She leaned back against his chest and gazed at him through the looking glass. “Deception is a complex game. What if I can’t convince both ladies to meet in Hyde Park?”
“We’ll think of another way to discover the truth.”
“What other way is there but kidnapping and torture?”
He laughed. “I imagine you’re ruthless when the mood takes you.” He moved his hands to her shoulders, gently kneading her tight muscles. “Bed for you, Miss Darrow. You’ve had a long day.”
A soft hum left her lips. She tilted her head, her body swaying to the rhythm of his fingers. “That feels so good.” All moral intentions left him when her mouth parted, and she whispered, “Don’t stop, Theo. You have such magical hands.”
He watched their dancing reflection in the glass. As he stroked her temple with his cheek, their eyes met in a shared moment of intimacy.
She wanted him. He was in no doubt.
Rather than take liberties, he said the gentlemanly thing.
“You need sleep.”
Except he didn’t want her to sleep. He wanted her writhing beneath him, gripping his buttocks and urging him to thrust deeper.
“I’ve not seen you for hours. Let’s stay up a little longer.”
Mesmerised, his gaze dipped to her pert nipples pressing against the lightweight linen. “I can stay up for as long as you like.”
She heard the implicit meaning and smiled. “Scoundrel.”
“Is that not why you love me?”
She froze, her eyes growing wide like a startled doe.
Had he made a mistake?
Had he misread the signs?
Fearful of rejection, any man would have laughed and played the teasing card, pretending it was said in jest. But he was the King of Hearts, not the King of Liars.
“I’m in love with you, Eleanor.” He turned her to face him, wanting to gaze into her eyes when he declared his feelings, not look at a distorted version through the glass. “I love you.”
She swallowed hard, her chin trembling. “How do you know?”
He brushed her hair from her brow and pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead. Anything to delay the agony that came with misjudging a situation. Now he knew why Aaron avoided intimacy.
“How do you know it’s more than lust?” she added.
“Because I don’t need to make love tonight. I care that we’re together. I can talk openly about anything, and you’ll listen like I’m the most interesting man in the world.”
“You are the most interesting man in the world.”
He touched her again because he couldn’t help himself. “You bring light to every dark moment. Joy when I should feel sadness. I respect how hard you work. Admire your capacity for forgiveness.”
“Well, you have certainly given it much consideration.”
He waited for the “but”… It never came.
She rose on her tiptoes and kissed him tenderly, the touch of her lips a gift from heaven. “You’re my love, my life. I only hesitated because Delphine said men often confuse lust with deeper emotions.”
“I know how I feel about you.” His arms were around her now, holding her tight. “As I told Aaron, nothing about this is temporary. It’s the stuff of dreams and lifelong promises. I never thought I would leave Fortune’s Den, but I would leave for you, Eleanor.”
“Leave Aaron?” She blinked rapidly. “What will he do here alone? How will he cope when he closes the doors at night?”
“Trust you to think of others.” In truth, he didn’t know how Aaron would fare. “I hope it will be the impetus he needs to confront the past.” He had to believe Aaron would benefit from a time of reflection.
“We must help him,” she said. “In any way we can.”
He drew her hand to his lips and rained kisses over her palm. “That’s why I love you. You’re my match in every way.”
A coy smile touched her lips. “There’s one way we differ.”
“Oh?”
She stepped out of his embrace to gather the hem of her shift and draw it over her head. “I really would like to make love tonight, Theo.”
The sight of her full breasts made him tremble. “We both know I’d struggle to keep my hands off you. Prepare to be ravished beyond all reason.”
“Is that a promise?”
“Damn right it is.” He was out of his coat and had thrown it on the floor when she ran from him like a lithe little sprite. It wasn’t a question of whether he could catch her but how long he wanted to play this game.
Indeed, he could spend his life watching her bottom shake as she tried to evade him. Where did he want her? That was the question.
