“Thinking of your lover, Lady Natalia?”
The mocking words startled her. She whirled around and then froze when Lord Jonathan Taylor strode toward her from the back of her father’s property. Unease settled in the pit of her stomach.
“Lord Taylor.” She strove for an imperious tone. Jonathan had spread the gossip that had ruined her. For the first time, she wondered if he were bitter because she’d rejected him. “What are you doing here?”
“Why, I’ve come to offer you my congratulations, of course. You see, I just heard about your forthcoming marriage.” His pale, sharp-featured face bore an angry menace. As he spoke, he moved closer, until less than a yard separated them.
“That’s very kind of you.” Natalia rose from the bench and edged toward the house in an effort to put the maximum amount of distance possible between her and her former admirer. “I’m sure my father will be glad to know you called. Shall I fetch him for you?”
Jonathan shook his head. “We both know it’s you I’ve come to see.”
Natalia frowned, anger eclipsing her fear. “No, Lord Taylor. In fact, I can’t imagine what makes you think you have the right to approach me in such an inappropriate manner.”
“Inappropriate? How dare you speak to me of what is appropriate? I saw you kissing Dylan Blake. I saw you moaning at his touch like a cat in heat.”
Natalia shook her head, embarrassed and furious. “I’m not going to stand here and listen to this.” She turned her back, her pulse racing as she quickened her steps in an effort to be away from him. Surely, he wouldn’t try to stop her.
She hadn’t gone five steps before he grabbed her from behind, trapped her arms, and pulled her against him with an unexpected wiry strength.
“You weren’t supposed to want him.”
Terror rose in her throat as he turned her in his arms and shoved her onto the stone bench. Straddling her thighs, he pinned her in place. She bucked wildly, trying to dislodge him. Laughing, he grabbed her hair and twisted until she cried out.
She stilled, glaring up at him as she struggled to catch her breath. “What do you want from me?”
“I want some of what you were so eager to give your future husband. Don’t you know you’ve ruined everything, you stupid bitch? You were supposed to put him in his place, not marry him.”
Natalia intensified her struggles, but he wrenched her arms behind her back until she thought they would snap. His face loomed above hers; his breath rank with the scent of brandy.
He was drunk, she realized, her terror growing. He must be out of his mind, to come here like this, to threaten her and put his hands on her so brutally.
Unless he doesn’t plan to leave me alive to tell anyone what happened.
“Let me go.” She tried to make her words into a command, but they came out as a breathy quiver.
He shook his head. “I’ll make you want me. I’ll make you forget about Blake.”
Natalia let out a piercing scream right before his mouth descended upon hers and choked her cries with a punishing kiss.
* * *
When Dylan arrived at the duke’s townhouse, the duchess greeted him warmly and directed him out to the garden, where Natalia had taken her afternoon tea.
“Why don’t you join her?” Clarice suggested with a smile. “Dinner won’t be served for several hours, and I know you two have a lot to talk about.”
Dylan gave the lovely young duchess a grateful smile. “Thank you. I feared I wouldn’t get another chance to talk to her in private until after we were married.”
“Be patient with her,” Clarice advised. “She’s still angry and upset, but I think she’ll forgive you eventually.”
Heartened by his future mother-in-law’s words, Dylan slipped out into the garden, only to find the small table abandoned, the tea grown long cold. He frowned. Had Natalia—?
A woman’s scream cut through the quiet afternoon and stopped him in his tracks. The sound seemed so out of place, given the formal splendor of his surroundings, it took him a moment to comprehend.
The scream choked off, as though brutally silence. Dylan’s heart plummeted with fear as he recognized the voice.Natalia.
Cursing beneath his breath, he sprinted through the hedges, praying she’d slipped or been surprised by some insect. He reached the back corner of the garden in record time, only to skid to a sharp halt.
Jonathan Taylor had Natalia trapped against the stone bench with the full weight of his body. Natalia struggled to get away, her panic and disgust evident. As Dylan started toward them, Jonathan drew back his hand and slapped her viciously across the face.
