Meredith Taylor is desperate for a more independent life, but when her brother-in-law suggests she invest with Jack Archer, a famed former boxer turned businessman, Meredith begins to have second thoughts.
Jack Archer isn’t thrilled to be burdened with Meredith’s paltry investment, but he is intrigued by her. As a lady of first society, she doesn’t act like it and the reason is a mystery. Soon, a sizzling connection sparks between the two, neither Jack nor Meredith can deny it.
Yet when a secret from Meredith’s past threatens to come back and ruin her, will she be able to trust the Beast of Burnwall with everything, including her heart?
She shook her head as a fresh wave of tears threatened to fall down her cheeks. His hands were flexing as if he wanted or needed to do something and she wondered if he had ever felt as powerless as she felt that moment in his entire life.
“Tell me,” he commanded softly.
“I can’t,” she replied with a pained expression.
For a moment neither moved, neither seemed to breathe. But in the next instance, Jack was walking around the room, making his way to a desk that had been set up against the far wall.
“How much do you need?”
Her attention snapped to his.
“Excuse me?”
“How much,” he said slowly. “Do you need?”
“Jack, I…” she began but then she swallowed. She closed her mouth before answering his question. “I need five thousand pounds.”
To her surprise, he didn’t flinch, but that sum had made her ill. He bent over the desk and began to write something, when suddenly he was done and tore it from a book that she couldn’t see from where she was sitting. He came back to her and handed her a piece of paper, written out with his name, an account and a subject line filled with the amount she needed.
“Take it to Lloyds tomorrow. They’re closed now, but they’ll cash it at once.”
Meredith glanced down at the paper in her hands and felt a new wave of shame and gratitude. Why was this man constantly supporting her in ways that she had barely allowed herself to dream about? It was almost as if he knew her needs better than herself.
Still, the thought of taking this amount from him made her feel queasy. But she couldn’t give it back, not when it was all that separated her from her freedom. She held onto the paper, careful not to crumple it.
“Thank you,” she whispered softly, as she stood up, a tear falling down her cheek.
She looked at him, his dark eyes cold and shuttered. He was angry, she knew it and yet he had given her the help she desperately needed without demanding anything in return. She knew she could leave this room without uttering a single word and he would let her leave, completely unsatisfied with her unwillingness to trust him.
That fact and that fact alone made her heart burst with undue emotion. Could a man be so accommodating, so understanding? A deep, thundering sensation coursed through her as she watched him. It was as if the very blood in her veins yearned for this man and she knew in that moment that while she may not be able to trust herself, she did trust him.
She did trust him and she didn’t want to leave without at least showing him how much she did. The longer she stared at him, the more uncomfortable he seemed to become. His mouth strained shut and his eyes dropped a fraction, seemingly unwilling to gaze at her anymore. For the life of her, Meredith couldn’t understand why her feet wouldn’t move, to take her away from this place and return to Clyde. She needed to pay him off and be out from under his thumb once and for all, but in doing so her debt would be transferred to Jack.
A shiver of intense pleasure ran down her spine at the thought. Of course, Jack would never expect her to pay him back, but she would. Lord help her, she would find a way to do so.
She took a step as her body moved towards Jack.
He stood perfectly still, as she came before him. She was close, too close for decency. She let the check drop from her hand as she went to touch his face, his stubble feeling oddly soft. He pulled his face away instantly, as if her touch burned him.
“Don’t,” he said huskily.
But Meredith couldn’t stop. She was transfixed by his cravat for some reason and her fingers moved to untie it. Instantly, her wrist was caught in his rough grasp.
“Don’t,” he repeated, his words sticking in his throat. “Don’t tempt me, Meredith.”
She could see the restraint in him, almost as if he was holding back. She would be lying if she hadn’t imagined what it would have been like to see him in the boxing ring, all that masculine energy and power unleashed in one of the only settings it was permitted. What would it be like if he syphoned that energy into the act of lovemaking? She felt her knees go weak at the idea of being under his authority. At his mercy.
“I’m not trying to tempt you,” she whispered.
“I don’t require anything,” he said, shaking his head as he tried to find the right words. “What I mean to say is, you don’t owe me anything.”
Meredith’s heart seemed to beat twice as fast at his words.
“Kiss me, Jack,” she said as her other hand came up to his cheek.
“Careful, Meredith,” he said, his voice soft and dangerous. “You’re playing with fire.”
Deciding that this was what she wanted, what she needed in this moment, her fingers went to the back of his head and entwined in his dark, curling hair.
“Kiss me,” she repeated.
