“Because that would mean you anticipate the worst. We must think positive, that things will work out as they are meant to be.” His jaw clenched. “I have not lived this long and withstood all that I have to be cut down now.” She saw him swallow and then he said softly, “I have found something worth living for and I don’t intend to let it slip away.”
She wound her arms around his neck and while he wouldn’t allow her to speak her feelings, the emotions that pulsed so firmly throughout her entire body, she showed him what he meant to her by the kiss she bestowed on his mouth. She was rewarded by the hand that slid up her back and lost itself in her chignon. Pins scattered but she didn’t care. All she wanted was him—beside her, on top of her, inside of her. She didn’t feel complete without him.
Silent tears slid down her face but they were ignored as she pulled Drake to her. He pressed her into the settee and she rejoiced at his weight. It made her feel safe, comforted, and she couldn’t have asked for a more perfect moment.
When he slid his hand down to tease her womanly bud, she kept her focus on him. The pleasure started to grow and blossom, and when it washed over her, she arched her neck and slid her eyes closed. As soon as the tide passed, and he slipped his cock into her wet heat, she shuddered at the wondrous joining. She wrapped her legs around his hips as he thrust in and out of her with ruthless abandon. He’d never lost himself like this before and she was awestruck by the uninhibited way he released all that he had within her.
On a groan that she answered with a light moan, they found eternity in each other’s arms.
Fleur held Drake close to her breast and allowed a single tear to slide down her cheek. It wasn’t of despair or sadness but the feeling that everything was just as it should be. She finally felt as though Drake’s heart had been unlocked for her and it was a moment worth celebrating.
After all was calm, he lifted his head and kissed the tip of her nose. “You are remarkable, Fleur.” He released a breath as if he was reluctant to leave her but he moved away and set himself to rights as she swung her legs over the side of the settee and shook her skirts back down. Other than her hair in disarray and the flush that was likely still on her cheeks, it would have appeared that nothing untoward had occurred. Drake certainly didn’t look visibly changed but there was a marked difference in his demeanor. It was as if the harsh lines of his past had finally diminished and he might be able to smile a bit easier, certainly more genuine.
He reached out a hand to her and she took it without hesitation. “I know it will be futile to ask you to remain here?—”
“You’re correct.”
He smiled; a crooked sort that made her breath catch. “—So I’m not even going to try. I would, however, request that you wear the shroud one last time. It will ease my mind thinking that your presence won’t be so easily noted.”
She frowned slightly. “But Daniel knew our secrets.”
“That may be,” he concurred. “But I don’t believe he will give you over so lightly. Seeing you attired thus, it might bring back some of his loyalty to you both and make him realize how irrational his brother is to punish Flavian for nothing more than the crime of being a man and one woman’s need for vengeance against the entire male species.”
She nodded her head. “Very well. Let’s finish this.”
* * *
When Avalon returned,he arrived with an unmarked carriage and several of his men on horseback. Drake could see the other man’s dark gaze flicker over Fleur’s black shroud, but since she had left off the hood, it must have satisfied him.
Drake lifted a brow at the fanfare. “I thought we were trying to be circumspect?”
“Wewill.” He waved a hand at the carriage. “You and Fleur shall ride with me in style as proper travelers while my men shall arrive a short time later in various degrees. We shall have the Coach and Horses surrounded before the Reynolds’ brothers even know we’ve intercepted them.”
“I’m glad you think it’s going to be that easy.” Drake said dryly, once they had all settled into Avalon’s carriage. “They will be expecting us sooner rather than later. Don’t underestimate a pair of miliary men and their counterparts.”
Avalon’s smile was tight. “I underestimate no one. The same goes for you, Porter.”
Drake leaned back in his seat. “In that regard, I suppose you’re not a total loss.”
Rather than appearing offended, Avalon threw back his dark head and laughed richly. “I can always count on you to put me in my place but I suppose that sometimes I deserve it.”
“As do I,” Drake returned. He turned to look at the woman at his side. “Fleur does it so well.”
She rolled her eyes at him and he could feel his lips twitching, and then to his surprise, and apparently to that of the other occupants in the carriage, he started to laugh. And it wasn’t a slight, rusty chuckle, but a complete, stomach rolling amusement that almost brought tears to his eyes. He wasn’t even sure why he was acting like such a ninnyhammer except that, for the first time in his life, he was truly… happy.
“Amazing,” Avalon breathed.
Drake turned to him curiously as some of his merriment subsided. “What is?”
“I never thought I would live to see the day Mr. Drake Porter found true love.” Immediately, a hush fell around the carriage. Avalon lifted a brow. “Tell me I’m not the only one who sees it’s so obvious?”
Drake cleared his throat and glanced at Fleur who was doing everything in her power to keep from looking directly at him. Combined with the rosy color that appeared on her cheeks, he couldn’t decide if she was embarrassed—or he’d interpreted her devotion completely wrong earlier.
Turning his attention back to Avalon, he muttered, “Let’s just keep our focus on the upcoming confrontation.”
Avalon held his hands up in supplication, although he gave a light snort that belied his seriousness. As he turned to stare out the window and promptly fell into silence, Drake started to wonder if the words Fleur had been about to say earlier had been a declaration of love—or something else. Perhaps she was imploring him to release her, to let her free to chase after her dreams where he wasn’t a part of them. No doubt he still hadn’t fully earned her trust in him. He hoped that tonight’s escapades might prove his loyalty to her but perhaps he was mistaken on that score too.
He thought about what Amos had said, that it would come down to Fleur’s decision between him and her brother, and he knew which one she would choose. He wanted her to pick Flavian. The last thing he desired was any sort of discord between the siblings. He’d nearly ruined everything by his desire to have a bit of fun the moment he’d offered that card game in Greenwich, and now he was like a fool admitting his folly as he attempted to atone for those sins.
