Chapter 4 #2
“Daniel?” Violet gave his leg a squeeze. “Are you there?”
“What…” Daniel shook his head, forcing his thoughts away from Lady Alison to find his sister watching him with worry. “Oh yes, just thinking that it is time I got going.”
She sighed. “Yes, I suppose so. But please, if you need anything at all…”
“You will be the first person I ask,” he assured her, knowing that would never be the case.
Lord Grayhill, fiercely independent, stubborn to a fault, and not deserving of the kindness that his sisters or anyone else wished to show him, would rather swallow all his agony than cause his sisters one moment of panic or alarm.
That was his lot in life, and Daniel had long since accepted it. He just wished that everyone else would too.
Daniel arrived back at his manor a few hours later.
It was freezing cold, and he cursed himself for not taking a carriage – for some reason, he decided on a horse, which had his entire body shivering despite the layers he wore.
All he wanted was to get himself inside by the fire, to relax with a glass of whiskey, to put those thoughts which plagued him from his mind and start the evening afresh.
Unfortunately, the sight which greeted him as he steered his horse down the frozen drive was as bizarre as it was infuriating.
There was a small white and brown terrier on his doorstep. What was more, it urinated on his front door! It saw him coming too and was happy to watch as it cocked its leg and began to drizzle on the wood.
Why, if Daniel did not know any better, he might have sworn the mutt smiled at him.
“No!” Daniel leapt from his horse and strode across the drive, very nearly slipping on the ice. “Stop that!” he cried as he hurried up the steps.
The terrier took its time, giving its leg a good shake and not at all put out by Daniel charging its way.
“What are you –” Daniel reached the terrier and snatched it, grabbing the dog around the waist and lifting it from the stoop. “Oh… wonderful!” he groaned, noting the hot urine staining the door. “That is just…” He groaned. “Perfect.”
The dog stuck its tongue out happily, completely at ease with itself.
“Pickle!” a voice then cried from somewhere in the distance. “Pickle!”
That shout caused the little dog to squirm.
“What are you –” Daniel tried to hold it steady, but it kicked and bucked its head and then it bit him right on the hand. “Argh!” he yelped, dropping the dog which sprung up immediately and bound down the steps.
“Pickle!” The voice was closer now, and Daniel nursed his bitten hand as he watched it scamper up the drive and right into the arms of none other than Lady Alison. “Pickle!” She dropped to her knees and scooped the dog toward her chest. “Where did you get off to?”
Daniel watched the scene unfold with his mouth hanging open. What were the odds! All he wanted was to avoid Lady Alison, but fate had intervened as if it had a vendetta against him.
Although that seemed unlikely. The more logical explanation was that she was still annoyed with him, and this right here was some sort of revenge.
“Excuse me!” Daniel stormed down the stairs. “Does that mutt belong to you?”
She looked up, only just now seeing Daniel. “This mutt has a name.”
“A ridiculous name,” he snapped as he came for her. “But that is not nearly as ridiculous as the treat it left on my front door.” He turned and pointed at the urine stain.
“Oh…” She blinked in surprise as she looked from the door to her puppy. “Well, it is as they say: when one has to go, one has to go.”
“One can go anywhere they wish, so long as one does not go on my front door.”
“He did not mean it, I assure you.”
“I am sure he did not, which is why I hesitate to blame the mutt.”
“His name is Pickle.”
“His name might be St. Nick for all I care. The actions of a pet reflect on the owner, and in this case, I wonder why I am the least bit surprised. Perhaps I should be glad it was just urine and not something far more…” He scoffed. “Permanent.”
“Don’t speak too soon,” she said smugly, all the while scratching the dog under the ears. “Pickle is rather territorial and now that he has found a new bathroom, I wonder if you might receive an early Christmas present this year.”
It was only just now that Daniel realized what he was doing.
So annoyed had he been that he did not stop to consider the implications of confronting Lady Alison. What he should have done was simply left the situation as it was and gone inside. What he should have done was put as much distance between himself and Lady Alison as was possible.
Ah well… I suppose it is too late now.
She was dressed in a heavy winter coat with a scarf around her neck.
But her face was exposed, and the chill of winter had her cheeks flushed pink.
Her eyes were too big for her face and piercing blue.
Soft features, a short nose, and messy brown hair completed her looks.
But she was defiant and fierce as she faced him down, stubborn in ways that made his self-control wane beyond belief.
Daniel let a soft groan escape his lips as he stood over her. The effort it took to not snatch at her as he did the previous evening was tremendous, but he towered over her nonetheless, set on intimidating her into submission because one as rebellious as she needed nothing less.
“You are upset with me,” he glowered at her. “Admit it.”
“Oh my, you are perceptive.”
“You set the dog on my home.”
She scoffed. “I did no such thing.”
“So, I am to believe this is some sort of coincidence?”
“I do not care what you believe.” She raised both eyebrows at him, surprisingly brave in the face of his hostility. “Nor do I care to stand here and be… be accused of something I did not do. So, if you do not mind…” She turned to leave.
Daniel should have let her go.
He wanted nothing to do with Lady Alison. Since last night, all he had been able to think about was her defiance, the way he had pulled her into his body and held her mouth closed, and how she had bitten him.
Daniel grew up as the patriarch of a house filled with women. He was used to being obeyed. So, to be defied like this… it undid him completely. It made him want to assert himself, for that was his natural way. It made him want to test just how strong-willed Lady Alison thought that she was.
“I did not give you permission to leave.” He grabbed her arm.
She froze and looked back, eyes wide as she found his hand. “Let me go…” she breathed; it misted in the air from the cold.
“Apologize,” he said.
She curled her upper lip at him. “You first.”
“Me? What on earth am I expected to –”
“You know well what,” she snapped. “And if you want another apology from me, you can set the precedent.”
He groaned. Still holding her by the arm, he had to force himself to not pull her into him. He bared his teeth, his eyes flicked to her troublesome mouth, and his pulse quickened to a point of absurdity.
“If you think I am going to apologize, you are as daft as that mutt.” Then he scoffed. “You two are quite similar, in fact. Both tend to bite.”
She smirked. “Oh, did Pickle bite you? Good boy,” she said, scratching the dog’s ear.
“You should …” Daniel slowly pulled Lady Alison closer. She did not fight him, perhaps even wanting him to hold her body as he did last evening. “You should not press me.”
“Is that what I am doing?”
“You know what you are doing,” he growled. “And you would be wise to for once heed my warning. Believe me when I say, it is the best for both of us.”
“The best for you, perhaps.” She smirked at him, apparently delighted in the response he was giving her. “Not for me.”
“You are…” His lip twitched as his frustration grew. “Beyond frustrating.”
“You bring it out in me,” she shot back.
They were standing face to face. Less than a foot apart. Daniel’s eyes flicked down to her smirking lips. He licked his own. He felt a pull deep within, the urge to shut her mouth the only way she might respect. And oh… how he yearned for it.
But then, as if fate was stepping between them a second time, Pickle bucked Alison and wiggled free, falling to the ground and then scampering away.
“Pickle!” she cried after the terrier as it sprinted back to her home. “Come back here!”
The spell was broken and Daniel released Lady Alison quickly as if she had bitten him.
“Like dog like owner,” he scoffed. And then, needing to get as far from her as he could, he turned and strode back to his home.
It wasn’t until he was through the front door, slamming it closed behind, that Daniel took a deep breath.
His body was trembling. His heart was racing.
And the way his blood pumped hot through his veins and through his legs…
he groaned, wanting but unable to stop thinking about what had nearly happened.
Lucky then that she and her family were leaving on holiday in a few days’ time. All he needed to do was avoid her until then. And once she was gone from sight she would be banished from his mind and all this would be was a small slip in Daniel’s stalwart self-control.