“I will figure it out. Once we have a plan to stop Dolan, I will tell Clara.”
“Again, I am not sure that is the best approach.”
He rose. “I don’t want her mixed up in this.”
Miller shook his head in frustration but said, “I am here when you need me. Devons, Derry, and I talked about banning him from the club, but we are concerned that will tip him off to what we know. For now, he will remain a member, but we have notified the guards he is not to use any of our cottages for liaisons.”
“Will that not tip him off?”
Miller shook his head. “He has never really frequented the club for the use of our cottages.”
Sam made his way to the door and looked back at Miller. “Thank you for all your help. I am not sure what my family would do without you. You don’t even work for us, and you are always helping us out.”
Miller stayed sitting at the table. “I will always be there for all of you. I care for your family.”
Sam studied him quietly and then said, “For some reason I always thought you would court Annie. The two of you were so close.”
Miller threw back the remaining brandy in his glass. He said, “I care for Annie as one would care for a sibling.”
Sam knew he was lying, and he wondered why. He didn’t want to push Miller and nodded. Miller flushed and said, “About Addie—”
Sam shook his head. “Addie is a wonderful lady, and one who is perfectly capable of choosing who she allows into her life.”
“I didn’t want you to think I took advantage of her.”
Sam chuckled. “I would be more worried about Addie taking advantage of you.”
Miller smiled. “Completely happy to have her friendship.”
Sam nodded and made his way out the door, pondering how complicated they all were.
Chapter 24
A few days later, Clara sat with Sam on their bed with dissection pieces scattered around them. It was a map of the world that was by far the most complicated dissection Clara had ever attempted to piece together.
Sam stared intensely at the pieces they had put together on a square piece of wood designed purposely for puzzles. He peered closely at the loose pieces left. Clara smiled amused at his serious face. She was still shocked that her husband had such a deep love of dissection puzzles. She sat in her nightgown and leaned forward, looking at the pieces herself. Her nightgown slid down over one shoulder. At one point in her life, she may have quickly pulled it back up, but she let the nightgown stay where it had slid. Clara reached over and grabbed a piece, placing it triumphantly into the puzzle. She looked up to see her husband watching her. She found another piece and placed it in the puzzle. Again, she looked up to see her husband ogling her.
She laughed. “You are losing your skills with these puzzles.”
He scowled at her but there was mischief in his hazel eyes. “You are distracting me. I believe intentionally.”
She looked at him with mock confusion. “How could I do that?”
She leaned forward and her nightgown gaped in the front. She heard him suck in his breath, but she continued to peruse the pieces. “I think you, Mr. Kincaide, are just not as good as you think you are.”
“I’m very good, my lady.”
She looked up, and their eyes connected. The room crackled with an intensity that excited her. She leaned back letting her nightgown fall around her curves. Sam pushed the wooden board aside and crawled his way across the bed.
“You will ruin your puzzle,” Clara admonished.
He leaned over her, his strong, large thighs straddling her. She looked up into his face and her breath caught. Her husband had a face that rivaled any hero in a romance novelette. His blonde hair fell over his forehead, his hazel eyes sparkled with amusement, and his mouth was enough to tempt any saint.
She used her haughtiest tone and said, “Mr. Kincaide, you will make a mess.”
He ignored her comment, reaching down and sliding her nightgown up. She lifted her hips, allowing him to pull it over her stomach, past her breasts, and over her head. She reveled in the look of lust that clouded his eyes as he stared at her.
“You are far too tempting for your own good,” he murmured, sprinkling kisses down her jaw and her neck.
