Page 23 of Charmless
“I hope this puts an end to these stupid thoughts you have been having.”
“It does. So long as you never accuse me of being too free and loose with my lips.” He teased me, a rare thing for Horatio.
I laughed. “Never! So long as I am the maiden you are making free with.”
The conversation I had had with Em earlier rose unbidden to my mind. I could not help wondering…
I fiddled with the topmost button of his uniform while asking, “Horatio, do you happen to know anything about siren kissing?”
His brows arched upward in surprise, but a hint of a smile touched his lips. He bent to kiss me again, but this time in a way he had never kissed me before. His lips coaxed mine apart, deepening the embrace. Horatio did know quite a lot about siren kissing and my stepmother was right. When a man knew how to do it well, the siren’s kiss could be… enervating.
I was flushed and panting when we finally broke apart for air.
“Oh, my!” I breathed.
“Yes,” Horatio agreed. I could feel how hard his heart was racing as he held me close, burying his lips against my hair.
I drew back to gaze up at him tenderly. “Now do you still think I would ever allow that foolish prince to come between us?”
“Not the prince, but someone else perhaps.”
When I gave him a puzzled frown, Horatio caressed my cheek, a rueful expression stealing into his eyes. “Ella, you have not yet asked me what I am doing here.”
“Why, rescuing me as usual. Although now that I think about it, I am a bit surprised that you should turn up here at The Hawk’s Nest.”
My voice trailed off, my gaze flashing down to the hilt of his sword. Horatio did not wear his weapon on the ordinary course of his rounds. My breath hitched in my throat.
“You have come to arrest Mal. I knew this was bound to happen eventually. I have been waiting, dreading that this day would come.”
“Calm down, Ella. I merely want to question him. I am not arresting him yet.”
Yet?How could one small word sound so ominous?
“Then why did you bring your sword?” I demanded.
“Because your friend Hawkridge has a reputation for being a difficult and dangerous man, extremely reluctant when it comes to respecting authority.”
“Mal may be a bit of a rogue, but he is not some desperate, hardened criminal.”
“So you keep telling me. If that is the case, he should not mind giving some honest answers.”
“I am sure he wouldn’t. But he is not here.”
When Horatio gave me a skeptical look, I said, “Truly, Horatio, Mal is away. I was seeking him myself. Look! His boat is gone.”
I gestured toward the empty dock. “When theElla Marieis gone, that means Mal is, too. He never lends his precious skiff out to anyone.”
“Hawkridge named his boat after you?”
“Yes, we have been close friends for a very long time.”
Horatio frowned but made no further comment. He stalked toward the end of the garden and studied the vacant shoreline, almost as though he expected to find the boat hidden among the reeds or even Mal himself skulking there. He inspected the garments on the wash line, fingering the socks, testing them for dampness as though he could determine how long ago Mal had left.
Horatio’s movements were brisk and efficient, reminding me of something his kisses and tenderness had allowed me to forget. He was the Commander of the Midtown garrison, sworn to uphold the king’s laws and Horatio could be rather inflexible at times. The way he prowled about Mal’s garden, seeking clues caused my pulse to skip a beat.
“Where do you think Hawkridge has gone?” he asked.
“I have no idea.”
