Free Nicole Jordan by Ecstasy

with the tenderness of a lover—
    Swiftly Raven crushed the feelings of warmth she’d so briefly entertained. Kell Lasseter didn’t deserve her admiration. He was a mere gamester, one who doubtless had rescued her only because he didn’t want his brother being thrown in prison for life. And he had held her there against her will. She should despise him for his despicable treatment of her.
    A closed carriage awaited them on the street. When asked, Raven gave the coachman her great-aunt’s address and allowed Lasseter to hand her inside.
    Without speaking, he settled beside her and then remained silent as they got under way. Perversely Raven almost wished Lasseter would talk to her, even if only to harangue her again for shooting him. She needed the distraction. The knots in her stomach had returned with a vengeance, for she recalled just how hopeless her future now was.
    Disaster stared her in the face. Her character was in ruins, her dreams shattered. Her grandfather would doubtless disown her the way he had his own daughter. And her mother…Mama would have been devastated to see her mired in scandal and disgrace.
    Raven shut her eyes, remembering her mother’s final moments—her once-beautiful face wasted by fever, her strength drained by the fatal illness. But her grip had been fierce on her daughter’s wrist as she had pleaded in a voice hoarse with desperation:
    “Promise me, Raven. Swear to me you will wed a nobleman who can protect you from my folly.”
    “I promise, Mama. Of course I promise.”
    The pale lips had formed a frail smile of relief. “I can die in peace now.”
    Oh, Mama.
    Tears welled up in the back of Raven’s throat at the memory, while the chaos of her emotions threatened to overwhelm her again. Elizabeth Kendrick had lived for the day her daughter could return to England and take her rightful place in society without fear of being branded a bastard. And now that dream lay in ashes.
    Pain sliced through Raven, while a sickening sense of inevitability swept her. There was no possible way for her to fulfill her promise now. And she had no one to turn to. She felt desperately alone, bereft of all sense of direction or purpose.
    “Here,” she heard a low male voice murmur beside her.
    She took the handkerchief Lasseter offered her and brutally bit back a sob, cursing herself for being such a weakling. When she felt his penetrating gaze on her, she turned her face away and clenched her jaw till it ached.
    Raven had herself under better control when the carriage drew to a halt. But she sat staring out the window a long moment, knowing there was no way to avoid a tempest when she faced her relatives.
    “Do you need more time?” Lasseter asked. Amazingly enough, his dark gaze held sympathy.
    “Yes, but I suppose it would be pointless, since the outcome wouldn’t change.” She stiffened her spine. “There is no hope for it. I must brave the dragon.”
    “Dragon?”
    “My great-aunt, Lady Dalrymple. She has been waiting for me to cause a scandal since the day I arrived in England. No doubt she’ll derive great satisfaction because I have lived up to her poor opinion of me.”
    “You think she will hold you to blame for what happened?”
    “Absolutely. I’m certain no other young lady of her acquaintance would have managed to be abducted on her wedding day.”
    His sensual mouth curved in a half smile that strangely was devoid of sarcasm. “You are indeed rather unique in my experience, Miss Kendrick,” he remarked, making it sound more a compliment than a slight.
    He opened the carriage door and carefully descended, then turned to help Raven down. When he shut the door and made to accompany her, she shot him a quizzical look.
    “I intend to see you safely inside,” Lasseter said, and Raven didn’t argue. She was absurdly glad to have him beside her.
    They had started up the flight of steps together when she saw him grimace. Realizing his wound must be paining him, she offered her arm for support. Lasseter gave her a