“I feared as much when he demanded an introduction.”
* * *
Forlorn sorrow settled in her heart and Piper sighed, wishing she possessed the power to undo all the wrongs of the day. “I cannot have Jane harmed by any of this, Mr. MacKintosh. She has been a dear friend to me.”
Jane had been quite shaken by the incident, and Piper couldn’t blame her. Without Connor’s continued comfort, she’d spent the past hour reliving the encounter and wondering over the gunman’s objective. Her friend felt that a return to the civility of London would resolve the issue on her part.
Although, if Jane were under any continued threat, Piper needed to know about it. She couldn’t have Rutledge or her mother confronting her friend as Harry had, threatening her anew.
“You don’t think anyone could be desperate enough to find me that they would condone violence upon the innocent, do you?”
“I will send a letter to Mr. Langston tomorrow and ensure additional precautions are taken to keep her safe.”
His response was no answer, though his calm assurance warmed her. Jane, too, had said something along the same lines, insisting she could come up with a story to imply a potential hazard to herself without exposing Piper in the process.
Piper hated that sacrifice and all the reasons behind it. Why couldn’t the duke let her go? She didn’t understand.
To have any sort of harassment heaped upon her friend would be poor recompense for Jane’s years of confidence.
“They leave for London in the morning,” she told him and hesitated. “And I beg you, be discreet. Jane’s parents are unaware of our…friendship. I should hate for her to be berated for that as well.”
“I will do my best to leave ye out of the tale,” he conceded after a long, considering moment. “I’ll question Mr. Granger—aye, that is his name, Ernest Granger—further in the morning.”
Any sort of interrogation could expose the truth of who pursued her. Not a mere merchant but someone far more powerful and ruthless. If it were indeed the duke who had sent the man. It could be her mother. Or…
No. It wouldn’t have been.
“I’ve sent word to a friend of the family to help me handle him more fully.” She focused on him with an unspoken inquiry and he answered it. “We can’t have him getting word back to whoever hired him. More than likely, he’d be set free wi’in the week and we’ll be needing a bit more time than that to see ye settled somewhere safer.”
Connor traced a finger along the sweeping line of her jaw and her spirits crested once more. “We?”
“Aye. I’ll no’ let ye wander wi’out escort, lass. I can see ye’re naught but trouble when left unattended.” He winked and chucked her chin lightly.
Her lips twisted in mock outrage and she tweaked his rumpled tie. “Better not leave me alone then, Mr. MacKintosh.”
“I asked ye to call me Connor, did I no’?”
“You did.” Piper resituated herself in his embrace, resting her cheek on his shoulder. “Thank you for coming after me, Connor.”
“Even though ye dinnae need my help?”
She accepted his teasing for what it was and smiled. “It was appreciated, nevertheless.”
“Ye’re welcome.”
He hugged her shoulders, the gesture doubtless meant to be comforting. Despite that, she was acutely aware of their close proximity. The steady, solid beat of his heart fell into rhythm with her own. There was nothing more than the two of them melded together, body to body.
Twilight closed around them, wrapping them in its solitude. A cocoon of intimacy she’d never known. As if she and Connor were completely alone in the world.
She kneaded the thick muscles of his back. Heavy breaths brushed her temple and a sensual shift of his chest against her breasts marked each one. Piper let her hands roam up his back, leaning closer. His whiskers tickled her cheek.
The rough texture had prickled her tongue, chafed her lips when she’d given in to the urge to taste him the previous night. He was every bit as delicious as she’d imagined. Salty, smelling of spice. Ginger and citrus.
When she’d done that, he’d stared down at her with something in his eyes she’d never seen before. Darkness, danger. Hunger. It had roused an unexpected degree of excitement in her.
She wanted to rekindle that moment.
The coarseness pricked and aroused as she grazed her lips along the edge of his jaw. She reveled in the thrill until she reached his neck and kissed him there. The same rapid beat beneath her hand now thrummed against her lips.
