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.