Page 76 of Her Scandalous Pursuit

There had been many times today when everything had seemed the way it had before, when she felt the thrill, the satisfaction, of their minds running along the same path. Was she allowing that ease, that familiarity, to sway her? She could not let herself be fooled by him again. It would be reckless to trust him, to let herself dream once more.

Before long Broughton House loomed up before them. Thisbe stopped at the passageway that led to the side door and turned to Desmond. The glow of the streetlamp fell across his face, highlighting his deep, dark eyes, his mobile mouth, the line of his cheekbones. What was he thinking? What did he feel? Regret? Sorrow? Satisfaction at a job well-done?

“Thisbe...” He moved closer, lowering his head a little to gaze into her eyes. “I want to explain.”

“Desmond...please. Don’t. I cannot—”

“I’m not asking you to forgive me. But I want to tell you the truth. I cannot bear that you go on thinking I set out to use you, that I didn’t really feel what I did for you. I didn’t engineer meeting you. I had no idea who you were when I saw you at that lecture. I learned later that Wallace had approached the dowager duchess about getting the Eye, but I didn’t know that Moreland was the duchess’s family name or that you were her granddaughter. I know it sounds too great a coincidence, but coincidences do happen. I sat down beside you on purpose, but it was because you were so beautiful. I was drawn to you, but not because you were the dowager duchess’s granddaughter.”

Thisbe drew a shaky breath. “Even if I accept that explanation, at some point you knew who I was, yet you continued to deceive me. You used me to gain entrance to my home so that you could find the Eye.”

“I didn’t give a damn about the Eye. I don’t know how to convince you of that, but it’s the truth. What I felt for you, the things I said to you, had nothing to do with Annie Blue’s Eye. When I realized that it was your grandmother who owned the Eye, I told Professor Gordon I wouldn’t do it. You know that I never asked you about it or attempted to persuade you to help me.”

“If you’d only told me...”

“I didn’t dare. I was too afraid of losing you. I didn’t want to see the disappointment and distrust in your eyes. I didn’t want you to look at me the way you do now. It seemed to me that if you knew, it would taint everything.”

“If you were so concerned about losing me, then why did you leave me?” Thisbe clamped her mouth shut, ashamed of the note of longing and hurt in her voice.

“For the reasons I told you. As long as you were with me, you were in danger.”

“Because of Grandmother’s prediction?” Thisbe asked scornfully.

“Yes. I didn’t want to believe it at first. I told myself it was nonsense. But when they threatened you, I realized that the duchess was right—I endangered you.”

“Threatened me? Just a moment. Who threatened me? What are you talking about?”

“Mr. Wallace. Or, rather, some ruffian whom I assume worked for Wallace. He implied that something would happen to you if I didn’t steal the Eye for them. Do you remember that day when you were knocked into the street?”

“Yes. But that was an accident.”

“That man who grabbed your arm and kept you from falling was the man who had threatened to hurt you the day before. He engineered that fall to show me what he could do.”

“Desmond.” Thisbe shook her head. “I can’t take all this in. It’s so absurd. Like something out of one of Olivia’s novels.”

He took her by the arms, his gaze intent on hers. “It happened. It was real. I couldn’t let anything happen to you. I had to break all ties with you. I had to show them that they couldn’t reach me through you. To prove I had lost whatever favor I had with your family.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this then?”

“I should have. It would doubtless have been an effective way to remove whatever affection you had for me.” He sighed. “I was weak. I couldn’t bear for you to think so little of me.” He reached up to cup his hand against her cheek. “If I couldn’t be with you, at least I could remain untarnished in your memories. But, of course, that wasn’t possible.”

“Desmond...” Tears swam in her eyes, blurring the image of his face.

“No, don’t cry,” he murmured, wiping a tear from her cheek. “I never wanted to cause you any pain. If I could do anything to take it away, I would.” He lowered his head and kissed her lips softly. “Thisbe, I’m sorry. So sorry. It would have been better for you if you’d never met me. I’d take it all away if I could.”

“No,” Thisbe said fiercely. “I don’t want that. I’d never want to not know you. To not remember...”

Impulsively, she stretched up to kiss him. His arms wrapped around her like steel bands, and his lips sank into hers.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

IT WAS INTOXICATING. Exhilarating. Heartbreaking. Suddenly every nerve ending was alive, every sense awakened. The air cold all around them, the heat searing inside her. The feel of him, the scent of him, the taste of him, all achingly familiar and so long missed, dizzied her.

Their lips parted only to reunite, his arms falling away only to slide beneath her mantle. Thisbe’s hands clutched the lapels of his coat as she pressed herself up into him. She had never before felt such heat, such throbbing need. She wanted to feel his skin against hers, his mouth on her body, his hands on her flesh.

Constricted by their clothing, they caressed and kissed, lost for a few minutes in a passion blind to everything else. Desmond shuddered, a low moan escaping him, and he broke from her. He stared at her for a long moment, his eyes stark. Then, with an inarticulate growl, he turned and rushed away into the night.

THISBE RAN UP the back stairs to her room to compose herself before she could face anyone in her family. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips soft and reddened, and her breath came far too rapidly. And those were just the outer signs. Inside her, heat burned low in her abdomen, and every nerve in her body tingled. Even after she had outwardly pulled herself together, her mind kept returning to their brief encounter, remembering each touch, each kiss, and she melted inside all over again.