“Are you unaware that I would keep you to myself if I could? If I were a different woman, Simon Quinn, I would lock you away and keep you all to myself. But I am not that woman, and you are not chaste, so do not play the role of wounded lover while making me the villainess. That is a title I earn on my own. It does not need embellishing by you.”
Maria stalked away.
“Mhuirnín . . .” he called after her.
She ignored him.
“You are creating a spectacle,” he said directly behind her.
Spinning about in a wave of wide skirts, Maria forced him to jump back. “That is what I am here for—scandal and entertainment.”
“He has you flustered,” he breathed with wide blue eyes. “By God, look at you.”
“What does this have to do with St. John?”
“I wish I knew. I would have done it long ago, before you pushed me away.”
She heaved out her breath. “You do not love me in that way, do you?”
“I do love you, mhuirnín.” Simon’s mouth lifted in a rueful curve. “But no, not in that way. I was close once, the closest I have ever been, perhaps will ever be.”
The lone tear that hung on her lashes was her reply. She considered the promise that had once hovered between them to be another casualty of Welton’s machinations. Another death that he would pay for. “I should not have suggested you bed that woman. I do not know what goaded me to say it.”
“I’ve no notion either,” he drawled, capturing her arm again. “You should know me well enough to anticipate the arrangement I made with her for later this evening.”
“Later this . . . Oooh!” Maria stepped on his foot and he cursed. “Why did you torment me, then?”
“I am a man, with a man’s ego. I wanted to know that it stung, at least in small measure, to think of me with someone else. It pains me to contemplate the same with you.”
She might have believed him if he had refrained from laughing.
This time when she pulled away, she did not stop. “I am not in charity with you at the moment.”
“You adore me,” he called after her. “As I adore you.”
If a glance could kill, the one she tossed over her shoulder would have done the deed.
Replete from supper, Christopher stood with his back to the wall next to the parlor window that overlooked the front drive. He could not remove his gaze from the petite but voluptuous form encased in a shimmering fabric that was the exact shade of a ripe peach. The evening candlelight caressed the curve of her bosom, making his cock ache. Lady Winter stared right back at him, bold as you please.
His blood thrummed with the heated awareness that he would have her soon. He had given up trying to reason out why he was suddenly in full rut to have her. He simply was, and he needed to relieve himself of the itch so that he could consider his options properly.
He was well aware that sex with her would not reveal the answers he needed about Welton and her husbands’ affiliation with the agency. She was too much like him. A series of orgasms would not suddenly engender in her the desire to share her secrets with him. And he wanted her secrets. Needed them.
The agents who worked under the auspices of His Majesty’s Royal Navy were a thorn in his side. They followed him ceaselessly, spied on him regularly, and reclaimed pirated cargo often enough to be annoying. The reason Maria married two of them could be simply that both men had been wealthy peers, but it could also be related to the agency itself, and if it was, he wanted to know why.
The setting of the Harwick country house was perfect in a way few places could be. First of all, he was welcome here. Second, they were forced to share a roof. And lastly, but most importantly, her home was vacant aside from the servants. With careful staging, one of his people would manage to join her household. She would not be able to sneeze without him knowing of it.
Christopher lifted his glass to her in a silent toast and she smiled a woman’s smile, one filled with mystery.
To the winner, the spoils.
Chapter 4
“I received word from Templeton,” Simon murmured, his hand at the small of Maria’s back. “He will be waiting in the pantheon after the clock strikes two. I cannot go to him, mhuirnín. I will be occupied.”
“I shall go, of course. What do you expect him to say?”
He gave an elegant shrug for appearance’s sake, but his gaze was sharp as flint. “I anticipate he has some pressing news about your sibling. He would not risk coming here without just cause.”
“You expanded the search of the coastlines?” Beneath lowered lashes, she studied the many occupants of the parlor. St. John was presently charming Lady Harwick, but Maria had no doubt where his attention truly was.