Midnight Pleasures

CHAPTER 1

England, 1820

The impatient stamp of a hoof. The jingle-jangle of a bridle. The leather creak of a harness. All sounds of the caravan preparing to leave. Elise Collins stood in the shadows, the wagons barely distinguishable through a thick London mist. She clutched her valise in a white-knuckled grip and kept repeating the phrase, I am an adventurer, over in her mind.

A loud roar split the night. Elise jumped. Good God, what roamed the mist?

"Beast Tamer!" a voice thundered. "Come see to Raja. He's in a surly mood tonight."

The door of the wagon closest to Elise swung open. A figure stepped outside. She couldn't see his face, but unless the mist and the shadows played tricks with the night, he was very tall. Moonlight danced around him, illuminating him in a spiritual light. His shoulder-length hair nearly gleamed silver. A low curse floated to her upon the chill, dismissing his saintly image.

"Raja is spoiled for my company!" the man called. "I had hoped to sleep, since Nathan said he'd drive for me."

"Unless you keep the tiger quiet, none who have sleep duty tonight will get any!" the big voice boomed. "Leave your wagon empty and ride a while with Raja."

Tigers? Elise swallowed the lump in her throat. Danny, her uncle's groom and an accomplice to her daring escape, hadn't mentioned that there were wild animals among the traveling show. Perhaps she shouldn't have sent Danny off so quickly once he'd delivered her safely to the outskirts of London. But no, Elise had made her decision. She must follow through with her plans.

Her gaze strayed toward the now empty wagon. With her dark cloak covering her, she should be able to steal inside without being seen. Her uncle would never think to look for her among such people. The caravan was her best hope of escape. Gathering her courage, Elise darted toward the wagon.

Sterling Wulf paused before the sturdy bars of the animal wagons. One dark shape paced inside each wagon. Leena, a black panther, had gotten up in years and seldom gave him trouble, but Raja, a Siberian tiger, was ill-tempered most of the time and needed coddling.

"Want me to ride with you, do you?" Sterling asked. "You're nothing but an overgrown kitten." As Raja paced nervously before him, Sterling related to the tiger's unease. He'd been on edge since they'd reached the countryside of London and begun their nightly performances. London brought back too many memories, and it had been dangerous for him to be seen. What if someone had recognized him? And the temptation to seek out his brothers had almost proven too great. He'd feel much safer as soon as the troupe put London behind them.

Raja rubbed his great hulk against the bars. Sterling shook his head and stuck his hand inside, his fingers rumpling the animal's fur. "All right then. I'll ride with you, but only for a short while."

"I wish you would pet me as nicely as you pet him."

He turned to find Mora, the snake charmer, watching him. "You should be in your wagon," he said. "Philip will call the signal to start moving at any moment."

Mora sashayed toward him, her silver jewelry flashing in the dark. "I had hoped to ride in your wagon tonight—had hoped we could do more than sleep."

Sterling shrugged. "Maybe another time."

She placed her hands upon her ample hips. "You always refuse my offers. Do you not like women?"

Women were a nice distraction, Sterling admitted, but some said they were, for the most part, a curse to man. How well Sterling knew the truth to those words. However, Mora posed no threat to him, at least to his heart. She was older than he was, and she didn't smell all that good, but she held a certain appeal. It had been a while since he'd given in to his baser urges. Sterling found himself tempted, but tonight the cats demanded his attention.

"Raja is upset and I've been asked to calm him so the others can sleep. As I've said, maybe another time."

The snake charmer made a sound through her nose, not unlike the horses that pawed the ground in readiness to be off. "You cannot avoid me forever, Beast Tamer. I am curious to see if the big bulge in your tights is really you, or if you enhance your charms with a sock."

Sterling laughed. He was long past blushing over vulgar conversation. And he hated wearing the blasted tights while he performed. Philip, the caravan master, had insisted, assuring Sterling that not only men liked to ogle the troupe members. He supposed Philip was right. He did collect more than the rest of the performers, and the coin wasn't always tossed by men.

"Time to move!" Philip shouted.

Dismissing Mora, Sterling climbed up beside Taylor, an older man with a hump on his back who saw to the caravan animals, horse and beast alike. The man flicked the reins and moved the wagon forward. Raja growled in protest.

"Enough of your tantrums!" Sterling called down to the tiger. "Sleep, Raja. Heaven knows I'd rather be settled in my cot than feel this hard bench pressing into my ass."

The gentle sway of the wagon seduced her. Elise could barely keep her eyes open. She had sworn not an hour past that she'd be too frightened to relax, but nothing had happened to her. The man had not returned to the wagon. Her back hurt and her petticoats did not sufficiently cushion the hard wood beneath her bottom. Now that her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, she made out the shape of a cot.

What harm would there be in resting there for a moment? Just long enough to ease the stiffness settling into her bones? Elise crawled forward and hefted herself upon the bed. There were warm blankets and a soft pelt to snuggle beneath.

Her eyes trained warily upon the door, she stretched out. She would not sleep but merely rest. The bedding had a scent about it. A male scent. Beast Tamer. What sort of name was that for a man, anyway? And was he really as tall as his shadow? Was his hair silver? Maybe he'd be a very old man, this Beast Tamer.

The last thought comforted Elise. Perhaps he'd be a kind, grandfatherly figure who'd be happy to take her beneath his wing and see her safely to her aunt's door in Liverpool. The sway of the wagon, the steady clip-clop of the horses' hooves as they plodded along, combined to soothe her. She was safe, at least for the time being.

Sterling eased the door to his wagon shut. No need to bang about and wake those sleeping inside the other wagons. He stripped from his clothes and slipped into his cot, only to find it smaller than he remembered. A soft moan rose from the space beside him. He was not alone. Mora, the snake charmer, Sterling assumed. He supposed most men would feel flattered to find a woman waiting in their bed, but he wasn't all that certain he even liked Mora.

Her sweet scent drifted up to him. He didn't recall the snake charmer ever smelling particularly fetching. In the darkness, he touched her hair. Silky beneath his fingertips. Mora appeared as if she seldom took a brush to her tangled mane.

Had she made such effort to please him? Because he was pleased. His blood heated in his veins. Lust stirred to life inside of him. Sterling sought her mouth in the darkness. Again he was surprised. Her lips were petal-soft beneath his, and her breath did not reek of garlic. She sighed, opening to him. He took full advantage of her invitation.

Such a strange dream. Elise had never been kissed before. It was pleasant. Whoever her mind had conjured seemed to know what he was about, which struck her as odd. Shouldn't her dream include only her own experience in such matters? He swirled his tongue inside of her mouth, something she had never considered a man might do. His lips were firm, warm, demanding, but demanding of what, she wasn't certain.

A response, she realized a moment later, but only because she felt one. Heat flooded her body, settling between her legs. Her breasts suddenly ached, her nipples standing erect against her stiff chemise. And then his hand was there, cupping her through the fabric of her frock. Elise came awake with a start. She suddenly understood that the man kissing and fondling her was no dream phantom. Her first instinct was to scream, but then she recalled her circumstance.

"Kindly remove your hand from my person," she said against his lips.

He immediately pulled back, but his hand still rested where he had left it. "Mora?"

His voice was as deep and rich as she remembered. "That is not my name, and you, sir, are taking liberties against my will."

"What the bloody hell?" He scrambled off of her. She heard him fumbling about, then saw a flint spark, his obvious intent to light the lantern.

A soft glow filled the wagon. Elise got her first good look at this man called the Beast Tamer. He was not old. He looked nothing at all like a kind, grandfatherly figure. His skin was not loose and wrinkled, but firm and smooth. And there was a lot of skin bared for her innocent eyes. The man stood before her completely naked.

CHAPTER 2

The woman in Sterling's bed was not, by a far stretch of the imagination, Mora the snake charmer. Her eyes were huge and as green as a spring field. Her hair, a silky mass of auburn curls, hung in wild disarray around her pale oval face. The cut of her gown, even be it a simple frock, the delicate kid slippers he saw peeking beneath her hem, told him the tale easily enough.

"Have had a change of heart, have you?"

She swallowed loudly. "W-What?" she whispered.

He shook his head. He'd had this happen before, on several occasions, in fact. Sterling had a rule about women in his bed. Only the common, like himself, and never one he could come to care for. Young women such as the one sitting upon his cot were dangerous to a man cursed. And he was dangerous to her, as well.

"You're not the first proper miss who's longed for a night of adventure in my wagon," he said. "I'll tell you what I told the others: I'm a performer, not a man who can be bought for a night's pleasure. Find your amusement elsewhere."

Her big eyes blinked up at him, then lowered before they widened. Sterling realized that he stood before her naked. Well, hell, like the other women, she probably wanted to know about the tights. Now she could plainly see that he didn't stuff them to enhance his manly assets.

"Oh my God," he heard her choke, which pleased him to a degree. "I'm afraid you don't understand. I did not sneak aboard your wagon; that is, I did sneak aboard your wagon, but not for the reason you have arrogantly assumed."

Since the young woman appeared as if she might swoon, Sterling snatched the pelt off his cot and wrapped it around his waist. "I hope that your coachman has followed discreetly behind, as has been the case for others like you in the past. Then when I throw you out into the night, you won't find yourself in an even more dangerous circumstance."

"Throw me out?" Her head snapped back up. "You cannot throw me out. I have no protection."

"Bravery and stupidity walk a fine line together," Sterling calmly pointed out, although he felt far from calm. The young woman affected him more than he cared to admit. It had been years since he had tasted innocence, and she reeked of it. Her lips, full and puffy from his kisses, drew his gaze and held it. Her mouth moved, but he had trouble hearing her words.

"Speak up," he demanded. "I cannot understand your hysterical babbling."

Her chin rose. He knew the haughty expression well. The wealthy learned it at an early age. He lifted a brow in similar fashion.

"I am not hysterical," the woman said more forcefully. "I am shocked and sickened that you would steal into my bed and take vulgar liberties with me."

His brow rose higher. "Your bed?"

A pretty blush suffused her cheeks. "That is to say, your bed," she corrected. "Perhaps I should explain my presence here."

Sterling noticed the valise sitting upon the wagon floor. "Make it quick. The farther we travel from London, the farther the walk when you return."

Her back straightened. "I cannot go back. I must throw myself upon your mercy."

She didn't pitch forward and land at his feet, and she hadn't lowered the superior tilt to her chin. At least her hands shook as she fondled the expensive lace that made a mockery of the term work frock. Sterling resented her immediately. She was a reminder. A reminder of all that he had lost.

"The wagon isn't moving fast. The fall when you jump shouldn't do more than scuff your slippers."

Her tempting mouth dropped open. "You, sir, are no gentleman."

He allowed his gaze to roam over her from head to toe. "You've already discovered that. Get out before I'm tempted to prove it again."

The man was rude, crass to the core. He stared at her with his unsettling gray eyes as if she were the one who'd taken liberties with him. His hair was not silver, but blond, a few strands streaked lighter than the rest. He was tall, and somewhat intimidating, she'd give him that. But she refused to show fear. Animals, Elise had heard, sensed fear and were prone to act upon the emotion. This man with the pelt draped around his hips, looking for all the world like some Viking, probably had the mentality of a simple beast.

"I have money," she said. "I'll pay you."

One of his dark brows lifted again. "Pay me for what?"

Her mouth felt suddenly dry, her eyes in jeopardy of moving over his muscled flesh. "For safe passage to Liverpool."

He laughed. His teeth were white and straight, she noted. Seeing them exposed on her behalf did not please her. He sobered a moment later.

"How much?"

Elise had pinned the small bag of coins to the inside of her cloak. She fumbled through the folds and removed the bag, then handed it to him. "It isn't much, but it's all that I have."

His long fingers touched hers during the exchange and sent another shiver racing up her spine. He held the bag as if weighing it, then frowned. "I'll wager this isn't enough to pay your expenses even this far. But it is enough to get your throat slit and your body tossed into a ditch by someone less scrupulous." He tossed the bag back to her. "Gather your belongings and leave."

Unbidden, a rush of tears sprang to her eyes. Elise might be frightened of the man, but she was more frightened of being forced into the night. Alone, on the dark roads, she would be an easy mark for thieves, or worse.

"Please," she whispered. "You are my only hope of escape."

The man cocked his head, regarding her thoughtfully. "Escape? Who are you running from?"

Frightened or not, Elise had been schooled in proper manners. "It wouldn't be proper for me to tell you. I don't even know your name."

He laughed. "They call me Beast Tamer, and if you cared at all about being proper, you damn sure wouldn't be here."

His rudeness wore upon her already frayed nerves. "Has no one ever taught you manners?"

The wheels hit a rut and bounced him across the wagon. He landed beside her. Elise scrambled back—away from his nakedness, the heat that radiated from his powerful body. For all his rudeness, he didn't speak with a cockney accent like most of the common lot. His bone structure was good. Straight nose, strong jaw, high cheekbones, and well-defined lips.

"Manners do not put food in my belly, or clothes upon my back." His face was dangerously close. "What is your name?"

Did she dare tell him? It occurred to Elise that he could use her true identity to his gain and her loss. He might turn her back over to her uncle in hopes of receiving a reward, or, worse, kidnap her and demand a high ransom for her return.

"Elise," she provided stiffly.

"Elise."

He said her name as if savoring it for flavor. He said it in a way that made her feel breathless and made her heart beat all the faster inside of her chest.

"The name suits you."

She wished he'd move off of the cot and, for God's sake, dress himself properly. She could scarce look at him that her eyes didn't go roaming of their own accord.

"Beast Tamer does not suit you. Have you a Christian name?"

"You avoid the subject. Who do you wish to escape, Elise?"

Again, the sound of her name on his lips caused a strange reaction. A fluttering inside her stomach. "I cannot discuss my problems with a man whose Christian name I do not know," she persisted.

He shrugged, calling her attention to his broad, bare shoulders. "If we have nothing further to discuss, it is time for you to go."

When he started to rise, Elise grabbed his arm. It was a mistake. The feel of him shot through her. His flesh was muscled and his skin warm and smooth to the touch. She snatched her hand away.

"All right. I will tell you why I must escape. My uncle has promised me in marriage to a man I do not wish to wed."

His response was a snort of amusement. "Running from a life of spoiled luxury, are you? Judging by the cut of your clothing and the way your nose is pointed at the ceiling, you not only know that it is your duty to secure yourself a prosperous husband, but you have been training for it since you were a little girl."

True, she knew making a good match was the best most women of her station could hope for, the most they could aspire to in life, but Elise wasn't like most women. She'd learned the finer arts of being a lady because her uncle had insisted, but she'd always longed for a more adventurous life. Elise did not have friends like other young women her age. The London ton cared little about her cold, impersonal uncle, and he less about them. They were rarely invited to the best parties, and if someone sent them an invitation out of duty alone, her uncle had never attended, or allowed her to attend, either. Her uncle hadn't even given her a proper "coming out," but instead had gone behind her back to settle her future.

"The man he wishes me to marry is old," she whispered. "And very unattractive."

"The richest ones usually are. The young, handsome dukes are snatched up fairly quickly, you know."

He made sport of her. The man refused to take her situation seriously. "Four wives," she said, lifting her chin a notch. "Four wives he's had now, and all of them dead."

The information brought another lift of his brow. She wondered why his brows and lashes were so dark when his hair was the color of ripened wheat "Unfortunate for them, but not so unfortunate for you, if the man is wealthy and titled."

A rush of heat flooded her face. "Fortunate? Did you not hear what I said? I fear the man is a murderer!"

He ran a hand through his overlong hair, then stood. "And I think your imagination has led you to this folly." He grabbed a board that ran the length of the top of the wagon and stared down at her.

The pelt he wore wrapped around his waist could certainly fall away without much provocation. Elise realized, were that to happen, she'd be staring right at… Well, good Lord, why couldn't the man find something decent to wear while they conversed?

"You haven't seen the way he looks at me," she insisted, and shuddered at the memory. Sir Winston Stoneham had often clenched and unclenched his hands in an unconscious manner while in her company. Elise felt certain he wished her bodily harm.

The Beast Tamer's silver gaze ran over her. "Does he look at you the same way that I am looking at you now?"

As he appraised her, boldly, as if undressing her, another shiver wracked her. The way he gazed at her was the same, but yet it wasn't. "No," she decided. "You look at me as if you'd like to swallow me whole. He, I feel certain, would enjoy chewing me up a bit first."

To her surprise, the man threw back his head and laughed.

"You find a person's ill will toward me amusing?" she asked through tight lips.

He sobered and bent toward her, his hands still wrapped around the board above. "Your mother should have told you that lust always comes first between a man and a woman, then, for a lucky few, love."

She looked away from him, knowing that his vulgar words had made her blush. "My mother is dead, sir. My father, too, or I assure you I would not be in this awful predicament."

"Sterling."

Her gaze met his in question.

"Sterling is my Christian name. Sir is a title given to more privileged and more civilized men than I."

"And your last name?"

"And yours?" he countered.

She pressed her lips together.

"Then simply Elise and Sterling it is," he said.

Curiosity overcame her. "Why did you tell me your name?"

He released his grip on the board above him and turned, presenting her with his strong, broad back. Muscles rippled as he bent to retrieve a shirt from the floor.

"I am an orphan as well," he admitted. "In that regard, there is no class distinction between us."

"Is that why you're here? Among these people? Living this life?"

Shrugging into the shirt, he turned. "I am here because this is where I wish to be, and we are not discussing me. I am not the intruder inside this wagon."

Elise was determined to convince him that her plight was one of honest threat. "My uncle is responsible for making the match. He is aware that by placing me at the mercy of the man who has agreed to pay my bride's price, he is also placing me in danger. The money is more important to him than I am, or ever will be. I am an embarrassment to him."

Sterling's gaze swept her again. "I see no physical fault with you. What is his complaint?"

When a man donned a shirt, even if it was a coarse garment, he should at least fasten the top three buttons, Elise thought. Sterling's shirt hung open, affording her the same view of his naked chest, only now his golden skin tones contrasted nicely against the light color of the shirt.

"My father disgraced his family by marrying for love. My mother came from a modest home. My grandfather was a tutor. I don't think my uncle ever forgave his brother for causing a scandal, and since my father is no longer available to ridicule, my uncle takes his resentment out upon me."

"A child should not be cursed by the sins of the father." The steely glint in his eyes had softened. Did that mean his heart had also softened?

"You cannot send me back," she pleaded. "Not to that dreadful man, the horrible fate that awaits me."

"What awaits you in Liverpool?"

She saw no help but to be truthful with him. "My aunt. I haven't been allowed to see her since my parents' deaths, but I believe she will take me in. She lives a modest life, I imagine, but I am not afraid of hard work. I have an education. I hope to find work as a governess."

"Governess?" A sarcastic grin shaped his lips. "Yes, that is hard work."

"Will you help me?" she persisted. "Will you allow me to travel with the caravan to Liverpool?"

"And what makes you think we are going to Liverpool?"

"Danny, my uncle's groom, said he overheard one of the players complaining of the long trek ahead, and of Liverpool as being one of the caravan's destinations."

"Well, 'tis true," he admitted. "But the journey is long. If you stay, you must earn your passage."

Hope sprang to life inside of her. "The money, what little I have, is yours."

He shook his head. "Keep your small stash guarded. You said that you were not afraid of hard work. We shall see."

Labor? Did he mean that she would fetch and carry? Perhaps cook and clean? Well, Elise was not accustomed to that type of labor, but she would manage.

"Agreed. I will work for my passage."

She thought a slight smile crossed his sensual mouth before he said, "I need to sleep. Tomorrow I will introduce you to the others. Allow me to do the talking."

Elise nodded, relieved that she would not be pitched outside the wagon into the darkness. But there was a problem. He needed rest and there was but one bed.

"I will sleep on the floor," she decided, although the prospect wasn't appealing. Nor did she imagine she would be able to sleep in the small wagon with a stranger, one who had already taken liberties with her. She started to rise, but he waved her back.

"I'll take the floor… for tonight," he added.

"For tonight" held an ominous ring. For tonight and then she would be forced to sleep on the floor? For tonight and then she would be forced to share his bed? He grabbed one of the blankets stacked neatly upon the cot and turned down the lantern.

After she heard him settle, Elise stretched out upon the cot. It would be a long night for her. If she made it through the dark hours until morning without being either murdered or molested, what would tomorrow bring?

CHAPTER 3

Sterling stared at his wagon. He sat around a campfire with the other members of the caravan, eating a breakfast of wild berries and stew. He could scarce pay attention to the troupe's jibes at one another or the occasional arguments that broke out among them. Elise occupied his mind. He hadn't awoken his guest this morning.

Reality would find her soon enough. He hadn't told the others about Elise. Sterling wasn't by nature free with his words or open with his emotions. It had been that way with him since the age of sixteen… since he'd lost his parents and learned the horrible truth about his lineage. Worse things existed than having an uncaring uncle who would sell a family member for gain… far worse things.

Mora had settled next to Sterling and now lifted a lock of his hair. "You are brooding this morning, my prince. You need a woman to take away the tension I feel coming from your body. A woman who knows how to please a man."

"He's a snake you'll never charm, Mora," Sarah Dobbs, also known as Lady Fortune when she performed, teased. "Our Beast Tamer has all the parts to please a woman, but no desire to do so. A bloody waste of nice equipment."

Her husband, Tom, a sour-looking fellow who seldom bathed or shaved, cast his wife a dirty look across the fire. "I got enough parts to keep ya happy, woman, so don't be looking elsewhere."

"Wouldn't mind his parts so much if he bothered to wash 'em once in a while," the woman muttered.

"Too much bathing ain't good for a body," her husband declared. "Ain't that so, Philip?"

Philip was often called upon to settle disputes among the troupe members. He was the leader of the ragtag group. Wagons and animals alike belonged to Philip. He collected all money from the performances and kept accounts of who earned what. Sterling supposed Philip was as close to a father figure as he would ever have, since his own had chosen to take his life rather than face his curse.

Sterling's mother had quickly followed upon his father's heels, but it was shock that probably killed her. Shock at what she had married, shock over what she had spawned from her marriage. Four sons. All of them cursed.

Sterling tugged his hair from Mora's grasp as the door to his wagon creaked open. Elise stepped outside. To say that the troupe members fell silent was an understatement. If not for the restless sounds of the animals, a person could have heard a bee pass wind.

"Who the bloody 'ell is that?" Sarah breathed.

Sterling almost smiled. "You can see into the future, Sarah," he drawled dryly. "You should already know."

In response, she frowned, then grumbled, "I tell people what they want to hear, which is seldom the truth."

Since Elise appeared as if she might turn and flee, Sterling set his plate aside and rose. "Come, Elise," he ordered, holding out a hand to her. "Meet my friends."

His friends were the oddest group of humanity Elise had ever seen gathered in one place. There was a sturdy older man with a noticeable hump upon his back. A dark-haired woman with kohl around her eyes and a snake wrapped around her neck—which was less frightening than the way the woman glared at her. A couple joined the group. Both stopped to gape at Elise, of which she did in kind. They were little people.

"Elise!" Sterling called. He still stood with his hand held out to her. "Come."

Elise swallowed the lump in her throat and joined him next to the campfire. Whatever simmered in a pot over the fire smelled wonderful.

"You must be hungry," he said. "Sit. Eat."

"Wait a moment. Who the hell is she?"

The man who owned the same booming voice Elise had heard through the mist the previous night asked the question. He wore the wildest ensemble she had ever seen. His waistcoat was bright pink, his tights, striped yellow and green. His red slippers turned up at the toes. A dark purple birthmark covered half of his face.

"Philip… and all," Sterling added, "this is Elise. Elise, this is… well, everyone."

"Where'd she come from? And what's she doing here?" a woman asked, one who, Elise noted with relief, looked perfectly normal.

"Elise is from London," Sterling provided. "She'll be staying for a while… with me."

More than one brow rose. Elise supposed she might be blushing. He made their arrangement sound far more intimate than it was… or at least than she intended for it to be. She cast Sterling a dark glance.

"She's fair," the man with the birthmark commented. "I can see where you were tempted to let this one stay, but I am the leader of this troupe. I decide who travels with us and who doesn't. The woman looks like trouble, and we all get enough of that without courting it."

A murmur of agreement followed.

"Seen her ilk before," the woman who appeared normal snorted. "You've brought a Miss Nancy among us, Sterling. Her kind don't belong here."

Elise had packed clothing she considered the least conspicuous of her station, but even so, her morning frock was far grander than the apparel those around her wore. Like Sterling with his handsome looks and perfect form, she stood out among these people.

"I-I will earn my way," she stuttered. "I'm not afraid of hard work."

The dark woman who sat on the other side of Sterling reached across him and grabbed Elise's hands. "This lily-white skin knows nothing of labor," she spat. "You do not belong here. Go back to where you came from!"

"Mora," Sterling cautioned, "where she belongs is not your decision to make."

Elise wrestled her hands from Mora's grasp, but couldn't avoid the resentment glaring at her from the woman's dark eyes. Mora. Elise had heard the name before. She recalled where and the circumstances. Now she understood the woman's dislike of her. Mora was the woman Sterling had expected to find in his bed the previous night.

"Mora has an itch for our Beast Tamer," a man who needed a shave, and a bath, by the smell that radiated from him, informed Elise. "She won't like it that he'll be scratching elsewhere."

"Watch your vulgar tongue, Tom," the little woman finally spoke. She nodded to a wagon where a young girl had exited, moving toward them. "I'm trying to raise a decent daughter, not an easy chore among the likes of you."

The girl captured Elise's attention. She would have expected that if two small people had a child together, the child would be the same as the parents. That was not the case. The girl appeared to be around the age of twelve, and she already towered above her mother and father.

"Elise has expressed a desire to take Marguerite's former position," Sterling said. "I thought she would do. Don't you agree, Philip?"

Elise's attention returned to the group. Philip's gaze ran the length of her. "She will do," he admitted. "And do nicely, if she can be taught—"

"I will teach her," Sterling interrupted. "If she is my responsibility, and she earns her keep, what harm is there in allowing her to stay?"

"Who is she?"

The child had reached the group and asked the question. Elise stared into the girl's curious blue eyes and smiled.

"Dawn, this is Elise," Sterling said.

Elise would have given a polite hello, but the man with the birthmark spoke.

"Elise is our newest performer."

Performer? Sterling had said nothing about her performing. She had assumed she would earn her way by doing menial tasks.

"What does she do?" the girl asked.

Curious to hear the answer, Elise glanced at Sterling.

"Elise will perform the veil dance," he answered.

Dawn's face darkened a shade. "Oh," she said softly, then turned and headed toward her parents' wagon.

"I had hoped we would be rid of that bit of indecency," the mother complained, then went after the child. The father followed the mother.

"Indecency?" Elise mumbled. She leaned toward Sterling and whispered, "What exactly is a veil dance?"

She enjoyed, for a brief moment, the scent of him, the same one that clung to the bedding upon his cot.

"It is a belly dance," Mora answered. "Like the concubines do to arouse the passions of the sultans in the harems of the East."

Elise felt certain her mouth dropped open. Sterling smiled.

"Could I have a word with you?" Elise narrowed her gaze upon him. "In private."

CHAPTER 4

"Last night, you said nothing about me performing," Elise said as soon as they entered the wagon.

"I said that you would earn your passage, and you agreed to do so," Sterling reminded.

"But I thought—"

"Which was a mistake." He leaned close to her. "First rule in the world outside the protective care of which you are accustomed: Never assume anything."

Elise made a startling realization in that moment. Staring into Sterling's silver eyes, she saw his resentment toward her. "You don't like me," she whispered. "You judge me before even knowing who I am."

He didn't deny her accusations. Instead, he shrugged. "It is the way of the world. The way of this world anyway. Do you think any of us here are welcomed with open arms wherever we travel?

"No," he answered for her. "We are sneered at, laughed at, accused of any petty theft that occurs while our wagons are camped close by. We are judged because we are different. Why should we behave any differently than how we've been taught?"

Ready words of defense did not spring to life upon her tongue. Elise knew she had reacted to the people outside as most would, certainly most of her station. She'd been afraid and leery of them. Why should she expect more from Sterling than she was willing to give herself?

"Tell me about them."

Her response brought an unguarded look of surprise to his handsome features. A moment later he scoffed, "You don't care about them. All you care about is your own problems. Why pretend otherwise?"

"Make me care," she challenged.

He settled upon his cot and ran a hand through his long hair. "Wish that I could. Unfortunately, humanity only sees what is first visible to them. They seldom look beyond the skin of a man, or a woman, to seek what might truly lie beneath. Philip was born in Paris. Born with the mark of the devil, or so his parents believed. They took him into the city slums and left him to die."

Elise gasped.

Sterling nodded. "A poor hag found him crying at her doorstep and took him in. She was a witch, some said, dealing in potions and magic. She raised him as best she could, but she was old even when he was born. Once she died, the townspeople burned her shop. Philip was left with nothing, except a loud voice and a talent to juggle. He joined a troupe, saved his money, and formed his own traveling show."

"And the others?" Elise settled beside him.

"Philip found Iris and Nathan, they are the small couple, on display as freaks in a circus in Europe. He took pity on them and asked them to join his troupe. They tumble about and make people laugh. I suppose because being laughed at for acting silly is easier than being laughed at because they are different."

"Their daughter, Dawn, is lovely," Elise said.

Idly he plucked at the sleeve of his shirt. "Yes, and Nathan and Iris love her and try their best to do right by her. But Dawn is ashamed of them. It breaks Nathan's and Iris's hearts to have their own flesh and blood turn away from them in shame."

Elise swallowed a sudden lump in her throat. "Doesn't Dawn realize how lucky she is to have parents at all? And ones who love her so?"

His silver gaze met hers. "Few realize their blessings until they have them taken away."

She wasn't certain if he referred to the loss of both of their parents or if he meant that she would soon regret her decision to run away from her uncle and a marriage not of her choosing.

"What about the man with the… ah—"

"Hump," Sterling provided. "Taylor. Kindhearted to animals, which don't see his deformity, or don't care about it as long as he takes proper care of them. He's the only one besides myself the cats will allow close to them."

"The cats?"

"Leena and Raja. I will introduce you to them."

A shudder raced through her. "No introduction necessary."

He laughed. "See, you also judge them before knowing them."

"Tell me about the woman, Mora." She noted the distaste in her own voice.

"Mora is a strange one," he said. "Mysterious. She says she is from the East, where she once lived the pampered life of a concubine within a sultan's harem. Marguerite, the dancer who ran away with a merchant two fairs back, shared her wagon for a time. Marguerite once confided to me that she believed Mora had unleashed her snakes among the harem. A ploy to narrow her competition for the sultan's favors."

A cold hand gripped Elise's heart. "You mean, she murdered the other women?"

He shrugged. "Who knows? As I said, she is mysterious. She seldom talks about herself. If I were you, I would keep my distance from her."

"What about the other woman?"

"Sarah Dobbs, and the stinky fellow is her husband, Tom. Sarah tells fortunes, although she is not truly blessed with the sight. Her husband, Tom, fixes the wagons when they break down and has a skill with crafts. Sarah discovered some time back that if she dressed like a Gypsy and told people what they wanted to hear, she could make more than she did working in a factory."

"Oh, I see," Elise clipped. "She deceives people to earn her way."

"I prefer to believe that she entertains people to earn her way," Sterling said dryly. "But that is the difference between your thinking and mine."

"Which brings us around to the reason I wanted a private word with you." Elise rose from the cot and stretched her legs. "I did not agree to perform, and certainly not to do anything indecent, to earn my passage."

Sterling rose as well. "I knew Philip would not allow you to stay unless he saw some gain to be had by doing so." He stared down at her. "We all pitch in to do our share of the work. You are unnecessary unless you have a talent. Can you sing? Perhaps play a musical instrument?"

Singing was not her strong suit. She could pound out a tune or two upon the piano, but certainly that wasn't an instrument she either was in possession of or could easily cart around with her.

"No," she admitted.

"Then the way I see it, you have no choice." He reached out and tugged a lock of her hair. "Now might be a good time to come to your senses and return to London. We'll reach a coach inn soon. You can use your money to hire a hackney to return you to your uncle."

Sterling's forward action had momentarily startled her, but Elise quickly regained her composure. She would under no circumstances return to her uncle. She'd wanted to be an adventurer. Now was her chance.

"All right," she said.

He sighed. "Good. You'll do better back where you belong."

When he started for the door, she realized he had mistaken her answer.

"I meant I will perform."

Sterling thought he knew how far he could push a proper English miss before she turned tail and ran, but he'd obviously been mistaken. He glanced back at Elise. She stood straight, her chin held high. He might have misjudged this particular young woman. He thought he knew a way to convince her further.

"Wait here," he said. "I'll be back shortly."

The troupe members had abandoned the fire, leaving Sarah to clean up. "Where is Mora?" he called.

"Stormed away to her wagon," Sarah answered. "Had the look of the devil in her eyes. Don't want to make that one jealous."

He dismissed Sarah's concerns with a wave of his hand and headed toward Mora's wagon. Raja growled at him from inside of his cage as Sterling passed. Sterling growled back. He needed to exercise the cats, but first he would make certain Elise knew exactly what type of a performer she had agreed to become.

At his soft rap, Mora opened her door. Her brow lifted. "You tire of the pasty-faced girl already?"

It took effort to keep from rolling his eyes. "I have come for Marguerite's costumes."

The snake charmer motioned him inside of her wagon. "Her basket uses valuable space. Take her things."

Sterling had never been inside of Mora's wagon and felt hesitant to enter now. Did she allow her snakes to roam about freely? Most of Mora's "pets" were harmless, but she had a king cobra that could kill a man with one strike of its deadly fangs.

"Are you afraid?" she goaded. "Is the big, strong Beast Tamer only a kitten in disguise?"

He stepped up into her wagon.

"I did not believe so," she purred, then trailed her fingers across his chest. "I sense something wild beneath your skin. Something dangerous. I could bring him forth, this beast that lives inside of you."

Sterling snatched her hand. His heart speeded a measure over her prophetic words. Maybe Mora had the sight that Lady Fortune did not. Could she see the beast slumbering within him? "I don't think you really want to see him," he said. "In my country we have a saying: Do not play with fire unless you wish to be burned."

She smiled, her lips turning up seductively. "I charm snakes. I enjoy the danger. I will charm you in time as well."

"The basket," he reminded. "I have other duties to attend to this morning."

Her smile faded and her dark eyes narrowed, then she pointed to a basket stacked on top of several others. "The top one. It holds Marguerite's costumes."

Sterling was forced to brush up against Mora in order to retrieve the basket She smelled of garlic and body odor. He should have known that she wasn't the sweet-smelling, soft woman in his bed last night. After grabbing the light basket, he squeezed past her and hurriedly exited the wagon. Mora laughed softly at his back.

When he entered his own wagon, Elise wheeled around. Her face flushed and he imagined he'd caught her snooping. He set the basket on the floor. "Here are your costumes."

She frowned. "The basket is rather small to hold clothing."

He held back a smile. When she bent to remove the lid, a thought occurred to him. "Stop!"

She froze.

"Stand back," he ordered. "I will remove the lid." The basket might not hold clothing at all. With Mora, one couldn't be too careful. Once Elise stepped back, he eased the lid from the basket. "It's all right. The costumes are indeed inside of the basket."

Elise stepped forward, glanced down into the basket, and gasped.

Sterling tensed, afraid he'd missed seeing a snake hidden within the basket's skimpy confines.

"These can't be costumes," Elise said. "There's nothing here but a pile of sheer scarves."

He relaxed, allowing the smile to surface that had threatened his mouth earlier.

CHAPTER 5

An hour later, Elise still sat inside of Sterling's wagon, staring down into the basket. He was touched in the head if he thought that she would dress in nothing but transparent scarves and dance around in public. She was an adventurer, not a woman of loose moral standards.

Sterling had left, saying he had chores to attend to. Elise mopped the perspiration from her brow and glanced toward the closed wagon door. During the daylight hours, the wagon certainly heated up. There wasn't much room, although it was tall, built in similar fashion to the brightly colored caravan wagons of the Gypsies.

There was the cot, a trunk where Sterling kept his clothing. A sturdy washbasin and pitcher, which he wrapped and put away when the wagon moved, and a couple of lanterns. She wondered what else his chest held besides clothing. She would snoop if she weren't so blasted hot.

Elise smoothed her hair, rose, and brushed the wrinkles from her frock. She decided that she wouldn't hide herself away in Sterling's wagon but venture outside. A bustle of activity took place around the camp. No one took time to stop and stare as they had earlier. In the process of skinning a rabbit, Sarah Dobbs nodded to her. The woman's smelly husband worked on a wagon wheel. Elise saw Mora in the distance gathering wood.

The hustle and bustle surprised Elise. She'd heard that people like these were lazy and that that was why they preferred their roaming ways. She didn't see Sterling but noticed Dawn, the small couple's daughter, carrying a heavy bucket of water in each hand. The girl struggled with her burdens. Elise decided she would help as well. At least until she figured out her next plan of action.

She joined the girl. "Let me help you."

Dawn didn't protest. She merely shrugged and offered the bucket in her left hand. Elise took it, surprised at how heavy it was, and plodded along behind the girl. They reached a large pot and Dawn dumped her bucket.

"We'll be doing wash as soon as we get the pot filled and Mora gets a flame beneath it," Dawn said. "We may be beggars, but we're not dirty beggars, as my mother says."

Elise smiled. "Your mother seems like a very nice person."

Again the girl shrugged. "She's a dwarf, as some call them. So is my father. But as you can see, I'm not like them."

"You have the look of your mother."

Dawn glanced away. "I need to fetch more water." She left.

Elise went after her, reclaiming the empty bucket the girl had taken from her. "Since I'm at a loss as to what to do, maybe you won't mind if I follow along."

"If you wish."

They walked in silence. She felt Dawn's regard.

"I suppose your parents are normal?"

Her first instinct was to answer to the affirmative… but then, that wasn't completely true. "No. Not by society's standards, anyway. My father came from a grand family, and my mother's family was a modest one at best. My father saw her in the market at Liverpool one day, and he fell in love with her on sight. She fell in love with him that very day, as well. They married in secret, and when my father's family found out that he had wed beneath him, they disowned him."

"What does it mean to disown someone?"

"My father's family refused to acknowledge him as one of their own," Elise explained.

"Can a person do that?" Dawn's eyes widened. "Just up and disown their family?"

Elise didn't care for the intrigue she read in Dawn's expression; she liked it less when she caught sight of the girl's mother picking berries. The woman smiled fondly at her daughter, then resumed her work.

"I think it's a horrible practice," Elise said. "Love between families should be unconditional. I wasn't much younger than you are when I lost both my parents to an accident. I still miss them terribly."

They reached a small stream and Dawn dipped her bucket into the water. "At least your parents didn't look different from everyone else. When we stop to perform and I get a chance to play with other children, they laugh and tease me once they realize who my parents are."

Elise squatted beside Dawn and dipped her bucket into the water. She had reacted to the sight of Dawn's parents in a way that made her feel ashamed now. She'd seen the love shining in Iris's eyes a moment ago when the woman had looked at her daughter.

"It's the other children who should be embarrassed… to be so shallow that they only judge a person by what they first see. On the inside, your parents aren't any different from other parents. Even though I've only just met them, it is obvious to me that they love you very much."

"They do," Dawn agreed, then stood, struggling with her full bucket. "But sometimes love is not enough."

Elise glanced up at the girl. "Love is everything," she said, and realized she truly meant her words. How she longed to be loved and cherished by someone. When her uncle had agreed to Stoneham's offer for her, Elise had realized that he truly did not care about her. She felt certain that Dawn's parents would never give her in marriage to a monster solely for the sake of gold.

The girl moved away, lugging the heavy bucket toward camp. Elise stared down at her own reflection in the water. Another image appeared.

"Do you really believe that?"

Sterling gave her a start. She hadn't seen or heard his approach. "What?" she breathed, glancing at him.

"Do you really believe that love is everything?"

How long had he been listening to her conversation with Dawn? "I suppose I do," she admitted. "Don't you?"

He reached down and retrieved her bucket from the water. "Love is a curse for most. Just look at Iris and her husband, Nathan, their big hearts full of love for a girl who cannot forgive their small bodies. Few people possess the ability to love unconditionally. Nowhere on earth can you learn that lesson as well as here."

"Dawn will see what is most important," Elise insisted, rising from her crouched position next to the water. "She's young and hasn't yet learned the value of love."

He reached forward and brushed a curl from her forehead. "You are the innocent. Even an animal will turn on one of its own if it senses a weakness, something different."

Flustered by his closeness, Elise said, "People are not animals."

His silver eyes stared into hers. "There is a thin line, I think."

Since he now held her bucket, Elise started back toward camp. "Maybe you spend too much time with your wild beasts and not enough time with people. I didn't notice you working among the others."

"I took the cats out for exercise."

Elise drew up short. "You let them out?"

He laughed. "They are not as dangerous as you might believe. Both have been raised by humans. Leena is fairly harmless. Raja takes more caution. He has his moods."

A shudder skidded up her spine. "My uncle wouldn't allow me to have so much as a hound for a pet. I'm not certain I like animals… or that they would like me."

"Why don't we see?"

A hint of teasing glinted within his silver eyes. Elise couldn't very well call herself an adventurer if she backed down in the face of every challenge he issued. "All right," she agreed. "Show me your cats."

Sterling wanted to do more than show her the cats. He wanted to taste her full lips again—wanted to introduce her to the darker side of lust. She affected him strangely, had from the moment he first saw her. She was beautiful, but there was more to her than met the eye.

He'd heard her earlier conversation with Dawn. Elise had touched his heart with her innocence, with her sweetness. Something inside of him had stirred. Something so far dormant. This slip of a girl from London might be more dangerous than his cats.

They entered camp and he dumped the water he carried into the washing pot. He took Elise's hand and led her toward the animal wagon. She only allowed the contact for a moment before she snatched her hand from his.

"I cannot wear the costumes," she said as they walked. "I think you knew that when you fetched them for me."

"It's just as well. You don't belong here."

She drew up. "I don't belong with my uncle or the horrid man he would have me marry, either." Her green eyes flashed with fire. "I'm searching to find my place, and you are doing everything in your power to dissuade me."

Sterling's resolve weakened. He could talk to Philip, reason with him to let Elise come along without having to earn her way… but would that be fair to the young woman? The life she had chosen would not be easy. She might as well learn that from the beginning.

"A man, or a woman, born to the common lot has to make their place in life," he said, resuming their walk. "Life is hard, and it's unfair, and sometimes people have to do what they don't want to do. That's a lesson you're better off learning sooner rather than later if you truly plan to leave your uncle. You won't be having everything handed to you on a silver platter."

Her chin lifted. "I don't care about being wealthy, or having fine things. All I want… all I want is to be happy," she finished bravely.

Again, something stirred inside of him. He swore he heard the sound of ice cracking—the protective barrier that surrounded his heart. He stopped, staring down at her. "Even happiness has a price. That is something you'll have to fight for as well. Do you have the courage?"

"Do you?"

The question unsettled him. As innocent as she appeared, he feared Elise might see down to his dark soul when she looked at him. Happiness? How could he be happy when a curse followed him? A curse linked to his very name.

He didn't answer but turned and walked the short distance to the animal wagons. Raja greeted him with a growl. Leena merely yawned.

"They are beautiful."

Elise had been brave enough to follow but not brave enough to stand close. Which showed she had common sense, if nothing else about her seemed common.

"Yes, they are beautiful," he agreed. "But even beautiful things are not always all they appear to be on the surface. Beneath the skin, these animals are still wild." Raja rubbed against the bars of the cage and Sterling reached inside to scratch behind the tiger's ears. "I must always remember that however docile they might appear, they could turn on me at any moment. I must respect them."

"C-Could I touch one?" Elise stammered. "Pet one, the way you are doing?"

He motioned her forward. "Best to let them catch your scent first and see how they react."

She stepped up beside him. Raja sniffed at her. The tiger didn't growl, as Sterling expected, but rubbed himself against the bars. Leena, the panther, found the guest interesting enough to rise from her lounging position and join Raja in vying for attention.

"Odd," Sterling mused. "They don't usually take to strangers. Give me your hand." She slid her hand into his and Sterling guided her fingers to the tiger's fur.

"He's very soft," she whispered. "It saddens me that he must be locked inside of a cage. I wonder if he ever dreams of running free?"

"Raja cannot miss what he has never known," Sterling said, baffled that she would wonder such a thing. All the snooty misses he recalled from his youth never thought of anything, or anyone, other than themselves. "He and Leena both have lived most of their lives behind bars. Neither could survive if they were set free."

Elise pulled her hand from the cage. "I'm glad that they have you to look after them. To love them."

Sterling ruffled Leena's fur so she wouldn't feel slighted. "A person cannot love a wild animal."

A distraction suddenly drew his attention. Philip came charging into camp, riding one of the wagon horses. "Gather round!" he shouted. "The coach inn up the road has given us permission to perform for their patrons. Make ready!"

CHAPTER 6

Elise hid inside of the wagon. Would someone at the coach inn recognize her? Would her uncle be there, asking about her? He surely knew she was missing by now, and a man could travel by horseback much faster than by wagon. What was Elise to do? She'd told Sterling that she would not wear the ridiculous costume and perform with the troupe. He'd suggested that she use her money to hire a hackney and return to London, but she couldn't return to her uncle.

The door suddenly swung open and Sterling climbed up into the wagon. "I've brought you breakfast since you were sleeping so soundly when we arrived."

"Are we at the coach inn?" she asked, gratefully accepting the food.

"Not far. The proprietor doesn't mind us entertaining his patrons, but he doesn't want us too close to the inn. Says a man's personal belongings have a way of walking off when our sort come around."

Elise didn't know what to say. She turned her attention to the meal.

"I suppose you'll be going to the inn. You probably have enough coin for a night's stay and a hackney to carry you back to London."

The thick stew stuck in her throat. She swallowed with difficulty. "I cannot go back to London. I cannot go to the inn. I might run across an acquaintance of my uncle's or, worse, the man himself."

Sterling sighed. "Then that would be all the better. Your uncle could see you safely home."

Her temper rose. Elise set her plate beside her on the cot and stood. "I have told you before, I have no intention of returning to my uncle, or to the marriage he has planned for me."

Sterling lifted a brow. "Then what are your intentions?"

"I-I don't know yet," she answered. "I beg you to allow me the shelter of your wagon until I come up with a suitable plan."

He stared at her for a moment, then his gaze lowered to her lips. "You don't know how to beg." Sterling traced the shape of her mouth. "You don't even know how to use your womanly wiles on a man to get what you want."

Her lips trembled beneath his fingertips. Elise wanted to jerk away from him… and yet some part of her enjoyed his touch, the fire that had leaped to life in his eyes. She remembered the kiss they had shared. He'd made her feel things inside that no other man had made her feel.

"I do not care to practice vulgar or deceptive methods with men."

He leaned closer. "Then you'll never make a veil dancer. You'd have to understand the effect you have on men, understand it and use it to your advantage."

Did she affect him? He certainly affected her. Elise tried to step back, but her knees met with the cot. "I have no desire to become a performer. I explained that quite clearly to you."

Lifting a lock of her hair, he said, "And I explained that in order to stay with the troupe, you must pull your weight. I cannot go back on my word to Philip. I told him that you would dance to earn your way. If you will not dance, then you must leave."

Panic engulfed her, over either his words or how close his face was to hers. "At least let me go to the inn under the cover of darkness. With the hood of my cape pulled over my head, maybe I can disguise myself until I see if my uncle or anyone else who might recognize me is about."

His face moved closer. "A kiss will grant you sanctuary until nightfall. A farewell gesture."

Her cheeks blazed, as well as other parts of her body. She should slap his arrogant face, but this was not a London drawing room and he was not a gentleman. She had no idea what her plans would entail now that she would be cast from the caravan, but she would in all likelihood never see the Beast Tamer again. He waited, his mouth hovering ever so close to hers, and she sensed that he expected her to flee—run from the wagon and to the inn, as he wanted her to do.

Elise could be shocking as well when the mood suited her. The mood suited her at the moment. She closed the distance between their lips.

The slight pressure of her mouth against his ignited a fire that Sterling had never felt burn so intensely. Her scent wafted up to him, sweet, like the soap she washed with each evening. Her lips were soft—her innocence inflamed his very soul. He loved the taste and smell of her, the feel of her when he pulled her against him. He could never have her, cursed the way he was.

He should frighten her away… send her back to where she belonged. Danger lay in wait for a tempting young morsel such as Elise. Better he prove that to her now, while she had the chance to return to her uncle. With her best interests in mind, Sterling forced her mouth open beneath his. He was not gentle about his probing. He expected her to struggle, but she did not. Instead, her arms went around his neck and he felt the shy touch of her tongue against his. The jolt traveled all the way to his toes.

"Kiss a man like that and you're begging for trouble," he said against her mouth.

"You said that I don't know how to beg," she reminded. "And you will not frighten me away… not until I am ready to leave."

"You do not fear me, and you should."

She stared into his eyes thoughtfully. "I believe that you intend for people to be afraid of you. That way, they keep their distance. Why don't you want anyone close to you? What are you afraid of?"

This was not going at all as he had planned. Her bravery and her insight had begun to annoy him. "We can get closer if you desire." Sterling tumbled her backward onto the cot. "Is this close enough?"

Elise's large eyes blinked up at him. "T-This is indecent," she sputtered. "Let me up at once!"

"I am not a gentleman. I fear that you may try to stow away with another man, and feel obligated to show you the probable outcome. Never trust any man. On the inside, we're all beasts."

He expected her to struggle beneath him, to recoil from him at the very least; instead, she reached up and touched his face. "What has happened to you that you should view the world as such a dark place? Has there never been any sunshine in your life?"

She might as well have struck him. There had been sunshine… once, before he knew the truth. She was sunshine, and it sickened him that he would treat her no better than a whore who'd come sniffing for trouble. He rose from the cot and straightened his collar.

"Forgive me," he said, and realized he'd never asked anyone to forgive him for anything. "You are right. I spend too much time in the company of beasts." He turned toward the door, wanting to put distance between them, but only because he felt the distance shrinking. "If you need a disguise, ask Sarah Dobbs. She will help you."

CHAPTER 7

Elise wore the disguise of a Gypsy girl. Sarah Dobbs was a master at transforming Englishwomen into Gypsies. Sarah wore the same disguise in preparation to tell fortunes. The woman had explained to Elise that no one took an English fortune-teller seriously and that was why she darkened her skin with grease, her eyes with kohl, and wore a bright scarf tied around her head. The cockney accent was gone, and Elise stared in wide-eyed wonder at the crystal ball Sarah had placed on a small table inside of her wagon.

"Would you like your fortune told?" Sarah asked, her voice thick with another accent, a foreign-sounding one.

"Sterling said that you can't really see into the future," Elise responded. "Besides, I believe a person decides his or her own destiny."

Sarah lifted a brow and glanced down into the ball. "I see that you are running from someone. Someone who has not treated you kindly."

Elise gasped. "How did you…" She promptly closed her mouth. The woman could have found out from Sterling, or Elise supposed it was easy enough to guess her situation. "You are wrong," she clipped. "Good eve, and I guess good-bye. I am leaving the caravan." She turned to exit the wagon and heard Sarah laugh softly.

"You are not going anywhere. Sterling is your destiny."

The fine hairs on Elise's arms stood on end. She jumped down from the wagon. What did the woman know? Nothing, Elise assured herself. Sarah's fortune-telling abilities were all an act. Making certain the scarf covering her hair was still in place, Elise wandered through the wagons. A crowd had already begun to gather. Several torches lit the area. Elise saw that a cage of sorts had been erected. Sterling would no doubt perform inside with his cats.

"Gather round and witness sights to tantalize your senses." Philip, resplendent in one of his strange outfits, stepped into the circle of light. He began to juggle three balls, all of which caught the light from the torches and seemed to glow in the coming dark.

"I bring to you an exotic flower from the desert. A woman who can charm even the deadliest of snakes. The king of snakes. I bring you… Mora."

While Philip distracted the crowd with his juggling, Mora had stepped from the shadows and now stood in the circle of light, snakes draped from her neck and arms, a large basket at her feet. She lifted a strange instrument to her lips and began to play. The lid to the basket teetered. It fell away and the crowd all inhaled a breath at the same time. A large black snake rose from the basket. The snake's head suddenly expanded. His tongue slithered out and he hissed, but still Mora played.

The tune changed and the snake began to descend into the basket. Once the crowd could no longer see the cobra, Mora walked over, placed the lid upon the basket, and gathered it up. She bowed to a burst of applause, and coins were suddenly being tossed upon the ground. Dawn scrambled forward and began gathering the coins.

"Now to lighten your mood, the antics of Nathan and Iris!" Philip boomed.

The couple tumbled into the circle of light. They were dressed in wild costumes that immediately brought a smile to Elise's lips. She laughed out loud at their silliness and marveled over their skill at tumbling. The crowd did indeed laugh and applaud their efforts, all oohing when Iris did a triple somersault in the air and landed upon her husband's shoulders to end their performance. A shower of coins followed. Again Dawn moved into the circle and collected the bounty.

"Now, the bravest man in the world!" Philip stepped forward. "A man who can tame the savage beast, turn even the most ferocious animal into a loving house cat. I bring you the Beast Tamer!"

Torches suddenly leaped to life around the cage that had been erected earlier. Inside, Raja and Leena paced. The crowd went wild. A tall man stepped from the shadows. The firelight danced upon his golden head. He wore tights that hugged his muscled contours to the point of indecency, and two leather straps crisscrossed over his broad naked chest. Heat rushed to Elise's head, among other places. She heard more than one woman among the crowd sigh appreciatively.

Elise did not like it, the way the women ogled Sterling. He cracked a whip and made her jump; then he opened the door to the cage and stepped inside. The crowd grew deathly quiet. Sterling cracked his whip again, issued a command, and the cats took their seats upon two stools that were arranged inside of the cage. Raja growled and pawed at Sterling when he passed, causing Elise to suck in her breath.

Sterling shouted something and the cats sat up on their haunches. The crowd roared. He turned his back on the cats and bowed, which Elise thought was a frightfully stupid thing to do. The crowd appreciated his bravery, however, and coins flew to the ground. Since Dawn did not scramble forward to collect them, Elise assumed the performance had not ended.

Indeed, there was more to follow. Sterling commanded his cats to do all manner of tricks, from lying down on the ground and rolling over, to an impressive feat of jumping through a hoop that was on fire. Sterling also jumped through the hoop, which brought a spray of more coins. Elise felt like her heart was in her throat, but she couldn't deny the excitement that also coursed through her veins.

What she hoped was his last act of bravery was to open Raja's mouth and stick his head inside. The man was insane! Sterling emerged with his head, and more coins showered the ground. Again he turned his back upon the cats and bowed to the crowd. Raja suddenly attacked from the rear. Elise screamed. The tiger knocked Sterling to the ground. Man and beast wrestled and all Elise could do was stare on in horrified fascination. A moment later they were both up and Sterling hopped on Raja's back, riding the tiger.

The applause was deafening; the glitter of coins made the ground appear as if it were paved with gold. The torches around the cage were extinguished, and the crowd roared for more.

Philip stepped into the circle of light. "The night has not ended!" he boomed. "Know your future, find your fortune, or maybe discover if your wife has been unfaithful. Lady Fortune awaits you in her wagon."

The crowd grumbled, but many moved toward Sarah's wagon, which was now illuminated by bright torches. Elise stared at the darkened place where the cage had been erected, wondering what Sterling was doing. She noted that a few women also stared in the same direction. Would they seek out his wagon? No wonder he had thought she was there to find amusement with him that first night. He was handsome, devastatingly handsome. He would draw women like moths to the flame.

She would not stay and witness the fawning. Elise thought it was a perfect time to slip to the inn and secure a room. Most of the patrons were still milling about. She needed her valise, however, so she moved toward Sterling's wagon. She had only stepped into the darkness when a hand grabbed her arm.

"Hello, Gypsy girl," a voice slurred. "I saw you in the crowd and thought we might have a roll together."

She couldn't see the man, but his breath reeked of liquor. "Unhand me this instant," she snapped. "I do not wish to share your company."

The stranger yanked her up close to him. "Whether you're willing or not makes no difference to me. Who cares what happens to thieving scum like you?"

"I care."

The voice belonged to Sterling, and Elise was never so happy to hear it.

"Go about your business, man, and leave me to mine," the stranger said.

Elise tried to twist away from the drunken man's hold, but his fingers dug into the soft flesh of her arm.

"Let her go."

Sterling did not raise his voice, but his tone was deadly. A low growl sounded in the darkness and rose the hair on the back of her neck.

"Say, who's there?" the man asked, a tremor audible along with the slur. "Be you a man or a beast?"

No answer. Another low growl. The man released her and ran away. Elise might have relaxed, but the growl? What was it?

"Sterling?' she whispered. "Are you here?"

The silence stretched. Her heart began to beat at an alarming rate. She lifted a hand to her throat. A tall shadow suddenly stood next to her.

"Are you all right, Elise?"

"Sterling," she sighed. "Yes, I'm fine. The man…" Her voice trailed off. It was impossible, but when she glanced up she swore she saw the glow of an animal's eyes staring down at her. She shivered in the chilly evening air, blinked, and when she looked again, all she saw was Sterling's tall shadow against the night.

"What about the man?"

"He's run away," she answered. "I was trying to make my way to your wagon in order to fetch my valise."

"So, you are leaving?"

She had no choice in the matter. She'd paid for the privilege of sharing his wagon until nightfall, and night had fallen. "Yes. I am leaving."

He took her arm and guided her toward his wagon. "Best you go now while most of the patrons are still gawking at the sights and having their fortunes told."

"That's what I thought, too," she said. "Now I'm not so certain I want to make my way to the inn alone."

"No, I will escort you," he assured her.

"You are a noble man beneath the skin," she teased. "Even if you refuse to act the part."

"You have no idea what I am beneath the skin. But I won't see you molested."

They reached the wagon and Elise scrambled inside. She grabbed her valise; then they went off into the night, toward the muted glow of the inn.

CHAPTER 8

As they walked, she said, "Must you stick your head inside of Raja's mouth? You nearly took ten years off my life."

Sterling chuckled. "You didn't find my performance thrilling?"

"Well, yes," she admitted. "But really, Sterling, you should be more careful. The tiger attacked you tonight!" She felt his regard and asked, "What?"

"It's been a long while since anyone has fussed over me, and Raja attacking me is part of the performance. He loves to wrestle."

"Oh," she sighed. "You could have told me. I was frightened for you."

"It's been a long while since anyone cared what might happen to me, too. It's… nice."

A rush of pleasure washed over Elise. It had been a long time since she'd been allowed to fuss over or care about anyone. But Sterling was not the proper man to bestow her feelings upon. They were ill suited for each other… she supposed as were her mother and father. Of course Elise had closed a considerable amount of distance between their stations when she ran away from her uncle. She kept forgetting that she was now free to become anyone, or anything, she wished to become.

They reached the inn. Saying good-bye was more difficult than Elise had imagined. She suddenly felt at a loss for words. "Thank you for all you've done on my behalf," she blurted. "I wish you a happy life."

He reached out and brushed the stray curl that forever crept across her forehead. "And I hope you find what you're looking for."

For a dreadful moment, tears burned her eyes, and she feared she would embarrass herself. "Good-bye then." Elise turned away, only to find herself wheeled about and in his arms the next instant.

His lips found hers. She opened her mouth beneath his. Their tongues touched, danced together, spreading delicious heat through her chilled bones. She explored his mouth, the taste and depth of him, uncaring that her actions were bold. She would never see him again.

He made a low sound in his throat; then she felt the rough wood of the inn cutting into her back. She hardly noticed the discomfort, for the tight press of their bodies wiped logical thought from her mind. She burned for him, ached to feel more than his mouth fused with hers. What would it be like to lie with him? Skin against skin?

Her thoughts frightened her, along with the feelings he stirred. Primitive desires that she had never experienced. Her life had been a sheltered one. If her uncle hadn't been generous with his affections, he'd been overly protective of her virtue. He never allowed her in a man's company without a proper chaperone. Elise hadn't been so much as kissed before, and here she was, rubbing up against a man she hardly knew, like one of his great cats, begging to be stroked.

His hand closed over her breast; then his fingers brushed her sensitive nipple through the fabric. She moaned against his lips, hungry for more. As if he knew her needs, he stroked the other breast in kind, the friction of his fingers against her nipples sweet torture. His hand strayed to the top fastenings of her gown. He suddenly broke from her.

"Go inside," he commanded. "Go inside before I forget myself and drag you back to my wagon, toss you upon my cot, and make love to you as if there is no tomorrow."

If it was a threat, she did not respond correctly. Instead of her being frightened, all manner of indecent images suddenly took shape within her mind: images of tangled limbs and glorious golden naked skin. The night air clashed with her heat-flushed body and made her shiver.

"You should be afraid," he misinterpreted her response. "Now go inside while I still have the conscience to allow you to escape with your innocence."

He turned and walked away from her, which didn't leave Elise with many options. Now that her head had cleared, she understood how foolish it would be to run after him. Not to mention degrading. She imagined he was well used to women dogging his heels. The memory of the women sighing over him earlier brought reason when her body wanted to make a fool of her.

Shaken, Elise slipped inside of the inn. Thankfully, there were few patrons eating in the common room or partaking of spirits. Two men stood across the room, one with his back to her and the other studying a ledger. She assumed the man with the ledger was the proprietor. Something about the other man struck her as familiar, even though he wore a long cloak and high-crowned beaver that hid him from her. As if the proprietor felt her regard, he glanced up. He immediately frowned.

"You're not welcome in here!" he shouted across the room. "Take your thieving ways back to your camp!"

She'd forgotten that her disguise would jeopardize her chances of securing a room for the night. Elise supposed coin might sway the proprietor. The man who stood with his back to her started to turn. She caught a view of his profile. Her heart jumped up her throat. The man was her uncle.

Wheeling around, Elise scrambled back through the inn door. Had he seen her? She hoped that by the time his head had turned, all he'd seen was her backside rushing through the door. Her heart pounded wildly. Fear gripped her insides and twisted. Elise ran in the direction of the caravan wagons. The torches were still lit at Sarah's wagon, which greatly aided her sense of direction.

Seeing her uncle had been a shock and a reminder of how badly she wanted to escape. She might feel a tug of conscience had she believed for one moment that he searched for her out of fear for her safety, but she knew what drove him: the bride's price from Stoneham.

When she reached Sterling's wagon, Elise didn't pause to knock. She flung herself inside and pressed her back against the door, gasping for breath. Sterling stood poised over his washbasin, his face dripping. He grabbed a cloth and blotted the moisture away.

"Forget something?"

What could she say? If she told him the truth, he might try to sway her to return to London with her uncle. Or worse, he might inform her uncle of her whereabouts, thinking he did the right thing on her behalf. Elise had no choice in what she must do, and tonight, hadn't she been caught up with the performances? Hadn't a small part of her secretly longed to be a part of the troupe, to belong… somewhere?

"I've changed my mind," she answered. "I will dance."

Sterling bit back a groan. Although part of him had not been happy to see her go, the rational part had assured him that her leaving was for the best. The best for him, leastwise. He had feelings for Elise. Feelings that might become dangerous were he to allow them full rein. Better her temptation had been taken from him.

"It would be wiser for you to follow a different plan," he advised.

Her chin lifted. "We had an agreement. Will you go back on your word?"

Yes! the rational side of him mentally shouted. What was his word compared to his heart? What was honor compared to a curse that would turn him from a man into a beast?

"And you would stay?" he asked. "Even after tonight? Even knowing that I want you? Even knowing that you are not safe with me?"

Her cheeks flamed within the soft lantern light. She chewed her full bottom lip, then answered, "Better you than the murderer my uncle would sell me to for the sake of lining his pockets. You have more honor than you will admit. I am not afraid of you. Only of the strange emotions that you stir within me."

He turned his back on her to keep from crushing her in his arms. She was so trusting, so honest, to admit that she felt stirrings of desire for him. If the man her uncle insisted she wed was truly as bad as Elise said, Sterling could not allow her to be forced into the marriage. He would not allow any man the right to abuse her. But she was not safe with him; he was not safe with her. What could he do?

"Please," she whispered. "Take pity on me. I promise to do as I've agreed, and cause you little hardship until we reach Liverpool."

How could he refuse her? At least he would know that she had reached her aunt safely. Everything inside of him cautioned him that allowing Elise to stay would be a grave mistake.

"All right," he agreed, turning to face her. "You may stay." When her eyes filled with tears and she took a step toward him, he lifted a hand. "But things must be different between us."

She drew up short. "Different?" Elise moistened her tempting lips. "Are you suggesting… that is, are you demanding that I—"

"I'm demanding that you keep your distance," he cut her off. "I am not the man you believe me to be, Elise. I am not honorable or trustworthy. You must think the worst of me and act accordingly. Understand?"

A frown settled over her mouth. "Of course. I would hate to become bothersome to you." Fire had leaped to life within her eyes. "I assure you, regardless of what you obviously believe about yourself, you are not irresistible."

He nearly smiled. This was serious business, however, and Sterling would allow Elise the sanctuary of the caravan, and his wagon, but he could not allow her inside of his heart.

"We will be off again come morning. We'd better both get some sleep."

She glanced at the cot. "Am I to still use the bed, or would you prefer that I sleep on the floor?"

"Take the bed." He turned toward the door. "I'll check on the cats before I turn in."

"About the cats." Elise's brow furrowed. "You didn't have Raja with you earlier tonight, I mean, when the man grabbed me and you intervened?"

"Of course I wouldn't have a tiger with me running loose while the camp was filled with patrons from the inn. Why do you ask?"

She shook her head. "It's nothing, I suppose. I heard growling, animal growling, and it sounded so close to where I stood."

An uneasy feeling settled over Sterling. "Sound carries in the night. I'm sure you did hear Raja complaining, but he was in his cage."

"That would be the logical explanation," she responded. "Good night."

Sterling left her. Outside, he inhaled deeply of the crisp night air. The moon above looked huge against the night sky. He stared at it for a long time, helpless to look away. Growling? He'd been beyond anger when he saw the drunken lout trying to molest Elise. Sterling recalled thinking he'd like to rip the man's throat out… with his teeth. Had it begun then? Was the curse upon him? No, Sterling assured himself. He did not love Elise but was merely infatuated with her.

What he wanted to give Elise was still a long way from his heart. Desire, lust, he had suffered those feelings for women before, and he had remained safe from the Wulf curse. As beautiful and desirable as Elise was, he could resist her. He would resist her. The consequences were too horrible to face if he did not.

CHAPTER 9

Sterling was seated for dinner. His father had claimed his rightful chair at the head of the table. Sterling's three brothers were also in attendance, laughing and teasing one another. His mother flitted about, making certain all was to his father's satisfaction. Sterling knew that his parents' marriage had been arranged, and that the agreement had suited them well, if there was no great love between them.

But then something happened. As Sterling's mother poured his father a glass of wine, he took her hand and brought it to his lips—an affectionate gesture, and affection was something Sterling rarely witnessed between his proper parents. A soft glow entered his mother's eyes. After twenty-five years of marriage and four sons, all born with scarcely a year between them, had the marriage finally become more than an arrangement?

The candles in the huge candelabra gracing the center of the table suddenly flickered, flared, then dimmed. A chill crept into the room. His father's face became different. Hair sprouted from his arms, thick and dark—and his teeth, good God, they were sharp, like the teeth of an animal. Sterling's mother screamed.

Sterling's father clawed at his high collar, his fingers now long and bony, his nails like claws. He howled, a sound that raised the hackles on the back of Sterling's neck. Then his father disappeared, and in his place sat a beast.

The huge wolf leaped onto the table, growling and snapping. Sterling's brothers had all risen from the table, their faces ashen, their mouths hanging open.

The creature leaped through a nearby window, breaking the glass. Sterling's mother now lay in a dead faint upon the floor. He sat frozen in place, unable to comprehend what had just occurred.

The horrible image of his father's transformation played over and over in Sterling's mind, squeezing his head until he thought his brain would burst. He glanced down and saw his own hands covered in dark fur. No!

"Sterling," he heard Elise's voice from a long distance away. "Sterling, wake up. You're dreaming."

He bolted upright. Sweat coated his body, and he could scarcely catch a breath.

"Are you all right, Sterling?"

Her blurred image came into sharp focus. Worry creased Elise's brow. A long braid fell over her shoulder, and the nightgown she wore, although modest to a fault, was still arousing, maybe due to the fact that he wondered what, if anything, she wore beneath it.

"I'm fine. Only a nightmare." Due to her presence in his wagon, Sterling no longer slept naked. He threw his blanket aside and struggled to his feet. Elise rose and sat upon the cot.

"You've had them before," she said quietly. "Although usually you only moan a couple of times and drift back to sleep. Maybe if you talked to someone about the dreams—"

"I don't want to talk about it!" he snapped, then immediately regretted his harsh tone. Sterling ran a hand through his hair. "I apologize. I had no call to lash out at you over a poor night's sleep. I need some fresh air."

What he needed worse was to get away from the tempting sight of Elise sitting upon his cot in her nightgown. How intimate a picture she portrayed. How easily he could become used to such a sight to greet him each morning. Sterling pulled on his boots and bolted from the wagon. The cook fire had already been started, and stew left from last night's meal simmered over a pot. Only Mora and Sarah were still seated around the fire.

"Best hurry up!" Sarah called. "There won't be much left once they all gather round!"

Sterling grabbed a plate and dished up his breakfast. Elise would be a while, since she wasn't yet dressed. He grabbed a plate for her and filled it as well. That brought a lift of Sarah's brow.

"I told her she wasn't going nowhere," she said, a grin stretching her mouth.

Mora tensed. "You should have made her go," the snake charmer complained. "It is not safe for her here."

"She's safe enough under my protection." Sterling cast Mora a warning glance. "And she'll only be with us as far as Liverpool. Then she will go about her life, and the rest of us will go about ours."

Sarah placed a hand against her head and closed her eyes. "I do not see her leaving in the future. I see a wedding, and children. I see—"

"Stop it, Sarah," Sterling commanded. The last thing he needed was visions of a life with Elise planted inside of his head. "I don't find your predictions amusing."

The fortune-teller opened her eyes and sighed. "I'd hoped she might help you find your sense of humor, but you're as surly as ever. Just like that great beast of yours, always growling and snapping at everyone."

He liked Sarah's comparison less than her predictions. Sterling took Elise's plate and headed back toward the wagon. An older man dressed in clothes befitting a gentleman suddenly stood in his path. The man kept glancing around, as if in search of someone or something.

"Can I help you?" Sterling asked.

The man's gaze swept him coldly. "I'm looking for a girl."

Sterling appraised the man as well, using the same cold tone with him: "You're looking in the wrong place. We don't offer the kind of sport you seek."

Removing his hat, the man brushed the dust away. "I'm looking for my niece, you idiot. The ungrateful chit has run away. I thought you might have seen her along the road somewhere. Maybe lying in a ditch with her throat slit."

One of the plates Sterling carried nearly slipped from his fingers. This man had to be Elise's uncle. Her change of heart last night made perfect sense now. She must have seen her uncle at the inn.

"I've seen no young women lying in a ditch," Sterling said. He didn't like the man. Elise's uncle, if this was the man, seemed more annoyed by the thought of finding her dead than concerned. "You must be worried if she's taken to the road. No telling what might happen to her."

The man sniffed, then pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, pressing it to his nose. "God-awful animal stench," he muttered. "Makes my eyes itch and my nose drip. I'd leave her to her own sorry fate and gladly be rid of her nuisance, but her bridegroom has already paid a handsome price for her. I don't intend to give him his money back."

Sterling wanted to strangle the man. How could he act so unfeeling about a woman as sweet and gentle as Elise? "If she's taken to the road alone, you won't find her unspoiled," Sterling said, barely able to keep his voice civil. "Her bridegroom might not want her back."

The man waved a hand as if it were of no consequence. "Stoneham won't care. Just another reason to punish her. He likes to punish his wives."

Stoneham? It had been years since Sterling had rubbed elbows with London's social set, but he remembered hearing his mother speak of the man in hushed tones. It was rumored that Stoneham liked to torture his women. Sterling didn't recognize Elise's uncle, though, and obviously the man saw nothing in him but a vagabond.

"What is your niece's name, in case I stumble across her in the future? And where might I deliver her if I do find her? I assume you would be willing to pay for her return?"

The man wrinkled his nose and stuffed his handkerchief back into his pocket. "Collins," he provided, "Elise Collins, and all you need do is ask after Lord Robert Collins in London and someone will direct you to me. A small reward can be arranged."

Lord Collins. The name rang a distant bell. Sterling tried to recall anything he might have heard concerning Elise's uncle. Nothing immediately came to mind. It was dangerous to ask the questions screaming inside his head. He'd tried to put his prior life behind him, sworn that he would not look back, but he did wonder what had happened to his brothers.

"Long ago, I groomed horses for a family by the name of Wulf from London. Do you know them?"

Lord Collins pinched his lips together and frowned. "The wild Wulfs of London? Disgraceful family. The parents are dead. The sons run wild, wreaking all manner of havoc upon polite society. They are rumored to be mad, and dangerous, which of course only has the mindless society misses all chasing after them. Would serve some stupid chit right if she managed to catch one."

Collins smiled, a chilling smile. "I am not personally acquainted with the family. But I hear things… Supposedly the Wulf brothers have all taken a vow to remain bachelors until death."

Sterling didn't respond. At least he knew his brothers were alive and obviously of the same mind as him. Guard their hearts, save their humanity. "Well, if I run across your niece, I will bring her home and collect the reward."

"Perhaps I should ask some of the others as well." The man glanced around. "Maybe someone has seen something that you haven't."

"We're preparing to leave," Sterling said. "I wouldn't bother them. We all see the same things along the road, and no one has mentioned a young woman lying dead in a ditch."

Collins sniffed again, cursed, and pulled his handkerchief from his pocket. "Too many animals roaming about here. I must return to the inn. Do keep a look out for my niece. I trust you could use the reward money." His gaze swept Sterling's coarse clothing and dusty boots in an insulting manner. "Good day."

The door to Sterling's wagon creaked. The man's head turned toward the sound. A vision draped in gauzy scarves stood outlined against the darker interior of the wagon. A moment later he heard a feminine gasp, and the door slammed shut.

"Heaven help me," Elise whispered. Her uncle had found her. She expected Sterling to lead the man directly to her, only because Sterling had never taken the threat hanging over her head seriously. He believed, like most of his class would, that she was throwing a temper tantrum over a marriage that was, in fact, well suited for her.

She scrambled to the back of the wagon and sat on the floor, trying to make herself as small as possible. Why, she had no idea. Sterling and her uncle both knew she was inside of the wagon. There was only one door and no windows. A moment later she heard the door creak open. She covered her eyes.

"It's all right, Elise," Sterling said, his voice coming from above her. "He's gone."

Slowly, she lowered her hands and glanced up. "Gone?"

Sterling set two plates upon the cot and extended his hand. "Yes. I sent him away. He didn't recognize you. He was too busy looking at… well, he never looked at your face. I told him you were my wife."

Without thought, she slid her hand trustingly into his. He pulled her to her feet. "You sent him away? I thought you would tell him I was here."

Sterling didn't respond for a moment. His eyes roamed her and he drew a ragged breath. "Good God, what are you doing in that costume?"

She knew she blushed, and over her entire indecently exposed body. "I thought that if I couldn't come out of the wagon wearing the costume in front of the troupe members, I certainly couldn't perform in it for complete strangers."

"Your reasoning makes sense," he agreed. "And if you hadn't been wearing it when you opened the door a moment ago, your uncle would have recognized you. Then I would have had to fight him over you."

"Fight him?" Her blood warmed. "Over me?"

He released her hand and turned from her. "You were right about your uncle. He doesn't care about anything but the coin he will get for you. That woman-abusing monster, Stoneham, will not have you."

As relieved as she felt over the turn of events, Elise was also confused. "Stoneham. I never told you his name."

"Your uncle mentioned his name."

Sterling still stood with his back to her. Although embarrassed by the skimpy costume, Elise also felt self-conscious for different reasons. "Do you not like the costume?"

"I've seen the costume before," he answered. "On many occasions." He turned and his eyes were full of heat. "But I've never reacted to the sight the way I do when I see you wearing it." His gaze ran over her, sending tingles dancing beneath her skin. "You are a vision."

Elise should feel shame for the rush of pleasure his words delivered, but she did not. She liked the way Sterling looked at her. "You said you'd teach me to dance," she reminded.

He groaned and turned his back on her again. "Later. Now I have to help the caravan get under way. You had better stay inside, out of sight."

"Sterling," she stopped him when he moved toward the door. "Thank you. I owe you a debt greater than I can repay."

"You owe me nothing," he said, then hurried out.

CHAPTER 10

His hands were on her hips, and due to the costume she wore, she felt the heat of his palms against her skin.

"Allow my hands to guide your movements. Gyrate your hips."

He tried to guide her, but she felt too self-conscious to follow his instructions. Her hips did not move. He released her.

"What is the problem?"

You, she wanted to say. His closeness affected her. She couldn't concentrate on anything but the feel of his hands on her, the male scent of him, the whisper of his breath against her ear. She stepped away from Sterling and turned to face him.

"I think it might help if you were to show me, rather than tell me."

"I would look ridiculous."

She smiled over the slight blush that darkened his cheeks. If she could bring herself to parade around in front of him barely dressed, he could certainly suffer a little indignity on her behalf.

"I believe demonstration is part of teaching, and you did agree to teach me."

"Men and women move differently in the lower regions," he explained.

She lifted a brow. "How so?"

He reached out and pulled her around, positioning Elise as they had been a moment earlier. "Men move front to back, like this." He pressed against her in a disturbing manner. "Women move from side to side." His fingers found her hips again, and this time she followed his movements or, rather, the movement of his hips against hers.

Gradually, Elise noticed more than the rhythm of their bodies moving in perfect accord. His heat penetrated her back—wrapped around her. Although they were not overly exerting themselves, his breathing sounded labored, and so did hers. Something pressed against her. Something hard.

"As you dance, remove the veils," he said. "This way."

He plucked a transparent scarf from beneath her breast. Elise did as he instructed, plucking away first one scarf and then another until her entire midsection was bare. The costume beneath the scarves was hardly anything: an upper portion that pushed her breasts up and out, held in place by slim straps, and, below, trousers of sorts that hung below her belly button and were sheer from the top of her legs to the bottom, where they gathered at her ankles. Scarves were attached to the thin straps of her shoulders, and she understood those should be removed as well. Although her hands shook, she reached up.

"Slowly, sensually, like this," Sterling whispered, then took her hand in his and ran her palm up her stomach, over her breast. Her nipples hardened. A flush spread from the tips of her toes to the top of her head.

"Your body was made for a man's caresses," Sterling said close to her ear, then nibbled upon her lobe. "You have no idea how desirable you are, how tempting."

The heat seeped to a place between her legs. Elise knew she was not unattractive, but she'd been innocent about desire, her own, and the ability to make a man want her. And she did want a man to want her: Sterling.

"Touch me," she whispered.

He groaned, a low, animalistic sound; then he cupped her aching breasts. His fingers slipped inside of the low-cut costume and grazed her nipples.

"I want to put my mouth on you." He brushed her long hair aside and kissed her neck. "On every part of you."

A throb joined the heat burning between her legs. She wanted that—wanted his mouth on her and more.

"I don't even know your last name," she suddenly realized.

He snatched his hands from her as if she'd suddenly scorched him. A moment later, his hands were back, but only upon her shoulders, pushing her forward. The cot, she assumed. Surely they wouldn't perform the act standing up. He pushed her down upon the cot, but rather than join her, he moved to the door.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Out," he snapped. "Away from your sorcery. You have made me forget our agreement. Forget myself."

She blinked. He seemed angry with her. "I thought our agreement was that you would teach me to dance."

"You will have to learn on your own, which I don't believe will be a problem."

"Why won't you look at me?" Elise demanded, her temper clashing with her embarrassment. "You started this business, and now you're acting as if I've done something wrong."

He turned. "You shouldn't tempt me. I told you that things must be different between us. You must heed my warning, Elise."

A shiver raced up her back, not because of his words, but because in the soft lantern light, his eyes looked strange again. The same as they had looked last night. As if they were glowing, like the night eyes of an animal.

She blinked, hoping it was an illusion and that if she looked again, his eyes would appear normal. When she looked again, he was gone.

Sterling's emotions were a jumbled mess. Desire, red-hot and rampant, clawed at him. He wanted Elise more than he'd ever wanted any woman. But she wasn't any woman. She was an innocent, and he had no right to make her his when he could offer her nothing… nothing but a life on the road… a life with a man who felt his humanity supping away.

He ran his tongue over his teeth. Was it his imagination, or were they sharper, more canine than human? "No," he insisted, moving toward the animal wagons. Talking with Raja and Leena always soothed him. Sterling had allowed fear to play with his mind. He hadn't fallen in love with Elise Collins. He barely knew the young woman. He found her attractive, desirable, sweet, kind, with every trait a man would want in a woman, but he did not love her.

Upon reaching one of the animal wagons, Sterling wrapped his hands around the bars. "I do not love her."

Both animals were dark shapes hunched in the corners of their cages, their eyes glittering in the darkness. Raja growled low in his throat. Sterling was used to the tiger's moods, but then Leena also growled. Sterling glanced behind him. The caravan was quiet; all had retired for the night.

"What do you see?" he asked. Oddly enough, their glowing eyes seemed trained only upon Sterling. He laughed. "It's only me."

But even as he said the words, he knew they were not true.

CHAPTER 11

Elise's mood soured by the day. Sterling avoided her whenever possible. He acted as if she had the plague, and it had begun to greatly annoy her. What of it if they were both developing feelings for each other? The rules of society no longer governed her. They were on equal ground now, yet he treated her as if she was either too good for him or perhaps not good enough.

"Arrogant man," she muttered as she quickly made her way to a nearby stream, bucket in hand.

"You shouldn't frown. Sterling won't think you are as pretty, and he won't like you."

She glanced down to see Dawn staring up at her. Elise hadn't noticed the girl squatting beside the water. She bent beside Dawn.

"How a person looks on the outside is not as important as what kind of person he or she is on the inside," Elise told the girl. "If you truly love someone, you must love everything about them."

Dawn pinched her lips together. "This is about my parents again, isn't it?"

"It's about everyone," Elise countered. "I've known some very attractive people who were ugly on the inside. And I wouldn't want Sterling to like me only because he thought me pretty."

The girl lifted a brow. "Isn't that the reason you like Sterling? I mean, because he's so handsome to look at?"

"Of course not," Elise chided. "Sterling is more than a handsome face. He's good-hearted, considerate most of the time, and honorable, well, most of the time."

"Most of the time?" Dawn looked as if she expected explanations.

"He did promise to teach me to dance, and he hasn't fulfilled that obligation." Annoyance washed over Elise. "Philip says we are to perform at a fair in three days' time and I'm not ready."

"I can teach you." Dawn's voice was very small.

"What?" Elise questioned the girl.

Dawn glanced around the clearing. "I used to watch Marguerite practice. I can teach you, but my parents mustn't find out. They like to believe they've sheltered me."

"I see." Elise lifted a brow. "So this would be a secret, just between the two of us?"

Cocking her head to the side, Dawn considered. "Yes," she answered, then grinned. "I've never had my very own secret before."

Elise laughed. "Everyone should have a secret or two, all their very own."

"Do you have secrets?"

Yes, she had secrets from the caravan troupe. They did not know about her uncle. And if she was honest with herself, she had another secret. Elise strongly suspected that she was in love with the Beast Tamer. She had never felt so miserable over someone ignoring her before, not even her uncle.

"If you dance like Marguerite used to dance, Sterling will like you again, I promise you that," Dawn assured her.

Elise frowned at the girl, but on the inside, she admitted that she very much wanted Sterling to like her. In fact, she very much wanted ignoring her to become impossible for him. Maybe the child knew more about these matters than Elise did.

Sterling lost himself in the crowd. The fair was good-sized and should line the troupe's pockets well, but he would not earn his keep tonight. He'd told Philip that he didn't feel up to a performance, the truth being, the cats now regarded him differently. They were uneasy with him, with what they sensed lurked beneath his skin. Philip hadn't pressed him, deciding instead to partition the animals off and charge a fee for anyone brave enough to have a look.

Although Sterling couldn't fault Philip's enterprising genius, he didn't like the thought of people gawking at his cats through the bars. Raja and Leena were performers, not freak attractions. If any among them should be locked up and gawked at, it was he.

"I have been waiting for you to slip into my wagon at night now that you have tired of the pale-faced woman."

He hadn't noticed Mora's approach. "I do not care to share your wagon, Mora, or anything else with you," he said.

She grabbed his arm. "Now that you have tired of her, why not take what I offer? She is nothing but a pasty-faced English girl. Nothing but a silly child who could not please you beneath your pelts. She is—"

"Do not insult Elise in my presence again," Sterling warned, tugging his arm from the woman's grasp. "She is a lady and has not shared my bed."

The snake charmer's dark eyes widened. "All this time, she slept in your wagon and you did not take her? Why would you deny yourself?" Now Mora's eyes narrowed. "Unless she has bewitched you. Unless she has stolen inside of your cold heart and claimed it for her own. Only a man who cares for a woman would treat her with respect."

He didn't deny Mora's accusations. What was the point? A man could lie to himself, but he could never lie to his heart. Elise had stolen it, maybe from the very first moment he'd lit the lantern and seen her sitting upon his cot. Denial. He thought it might save him, but in the end, he knew that it would not.

"She is a fool who wears her love for you openly, but you are an even bigger fool. You are not like her… You are like me."

He shook his head. "No. I'm not like you." A sarcastic laugh slipped past his lips. "I'm not like anyone you know of, or ever will. Stay away from me."

Sterling walked away from Mora, mingling with the crowd. He felt women watching him as he moved, but he didn't give them a moment's notice. Only one woman ruled his thoughts. Would she dance tonight? Could he stand to watch her? Could he bear to stay away?

Elise's stomach twisted. Her skin felt cold and clammy. She stood in the shadows, too dazed to listen to Philip's introduction of her. Philip motioned her forward into the circle of burning torches. An expectant hush fell over the crowd.

She drew a deep breath and stepped into the circle. Loud catcalls almost sent her scrambling for the safety of Sterling's wagon. Elise forced herself to remain where she stood. Her gaze roamed the faces flushed by the torchlight, seeking one face in particular. Disappointment settled over her, but then she saw him. Even with him standing at the back of those gathered around, his height made the eye travel to him easily. But she could not see him clearly, and she needed to, wanted to dance, only for Sterling.

Lifting her hands into the air, Elise gyrated her hips in a slow and, she hoped, sensuous manner. Her gaze remained fixed upon Sterling. He took a step toward her. She turned a circle, body swaying, and when next she faced him, he stood at the front of the crowd, right before her.

His eyes were intense, with a hint of a glow about them. They ran the length of her, then slowly made their way back up to lock with hers. Elise plucked a veil from her skimpy costume. Coins showered her feet and male voices shouted appreciation. Elise cared nothing about the coins or the other men present. She danced neither for payment nor to stir the passions of any man save one.

She wanted Sterling, and she wanted him to want her in return. Her fingers slid up her stomach, as he had taught her. She plucked another veil, and again coins tinkled from the sky like snowflakes in winter. Sliding her fingers over the full rise of her breasts, she plucked another scarf, revealing the expanse of her cleavage. A fire ignited within Sterling's silver eyes. He drew a sudden breath.

For the first time, Elise understood her power over men, her power over Sterling. Her pulse quickened, and so did her steps, her gyrations bolder now. His gaze lowered to her hips, stayed there as if she'd cast a spell over him. Innocence floated away like the brightly covered scarves that now littered the ground at her feet Elise understood what held him enthralled. The mating dance. The thought of her hips moving beneath him, keeping a rhythm as old as time.

The roar of male voices grew louder. Taylor was suddenly there, walking the circle to keep the men restrained. Elise hardly noticed. She only had eyes for Sterling.

Elise would start a riot if she continued to dance as she did, Sterling thought. She had worked the men into a fevered frenzy, him included. He wanted to growl at the men, warn them off. Elise belonged to him. He would take her, make her his, and to hell with the consequences.

Without ceremony, Sterling stepped into the circle, snatched her arm, and pulled her along. The crowd erupted behind him. Sterling knew Philip and Tom could handle them. He heard Philip shouting something about a jealous husband. Loud groans of disappointment from the men followed, and then Philip turned the crowd's attention toward the animal wagons.

Elise did not fight him. He reached their wagon and pulled her inside. She sat upon the cot, lifting a brow in question.

"You will not dance again," he told her. "Not for those crazed men who drool all over themselves like village idiots!"

"All right."

Sterling was taken aback. He had fully expected some sort of argument.

"I will dance only for you, as I did tonight."

It appeared as if she was dancing for him and him alone tonight, Sterling admitted. "So we agree that you will dance only for me, and only inside of this wagon?" The thought pleased him.

"No."

His brow shot up this time. "No?"

Elise stood. "You told me that if I wanted to ride safely with the caravan to Liverpool, I must earn my way. Then you told me that manual labor would not suffice. You insisted that I learn the veil dance and perform for my supper, so to speak, and that is exactly what I intend to do."

"Things were different between us then," he reminded.

"They seem to be different between us daily," she huffed. "You will have to swallow your simpering male jealousy, Sterling, and allow me to do my duty by Philip. You lay no claim to me."

He stepped closer, his temper rising. "You are mine!"

Instead of backing from him, Elise closed the distance between them. "You have not made me yours. And even were you to lay claim to my body, to my heart, I have spent my life being ruled by my uncle. I will not trade one prison for another. I ran away in search of freedom. All else I give you gladly, I give you with a trusting heart, but my will belongs to me."

She had come a long way in a short space of time. Sterling admired her spirit, had from the moment he'd met her. Did he really want to clip her wings? She had only just begun to fly. And how could he take what she would give with a trusting heart when she didn't know the horrible truth about him? When he could not bring himself to tell her?

"You should not trust me, Elise," he said softly, reaching out to caress her smooth cheek. "I am not all you think I am."

She clasped his hand against her face. "Then tell me your secrets, and I'll tell you mine."

"My secrets are dark. Too dark for one as sweet and innocent as you. We are as different as night and day, Elise."

"The night and the day cannot exist without each other," she whispered. "Why do you fight the feelings you have for me? Do you count me unworthy of them?"

He shook his head, pulling his hand from her grasp. "I don't want to fight them, but for your sake, and my own, I must. I cannot love you, Elise, and you deserve that from a man."

Her brow furrowed again. "Do you mean that you…" She blushed. "That you are incapable of performing the act of love?"

He laughed. Sterling couldn't help himself. He was still aroused from watching her dance, aroused from just being near her. "No. I am perfectly capable of performing. It is my heart that I cannot surrender to you."

The softness faded from her eyes. Her gaze filled with hurt. "Why? I have surrendered mine to you."

How sweet those words were to his ears. He had to get away from her before he did surrender, and surrender all. Before she saw him for what he truly was. Sterling pushed past her and reached for the door.

"I apologize," he said. "Stay inside of the wagon. I will be close by if you need me."

In a gesture as daring as her earlier dance, Elise flung herself in front of the door, barring his way. "I do need you, Sterling. I need you tonight."

CHAPTER 12

Elise stared at the empty place where Sterling had stood. What was he afraid of? Did he think she could never be happy living the life he lived? Did he believe she'd prefer a dull life with a man of wealth? She riffled through her valise and retrieved her nightgown.

Although she'd been frightened of the troupe players when she'd first met them, she'd come to realize that regardless of their differences, they were ordinary people. All but Mora, leastwise. Elise still considered the snake charmer as dangerous as she had the first time she'd met the woman. Regardless, Elise could be happy among these people, if Sterling would only surrender to his feelings and open himself to her. She could truly live the life of an adventurer as she had always dreamed of doing. And she could dance for many if, in her mind, she only danced for the man she loved.

Elise slipped off the skimpy costume, tugging her modest nightgown over her head. There was a soft rap upon the wagon door. She heard a child's voice on the other side.

"I have your veils!" Dawn called.

Swinging the door open, Elise frowned down at the girl. "I thought you were supposed to be in bed."

Dawn handed her the veils. "I had to see your first performance, and you did very well. I heard my mother tell Philip that you brought in the most coins this evening." She glanced behind Elise, as if looking for someone. "Where is Sterling? I thought for sure he'd be here with you."

The girl really was exposed to more than a child her age should be, Elise decided. "Sterling has gone out for a while, and you must go to bed. It isn't safe for you to roam about after dark."

"You sound like my mother," Dawn complained. "I-I thought we were friends."

Elise smiled. "We are friends, and friends care about each other. I'm concerned for your well-being."

Dawn blushed. "All right. I'll hurry back to my parents' wagon. I'll be quiet as a mouse and as fleet as a deer."

And she was. The girl disappeared. Elise shut the door, turned out the lantern, and crawled into the cot. She felt a certain elation that she had danced tonight and, she supposed, well enough. But Sterling had stolen her joy. Why was he so stubborn? She knew he desired her. Elise was ready to give herself, but he kept promising one thing with his eyes and denying that promise with his lips.

The door creaked. She held her breath. Would he come to her now and make her a woman, make her his woman? The door softly closed and she sighed, not with relief but with frustration. Well, perhaps he at least battled the desire to surrender to her. Maybe he would lose before the night's end.

Elise snuggled deeper beneath her blanket and closed her eyes. She'd nearly drifted off when she felt a presence—an intruder in her bed. Her heart nearly stopped beating. What had crawled beneath the covers with her did not caress her with warm, gentle fingers but slithered against her legs.

Sterling paced beside the animal wagons. Raja and Leena were once again huddled in their corners, warily watching him. He could not get Elise out of his head. He wanted her, wanted her more than he'd ever wanted anything in his life, but the curse stood between them.

"I know what you're thinking," he said to the cats. "You're thinking that it's already too late, but you're wrong." He clasped the bars of Raja's cage and stared at him. "Look at me. I haven't changed." He held out his hands. "Skin, not fur. I am a man, not a beast!"

Raja rushed forward and slashed at him, his sharp claws connecting with Sterling's hand. Stumbling back, Sterling swore, then brought the injured hand to his mouth. He tasted blood. He'd forgotten his own rules concerning the cats. Lowering his guard with them for even a moment had cost him a nasty scratch.

He glared at the tiger, heard an animalistic growl of warning rise from his human throat. Raja slunk back into his corner. The scratch stung. Sterling knew he must tend to it, but that would mean returning to his wagon for the necessary supplies. That would mean facing the temptation of Elise again. He tore a piece of cloth from the hem of his shirt and wound it around his hand. His gaze cut toward the moonlit shape of his wagon. No light shining from beneath the crack of the door. Elise had gone to bed… alone.

As if he had no will of his own, Sterling was drawn toward the wagon—helpless to resist. He eased open the door and climbed inside, careful to close it softly. Elise did not speak to him. He listened to the thick silence. She was asleep. Sterling unwrapped his hand and used the basin to clean the scratch. It stung slightly. He started to leave but couldn't resist standing over Elise, staring down at her. To his surprise, he could see unusually well.

Elise's eyes stared up at him. Her face looked like a pale moon in the darkness. He could not hear her breathing… but wait—he swore he heard the sound of her heart pounding frantically inside of her chest. Or was it his? He started to touch her, but her eyes widened. Then he sensed it… a cold and deadly presence.

Something moved beneath her blanket, winding a path upward. Sterling held his breath, stood very still. Once the snake's head appeared, frightfully close to Elise's neck, Sterling snatched the reptile, kicked open the door, and flung it outside.

Elise wanted to scream, but her throat felt frozen with terror. She turned her head to see Sterling outlined against the doorway, his hands pressed on either side, looking as if he was having trouble catching his breath. She owed him her life.

"Sterling," she managed to whisper.

He turned slowly to face her. Her breath lodged in her throat and her heart lurched again. In the moonlight spilling through the open doorway, he looked different. His eyes had an unnatural glow about them, and his features seemed distorted. His nose appeared longer, his teeth gleamed white, but they were pointed. She closed her eyes tight, hoping that when she opened them, he would appear normal.

She heard the door close and felt him settle next to her. "Elise, are you all right?"

Forcing her eyes open, she glanced up at him. The moonlight was gone, and so was her ability to see him clearly. "Light the lantern," she demanded in a shaky voice.

A soft glow filled the wagon and chased away the shadows. Sterling rejoined her. She ran her gaze over him. He looked like the same handsome man she knew. "Sterling," she sobbed, then threw her arms around his neck. "I was so frightened."

He ran a hand over her hair. "It's gone. You're safe." His fingers tightened around a thick strand. "I will strangle Mora for putting your life in danger." He started to rise, but Elise clung to him.

"Don't leave me. I need you."

His muscles were tense, but as she held him, he relaxed. Elise pressed her head against his solid chest. The steady beat of his heart calmed her. Once her terror began to fade, she noticed the heat and strength of his body—how safe she felt in his arms.

She lifted her head to look up at him. Their lips were a breath apart. The soft lantern light bathed them within a cozy glow. Sterling stared down into her eyes. She silently begged for him to kiss her. Tonight had shown her how short life could be. Elise realized that there was no one in the world whom she would rather spend her time with than Sterling.

Slowly, his head lowered and his mouth brushed hers. She moaned over the gentleness of his kiss, marveled that a big man, strong as an ox and as tall as a tree, could be tender with her. He gently nudged her mouth open, his tongue slipping inside, and thoughts of sweetness faded. Elise knotted her fingers into his long hair. She hadn't known that the touch of tongues, the wetness and warmth of two mouths joined, would heat her blood and make her ache for more.

He touched her through her nightgown—cupped her breast, his thumb rubbing her nipple through the thin fabric until it hardened. She wanted closer contact. She wanted skin against skin. As if he knew her thoughts, he gathered her nightgown, pulling it up past her hips and over her head. Elise now sat before him naked. Some small part of her chastised her lack of modesty with him, but in truth, she felt no embarrassment, only excitement as his gaze ran the length of her and he sucked in his breath.

"My God, Elise," he rasped. "You are perfect to my eyes."

His praise sent tingles of pleasure racing over her skin. A moment later, his hands followed their pathway. His fingertips brushed her breasts, her stomach, hips, thighs.

"So soft." He lowered his mouth to her breasts, traced lazy circles around her nipples; then he gently sucked one inside of his mouth. Her fingers tightened against his scalp. She threw back her head and moaned. Never had she imagined that a man's lips against her breasts could create such delicious sensations. It was as if a tiny string were attached to her stomach muscles and his mouth. The harder he sucked, the tighter he drew the string.

He stretched her to the breaking point. Drove her wild with the flame of his tongue. Sliding her hands through the opening of his shirt, she felt the strong beating of his heart.

"Remove your shirt," she whispered. "I want to touch you, the way that you're touching me."

In one fluid movement his shirt was gone. The sight of his bare muscular chest always took her breath away. She ran her fingers over him. Warm, smooth, hard muscle stretched over strong bones. What would it feel like to press her naked flesh against his? He pulled her into his arms, and she had her answer. A lightning bolt couldn't have generated more heat between them.

"I should go," he said, pushing her down onto the cot. "I should go before I can't leave you be."

She tangled her fingers into his hair and pulled his lips to hers. "I don't want you to go. I don't want you to leave me be."

The lips she offered him in surrender, he took. His kisses grew deeper, hotter, more demanding. She met his urgency, her tongue dancing with his. Then his hand slid between her legs, caressing her in a place that no man had dared venture. But he dared much, her Beast Tamer. He stroked her—long, steady strokes that soon had her gasping for breath and moving wildly against him. It was as if all her thoughts, all her sensation, pulsed beneath his skilled fingers.

She wanted more, ached for what she could not name. When he pressed against her and she felt the hard length of him through his cossacks, she understood what she wanted. The joining. The completion that would make her his, and him hers. Bravely, she fumbled with the drawstring at the top of his breeches, loosening them to the point that she could slip her hand inside. Her fingers found him. They both gasped.

Huge, was the first thought that came to her mind. Frightening, but so warm, hard steel wrapped in smooth velvet. She ran her fingers the length of him, her courage fueled by the soft groans she stole from his lips.

"Elise," he said. "You're killing me. You will be my ruin."

Wicked, she must be wicked through and through, because the thought of being his weakness excited her. The tip of her fingernail glided over the tip of his manhood, and he shucked the cossacks altogether. He and Elise now lay naked together, and she instinctively knew there would be no turning back. Not now. Not ever.

"Do you know about the first time?" he asked, his heated gaze staring down at her. "Do you know about the pain?"

Pain? No, Elise knew nothing about intimate matters between men and women. Her uncle had only told her they were to be avoided at all cost until she went to her marriage bed. He'd offered her nothing else upon the subject. She shook her head.

Sterling sighed and pressed his forehead to hers. "I'll be as gentle as I can. Trust me, Elise."

She trusted him completely. A woman couldn't love a man she couldn't trust. "Make me a woman. Make me your woman."

Her trust should have been enough to shrivel him. But it did not. He wanted her more than life, more than a normal life, leastwise. A beast, whether brought by a curse or nay, lived inside of all men. The beast was upon him now, and having her beneath him, soft subtle skin stretched over womanly curves, he could not deny what she offered him. He could not resist the love shining from her eyes. He wanted that, to be loved. To love in return without fear of what the loving might cost him. Tonight, he would show no fear.

He touched her where he knew her sensation centered. Stroked her until she moved against him, hot, wet, ready for him. He took her to the edge of sanity, and as soon as he felt the tremors begin, he entered her in one great thrust. Her shocked cry of pain mingled with her moans of release and his own deep groans of heaven and hell. Hell that he had hurt her, heaven to be inside of her, buried to the hilt within her tight confines. The force of her release squeezed him until he thought he would spill himself. He grappled for control, then bent to kiss the tears from her cheeks. "The pain is over, Elise. Now there will be only pleasure." Eyes bright with tears, she stared up at him, and although her voice trembled, she said, "I could do with more pleasure and less pain. I trust you to keep your word upon the matter." He smiled down at her. What a marvel. How brave and passionate despite her strict upbringing. She was the type of woman men dreamed about but seldom found. And tonight, she belonged to him and he to her. He began to move, slowly, gently, to show her that the pain would not come again. Gradually, her hips arched against him of their own will. He lost himself inside of her. All thoughts but the feel, scent, and taste of her left his mind. He nibbled upon her ear and whispered, "Dance for me, Elise."

She did dance for him. She gyrated her hips against his, gasping when the motion drew him deeper—down into the very core of her. They were slick with sweat against each other, drowning in the moist heat of seeking mouths and tangled limbs. With each steady thrust, he fanned the flame higher and higher. She was consumed by him—by the friction of their joined bodies, the tingling, the building force that sent her ever closer to the edge of madness. When the shudders wracked her, she arched against him, calling his name over and over as she burst, heat and pleasure spreading through her like a slow burn. He thrust deep, paused as if on the brink of his own fall to death, then pulled from her abruptly, his body jerking, his words a jumble of curses and endearments that sent her cheeks to flaming even hotter.

He rolled to his side and pulled her close, their hearts pounding against each other in unison. "I didn't know," she whispered, awed by the force of what had taken place between them. "I didn't know it would be this way. That loving you would make me feel so complete."

Sterling kissed the top of her head. "I didn't know, either," he admitted. "Until you, I had only walked in darkness. My heart and my eyes closed. Now, all will be different for me."

Odd, but he hadn't made his last statement sound as if he found the change appealing. Elise snuggled closer to his warmth. "Would it shock you if I told you that I would like for you to love me again?"

His lips touched her ear. "It would shock and delight me," he said. "I had thought I would be forced to seduce you again before morning. You save me the trouble."

She sighed. "I would hate to be a bother."

"You are a bother," he assured her. "But you are worth it. You are worth everything."

And his lips halted any further comment she might make.

CHAPTER 13

Elise woke with a man wrapped around her. She smiled, winced at the tenderness of her mouth, tried to move, and discovered she was tender in other areas as well. She glanced at Sterling. He looked almost boyish in sleep. Very much the innocent. She frowned, recalling last night when she hadn't thought him innocent-looking, when she hadn't even thought he looked like Sterling.

Memories of warm bodies moving against each other merged with those terrifying moments when she realized the cobra had crawled into her cot. Elise had no doubt now that the rumors surrounding Mora were true. She would unleash her snakes upon a woman if she fought for the same man's favor.

Sterling would confront the woman, but Elise felt it was her place, not his. If she planned to live a life of adventure with Sterling and the traveling troupe, Elise must learn to stand up for herself. She eased her body from beneath Sterling, careful to be quiet while she quickly prepared for the day.

The group had already gathered around the breakfast fire. Elise marched up to them and narrowed her gaze upon Mora.

"The next time you unleash one of your snakes inside my wagon, I'll chop off its head with a butcher knife! Then, I'll come after you."

Mora rose from her crouched position. "I do not know what you are speaking of, but I do not like being threatened, or accused of something that I did not do."

"Where is your cobra?" Elise demanded.

The snake charmer shrugged. "He must have gotten out at some time last night. I no longer have the snake."

"What is going on here?" Philip asked, stepping between them. "I settle disputes among the players."

"She turned her snake loose inside of my wagon," Elise informed Philip. "If Sterling hadn't come in and thrown it outside, I would most likely be dead."

The caravan leader frowned. "Did you do this, Mora?"

"It is her word against mine," Mora challenged. "The Beast Tamer would say anything she tells him to say. She has cast a spell over him."

Philip said, "No, Sterling is good for his word. Fetch him, Elise. I want his confirmation of your accusations."

Elise stood her ground. "It is my word that I ask you to trust, Philip. I danced last night to earn my way, will continue to dance. I ask you to accept me as one of your troupe, and judge me as a separate person from Sterling."

"Elise wouldn't lie," Dawn cut in. "She's my friend. If she says Mora tried to kill her, then it's true."

Elise smiled fondly at the girl, then turned her attention back to Philip.

He scratched his head and eyed Mora suspiciously. "You have never fit in among us, Mora. You keep your secrets and your company mostly to yourself. We are a family, and family do not try to kill one another."

The snake charmer hissed at him. Hissed like a snake, which made the hairs on Elise's arms stand on end. "She has cast a spell over all of you. It is her you should send away! If she is gone, I will have the Beast Tamer as my man."

"Which I'm sure was your intent when you slipped your cobra inside of her wagon last night." Philip glared down at Mora. "Get your things and be gone. I will not have one among us as cold-blooded as her snakes."

Again Mora hissed at them all, making more than Elise shudder in the early-morning chill. She cast Elise a threatening glance, then stalked from the fire.

"Thank you, Philip," Elise said. "Thank you for trusting my word."

"Never did care for her," he muttered.

"Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say," Sarah Dobbs joined in.

"Figured if I didn't keep an eye on my Dawn, she'd try feeding my girl to one of her snakes," Iris chimed in.

Sterling chose that moment to exit the wagon and join them. Elise caught his eye and felt a blush of pleasure run the entire length of her body. He turned to Philip.

"I want Mora banished from the troupe," he demanded.

"You're too late," Sarah said with a laugh. "Your woman has already sent the wench packing."

Elise smiled at Sterling and he smiled back, pride shining in his eyes, but only for a moment. Then it was as if a curtain fell over his features, blotting out all emotion. "I need to see to my cats."

And he walked away from her—left her as if nothing wonderful and magical had happened between them last night. Emotion closed her throat, threatened to send tears streaming down her cheeks. Elise wouldn't embarrass herself in front of the troupe members. Without a word, she hurried back toward the wagon.

Sterling had managed to avoid Elise throughout most of the day. He couldn't avoid her forever, and he couldn't avoid what was happening to him. He stared at the hand he'd unwrapped a while earlier. There was no scratch. It had disappeared. How could that be possible? Only one way he knew of—it had begun. The curse was upon him. He'd given his heart for his humanity.

But maybe it was better to have loved once and lost everything than to have continued his life as it had been for the past ten years. Hiding from the truth, hoping to hide from the inevitable. Elise bravely displayed her own emotions. She wore her love plainly for all to see. But that would change. His change would kill all the love she felt for him. She'd be as terrified of him as she was of the cobra last night. More so, because he was an unnatural being. A thing she would not be able to understand or accept.

There was nothing to do now but wait… and he did wait, out in the forest until darkness had almost fallen; then he moved toward his wagon. He must tell Elise that he was leaving the caravan, and he must try to explain why.

Elise had already retired, but she'd left the lantern burning. She turned to look at him when he entered. Her cheeks were stained with teardrops. His heart twisted at the sight.

"I am a fool," she said softly. "I thought I had grown up, but I am still a child. I thought that because I love you, you must love me in return. I thought that last night meant as much to you as it did to me."

Her honesty never failed to amaze him and endear her more to him. It also made him feel all the worse for deceiving her. She would never keep secrets from him; this he knew about her. Elise wasn't capable of lying. Shamed, Sterling went to her, settling beside her upon the cot.

"I do love you, Elise." He gently wiped a tear from her cheek. "I have tried not to, but I have failed. I have shielded my heart for the past ten years, and yet you came into my life and, in the space of moments, crashed through all the barriers I had erected around myself. You will cost me my humanity, but you were worth it. Every moment spent with you will be worth the lifetime of loneliness I am forced to endure."

"You love me?" she whispered, and he realized she hadn't heard anything else he'd told her. "You honestly love me?"

"Yes," he answered. "But—"

She sat and threw her arms around him. "Oh, Sterling. You will not be alone. I want to stay with you always, be a part of your life, be a part of this life. The troupe members and you are the family I have longed for. My aunt will surely understand, and I will have the adventurous life I've secretly dreamed of. I—"

"Elise." Sterling felt a lump form in his throat. What a wonderful picture she painted, if only it could be. "You are not listening to me. We cannot be together. We are not suited for one another. There are things about me—"

"Don't." She placed her fingers against his lips. "Don't spoil my happiness with talk of social positions and a past that I care nothing about. Give me another night to simply be loved by you. Tomorrow is soon enough to discuss realities."

Was one more night with her too much to ask for all that he must sacrifice? His question was answered when she pulled his lips to hers, offering him his heart's desire. To be only a man in her eyes for a while longer. Sterling lowered her to the cot. He took what she offered, and took it greedily. He savored every human emotion she stirred within him, and later, while she slept, he slipped outside to berate himself for being a coward.

The moon hung full in the sky. Sterling stared, mesmerized by the glowing sphere. Stark loneliness rose up inside of him, and for a moment, he felt tempted to throw back his head and howl. The snap of a branch alerted him to another presence. He sniffed, strangely capable of identifying the intruder as Sarah Dobbs. She came upon him a moment later.

"Sterling." She placed a hand to her heart "Gave me a fright. Thought everyone was abed. Couldn't sleep myself, so I took a short walk, which sometimes helps. What…" Her voice trailed off. The fortune-teller's eyes squinted at him through the darkness. Her face paled.

"What is wrong?" he asked, but his voice sounded strange. Garbled and deep.

Sarah opened her mouth and screamed. The woman kept screaming until he heard the sounds of the troupe members hurriedly fumbling inside of their wagons. Elise stumbled outside, clutching a blanket around her nakedness.

"What's happening?" she breathed, staring at Sarah Dobbs. Elise turned to look at Sterling and stumbled back a step. "Good Lord," she whispered. "Your face."

Sterling lifted his hands to his face. He felt tufts of thick hair covering his cheeks. He ran his fingers over his teeth. They were long and sharp. Pain ripped through him, and he doubled over.

"Sterling!" Elise cried, and she was there a moment later, touching him.

He jerked from her grasp. "Don't come close to me!" he warned. "It's the curse. My family curse. To give my heart, I must sacrifice my humanity."

"You're talking nonsense," she insisted. "Let me help you."

"You can't help me!" he shouted, and another pain ripped through him, sending him to his knees. The other troupe members were now gathered around him, their eyes wide and their mouths hanging open. "I should have told you," he rasped. "Forgive me, Elise. I only wanted to love you, to be yours and have you for mine for a short time. Our time is over."

"No!" she cried again, and took a step toward him. "Sterling, allow me to help you. You're obviously sick with some disease."

When he held up a hand to warn her away, he saw that the hair had now spread to his hands. His fingers were bent and misshapen. "This is a Wulf's curse, Elise. Wulf is my family name. This is what I have been running from since I first saw it take my father ten years ago. The witch who cursed us took perverse pleasure in turning all Wulf males into our namesake. She loved one of my forefathers, but he would not acknowledge their love. He married a woman suitable to his station instead, and as punishment, the witch cursed him with this affliction, cursed all males of his bloodline, then and future generations."

CHAPTER 14

Elise shook her head in denial. Curses were not real. What she saw happening could not be real. As Sterling knelt before them, he began to change. His clothes fell away, exposing strips of thick hair where there once had been skin. She could not bear to watch him lie in the dirt, his body contorting with pain, but she could not look away. The metamorphosis took place in a short time, and yet it seemed to her as if time had ceased to exist. One moment a man had knelt before them; the next, a beast, a great wolf, stood in the man's place.

There was nothing of Sterling left, nothing except the eyes, and as he stared at her, she knew he saw the fear, the repulsion, she felt inside. She also knew instinctually that he not only saw her emotions but also understood them.

The wolf howled, a heart-wrenching sound of despair mixed with rage; then he disappeared into the night. Elise didn't realize she trembled so badly until another blanket was suddenly thrown around her shoulders. Dazed, she turned to see Philip standing beside her.

"Sarah, take her inside and stay with her through the night," he said, but even his booming voice had lost its strength. "We've all had a shock."

Elise felt as if her wits had deserted her. She allowed Sarah to help her back into the wagon, even allowed the woman to dress her in nightclothes and settle her back onto the cot. She lay awake for a long time, staring at the ceiling. It became blurry; then darkness finally claimed her. She awoke with that first wonderful lack of awareness, the sleepy lull before the storm of remembrance jolted her fully from sleep.

She sat, looking around the wagon. All appeared normal. A nightmare? Elise breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, she'd had a horrible nightmare. She dressed for the day, all the while her stomach tied into knots and a feeling of unease riding her emotions. She stepped outside, certain she would see Sterling gathered around the morning cook fire with the others. The others were present. Sterling was not. As all faces turned toward her, she understood that she had not been dreaming last night. Even Dawn appeared as if she'd aged a decade overnight.

Philip rose and came to Elise. He helped her to the fire and Sarah shoved a plate into her hand. "Here, eat something to help you find your strength."

Elise's hands shook as she held the plate. "What I saw last night cannot be," she finally whispered. "It is not possible."

"Maybe not in the world you came from," Sarah said. "But out here, on the road, among the caravans, anything is possible. These old eyes have seen far worse than what we all witnessed last night."

Tom grunted his agreement.

"Sterling's different now," Taylor muttered. "Like the rest of us."

Elise couldn't fathom their calm acceptance of what had taken place last night. "Sterling is cursed," she said. "He is a wolf! We must help him!"

"There is no help for him," Sarah said. "He knew the curse was tied to his heart, but he gave it anyway. He made his choice."

Angry, Elise threw her plate to the ground and stood. "I will not accept what has happened to Sterling. I cannot. I love him. I want him back the way he was!"

"If you love him, then you must love him the way he is," Sarah countered.

"Will you disown him now?" Dawn asked softly. "Will you disown us all?"

Elise's heart constricted. She was the one who had told Dawn she must love unconditionally, and yet Elise was suddenly unsure that she could follow her own order. Sterling should have told her about the curse. God, she'd been chasing him like a fool since the night that she met him, and he'd been running… but not from her, from what would happen if he dared love her.

Confused and sick at heart, Elise returned to the wagon. She threw herself upon the cot where Sterling had made love to her, and cried at the injustice of life. As the shadows lengthened and night approached, she wondered if Sterling would return to her. She wondered if he did, if he would come in the form of a man or a wolf.

A voice inside of her head, one she wanted to ignore, suggested that she did not want Sterling to return in either form. It would be simpler on her heart and her mind if she were to find her aunt in Liverpool and forget she'd ever met Sterling Wulf.

His name stirred a memory. Whispers of the Wulfs of London. He was one of them, she realized. The youngest, who had mysteriously disappeared years ago, after his parents' deaths. Not privy to much gossip, Elise had heard little about the family. She'd dismissed what little she had heard. Men could not change shapes. Or so she had thought. Now she understood why Sterling spoke elegantly despite his coarse appearance. She understood all too much.

Shame scalded her from the inside out. She'd once thought him secretive and unfeeling, but he was the bravest of men. He had risked everything, his very humanity, for her. Could she abandon such a man? No, she could not. Would not. She would love Sterling unconditionally. She would love him, curse and all.

Rising from the bed, Elise washed her face, ran a brush through her hair, and left the wagon. The cooking fires had long been extinguished and she imagined most of the troupe had retired to the comfort of their wagons. They would move soon. They always did. She must find Sterling and convince him to come back to the caravan.

The woods were full of shadows. Elise moved through the trees, trying to ignore the pounding of her heart. She hadn't gone far when a voice stopped her.

"You shouldn't be out here alone."

"Sterling," she whispered, turning to face him. With relief, she noted it was the man she confronted, not the beast.

"What are you doing here?" He stepped from the shadows.

"I wanted to talk to you," she answered. "Convince you to come back to the caravan."

He laughed, his teeth flashing in the coming dark, but at least his teeth were not pointed, she noted. "Come back to what?"

She lifted her chin. "To me, to those who consider you family."

"Do not pretend that you are not repulsed by me, by what you saw last night. I know differently."

Again, shame washed over her. "I was taken aback by what happened last night. I believe I am entitled to that first reaction."

He stepped closer. His hair was tangled and he still looked half-wild to her. Elise would not retreat in fear. She knew Sterling would never hurt her, regardless of what form he took.

"What are you saying?" he demanded.

Staring up into his eyes, she answered, "I love you, Sterling. And because I love you, I accept you as you are."

She would be the death of him. Sterling's heart soared with hope, even as his spirit plummeted with the reality of their situation. Brave words from her now, but Sterling could not allow her to love him, to waste her young life upon a man cursed.

"I will not have children," he said. "I will not pass this curse to my sons." Sterling gently touched her cheek. "If we could not abstain from the pleasure we find in each other's arms, I would have to be ever mindful of the risks involved in loving you as you deserve to be loved. You deserve children. You deserve a normal life, which you will never have with me."

"I deserve to be with the man I love," Elise argued. She sighed. "I do love children, but a life on the road is not what I would wish for them. It is a life I could be happy with." She stared up at him with hope shining in her eyes. "Please allow me what I deserve most in life, Sterling. To be happy, and I can't be happy without you."

Again, he imagined these were brave words that would soon fade away. As much as he longed to believe her, he could not. He took her slender shoulders between his hands. "Elise. I am cursed by the moon. Whenever it is full, I become a beast that roams the night like other beasts. I have no recollection of what I did last night, but I woke naked and shivering this morning in a man's body."

Instead of recoiling from him, she said, "Well, it's not so bad, then. We've only a few days each month to deal with your curse. The rest of the time we can live a normal life."

He supposed his mouth dropped open. "Are you mad? There is nothing normal about me now, Elise. I want you to find your aunt in Liverpool and forget about me. Find yourself a governess position somewhere and a respectable man who can give you all that I cannot!"

"I don't want that," she insisted. "I want you."

With a growl, Sterling released her and turned his back. Night would soon fall. He felt the change already upon him. "You cannot have me!" If he must be a brute to convince her, then he would. "I don't want you, Elise. I want to live out the rest of my miserable life in peace! I don't want to worry about you, or the people of the caravan! I just want to be alone!"

"Sterling," she pleaded.

"Go!" he shouted. "Darkness falls and the wolf comes. I am lost to him, Elise. I am lost to you."

He left her before she could protest further. Sterling bounded through the trees, waiting for the awful pain that would soon tear through his body. But before he allowed the beast to take him, he would circle around and make certain that Elise reached the safety of the wagon.

He saw her a few moments later standing before the animal wagons. He crept closer.

"What am I to do?" he heard her ask the cats. "I love him for all that he is, but he does not love himself enough to accept what I offer him. How do I make him see that nothing on earth will make me stop loving him?"

The urge to go to her was overwhelming. His love for Elise in that moment became stronger. But he loved her too much to ask her to share his curse. He would make her believe that he had gone. But until she reached the safety of Liverpool, Sterling would be watching.

CHAPTER 15

In the month it took Elise to reach Liverpool, she learned to cook, drive a wagon, and become independent. She danced when they found an audience, and always she danced only for Sterling.

She knew he watched her from somewhere in the night shadows. They were connected in a way only lovers understood. Mind, body, and spirit. Today Dawn rode with her as they approached the outskirts of Liverpool.

"Philip says you will leave us now," Dawn said, her young face solemn. "I will miss you."

Elise blinked back a sudden onslaught of tears. "I will go, but only because if I leave, Sterling might return. He needs a family to watch over him."

"I promise to love him unconditionally," Dawn said. "As you have taught me to do. My mother says that you are a good example of humanity."

"Your parents are good examples of humanity," Elise pointed out.

"Yes," Dawn agreed. "I will try to be more like them."

Dawn's admission lifted Elise's spirits. The girl had found the value of love, just as Elise told Sterling she would do.

"I predict you will be a fine lady someday," Elise said. "I have the sight, you know," she teased.

"I'm going to be a veil dancer like you," Dawn whispered. "But I haven't told my parents yet."

Elise would like to be around when Dawn did. She smiled; then her smile faded as Liverpool came into view. Her valise was packed, and she still had the coin to hire herself a hackney to take her to her aunt's address. Her adventures were over.

Once the wagons halted near an inn, Elise steeled herself for the sorrowful good-byes. Sarah actually cried over her. Philip told her that if things did not work out with her aunt, she always had a home among them. Dawn had disappeared, and Elise was thankful. She couldn't bear to say good-bye to her.

Sporting her best outfit, Elise waved good-bye. It was strange to again be in a city, where life teamed along at a fast pace, where people passed on the streets with no time to look around. The house the driver stopped in front of was in need of repair. Elise vaguely remembered it from her childhood visits. The woman who answered her knock did not look familiar.

"Aunt Silvie?" Elise ventured skeptically.

The old woman shook her head. "You'd be looking for Silvie Preston. She's been dead now for going on five years. I bought the house after her passing."

Elise was shocked. Her aunt dead? Elise had hardly known the woman, but still, she'd kept fond memories of her throughout the years. Her uncle must have surely known her aunt had passed, and he hadn't told her. He'd kept the truth from her as if her aunt's death were of no consequence. How she hated him in that moment. He truly was heartless.

With tears streaming down her cheeks, Elise walked back to the waiting hackney. There was only one thing she could do: return to the caravan. She couldn't say that she wasn't pleased to see her family again or that she wasn't welcomed home with open arms. But Elise still worried about Sterling. He'd no doubt be wondering why she had left, only to return. But would he have the courage to confront her for answers? Yes, she believed he would.

While she waited, Elise prepared for the coming performance. She dressed in her costume, then sat to wait for Dawn to come fetch her. The door suddenly opened and Sterling appeared. Her heart leaped with joy to see him. He did not look all that pleased to see her.

"Why aren't you with your aunt?" he demanded.

So much for warm reunions, Elise thought. "I have learned today that my aunt has passed away. Five years now she's been gone, and never a word of it from my uncle."

Sterling's expression softened. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for me, or for yourself?" she challenged.

He smiled slightly. "You were never one to mince words, Elise."

"No," she agreed. "And I won't start now. Why are you here?"

He closed the door behind him. "To see you safely into another life."

She lifted a brow. "In this world, or in the next?"

Sterling threw back his head and laughed. It was good to see him laugh. It warmed Elise through and through. He needed her to lighten his darkness. If only she could convince him. He sobered a moment later.

"The road is no place for a woman without a mate to protect her."

Her arms ached to hold him. Her lips longed for his kisses. She had learned to be brave, to go after what she sought in life. "I have a mate," she said. "Even if he refuses to make an honest woman of me."

"Elise." Her name was half-sigh, half-caress. "You and I both know we could never live a normal life together."

She took a step toward him. "I never said that I wanted a normal life. I want the life of an adventurer, remember?"

"Don't," he warned when she took another step toward him. "You know that I cannot resist you, and tonight is not the night to tempt me. The moon will be full."

Ignoring his warning, Elise stepped up close to him. "I am not afraid of you. I know that you would not harm me, or any person that you care about."

"But I do not know that, Elise," he stressed. "I won't take that chance. I cannot."

Gently she touched his face. "You must trust in yourself, Sterling—in your goodness."

For a moment their eyes held and she thought he would kiss her; then a knock sounded upon the door. Elise peeked out and saw Dawn.

"Philip says I'm to rouse everyone," she said, then stretched her neck to see past Elise. "Is Sterling with you?" Her eyes brightened. "He is here."

Sterling smiled at the girl. "Hello, Dawn."

"I knew you'd come back to us," the girl said. "Philip says no matter how different we may seem to the rest of the world, when we're together, we are a family."

Elise swore that Sterling's silver eyes misted over for a moment. "Philip is a good man," he admitted. "But aren't you afraid of me, Dawn?"

She shook her blond head. "Not if Elise isn't. She and I are best friends, you know?"

"Elise is a good friend to have."

Again Elise's and Sterling's gazes locked.

"I hope you'll stay with us," Dawn said, breaking the spell. "You and Elise together, as part of our family."

Sterling reached out and mussed the girl's hair. He did not commit to staying. Still, Dawn smiled, then scampered away.

"I must go," he said abruptly.

"Not yet," Elise pleaded. "Stay and watch me dance. I'll tell Philip I want to perform first, before night falls."

"I like to watch you dance," Sterling admitted. "I always feel as if you're dancing for me alone."

"That's because I am," she said, and kissed him.

He resisted, but only for a moment. They melted into each other, a fusion of warm, seeking mouths and bodies straining against each other. Elise was breathless and dazed when he broke from her. By the time she roused herself, he was gone.

She sighed, then said a prayer that Sterling would come to his senses and realize that he belonged with her and the caravan members. The crowd was small, and Elise was more self-conscious because she danced when night had not yet fallen. She felt eyes boring into her and wondered if Sterling had stayed to watch her. Hoping that was the case, she danced her most sensuous dance. A dance to inflame the passions of her own sultan. She became so caught up in the dance, she hadn't realized that a man had stepped into her circle and stood arguing with Philip. The stranger's voice stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Unhand me, you idiot! That is my niece parading herself around like a whore for all to see!"

"Uncle Robert," Elise gasped.

He marched forward and grabbed her arm. "How dare you embarrass me in this manner? Your future husband will have to beat some sense into you."

Fear paralyzed her for a moment, but Elise dug in her bare heels. "My future husband is not Sir Winston Stoneham," she snapped. "Take your hands off of me!"

"Ungrateful brat," her uncle sneered. "I took you in even though you were an embarrassment to my family name. I gave you fine clothes and an education. You belong to me, and I will have the bride's price for all my trouble!"

"Release Elise this instant," Philip warned her uncle. "She obviously has no wish to accompany you."

The troupe members now stood in the circle, rallying to her cause.

"I can make trouble for you," her uncle warned. "For all of you," he added, his gaze running coldly over the ragtag group. "My name and my influence will see you all hanged for kidnapping."

"No one kidnapped me," Elise protested. "I stowed away upon one of their wagons in order to escape you. They are guilty of nothing but kindness to me!"

Her uncle's grip tightened around her arm. "If you care about what happens to them, you'll come along as you've been told to do."

The last thing Elise would do was cause trouble for the troupe members. "I'll go with you," she agreed. "But leave these fine people alone."

Her uncle smiled coldly over his victory and jerked her toward the crowd. A tall figure suddenly blocked their exit. Elise's heart flip-flopped inside of her chest.

"You, sir, are not taking Elise anywhere," Sterling said. "Least of all back to the monster you sold her to."

"You," her uncle snarled. "You led me to believe that the woman I saw outlined inside the wagon that day was your wife. I should horsewhip you for lying to me!"

"Try it, if you're brave enough," Sterling goaded. He stuck his face close to her uncle's. "But know this: There is nothing short of killing me that will make me allow you to take Elise with you. She belongs here, among people who love her."

"Get out of my way!" her uncle shouted. "I'll not stand here and argue with a vagabond. That handsome face has given you airs, boy. You have no right to tell me what I can or cannot do with my own flesh and blood."

Sterling suddenly grabbed her uncle by his collar. "I love her. And I am much worse than a vagabond. Now, release her!"

Elise might have felt a wonderful warmth spread through her when Sterling publicly declared his love for her, but now she went cold with dread. Sterling's eyes glittered dangerously in the coming dark. In a matter of moments, the moon would rise and her uncle would have far more to deal with than an angry man.

"Sterling," she warned, glancing up. "The moon. You must go!"

He ignored her, his silver gaze locked with her uncle's haughty one. Then he did something that wiped the smug expression completely from Lord Robert Collins's features. Sterling growled low in his throat. The sound was that of an animal, defending his territory, defending his mate.

Her uncle's grip loosened upon her arm and he stumbled back a step, allowing Elise to twist free.

"Sterling," she tried again. "Go now, before it's too late."

But even as she spoke the warning, she saw Sterling changing. Thank goodness the crowd had slunk away into the shadows, wanting no part of a nobleman's personal squabble with a troupe of performers. The more who witnessed Sterling's curse, the more danger he placed himself in.

"What the bloody hell," her uncle whispered, still backing from Sterling. "What have you gotten yourself involved with, Elise?"

Sterling was still enough of a man to register her uncle's words, because he glanced at Elise, sudden hurt shining within the glowing depths of his eyes.

"The man I love," she answered. "Regardless of what he is." She glanced around to include the troupe members. "A man we all love."

"He's a monster," her uncle croaked.

Sterling's teeth had become pointed and now hair covered his cheeks, but Elise felt no fear of him. "No, Uncle, you're the monster. You have no heart. You care for no one save yourself. It is the heart and the ability to love that makes us human."

Elise expected the pain to rip through Sterling as it had the last time she saw him change, but the transformation came within the blink of an eye. She supposed because he did not fight it, but seemed to embrace it under the circumstances. His clothes fell away and the great wolf appeared in his place.

The beast bared his fangs and stalked toward her uncle. Elise knew Sterling's intent. He planned to rid them of Lord Collins once and for all. Her uncle had backed up until he'd tripped over his own feet and lay in the dirt. He clutched his chest, gasping for breath, his eyes huge.

Elise stepped between them, the man she loved and the uncle who had raised her. "No, Sterling," she said. "He has no heart, but I do. I cannot allow you to kill him. He is my flesh and blood, my father's brother, and out of love for one man, I must ask you to spare this one."

The wolf with Sterling's eyes stared at her for a moment, glanced at her uncle, and growled again, but made no move toward the fallen man.

"Leave while you can," Elise instructed her uncle. "And never come looking for me again. Next time, I may not have the heart to stop him."

Her uncle needed no further prodding. He was up and running for his coach in an instant. Elise watched him go, saddened that their relationship could not have been more than it was. The coach drove away at breakneck speed. She felt certain that she would never see her uncle again.

The wolf stood staring at her. Elise didn't know if Sterling understood her while in animal form, but she said, "Go now into the night, but come daylight, return to us. We love you. I love you."

For a brief moment, their eyes held and Elise felt that Sterling could understand her; then he was gone. An arm went around her waist and she glanced down at Dawn.

"He'll come back," she said, then motioned for her parents to join them, and the girl slipped an arm around her mother's small shoulders. They formed a circle, the ragtag group of misfits. They stayed that way for a long time; then, as if all understood that, due to the night's events, they could not stay, they began to pack up their wagons.

Morning broke in a display of pink and purple, a glorious day to be alive and traveling the road. Elise stood by the wagon, her insides twisted, heart pounding. She stared at the woods, silently praying.

The other members joined her. A blond head appeared, a man wearing the clothing Elise had left in the woods for him. He glanced up at them and smiled; then his eyes found hers and his smile widened.

"Hurry it up, Beast Tamer!" Philip boomed in his big voice. "We need to get down the road!"

Raja and Leena both growled a greeting to the approaching man. Elise felt that the cats had come to accept their changed master, even as the troupe had come to accept him. Nowhere on earth could Sterling fit in among humanity more than with his troupe of misfits. The others melted away, and then it was only Elise and Sterling, staring into each other's eyes.

"Have you come home?" Elise asked.

Sterling reached forward and pulled her to him. "If a man can love and be loved in return while cursed, is he really cursed at all?"

She smiled up at him. "I would say we are blessed. Few find what we have found together."

"Will you stay with me, Elise? Be my love? Be my life?'

In answer, she leaned forward, brushing her lips over his. "Yes, Sterling," she whispered. "I will have you by my side until we are old, and I will have my adventures, and then some."

Theirs lips met, sealing the bargain.