Page 19 of One Scandal Too Many (Havenwood Academy #1)

A thundering boom jolted Charlotte awake. She held a hand over her rapidly beating heart and reminded herself to breathe. Storms had never been a favorite of hers, and she suspected that would never change. She glanced at her surroundings and frowned. The room was dark with little light to aid in her perusal. There was a fire in the hearth giving off a little light, but for the most part she couldn’t see much.

She tried to sit up, but pain in her ankle made her wince. Where the blazes was she? The settee she was lying upon had seen better days. Charlotte ran her fingers over the surface and found it to be threadbare and lumpy. She narrowed her gaze, once again trying to discern her location. She did not recognize this place, and she definitely did not know how she’d come to be here.

The door opened, and wind blew throughout, making her shiver. She glanced toward the door as she pulled the quilt over her tighter. “Who’s there?” Fear settled into her stomach. First, she didn’t recognize her surroundings, and now a potential stranger walked inside. This seemed to be some sort of cabin, but that was all she could say with any certainty.

“Hello, darling,” Declan said. “You’re awake. That’s good.” He moved over to her and kneeled beside the settee. Water dripped from his hair and coated his clothing. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m...” Charlotte frowned. Her confusion was only growing with each passing moment. “What happened?”

“As far as I can tell, you took a spill from Kallippos and a snake decided to nibble on your boot.” He skimmed his fingers over her cheek. “Now tell me how you’re feeling? Is your ankle paining you?”

She stared down the blanket to her covered feet. Her ankle did pain her a little bit. “It’s not terribly bad. I think I’ll be all right.” Had the snake actually managed to bite her? She couldn’t really recall much. Her head ached a little bit too. Perhaps she had hit it when she’d fallen off of the horse.”

“Good,” he said. “I managed to find some more dry wood in the small shed. We’re going to need it. The storm isn’t showing any signs of letting up.” He stood and went over to the hearth. Once there, he set down the wood he’d been carrying in a basket and then added another log to the fire. He turned back to her. “You have been asleep for a while. It’s already starting to get dark. I’m afraid we are here for the night.”

“The night,” she exclaimed and sat up. “That cannot be right. I can’t be here all night.” She frowned. They had already been in the cabin for hours now. Mrs. Havenwood would not be pleased. Her father would be even less so once he heard of this. She nibbled on her bottom lip. There was nothing for it. She was truly ruined now. “I’ll never be able to go home.” She said the words so quietly she hadn’t even realized she’d said them aloud.

Declan joined her on the settee and ran his hand over her hair. “You don’t need to go home.”

“How could you possibly understand?” she said. “You don’t know my father or what he’s like. I barely committed any transgression. It was a mere hint of a scandal, and I wasn’t even at the center of it, and he exiled me here. His daughter doesn’t create scandals. I have to be above reproach.” She laughed a little hysterically. “Well... there’s no changing this. Too many people know I was on the hunt with you, and when we both fail to return...” She blew out a breath. “You’re not a fool.” Charlotte met his gaze. “You know exactly what that means.”

He nodded. “It cannot be helped.” Declan sounded resigned, but she didn’t understand to what. Was this an acceptable casualty to him? Her reputation couldn’t matter to him. Why would it? That loss meant nothing to him. He wasn’t the one directly affected by it. “You were injured. There is a storm.” He shrugged. “I couldn’t leave you out there in it.”

“And what do you propose I do now?” This was... ridiculous. How had her life accumulated to this one moment? Something beyond her control had become her undoing. All the risks she’d taken and never been caught. Fate was laughing at her, and she bloody well deserved it. “I’ve been so careful.”

“I’m sorry, darling,” he said. “I’d change this if I could.”

“Would you?” She lifted a brow. “Why?” Charlotte still didn’t quite comprehend why he bothered with her. Sure, he liked her kisses and he tempted her by breathing, but that didn’t translate into anything truly meaningful. She didn’t know what this man expected from her. Less than a day ago, she wasn’t even certain she cared what he wanted. It had only mattered that she wanted to be near him. That alone had terrified her.

He jolted back as if she’d slapped him. “I never would wish you harm. I thought you understood that much.”

She scrubbed her hands over her face. Perhaps she was being unfair to him. He hadn’t done this to her. Truthfully, no one had. This was just a terrible situation that had no good solution. She couldn’t blame him even if she wanted to. None of this was his fault. He’d helped her and ensured she had a safe place to ride out the storm. There wasn’t anything else she could have asked from him. “I do,” she told him quietly. “I don’t mean to act as if I don’t. It’s just...”

“Too much,” he supplied. “No one could have predicted how this day would go.” He smiled. “I’m glad that I was able to help you.” He motioned to her leg. “I should try to look at it. Even in this low light I might be able to see if we should be concerned.”

“I think it is all right,” she said. A part of her was reluctant to lift her skirts to allow him to look at her ankle, even though he clearly already had. She’d been unconscious then, though. Charlotte hadn’t been able to stop him. Shouldn’t she want to now? “There’s not really any need...”

“Charlotte,” he chastised. “You know there is.”

She pursed her lips together, preparing to argue with him, for what purpose, she didn’t quite know. Just because she could? It wouldn’t be the first time she was contrary for the sake of being so. She sighed. Charlotte had awakened to the darkened cabin, and it had become tedious rather quickly. It struck her then that she was truly alone with him. The chances of anyone finding them together were slim. Perhaps this was something she hadn’t dared to hope for, but now that she had it... this could be an opportunity. Especially as her reputation was already surely ruined. “Very well,” she conceded, and pulled the quilt free so he could look at her ankle. She was tired of being a good girl and doing as she was told. Not that she always did, but now she was determined to be herself. She wanted Declan, and devil take it, she would have him. Even if it was only for a little while.

He knelt again and lifted her skirts, then raised her ankle so it rested on his knee. He unwound the cloth he had tied around it and ran his hand over her exposed flesh. She shivered. His touch was almost too much, and he had barely placed his fingers on her. What would it be like if he could do more than this?

“It looks all right. The swelling has gone down.” He glanced up at her and grinned. “In this case, I think your assumption is correct. I am going to leave it unbound. I don’t think we need to be concerned there is a more serious injury here. You should have a quick recovery.” He set her foot down. “I found some cards earlier. Would you care to play a game to pass the time?”

She was quiet for several moments. Charlotte wanted to do something far more scandalous than play cards. He didn’t appear ready to hear that proposal yet, though. So instead, she tilted her head to the side and studied him. She met his gaze and slid her lips up into a sensual smile. He’d get a game, all right. It just might not be the one he suggested. “By all means, love,” she said in a coquettish tone. “Let’s play cards.”

*

Charlotte was scheming. He’d lay odds on that fact. Declan couldn’t find it in himself to care. He understood what this night meant, and he couldn’t even care about that. He’d wanted her, and he could have her now. She’d muttered she thought she might be in love with him. Somehow, he doubted she recalled saying those words. He was willing to take a leap of faith where she was concerned. She need not worry about her reputation. Declan would ensure nothing ill happened to her.

She was his. Even if she didn’t quite know that yet.

“What game shall we play?” he asked. He stood and walked over to the bag he had set by the door. It held the provisions he had brought, along with the cards. He set it down on the floor by the settee. “I also have some bread, cheese, and wine if you’re hungry.”

Her lips twitched. “And where did you get all that?” She sounded suspicious, and perhaps she should be. He had hoped to have a picnic with her. Declan just hadn’t anticipated it would be in this cabin during a storm.

“I had it with me,” he told her honestly. “It’s lucky I did.”

“Or we’d starve?” She lifted a brow. “That wouldn’t happen overnight.”

“True,” he agreed. “But it would be a miserable one without something in our stomachs.”

“Also true,” she conceded. Charlotte motioned toward the cards he held in his hand. “What should we play? Do you have something in mind?”

“Well,” he began. “There are only the two of us. We are limited a little. Faro would be too difficult.”

“We could play piquet,” she said. “or vingt-et-un.”

“How good are you at piquet?” He narrowed his gaze. “That can be a complicated game.”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s not that difficult. My brother taught me.” She blew out a breath. “Though he made me promise never to mention that fact to our father. He wanted to thwart him in some way at the time. He’d made Warren mad. I am not certain why now.”

“Warren?” Declan said.

“Finley,” she replied. “I suppose I should refer to him by his title.” She shrugged again. “He’s my brother. I don’t think about him as a marquess first.”

Declan did not know the Marquess of Finley well, though now that she said the name, it sparked a memory of a sort. The Duke of Amberwood had crossed paths with Finley, but not just Finley. Amberwood didn’t speak much about it, but it had something to do with a duel that had gone afoul. He would have to ask the duke about it when he returned. At the time, he hadn’t cared about the details. But knowing that Finley was Charlotte’s brother, he had to know everything now.

“If I had a brother,” he began. “I doubt the title would be first either.” He held up the cards. “Game first, or food?”

“I am not hungry,” she told him, then wrinkled her nose. “The thought of food is turning my stomach.” She nodded at the cards. “We still have to decide on a game.”

“Vingt-et-un would be much simpler,” he suggested. “And we can eat later when you think you’re up to it.” He wouldn’t push her to eat. At least not yet. “If vingt-et-un gets too boring for you, we can try piquet.”

Charlotte nodded. “Very well.” She leaned back against the settee and patted the spot next to her. “Now sit next to me. It’s disconcerting looking down at you. If we are to play, I want us both to be comfortable.”

Declan wasn’t about to argue with her suggestion. He wanted to sit next to her. Hell, he wanted to do much more than that. He wasn’t certain how much he could push for from her. Even though she seemed to be feeling all right, it still had been a traumatic day for her. He could wait. He should wait.

He handed her the cards. “Would you like to deal first?”

“All right,” she said. Charlotte took the cards and shuffled them. Then she laid two cards in front of her. One was placed upright and showed a ten, and the other faced down. Then she put two in front of him. They equaled ten. Nowhere close to the twenty-one he needed.

“What would you like to do?” she asked.

He grinned. There was only one play he could make.

She held up her hand before he could answer. “Before you decide...” Her lips tilted upward into a smile that sent a shot of desire down his body. “I think perhaps we should do something more than play a simple game of vingt-et-un.”

“Oh?” He lifted a brow. “And what do you suggest?”

“That we make this game much, much more interesting.” Her tone was sensual, and his cock hardened with each word she uttered. God help him, because he didn’t think he would be able to stop himself from seducing her. Not that she was trying to put any distance between them.

“And how would we do that?” he asked.

“There are many ways we can,” she told him. She stroked her fingers over the deck next to her two cards. “We don’t know what this card is.” She tapped the card that was still turned over. If it was an ace, then she would have twenty-one and automatically win. Unless he could get his cards to equal that. “And we don’t know what your cards will be.”

“That’s correct,” he said. “But I still don’t understand what it is you wish to do.”

She licked her lips. “Darling,” she began. “There’s much I wish to do.” Charlotte grinned. “But in this instance... I think we can up the stakes of our game.”

“And what will these stakes be?” He liked a good wager. Declan had a feeling that even if he lost in this game, he’d win. “Don’t leave any details out.”

“I will explain everything.” Charlotte leaned a little closer. “If I win...” She nibbled on her bottom lip. “I want you to kiss me.”

“Is that all?”

“Isn’t that enough?” She lifted a brow.

“And what if you lose?” he asked. “What will I get?”

“What do you want?” she asked.

Declan had her exactly where he wanted her. Oh, he’d kiss her. Either way, he would gladly press his lips to hers. But Declan wanted far more than that. He wanted her. All of her. “If we are going to make this more interesting,” he said. “Then we should offer up something of ours to the other.” He winked. “Kisses can come later.”

“Then what should we play for?”

“Why, that’s the easy part.” Declan’s grin widened. “There is only one currency we have in abundance.” He leaned closer until there was barely any distance between them. Her breath hitched, and he was tempted to kiss her but refrained. He winked and said in a roguish tone, “Our clothes.”