Together, they found their mutual completion.
In the quiet aftermath, as their breathing slowly began to return to normal, Drake sensed a change in Fleur. “What’s wrong?”
She slowly turned in his arms until she was lying on her back. Ensuring that she stayed wrapped up in his warm embrace, she looked at him in concern. “We haven’t been using any… preventative measures against… having a child.”
Drake stilled and then realized that he had been the fool. “Damn.” He fell back against the pillows and stared at the ceiling overhead. “I haven’t been thinking…” He shook his head and looked at her. “I will remedy that oversight today and procure some sheaths.”
She worried her lower lip. “What if it’s already too late?” she whispered.
He grew quiet. He had been so wrapped up in the chaos that generally surrounded him that he hadn’t stopped to consider the ramifications of his own actions. The women he’d lain with before had usually used some form of remedies to prevent an accidental pregnancy. He had pulled out before his seed was spilled as well but he was so fazed by how good it felt to be inside of Fleur that he’d failed to do even that.
“When did you last have your courses?”
She hesitated and then said, “I can’t say for sure. Three weeks ago, perhaps? I daresay I lost track with the move to London and the subsequent events that proceeded it.”
“Then we shall wait.”
“And if I do not bleed?” she prodded.
He frowned at the ceiling. “I don’t know. But there is no use putting the proverbial cart before the horse. We will take things as they come. I have never looked for tomorrow.”
She said nothing further but Drake could tell that she was still troubled. He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips. “Get some rest. I’m sorry for having disturbed you.”
She offered a slight smile. “I’m not.”
His gaze swept her naked form. “Much more talk like that and we will be up rather late, indeed.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck at the same time her legs went lax. “I don’t see any problem with that,” she murmured seductively.
Drake wasn’t sure if this woman was his salvation—or if she would end up being the death of him. Either way, he was eagerly heading toward the light.
* * *
Later the following morning,Drake was in his study when Amos strode in. Until that point, he’d been able to pretend as though things weren’t as dire as he’d imagined. The night he’d spent entangled in Fleur’s arms had been one of the most spectacular of his entire life. He couldn’t actually recall a moment that had held such tenderness and warmth, not even when he’d been with Elina. He could almost forget that the harsh realities he’d suffered since he was a lad had faded away, leaving nothing behind but a pure, unadulterated… contentment.
However, the moment Amos entered the room he could tell his expression didn’t bode well and any happiness that Drake might have tried to grasp dissipated in front of him. “I heard you had an altercation with Avalon.”
Drake leaned back in his chair. Withdrawing a coin from his vest pocket he began to thread it through his fingers. “I wouldn’t necessarily call it an altercation but more of an involved discussion.”
Amos didn’t find his assessment amusing in the least. “What the bloody hell were you thinking to challenge him like that? He has a veritable army at his disposal. Are you trying to paint a target on your back?”
Drake slammed the coin down on the table with his palm. “Things change!”
Never before had Drake raised his voice, not to Amos, not to his worst enemies. A show of such strong emotion was a definite sign of weakness and would cause him to lose the last of his reputation with the underground. If he were to best Avalon at his own game, he had to remember to play his part just as well. It was true that Avalon had the Blue Boys but Drake wasn’t without his own resources. Amos had been a formidable ally and to have their acquaintance blow up now would be disastrous.
The single blue eye narrowed in disapproval. “I expected more of you. I don’t care to drag you out of another alley because of the mistakes you made regarding another woman.”
Drake glanced away. “Fleur is different.”
A derisive snort was his reply. “They all are until the lights go out.” Amos stalked to the desk causing Drake’s focus to snap back to him. As the other man slammed his own palms on the top of the wood, he growled, “You can’t honestly sit there and tell me that you are confident that should the decision arise where your courtesan has to choose between you and Flavian, she won’t choose her brother?”
Drake stilled. If anyone else of his acquaintance dared to call him out like Amos, he would have ensured they weren’t able to speak again afterward. Unfortunately, for all of his current assurances that Fleur cared for him, Amos was right. The entire reason Fleur had ruined herself to begin with was to save her twin. If he actually hoped that her affection for him would trump that of her flesh and blood, he was fooling himself.
Scrubbing a hand down his face, Drake leaned back in his chair. He had required someone to wake him up from the daze he was starting to slip into with Fleur. Thankfully, he wasn’t so far gone in his besotted state that he couldn’t allow logical thinking to return.
“Do you have a list of possible females?”
Rather than act confused by the sudden change in topic, Amos straightened and withdrew the paper from his vest. Drake removed a slip of paper from his desk and as they exchanged names, it didn’t take Drake long to discount most. He did, however, keep Miss Wilson as a likely suspect for arson.
