Chapter 31
THIRTY-ONE
DRAMATIC RESCUE
Beth
We juddered to a halt outside of the modern, brick police station, Gordain’s face tight with concern.
In a frenzy of activity, we’d managed to persuade everyone else to remain at the castle.
Ella was contacting Howard Marks, James’s lawyer, and Mattie was tasked with stopping her launching a dramatic rescue.
Callum was making calls to anyone he knew who had influence.
The rest was on me.
“The best bet is for me to admit the guilt.” Gordain stared at the illuminated building, black night surrounding us.
“Taking all those vases and statues might’ve been the lass’s idea, but I carried the bag.
It was me at the controls as we left the estate.
She’s not even eighteen so she can’t take the responsibility. ”
“What about your job?” I didn’t know much about the military, but a pilot getting arrested couldn’t be good news.
“My career is probably fucked anyway,” he said with a resigned shrug then popped the door and exited the car.
I followed suit. We weaved through the lines of police cars to the station entrance. No way could I let Gordain go in there and give himself up, but I was at an entire loss on what to do.
Our wedding was the day after tomorrow.
Both James and I had to be there.
If we didn’t get married, he couldn’t inherit.
Only a few days more, and he’d turn twenty-one, so there was no time to reorganise another date.
I entered the bright reception with no plan.
The last thing on my mind, before I arrived at the front desk, where a grim-faced policeman waited, was that something, anything, was better than James taking any blame.
Which was the only explanation for my next actions.
I waited for the man’s attention then I calmly said, “I stole a car. You need to arrest me.”
“Nae, don’t listen. She’s talking nonsense,” Gordain barked from my right.
“I beg your pardon?” the officer said.
With a swish, the door opened behind us, and Gordain made an angry sound.
I spun around and found Richard Fitzroy emerging into the room.
“You,” he said, his gaze alighting on me. He marched forwards to the centre of the reception. “I’m surprised you’re still around. I thought my nephew would’ve had his fill of you by now. Officer? Arrest this girl. She stole my car.”
Yeah, pretty much exactly what I’d just said.
“You’ve got some nerve.” My blood boiled, and I stared Richard down, taking in his red eyes and his deeply lined face. He looked sick. “If anything, you should be arrested for assault.”
“And you!” Richard ignored me and jabbed a finger towards Gordain. “Where is my niece? And what did you do with my treasures?”
“Assault? Theft? Possible kidnapping,” the policeman behind the desk said. “How about we start from the beginning and one of you explain exactly who is responsible for which crime.”
Voices came from a corridor, then James entered the reception, Inspector Cox at his side. They chuckled over something, like they’d shared a joke. My heart skipped a beat. He hadn’t been arrested?
James caught sight of us, and he gave a gentle smile, like he knew we’d be waiting for him. Then his gaze alighted on his uncle. His expression dropped, and anger took its place, hard lines erasing the amusement.
Silence descended on the room. Richard seethed, Gordain, the reception officer, and I stared from the side, and James and Inspector Cox took us all in.
Then, very deliberately, James turned his back on his uncle and shook the inspector’s hand. “Thank you for everything,” he said.
“I assume your fiancée is here to collect you?” Inspector Cox glanced our way.
“The car’s outside.” My voice came out clear despite the fact I trembled. How could they release him?
“You’re freeing him? What the hell kind of police station is this? Get her, the girl over there. I want my property back.” Richard’s face turned red, and his knuckles white where he held his hands in fists.
The inspector gave him a calm, professional smile. “Mr Richard Fitzroy, I assume?”
“You can call me ‘sir’,” Richard announced. “You heard what I told you on the phone. Why aren’t you acting on it?”
He stepped forwards. The officer at the reception stood, a warning in his movements.
“Can you deny a crime has taken place?” Richard continued, his voice forced now.
“With the help of the earl, I have opened a file to investigate the potential disappearance of a number of items from the Belvedere Estate,” the inspector said.
“Potential? What do you mean?” Richard barked.
“Well…” She raised her shoulders in an apologetic shrug.
“It will take a little while to ascertain if a crime has occurred. We are terribly understaffed, you see. I have arranged to meet Earl Fitzroy at his home in a week’s time to make an assessment.
” She flicked a look over Richard whose face drained of colour.
“We’ll check for any damage that might have occurred, then decide what action to take from there. ”
James had done it. He’d talked her into delaying until just long enough that he’d be in control.
Fuck! And in a week, we’d have a police presence at Belvedere for his inheritance meeting.
I wanted to laugh for joy, but I schooled my face.
At my shoulder, Gordain swayed, like he could barely contain himself either.
James’s gaze found mine, and he tipped his head to the door. He thanked the inspector, not acknowledging his uncle for a second.
“Sorry, I made a mistake about the whole car-stealing thing,” I whispered to the reception cop. I took a step back. “I retract my confession.”
He gave me a bemused blink. Gordain merged in front of me, shielding me from Richard.
“You cannot be serious,” Richard said, his voice quieter.
We didn’t wait to hear the rest. James strode after us, and we exited into the night air. Outside, he hauled me under his arm, throwing his other over Gordain’s shoulder in a hard hug. We hurried across the carpark. At the Land Rover, Gordain tossed him the keys, and James caught them.
We got into the car, locked the doors, and stared at one another.
“The whole time I was in there, letting honesty and good sense prevail, of one thing I was absolutely sure. That once I came out, no matter how long it took, I’d find the two of you waiting for me.”
“But your uncle’s face, right? That had to be a surprise,” Gordain said, his expression still holding an air of shock, his big shoulders tensed.
“A surprise, maybe, but he set this up, so it makes sense that he’d show up to watch the fallout.” James started the engine and reversed out of the bay. “The only question now is whether we need to expect an extra guest at the wedding.”
We knew his turning up was a risk—the venue and date was on the public record.
“We’ll be ready for him,” Gordain replied with an ominous tone. “Let him come when the police aren’t watching. Then we’ll see what happens.”
That night, the last we’d spend together until we were married, I traced the lines of James’s face with my fingertip. Watching him in the low, silvery light.
“You’re a remarkable man,” I said. “When I first saw you, I knew it.”
His lips curved in a smile. I ran my finger over them, wondering at how completely perfect he was.
“You have been through so much, but it only made you stronger,” I continued, anticipating and smoothing away the little frown that appeared on his forehead. “Don’t object.”
“I didn’t say a word,” he objected. Then he turned the tables, rolling onto his side and pushing me onto my back.
His hand sought my belly, running over the tiniest of swells he’d told me he could see, before travelling up to my breast. To up the game, and drive us both crazy with distraction, I’d made a suggestion before we’d climbed into bed. No clothes. Not tonight.
I wanted to lie in his embrace, skin to skin. Still no sex, only sweet anticipation of what we’d get on our wedding night.
James cupped my breast, his finger and thumb finding my nipple.
“Nng.” I threw my knee over his thighs.
His cock pushed into my upper leg—he’d been hard when I had him take his clothes off, maybe from the moment we’d been alone together—and I ever so slightly rubbed against it.
James breathed through his nose.
“You teased me. What do you expect?” I said.
We stared at one another, our naked bodies almost in alignment.
“You’d still want me if I had nothing,” James said in a rush, his eyes wide and something like fear in his grip on me.
“Do you even need to ask?” He hadn’t exactly made it a question, but I need to quash this worry. Make him as secure as I was. “If it was just you and me and the clothes on our backs, I’d be the luckiest girl alive. All I want is you. Just you.”
Actually, I also wanted a kiss. A demanding, passionate, soul-burning kiss that would make us sweat. Make us both abandon our goal.
We hadn’t had sex in almost three weeks, after doing nothing but for days. It was the famine after the feast, and I could hardly bear it anymore.
Every night had been a push-pull, with one of us nearly relenting and the other staying firm. Every day, I watched him with lust in my gaze, knowing how he felt thrusting into me, remembering the efforts he put into learning how my body worked. What I liked.
Having all that devotion bearing down on me was a heady thing.
I moved half an inch, my breasts pressing into him, the centre of me at his hip. James’s eyes flared. His teeth met his lower lip, and his breathing came deep.
Then again…
We had our whole lives ahead of us. All the time in the world to make each other wild. To put our vows to practice.
Vows. That was it. For the first time in my life, I was making a clear and solid commitment to someone. I couldn’t wreck it now.
“This plan of yours is evil,” I said, not moving any farther. “I want you so badly I think steam is coming out of my ears.”
“You’re my world, Beth. If you say the word, you can have what you want. Anything.” His blue eyes implored me to be the one to break. To give him the excuse.