His dark gaze heated as he spotted the drop of blood on her white gloves.
“Youdareto tell me how to kiss you?” He brought his hand back and Mary cowered believably. With an evil laugh, he brought his palm hard down on her.
That is enough of that, Mary thought.
In a quick motion, she extended the palm of her hand outward, making contact with his nose and breaking it in a sickeningcrunch.
Boxton howled in pain, holding his bleeding nose with both hands.
Mary made to escape, but Boxton grabbed hold of her bodice with his blood-soaked hands. “Youbitch!”
Tugging her back to him, he snarled, pulling at the low neck of her gown. Boxton yanked, tearing the fine green silk down the front, the loudripof the delicate material absorbed by the air around them.
Irate, Mary used the pistol in her reticule as a bludgeon and aimed a hard knock to his head. But she missed, her heavy reticule bouncing harmlessly off his shoulder.
“Argh!” He bellowed. “Damn it, woman!”
He pulled the reticule from her wrist and tossed it behind him. “What the devil do you keep in there? Stones?”
“Yes,” she snapped. “To ward off vile men such as yourself.”
“Vile?” He growled. “You wish to see vile, do you, Mary?”
He reached for her once more, and Mary abandoned the act of the meek, helpless, and terrified female, and let her training and instincts take over. With all the force she could muster, Mary extended her arm out, her fingers stretched and stiff, and jabbed Boxton in the neck. He scarcely had time to choke when she lifted the heel of her palm into his already-broken nose.
He released a garbled cry, and as soon as he bent over in agony, Mary lifted her knee to his head, connecting with a hardthunk, and sending him tumbling backward.
Rolling to his back, the man groaned and cursed.
Mary stood over him and glared. “I willnevershare a bed with you, Boxton. Best you had learn to accept when a woman says ‘no.’”
With a swish of her skirts, Mary turned to walk away, but her skirt snagged, halting her.
In one violent tug, Boxton pulled her to the ground. The wind in her lungs left her in awhoosh, catching her off guard.
Before she could rise, he leapt atop her and sank his teeth deep into the flesh between her shoulder and neck. Mary screamed, the high notes echoing through the empty garden and blown away with the gentle wind.
“You like that, do you?” he asked, licking her blood from his lips.
Mary cringed, her heart thudding painfully in her chest. “You are evil, Boxton,” she whispered, her voice quavering.
She had quickly lost control of this situation and must regain her ground.
“Evil,” he hissed between clenched teeth. “Yes…”
He fisted the ends of her scarf in both hands and wrapped it once around her neck, then pulled.
Mary’s breath was immediately cut off.No!
She fought. With everything she had, she kicked, clawed, punched, scratched, pinched, jabbed…but he took it all. He hovered over her with stony, sadistic and lascivious serenity, his teeth bared in excitement and his erection jabbing into her thigh.
I must live,she thought desperately.I must tell Gabriel that I still love him…that I have always loved him. I cannot die now.
Inflicting pain wasn’t working. She must catchhimoff guard. She was running out of time.
She bucked high, throwing him off balance as he tumbled to his side.
Taking in deep gasps of air, she struggled to sit up.
