Page 48 of A Scandalous Proposition
She threw a scathing glance over her shoulder. He responded with such a gentle smile that she felt her insides dissolve, and her anger along with it.
‘Has anyone ever told you that you’re charming when you’re riled?’ He reached out and touched her cheek but she slapped his hand away.
‘Don’t touch me! You are as bad as?’ She broke off, almost having blurted out Lord King’s name in her agitation.
‘As bad as whom, Florentina?’ Adam frowned. ‘Has someone overset you? What’s happened? Tell me.’
‘It’s nothing.’
‘No.’ He regarded her closely, a scowl marring his rugged features. ‘There is something, I sensed it almost at once. Tell me what bothers you. If anyone’s dared to insult you, I need to be aware of it.’
‘Nothing’s happened.’ She resisted the compelling urge to unburden herself, scared that he might do something rash like calling Lord King out if he knew the truth. He was already putting his life on the line because of her. Because he was honourable and wanted to do the right thing. She could not, would not, ask him to do anything else that placed him in danger. ‘I’m merely vexed to be excluded from the excitement.’
‘That sort of excitement is greatly overrated. Take it from one who knows. There’s usually an inordinate amount of waiting about, a few minutes of swift, decisive action, and then it’s all over.’
‘You make it sound so mundane.’
‘It usually is.’
‘I’m no stranger to such situations. I was a spy, remember.’
‘So you were. Did you find that exciting?’
She tilted her head, considering the question. ‘It was tedious a lot of the time. But unlike battle, where the lines are definitely drawn, with spying one must be constantly on one’s guard.’
‘So I would imagine.’
‘Fouché’s police have eyes and ears everywhere. Fortunately, I was able to ingratiate myself with one or two and stuff them up with false information.’
‘Which would come back to you when it proved to be false.’
She glared at him. ‘Do I look like an imbecile? I was just an ignorant local woman, telling them what I had heard. By the time they discovered it was false I was long gone.’
‘So I should hope.’
‘We were sheltering a number of English soldiers after a skirmish on the French border went wrong. Fouché’s men knew they were in the area.’ She lifted her shoulders. ‘I managed to convince them to search elsewhere and we were able to get the men to safety.’
‘Just like that?’
‘Well, more or less.’
He reached for her again, and this time she couldn’t bring herself to move out of range of his questing fingers. She stood, rooted to the spot, as they slowly traced the outline of her lips. Excitement ricocheted through her, even though he barely touched her.
‘And now only one thing remains.’ He spoke in a soft throaty drawl, playing with an escaped curl, his knuckles brushing against her shoulder as he twirled it about his fingers.
‘What is that?’
‘I require your promise that you will not attempt to take matters into your own hands. Do something rash just because you are disappointed not to be involved.’
‘How can I when you have taken complete control?’
He chuckled. ‘I have seen flashes of your Latin temperament and don’t trust you to do as you are told unless you first give your word.’
‘You insult me.’
‘No, sweetheart, I rather believe I begin to understand you.’
How had she not noticed that his fingers were now creeping across the top of her bodice? She let out a slow sigh, barely aware that she’d moved a little closer to him. Too mesmerized by the sensual cadence of his voice to care about remaining aloof.
