She cleared her throat and held out her hand for her necklace, which he placed in her palm. “Well done, Mr. Blackmore.” Discomfited, she turned away from him and attempted to reattach the necklace, but for some reason, her fingers were shaking and refused to cooperate with such a simple command.
“Allow me.”
The voice drifted across her ear with the slightest breath and she shivered. When his hands lightly brushed her neck, she had to bite her lip to keep from leaning back into his warm embrace.
With the cameo back in place, Devin gently turned her back around. “Would you like another demonstration? Perhaps on the settee? We can act as though you are relaxing in the park.”
He glanced toward the green velvet object in question and Constance followed his glance. Her pulse fluttered, but she walked over and sat down. As she resumed her earlier position, her heart was pounding beneath her ribs, anticipation climbing along every nerve ending.
“Are you ready?” he asked softly, as he sat down beside her.
She nodded, and without taking her eyes off of him, she watched as he looked straight ahead. When he finally turned his gaze back to her, she licked her lips, because while this was supposed to be an experiment in his prowess, something told her he was proving a different sort of expertise altogether.
“Do you have the time?”
It took Constance a moment for his words to enter her lust-filled brain, but when they did, she blinked. “What?”
He smirked and repeated the question. “Do you have the time?”
She could feel her cheeks heat. “I’m sorry, I don’t.”
He casually laid his arm against the back of the settee. “It’s not as if time matters when in the company of such a lovely woman.”
She lifted a brow. Surely he didn’t think he impressed any woman with such a ridiculous compliment. She wrinkled her nose distastefully. “You can’t expect me to believe something so asinine—”
“Would get me what I want?”
Constance turned to him and was shocked to see that her necklace, once again, dangled from his fingertips. Instinctively, she touched the area where the cameo would have sat. He truly was a master at his craft. “How…?”
He set the jewelry on a side table. “It’s what I did to survive, so I had to be skilled if I wanted to eat and have a roof over my head.”
“I admit that was impressive.”
“No.” He lifted his hand and gently cupped her cheek. “You are the one who is impressive, Constance.” His gaze dropped to her lips. “You made it very hard to concentrate on what I was supposed to be doing, when all I wanted to do was this.”
Constance moaned slightly when his mouth descended, eager for his kiss. As she focused on the sensation of his lips moving across hers, his tongue flicking in and out of her mouth in a teasing manner that mimicked a very similar, seductive movement of another kind, she wasn’t prepared for the shock of his thumb brushing across her nipple. Streaks of scorching hot need shot to every part of her body, from the tips of her toes to the ends of her fingertips, and finally settling in her lower abdomen.
“Devin…” His name was a plea, a benediction on her lips, as he began to trail a path of fire along her exposed collarbone. She told herself that this interlude wasn’t going to go as far as it had previously, that she would tell him to stop, but just… not yet. It felt too good and she wasn’t quite ready for him to pull away from her.
A slight breeze drifted over her left leg and she knew that he was slowly inching his way to where she burned for him the most.
She held her breath, waiting for the moment when he would touch her…
A door shut somewhere in the house, and although Constance was drifting in a haze, Devin was apparently aware of the disruption. He released her with a muttered curse and shot to his feet, pacing hastily toward the mantel—just as Luke walked inside the room.
It took Constance a moment to gather herself, but once she did, shame washed over her. Here she was supposed to be so concerned over Mr. House, and yet, it hadn’t taken more than Devin to kiss her before she’d completely forgotten the older man was still missing.
She stood and smoothed down her skirts, careful to hide her shaking hands within the folds of the fabric. “Mr. House. There you are. I daresay we’ve both been worried sick about you.” She waved a hand toward Devin as if it wasn’t obvious who she was referring to.
Luke glanced from her to Devin, who had turned around to face the occupants in the room, although the former wisely remained silent. “Blasted thief. I should ’ave known that ’e wouldn’t do what I asked.” He exhaled heavily, and then explained. “I told th’ lad t’ bring a message lettin’ ye know that I was goin’ t’ be late gettin’ back.”
“Fleeced by a fellow swindler?” Devin noted. “I can’t help but appreciate the irony in that.”
“Aye.” Luke nodded. “It was one o’ Maria’s boys, so I thought ’e might ’ave followed through considerin’ I gave ’im a shillin’.” He regarded Constance in all sincerity. “I’m sorry my…errand took…ah…longer than expected.”
Constance couldn’t be upset with him, especially since his face was practically scarlet and he was doing his best to explain his tardiness with a bit of decorum. “There’s no harm done, Mr. House. It’s not as if you are a prisoner here. You are free to come and go as you please. But, if you will excuse me, now that I am assured of your wellbeing, I believe I will retire for the evening.” She didn’t look at Devin as she left.
In truth, she wasn’t sure she could meet his gaze without risking a silent invitation to meet her later so that they might finish what they’d started.
