Page 66 of Nothing Compares to the Duke
By the time they reached the town house, Rhys’s thoughts were as far from finding Radley as possible. One image kept playing over in his mind. Bella’s body over his, the hunger in her eyes. He didn’t know if she’d ever look at him that way again, but longing for it was becoming an enormous distraction.
They stopped on the pavement across the street from the address they’d found in the ledger. Rhys had brought a few keys he’d discovered in his father’s desk drawer,unmarked, hoping one might fit the lock. He dug in his pocket to retrieve them.
“Someone is in residence,” Bella whispered. “I can see someone moving about inside.”
Rhys moved to get a closer look, but Bella gripped his arm and pulled him back.
“What if it’s Mr. Radley? What if he’s armed?”
“I hardly think he’ll be armed,” Rhys told her, trying to reassure both of them. “And he’s definitely not expecting us.”
“Most likely, but the man stole thousands of pounds from a duke. Not to mention what he’s filched from others. Even if he returns what he took, he could very well hang for his crimes.” She got that determined look in her eyes and stared at the house. “I should go.”
This time he grasped her arm to stop her.
“Bella, no. I count on you to make more sense than I do, and right now you’re making none.” He stepped closer so she’d look up at him. “If the man is dangerous, I should go.”
“Trust me on this.” As if she knew precisely the power she had over him, she placed a hand on his chest. “I’ll be less threatening. As you said, he’s not expecting us. He’s definitely not expecting me. You, on the other hand, have met him.”
“Briefly. Years ago. He may not remember.”
“You’re very hard to forget.”
He wasn’t often speechless, but Bella’s comment froze his tongue and filled his chest with a pleasantwarmth. If she was trying to charm him into agreement, it was bloody well working.
“Trust me,” she said in that quiet but fierce tone that told him she would not be dissuaded.
“I’ll be watching. If I see even the merest hint of trouble, I’m coming in after you.”
“I’d expect nothing less,” she said with a cheeky smile.
For the second time in less than an hour, he watched her walk away from him and liked it even less than the first.
She rapped on the door and someone answered, but he couldn’t see whether it was a man or a woman. They stood back, shadowed in the dark of the foyer. Whoever they were, Bella spoke to them for several minutes in what seemed to be a series of questions asked and answered.
A chill of warning slid down his back when she nodded. They had no reason to trust anyone inside that town house.
Bella’s name was on the tip of his tongue and it took every ounce of restraint not to call out to her.
As if sensing his agitation, she glanced at him.
He let out a relieved breath, but then she turned back toward the door, took a step across the threshold, and disappeared inside the house.
Rhys rushed across the street and caught a glimpse of someone moving in the front window. He pounded the door with enough force to make the lion’s headknocker jangle. When no one answered, he pounded harder.
Finally, the front door swung open and Bella stood on the threshold.
He stepped inside and cupped her cheek against his palm. “You’re all right?”
There was something worrying in her gaze. Uncertainty that wasn’t like her at all. And another emotion he did recognize. Concern. For him.
“Bella, what is it?”
She slipped her hand inside the one he’d been holding against her cheek and led him deeper into the house. They stopped at the open door of a well-furnished drawing room.
Bella squeezed his hand and looked up at him. “This will be difficult.”
“Bella, what is going on?” He peered through the cracked door of the room and glimpsed a woman inside. “Who—”
