He moved farther into the darkness and was pleased to see that Niall had already lit some of the torches attached to the wall. They were far apart, so the light was spread thin, providing only enough visibility to keep moving forward. Graeme was glad of the torches, although he had brought his own lantern, along with some tools and a gun, in the pack he carried over his shoulder.
There was a slight thump from somewhere behind him, then several rocks broke off the wall and crumbled to the ground. Someone was following him. Graeme stopped walking, molded himself to the damp cavern wall, and listened. Definite steps moved through the tunnel behind him.
Perhaps his cousin’s partner? Graeme started moving forward again, trying to gain some ground on the intruder. The deeper into the cave he walked, the colder the air became. A draft shuddered around him, and the torches nearest him were extinguished, leaving him in darkness. Again, he molded himself against the cavern wall and waited. The footsteps grew closer.
Graeme inhaled slowly. Soft footfalls beat against the ground of the tunnel as the intruder approached. A breeze fluttered against him when the person passed in front of Graeme’s hiding place. Graeme reached out, grabbed the body, and slammed it against the cavern wall.
Upon impact, the person released a groan that was decidedly more feminine than Graeme had been anticipating. The arms beneath his hands felt far too soft and small to be a man’s.
“That hurt,” she said softly.
“Vanessa!” he whispered. “What the devil are you doing following me?”
“You left early, and you were so careful, so quiet. I deduced you were attempting to conceal something from me.” Then she was quiet for a moment before continuing, and he wished he could see her. “It is my wifely duty to investigate such matters. That is, until I am no longer your wife.”
He exhaled loudly, and the sound echoed around them.
“Precisely where are you going in the dark?” she asked. “I brought along some candles, in my bag, for precisely this purpose. Shall I light one?”
“No, you shall not.”
“Are you going to release me?”
He hadn’t let her go yet. He was enjoying the feel of her womanly curves pressed against his own body. He had her pinned to the wall, and that was precisely what he wanted for the moment. He dipped his head so that his breath brushed against her shoulder. “Perhaps I had other things in mind.”
She shivered beneath his hands. Her breath caught, making her words husky. “I’m not certain that would be a prudent activity in such a place.”
“Probably not.” But it didn’t mean that he couldn’t kiss her. Just one sweet taste. He caught her lips and kissed her hard. She whimpered against his mouth as her body relaxed against his. More than anything, he wanted to take her back to the house and properly bed her. But he couldn’t afford to ignore his duty to Solomon’s. He’d made a commitment to them, and he couldn’t ignore it. He’d be damned if he’d be the man his father was.
Vanessa was prim, yet not so proper, and it was a heady combination. Damnation if he couldn’t forget his own name while touching this woman. There was work to be done. He pulled back from her.
“Be careful; follow behind me. And don’t talk,” Graeme said. He grabbed her hand and pulled her in the direction that he’d been headed. He could attempt to send her back to the house, but he knew that would be wasted words and effort. She had already shown him once that she was not the sort of woman who would behave or do as she was told.
In fact, she seemed far more likely to do the exact opposite of what she’d been told. It seemed increasingly unlikely that he’d be able to send her to London unless he’d be willing to escort her there himself or tie her to the train. Neither option guaranteed she wouldn’t follow him right back here.
They crept along in the darkness, and Vanessa neither stumbled nor said a word. He tried not to be impressed that she could match his stealth and keep his pace. But that probably explained the smile that he knew played at his lips.
Somewhere to the right, Graeme heard a rock scrape down the stone wall. He stopped moving, and she halted along with him. Up ahead, he could see a slight flicker of light. Perhaps the torches there remained lit.
“It’s coming from over there,” Vanessa whispered, and he knew she probably pointed as well, but the tunnel was too dark to make out her precise position.
“Quiet,” he whispered into her ear. She smelled good, like springtime and clean linens, and he wanted nothing more than to bury himself in her until her scent enveloped him. He stepped away to clear his head, then moved them in the direction of the noise.
The light grew brighter as they stepped forward, and Graeme knew they’d reach Niall soon. He just hoped there would be enough darkness to conceal themselves so they could watch his cousin.
Another bang of something, then Niall swore. Graeme found a wall to the right that they could hide behind. He moved Vanessa in that direction.
“You stay behind here,” he told her. She nodded, her eyes wide.
Graeme looked around the corner and saw Niall moving rocks as if building a barricade. Over and over, he bent, then rose to stack them until he’d walled off a section. What the hell was he up to? If he was searching for the treasure, why would he build a wall?
Graeme wasn’t certain how long he watched, peering around his hiding place but keeping most of his body huddled next to his wife’s. Her hand rested easily in his own, and she made no effort to move from her position. Most women would not be this comfortable shrouded in near darkness and hiding in a cave. But Vanessa stood there as if this were nothing more than a friendly game of hide-and-go-seeking.
Graeme leaned against the wall next to her, his breath labored, but quiet. She was keenly aware of him standing beside her, his body heat chasing away the chill of the cave. For the last few years, she’d longed to explore these very caves. Yet now that she was here, it was not the prospect of scientific discovery that excited her, but rather the man beside her.
He was handsome, intensely so, she had to admit that. Here in the cave, she couldn’t make out all of his features clearly, but she closed her eyes to remember them from the night before. His crystal-green eyes had darkened when he’d lowered himself on top of her, turning the color of a spring field. It was a marvel really, the way her body had responded to his touch. Interesting. And the sensations had been mesmerizing. As if her body was no longer her own, and she was merely riding in the vessel and reveling in the experience. She’d had no idea her body was even capable of such things.
A most interesting experiment. Perhaps those feelings were what Jeremy had mistaken for love. He and Violet had writhed around on the floor for so long, panting and moaning, and now Vanessa knew what they’d experienced.
