Her Dark and Dangerous Lord

Her Dark and Dangerous Lord
Anne Herries

‘No! No, please do not send me away,’ Anne said desperately. ‘Have I done something to make you angry?’

‘No,’ he said, his voice soft and caressing. ‘Nothing but keep me restless in my bed each night. You haunt my thoughts, Anne…’

He moved towards her, reaching out to catch her and draw her close. His eyes seemed to burn with a dark flame, and then he bent his head and kissed her. It was not the gentle kiss he had given her before, but a hungry, passionate kiss that seemed to draw her soul. She felt his heat pressing against her body.

When he let her go at last, she felt her senses swim.

‘I cannot go on this way. I have tried to ignore my feelings, because you deserve more than I can give, Anne. I am not a gentle or a good man, and I am not sure I know how to love— but I want you in my arms, in my bed…’

AUTHOR NOTE

Stefan de Montfort is a man with a past—a dangerous man of brooding passions. When he plucks Anne Melford from the sea, her life is irrevocably bound with his. Stefan intends to wed this young girl who knows nothing of her past, but first he must come to terms with the demons that haunt him. Can such a man as he ever hope to find true happiness?

This is a further novel in The Melford Dynasty. Over the coming months I hope to write more of these books for you, bringing you the stories of the descendants of these men and women as the centuries pass and we arrive in modern times.

My wish is that this book will bring pleasure to my readers. Please contact me at my website: www.lindasole.co.uk. You can find competitions, blogs, and news of my books.

Previous novels by the same author:

MARRYING CAPTAIN JACK

THE UNKNOWN HEIR

THE HOMELESS HEIRESS

THE RAKE’S REBELLIOUS LADY

A COUNTRY MISS IN HANOVER SQUARE* (#ulink_adf41ac0-94e6-5f62-9a85-a0c7a1b689a4)

AN INNOCENT DEBUTANTE IN HANOVER SQUARE* (#ulink_adf41ac0-94e6-5f62-9a85-a0c7a1b689a4)

THE MISTRESS OF HANOVER SQUARE* (#ulink_adf41ac0-94e6-5f62-9a85-a0c7a1b689a4)

FORBIDDEN LADY† (#ulink_adf41ac0-94e6-5f62-9a85-a0c7a1b689a4)

THE LORD’S FORCED BRIDE† (#ulink_adf41ac0-94e6-5f62-9a85-a0c7a1b689a4)

THE PIRATE’S WILLING CAPTIVE† (#ulink_adf41ac0-94e6-5f62-9a85-a0c7a1b689a4)

And in the Regency series The Steepwood Scandal:

LORD RAVENSDEN’S MARRIAGE

COUNTERFEIT EARL

And in The Hellfire Mysteries:

AN IMPROPER COMPANION

A WEALTHY WIDOW

A WORTHY GENTLEMAN

* (#ulink_4842d43a-5d4e-52a5-b5e6-3788ce7c2f57)A Season in Town trilogy † (#ulink_938ff04e-63a5-54a3-b882-6278849aa336)The Melford Dynasty

About the Author

ANNE HERRIES lives in Cambridgeshire, where she is fond of watching wildlife, and spoils the birds and squirrels that are frequent visitors to her garden. Anne loves to write about the beauty of nature, and sometimes puts a little into her books—although they are mostly about love and romance. She writes for her own enjoyment, and to give pleasure to her readers. She is a winner of the Romantic Novelists’ Association Romance Prize.

HER DARK AND

DANGEROUS LORD

Anne Herries

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

Chapter One

Stefan, Lord de Montfort, looked down at the body of the woman lying at the feet of her murderer. She had betrayed Stefan, lured him here to meet his death, but instead she lay dead, slain by the man who had once more plotted to destroy Stefan.

‘You are a vile murderer,’ Stefan accused, his eyes hard as he met those of his enemy. He was a strong man, broad in the shoulder and powerful, which is why his enemy had plotted to entrap him rather than meet him in open combat. ‘She did all that you asked and yet you killed her…’ He looked about him, seeking a weapon. He had not brought his sword to the chamber of a lady he thought innocent and so was unarmed.

‘You are her murderer,’ Sir Hugh said, an evil smile on his mouth. ‘For I intend to see you dead, and she had to be silenced. She had served her purpose. Besides, she fell on my sword—which, as you know, was meant for you.’

‘You are a cold devil,’ Stefan said. He was trapped in this house, for Sir Hugh was not alone. Stefan should never have been fool enough to come here alone and unarmed, but the lady Madeline had begged for his help. He saw the open window and knew that it might be his only way of escape. Yet even as he moved cautiously towards it, Sir Hugh lunged at him with his sword, just catching him with a slight slash to his thigh. Stefan dodged back, picking up a wooden stool and using it as a shield to fend off his attacker. Sir Hugh laughed like the demon he was, aware that Stefan was trapped and that he must win this time. ‘I should have finished you the last time we met.’ Sir Hugh bore a scar at his temple that was testimony to the last clash between them many years previously.

‘This time I have the advantage…’ Sir Hugh cried, triumph in his eyes. ‘I have hated you since we were lads and you gave me this…’ He motioned to the scar. ‘Your brother was an arrogant brat and he gave me good sport before I killed him, but you—’

He broke off as the door crashed open and a large man came in. He was dressed in the clothes of a man of the east, his face horribly scarred, a turban on his head, and a wicked-looking scimitar in one hand, a sword in the other.

‘It is as I thought, my lord, she trapped you,’ Hassan said and threw the sword towards Stefan, who caught it neatly by the hilt. Even before he did so, Sir Hugh flung himself at the newcomer, slashing at him with his great sword and roaring his anger.

‘Saracen dog! You should have died long ago!’

Hassan counter-attacked, his deadly blade flashing out in an arc and catching the other man’s sword. With a twist of his wrist he sent the sword skimming across the floor and in the next instant his blade cut Sir Hugh across the body, a deep deadly wound that sent him sprawling to the ground, his lifeblood gushing out in a stream. For some minutes, he twitched, an expression of disbelief in his eyes, and then he lay still.

‘That devil will bother us no more,’ Hassan said, a look of satisfaction in his eyes. ‘He has tortured and murdered for the last time, my lord.’

‘Yes,’ Stefan agreed. ‘You have done what I should have done long ago, Hassan—but now we must leave for his men are coming….’

Stefan advanced to the door, sword in hand. The sounds of fighting would have reached the ears of Sir Hugh Grantham’s men. They would need to fight their way out, side by side, as they had many times before this day, comrades and brothers, their swords for hire to any that would pay them.

Anne Melford stopped to watch the mummers on the village green. The men were a fine sight as they danced, the bells they wore on leather straps about their legs jingling merrily as they jigged to the fiddler’s tune. The summer fair had come to Melford and Lady Melford had promised her daughter that they would buy cloth for new gowns, as was their custom. Normally, that thought would be pleasing, but Anne frowned as she turned away from the celebrations. Since her sister Catherine’s wedding three years earlier, Anne had grown restless at home. Sometimes she despaired of it ever being her turn to visit the court and find a husband. Her parents had talked of it the previous year, but then her young brother had fallen ill and the visit had been postponed. At sixteen years of age it would have been usual for Anne to at least be betrothed by now and she had thought of her marriage constantly for years.

At one time she had believed herself in love with Will Shearer. She had feared Catherine might wed him, but Anne’s sister had fallen in love with Andrew, Earl of Gifford. Anne occasionally visited her sister and brother-in-law and envied them their happiness. She was no longer sure who she wished to marry, for she knew that Will had recently married his mistress, a woman not of his own class. His marriage had made his mother very angry, and at first Anne had been terribly hurt because she had truly believed that he would love her one day. However, her distress had given way to a feeling of emptiness and uncertainty that grew with the passing of time. Perhaps her mother had decided that it would be best if she remained at home. It might be that she would never marry…