Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

Chloe stared at the door.

Had he just locked her in?

Crossing the room, she twisted the knob but it hardly budged. Then she pulled. Nothing. Letting out a cry, she pulled again, finally raising her fist and banging on the door. “Ryker!”

No response. She hit the door again. He’d not seriously closed her into this room? “Ryker!” she called again. “Let me out! You can’t trap me in a room!”

Still nothing. And then she heard it. The sound of carriage wheels. Crossing to her front window, she watched as his carriage rolled away out into the night. Disbelief and anger rolled over her, her hand coming to her mouth.

He was going to bed a widow tonight and no one knew better than Chloe just how persuasive he could be. She let out a soft sob, her hand coming to her mouth.

Her plan with Caroline had been simple. The other woman would keep an eye on Ryker, Chloe herself being too obvious. Then, when he chose a woman, they’d follow him, calling him out.

But that plan had gone to hell the moment he’d stepped into her room and realized she was going out.

She pressed her hand to her forehead, her eyes closing. She couldn’t marry Ryker. She knew that now.

Despite the security he offered and the attraction she felt, or maybe because of it, she could not be literally and figuratively locked away while he did as he pleased.

It would break her heart.

Lifting her head from her hands, she crossed to the bed and holding onto the bedpost, she sunk into the soft mattress, resting her face on the cool wood of the post. Her eyes fluttered closed.

What a fool she’d been to kiss Ryker that first night.

What a fool to allow her heart to become attached. She shook her head, feeling the buttery soft wood slide against her cheek.

Would Mildred support her after this? Would Caroline help her find one of those merchants she’d mentioned?

A rattling at the door pulled her from her thoughts. She lifted her head, staring at the door as the lock clicked and the door creaked open. “Ryker?”

But as the large wood panel swung wider, it wasn’t Ryker, but Mildred who stood in the doorway. “Tell me that boy did not lock you in your room.”

She rose from the bed, hope filling her chest. “He did.”

“Cad.” Mildred rolled her eyes. “Men think they are so smart. How could he not know I had keys made for every door in this house? I lived in this place before he was even born.”

“Smart,” Chloe whispered, looking at the floor, embarrassed that she’d been so easily trapped.

“The question is, why would he do such a thing?”

Letting out a trembling breath, she realized there was no point in keeping Ryker’s confidence if they weren’t going to marry. Sitting back down, the story of what Ryker had proposed all the way to what she’d overheard and how she’d intended to stop him came spilling out.

Mildred came to sit next to her, listening to the entirety of what had transpired without interrupting until Chloe finally reached the point where he’d locked her in her room.

Silence fell, stretching out a moment and then two before Mildred huffed. “That stupid boy.”

“He’s a man, Mildred, and far stronger and more powerful than me.”

“You can’t deny that he’s acting like a spoiled, petulant child.”

No. Chloe could not deny it. “I was the apple of my father’s eye. I must confess that it did little to prepare me for the taming of dukes.”

Mildred tapped her chin even as the butler appeared. “Countess Green has arrived, my lady.”

“See her up,” Mildred called back. “We’re going to need a solid plan here.”

“I’m not marrying him, Mildred,” Chloe whispered. “I can’t.”

“He’ll come to heel with time. Women always win the long game.”

Chloe shook her head. “I think I might love him.”

“Of course you do,” Mildred patted her hand. “He’s handsome and charming when he’s not being an ass. And try to understand. His mother all but ran away and my brother was far too hard on the boy. Used the rod far more than he ever gave affection. What Ryker needs is your love. Show him that and you’ll tame him in no time.”

“But…” Chloe shook her head. “I risk so much.”

Mildred’s eyes set in determined lines. “It’s time to be brave, my sweet girl. You’re on your own and what you’ve lacked is fortitude. It’s time to learn. The prize is worth the risk.”

Chloe swallowed down a lump. She hoped Mildred was right. “What did you have in mind?”

Caroline entered the room and both Chloe and Mildred rose. “Since Caroline will be with you tonight, she should also know the plan. We know that Ryker is jealous of other men. We’re going to use that to our advantage.”

“Oh, yes.” Caroline nodded. “That’s the perfect weapon.”

“We know he’s been lacking in love, and that, my dear, you can give him in spades if he’d allow himself to be open to it.” Mildred tapped her chin. “And we know he wishes to be nothing like his father, which is why he’s been so resistant to marriage. You need to make him understand that he’s just as cruel and selfish in his own way.”

“Oh Mildred,” Chloe shook her head. “I don’t know if I can. I’m not used to doing such things. It will hurt him terribly, I’m sure of it.”

“Strength girl.” Mildred patted her knee. “He locked you in your bedroom, he deserves some of his own medicine.”

“Caroline, you distract his friend so Chloe can speak to him privately. Just get his hackles up first.”

Caroline nodded.

“Don’t let him ruin you, Chloe. Take it to the line but don’t cross it. Because you’re right, if he chooses to be truly stubborn, we’ll have to find you another husband. I want you to tame him, but don’t ruin your future to do it.”

Be strong, be brave, tempt, and then resist. Chloe swallowed down a lump of doubt. There was no way she was actually going to succeed. Was she?

* * *

Ryker stood on the edge of the ballroom, scanning the crowd for Adam. Perhaps he should have brought Chloe after all. He could have watched her. Seen if she tried to meet with the zealot. Once again, he’d been thinking with his emotions instead of his brain. Chloe was going to be the death of him.

“I see someone interesting,” Strongborn rumbled, shifting next to him.

“Is it Adam?”

Strongborn quirked a brow. “No. It’s the Widow Smith.”

Ryker let out a frustrated breath. Even the Emperor was less focused on the investigation than Ryker. But everything in his life was tied together.

Images of Chloe in that dress had been flitting through his thoughts all evening.

No lady here held a candle to her beauty. Would his remembrances fade once he sent her away? Because he’d sworn not to bed her, but he couldn’t find another appealing. It was damned frustrating.

He scanned the room again.

She was going to be furious with him. He grimaced. He should have just stayed home with her. He’d much rather have his hand up her skirts…

But he forced himself to stop. Touching Chloe was a one-time event. And he’d have to suffer her anger because he intended to make her his wife if for no other reason than to keep other men from taking what should be his.

But how was he going to prevent anyone else from touching her if he sent her far away? She’d been so warm and soft and eager in his arms. Was it fair to suppress that sensual side of her? To deny her needs?

And what if she really was an agent of their enemy? His thoughts swirled in another useless circle, no answers becoming clear.

Across the room a flash of blonde hair caught his gaze. He let out a rumble. That hair looked like Chloe’s. So few women had such thick, luxuriant strands. It wasn’t lost on him that he was now imagining her in the ballroom even though he knew the truth. She was tucked safely at home.

But then the woman turned toward him, their gazes locking. “Chloe,” he said through clenched teeth. Worse still, around her was a gaggle of men. His hands clenched into balls at his sides. He’d strangle each one of them slowly.

“Who’s Chloe?” Strongborn asked. “Your charge, Chloe?”

“None of your fucking business,” he answered, leaving Strongborn to intercept his charge. She was going to be his wife. Why did she need the attention of those egits?

Once he was close enough to hear the trill of her laugh, he stopped. Crossing his arms over his chest as he glared at her. How had she managed it and what was he going to do about it?

“Who is that?” Strongborn rumbled from behind him.

Ryker could hear the interest in his voice. His teeth ground together. He’d never wanted to declare Chloe his more than right at this moment. Adam be damned.

Chloe be cursed. The woman needed to leave London. “My charge.”

“You’re jesting,” Strongborn said, choking on the words.

“About?” He stared at Chloe, who was pointedly ignoring him, her chin rising higher in the air. Had she wished to punish him for locking her in? She was succeeding.

“You live with that woman? In your home? Every day?”

“I do.” He beat his clenched fists against his outer thighs, his jaw hard enough to cut glass.

“She’s your charge? And you keep your hands off her?”

“She is.” His teeth ground together as he ignored the second question. “She isn’t for you.”

“Oh, I know. You’re keeping her for yourself.”

Ryker’s mouth pressed into a firm line. To say no, he wasn’t keeping her would mean that Strongborn was free to pursue her.

To say yes would mean giving up the club. “I didn’t say that.”

“Are you fucking her already?”

A snarl pulled from his lips as he turned back to the other man. “Here, you are not my leader. We are equals.”

“Still a fair question. If you’re not marrying her, or fucking her, then I am free…”

“Touch her and I will kill you.”

A chuckle rolled from Strongborn’s lips. “Now see. That explains everything. Was that so hard?”

Ryker knew what he’d just revealed. What it meant for his future. But if Strongborn pursued her, he might win her. He was a duke who offered all that Ryker himself did, only he’d give Chloe a real marriage. One where she could remain in London. Have children. Have a duke in her bed. “I will become the next Emperor.”

“The Club is child’s play,” Strongborn answered. “A woman like that is the real prize. Arguably the one for which the club has trained you.”

His brow slashed into a thin line as the natural question rose to his lips. How did debauchery prepare him to be a married man?

But he didn’t get a chance to ask.

Someone else in the crowd caught Strongborn’s attention. Ryker followed the other man’s gaze, catching sight of Countess Green as she moved through the crowd.

Strongborn followed her with his eyes, a sinful smile playing at the man’s lips. “Excuse me,” he murmured and then he was disappearing into the crowd.

Even better for Ryker.

Placing one hand over his other fist, he cracked his knuckles. Those men around Chloe had to go. It was time to knock some heads off…