“His own name, of course. Johnathan Payne will be a superb valet. My own valet learned a thing or two from the man.”
Simon made his way to the drawing room door just in time to see his footman, Charlie, hand Williamson a note that had apparently arrived for the spy during their meeting. He turned to find Caillen next to him, staring after Williamson as he stopped to read the missive and then left the house.
He slowly reached for her hand as much for his comfort as it was hers. She turned toward him as their hands touched. It was always this way with her. A minor brush of skin on skin and he was on fire. His body came to life in a way it never had with any other woman, and it took every ounce of his control not to kiss her.
Instead, he leaned back against the doorway and gazed down upon her lovely face.
“Would you like to return to Ross’s household now that we know he wasn’t responsible for your father’s death?” he asked.
“Not particularly.” She took a step closer.
“It would be much safer there for you and the children.” And he wouldn’t be tortured by her presence or the never-ending fear that the man who tried to burn down his townhouse would come back to finish the job.
“What makes you think it’s safer at Harding House? Here the children and I have you and Mr. Payne.”
“Caillen, I’m not certain I can protect you here.”
“We will be safer with you,” she said with a conviction he didn’t feel.
“You will not be safefromme. You must know how bloody much I want you. I can’t be in the same room with you without getting a cockstand.” He looked down.
Caillen followed his gaze, her eyes rounded in an expression to boost any man’s ego. It would have been comical, if it wasn’t such a damned tragedy.
“I have never, and I mean never, been so utterly out of control in my entire life as I have been since waking up from that fever.”
She shook her head in denial. “It’s because you haven’t had a partner in months. One night out at one of your clubs?—”
“I’m not going to go to a bloody gentlemen’s club.”
She took another step closer and her scent encapsulated him, drawing him into her allure and surrounding him as if he were a helpless creature and she had cast a web of desire to ensnare him.
“I’m told all gentlemen do.”
“I know all too well what many married men do at the various brothels across London, but I have not visited one since straight out of university. I have never desired to be one of countless men to visit a woman’s bed in one night. Especially after I realized the plight of the ladies performing those acts. My own sisters could have been sentenced to such a life if my father hadn’t brought them home with him, or if my mother hadn’t welcomed them with open arms. As it is, I’m not certain their mothers didn’t suffer that fate. We’ll never know because my father took that information with him to the grave.”
She eyed him with a skepticism that hurt beyond measure, yet he knew her doubt stemmed from the reputation he’d enjoyed for too long. The dishonesty of the man she’d married didn’t help matters.
“We should take care for your reputation, Caillen. If you were my sister-in-law, I would be here first thing in the morning to secret you off in my coach. I have no doubt Ross will do the same after he opensThe Whispers of the Tontomorrow morning.” At that moment, he decided to send Charlie to Harding House this evening to ensure Ross knew he must retrieve her and the children before the sun rose.
“My reputation was in tatters before I came to London,” she said as she moved in and placed the palm of her hand on his bent thigh.
His cock nearly jumped out of his trousers, and it took everything he had not to believe her voice was husky with desire when she talked of her reputation. He swallowed down his own desire that threatened to stop his ability to think. “Marriage gave you respectability.”
“Don’t you dare say that to me.”
“Caillen…”
“No, I don’t care what the ton thinks of me. I don’t answer to them.”
She leaned into him and he couldn’t help it, he groaned. Gazing into her eyes was a test of his strength. He could feel her pebbled nipples pressed against his chest, causing his cock to strain against the soft swell of her abdomen. The desire to kiss her senseless was driving him mad, yet the last thing he wanted to do was frighten her with the intensity of his desire.
“The children will have to answer to them for years to come and, you of all people, know how difficult it is to live in London while wearing labels you can’t wash away. Not only do the girls have to wear the blemishes of their births, but Dorian will be honour-bond to challenge many to a duel to defend them. Trust me, he will do it at some point when someone calls you or one of the girls a whore. Think about it. Staying here will hurt your children more.”
“My sisters and I survived it.” Her hand began stroking his thigh, massaging the aching muscle that reveled in her touch almost as much as his cock.
“You endure it while living in Scotland, but there is a world of difference between London and Scotland. How many people of the ton did you encounter in Inverness?”
“It doesn’t matter, because I don’t plan to stay in London indefinitely.”
