Page 27 of Wicked Highland Heroes

He steered her along the wall and out the open doors onto the balcony. Her heart jumped into her throat. The cad was going out of his way to encourage gossip. Cool air washed over her and she drew in a deep breath.

“Shall we sit down?” He nodded to a bench at the bottom of the stairs.

Eve hesitated. They had managed to avoid detection in the parlor, but the garden was a public place.

“I cannot kiss you in plain view of the ballroom,” he said.

Eve jerked her gaze onto his face.

A corner of his mouth lifted. “I thought perhaps you could use a little fresh air.”

The fact was, she could. What would the lasting effects be of sitting in the garden with him? Nothing. As he’d said, they would be in plain sight.

She allowed him to lead her down the three steps. Movement in the corner of her eye drew her attention to the nearest garden hedge twenty feet from the mansion. Her heart jumped. She recognized the hulking figure before it melted back into the shadows. Oscar Hinks. The gravity of her plans hit full force and she faltered as her foot touched the grass.

Lord Rushton’s arm shot around her waist and he hugged her to his side. “Miss Crenshaw.”

She startled at the hard muscle that came into contact with her hip and arm. “I am fine,” she said, though the breathless note in her voice made her wonder.

“Come sit down,” he started toward the bench, still holding her tight, and she realized it was now or never. If she didn’t get him off to Gretna Green, she never would.

“If you don’t mind, my lord, I would prefer to walk.”

He halted. “A walk?” The words were drawled with nonchalance, but she knew he was surprised by her suggestion.

“The exertion and fresh air will do me good,” she said. “I haven’t fully recovered from, er, recent events.”

“Indeed?” This time, amusement laced his voice. “And a walk will put you to rights?”

She flushed with embarrassment and prayed he couldn’t see the blush she knew followed the heat creeping up her cheeks. “Fresh air cures many ailments.”

Eve looked up, then regretted meeting his gaze when his fingers flexed against her waist. A moment of silence passed. Why did he hesitate? He couldn’t conceive of, much less suspect, what she had in mind. No, she realized with a jolt of frustration. He was searching for a reason to decline the invitation. There could be no denying his arousal when they’d been jammed into the hidey hole in the parlor. He hadn’t hesitated then. Why now? Eve shifted so that her breast came in contact with his chest and pressed closer. It seemed he was suddenly a statue, his body hard as stone, his hand on her waist an unmoving vice.

“Shall we, my lord?” she asked.

“That depends, my dear.”

Good Lord, she wasn’t Grace, but she was worth a walk in the gardens. What did she have to do, strip down to her shift in order to entice him? He lifted a hand and Eve froze when he ran a finger down her cheek.

His finger reached her chin and he grasped it. “Are you carrying a pistol?” She blinked, then narrowed her eyes. “A lady does not carry a pistol.”

He gave her chin a small squeeze. “A lady does not sleep with a pistol under her pillow.”

Ire flashed. “Use some sense. If I intended to shoot you again, the parlor would have been the place to do it.”

“Indeed?”

The amusement in his voice fueled her frustration. “It isn’t as if I asked you to walk the plank.”

“Oh, but you did,” he said. She pulled away, and he released her. “But, as I am a good swimmer, I am willing to take the plunge.”

The arm that had been pressed close to him prickled in the cool night air. An odd sense of lightheadedness gripped her. Warm fingers grasped her hand and Lord Rushton slipped that hand into the crook of his arm as he started forward. Movement amongst the hedges’ shadows snapped her back to attention.

She swallowed. Once they left the manicured gardens and entered the privacy of the shadowed hedges there would be no stopping Oscar from his assigned duty. Lord Rushton didn’t stand a chance against the hulking man. At Gretna Green, he would have no choice this time but to marry Grace, and Eve wouldn’t have to worry about having him as a husband. No. She would then call him brother.

She thought she might be sick.

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