He lurched to his feet, stuffed the necklace into his waistcoat pocket next to Colin’s watch, and stumbled to the door. He looked back once before it closed behind him. Devon hadn’t yet emerged from the drawing room, but Julian had seen the man’s face when Charlotte fled the room. Lady Tallant wouldn’t be able to hold him for long.
The courtyard was empty. No doubt Charlotte was halfway to her carriage by now. Even if he did manage to catch her, Devon would be upon them in mere minutes, and—
Julian went still, listening. If the courtyard hadn’t been so silent, he would have missed it, a quiet gasp for breath, or a muffled sob. There was an alcove to his left, a doorway set deep into the wall. He crept forward, his shadow growing blacker and more monstrous against the building as he edged closer and closer.
Charlotte darted from the alcove in a whirl of purple skirts and leapt for the narrow passageway that let out onto the street, but Julian was faster. He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her back into the recess. She twisted frantically in his grip, but he nudged his much larger body into hers to hold her against the wall.
“Captain West! Have you gone mad? Release me this instant.”
“Quiet.” In another few seconds Devon would be in the courtyard, but there was a chance he’d pass right by them if only she’d stop shrieking.
She shoved against his chest. “Dear God, you have gone mad. I willnotbe quiet—”
He grasped her wrists and held them flat against the wall to still her.
“Captain! You’re hurting me!”
Julian instantly loosened his hold, but he slid one hand up her arm and wrapped his fingers lightly around her elbow, where her gloves gave way to bare skin.
“Let go of me,” she hissed. “You take this too far.”
Damn it.He covered her mouth with his hand. “Your champion is about to charge out here to rescue you, my lady. It’ll be damn unpleasant if he finds us, as I don’t intend to relinquish you to his care.”
That gave her pause. She went still, her eyes huge, dark pools above the hand he held over her mouth.
Her mouth.
In his haste Julian had left his gloves behind, and now her lips, soft and half open, were pressed against his bare hand, her warm breath teasing his palm. He stared down at her, a memory tickling at the edge of his consciousness, one so sweet it made him ache with loss.
A moment with her, a lifetime ago, the night like dark velvet wrapped around them, and the sky above heavy with stars. She’d taken his hand in hers and pressed her lips against his palm, and he’d gone half mad with wanting her, loving her.
He closed his eyes against the feel of her lips against his skin, at the sight of her chest heaving within her tight bodice, but she was close, so close he no sooner denied one sensation than others overwhelmed him. Her shallow, panting breaths became deafening, her sweet lemon scent so intense he could taste it on his tongue. He moved into her, so his body pressed into hers, her breasts flat against his chest, and for a fleeting moment he felt everything he thought he’d lost forever.
He felther.
On the other side of the courtyard a door opened, and the low murmur of voices reached them from the passageway beyond. Julian dimly registered the rustle of silk skirts, a female voice calling something, the click of a man’s pumps against the stones, loud at first, then fading as he hurried through the passageway into the street beyond.
The courtyard fell silent again. Devon had gone.
Julian lifted his hand from her mouth and she drew in an unsteady breath, but neither of them said a word. She swallowed, and he rested his hand against her long, white throat to feel the movement.
“I—what do you think you’re doing, dragging me in here?”
“Hiding you from your lover.” His tongue wrapped around the wordlover, his voice a low, hoarse whisper.
“I don’t have a lover.” Her own whisper was so soft he had to lean closer to hear her.
“Not yet, but you will. You’ll have Devon.”
Deny it. Please.
But she didn’t. She didn’t speak, only watched him with dark, fathomless eyes.
He dragged his fingertips across her jaw and down her neck. “What will he do when he finds you’ve eluded him tonight?”
Her throat moved against his palm again. “He doesn’t need to do anything. He’ll have another chance tomorrow night.”
“Oh, my lady,” he murmured, stroking his thumb across her cheek. “I wouldn’t depend on it.”
