She was incredible, beautiful, made for him.
He’d never known such pleasure—of the body, and strangely, of the heart.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Handcuffs, Regina learned, could be used in a variety of pleasurable ways, and Daffin was onlytoowilling to teach them to her. They spent hours naked and tangled in each other’s arms, and much of it Regina spent begging Daffin for release.
Whatever she’d expected lovemaking to be, she had never guessed at the intense physical and emotional connection she found with Daffin in the darkness. The things he did to her body—she never wanted him to stop touching her. Over and over, he brought her to the peak of passion and held her aloft until she begged him to let her go, and when he did, he did it unselfishly, holding nothing back to ensure she experienced the maximum pleasure.
It was still dark outside when he pulled her into his arms and kissed her temple. “Love,” he whispered, “I must go.”
“Must you?” Regina replied in a pouty voice.
She felt his smile against her ear. “The sun will be upsoon. People will be looking for us. I doubt you want them to find me here.”
She wasn’t entirely certain she didn’t, but she wasn’t about to say that to Daffin.
“Very well,” she agreed. “But kiss me one last time.”
“For the memories?” he asked.
He’d meant it to be a jest, but when he dipped his head to kiss her, Regina couldn’t help but be struck by the fact that this might be the only night they would ever spend together. All she would have were memories. If they found Knowles today as they hoped, she might never evenseeDaffin again, let alone spend the night in the same house with him. The thought made her throat ache.
He kissed her thoroughly, and then rolled to the side of the bed and sat up.
She pulled the blanket to cover her chest and sat up behind him. “Promise me you’ll be careful today, Daffin.”
He turned to look at her over his shoulder as he tugged on his breeches, a grin on his face. “I’m always careful, love.”
Love.He was using the word as a term of endearment. Meanwhile, she was all but certain she was truly feeling that emotion for him. Falling in love wasn’t something she’d thought of when she’d been trying to lure him into bed. Oh, God. What had she done to herself?
***
Daffin made it back to his room without being seen, thank God. He even managed to change his clothing, a quick ablution, and to run a brush through his hair. He didn’t have long before he needed to be in the foyer to meet Grimaldi for their planned outing to Seven Dials.
The night with Regina had been the stuff of dreams. In his wildest imagination, he wouldn’t have thought their lovemaking would be like that. He hadn’t wanted it to end. Regina was special. She was beautiful, and intelligent, and funny, and brave. She was everything he’d believed her to be last July in Surrey, and more. And he was falling in love with her. It wasn’t anything he’d expected, but it was true. The nights he’d spent knowing she was in the clutches of a madman had tortured him. He didn’t want to ever leave her side again. He would have to tell her that he was a bastard, eventually, but he hoped—no, had to believe—she would still accept him the way Grimaldi had. He couldn’t stand it if she ever came to regret their night together.
The thought of not seeing her again made his chest tight. He didn’t like it one bit. Daffin shook his head. The sun was beginning to peek in the window. He was running late. He’d think about his future with Regina later.
First, he had a killer to catch.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Regina washed and dressed quickly. She chose a simple blue cotton day dress and planned to wear a white pelisse and thick wool stockings. It was freezing outside, and a glance out the window told her the dawn would bring dark gray skies. She had to help Daffin and Mark today. They were relying on her to find the window from which she’d crawled a few nights ago. There was no guarantee Knowles would still be there, but perhaps there would be clues to his whereabouts. She only hoped they would find enough to track him down. She didn’t want her time with Daffin to come to an end, but she did want her family to rest easily. She wanted to be able to put her head on the pillow tonight knowing they were all finally safe.
A soft knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. She stuffed the ripped dressing gown into a drawer and called, “Come in.”
The door opened and Nicole’s bright head peeked in. Shewore her night rail and dressing gown. She slid into the room and padded to Regina’s bed.
“Good morning,” she said, stretching and yawning. “I came to hug you and wish you the best of luck.” She gave Regina a serious look. “I truly hate to see you put yourself in danger again, but I realize you must go.”
Regina nodded. “I must. I’m the only one who’s been there.”
“I know, and you’re brave and daring for doing it, but I don’t have to enjoy it. Please don’t take any risks, and come back safely. I’ll be worried sick until you’ve all returned.”
“Don’t worry.” Regina hugged her cousin. “I learned my lesson about taking risks.”
Nicole turned toward the door.
