“We needed those papers tonight,” one of the men said, his voice low, clipped, with the faintest trace of a foreign accent. “The vote is imminent.”
Alice’s pulse jumped. Her gaze darted to Nathaniel. He caught her look and nodded once, almost imperceptibly.
“There’s been…a setback,” the second man replied, gruffer, less polished, his accent thicker. “One of our contacts lost his nerve. It’s handled. But the documents…they’re missing, along with the man’s widow.”
Alice sucked in a shallow breath and leaned in, angling for a better view through the gap. The taller of the two men stood with his back to them, but the other’s profile was briefly visible—sharp cheekbones, dark hair slicked back. She would be able to describe him. And recognize him anywhere if she ever saw him again.
A beat of silence.
“We’ll recover them soon,” the second man continued. “Already I’ve got a message arranging for a delivery. During the masquerade at the Black Swan this Friday.”
“The widow?” the first asked, and the other nodded.
“Most likely.”
“She’s a liability.”
The second man smiled, a cold, dangerous smile. “Once we have the documents…she’ll be dealt with.”
Ice slid down Alice’s spine. She felt Nathaniel tense next to her.
“Make sure you do. This woman, whoever she is, knows too much.”
The two men shifted. Alice caught another glimpse—just enough to memorize the set of their shoulders, the way one gestured with impatience. Then, with a few quick strides, they vanished down the opposite sides of the corridor.
Alice waited until their footsteps could no longer be heard. One… two… three… four heartbeats. Slowly, she lifted her head, met Nathaniel’s eyes. They didn’t need words; the look they shared said everything. These were the men they were looking for. Now, they needed only to learn their identities. They would be at the Black Swan, whatever that place was, this coming Friday. The widow was a key piece, and she was in danger.
But underneath the professional understanding, another message was arcing between them. A pulse of desire. Hers…and his.
Whatever Nathaniel’s reasons for requesting a divorce, he was not indifferent to her. Even in this awful costume she wore, she was able to inspire his lust. If she leaned into him, cupped the apex of his thighs, she would find him hard as iron. She knew him so well that she would wager anything on it. The thought sent a heatwave through her that threatened to pull her under. His head dipped a fraction. Her breath froze in her lungs, wanting, waiting…
Without a word, Nathaniel stepped back, giving her room to exhale, to slip away. Alice adjusted her apron, striving to bring her body under control and compose her mind. Enough to return to her duties. They might have found a key piece of information, but there was still much to do. The suspects still needed to be identified. Shoulders stooping, back bowing, she prepared to resume the guise of an indifferent servant.
With a last nod to Nathaniel, who still stood motionless, watching her with a moody expression, she turned and strode towards the kitchens.
CHAPTER 5
Whatthehellwashe doing? For long moments after Alice left, he stood there in the darkened room, his forehead against the wall, trying to bring his body under control. Lust raged in his veins. His erection still strained against the placard of his trousers.
He had almost kissed her. Kissed her? He had wanted to devour her. Take her against the wall. Lift those ugly skirts and fuck her until he quenched this fire in his blood. Until she came undone in his arms. Until she recognized she was his.
Madness.
Hadn’t she already proven she was not his? As if being a cuckolded husband was not humiliating enough, must he also play the part of a lust-crazed fool?
But for a few heartbeats there, she had looked at him with the same adoring want as before. He had sensed the same desire in her and could almost smell her arousal. It was what always did him in with Alice. She was always so controlled. The brilliantspy, playing any character with ease, reading people like they were open books. Always remaining in control. Always cerebral. Contained. Unflappable. Except in his arms.
When they made love, all that cool exterior cracked open, and she was pure molten lava inside. The way she came undone in his arms, giving everything, surrendering to him without disguises. Screaming his name in her ecstasy. It made him feel like a god. Nobody knew that side of Alice but him. Well…maybe not anymore. Did she blossom like that with that fool she was having an affair with? His fingers tightened against the doorjamb.
Hell and damnation. When he had accepted this mission, he had wanted to prove to himself that the memories they had were no more than that. Memories best left in the past. That he could come to terms with the fact that she had found another partner. That after all these years, the abandonment and the betrayal, the attraction between them had faded to manageable levels. He had convinced himself that once he saw her again, he could exorcise her from his mind.
The only thing he had proven is that the desire between them burned as hot as ever. And that he couldn’t stand the thought of her with another man. She was his mate, his woman. His body recognized it as such. They were like opposite poles on a magnet, when brought closer, they would snap together with such a force that nothing could get in their way.
Except they had been separated for years now. Allowing space for someone to come between them. His heart constricted at the thought of her with another, everything in him recoiling at the idea. They were Nate and Alice. A unit. Inseparable.
And now he was going to sever that bond forever.
Not for the first time, he wondered if he could really do it. If he had the strength to go through with this divorce. The righteous anger and hurt he had felt upon first finding out about herbetrayal, that he had nursed and stoked to a burning rage, had faded to a dull ache. A wound that would probably never heal completely, but maybe they could bandage it. Patch it up. Cobble something together with the remnants of their old love.
