Page 86 of Seducing the Knave

Chapter Twenty-four

It was nearly two hours later when the sound of a vehicle rolling up in front of the house alerted the women to Max’s return.

“He’s back! What do we do?” Lucy cried in a panic.

“Hush, girl,” Mrs. Flynn muttered.

Elle flew to her feet and took a hasty step toward the door. If she hurried, would she have enough time to slip across the hall before he entered the house?

“No,” Alice, the young mother, said as she stopped Elle with a hand on her arm. “He’ll be inside in a minute. You’ve got to hide.”

“But what if he goes straight upstairs and finds her missing?”

“He’ll take the main stairs as he always does. Elle can slide up the private stairs and get there first.”

As the women decided on the best course of action, they fashioned a hiding spot for Elle behind one of the sofas. And just in time.

“’Ello, doves,” Max greeted from the doorway.

A chorus of voices greeted him in return. Elle crouched out of sight, her heart pounding furiously, while he passed on a couple instructions to Mrs. Flynn then inquired after how Lucy was settling in.

Gratefully, he didn’t linger long after that and as soon as he left them to disappear up the stairs, the women burst into activity. While several of them distracted Langworth, Elle slipped past him unseen, smiling her thanks before fleeing up to the bedroom. She managed to slip inside, close the door quietly behind her, and take a few steps across the room by the time Max entered through the double doors.

At the sight of him—knowing what she did now—her heart leapt to a frantic pace. When his gaze found her and a roguish smile curved his lips, an intense and consuming certainty washed through her, followed quickly by a longing that came from the deepest part of her. Before she even made the decision to move, she was flying toward him, her feet light and her heart wide open.

There was a flash of surprise in his eyes but he caught her up in his arms, lifting her to her toes as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

She kissed him with a fury and fervor that seemed to come from nowhere. But as one of his large hands palmed her bottom and his other arm remained secure and strong around her waist, the sharp intensity and raw hunger only increased.

Elle tugged at his coat, desperate to get it off—to get his body naked against hers.

Instead of acquiescing to her obvious need, Max made a gruff sound and his arm tightened around her as he lifted his head, breaking from the kiss.

His eyes glittered darkly as he looked down at her. “What’s this, luv?” he asked in a harsh whisper.

How could she possibly put all the feelings rushing through her into words?

Elle breathed swiftly through her parted lips as her gaze roamed over his features. She felt as though she needed to commit them to memory for some reason—the slashing angle of his eyebrows, the magic of his pewter gaze, the strength in his jaw, and the cruelly sensual lines of his lips.

She tightened her arms around his neck in an attempt to bring his mouth back to hers.

But he resisted.

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