them to make love, other than on the hard floor or the poor thin carpet.
That, he decided, would never do. But where to take her? He couldn't very well carry her about thehouse in this state. There were some bits of propriety he would not shrug off."My room," she whispered. "Let's go to my room."He grinned, for she was right. Her suite was the only other room on this floor that had the one thing he wanted tonight. A bed with Riley in it. So, in a swift motion, he swept her into his arms and carried her down the hall.
Nudging the door open with his knee, he entered her room, and then shouldered the door shut.
Gently he laid her down on the simple bed. Her maid had left a fire kindled in the hearth, which lent the room a cozy, warm glow, but still she shivered.
"Are you cold?" he asked.
Riley shook her head, and caught his face with her hands and pulled him down to her, so she could kiss him again.
"Greedy girl," he told her between languid kisses.
"Perhaps I should have gone as Avarice tonight," she teased.
He laughed. "No, if ever there was an Aphrodite, you are her every embodiment."
"Then I command you to give me your love." She waved her hand with a regal motion.
"As you wish, my lady," he said, happy to comply with her royal demands.
He eased off the rest of her dress. She now lay before him, her hair tousled about her shoulders and
torso, the single coronet her only decoration. Her sleek body reclined in a sensual pose, inviting him to
come closer.
Tugging off his breeches, he joined her in the bed. They rolled together, tangled in a deep kiss, their bodies growing used to the feel of the other.
Riley couldn't believe this was happening. What was she thinking? She didn't know anything about making love to a man! But at the same time, as her hands wandered over Mason's body, she realized that perhaps she didn't need that much experience, for her touch seemed to excite him.
She followed his lead, touching and kissing and exploring, until her hand brushed against his hardness.
Drawing back for a moment, she wondered what she should do, but as with the rest of the evening, she followed her instincts and reached out for him, curling her fingers along his length.
It must have been the right thing to do, for he sucked in his breath and stilled. When she stopped, he told
her in a ragged voice, "No, please keep doing that."
Grinning, she willingly complied.
Not to be left behind, Mason's lips had found one of the rigid peaks of her breasts again and was even
then suckling it, teasing it to life. The sensations left her writhing, her legs pressing together at the odd
tightness and longing starting to build at the apex.
His fingers began stroking her there, kindling a new need. Her hips rocked back and forth under his touch, answering with a natural response.
Slowly his finger dipped further between her thighs, sliding over a spot so sensitive she gasped in surprise.
He pulled his hand away and gently brushed her tangled hair out of her face, soothing her."When you told me you'd never had a lover," Mason said softly, "you meant you'd never done this, didn't you?"
"That is usually what it means when a woman has never had a lover," she snapped back.
"There's that artistic temperament again." He leaned over and kissed her. "I don't care if you have orhaven't, but since you haven't, I want you to know this may hurt.""I fully expect it will."He glanced down at her in surprise. "Why do you say that?""I've lived in close quarters all my life, I've heard people making love before. From all the moaning and screaming, I just assumed it wasn't the most pleasant experience-but you are starting to convince me I
might have been wrong on that count." She smiled shyly. "Convince me some more."
He did, most eagerly, kissing her and touching her again until she was reduced to a panting frenzy.
"Oh, Mason," she gasped, her body afire, her fears far flung. "It is so wonderful."
"It gets even better."
Riley didn't know how that could be possible as he covered her body with his, and gently entered her.
At first it was uncomfortable, but Mason took his time, slowly working himself in with gentle strokes, until
he came to the barrier that proclaimed her innocence.
Gently, he pressed forward.
She took in a deep breath as the pain subsided and was replaced by his kisses, murmurs of gentle words
in her ear.
He continued to move within her and, unbidden, her hips started to match his movements.
Riley knew she was building to something, but what she didn't know until her world grew so fervent, so
needy, so intense, it suddenly burst open into an explosion of passion.
She would have let out a triumphant cry if Mason hadn't been kissing her. His own release came fast on the heels of hers, spilling forth and leaving him spent and lost in her arms.
For a time they lay together, quiet in the wonder of what had just happened.
Finally, Riley, his goddess of love, leaned up on one elbow and said to him, "Now I know what all the
screaming is about."
Chapter 18.
R iley awoke disoriented. The sun streamed in through a crack in the curtains, throwing a telltale shaft of light across the room. She didn't remember when Mason had left, only the delicious memories of the night before.
That is, until she saw the note on the pillow beside her face.
Welcome to your last morning.
The rough letters were only too familiar.
Riley opened her mouth to scream, but a hand clamped down over her lips, preventing her from calling out.
"That wouldn't be very smart," a voice said. "Then your lover would come in here and I'd have to kill him. And I haven't been paid that much. Not yet, that is."
Riley knew that voice-had heard it too many times to count. She twisted around and found Daniel, one of the actors from the company, grinning at her.
Riley watched in horror as Daniel's once friendly expression faded away-his eyes narrowing to a feral gleam, his lips curling back into a mocking sneer-and he began to laugh.
In a flash, he stuffed a rag in her mouth and tied another cloth over it so she couldn't cry out. Then he caught her arms and bound them behind her back. His fingers bit into her skin, until the pain burned across her flesh like white-hot irons.
The man's grip tightened, and then he yarded her into his arms.
She struggled and fought, but the man suddenly seemed as wiry as a terrier and twice as fast. His hand caught her throat and began to cut off her air.
"Who are you?" she struggled to sputter from beneath her gag, staring into the deadliest pair of eyes she' d ever seen.
"Not the poor country actor you so stupidly hired," he mocked. "From here on out, I am Mr. Nutley to you."
A solid pounding on his door woke Mason from a restless sleep."What?" he called out, reaching for his dressing gown and glancing at the clock.Quarter past noon.Eh, gads, he'd slept away the morning.That's what happens when you choose not to sleep at night, he could well imagine Freddie saying."Uncle," came Bea's anxious plea. "Uncle, I think something is wrong."He yanked open his door. "I've already spoken to Riley about last night, Beatrice. We will discuss it later." He started to close the door, but Bea shoved her foot into the jamb.
"Uncle, it's Riley I want to talk to you about. Her door is locked, and when I put my ear to it andlistened, I heard-"Mason shook his head. "Bea, don't you think you are a little bit old to be eavesdropping?""Not when it has a purpose," she told him, taking advantage of the slight opening and catching him by the arm. She tugged him into the hallway. "Uncle, Riley's in trouble. I heard a man in her room."
Hot anger and fear tore at his gut, numbing any bit of reason. It didn't take but a second for the shock toregister that Riley's stalker had finally gotten to her side.Mason yanked himself free from Bea's grip and tore down the hallway and to the stairs.Damnation! Why had he left her? He'd only done it out of some foolish, leftover sense of propriety.Well, never again.He tried her door once, but as Bea had said, it was locked. He took a large step back and kicked it open, shattering the frame and sending it flying open to reveal the horrific scene within.
To his amazement, Daniel, an actor from the Queen's Gate, stood next to the bed, his thick hands
twisted around Riley's neck, her face bluish, and her mouth covered with a gag.
"Take one step, Ashlin," Daniel warned him, "and I'll snap her neck. Finish her off before your eyes." Hetwisted his hands tighter, as if to show his deadly intent."And then I'll kill you," Mason told him.Daniel laughed, easing his way toward the open window, dragging Riley along with him. "I don't think so," he said, turning his body to reveal the pistol tucked in his waistband. "I hadn't thought I'd get you both, but this looks to be my lucky day. I'll kill you and your bitch. Quite a scandal. You murdered your little whore and then took your own life."
"Why?" Mason asked."I've got my reasons," he bragged.Riley's breath rattled, her desperation evident as she clawed at the fingers wound around her throat.Mason took another step forward, trying to gauge how best to distract the villain.His help came from an unlikely source. Bea caught up with him just then, and before Mason could stop her, hurled his dagger into the fray, the blade burying itself into the fiend's thigh.Daniel yelped in pain, releasing Riley as he clutched at the hilt buried in his leg.Mason could only wonder what his niece was doing with his dagger and where she'd learned to throw it, but her quick thinking gave him the chance he needed.
He plunged forward, pushing Riley away and crashing into Daniel.
The force and power of Mason's attack sent the two men flying into the window. Glass and wood
shattered around them, leaving a gaping hole. They continued to struggle, pummeling at each other. Daniel was a dirty fighter, but Mason had left his honor and rules of conduct at the door. He fought like the devil himself, landing one crushing blow into the man's jaw after another, sending him reeling. For a horrible second, Daniel teetered at the edge of the window, his arms flailing about, his eyes wild with fear until he toppled backwards through the opening, crashing to his death on the cobbles two stories below.
Mason slumped to the floor, battered and bleeding.
Bea had managed to free Riley, who now flew to his side. "Are you all right?"