Page 37 of Lady and the Scamp

He was trying very hard to reduce her suspicions, but she would not let the matter drop this easily.

“Do you work for the Foreign Secretary?” she asked.

He gave her a look of incredulity. “Do I work for Palmerston? No. And I suppose if I ever hoped for a career in that sector—which I assure you, I do not—I should take your rebuke of my heavy-handed questioning as my cue to abandon that hope. I shouldn’t have questioned you.”

“Because you don’t work for Palmerston?”

He turned to face her fully, his light brown eyes lovely in the gray half-light of the woods. “No, because you’ve done nothing wrong, have you?”

He paused, longer than needed for a rhetorical question. Finally, he went on, “I don’t know why I decided to play agent for the Crown last night. I regret it. I should have kissed you instead.” Heat flared in his gaze, and she felt an answering pull in her belly.

“Yes, you should have,” she said. She wanted to believe him. His expression was so sincere, the regret in his eyes so visible.

“Emily, let me kiss you now. Let’s forget, just for a little while, about the world outside of this place. I just want to be Will who is kissing Emily.”

Emily blinked, shaken out of her scrutiny. “Here? Now?” Her voice was breathless.

His hand cupped the back of her neck, sending a river of heat down her spine and making her forget all about the night before. “Right here. Right now.”

“But I look—”

“Ravishing,” he said. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known, and that doesn’t change because your hair is wet.”

She kissed him. She might have questioned his earlier statements and wondered at the way he schooled his features, but there was no doubt what he’d said in that moment was true. He found her beautiful. He desired her. He suspected her of treason.

She pulled back and he tried to follow, but she put a hand between them. “You want me to forget that you thought me guilty of treason.”

“I want us both to forget everything besides this feeling between us right now.”

She wanted that too. She wanted to close her eyes and give in to the heat of his gaze and the feel of his lips. She could feelhow much he desired her. It had been so long since she’d felt desired. She lowered her hand, and he all but crushed her to him. This time his lips took hers as he kissed her hard and deep. She buried her hands in his hair and leaned closer. She couldn’t get close enough. Except that the movement caused her thigh to press against his and she gasped at the jolt of pain.

He withdrew instantly. “I hurt you.”

“It was my fault,” she said, closing her eyes as the pain receded. “I tried to move closer, and my leg brushed yours where I was injured.”

He blew out a breath. “You’re hurt. I should have taken that into consideration.”

She pulled him close again. “The only thing you should take into consideration is how much I want you.”

He made a low noise in the back of his throat, and his hands closed on her waist. “You want me to kiss you.” It wasn’t a question, and the way his eyes went golden was a clear indication that he wanted the same.

“I’ll be more careful,” she said.

“I’ll be careful,” he said. “Come here.” He kissed her again, this time gently and with more care. She liked this kiss as much as she liked the one with the passion from earlier. She kissed him back, her tongue licking inside his mouth as she attempted to elicit some of that former heat. But he had other ideas. His hand slid from the nape of her neck down her arm and then under his coat and her cloak. When she felt his touch over the thin material of her dress, she inhaled sharply, letting out a small moan as his hand brushed over her breast.

She could feel the pressure of his touch and longed to feel his skin on hers. Unfortunately, her corset made that impossible. Perhaps another time. Even as she had that thought, his hand slid lower, down her belly and toward the junction of her thighs. Emily’s heart beat rapidly now, so hard she could hearthe thudding in her ears. His hand slid over the heat at her center, making her moan quietly, wanting more. Apparently, he intended to give her more. His mouth trailed kisses along her jaw and throat as his hand slid over her uninjured thigh. And then he began to drag her skirts higher.

His hand slipped under them and slid along her drawers until he parted her legs slightly. He was looking for the slit in the drawers. She shouldn’t allow it, but she wanted him to touch her.

“Your skin is so soft,” he said, his breath hot on her neck. His fingers found the opening in her drawers, and she felt his warm hand on her bare flesh.

“The assassins,” she said on a breath.

“Have no idea where we are. But I’ll hear them if they come this way.”

She wouldn’t. She couldn’t hear anything but her heart drumming.

“Emily.” His gaze met hers. “Right now it’s just me and you. Let me show you how it can be.”

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