A burning knot of frustration was growing inside Caroline. She began to ache with a need she couldn't define, couldn't understand. It frightened her, this sensual torture he caused, and she began to truly struggle. "Bradford, no! We must stop now."

He silenced her protest with a long, hot kiss and shifted her so that she was aware of his hardness against her. Caroline became more alarmed, realizing that Bradford didn't have any immediate plan to stop his tender assault. "I want you, Caroline, as I have never wanted another woman."

Her skirt was being lifted and his hand caressed her thigh. Caroline felt like she was being branded, so hot was his touch, his demand. She jerked away from him. Her breathing was as ragged as his, though anger had replaced passion.

"You were supposed to stop before it went this far," she whispered.

It took a moment for Caroline's statement to filter through Bradford's haze of passion. By the time he felt in some semblance of control again, Caroline had moved to the seat across from him, once again clutching his jacket over her torn gown.

Caroline was suddenly terribly embarrassed. She trembled and the knot inside her wouldn't go away. She realized that she really wanted Bradford and that absolutely horrified her. She belonged in a tavern, she told herself. She was cold now, cold from the shame penetrating, and as humiliating as it was, she began to cry. Lord, she hadn't cried in years, and damnation, it was all his fault. He was the experienced one and should have known what he was about!

Bradford saw the tears stream down Caroline's cheeks but was in no mood to offer comfort. He was in acute pain and it was all her fault. Didn't she realize her appeal? Didn't she know the temptation she flaunted? What kind of people raised her? he asked himself with building fury. Hadn't anyone taken the time to educate her in the boundaries of flirting? She had reacted with such ardor, and Bradford thought that her need for completion matched his. He sincerely hoped that it did, he thought with anger. God, he hoped she was hurting every bit as much as he was.

Caroline glared at Bradford while she wiped the tears from her cheeks with the edge of his jacket, hoping he would dare to criticize her for it so that she could lash out at him. She smoothed her gown and moved and then let out a moan. Her backside was tender and most probably black and blue from the fall on the steps, and a part of her thought it peculiar that it hadn't hurt much at all when Bradford was kissing her.

The carriage hit a pothole on one of the side streets that led to her father's townhouse and Caroline gritted her teeth when her bottom was smacked anew. She didn't think she could stand up if her life depended upon it.

"What the hell are you groaning about?" Bradford all but yelled the question. He stretched his legs out as far as the carriage would allow, taking the torn hem of Caroline's gown with him.

"I am in pain," Caroline snapped out.

"Good," Bradford replied. His voice was curt but he was no longer yelling. Caroline was sorry for it, as she was aching now for a fight. "I am in pain too."

"And why are you in pain?" Caroline asked.

"Are you serious? I am in pain because you have made me want you. Are you really such an innocent?" His voice had increased in volume and he leaned forward, his hands on his knees, glaring at her.

"I was an innocent until you took advantage of me. I believed that you were a gentleman and that you would stop before taking such… liberties! A gentleman!" Caroline's voice was laced with shame. "You want me! ha! Just what did you have in mind, Bradford?" Now she was the one yelling and thought that she was probably acting like a child. She didn't care in the least, as the anger was removing the knot in her stomach and her legs had stopped trembling.

"You place too much value on yourself," Bradford answered. "I doubt that you could hold my interest for blood."

His words hurt Caroline but she would die before letting him know that. "Just what are your intentions?" she asked. Her voice was low and determined. "To have me and then move on to another? I actually trusted you! I have been a fool."

Bradford saw the pain in Caroline's gaze and his anger evaporated. He was the cause of her distress. He had acted like a rake and, for the first time in his life, felt guilty over it. "I was acting like a gentleman until you intoxicated me, Caroline." Bradford muttered the words of apology, hoping that she would realize that he was telling her he was sorry. That was all he was willing to give her. In his mind, it was more than enough.

"Are you saying that I am the one at fault?" She sounded incredulous.

"Caroline, quit acting like I have just taken your virginity," Bradford snapped out. "I spoke in the heat of passion."

"So I am not to listen to what you say?" Caroline asked, frowning. "I am not to trust you?"

"Trust has no place between a man and a woman," Bradford dictated. His voice was harsh again.

"You can't love someone without trust," Caroline argued. All anger was gone now but his comments confused her.

He didn't answer her remark and Caroline realized that he really believed what he said. A feeling of sadness invaded her. "I could never marry a man who didn't trust me."

"And did I offer marriage?" Bradford asked.

"You did not," Caroline replied. "I see no reason for this attraction to continue, Bradford. I want what you aren't able to give," she continued. "Since we have just agreed that there is no future for us, I believe it best to say good-bye."

"Fine," Bradford remarked, mimicking her. He realized, even as he muttered the agreement, that he had no intention of letting her go. God, but she confused him! "You want a fool," Bradford commented.

Caroline didn't answer. The carriage drew to a halt in front of her home and she tried to get the door opened before Bradford moved. His feet were tangled in her hem and the gown ripped more.

Bradford removed himself from the carriage and then lifted Caroline into his arms. She didn't resist him but her face mirrored her discomfort. "You're going to be stiff tomorrow," Bradford commented.

Caroline considered telling him that she might have been pushed but immediately canceled that notion. She was beginning to believe that she had only imagined the noise behind her. She was exhausted from the long day, and she didn't want to spar with Bradford over the grim possibility that someone actually wanted to harm her.

Deighton opened the door to Bradford's mutterings. For the man's advanced age, he proved to be light on his feet. He removed himself from the entrance just as Bradford rushed in with Caroline holding on for dear life.

"I believe you should be fitted for spectacles as soon as possible," Bradford remarked as he followed Deighton up the stairs, holding Caroline in a grip that she thought was almost as painful as her fall. "You need a keeper, Caroline."

"Lower your voice," Caroline demanded. "And I don't need a keeper."

"Yes you do. You need someone to protect you from yourself."

"Are you offering for the position?" Caroline asked. Bradford continued to frown and Caroline rushed on, "I would rather be in the clutches of a pack of wolves than under your protection. I would have a better chance of surviving," she added with gusto.

"The clutches of wolves?" Bradford's eyes showed a trace of amusement.

"You know my meaning," Caroline muttered. "If the carriage ride home was a sample of your protection-"

"Caroline, you're yelling," Bradford remarked with a nod toward Deighton.

Caroline looked alarmed and then lowered her voice. "Listen to me well, Bradford. We are finished with each other. Benjamin will see to my protection."

Deighton opened the door to her bedroom and stood aside, Mary Margaret was sitting in a rocking chair next to the window but jumped up and rushed forward when she saw her mistress.

"Out." The single demand literally propelled Mary Margaret through the doorway. She didn't hesitate at all and that infuriated Caroline.

"Don't order my maid about," Caroline demanded as she watched Mary Margaret shut the door behind her. "If I call out, Benjamin would be here in a blink of your cynical eyes and he would tear you apart before asking a single question."

"Then call him!" The challenge was more than clear and Caroline immediately backed down. Bradford walked over to the bed and placed Caroline on the quilt. He tried to be gentle but she still bounced twice before settling. "I said call him!"

"I will not call him," Caroline stated with great emphasis. She pulled Bradford's jacket from beneath her, uncaring that her torn gown displayed far more than was considered decent. She threw the garment toward the man towering over her and said, "Remove yourself from my presence. I hope I never see you again."

Bradford ignored the jacket and leaned down. He effectively trapped Caroline between his arms. When his face was just inches from hers, he said, "Now you listen well, my little adversary. What's between us isn't finished yet. I will have you, one way or the other. If it means marriage, then we will marry. But we play by my rules, Caroline Richmond, not yours. Do you understand me?"

"When hell becomes heaven, milord," Caroline replied with gusto. "When the Colonies annex England, when King George abdicates, and most especially when ill-bred scoundrels become gentlemen, when the odious Duke of Bradford becomes considerate. In other words, Jered Marcus Benton, never will I be yours. Do you understand me?"

She closed her eyes and waited for his explosion, his furious retaliation. The rumble confused her. She opened her eyes to see that Bradford was having grave difficulty keeping a straight face.

"Someone really ought to take you aside and explain to you when you are being insulted, milord. Perhaps Milford could tutor you. He certainly seems to be your opposite," Caroline went on. "Though how he can consider you a friend is bewildering. You are such an obnoxious, unbending man."

"Unbending? I have just broken a vow I made years ago and all because of a violet-eyed wild woman who is driving me to distraction. In the space of two weeks you have turned my world upside down."

Caroline frowned over his statement, wondering what he meant by a vow made such a long time ago. How did it affect her? She wasn't given an opportunity to ask. Bradford's mouth was suddenly claiming hers in a kiss that required her full attention.

Caroline tried to keep her mouth closed and pushed against his shoulders with all her might but it was no use.

It wasn't possible to ignore what he was doing to her. She was trapped between his arms, her mouth held captive by his. Just one last kiss, Caroline told herself as she wrapped her arms around Bradford's neck, just one farewell kiss. She would savor it, remember it for the rest of her life. She gave herself over to Bradford's demands, letting his tongue stroke the inside of her mouth, then copying his ritual, and heard him sigh. She answered him with a sigh of her own, when he reluctantly pulled away from her and stood up. "That was a good-bye kiss, Bradford," Caroline whispered. Her lips felt bruised and swollen and her eyes filled with tears. She was exhausted from the events of the long day, she told herself as she watched him walk toward the door. She certainly wasn't crying because he was walking out of her life.

"Yes, love," Bradford called over his shoulder. He had picked up his jacket and had it slung over one broad shoulder. "Good-bye," he said as he opened the door. "Until tomorrow."

Lord but he was a stubborn man! Hadn't they agreed that they wouldn't continue with the relationship? That there was no future for them together? Caroline went over the conversation in her mind, remembering precisely that she had stated with great emphasis that she could never marry a man she didn't trust. Or had she said that she couldn't marry a man who didn't trust her? She frowned, no longer sure of what she had said, and immediately placed the blame on Bradford. He had made her so angry that she could barely speak let alone argue with any effectiveness. But she did remember Bradford's comment about marriage. He had made it perfectly clear that he was not interested in marrying her, hadn't he?

"The man is driving me out of my mind," Caroline muttered. She stood up and quickly stripped out of her gown. Mary Margaret had thoughtfully placed her blue robe on the bottom of her bed and she put it on, wondering where the little redheaded maid had gone. Probably off trembling somewhere in a corner, she thought, and all because Bradford had barked at her. She sighed with frustration, picked up the gown she had just discarded and placed it on the chair, and then went to stand before the window and stare out into the dark night.