Mr.Reeves stepped onto the pea gravel path in front of her, his sharp features briefly lit by the end of the cigarillo he puffed on.Elizabeth took a step closer to him.“You mean with rogues like you hiding in the shadows?”
“Precisely.”A wolfish grin spread across his face.
“What are you doing here?”she asked.
“I could ask you the same question.”
“I am working.The hostess invites representatives from the papers to make sure her event is featured in this week’s columns.”She quirked an eyebrow in question at him.
“I have news for you.About the hat.”
That wasn’t an answer to her question, but she was too curious to bother with his evasiveness.“Did you go to the shop?”
“Yes, I’ve just come from there.I found out the owner of the hat is Lord Griffen.”
Griffen.Good Lord.Her heart stuttered into an uneasy rhythm.She needed to sit down.
“You look very pale all of a sudden.”Mr.Reeves grasped her elbow.“Do you know him?”
She walked over to a stone bench nearby and plopped down.The breeze picked up, blowing around the loose tendrils of hair that framed her face.She nodded.“His father ruined my life.”
Chapter Fourteen
And just likethat, the heavens opened up, and it began to pour.Matthew tipped his head up to the sky.Her words rang inside his head.His father ruined my life.How could his father have damaged this strong, beautiful woman?How would they have ever even interacted?He glanced across at Elizabeth.She jumped up with her hands in the air, catching raindrops, her expression incredulous as water dripped off the end of her nose.Then her gaze met his, and they both burst out laughing.
When she let loose, her chest heaving with laughter, her eyes crinkled at the corners, she looked so damn beautiful.Matthew cupped her cheek, wiping away rain with his thumb.Then, against good judgment, he kissed her.He couldn’t help himself.Fuck, his attraction to her was messy and about to become so damn complicated, but as his lips slid against hers, it was worth every ounce of risk.Her hands came up to frame his face and she kissed him back with warm lips and slick tongue.With a groan, he tugged her tight against him.
Rain poured down on them, but he didn’t care.Her body pressed against his set him aflame.He’d never felt this kind of hunger for a woman before.Pleasure between partners was always fine, taken and given easily.But he couldn’t explain this bone-deep need for her.He pulled his lips away fractionally.“We should get out of the rain.”She nodded but kissed him again.Smiling against her lips, he said, “Come, Lizzie, did you bring a carriage?”
She nodded.“Yes, I hired one for the evening.I certainly can’t go back inside like this.I guess it’s time to go home.”
“Can I escort you home?”He brushed back sodden curls from her forehead.
She stared up at him for a long moment, and he thought maybe she was going to tell him to go to hell.That she could get herself home just fine.But then she nodded.He exhaled in relief.Grabbing her hand, they ran through the rain, heading across the lawn and down to the mews.The lamplight glowing from the open doors of the stable was a beacon as they exited the gardens and stepped onto the dark lane behind the house.
Once inside, Elizabeth went to find her driver.Matthew gave one of the stable hands two quid to get his horse and take him home to the Blue Angel.He felt guilty for leaving poor Bax tied up for so long.He climbed into the carriage after Elizabeth and settled next to her on the bench.She snickered behind her hand.He slid an arm around her shoulders.“What’s so funny?”
“The horrified expressions of the stable hands and my driver.I must look a fright.A real drowned rat.”
“Certainly not a rat.”He leaned over and kissed her temple.“Perhaps something adorable, like a drowned rabbit or a drowned hedgehog.”
She wrinkled her nose.“You look like a drowned panther.Sleek black hair and dangerous smile.”
“Hmm, I like that.”He indulged himself and nuzzled her neck, kissing a spot behind her ear when she tipped her head to one side to give him better access.Her small sigh of pleasure had him wanting to ravish her right here in the carriage.But he leaned back instead.She deserved more than a quick swive in a hired hack, that was for sure.
Matthew took her hand in his, weaving their fingers together.She had good hands.Long, strong fingers with short, neatly trimmed fingernails.Calluses marred the tips of her fingers.He ran his finger over a callus on her middle finger.“What are these from?”
“Setting type.It is a tedious process.Now, I have ladies who come in and do the job for each edition, but for years, I set type for my father.He had me learn each part of the business by doing.He was a big believer in learning as you go.”
“You hire a lot of women?”he asked.
“Typesetting takes delicacy; the tiles are small.You need small hands, so women are naturally better at the detailed work.”
He weaved his fingers back through hers.“Will you tell me about what happened?You said Lord Griffen’s father ruined your life.”
She sighed.
“Please?”He kissed her fingers.
