Page 73 of Her Tempting Traitor
But before he could correct the lad, she nodded to Cassian. “I know what he said, but I cannot help her if I do not examine her. Will you help me?”
Cassian lifted her hand to his. “Always,” he murmured, brushing a kiss across her knuckles.
The woman could have asked anything of him, and the answer would be the same.
Gabby lifted a brow in Gus’s direction, and the lad bounced twice on the balls of his feet. “Absolutely! I already have some ideas!”
“Excellent.” She grinned and squeezed Cassian’s hand before sliding hers from his grip. “You can tell me on the ride. Do not wait for me,” she called as she hurried for the stairs. “I will meet you at the stable.”
Because she, at least, acknowledged Cassian moved more slowly these days—though last night he’d proved he was still strong enough for her, and that memory meant he was grinning proudly as he turned back to his son, who was waiting by the front door.
“Comeon, Da! I’ll walk with you now, but stop dallying, the day’s wasting.”
Laughing outright now, Cassian followed his son out to the drive.
“Icannae believe I let Gus talk me into this,” Cassian growled in the darkness as he gripped her hand tightly and peered around the corner of the elephant barn. “Aye, there’s a guard stationed at the front entrance, just as he said.”
Gabby, who was having a surprisingly grand time, tried to swallow down her chuckle. “I told you, your son is both inventive and adventurous. Another thing he got from you.”
Cassian’s gaze swung back to her, and she could read the surprise there, even under the overcast half-moon. “What else did he get from me?”
She stretched up to kiss his jaw. “His soppy heart. His caring nature.”
“I’m no’ caring,” he snorted dismissively, turning back to keep an eye on their quarry. “Gus gets that from his mother.”
Who has been gone for years, same as you. But Gabby merely squeezed his hand. “You have a good heart, Cassian Grey, whether or not you allow yourself to see it.”
Was it her imagination, or did he stand taller? “Hush. Ye’re supposed to be learning how to be a spy, no’ blathering about irrelevancies.”
This time Gabby only managed to stifle her chuckle by pressing her mouth against his shoulder. “Good luck,” she mumbled.
“Good luck in teaching ye?” His voice was the merest whisper now. “Aye, I’ll need it. Did ye bring yer good luck charm?”
Earlier, when she’d dressed in dark colors for this evening’s adventure, she’d tucked the silly little lace from Lady Mistree into her bodice, as a sort of luck. She wasn’t sure what had made her bring it—but if therewasa sort of magic to it, perhaps she could use it to help the poor pregnant elephant on the other side of this wall.
Instead of admitting to this, though, she kissed his shoulder. “I thoughtyouwere my good luck charm?”
Another snort, then she felt him pull out his timepiece, and wondered how he could see the hour. “It’s almost time,” Cassian grunted, sliding it back into his vest pocket. “Ye ken yer cue?”
“I wait for you to slip around the backside of the barn. Even if there is a guard on the large door back there, you are confident in your ability to evade him, even with a, and I am quoting here, a shite knee,” she parroted with a smirk. “I am to count to one hundred, allowing you time to get into position around the corner.” She dragged her hands up her corset to heft her breasts. “Then I am to distract the guard with my bonny smile andverrafine tits.”
He snorted. “Ye dinnae need to remembereverythingI said.”
Her voice lowered into what she hoped was the seductive register. “How could I not when it was so flattering?”
With a faint growl, he pushed her up against the wall of the barn and kissed her.
No,kissed herwas too polite, too civil a term for what he did.
Without any warning, Cassianravishedher mouth with his own, taking her from playful banter to full-on arousal in a blink of an eye. She didn’t object—couldn’t object if she wanted to, what with his tongue twisting in her mouth in such a satisfying way—but wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.
Her breasts—Excuse me, verra fine tits—smashed against his chest, her hips cradling his hard length. Cassian pressed forward, gyrating just slightly and wrenching a desperate moan from her throat.
How difficult would it be to tup, here and now? They had a few minutes, did they not? Judging from the way his hands were roaming across her body, he was ready for this as much as she was.
“Cassian,” she gasped, wrenching her mouth from his.
“Christ,” he groaned, dropping his forehead. “I’m sorry, Gabby. I dinnae mean to lose control?—”
