As his carriage lurched forward and pulled away from the dowager’s townhouse, Sebastian loosened his cravat, hoping that would ease some of the twisted emotions he felt inside.
God’s teeth! He had done it again. There was something about Katie. She was certainly different from other young ladies. Could it be because he hadn’t been with a woman in six months? No, he’d gone longer than that when he was at sea or in battle.
No, it was Katie herself. She was everything good and kind, guileless as she was. She was also intelligent and charming. But there was another quality to her that called out to him. A fractured soul that wanted and needed to heal. He’d felt much the same way many times when he was a young soldier on the battlefield.
Although Katie had been engaged, she was still an ingenue—and even more vulnerable, given her virtual self-isolation over the past year because of what she’d gone through. That, of course, brought out his protective instincts… Even so, he could already see the glimmer in her eyes when she looked at him.
He wasn’t arrogant; he was just experienced. He’d gone through it before on assignment. There had been a diplomat, a widower with a seventeen-year-old daughter. She’d had extreme romantic notions and developed an almost instant affection for Sebastian. One evening, she sneaked into his private quarters, removed her gown, and slipped into his bed, naked.
He walked into his bedchamber that night after having spent the better part of an hour with her father discussing security measures for an upcoming summit. Luckily, the light of the moon showed her sleeping form in his bed. He spun on his heel and went straight to her father —told him what had happened. Fortunately, he’d built a tremendous trust with the diplomat. The girl’s father immediately went with a trusted maid to remove his daughter from Sebastian’s room.
The poor girl had lost her mother two years before—and her father had indulged her—perhaps too much. But after the incident, the man packed his daughter off to the finest finishing school where she would be safe from her whims.
This is not the same situation. Yes, Katie was in a vulnerable state because of the brutal murder of her fiancé, but it was her inner spirit that he found admirable. She was determined to find her late fiancé’s killers.
And she was beautiful—a unique beauty, different from his mistresses. She was taller than the average woman and carried herself like a young queen. Her lush dark hair, ivory complexion, and rose-tinted cheeks only enhanced her beauty. But it was those sparkling blue eyes that made her breathtaking. So much so that he was finding it more and more difficult to keep his mind from conjuring her up in his thoughts.
When he found himself in her company, it was effortless. He thoroughly enjoyed himself with her. He realized he wanted to call on her.
What would Latham think? This wasn’t what his friend had in mind when he asked him to watch his sister. And it wasn’t what Sebastian had intended. He made it a practice to not get involved with his clients. Katie was a client, only she didn’t realize it, but she felt like more. So much more.
If Miss Gowans agreed to help with the sketches, he felt certain they would have a chance of finding the men responsible for Colborne’s death. It pleased him that Katie was open to his suggestion of sketching what she saw in her dreams. Now, he needed to determine how to make the idea operational. He hoped Nelson might help.
As the carriage turned the corner past a large oak tree, a sudden pricking of his senses made Sebastian look out the window. He scanned the area for anything out of the ordinary, but seeing nothing, he sat back in his seat.
The odd feeling stayed with him all the way to the club, making him all the more determined to catch those killers.
He huddled in his black coat, wishing he’d worn his long underwear beneath his clothes. The big toff had turned to look, but he’d ducked behind the massive oak tree just in time. No one had seen him, but just to make sure, he’d looked left and right before hurrying on his way. He pulled a toothpick from his mouth and tossed it to the ground. Pulling down on his black hat, he hailed a passing hackney.
Chapter Six
The Next Day
“I love you.”
He pulled the sensual redhead into his arms and claimed her luscious lips in a searing kiss. She purred like a contented cat as his mouth traveled down her neck. He had never known anyone like her—someone who needed him as much as he needed her. She understood him like no other woman ever had. She knew how to bring him to the heights of ecstasy. And he knew what set her on fire.
As a Tower of London guard, Rosco Black was privy to nefarious opportunities for the right price. It was easy to make extra coin by doing certain tasks, such as acquiring opium for a certain lord or looking the other way when another toff’s favored footman paid a nocturnal call. Usually, he spent the bribe on a night at The Rooster and squirreled the rest to fund his own unique hobby. But since meeting her, he’d begun to purchase trinkets and other items to ease her life in the Tower. All he wanted was to make her happy. It had become the driving force in his life. He’d even curtailed his monthly habit of prowling the streets of London hunting for his next trophy.
One day I’ll take Lady Endora Deville away from this hell. We’ll go where no one can find us and live our lives as they were meant to be—together.
When the right opportunity presented itself, he would find a way to steal Endora away—and make her his forever…
“I love you,” he said again after he’d brought her to the pinnacle as only he knew he could do.
She gave a feline stretch and lay back on the pillows. “Hmm…how wonderful, Rosco, darling,” she said, running her finger along his lips. “Did you bring me something today?”
“I did.” He rose from the bed and retrieved a small box and a folded newspaper from his satchel. “Your favorite newspaper, The Tattler, and a treat for my lady,” he said, presenting them to her with a bow.
“Oh, I so love marzipan! Thank you,” she gushed, reaching for the box.
“No, allow me,” he said, feeding her a red marzipan treat.
“Mmm,” she said, chewing on the bonbon as she shook out the newspaper, flipping through the pages. “What a perfect way to spend the afternoon.”
He wished he could lie abed and watch her all day, but he had other duties that he had to attend to. He smiled to himself as he pulled on his trousers, knowing that one day they would spend every day in such ease.
A high-pitched screech from the bed made him jump. He turned to find the love of his life red-faced with fury.
