Page 114 of The Rogue's Last Scandal
Mere minutes later, both of them sated, she collapsed onto his broad chest. She found his neck and dropped kisses there, where a scratchy scruff had blossomed, her heart so full she could not contain it. “I do love you, Charley,” she whispered.
Fingers laced through her hair, massaging her scalp. “I knew you had fallen for me.” He grinned at her, his eyes filled with teasing. “I meant what I promised you yesterday afternoon before God and man.”
To have and to hold. Until death did them part.
She’d said the words too, but she’d held a tiny part of herself back. If her father returned...
He pushed a strand of hair away from her face and studied her. “It’s all right, Gracie. We’ll take this one day at a time.”
She was far too transparent.
“Charley, you have distracted me. Who do you think is the traitor?”
He drew in a deep breath and draped an arm over his eyes. “Kingsley.”
She sat up and dragged his arm away. “No. It cannot be my father.”
“Don’t be a nodcock. I’m talking aboutLordKingsley.”
He gave her the slightest of nods. “You asked my opinion.”
“My father would not have left me with him if he was a traitor.”
“Your father didn’t know.”
“But surely—”
“Oh, it’s too early for this.” He patted her bottom. “Get off me. I’ll ring for coffee.”
“Not until you tell me.”
“My guess is your father was working on something else, something to do with the revolution in Mexico, or maybe the Duque’s activities. Something to do with smuggling, or shipping. Spain lost a lot ships and a lot of wealth in that part of the world. Maybe he took a ship full of the Duque’s plunder. Maybe he was looking for a treasure, and he didn’t want what he found to go to the Crown. He wanted it for Mexico. We shall, I hope, find out everything when Kincaid is done with his deciphering.” He nudged her, and she rolled off and stood.
“Stay.” She pulled on a dressing gown. What had Father said, exactly? The words were hard to conjure. She’d been so shocked by his report of her mother’s death, she’d barely understood what he’d said next. She padded to the bell pull, rang, and went to the table.
Charley was waiting there for her, naked as a pearl diver. He grinned crookedly, sending a ripple through her.
He knew what he did to her, but it was a power to be shared. She let her own robe slide from her shoulders, watched his eyes darken and settle on her breasts.
A knock at the door made her pull up the robe and cinch the belt. “Back into bed,” she ordered.
He grinned and plopped into a chair. She shook her head, opened the door a crack and ordered coffee and breakfast, then went back to climb onto his lap.
“We have a few minutes,” she said.
“You are blessedly insatiable.” He pulled her in for a brief kiss. “Butyou’vedistractedme. I’m anxious to hear Kincaid’s report.”
“You think he’s finished?”
“Perhaps. But we have time to eat.” He nuzzled her neck. “And something else before.”
Anote camewith the breakfast, saying that Kincaid had not been able to finish his analysis.
It was a reminder that Charley needed to visit Kingsley House today. The second book might be essential to the decoding.
He’d prefer to stay in bed, but Graciela’s protection came first, and finding the truth would be the only way to accomplish that.
“I should leave you to a long bath after breakfast,” he said. “We shall have to knock a whole in the wall so I can take the next chamber.”
