Page 43 of Enchanted By the Lyon
“We need Blackthorn’s money, you idiot!” Forbes yelled.
“I’d rather just be done with her once and for all. I had already killed her parents knowing she was an only child and would inherit. Cutting the girth on my brother’s saddle was easily done as well. She was a thorn in my side years ago, and then I tossed her from her house. I should have killed her then but I figured she’d end up dead eventually living on the streets. How the bloody hell was I to know she’d actually survive enough to ruin me years later?” He turned to her again with enough hatred in his eyes that she knew his time of waiting was at an end. “You even ruined Forbes’ plans to frame Blackthorn for the abuse done to his ex-mistresses. It would have been a perfect plan if we had been able to carry out our last attempt on that last whore!” He turned to the viscount. “I say we kill her now.”
Forbes jumped forward pushing her away. “I won’t let you ruin everything until we get the ransom,” he said before knocking Barlow down. They began to wrestle upon the ground and that was Cassandra’s cue to run. She took off from the small clearing and into the woods, toward the sound of the horse coming closer.
She hadn’t gone far when she was grabbed from behind and spun around. Thinking it was one of her captors catching up with her, she raised her knee only to pull up short from kicking whoever held her when she saw Lucius’s handsome face. She collapsed in his arms with a sob.
Suddenly, everything happened at once. A pistol shot went off at the same time the woods came alive. Men she didn’t know raced toward Barlow and Forbes, lying still on the ground. She saw Saxton and Wickes moving toward her captors too. Thehorse and rider finally came into view through the trees. It was Asher Tyler who had a wide grin upon his face.
“I see you came to the rescue in time,” Asher said to Lucius, his smile growing wider.
Lucius nodded. “Thankfully, yes. I’m not certain how much longer I was going to be able to remain in the woods and not rush to my lady’s side.”
Another man stepped forward. “Seems to me you were innocent all along, my lord,” he declared. “I’ve heard enough from them to say they’ve confessed to their crimes and a couple of others as well. And just so you’re aware, Mrs. Yates and Mrs. Darling both came to my office and said that Hollingsworth was blackmailing them to say you were the person who accosted them. But I’ll need a statement from Mrs. Vaughn regarding what happened directly to her.”
“And you’ll be able to find us at my country estate, but for now she needs her rest,” Lucius said as he tore off his cloak and settled the garment over her shoulders.
Cassandra snuggled into the warmth of his embrace when he pulled her into his arms but couldn’t resist looking toward the two men who had kidnapped her. They weren’t moving.
Lucius pointed to the group that was surrounding them. “Find out what’s happened, Asher,” he said as his friend rode his horse over to the group.
He came back several moments later and dismounted. “They killed each other. One was shot and the other had a knife protruding in his chest.”
Cassandra shuddered. “At least they won’t bother us anymore and Lucius is no longer under any suspicion.”
Lucius pulled her close. “That is the least of my worries. I’m more concerned with getting you dry and out of these wet clothes.”
A twinkle sparkled in her eyes as she pulled his head down to whisper in his ear. “I look forward to you helping me, my lord.”
He kissed her lips. “Behave, my love.”
She couldn’t help the pout that crested her lips. “Not likely, my lord.”
Asher excused himself with a laugh and went back to the group. The three friends all turned to watch as Lucius helped her onto his horse he had hidden in the forest. As he settled in the saddle behind her, she knew from this day forward that she never wanted to be parted from this man ever again.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Lucius lounged backin a chair in the bedroom he had taken Cassandra to. He had ridden fast in order to get her to his country estate as she shivered against him in the pouring rain. Once he reached their destination, he had held up his arms to help her from the saddle but instead of letting her walk on her own, he carried her into the house.
He began issuing orders for a bath to be drawn for his lady. A maid had followed them upstairs and while he wanted to take her to his own room, he thought it best if he took Cassandra instead to a guest room. A tea trolley had been brought in shortly afterwards while his lady sat near the hearth that had been started to warm her. Between the tea and the nearby flames, she had finally begun to have some color in her cheeks.
Servants began filing in with buckets of water and a screen was placed in front of the tub for her privacy. Lucius began to take his leave but Cassandra quickly ran over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. She begged him to stay and after witnessing her tear-filled eyes, he couldn’t say no. Reluctantly she followed the maid over toward the screen where the girl helped Cassandra from her still-wet clothes. When he heard her getting into the tub and he thought about her laying there naked,a part of him rose and strained against his breeches. There was only so much a man could take. He had promised her he wouldn’t leave but he was certain staying was going to kill him.
He muffled a chuckle remembering how she had dismissed the maid who quietly left the room. Now here he sat, very uncomfortable in fact, listening to the sounds of the woman he loved enjoying the warmth of the water. His cravat was untied, his shirt open, and he thought if he wanted any sort of a reprieve from his manhood straining for release that he might need to break his promise and bolt from this room. But Cassandra was unaware how much effort it was taking not to rip off his clothes and join her in her bath. Instead, she was humming a little tune and splashing in the water as she cleaned herself. When she stopped, he wondered what was wrong until a bar of soap came sliding past the screen.
“Oops,” she said and he wondered if this ploy was deliberate. “Lucius, darling… would you mind retrieving my soap? I fear it’s beyond my reach.”
His control snapped and he pulled off his boots and stockings before leaving his chair and making his way across the room. Reaching down, he grabbed at the bar of soap and gazed upon his lustrous lady. Bubbles floated in the water keeping most of what she offered from his view but it was the sight of the rounded tops of her creamy breasts that made his hands itch to caress each one. When her green eyes mischievously lowered to the bulge in his pants, that was all it took for whatever bit of control he had left.
She gave him a seductive smile. “Well, hello,” she said in a soft tone that was pure sin. “Care to join me?”
Pulling his shirt over his head, he divested himself of the rest of his clothing while her eyes never left his. She sat up further in the tub making room for him as he lowered himself into thewater. He pulled her to him and she wiggled herself in his lap, almost causing him to unman himself then and there.
“You took long enough,” she purred sweetly, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“You tempt a man to forget himself, my love,” he said trying to keep himself from plunging into the very core of her.
“You held out longer than I expected. I thought for certain you would have been here long before now. I figured dismissing the maid would have told you that I wanted you here with me.”
