Not exactly a winning combination, nor one he’d care to repeat. Moreover, he could not deny that Lottie would be an asset to any investigation. She’d proved herself, time and again, tracking down clues and saving his hide. The First Flame Society was a formidable adversary, and with the Great Exhibition creeping closer and closer, his team could use all the help they could get. In fact, keeping Lottie by his side would put him in a better position to protect her.
“I will speak to him,” Jack said. “But I cannot guarantee he will agree to bring you on.”
“I was not asking for his permission,” Lottie said tartly. “I was merely doing him a professional courtesy by informing him that the Angels will be investigating the First Flame. If he wishes to combine efforts, he may contact me.”
“Promise you won’t do anything without me.”
“As I am not a liar, I cannot make such a promise.”
“Goddammit, Lottie. After last night, I thought?—”
“What did you think? That after an enjoyable interlude, I would become your meek and obedient wife once again?”
He inhaled for patience. “I have, not once, thought of you and the phrasemeek and obedientin the same sentence. What I was going to say was that I thought last night we worked well together. Made a good team.”
We fought splendidly together. And the fucking, darling—that was even better.
“Oh.” She sounded suspicious.
“And I hoped that we could continue the positive trend.”
“Which trend are you referring to: working or sleeping together?”
That was his Lottie: stunningandperceptive.
“Why not both?”
She narrowed her eyes. “You said there were no strings attached.”
“There aren’t. But that doesn’t mean we cannot repeat the experience.” He curled a finger under her chin. “I thought you enjoyed yourself as much as I did.”
“I did.”
Because, as she claimed, she was no liar, twin lines appeared between her brows. She seemed conflicted. Combined with the faint bruising by her right eye, she looked vulnerable in a way that made him want to carry her back to their rocky cocoon and make love to her until every thought of leaving him was vanquished. Yet with Lottie, he knew when to push and when to retreat.
“Then think about what I am offering. Pleasure without commitment.”
Until I can find a way to offer you more. To give you everything. To give you a future where all you know is happiness…and the best is still to come.
He tipped her chin up and saw her eyelids lower. He bent his head, and her lips parted. He kissed her on the nose.
“I will see you when I return,” he said. “Wait for me.”
Now, as he prepared to see Primus, he was far from certain that Lottie would be at the inn when he returned. But he knew where to find her. With simmering anticipation, he realized that for the first time in years, he had something to look forward to.
The door to the parlor opened.
“Sir.” Jack bowed.
Lancaster waved an impatient hand. “Come in.”
Jack followed his superior into the rustic room. The curtains were drawn, but the shadows suited them both. There was a pair of overstuffed chairs by the fire, but as his mentor remained standing, so did Jack. He was reminded of what Primus told him the day he was recruited.
“The life of a spy holds few comforts. Your life as you know it will come to an end, and you will be asked to give up happiness as defined by ordinary men. From here on in, you will dedicate yourself to doing your duty…even though no one will ever know of your heroism. Is that what you wish?”
At the time, Jack had had nothing to lose. He’d known few comforts in his life, and the few blessings he’d been given, he had destroyed. His most fervent wish had been for his miserable existence to end. Instead, he’d been given an opportunity: to remake himself, find redemption in duty and patriotism, and emerge a different man.
He hadn’t yet succeeded in those goals. But he’d done his best to follow in his mentor’s footsteps. Primus would stop at nothing to protect his country. With his gritty honesty and self-sacrifice, he’d demonstrated to Jack what was required to be an agent for good.
