Her revengeful Bastard

Chance meeting and arranging one

*Anna*

Three days later, in the afternoon, four servants, to male and two female, follow me as I make my way toward the hat shop, after finishing with my final dress fitting. It is an unseasonably warm day and the sun is shining brightly. The sidewalks are bustling with people taking advantage of the nicer weather to do their shopping. Much easier to handle packages when one isn’t carrying an open umbrella … even if I have the servants to carry the packages for me. Perhaps after getting a new bonnet, I would visit the shoe store too.

A smartly dressed boy, the top of his head barely reaches above my waist, bumps into me. He hops back, pulls off his cap and gives me a charming grin. “Begging your pardon, miss”.

Then he is racing off in the direction in which he was heading. He can’t have been more than eight or nine. It isn’t unusual to see young children running about unaccompanied, just not ones so well dressed. I feel a measure of jealousy that he might succeed in escaping the attention of his nanny. When I was a girl, I would certainly contemplate running away from my governess on more than one occasion. To know that freedom, to have a few moments where not every skip, jump or hop is criticized, when I don’t have to keep my shoulders back, my spine straight …

“Ow ! Oh ! Let me go, you bloody bastard !” I hear someone shout indignantly.

Hearing the cries of distress, I stop and turn, my heart kicks against my ribs at the sight of Kai Tempest holding on to the boy’s collar and dragging the flailing youth behind him. He doesn’t stop until he reaches me.

“Miss Anna”. With his free hand he makes a greeting motion, while the boy continues to squirm at his side.

I can’t help but stare. In the sunlight I can see his eyes more clearly than I had the other night. They are a deep rich hazel, like velvet, not the almost black I originally thought. The darkness of his hair and beard make them stand out all the more. I swallow in an attempt to moisten my suddenly dry mouth. “Mr. Tempest”.

He gives the boy a hard shake. “Hand it over”.

“Dunno what yer talkin’ about, man”. The boy says.

Kai Tempest’s glare is hard, threatening in a manner intended to send grown men scrambling for their lives. Yes, I can see why Nana did not want to cross paths with him in a darkened alley. It is intimidating enough running into him here on the open street in broad daylight.

“s**t ! Okay”. The boy grumbles as he reaches into his jacket pocket, bringing out a short string of pearls and drops them into Tempest’s waiting palm.

With a gasp, I slap my hand over my wrist where only a few minutes earlier a pearl bracelet had been encircling it. “You little thief”.

The pickpocket kicks Kai Tempest in the shin, causing him to grunt and release his hold. The criminal dashes off. The two male servants make a motion to run after him.

“Let him go !” Tempest shouts with such authority that both servants ground to a halt as though the order had come from God. “He’s quick, and I suspect he knows these streets and alleys like the back of his hand. Besides, we have reclaimed what was stolen”.

We had nothing to do with it. He had done it all.

His gaze lands back on me. “If you’ll give me your wrist . . .”.

I have the unsettling thought I might be willing to give him every part of my person. Dear God, my cheeks feel as though the sun has dipped down to land on them. If I was to look in a mirror, I would no doubt find them as red as an apple. Still, I do as he requests, extending my arm, hoping he won’t notice any flush on my face.

Quickly he pulls his sleeve back, no doubt because of the delicate nature of the job. His hands are bronzed, his fingers well manicured. The only imperfection is a few small, faint scars here and there, and I wonder if he has obtained them in his youth. I imagine he had been quite the rapscallion, getting into one scrape after another.

Dipping his head, he concentrates on securing my bracelet to my wrist as though he is in no hurry to complete the task. I am incredibly aware of his fingers brushing near my pulse, the way it seems to speed up with his nearness. It is such a mesmerizing, intimate service, he is practically dressing me. The air suddenly becomes too hot to take into my lungs, a slight dizziness assails me. Surely I am not on the verge of swooning.

Why does this man have such an effect on me ? Why does everyone else seem so small in comparison ?

People are walking by, slowing their step, staring, but I am barely aware of them, consider them more as an intrusion than anything, refuse to allow them to distract me from noticing everything about Kai Tempest that I can.

His fingers, so long and thick compared to mine, should have been clumsy and awkward as he slides one end of the tiny clasp into the other, and yet there is nothing at all inelegant in his motions. Finally his large hands fall away, and I watch with no small measure of fascination and regret as he tugs on his sleeve back down. I could look at his hands and wrists all day. They are a laborer’s hands. I should be put off by their nearness to me, yet I am drawn to them as though they have lived the leisurely life experienced by a ranked wolf.

Kyle’s hands are slender, smooth, unblemished. The veins don’t just up like unruly mountain ranges, rough in their appearance, yet also majestic. They don’t reflect strength, competence, or courage. I can’t imagine Kai Tempest’s hands shying away from any task. From the simplest to the most complex, from the easiest to the most difficult, they wouldn’t hesitate to do what needs to be done.One of the reasons for the existence of the faint scars I have noticed marring them; yet they do nothing to distract from the beauty of his hands. If anything, they add character, hinted at tales best told near a warm fire in the late hours of the night.

Never before have I given so much thought to hands, never before has any fascinated me like this.

“Thank you”. I sound breathless, embarrassingly so, as though intimidated by him, by his presence, when in truth I have never felt safer in my life. “How did you know what he had done ?”

“I witnessed him bumping into you. I doubted it was innocent or an accident”. He admits.

I shake my head slightly. “But he was dressed in such fine clothing. A child from a pack no doubt”.

“Their leader will find a way to dress the children he manages so they blend in with their surroundings. Makes them more effective at picking pockets if they’re not suspected of being thieves”. He gives me a knowing smile.

“How do you know such things ?” I can’t help asking.

“The streets upon which I grew up …”. He glances around. “ … Were not so posh”.

His words pique my curiosity. Where had he grown up ? How is it that he now gives the appearance of being a man of power ? What has his life been like ? How has he garnered success ? It has to have been a slow process to get to the point of having the means to tear down structures and rebuild them. But something else nags at me. I blame my next question on the Luna and her varied suspicions regarding the good intentions of people. I trust very few. “Quite a coincidence, you, being here, to rescue my bracelet”.

“More lucky, I should think, that I happened to be in the area shopping for a parasol for my sister. Once the boy disappeared and you noticed the absence of your jewelry, you would have never seen it again”. He says.

There is the slightest chastisement in his voice, as though he fights not to be offended that I am questioning his sudden presence. I feel rather ungrateful that I have. “Quite right. I would have mourned losing a bracelet that had once belonged to my mother. Is your sister here too ?”

“No, the gift is to be a surprise. For her birthday”. He says softly.

“You’re a rather thoughtful brother”. I send him a small smile.

He grins. “Hardly. I’m seeking peace. She’s mentioned at least a dozen times during the past week that she is in want of a new one”.

“Miss, perhaps we should continue on with our errands”. Nana suggests quietly, her diplomatic way of informing me I have been talking too long on the street with a man to whom I am not related. At least I think that is her purpose. I can’t be completely certain, as I have never before spent so much time in the company of a man other than the Alpha or Kyle. No suitors have ever called upon me, because they have thought it would be a waste of their time, that I am spoken for, or would be in short order.

“Yes, we must be off”. I hold up my hand, the sunlight catching and glinting off the pearls. “Thank you again for the rescue”. I lower my voice, barely able to hear the words I utter. “And the other thing”.

He c***s his head slightly. “Yet you returned it”.

So Mr. Beck has seen to the matter. I am not surprised. Even if Kai Tempest wasn’t a client, Mr. Beck is a man of considerable resources. “It would be inappropriate for me to accept a gift such as that from a man I barely know”.

“I delivered it in such a manner that no one of any consequence needed to know of its arrival”. He points out.

“I would have known”. I mumble.

That tilt of the head again. “Do you never do anything you ought not, Miss Anna ?”

Right now, I am thinking a good many things about the wonderful shape of his mouth that I ought not. “Again, thank you for rescuing my bracelet. I shall pay more attention to my surroundings when I take my daily stroll through the park at four … to ensure no one else takes advantage of my naivete”.

He lifts a thick, dark eyebrow. “Holloway Park, I presume”.

Wondering at my boldness, I can merely nod. Have I truly just arranged a meeting ? I can’t deny that the man intrigues me, that I would like to know more about him. Perhaps because he is forbidden and never before have I been so daring as to risk seeking out that which is forbidden … not even a biscuit from the tin when the cook isn’t looking. I have always been so perfectly good. Where is the harm in a little naughtiness that won’t go beyond a walk ?

He tips his head to me. “I shall keep that in mind should I ever find time for a stroll through the park. Good day, Miss Anna”.

“Good day, Mr. Tempest”. I give him a tiny curtsy.

I watch him walk away. He cuts a fine figure, his strides long, but unhurried. He has such broad shoulders. I suspect he could heft and cart around any burdens, regardless of their weight.

“He’s the sort the Luna has warned you about, miss”. Nans says quietly near my shoulder.

Yes, I very much suspect he is. Strange how at this precise moment, weary of being so innocent, so protected, and in fear of my own shadow, I can’t seem to make myself care.