After her footsteps thudded away, Henry poured himself something a little stronger from the decanter and put his boots up on the table. Sighing, he loosened his collar.

Lavinia Camille Richmond Linney…my dearest Lilly…

He threw the alcohol back, letting it burn down his throat as he contemplated his step-sister’s situation with bitter amusement.

Lilly had been the only daughter of Gerald Richmond and Linette Fleury-Levesque. Born in the Americas to a rich Anglo-Irish father and a mixed blood French mother, she’d moved into Henry’s house in England when his father had remarried, taking the widowed Linette Fleury-Levesque as his second wife after Gerald’s death in a factory accident.

He remembered that Lilly had been quite a petite little thing, like a tiny beautiful doll he could crush in his hands.

Taking after her mother, she was dark haired, but very pale skinned. However, she had inherited slightly slanted brown eyes that were flecked with green. With a mouth a bit too full and wide for her face, she was graced with high cheekbones and a small pointed chin, her exotic looks no doubt coming from an oriental grandmother. 

His father, Robert, had never discussed Linette’s background, but Henry had found that she’d been redeemed from the Oriental Palace in Paris…a place both his father and Gerald had frequented in their younger days while trying to escape their strict British upbringing. Such a scandal would also explain why Gerald had cut ties with his family and made his fortune in the Americas.

Henry poured himself some more and threw it back.

A strict upbringing…well that certainly didn’t restrain my father’s taste…or mine…now did it?

His resentment deepened, recalling how he’d been sent away to school after a particular incident with Lilly. It’d only really been curiosity, but his father had beat him within an inch of his life after discovering that he’d bribed Lilly’s maid so he could watch her undress for her bath.

He’d learned to control himself after that…to hide that side of him.

Tall, slim, and blond with pale green eyes, Henry was extremely handsome and he could get away with things when he turned on his charm. It was a skill that served him well in boarding school. It’d been easy to gather friends and make connections…even though his fellow students might have considered him a bit aloof. However such a front was required in order to disguise his baser, more animalistic tendencies, which he only let loose when it came to Lilly.

Linette died in childbirth a few years after the marriage. Widowed a second time, Robert Linney poured his affection on Lilly, while keeping Henry out of the way at school. Filled with resentment, Henry blamed her when his father caught dengue fever and died while managing Lilly’s American assets. Twenty-five year old Henry was then left as Robert’s sole heir and also the sole administrator of his nineteen old step sister’s fortune. 

Despite her murky background, Lilly was a hot commodity. The money left by Robert Linney was substantial, but Henry could only inherit his father’s estate as Gerald Richmond had somehow secured his fortune such that Lilly had inherited everything on his death. This meant that Lilly was actually an independent heiress in her own right…but as Henry had been left to administer everything until Lilly had reached the age of majority or married, she was still unaware of it, and he’d done everything in his power to prevent her father’s solicitor from contacting her after her eighteenth birthday a year ago.

From the moment she’d walked through the door, he’d been obsessed with her, and no one was going to take her away from him.

She came to me…and I will own every inch of her. All I have to do is make her truly mine.

And he’d dragged her here to this wild, savage place, to do just that. He’d only asked for her hand in marriage for the sake of appearances. After all, as a gentleman, if he could win her over with words rather than force, he preferred that…but he wouldn’t wait forever.

Feeling the warmth of alcohol fire his blood, he set his tumbler down and headed for Lilly’s tent.

But Lilly wasn’t anywhere to be found.

***

Suffocating from the atmosphere that she’d escaped, Lilly had run pell-mell down to the river. Gasping and panting both from the exertion and nausea, she’d emptied the contents of her stomach into the rust coloured mud and then backed away from the water, realizing that she was inviting a crocodile or something else to eat her.

The fiery African sun had almost set and it was dusk. Searching for light, she realized that the torches of the camp were further away than she realized.

I’ve made a mistake…she thought. If Henry wanted to murder me for my inheritance, then I’ve just given him what he wants…Damn it Lilly…how could you be this foolish?

He thought that he’d prevented her from finding out about her inheritance, but in truth, her father’s solicitor Jeremiah Segal had already contacted her six months ago to help her plan her escape from Henry. Although she didn’t know all the details and too many of their meetings had been interrupted, he’d warned her that Henry had no intention of letting her go and was actively trying to take control of her fortune by cornering her father’s business partners. 

Although Henry was an abusive man by nature, through some twisted sense of chivalry he hadn't actually forced himself on her. However, it was now clear that he’d changed his mind about it. 

Gritting her teeth, Lilly started making her way along the river, back the way she had come.

I must seek help from Charlie, if I can…

By a quirk of fate, her father, an avid sportsman, had invested in Charlie’s company and as the majority shareholder…she was actually Charlie’s boss. If she could escape Henry with his help, then she’d be able to return to England under Jeremiah Segal’s protection.

Soft lapping sounds to her left made Lilly freeze. Pivoting ever so slowly, she looked across the river and into the glowing eyes of a lioness. Seeing prey, it dived into the river with splash and Lilly was already scrambling along the river, running with all her might.

“Run Lilly!” shouted a male voice above her.

Her head jerked up. Standing on the bank above her, holding a hunting rifle, Max steadied his aim as the lioness barreled towards her, closing the gap.

“Harkness!” she screamed.

Dammit all!

Max pulled the trigger, shooting the lioness right through the head, and then hurtled down the embankment with his knife out. The beast shook itself, pausing only a fraction of a second. He hadn’t missed, but a single shot from a rifle wouldn’t be enough…if he didn’t get to her, it’d be too late.

“Lilly keep running!” he yelled.

The lioness catapulted across the gap, jaws wide. Lilly screamed again, covering the back of her neck and head with her hands just as Max stabbed the knife into the animal’s flank, twisting his body as it turned to swipe him, claws ripping into his shirt. He grunted in pain, but continued to pull the knife handle.

I didn’t miss…just a little more…

“ARGHH!”

The lioness’ jaws closed on his arm as he desperately tried to yank the knife out. 

He thought Lilly had run away so he was shocked when she ran up from the side and bashed the animal’s ear with a rock, giving him time to yank the knife out and stab it upward. His knife hit home this time and the beast wobbled and then finally collapsed on top of Lilly’s legs.

Screaming bloody murder, Lilly spluttered as blood poured over her trapped legs. With every fibre of his being screaming in pain, he couldn’t even be relieved that it was over. Sighing, he crawled over to her.

“Ssshhh…shh, it’s alright. I’ve got you. It’s alright…” he murmured as he pulled her out from under the dead beast and into his arms. Max held her tight trying his best to soothe her.

It was natural for her to sob hysterically after such an encounter, but with his help she quieted more quickly than expected. 

“Are you alright?” he asked, still trying to catch his breath.

Lilly nodded, afraid to speak for fear her voice would die in her throat. 

A moment later, she shrugged out of his embrace and reached into her pocket. He was stupefied when she pulled out a miraculously clean handkerchief and tied it around his bleeding arm. Not knowing where to look, his eyes had accidentally travelled to her decolletage, made more noticeable by the tear in the front of her shirt. Her face turned pink as she pulled the tatters together.

“Thank you for doing that,” he murmured, referring to his arm. 

“Not at all,” she whispered, looking down guiltily. “Thank you for saving my life, Mr. Harkness.”

“Max,” he said, suddenly grinning. “Call me Max.”

She nodded.

“Thank you, Max.”

He grimaced, climbing gingerly to his feet with her support. Using the rifle like a crutch to steady himself, he turned and looked at the carcass.

“Well, we can’t stay here…there are always more lions in the dark… what with all that commotion someone should be coming to find us, Miss Linney.”

“Lilly,” she murmured. “You can call me Lilly…and I don’t want to be found.”

“What was that?” he blurted, staring at her.

She looked him in the eye.

“Henry…I…Max, please. I can’t be found right now. It's better if Henry thinks the lioness killed me…” she said, looking away, but when she looked up into his eyes again, they were resolute.

He sighed explosively.

“Look here, this thing you have with Mr. Linney, it’s none of my business. Rescuing damsels in distress isn’t part of my job description,” he gritted, running a bloody hand through his messed up blond hair.

“But you just did. Rescue me, that is,” she pointed out, bluntly.

Well damn, I can’t argue with that…he thought sourly.

“Why did you do it then?” she asked, taking in his expression. Her eyes and tone were steady as if she only asked out of curiosity.

He was about to say that any decent person would have done the same, but he looked into her green flecked eyes and for a moment he couldn’t really explain it himself. His heart had careened into the side of his ribcage when he’d seen the lioness give chase, and he’d risked his life for her without a damn thought to his own safety. It’d been instant, instinctive, and he realized abruptly that it’d been fiercely irrational.

Voices called from afar, startling them both in the tense silence.

Without thinking, he jerked her down against the bank, pressing them both flat into the mud.

“Lilly!”

Max felt her back stiffen as Henry shouted her name.

“Goddammit, Lilly! Where are you?”

“Miss Linney!”

“Max! Max!”

They pressed into the dirt barely breathing until the voices seemed to move away again. Soon the light from the torches disappeared and the area around them was once again silent, leaving them with only insects and starlight.

“Here,” he whispered, pulling her with him. “Help me…” he directed, using all his remaining strength to shove the dead lioness into the river. With luck, the river water would cover the smell of blood and make it less likely to attract other predators. No doubt the porters would find the lioness in the morning and assume the worst, but it’s what she’d asked for. Whatever her reasons, he had already decided to hide her.

Taking his shirt off, he did his best to rid himself of the blood stains. When he was done, he tossed it into the river.

“You too…” he said.

Complying, she ripped off a sleeve and soaked it in water, turning her back to rinse out as much blood as possible. He tried not to look at her, seeing as the wet remnants of her shirt clung to her curves in a way that would drive any man mad.

When she was done, he sat her down next to him, automatically bringing her back into his embrace when she started to shiver from the cold.

“Thank you, Max,” she murmured.

The sound of his name on her lips stirred him with a rather unfamiliar feeling. If he’d been wearing a shirt, he might have loosened the collar, but the tightness in his chest was not something that he could so easily dispel.

They huddled together for warmth now that the African night had truly set in. Where their bodies touched, they were both becoming more aware of each other.

“The stars…” she said, tilting her head as she nestled against shoulder.

“Mmmn?” he asked. His chest and arm were beginning to throb where the lioness had mauled him, but somehow he couldn’t bear to let her go. She was so close that he could smell the scent of her skin. It tickled his nose with faintest of floral notes.

“The light of a million stars…I’ve never seen such a sky before…” she said. “It’s so beautiful.”

And perhaps it was more so because she had gained her freedom from Henry.

“Yes…it’s beautiful, and so are you,” he responded without thinking, charmed by her upturned profile and her innocent wonder.

 He kicked himself silently.

Max Harkness Somerville, you’re an ass…this morning she was irritating as hell, but now she’s got you by the balls? 

He scoffed, but then he justified this change of heart by thinking it'd be uncharitable to dislike the woman who’d confronted a lioness for his sake. Notwithstanding, she really was a troublesome little thing. Now that he’d helped her there was no way to avoid offending Henry Linney…and he’d left Charlie holding the bag.

Not your best moment, Max, he thought to himself.

“Max…will you kiss me?” Lilly asked, complete upending his train of thought. 

“What…?” Max asked blankly, becoming very still.

Lilly ducked her head, but persisted.

“I…I’ve never had a kiss that I liked…” she admitted, thinking of the vile things that Henry had done to her. After tonight, she would escape Henry and leave everything behind, so maybe, just this once, she could make a good memory for herself.

Although he normally turned down propositions of this kind, Max’s bodily reaction bludgeoned his good sense.

“My God…you’re tempting the devil…” he muttered, wanting to throttle her.

“Max…?” she asked, completely unaware of what she’d done to him.

“Do…you know what you’re asking me?” he demanded, breath rushing out. She was making his head throb.

“Do you not want to…?” she asked, drooping.

With a muffled oath, he pushed her down onto her back.

“I don’t just want to kiss you,” he asserted in a low voice, crouching above her. He pressed himself against the junction of her thighs to show her exactly what he meant. “Do you understand what I’m saying…? If you don’t want this, push me away right now.”

He glared, hoping he’d scared her enough to think better of it…but Lilly didn’t back down.

“I don’t just want to kiss either,” she whispered, gazing up at him.

“Lilly…if you say it like that…even if you beg me, I won’t be able to stop now…” he growled and pressed his lips to hers.