After a rather dizzying kiss, he lowered her onto her feet and then bent his forehead to rest it against hers.
“So.” His breath fanned her lips. “How are you?”
“Perfect.” Felicity trailed a finger down the side of his face, tenderly tracing the raised skin of his white scar.
He covered her hand with his.
“My father did this,” he whispered. “I never meant to shut you out.”
She held her breath, shocked at what he was telling her and… given her suspicions… that he was telling her at all. She needed to be worthy of his trust.
“He refused to use foils when he sparred with me. Said I needed to comprehend what real danger felt like.”
Felicity flicked her gaze away from the hazel depths of his in order to examine the scar closely. About three inches long, it was mostly straight except for one section where it widened. He’d told her once that it had gone deep.
At the hand of his own father.
“Our child—boy, girl, sickly or strong—will never doubt my love,” Axel vowed.
Felicity moved her fingertips to his lips. She hadn’t doubted this for an instant. “I know.”
But beware of your own father. She wanted to beg.
“I’m just trying to protect you.” His voice sounded gruff.
Of course, he was. Felicity nodded, a swell of emotion threatening to dissolve her into tears. Blinking hard, she pushed them down.
“Now tell me what is being done to capture whoever is causing us so much trouble.” They didn’t have much time. Her parents were likely home already and preparing to reprimand the two of them for going off together alone.
But she also needed to know what was being done to ensure his safety.
He explained that assistance was never far off—that even now, just outside, two of Blackheart’s men had followed him and were likely surveying the gardens. Unfortunately, although they’d laid a few traps, they’d failed to lure the assailants into the open again. They couldn’t pinpoint the person behind the attacks without capturing one of the hired thugs first.
“I hate the thought that even now, you’re in danger. Because of me,” Axel said.
She couldn’t help but think that the attacks had something to do with their engagement… and the baby. And that the only people who know about the baby were their respective families.
The incentive to end his life would be diminished after their marriage. Because then, not only would Axel stand in the way of the earldom, but her child as well.
If the child was a boy.
And as long as the culprit wasn’t willing to kill all of them.
“Let’s wed by special license,” the words flew from her mouth almost frantically. “And then leave for the country.” She didn’t care about setting up her household in Mayfair. All that mattered was that nothing happened to him or their child.
Sometime between last March and now, those two lives had become more important than her own.
Axel touched his mouth to hers. “Hush now. One more week. I’m going to return you home, and I promise to keep you appraised of our progress. But being with you today, like this, it’s selfish on my part. I want you safe.”
But they wouldn’t find the culprit if they persisted in looking in all the wrong places!
It was his father. It had to be his father.
“You promise you’ll tell me when you learn anything new?” She didn’t want him to take her home yet.
A bed beckoned just a few feet away. She dropped her gaze. What if it was their last chance?
“Felicity.” He commanded her attention. “Look at me. I will handle this. I want… no. I need you to trust me. I—” He turned to look out the window across the room before meeting her stare again. ”It isn’t my father, but he’s being watched anyway. Does that make you feel better?”
