Page 48 of His Wicked Secret
“Soon. Less than a week. I will send for you once I have everything in place. I will provide more detailed instructions regarding your French contacts and the revolutionaries you will be engaging with.”
“Understood. Thank you.” Avery shook Waverly’s hand, and they headed back down the stairs to the hall.
He glimpsed Melanie again through a window before he left, and for a moment he froze. She was still in the garden, but she was no longer alone with her child. Daniel Sheffield, the man who would play Audrey Sheridan’s husband, was there in the garden with her. To the untrained eye, it looked completely innocent. They stood close together, speaking to each other. But Avery had learned from the best and could read their body language. The way he leaned in, the brief caress of her hand on his chest before it dropped away. Avery ducked behind the edge of the window. There was some intimacy between them, but Avery couldn’t tell how far it went.
Good God.Waverly’s wifeis…
He didn’t finish the thought. He took one more glance their way and saw them break apart. Sheffield reached down to ruffle the hair of the little toddler, a toddler whose looks favored his mother and not Waverly.
Surely not…
Avery was relieved to see the butler waiting for him, who handed him his hat, and then he stepped outside was to his waiting hackney.
If Sheffield was romantically entangled with Waverly’s wife, he would likely not be a threat to Audrey. Waverly had already chosen Sheffield for his team, and Avery would respect that, but he would still need to keep an eye on Audrey. None of her recent training had been put the test, and sending her on a foreign mission like this was highly unusual. If anything were to happen to her, he would never forgive himself, and Lucien would put him in an early grave. Lead knots formed in Avery’s stomach. This mission to France could be very dangerous. More so than Hugo had led him to believe.
It will be up to me to ensure that Audrey returns safely to England.
14
Audrey wasn’t sure what time she woke up the next morning. But the fear and anxiety that had sent her running into Jonathan’s arms faded bit by bit overnight, and she’d relaxed enough to enjoy waking and discovering he’d stayed behind after their passionate kisses. She had a vague recollection of demanding that he help her undress, and her lips curled into a little smile. After a while of lying there beside him, she moved drowsily in the bed, unable to ignore how good it felt to have the warm body of a man beside her.
She stretched her leg over Jonathan’s and cuddled closer. His hand on her upper back drifted down to the base of her spine, just above her bottom. A sensual pulse passed between them as she wrapped her body against his. His hands, which had been slowly stroking her, now began to caress her more earnestly. He was awake now as well, and she couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking. Did he enjoy this intimacy as much as she did? Had he been just as lost in their kisses last night, or was she the only one affected? Doubts plagued her until he suddenly spoke.
“Let me…satisfy you.” Jonathan’s voice was gruff, and she rather liked it. It sounded real, not pretentious or false. Just him and his needs.
She rested her cheek against his naked chest. “Satisfy me?” She raised a hand up to trail a fingertip around his nipple, and his breathing turned uneven.
She willed herself to meet his cool gaze and steeled herself for what it would do to her, but she saw only a heartrending tenderness in his eyes. And heat, so much heat it made her face burn with a blush. Her heart fluttered treacherously with hope.
He placed one of his hands on her face, brushing the backs of his knuckles over her cheek.
“There’s nothing more beautiful than a woman who is satisfied. It would be my great pleasure to see you glow the rest of the day.”
She tiptoed two of her fingers over his chest as she pretended to think it over.
I should not let him, but Lord, when he gazes at me like no one else exists I simply cannot say no.
“Would you worship me like a goddess?” she teased.
“Is there any other way to worship a woman?” he replied and gave a chuckle that sent shivers of delight through her.
“And what of our agreement? One night a week,untouched, you said.”
Jonathan smiled. “It’s no longer night, now is it?”
“I suppose I will let you…satisfy me.” The words had barely escaped her before he flipped her onto her back and tossed the bedclothes away. She looked up at him and he stared down at her, his eyes blazing like a hearty fire in the winter.
“Do you trust me?” he asked. “Trust that I will pleasure you and nothing more?” His words were so honest that she nodded, trembling. The room around them grew quiet, the fire having died out hours ago. The birdsong outside was muted by the window, and the only real sounds she could hear were the breaths they shared. She reached up and placed her palm over his heart. He smoothed a hand down her left calf, teasing her skin with lazy circles drawn by his fingertips. His eyes glittered with hunger.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.” The moment she said those words, the power shifted between them. He relaxed as he took control. He moved back, allowing her to sit up.
“Remove your chemise.”
Audrey did as he commanded, her heart hammering. She pulled the chemise off her body, watching him react to her. Animal magnetism drew them together, and yet even when she swore it was only her body that desired his, she would catch flashes of softer emotions in his eyes that reflected the secret desires of her own. She leaned forward, pressing her lips to his chest, covering him with kisses. He hissed out a breath, his hands fisting on his thighs.
“Now what?” she asked.
