laundering, theft, you name it. Your father wasn’t the only one to lose his fortune with the fictitious Canadian mines or railroad contracts.” He sighed, sounding incredibly weary. “I’m going to spend the rest of my life restoring Davenport Capital to the company my grandfather built. That fool almost lost it all. He’ll be arrested next month, when he returns from Europe. He’ll pay for what he’s done.”
For the first time Charity realized the evil of Robert Davenport had expanded far past her small life. How many other families had been destroyed because of him? How many others had he killed? “Including murder.”
Brent’s gaze jerked back to her.
“My father was shot in an alley. No one else had a reason to want him dead. Add murder to your list of crimes for him.”
“I’m sorry, Charity. I think you could be right—I’d wondered that, too—but so far we haven’t been able to link any disappearances or deaths to Robert.” His arms opened, inviting her into them. “Come home with me. I can’t bring your father back, but I can help make things right again. You shouldn’t have to live this way.”
She turned away as if he had slapped her. His lust she welcomed and if he offered to stay with her because their lovemaking had been so amazing, she probably would have agreed. It had been that good between them and fool that she was she loved him so much she would take whatever scrap he threw her way; but she could not accept pity. Especially from him.
“I’m sorry the accommodations don’t live up to the Davenport standards. I’ll take you down the mountain after the storm blows over.” She mumbled as she started toward the ladder to get dressed. The ridiculousness of her nakedness under the buffalo robe had finally occurred to her.
“Darling, wait, don’t put my name between us.” He grabbed at her shoulder. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Don’t.” She jerked away. “I don’t want to ‘come to an agreement’ with you.” She snapped, alluding to his proposition from the first day. “Put some clothes on.” In her haste to put distance between them, she dropped the fur so she could scurry up the ladder faster.
“Charity, dammit, talk to me...please.”
It was the “please” that made her turn on her knees in the loft and look down at him.
“I shouldn’t have left you. That’s what I should have said to you first. I should have come to your room that night, because if I had I would have realized...I would have realized what I was too much of a coward to admit. I love you. I suspected it then, but I was only twenty-two and, Christ, you were seventeen. I thought I was too young for love, so I ran from it...from you.” When she didn’t move, he grabbed the ladder but didn’t make a move to ascend.
“That’s a beautiful story, Brent, but we barely knew each other.” What is wrong with you? Isn’t this what you want? Charity chastised herself. She wanted to believe him but his words were too close to what she wanted to hear and if there was one thing life had taught her it was that you never got what you wanted.
“I know, that’s exactly what I told myself and I thought by leaving, by sleeping my way through Paris and Vienna, that I could forget you. For the first year, I thought I had succeeded, but I didn’t. When I saw Iolanthe again I wanted to see you laughing as you watched it. I couldn’t see tulips without remembering they were your favorite. I smelled jasmine everywhere. Only after leaving did I realize how much I needed you, needed to know more of you.” He paused then, his sapphire eyes locked imploringly on hers. “Let me know more of you.”
Oh, God, she wanted to believe him. “You didn’t seem interested in knowing more of me earlier,” she reminded him quietly, suspiciously.
He saw her hesitation and slowly climbed the ladder until he was close enough to touch her but then held back. His hands gripped the railing. “You had kidnapped
For the first time Charity realized the evil of Robert Davenport had expanded far past her small life. How many other families had been destroyed because of him? How many others had he killed? “Including murder.”
Brent’s gaze jerked back to her.
“My father was shot in an alley. No one else had a reason to want him dead. Add murder to your list of crimes for him.”
“I’m sorry, Charity. I think you could be right—I’d wondered that, too—but so far we haven’t been able to link any disappearances or deaths to Robert.” His arms opened, inviting her into them. “Come home with me. I can’t bring your father back, but I can help make things right again. You shouldn’t have to live this way.”
She turned away as if he had slapped her. His lust she welcomed and if he offered to stay with her because their lovemaking had been so amazing, she probably would have agreed. It had been that good between them and fool that she was she loved him so much she would take whatever scrap he threw her way; but she could not accept pity. Especially from him.
“I’m sorry the accommodations don’t live up to the Davenport standards. I’ll take you down the mountain after the storm blows over.” She mumbled as she started toward the ladder to get dressed. The ridiculousness of her nakedness under the buffalo robe had finally occurred to her.
“Darling, wait, don’t put my name between us.” He grabbed at her shoulder. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Don’t.” She jerked away. “I don’t want to ‘come to an agreement’ with you.” She snapped, alluding to his proposition from the first day. “Put some clothes on.” In her haste to put distance between them, she dropped the fur so she could scurry up the ladder faster.
“Charity, dammit, talk to me...please.”
It was the “please” that made her turn on her knees in the loft and look down at him.
“I shouldn’t have left you. That’s what I should have said to you first. I should have come to your room that night, because if I had I would have realized...I would have realized what I was too much of a coward to admit. I love you. I suspected it then, but I was only twenty-two and, Christ, you were seventeen. I thought I was too young for love, so I ran from it...from you.” When she didn’t move, he grabbed the ladder but didn’t make a move to ascend.
“That’s a beautiful story, Brent, but we barely knew each other.” What is wrong with you? Isn’t this what you want? Charity chastised herself. She wanted to believe him but his words were too close to what she wanted to hear and if there was one thing life had taught her it was that you never got what you wanted.
“I know, that’s exactly what I told myself and I thought by leaving, by sleeping my way through Paris and Vienna, that I could forget you. For the first year, I thought I had succeeded, but I didn’t. When I saw Iolanthe again I wanted to see you laughing as you watched it. I couldn’t see tulips without remembering they were your favorite. I smelled jasmine everywhere. Only after leaving did I realize how much I needed you, needed to know more of you.” He paused then, his sapphire eyes locked imploringly on hers. “Let me know more of you.”
Oh, God, she wanted to believe him. “You didn’t seem interested in knowing more of me earlier,” she reminded him quietly, suspiciously.
He saw her hesitation and slowly climbed the ladder until he was close enough to touch her but then held back. His hands gripped the railing. “You had kidnapped
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