She cried out as her body tightened and then became awash with a glorious release that made her cheeks flush and her legs tremble with the force of it.
As the fireworks ceased, Fleur floated back to reality. Her eyes fluttering open, she felt like a woman who had been well and truly loved. She sat up and turned to look at Drake. “Take me home.”
He bent forward and kissed her tenderly. “As my lady wishes.”
CHAPTER15
Drake awoke early the next morning, naked and hard, lying next to Fleur in bed and eager to take her again. However, he wasn’t such a licentious scoundrel that he couldn’t let her gain some much needed sleep. The sun had just touched the horizon, and while he knew there were things that required his attention, he was reluctant to leave her side.
When they had returned from Vauxhall the night before, he’d carried her up the stairs where they had quickly divested themselves of those hindering clothes and spent the better part of the night and early morning intertwined in each other’s arms.
She was definitely shifting something inside of him, and while he should be grateful that she was able to see the man behind the previous offenses he’d committed, he wondered if his luck would someday run out. The idea that Fleur might be snatched from him was not something he wanted to ponder. He had never contemplated such fear before, and it concerned him that Harriette was right. Perhaps he was getting soft.
It was not a comforting thought.
Forcing himself to leave Fleur, he donned the shirt and trousers he’d discarded the night before. He would change later, but right now he needed to confer with Amos to see if his cohort had discovered anything of interest from his inquiries the previous afternoon.
He was still tucking his shirt in his trousers when he walked in his study and spied Amos kicked back in his chair, his booted feet crossed at the ankles on his desk.
With a snort, Drake said, “By all means, make yourself comfortable.”
“It was taking you quite some time to rise. I grew bored.” Dropping his boots to the floor, Amos straightened but he didn’t move and allow Drake to sit in his place.
However, he wasn’t interested in sitting right then. The brandy decanter on the sideboard looked more appealing at the moment. He poured two fingers’ worth in a tumbler and downed it in one fiery swallow. He repeated it a second time, and by the third he was starting to feel as if he could keep his focus from straying to Fleur.
Amos waited patiently for Drake to face him. Leaning against the mantel, he waited for his makeshift footman to speak.
He withdrew a sheet from his vest and tossed it on the desk before him. “This should give us a start.” He pointed a finger in the center of the paper. “The names on this list are men that you have had previous altercations with that are currently in or near London. While it is a possibility that someone else could hire a paid assailant, I feel it’s best to review these names before reaching that far.”
“Agreed.” Drake walked toward the desk and picked up the list. At a brief glance, he counted more than thirty suspects. As he read through the names, he shook his head. “It’s none of these.”
“How can you be so certain?” Amos returned.
“Because while they may be in London, they aren’t free men. Most of these I assisted into jail.” He walked over to the desk and gathered a key from a secret compartment where he opened a locked drawer. There, he pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Amos. “This is the list I compiled myself. I feel they would be more worthy adversaries. Or if not, they have the ability to manipulate others to do their will.”
Amos copied Drake’s perusal, and then his brows winged upward until they nearly disappeared in his dark hairline. “Avalon? I thought he was an ally?”
“I am not discounting him,” Drake said evenly. “I would hope he would have more sense than to cross me but he was rather infatuated by Miss Davies when they met and since he is starting to act as though he is untouchable, I wouldn’t put it past him to betray me.”
Amos nodded. “I can’t believe I didn’t consider the courtesan.”
“She is just as devious as to back me into a corner. She is already trying to do so but I am not as worried about her. One snap of my fingers will have her behind an iron door if I have my way.”
“It seems to me we shouldn’t ignore the threat of any woman, including scorned ladies.”
“You will not find any of those,” Drake said emphatically. “I was very clear when I started any affair that it would be brief and there were never any hard feelings at the end. I made sure of it.”
“Fine.” Amos got to his feet and gathered his previous list. Tearing it into small pieces, he walked toward Drake and tossed them into the fire. “I will return tomorrow morning with an update, assuming you will not need me in the interim?”
“No. I plan on laying low today.”
“And spending time with your new interest?” Amos guessed with a wink from his exposed eye.
Drake offered a tight smile. “I’ve never been one to kiss and tell.”
Amos brushed past him and headed for the door.
Once he was gone, Drake walked to the window and looked out at the day. Whereas the day had begun sunny and bright, the clouds were starting to roll in from the west. No doubt there would be heavy rains descending on them later in the day. It seemed like the perfect time to laze the day away with Fleur. But he would never call her a courtesan. It seemed like such a crass word to call the woman who was slowly reminding him that his heart was worth more than pumping blood through his body to keep it alive.
