“Since you put it that way.”
Mouth twitching, he disrobed and gave her a bit of a show. He couldn’t help it, egged on by Lottie’s reaction. Despite her bold words, she was blushing, looking whilst trying not to look, and the result was altogether adorable. Thus, when he managed to get his trousers off, his cock toppled out like felled timber.
“Heavens.” Lottie’s voice was delightfully strangled. “Are you always this way?”
“When you are near, yes.”
Naked, he stalked toward her, and she retreated a few steps, her back hitting the wall next to the wardrobe. He placed a palm on the other side, caging her. He shuddered at the brush of taffeta against his erection.
“It arouses me when you get possessive,” he murmured.
“I am not possessive?—”
“Aren’t you,Mrs. Wilkins?” He nipped her ear, feeling her shiver in his balls. “You staked your claim in front of Mrs. Clooney. Just like I did in front of Devlin.”
He looked into her dilated eyes, daring her to deny it. To deny the pulsing and proprietary bond between them.
“That was stupid of me.” Lottie blew out a breath. “I suppose…I suppose I don’t like the idea of another woman looking at you that way. For heaven’s sake, Jack, she was like a butcher’s dog salivating at a prime cut.”
He would have laughed at her analogy if it didn’t trigger a memory.
“You are a piece of meat, Jack, and I shall have my fill of you.”Judith’s green eyes had glowed with lust and maliciousness. “If you do not please me, I will tell Sebastian that you forced yourself on me. That you have been doing it for years.That you made me take your big cock, threatened to hurt me if I didn’t. Who do you think Sebastian will believe…me or you?”
“Jack? What is the matter?”
Lottie’s voice wrestled him from the tarpit of shame.
“Nothing. I…I had better get dressed.”
He began to pull back, but Lottie wrapped her fingers around his wrist.
“You froze just now. It was as if…as if you were not here.” Her clear grey eyes seemed to peer into his soul. “Was it something I said?”
“No, I was just thinking of the time.” He forced a smile. “Now that you’ve gotten me ejected from the premises, I need to pack and arrange for my belongings to be moved to another lodging house before we head to Brompton’s.”
“You needn’t.”
He frowned. “After that exchange with Mrs. Clooney, I don’t think I can stay here?—”
“I meant you don’t need to find new lodgings. I was thinking that…that you could stay with me. If you wish to.”
Lottie’s bottom lip was caught beneath her teeth, and she looked suddenly shy and so sweet that he could scarcely breathe.
“Do you mean it?” he said hoarsely. “What about your reputation? I will not jeopardize?—”
“We will have to be careful,” she said. “My staff, as you know, is discreet. And you are a spymaster, after all. You’ve already demonstrated your ability to enter my home without anyone noticing. You will have to continue to be stealthy until we come to a permanent decision about our future. Does the plan suit you?”
“Yousuit me,” he said.
He kissed her with all the hope pounding in his heart.
By the time Charlie and Jack arrived at Brompton’s, it was near closing time. The manufactory consisted of redbrick buildings surrounded by a wrought-iron gate. A pair of guards flanked the entrance, watching as workers, male and female, filed out.
Jack opened the window when one of the guards stopped the carriage.
“State your business,” the burly fellow demanded.
“I am here to purchase matches, good sir.” Jack’s accent was expansive and suited to his role as a country innkeeper. “In bulk for my business.”
