Secluded with the Rogue

Chapter 12

Twelve

D rew was trapped in his study trying to get more work done. He had three new contracts with merchants looking to secure space on his ships to review, and they were important. Time sensitive, even. But all he could think about was the infuriating woman who had kicked him out of her bedchamber last night.

It was not unexpected that she would regret what they'd done. At the very least, Charlene appeared to regret the impulsivity of the moment. But to have her regret sweep in so suddenly and completely? That had caught him unawares.

Drew sighed. He should go find her and try to speak with her. Perhaps he should not have laughed at her awkwardness afterwards—that had been poor form, he supposed.

But the woman was so rarely at a loss for words; she was always so quick with a snappy retort that seeing her grope for words had amused him. Charmed him even. But she had reacted badly. Once she had fallen back into her usual pattern of behavior, straight to mulish anger, he had gone right along with her instead of being the better person.

I’m a fool.

Drew dropped the contract he held absently and stood up. He should go find her in whichever nook she'd holed up in and apologize. Do something—anything—to make things right with her. He'd taken her virginity last night, been so deep inside her, his heart had missed a few beats. He owed her that.

He was just turning to walk toward the orangery where she used to hide as a girl, when he heard his name being called.

“Drew! Drew! Come quick!” It was Polly, her voice rattled, and she was not one to panic over nothing. Something had her upset.

Turned around hurriedly, Drew ran to where she was poking her head out of the kitchen. “What is it? What's happened?”

“It's Louanne!” She looked truly distraught.

“What's wrong with the little mare?” Drew did not understand—what could have happened to the reliable little mare?

“She's just wandered in from the woods, riderless!” Polly pulled him into the kitchen, her hands frantic.

“What was she doing in the bloody woods?” None of this was making sense.

Polly sighed. “Drew, you bloody dolt! Billy noticed Louanne was missing after we finished breakfast with John. We believe Lady Charlene took her for a ride, which was of no concern until Louanne just appeared without a rider in sight. Something must have happened to Lady Charlene!”

Drew's stomach plummeted as Polly's words sank in. Charlie was missing . Possibly injured somewhere out there in the snow. “Bloody hell!”

“Finally you’re getting there—yes, bloody hell!” Polly opened the side door of the kitchen and shoved him out into the biting cold.

There he found Billy straightening up from a full inspection of the horse. “I don't see any injuries. Something must have spooked Louanne to cause her to rear up or buck Lady Charlene—unless she climbed off herself and the mare got away from her. Either way, Lady Charlene is stuck somewhere out there in this snow and the temperature is already dropping.” Billy looked over Drew's shoulder and pointed to the other side of the house. “And I suspect we are in for another dumping of snow before the madness of this storm is done.”

Drew looked back and spewed some choice words normally heard on the deck of one of his ships. “Get Mars saddled.” He ran back into the house to throw on warmer clothes and gather a few blankets for when he found Charlie.

He had to find Charlie.

Ten minutes later, Drew was bundled up and headed out in the direction Louanne had apparently come from. It would be like finding a needle in a haystack, but he had to find Charlie. There was no other option.

Fortunately, he quickly realized two things. The first was that Louanne had left tracks in the deep snow, so he had an easy trail to follow. The second was that if he didn't find Charlie soon, the next snowfall would soon start to cover those tracks.

Drew checked his pocket watch once more, looked at the sky and then back at the mare’s tracks. Evidently Louanne had not taken a direct route home. She'd wandered around, perhaps distressed. But her tracks remained clear and about forty minutes later he found both the end of the tracks…and Charlie.

Drew slipped from Mars' back and knelt in the snow next to the only woman who had pushed past all his barriers. His heart lurched in his chest, but he pushed the panic, the emotions, the need for her aside.

This was not the time.

Right now, what Charlie needed was his focus and attention to get her out of the snow and back to the warmth of Glenn Ivy.

Touching her face, Drew exhaled slowly. She was ice cold. Fear lanced through him. Her lips had a slightly blue tint to them and she was barely shivering. He knew from a lifetime of traveling, including to cold climes, that neither indicator was good. Picking her up and carrying her to his horse, he hesitated. Mounting with a woman in his arms would be not only difficult but dangerous to all involved. He took Mars' reins and started walking. There was a fallen log a little ways back that he could stand on and mount Mars safely while holding a still unconscious Charlie.

Once he found the log, he carefully set Charlie down on the ground and stepped on the log. He tried to rock it back and forth and found it did not move. The log was sturdy enough. Next he gathered the blankets from Mars' back and swapped Charlie's sodden cloak for the warm, dry blankets. Then, with her in his arms, he clambered onto the log and onto Mars, who amazingly held still for the entire orchestration. He had earned extra oats tonight.

Settled on the horse, Drew made his way carefully back to Glenn Ivy. He'd been walking Mars at a careful pace for about thirty minutes when Charlie shivered and made a noise.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked up at him from where she lay across his lap. “D-Drew?”

“Good evening, Sleeping Beauty. I'm very glad to see you awake.” Drew smiled down at her, though he was sure it looked as strained as it felt.

Her eyes widened as if everything had come back to her in a rush. “Oh no! The mare I took is out here somewhere, we have to find her!”

Drew loved that her first concern was for an animal, not herself. “Louanne returned to the manor, that is how we knew something was amiss. I came in search of you immediately.”

Her lashes lowered as another shiver wracked her body. “I suppose I'm going to get a lecture about taking your horse without permission.”

Drew chuckled softly. “Eventually there will probably be a lecture about that, among other things, but now is not the time or place. Rest easy. We are nearly home and then I can get you warmed back up. You've been out in the cold and snow for hours.”

She seemed to look around them and wrinkled her nose. “Is it terribly late?”

“Not terribly. It must be around two or three in the afternoon.” His stomach rumbled. “I'm afraid I missed luncheon in order to mount your rescue.”

She snorted. “I'm afraid I missed luncheon to be available to be rescued.”

Drew laughed as his heart did a cartwheel in his chest. She was safe, and appeared to be none the worse for wear. Or so he thought. “I assume nothing is broken. I was so concerned with getting you home, I forgot to check you properly.”

She paused for a moment and wiggled each of her limbs. “I don't seem to be damaged anywhere beyond a slight ache in my head. I think I was just knocked unconscious when the mare reared and I lost my seat.”

“Did you see what caused her to rear?” Louanne was typically a pretty docile mare.

Her nose scrunched up. “I saw nothing. I think we had drifted toward a ditch or somewhere her footing was unstable. Since everything was covered in snow, she couldn't see the ground. I don't think she cared for that and reared up to get back to solid ground.” She sighed. “Somewhere in all that, I was displaced.”

“I see. Well, Louanne doesn't get ridden a lot since my mother died. She was her mount. It may have been the combination of having a strange rider, the weather, and the uneven terrain.” He shrugged a shoulder. “I suppose we shall never really know.”

Glenn Ivy came into view and the first few snowflakes fell. A rush of relief hit Drew hard. They were nearly home, and Charlie was safe.

A few minutes later, they were in the house and he was striding upstairs with Charlie remonstrating loudly in his arms. Behind him Polly scurried about, collecting things she deemed necessary as she followed behind. When he walked into his bedchamber, Polly and Charlie both protested.

“Drew, you can't put her in your bed!” Polly exclaimed.

At the same time Charlie said, “Absolutely not. Take me to my chamber.”

He ignored both women and promptly installed Charlie in his bed. She wasn't going anywhere. He turned to Polly. “You, out. I shall call if I need you.”

Polly's mouth fell open as she gaped at him in surprise, but turned to leave, a sly smile on her face. Ignoring all of that, Drew turned to Charlie who was on the bed and trying, with little success, to get out of it. She was far too weak from being out in the cold to actually hoist herself from the bed, the way she was trying.

Drew let her struggle for a few more moments until she gave up and flopped back down where he'd put her. Of course, the deep feather topper he had on his bed made it extra difficult for her to accomplish her goal. It was the one luxury he allowed himself when he was not on a ship.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, next to her rounded hip, and leaned over her with one arm on either side of her head. “Now, for once in your life you are going to listen to me, Charlie. You are going to lie in this bed until you are both warm and well rested. I shall not have you catching pneumonia on me.”

“But I'm fine,” she mumbled as her breath hitched and her gaze locked in on his lips.

Good God, he could practically feel her caressing them, the hungry way she stared at him . “I'll be the one to determine when you are fine.” He drifted closer to her as he spoke. “You need rest… and heat…” His words trailed off as he leaned even closer, just as she licked her lips—just a quick swipe of her pink tongue, but it broke his resolve. “Lots of heat.”

His lips captured hers as though they had a will of their own, but he was, without a doubt, on board with their plan. Their tongues tangled as Charlene moaned into his mouth. Drew wanted to devour her, to consume her so they never needed to be apart. Instead, he kissed her. Long and deep. The sensual onslaught had his cock growing hard with the promise of being inside her again soon.

He groaned and pulled away from the kiss. Fuck! This was not what he was supposed to be doing. He was supposed to be taking care of her. Ensuring she was warm. Feeding her. Yes! He needed to get food.

Drew stood abruptly and pulled the covers up over her body. “I'll be right back with some warm broth.”

“Broth?” She stared, a little dazed.

The confusion wasn't from the cold. No, it was most definitely related to their kiss because he felt much the same.

Drew walked out of his bedchamber and found Polly standing in the hall. “Ah.”

She pressed her lips together before looking him up and down. “Did you take the poor girl's clothes off?”

Drew flushed in embarrassment. “No!”

“And why not? She needs to get out of those sodden clothes in order to get warm.” Polly eyed him knowingly.

“Oh, bloody hell.” He smacked his forehead with his palm. “Let me go back inside and do that.”

“I think it's best if I go in and help her out. I have a pot of broth on the stove downstairs. You fetch that and I'll take care of our second patient and make sure she doesn't escape your clutches.” She smirked. “Oh dear, I mean bed.”

Drew huffed out a breath and headed downstairs as Polly pushed past him.

He was an idiot. Where exactly had he lost the thread on taking care of Charlie and not ravishing her? He couldn't be certain. It was somewhere between her gaze focusing on his lips, and her tongue swiping over hers in invitation.

Was it really his fault? He didn't think so. Who could blame him for being so entranced by her? In the end, none of it mattered. He'd kissed her. Again.

Worst of all, he wasn't sure he wanted to stop kissing her. Ever.