Lavinia Kent - Taken By Desire

For my parents, Charles and Evelyn.

You gave me the love of reading (and so much more) that led to it all. And especially to my mother, who gave me so many pieces of this story.

I t couldnt be him. By all the gods in the Pantheon, please dont let it be him. Glancing once more down the darkened hall, Anna Steele swore softly to herself, the sound of the words making it no further than her lips.

All she had wanted was to sneak down and slip her note into the letters waiting to be posted. She needed to let Mr. Jackal know shed send more funds as soon as she returned to London. Shed even chosen a book from the library on her way back to her room to give an explanation for her actions if she was caught roaming the halls in her nightclothes.

All she wanted was a peaceful night.

And now this.

Impulse was not something she gave in to. A great deal of thought went into any deed she performed. Listing the times she had considered carefully before taking action would have required a full day, if not longer.

And now this.

The blasted man hadnt been on the guest list for Lady Smythe-Burkes house party. After all the occasions on which she had avoided him, it seemed preposterous that she should be forced into this situation.

She could not proceed past him without being seen, and if she tried to retreat he would surely hear her.

She didnt need this now. She had enough to worry about without

Damnation.

She was not mistaken about who stood there or whose room he stood before, his hand on the door.

Alexander Struthers.

She couldnt see the piercing blue eyes that had always seemed to demand her deepest secrets, but there could be no mistaking that angular, powerful frame. It would have been bad enough if he were arriving, but shed heard the distinctive click of her half sister Maddies door easing shut.

She closed her eyes, tried to thinknever an easy thing to do when Struthers was near. If she stayed quiet maybe he wouldnt see her. Even if he did, she could smile sweetly and pretend that she had not seen him slip out of Maddies room. Struthers was always as eager to avoid her as she was him.

Then she heard it.

The sharp tap of boots sounding down the hall behind her.

Lord Milson. Maddies pompous husband. No one else strode with such military precision.

Strutherss head snapped up as the sound reached him. The dim lighting made it hard to see him clearly, but she could imagine his look of bliss and satisfaction dying quickly. His posture tensed and his face turned toward her, the gesture of a wolf scenting for prey.

He saw her then. She could be no more than a dim shadow to him, but he stiffened in recognition. Then his head tilted further as he realized the footsteps were not hers.

There were only two rooms this far down the hall, hers and the one Struthers had just left.

She saw the movement of his lips and knew he had sworn with even more eloquence than she.

Lord Milson was a jealous manand a crack shot. More than one opponent had met him at dawn and not returned.

His footsteps drew closer. They would turn the corner any second and then there would be no choice.

This was the moment. She had to do something.

She didnt even consider before she slipped her robe open and shoved her chemise as low as it would easily go. Seductionthat at least she understood.

The sound of a boot tip grinding in rotation as it turned the corner caused her to launch herself forward, pressing herself into Strutherss firmly muscled chest. He took a step back as her weight hit him fully, pressing him into the door he had just exited. His hands came up, cupping her behind, as he fought to keep them both from falling or crashing through the door.

He was so warm, so hard.

She hadnt recognized how much she missed being touched.

Even before the thought was fully realized Anna rained kisses down upon his throat, frantically trying to remove any mark of the woman who had been there before her. It was not so easy to erase the smell of the distinctive, overly sweet floral perfume and the heady musk of sex. She could only hope nobody else drew this close to him.

The footsteps came to a stop. She waited for a cough or some noise from behind to demonstrate that Lord Milson intended to stop matters.

No sound came.

She slowed her kisses, concentrating on the small hollow of his throat. Small, delicate kisses. Long, slow kisses. She let her tongue dart out to taste him. Let herself imagine for the briefest of seconds that this was real, that this was where she wanted to be, where she was meant to be. It was far easier than it should have been; her whole body ached with the desire to be closer.

He shivered at the touch of her tongue, but made no other move.

Couldnt the man help at all? Did she have to do everything?

A long, deep sigh escaped her lips as she licked again at the damp flesh of his throat. He tasted of salt and man. She rubbed her cheek against his chest, relishing in the abrasion of hair against skin. She nipped gently. No response.

She shifted, pressing her breasts firmly against him and causing her chemise to slip yet lowerthe slightest shrug of her shoulder and her robe slipped down to catch at her hips where Strutherss hands still held her. A deep moan and another nip.

Still no movement or sound from either manneither Lord Milson, behind, nor Struthers, who seemed to be made of stone.

There was only one thing a smart woman could doshe reached beneath Strutherss robe, slipped her fingers into his breeches, and grabbed him. Oh, she wanted to do it hard and with a little twist, but she restrained herself, a soft wrapping of the fingers, the gentle pull and push. Oh, Struthers was moving nowand far more than she would have expected given his recent bout of activity.

Finally one of his hands slipped up and about her, his thumbs trailing over her nipples. She glanced up and met his gaze. His eyes caught the light and flashed once. It was her turn to shiver. There was no comfort or connection to be found in his glance. His lips tightened. His face was full of some emotionbut what?

Then both his hands moved. He tightened his fingers, almost painfully, into her buttocks and lifted herhis head coming down to catch a taut nipple between his lips, his teethhis tongue circling, wetting the thin linen of her shift. God, the man knew what he was doing. Her whole body arched, her head falling back, half in unwanted pleasure, half in an attempt to see the man behindto gauge the response to the show.

Her hair was in her eyes. All she could see were her own dark curls. She tossed her head to the side, trying to get a view. Strutherss hand shifted to restrain her, pulling her tight against his arousal. Small shivers formed deep in her belly, lighting flames that raced through her. No, this was her game. She moved her hand, pinching softly, then more firmlyrubbing until the next moan that escaped was his.

That was all it took. A tight voice sounded from behind. Really, my dear Madeline, couldnt you at least have made it to the bedroom? Killing him there would be so much more discreet.

Lord Milson. She had almost forgotten him.

She gasped, much louder than was necessary, but she wanted to end this situation quicklyit had suddenly become much too real. She pulled out of Strutherss embrace and spun, resisting the urge to cover her breasts. The dampened fabric of her chemise left nothing to the imagination. Experience had taught her well.

She waited for Struthers to speak, but he remained silent, leaving the game to her.

Her mind grew icy clear. A faint glimmer of moonlight fell between the curtains of the long window and she allowed it to fall, illuminating her face and hair, before turning to hide against Strutherss hard chest. As if finally awakening to what must happen, he wrapped his arms about her, protecting heror at least appearing to. The tighter he held her, the more danger she felt.