“Aye.” Brodie still felt weak, but not nearly so much as he had before.
“Good. Carry her inside if you must. I’ll tell Mr. Chase to have a bedchamber prepared.”
“No need. She’ll share mine.”
Rafe’s lips twitched. “Remember our wager, Brodie.”
“Aye. I have no intention of bedding her. I also have no intention of letting her out of my sight.”
“Very well. I recommend you sleep off the laudanum before you woo her. We’ll leave at first light.”
Brodie reached for her hand. “Come without a fight and I willna carry you. If I must carry you, I willna be gentle about it.”
The girl nodded in agreement, so he let her stand as he exited the coach first. When she started to step out, he grasped her waist and lifted her down. She was lovely, but not quite the same as he remembered from the previous night. Of course, the first time they’d met he’d been deep in his cups, and the second he’d been out of his mind on laudanum.
She was a pleasant enough weight and felt bloody good in his arms, which only blackened his mood. He did not want to enjoy holding or touching her. Yet having the manipulative lass under his control seemed to have heightened his arousal. He had never been one for controlling women in sensual situations, but the thought ofthiswoman under his control made his body burn with hunger. Or perhaps it was more a matter of satisfaction. He gripped her bound wrists and led her up to Rafe’s townhouse.
“My good man,” Rafe said to the driver. “A hundred pounds for your silence on where you took us this night. If asked, tell your master that we headed to the docks.”
“But I did take you to the docks,” the man said with a wink as he took the money. “Dropped you there myself.”
“That’s a good man.” Rafe jogged up the steps to join Brodie and his quiet, wide-eyed abductee as they entered the townhouse.
“A hundred pounds? That’s a bit much, isn’t it?” Brodie asked.
“For his silence? Not at all, but I daresay a devilishly handsome highwayman will relieve him of half of it sooner or later.”
“Good evening, sir,” Mr. Chase greeted them, but when he saw the woman Brodie pulled into the house behind him, still gagged with a handkerchief and her wrists bound, the butler paled.
“Not again, sir. You know his lordship doesn’t approve of this sort of activity.”
“Again?” Brodie shot a look at Rafe. “You have a habit of bringing bound and gagged women to your home?”
“That’s a story for another night, old chap,” Rafe said with a laugh. “Now, Mr. Chase, as you can see, we have a guest. There are two pieces of luggage that belong to her that need to be brought inside.”
“Yes, Mr. Lennox.”
Brodie headed up the stairs, pulling the girl behind him. When he reached the door to his bedchamber he paused, looking her over. Her eyes were half-closed and glistening with tears.
“Oh, aye, maybe now you ken how I was feeling just a few hours ago.” This whole bloody mess was a far cry from how he usually acted with women. He was the charmer of the family, the rake who’d never met a woman he didn’t desire. Yet with this girl, he’d been turned on his head and had become an angry beast.
He heaved a great sigh as he opened the door and ushered her inside. She halted a few feet within the chamber, her eyes darting around the room, looking for escape, he presumed. She would find none except the way they’d entered.
“Here.” He removed the makeshift gag and tossed it to the floor. She licked her lips, nervously eyeing him the way one would a wild boar staring at her across a clearing.
“Dry your eyes. I’ll not touch you tonight, even if you were to tempt me.” He pressed a fresh handkerchief into her hand, and she raised her bound hands to wipe her eyes.
“Please, Mr. Kincade, I must be allowed to explain.”
He shook his head. “I’m not interested in your lies, lass. You’ve spread enough of them for one night. I may have been too deep in my cups to remember you clearly, but I would have remembered if I had bedded you.”
Miss Hunt shook her head. “That’s just it—you didn’t meet me. You met my younger sister. My name is Lydia, not Portia. Portia introduced herself to you last night.”
Brodie began to unbutton his waistcoat, which brought a pretty blush to her face.
“Your father spoke of only one daughter. And given how you acted when you found me bound to a bed, I canna trust you.”
“How I acted? I was trying to free you!”
