Page 81 of A Perilous Passion

His hand froze in midair. She was…laughing? They’d just been through the most hideously embarrassing moment of his life, and she found it amusing?

He peeled back the sheets to admonish her, but a slender arm reached out and pulled him down for a kiss. He smiled as he submitted. She wasn’t just a minx, but a wanton, as well—something he might have secretly hoped for, but never dared to expect.

He would have liked to lie in bed with her all day—hell, all year—but things needed attending to. Summoning all his willpower, he disentangled himself and sat back.

She pushed herself up in bed, the thin sheet barely concealing her luscious breasts. Ruthlessly brushing aside memories of the silken skin and the delightfully aroused nipples he’d sampled last night, he took her hand.

He waited until her merriment subsided, then said, “That is not how I would have wished the magic of this morning to end.”

She chuckled, squeezing his hand. “You are so magnificent when you’re angry! Even though you were naked, you didn’t flinch. Poor Justin—his eyes nearly popped out of his head!”

Rafe stroked the back of her hand. “You know the fellow,” he said. “Who will he go to with this? Much as I’d like to marry you today, I’d prefer to do it properly. I don’t want you rushed into marriage by a blabbermouth with an ax to grind. You really ought to see Beckport House before you agree to marry me. You have a right to know what manner of place you’ll be mistress of.”

“He won’t say anything,” she replied. “Until your dispatch reaches its destination, he’s a deserter. He definitely won’t go to his father, a man of no sympathy, whatsoever.”

“Won’t he tell your mama? She’s the one with the most vested interest in your reputation.”

Charlotte shook her head. “She hates him. She’s threatened to empty the slops over him if he so much as shows his face in Fortuneswell.”

Rafe chuckled. “Your mama shows a great deal of spirit. But I hope you won’t grow to be too much like her.”

She gave him a sweet smile that calmed his fears not one whit.

He reached out and stroked the hair back from her face. It was a privilege to touch her, and he was looking forward to doing a good deal more of it, and soon. Her nut-brown hair matched her hazel eyes, and as it cascaded down her shoulders in disarray, she looked like a fey creature of the woods.

“Get dressed,” he said crisply, forcing himself to walk away and find his clothing. “This situation will be far better dealt with if we’re not both stark naked.”

“I’ll talk to Justin,” she said. “When he knows your intentions are good, he’ll calm down.”

“He’s let me down twice now, which is a fine way to repay the enormous favor I’ve done him. I’m not sure learning the position of another beacon was worth the trouble he’s caused.”

“Oh heavens, Rafe!” she said in a muffled but excited voice.

He turned to see her pulling her chemise down over her head. A pity.

“I quite forgot!” she said as her head popped out. “I know the location of another beacon!”

He drew his breeches on, sat on the bed, and gave her what he hoped was an admonishing look, but it was hard to concentrate with the thin shift clinging to her so enticingly. “I trust you’ve not been putting yourself in danger again,” he said, “after all my warnings.”

“Not at all,” she replied, pushing her arms into her corset.

He hoped she wouldn’t need help with her lacing—that would be pure torment, indeed.

“Jacky Scadden had a half-sovereign given to him by a stranger to light a bonfire. I took him for a walk, and he indicated the position of the beacon in a very subtle fashion. I’m sure no one noticed. That’s why I had to come see you yesterday, despite your dire warnings.”

His heart beat like a blacksmith’s hammer as he contemplated the danger she’d put herself in, but he couldn’t find it in himself to be angry. If not for her intervention, he could be dead by now, or under torture.

And she had brought him the location of another beacon. With this information he could nail down the rest, and the country would be saved from invasion.

He hurried on with his clothes. “I must go and see it. The sooner we map its location, the sooner we’ll foil the traitor’s plot. But I won’t be able to escort you home if I do that.”

“I don’t need an escort,” she said, pulling her corset up and adjusting her breasts in a way that made him weak with longing. When she turned to him for help with the laces, his fingers trembled as he did her up, lust warring mightily with duty.

He forced himself to turn away so he couldn’t see her dressing. Each time she put something on, he wanted to take it off again.

His voice was hoarse as he said, “Once you’ve shown us the location of the beacon on the map, have some breakfast, and Hamblett can take you home. I’d rather keep Paynter here with me. Hamblett will be armed, so there’s nothing to fear.”

When she didn’t answer, he turned round and saw her twisting her hands together. “I think,” she said, looking at him appealingly, “it might be better if Justin took me. He’s clearly upset, and I want to explain…all this.”