The Marauder's Mistress, page 11
“You can’t do that.”
“Can’t I?” she retorted over her shoulder. “You might be reticent to search for him, but I’m not a coward who intends to sit around and do nothing when—”
Her upper arm was grasped roughly, but it wasn’t until she looked up into those dark eyes that she gasped, not in fear, although they were flashing with fire. “You’re not going anywhere,” he growled.
“Oh? And who’s going to stop me?” she taunted.
“Luke will return.”
“If you believe that,” she countered, “why did you seem to think there was an issue with his absence?”
His nostrils flared. “Maybe it was just an excuse to see you in all your naked glory, sweetheart.”
She glared at him. “That’s not funny. Luke’s disappearance might very well be serious and you’re making a jest like that?”
He sobered instantly. “Luke was like the second father I never had. Being forced to sit here and wait for him to return is not something I prefer to do, but it’s the only option we have at the moment.”
Chapter Eleven
In all good conscience, Constance couldn’t leave the house, considering Luke was missing, so she sent around her regrets to Lady Blessington. As much as she wanted to see the inside of Almack’s, it would have to wait for another time.
Dinner came and went, and although the cook had been kind enough to bring them both a tray where they had retired to the parlor, the food had gone untouched. Time seemed to move at a snail’s pace as they waited for Luke to return. Thus far, the only sound was the ticking of the mantel clock with the occasional chime to proclaim the passing of another torturous hour.
Devin stood by the fire and stared into the small flames, while Constance paced back and forth in front of the window, anxiously checking on any noise she heard.
She finally sank down onto the settee and rested her elbows on her knees, covering her face with her hands. Tears threatened, but she did her best to keep them at bay. Turning into a watering pot wouldn’t do anything but make her eyes puffy and red. It certainly wouldn’t help to bring Luke home any faster.
She could just imagine Bow Street knocking on her door with news of a body found floating in the Thames that needed to be identified…
Needless to say, she felt sick at the very thought.
“Here.”
Constance glanced up to see that Devin was holding a brandy out to her. When she looked at him quizzically, he shrugged.
“You look as though you could use it.”
She took the glass gratefully and took a sizeable swallow, even though it had been many years since she’d drank such strong spirits. But when her nerves were stretched this thin, it went far to calm her. “Thank you,” she said sincerely as he sat down across from her, his own glass dangling from his fingertips.
“I hate this,” she admitted.
“I don’t particularly care for it,” he murmured, taking a sip of his drink.
Constance considered doing something to occupy their thoughts, like playing cards, but she wasn’t sure she could concentrate enough to follow through on a proper hand. Not only that, but she couldn’t be assured that Devin wouldn’t make another ridiculous wager where she had to forfeit a kiss if she lost.
Even though she had yet to actually admit to following through on her loss. But she didn’t care to think of that now.
“Tell me about your life,” she said, hoping that some conversation might put her mind at ease.
His dark eyes were assessing. “What do you want to know?”
She shrugged. “Anything you wish to share. Just… talk.”
After a brief pause, he said, “I hope you don’t expect me to paint a fairytale. Most everything I did was in excess. Nothing that could be found in London was off limits.” His gaze was intense. “And no one.”
Constance swallowed. Instantly, her mind was whirling with the implication of his words. It sounded as though he had been very wicked, indeed.
Something dark and not completely unwelcome swirled in the lowest regions of her body. She downed the rest of her drink and set the glass aside, deciding that it was the alcohol that had caused this sudden change in her body. It surely wasn’t because he had just revealed what a scandalous libertine he had been. She would truly have to be deprived to think that such a torrid confession was appealing.
“Why did you get caught?” she asked, hoping to move the subject to safer ground.
“I was arrogant, and foolish.” His eyes sparked with a delicious inner depth. “When I realized my mistake, that I had been set up, it was too late.”
“So, the Mysterious Marauder wasn’t quite so untouchable,” she murmured.
He lifted a brow. “I see Luke has been telling tales. Trust me, I wasn’t the dashing hero that you might imagine. I earned that alias because of how easily I was able to remove valuables from my targets.”
She tilted her head to the side. “You were that good?”
His mouth slowly curved upward. “I was.”
Constance wasn’t sure if it was the brandy that made her bold and sit up straighter, but nevertheless, she offered a challenge. “I want to see this Mysterious Marauder in action for myself.” She reached up and touched the choker that she wore around her neck. It was made of pearls with a black cameo in the center. “Can you take this from me?”
He lifted a brow, clearly unimpressed. “Yes.”
“I can see some of your arrogance hasn’t worn off completely.” She continued stroking her necklace. “So, what do you say? I want to see if you are worthy of your nickname.” Her lips twitched. “Unless, of course, you think you’ve lost your touch…”
He rose to his feet. “I’m more than happy to demonstrate my talents for the lady,” he said huskily, and something told Constance that he was no longer talking about his ability as a thief. “Stand up.”
“Very well.” She got up. “Now what?”
“Go to the mantel.” She did as he instructed and saw that he had moved over to the entrance to the parlor. “Now walk toward me and act natural as if we were strangers passing each other on the street.”
“Now?” she asked.
“Whenever you’re ready.”
Constance took a deep breath, feeling suddenly flushed. She never recalled being so out of sorts after a dram of brandy before, but perhaps it had been longer than she’d imagined that she’d enjoyed a drink. Nevertheless, she set her shoulders back, and doing her best imitation of a woman casually walking down the street, she steadily grew closer to Devin, who remained where he was.
When she was almost directly in front of him, she wondered if he was even taking this little tete-a-tete seriously. But just when she was about to speak, he reached out and pulled her into his arms. His mouth slammed down on hers and for a moment, she was so stunned that she didn’t respond. But as his mouth began to tease and coax hers, the heat that had been threatening turned into a consuming inferno.
She temporarily forgot their little game, as her arms found their way around his neck and she kissed him back with the full abandonment of her senses. Her mind was swimming, intoxicated with his manly scent and the feel of his hard body pressed intimately against hers.
It wasn’t until he pulled back with a smug grin that she realized distraction had been his plan all along. He held up her cameo by a single finger. “How was that, Mrs. Hartford?” he whispered.
She cleared her throat and held out her hand for her necklace, which he placed in her palm. “Well done, Mr. Blackmore.” Discomfited, she turned away from him and attempted to reattach the necklace, but for some reason, her fingers were shaking and refused to cooperate with such a simple command.
“Allow me.”
The voice drifted across her ear with the slightest breath and she shivered. When his hands lightly brushed her neck, she had to bite her lip to keep from leaning back into his warm embrace.
With the cameo back in place, Devin gently turned her back around. “Would you like another demonstration? Perhaps on the settee? We can act as though you are relaxing in the park.”
He glanced toward the green velvet object in question and Constance followed his glance. Her pulse fluttered, but she walked over and sat down. As she resumed her earlier position, her heart was pounding beneath her ribs, anticipation climbing along every nerve ending.
“Are you ready?” he asked softly, as he sat down beside her.
She nodded, and without taking her eyes off of him, she watched as he looked straight ahead. When he finally turned his gaze back to her, she licked her lips, because while this was supposed to be an experiment in his prowess, something told her he was proving a different sort of expertise altogether.
“Do you have the time?”
It took Constance a moment for his words to enter her lust-filled brain, but when they did, she blinked. “What?”
He smirked and repeated the question. “Do you have the time?”
She could feel her cheeks heat. “I’m sorry, I don’t.”
He casually laid his arm against the back of the settee. “It’s not as if time matters when in the company of such a lovely woman.”
She lifted a brow. Surely he didn’t think he impressed any woman with such a ridiculous compliment. She wrinkled her nose distastefully. “You can’t expect me to believe something so asinine—”
“Would get me what I want?”
Constance turned to him and was shocked to see that her necklace, once again, dangled from his fingertips. Instinctively, she touched the area where the cameo would have sat. He truly was a master at his craft. “How…?”
He set the jewelry on a side table. “It’s what I did to survive, so I had to be skilled if I wanted to eat and have a roof over my head.”
“I admit that was impressive.”
“No.” He lifted his hand and gently cupped her cheek. “You are the one who is impressive, Constance.” His gaze dropped to her lips. “You made it very hard to concentrate on what I was supposed to be doing, when all I wanted to do was this.”
Constance moaned slightly when his mouth descended, eager for his kiss. As she focused on the sensation of his lips moving across hers, his tongue flicking in and out of her mouth in a teasing manner that mimicked a very similar, seductive movement of another kind, she wasn’t prepared for the shock of his thumb brushing across her nipple. Streaks of scorching hot need shot to every part of her body, from the tips of her toes to the ends of her fingertips, and finally settling in her lower abdomen.
“Devin…” His name was a plea, a benediction on her lips, as he began to trail a path of fire along her exposed collarbone. She told herself that this interlude wasn’t going to go as far as it had previously, that she would tell him to stop, but just… not yet. It felt too good and she wasn’t quite ready for him to pull away from her.
A slight breeze drifted over her left leg and she knew that he was slowly inching his way to where she burned for him the most.
She held her breath, waiting for the moment when he would touch her…
A door shut somewhere in the house, and although Constance was drifting in a haze, Devin was apparently aware of the disruption. He released her with a muttered curse and shot to his feet, pacing hastily toward the mantel—just as Luke walked inside the room.
It took Constance a moment to gather herself, but once she did, shame washed over her. Here she was supposed to be so concerned over Mr. House, and yet, it hadn’t taken more than Devin to kiss her before she’d completely forgotten the older man was still missing.
She stood and smoothed down her skirts, careful to hide her shaking hands within the folds of the fabric. “Mr. House. There you are. I daresay we’ve both been worried sick about you.” She waved a hand toward Devin as if it wasn’t obvious who she was referring to.
Luke glanced from her to Devin, who had turned around to face the occupants in the room, although the former wisely remained silent. “Blasted thief. I should ’ave known that ’e wouldn’t do what I asked.” He exhaled heavily, and then explained. “I told th’ lad t’ bring a message lettin’ ye know that I was goin’ t’ be late gettin’ back.”
“Fleeced by a fellow swindler?” Devin noted. “I can’t help but appreciate the irony in that.”
“Aye.” Luke nodded. “It was one o’ Maria’s boys, so I thought ’e might ’ave followed through considerin’ I gave ’im a shillin’.” He regarded Constance in all sincerity. “I’m sorry my…errand took…ah…longer than expected.”
Constance couldn’t be upset with him, especially since his face was practically scarlet and he was doing his best to explain his tardiness with a bit of decorum. “There’s no harm done, Mr. House. It’s not as if you are a prisoner here. You are free to come and go as you please. But, if you will excuse me, now that I am assured of your wellbeing, I believe I will retire for the evening.” She didn’t look at Devin as she left.
In truth, she wasn’t sure she could meet his gaze without risking a silent invitation to meet her later so that they might finish what they’d started.
Devin watched Constance walk away with passion still simmering in his veins. If only she would have looked back at him.
Just a slight glance…
But—nothing.
“Do ye mind tellin’ me wha’ tha’ was all about?”
Devin finally turned his attention to Luke. “I don’t know what you mean,” he hedged.
The older man eyed him tolerantly, although he sat down in a chair by the fireplace where he picked up a book from a nearby table. Devin frowned, as he’d never known the man to read, let alone feign interest in anything remotely resembling a treatise on science. “I told ye t’ leave Mrs. Hartford alone.”
Devin clenched his jaw. “I believe she’s quite capable of taking care of herself, and making her own decisions,” he added for good measure.
Luke tossed the book aside and crossed his arms. His hard stare was direct and as bold as the beard on his face. “Have ye forgotten Granelli is still a threat? Do ye really want t’ drag ’er down into th’ mire?”
“I’m not doing any such thing,” Devin snapped.
“Then wha’ did I walk in on between th’ two o’ ye jus’ now?” Luke countered. “I may be older than ye, but I can still sense tension in th’ air an’ it was so thick ye could ’ave cut it with a knife.”
Devin said nothing, because if there was one person on this earth he couldn’t lie to, it was Luke House. He’d known him far too long to withhold the truth, but at the same time, he didn’t feel as if he needed to offer a full confession. Let him come to his own conclusions.
Luke frowned and then got back to his feet so he could be on more of an equal level with Devin. Standing before him, he said, “Ye’re jus’ as stubborn as ever, ain’t ye?” He shook his head. “Jus’ know that I won’t stand by an’ allow ye t’ take advantage o’ our lovely hostess. Ye’d do well t’ remember that If’n if it wasn’t for ’er, ye’d already be six feet under, and for tha’ alone I owe ‘er my loyalty.”
Devin snorted. “And you don’t feel the same about me any longer?”
Luke stepped even closer, until they were eye-to-eye. “I’ve known ye since ye were a wee lad in short pants, an’ I don’t ’ave t’ tell ye tha’ ye are th’ son I never got t’ ’ave. What I’m worried about is yer history wit’ th’ fairer sex. Constance is worth more than a quick tup, so if ye can’t keep it in yer trousers, then maybe we should pack up our things an’ move on now.”
Devin lifted a brow. “That seems rather hypocritical considering you were late returning because of a female friend.”
“Aye, I was,” Luke admitted. “But tha’ was a mutual affair an’ she knows nothin’ permanent will ever come from it. Wha’ do ye think ye can offer Constance? She ’as a chance t’ make a fresh start, somethin’ tha’ th’ two o’ us have only dreamed about.” He paused and finally shook his head. “Do ye really think ye can take tha’ from her jus’ because ye fancy ’er? If ye truly care about ’er, when all this business is over wit’ Granelli, ye ought t’ let yer angel go, no’ tie ’er back down t’ a world full of criminals and pickpockets.”
Those damning words hung in the air long after Luke departed. While Devin wanted to be selfish enough to keep Constance at his side forever, Luke had made a valid point. Constance had told him that her life had been difficult, and even though Devin didn’t know the particulars, he had a good idea of what kind of life she’d lived.
She had only returned to London now in the hope of making a better life for herself, and yet, Devin had pulled her back into the same lifestyle she had tried to escape. He knew that was why she kept holding part of herself back, even though there was a powerful attraction between them. He hadn’t wanted to open his eyes to the truth before, he’d merely wanted to hold on to his angel, but Luke had forced him to see it all more clearly.
While it might be like shoving a knife into his chest, Devin vowed that he would release Constance once Granelli was no longer a concern, because he finally admitted that she deserved someone better than him.
Chapter Twelve
The next morning, after a bit of tossing and turning, Constance woke up with a new resolve in place.
After Luke had gone missing the previous night, she realized that it could have been so much worse. While it had merely been a case of miscommunication, next time, they might not be so lucky. Granelli was still a threat, perhaps to all of them and not just Devin, and with his own gang at his disposal, she decided that it was time she sought out her own reinforcements.
No matter how long she had fought to put all of the former nastiness of her past behind her, it seemed that London was determined to draw her back into its evil clutches. To go on unproperly armed was only courting further trouble.
Thus, an eerie calm had settled over her. Madame Corressa had been silent for far too long, but it was time for her to dust herself off and get to work.
