Captive Pride Read online

  Just an instant, seeing her very real distress, Noah felt a twinge of conscience and gave a fleeting thought to the possibility that he might be wrong about her. He stopped himself harshly. This was the woman who, despite her vows of hatred for him, had been in his arms eagerly the other night and had just tried to seduce Matt the same way. No matter how she tried, she could not deny it. She was nothing but baggage. She was deceitful and not above using her body as a tool to pursue her own ends. Why shouldn’t he take her if he wanted her?

  “Oh? How would your lover feel about that? Aren’t you supposed to use this lovely body of yours to further the cause?” he growled as he pulled her to him. “I’m not averse to being tempted. Forget Matthew. I’m the one you should be concerning yourself with…. I’m the one who’s in control….” Noah was snarling as he brushed aside her fichu and slipped one hand within the confines of her bodice to fondle the fullness of her sweet, rounded breast.

  “Please…no!” She tried to resist, but it was useless against his strength. She tried to make some semblance of sense of his words, but she was totally, mindlessly confused. Was he crazy? What did he mean, use her body for the cause?

  But there was no time left to think or to question as he kissed her again, his mouth moving over hers in a demanding, potent exchange. CC’s limbs were quaking as he held her pinned against him. She could not move, she could not protest. All she could do was submit to his bold, questing touch, and it infuriated her even as it frightened her. What did he mean to do with her? Her mind was on fire with the need to escape him, even as she felt the stirrings of desire deep within her. She refused to acknowledge her weakness, though, and held herself rigidly in his arms, determined not to give him the satisfaction of knowing her desperation.

  But Noah understood women far too well, and realizing that force was not working, he changed his tack. With all the moves of a master, he set out to seduce her senses, softening his kiss to a bare whisper of contact and easing up on his controlling embrace. He would dominate her, but he would do it with her consent.

  CC was surprised by the sudden change in Kincade, yet she still held herself stiffly against him. She hated him! She would not capitulate. She would not let him know that his every touch was wreaking havoc on her senses. Any moment now, CC felt certain he was going to become frustrated in his efforts and stop, and then she would be free.

  Noah, however, had sampled her wanton passion once and meant to taste it again. With slow precision he stole kiss after burning kiss, until she was unknowingly meeting him halfway. Pleased that he was making progress, but still not satisfied with her response, he pushed her gown from her shoulders and lifted her breasts free of the soft confines of her chemise. With ardent, heated caresses, he toyed with that sensuous flesh until he felt the tenseness easing from her.

  CC was becoming lost in a haze of forbidden desire. She despised Noah Kincade, but her body was defying her mind and betraying her ideals to the ecstasy of his thrilling caress. CC knew she should continue to fight him, to deny him the triumph she knew he would feel in conquering her resistance, but she suddenly had no will of her own. And when his mouth moved to explore the sensitive tips of her breasts, she gave up the struggle. Exquisite pulses of pleasure radiated to all parts of her body, and she found herself gasping in sweet agony. Even as she detested him and all he stood for, she wanted him and she could no longer deny it.

  “Kincade…” She breathed his name in a half curse, half cry.

  Noah pulled back, straightening above her to stare down at her moonswept beauty. “My name is Noah.”

  The stilling of his caresses left CC feeling oddly chilled and she stared up at him, the fires of her need burning hotly within the womanly heart of her.

  “Noah…please…”

  “Please what, CC?” he growled, sliding both hands down the curve of her back until they rested, knowingly, on her hips. With inexorable pressure then, he pulled her forward until she was flush against him. “Please make love to you?” he taunted.

  The coldness of the gold buttons on his vest cut into the softness of her bared breasts as he crushed her to him, and still he pressed her closer until she could feel the strength of his male arousal. The alien contact, even through all the layers of their clothes, brought a sudden gasp from CC, and she glanced up at him, nervously wetting her lips.

  “Yes…oh yes…” she pleaded, hungry for that spiraling peak of excitement he’d given her when she’d been in his arms the other night.

  “Soon, love, you’ll know all of me. It won’t be like the last time,” Noah vowed as he brazenly took possession of her mouth again. His hands began an expert foray, tracing fiery patterns across the creamy flesh he remembered so vividly.

  At some point in time—Noah could never recall exactly when—his intent changed. He no longer wanted simply to dominate her. Suddenly he wanted to make love to her. His senses were alive with the need to take her…they had been since the night of the meeting, although he’d tried to deny it…and he wanted her to share in the heat and passion of the moment. He wanted her to be a full and willing participant in their coming together.

  Noah ignored the edge of uncertainty that threatened to dampen his driving desires. He was firmly convinced that CC Demorest was no blushing virgin. She was involved in underground activities. She was engaged to one man while openly leading on others….

  “Remember, I’m only taking what you’re offering,” Noah muttered in a strangely hoarse voice, as if to exonerate himself of any possible guilt.

  Somewhere in the back of her mind, CC knew she should tell him that he was wrong about her. Yet suddenly, at the sensual touch of his hand upon her breast and the insistent pressure of his manly pride against her maidenly softness, she had found herself inundated with wildly uncontrollable sensations, and she couldn’t reply. She was enveloped in a flame of need, heat surged through her, coiling tightly in that secret feminine place between her thighs. CC felt herself losing all touch with reality. She knew she should fight, especially now that he’d completely released her and was sweeping her up in his arms to carry her the rest of the way to the summerhouse, but she couldn’t. His erotic caress, his intoxicating kiss, and the very mesmerizing hardness of him had sent her senses skyrocketing. She was lost, to all but the desire for completion with this man.

  Though Noah was caught up in the passion of the moment, too, he cynically applauded her acting abilities. What an accomplished little actress she was, he thought distractedly as he strode to the small house and entered its secluded interior. CC had gone from a fighting vixen to a surrendering whore in the space of a few exciting caresses. She had played both roles to the hilt, and he sneered inwardly at the change. Had she thought he would enjoy a challenge more than a willing woman? Was that why she had fought so hard in the beginning?

  Noah knew he should taunt her with the knowledge that he had conquered her resistance and force her to admit her role in the plot with John, but there would be time for that later. Right now, his body was demanding satisfaction. He wanted her, she was willing, and he was going to have her.

  Noah let her slide down the length of his body, and then kissed her deeply as his hands worked impatiently at the fastenings on the gown. CC knew only a moment of apprehension as he slipped the dress from her before surrendering without question to his demanding hands, and he stripped her of her remaining garments. She stood before him then in all her glory and Noah paused to stare at her loveliness in silent appreciation. CC was perfect. Her breasts were full and proud, her waist small enough to invite his touch, her hips gently rounded above long, shapely legs. His breathing grew ragged as he stepped closer to pull her back into his arms, and she went willingly.

  Gently he guided her down onto the cushioned sofa, fitting his still-clad body intimately against her defenseless one.

  “You’re beautiful, CC,” he told her as he explored every inch of her satiny flesh, seeking out her pleasure points, first with his hands and then with his lips
.

  His sensual touch was evoking feelings of desire CC had never experienced before, and she was almost frightened by the power of her own arousal. Restlessly she moved beneath his welcome weight, seeking something more, needing that unknown quantity that only he could give which would make her feel whole…complete…satisfied.

  Noah rose above her, bracing himself by his arms as he gazed down into her face. Her eyes had been closed, but they flew open as he drew slightly away. Desire flared openly in the dark emerald depths of her gaze as she met his smoky one. CC thought vaguely that she’d never seen Noah’s eyes reflect quite that color before, and she lifted both hands to frame his face, pulling him back to her for a tumultuous kiss.

  It was the final invitation he needed, and he broke away from her almost painfully to shed his own clothes. He could wait no longer. His need to be buried within the hot, pulsing sheath of her was more than he could bear.

  CC watched him, feverishly, as he shrugged out of his dark coat and quickly unbuttoned his vest. Her gaze was ravenous as she devoured him with her eyes, visually caressing the powerful width of his shoulders and the broad expanse of his furred chest. Wantonly, she knew a sudden desire to run her fingers all over his chest and torso. Sensual heat surged through her at the thought, and in the night’s covering darkness, she blushed. It didn’t matter, though. Nothing mattered except having him back in her arms, touching her and creating those magic, mindless sensations within her again.

  Noah stripped off the last of his clothes and turned to her then, giving CC her first unrestricted view of a man’s body. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at him in fascination. He was magnificent as he stood there bathed in the moon’s fading glow. From his dark head to his slim hips and long, straight, strongly muscled legs, he was perfect. Timidly, CC avoided looking at his manhood, but Noah’s deep voice commanded.

  “Look at me, CC.”

  She glanced up, meeting his compelling gaze, and then trailed her line of vision lower until she saw him, full and powerful and ready for her.

  “Noah…I…” She was nervous and uncertain, but he allowed her no time to waver as he came to her.

  “I mean to have you, CC, and there will be no interruptions this time.” His tone was serious as he moved over her.

  His body was a scalding brand upon her cool alabaster flesh, and CC clasped him to her hungrily as she tried to absorb some of his warmth. Noah nudged her thighs apart with one knee and then positioned himself to take her, sliding his hands down to her buttocks to lift her to him. CC gasped at the exciting sensations his touch aroused, but she was totally unprepared for the foreign thrust of his hips as he probed her softness, seeking entry. She stiffened at the strangeness of it and tried to push away.

  “Noah…stop…wait…”

  “It’s too late, CC, much too late,” Noah groaned as he found the portal he sought and thrust eagerly forward.

  Noah felt her tense as her feminine resistance tore before his passionate onslaught. He felt her virginal tightness as he pierced her untouched depths and he froze, holding himself rigidly above her. His thoughts were chaotic. CC had been untouched until him…. She had been a virgin…. The enormity of the moment shocked him, yet he could not stop. The feel of her body, hot and velvet, holding him buried within her was driving him beyond all rational thought, and there could be only one outcome.

  “CC…” He whispered her name hoarsely as he began to move, his body rocking slowly, gently against hers.

  CC lay completely still. The passion she’d been feeling had vanished now that the pain of his penetration had ripped through her. She had never known there would be pain; she had thought his touch would only bring pleasure. She bit her lip to keep from crying out as he began to move in a foreign, yet somehow oddly familiar, rhythm.

  Noah sensed the change in CC, and he brought his own surging desires under control with an effort. He was determined to make their joining good for her and he bent to kiss her, murmuring softly to soothe her fears.

  “Easy, love. It’ll pass. Relax….”

  CC gave a small, shaken sob as he claimed her lips, and Noah felt an even greater agony to know that he’d really hurt her. His kiss was soft and sweet, drawing her from herself and gradually easing the tension that pervaded her slim form.

  CC had been stunned by all that had happened, but the gentle persuasion of his mouth on hers helped to calm her, and she sighed quietly.

  “I want you, CC…. I have from the beginning,” Noah told her as he trailed burning kisses down her throat and across her bare shoulder.

  His action sent a shiver of awareness through her. CC was amazed to find that the knifelike agony of his possession had passed and only a pressing fullness remained. When his hands left her hips to cup and caress her breasts, she felt the faint stirrings of pleasure again and instinctively she pressed her hips to his, feeling a need for something more deep within.

  A shudder of pleasure shot through Noah at her innocent invitation, but still he held himself in check. He had blundered once; he would not do it again. With patient care, he worked at arousing her once more, his hands skimming over her in an erotic play that teased her to the heights of desire and banished all thoughts of pain from her mind.

  CC could not remain still beneath his burning weight. His masterful touch had transported her to rapture’s precipice, and she needed him to show her the way to total fulfillment.

  “Noah…” She whispered his name as she lifted her hands to frame his face and draw his eyes to hers. “Please, Noah…”

  Her plea broke what little control he still had over his own passions. He began to move within her again, this time taking care to pleasure her as he went. He never stopped touching and kissing her as his hips drove in age-old rhythm into her welcoming softness, and when she reached her pinnacle of delight and cried out her ecstasy, he held her tightly. His own peak soon followed, the knowledge that he’d taken CC from pain to pleasure heightening the joy of his excitement. They crested and soared, completely immersed in the splendor of their joining, and then rested, wrapped sensuously, intimately in each other’s arms.

  Chapter Nine

  A near-violent fury shook Matt as he stood in the study with a group of men listening to the conversation between Harley Winthrop and Colonel Thornhill praising the soldiers stationed in Boston.

  “Gentlemen,” Matt interrupted abruptly, his sudden anger overwhelming him, “it’s been my experience that the troops stationed here are less than the professional soldiers you make them out to be. I should think that discipline would be one of your most pressing concerns.”

  Winthrop cast him a quick look of surprise as he wondered why His Lordship would be interested in military affairs. Colonel Thornhill, a tall British officer of ramrod-straight posture and a long, flowing mustache, frowned at his inference.

  “How’s that, Lord Kincade?” Thornhill inquired. He knew that the Kincades had only just arrived in Boston, and he wondered what possible contact this young man might have had with the troops.

  “I had the occasion to rescue a young girl from two of your fine troopers several days ago,” Matt informed them coldly.

  “Rescue a girl from our troopers?” They exchanged puzzled glances. “I dare say—”

  Matt cut them off. “She had been beaten, and had I not arrived on the scene when I did, she surely would have been more sorely abused, if you understand my meaning.”

  “I hadn’t heard of this infraction,” Thornhill blustered. “Two soldiers attacking a young woman?”

  Winthrop frowned in consideration and then shrugged, chuckling maliciously. “Must have been a colonial wench. She was probably a working girl….”

  “Sir!” Matt took offense at his remark. “Indeed she was a colonial, but she was no prostitute. She went out on the streets that night to fetch a doctor for her seriously ill parent. Your fine soldiers, instead of protecting her, were the cause of her terrible anguish! She might have died at their hands.”


  “Were you able to identify the soldiers?”

  “No, all I saw was their backs as they ran away,” he told them scathingly.

  “And the woman?”

  “I don’t know if she followed up on the report I made to the constable or not,” Matt answered uneasily.

  Matt had wanted to check on Faith after that morning, to make sure that she was all right, but he had hesitated, believing that she wanted nothing more to do with him. When the doctor had returned to the inn the following morning, he had instructed him to attend Faith at her home and then report back to him after seeing her. Upon his return, Dr. Spalding had assured him that the young woman and her mother were doing fine. It had heartened him to know that Faith was better, but since she had sent no message with the doctor, he’d been forced to accept that there would be no further contact between them. He had directed the constable to her home, too, but the officer had never reported back to him with any findings or information, giving him reason to believe that Faith had been unable to identify her attackers.

  “Evidently she didn’t, Lord Kincade,” Thornhill dismissed. “I’m sure it’s all blown over by now. Usually these girls lead the soldiers on, you see….”

  “Our men do have their raucous moments, but all in all, they’re good fighting men.”

  “No, I don’t see, Thornhill. And Winthrop, I’m surprised by your attitude! You call attacking a defenseless woman a ‘raucous moment’?” Matt was furious.

  “Lord Kincade,” Thornhill began with a rather mollifying tone, “you’ve only just arrived here in the colonies. You can’t possibly know the way of things yet….”

  Matt’s blue eyes turned icy as he faced the two officers. “Sir, I’m learning, and what I’m learning does not endear the military’s presence to me!” He gave them both a curt bow. “If you will excuse me?”

  And without another word, Matt strode with dignified aristocratic grace from the room. He was still angry when he reached the ballroom, and he stood stiffly in the open double doorway watching the dancers as they performed the minuet. A servant passed with a tray of champagne and he helped himself to a glass of the sparkling wine, downing it quickly in his disquiet.