Caro felt a shiver run the length of her spine as she looked up into that harshly forbidding face; no wonder those three young gentlemen had decided that retreat was the best and safest course of action. She felt like retreating herself as she recalled how demanding and yet arousing that firmly sculptured mouth had felt against her own …
Her shoulders straightened determinedly. ‘You kissed me deliberately, my lord, purely in an effort to demonstrate your superior strength over me.’
His nostrils flared as that silver gaze raked over her. ‘In an effort to demonstrate how any man’s strength would be superior to your own—even those three drunken young pups who just ran away with their tails between their legs.’
Caro raised a haughty brow. ‘You exaggerate, sir—’
‘On the contrary, Miss Morton,’ he snapped coldly, ‘I believe myself to be better acquainted than you with the lusts of my own sex.’ His mouth twisted in distaste. ‘And if I had not been here to protect you just now then I guarantee you would now find yourself in an alley somewhere with your skirts up about your waist whilst one of those young bucks rutted between your thighs and the other two awaited their turn!’
Caro felt herself pale and the nausea churn in her stomach at the vividness of the picture he painted. A vividness surely designed to shock and frighten her—and succeeding? Those three young gentlemen had obviously over-imbibed this evening, and were feeling more than a little playful, but surely they would not have behaved as shockingly as the earl suggested?
She looked at him in challenge. ‘Then it is a pity that there was no one here to protect me from your own unwanted attentions, was it not?’
Dominic drew in a swift breath at the accusation. In the circumstances, it was a perfectly justified accusation, he allowed fairly. He had meant only to teach a lesson, to demonstrate her vulnerability by taking advantage of her himself. Instead he had found he enjoyed the honeyed taste of her as he explored the heat of her mouth, as well as the feel of her slender curves pressed against his much harder ones. To the extent that he had taken the kiss far beyond what he had originally intended.
He straightened, the expression in his eyes now hidden behind hooded lids. ‘I meant only to demonstrate how exposing yourself on a stage night after night has left you open to physical as well as verbal abuse.’
‘You are being ridiculous,’ she dismissed briskly. ‘Neither am I a complete ninny. It was for the very reason of protecting my reputation that I donned the mask and wig at Nick’s. Indeed, I doubt that anyone would ever recognise the woman I am now as the masked and ebony-haired woman who sings in a gambling club each evening.’
There was some truth in that; Dominic had barely recognised Caro himself when she had joined him earlier. Even so … ‘The fact that you are masked, and your own blonde curls hidden beneath those false ebony tresses, would, I am afraid, only protect your identity as far as the bedroom.’
Her throat moved convulsively as she continued to look up at him proudly. ‘My … identity?’
Dominic gave an exasperated sigh. ‘Your voice and manner proclaim you as being a lady—’
‘Or a disgraced lady’s maid,’ she put in quickly.
‘Perhaps,’ Dominic allowed tersely. ‘I have no idea what your reasons are for taking the action you have—and I doubt you are about to enlighten me, are you?’
Her mouth firmed. ‘No.’
‘As I thought.’ He gave an abrupt nod. ‘Of course, the simplest answer to this predicament would be for me to simply terminate your employment. At least then I would not feel honour bound to take responsibility for your welfare.’
She gave an inelegant snort. ‘That would only solve the problem for you, my lord; I would still need to find the means with which to earn my own living.’
She was right, Dominic allowed sourly. But there was another alternative … He could offer to become her protector himself—his enjoyment of their kiss earlier proved that his senses, at least, were not averse to the idea. And no doubt, with a little coaching as to his physical preferences, Caro would be more than capable of satisfying his needs.
But in the ten years since Dominic had first appeared in town he had never once taken a permanent mistress, as many of his male acquaintances chose to do, preferring instead to take his pleasures whenever and with what women he pleased. He had no wish to change that arrangement by making the spirited and outspoken Caro Morton his mistress.
‘Of course, if you were to decide to terminate my employment then you would leave me with no choice but to seek the same position elsewhere.’ She shrugged those slender shoulders. ‘Something that should not prove too difficult now that the masked lady has, as you say, gained something of a … male following,’ she added.
It was a solution, of course. Except at Nick’s, whether the chit was aware of it or not, Caro at least had the protection of the attentive Drew and Ben. And, apparently, now Dominic himself. ‘If it is only question of money—’
‘And if it were?’ Caro had immediately bristled haughtily.
His mouth thinned. ‘In those circumstances I might perhaps see my way clear to advancing you sufficient funds to take you back to wherever it is you originate from.’
‘No!’ Those sea-green eyes sparkled up at him rebelliously. ‘I have no intention of leaving London yet.’
Dominic was unsure as to whether Caro’s vehemence was due to his offer to advance her money, or his suggestion that she use that money to take herself home, so he decided to probe further. ‘Is the situation at home so intolerable, then?’
She attempted to repress a shudder and failed. ‘At present, yes.’
Dominic studied her through narrowed lids, noting the shadows that had appeared in those sea-green eyes, and the pallor of her cheeks. ‘That remark would seem to imply that the situation may change some time in the future?’
‘It is to be hoped so, yes,’ she confirmed with feeling.
‘But until it does, it is your intention to remain in London, whether or not I continue to employ you at Nick’s?’
Her mouth set firmly. ‘It is.’
‘You are very stubborn, madam.’
‘I am decisive, sir, which is completely different.’
Dominic sighed heavily, not wishing to send Caro back to a situation she obviously found so unpleasant, but also well able to imagine the scrapes this reckless young woman would get herself into, if she were once again let loose to roam the streets of London seeking employment. ‘Then I believe, for the moment, we must leave things as they are.’ He looked away. ‘Shall we continue to walk to your lodgings?’
Caro shot him a triumphant glance. ‘We have been standing outside them for some minutes, my lord!’
Dominic gave her an irritated scowl before glancing at the house behind them. It was a three-storied building so typical of an area that had once been fashionable, but which was no longer so, and as such had fallen into genteel decay. Although the owner of this particular lodging had at least attempted to keep up a veneer of respectability, the outside being neat and cared for, and the curtains at the windows also appearing clean.
He turned back to Caro. ‘In that case it remains only for me to bid you goodnight.’
She gave an abrupt curtsy. ‘My lord.’
‘Miss Morton.’ He nodded curtly.
Caro gazed up at Dominic quizzically as he made no move to depart for his waiting carriage. ‘There is no need for you to wait to leave until you are assured I have entered the house,