The Tantalizing Miss Coale (The Notorious Coale Brothers) by Sarah Mallory Page A

more
alarming now than when she had first seen him in the crowded coffee room. His
dark hair fell long and loose over his collar and a dark growth of beard covered
the lower part of his face. There was no hint of warmth in his intensely blue
eyes. Her anxiety was increased by the fact that he was leaning against the
doorframe, his arms folded across his broad chest in a manner at once insolent
and intimidating.
    She lifted her chin.
    ‘Ben Hensley.’ She cast a slow, appraising glance over him.
‘You seem to have come down in the world, sir.’
    He pushed himself away from the door and came toward her. She
resisted the urge to retreat.
    I have been travelling,’ he replied, adding, with the quirk of
one dark eyebrow, ‘You, however, seem to have sunk even lower, Mrs. Woods .’
    She flushed. ‘What are you doing here?’
    ‘The same as everyone else, I imagine. Sheltering for the
night. I had hoped to reach York but the weather closed in.’ He took another
step toward her. ‘How long has it been, Sal, two years?’
    Two years, three months and one
week —she would not admit she knew to the day how long it was since
she had last seen him.
    ‘You should not be here,’ she said. ‘Please leave me.’
    ‘And who is going to make me? That fop of a husband?’
    ‘Do not underestimate Henry,’ she replied quickly. ‘He is
very...correct.’
    He reached for her. ‘Then let us give him a reason to call me
out.’
    Too late did she realise what he was going to do. Even as she
turned to step away, he grasped her wrist and pulled her close. His arms
enfolded her, trapping her against him.
    ‘Let me go!’
    In vain she pounded her fists against his chest. His only
response was to laugh.
    ‘You were wont to enjoy my caresses, Sally. Sal, Salutation...’
She lifted her head to protest and he swooped down, capturing her mouth. His
kiss was fierce and savage. She froze. She wanted to fight him off, but first
she had to overcome the violent bolt of desire that shot through her. His coat
smelled of the damp night. There was a trace of salt in his kiss and on his
skin, but beneath it all was a familiar tang that set her pulse racing, just as
it always had. His kiss deepened. Her mouth opened at his insistence and he was
plundering her senses, awakening responses she had thought dead.
    And so they should be.
    With immense effort she pushed her hands against his chest,
breaking contact, turning her face away.
    ‘How dare you!’ she was shaking with fury. As he let her go,
she lifted her hand and brought it crashing against his cheek. The impact jarred
her wrist, but although he flinched the mocking smile did not falter.
    * * *
    It was all Ben could do to keep his smile in place. He
had to call upon his training as an intelligence officer to help him, hiding his
emotions, playing a role. Inside he was reeling. Not from the slap, although he
was sure the force of it would leave its mark, but it was nothing to the tumult
raging through his body and his mind. He had kissed her to punish her and to
prove to himself she no longer had any power over him. Instead, as soon as he
had captured her lips the old feelings came back, stronger than ever. He was a
boy again, in love for the first time. His body had responded immediately and if
she had not pushed him off her the physical evidence of his arousal would have
given him away. Now she glared at him and he held her eyes, determined to keep
the upper hand, to conceal just how she had shaken him.
    ‘Get out,’ she ordered. ‘Get out before I scream for the
landlord and have you thrown out!’
    ‘Would you do that to me, Sal?’ His eyes narrowed, laughter
glinting in their blue depths. ‘I will leave on one condition.’
    She bit her lip, determined not to ask the question, but her
face betrayed her. He continued, ‘You will meet me tonight. There is a small
orchard at the back of the inn. I will be there at midnight, waiting for
you.’
    He let her go and she made a great play