by Wendy Vella
“Of course I understand why you are speaking this way, but I cannot leave now. Not when the children need me. But if we stay in London, I will do as you say and will go nowhere without you knowing it. I promise.”
Dev looked down at her for the longest time and then smiled. “I almost believe you.”
“I would never lie to you!”
“Don't look offended, love. I know you would never deliberately lie to me; however, I think you are used to acting alone, as is evidenced by your actions today.”
Lilly huffed, then faced him, placing a hand on his chest.
“Please.”
He was used to his siblings bribing and manipulating him. This woman had a lot to learn if she was entering their family.
“Please, ah.... Please, Dev.”
“That was the most pathetic attempt at begging I have ever heard. My siblings would have laughed themselves sick had they heard. You need to speak to Dorrie; she begs better than anyone I've ever met.”
“Are you laughing at me?”
“Yes,” he said, unrepentant about the fact. Anger still smoldered inside him, but he could at least breathe easier knowing she was close.
Her expression slowly changed before his eyes. Her eyes softened as she wet her lips with her tongue. Dev braced himself as she lifted to her toes and reached for a handful of his hair, then tugged his head down for a kiss.
Innocent she may be, but Dev was soon on fire.
“Please, Devon,” she said in a breathy little voice that a courtesan would be proud of.
“All right,” Dev said, his voice harsh as he battled his body's response to Lilly's kiss. “But you have to promise to do as I say and if anything further happens, we leave London. Furthermore, I will not let you win every argument with such an obvious display, even if I enjoyed it.”
“I promise.”
“Again, I'm not totally convinced, and yet we will leave that for now.” Dev grabbed her hand and tugged her back in the direction of the kitchen door. “We have to tell Mr. and Mrs. Davey the truth, love, about everything so they will be ready if anything further happens.”
“They know some of it, but yes, you are right.”
Dev was surprised to see Nicholas Braithwaite seated at the small table in the kitchen, sipping tea from one of Mrs. Davey's teacups. He looked quite comfortable. The man was trying, he'd give him that.
“I tried to get Lord Braithwaite up to the front parlor, Miss Braithwaite, yet he would not budge,” Mrs. Davey said, looking quite happy with the fact.
“It is warmer in here, Mrs. Davey, and this apple tart is quite possibly the most delicious I have ever tasted.”
“Is it, Braithwaite? Well, then you had best leave enough for me,” Devon said, putting Lilly into one chair and taking the other.
Soon the small party, including Toby, who was still seated on the bench swinging his legs happily and munching yet another slice of bread, was all busy eating and drinking. Lilly brought Mr. and Mrs. Davey up-to-date with everything that had transpired.
“And I would completely understand if you wish to leave London for a time because of this,” Lilly said when she had finished her tale.
“Oh no, miss, we'll be staying put and caring for the children when they need us, and of course there's our Toby,” Mrs. Davey said, giving the boy a smile that he acknowledged with a small one of his own.
“If you will allow it, Mr. Davey, I will have someone watch over the house for a time. He'll be discreet so as not to upset any of the children, but it will ease Miss Braithwaite's mind,” Dev said.
They were proud people, the Davey's, and he knew they prided themselves on caring for the boys and themselves without any fuss or help. Because of this, he had made the offer sound like it was to ease Lilly's mind and hoped that would make a difference.
“I should be relieved if you would take up Lord Sinclair's offer,” Lilly added her voice to Dev's.
“If it will make Miss Braithwaite happy, then we shall allow it,” Mr. Davey said.
“Excellent.” Dev gave Lilly a wink.
They left the house a short while later, and Dev tried not to think about the letter he now had tucked in his top pocket. He would have to talk to his family and James about it later. Maybe even Nicholas, but for now he said good-bye to Lilly's brother, watching as he strode off down the street, having decided to walk to the business he said he had to attend to.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“Take us around the park and keep to the quieter areas until I tell you otherwise,” Dev said to the driver before he climbed into the carriage and shut the door firmly behind him.
“Why are we driving around the park?” Lilly watched him settle into the seat across from her.
“Because I want a few minutes alone with the woman I love without interruption.” Dev took her hand in his and then proceeded to remove her gloves. “I want to drive through the park with you and have no one ask me questions,” he added, tugging her onto the seat beside him.
“But what if I want to ask you a question?”
“As long as it is not overly taxing, I shall answer it,” he said, taking her other hand and removing that glove too.
“Dev, someone shall see us!” Lilly gasped as he kissed each of the fingers he had exposed.
Standing, he wrenched the curtains closed and then reseated himself. She had kissed him at Temple Street and that brief taste had stayed with him as he drank tea and politely answered questions. He had watched her nibble on a scone and remembered the feel of those lush lips on him. The visions he had tried to push from his head of their lovemaking had risen, and now he wanted her with a need that overrode everything else. He would have her or go mad.
“What are you doing?”
Ignoring her question, he slid his hands under her skirts, pushing them up her thighs. He then picked her up and lowered her to straddle his lap.
“This is your fault,” he said, taking off her bonnet and flinging it across the carriage. “You kissed me, and behaved in a thoroughly inappropriate manner, and now I can't stop thinking about you naked.”
“Devon!”
She was shocked silent, which gave him time to start on the buttons of her dress. He managed several before the need to touch her overwhelmed him, and he slipped his hand inside her bodice and cupped the soft, full flesh of one breast through her chemise.
“Oh lord, that is wonderful.”
“I'm not stopping,” Dev growled, tugging more buttons free. He then had her breasts exposed. “You have beautiful breasts, Lilly. Your nipples are like raspberries, begging for me to bite into them.”
“Yes, please.” Her head fell back as his mouth closed over her and he began to lave the tight peak with his tongue.
Dev had a reputation for being thorough. He prided himself on missing nothing, so he lavished each and every inch of her breasts with the same attention, until she was whimpering and begging him to take her.
“Had I known these were beneath your evening gowns, I would have made more of an effort two years ago,” he said, his hands now replacing his lips to stroke and caress the silken skin once more. “I would have taken you into the nearest room…,” Dev rasped as she arched toward him.
“Be quiet and kiss me!” Lilly cried, pushing him back on the seat and pressing her lips to his. She was as desperate as he to taste and touch. Her hands were everywhere. Pushing aside his jacket, she opened his buttons and stroked his chest.
Clamping one hand on her neck, Dev wrapped the other around her waist and hauled her close until nothing separated them. Teeth clashed and noses banged as they ravished each other. They were desperate, no longer aware of where they were, only that the fire inside them needed to be extinguished.
Dev cupped her ankles and then traced the contours of her legs as he moved his hands higher. He ran his fingers around the band at the top of her silk stockings before moving higher until he reached her bottom. Tracing the creamy swells, Dev shuddered as Lilly wriggled against
him, the friction almost painful.
She forced her hands between them and tried to undo the buttons of his breeches.
“Help me, damn you!”
“Ask me nicely,” Dev whispered against her breasts, his warm breath brushing over the sensitive skin.
“Pleasseee.”
Ripping open the buttons, Dev clamped his hands on her hips and lifted her, lowering her onto his aching length. Both moaned as Lilly took him deep inside her.
“Yes, love,” Dev whispered. “Ride me.”
Lilly braced her hands on his shoulder as she rose and lowered. The friction was exquisite.
“Don't stop; you feel like heaven, Lilly.”
She did it again and again, each slide and thrust driving him to the point of madness. Gripping her hips, he drove up as she came down.
“Dev!”
Swallowing her cries, he kissed her hard and took over, pulling her down harder with each thrust until the only sound in the carriage was ragged breathing. Lowering his head, he took one swollen nipple into his mouth and sucked hard, and Lilly fell apart in his arms. She clenched around him as he drove upward once more. Biting back the hoarse cry that came to his lips, he grunted, pouring himself into her as she slumped forward onto him.
Lilly lay her head on his chest, one hand fisted in his shirt as she struggled to regain her composure. Slowly sounds started to make themselves heard once more. The rumble of carriage wheels, the clip-clop of hooves, and people making their way around the park. She should be horrified; Lilly had never behaved so rashly in her life. To make love with Dev in a carriage with people a few feet away…. She should be shocked and horrified; instead, she was sated and ridiculously happy. One of his hands cupped her head, the gesture protective, while the other swept slow circles over her back.
“When can we marry?”
She felt his smile in her hair.
“If you are agreeable, we shall leave at the completion of the season and marry on Raven Mountain in James's church.”
“Yes, I like that idea. I do not want lots of people, just our families.”
Dev rubbed one of her curls between his fingers.
“It sounds perfect to me.”
Giving the curl a tug, he kissed her hard as she looked up at him.
“I like you naked and at my mercy.” Lilly shivered as Devon traced the curve of her breast. Pushing herself off him, she took the handkerchief he handed her and moved to the opposite seat. Her large fiancé remained relaxed; his body sprawled across from her.
“When we are wed, I may tie you to my bed and keep you naked from dawn till dusk, wench.”
“You could try,” Lilly said, reaching for her chemise.
“You'd probably just chew through the ropes,” he said, rousing himself to right his own clothing and then help her do up her buttons.
Between them, they got her clothed and then he opened the curtains. Lifting the hatch above his head, he told the driver to take them back to James's house. Sitting beside her, he took her hand, entwining their fingers, and Lilly felt that little shiver of heat that touching him always produced inside her.
“How will we find who is behind all this, Devon?”
“After reading that note, I am going to hire a Runner and a private detective. If we continue probing it will make whoever is responsible all the more eager to stop us, so we must act secretly.”
“I like that idea, and reiterate my promise that I shall not take any unnecessary risks.”
Seeing something fierce flit across his face, Lilly lifted a hand and touched his cheek. “I love you so much, Devonshire Sinclair, and promise to do nothing to separate us ever.”
“And I you, my love, and I will be ensuring that happens.”
They drove in silence for a while, content to be alone together as the city of London moved around them.
“I know you have acquired this new property for your children down at the docks, Lilly, and I was hoping you would ask Nicholas to look after the changes you want made there.”
“Do you think he would?” Lilly asked. It would do no good to insist she see to the changes; Devon had not pushed for them to leave London, and for that she was grateful. However, she had no wish to antagonize him now she had what she wanted.
“I don't see why not. He is a changed man, Lilly, and eager to show you the difference in him. Now he knows about your children, he may wish to have some involvement.”
Lilly thought about that. It was hard to think of her brother in the terms Devon spoke, even though she had acknowledged those changes herself today.
“I understand that you are struggling to accept that he is different, love. I too struggle with it, yet Cambridge saw two of the men he once gambled with cut Nicholas last night at the Hadleigh musical. He then heard insults and murmurs about him, spoken just loud enough for your brother to hear.”
“Cambridge stayed with him?” Lilly said, feeling ill at what Nicholas had gone through, but relieved he had not done so alone.
“My brother may be many things, but he is honorable and stayed with Nicholas until he left.”
“Considering what he did to Cam, it was very generous indeed. I am pleased he had someone to look over him.”
“As do you, love. A fact that I'm sure, given time, will make you want to run screaming from the house; however, never forget they mean well,” Dev said, squeezing her hand.
“I think once I get used to it, having a large family will be a wonderful thing.”
“It has its moments.” He smiled at her. “The Selkirk ball is in two nights, love.”
Lilly looked out the window as a carriage passed close by. She had not entered society since the night of her abduction and was not sure she was ready to yet.
“If it affected just you and me, Lilly, then I would be more than happy to snub society,” Devon said, understanding her thoughts even though she had not voiced them. “Yet James and I have siblings who will make their debuts one day, plus Essie, Cam, and your brother still walk among society. We need to make an appearance to halt the wagging tongues.”
Lilly's sigh was long and loud. “I suppose we must, when you put it that way.”
“Cheer up, love, you will be surrounded by family,” Dev said, lifting her hand once more to his lips. “I have only one thing to ask of you, my sweet.”
“Anything,” she said, because she would do it if it were in her power. She'd reach up and grab the moon for him if she could.
“Will you dress as you have today, and let society really see the woman you are? Will you leave off your glasses and wear something that does not upset my stomach, and leave the wild animals and small woodland creatures from your hair?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“Mr. Spriggot and Mr. Brown have arrived, my lord.”
“Thank you, Pennyroll,” Dev said, ushering Lilly to the stairs. “Are they in my uncle's study?”
“Yes, my lord. The Duke and Mr. Sinclair are at present with him.”
“Of course they are,” Dev muttered, taking the stairs two at a time and dragging Lilly behind him.
Devon had taken Lilly driving in the park. She suspected this was to keep her busy, so she did not go off on her own, but she did protest. Three days after she had received that letter, she was still looking over her shoulder wherever she went.
“They could not simply have waited until I arrived.”
Lilly had noticed that only his siblings could make Devonshire Sinclair surly. For the most he was a pleasant, affable man—to those who did not know him well. To the rest, his family and her, he was demanding, officious, and she loved every inch of him, because his behavior stemmed from the need to keep his people safe. She had no doubt if he could get away with it, he would take them all to an island somewhere and set the boat adrift.
They heard the rumble of voices as they reached the room. Dev flung the door open and towed Lilly inside. James and Cam were seated beside each other, and two other men sat opposite.
; “Good afternoon, Lord Sinclair.”
“Mr. Spriggot,” Dev said, pushing Lilly into a chair. “This is my fiancée, Miss Braithwaite.”
“Miss Braithwaite,” the detective said, gaining his feet and bowing, which caused a few strands of hair on his head to slip their moorings and dangle down the side of his face momentarily, until he swept them back into place with a gesture Lilly was sure he had made many times.
“Mr. Spriggot.” Lilly nodded to the innocuous-looking man. Small and thin, he was dwarfed by the men around him.
“And this is Mr. Brown,” Dev said, shaking hands with the other man.
“Mr. Brown,” Lilly said, nodding to him. He had hands bigger than ham hocks and a large bald head and blunt features. “Hello, James and Cam,” she added. Dev acknowledged them with a curt nod and then prowled to the fireplace.
“Did you enjoy your drive, Lilly?”
“Yes, thank you, Cam.”
“Perhaps you could begin at the beginning, Miss Braithwaite. His Grace and Mr. Sinclair have told me some of what has transpired, but perhaps you could fill in the gaps, as it is you who are the intended target.”
Lilly watched Dev's shoulders stiffen. His eyes had narrowed and were focused intently on the man. He had not liked being reminded of her abduction. Gone was her amiable fiancé, and in his place was the ruthless lord she knew he could be.
“It began when I was told the children were being taken.” Lilly told the two men everything she knew, and then answered each and every question they politely asked of her.
“Tea, Lord Sinclair.”
“Thank you, Pennyroll, and please bring the brandy also,” Cam said. It seemed he had also noted the tension in his brother.
“You have been very clear with your details, Miss Braithwaite, and Mr. Brown and I thank you for that,” Mr. Spriggot said, waving away the brandy Cam tried to hand him and instead nodding to the teapot. Lilly picked it up and poured him a cup.
“I shall start on my enquiries at once, and I believe Mr. Brown has an associate that he will station at Temple Street. Is that not so, Mr. Brown?”