“You look as though you could use it.”
She took the glass gratefully and took a sizeable swallow, even though it had been many years since she’d drank such strong spirits. But when her nerves were stretched this thin, it went far to calm her. “Thank you,” she said sincerely as he sat down across from her, his own glass dangling from his fingertips.
“I hate this,” she admitted.
“I don’t particularly care for it,” he murmured, taking a sip of his drink.
Constance considered doing something to occupy their thoughts, like playing cards, but she wasn’t sure she could concentrate enough to follow through on a proper hand. Not only that, but she couldn’t be assured that Devin wouldn’t make another ridiculous wager where she had to forfeit a kiss if she lost.
Even though she had yet to actually admit to following through on her loss. But she didn’t care to think of that now.
“Tell me about your life,” she said, hoping that some conversation might put her mind at ease.
His dark eyes were assessing. “What do you want to know?”
She shrugged. “Anything you wish to share. Just… talk.”
After a brief pause, he said, “I hope you don’t expect me to paint a fairytale. Most everything I did was in excess. Nothing that could be found in London was off limits.” His gaze was intense. “And no one.”
Constance swallowed. Instantly, her mind was whirling with the implication of his words. It sounded as though he had been very wicked, indeed.
Something dark and not completely unwelcome swirled in the lowest regions of her body. She downed the rest of her drink and set the glass aside, deciding that it was the alcohol that had caused this sudden change in her body. It surely wasn’t because he had just revealed what a scandalous libertine he had been. She would truly have to be deprived to think that such a torrid confession was appealing.
“Why did you get caught?” she asked, hoping to move the subject to safer ground.
“I was arrogant, and foolish.” His eyes sparked with a delicious inner depth. “When I realized my mistake, that I had been set up, it was too late.”
“So, the Mysterious Marauder wasn’t quite so untouchable,” she murmured.
He lifted a brow. “I see Luke has been telling tales. Trust me, I wasn’t the dashing hero that you might imagine. I earned that alias because of how easily I was able to remove valuables from my targets.”
She tilted her head to the side. “You were that good?”
His mouth slowly curved upward. “I was.”
Constance wasn’t sure if it was the brandy that made her bold and sit up straighter, but nevertheless, she offered a challenge. “I want to see this Mysterious Marauder in action for myself.” She reached up and touched the choker that she wore around her neck. It was made of pearls with a black cameo in the center. “Can you take this from me?”
He lifted a brow, clearly unimpressed. “Yes.”
“I can see some of your arrogance hasn’t worn off completely.” She continued stroking her necklace. “So, what do you say? I want to see if you are worthy of your nickname.” Her lips twitched. “Unless, of course, you think you’ve lost your touch…”
He rose to his feet. “I’m more than happy to demonstrate my talents for the lady,” he said huskily, and something told Constance that he was no longer talking about his ability as a thief. “Stand up.”
“Very well.” She got up. “Now what?”
“Go to the mantel.” She did as he instructed and saw that he had moved over to the entrance to the parlor. “Now walk toward me and act natural as if we were strangers passing each other on the street.”
“Now?” she asked.
“Whenever you’re ready.”
Constance took a deep breath, feeling suddenly flushed. She never recalled being so out of sorts after a dram of brandy before, but perhaps it had been longer than she’d imagined that she’d enjoyed a drink. Nevertheless, she set her shoulders back, and doing her best imitation of a woman casually walking down the street, she steadily grew closer to Devin, who remained where he was.
When she was almost directly in front of him, she wondered if he was even taking this little tete-a-tete seriously. But just when she was about to speak, he reached out and pulled her into his arms. His mouth slammed down on hers and for a moment, she was so stunned that she didn’t respond. But as his mouth began to tease and coax hers, the heat that had been threatening turned into a consuming inferno.
She temporarily forgot their little game, as her arms found their way around his neck and she kissed him back with the full abandonment of her senses. Her mind was swimming, intoxicated with his manly scent and the feel of his hard body pressed intimately against hers.
It wasn’t until he pulled back with a smug grin that she realized distraction had been his plan all along. He held up her cameo by a single finger. “How was that, Mrs. Hartford?” he whispered.
