“Would you lie to me?”
“Of course not. What would I have to gain by lying?”
“You could cheat and look at something you’re only meant to smell.”
“I never cheat.” Her reply sounded a little too emphatic, even to her own ears.
She frowned and was beginning to regret submitting to this childish game when his warm hands clasped her upper arms and his lips placed another soft kiss on top of her head.
In that moment, she began to believe she could trust this man. This man only.
* * *
The very secondCol kissed the top of Charlotte’s head, something broke inside him. He had a hard time drawing in a full breath before he finally allowed himself to accept a simple truth: He wasn’t worthy of this woman, but she was the only woman he could ever love. They were meant to be together.
Now all he had to do was convince her of the same simple truth.
“Are you ready for your first adventure?” He gave her arms a gentle squeeze before reaching for a plate he’d prepared with a ground golden substance.
She shivered against his touch and wriggled a bit on the high chair her cook used to rule the kitchen. When he placed the plate beneath her nose and gave her chin a gentle tap, she took a tentative sniff.
“I can’t smell anything.”
“Stop thinking so hard, Charlotte. Relax and take a few more whiffs.” When she stiffened, he realized he’d forgotten how vulnerable she must feel. “I’m right here by your side. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She slumped a little and settled back into the chair, drawing her shawl closer around her shoulders. After a longer sniff, she ventured, “It’s kind of like a spicy bit of leather soaked in honey. It’s also like a day in spring, fresh hay and grass. Is that possible?” And then she laughed, and something else cracked deep inside him.
“Yes, you silly poppet. It’s a spice used in Indian food and curries - saffron.” He took the dish away and replaced it with another. “What does this one smell like?”
She was silent for a long time while she took several deep inhales over the substance. Finally, a beguiling smile shaped her beautiful mouth. “It’s warm, spicy, a little sweet, but at the same time, there’s a bit of mint and woodiness. Whatever this is, it’s banishing my sleepiness.”
He put a bit of the powder on his finger. “Open your mouth,” he commanded. She stiffened again.
“Remember,” he said softly. “You said you trust me.”
When she opened her mouth and stuck out her curious pink tongue, he sent up a prayer to the gods that he could make it through the night while remaining a celibate gentleman.
He dotted a bit of the powder on the end of her tongue. “There, take that in and swirl it around in your mouth.”
Even though she was still blindfolded, she tilted her head in thought. After a while, she spoke slowly. “It’s definitely peppery, almost like camphor. But there when I move the powder around to the sides of my mouth and tongue, there’s more of a flowery…or maybe a lemony flavor?”
“Cardamom,” he said. “The same spice your cook puts in holiday sweets.” He was rewarded with another one of Charlotte’s wide smiles that nearly gutted him.
She clapped her hands and demanded, “Now…now, will you take me to bed?”
“Yes, my girl, you’ve earned a night of pleasure with the famous Bow Street investigator, Mr. Colwyn.” He gave her a grin to go with his shameless self-aggrandizement.
* * *
Charlotte suddenly frozeat the thought of sharing a bed with the man she’d been lusting after for what seemed an eternity. When she counted mentally, she realized that actually, she’d known him for barely a week.
He took both of her hands inside his large palms and warmed her. When he stooped down to her level, it was to reassure her. “Spending the night in your bed does not mean I’ll be spending the night inside your body.”
She was somewhat taken aback at his directness, but by now she should have expected nothing less from the gentle man he’d turned out to be.
“Nothing will happen that you don’t choose in that big bed of yours up beneath the trees.”
She pulled away from his grasp and pulled him behind her by one of his hands before heading for the front staircase to the top floor.
