Page 43 of The Allure Of Lord Devlin
With nerves churning, Dharma kept watch at the window, waiting for her brother to return from the Duke of Sinclair’s house. Although ready for bed, dressed in her satin robe covering her delicate lace night-gown, she would not sleep until she learned what the men were up to.
Finally, she heard the carriage. She was about to race downstairs to greet him and demand to learn what the plan was, but unfortunately, both Lord Devlin and Lord Hawthorne were with him. She looked at her dress and decided it wasn’t appropriate to join them. Her brother would have a fit.
Instead, she crept downstairs in time to see them enter Tobin’s study. She’d bet all her pin money that if she knocked and entered, the men wouldn’t tell her anything. She glanced over the banister and couldn’t see any staff. It was late.No one would see...
Listening at a keyhole is akin to sinning with the devil. Or so Dharma’s mother scolded when she caught Dharma listening to a conversation she was having with her doctor. It’s how she found out her mother was likely going to die.
For a long time afterwards, she’d thought God was punishing her for eavesdropping, but tonight she held no such illusions. She was sick of men deciding what information, or news, should be shared with women.
How annoying that she could only grasp a few snippets of conversation. Hawthorne was closest to the door and from his words she’d gathered that Sin was taking the parchment to Lord Liverpool tonight, and that it cleared Lord Devlin’s father. But it was also obvious the men had a plan to capture Longton. However, she couldn’t quite hear Devlin.Bother.
She heard chairs scraping, which meant the men were likely getting ready to leave. She turned to scurry back upstairs to Rosemary’s room but was not quite fast enough. It was Devlin who caught her. He stopped dead when he spied her on the stairs and Tobin ran into his back.
“I say…” Tobin’s words petered out. “Dharma, why are you still up?”
Hawthorne pushed past Tobin, who blocked the doorway to the study and peered up the stairs. No doubt hoping to see Rosemary. When she was not there, he said, “If you’ll excuse me, gentlemen, I shall head home for some sleep. I think we will all need to be sharp on the morrow.”
As the front door closed after him, Dharma looked at her brother and Devlin. “So, you do have a plan.”
Her brother advanced toward her. “You are not to get involved. This is very dangerous business and?—”
“—Would you mind if I have a private word with Lady Dharma?” Devlin spoke, but his eyes never left her face.
Tobin looked between them and then pushed past Dharma as he made his way up the stairs, calling over his shoulder, “Just ensure she understands how dangerous this situation is. And I expect you to behave like a gentleman.”
Devlin raised an eyebrow and indicated she should enter the library. As she walked past him, that familiar shiver of desire slid over her skin. While he might not feel obligated to Fiona now, Dharma was still not simply going to become his wife. He had to demonstrate he could open that locked up heart of his, but being this close to him made it difficult to remember she had to hold back and make him reveal his feelings. So, she deliberately chose a chair and ignored the idea of sharing the settee with Devlin, no matter how much her body screamed to do just that.
To her surprise, he closed the door behind him. Her body couldn’t repress a shiver at being alone with him, and that didn’t bode well for her willpower to resist him.
He stood looking at her like a delicious treat. “I realize you only have my best interests at heart, but I have to make you understand how dangerous the situation has become. You must promise me to stay in this house with Rosemary until this is all over.” He paced the beautiful antique rug.
She took a deep breath to gather her anger. “I’m not a stupid young girl. I know what is at stake here. I also know you are in grave danger and it scares me to death.” She gulped back a sob. “You’re going to draw Longton out, aren’t you? Set a trap for him.”
Devlin stopped pacing, and with hands on hips, shook his head. “You really are too clever for your own good. How could you know…”
“It’s what I would do if I were in your shoes. Get a confession in front of witnesses like my brother and Hawthorne. Which, of course, means Longton has an excellent opportunity of killing you first.”
She couldn’t take it one more minute. She rose to stand before him and took his hand and placed it over her heart. “We could have a wonderful life together. I can’t lose you now. Please try to find another way. Isn’t the parchment enough?”
ChapterTwelve
His arms were bands of steel as he gathered her close. “This is the only way that guarantees my father is avenged and Longton pays for his crimes. Besides, I don’t want to leave any doubt that my father was maligned. He was not a traitor.
“I think of Hawthorne and Rosemary. My sister is so happy, and Hawthorn’s father would have no objections if Longton is unveiled as the traitor. There will always be those who doubt me unless I prove Longton’s guilt. My mother could re-enter society and I… well, I would have something to offer my future wife and children—an honorable name and position in society. I could focus on rebuilding the capital I need to turn our estate around.”
“Your life is not worth the risk. Not to me. A woman worth marrying would care nothing for what society thinks. All she’d want is your heart. And I know Rosemary would not wish to see you dead.”
“A man would be very lucky indeed to have a wife such as that.” He could resist her no longer. He’d sworn under his breath that he would do nothing to encourage her until this night was over. He may very well die and he didn’t want to show her what they could have together, only to take it away.
But his will was not strong enough. He tilted her head up, and she did not draw back. He gently cupped her chin in his hand and pressed his lips to hers. He almost sighed with contentment. They were all he’d dreamed about. Soft, full, and tender. He wanted to drink in the tenderness until his body quivered. He wanted her taste and scent to fill his mind and his memory. It took but a moment for Dharma to open to him. As his tongue slipped into her hot and inviting mouth, his groin tightened and he moved back a tad so she would not feel his urgent reaction to a simple kiss. He did not wish to encourage her. He was so close to taking her here and now in case he never got the chance, but… if he didn’t come back, and she got with child… she’d be ruined. It wasn’t fair.
Her tongue dueled with his and, to his surprise and relief, she did not back away from the kiss. She took part wholeheartedly.
There was heat, want, and need between them, and he finally could not stand it a moment more. He swept her into his arms and deepened the kiss. Dharma’s taste was intoxicating. The feel of her soft curves pressed against him drove him on. There was no way she could not feel how much he wanted her.
Devlin could not tell how long they stood there, a smoldering embrace in the cooling study, the smell of the embers filling the air. He did not wish to end the kiss. He wished he could lay her down on the settee and make love to her all night. He shouldn’t, but his will was weak as she ran her tiny hand over his chest.You could find mutual pleasure without risking her reputation.
“I need you tonight more than I ever have. I promise not to go too far and ruin you.” When she smiled at him as if she trusted only him, he was lost.
