Page 34 of Impetuous

The thought hastened Cassandra’s feet. Her eyes were intent on the ground. Suddenly she sensed something to her left, but before she could turn, a heavy weight rammed into her, knocking her flat on the ground.

Frantically Cassandra struggled, lashing out with her arms and legs. One of her elbows connected sharply with something hard. She heard her attacker gasp and mutter a low curse. His hold on her lessened involuntarily, and Cassandra seized the opportunity to try to crawl out from beneath him. But he was too quick for her, and he grabbed at her shoulders. One hand caught in the neckline of her dress, and as Cassandra tried to twist away, it tore, ripping straight down the front. His hand slid down across her bare chest and onto the top of her breast.

“Christ in heaven!”

Cassandra found her breath again and shrieked a half second before the sound of his voice registered in her ears. He turned her over roughly and pinned her arms to the ground. For a long moment they simply stared into each other’s faces, barely visible in the dim light.

“Sir Philip!” Her chest felt as if someone had stabbed her. “It was you? You are the thief?”

CHAPTER EIGHT

“I SHOULD HAVE known,” Sir Philip said with weary bitterness. Letting out a muffled curse, he sat up, releasing her.

But Cassandra did not move. She felt too heavy, as if her heart weighed her down. “But why?” She could feel tears lurking embarrassingly close. “Why would you try to steal the letters from me?”

He stared at her, the import of her words only now sinking in on him. He let out a disgusted noise. “You think that I— You little fool! I’m not the intruder! I thought you were.”

“Me? That’s insane. Why would I break into my own house at night to look for the letters when I am already doing so every afternoon?”

“I didn’t mean you, you.”

Cassandra stared at him. “Exactly what me did you mean?”

He let out a low growl. “What I am trying to say is that I did not realize it was you when I jumped at you. I saw someone skulking down the hill. It is rather dark, you know, and I assumed it was the thief coming to break into the house again. So I ran at him—and took you down.” He touched his cheek gingerly. “Damn, but you wield a mean elbow!”

“Do you mean to tell me that you were hiding, trying to catch the intruder?” Cassandra asked in exasperation.

“Of course. As soon as your man told us about it this afternoon, I realized that I must come here tonight and lie in wait to see if I could catch the villain. But all I caught was you.”

“That is what I was doing.” She giggled, swept with relief. Of course, it could not have been Philip she saw with the lantern. Surely he could not have doubled back and attacked her from behind so quickly—and how would he have even known she was coming down the hill?

“But he was here!” she exclaimed, sitting up. “I saw a lantern moving behind the house. That is why I started down the hill.”

“You were planning to confront him?” Neville almost shouted. “Really, Cassandra! The man is probably dangerous! What’s to stop him bashing you over the head?”

“Don’t worry. I have a gun.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out the pistol.

“A gun!” His voice slid comically upward. “And you tell me not to worry? For God’s sake, put that thing away. You are a menace to yourself and everyone around you!”

“Me!” she retorted indignantly. “I am not the one who goes about knocking people to the ground without even waiting to see who they are!” She pulled her legs under her and tried to stand, but Philip was still sitting on her skirts, and she could not budge. “What are we sitting here for? The intruder is—”

“Long gone by now,” Neville interrupted wearily. “Do you honestly think he has been hanging about while we screamed and wrestled and shouted at one another?”

“Oh. I suppose not.” She pulled at her skirts in irritation. “Would you get off me?”

He looked at her. Cassandra was suddenly aware of the sexual import of what she had said. Her words seemed to hang in the air between them, and she could not help but recall that only a moment before he had indeed been on top of her, his muscular body pressing into hers. Her heart began to hammer within her chest, and she could feel the betraying heat rising in her face.

“I didn’t mean—that is—” She stumbled to a halt, realized that she could only make it worse by enlarging on her statement.

She stole a peek at Sir Philip and saw that his eyes were not on her face but had drifted downward. It wasn’t until then that she remembered the ripping sound when he had grabbed her. She was aware suddenly of the caress of the night air on her bare chest, and she glanced down, horror-stricken. The bodice of her dress was torn at a slant from the neckline on one side almost to the waist on the other. It hung open, exposing her whole front, clad only in a thin white cotton chemise. The tops of her breasts swelled above the beribboned chemise, and her nipples pointed obviously beneath the material, aroused by the cool touch of the air.

Cassandra swallowed, her embarrassment so acute that she was past blushing. How could she possibly manage to be caught again in such a compromising position with this man? Looking at his face, however, she knew that there was another feeling inside her, something that was not embarrassment at all, but a dark, hungry sensation, titillating and almost proud as his eyes ate up her near-naked form.

Sir Philip’s eyes were pools of darkness, his mouth heavy with desire. Looking at her made him hungry, she knew, and that thought aroused an answering heaviness in her own loins. His gaze dropped lower, going to her legs, clearly outlined beneath her skirts, with no concealing petticoats to hide the shape. Slowly, caressingly, his eyes moved upward again until he was gazing into her face.

“I want you,” he said baldly. He felt suddenly so light-headed with desire that he could scarcely think. Cassandra’s hair was hanging loose around her shoulders, pale and silky, inviting his touch, and her lush body was so close….

Cassandra wet her lips. She could think of nothing to say. She could feel her nipples tightening even more, just at his words. She thought of his lips on hers, his tongue in her mouth. She remembered his hands caressing her breasts, his mouth fastening on her nipple.