He often felt as though he could see in her eyes what she tried her best to conceal from the rest of the world.
But in that moment, everything he was so desperate to see was carefully kept from him.
After several breaths in which Phin grew more and more uncertain, she asked in a stiff halting voice, “Is that…” She stopped as though the words had gotten stuck. But then she reinforced her prideful posture and forged ahead. “Was that supposed to be some sort of recompense?”
Horror and shame blasted through him. “No.” His reply was sharp and definitive as he lifted a hand toward her only to stop himself. “I swear, the one has nothing to do with the other.”
There was a moment of silence as she stared back at him. Then quietly, “I’m sorry. I’m not familiar with such things. I just want to be sure I know where I stand.”
“I swear to you,” he vowed in a voice deepened by truth. “I would never use desire in such a merciless manner. What happens between us in an intimate way is totally separate from the rest. I only wanted you to know that I appreciate the fact that you trusted me enough to share something so personal.”
“My grandmother’s book,” she noted flatly.
Phin’s sigh was ragged and came from the depths of him as he shoved a hand through his hair. “Yes, that. But—” He made a low growl of frustration. How was it possible that every ounce of his reputable charm abandoned him when he most needed it? “Dammit.”
He stepped toward her and took her face in his hands. Her soft gasp of surprise was quickly followed by a swift darting of her gaze about the empty hall. But Phin didn’t give a damn if a servant was peeking around the corner in that moment. All he cared about was that she understood.
When her soulful eyes returned to his—wide and wary, he almost forgot what he intended to say. All he could think of was kissing her again. But he’d already made her think him a villain.
Brushing his thumbs over her cheeks, he murmured thickly, “What happened between us, happened because I desire you and admire and revere you. It happened because you are…an astounding woman and you deserve all the pleasure I can give and so much more. It happened because I couldn’t go another day without touching you—pleasuring you—as I’d imagined doing a thousand times since we met. The last thing I’d ever want is to hurt or offend you. Please know that.”
Her gaze remained wary before she shielded it with a flutter of her lashes.
He had no idea if she believed him. And before he could ask her, a scuffling sound drifted toward them from the front hallway where they’d left her elderly chaperone sleeping.
She swiftly but gently removed his hands from her face and muttered, “You should go. Quickly, before she sees you.”
Though Phin would’ve given anything for her to meet his gaze just then, she very carefully avoided it. The noises from the parlor increased and grew closer. He had no choice but to walk through the front door, leaving Eleanor behind.
It was one of the most difficult things he’d ever had to do.
When he returned home it was to find another message awaiting him. Written in the same elegant penmanship on the same high-quality paper as the last, it read:
You refused to heed my warning. Your actions have decided your fate.None of us can escape our destinies and yours now ends in blood. Do not force her to the same. THEY ARE MINE.
Chapter Twenty-One
It was nearingmidnight when Phin crept along the darkened mews behind the Duke of Lindley’s family home in Mayfair. He’d spent the evening with Maggie and Delia at a musicale hosted by one of his sister’s longtime friends. It was a small gathering and a rather quaint affair which had Phin fighting the urge to jump out of his skin the entire time.
For the last several nights—no matter what his plans were—he’d eventually made his way here. Though he trusted Iago and the additional men he’d hired to do their job properly, Phin couldn’t seem to stay away. He was driven to see to her protection personally.
With her parents out of town and her brother at his separate bachelor residence, she was always alone in a grand old house with minimal staff—certainly, none of which were trained as effective bodyguards.
Heneededto be there.
Ironic, really, considering he’d been very careful to avoid her everywhere else. His discreet inquiries into her social schedule had allowed him to ensure he avoided the events and gatherings she was expected to attend. With the social whirl in full motion, it was not terribly difficult, though he’d had to endure a few minor arguments and curious glares from his sister when he’d altered a couple of their plans with little explanation.
He knew his absence would be perceived by Eleanor as clearavoidance. Knew it and hated it. But didn’t change his behavior.
She would believe his interest in her had been selfish and lascivious and deceitful, despite what he’d said when they’d last parted. She’d think he lied to her and used her.
Perhaps he had.
His gut clenched at the thought, as it did whenever he considered what the woman must be thinking of him. But it couldn’t be helped. The last warning, arriving after he’d spent the most wonderful afternoon with her, lingered in his awareness like a deadly poison.
Someone was watching him. They’d noticed the time he spent with Eleanor. And they didn’t like it.
Whoever wanted the necklace, also believed themselves to have a claim over Eleanor.
