In contrast to his audacity, her strategy seemed suddenly seriously flawed, for he was progressing with greater dispatch than she, in her naivete, could safely handle. The alacrity with which he was advancing would see her tossed upon her back and divested of her virginity before she even had a chance to reach his quarters.
“I must be excused for a moment,” she begged unsteadily, knowing she had to think this matter through once again, just to make sure she wanted to subject herself to perils that appeared much more real now. Of a surety, her courage needed bolstering if she meant to carry through with her ruse. In truth, she felt as if she had just been bombarded by a volley of cannonballs.
“May I be of some assistance, my lady?” Tyrone asked with exaggerated politeness. She seemed so distraught by his touch, he wondered if he might have mistaken her enticement. “You appear…disturbed.”
Recognizing the esprit in his wayward smile, Synnovea lifted a hand to halt his advance. She had to keep her wits well aligned or all would be lost. She didn’t need him touching or wooing her at the present moment, not when she had to escape to some haven where she could recapture some semblance of intrepidity. She shook her head and sought to step past him. “I must go.”
“Perhaps a glass of wine will help soothe you,” Tyrone suggested, deftly catching her fingers within his and bestowing a gentle kiss upon them. He was reluctant to see her leave, for he was not at all sure she’d return, and if she fled now, it appeared unlikely she’d ever allow him to see her again.
“I must go!” Synnovea gasped again, astonished by the way her fingers trembled beneath his lips. Disentangling them from his grasp, she pressed her palm against his broad chest, growing increasingly wary of being detained. “Please stand aside, Colonel.”
“Will you come back?” The tawny brow jutted upward again. “Or should I forget that we ever met?”
Though the inquiry was quietly spoken, the vulnerable disappointment in his tone pierced her heart. Pausing, she stared up at him in amazement. As she probed the depths of those translucent orbs which observed her with a shadowed reserve in return, she realized that this was no casual game for Tyrone Rycroft. He was serious about having her for his own.
Synnovea’s panic began to ebb as she recognized his dedication to winning her. How could a man force a woman to yield to his ardent bent when he seemed so sensitive to the possibility of losing her? A tentative smile curved her lips as she traced a trembling finger along the silk cording that trimmed his doublet. “I need a few moments to myself, Colonel, that is all, but I’ll be back. That much I promise you,” she vowed in a hushed voice. “Will you wait for me?”
“As long as it takes,” Tyrone replied, gathering her slender fingers within his again and bending over them.
His kisses lingered warmly upon her skin, evoking feelings that she could not fully explain, an incredibly stirring experience that flooded her heart with tenderness and a strange sense of joy. She felt as if she were melting inside and leaned toward him, brushing her fingers almost lovingly over his closely cropped hair. When he straightened to search her face, she drew back, a blush suffusing her cheeks. Synnovea dared not test the strength of her voice, and with an inarticulate murmur, she left him staring after her in some bemusement as she fled across the hall.
Ali’s absence allowed Synnovea the solitude she desperately needed to find in her bedchambers. Though she sought to bring some clarity to her thoughts, she paced about like a caged animal, finding no rational solution for what she was experiencing. If by his mere presence the colonel could suffuse her being with feelings that closely resembled a gentle regard and then, in the next moment, send her senses reeling giddily out of control, a definite chasm existed between what he had awakened within her and the apathy she had felt toward her betrothed. It only affirmed what she had known all along: she’d never be content with Vladimir as her husband.
Pushing open a window, Synnovea leaned back against the frame and gazed out upon the starlit sky. She needed the bracing chill of the night air to clear her mind and to cool her skin after the heat of Tyrone’s kisses. Yet, as the moon came out from behind a cloud, a movement across the thoroughfare drew her attention. Shading her eyes against the flickering radiance of the candles burning in her room, she peered intently through the lantern-lit darkness until two shadowy figures standing side by side became discernible. It was a moment before she recognized the shorter one as Prince Aleksei. She could only assume his hulking companion was one of the rogues he had hired to watch her, but she found that one’s appearance oddly troubling. Though the man’s head was covered with a karakul similar to those worn by Mongolians in bygone years, his powerful frame seemed hauntingly familiar.
Aleksei swaggered forward with unmeasured confidence and settled his hands on his narrow hips. Assured of her undivided attention, he threw back his head and roared his mirth to the night sky. Synnovea stiffened, feeling scalded by the mocking sound. He was laughing at her, scorning whatever hopes she had of escaping him.
Of a sudden, Synnovea regained her fortitude with an intensity that would have shocked the prince had he known he had been instrumental in perfecting it. Like a full-blown temptress, she addressed her attention to her appearance, preparing it for a more thorough siege. Resolved to show no clemency lest she find herself wedded and bedded forthwith, she readjusted her laces, cinching her slender waist tighter while loosening her bodice to a more tempting degree. No matter the extent of Tyrone’s experience with the fairer gender, she was now committed to setting him back upon his heels with a more impassioned courtship. And if Natasha’s warnings about the hazards of pushing a man beyond his limits were correct, then Synnovea silently vowed to make him fairly quake with frustration until he felt compelled to fly to his apartments with her.
Synnovea examined the results of her revamping both fore and aft in the tall looking glass and pronounced herself fit and trim. Surely no seaworthy galleon had ever been outfitted for battle with the same equipage and weapons she possessed within her cache, but this fine vessel of womanly softness was rigged for a most unusual contest, the entrapment and studied rebuff of no pompous youth, but a man well versed in the art of seduction.
Synnovea descended the stairs with measured tread as her gaze slipped past the colonnades into the great hall. The candles had been snuffed around the outer perimeter of the room, lending emphasis to a flaming wreath of tapers that encircled a blind balladeer recounting a tale of a princely warrior and a beautiful maiden. The guests were enthralled by the poetic lilt of his voice and seemed to hang on every word as the man wove his magic.
Tyrone Rycroft proved the singular exception. He had joined several men in the great hall, but by the swiftness with which his eyes reached her, Synnovea could believe he had been watching eagerly for her return. He promptly excused himself from his companions and seemed to move through the guests with only one purpose in mind, for his eyes never strayed from her. When he entered the vaulted alcove enclosing the stairs, those deeply hued orbs measured every detail of her, much like an avid collector of art might assess a treasured piece. Synnovea had no difficulty recalling that he had seen and perhaps even understood things about her that no one else ever would. When his eyes touched her hair, she knew he had seen the glory of it tumbling down her naked back. When his gaze dipped to her bosom, it was as if he but brought to mind the sight of those pale spheres glistening wetly in the warm glow of the lanterns. Even when his perusal swept down the length of her skirts, he seemed to probe the fullness for some hint of the sleek limbs that he had once viewed.
Synnovea shivered at the wealth of emotions his slow, meticulous inspection elicited. Upon halting on the last step, she tried to snatch her mind free from the slavery of her thoughts, yet the impressions remained, merging with memories of their first encounter, when he had lifted her from the murky depths of the dark waters and she had clung to his manly form. Her breasts almost ached with a vivid reminder of that moment when she had been caught agai
nst his steely hard chest. In her mind’s eye she could see the fascinating play of muscles across his wide shoulders, the rippling sinews along his ribs, and the taut, flat belly, so briefly glimpsed and yet keenly defined in her mind, with its tracing of hair that mentally led her eye downward to the pure manly heat of him.
Synnovea took a deep breath and released it in a long, shuddering sigh, strangely excited by the wantonness she was experiencing and would have to surreptitiously convey, yet fearful of tempting this man beyond the threshold through which she’d find no easy retreat. Dragging her mettle up the full length of her spine, she sought to demonstrate a serenity that one might expect of a maiden sheathed in ice, yet inwardly she trembled with the danger of being caught in the vortex of her own growing involvement in this game of enticement.
As he halted before her, Synnovea could do naught but submit to the flame burning in those darkly translucent orbs. He slipped a hand behind her waist, and her breath nigh halted. Delicious shivers rippled up her spine as his lean fingers lightly strummed the laces at the back of her bodice.
“You’re even more beautiful than when you left a century ago,” Tyrone breathed, leaning provocatively near to indulge himself in her heady fragrance. “Or is it that I’ve forgotten the details in so long a time?”
Synnovea flicked a glance upward through silken lashes. Even with the added height of the step, she still had to look up to meet his gaze. “I’ve never met a man so perceptive in the mores of a woman that he can readily detect the repairs she has made to her appearance,” she murmured silkily. “Am I to be faulted for wanting to look my best for you?”
Her heart quickened as his long fingers paused on the laces, as if he toyed with the idea of testing the security of the knot that held the cords in place. Had they been in a private place, he might well have tried.
“Can any man fault perfection?” Tyrone’s smile was engaging, commanding her stare. “Truly, Synnovea, you have my undivided attention. I only wish we were alone so I could prove how genuinely I covet your companionship.”
Sensing the effectiveness of her subterfuge but recognizing her own vulnerability to his charm, Synnovea struggled to slow the crazy, staccato beat of her heart. “Should I imagine that you wish to take me to your quarters, Colonel?”
He brushed his lips against her hair as his hand ascended to a place between her shoulder blades and pressed her forward until her breasts were lightly thrust against his chest. “Though I dare not hope that you’d bestow such favor upon me, I must confess ’tis my most fervent desire, my beauty. The merest thought of being alone with you takes my breath away, for I cannot forget the bliss of our encounter in the pool and do fervently wish that such a meeting may be repeated.”
In spite of the queer knots in her stomach, Synnovea struggled to feel some victory, but the hand she braced against the solid rampart of his chest trembled noticeably. Even the subtle hint of his cologne caused a curious headiness, not unlike some strong intoxicant capable of sapping the strength from her limbs and stripping away the last vestiges of her womanly will. It would have been so easy to lean into him and appease a quickening desire. Yet Synnovea pushed away from that stalwart physique, deeming the distance between them safer for her own racing heart. “I think I should be cautious of such an event, sir,” she murmured with more truth than coyness. “You allowed me to escape unscathed once, but I shouldn’t think you’d be as generous a second time.”
“ ’Tis extremely doubtful that I’d be able to display such control again.” He grinned with an allure that was becoming familiar to her. “Still, if such an occasion were repeated, I would hope that you’d at least consider calling me by my given name. After all we’ve been through together, Synnovea, wouldn’t it seem appropriate? Is it so difficult for you to call me Tyrone? Or, if you’d prefer, Ty or Tyre. The latter is the name my grandmother calls me.”
“Ty…Tyre…Tyrone.” Synnovea tested the names as if sampling a luscious fruit. “Until I know you better, I think Tyrone must suffice. In truth, we’re barely acquainted.”
“The name sounds as delectable as honeyed mead when your lips sweeten it.” His eyes tarried hungrily on her mouth, making her breath waver. “When I remember the sweet tidbits I’ve stolen from them, I’m beset with an unquenchable longing to kiss you in a way that would convince you of my desire for you, yet I would also enjoy teaching you how to respond.”
A deeper color flooded into Synnovea’s cheeks, evidencing her chagrin. Though it wasn’t considered proper for a young maid to be conversant in the art of kissing, she was reluctant to have him think her an awkward chit when he compared her to all the other women he had kissed. “Do I need instruction?”
Tyrone’s lips curved with amusement. “I’d be jealous if you didn’t.”
Synnovea met his smiling regard with wide, searching eyes. “Should I be jealous of all the women who’ve taught you?”
“You needn’t be, my sweet,” he assured her. “Since our first meeting, I’ve been your absolute slave.”
“I wonder whose slave you truly are, Tyrone,” she countered, arching a winged brow dubiously, not at all convinced of his sincerity. “If mine, as you claim, then I’ve not seen you much of late.”
In an attitude of sincere regret, Tyrone pressed a hand to his breast. “A complaint you must take up with the tsar, since it has been his pleasure I’ve been serving. Yet, even while gratifying his desires, you’ve been on my mind.”
“I’ve heard rumors, and I have no real assurance of your claims,” she needled winsomely.
Sagaciously Tyrone turned the subject elsewhere, sensing her growing curiosity about the other women he had courted in his life. “Though I’d prefer to keep your beauty well hidden from every male eye but mine, sweetest Synnovea, I must introduce you to a close friend.”
He took her elbow, lending her assistance from the last step, and drew her arm through his before escorting her into the great hall. Once there, he motioned to the young Russian whom Synnovea had seen enter with him. That one stood near the far wall with Natasha’s frequent escort, Prince Adolphe, and his daughter, but at Tyrone’s summons, he promptly excused himself from his companions. He joined them as they returned to the vaulted alcove.
“May I present my second-in-command, Captain Grigori Tverskoy,” Tyrone said in a quietly subdued voice so as not to intrude upon the balladeer’s verse. “Grigori, this is the Countess Synnovea Zenkovna.”
The handsome Russian stepped into a decorous bow. “ ’Tis indeed an honor to finally make your acquaintance, Countess,” he replied graciously in English for the benefit of his superior. “You probably don’t recognize me, since you were occupied with Ladislaus at the time, but I was fortunate enough to be among those who came to the assistance of your entourage after your coach was halted by outlaws. Of course, the tribute belongs solely to Colonel Rycroft, who ordered our detachment to search out the cause for the gunshots we heard.”
“I’m grateful for your participation, Captain,” Synnovea replied graciously, “and, of course, to your commander for his attention to duty.”
Grigori tossed a grin toward his superior. “If you’re not aware of it, my lady, Colonel Rycroft has derived enormous delight in having been the one to accomplish your rescue. Although he performed nearly the same service for several boyarinas when they were accosted by ruffians at a coach station only a few days before your attack, the colonel fervently denied his availability when they invited him to meet their father upon our return to Moscow.”
Tyrone lifted a challenging brow toward the man and, with a wayward grin of his own, applied some good-natured needling in reverse as he directed his comments aside to Synnovea. “Among the sisters, there was one in particular who found it difficult to get through doorways, yet she was eager to win Grigori for her spouse. To save himself, he hid in the smokehouse until she finally gave up her search and departed with her kin.”
“Much to my relief,” the captain admitted with an amiable chort
le.
Tyrone noticed Princess Tania timidly eyeing them from the great room. “I perceive there’s yet another lady wistfully pining for your attention, my friend. You do seem to have a flair for enchanting sweet, young damsels.”
Grigori cast a glance askance, and his smile broadened when his gaze lit on the one who stared back at him with more than a hint of longing in her eyes. He promptly faced his commander. “Since we’ll be at liberty on the morrow, Colonel, I’ve agreed to accept Prince Adolphe’s invitation to spend the evening at his home. I’ll be journeying with them in their coach, so you’ll have the hired livery to yourself this evening.”