You—”
He moved forward, closing the last bit of distance between them, his dark gaze sober as he looked down at her. “What if I hadn’t?” he demanded. “What if I hadn’t followed you?”
Her jaw dropped when understanding dawned. “You followed me home that night?”
He hesitated, then nodded.
“And ever since you’ve…” Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she jerked her arm free. “You’ve been following me? For weeks?” The breath lodged in her throat as the magnitude of this revelation slowly sank in. “Why?” Her eyes swept over his masked face, seeing a stranger who’d robbed her, who’d held a gun on her, who carried a dagger, who… “What is it that you want?” she whispered, her feet moving backward, desperate for more distance.
A deep sigh left his lips as he watched her retreat. “You do not need to fear me.”
“Oh, is that so?” Caroline scoffed. “I find that hard to believe.”
Rubbing a hand over his chin, he stepped toward her, a hint of exasperation in the way his jaw tensed. “And what if I hadn’t followed you?” he demanded, his tone harsh now, reproachful. “You had no business being out at night, especially not on your own.”
Anger overcame fear at his audacity. “How dare you—?”
“How dare you?” he interrupted, and his hands clamped around her upper arms, bringing her face closer to his. “How dare you endanger yourself? Do you have any idea what could have happened to you? Do you have any idea what could have happened tonight if I hadn’t been here? What these two blighters could have done to you?” His breath came fast as he stared at her.
“Why would you care?” Caroline asked, surprised at the concern she saw glimmer in his dark eyes. “Why would it matter to you?”
He swallowed, and his grip on her arms slackened as his gaze moved skyward for a heartbeat or two. Then his eyes returned, something deep and meaningful in them as they sought hers. “Would you have rather kissed them?”
Caroline tensed at the vile thought, and a shudder snaked down her back.
Seeing her reaction, he exhaled slowly.
Overwhelmed, Caroline swallowed. “You shouldn’t have kissed me. That was…” Her voice trailed off as her gaze slid from his, unable to bear the weight of his stare.
His right hand abandoned its post upon her upper arm and moved to grasp her chin, gently tilting it upward until she was forced to meet his gaze. “You kissed me back,” he reminded her, his thumb brushing along her lower lip.
His hands on her bare skin sent a jolt through her, stealing her breath and quickening her pulse. “That was poor judgment,” she whispered, fighting the temptation she saw in his eyes, an invitation to repeat what they’d shared only moments earlier. “I should never have done that.”
A teasing chuckle rumbled in his throat, and he pinched her chin. “Poor judgment or not,” he whispered, the words falling from his lips onto her own, “it felt heavenly.” His gaze sparked with something utterly tempting. “You cannot deny that.”
Caroline inhaled a fortifying breath, dimly aware that she was once more falling into his trap, distracted by a desire she had never felt before, a desire she thought she did not possess. All her life, she’d been so focused on escaping the dangers, the limitations that came with men, with marriage. Never once had she thought about the connection, the closeness that could exist between two people. Never once had she been tempted to do so.
And now, here she was, in a darkened alley with a stranger. A masked stranger no less. A man whose face she’d never seen and whose name she did not know, and she felt…something she’d never thought possible. Why here and now? Why with him? “I need to go home,” Caroline told him, her hands once more settling on his chest, urging him back. “I need to go home.”
Although disappointment clung to his gaze, he nodded. “I’ll take you,” he assured her, promising the safety of his presence. Oddly enough, Caroline felt herself calm at the thought of not having to brave the darkened streets of London alone.
Lifting his head, the masked man whistled and, a moment later, the same black beast Caroline had seen on the night of their first encounter trotted toward him. A soft nicker drifted to her ears, like the one she’d heard before, the one that had urged her back into reality and away from the man who’d claimed the compensation he thought he