Clio shook her head. ‘The duchess made some unsavoury comments. When Cynthia disagreed, she left in a huff.’
‘Unsavoury comments about what? Or given the duchess, who?’
Bugger.
She couldn’t very well repeat what the duchess said about Grey. Instead, she shook her head. ‘It doesn’t matter.’
He turned to face her, gripping her elbow and forcing her to mirror his movements. ‘It matters a great deal if she has upset my sister.’
‘I come from a very loyal family. We protect each other. Your sister is cut from the same cloth, I believe.’
His eyes hardened as his fingers tightened. ‘Ah. So she was discussing me. Cynthia should not have wasted her efforts.’
Clio couldn’t stop the well of righteous anger at his easy dismissal of such loathsome insults against him. ‘Whyever not? Are you not just as worthy of her protection as she is of yours?’
He held her trapped in his gaze. ‘No. I am not.’
‘Why do you say that?’ She held her breath, thinking he wouldn’t answer. That he would turn and walk away. But he surprised her with honesty.
‘Because my secrets are far more damning than the gossip surrounding me.’
She sucked in air and with it, his scent of starch and spice. ‘What secrets do you have, Thomas Grey?’
His eyes flashed, enigmatic and impossible to read. But he did not share whatever darkness lingered there.
She cursed him for refusing to answer her question. And then it dawned on her. While he and Berty had many differences, there was one way all men were similar: they would do almost anything to get what they wanted. And Thomas wanted her.
She subtly shifted her stance, cocking her hip and letting seductionsmoulder in her gaze. ‘I was thinking about that cravat last night. It occurred to me, leather is far more difficult to burn than cloth or rope.’
Her abrupt change in conversation wasn’t the reason his jaw clenched, or his pupils blew wide. ‘Fascinating.’ He ground the word from his lips like crushing stone. ‘I happen to have a few lengths of leather strapping in my room. Excellent for keeping a razor sharp. Or tying up certain ladies who tend to run hotter than most.’
Clio’s nipples hardened against her corset, and she tightened her thighs as a hollow ache bloomed in her centre. ‘Really?’ She tried for nonchalance but failed miserably. Sir Robin’s mocking caw confirmed her suspicions.
‘Shall I show you?’
All of the air was suddenly sucked out of Lady Langley’s parlour. She was supposed to be seducing him, but the damnable man had flipped the coin. Clio swallowed, trying to align her thoughts. ‘Where?’ Such a proposition should have scandalised her, but she was well beyond that now.
‘Later. In your room. Or we can discuss the case, and each retire to our separate beds. The choice is yours.’
But this was her chance to discover what he kept so carefully hidden.
She let out a gusty sigh. ‘I suppose we could test your theory. For scientific purposes. Of course.’
‘Excellent. Until later, Clio.’ He wandered away from her, leaving Clio to lean against the wall and think of glaciers. Icy rain. Cold bath water. Anything to cool the inferno raging through her system.
17
Thomas knocked on Clio’s door, the leather straps coiled loosely in his left hand. His heart raced. It took all his willpower to remain calm as she opened the door and let him into her room. She was wearing another white nightgown. This time, her robe was green velvet tied tightly at her waist.
‘Come in.’ Clio’s cheeks grew pink, and it was breathtaking to see such a strong, confident woman turn shy.
Thomas still wore his breeches from dinner, though he left his coat, cravat, and vest in his room and wore only a linen shirt. Clio watched him enter with eyes as luminous as a jungle cat. He didn’t miss how they froze on the V of skin exposed by his unbuttoned shirt. She licked her lips, and he wondered if she wanted to taste him as badly as he wished to savour her.
Looking around the room, a certain raven was noticeably absent.
‘Where is Sir Robin?’
Clio’s blush deepened. ‘I put his perch behind the screen.’ She gestured to a darkened corner. ‘The last thing we need is for him tostart repeating what is said between us. He could accidentally expose the entire investigation.’
