“Damn,” he muttered, as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I had hoped I was just misinformed…” His voice trailed off, and he looked back at Triana with eyes as hard as granite. “Triana, I want you to go back—”
“Absolutely not!” she stated adamantly. She crossed her arms and stubbornly raised her chin a notch to emphasize her point. “I’m not going anywhere until I know my brother is safe.”
“This is not open for discussion—” Gabriel started to argue.
She cut him off with the wave of her hand, ignoring the dangerous expression on his face, one she felt would surely cower any enemy into complying with his demands. However, he would learn she was not so easily abated. “I don’t recall asking your permission,” she countered hotly. “Either I go with you so that I can assure myself Travell is unharmed...” She paused and gave a nonchalant half-shrug. “Or I just wait until you leave and then followyou.”
She could tell that he was waging a war with himself, but she knew he had no choice to agree, for she’d effectively outmaneuvered him. She might have felt rather smug about that fact if he hadn’t pinned her with a glare at that moment.
“Since I don’t have time to argue with you, and I have no doubt that you’re just enough of an infuriating minx to follow through on your threat, rather than trudging off on your own to get into more trouble, I’ll take you with me.” He held up finger. “But I want to make one thing clear. You are to doeverythingI say. Is that understood?”
Those silver orbs glittered, and Triana felt that familiar, twinge of heat spread throughout her limbs, although she merely nodded.
“Good. Then let’s go.”
After a quick glance about, he grabbed her hand and they exited the park to hail down a passing hackney. He assisted her inside and stepped back to give directions to the driver, then he climbed in and shut the door.
It wasn’t until they began moving through the candle lit, cobblestone streets of London, that Triana cast a surreptitious glance at her companion. Gabriel sat with a grim expression on his face, as if he wanted to be anywhere else than with her right then. She decided to just let him brood because nothing was going to sway her from her purpose.
But that didn’t mean she wasn’t hurt because of it.
She started to glance away, but she happened to catch sight of his hands. She’d never noticed how muscular they were — not to mention how many little white scars covered the veined flesh. These were not the hands of a London dandy by any means. Hands like these could break a man’s nose — or just as easily caress a woman’s naked flesh…
Triana bit her lip, annoyed that she’d brought up something so carnal at a time like this, but after the wicked things he’d done to her with those very hands, she found she couldn’t rid her mind of the erotic memory now that it had taken root.
She allowed her gaze to roam at will. He wasn’t wearing a jacket this evening, nor a cravat or waistcoat, just a simple, black shirt; the sleeves rolled up far enough to give her an enticing view of his lightly tanned, muscular forearms with their dusting of dark hair. The collar was unfastened at his throat; giving her a glimpse of the few, crisp hairs that sprung to life at the base of his neck. How thrilling it would be to remove the rest of those buttons from their confining holes in order to see if that solid chest was as artfully decorated!
Of course, she’d seen a casually dressed man before, for growing up in the country at Rosewood and possessed of an inquisitive nature, she’d sneaked down to the stables more than once to spy on the stable hands when they thought they were alone. She had been fascinated by the play of muscles across their glistening backs and shoulders as they’d tossed hay to the horses; the differences she found in their bodies and her own a remarkable contrast.
Triana shifted in her seat, a trickle of sweat trailing between her breasts as she continued her exploration down the rest of Gabriel’s body — the flat plane of his stomach, a pair of sinewy thighs and firm calves. How would the coarse hairs of his legs feel against her smooth ones? Would they tickle or excite?
And what about that certain part of anatomy that spoke to being a male in every way? She might still be an innocent when it came to such things, but Gabriel fascinated her in every way.
“I warned you before that looking at a man that way could only lead to trouble.”
Triana jumped and her gaze flew to the duke’s face. He was regarding her with a combination of tolerance and something much more dark and…delicious. Her stomach gave a small flip, as she unconsciously licked her lower lip with the tip of her tongue.
That smoldering gaze abruptly dropped to her mouth; his voice undeniably husky as he asked, “Do you enjoy tempting fate, Triana?” He tilted his head, allowing her a glimpse of those flashing eyes. “Or just me?”
Triana felt like her head was spinning as that probing, silver stare rendered her temporarily speechless.
His lips turned upward at her silence, before he took a deep breath and broke the charged tension hanging in the air. “We’re here.”
She had to blink twice before his words fully sank in. Only then did she realize they had stopped. She chided herself for allowing her thoughts to get so far off track, and sternly reminded herself that she was here for herbrother, not for a tryst with the duke.
Gabriel got out of the carriage, leaving her to follow. The driver had dropped them off in a deserted alleyway near Nine Elms, by what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. Chiltern took off at a clipped pace.
“Where are we going?” she asked when she’d finally caught up to him.
“To see an old friend. I’ve decided you will be quite useful after all.” Raising a dark brow, he added, “Or have you changed your mind?”
“Of course I haven’t, but I thought we were looking for Travell…”
“I know where he is.” When Triana’s eyes grew wide, Gabriel paused in his determined stride, obviously deeming it necessary to elaborate a bit further. “He’s at the docks on a ship called theEvening Swan, but in order to gain access to a vessel at this time of night without causing undue suspicion—” He hesitated. “Let’s just say you’re going to have to trust me.”
He paused and reached out to her, rubbing the backs of his fingers down her cheek. “After everything that’s happened between us, can you still trust me, Triana?”
A startling shiver raced up her spine at his touch, and while she wanted to deny it, she unwillingly found herself admitting, “I know I shouldn’t, but God help me, I do.”
