He appeared to consider this for a time. “I enjoy a good mystery from time to time, so why not?”
She grinned. “Then let’s get started.”
Alister wasn’t sure what to think as they began to tear apart Roger’s chamber for further clues. It had been a stroke of pure luck that Lyra found that cipher. When she suggested that they continue looking—together—he’d had to refrain from kissing her. With her help, this investigation was bound to come to a crucial point much sooner. And as soon as Talon got the murder charges dropped, there wouldn’t be any reason for him to stay at Weston House any longer.
Unfortunately, that was the crux of the matter.
He wasn’t ready to leave Lyra just yet.
In truth, he wasn’t sure if he ever would be.
But he supposed he would cross that bridge when he came to it. For now, he intended to concentrate on this mission and leave no stone unturned.
“Blast!”
Alister turned around sharply. “What is it?”
“I stubbed my toe.” Lyra was rubbing the side of her slipper with a pained look on her face. “I was looking through the fireplace when I accidentally kicked the grate.”
He lifted a brow. “I’m impressed. You must be a born spy to be so thorough as to dig through old ashes.”
“There hasn’t been a fire in here for nearly two months,” she pointed out. “I just thought there might be a secret compartment in the mantle or something.”
Alister couldn’t help himself, he laughed. “I can tell you read a lot of novels with that sort of imagination. If only it were that easy. In my experience—”
He abruptly broke off mid-sentence.Damn.He had been perilously close to exposing himself. He hoped he might have caught such a careless blunder before she caught it, but when she prompted with, “Yes?” he knew he had to distract her—and fast.
“It’s nothing. I was just thinking aloud.” He made a show of staring intently at the knobs on the wardrobe. “Hmm, what’s this?”
“You found another clue?” Lyra was so stunned that she forgot everything else—including the ability to walk properly. As she rushed toward Alister, her slipper caught on the edge of the rug in the middle of the room and she started to pitch forward.
With a grimace, she closed her eyes, waiting for that moment when she would bounce off of the hardwood.
It never happened.
“You seem to have a tendency towards clumsiness, my lady. I wonder who’s going to catch you when I’m gone?”
Lyra could feel her cheeks warm as he set her back on her feet.She hadn’t blushed since her debut ball, but for some reason, when she was in Alister’s arms, she felt young and giddy again.
But that didn’t mean she wasn’t terribly embarrassed as well.
As she shook out her skirts, she was careful to keep her eyes averted. “I do apologize, Your Grace.”
She gasped when his finger lightly tilted up her chin. “I didn’t say that I minded.”
Oh my.Without warning, those familiar pings of desire began to shoot through Lyra’s body. She wasn’t sure who moved first, but suddenly she was back in his arms. Their mouths instantly fused together as if that was where they had always belonged. She would be lying if she said it didn’t feel perfectly…right.
When he finally pulled back to look at her, she sighed. “Alister…”
For a moment, she didn’t realize she had actually said his name aloud until he groaned. “Say it again,” he whispered huskily, his breath hot and enticing as it fanned her cheek.
She didn’t even hesitate. “Alister.”
His hands tightened on her waist. “Do you know how long I’ve waited to hear you say my name?” His eyes were dark pools of mixed emotions. “You don’t know how badly I want to possess every part of you so that no other man exists but me.”
Lyra didn’t say anything. She didn’t move. She didn’t breathe, because she’d told herself time and time again that embarking on an affair with the Duke of Albright was wrong, that pushing the limits of their desire could only end in heartbreak. But how could she refuse him when he had spoken so passionately?
“I want that too.”
