Page 12 of His Wicked Secret
Her eyes widened as she seemed to understand his point. But his true goal was not so simple. Being around him would calm her nerves when they sparred, true, but it would also give him ample time to seduce her outside of their lessons. With luck, she wouldn’t realize his plan until she had already fallen madly in love with him.
She was quiet for a long moment, her eyes fixed on him, and he saw the barest hint of her softening.
“Very well. One night a week, but you will face the consequences if my brother discovers us, because I assure you, I willnotlet him force me to marry you for propriety’s sake. That will be terrible for both of us.”
Again she found a way to wound him in a way only she could, but he soon rallied himself. “We will start your training in a few days. I need to heal before I allow you to start throwing punches at me.” He laid a hand over his ribs again, wincing as he thought of teaching her to fight with broken ribs. Perhaps he could wear some sort of padding?
“Are you really hurt?” she asked, that openness he loved returning to her face.
“A gentleman shouldn’t admit it, but…” He paused, taking advantage of her focus. “I am. Nothing serious enough to require a doctor, however,” he rushed to reassure her.
“Well then, let me see. Take off your shirt.”
“I thought you would never ask.” His rakish grin only made her frown and cross her arms.So much for seduction tonight.Jonathan unbuttoned his waistcoat and removed it, then lifted his shirt over his head. Her gasp made him flinch. How bad was it?
“You’re turning purple!” Her small hands were already fluttering about his chest as she eyed him with concern.
“I imagine my ribs are bruised, perhaps broken. There was one bloke with a bloody hard left hook.”
Audrey placed her fingertips on his abdomen. His muscles clenched tight as he fought off a wave of arousal. She was so close. Her soft floral scent filled his nose and made him boyishly giddy. This was why he always fled when she was near. He couldn’t control himself or act the least bit rational whenever she was like this. She brushed her fingers over his ribs and he flinched, unable to hide his pain from her.
She nodded toward his bed. “Sit down and let me have a better look at you.”
He watched her retrieve the cloth from his washstand and dip it into the water inside its white basin. She then returned to him and held his chin, tipping his head back. She used the cloth to wipe away the blood around his mouth. His lips stung, and he licked them instinctively.
“Thank you.”
“For what?” he asked.
She blushed. “You’re going to make me say it.” She sighed as though the admission she was about to make would cost her everything. “Thank you for saving my life. How did you even know where I was?”
“Charles’s man Tom found me at Berkley’s. He suspected you would be going alone and that the note stating that you planned to stay home was false. Why didn’t you take Charles with you?”
“That was the plan, but…things changed.” She became tight-lipped as to what the reason for that might be.
Jonathan was glad she hadn’t sought out the Earl of Lonsdale for aid. The man was the most wicked of the League when it came to ladies. Still, he would have been a decent escort, at least in regards to her safety, though perhaps not her virtue.
“I am grateful,” she said. “Truly. Charles was to provide a distraction to allow us to escape should things get out of hand, and I foolishly believed he wasn’t needed. Gillian and I would’ve been in trouble if you and James hadn’t been there. Do you think they are all right?”
“I am sure they are fine. James is a better man than I am. He’ll see to it Gillian gets home.”
Audrey’s lips trembled. “If anything happens to her…”
“Nothing will.”
“Still, she is my dearest friend.”
Lord, this woman was killing him. She could be so bloody single-minded one minute and utterly torn apart at the thought of a friend in danger the next. If there was one thing he’d learned about Audrey Sheridan since he’d first met her, she did not live by half measures. She loved and hated to the fullest capacity possible. He envied the freedom she felt to speak openly and act boldly. Growing up in the shadows, living in the servants’ quarters for most of his life meant that he had never had that chance. A servant’s life was quiet, scarcely seen or heard, a creature who served at the pleasures and whims of others. A servant was never master of his own destiny.
Just because Godric had recognized him as his half brother hadn’t changed everything. He still doubted himself at the wrong times, still forgot that his station had changed. Even his servants were confused by his tendency to do things on his own, like light a fire.
How can I ever be the man Audrey deserves?The question had plagued him from the moment he had seen her interest in him. Before he had driven that interest away.
“I wish I could heal your wounds,” Audrey murmured, frowning as she glanced down to his bare upper body.
“Only time can do that,” he said, perhaps a little more brusquely than he intended. She stepped back, her retreat adding pain to his already battered body, but it was for the best. He couldn’t touch her, couldn’t kiss her. Not yet. Being that close was a temptation.
There was a soft knock on the door.
