, his anger had dissipated; his inchoate rage over the risks she'd taken had faded. His knowledge was wide, his imagination consequently well-informed; the visions that, even now, formed too readily were guaranteed to set his teeth on edge. But he'd had time to appreciate her thinking, to realize that, from her point of view, innocent of prizefights, coming here had been not only the obvious step but one she'd felt compelled to take.

He could understand. He still didn't approve, but that was another matter, a different aspect of the day's emotions. His anger had died, but the underlying tension hadn't. The anger had been only a symptom of that deeper emotion-one that felt uncomfortably like fear.

Fear was an emotion no Cynster male handled well. He'd had little experience of it-and he definitely didn't like what he was experiencing now. That his fear was centered on Flick was obvious; why it should be so was another of those somethings he preferred not to examine.

If he'd known that deciding to bite the bullet and marry would bring all this down on his head, he would have thought twice. Three times. Unfortunately, it was now too late-the notion of giving up Flick, of retreating from marrying her, was unthinkable.

How unthinkable was borne in on him as he briefly released her lips to drag in a breath. Her scent came with it-appleblossom and lavender-a fragrance so innocent it touched his soul, so simple it drove through his defenses, caught and effortlessly focused his desire.

To live without this-without her, without the intense satisfaction experience told him could be his with her-